The New Nation - Internet Edition

Registration of 'Closeup One 2008' begins

Staff Reporter

The third phase of famous talent hunt musical event 'Closeup One' began yesterday with a hope to identify some genius singers who could not expose themselves due top lack of opportunity.

This year's jingle of the event is 'Gao Bangladesh Gao'--- 'Sing Bangladesh Sing'.

Brands and Development Director of Uniliver Bangladesh Ltd Nowshad Chowdhury inaugurated the programme-'Closeup One 2008'-- through a press conference at Spectra Convention Centre.

Young singers aged between 16 and 30 from across the country as well as from some of the places abroad can participate the programme. Registration for the programme started from Thursday and will continue until Macrh 31.

Audition will be started from 1st day of April at Dhaka, Chittagong, Comilla, Sylhet, Mymensingh, Rangpur, Rajshahi, Kustia, Khulna and Barishal for local participants and New York, London, Toronto and Dubai for non-resident Bangladeshis.

Ntv is the media partner of the programme. Other partners include registration partner Aktel, radio partner Radio Today and web partner BD Info. Amitab Reza will work as Creative Director of the programme, Adcom as creative agency and Market Access Providers Ltd as activation agency.

Inaugurating the programme Nowshad Chowdhury said the talents search is the outcome of the continuous success in the previous two events.

He said they will come with something new in this event to make sure that viewers enjoy the programme. "Bangladeshi nationals from all over the world will get equal treatment to participate the programme," Nowshad said hoping great response from the viewers.

He said interested singers can register for the event through making phone call at 01841-111-111 or log in at www.closeup1.com. Adcom Chairman Geeti Ara Shafia Chowdhury and Ntv Managing Director Enayetur Rahman also spoke on the occasion.

Salma Islam granted bail

Staff Reporter

'The metropolitan sessions judges court' in Dhaka yesterday granted bail to Advocate Salma Islam, the wife of Nurul Islam Babul.

Judge Azizul Haq granted the bail on a Tk 50,000 surety bond as she surrendered to the court earlier in the day.

Moving the bail petition for Salma Islam, her counsellor Barrister Rafiq-ul Huq submitted that she was qualified to get bail as the main accused in the case Nurul Islam Babul was freed on bail earlier by the High Court.

The prosecution lawyers did not seriously oppose the bail petition.

Case deferred till March 17

UNB, Dhaka

The hearing on the discharge petition encountering prosecution proposal for framing charges against detained ex-PM Sheikh Hasina in the barge-mounted power-plant case was again held back until March 17 as the prosecution failed to produce the principal accused in the dock for her illness.

The Awami League chief has been admitted into the Square Hospital, under jail custody, and physicians have advised her critical ear treatment in the USA.

When the special court set up at the high-security parliament-bhaban complex resumed yesterday at 9:50 am Barrister Shafique Ahmed, a top counsel for Hasina, citing rules, declined to move the discharge petition without the presence of his client.

The court of Judge M Firoz Alam sought opinion of the Chief Special Public Prosecutor (CSPP), as it cannot adjourn the hearing suo moto.

CSPP Sharfuddin Khan Mukul submitted that there is no hard and fast rule that at this stage defence discharge petition cannot be moved in the absence of the accused. "But the presence of an accused is mandatory during the framing of charge by the court," he argued.

Defence counsel Barrister Shafique crossed swords with the prosecution, saying that there is no scope for considering further court proceeding without following the relevant law under the CrPC for transparency of justice-delivery process. "Law should be interpreted with its letter and spirit."

During the exchanges, a jail official submitted a medical report before the court.

The Judge read out the text of the report that says Hasina, who is undergoing treatment at the Square Hospital, is not medically fully ready to appear in court.

"So the hearing is deferred to March 17," says the court order.

Prior to adjourning the court, Barrister Shafique Ahmed submitted an application for permitting Hasina's personal physicians Prof Syed Modasser Ali and Prof Abdullah to see her at the hospital for medical consultation as they were denied access to see her Wednesday.

Purchase of 20,000 mts Aatap rice from Myanmar okayed

UNB, Dhaka

The Advisors Committee on Public Purchase yesterday approved two tender proposals for the import of some 20,000 metric tons of non-boiled (Aatap) rice from Myanmar as part of the government initiatives to control its soaring prices.

The Ministry of Food and Disaster Management will import the rice to be supplied by two private firms of Myanmar. Each firm will supply 10,000 mts of rice at US$ 395.50 per ton.

Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam presided over the meeting of the committee.

The committee, known as Cabinet Purchase Committee, also gave its nod to another proposal placed by LGRD Ministry to appoint a consultant for Chittagong WASA's Karnaphuli Water Supply project involving Tk 43.57 crore.

Japan International Bank for Cooperation (JBIC) will finance the project.

However, four other proposals, placed by different ministry, were withdrawn from the meeting. Among them was a proposal placed by Power Division to appoint Indian BHEL as turn key contractor to build a 150 MW power plant in Sylhet.

The Cabinet Division withdrew a proposal that recommended increasing the financing approval capacity of a ministry to Tk 40 crore from the existing Tk 25 crore.

Mirza Aziz said the authorities concerned were asked to place the proposal again after having the approval of an inter-ministerial meeting.

Another proposal placed by LGRD Ministry for earth filling works at Uttara Housing project and a project of Emergency Disaster Damage Rehabilitation were withdrawn as those failed to comply the procedural rules.

Steps taken to keep up momentum of progress in RMG sector

UNB, Dhaka

The government has taken necessary steps for continuing the current momentum of progress in the country's garment sector so that it could survive in the competition of quota-free world, said Textiles and Jute Adviser Mohammed Anwarul Iqbal.

He made the remarks at a daylong seminar titled "New Vision and Development of National Institute of Textile Training, Research and Design (NITTRAD): Presentation of Assessment Reports" at a city hotel yesterday.

The seminar was organized by the Ministry of Textiles and Jute in cooperation with Bangladesh Quality Support Programme (BQSP) of European Union (EU) and United Nations Industrial Development Organizations (UNIDO), aiming to improve the productivity and quality of textiles and RMG products so that the textiles and RMG sector could survive in the competition of global and domestic markets.

In his speech, the Adviser said the country's garment sector has now become a 4-billion-dollar foreign exchange earner, enjoying the status of one of the largest garment and T-shirt exporters to the EU and also one of the largest apparel exporters to the USA.

"With the MFA being phased out from 2005, the manufacturers and exporters of RMG in Bangladesh are competing in a greater context on the global apparel market," he told the seminar.

"Now the country has a very liberal investment climate. It takes, for instance, just three days for a foreign investment registration and there is no discrimination between foreign and local private investors. Hundred percent foreign investment as well as joint ventures with local partners are allowed here," Iqbal said.

Considering the problems facing by the textile sector, he said, "Whatever might be the problems ahead of us, the trend of our progress in this sector shows that a new generation of entrepreneurs have emerged."

He hoped that the present rate of development in the overall textile sector in the country will continue and the country's foreign currency earning from RMG export would cross 5 billion US dollars before 2010.

Textiles and Jute Secretary Abdur Rashid Sarker presided over the opening session. Officials from different ministries, representatives from EU, UNIDO, BQSP, BTMA, BGMEA, BKMEA and BIFT attended the seminar.

Different issues such as spinning, weaving, dying, knitting and quality control came up for discussion in five sessions of the seminar.

Later, an agreement was signed between NITTRAD and Niederrhein University of Germany to upgrade the education and training facilities of NITTRAD.

Marie Louise Klotz, Dean of the department of Textile and Clothing of Niederrhein University, and Shamsul Alam, principal of NITTRAD, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.