The New Nation - Internet Edition

Gen Moeen calls on President

Army chief General Moeen U Ahmed called on President
Prof Dr Iajuddin Ahmed at Bangabhaban yesterday. PID
photo

UNB, Dhaka

Chief of Army Staff General Moeen U Ahmed called on President Professor Dr Iajuddin Ahmed at Bangabhaban yesterday.

During the meeting, the Army Chief apprised the President of the ongoing development activities undertaken by the Bangladesh Army.

President Iajuddin expressed his satisfaction at the progress in the preparation of voter lists by the Bangladesh Army and in implementing its different development works.

Emerging out of the meeting, General Moeen told the reporters that it was a part of his routine to inform the President, who also holds the charge of Defence Ministry, about the ongoing activities and development works undertaken by the Bangladesh Army.

Military Secretary to the President Major General Mohd Aminul Karim, Secretary of the President's Office Md Sirajul Islam and President's Press Secretary Abdul Awal Howlader were present.

Protect Mehendiganj from erosion BSS, Dhaka Mehendiganj Rakkha Committee today called upon the caretaker government to take immediate steps to protect the people o

Members of Mehendiganj Rakkha Committee speaking at
a press conference with a call to protect Mehendiganj from
river erosion. NN photo

BSS, Dhaka

Country's industries sector registered 5.6 percent growth in the first seven months of the current fiscal 2007-08 compared to the same period in the previous fiscal.

During the first half of the fiscal the sector was affected by sluggish investment and low export oriented manufacturing activities, head of economic unit of Asian Development Bank (ADB) R K Khan told BSS on Monday.

"But in the second half it rebounded with an upturn in the export- oriented manufacturing and effective measures taken by the government to restore business confidence," he said.

The sign of recovery in the manufacturing activities is supported by restored business confidence, increased import of industrial raw materials, rebound in exports of garments and increased private sector credit, Khan said.

According to ADB's recent quarterly economic update, in only January this year, the production of medium and large-scale industries rose sharply by 16.7 percent against the same period in 2007.

The output of small-scale manufacturing, which caters mostly to the domestic market, also expanded by 7 percent in the first half of current fiscal over the same period of the fiscal 2006- 07, said the outlook.

After witnessing a slowdown over several months, the business community and other stakeholders got relieved when RMG, the premier export industry of the country, sharply rebounded in the third quarter of FY2007-08, Khan said.

The RMG sector, which makes up more than 75 percent of the country's export basket, pulled up the overall export earnings growth to 12.4 percent during July-March of the current fiscal.

The RMG sector could not able to manage that much order before January 2007 due to political confrontation which had made a depression in the RMG export in July to September of the last year, Khan pointed out.

Improvements in compliance and labour relations, return of business confidence, increasing efficiency of Chittagong Sea Port and appreciation of currencies in major competing countries including India, China and Vietnam are believed to be contributing to rising RMG orders in Bangladesh, he said.

Another study, conducted by economist Dr Selim Raihan, showed that the business confidence has improved during first quarter of this year compared to the last quarter of the last year.

Better business confidence has shown in RMG, financial institute and pharmaceutical sectors in the first three months of this year.

Apart from the growth trend, the ADB's outlook said the construction activities, which maintained a strong growth over the past years, is likely to show a downtrend in FY 2007-08 because of a sharp increase of the price of construction materials including mild steel rod, cement, brick, bitumen and paint.

Mig-29 scam case: Row over disclosure of defence-secret report: Next hearing on June 11: Gen Mustafiz’s bail extended

UNB, Dhaka

The court holding trial of ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the Mig-29 scam case yesterday witnessed a row over the prosecution's disclosure of a defence-secret report.

While proposing charge framing in the case, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) prosecutor stated in the court that the Director General, Defence Forces Intelligence (DGDFI), had raised objection to the purchase of Mig-29 aircraft as it was unnecessary and done by misusing state funds.

The prosecutor claimed there were sufficient grounds for framing charges against the accused.

He said, "It's a clear case of corruption committed through resorting to mala fide practice and abuse of power in a bid to derive personal gains."

The prosecutor submitted that the accused in collusion with one another entered into a shady deal on the defence purchase that incurred a huge amount of loss to the public exchequer.

As the prosecution divulged the DGDFI secret report on the government purchase of the Russian-made fighter jets, the principal accused, Sheikh Hasina, drew attention of the court and wondered how a state secret (defence intelligence report) could be made public for judicial scrutiny.

Former army chief Gen (retd) Mustafizur Rahman, a co-accused in the case, standing in the dock asked the prosecutor to tell who the boss of the DGFI was at that time.

Echoing the retired general's point, Hasina said the DGFI worked under her as she was head of government at the time and held the charge of the Ministry of Defence.

"Why and how the state secrecy is being made public for judicial scrutiny?" Hasina questioned.

Judge Golam Mortuza Majumdar asked the prosecutor to explain who gave the order to investigate the matter and when. "Was it a suo moto move?" the judge asked. The prosecutor had no answer.

During the debate on the disclosure of the state secrets, Hasina said it is the responsibility of government to well equip the armed forces, including the air force, to protect country's independence and sovereignty. "And, as a head of government, I did it. Is it a criminal offence?" she asked the court.

Explaining the reasons behind the buying of the supersonic warplanes, the former Prime Minister, also Awami League chief, said Bangladesh's policy is basically self-defensive. But, when the nation will come under attack from any external force, the air force must be well-equipped to face the aggression. And out of this conviction, she had bought the aircraft for the air force to fend off any external attack.

Defence counsel Barrister Shafique Ahmed told the court that there is no ingredient to frame charges against his client, Hasina. "This is a baseless and concocted case," he said.

Barrister Shafique said the quoted price of the 8 Mig-29 aircraft was US$ 289 million but the Hasina government fixed it at US $ 115 million through state-to-state negotiations, "saving a large amount of the taxpayers' money".

But, he said, the prosecution side did not mention any of these facts, and by doing so confused the court by furnishing only the "half-truth", which is contrary to justice.

Barrister Shafique also pointed out that the process of purchasing the Mig-29 aircraft was initiated during the BNP rule in 1991-96.

Call to ensure gender equality

Rafiqul Islam Azad, Comilla

Speakers at a workshop yesterday emphasised the need for ensuring gender equality in every sphere of life to expedite the overall development of the country.

Addressing the workshop, organised by the Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB), with the assistance of CIDA funded project Policy Leadership and Advocacy for Gender Equality (PLAGE), they also underlined the need for creating congenial environment for women so that they could exercise their rights.

Vice-chancellor of Comilla University Professor Dr. Golam Mowlah inaugurated the four-day workshop at the seminar room of Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) in Comilla with PIB Director General Mohammad Nazrul Islam in the chair.

Dr. Golam Mowla termed the gender equality issue very important saying that a positive change should be brought to eliminate gender discrimination. He said journalists can play a pioneering role in bridging gender gap.

Among others, the function was addressed by Socorro M Diaz, Field Manager of PLAGE-II and M Zakir Hossain, Director of PIB.

A total of 30 participants from different national dailies and agencies are taking part in the 4-day workshop which will end on Thursday.

Senior trainer of PIB M Aliur Rahman is working as coordinator of the workshop.

Deal to add another Boeing to Biman fleet

UNB, Dhaka

Biman Bangladesh Airlines signed a deal with Orient Thai to take a Boeing 747-300 aircraft under ACMI leasing system, as the national flag carrier is trying to stay afloat in the growing competition.

Biman officials discussed overall ingredients of the deal in meetings on Saturday and Sunday, and then signed the deal.

Acting managing director of Biman Tahir Hossain and executive director of Orient Thai Cho Tsnag signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations.

"The aircraft will arrive in Bangladesh on June 20 and we expect that it'll fly as our fleet aircraft within 3-4 days of its arrival," Biman General Manager (Planning) Md Belayet Hossain told UNB.

Sources said Biman will have to pay US$ 5,395 for per block hour for the Boeing 747-300 aircraft having 512 seats.

Earlier, a four-member technical team had gone to Bangkok to see the plane of the Thai aviation firm that won the bid for leasing it out to Biman. The team comprised three Biman officials and one Civil Aviation Authority official.

In a marathon meeting on April 20, the board of directors of Biman had decided to take on lease an aircraft from the Orient that quoted the lowest price. Another decision was taken to put Osborne Aeronautical Services on the second option for getting a Boeing 747 under ACMI lease system.

"After the overall report of the team, we've started negotiations with Orient Thai to sign an agreement," the Biman General Manager said.

He is hopeful of getting the aircraft on lease and adding to the existing fleet next month (June). The 512-capacity Boeing 747 will be incorporated under Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance (ACMI) lease process for one year.

This latest aircraft will be used to operate Biman's flights to Gulf and Middle-Eastern countries.

A tender was floated on March 10 seeking an aircraft manufactured not before 1980. Five international companies had responded to it.

Biman has recently taken on lease a 542-seat Boeing 747-200 from a Nigeria-based airline, Kabo Air, in a bid to minimize disruptions in its flight schedules.

The national flag carrier has long been facing serious problems in maintaining its flight schedules with barely 11 aircraft in its emaciated fleet-four DC10s-30s, four F28s and three A310-300s.

Of them, only four or five can fly everyday, while the rest were grounded due to technical glitches.

Biman has signed a long-range deal for the purchase of eight Boeing aircraft at a cost of US$ 1.265 billion. Four of those will be available in 2013 and four others in 2019.

'Insurance cos violating rules, cheating clients’

Staff Reporter

Commerce Secretary Firoz Ahmed yesterday came down heavily on the insurance executives for not following the insurance rules and playing foul with clients.

"Insurance is a matter of trust. If you do not give service to the clients on time, what's the benefit of doing insurance? People will dub insurance as cheating institution," he said at the Bima Padak-2008 awarding ceremony of the Bangladesh Insurance Executive Club (BIEC) in the city.

BIEC president ABM Nurul Haq presided over the ceremony held at the MCCI conference room. Chief Insurance Executive MA Ali Bhuiyan gave welcome speech.

Firoz accused most of the insurance companies of violating insurance rules and ignoring code of conduct. None of the companies demonstrate their commitment to code of conduct, he added.

He said most of the companies pay 60 per cent commission to the insurance agents defying the rules while permit only 20 per cent commission. Such practice hinders the expected growth, he noted. He was critical of dilly dally tactics of the companies in settling insurance claims.

The Commerce Secretary said insurance companies do not care about the client after opening of a policy. Sometimes insurance agents collect premium but do not deposit it to the company account. As a result, policyholders get cheated, he said.

Firoz said insurance sector is playing a vital role in economic development, industrialisation, agriculture development, rural poverty alleviation and employment generation.

"Insurance sector is contributing a lot to rural economy by involving poor people in the micro insurance," he said.

Last year Tk 5,800 crore of life fund has been invested in different sectors including real estate and stock market. As a result, like the banking sector, contribution of insurance sector to economy is increasing, he said.

Firoz Ahmed handed over crests to the eight insurance celebrities or their relatives for their contribution to the sector. The awardees are late Khuda Buksh, late Mujibur Rahman, late AKM Fazlul Huq (Mowla), late Golam Mowla, late MR Siddiqi, late Mustafizur Rahman Khan, late MA Samad, late Shafat Ahmed Chowdhury and Harunur Rashid.

Grisly incident!

Staff Reporter

Leaders of the Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights (BSEHR) yesterday expressed grave concern at a news report published by incident reported in different newspapers that a young girl was burnt alive after she refused to become a prostitute.

The ill-fated girl, Lata, 16, a housemaid and daughter of poor a tea-stall owner at Rangpur district town, was killed brutally by her so-called employer-Jahangir, who poured kerosene on her before setting her on fire. Attending doctors declared her dead, when locals took her to Rangpur Medical College Hospital in critical condition.

The grisly incident took place at the house of Jahangir at Keranipara area in Rangpur town recently. Police did not take any action against the perpetrator of the heinous crime although a case was lodged with the local thana.

Expressing frustration at the inaction of the law enforcers, BSEHR President Gias Kamal Chowdhury, Secretary General Nurul Islam Khan and Executive Director Elena Khan yesterday in a joint statement demanded exemplary punishment to the criminal, who killed the minor girl brutally.

They also urged the Government to nab all those, who assisted the perpetrator to commit the inhuman crime of burning a person alive.

Hasina’s health condition examined at Square hospital

UNB, Dhaka

Awami League president Sheikh Hasina was brought to Square hospital from the makeshift jail yesterday afternoon for treatment of her ears and eyes.

DIG (Prisons) Maj Shamsul Haider Siddique said a 4-member panels of specialist physicians examined her ears and eyes and gave her medicines.

Quoting eye specialist Dr Shah Alam, the DIG (Prisons) said the former Prime Minister developed allergy in her eyes for not using a prescribed medicine.

Other doctors are ENT specialist Dr Shahil Mahmud, Dr Sarwari Alam and Dr Mizanur Rahman. The doctors said overall health condition of Hasina is good but her ear problem remains unchanged. "It was a routine check-up," the Dig (Prisons) said.

Hasina was brought to the hospital at 3:20pm and sent back to the jail at about 5:30pm.

Measures taken to bring down price of MS rod

Staff Reporter

The Government yesterday made import of iron and scrap vessel, raw materials of MS rod open to all to bring rod price at a tolerable level.

To this effect the Ministry of Commerce through a statutory regulatory order changed the import policy order, a release of the Ministry said.

Following the order any company will be able to import scrap vessel for commercial purpose. Earlier, import of scrap vessel was allowed only for the industries, which uses scrap.

Meanwhile, the Government also repealed the mandatory membership of the Ship Breakers' Association for import of scrap vessels. Now any company willing to import scrap vessel will be allowed to do so without membership of the association, the release added.

6 killed, 25 hurt in Mymensingh road mishap

BSS, Mymensingh

Six persons including two women were killed and 25 others injured in a road accident at Roy Moni on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Trishal upazila today.

Critically injured 13 were admitted to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.

Police and locals said, the accident occurred when two passenger buses collided head on at Roy Moni under Trishal upazila at around 2.15 PM killing three persons on the spot and two on way to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital and one in the hospital. Police and RAB rushed to the spot and recovered the bodies.

Police could not identify the bodies immediately.

Summer fruits flood market, prices dear

Talha Bin Habib

Though different varieties of summer fruits have glutted the city markets their prices are still beyond the purchasing capacity of the common people.

Summer fruits like Mango, Jackfruits, Lichi and Kalo Jam are available in the markets in abundance, but common people can hardly afford to buy them because of their high prices.

The Bengali month of Jaistha is considered to be the month of delicious summer fruits. But overwhelming majority of the city dwellers have little access to them for their tight family budget, according to fruit traders.

The traders said the production of summer fruits across the country this year is satisfactory. But people belonging to higher income bracket are their major buyers, they noted.

Abdus Sakur, a private jobholder, said he has not yet been able to buy summer fruits for his three-member family. " I am just hoping that their prices will come down to a tolerable level in a couples of day and buy them for my children", he said.

Fruits wholesaler at the city's Sham Bazar and Karwarn Bazar said high transport cost makes the prices of fruits costlier this year.

They, however, hoped that the prices of Mango, Jackfruits and Lichi and other seasonal fruits would come down to an affordable level in a couple of days.

According to health experts, the summer fruits are not only delicious but also help cool down the body during blistering heat of the season. These fruits build immunisation against various summer diseases. Besides, summer fruits are the good sources of vitamin, minerals and enzymes, they informed.

As per the market survey yesterday different varieties of 'Mango' were selling at high prices. Langra and Chosha varieties were selling at Tk 80 to Tk 90 per kg while local quality was being sold at Tk 60 to Tk 70 per kg. A bundle of one hundred 'Lichi' was prices between Tk 200 and Tk 250 and one medium size of jackfruit cost Tk 60 to Tk 80.

House occupation case: Ex MP Akbar sent to jail

Sirajganj Correspondent

Former Member of Parliament (MP) and BNP leader Akbar Ali was sent to jail in an illegal occupation case after his bail petition was rejected yesterday.

According to the case report, Akbar Ali along with his hoodlums occupied forcibly one Asaduzzaman Dulal's house located at Jhukra in Ullapara pourasava under the district on February 4 in 2005.

Dulal lodged a case with the Ullapara police. After investigation, the police submitted charge sheet against Akbar Ali and 10 other accomplices.

Akbar was produced before the District Session's Judge Court yesterday. Judge Biplob Goshwami sent Akbar to jail rejecting his bail petition.

Release of political leaders demanded

Staff Reporter

Six organisations yesterday demanded release of all the political detainees including BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Moulana Matiur Rahman Nizami, who were apprehended in different cases, to overcome the present crisis.

Bangladesh Kabita Parishad, Bangladesh Writers Forum, Charoshilpi Sangothan, Recitation Forum, Group Theatre Sangstha and Sanskritik Morcha in a joint statement said immediate national election releasing all the political detainees is only way to overcome the present crisis.

Presidents and General Secretaries of the organisations said the government detained veteran politicians including Khaleda and Nizami in false case of corruption with a view to depoliticise is the leaders and make them, inactive.