The New Nation - Internet Edition

New Chief National Commissioner of Bangladesh Scouts

BSS, Dhaka

Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Md Abul Kalam Azad has been elected the Chief National Commissioner of the Bangladesh Scouts.

The election was held at the national special council meeting at Mouchak of Gazipur on Saturday.

In the special council of the Bangladesh Scouts, councilors also elected Md Momtajul Islam as the president, SM Jahrul Islam as the vice-president and Md Abdul Quyyum Thakur as the treasurer for the next three persons.

Azad is the first ever 'President's Rover Scout' award winner in Bangladesh in 1978. He also received the highest award Silver Tiger of the Bangladesh Scouts for his outstanding contributions to scouting. He is a member of the Asia Pacific Regional Scout Programme Committee.

Azad served the Bangladesh Scouts for about 16 years.

President greets his Belarus counterpart

BSS, Dhaka

President Prof Dr Iajuddin Ahmed on Wednesday greeted his counterpart of Belarus Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko on the occasion of the independence day of the republic.

Prof Iajuddin in a message to the Belarus president expressed his firm belief that the existing friendly relations between Bangladesh and Belarus would be developed further in the coming years.

He also conveyed his wishes for good health, long life and happiness of Lukashenko, and continued peace, progress and prosperity of people of the republic of Belarus.

BSB realizes Tk 98 cr loan

BSS, Dhaka

Bangladesh Shilpa Bank (BSB) realized about Tk. 98 crore loan, including Tk. five crore 28 lakh and Tk. 12 crore from classified loan and write off loan respectively, during the FY 2007-08, which was 8 percent higher than the recovery target.

According to BSB press release, the bank during the FY sanctioned loan of Tk. 56 crore 23 lakh to 19 projects which will create employment opportunities for about 1040 persons.

During the same period, the BSB disbursed loan amounting to Tk. 37 crore against 43 projects. At the same time 20 projects liquidated their loan accounts with the bank.

The bank repaid about Tk. 58 crore 48 lakh to Bangladesh Bank, government and other agencies towards Debt Service Liability (DSL).

CA greets Belarus PM

BSS, Dhaka

Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed on Wednesday greeted Prime Minister Sergei Sergeevich Sidorsky of Belarus on the occasion of the Independence Day of the Republic.

"Bangladesh enjoys excellent bilateral relations with Belarus and is committed to further strengthen and deepen the close ties existing between the two countries," the chief adviser said in a message to his Belarus counterpart.

"I have firm conviction that the existing bonds of friendship between our two countries will further flourish in the years ahead," he added.

Dr Fakhruddin conveyed his best wishes for good health, long life and happiness of the Prime Minister and continued peace, progress and well being of the people of the Republic of Belarus.

Tree plantation programme opens at BUET

BSS, Dhaka

A massive tree plantation programme was inaugurated on the campus of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) on Tuesday under the aegis of Rotary Club of Dhanmondi, Dhaka.

BUET Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr A.M.M. Safiullah opened the programme as the chief guest by planting a sapling with a view to increasing beauty of the university campus as well as maintaining ecological balance.

Earlier, a discussion meeting on tree plantation was held at BUET Council Bhaban chaired by Rtn Dr Syed Mukarram Ali, president of Rotary Club of Dhanmondi.

District Governor Rtn Md. Hafizullah, Rtn A. M. Rafiqur Rahman, Rtn Md. Eskender Hayet, Rtn Kamal Rahman, Rtn Md. Nurul Islam, Rtn Md. Nurul Haque, Rtn Prof Golam Rahman, Rtn Anwarul Hakim, Prof M.A. Rouf, Dean of Faculty of Civil Engineering Prof M. Mazharul Hoque, Director, Accident Research Institute (ARI), BUET Prof M. Quamrul Islam, Dr Maglub Al-Nur, Prof A.A. Md. Rezaul Haque, Prof M.A. Rashid Sarkar, Prof Aminul Hoque, Md. Shahjahan (Registrar) and Superintending Engr M.M. Abdul Alim were present on the occasion.

A total of 1,100 saplings were handed over to BUET by Rotary Club of Dhanmondi.

Cancellation of overseas debts of Bangladesh urged

BSS, Dhaka

Campaign for Good Governance (CGG), an NGO, on Wednesday called upon the international community, particularly the G-8 countries, to cancel overseas debts of Bangladesh and consider those as grants.

The CGG leaders made the call at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity on the eve of the forthcoming G-8 summit.

CGG President Abdul Awal, Chief Executive Officer Pradip Kumar Roy, researchers Monwar Mostafa and Mohammad Shahid Ullah addressed the press conference.

In a written speech, Shahid Ullah said the lending countries must have to shoulder the responsibility of the problems arising from the loans and waive the debts unconditionally.

He recommended determining duration of the credits of poor countries in line with Millennium Development Goals (MDG) compatible structure in the place of the World Bank-IMF directed structure.

According to CGG research papers, Bangladesh had to spend more money to pay overseas loans compared to its expenditures in education and health sectors in the last few years.

In 2007, Bangladesh spent US$ 1551.3 million to repay foreign loans, which was 18 percent of government's total expenditure and 2.8 percent of GDP in that year. Expenditure in education and heath sectors in that year were 16.5 percent and 7.4 percent respectively.

The press conference was told that increasing expenditure in the service sector in Bangladesh is crucial to attain the MDGs.

The burden of overseas debts is hampering the country's efforts to attain the MDGs.

Referring to the challenges of climatic changes, the CGG leaders said Bangladesh does not have adequate resources and ability to face the challenges. Bangladesh is one of the most risky counties to be affected by sea level rise due to the climatic changes.

They urged the rich countries to fulfil their commitment by giving 0.7 percent of their national income as development assistance to the poor countries.

Unicef team meets BCB officials

BSS, Dhaka

A Unicef team headed by acting representative of Unicef Bangladesh met officials of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) here on Wednesday and discussed with them sports for development Issues, said a press release.

It said the meeting was organized as preparation for the visiting UK national committee for Unicef to see the sports development work currently supported by Unicef or of interest to Unicef which believes that cricket in Bangladesh is a perfect platform for initiating such endeavours.

Monowar Anis Khan, chairperson of women's wing, and Ishtiaque Ahmad, acting chairman of game development, attended the meeting on behalf of the BCB.

BEI researcher gets: Ross Goobey scholarship

BSS, Dhaka

Md Rashedur Rahman, Research Associate, Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI), was awarded the inaugural Alastair Ross Goobey Memorial Scholarship by the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) and Hermes Fund Managers, UK.

The scholarship was awarded by the Alastair Ross Goobey Memorial Fund at the 2008 ICGN annual conference held on June 18- 20, 2008 in Seoul, South Korea, said a BEI press release here on Wednesday.

The theme of the 2008 ICGN Annual Conference was the "Globalization of capital markets impact on corporate governance." The conference was attended by nearly 400 delegates from nearly 50 countries.

The scholarship was established in memory of Alastair Ross Goobey, former chief executive officer (CEO) of the Hermes, one of the largest pension fund managers in the United Kingdom (UK) and pioneer and champion of the global corporate governance movement.

The annual scholarship aims to support emerging leaders in the field of corporate governance.

2 fallen Bangladeshi peacekeepers get UN award

BSS, Dhaka

The United Nations has awarded 90 fallen peacekeepers from 42 countries, including two from Bangladesh, the 'Dag Hammarskjold Medal'.

They lost their lives while serving in UN peacekeeping missions in 2007, an ISPR press release said here yesterday.

The medals were distributed by Jean-Marie Guehenno, under secretary-general of peacekeeping operations of the UN, in the Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium of the UN Headquarters in New York on May 30 last.

Brig Gen Ilyas Iftekhar Rasul, defence adviser of Bangladesh Permanent Mission to the UN, received the medals of Captain Md. Razibul Kabir and Shaineek Md. Shahab Uddin, who died while performing their duties in UN peacekeeping missions in Liberia and Democratic Republic of Congo respectively.

While handing over the medals to the Bangladesh representative, Guehenno highly praised the performance of Bangladeshi officers and men and thanked Bangladesh for its active support in UN peacekeeping operations.

In response, Brig Gen Ilyas assured him of Bangladesh's continuous support and cooperation for the UN peacekeeping operations.

In his statement, the under secretary-general said these brave individuals lost their lives during deployments in some of the most dangerous places on earth.

On the occasion of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers on May 29, 2008, a wreath-laying ceremony took place in the UN Headquarters honouring the fallen peacekeepers.

A poster was also published showing a soldier of Bangladesh on duty in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which reflects the true recognition of Bangladesh's contribution to the UN peacekeeping operations.

In a statement marking the day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "Peacekeeping has developed into a flagship enterprise of our organization. Today, we have more than 110,000 men and women deployed in conflict zones around the world. They come from nearly 120 countries - an all time high, reflecting confidence in UN peacekeeping."

Bangladesh is currently the world's second largest provider of troops and police to the UN with more than 9,000 serving in 14 peacekeeping operations, said the ISPR release.

CA's directive to stop road-digging in rainy season

BSS, Dhaka

Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed on Wednesday directed the ministries concerned to immediately stop road-digging in the capital during the current rainy season to reduce public sufferings.

Dr Fakhruddin expressed dissatisfaction over the road cutting and digging which bring tremendous public sufferings during the monsoon period by increasing traffic jam and water-logging in the city.

He asked the ministries concerned to make a list of the roads being excavated by the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and other construction agencies in this season.

Dr Fakhruddin also directed the authorities concerned to form an inquiry committee to find out causes of delay in implementing road construction projects, when permission was given and why the projects were piled up for the rainy season.