 I wanted to come to this country for long time: Kailash Kher |  Bijori Barkatullah: When beauty complements dramatics |  Farida Omar Laura - Singing chariot |  Faisal and Joya |
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the services of heroic army and police personnel of Bangladesh would continue in the UN peacekeeping missions and in other diplomatic endeavours to ensure a peaceful and prosperous world for the next generations.
"Inshallah, we will take all necessary measures to send more army and police to the peacekeeping missions for this purpose. The present government will do its best…" she said while addressing a function marking the International Day of UN Peacekeepers-2009 at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre this afternoon.
"We want peace, not conflict," Sheikh Hasina said explaining the foreign policy of Bangladesh that speaks of friendship to all. Bangladesh peacekeeping activities have been playing an important role in achieving this goal, she added.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hasan Mahmud, Chief of Army Staff General Moeen U Ahmed and UN Resident Coordinator in Dhaka Renata Dessallien also addressed the function highlighting the role of Bangladesh in UN peacekeeping missions.
Referring to the Awami League-led government from 1996 to 2001, Sheikh Hasina said, "We have set up the Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training (BIPSOT) at Rajendrapur so that our members of the armed forces could discharge their duties smartly."
She said Bangladesh's peacekeepers have been earning respect and gratitude of people of many countries, improving Dhaka's ties with the allies of peace efforts across the globe. The rank and file of the Bangladesh Army has been adjusted with the international standard to further strengthen our involvement in the UN peacekeeping missions, she said.
Bangladesh Army joined the family of "Blue Helmet" participating the UNIIMOG in 1988 with 15 military observers that was followed by Bangladesh Police in 1989 and Bangladesh Navy and Air Force in 1993.
Besides, Bangladesh completed 45 out of 63 peacekeeping missions participated by 81,415 peacekeepers from the country. Currently, 92,655 troops and police personnel are working on UN peacekeeping operations in 20 countries.
Of them, 9,409 peacekeepers are from Bangladesh working in 13 UN peacekeeping missions. Bangladesh is the second largest contributing country in UN peacekeeping missions in terms of the number of army personnel deployed and first in terms of the number of police personnel.
Earlier, a one-minute silence was observed to pay respect to those who sacrificed their lives, suffered grievous injuries for the cause of peace in distant faraway lands.
The prime minister prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls of the martyred army offices of BDR carnage and also paid her profound respect to the greatest Bangalee of all time Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman under whose leadership the nation earned the independence.
Among others, Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral ZU Ahmed, Chief of Air Staff Air Marshall SM Ziaur Rahman, Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division Lt Gen Md Abdul Mubin, Inspector General of Police Noor Mohammad were present.
In 1947, the UN first used military personnel in the consular commission in Indonesia and in the special committee in the Balkan area. The first UN peacekeeping operation took place in 1956 with the UN Emergency Force in the middle east. Many peacekeeping missions were launched with Bangladesh's participation since the 80s.
The prime minister distributed gallantry awards among the wives of those who were killed and injured in different incidents during their peacekeeping missions. A total of 91 valiant sons of the soil laid down their lives till to date for the cause of world peace.
Sheikh Hasina said, "We have also taken steps to send Integrated Brigade to the peacekeeping operations. On my personal initiative, recruitment of women officers in the army started for the first time during our previous tenure and many of them are still serving in the UN peacekeeping missions successfully."
She said her government in 1996-2001 also implemented vast programmes to further strengthen the armed forces and ensure their qualitative improvement. Those programmes included formation of a composite brigade, an infantry brigade in Sylhet, a special works brigade including a construction battalion, a riverine engineering battalion, a support battalion, an ordnance company and a field ambulance.
Source: BSS, Dhaka
Read more...Rejecting the government probe report on BDR carnage, BNP yesterday demanded formation of a powerful all-party parliamentary committee to identify the perpetrators, planners and behind-the-scenes instigators of the carnage.
The main opposition party also called for making the army probe report on the incident public. If the government feels embarrassed about the content of the army probe report, at least a restricted session in parliament could be held to discuss the report.
Addressing a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club, BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain on the government probe report said, "The report on such a grave national disaster is nothing but a mockery. We reject the essay. The investigation committee has failed to reveal anything."
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia Wednesday night in an instant reaction to the government probe report said, "It is unacceptable that they [the government] made public parts of the report which suit them."
Delwar came down heavily on the proposal to change the name and uniform of the border guards. "It is nothing but a bad idea of the government. Why so much focus on the name putting aside the real incidents?"
Terming the published portion of the probe report "no report", he said the government has published only the part of the report that goes to its favour.
Urging the government to publish full reports of all committees that are probing or have probed the incident, he said they along with the people of the country are frustrated at the fact that the government investigation committee could not reveal anything and only wasted time and public money.
He said the government committee framed BNP leader Nasir Uddin Ahmed Pintu in the incident but said nothing about Torab Ali of Awami League. Their report did not say anything about the meetings between the ministers and leaders of the government and the mutineers, Delwar said, adding that the "Pintu-story" was fabricated to hide facts.
BNP standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, party chief's adviser Brig Gen (retd) ASM Hannan Shah, Joint Secretary General Mirza Abbas, lawmaker Barkat Ullah Bulu and BNP Office Secretary Rizvi Ahmed were present at the press conference.
Sources:
News: The Daily Star
Photo: Focus Bangla
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni yesterday said she has been attending international conferences and meeting with foreign leaders to garner support for the government's move to try the war criminals of 1971.
She said Pakistan appears to be unwilling to see the trial of war criminals fearing embarrassment and is eager to hold talks with Bangladesh on the issue.
She also said the influx of Rohingya refugees is not a new phenomenon; the Rakhine people have been intruding into Bangladesh since long.
Dipu was speaking at a press briefing at the foreign ministry prior to leaving Dhaka for Singapore to attend a conference.
She said she met with Pakistan's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Nawabzada Malik Ahmad Khan on May 24 during the OIC foreign ministers' meeting in Damascus and that at the OIC summit she urged Islamabad to try Pakistani war criminals to meet international obligation.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hasan Mahmud and other senior foreign ministry officials were also present at the briefing.
Source: The Daily Star
Read more...Relief insufficient, people in remote places remain unfed for 4 days
In the aftermath of cyclone Aila, thousands of villagers in Bagerhat, Satkhira, Khulna, Bhola and Noakhali now cry for food and drinking water for survival, as relief operations are insufficient to deal with the enormity of the situation.
People, living in remote areas, are the worst-sufferers, as relief materials could not reach them even after four days of the cyclone Aila that smashed the coastal belt on Monday (May 25), UNB correspondents report after visiting different affected places.
In some places, people are forced to drink polluted water to quench their thirst.
Diarrhea has broken out in the cyclone-hit areas and it may soon take epidemic form unless the government provides water purification tablets and medicines to people in such areas.
Medical teams are not sufficient to treat hundreds of diarrhea patients. Four people have so far died of diarrhea in Satkhira, reports UNB correspondent.
Food and Disaster Management Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque had nearly a four-hour meeting till 1:00am on Friday in Satkhira with the local administration to ensure supply of relief materials for Aila victims.
Lt Col Zillur Rahman, who is coordinating the army relief activities in Satkhira, told the meeting in presence of Food and Disaster Management Minister that relief did not reach many remote areas when the government officials claimed sending relief materials to each remote area.
"A woman dropped to my foot and begged simply for a bottle of water to give her kid who remained unfed for the last three days," the colonel said while narrating the actual scenario of relief distribution.
UNB Bhola correspondent said many people remain half-fed for the last three days. "Some local NGOs are working with the government but supply of relief materials is very poor," he said.
Many people were stranded in some 20 isolated chars where government relief has not reached yet.
UNB Khulna correspondent said people were not prepared for such disaster. People's misery has doubled, as the government could not send the cyclone warning quickly, like it had done before the cyclone SIDR.
He said over 200 people are still missing in Khulna and survivors in remote areas are crying for food and water.
A resident in Hatiya of Noakhali told UNB that three navy ships have distributed relief packets containing 500 grams of chira (flattened rice), one candle and a bottle of water.
They distributed 250 such packets at Tamruddin union and 125 each at Char King union and Sukhchar on Wednesday, he said adding that the relief was too scanty to meet the demand.
Amena Begum, a 63-year-old woman at Padmapukur union in Satkhira, said: "I can't express my grief, everything seems meaningless. How can I survive as my key means of earning, a cow, has died. Also I'm homeless now."
Mamunur Rahman, another cyclone victim from the same union, said he is in great trouble, unable to manage food for his three-member family. He said he had been given meager relief only once.
"I can't say how I feel when my three-year-old child Nazma cries for food. I can't do anything," he said, adding that he would manage to survive with his family if drinking water could be found.
A similar scenario prevailed everywhere, as the correspondents found while talking to dozens of people in Bhola, Satkhira, Khulna and Hatiya.
Most of the people were seen crying for water, food and fuel to cook foods.
Diarrhoea has broken out in the cyclone-hit coastal areas of Bagerhat, Khulna, Satkhira, Bhola and Hatiya for lack of safe drinking water. Inadequate medical teams and medicines have made the situation critical, UNB correspondents said.
Satkhira Civil Surgeon Dr Md Ebadullah told the reporters that 37 medical teams are working in the affected areas of the district.
Sources:
News: UNB, Dhaka
Photo: Focus Bangla
Diarrhoea has broken out in the cyclone Aila-hit coastal areas of Satkhira, Khulna, Bagerhat, Bhola and Hatiya for lack of safe drinking water.
At least four people have been reported to have died of diarrhoea in the cyclone affected district of Satkhira alone yesterday, according to local officials.
The dead were identified as Abdul Wahab of Mirganj village in Shymnagar upazila, his son Khokan, and Wasek Ali and Mostafa Kazi of Protabnagar village in Ashashuni upazila.
Medical teams working in cyclone hit areas fear an outbreak of waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea and typhoid from a lack of clean drinking water. Many village wells have been submerged by salty water, making them unfit for drinking, they said.
Local UP chairmen, members and leaders also said diarrhoea and skin disease were breaking out in the area as flood waters became stagnant and polluted.
They say that many in the storm-hit areas now face acute clean water shortages as floodwater becomes stagnant and polluted.
Meanwhile, inadequate medical teams and medicines have made the situation critical.
Doctors say they fear an acute outbreak of diarrhoea after the cyclone hit the south and south western part of the country on Monday. At least 176 people died in the cyclone while hundreds of people are made homeless.
Medical chief of Khulna district Lutfur Rahman Khan told reporters that there is an acute shortage of drinking water and as a result diarrhoea has broken out, days after the cyclone hit in the region.
"The situation is bad and it's a race against time to prevent a full-scale epidemic from breaking out," he said
Dr Khan said drinking water is in short supply and the salty water could not be treated with purification tablets and water-treatment facilities brought in by the army were also unable to purify sea water.
Sources said thousands of villagers in Bagerhat, Satkhira, Khulna, Bhola and Noakhali now cry for food and drinking water for survival, as relief operations are insufficient to deal with the enormity of the situation.
People, particularly those living in remote areas, are the worst-sufferers, as relief materials could not reach them even after four days of the cyclone.
Our Satkhira Correspondent said medical teams are not sufficient to treat hundreds of diarrhea patients.
Minister for Food and Disaster Management Dr Abdur Razzaque had nearly a four-hour meeting yesterday in Satkhira with the local administration to ensure supply of relief materials for Aila victims.
Lt Col Zillur Rahman, who is coordinating the army relief activities in Satkhira, told the meeting that relief did not reach many remote areas when the government officials claimed sending relief materials to each remote area.
"A woman dropped to my foot and begged simply for a bottle of water to give her kid who remained unfed for the last three days," the colonel said.
Bhola correspondent many reported people were stranded in isolated chars of the district where government relief had not reached yet.
Sources:
News: The New Nation
Photo: Focus Bangla
The total population of the country will rise up to 19 crore by 2021 which will create enormous crises if proper and pragmatic policies in agriculture and industrial sectors are not adopted soon.
The observation was made by speakers at a discussion meeting on 'golden jubilee in poverty free Bangladesh' organised by Protashya 2021 at the National Press Club yesterday.
The speakers said the vital challenge for the country is proper manipulation of its vast population with limited resources as population is increasing alarmingly but resources are not. According to the observation of the United Nation, country's total population will rise up to 19 crore by 2021. The target of achieving millennium development goal may be foiled if policies are not be adopted soon.
Around 80 percent people of the country are directly or indirectly involved with agriculture. People throughout the country are seriously affected by microfinance activities. Initiatives are taken by numbers of organisations but poverty could not be eradicated. In a move to free the country from poverty, hunger and corruption, government alongwith youths of the country, representative of different communities and development partners will have to look forward for setting up policies immediately, the speakers also said.
They further said like garments, country's leather, plastic, electronic and agro-based products as well as skilled manpower in these areas should be focused to different foreign countries. Good numbers of students have been completing studies every year but job opportunities for them are not increasing due to lack of updated and time-befitting policies. Politics, bureaucracy, nepotism and faulty and outdated education policies are creating a vacuum in different important sectors in the country. Awareness in these regards will have to be raised, they added.
AL lawmaker Asaduzzaman Noor said the government is committed to continue its efforts to free the country from poverty and hunger. Regarding demands of people and youth, he said it is easy to define determination but difficult to find out an individual who can work with determination, dedication and accountabilities. People will have to change their attitudes for becoming responsible persons.
Standard and quality of local level education is bad. Teachers at rural level schools are being appointed by managing committee members through exchanging bribe. These are happening also at higher level education institutions. As result, the vulnerability of education is increasing alarmingly.
"We will discuss about these issues during parliamentary standing committee meeting for finding out solutions. We will also take steps for achieving targets through proper and pragmatic policies," he added.
Source: The Bangladesh Today
Read more...It is not the farmers, but the traders are reaping the benefits of public procurement of rice as the peasants are selling paddy at much lower prices than the government's fixed rate in this Boro season due to the present procurement system.
Rice millers and traders have already purchased good amounts of paddy from farmers at Tk 350-450 per maund for milling and selling to the government, which started buying rice at Tk 22 per kg, non-boiled (atap) rice at Tk 21 while paddy at Tk 14 from May 1.
Targeting 12 lakh tonnes to be procured by September, the government will buy 1.5 lakh tonnes paddy, 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes non-boiled rice while the rest will be normal rice. By this time, the government has procured only around 400 tonnes of paddy.
As per government price, each maund paddy should fetch Tk 560, but farmers in the major rice-growing northern districts are selling paddy at around Tk 400 while at Tk 450 in Comilla.
Though the government has fixed the comparatively high procurement prices this season to safeguard farmers' interests, agronomists said the subsidy will mainly go to the traders' pockets as the government is procuring rice and paddy mainly from the millers and traders.
Farmers said they are compelled to sell paddy to the traders and millers during the peak harvesting period to pay back their loans, which they took to buy agricultural inputs.
Read more...The main feature of Bangladesh's second practice was some inspired batting and the Tigers really made it a joy-filled afternoon's cricket for the few hundred that came to the St. Lawrence Ground.
Crossing 200 is a remarkable feat in a T20 match no matter who the opponents are but Bangladesh made it look easy after only 3 runs had come from the first two overs. In the 206 for 6 the Tiger made there were 18 fours and 10 sixes and the Netherlands to their credit didn't fare too bad either and had 14 boundaries and 5 sixes in their innings of 142.
Back to the match and Mohammad Ashraful's 40-ball onslaught that brought 69 runs (11x4) was complimented by the blitz from Mahmud Ullah (56 off 37; 3x4, 4x6) and then Rokibul Hassan (27 not out off 12; 1x4, 3x6) and Mushfiqur Rahim (24 off 8; 3x6). Ashraful cut the ball fiercely and only took the aerial route when the field was in. All the batsmen preferred the shorter boundary on the side of the spectators' stand and the flatness of the wicket ensured a spectacle for the fans.
“It was a fine effort. We just kept on going till the end and in this form of the game you need to do that. Netherlands may not be the strongest opposition but you still have to clear the boundary and pick the gaps. Almost everyone had a good hit out there and that would give confidence to the boys,” said captain Ashraful who also lauded the spirit in the side.
“We had to travel a total of nearly five hours both ways for the match but the boys never let that bother them and look fit and eager. There is a lot of talking in the field and good movement,” said Ashraful.
Mahmud Ullah has been a revelation on the tour so far and followed up his 43 in the first match with another good innings here. “I have been given an opportunity at number five and this is my chance to make that spot mine. So far I have been able to execute what I have been training to do and batting has been enjoyable. I am trying to pick a run every ball and hit big shots when the opportunity is there. You can never slow down in a T20,” said Mahmud Ullah.
Perhaps the only concern for the Tigers would be the fact that they allowed Netherlands to score at nearly 9 runs an over. “This can happen when you have put on such a big score. The boys tend to relax a little and that shows in the fielding and bowling. But we put Rubel (Hossain) in and he got four wickets and Mashrafe (Mortaza) was also impressive. The players I am sure will maintain intensity throughout in the coming games,” Ashraful said.
Rubel was quick and hostile and had slipped in the bouncer with good effect every now and then. Two short-pitched balls fetched him wickets and he also sent the middle stump of Netherlands captain Jeroen Smits cart wheeling with a yorker.
Read more...
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is going to observe 28 th death anniversary of shaheed president Ziaur Rahman, founder of the party today in a befitting manner.
Posts
All Comments
© news by Newspaper by polnews24.com 2010
Back to TOP
