Tag: The Daily Star

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National

Families of Teknaf ‘Gunfight’ Victims: The false hope of ‘public hearing’

Families of
Families of

People taking turns to talk on a particular issue, placing testimonials, and administrators listening cautiously and coming up with certain commitments publicly is how a public hearing takes place.

And people in Teknaf turned up at the office of the in-charge of Rohingya Camp-23 at 10:00am yesterday expecting something like this.

But a public hearing is not what they got. At 11:25am, a high-level investigation committee, formed by the home ministry to investigate the killing of Major (retd) Sinha Rashed Khan in police firing, began a closed-door meeting at the office in Shamlapur area, only with a handful of preselected persons. The meeting continued till 4:40pm and those persons were sent home through a back door.

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National

FM seeks cooperation from diplomats in bringing back Bangabandhu’s killers

FM seeks
FM seeks

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Sunday sought cooperation from foreign diplomats in bringing back fugitive killers of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

He was addressing a virtual discussion with foreign diplomats stationed in Dhaka and New Delhi marking the National Mourning Day to commemorate the 45th anniversary of martyrdom of Father of the Nation.

Law Minister Anisul Huq and State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam also spoke at the discussion while Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen delivered the welcome remarks. 

Around 83 diplomats stationed in Dhaka and New Delhi joined the discussion hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

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Business

For China’s landlords, rent-to-riches dreams fade in red flag for fragile economy

For China’s
For China’s

Not yet 30, Beijing office worker Li thought she was already on her way up China’s private property ladder with two apartments bought and rented out. Then came the new coronavirus, jobless tenants leaving town and a rent falloff.

She’s one of millions of Chinese landlords who have bought apartments to let in a highway to the country’s growing middle class, many now facing a first slump in rental income.

Analysts say there’s little prospect of widespread mortgage defaults for now, and property prices continue to grow, albeit more slowly. But the rental woes underline China’s economic fragility, with the landlord legions already cutting back on spending amid their gloom.

Li, who declined to give her full name, said she had to almost halve the rent at one of her apartments between February and May to hang on to a tenant, while her own salary was slashed 25 per cent as her employer made coronavirus cutbacks.

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Business

Lufthansa cabin crew union members back cost cut deal

Lufthansa cabin
Lufthansa cabin

Cabin crew at Lufthansa have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a deal to stop pay rises and cut hours, the UFO trade union said on Saturday as the German airline battles to rein in losses due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Lufthansa reached the deal in June with UFO, which represents 22,000 cabin crew, to reap more than 500 million euros ($592.05 million) in savings from shorter hours and an equivalent cut in pay as well as a temporary reduction in pension contributions.

Last week, the airline put German workers on notice of compulsory layoffs, saying the slump in travel and slow progress in union negotiations meant cuts were unavoidable after the carrier lost 1.7 billion euros in a single quarter.

Lufthansa, which in June received a 9 billion euro government bailout to secure its future, said last week it expected capacity to recover to only around 50% of normal by the end of 2020 and to two thirds of last year’s level in 2021.

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Business

Malaysian economy shrinks most in over 20yrs

Malaysian economy
Malaysian economy

Malaysia’s economy suffered its worst contraction in more than 20 years during the second quarter, hit by a collapse in global trade and tough curbs to contain the coronavirus, the central bank said Friday.

The economy shrank 17.1 percent on-year in April-June — the first since the global financial crisis in 2009 and the deepest since the Asian financial turmoil 11 years before that — putting it on course for recession.

The reading was much worse than the 10.9 percent drop forecast in a survey by Bloomberg News, despite interest rates being cut to record lows.

It shrank 16.5 percent on-quarter.Wan Suhaimi Saidi, an economist at Kenanga Investment Bank, warned that the trade-dependent economy was  “heading into a recession since there is no sign of a full recovery in demand and business activity”.

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National

Health Sector Syndicate: Strange laxity let it off hook

Health Sector
Health Sector

Motazzaroul Islam Mithu might not have come this far had the Anti-Corruption Commission exercised due diligence years back.

Mithu, who has several medical equipment supplying companies including Lexicon Merchandize and Meditech Imaging Ltd, controls the tenders in the health sector, according to a letter of former CMSD director Brig Gen Md Shahidullah.

The syndicate of Mithu looted about Tk 450 crore without supplying any medical equipment to the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital, reads the letter issued to the public administration ministry on May 30.

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National

Families claim children were ‘murdered’ at Jashore correctional facility

Families claim
Families claim

Family members of seventeen-year-old Abu Naeem and twenty-one-year-old Rasel alias Sujon, who died at Jashore Child Development Centre yesterday, claimed that it was not a clash. The families have alleged that their children were murdered by the authorities of the correction centre.

Subeda Bibi (60), Rasel’s mother said her son was serving his time for what his crimes in the past. “But why did the people in the correction centre kill my son?” she asked. She also said her son was taken to hospital at 8:30pm even though the incident took place at 2:00pm.

Rasel’s sister-in-law Fahima Akter Tania said Rasel had secured bail from the court last Thursday and was set to be released from the correction centre coming Sunday.

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National

Two alleged wildlife smugglers held with lizard in Khulna

Two alleged
Two alleged

KHULNA, Aug 13, 2020 (BSS) – Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Wednesday arrested two alleged wildlife smugglers from Batiaghata upazila in Khulna along with a valuable wild lizard (gecko).

The arrested are Ariful Islam alias Sagar, 42, son of Rostom Ali, hailed from Rupsha Strand Road in the city and Milon Sheikh, 34, son of Abdur Rob Sheikh, of Aruadanga village under Fakirhat Police Station of Bagerhat, said a RAB-6 press release.

On secret information, a team of RAB conducted a drive at Katianagla village under Gangarampur union in the upazila and arrested the two wildlife smugglers when they were selling a valuable gecko to a customer around 4.30pm.

The RAB members also recovered a gecko from the smugglers while the customer managed to flee, the press release also said.

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Business

Industries not to be set up here and there: BIDA meeting

Industries not
Industries not

DHAKA, Aug 13, 2020 (BSS) – The National Steering Committee on Ease
of Doing Business today held discussions to take decision on not to
let industries to be set up here and there, rather separate zones
would be allocated for separate industries.

This was discussed at a virtual National Steering Committee meeting
on Ease of Doing Business organized by Bangladesh Investment
Development Authority (BIDA).

Chaired by Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Commerce Minister
Tipu Munshi, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Local Government Minister
Md Tajul Islam, PM’s Adviser on Private Industry and Investment Salman
F Rahman, State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain,
State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, State Minister
for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid and BIDA
Executive Chairman M Sirajul Islam joined the meeting, among others,
said a Finance Ministry press release.

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Sports

Feels good to know Sri Lanka tour is confirmed: Soumya

Feels good
Feels good

Bangladesh opener Soumya Sarkar said after today’s individual practice session at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur that he felt very good to know that the Tigers’ upcoming tour of Sri Lanka has now been confirmed. 

Bangladesh were originally scheduled to play a three-Test series in Sri Lanka in July-August before the series was postponed. After months of discussion between the two concerned boards — BCB and SLC — it was yesterday confirmed through a media release that the Bangladesh national team will return to competitive cricket following a break imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, through their tour of Sri Lanka, slated to begin with a Test series from October 24. 

“Obviously it feels good to know that cricket is going to resume. It used to make me sad seeing England play although it was also a good feeling to see international cricket has returned. Yesterday we learned that our tour [to Sri Lanka] has been confirmed

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