The tenure of the service of Tofazzel Hossain Miah as the Principal Secretary to the prime minister, has been extended for one year. Tofazzel Hossain Mia has been reappointed as the principal secretary of the Prime Minister on contractual basis in continuation of his previous contact with the government and under the same conditions from July 5, 2024 or from the day of the his joining to the office, a public administration order today said. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
Training on quality seed potato production held in Gopalganj
A day-long training on "Quality seed potato production, collection, storage, quality control, pest management and expansion of new varieties" was held in the district today. The training was held in the conference room of the Bangladesh Agricultural Development (BADC) office in collaboration with the deputy director of BADC office of the district today. General Manager (Seeds) and Project Director Agriculturist Md. Abir Hossain digitally joined the training as the chief guest with BADC deputy director (TC) agriculturist Sanjay Kumar Debnath in the chair. Additional General Manager (CDP Crops) agriculturist Md. Moshabber Hossain, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Abdul Quader Sardar and executive engineer (irrigation) engineer of BADC Md. Azizul Islam spoke as special guests. In-charge and senior scientific officer of Gopalganj Agriculture Research Center Md. Mohsin Howladar, district seed certification officer Md. Rakibul Hasan and assistant director of BADC Md. Imam Hossain , among others, spoke. Seed potato growers and dealers of Gopalganj and Narail districts participated in the training. Later, prizes were distributed among the winners of the quiz competitions. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
Report in graft case against ex-CJ Sinha Sept 2
A court here today set September 2 for submitting probe report in a case against former Chief Justice Surendra Kumar (SK) Sinha filed for amassing illegal wealth through misuse of power. Judge Mohammad Ash Shams Jaglul Hossain of Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court set the date as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) failed to submit the report today. On October 10 in 2021, Deputy Director of the ACC Md Gulshan Anwar filed the case against SK Sinha for amassing wealth of Taka 7.14 crore on his brother and relative's names through misuse of power, transferring and handing over the properties. According to the case documents, SK Sinha, during his tenure as the chief justice, took a plot from Rajuk in Uttara Residential Area. Later, by misuse of power, he took another three-katha plot on his brother Narendra Kumar Sinha's name in Rajuk Purbachal Project. Later, he made the three-katha plot to a five-katha one and shifted the plot from Purbachal to Uttara Sector four. Justice SK Sinha is accused of giving power of attorney for this plot to one of his nephews Shankhajit Sinha. The ACC in its probe found that the former chief justice paid Taka 75 lakh to Rajuk against this plot and raised a nine-floor apartment complex on it at a cost of Taka 6.31 crore. The anti-graft body in its case said they did not find any legal source of earning for the money used in buying the plot and developing the apartment complex. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
One killed in Lalmonirhat road accident
A man was killed in a road accident on the Lalmonirhat-Rangpur highway in front of Jahangir Market under Sadar upazila of the district today. The deceased was identified as Nuruzzaman Munshi, 67, son of late Rajab Ali, resident of Dhaknai area of ??Ward No. 9 of Harati union under Sadar upazila of the district. He was an imam of Baitul Aqsa Jame Masjid in North Chini Para area of the upazila. The accident occurred when Nuruzzaman was coming to Jahangir Market riding a bicycle. On the way, an unidentified Lalmonirhat-bound passenger bus from Dhaka hit him around 8am, leaving him dead on the spot, officer-in-charge (OC) of Lalmonirhat Sadar Police Station Omar Farooq said. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
Sweden assures political support in resolving the Rohingya crisis
Sweden has reiterated its assurance of extending political support along with humanitarian assistance to resolve the prolonged Rohingya crisis. The assurance was made when outgoing Ambassador of Sweden to Bangladesh Alexandra Berg von Linde paid her farewell call on Foreign Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud at the latter's office today, a foreign ministry's press release said here. In reply, the foreign minister thanked the Swedish government for its humanitarian support to the forcibly displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh and its commitment towards resolving the crisis. During the meeting, Dr Hasan appreciated growing Bangladesh-Sweden trade and investment relations and sought Sweden's engagements with Bangladesh in ICT, skills development, and waste-2-energy sectors. The foreign minister lauded the Swedish envoy's efforts and contributions to further strengthening bilateral relations between the two friendly countries. He recalled with gratitude Sweden's recognition to Bangladesh as one of the earliest European c ountries, on 4 February 1972 and thanked the Swedish government for continued development cooperation support for Bangladesh over the last five decades. The Swedish Ambassador deeply appreciated the holistic support from the Bangladesh authorities in discharging her responsibilities. She stated that the visits of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Sweden in 2017 and Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden to Bangladesh, in her capacity as the Goodwill Ambassador for the UNDP, in March 2024 have deepened the bilateral relations between the two countries. Linde also shared her satisfaction on being able to witness the celebrations of the 50 years of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Sweden during her tenure in Bangladesh and hoped for expanded bilateral ties in the days ahead. Highlighting that robust presence of around 50 Swedish companies, including H and M, Scania, Volvo, Ericsson in Bangladesh, she suggested that Swedish companies with expertise in green-tech, smart city and sustaina ble solution could augment the capacities of Bangladesh, particularly in green transition, digital transformation, and smart city solutions. The Foreign Minister hoped that she would be Bangladesh's goodwill ambassador to Europe in the coming days. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
Shakib hits rock bottom in ICC T20 allrounder rankings
Shakib Al Hasan has moved down to his career low sixth spot in the ICC T20 rankings for the allrounder after a below-average performance in the ongoing World Cup for the shortest format of cricket. It's his lowest ranking in allrounder category since September 21, 2012. Shakib began the T20 World Cup, staying in his customary No. 1 position but due to his poor performance in the first week of the tournament, his ranking took a huge nosedive as he moved down to the fifth spot. Shakib performed poorly with both bat and ball in the game against Sri Lanka and South Africa in the group phase but hinted a return to form with a 46-ball-64 not out against the Netherlands. Bangladesh won that match and Shakib moved up to the third spot. The Tigers, as it was adorably called then beat Nepal without a significant contribution from Shakib to confirm Super 8 ticket. Shakib was expected to roll back his best years in the Super 8 phase, utilizing his huge experience, but that was not to be. In all three matches of that phase, he performed badly in both batting and bowling. Eventually, he finished with 111 runs in seven matches at a meager strike rate of 106.73 and took just three wickets. His poor performance played a vital role in his worst ranking ever in the last 12 years. Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga moved up to the top spot of the ICC all-rounder rankings in T20 format with 222 rating points, while Shakib now has 206 rating points. Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza, Australia's Marcus Stoinis, India's Hardik Pandya, and Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi were ahead of Shakib in the latest rankings. Mustafizur Rahma moved down to the 18th spot from the 14th, while his fellow pacer, Taskin Ahmed stayed at the 24th. Legspinner Rishad Hossain got the reward of his consistent performance as he advanced three spots to stay at 24th alongside Taskin. Towhid Hridoy, the best batter for Bangladesh in this T20 World Cup also got his rewards as he leapfrogged three spots to remain at 27th position. Liton Das saw the improvement of the fourth spot to be at 39th. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto also saw an advancement of seventh spot, while Mahmudullah is in the 81st spot. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
Bangladesh to return home Friday after disastrous T20 WC
The Bangladesh national cricket team is set to return to the country on Friday after a disastrous T20 World Cup campaign in the USA and West Indies. Bangladesh won three matches, the highest number of matches they won in a single T20 World Cup, but their performance was hugely criticized due to their lack of intent in the whole tournament. The Tigers started with a bang, beating Sri Lanka by two wickets in a thrilling contest but then suffered a four-run defeat to South Africa. They thereafter beat Netherlands and Nepal to confirm the ticket for the second round (Super 8) for only the second time in their history. All of those four matches they played in a slow wicket, which gave them a home like condition out of home. In all those matches, bowlers though thrived, whereas the batters' performance was terribly frustrating. However in better wicket in Antigua, they were outclassed by Australia and India but still got the chance to play the semi-final due to the tournament's surreal rules. Their bowlers bowl ed well in tandem to hold Afghanistan off to 115 in the crucial game and Bangladesh needed to chase it down in 12.1 overs to confirm the semi-final. Nevertheless, Bangladesh didn't show any intent to chase it down. Instead, they played risk-free cricket in a bid to win the match but still they lost it by eight runs on DLS. Their risk-free cricket earned a huge criticism not only back in country but also from the whole cricketing world. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
Japan to provide 495m yen to Bangladesh; deals signed
The government of Japan will provide an amount of 495 million Japanese Yen (equivalent to approximately Taka 35.25 crore or $3.21 million) for the project titled 'The Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS)'. In this regard, Exchange of Notes and Grant Agreement were signed today between the Government of Bangladesh and Japan. Md. Shahriar Kader Siddiky, Secretary, Economic Relations Division (ERD), Ministry of Finance has signed the Exchange of Notes and Grant Agreement on behalf of the Government of Bangladesh. IWAMA Kiminori, Ambassador of Japan in Bangladesh signed the 'Exchange of Notes' and ICHIGUCHI Tomohide, Chief Representative, JICA Bangladesh Office, signed the 'Grant Agreement' on behalf of the Government of Japan, said an ERD press release. 'The Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS)' is being implemented during the period 2001 to 2025 by the Economic Relations Division under Ministry of Finance. This grant will be utilized to provide scholarships for BCS Ca dre Officers, Bangladesh Judicial Service Officers, First Class Officers of Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division and Bangladesh Bank to study Masters and Ph.D courses at various universities in Japan. Under this project, some442 officials have completed Master's degree and 07 officials have achieved Ph.D degree from different Japanese Universities. After their return, officials are utilizing their acquired knowledge and skills in their work places and contributing towards the development of the country. Japan is the largest bilateral development partner of Bangladesh. Since independence, Japan has committed $32.37 billion and has contributed significantly towards the overall development of the country. In addition to soft loans, Japan is also providing significant amount of Grant and Technical Assistance for different projects, including support to human resource development, socio-economic development and environment protection. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
Stocks maintain gaining streak
Country's both the bourses, Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) today also witnessed an upward trend like earlier as investors continued their buying spree on large-cap issues amid optimism. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went up by 60.88 points or 1.16 per cent to settle at 5,302.72. The DSE 30 Index, comprising blue chips, and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) also gained 25.89 points to finish at 1,903.84 and 16.28 points closing at 1,165.83. Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, increased to Taka 6,051.23 million on the country's premier bourse which was Taka 5,245.66 million at the previous session of the week. Out of 404 issues traded, 251 closed green, 89 in the red and 64 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor. UNILEVERCL topped the turnover chart, followed by CAPITECGBF, AIL, SEAPEARL and PRAGATILIF. HEIDELBCEM was the day's best performer, posting a gain of 10 per cent while LINDEBD was the worst loser, losing 2.99 percent. The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CS E) also ended higher with the CSE All Share Price Index - CASPI -advancing 87.76 points to settle at 14924.93 and the Selective Categories Index - CSCX gaining 56.09 points to close at 8,985.33. Of the issues traded, 115 advanced, 86 declined and 39 remained unchanged on the CSE. The port city's bourse traded 26.19 lakh shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value of Taka 14.53 crore. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
Mahmood Ali visits Vienna to attend OPEC Fund Development Forum
Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali paid an official visit to Vienna, Austria from June 23-26 to attend OPEC Fund Development Forum 2024. On June 25, he had a meeting with the Director General of Abu Dhabi Fund Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, said a press release. During the meeting, State Minister of Finance Waseqa Ayesha Khan, the Ambassador of Bangladesh in Austria Asad Alam Siam and Additional Secretary, Economic Relations Division Mirana Mahrukh were present. The Finance Minister thanked the Abu Dhabi Fund for its continued support since 1974. Describing current development under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, trajectory of the government of Bangladesh, he requested ADFD to increase its assistance to meet the infrastructure and socio-economic development needs of Bangladesh. In reply, the Director General of ADFD thanked the government of Bangladesh and appreciated the recent development trajectory. He assured that assistance of Abu Dhabi Fund will be increased in future. Both side di scussed about organising a Joint Economic Commission shortly. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
IMF projects 6.6pc growth in FY25
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for Bangladesh at 6.6 percent for the upcoming fiscal 2024-25 (FY25). The projection of the global lender nears the Bangladesh government's projection for the next fiscal. The government is eying attaining a GDP growth target of 6.75 percent in the next fiscal year (FY25). Talking to BSS, Chris Papageorgiou, IMF Mission Chief for Bangladesh, said Bangladesh's economy faces multiple challenges as external shocks and global uncertainties have amplified macroeconomic vulnerabilities. 'Growth momentum has moderated over the past year and a half due to higher inflation eroding consumer's purchasing power, tighter fiscal and monetary policies required to tame inflation, and foreign exchange shortages and import restrictions further limiting aggregate demand. Nonetheless, exports-an important driver of Bangladesh's economy-have remained relatively resilient,' he added. He said the near-term growth trajectory will depend on timely resolution of issues such as heightened inflation and external imbalances. This would allow for a shift to a more accommodative policy stance, he added. According to staff's projections, he mentioned, Bangladesh's economy may grow at a slower rate of 5.4 percent in FY24, compared to the rate a year ago. 'However, we anticipate stronger growth at 6.6 percent in FY25 as the domestic macroeconomic outlook and external position gradually stabilize,' he added. In the longer term, he said, maintaining high-paced growth will crucially depend on the consistent implementation of structural reforms to improve the business climate. Priorities in the reform agenda should therefore include expanding and diversifying foreign trade, attracting foreign direct investment, improving governance, strengthening the financial sector, mobilizing fiscal revenue, and developing infrastructure, he added. Chris Papageorgiou, however, said over the past decade, Bangladesh has achieved impressive economic growth and socia l development, making steady progress in reducing poverty and across many Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators. To successfully graduate from Least Developed Country (LDC) status and achieve upper-middle-income status, he said, it is crucial to build on these successes and address structural issues to accelerate growth, attract private investment, enhance productivity, and build climate resilience. Given this background, he mentioned, the short-term priority should be creating an enabling environment to further expand trade and attract foreign direct investment. This includes reducing the relatively high non-tariff barriers, improving trade-related physical infrastructure, and removing regulatory obstacles, he added. Since Bangladesh's trade profile has remained relatively unchanged over the past decades, he said, the medium- and long-term priorities should focus on diversifying the concentrated export and product portfolios. 'While the ready-made garment industry has significantly contributed t o the country's economic growth, it is essential to diversify exports beyond this sector. The authorities should explore new drivers of growth, such as initiatives supporting a green transition, to achieve this goal,' he added. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha
Bangladesh to ink deals with India, Myanmar to import essential goods: Titu
State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu today informed that Bangladesh will sign an agreement with Myanmar, in addition to India, to import essential goods. "Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will be signing the agreement on behalf of the government," he told a programme at the secretariat here. The Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum (BSRF) organised the event. Titu said the government is going to sign an agreement with India to import daily essentials to ensure a smooth supply. "Besides, we'll also sign a deal with Myanmar to bring essential commodities and extend the river transport communication. We have almost finalised an agreement in this regard. We will try to sign the agreement in July," he added. "We have one goal that is to give some relief to the common people. To some extent, we can keep the market moving. That is why we are taking these steps," said Titu. Noting that a number of land ports have been opened, the state minister said, "Along with land ports, we have given impo rtance to border haat (markets). We have borders in many remote areas where we have initiated some "border haat" to increase the facilities of the people living there." BSRF President Fasih Uddin Mahtab and its General Secretary Masudul Haque conducted the programme. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha