Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Dhaka’s groundwater drops 6m in 7 years

Study sees excessive withdrawal of water as the reason; saline water will make inroads if trend continues The groundwater level in the capital has dropped by six metres in the last seven years. The stunning slide is due to excessive withdrawal of groundwater to meet the needs of about 15 million city residents, and inadequate ... Read more

Shaving salt, saving lives

Governments around the world could save huge health costs and avert millions of early deaths if they introduced laws to cut salt levels in food, US researchers claimed. Shaving 3 grams off the daily salt intake could prevent up to 66,000 strokes, 99,000 heart attacks and 92,000 deaths in the United States, while saving $24 ... Read more

Banks’ move fails to lift stocks

Key index of Dhaka bourse plunges 180 points No efforts from the regulator and the private sector proved effective to pro up the stumbling stockmarket, which yesterday slipped again by more than 3 percent. Owners of commercial banks, under their platform Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB), decided on Sunday to launch a Tk 5,000 crore ... Read more

Bipasha Hayat’s solo painting exhibition begins today

Popular TV actress Bipasha Hayat’s 10-day solo painting exhibition titled ‘The Journey Within’ will begin today at the Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts in the city’s Dhanmondi area. Bipasha’s father noted TV actor and director Abul Hayat will inaugurate the exhibition as chief guest, while renowned artist Rafiqun Nabi and art critic Dr Syed Manzoorul ... Read more

Grand finale of ‘Khudey Gaanraj’ tonight

Grand finale of popular children reality show ‘Khudey Gaanraj’ will take place at MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong tonight. The grand finale will begin at 7:35pm. The event will broadcast live on Channel i. To encourage the participant children country’s two legendary singers – Runa Laila and Sabina Yasmin – will join the gala function ... Read more

Move to split DCC gets cabinet nod

In a major move, the Cabinet on Monday approved a proposal to split the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) into Dhaka City Corporation (North) and Dhaka City Corporation (South) to ensure better administration and civic services in the fast growing highly-populated capital city. The proposal to amend the Local Government (City Corporation) Act, 2009 was approved ... Read more

Cell operators given a shock

Telecoms regulator asks for new fee for old bandwidth Telecoms regulator yesterday sent letters to four mobile operators in the country asking them to pay spectrum charges and renewal fees and have their licences renewed for the next 15 years. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) also sought papers related to tax, VAT and VoIP from ... Read more

Mob did not kill them

6 Students at Aminbazar Mob did not kill them Judicial probe report to SC suggests quizzing sand trader, drug peddlers The incident of killing six students and injuring another youth in the early hours of July 18, on the night of holy Shab-e-Barat, in Keblarchar of Aminbazar took place before villagers had reached the spot. ... Read more

HC questions sponsored TV news, headlines

The High Court yesterday questioned the legality of sponsored news and headlines on television. An HC rule asked the authorities concerned to explain in two weeks why broadcast of news and headlines, sponsored by different organisations, on TV channels should not be declared illegal. The bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik and Justice Md ... Read more

It’s most transparent

Abul on Padma project Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain yesterday claimed the Padma Bridge is the most transparent project the World Bank ever financed in Bangladesh. “I will finally prove, it [Padma Bridge] is the most transparent project ever executed by any ministry under the World Bank funding,” the minister said while launching new vehicles ... Read more

Private coaching challenged

The High Court on Monday issued a rule asking the government to explain within four weeks why it should not be directed to take appropriate step to prohibit coaching business by  MPO registered teachers and government teachers. It also issued rule asking the government why it should not be directed to publish a gazette

Ship-breaking yard in Ctg fined, sued

Probe begins A day after the death of four workers from toxic gas at the Jiri Subedar Steel Re-rolling Mills of Sitakunda, the Department of Environment (DoE) yesterday fined it Tk 25 lakh for not having proper safety measures in its ship-breaking yard. Local police the same day filed a case against four of its ... Read more

Seeking a turnaround

Rain threatens final ODI The Tigers’ shift to Chittagong is sure to bring back memories of the turnaround during the World Cup. And if that thought passes them by, a glance from the bus window would surely help them remember what happened here seven months ago. The road towards the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, and ... Read more

Nemesis to release second album before Eid

Alternative rock band Nemesis is working on its second album. The album, “Tritio Jatra”, is scheduled to be released before Eid-ul-Adha. Produced by Deadline Music, the album will contain nine songs including one English number. The songs supposedly deal with contemporary social and political issues. The song “Kobey”, expected

Sound investment needed for sound mind

One in four people will require mental healthcare at some point in their lives, but in many countries — only two per cent of all health sector resources are invested in mental health services. About 80 percent of people with serious mental disorders living in low and middle income countries like Bangladesh do not receive ... Read more

The one-legged climb

When Bangladesh reached 200 in the 47th over yesterday after having slipped to 1/3 by the first ten minutes, it was akin to a highly strung mountaineer having climbed Mount Everest on one leg and with a busted oxygen tank, but in favourable overhead conditions. The proverbial leg came off when the openers Tamim Iqbal ... Read more

Disaster Avoided, Humiliation Not

WI take unbeatable 2-0 lead The Tigers threatened a repeat of their dismal World Cup show in the early stages, losing three wickets for one run, but the home team rode on two half centuries from captain Mushfiqur Rahim and Nasir Hossain to put up a decent total of 220 runs on the board. In ... Read more