Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Prof M Tamim on Sunday said the government has formulated a number of polices including the National Energy Policy (NEP) to facilitate the investors, reports agency.

The investment in Bangladesh is now well protected by the government polices, he said adding conducive legal environment with recent separation of judiciary will facilitate the foreign entrepreneurs.

The Force Commander of the United Nations Operation in Cote d’lvoire (ONUCI), General Marcel Fernand Amoussou, presided over a medal ceremony honouring the Bangladeshi contingent in Daloa, 380 km from Abidjan on Wednesday coinciding with the Independence Day of Bangladesh, reports agency.

On the occasion, 2,728 soldiers received the United Nations peacekeeping medal after serving for more than six months in Cote d’ivoire, said a press release.

Rotary Club of Chittagong Mid City(RCCMC) and United Theater For Social Action(UTSA) jointly organized a free circumcision programme with overall cooperation of Rotary Club of Chittagong Rose Garden at Foys Lake Alo Primary School and Ispahani adjacent gate Ananta Primary School on Saturday last, said a press release.

The circumcision programme was meant for certain students of the schools.

Sayed Ahmed Shah Sirikuti( R) established religious institutions based on Sunni creed realizing the importance of expansion of Sunnism.

As a follow up to this idea, Allama Sayed Mohammed Tayub Shah(R ) established Pathandandi Taheria Jaberia Sunnia Senior Madrasha at the remote village of Chandanaish.

Acting CCC Mayor Alhaj M Monzur Alam yesterday visited the sites of different development works in the city says a press release.

He inspected dredging work of city’s Mirza Canal, Chasma Canal, Bamon Shahi Canal and other development works including the ongoing work of Hathazari Road and the road across Sholakbahar Ward.

High inflation has returned to haunt India, prompting the government to declare war on soaring prices to keep the support of the nation’s notoriously cost-sensitive voters, analysts say, reports AFP.

Inflation has zoomed to a 13-month high of 6.68 percent, doubling in just a few months, with rising food prices a key culprit, figures last week showed.

Ahead of the visit of US President George Bush, India has decided to join the US-backed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan pipeline to import natural gas to meet the fuel needs of its growing economy, reports PTI.

New Delhi, earlier this month participated for the first time as an “observer” in the 9th meeting of the steering committee of the TAP project and has since decided to join the 3.5-billion dollar project.

A key survey of corporate Japan is expected to show that business confidence has plunged to a four-year low on worries about high oil prices, a stronger yen and a weak US economy, analysts predict, reports AFP.

The Bank of Japan’s closely watched “Tankan” report, due out Tuesday, is likely to show companies are scaling back their profit forecasts and investment plans as a result of the tougher operating environment, they said.

Sri Lanka is looking to increase trade with China through a regional trade deal. The Commerce Department says the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement, or the APTA, is a window into the massive Chinese market.

The department is now getting ready to hold talk with local businesses, to improve on existing concessions from China, according to Internet. China has already expressed interest in expanding trade with Sri Lanka.

A World Bank report released on Saturday said that the investment climate in Afghanistan was improving, but identified key constraints to capital inflows.

The report called on the government to do more to promote private-sector development, according to Internet. Based on a survey of 338 companies in five Afghan cities, the report said the most serious constraints for private-sector developments were reliable mains electricity, access to land and finance and the scourge of corruption.

GMG Airlines, Bangladesh’s biggest private carrier, will soon start flights to Abu Dhabi and Doha, linking Dhaka and Chittagong, Bangladesh’s commercial gateway, before linking them to Muscat and Kuwait by this year, a top official said, according to Internet.

“We also plan to start flights to London and Rome - two European destinations where sizeable non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) live by the end of this year,” Abdus Sattar, chairman of GMG Group told Gulf News.

Reuters:

Natural family planning (NFP) or fertility awareness relies on a woman’s fertility awareness of her body's natural functioning to determine the timing of her ovulation and her fertile period. NFP methods include monitoring and tracking certain changes that occur in a woman’s body in order to try to predict her most fertile time.  Jennings and her colleagues developed the Standard Days Method (SDM), in which women with menstrual cycles between 26 to 32 days long are instructed that they may become pregnant if they have sex on days 8 to 19 of their cycle.

Reuters, DHAKA - Former prime minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina appeared before a graft court on Sunday soon after being released from hospital, officials said.

Her lawyers quoted her telling the court she was still sick, her treatment was incomplete and that she had been forced to appear before the court.

Hasina was admitted to the hospital on March 11 for ear and eye ailments. She was also suffering from high blood pressure following her arrest in July last year.

India v South Africa, 1st Test, Chennai, 5th day

Cricinfo.com

A patient unbeaten 155 from Neil McKenzie, and his solid 157-run partnership with Hashim Amla guided South Africa to safety on the final day at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, with India left to rue the missed chances that put paid to slim hopes of victory. Two catches were put down on a morning of frustration, and though Harbhajan Singh was rewarded for his tenacity and persistence after lunch, McKenzie stood firm to end any hopes of a decisive result.

Discussants at a seminar on Saturday emphasized the need for establishing effective university- industry linkages to carry out research and development experiments to improve productivity skills and quality, and make commodities competitive, reports UNB.

The seminar organized by the British Council to facilitate interaction between experts in relevant fields from both Bangladesh and UK was held at a local hotel.

Speakers at a workshop on Saturday stressed the need for modernization of the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) to attain food autarky and meet the challenges of free-market economy, reports UNB.

The workshop on ‘BADC’s Role in the Present Context’ was held in the conference room of the BADC, said a press release.

Agency

Chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed Sunday voiced concern over the rising prices of essential commodities and ruled out the strategy of meeting the food deficit by import.

"There is no alternative to increasing food production quickly to get rid of the situation. For this the agriculture system will have to be overhauled," the CA said in his speech to the inaugural function of a three-day technology transfer workshop

Agency

The Indian government's decision to raise the minimum export price of non-basmati rice, which it announced Thursday, has already pushed up prices of coarse rice in the port city though importers and wholesalers are offering contradictory views.

The largest rice stockist-and-wholesaler in the country, housed at Chaktai-Khatunganj, told bdnews24.com Sunday there was no dearth of rice in the market but importers tightening their supplies might result in artificial crises.

Staff Correspondent

The interim cabinet Sunday approved Bangladesh Labour (amendment) Ordinance 2008 with provisions for allowing only one trade union organisation to continue activities at Chittagong and Mongla ports each.

Full Story The earlier law had allowed more than one organisation for both ports. A regular meeting of the cabinet chaired by chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed in his office approved the new ordinance by amending Bangladesh Labour Act, the CA's press secretary Syed Fahim Munaim told reporters.

Staff Correspondent

With 90 percent of the economy dependent on gas-based infrastructure and gas consumption rising at 8 percent a year, Bangladesh cannot afford to ignore the overwhelming demand for natural gas in coming years, a special aide to the chief adviser said Sunday.

Addressing a 'Road Show' ahead of this year's offshore bidding process, the CA's special assistant for power, energy and mineral resources, M Tamim, said: "About 8 billion US dollars need to be invested to find and develop the required reserves."