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Wednesday, 15 March 2017

Rubbish heap catches fire at Secretariat

The fire service has managed to extinguish a rubbish heap fire inside the Secretariat.

The fire started at a dustbin by the eastern wall of the Secretariat’s Building 6 around 12:45pm on Tuesday.

At first smoke could be seen rising from the rubbish heap, eye-witness Abul Karamat told bdnews24.com. Later the fire became visible and people began to try and put it out, he said.

A fire unit arrived about five minutes later and two other units joined the effort soon after. The fire was put out within fifteen minutes.

An initial investigation suggests a discarded cigarette started the blaze, Fire Service Brigade Deputy Director Md Abdul Halim told bdnews24.com.

“The fire was not significant, but there were several cars nearby. If the tires caught on fire it could have spread to the oil tanks,” he said.

Tk 1 billion grab attempt is punished with Tk 200 fine

A police officer colluded with an engineer to grab a piece of land in Dhanmondi worth over Tk 1 billion, but they have gone away with only Tk 200 fine after the highest court passed a verdict in favour of the government.

Police Inspector Md Shaheen and Engineer Moazzem Hossain deposited the fine amount to the court immediately after the Supreme Court bench with Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha in the chair passed the verdict declaring their claim is false and the government is the rightful owner of the land.

The duo fought for length legal battle – from the lower court to the highest, to become the owner of House-40 in Road-6 in Dhanmondi which is worth over Tk 1 billion in current market price.

The house was abandoned by its owner in 1971. The Ministry of Public Works first rented out the house on Jan 1, 1971, to Syed Haider Ali, who was an MP from Sirajgang at that time.

In 1975, the ministry took back the house and handed it over to one Nazma Majid who lived in the house until the early 80s.

In 1982, one Hosne Ara Begum filed a case with the Sub-Judge Court in Dhaka claiming the ownership of the house. She also claimed that she inherited the house from its ‘owner’ Hakim SA Ali.

The case got further complicated when Moazzem Hossain issued a power of attorney in favour of his relative Inspector Shaheen and got the lower court verdict in their favour on May 2, 2000.

The High Court upheld the lower court verdict in 2005 and so did the Appellate Division.

The State then petitioned for a review of the Appellate Division verdict and finally the Supreme Court has issued the review verdict in the government's favour.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam stood for the State.

1 killed in clash between AL factions in Jhenaidah

One person has been killed and four others injured during a violent clash between Awami League activists in Jhenaidah.

The incident occurred around midnight on Tuesday near Monohorpur village in Kaliganj Upazila, said Kaliganj Police Station OC Aminul Islam.

The deceased has been identified as 22-year old local resident Bipul Mondol.

A turf war between Pukuria village Awami League leader Liton Hossain and Monohorpur village Awami League leader Israil Hossain led to the clash, OC Aminul told bdnews24.com.

“The death was the result of a dispute,” he said.

The four injured have been taken to various local medical facilities for treatment.

The body was recovered and three were detained by police, said OC Aminul. Police have brought the situation under control, he said. A case has yet to be filed over the incident.

Bangladesh: A prospective startup hub!

Bangladesh, with a 48 million strong young population, could be a major growth hub for ICT based Startups. The country has a 6.3 percent GDP growth rate and 145 million population could be a major destination for many multinational companies. Unlike many western countries with a small percentage of youth population, Bangladesh is blessed with the youth energies and spirit. The question is how to use them efficiently, create job opportunities and bring out the richness from their hard work. For Bangladeshis to be able to tap into global job opportunities, a national strategy needs to be crafted, which will identify future job demands globally and build capacities of these young people so that they can come level with other nationals in the international job market.

Here are three humble suggestions:

Focus on Technology– Youth education and capacity building should focus on a technology-driven job market. Many current human centered jobs will be replaced by robots globally. Other Artificial Intelligent technologies are sweeping the market rapidly. Self driving cars, drones, augmented reality are no longer in the Sci-Fiction movies, but will be roaming around in our neighborhood very soon. How prepared are the youth of Bangladesh for such global scenarios? How many Robotics Labs do we have? Do our universities teach Artifical Intelligence?

Promote Entreprenuership/Startup Culture– The government of Bangladesh should create a start-up fund or a Technoprenuers Fund to support and promote a start-up culture in the country. According to Futurestartup, there are not enough serious start-ups in Bangladesh. We have a bunch of eCommerce companies running on hype. Although there is a positive vibe and continuous buzz in the industry, international investors are not showing that much interest in the Bangladesh market. The government needs to intervene in these circumstances, provide funding, ease the bureaucratic hurdles, bring in international mentors and create the positive startup ecosystem.

Non-resident Bangladeshis should step forward– There are many scientists of Bangladeshi origin working in big organizations globally. Many senior executives have been creating value in international tech firms. One would like to urge them to start venturing into the Bangladeshi market, either by investing in startups and/or building local capacity through training and coaching. Sometimes a little inspiration from the experienced, foreign educated can push a lot- changing lives is not always very complicated.

Lets talk and take some action in the interest of our future.

Trump paid $38 million in taxes in 2005: White House

US President Donald Trump paid $38 million in taxes on more than $150 million in income in 2005, the White House said on Tuesday, responding to an MSNBC report that the network had obtained two pages of the returns.

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said she received the documents from journalist David Cay Johnston, who said on her show that he received them in the mail.

The returns, which MSNBC posted on its website, showed Trump paid an effective federal tax rate of 25 percent in 2005 after writing off $100 million in losses.

The White House said in a statement that Trump took into account "large scale depreciation for construction."

Trump has repeatedly refused to release his tax returns, drawing criticism throughout his campaign last year and speculation from his political rivals he was hiding something.

A New York Times report in October said Trump, a New York real estate developer, declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns. The newspaper said the large tax deduction could have allowed him to avoid paying federal income taxes for up to 18 years.

But the returns posted by MSNBC on Tuesday showed that he did pay taxes in 2005. The returns do not indicate whether he paid taxes in other years or how much he might have paid. The Washington Post reported last year that Trump paid no federal income taxes for at least two years in the late 1970s.

The White House said in a statement on Tuesday that Trump, as head of the Trump Organization, had a responsibility "to pay no more tax than legally required."

Presidents and major candidates for the White House have routinely released their income tax returns.

Trump says he has not released his tax returns because they are under audit by the Internal Revenue Service. Experts say an IRS audit does not bar someone from releasing the documents.

During a September presidential debate, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton criticised Trump, a Republican, for paying no federal income taxes.

"That makes me smart," he responded.

Trump has feuded with the media since his inauguration, often accusing it of promoting "fake news" intended to undermine his presidency.

"The dishonest media can continue to make this part of their agenda, while the President will focus on his, which includes tax reform that will benefit all Americans," the White House said on Tuesday.

Tuesday, 14 March 2017

টানা ৩ মেডেনে বাংলাদেশের শুরু

হ্যাটট্রিক মেডেনে শুরু

আগের ম্যাচে বেশ বিবর্ণ ছিলেন মুস্তাফিজুর রহমান। তবে এবার শুরুটা করেছেন বেশ ভালো। আগের চেয়ে একটু গতিময় মনে হয়েছে, শুরুর শরীরী ভাষা দারুণ ও আক্রমণাত্মক। আরেক পাশে শুভাশীষ রায়ের শুরুটাও খারাপ হয়নি।

নিজের প্রথম দুই ওভারে রান দেননি মুস্তাফিজ। মাঝের এক ওভারে রান দেননি শুভাশীষও। শুরুর ৩ ওভারে থমকে শ্রীলঙ্কার রানের চাকা।

বাংলাদেশ একাদশে চার পরিবর্তন

নেটে চোট পাওয়া লিটন দাস ছিটকে গিয়েছিলেন আগের দিনই। মাহমুদউল্লাহর বাইরে থাকার ঘোষণাও এসেছিল আগে। তবে এই দুটির সঙ্গে পরিবর্তন আরও দুটি। রাখা হয়নি মুমিনুল হক ও তাসকিন আহমেদকে। দলে ফিরেছেন ইমরুল কায়েস, সাব্বির রহমান, তাইজুল ইসলাম। অভিষেক হচ্ছে মোসাদ্দেক হোসেনের।

বাংলাদেশ একাদশ: তামিম ইকবাল, সৌম্য সরকার, ইমরুল কায়েস, মোসাদ্দেক হোসেন, মুশফিকুর রহিম, সাকিব আল হাসান, সাব্বির রহমান, মেহেদী হাসান মিরাজ, তাইজুল ইসলাম, শুভাশীষ রায়, মুস্তাফিজুর রহমান।

শ্রীলঙ্কা দলে এক পেসার

শ্রীলঙ্কা দলে পরিবর্তন একটি। পেসার লাহিরু কুমারার জায়গায় আরও একজন ব্যাটসম্যান বাড়িয়েছে তারা। দলে ফিরেছেন ধনঞ্জয়া ডি সিলভা। মানে লঙ্কানরা খেলছে এক পেসার নিয়ে।

উইকেট শুষ্ক, ব্যাটিংয়ের জন্য ভালো

টস জিতে ব্যাটিং নিয়ে লঙ্কান অধিনায়ক রঙ্গনা হেরাথ বললেন, উইকেট অনেকটা গলের মতোই। তবে আরেকটু বেশি শুষ্ক। প্রথম তিন দিন ব্যাটিংয়ের জন্য বেশ ভালো থাকবে।

শততম টেস্টে টসে হারলেন মুশফিক

২০০০ সালের নভেম্বরে টেস্ট আঙিনায় পা রেখেছিল বাংলাদেশ। ১৬ বছর ৪ মাস ৬ দিন পর টেস্টের নবীনতম সদস্য দলটি দ্রততম সময়ে খেলছে শততম টেস্ট। প্রথম টেস্টে টস জিতে ব্যাটিং নিয়েছিলেন নাঈমুর রহমান। এবার টস হারলেন মুশফিকুর রহিম। পেলেন বোলিং।

সবুজের বদলে নীল

এমনিতে বাংলাদেশ দলের ব্লেজার সবুজ হলেও এবার মুশফিক টস করলেন নীল ব্লেজারে। শততম টেস্ট উপলক্ষ্যে ক্রিকেটারদের দেওয়া হয়েছে এই বিশেষ ব্লেজার। আগের রাতে উপলক্ষ্য উদযাপনের ডিনারে ক্রিকেটারের হাতে তুলে দেয়া হয় এই ব্লেজার।