Bangladesh High Commission

London

News Brief

London, 22 May 2018

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her Indian couterpart Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will meet at Shantiniketon in the West Bengal of India on Friday. The PM is scheduled to leave Dhaka for Kolkata on May 25.

The ministers and secretaries will now get Tk 75,000 as mobile-phone allowance as a sharp raise from Tk 15000 as the cabinet has approved in principle 'The Government Telephone, Cellular and Internet Policy 2018'. The cabinet meeting was held at the Prime Minister's Office with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair yesterday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday hosted an iftar for war-wounded freedom fighters, orphans, physically challenged children and Alem-Olama at her official residence Ganobhaban.

The Awami League Parliamentary Nomination Board has nominated Habibun Nahar as the party candidate for Bagerhaat -3 constituency by elections, slated for June 26. The board has taken the decision at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday at her official residence Ganobhaban yesterday.

Bangladesh's first geo-stationary communication satellite Bangabandhu-1 has reached the desired location, orbital slot 10 days after of its launch from Florida, said Bangladesh Communication Satellite Company Limited Managing Director Md. Saiful Islam yesterday. Within three months it will go into commercial operation, he added saying Bangabandhu-1 will move around the earth once in every 24 hours positioning on 36,000 kilometers height from the earth.

Finance Minister A M A Muhith has said, the development in the ICT industry of Bangladesh had set a benchmark for other countries. The Minister said this while a Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services delegation met him at his Ministry yesterday. The ICT sector will get priority in the upcoming budget, the Minister added.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Mohammed Nasim met Director General of WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyeyesus at Geneva, Switzerland yesterday. The WHO DG highly praised success of community clinics of Bangladesh in providing healthcare facilities for the people of the rural areas. The Chief of the WHO said, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina deserves special appreciation as Bangladesh is providing healthcare services to nearly 11 lakh Rohingyas, who were forcefully displaced from Rakhine state of Myanmar.

The High Court yesterday instructed the government to form a probe committee and submit a report within a month after testing pasteurized milk available in the market.

Bangladesh Bank has issued a guideline for illiterate customers so that they can easily withdraw cash from banks by cheque. The BB in a circular yesterday said, all the scheduled banks will have to fill up the Know Your Customers (KYC) form for the illiterate customers.

DSEX, the key index of Dhaka Stock Exchange gained 0.41 per cent or 22.58 points, to close at 5,413.28 points yesterday.

Press Wing