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Company Act needs amendment: Commerce Secretary
The country’s Company Act needs to be amended and modernized in line with the global perspective for sustainable financial growth, Commerce Ministry’s Senior Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said on Saturday.
The Company Act was last amended in 1994 and it needs to be made time-befitting to adopt so many changes in the global economy and trading system, he said.
The commerce secretary came up with remarks while addressing as the chief guest in the opening session at a workshop titled “Investigative Journalism on Company Reporting” held at ERF auditorium.
Also read: Onion market to become stable soon: Commerce Secretary
The program was jointly organised by Management and Resources Development Initiative (MRDI) and Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF).
The four-part workshop was chaired by Sharmeen Rinvy, ERF President, Barrister Nihad Kabir, chairperson of BUILD (Business Initiative Leading Development) and former president of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce (MCCI), Shahidul Islam CFA, former president CFA Society Bangladesh, Shafiqul Alam, bureau chief of Agency France Press (AFP), among others, spoke in the function. ERF secretary SM Rashedul Islam Moderated the program.
Tapan Kanti Ghosh said the government has taken initiative to amend the Company Law to make it inclusive after reviewing various aspects of the economy.
He said in the free market economy, it is the responsibility of the state to ensure fair prices of goods and services.
Also read: Restaurant owners want reduction in VAT & NBR’s one-stop service
The government is trying to do that along with creating a competitive environment for business and productions, the senior commerce secretary said.
Barrister Nihad Kabir said there as problems have arisen with the passage of time the law need to be rectified.
Fire at Chawkbazar high-rise doused
A fire that broke out in a 16-storied building named Madina Ashiq Tower at Chawkbazar in the city on Saturday evening has been doused.
Read: Small fire at BSCIC complex in Mirpur brought under control
The fire started at 6:09 pm on the seventh floor of the building and it was doused at 6:38 pm with the effort of four firefighting units, said Shahjahan Sikder, DAD (media cell) of the Fire Service and Civil Defence headquarters.
However, the origin of the fire could not be known yet and no casualties were reported, he said.
Jatiya Party wants strong, competent EC: GM Quader
Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Saturday said their party wants a strong Election Commission (EC) that will be capable of holding a credible national election.
“We want a strong Election Commission with people who will be able to hold free, fair, neutral and acceptable elections,” he said.
The Jatiya Party Chief said people are keeping their sharp eyes on the search committee to see whose names are proposed by it for the appointment of the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Commissioners.
GM Quader, also the deputy opposition leader in parliament, came up with the remarks while speaking at a meeting of Jatiya Party co-chairmen at the party Chairman's Banani office.
He said their party wanted a law in accordance with the constitution to form the Election Commission. "We also wanted the law to ensure full power of the Election Commission to hold credible elections."
The Jatiya Party chairman said a powerless election commission cannot hold fair elections. "But the law for appointing the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners is nothing but the old wine in a new bottle."
Read: Educational institutions to be reopened after Feb 21: Health Minister
He, however, said all the search committee members nominated by the President are respected personalities. "I hope they’ll select and recommend the right people who are competent and acceptable for the Election Commission."
GM Quader said the entire nation is eagerly waiting to see what type of Election Commission the president will give at the end of the day.
Jatiya Party Secretary General Mujibul Haque Chunnu, Co-Chairmen ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader, Kazi Firoz Rashid, Syed Abu Hossain Babla, Advocate Salma Islam and Opposition Chief Whip Moshiur Rahman Ranga also addressed the meeting.
On February 5, a six-member search committee, led by Appellate Division Justice Obaidul Hassan, was formed in line with the new law on forming the Election Commission.
The search committee will recommend names to the President for the appointments of the CEC and other Commissioners as the tenure of the current EC, headed by CEC KM Nurul Huda, expires on February 14.
Covid in Bangladesh: Positivity rate rises to 16.50% with 20 deaths
Bangladesh logged 20 more Covid-linked deaths with 5,023 fresh cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning.
The daily positivity rate slightly increased to 16.50 per cent from Friday’s 15.46 per cent after testing 29,904 samples during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Read: 88% Covid patients in Bangladesh infected with Omicron variant: BSMMU survey
On Friday, Bangladesh reported 27 more Covid-linked deaths with 5,268 fresh cases.
The fresh numbers took the country’s total fatalities to 28,791 while the caseload mounted to 1,904,826.
Among the new deceased, 12 were men and eight women.
Thirteen of the deaths were reported in Dhaka division while two each in Rajshahi and Khulna, and one each in Sylhet, Barishal and Rangpur divisions.
Meanwhile, the mortality rate remained static at 1.51 per cent.
However, the recovery rate slightly rose to 87.40 per cent with the recovery of 8,821 more patients during the 24-hour period.
On January 28, Bangladesh logged its earlier highest daily positivity rate at 33.37 per cent reporting 15,440 cases and 20 deaths.
Read:Can you get long COVID after an infection with omicron?
On December 9 last year, Bangladesh again logged zero Covid-related death after nearly three weeks as the pandemic was apparently showing signs of easing.
The country reported first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 last year along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020.
Besides, the country registered the highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year, while the highest number of daily fatalities was 264 on August 10 last year.
Woman beaten dead in Kushtia over dowry, husband held
A 22-year-old housewife was beaten and suffocated to death allegedly by her husband over dowry at Nandalalpur in Kumarkhali upazila of Kushtia early Saturday.
The deceased was identified as Sonali Khatun, wife of Shafiqul Islam of the upazila. The couple has a 2-year old son.
Family sources said Shafiqul used to beat u Sonali for brining dowry from her father since their marriage. Shafiqul brutally tortured Sonali on Friday night for not getting dowry money.
Read: Man arrested for chopping wife’s wrist in Narayanganj for dowry
Later, locals rushed Sonali to Kushtia Sadar Hospital on Saturday morning where doctors declared her dead.
The body was sent to Kushtia General Hospital morgue for autopsy, said Kamruzzaman Talukdar, officer-in-charge (OC) of Kumarkhali Police Station.
A case was filed in this regard at Kumarkhali Police Station after arresting Shafiqul, said the OC.
Govt determined to end shrimp production & exportation problems: Rezaul
The Bangladesh government is determined to end all problems related to shrimp production and its exportation, Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim has said.
“These problems at shrimp hatcheries will eventually be resolved as the Bangladesh government is giving utmost importance to the development of the fisheries sector," the Minister said.
"For this, the government has selected Cox’s Bazar and a number of big projects, including dried fish procession and sustainable coastal and marine fisheries, are being implemented,” he added.
The Minister said these at an interactive meeting with members of the Shrimp Hatchery Association of Bangladesh in Cox’s Bazar on Friday evening.
Also read: Viruses come back to haunt Bagerhat shrimp farmers
Asserting that the major food supplies come from fish, meat, milk and eggs, the Minister said those involved in the fisheries sector are playing an important role in the country's economy as well.
At the same time, he urged all to refrain from indulging in any malpractices in shrimp exportation.
"To overcome the economic damages in the fisheries and livestock sector due to the pandemic, the government has taken many steps," the Minister said.
RAB detains driver of pick-up van that killed 5 brothers in Cox's Bazar
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Saturday detained the driver of a pick-up van that ploughed into a group of nine siblings walking back home from a temple in Cox's Bazar last week.
Tuesday's horrific accident on the Cox’s Bazar-Chattogram highway in Chakaria upazila left five brothers dead on the spot. Four other siblings were also injured in the accident.
Also read: 4 brothers killed in Cox’s Bazar road crash, 5 injured
Acting on a tip-off, a Rab-15 team raided Dhaka's Mohammadpur area this morning and detained the van driver, Shahidul Islam alias Saiful, 22, sources told UNB.
During primary interrogation, Saiful confessed to his guilt, said RAB.
Saiful has no driving license and has been driving pick-up van, ‘Chander Gari’ and mini truck for the last two years.
On a fateful day, Saiful along with his nephew Rabiul and Tarek, son of the pick-up van owner, was heading towards Cox’s Bazar for delivering vegetables.
Saiful could not see the victims standing in the area for crossing the road due to poor visibility caused by fog and high speed of the vehicle and the driver lost control over steering, said RAB.
Tuesday's accident occurred around 5am near Memorial Christian Hospital in the Malumghat area of Chakaria when the nine siblings were crossing a road.
Read: 3 killed in Cox's Bazar road accident
The nine had gone to a nearby temple to offer prayers for their father who was killed a day before.
Plaban Sushil, another brother lodged a complaint with Chakaria Police.
25-yr-old woman found dead at Ctg hotel
A 25-year-old woman was found dead with her throat slit in a hotel room in the Agrabad area of Chattogram port city, police said on Friday.
The identity of the deceased is yet to be established, according to officials.
Mostafizur Rahman, the officer-in-charge of Halishohor Police Station, said the woman checked into the hotel along with a man on Thursday afternoon.
"The two had identified themselves as husband and wife. Around 5.30 pm, the man left the hotel," he said.
Cops broke open the door of the hotel room after its staff alerted them around 11.30 pm after getting no response from inside.
Read: Bodies of 2 newborns recovered from a box in Sherpur
Later, police recovered the body of the woman. "The body had multiple injury marks. Efforts are on to nab the man," the OC said.
2 killed, 10 hurt in Dinajpur bus accident
Two persons were killed and 10 others injured when a bus fell into a roadside ditch in Chirirbandar upazila of Dinajpur district early on Saturday.
The deceased were identified as Halima Khatun, 45, wife of Majibur Rahman, and Abdul Jalil, 50, son of Azim Uddin of Sadar upazila.
Police said the accident occurred around 5am when the bus belonging to ‘Hanif Paribahan’ rammed a girder of Mohonpur Bridge and plunged into the ditch while giving way to a truck.
Read: Man dies after being hit by train in city
"While two persons died on the spot in the impact of the accident, at least 10 others sustained injuries," said a sub-inspector at Chirirbandar Police Station, Abdul Quader.
The injured were rushed to M Abdur Rahim Medical College and Hospital.
Global Covid cases top 408 million
The overall number of Covid cases has surpassed 408 million, with the Omicron variant’s rapid spread across the globe.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 408,442,142 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,802,000 Saturday morning.
The US has recorded 77,652,197 cases so far and 918,451 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 42,586,544 on Friday. So far, the country has reported 507,981deaths, according to Johns Hopkins data.
Read: Covid-19 in Bangladesh: Daily deaths hit 43
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since last January, has registered 27,299,336 cases so far and 637,467people have died from the deadly virus in the country.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged 27 more Covid-linked deaths with 5,268 fresh cases in 24 hours till Friday morning.
The daily positivity rate slightly declined to 15.46 percent from Thursday’s 16.95 percent after testing 33,896 samples during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The fresh numbers took the country’s total fatalities to 28,771 while the caseload mounted to 1,899,803.
Meanwhile, the mortality rate declined to 1.51 percent.
However, the recovery rate slightly increased to 87.17 percent with the recovery of 11,353 more patients during the 24-hour period.
On January 28, Bangladesh logged its earlier highest daily positivity rate at 33.37 percent reporting 15,440 cases and 20 deaths.
On December 9 last year, Bangladesh again logged zero Covid-related death after nearly three weeks as the pandemic was apparently showing signs of easing.
Read: Single-dose Sputnik Light Covid-19 vaccine gets EUA in India
The country reported its first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 last year along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020.
Besides, the country registered the highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year, while the highest number of daily fatalities was 264 on August 10 last year.