ADB
approves $125m loan (The Daily Star, July 19, 2014)
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $125 million loan to improve services and governance in municipalities across Bangladesh, said an ADB release yesterday. The programme will aim at making the district towns more liveable and attractive and helping to ease population pressures in major cities. Many municipalities are struggling to provide citizens with key services, including drinking water, sanitation, solid waste management and drainage systems. In response, ADB has already been providing support for improved services under an urban governance action program.
Dhaka most expensive city in South Asia for expats: survey(The Daily Star, July 18, 2014)
Dhaka ranked as the most expensive city for expatriates in South Asia in a survey conducted by an American human resource consultancy firm. The city came in at 117 of Mercer's 2014 Cost of Living Rankings, up 37 spots from last year owing to a large increase in accommodation cost and a stronger local currency. Not only did Dhaka rank above other major cities in South Asia, it also came ahead of a host of other prominent Asian metropolises such as Jakarta (119), Manila (125), Hanoi (131) and Ho Chi Minh City (135). Published on July 10, the survey compared the cost of living for expatriates in 211 cities worldwide to New York, the base city. It measured the comparative cost of more than 200 goods and services in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment, making it one of the most comprehensive and authoritative assessments.
Bangladesh charges 18 over garment factory collapse (Chicago Tribune, July 16, 2014)
Bangladesh's anti-corruption agency filed charges on Wednesday against 18 people accused of breaching regulations over the construction of a building that collapsed last year killing more than 1,130 people. The accused include the owner of the building, Mohammad Sohel Rana, and his parents, the local mayor, engineers and three owners of garment factories that used the building. The April 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza, built on swampy ground outside Dhaka, ranks amongst the world's worst industrial accidents and sparked a global outcry for improved safety. Most of the victims were garment workers.
Bangladesh to harvest more rice: USDA (The Daily Star, July 16, 2014)
Bangladesh is likely to harvest slightly more rice crop in fiscal 2014-15, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in its latest report. Total rice output may rise 0.60 percent to 3.48 crore tonnes in the current fiscal year from last year, the agency said. Apart from Bangladesh, rice output is projected to be higher in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Chickens, eggs made risky (The Daily Star, July 15, 2014)
Poultry and eggs are not safe anymore as the chicken are fed highly toxic tannery waste and excessive antibiotics, two studies have found. Use of tannery waste makes poultry feed cheap while antibiotics help reduce deaths of chicks. Recently, a Dhaka University study found chromium ranging from 249 microgram (mg) to 4,561mg per kg in chickens that consumed feed manufactured with tannery waste. The permissible limit is 10-60mg. Another research conducted by Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) in 2012 and 2013 detected antibiotics in eggs and chicken far beyond the acceptable limit. The practices pose serious health like cancer, ulcer, liver cirrhosis and kidney damages, which is bad news for consumers panicking about formalin and pesticides in food.
TIB: Ctg customs officials bagging Tk47 lakh daily (Dhaka Tribune, July 15, 2014)
Businessmen are forced to pay huge amounts of bribe to a section of customs and other officials at Chittagong Port to complete the process of overseas trades and clear goods from the port, a Transparency International Bangladesh study has found. Importers and exporters have to make undue payments at different stages totalling Tk 47.5 lakh a day for duty assessments and other formalities at the Customs House and Tk 17.2 lakh for clearing goods from the port, the study shows. Businesses have to pay the money despite having valid papers. The study, conducted between January and June this year, is based on interviews of more than 100 key informants or stakeholders, focus group discussions, direct observations and content analysis.
Garment factory closures displace 3,500 workers (The Daily Star, July 13, 2014)
About 3,500 workers were displaced after the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, the platform of North American retailers, announced closure of five factories following inspections, the BGMEA said. Engineers hired by the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety found the factories -- Bay, MAKS, RSI, MAM and HKDG -- with unsafe electrical wiring, overloading of goods on floors and insufficient exit capacity and no sprinklers. Mesbah Rabin, managing director of Alliance, however, said the number of displaced workers was 1,000 and that they have been compensated from the $5 million worker support fund established by the Alliance member brands.
Climate, weather impacts revealed in atlases too (Dhaka Tribune, July 12, 2014)
For people who find it hard to believe the Earth really is warming, new visual evidence will soon be available. Two atlases, is to be published by the National Geographic Atlas of the World on September 3, one showing graphically the retreat of Arctic ice, the other the human and economic price exacted by extreme weather. The publication's geographer, Juan José Valdés, says the reduction in multi-year ice – ice that has survived for two summers – is so noticeable compared with previous editions that it is the biggest visible change since the breakup of the USSR.
Frozen food export earnings grow 17% in FY14 (Dhaka Tribune, July 11, 2014)
Overall frozen food exports in last fiscal year earned over 17% more than the previous year, showed latest data of Export Promotion Bureau. The total earnings stood at $638m. According to the exporters, the growth was mainly driven by the rise in global prices of shrimps. In 2012-13 fiscal year, the frozen foods sector faced a setback after a prawn disease was found and exports fell 9% to $544m.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $125 million loan to improve services and governance in municipalities across Bangladesh, said an ADB release yesterday. The programme will aim at making the district towns more liveable and attractive and helping to ease population pressures in major cities. Many municipalities are struggling to provide citizens with key services, including drinking water, sanitation, solid waste management and drainage systems. In response, ADB has already been providing support for improved services under an urban governance action program.
Dhaka most expensive city in South Asia for expats: survey(The Daily Star, July 18, 2014)
Dhaka ranked as the most expensive city for expatriates in South Asia in a survey conducted by an American human resource consultancy firm. The city came in at 117 of Mercer's 2014 Cost of Living Rankings, up 37 spots from last year owing to a large increase in accommodation cost and a stronger local currency. Not only did Dhaka rank above other major cities in South Asia, it also came ahead of a host of other prominent Asian metropolises such as Jakarta (119), Manila (125), Hanoi (131) and Ho Chi Minh City (135). Published on July 10, the survey compared the cost of living for expatriates in 211 cities worldwide to New York, the base city. It measured the comparative cost of more than 200 goods and services in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment, making it one of the most comprehensive and authoritative assessments.
Bangladesh charges 18 over garment factory collapse (Chicago Tribune, July 16, 2014)
Bangladesh's anti-corruption agency filed charges on Wednesday against 18 people accused of breaching regulations over the construction of a building that collapsed last year killing more than 1,130 people. The accused include the owner of the building, Mohammad Sohel Rana, and his parents, the local mayor, engineers and three owners of garment factories that used the building. The April 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza, built on swampy ground outside Dhaka, ranks amongst the world's worst industrial accidents and sparked a global outcry for improved safety. Most of the victims were garment workers.
Bangladesh to harvest more rice: USDA (The Daily Star, July 16, 2014)
Bangladesh is likely to harvest slightly more rice crop in fiscal 2014-15, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in its latest report. Total rice output may rise 0.60 percent to 3.48 crore tonnes in the current fiscal year from last year, the agency said. Apart from Bangladesh, rice output is projected to be higher in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Chickens, eggs made risky (The Daily Star, July 15, 2014)
Poultry and eggs are not safe anymore as the chicken are fed highly toxic tannery waste and excessive antibiotics, two studies have found. Use of tannery waste makes poultry feed cheap while antibiotics help reduce deaths of chicks. Recently, a Dhaka University study found chromium ranging from 249 microgram (mg) to 4,561mg per kg in chickens that consumed feed manufactured with tannery waste. The permissible limit is 10-60mg. Another research conducted by Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) in 2012 and 2013 detected antibiotics in eggs and chicken far beyond the acceptable limit. The practices pose serious health like cancer, ulcer, liver cirrhosis and kidney damages, which is bad news for consumers panicking about formalin and pesticides in food.
TIB: Ctg customs officials bagging Tk47 lakh daily (Dhaka Tribune, July 15, 2014)
Businessmen are forced to pay huge amounts of bribe to a section of customs and other officials at Chittagong Port to complete the process of overseas trades and clear goods from the port, a Transparency International Bangladesh study has found. Importers and exporters have to make undue payments at different stages totalling Tk 47.5 lakh a day for duty assessments and other formalities at the Customs House and Tk 17.2 lakh for clearing goods from the port, the study shows. Businesses have to pay the money despite having valid papers. The study, conducted between January and June this year, is based on interviews of more than 100 key informants or stakeholders, focus group discussions, direct observations and content analysis.
Garment factory closures displace 3,500 workers (The Daily Star, July 13, 2014)
About 3,500 workers were displaced after the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, the platform of North American retailers, announced closure of five factories following inspections, the BGMEA said. Engineers hired by the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety found the factories -- Bay, MAKS, RSI, MAM and HKDG -- with unsafe electrical wiring, overloading of goods on floors and insufficient exit capacity and no sprinklers. Mesbah Rabin, managing director of Alliance, however, said the number of displaced workers was 1,000 and that they have been compensated from the $5 million worker support fund established by the Alliance member brands.
Climate, weather impacts revealed in atlases too (Dhaka Tribune, July 12, 2014)
For people who find it hard to believe the Earth really is warming, new visual evidence will soon be available. Two atlases, is to be published by the National Geographic Atlas of the World on September 3, one showing graphically the retreat of Arctic ice, the other the human and economic price exacted by extreme weather. The publication's geographer, Juan José Valdés, says the reduction in multi-year ice – ice that has survived for two summers – is so noticeable compared with previous editions that it is the biggest visible change since the breakup of the USSR.
Frozen food export earnings grow 17% in FY14 (Dhaka Tribune, July 11, 2014)
Overall frozen food exports in last fiscal year earned over 17% more than the previous year, showed latest data of Export Promotion Bureau. The total earnings stood at $638m. According to the exporters, the growth was mainly driven by the rise in global prices of shrimps. In 2012-13 fiscal year, the frozen foods sector faced a setback after a prawn disease was found and exports fell 9% to $544m.
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