The results of this year’s Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations under the 10 education boards were published on Monday, showing a 82.20% pass rate. The success rate rose by 4.43% compared to the last year’s results. Last year 77.77% of the students passed the SSC examinations. A total of 1,05,594 students under the 10 education boards obtained GPA-5 this year while the number was 1,10,629 last year, according to the results. According to the results published, girls did better than boys for the third year in a row.
A total of 1,800 meters of the Padma Bridge became visible as its 12th span was installed thius week. The Padma Multipurpose Bridge started becoming visible with the installation of 150-metre first span on pillars 37 and 38 on October 30, 2017. Later, the second, third, fourth and fifth spans were installed on pillars 38-39, 39-40, and 40-41 respectively in 2018. Work on the country's largest bridge started in December 2015. The 6.15-kilometre bridge will have a total of 41 spans, each 150 metres long.
Bangladesh has renewed calls for an early start of repatriation of the Rohingya refugees and urged Myanmar to remove all barriers preventing commencement of their return. The request was made at the fourth meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on the repatriation of displaced Myanmar residents from Bangladesh to Myanmar held in Nay Pyi Taw. The JWG held substantive discussion on all issues related to safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation of the forcibly displaced Myanmar residents to their homeland. Bangladesh particularly emphasised removing legal and administrative barriers to ensure basic rights of the returnees including freedom of movement, guaranteeing their safety and security, and positive steps towards a well-defined time-bound pathway to citizenship that would encourage the Myanmar residents to return voluntarily.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has expressed his heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the bereaved families who lost their beloved ones in a Russian aircraft accident on Sunday. In a message written to Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, Dr Momen said, "We are shocked and saddened to learn about the tragic accident and loss of valuable lives." According to TASS, the state-owned Russian news agency, forty-one people died after a Russian plane made an emergency landing and burst into flames just after take-off from Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport.
Bangladesh has become self-sufficient in billet manufacturing on the back of huge investment made by large steel mills, which bumped up their production capacity for the key raw material of steel products. Five years ago, steel mills had to import half the total requirement for billet to make steel to feed the domestic market, said Md Shahidullah, secretary general of Bangladesh Steel Manufacturers Association (BSMA). Local mills now produce around 6 million tonnes of billet annually, enough to manufacture 5.5 million tonnes of high-quality rods.
The government is planning to export around 1 million tonnes of surplus Boro rice production after meeting the domestic demand. The government will hold a discussion with stakeholders in the next 15 to 20 days after the harvest of the crop to determine whether 5-10 tonnes of Boro rice can be exported this year. “There won’t be any inconvenience if we export the rice. We’ll be able to enter the international market which will enhance the country’s image”, read media reports in reference to government officials.
Bangladesh clinched 5 medals -- 3 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze -- in the two-day Bangla-Bangladesh Wrestling Competition that concluded at Panchanan Gymnasium in Kolkata. West Bengal Wrestling Federation arranged the competition to celebrate the birth centenary of former head coach of Indian wrestling team and the first Indian international wrestling referee Sudhir Chandra Saha. Kamruzzaman clinched the gold medal in the men’s 86 kg weight category while Mehedi Hasan won the gold medal in men’s 70 kg and Airin Akter Nipa lifted the gold medal in women’s 59 kg category.
The seventh episode of the ‘security dialogue’ between the Bangladesh and the United States has noted that security cooperation is a “key component” in bilateral cooperation, says media reports. Director General, Americas Wing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ferdousi Shahriar and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of the Political Military Affairs, US State Department Michael F Miller led the respective side in the dialogue held in Dhaka this week. The US side reiterated its support to the armed forces and law enforcers of Bangladesh in enhancing capacity through various forms of trainings, sharing of information, sophisticated equipment and joint exercises.
The government signed a $165 million grant financing agreement with World Bank (WB) to provide basic services and build disaster and social resilience for Rohingyas. To help Bangladesh deal with the world’s fastest growing exodus, the Emergency Multi-Sector Rohingya Crisis Response Project will build 53 multi-purpose disaster shelters in and around the camps; pave more than 200km roads; provide water and sanitation services for around 2,00,000 people and set up 1,500 solar street lights. The project will also strengthen emergency response services, provide community works, and prevent gender-based violence.
Bangladesh is participating in Japan IT Week, one of the major events in information technology in Asia, which began on Wednesday to showcase the country’s strength in the sector. Japan IT Week is one of the leading trade exhibitions where ICT companies showcase latest solutions in IT-enabled services. At the exhibition, some 19 member firms are showcasing their products. They are- DataSoft Systems, Epark IT, LeadSoft, Ulkasemi, Ixora Solutions, Japan-Bangladesh IT, Nascenia, Dreamerz Lab, Pridesys, Era InfoTech, Media 365, Brain Station 23, Generation, BZM Graphics, Dream71, Subra Systems, Graaho, Genex Infosys, Dynamic Solution Innovators, PMaspire, Pixelnet Technologies.
The government of Bangladesh and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed an agreement on Sunday to implement a US$ 3.3 million grant approved by the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund for making environment-friendly and energy-efficient refrigerator at Walton Hi-Tech Industries Ltd. It is expected that emission of around 329,801 tonnes of CO2 equivalent GHG will be reduced and 42 million kwh electricity will be saved through implementation of the project. Under this initiative, UNDP, with assistance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, will provide technical support and necessary equipment to Walton Hi-Tech Industries Ltd to produce and promote environment-friendly and energy-efficient refrigerators.
