Sheikh Hasina opens online e-content

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has formally launched the country's first online information storage.

She inaugurated the 'National e-content Repository', www.infokosh.bangladesh.gov.bd, at her office on Sunday.

The Bengali-version site contains information on different sectors of the country.

The site has been developed jointly by the UNDP and Access to Information (A2I) programme of the Prime Minister's Office.

Some 148 government and 50 local and international private organisations contributed information to the site.

Hasina, during the programme, said the website would help ease people's time and money to get information and "will play a key role in empowering rural people and socio-economic development".

She also urged the mobile phone operators to introduce contents in Bengali in a bid to help people understand easily. A2I project director M Nazrul Islam said the 50,000-page website has four-hour audio and 22-hour video footage.

The programme, presided over by prime minister's principal secretary M A Karim, was also attended by agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury, UNDP resident representative Stephen Prisoner and regional director of ActionAid Farah Kabir.

Sheikh Hasina opens online e-content

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has formally launched the country's first online information storage.

She inaugurated the 'National e-content Repository', www.infokosh.bangladesh.gov.bd, at her office on Sunday.

The Bengali-version site contains information on different sectors of the country.

The site has been developed jointly by the UNDP and Access to Information (A2I) programme of the Prime Minister's Office.

Some 148 government and 50 local and international private organisations contributed information to the site.

Hasina, during the programme, said the website would help ease people's time and money to get information and "will play a key role in empowering rural people and socio-economic development".

She also urged the mobile phone operators to introduce contents in Bengali in a bid to help people understand easily. A2I project director M Nazrul Islam said the 50,000-page website has four-hour audio and 22-hour video footage.

The programme, presided over by prime minister's principal secretary M A Karim, was also attended by agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury, UNDP resident representative Stephen Prisoner and regional director of ActionAid Farah Kabir.

In Bangladesh, no healthcare say for women

Bangladesh's women still cannot make critical healthcare decisions on which their lives and future depend, experts say.

They also say a lack of effective policy twined with insensitiveness of the men towards their health concerns are widening the gender gap that has fatally deprived women of access to healthcare.

An ICDDR,B qualitative study found mothers at the bottom of the family priority list for healthcare. Daughter is just ahead of them while sons and husbands top the list.

Pregnant mothers are often too late in seeing doctors with pregnancy-related complications because they need to wait for their husbands or in-laws to make decisions.

On top of that, they have far less access to mass media than men, according to Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS). It means women have relatively less knowledge about serious diseases like tuberculosis, HIV, and cancer and family planning.

Some 45 percent women have no regular access to mass media compared to only 20 percent of men, the findings showed. "Women are marginalised in the men-dominated social structure," said Ruchira Tabassum Naved, head of ICDDR,B's Gender, Health and Human Rights Programme.

She told the problem was so ingrained in Bangladeshi society that things would not change for the better if the social structure was overhauled.

In Bangladesh, no healthcare say for women

Bangladesh's women still cannot make critical healthcare decisions on which their lives and future depend, experts say.

They also say a lack of effective policy twined with insensitiveness of the men towards their health concerns are widening the gender gap that has fatally deprived women of access to healthcare.

An ICDDR,B qualitative study found mothers at the bottom of the family priority list for healthcare. Daughter is just ahead of them while sons and husbands top the list.

Pregnant mothers are often too late in seeing doctors with pregnancy-related complications because they need to wait for their husbands or in-laws to make decisions.

On top of that, they have far less access to mass media than men, according to Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS). It means women have relatively less knowledge about serious diseases like tuberculosis, HIV, and cancer and family planning.

Some 45 percent women have no regular access to mass media compared to only 20 percent of men, the findings showed. "Women are marginalised in the men-dominated social structure," said Ruchira Tabassum Naved, head of ICDDR,B's Gender, Health and Human Rights Programme.

She told the problem was so ingrained in Bangladeshi society that things would not change for the better if the social structure was overhauled.

We'll win if mistakes not repeated: Shakib

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan has hoped that they would win Friday's cricket World Cup match against West Indies if they could avoid repeating mistakes while West Indies captain Darren Sammy finds it as 'anyone's match'

Shakib and Sammy expressed their opinions in their pre-match press briefings on Thursday. The Tigers and the Caribbean's play their third march in Group B at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium at Mirpur at 2:3pm on Friday.

"We'll not take any pressure of a must-win-game … we will rather try to avoid mistakes in our previous matches. And we'll win if we can do so," said Shakib.

He also thinks that any team can make a berth in the next round. "The door is open for all. But we'll go one step ahead if we win on Friday."

"Bowlers have nothing to do if Chris Gayle or Kieron Pollard can stand on the crease … so we'll try to send them back to pavilion at the earliest," vowed the world's No 1 all-rounder.

He said off-spinner Mahmudulah Riad has been included in the 12-member squad as the West Indies team has several left-handed batsmen.

But the decision to include Riad or Mohammad Ashraful in the final squad has not been made yet, Shakib added.

Darren Sammy said, "Any team can win in their day … so no team is favourite."

"Cricket is an uncertain game," he reminded and echoed his rival captain Shakib, saying "The door to the second round is open for all."

Sammy said, "Chris [Gayle] has his plan that how he will lead the team to win. He is aware of his duty. [Devon] Smith is also playing well."

Regarding Dwayne Bravo's return to West Indies for injury, he said, "We've come to Bangladesh with full confidence … we want to win for him [Bravo]."

In the 2009 one-day series in West Indies, Bangladesh whitewashed them 3-0.

We'll win if mistakes not repeated: Shakib

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan has hoped that they would win Friday's cricket World Cup match against West Indies if they could avoid repeating mistakes while West Indies captain Darren Sammy finds it as 'anyone's match'

Shakib and Sammy expressed their opinions in their pre-match press briefings on Thursday. The Tigers and the Caribbean's play their third march in Group B at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium at Mirpur at 2:3pm on Friday.

"We'll not take any pressure of a must-win-game … we will rather try to avoid mistakes in our previous matches. And we'll win if we can do so," said Shakib.

He also thinks that any team can make a berth in the next round. "The door is open for all. But we'll go one step ahead if we win on Friday."

"Bowlers have nothing to do if Chris Gayle or Kieron Pollard can stand on the crease … so we'll try to send them back to pavilion at the earliest," vowed the world's No 1 all-rounder.

He said off-spinner Mahmudulah Riad has been included in the 12-member squad as the West Indies team has several left-handed batsmen.

But the decision to include Riad or Mohammad Ashraful in the final squad has not been made yet, Shakib added.

Darren Sammy said, "Any team can win in their day … so no team is favourite."

"Cricket is an uncertain game," he reminded and echoed his rival captain Shakib, saying "The door to the second round is open for all."

Sammy said, "Chris [Gayle] has his plan that how he will lead the team to win. He is aware of his duty. [Devon] Smith is also playing well."

Regarding Dwayne Bravo's return to West Indies for injury, he said, "We've come to Bangladesh with full confidence … we want to win for him [Bravo]."

In the 2009 one-day series in West Indies, Bangladesh whitewashed them 3-0.

Nobel laureate Md Yunus removed as Grameen Bank MD

Grameen Bank managing director and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been relieved of his duties.

Deputy general manager (protocol) of the Bangladesh Bank governor's secretariat A F M Asaduzzaman confirmed the sacking of Yunus to bdnews24.com.

Around 4:45pm on Wednesday, Asaduzzaman said, "Muhammad Yunus has been removed from the post of managing director of Grameen Bank."

"I hope the order to this effect will arrive in a while," he added.

Finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith had on Tuesday confirmed receiving a central bank letter terming holding of office by Yunus illegal.

Muhith, however, declined to comment any further on the issue. "It's a legal issue. There's nothing to be said about it now."

Reports published in various newspapers claimed that the letter cited Article 14(3) of the Grameen Bank Ordinance-1983 and stated that Nobel laureate Yunus should not stay on as the bank's managing director.

The article referred to in the letter specifies the retirement age and deems ineligible people above 60 years of age.

On Feb 15, the finance minister told BBC that Yunus should resign from his position at Grameen Bank. "He has even reached the (retirement) age limit for holding the office of a private bank chief."

Muhith also pointed out that 70-year-old Yunus had already exceeded the age limit, and said that it was time for the Nobel laureate to step down. "No one can stay in an organisation forever."

Norway's national TV NRK aired a documentary on November 30 titled "Fanget i Mikrogjeld" or "Caught in Micro debt", based on which bdnews24.com ran a report on December 1.

According to the documentary, Yunus transferred funds destined for Grameen Bank to Grameen Kalyan, which was in no way involved with micro-credit operations.

Responding to the allegations, Grameen Bank claimed there was no wrongdoing in the agreement between the bank and Grameen Kalyan, under which it received Tk 3,917 million from Grameen Bank.