The Chittagong Port Authority on Thursday directed all lighter vessels carrying goods to leave the port limit within 72 hours to ensure uninterrupted supply chain and stable market prices during Ramadan.
Legal action would be taken against vessels failing to comply with the directive, warned Port Chairman Rear Admiral SM Moniruzzaman while talking to the media.
“Recently, it has been observed that after unloading cargo from mother vessels at the outer anchorage, lighter vessels remain within the port limit for extended periods without any valid reason. This disrupts the supply chain, creates artificial crises in the market, increases commodity prices that affect the consumers,” Moniruzzaman said.
Creating artificial shortages to manipulate prices is against the interests of the country and people and the prolonged presence of excessive lighter vessels within a restricted area also poses security risks, he added.
Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman does not tell anything without apprehending it clearly, said Labour and Employment Adviser Brig Gen (retd) Dr M Sakhawat Hossain.
Responding to a question from reporters about the army chief speech on several issues in Dhaka, including heated-speech among political parties, the adviser delivered the statement while briefing the media on the Advisory Council Committee on Labour and Business Situation Review of Industries at Beximco Industrial Park.
On Tuesday, the army chief said, "At the end of the day, we must prioritise the country and the nation instead of engaging in conflicts. If you resort to mudslinging among yourselves, the independence and sovereignty of the country and the nation will be at stake. I am issuing a warning—you cannot say later that I did not caution you. “
Waker delivered the statement at an event at Raowa Club in the capital, marking the National Army Martyrs Day.
New accreditation policy titled Press Accreditation Policy, 2025 has been formulated for issuing accreditation cards to Bangladeshi journalists working for both national and international media outlets within Bangladesh.
The newly formulated Press Accreditation Policy 2025 aims to update the current policy, according to the gazette issued today by information and broadcasting ministry secretary Mahbuba Farzana.
As per the new policy, a news organisation will be allowed to get accreditation cards for up to 30% of its journalists, with the maximum limit of 15 per media outlet.
Each media organization is required to submit a recommendation for issuing or renewing press accreditation cards for its journalists. This recommendation must be signed and stamped by the designated official of the organization and submitted to the Principal Information Officer.
The application must be made using the official pad of the media organization, specifying the name and designation of the officials who recommend for the accreditation cards.
Regarding freelance journalists, they must have at least 20 years of experience in journalism or be actively working on press issues to qualify for accreditation cards.
If a journalist is denied accreditation, they will have the right to appeal. The appeal board will include representatives from different sectors, such as national newspaper editors and judges.
The test run of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) will begin soon, Director General of State Corporation for Nuclear Energy ROSATOM of the Russian Federation, Alexey Likhachev said today.
"...the dry run of the project is going on while the test run will commence soon," Likhachev said when he called on Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna here.
During the meeting, Prof Yunus said Bangladesh is looking forward to expanding cooperation in nuclear energy, focusing on shared interests and advancements in peaceful nuclear technology.
The meeting focused on the continuing collaboration between Bangladesh and Russia in the development of the RNPP, a landmark project aimed at enhancing Bangladesh energy security through nuclear energy.