Efforts to improve working conditions in the Bangladesh ready-made garment sector have taken a step forward with the recruitment of 41 new labour inspectors who are undergoing training this week.
The move is an important part of the government's commitment to improve labour standards and implement national legislation, and is being overseen with help from the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Bangladesh election impasse heightens amid geo-political tensions
The political crisis in Bangladesh has only intensified following the farce of the January 5 national election, which was boycotted by Bangladesh National Party (BNP)-led opposition alliance.
The result was a foregone conclusion, with the ruling Awami League (AL)-led alliance securing 153 uncontested seats in the 300-seat parliament. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formed a new government on January 12, but the political impasse remains. (See: “Sham election deepens Bangladesh political crisis”)
Maternal mortality rate in Bangladesh drops by 40pc
Sheuli Khatun recently gave birth to a girl – her first child – at Chittagong Medical College. For a woman from a remote village where labour at home in unsafe conditions is common, delivering a healthy baby was cause for celebration.
“A few weeks after I conceived I started going for a regular check-up with my doctor and routinely followed her advice,” Khatun, 21, told Khabar South Asia. “Times have changed and now expectant mothers know it’s extremely vital to visit doctors regularly for the well-being of the mother as well as the baby.”
[caption id="attachment_3062" align="alignleft" width="300"]![Baby and Mother]()
Bangladesh RCT wins CMAJ Bruce Squires Award
The authors of a randomized controlled trial looking at the weight of newborns whose mothers were immunized for influenza during pregnancy have been awarded for their contribution to health care research in Canada.
Dr. Mark Steinhoff and his international team of seven coauthors, including three from Bangladesh, are the recipients of the Bruce Squires Award for their article "Neonatal outcomes after influenza immunization during pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial" (CMAJ 2012;184:645-53).
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Pvt oil-fired power plants seek permission to import fuel
Two dozen privately owned oil-fired power plants in Bangladesh have asked the government for permission to import petroleum products to use for electricity generation, a senior energy ministry official said Wednesday.
The plant owners have objected to the quality of fuel currently being supplied to them by state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corp., which imports required oil products for the privately owned power plants.
The ministry official, who asked not to be named, said the plants amounted t...
The ministry official, who asked not to be named, said the plants amounted t...
Govt puts LNG terminal project on fast-track route
The government has put the country's first LNG import terminal project on a fast-track route for implementation on a priority basis, to ease the country's energy crisis and accelerate economic growth, said Petrobangla Chairman Hussain Monsur.
The first meeting of the Fast Track Project Monitoring Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, held in Dhaka on Wednesday identified the project as fast-track one, among others.
During the meeting, the prime minister directed the Energy and...
During the meeting, the prime minister directed the Energy and...
