Dhaka, Colombo vie for sub-regional bloc secretariat

August 23rd, 2009 DHAKA - Bangladesh has decided not to recognise Kosovo as an independent Balkan state, rejecting a request from the US. Dhaka has made it clear that it would like to keep away (from the Kosovo issue), New Age newspaper said Sunday quoting Foreign Secretary Mirajul Quayes.

July 29th, 2009 DHAKA - At least 10 people died and large parts of the national capital were inundated in a heavy downpour that broke a 53-year record, an official said. Dhaka ended its relatively dry spell, thanks to a delayed monsoon wherein 333 mm rain fell Monday and Tuesday.

July 2nd, 2009 DHAKA - A former speaker of Bangladesh parliament and two former officials may be asked to return Taka 17.1 million ($285,000) that a parliamentary committee has said were "misappropriated" by them. Former speaker Jamiruddin Sircar, his deputy Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui and chief whip of the Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) Handaker Delwar Hossain, drew the money as medical allowances and additional fuel allowances "ignoring the law", an all-party parliamentary probe committee has ruled.

May 27th, 2009 DHAKA - Bangladesh is mooting a trans-border gas corridor connecting Iran and Myanmar through several countries including India. The move comes close on the heels of its decision to join the Asian rail and road highways, after staying away for years from joining the network.

May 21st, 2009 DHAKA - Bhutan wants to host the 16th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit next April 28-29 in Thimphu as the Maldives, which was to host it, has expressed its inability to arrange the gathering due to the current economic recession. Unnamed diplomatic sources told New Age newspaper Wednesday that the Himalayan nation had officially proposed to host the gathering of the region's top leaders in a letter to the SAARC secretariat in Kathmandu.

May 20th, 2009 DHAKA - Bangladesh hopes to house the permanent secretariat of the sub-regional bloc, Bimstec, which was formed for rapid economic development and to accelerate social progress, officials have said. Senior officials of the seven-nation Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) began their second scheduled meeting here Wednesday to discuss the issue of the permanent secretariat.

March 24th, 2009 DHAKA - There is likely to be a toss-up between Nepal and Bhutan if the Maldives finally declines to host the 16th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Bhutan, which has never hosted a SAARC summit, has made a formal offer.

March 20th, 2009 KOLKATA - A minor fire broke out at the West Bengal secretariat Thursday evening, fire brigade officials said. No one was reported to have been injured.

March 20th, 2009 DHAKA - The first-ever probe into the financial dealings of Bangladesh's parliament secretariat will be conducted by an 11-member all-party committee constituted by Speaker Abdul Hamid. The body will look into allegations of financial anomalies, misuse of power and wastage of public money against previous speaker Jamiruddin Sircar.

March 6th, 2009 DHAKA - The 16th SAARC summit is likely to be deferred to at least the first quarter of 2010 as the Maldives has expressed its inability to host the gathering this year after October, when its tourist season would be in full swing. Economic recession is another reason that is deterring the Maldives, New Age newspaper said quoting diplomatic sources here.

March 2nd, 2009 KATHMANDU - Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Monday began his three-day state visit to Nepal amidst an unprecedented four-tier security measure in view of the dreaded Tamil Tigers' well-known capability to carry out assassinations outside the island nation. Traffic was diverted from roads leading to the Tribhuvan International Airport at Kathmandu and over 1,500 personnel from Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and Nepal Army have been deployed to ensure the security of the 63-year-old Sri Lankan president whose government is currently locked in a battle with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

February 16th, 2009 DHAKA - The opposition in Bangladesh wants to debate the pacts the Sheikh Hasina government signed with India last week. Opposition leader and two-term former prime minister Khaleda Zia and her allies are boycotting parliamentary proceedings demanding front seats for most of its 32 members.

January 2nd, 2009 COLOMBO - Two people were wounded in a minor bomb explosion near the Red Mosque in Colombo Saturday evening, defence sources said. Two vehicles were also damaged in the blast around 4.55 p.m.

January 2nd, 2009 COLOMBO - At least two people were wounded in a bomb explosion in Colombo city Saturday evening, police said. Two vehicles were also damaged in the blast that occurred near Main Street at around 4.55 p.m.

January 1st, 2009 COLOMBO - A bomb ex[ploded in the heart of the Sri Lankan capital Friday evening, defence sources said. The sources said the explosion occurred close to an Air Force camp in Colombo.