Haque Specialized Group's News

A prominent US prosecutor said the Trump administration fired him on Saturday after he refused to step down, adding a discordant note to what is normally a routine changing of top attorneys when a new president takes office. New York US Attorney Preet Bharara's defiant exit, first announced on Twitter, raised questions about President Donald Trump's ability to fill top jobs throughout his government. Trump has yet to put forward any candidates to serve as the nation's 93 district attorneys even as his Justice Department asked the 46 who have not yet quit to hand in their resignations on Friday. Key positions at agencies like the State Department and the Defense Department also remain unfilled. As the federal prosecutor for Manhattan and surrounding areas since 2009, Bharara secured insider-trading settlements from Wall Street firms and won criminal convictions in high-profile corruption and terrorism cases. He told reporters in November that Trump had asked him to stay in his post, and he refused to resign when asked to do so by the Justice Department on Friday. He said he was fired on Saturday afternoon. "Serving my country as US Attorney here for the past seven years will forever be the greatest honour of my professional life, no matter what else I do or how long I live," Bharara said in a press statement. The Justice Department confirmed that Bharara was no longer serving in the position and declined further comment. Like all US attorneys, Bharara is a political appointee who can be replaced when a new president takes office. Previous presidents have often asked outgoing US attorneys to stay on the job until their replacements win confirmation in the US Senate. The Washington Post, citing two people close to Trump, said the president's adviser Stephen Bannon and Attorney General Jeff Sessions wanted a clean slate of federal prosecutors to assert the administration's power. But the decision to replace so many sitting attorneys at once has raised questions about whether the Trump administration's ability to enforce the nation's laws would be hindered. "President Trump's abrupt and unexplained decision to summarily remove over 40 US attorneys has once again caused chaos in the federal government," New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat, said. Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the firings showed "the independence of the Justice Department is at risk under this administration" and that lawmakers had to carefully evaluate Trump's replacements. Career attorneys will carry on that work until new US attorneys are put in place, the Justice Department said. Bharara said his deputy, Joon Kim, will serve as his temporary replacement. Marc Mukasey, a defense lawyer whose father served as attorney general under Republican President George W Bush, has been mentioned as a possible replacement. He did not respond to a request for comment. HIGH-PROFILE OFFICE Bharara's office handles some of the most critical business and criminal cases passing through the federal judicial system. He has been overseeing a probe into New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's fundraising. Bharara has successfully prosecuted state and local politicians for corruption, including former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. He won a lifetime sentence against the Times Square bomber, Faisal Shahzad, and a 25-year sentence for international arms dealer Viktor Bout. He won a $1.8 billion insider-trading settlement against SAC Capital Advisors, the largest in history, which forced the hedge fund to shut down, and he forced JPMorgan Chase to pay $1.7 billion to settle charges related to its role in the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. "His firing so early in President Trump's tenure is somewhat unexpected, but if you had asked me a few months ago whether I expected Preet to still be in that job in March I would have said no," said Matthew Schwartz, a former prosecutor under Bharara. Trump has asked two US prosecutors to remain on the job, according to the Justice Department. US Attorney Rod Rosenstein of Maryland has been asked to stay on as the Senate considers his nomination to serve as the No 2 Justice Department official, and US Attorney Dana Boente of Virginia, who is temporarily serving in that position, has also been asked to remain.  ....

Published at: 2017-03-12 00:00:04

Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) witnessed an upward trend in early trading Sunday as enthusiastic investors continued their buying spree. After 30 minutes of trading, the key index of the country’s major bourse DSE advanced 22.17 points while the Selective Category Index of port city bourse  CSErose 32.21 points at 11:00am. DSEX, prime index of the DSE, went up by 22.17 points or 0.39 per cent to stand at 5,693.79 points when the report was filed at 11:00am. Two other indices of the premier bourse also saw an upward trend.  DS30 index, comprising blue chips, advanced 8.96 points or 0.44 per cent to stand at 2,058.59 points, and Shariah Index DSES gained 4.30 points or 0.33 per cent to reach at 1,316.48 points. Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, stood at Tk 2.12 billion on the DSE, when the report was filed at 11:00am, riding on LankaBangla Finance and Shepherd Industries. LankaBangla dominated the turnover chart with shares worth Tk 320 million changing hands till then, followed by newly listed Shepherd Industries Tk 134 million, IPDC Finance Tk 109 million, Beximco Pharma Tk 81 million and Lafarge Surma Cement BDT 68 million. Of the issues traded, 151 advanced, 56 declined and 50 remained unchanged till 11:00am. Port city bourse CSE also saw an upward trend with its Selective Category Index – CSCX – advancing 32.21 points to stand at 10,685.62, also at 11:00am. Of the issues traded till then, 62 gained, 22 declined and 15 remained unchanged with a turnover value of Tk 78 million.   ....

Published at: 2017-03-12 00:00:04

Accusing the government of continuing the trial proceedings of corruption cases against their party chief out of political vengeance, BNP senior leader Moudud Ahmed on Friday said Khaleda Zia will be acquitted if the court acts neutrally, reports UNB. Speaking at a discussion organised by Democratic Council at the Jatiya Press Club, the BNP leader also alleged that the government is not allowing opposition parties to hold rallies and take out processions as it is again conspiring to hold a unilateral election. Mentioning that Zia Orphanage and Zia Charitable graft cases filed against Khaleda are baseless and unlawful, he said, "The two cases are being run only to harass and humiliate her. As a lawyer, I want to say if the court remains neutral and the judges discharge their duties impartially to ensure justice, Khaleda Zia will be acquitted. I also think it won't be possible to convict her." Moudud, a BNP standing committee member, said the government and the Election Commission must ensure a level-playing field for all from now on for holding the next polls in a fair and credible manner. "The Prime Minister has already started her election campaign. She held a public rally in Bogra and sought vote for boat. It seems that the government is plotting to hold unilateral election again," he alleged. Moudud urged the government to restore a democratic atmosphere in the country and allow BNP to hold rallies and peaceful programmes. "The Election Commission can say the government that there will be no bar on holding any rallies by the 20-party alliance from now on." He said the government does not allow BNP to hold any public rally as it fears public gatherings. Urging the government to come to the path of understanding, the BNP leader said their party wants to solve political problems through talks. He warned that their party will have no alternative to carrying out movement if the government does not come to an understanding to overcome the 'political crisis'.....

Published at: 2017-03-11 00:00:04

The government is planning to purchase another multidisciplinary survey vessel for better exploration of the country's deep-sea areas to find potential stocks of valuable mineral deposits. The planned 'high-end' Oceanographic Research Vessel (ORV) would be larger than the previous one. The ORV is likely to be 100-110 metre-long, and bear a price tag of around Tk 10 billion, insiders said.   Geological Survey of Bangladesh (GSB) has already formulated a development project proposal for procurement of the survey vessel. It has been sent to Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources for further review and approval, a high official told FE this week. GSB has proposed a five-yearlong project, spanning from mid-2017 to mid-2022. The total cost of the project would be around Tk 16 billion, and the entire amount would be funded by the government, he also said. Several European countries have already shown their interest to sell such research vessel to Bangladesh, he added. Last year, Department of Fisheries purchased a 37.8 metre-long multipurpose research vessel at a cost of Tk 655 million from Malaysia to assess fisheries and other marine resources within the country's maritime boundary.   However, the type of vessel that has now been proposed by GSB is likely to be around three times larger in length. It can be used for exploration of territorial sea up to 12 nautical miles, exclusive economic zones up to 200 nautical miles, and onwards up to 350 nautical miles in the Bay of Bengal, insiders said.     According to experts, marine investigation is growingly becoming important for the country, as the Bay of Bengal has been receiving a huge volume of sediments through rivers like Ganges-Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna. Various researches suggest that these river systems annually carry more than one billion tonnes of sediments, often enriched with valuable minerals as discovered in beach deposits. Moreover, physiochemical and biochemical processes can also produce mineable mineral deposits and nodules enriched with iron, manganese, carbonates, cobalt and nickel, the energy ministry official said. Apart from oil and gas, there is a possibility of finding gas hydrates, which will be a major source of energy in the future, he added.   Recent amicable solutions of maritime boundaries with India and Myanmar have created the opportunity of exploring the country's marine territory to collect geological data of the coasts and sea-beds, the ministry officials noted. They added that the neighbouring countries like India and Myanmar have started marine research since 1960s with their own research ships, and India has discovered poly-metallic nodule in the Indian Ocean through such offshore survey. When asked about the necessity of procuring a large research vessel, the officials opined that the large platform is required for conducting surveys and research works in the deep-sea as well as accommodating research labs and various other facilities. "In addition, the Bay of Bengal remains rough to very rough for almost three-fourth of the year. Therefore, the ORV needs to be adequately large to be safe and capable of sustaining in inclement weather and rough sea," said an official of GSB. "Also, during prolonged period of survey and research, the vessel may need emergency patient evacuation along with supply of essential medicine and spares," he added.   According to a feasibility study, conducted earlier on the project, it would cost the country around US$ 100,000 per day without fuel, in case it goes for renting a vessel instead of purchasing one. In addition, there are various equipments in the vessel that are subject to additional costs. "Therefore, purchasing a vessel would be a much more economical option for us in the long run," the official further said.   Better understanding of the sea dynamics will also help the country to cope with the future climate change and sea-level rise as well as to work for their mitigation.   A complete database of different aspects of sea-bed in the maritime area, like - geology, geomorphology, engineering geology, geo-resource potentiality and sea water characterization etc, will be developed through this survey vessel, said the officials concerned. All these data will be helpful for geo-characterization, mineral resource identification, submarine cable layout, exploration of gas hydrates, and construction of deep seaport, oil and gas platform, subsea gas or pipeline, they added.        mehdi.finexpress@gmail.com....

Published at: 2017-03-11 00:00:04

Use of chemical pesticides by local farmers has been declining gradually thanks to rising consciousness among farmers and consumers on chemical contamination, the government data revealed. Some initiatives, taken by the government, have also helped to minimise use of such chemicals in the country, hazardous for human health, experts said. Statistical Pocket Book 2015 of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) revealed that the farmers and gardeners used above 35,801 tonnes of chemical insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides and miticides in fiscal year (FY) 2013-14. They used these chemicals in rice, maize, wheat, vegetable, fruit and other crop-fields to save their produces. The use of pesticide was 45,172 tonnes in FY 09, when fungicide, insecticide and herbicide were majors, according to BBS data. Prof Md Kamrul Hasan of Department of Horticulture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, said the use of pesticides has been declining following increased awareness among the farmers and consumers about these. Besides, a declining trend in use of adulterated pesticides also helped to reduce the use of chemicals. He said in Bangladesh presently there are 359 and 5,359 registered pesticides with common names and trade names respectively. Various human-induced food adulterations during farm and industrial production and marketing periods exist in the country. "One of the serious human-induced safety concerns is the presence of pesticide residues in foods, which is possibly resulted from adulterated and unsystematic use of pesticides," he added. Former Director General of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Md Hamidur Rahman said various initiatives of the government, like - Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Integrated Farm Management Component (IFMC) etc, have helped to minimise use of chemical pesticides.    Use of insecticides in rice-fields has been reduced nearly by 30 per cent in a decade by adopting IPM method. He also said both the government and the private sector are now appropriating Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) method to produce quality foods, which can ensure access to safe foods for local consumers. DAE has introduced GAP certification, which can help to increase export of food.    "If we want to grab a good portion of the global vegetable and fruit market, we have to minimise use of chemical pesticides," he opined. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) Vegetable Division Scientist Dr Md Najim Uddin said crop output can be enhanced and production cost can be cut by adopting farming methods without chemical fertilisers and pesticides. "Our study, conducted between 2006 and 2011, showed that by applying bio-farming method, the farmers can grow 16-18 varieties of vegetables on one bigha (33 decimal) of land, and can earn at least Tk 45,000 in winter season alone." "Earlier, we thought that production through bio-farming could be lower, which was wrong. By applying the organic method the farmers even got higher-producing crops and vegetables, like - cabbage, cauliflower, beet, red amaranth, tomato and brinjal etc," he also said. The farmers have also succeeded in growing earlier variety of paddy in 80 days by growing both local varieties and modern ones, such as BR-57, in the same land. Dr Najim Uddin further said BARI-developed natural manure, compost, useful beetle and pesticides were used in this method. "Pesticides were made from the liquefied fruits of neem, mahogany, pitraj, and tamarind trees," he added. DAE's primary data showed that farmers and traders used above 34,200 tonnes of pesticides worth Tk 18.0 billion in FY 16.        tonmoy.wardad@gmail.com....

Published at: 2017-03-11 00:00:04