DHAKA (AFP) — Bangladesh’s ailing national carrier Biman will buy eight new Boeing aircraft for 1.26 billion dollars as part of a fleet overhaul to help make the airline profitable, a minister said on Monday.

“We want to give a new face to Biman,” Civil Aviation Minister Mahbub Jamil told reporters.

US planemaker Boeing edged out European rival Airbus for the contract to supply the planes to state-owned Biman, which has been posting huge financial losses and is facing fierce competition from smaller, private rivals.

“Biman’s board has decided to procure four Boeing 777-300ER and four 787-8 aircraft as part of the fleet overhaul,” the minister said.

“Our aim is to make Biman profitable by the next financial year. Already we hope it will break even this year… as we’ve made it more efficient,” he said.

The eight aircraft will bring Biman Bangladesh Airline Ltd’s fleet strength to 20.

Biman has already laid off 2,000 workers, plans to axe 2,000 more posts and has suspended eight loss-making international flights and four domestic routes under its restructuring drive.

“The eight new aircraft will cost 1.26 billion dollars with each 777-300ER costing 182 million dollars and 787-8 plane 133 million dollars. We’ll sign a preliminary agreement by March 15. A final deal will be signed by April 15,” Jamil said.

Boeing will hand over the 463-seat 777-3003R between July and August 2013 and the 294-seat 787-8 between July-December 2017, Jamil said.

Biman’s board reviewed bids from both Airbus and Boeing, but chose the US company as it proposed to train pilots, upgrade airports and help in engineering and marketing for Biman as part of the deal, Jamil said.

“But Biman will negotiate with Airbus next month for procuring short-haul aircraft,” he said.

Biman posted a record loss of more than 120 million dollars for the financial year ending June 2006 and is expected to announce a 100 million dollar loss for the following financial year on soaring global fuel prices and higher-than-expected maintenance costs.

“It’s the first time in Biman’s 35-year history that the national flag carrier is purchasing aircraft directly from the manufacturer and it’s being done transparently,” Jamil said.

Critics have said prevous aircraft purchase deals were shady.

Bangladesh’s military-backed government took power in January 2007, pledging to clean up the country’s notorious corruption before reinstating democracy later this year.

The national carrier started in 1972 with a vintage Dakota DC-3 aircraft, less than a month after the South Asian nation won independence from Pakistan. Its current fleet includes five 20-year-old DC-10 planes which officials say must be replaced within a few years.

Before the new planes are delivered, Boeing will lease Biman four used 777-300 ER in 2009 and 2010 and four used 787-8 in 2011-12 to help the airline cope with a growing passenger load.

Jamil said the Boeing plane purchases will be financed by the US Export-Import Bank and a syndicate of local banks.

It’s a long way from the ancient city centre of Rome, Italy to Nayapara refugee camp on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

But, thanks to the award-winning online vocabulary game FreeRice, Bangladesh, Myanmar and many other poverty-stricken countries, are just a click away for pupils of Rome’s “Ambrit” international school, who want to help feed the world’s 854 million hungry people.

Each time a FreeRice player clicks on a correct word definition, 20 grains of rice are donated to the World Food Programme to combat world hunger. That might not sound like much but with millions of other people playing the game around the world, the overall total amounts to hundreds of metric tons of rice.

First to benefit

Since its Oct 7 launch in 2007, an average 500,000 people have been clicking on the game daily, accumulating enough rice to feed some 700,000 people for one day, including 27,000 refugees from Myanmar, primarily members of an Islamic ethnic minority known as “Rohingyas” sheltering in Bangladesh.

WFP’s efforts to feed the refugees at two camps near Cox’s Bazar in south east Bangladesh is among the first operation to receive food rations thanks to FreeRice.

Uganda, Cambodia and Nicaragua will be the next to benefit; in each location, WFP is using FreeRice donations to purchase its rice rations from small-scale, local farmers – a big boost for the local economy.

Forgotten Population

“It’s just an amazing concept that someone thousands of miles away can be at their computer at home in America or Europe. A click of their mouse means that rice ends up here on the ground in Bangladesh,” says Lindy Hogan, a WFP programme officer working at Kutupalong and Nayapara refugee camps.

The “Rohingyas” refugees now receiving FreeRice fled religious and ethnic persecution in Burma’s North Rakhine State 16 years ago. Many have returned; the rest prefer to put up with the cramped living conditions of a refugee camp rather than go back.

Housing is basic: a bamboo shed houses each family. Poor sanitation takes an inevitable toll on mother and child health, with worms, diarrhoea and skin diseases common. Everyone is dependent on WFP food assistance.

“Thanks to FreeRice, these people, who are pretty much a forgotten population, can eat today and have breakfast, lunch and dinner,” adds Hogan.

Brains

John Breen, an American computer programmer from Bloomington, Indiana, created FreeRice as an incentive for his two sons, aged 13 and 15 years, to learn vocabulary at high school.

However, Breen’s long-term interest in reducing global poverty and hunger meant the site was destined for a far bigger audience. On the day of its October 7 launch FreeRice raised 850 grains – equivalent to 10 players. Three days later, 1,000 people were playing the game; within a month, that figure had risen to hundreds of millions.

“Given the chance, everyone I know from all walks of life, old and young, would like to see world hunger ended. I think FreeRice’s success proves it,” says Breen.

The click to donate concept is as simple as it is ingenious: big-name sponsors pay for web banners that appear at random on FreeRice vocab tests. Their ad dollars are then donated to WFP. In less than three months, Breen has already sent cheques worth US$213,000 to WFP’s headquarters in Rome, Italy.

The game’s rich vocabulary of over 10,000 words has attracted players from around the world, from students learning English as a second language to pupils studying at primary and secondary schools.

“One of the nice things about FreeRice is that people in their home or their school can actually do something about world hunger. They can give a little bit of rice or a lot depending on how much time they have,” says Breen.

Viral sensation

The site is an international, viral sensation with over 100 communities on Facebook playing the game and people posting their thoughts about hunger on YouTube. It’s phenomenal success won Internet recognition on January 7 when FreeRice won the best new website prize in the charity category of Yahoo! UK & Ireland’s “finds of the Year” Awards.

As a “Rohingyas” refugee mother sifts the rice that she will put on the dinner table for her family in their tumbledown house in Nayapara camp, she could be forgiven for not worrying about the origins of her next meal.

But, thanks to FreeRice, millions of people from Thailand and Germany to India and the United States do care – and, with a click of a mouse, they can do something about it.

Dhaka, Jan 8 (bdnews24.com) – In a dramatic turn of events, law adviser Mainul Hosein, health adviser ASM Matiur Rahman, power and food adviser Tapan Chowdhury and industry adviser Geeteara Safiya Choudhury resigned Tuesday.

The resignations came three days before the anniversary of the changeover by the military-backed government.

The chief adviser’s press secretary Syed Fahim Munaim told bdnews24.com that the advisers cited “personal reasons” for their resignations.

He said the swearing-in ceremony for new advisers would take place Wednesday.

Munaim did not name the new advisers, who are meant to fill vacancies on the technocratic government.

Officials said the Cabinet Division started preparations for the swearing-in ceremony for the new advisers.

Geeteara told bdnews24.com that she submitted her resignation letter to the Cabinet Division around 2pm Tuesday.

The resignation of Mainul was confirmed by his wife Saju Hosein.

Mohammad Iqbal Hossain, public relations officer for the power ministry, confirmed the resignation of Tapan.

At 5pm, health adviser ASM Matiur Rahman confirmed the news of his resignation.

“I worked for the nation and am still working. I will work in future as well. I will keep working when and where I get a chance to do so.”

“In the past, I was in a different place. At present, it is another place. And I will work in future from where I will be assigned to.”

Asked to explain why it happened, Matiur said: “No power is permanent.”

Earlier at 4pm, Matiur said he did not resign, after he was asked by reporters to comment on media reports on his “resignation".

Later he told bdnews24.com: “What you have heard is true.”

In instant reaction, the Awami League said an immediate power transfer to an elected government would solve the “problem".

Acting AL chief Zillur Rahman said, “The “problems” won’t be solved through the resignations of advisers. An election is the only tool to resolve the “problems".”

Cultural affairs adviser Ayub Quadri was the first to resign his post on the Fakhruddin administration in Dec 26, taking the responsibility for the loss of rare artefacts from Zia International Airport.

The resignation was on “personal grounds", the adviser initially told bdnews24.com by phone. Later, he said: “I made hints of resignation when I talked to reporters the other day.”

Mainul has often been accused by the media and the public of making outrageous and inconsistent comments on sensitive political topics.

His remarks came at a time when the caretaker administration says it is committed to holding a free and fair election by year-end.

Mainul told a private television station Monday that the Fakhruddin Ahmed-led government would live up to its pledges that include curbing corruption and delivering a flawless democracy through a credible election.

He also said that some vested groups were trying to push the government into trouble, but did not elaborate.

Tapan also drew flak for his recent comment that the government has nothing to do with runaway food prices despite the prices have doubled since the emergency administration took charge in Jan 2007.

Geeteara in Nov last year termed the fertilser crisis that prompted nationwide protests a ‘myth’ created by the media and the farmers unwilling to queue up.

Whether the resignation of the four advisers stemmed from policy or personal differences with colleagues was not immediately clear.

DHAKA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) – After abnormal price-hike of rice last week that triggered panic among the low and middle-income people in Bangladesh, the price started sliding down on Sunday after the military-backed government intervention.

With continuous flow of rice from neighboring India, wholesale price came down to 26.50 taka (about 0.39 U.S. dollar) per kg at southwestern Benapole land port Sunday from 32 taka on Friday. Around 450 tons of Indian rice have been imported.

Major Ali Reza Khan, commander of Benapole Port Monitoring Cell, is supervising round the clock quick delivery of rice from the port.

Rice traders said active supervision of the joint forces greatly contributed to the decline in price. They expressed hope that rice price will come down further.

Meanwhile, the incumbent caretaker government headed by Chief Advisor Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed Sunday decided to sell 45,000 tons of rice at 25 taka per kg throughout January through countrywide rationing.

Bangladesh is facing acute food deficit following the production loss caused by twice monsoon flooding and devastating cyclone “Sidr” last year that battered the country’s southern coastal region.

Besides, according to local media, illegal hoarding by millers and wholesalers also caused sharp rice price hike.

The government will deploy 1,990 dealers and paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles personnel to sell out the rice through Open Market Sale in January.

Also, food-grains will be supplied to another 570,000 families under Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) program over the next five months in various poverty-prone parts of the country.

Earlier, the government allocated VGF cards for 2.6 million families in the cyclone-hit region to get the rice free of cost.

A weekly meeting of the Council of Advisers with Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed in the chair Sunday reaffirmed immediate import of one million tons of rice by government to cool down the market and build a comfortable stock of food.

In the last few days the government held meetings with officials of the World Food Program and envoys of India, Thailand and Vietnam to discuss the importation of the required quantum of rice.

The government is negotiating with India to import 500,000 tons of coarse variety of rice and 100,000 tons from Thailand.

About 350,000 tons of food-grains have already been imported while steps for importing the rest 650,000 tons have been facilitated, an official of the Food Ministry said.

The official said besides, the import of food-grains from abroad through private channels is continuing.

LONDON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - UK oil explorer Cairn Energy Plc (CNE.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said a well it sank in Bangladesh was to be plugged and abandoned after it failed to hit commercial gas reserves, confirming a Reuters report from Dec. 31 and hitting its shares.

Cairn shares traded down 1.5 percent at 2,903 pence at 0903 GMT.

Investors and the Bangladeshi government had high hopes for the $117 million project exploring the Magnama structure in the Bay of Bengal.

But earlier this week, Jalal Ahmed, chairman of the state-run Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation, or Petrobangla, said Cairn had failed to discover commercially viable gas with the Mangama well.

His comments have weighed on Cairn shares in recent days.

Cairn said drilling was expected to commence soon on the nearby Hatia-1 prospect. (Reporting by Tom Bergin and Ana Nicolaci da Costa; Editing by David Cowell)