Banking Tips

Nasreen Sattar, Head of International Sales, Standard Chartered Bank

Q.1 I want to subscribe to a foreign periodical and professional journal.
How can I pay the subscription in foreign currency and is there a limit of such payments?

A. You can ask your Bank to remit on your behalf. As per foreign exchange regulation banks can remit upto USD2500/ without Central Bank prior approval in favour of supplier against its invoice for importation of books, journals and life saving drugs.

Cases where the goods against these remittances do not arrive in Bangladesh within due time should be reported to Central Bank.

Q2. I am a Bangladeshi national working overseas and I have a foreign currency account with your bank. Can I invest in US Dollar Bonds? If so, can you give me some information about the Bonds and what formalities are required?

A. If you are a Bangladeshi wage earner working abroad and earning in foreign currency you are entitled to invest in US Dollar Bonds in your name only.

There are two types of Bonds - US Dollar Premium Bonds (rate of interest at maturity is 7.5%) and US Dollar Investment Bonds (interest rate at maturity is 6.5%). These Bonds can be issued against your funds held in your foreign currency account with your bank in Bangladesh. The denomination of the Bonds can be in USD.500/1000/5000 /10,000/50000.

The maturity period is 3 years. Interest on the US Dollar Premium Bond will be in BDT and on the US Dollar Investment Bond in USD. For further details please contact your bank manager.

Q3. A company's cheques have to be signed by two directors and the secretary. An order to stop payment of a cheque is signed by the secretary alone. Is the bank justified in refusing to stop payment of the cheque without all the signatures?

A. The order to countermand payment of a cheque can be signed by any one of the persons who signed on the cheque. The bank is not justified in refusing to stop payment of the cheque without all the signatories.

Dental wise

Dr. Mahfujil Haq Khan BDS, DDS(Dhaka), PhD(Japan) Oral & Dental Surgeon BIRDEM Hospital

Q. Are you searching for the right toothpaste and brush?

Get the right toothpaste
What your toothpaste must have in order to meet your needs for proper dental hygiene:
Fluoride, to fight tooth decay
Antibacterial agents, to fight dental plaque and protect from gum disease
Additional ingredients according to your specific dental problems (sensitivity, gingivitis, bleeding…)
Have a plastic tube and low abrasion value
Your children's toothpaste
For tooth pastes for children:
The fluoride concentration must not exceed 1000ppm f
Pleasant taste
No sugar contents
Pleasant and amusing appearance.
Non-hazardous, even when swallowed
Get the right toothbrush
In order to provide adequate teeth cleaning, a modern toothbrush must:
· Have a head size that feels comfortable in your mouth and allows you to reach the back teeth.
· Have an anatomic grip to help the correct brushing moves.
· Have a head design that helps clean all teeth surfaces, even difficult areas like the spaces between the teeth.
Your children's toothbrush
A children toothbrush must also have:
· Small head size and soft bristles
· Big and anatomic grip for easier handling
· Attractive design to make brushing a pleasure for the child.

Q. My oral health is not good, but I am really scared about visiting my dentist and I also failed to choose a right dentist. Please help me how can I choose my dentist.

A. Here I am giving you some tips for choosing your dentist. What should you look for when choosing a dentist?
The best way to select a dentist is to get recommendations from people you know (family, friends, neighbours, co-workers, your family physician). During your first visit, you should be able to determine if this is the right dentist for you. Consider the following:
· Is the appointment schedule convenient for you?
· Is the clinic easy to get to from your home or job?
· Does the office appear to be clean, neat, orderly and hygienic?
· Ask the dentist about infection control procedures such as wearing gloves and masks, and sterilising instruments.
· Was your medical and dental history recorded and placed in a permanent file?
· Does the dentist explain techniques that will help you prevent dental health problems? Is dental health instruction provided?
· Is information provided about fees and payment plans before treatment is scheduled?
For more information please visit www.aikodental.com

Helpline

Anwara Chowdhury Guidance Counselor

Dear Anwara,
My son is six years old. He is very childish and clingy. His behavior is affecting me tremendously and from time to time I treat him harshly. Due to this I sometimes feel depressed. Please tell me what to do.
Rokeya

Dear Rokeya,
Thank you for your letter and I hope my information will alleviate some of your feelings. There are many reasons a child can become clingy but usually clinging reflects some early, unmet needs. Children are individuals and their needs are individual too. We all make mistakes and a part of parenting is "trial and error".

To change clinging behavior you should focus on one bothersome situation in which your child tends to cling. For example "your child clings to you whenever someone visits you".

In this situation you approach your son and explain to him that you know he wants your attention. However this is your time with a guest and you don't want to get angry with him when he clings and interrupts. You would rather spend fun time with him than nagging him. Subsequently come to some kind of compromise and choice. This approach allows the child to choose whether to get attention negatively or in a more positive manner.

For further details or advice contact Anwara Chowdhury
Email : AnwaraChowdhury@hotmail.com

 

 

Under A Different Sky

"Selfish love and selfless hate"

Some romantic fool once told me "those you love the most, you hate the most as well." I don't carry a single romantic bone in my body, but I do agree with him.
Unfortunately I think that, when you love someone and hate him or her at the same time the hatred is expressed more often than the love. Perhaps it's the dependence and the attachment love creates, that boggle our minds.

Our rebellious, freedom-seeking minds want to belong to no one, no where and when we fail to do so and start feeling at home with someone, somewhere we start loving and hating them simultaneously.

That's what my relationship is with USA. I am in love with the place, and with the love I hate it just as much, for making me feel guilty for betraying my first love Bangladesh. Where I, along with many others, constantly complained about Bangladeshi food, its people, the roads and politics, after I moved here, I started to appreciate the sweetness of a crow's voice to wake up to, and the frequent hartals that I left behind in Dhaka.

Many of us here constantly put down America, and the Americans, their non-existent culture and their lack of a rich history. For once, though, even if it's for a few short-lasting minutes I would like to recognize my love for this county, the love that has made me hate it so badly.
So here I go…

I love being in the mashed crowd, with an agenda of going in a direction, all so vague yet discreet to each other every morning in the subway train. I love giving a smile and a 'Hi' to strangers without having my motives analyzed. I love that I have finally learnt the meaning of the phrase "minding my own business." I love how punctual and dependable the public transportation is.

I love the Starbucks making mucho dinero selling coffee to a happy work crowd. I love how the homeless give you a used magazine for every contribution you make to them. I love how you can walk away with a smile to see two people kissing in public without making faces of disgust.

I love how in day-to-day affairs, women are not given special privileges, how we too get cut off during driving by other drivers and fight for seats in a crowded train…I love the sense of equality derived from others' misconduct. I love the scholarships given towards minority women to encourage higher education. I love the grants and laws dedicated to females to start their own business.

I love how you can re-locate almost at the drop of a hat from one state to another. I love the options America offers for the ones who are bored. I love how endlessly it keeps you dreaming about a better life. I love how you can create an opportunity here for yourself and have limitless boundaries. I love how one can erase their past and start afresh without losing much.

I love how in USA, divorce is not looked upon as sin of all sins, and I love how marriage is the union of souls not of status. I love how non-gender specific this country is becoming. I love how one can keep their life as private or public as they want.

I love the aisles of fruits, food, appliances and accessories all found under the same roof. I love how guilty you feel to sit at home and do nothing when it's so easy to do something out here. I love how there is an organization for anything your heart may name and fancy.

I love so many things about this place where I reside for the moment. I also love to hate it as showing hate towards it makes me own a stronger identity. I realize that loving all these things might make me seem Americanized. But I also realize that being Americanized doesn't only stand for being spoilt but also means letting go of the unnecessary and being physically and vocally expressive about your wants.

Being in love with one you hate is not so bad, as long as you are selfish enough to take as much as you want and selfless enough to admit what you have taken.

By Iffat Nawaz