::: Star Weekend Magazine :::

Voicebox

"We cannot allow the name of Grameen to be tarnished directly or indirectly by inappropriate operations."
MUHAMMAD YUNUS
nobel laureate
about Grameen Phone's majority shareholder Telenor's alleged involvement in illegal internet telephony services and allegations of violating environmental law and employment of underage workers by its subcontractors.
"Bangladeshi authorities on two different occasions found that the telephone company was not in compliance with Bangladeshi laws. In total, the company was fined US$60 million," he has said.

"Muhammad Yunus is a highly influential person in Bangladesh with extensive knowledge of the business sector in the country. Rather than attacking Telenor, we have urged Yunus to cooperate with us to address the unacceptable conditions as quickly as possible."
A Telenor Statement

“Given the holistic nature of a national integrity strategy, its full implementation would be long-term -- more like a decade than months.”
MANZOOR HASAN
director of Institute of Governance Studies at Brac University
who is involved in formulation of draft national integrity strategy.

"Another chaotic situation may arise from the distribution of salaries and Eid bonuses. The government should stay alert to any chaos."
MIZANUR RAHMAN
managing director
Mim Sweater
about possible labour unrest in this sector.

"There is no system of establishing accountability of donors."
MIRZA AZIZUL ISLAM
finance and planning adviser.
He has also said, ““The commitment of the developed countries to provide 0.7 percent of their GNP as ODA, as embodied in the first International Development Strategy adopted in 1960s, remained unfulfilled even after five decades.”

"It is not possible for the FBCCI or the media to monitor the prices of essentials regularly. Only the government has such mechanism to carry on regular monitoring."
ANNISUL HUQ
president
Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

" The rate of shrinkage of the brain as we age may be partly influenced by what we eat."
DAVID SMITH
Professor
Oxford University
about a study done by the university, which according to the BBC has suggested that, “A vitamin found in meat, fish and milk may help stave off memory loss in old age.”