Pioneer in short
Bangladesh’s ex-PM Khaleda extremely critical, says docS
Bangladesh’s former prime minister Khaleda Zia is in an “extremely critical” condition, her personal physician has said. Zia, the 80-year-old chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has been undergoing treatment at Dhaka’s Evercare Hospital since November 23 for multiple health complications. On December 11, she was placed on “ventilator support to give rest to her lungs and other vital organs.” “It cannot be said that her condition has improved. She is passing through an extremely critical phase,” Dr AZM Zahid said during a briefing held shortly after midnight on Saturday outside Evercare Hospital, without prior notice. He also urged the nation to pray for Zia’s recovery, news portal bdnews24.Com reported. “If, by Allah’s mercy, she can get through this critical period, we may hear something positive,” Zahid said. Her son and BNP acting chairperson Tarique Rahman spent more than two hours at the hospital before leaving shortly before midnight, party members said. Both local and foreign physicians are involved in Zia’s care, with her daughter-in-law, Dr Zubaida Rahman, also actively participating in the treatment process.
PM calls on states to encourage ease of business
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called upon states to encourage manufacturing, boost ‘ease of doing business’ and strengthen the services sector to make India a global services giant. Addressing the 5th National Conference of Chief Secretaries here, Modi said India has the potential to become the world’s food basket and the country must move towards high-value agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries and become a major food exporter. He said the conference is being held at a time when India is witnessing next-generation reforms. The PM said India has boarded the “Reform Express” and its primary engine is the country’s youth and demography.
