Welcome 1998. A happv New Year begins today. Today is the first day of year 1998 in Gregorian calendar.

This time, the New Year day in Bangladesh coincides with the beginning of Holy Ramadan, a month of fasting for Muslims. As the clock click ■■I zero hours last night, people in the country as elsewhere in the world joined New Year celebrations expressing greetings to one another.

The year that passed off will be remembered for various significant events in national life.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expanded her Council of Ministers on the eve of the New Year. Inducting six new ministers and promoting two state ministers, to revamp her administration .

The reshuffle did not come as a surprise.

It reflected her efforts to streamline her government to

crowned her administration with an agreement in December, 1996 on Ganges water-sharing with India. The accord for 30 years ended decades-old acrimonious relations with India.

She also initiated moves for developing closer economic ties with neighbouring countries, succeeding in signing an agreement with India. Sri Lanka. Myanmar and Thailand for

face the challenges in the New Year

She faces an uphill battle to keep the drifting economy on course and reach an accord with the main opposition party which Is planning to mount pressure on her administration in 1998.

These are among some of the daunting challenges looming in the New Year against the back-drop of mixed fortunes in 1997. It had been capped by an agreement. signed earlier this month, ending a long-running insurgency in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Bouncing back to power after 21 -year through a general election in June last year, she >-

economic cooperation.

But in the home front, she has been grappling with the main opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which lost power in the last election.

The BNP legislators are staying out of Jatiya Sangsad since August 30 this year.

The year was also marked by. ...... ■

six countrywide general strikes and 99 local level strikes, mainly spearheaded by the BNP.

The chances of an rapprochement with the opposition remains elusive as the distance between the two sides are widening.

The parliament meets in rpid-January but the opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia. has said she will not join it until the government scraps the accord on the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Government leaders have hinted at amending the CHT agreement if the opposition returns to parliament.

Opposition BNP accuses the government of compromising national sovereignty and unitary character of tne government. leaving the interests of Bangalee settlers in the hills vulnerable, providing more powers to the tribals, something the government denies.

Tne parliament will take up the CHT accord to give It a legal cover and also discuss a bill on Village Council. Village council elections are likely in February.

The year also ended with the completion of Union Council elections for rural local governments. leaving at least 35 persons were killed and more than 500 injured during the month-long elections.

The economy remained sluggish despite a 5.7 percent growth last fiscal, ending in June. 1996.

A slumping foreign exchange reserve hovering around 1.6 billion dollars, less than expected harvest this winter, about 7 percent devaluation of the currency. making imports expensive and chronic shortage of power cast a shadow on the expected 6 percent growth.

The only silver line in the new year is an expected deal with oil companies fort, exploring the country's rich-reserve* of natural gas. with hints of oil finds that Sheikh Hasina says . would usher the country into prosperity.