22 Aug 2008

• Package plan to salvage crumbling traffic in city : Directives to ensure flexible school timings, identify parking and non-parking areas
• Country spends Tk 14,000 cr ( $ 2 billion ) yearly on debt servicing : 2.5 Million people have Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)
• Clash between activists and police leaves 11 injured : Police foil BNP’s road march towards CA Office
• Many industrialists shut down their factories, withdrew investment : Criminals in guise of workers still active to destroy the garment sector
• Abdullah Al Mamun passes away

21 Aug 2008

• Sections applied in charge provides for maximum life imprisonment : Charges framed against Hasina and others in Mig-29 scam case
• Court rejects Khaleda’s petition for bail in Baropukuria Coalmine corruption case : Tarique’s bail prayer also rejected
• RU closed sine die : 60 injured in violent clashes between students, outsiders
• Kuwait to send back 500 cheated workers : Court rules in favour of them

20 Aug 2008

• AL sends letter seeking meeting with CA : It demands polls schedule through talks with political parties
• Govt decides to demarcate spots vulnerable to landslide in Ctg : Hill slope dwellers to be evacuated
• Govt remains silent making way to deceive workers : Private recruiting agencies alone collects work permit

19 Aug 2008

• Jail Killing Case : HC starts delivering judgement
• Chittagong landslide kills 11 : 3 killed in house collapse in Cox's Bazar
• Criminalisation of politics still prevails : Shujan says in Aug 4 polls analysis

18 Aug 2008

• High-profile corruption suspects being released on bail for delay in inquiry
• Hasina likely to return in Sept - Dr Modasser : The physician warns of cases against Khaleda, Babar, Matin, IG prisons
• New DMP branch to police political parties : AL, BNP deem it a move to harass leaders, activists
• JMB cadres regrouping in remote northern areas : Most of the cases remain stalled due to legal loopholes

17 Aug 2008

• Bangladesh says major guerrilla force crushed

16 Aug 2008

• Nation remembers Bangabandhu : President, CA, 3 services chiefs at Tungipara
• Foreign agency instigates political conflict : RAW had used a certain political party and their like-minded organisations to create anarchy in the country
• Urdu-speaking people, expats, still not enrolled as voters : EC fails to keep its pledge
• Top leaders of BNP, AL may be precluded from contesting parliament elections

22 Aug 2008

Package plan to salvage crumbling traffic in city : Directives to ensure flexible school timings, identify parking and non-parking areas

UNB/ The New Age BD

The caretaker government took a crash course to salvage the crumbling traffic in the capital by evicting illegal possessions on footpaths and roads, constructing safe bus-stops and introducing staggered school timing under a package of measures.
Before confronting the problem head-on, the action plans were explained at a high-level meeting on Traffic Congestion in Dhaka City and its Solution at the Chief Adviser’s Office on Thursday.
This was a follow-up meeting to the July 29 meeting on traffic jam initiated by the chief adviser when he asked for identifying reasons, points of traffic jams and action of remedy. He expressed satisfaction over some good steps taken.

Country spends Tk 14,000 cr ( $ 2 billion ) yearly on debt servicing : 2.5 Million people have Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)

UNB/ The New Nation

Bangladesh has to pay some Tk 14,000 crore annually in interest on a cumulative foreign loan hangover of 52 billion US dollars since independence, substantially curtailing its development spending.
Against this backdrop, the National Board of Revenue has taken a move to generate tax money from myriad potential taxpayers to help government out of credit trap. And at a single meet in one tax zone Thursday 2,742 new taxpayers registered voluntarily, paying nearly Tk 90 lakh.
Disclosing the grim feature of high loan burden and a very low number of registered taxpayers, NBR Chairman Mohammad Abdul Mazid at the function urged people to help the government in building a self-reliant Bangladesh through paying their income tax spontaneously.
He observed that the number of the TIN-holders should be increased into some 1.5 crore, and at least one crore of them could be able to help the government by paying their income tax.
The NBR chairman said the process of paying the income tax has been gradually made easy for the payees.

Clash between activists and police leaves 11 injured : Police foil BNP’s road march towards CA Office

The Bangladesh Today

Police on Thursday foiled BNP's road march towards the Chief Adviser's Office from in front of the BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain's NAM flat residence at Shere-e-Bangla Nagar.
As part of scheduled programme, BNP leaders and activists tried to march towards CA's office from NAM flat at about 11:30 am. 20 Platoons of police deployed earlier in and around the area, swooped on them and started clubbing indiscriminately. Police also put up barricade in front of the NAM flat to bar movement of leaders and activists.
After being beaten up by the law enforcers, when angry leaders and activists tried to break the police barricade, the law enforcers again beat them up and chased them. The leaders and activists also pelted stones targeting the policemen. At one stage police and BNP activists locked in a serious clash leaving at least 11 injured.

Many industrialists shut down their factories, withdrew investment : Criminals in guise of workers still active to destroy the garment sector

The Bangladesh Today

Centering trifle issues workers unrest continued in different garment industries at Dhaka Export Processing Zone, (DEPZ), Savar, Ashulia and Gazipur and the situation may take serious turn any time. According to sources, capitalising on silly matters, the workers of different garment industries in these areas are continuously staging demonstrations and going on rampages and strike. As a result, panic and uncertainty have gripped the owners of the garments industries. Meanwhile, many owners closed down their industries and withdrew investment from this sector.
Different intelligence agencies assigned to find out the causes behind such incidents, are yet to ascertain the motive. Centring wages and dearness allowance of the workers, a vested quarter is encouraging the workers to take to the streets and going on rampage in order to destroy the country's vital sector. The intelligence agencies are working round the clock to find out the masterminds who are engaged in such incidents.
Meanwhile, leaders of BGMEA and garment industry owners called upon the government to save their industries and factories from frequent violence otherwise they would not be able to run their business. They also blamed the government for being failed to contain the law and order and to prevent violence specially in the Savar area.

Abdullah Al Mamun passes away

The New Nation BD

Noted playwright, actor, director and filmmaker Abdullah Al Mamun died at 11:25am at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the BIRDEM Hospital in the city yesterday after prolonged illness. He was 66.
He had been suffering from diabetes, kidney complaints and heart disease since long. He was admitted to Square Hospital before being moved to the BIRDEM Hospital with his condition getting worse. He was admitted to the Square Hospital on July 10 after suffering brain haemorrhage. He underwent a brain surgery on July 13. A medical board was formed on that day.
The body of Abdullah Al Mamun is being kept at the BIRDEM mortuary. He will be buried at Banani graveyard today after Jumma prayers, said his son Tonmoy.
Meanwhile different socio-cultural organisations and political parties including CPB, Gono Forum, Chhatra Union, theatre group 'Bahubachan,' 'Centre for Asian Theatre (CAT) and others gave separate condolence messages on his death.

21 Aug 2008

Sections applied in charge provides for maximum life imprisonment : Charges framed against Hasina and others in Mig-29 scam case

The Bangladesh Today

Charges have been framed against Awami League President Sheikh Hasina and others in the Special Court in connection with Mig-29 purchase scam case with the sections of law-- which provide for highest life imprisonment and lowest 10 years confinement.
Yesterday Judge Golam Mortuza Mojumdar of Dhaka Divisional Special Court at the Parliament Complex framed the charges against Sheikh Hasina in her absence as she did not appear before the Court in contravention of its directive.
Normally charge cannot be framed against an accused in absentia. But charge has been framed against Hasina for the reason that she was exempted from personal appearance.
However September 3 has been fixed for taking evidence of the plaintiff of the case and examination of other witnesses.

Court rejects Khaleda’s petition for bail in Baropukuria Coalmine corruption case : Tarique’s bail prayer also rejected

The Bangladesh Today

A Dhaka court on Wednesday rejected the bail petition of detained former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in Baropukuria Coalmine corruption case. Another court also today turned down the bail prayer of her detained son Tarique Rahman in Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case.
The rejection of their pleas for enlarging them on bail came at a time when it has long been talk of the town that government moves are on to set the BNP leaders free in the political rapprochement process to get out of the standoff in the run-up to elections.
The lawyers of Tarique termed the allegation brought against him "false" and "baseless". Tarique is victim of "political vendetta" and that implicated him in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case, his lawyers said in the petition. The petitioners pleaded that Tarique Zia needs proper treatment as one side of his body got "paralyzed".

RU closed sine die : 60 injured in violent clashes between students, outsiders

The New Nation BD

The Rajshahi University (RU) has been closed sine die from Wednesday morning and the authorities vacated all 16 residential halls by noon following overnight violence in and around the campus that left 60 persons injured. The injured includes students, teachers, journalists and policemen.
An emergency syndicate meeting announced the decision after a brief sitting in the morning.
In an office order, RU authority said all classes and examinations will be suspended for an indefinite period to ward off further trouble.
The clash ensued at around 8:30pm when a group of students attacked a ticket counter of 'Hanif Enterprise ' of Rajshahi-Dhaka bus service over cheating a fellow student.
They also torched three shops including the 'Hanif Enterprise"' counter at Binodhpur Bazar and five others around the troubled spot.
The angry businessmen of the locality retaliated by attacking the student dormitory Shah Mukdum Hall, damaging furniture and computers of the students and setting some of their rooms on fire.
Later riot police and RAB came to the spot, baton-charged the feuding students and traders and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse them.

Kuwait to send back 500 cheated workers : Court rules in favour of them

The Daily Star

Kuwait will repatriate over 500 Bangladeshi workers including 300 female cleaners after a Kuwaiti labour court ruled in favour of the workers deprived of promised wages and other benefits. The Bangladeshi workers, placed at various government establishments by a local cleaning company, filed a complaint with the Labour Court under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour saying that the company was irregular with payments and also failed to renew their residencies.
The court ordered the company to pay the workers two months' salary, other benefits and ticket fares for returning home, reported Kuwaiti newspaper Arab Times yesterday quoting an official of the Bangladesh Embassy in Kuwait.
Earlier, the workers had told the Arab Times that the company had filed false cases against some of them on charges of bunking off work in a bid to deport them without paying arrears.
The workers also said they had been facing serious food shortage.

20 Aug 2008

AL sends letter seeking meeting with CA : It demands polls schedule through talks with political parties

The Bangladesh Today

Awami League has urged the Emergency Government to fix up the date of elections through discussing with the political parties to avert any dire consequences.
Acting AL President Zillur Rahman urged the government to settle the prevailing issues including general elections, withdrawal of Emergency Rule and UZ polls after the discussion with the Awami League and restore the democracy in Bangladesh.

Govt decides to demarcate spots vulnerable to landslide in Ctg : Hill slope dwellers to be evacuated

The New Age BD

The authorities in Chittagong decided to launch a drive demarcate vulnerable spots with red lines and move the people from such spots by dismantling their houses on the hill slopes. The drive is aimed at averting further landslides, officials said.
Fears for fresh landslides after Monday's incident in which 11 slum dwellers were killed at Motijharna at Lalkhan Bazar prompted the authorities to make the decision at a meeting with the commerce and education adviser, Hossain Zillur Rahman, on Tuesday.

Govt remains silent making way to deceive workers : Private recruiting agencies alone collects work permit

The Bangladesh Today

"Four months ago I sold all of my land and went to Malaysia through a manpower recruiting agency located at Paltan with a dream for ensuring ailing father's treatment and better future of my children. But after few days of my working there my dream was shattered into pieces when it was identified that my passport was forged and I was forced to come back", lamented Akkas Ali of Gangni of Meherpur.
Sources at ministry of expatriate's welfare and overseas employment confirmed that this way many foreign-going- workers are being cheated and cannot recover and realise the amount which they spend for the purpose of going abroad.
Reasons for suffering of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia is that some dishonest recruiting agencies collect work order from the company owners there at higher price and sell those work permits to workers at the rate higher than the government stipulated fees. Sometimes these unscrupulous recruiting agencies allure Malaysian entrepreneurs to import more workers from Bangladesh than necessary. Thus after going there the workers either do not get any job or get a job where the income is too small to meet up their food and shelter. So their costs becomes more than their salary.

19 Aug 2008

Jail Killing Case : HC starts delivering judgement

The New Age BD

The High Court on Monday started delivering the judgement of the death reference and appeals against the trial court?s verdict in the 1975 jail killing case. The High Court bench of Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Ataur Rahman Khan will resume the delivery of the judgment today.
The same court on July 23, after a lapse of nearly four years, began hearing the death reference and appeals against the trial court's verdict.

Chittagong landslide kills 11 : 3 killed in house collapse in Cox's Bazar

The Daily Star

At least 11 people, including six of a family, were killed in a landslide triggered by torrential rain in Matizarna area of Lalkhan Bazar in the city on Monday. Three members of a family were also killed in a house collapse at Bhaditala village under sadar upazila in Cox?s Bazar on the day.
Locals said 10 people were buried alive and five others injured when a big chunk of earth collapsed on 10-12 shacks at Matizarna in Lalkhan Bazar during the rain at 4:45am. One of the injured later died at Chittagong Medical College Hospital.
A five-member committee, headed by CCC chief revenue officer Mohiuddin Ahmed Khan, was formed to investigate the incident, he added, saying that they were providing foods to the members of affected families.

Criminalisation of politics still prevails : Shujan says in Aug 4 polls analysis

The Daily Star

Easy victory of the candidates, allegedly involved in corruption and crimes, in the August 4 local body polls proves that the country has not got rid of political criminalisation, said Shushashoner Janney Nagorik (Shujan).
Political parties are yet to act against political criminalisation while a 'feudal mentality' among voters still persists, said a report prepared by Shujan on the basis of the recent city corporation and municipality polls.
The voters considers partisan loyalty not honesty or competency of a candidate while casting votes, said the report presented by Shujan Secretary Badiul Alam Majumder at the National Press Club yesterday.
Besides, voters were not provided with necessary information about the candidates in due time by the Election Commission (EC), which said it would be 'immoral' to make information about the candidates public before withdrawal of nomination.

18 Aug 2008

High-profile corruption suspects being released on bail for delay in inquiry

The New Age BD

High-profile corruption suspects, mainly politicians and businessmen, arrested by the army-led joint forces after the January 2007 changeover, are now being released on bail because of delay in investigation.
The High Court in a month has stayed the proceedings of at least 70 cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission against high-profile graft suspects, including former prime ministers Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia.
The High Court also granted bail to at least 63 people, 33 of whom were named on the list of corruption suspects earlier published by the government in phases.
In most of the cases, the High Court granted bail and stayed proceedings asking the government and the commission to explain the commission’s failure in completing the investigation in the corruption cases in 60 days as stipulated in the Anti-Corruption Commission Act.

Hasina likely to return in Sept - Dr Modasser : The physician warns of cases against Khaleda, Babar, Matin, IG prisons

The New Age BD

The personal physician of Awami League president Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said her left ear had suffered complete damage and warned that cases would be filed against the present home affairs adviser and the inspector-general of prisons for causing Hasina’s poor state of health.
Professor Syed Modasser Ali, personal physician of Hasina, said that her health had deteriorated dangerously after the grenade attacks on an Awami League rally on August 21, 2004, and lack of correct medical treatment during her 11 months of imprisonment.
Modasser hoped that the duration of her release would be extended until the end of September. September 6 is the last day of her temporary release from jail.

New DMP branch to police political parties : AL, BNP deem it a move to harass leaders, activists

The Daily Star

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has launched a new intelligence wing recently to gather information in advance about the activities of different political parties and their front organisations.
Two major political parties--the Awami League (AL) and BNP--said the new intelligence wing has been set up to harass political party leaders and activists.
DMP Commissioner Naim Ahmed, however, said the objective of the Political Intelligence Office (PIO) is not to harass anyone; it is rather to collect information about any incident quickly so that the police can take preventive measures before it escalates into something bigger which may become difficult to handle.
The PIO has been set up with a specialised team of officials from the Detective Branch (DB) of Police. Deputy Commissioner of South Zone DB Awlad Hossain will supervise the team led by an assistant commissioner of DB.

JMB cadres regrouping in remote northern areas : Most of the cases remain stalled due to legal loopholes

The New Age BD

Leaders and cadres of the banned Islamist outfit, Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), are re-organising themselves in various remote areas, such as isolated chars, in the northern region after getting released from jail because of legal loopholes, said sources in the intelligence agencies.
They said that the remote chars, spread over Sirajganj, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Pabna and Bogra districts, have long been used as training camps by the JMB. They are considered to be safe havens for the militants as it takes law enforcers hours to reach them, allowing the militants enough time to flee before a raid.
The director-general of the Rapid Action Battalion, Hasan Mahmood Khandkar, told New Age, ‘We always keep our eyes on the militants, and if they show any signs of regrouping we instantly launch drives against them.’

17 Aug 2008

Bangladesh says major guerrilla force crushed

AFP

DHAKA - Bangladesh said Saturday it has effectively crushed an Islamic guerrilla group blamed for 400 blasts across the country on a single day in 2005 that claimed 28 lives.
The Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was accused of carrying out the serial blasts in Muslim-majority Bangladesh on August 17, 2005, prompting the then government to launch a nationwide manhunt.
Authorities said large-scale arrests of JMB guerrillas have blunted its influence.
"The group now poses no real or alarming threat as it has been under control since the executions of its leaders," said the security head of Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion.
"We have successfully combated them. There has hardly been any bomb attack in the past two years and we have arrested a lot of its members," Hasan Mahmud Khandaker said.
At least 1,000 JMB members have been arrested and almost all its top figures hunted down, Khandaker said.

16 Aug 2008

Nation remembers Bangabandhu : President, CA, 3 services chiefs at Tungipara

The New Nation BD

The nation yesterday observed National Mourning Day commemorating the 1975 assassination of the country's founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for the first time under a non-party caretaker government.
President Prof Iajuddin Ahmed and Chief Adviser of the Caretaker Government Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed paid their homages while army bugles played the last post at his grave at Tungipara, the village home of Sheikh Mujib in Gopalganj.
They stood in solemn silence for sometime after placing wreaths at the mausoleum as army, navy and air force contingents presented a guard of honour, joined by senior officials, including Army Chief General Moeen U Ahmed.
The caretaker government last week declared August 15 as the National Mourning Day ordering the national flag be flown at half mast across the country, in compliance with a High Court order earlier this month.

Foreign agency instigates political conflict : RAW had used a certain political party and their like-minded organisations to create anarchy in the country

Rafiqul Islam Azad, The New Nation BD

The Indian intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), is allegedly trying to control the political arena of Bangladesh to implement its own agenda, according to highly placed sources.
To this end, the RAW is resorting to tactics of creating an uncongenial atmosphere among the political parties and provocation for violence in disguise of well-wishers of a certain political party in the name of Indian secular policy.
If their interests are not protected it provides assistance to counter force to assault the certain political quarters. The RAW is playing the game from the very inception of the country.
The RAW is playing active role in creating political divisions and provocation of violence for which democracy could not take shape in the country that started following the mass upsurge in 1990.
The main objective of RAW was to prove Bangladesh an ineffective and failed state. It wanted to create a prolonged political impasse in the country, but was frustrated following the measures taken by the army-baked caretaker government.

Urdu-speaking people, expats, still not enrolled as voters : EC fails to keep its pledge

The New Age BD

The long-standing demand of the expatriate Bangladeshis to be included in the electoral roll has remained unfulfilled as the Election Commission wrapped up voters’ registration without taking any steps to enrol them.
What the commission has done so far is sending two of its commissioners on a visit to the United Kingdom and delivering repeated assurances in this regard.
The commission did not take the necessary steps for registering Urdu-speaking people as voters in spite of the High Court’s verdict that granted citizenship to Biharis who have been living in Bangladesh for the last 37 years and asked the commission to register them in the electoral roll.

Top leaders of BNP, AL may be precluded from contesting parliament elections

The Bangladesh Today

Most of the former ministers, MPs and other top leaders of BNP, Awami League, Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Oikya Jote will be precluded from contesting the parliament election due to their conviction in corruption cases.
By now already 98 persons have been convicted of which 41 are former ministers, MPs and leaders of BNP and 25 are ex-ministers, MPs and leaders of Awami League.
Since 1/11 till date around 1139 persons have been implicated in the corruption cases date and among the cases the ACC filed 429 and rest were filed by other organisations. The ACC sought wealth information from 370 persons of which 294 persons have submitted their statements and 11 out of 76 persons who did not submit wealth statements at all were sued and 6 of them have been already convicted.

Guest Book - About Us - Sponsors - Articles - Stories - Photos