Month: June 2009

Repair needs Tk 430cr The government has allocated Tk 116 crore for repairing damaged embankments and the work began on Tuesday, reports UNB. Approximately Tk 430 crore would be needed to repair all the damaged dams. A total of 150-km embankments were damaged by the cyclone Aila. Army personnel will be engaged in repairing embankments ... Read more

Former BNP lawmaker, Nasir Uddin Ahmed Pintu, was arrested at the premises of the High Court on Tuesday on charge of helping rebel BDR soldiers flee their headquarters at Pilkhana on February 25-26. A team of Detective Branch Police, with the help of Shahbagh police station, picked him up at around 5:15pm just after he ... Read more

Reported resignation issue of State Minister for Home Affairs Tanjim Ahmed Sohel Taj has become the talk of the town which prompted a huge gathering in front of his official residence in capital’s Baily Road on Tuesday. Although confusion still persists over the issue, a reliable source confirmed The Bangladesh Today that the State Minister ... Read more

The resignation of state minister for home affairs Tanjim Ahmed Shohel Taj remained a riddle. On Monday evening Taj tendered his resignation, but the Cabinet Division senior official said that they did not receive any resignation letter from the state minister for home affairs. But the Prime Minister and the Awami League sources have confirmed ... Read more

Ex-ACC secy clarifies position before watchdog The parliamentary standing committee on public undertakings Tuesday unanimously decided to take recourse to all legal actions, including issuing arrest warrant, to bring the defiant former ACC chairman and two incumbent commissioners before the committee”s next meeting, reports UNB. As the crusaders against corruption defied earlier summons to appear ... Read more

Budget session begins tomorrow The treasury and the opposition bench in the parliament on Tuesday failed to reach any consensus on the sharing of the front-row seats, to the left of the speaker, only a day before the budget session is set to begin at 3:00pm Thursday. The parliament speaker, the chief whip and the ... Read more

Overseas employment outflow witnessed a five-month low in May this year, revealing another 57 per cent decline in yearly comparison. It was a net 8.19 per cent fall against the workers outflow recorded in April of the current year, official said on Tuesday. As the top job markets for Bangladeshi workers continued to face the ... Read more

Raids go on, another held The Detective Branch (DB) of the police has got vital information on that some more Indian nationals and accomplices of the International mafia don Daud Ibrahim are now residing in different parts of the country, even in the capital, Dhaka, police sources said. Following information extracted from the detained close ... Read more

NEW DELHI: More than 100 million people have joined the ranks of the chronically hungry in South Asia in the fallout from the global financial crisis, bringing the figure to a 40-year high, a U.N. official said Tuesday, reports AP. The region”s poor, who have borne the brunt of the economic trouble, desperately need governments ... Read more

Cabinet fixes daylight saving time schedule The daylight saving time (DST) will take effect at midnight on June 19, setting the clocks an hour ahead. The decision came at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday. Briefing reporters afterwards, the prime minister’s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad said the clocks will be ... Read more

Repair of damaged embankments to take long time The survivors of cyclone Aila in Satkhira are unlikely to be relieved of their sufferings anytime soon as it will take several months to complete the repair works of the damaged embankments there. Although the authorities concerned began repairing small breaches in the dams, it might not ... Read more

Govt step on way to check criminal use of legal arms Persons who are entitled to possession and renewal of arms licences will be required to pay at least Tk 2 lakh income tax annually and they have to show income tax certification for the previous three years, according to the new system the government ... Read more

Speculations were rife in the capital Monday that the State Minister for Home Affairs Tanjim Ahmed Sohel Taj has tendered his resignation. Conjectures as to the reasons for such a resignation include his frequent blunt comments to the media, his tough stand on controlling crimes which recently resulted in “cross-fire” death of two BCL activists ... Read more

Observe key personalities Eminent personalities yesterday said people’s movement and strict legal actions are a must to save the dying rivers from the clutches of land-grabbers and polluters. Distinguished professionals, academicians, NGO and top business leaders and others said this at the inauguration of a photography exhibition titled ‘Save Rivers, Save Dhaka’ held at the ... Read more

The World Bank suggested Bangladesh to shape up Chittagong and Mongla seaports as regional ports for smooth regional connectivity, which the donor agency thinks will spur the country”s economic uplift, reports UNB. Regional Director of the WB Dr Sadiq Ahmed came up with the proposition during talks with Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain at his ... Read more

228 feared dead An Air France plane carrying 228 people from Brazil to France has vanished over the Atlantic after a possible lightning strike, airline officials say, reports BBC. The Airbus sent an automatic message at 0214 GMT, four hours after leaving Rio de Janeiro, reporting a short circuit as it flew through strong turbulence. ... Read more

At least 428 primary school students of eight primary schools under Laxmichhari upazila in Khagrachhari district have fallen sick after taking the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) biscuits today (Monday). Laxmichhari upazila administration sources said, of the sick students, 150 were admitted into Manikchhari Upazila Health Complex and Laxmichhari Upazila Health Complex. A 5-member ... Read more

HC asks govt The High Court (HC) in a verdict yesterday directed the government to set up a food court in every district and to appoint sufficient food analysts and food inspectors in all districts within one year in order to prevent food adulteration. The court also directed the government to inform the court by ... Read more

It has been finally decided that the Congress-led UPA government would put a woman at the most prestigious seat of Indian lower house as Speaker. Meira Kumar is all poised to become the first woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha as her name was cleared by the Congress core group.  Meira will also be the ... Read more