Month: December 2013

Visiting head of the Democracy Section of Commonwealth Martin Kasirye said on Wednesday the Commonwealth would take a decision whether it would send polls observers during the ensuing election only after weighing the evolving political developments. ‘It is too early to say whether we will send

A court Wednesday fixed December 18 for declaring verdict in the sensational Biswajit Das killing case against 21 activists of BCL. Judge ABM Nizamul Haque of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-4 fixed the date for delivering the judgment in the case after conclusion of the law-point arguments. A total of 33 witnesses testified in the trial of ... Read more

The US Department of State on Wednesday issued a travel alert for the US citizens traveling to or living in Bangladesh “as pre-election periods in Bangladesh have seen unrest”. “US citizens are urged to remain alert to local security developments and to be vigilant regarding their personal security by knowing the locations

Allows police to quiz him at jail gate A metropolitan magistrate’s court on Wednesday rejected a police prayer for remanding Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi in custody for 10 days for interrogation in a case of arson attack on a running bus. The court of metropolitan magistrate MA Salam, however, allowed the investigating officer ... Read more

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Wednesday quizzed seven officials of Bangladesh Bank (BB), who are the witnesses to embezzlement of around Tk 372 crore by five little know companies from Ruposhi Bangla Hotel Branch of the state run Sonali Bank. The officials are Monir Ahammad Sikder, joint director of central bank’s financial integrity

The blockade programme, called by the BNP-led 18-party alliance, claimed eleven more lives, while more than 50 people were injured in clashes between blockaders, AL activists and law enforcers across the country on Tuesday. Our Chittagong staff reporter said that a covered van lost its control

JP contemplates pulling out of poll-time govt In a new twist in the latest political development, Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad on Tuesday announced to boycott the upcoming national polls scheduled for January 5, saying that he has already directed party candidates to withdraw their nomination papers. Former military dictator Ershad,

In the country’s politics, HM Ershad is synonymous with the term ‘unpredictable’ for his frequent changes in stance throughout his political career. His Tuesday’s announcement to shy away from the election race has proved it once again. There is a saying that in politics there is no final

People in the capital Dhaka are going out to work panicked amid the continued blockade the BNP-led opposition alliance is enforcing centring on the demand for an election-time, non-party government, cancellation of the polls schedule and release of opposition leaders arrested during the blockade.

As the wrangling over the general elections remains muddled, Bangladesh’s friends and development partners including USA and Canada continued to press upon the two major parties to undertake constructive dialogue to end violence and hold free, fair and credible polls. The US embassy in Dhaka on Tuesday

Ranking slightly better; TIB terms it insignificant Bangladesh ranked 16th from the bottom in this year’s graft index, released globally by Transparency International yesterday. It scored 27 points out of 100, one point higher than the last year when it became 13th in the corruption perception index. Chairperson of the Transparency International

Amid the tumultuous political situation in the country, Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh arrives in Dhaka on Wednesday. Although Sujatha is coming to Dhaka at the invitation of her Bangladeshi counterpart Shahidul Haque to hold bilateral talks, political situation in Bangladesh will dominate the agenda of their talks, said diplomatic sources. The Indian

The main Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has welcomed the latest move of Jatiya Party (JP) chairman HM Ershad to boycott the 10th parliamentary polls under the current set-up of the all-party poll-time administration led by Premier Sheikh Hasina. Senior leaders of the

The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmed Tuesday said that the time to reach a consensus over the upcoming polls was running short with every second passing by and the politicians needed to pay urgent attention to the issue. “The people are the supreme authority and

The BNP-led 18-party alliance has threatened to continue its movement under the leadership of Khaleda Zia until its demand for election under a non-party poll-time administration is met. “The government is carrying out repression

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday decided to hoist white flags in front of all business institutions across the country in next seven days demanding a business-friendly environment. The decision was made at an emergency meeting

The country started receiving 500 MW of electricity from India at zero hour on Tuesday under the joint agreement between Bangladesh and India for cooperation in the power sector. “We initiated the test run and successfully reached a level of 422 MW within an hour. If everything goes all right,

The government is contemplating issuing a 16-point charter of directives to different administrative tiers to take necessary steps to maintain communal harmony in the country and to prevent any deterioration of the current situation, according to sources in the home ministry. Already the home

The work of the International Crimes Tribunal will continue amid hartal and blockades and the tribunal is independent and not under any court the chairman of the International Crimes Tribunal-2 Justice Obaidul Hassan said on Tuesday. “We are not under the High Court or the Appellate

Sound levels everywhere in the capital are double the limit permitted under the Sound Pollution (Control) Rules 2006, revealed a recent survey by Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba), reports UNB. The survey was conducted at 85 spots of different categories and recorded the daytime sound level in ‘silent