United News of Bangladesh . Dhaka The Dhaka Stock Exchange recorded significant rise on Sunday amid increased turnover, helping stocks to gain across the board. The DSE General Index, the benchmark index, rose 73 points or 2.89 per cent to close at 2,591 from 2,518 points on Thursday while the All Shares Price Index increased ... Read more
Dhaka Mirror
RU classes, examinations suspended till Dec 31
Class III, IV employees continue strike Our Correspondent . Rajshahi The academic committee of Rajshahi University at an emergency meeting on Sunday suspended all the classes and scheduled examinations till December 31 due to agitation by controversially-appointed class III and IV employees. No class or scheduled examination was held at the university as controversially-appointed class ... Read more
Move to empower exec magistrates to try polls offences rejected
Khadimul Islam The Supreme Court has rejected the move of both the home ministry and Election Commission to invest executive magistrates with powers to try electoral offences during the December 29 general elections. The commission received a letter from the Supreme Court, said a high official in the commission secretariat. According to the official, the ... Read more
Trouble for AL allies in the North
Fading Ershad charm, multiple candidates may help BNP Rakib Hasnet Suman Jatiya Party (JP) Chairman HM Ershad’s waning popularity in the greater Rangpur area and Awami League’s (AL) continuing indifference to its leaders’ electoral rivalry with JP nominees there despite being partners in an electoral alliance, have brought new hopes for BNP-led four-party alliance nominees ... Read more
Media asked to refrain from publishing and airing provocative news: CEC
4-party lodges complain against ATN Bangla for terming Jamaat leaders war criminals Staff Correspondent Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda yesterday said a favorable atmosphere is prevailing in the country and the EC is waiting for holding a successful parliamentary election slated for December 29. He also urged both print and electronic media to ... Read more
Election 2008: The race for edge
Mostafa Kamal Majumder The Awami League is setting up equipment for video conference of party chief Sheikh Hasina with voters to ensure that she can reach her messages to a maximum number of people at the shortest possible time, it is learnt. This is a technological response to BNP chief Begum Khaleda Zia’s whirlwind tour ... Read more
Hasina ready to sacrifice life for country
Shariful Islam and Aminul Islam from Mymensingh Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina yesterday said her life is under threat since a certain quarter is afraid of the mass surge in favour of Boat, her party’s electoral symbol, ahead of the parliamentary election. “You have already read in newspapers about the apprehension of attacks on ... Read more
Khaleda pledges Padma Bridge at Mawa
Star Report BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday said, if voted to power, her government will construct the Padma Bridge at Mawa to connect the southern region with the capital. She also pledged to supply natural gas from the Shahbajpur gas field in Bhola to other parts of the region. The BNP chief made the pledges ... Read more
AL, BNP pledge no meddling in administration
Sceptics term it routine promise Mustafizur Rahman Major political parties in their respective election manifestos have made ‘routine pledges’ that they will not meddle in the function of public administration and ensure smooth service delivery for the public. They have announced that if voted to power they will introduce a merit-based appointment and promotion system ... Read more
Symbol shuffled between two candidates three times in two days
Staff Correspondent The Election Commission is in a quandary over allotting election symbols to the two candidates of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party for the Comilla 10 constituency. The commission and the returning officer for Comilla have changed election symbols for the two candidates for Comilla 10 constituency at least three times in two days. The ... Read more
Home adviser brushes aside chance of attack on Hasina
Staff Correspondent The home affairs adviser, MA Matin, on Sunday assured all that there was no chance of any attacks on the life of the Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, also a former prime minister. He said the authorities had taken all-out measures to ensure the security for Hasina following reported threat on her life. ... Read more
Mumbai hostage hotels reopen
Agence France-Presse . Mumbai Two luxury hotels that were stormed by Islamist militants re-opened amid tight security in Mumbai Sunday, less than a month after devastating attacks that rocked India’s financial and entertainment hub. The Trident and Taj Mahal hotels received their first guests since the carnage, with staff praised for their dedication and resilience ... Read more
ACC sues 23 BTCL staff for Tk 41cr embezzlement
Staff Correspondent The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday filed 11 cases against 23 staff of Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Ltd (BTCL) on charges of misappropriating around Tk 41 crore. ACC Deputy Director Nurul Islam and Assistant Director SM Shaidur Rahman filed the cases with Ramna Police Station against the officials of BTCL, formerly known as BTTB. Of ... Read more
Criminals shoot two dead in city
Staff Correspondent Indiscriminate gunfire of unknown criminals last night killed two people and injured two others in the city’s Manikdi under Cantonment Police Station. Graphics analyst of a Banani firm Ariful Alam, 30, and an unidentified 25-year-old person died on the spot. Cantonment police said they found eight bullets with the unidentified dead person. Injured ... Read more
EC to accept 17 nominations validated by court
Staff Correspondent The Election Commission on Thursday asked the returning officers to accept nominations, cancelled earlier, of the candidates who obtained High Court orders for them to contest the December 29 parliamentary polls. The chief election commissioner, ATM Shamsul Huda, expressing disappointment about the inclusion of fresh candidates, said, ‘We will do it even if ... Read more
If militant partronisers return to power, country to face disaster: Hasina
AL seeks adequate security measures Staff Correspondent Awami League President Sheikh Hasina, now on her election campaign at the south-western districts, addressed at least five election rallies at Chitalmari, Mollarhat, Fakirhat, Battolli and Bagerhat on Thursday seeking vote for ‘boat’. The former Prime Minister, in her public meetings, pledged to build a secular Bangladesh for ... Read more
Khaleda promises stamping out “monga” in northern region
Agro production be increased to control price hike Khaleda promises stamping out “monga” in northern region Staff Correspondent BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia during her wayside rallies and public meetings at different northern parts of the country on Thursday said if BNP is voted to power, special measures will be taken for “monga” affected people ... Read more
Dhaka’s voters yet to get familiar with candidates
Staff Correspondent Most of the voters are yet to get familiar with half of the candidates of the two major political parties, the Awami League and the BNP in their respective constituencies in the capital as the parties fielded some new faces for the constituencies. For eight constituencies of the total 15 in the capital, ... Read more
ACC probes Arafat’s alleged transactions in Singapore
Staff Correspondent The Anti-Corruption Commi-ssion on Thursday claimed that it had received a complaint against former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s youngest son Arafat Rahman of making financial transactions of about Tk 11.6 crore in Singapore between May 6, 2005 and February 22, 2007. The commission’s spokesperson colonel Hanif Iqbal, also director general (administration), said at ... Read more
Tk 540 crore diesel subsidy for farmers
Shamim Jahangir The next political government will distribute cash diesel subsidy of Tk 540 crore among small and marginal Boro cultivators next year, according to sources in the Ministry of Agriculture sources. Earlier, the incumbent caretaker government determined the size of the diesel subsidy. The amount of diesel subsidy and the number of the farmers ... Read more