Headlines

Law enforcers yesterday arrested a total of 200 Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) men from seven districts in connection with eight sedition cases lodged with Sadar police stations in those districts relating to the BDR revolt in the areas on February 25 and 26. Sources said that the BDR mutiny occurred simultaneously in 41 places including BDR ... Read more

A court yesterday summoned former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Golam Azam, incumbent chief Motiur Rahman Nizami, secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammed Mujahid, BNP leader Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury MP and 32 others to appear before it and face alleged charges of war crimes.

4th bench expresses inability to hear petition; Khaleda gives govt 5 days to withdraw supplementary notice The chief justice on Monday assigned yet another High Court bench to hear the writ petition filed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s chairperson, Khaleda Zia, challenging the April 20 notice that asked her to vacate her Dhaka Cantonment house, ... Read more

The demand for imposing 100 per cent duty on the import of newsprint by the Bangladesh Paper Mills Association is part of a conspiracy to destroy the country’s newspaper industry, observed the Newspaper Owners Association of Bangladesh (NOAB). In a statement issued yesterday it said, if this demand was materialised, the free flow of information ... Read more

MARITIME BOUNDARY DISPUTES Dhaka set to take its case to UN Dhaka is set to raise its objection at the United Nations shortly to India and Myanmar’s claims over certain areas in the Bay of Bengal which has led to disputes over delimitation of maritime boundaries. Bangladesh is preparing its case for extraction of marine ... Read more

Parties’ Poll Expenses Reports beyond public still The Election Commission (EC) has not yet disclosed polls expenditure reports submitted to it by the political parties and candidates who contested the last parliamentary election although electoral laws make the disclosure mandatory to ensure people’s access to those. Representation of the People Order (RPO) provides that copies ... Read more

Nuclear Energy Russian team due tomorrow to sign MoU A three-member Russian delegation will arrive in Dhaka tomorrow to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on peaceful use of nuclear energy in Bangladesh, science and ICT ministry officials said yesterday. The team, headed by a secretary-level official, is expected to sign the MoU the same ... Read more

Clashes with police leave more than 50 people injured Thousands of garment workers went berserk over wage related disputes with factory owners, damaged scores of vehicles and put barricades on the Dhaka-Aricha and Dhaka-Narayanganj highways on Monday, leaving more than 50 people, including five policemen, injured. The law enforcers charged batons, and used teargas and ... Read more

India’s unilateral withdrawal of Ganges water is not only leading to the destruction of ecological and environmental system of Bangladesh but also posing a serious threat to its agriculture, industry and navigation. The allegation was made by speakers at a roundtable discussion on ‘India’s unilateral withdrawal of Ganges water and our role’ organised by center ... Read more

The finance ministry plans to cut 10 to 20 percent of the Pay Commission’s recommended scales for 20 grades of government employees. Sources say the ministry is now looking for ways to cut Tk 2,000-2,500 crore of the commission’s recommended expenditure for paying government employees. They said the ministry is currently examining what amount of ... Read more

At least 8,107 expatriate workers died in 5 yrs The government is yet to act on the alarming rise in the incidence of premature deaths of expatriate Bangladeshi wage earners due to stress, on-the-job accidents and maltreatment on foreign soil. At least 8,107 Bangladeshi workers died in a number of countries, especially in the oil-rich ... Read more

Chief Justice constitutes new bench to hear Khaleda’s writ petition The hearing on the writ petition filed by the former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia challenging the legality of the government notice to asking her to vacate the Dhaka Cantonment house could not be held yesterday as the third bench of the High ... Read more

Noted nuclear scientist Dr M A Wazed Miah and also the husband of the Prime Minister, was laid to rest at his family graveyard in Fatehpur village in Pirgonj of Rangpur with the tears of thousands of well-wishers. He was buried with state honour at 3:00p.m. Three Namaz-e-janazas were held. The first Janaza was held ... Read more

People want amiable relations between the two top leaders Political arch-rivals Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia should maintain regular social relations instead of making occasional gestures in order to improve political culture here, said members of the civil society including singers, development activists and researchers. An amiable relationship between the two top politicians will be ... Read more

A Dhaka court yesterday sent former foreign minister M Morshed Khan to jail after he surrendered to the trial court in connection with graft case. Morshed Khan was convicted in absentia and sentenced to 13 years jail term and fined Tk 10 lakh. The court also asked the government to attach his illegally earned wealth ... Read more

Deadline expires today The government probe committee formed to investigate BDR rebellion and massacre of army officers at Pilkhana BDR headquarters may take a few more days to submit its report, the deadline for which expires today. “We are very close to finalising the report and it may take three to four more days to ... Read more

Noted nuclear scientist and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s husband Dr M A Wajed Mia passed away at the city’s Square Hospital yesterday afternoon at the age of 67 following protracted illness, hospital officials said. “He passed away at 4.25 pm on Saturday,” Square Hospital director Dr Sanwar Hossain

Economists term the move unwise After dithering over the 100-day employment generation scheme for about three months, the Awami League-led government is set to replace it with a programme of lesser coverage — a move that economists term a backward journey in view of the necessity of wider coverage of areas and population. Sources in ... Read more

The body of the ill-fated Bangladeshi expatriate who died of swine flu in Mexico a few days back arrived in the country four days ago and even laid to eternal rest at his village in Tangail but the government is maintaining mysterious silence about the matter. This was confirmed on condition of anonymity by government ... Read more

Causes drop in generation by 300MW Power crisis turned severe in the country again on Saturday as electricity generation was dropped by 300MW when one unit of the 450MW Meghnaghat independent power plant was shut down after it developed technical faults. The 225MW steam turbine unit of the combined cycle IPP tripped at around 4:00pm ... Read more