Headlines

Business leaders demand a Tk 6,000cr rescue package to face challenges of global recession Staff Correspondent The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Sunday renewed her government’s pledge for ‘a special package’ to face the challenges in the wake of global recession in Bangladesh. At a meeting with the leaders of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers ... Read more

Staff Correspondent A writ petition was filed on Sunday seeking a High Court direction on the government to arrange sufficient equipment to fight fire in high rises. In the petition, the Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh also sought a direction on the government to submit a list of necessary equipment which the government lacked ... Read more

Staff Correspondent Authorities at the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters began to count up their arms and ammunition yesterday, 17 days into the bloodbath, to figure out exactly how many of them are still missing. Director General (DG) of BDR Brigadier General Moinul Hossain told The Daily Star, “Until the calculation is done we can not ... Read more

Staff Correspondent The House yesterday witnessed a brief discussion on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s statement after she said that grenades and bullets still haunt her. The discussion followed comments by BNP lawmaker Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury regarding what the prime minister said during an interview. “We panicked at her remarks. If the prime minister suffers from ... Read more

Staff correspondent The Awami League-led government is likely to place the national budget for the financial 2009–2010 in the parliament on June 11. ‘The national budget is likely to be placed on June 11,’ the deputy speaker, Shawkat Ali, told reporters after a meeting of the business advisory committee of the parliament on Sunday. It ... Read more

Staff Correspondent As many as 201 fire brigade stations throughout the country including 13 in the city have been working with inadequate equipment and manpower over the decades to bring fires under control. Fires, for different reasons regularly take place and damage huge amount of private and public assets making a good number of people ... Read more

Ctg Arms Haul NSI official called for questioning Coastguards, security personnel to be quizzed Staff Correspondent, Ctg The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has asked the former assistant director of National Security Intelligence (NSI) for Chittagong to appear before investigators of the sensational Chittagong arms haul case for interrogation. Sources said the first two investigation officers ... Read more

Afp, Austin, Texas Newspapers are dying but journalism is evolving, an acclaimed science writer told a gathering of the techno-hip at South By South West Interactive Festival on Friday. Steven Johnson equated newspapers to old growth forests, saying that under the canopy of that aged ecosystem blogging, citizen journalism, Twittering and other Internet-age information sharing ... Read more

Shakhawat Hossain The government has decided to make compulsory the registration of the overseas job seekers with a public office before their engagement with the private manpower recruiting agencies. The decision has been taken to curb the sub-recruiting by the local agencies which was found a potential threat to the expanding overseas market for the ... Read more

Staff Reporter The Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources decided to beef up security around the country’s 35 power plants to head off any untoward situation in view of growing public resentment due to erratic and inadequate power supply in recent times. “We have urged the law enforcing agencies to ensure special measure for ... Read more

Staff Reporter The government is likely to pass the much-talked-about consumer rights protection law, first ever in the country, next month providing provisions of imprisonment and financial penalty in cases of consumer rights violation. Minister for Commerce Lt Col (Retd) Faruq Khan yesterday told reporters that the Consumer Rights Protection Ordinance promulgated by the previous ... Read more

Hope for neutral probe into BDR massacre Unb, Dhaka Ambassador Stefan Frowein, head of the delegation of the European Union (EU) countries’ envoys yesterday hoped that there would be a neutral investigation into BDR massacre as people want to know what really happened. He made the remarks to reporters after an hour-long meeting with BNP ... Read more

Court Correspondent A Dhaka court yesterday issued an arrest warrant against BNP leader Chowdhury Tanbir Ahmed Siddiky’s son Chowdhury Irad Ahmed Siddiky in a defamation case filed on charges of making derogatory remarks about former prime minister Khaleda Zia and several others including her political adviser ASM Hannan Shah. Brigadier General (rtd) ASM Hannan Shah, ... Read more

Staff Correspondent The government has extended by another month the parole of Arafat Rahman, youngest son of the BNP chairperson, Khaleda Zia, also the leader of the opposition in parliament. The home ministry on Thursday issued an order extending the temporary release up to April 16, 2009 from March 19 on a petition by Arafat’s ... Read more

The Daily Star visit to 6 leading high-rises reveals sorry state of fire safety Tawfique Ali and Helemul Alam Firefighting mechanisms in most of the high-rise buildings in the city are in miserable states with inadequate equipment and poorly trained personnel rendering them completely vulnerable to battling blazes. Lack of in-house

Our Correspondent . Rajshahi Five more educational institutions in Rajshahi were on Saturday closed for an indefinite period after the authorities closed the University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi Medical College and Rajshahi College on Friday. Earlier, the authorities Friday afternoon closed Rajshahi University for an indefinite period as Islami Chhatra Shibir activists clashed with Bangladesh Chhatra ... Read more

Says probes coordinator Faruk Khan; links of a few militant outfits found; Touhid, 10 others sent to jail Staff Correspondent Commerce Minister Lt Col (retd) Faruk Khan yesterday said motive for the last month’s carnage at BDR Pilkhana headquarters was to destabilise the country and its progress under a democratic government. “They [mutiny plotters] thought ... Read more

Staff Correspondent In a major reshuffle in the police administration, the government has transferred 54 senior level officers and made three others officers-on-special duty. The transfer officials include commissioner and additional commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police and chiefs of Special Branch and the Criminal Investigation Department. Two separate circulars in this regard were issued ... Read more

Staff Correspondent The government-formed probe committee yesterday began its investigation into the Friday’s fire incident at Bashundhara City Complex. After visiting the spot, the committee members said they would keep in mind all possible causes including sabotage behind the fire incident. The probe body will examine whether the complex was equipped with modern and automated ... Read more

Taib Ahmed Inaccessibility to the offices on the 18th level of the Bashandhura City Tower and lack of breathing apparatus and other necessary equipment for the shopping mall’s own fire fighting unit were some of the major reasons for the