Headlines

Staff Reporter India yesterday sent ships into Bangladesh territory to explore for gas in mineral-rich Bay of Bengal. Naval personnel of the country had sighted “Indian ships overlapping into our plains of the Bay of Bengal,” Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain told the New Nation, adding they appeared to be exploring for gas. The Navy has ... Read more

AP, Islamabad Pakistan began moving thousands of troops to the Indian border Friday, intelligence officials said, sharply raising tensions triggered by the Mumbai terror attacks. India has blamed Pakistani-based militants for last month’s siege on its financial capital, which killed 164 people and has provoked an increasingly bitter war of words between nuclear-armed neighbors that ... Read more

Khaleda’s last rally in Dhaka, Hasina’s in Ctg Shahidul Islam Chowdhury Electoral campaigns for the December 29 parliamentary polls peaked as the top politicians, including Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, are travelling across the country and the candidates and the activists are trying hard to reach almost every voter in their constituencies. Apart from supervising ... Read more

Abdullah Juberee . Mymensingh Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia on Thursday urged the people to stand guard at polling centres across the country on December 29 so that none could ‘rig’ the polls or ‘change’ its results. ‘There are conspiracies to rig the polls at any cost. I urge you to go to the ... Read more

Staff Correspondent The Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, on Thursday called upon the people to vote for her party’s symbol ‘boat’ without fear and remain vigilant against any attempt at vote rigging. ‘Attempts to intimidate voters will not be tolerated. Cast your vote for Awami League to build a

100 accused in murder case Staff Correspondent Of 1579 candidates contesting the national parliamentary election from 299 constituencies, 100 are accused in murder case and 48 are facing corruption cases. Out of 100 candidates accused in murder cases, 24 are contesting from the Awami League, 34 from BNP and the rest from other political parties. ... Read more

Election countdown Poll set to be held after 2 days amid unprecedented security Ban on campaign will be imposed from tomorrow midnight Staff Correspondent A festive mood prevails across the country as the stage is now set to hold the much-awaited national parliament election on December 29 (Monday) amid unprecedented security measures. The candidates from ... Read more

50 to contest in 52 constituencies Rakib Hasnet Suman Apart from Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia, a crop of female leaders of different political parties have emerged as tough candidates in different constituencies in the upcoming parliamentary election. This time 50 woman candidates are contesting in 52 seats. In the 2001 polls, 38 women contested

Staff Correspondent Apart from a section of the urban elite, the provision for ‘no vote’, introduced in the national elections this time, is hardly known to people in the countryside because of poor publicity campaigns on the part of the Election Commission. In its package for political and electoral reforms, the military-backed government of Fakhruddin ... Read more

TIB finds 142 candidates spent nearly Tk 3 lakh each before campaign Staff Correspondent As many as 142 candidates from 40 constituencies spent on average about Tk 3.04 lakh each for

She warns govt, EC against manipulation Abdullah Juberee . Feni Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia on Wednesday dismissed rumours that her party and alliance might withdraw from the election race but warned against attempts to rig the December 29 parliamentary polls. She warned the interim government and the Election Commission of ‘dire consequences’ if ... Read more

Partha Pratim Bhattacharjee . Dinajpur The Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, on Wednesday termed her political arch-rival Khaleda Zia’s claim of an attempt on her life a ploy in the guise of a drama to keep off the December 29 polls. ‘It is not clear why she suddenly staged such a drama claiming grenades were ... Read more

Staff Reporter The Christian community will celebrate the largest religious festival ‘Christmas Day’ today across the country in remembrance of the birth of Jesus Christ. The Christian community believes, God appeared on earth through his son, Jesus Christ, on Christmas Day. It is also a celebration of rebirth, new beginnings, forgiveness and peace as the ... Read more

Staff Correspondent The BNP secretary general, Khandaker Delwar Hossain, on Wednesday said that with the election day approaching, ‘new situations’ were being created with an ulterior motive. The BNP-led alliance on Wednesday staged demonstrations across the country in protest against the ‘attempt’ on the life of the alliance chief Khaleda Zia. ‘With the day for ... Read more

UNB, Dhaka The US State Department has warned its citizens of the risks of travel to Bangladesh and urged caution while traveling before and after parliament election on December 29. In its travel alert the State Department said the Bangladesh government lifted a State of Emergency on December 17 that had been in place since ... Read more

Unb, Dhaka The government has announced December 29 public holiday to enable all to cast their votes in the national elections in a holiday mood. “The day has been declared holiday so that all officials and employees of government, semi-government, autonomous and private organisations, and teachers and employees of government and non-government educational institutions can ... Read more

Staff Correspondent The Unique Group chairman, Noor Ali, on Wednesday claimed that he did not file complaint against the former prime minister and Awami League president Shiekh Hasina, but a high-ambitious vested quarter lodged it, aiming to make his relation with the AL chief sour. ‘I did not file the case against Sheikh Hasina, rather ... Read more

Staff Correspondent The Election Commission on Wednesday started cautioning polls candidates against whom the electoral inquiry committee had found evidence of breach of code of conduct. The commission in letters to the candidates concerned asked them to refrain from violating further the code of conduct and warned of actions if they continued to violate the ... Read more

DHAKA 4 CONSTITUENCY Votes of working class to be decisive factor Staff Correspondent Candidates vying for Dhaka 4 constituency with a high concentration of working class people, have geared up their campaigns with lofty promises as parliamentary elections are nearing. Workers, mostly garment workers, comprise the majority of the 20,1000 registered voters in the constituency ... Read more

Govt faces Tk 20cr loss due to BRTA graft in last 5 years Staff Correspondent About 50 percent of driving licences carried by drivers across the country are fake and prepared through irregularities and corruption, says the chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA). Not only the fraudsters, a section of staffs of BRTA and ... Read more