Headlines

Country sees lowest factory output growth in 7 years The troubled industrial sector may run into further setback this year as the energy situation shows no sign of immediate improvement, keeping investment decisions on hold, industry and banking sector people say. Idle money has been on the rise in bank vaults due to low demand ... Read more

Among them 42 secretaries, 89 addl secretaries 109 jt secretaries Since assuming power, the present government has so far mad 434 government officials as officers on special duty (OSDs), Parliament was told Monday. “Generally, government officials are made OSD for promotion and posting,” said LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, in charge of Establishment ... Read more

The Eid shopping is getting momentum with the shoppers crowding the city’s different shopping malls for buying dresses of their choice and other necessities on the eve of the Eid ul Fitr, the biggest Muslim festival which is only two weeks away. Shopkeepers are wooing customers by displaying different categories of men’s, women’s and children’s ... Read more

Obituary Reference on Saifur, Kennedy adopted, Speaker calls BNP to join The third session of the Jatiya Sangsad began yesterday in absence of the opposition BNP. As in the previous session the BNP-led four-party opposition did not take part in this session’s opening day pressing for various demands including arrangement of seats in the front ... Read more

The government brought a new law before parliament on Monday for passage that is designed to stop malpractices by the private real estate companies and secure interests of the consumers. Parliament adjourned until 11am on Tuesday. It recei-ved another bill for passage, adopted an obituary reference and discussed various issues. The Real Estate Development and ... Read more

Found in US-bound boat in Pacific The navy in El Salvador on Saturday detained 76 migrants, including 25 Bangladeshis, aboard a boat in the Pacific on their way to the USA. The others detected by the Salvadoran navy about 80 kilometers off the coast include 25 Nepalese, 21 Eritreans and five Ecuadorians, reported news agency ... Read more

Aug 21 Attack, Hasina’s Jeep Gunshots muted by probe The Criminal Investigation Department’s charge sheet in the August 21 grenade attack case draws no conclusion about the much-reported bullet scars on the jeep that drove Sheikh Hasina out of the blast site. It only cites local and Interpol experts’ diametrically-opposite opinions on the matter, find ... Read more

Three namaz-e-janazas of veteran BNP leader and former finance minister M Saifur Rahman, who died on Saturday in a car crash, were held in Dhaka yesterday where Ministers, Politicians, Professionals and thousands of followers paid their last homage. They also offered special prayers for peace of the departed soul of Saifur Rahman.

Swine Flu Outbreak District hospitals lack preparedness Most of the district hospitals in the country are not yet ready to treat swine flu patients although the number of infected people with the virus has been swelling every day. Some hospitals, however, have set up separate flu units but are yet to open any separate corner ... Read more

The government on Sunday decided to allow ‘controlled sales’ of the swine flu drug down to upazilas through designated pharmacies which could be bought only on prescriptions. ‘Designated pharmacies will be allowed to sell antiviral drug oseltamivir down to upazils only on prescriptions of qualified physicians,’ the health minister, AFM Ruhal Haq, said after a ... Read more

Ministry relaxes power project implementation period, but sticks to hard penalty provision The energy ministry yesterday finalised some terms and conditions for upcoming tender on eight rental power projects with a total capacity of 530 megawatt, relaxing the deadline for implementing the projects. The ministry however has kept the option for strong penalty against contractors ... Read more

RAB admits 577 ‘crossfire’ deaths in five and half years At least 26 people were killed in ‘crossfire’ or shootout with RAB and Police in five weeks from August 1 to September 6. Among them, 19 were killed in August and 7 in last six days. However, Home Minister Sahara Khatun denied that there were ... Read more

At least 8 lakh motorized vehicles and 5-lakh- pedal-rickshaws ply in the city everyday ahead of the Eid and causing traffic situation deteriorated in the capital. The government’s efforts to ease nagging traffic congestion has failed due to shortage of equipment and lack of coordination among the agencies. Witnesses said every intersection in the city ... Read more

Opposition may not join The third session of Jatiya Sangsad (JS) begins today (Monday) amid a likely BNP boycott. The BNP, which boycotted the House during the budget session which was the second session of the ninth Jatiya Sangsad (JS), continues its boycott alleging that the ruling party didn’t create a congenial atmosphere for the ... Read more

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed yesterday said that the trial of war criminals would be started before December this year. “The concerned authorities are arranging necessary logistic support like setting up special tribunal court room and office of the proposed investigating agencies and prosecutors for starting the trial of war criminals,” ... Read more

Bangladeshis working abroad sent home a record 937 million dollars in August despite a global recession that has dried up overseas jobs, bank officials said Sunday. Remittances are Bangladesh’s second-highest earner after exports and have been credited for a sharp decline in poverty in the nation of 144 million people. “This is the highest monthly ... Read more

M Saifur Rahman, veteran BNP leader who was Bangladesh’s longest-serving finance minister, died at Brahmanbaria General Hospital following a road accident yesterday. The most experienced former finance minister M Saifur Rahman died on the spot after a Pajero Jeep carrying him fell into a roadside ditch at Khairala in Ashuganj at 2:30pm as its driver ... Read more

5 burnt at ship-breaking yard; HC order stuck in legal tangle Five workers sustained severe burns at a ship-breaking yard in Sitakunda upazila yesterday. The victims–Hossain, 35, Ashek, 20, Md Kuddus, 32, Jahangir, 28 and Khokon, 22– were rushed to the burn unit of Chittagong Medical College Hospital. Fire broke out at Kabir Steel Yard ... Read more

A construction worker died of swine flu at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) early yesterday, raising the number of fatalities to two. Doctors clinically diagnosed 20-year-old Abdus Sobhan Sagar a swine flu victim, four days after the country’s first death at a city hospital. “Sagar turned up to the swine flu ward with high fever ... Read more

Weak monitoring by the law enforcing agencies and lack of maintenance by road authorities leave the highways free for deadly race of long route vehicles, causing fatal accidents almost every day. A few weigh machines and speed detectors, set at different points on highways, remain either out of order or useless, and the highway police ... Read more