Headlines

WAR CRIMES TRIAL Govt set to form investigation agency, tribunals The government will set up an agency in three days to investigate war crimes committed by local collaborators of the Pakistan army during the war of independence in 1971, a minister said. The persons who committed crimes against humanity and carried out the genocide will ... Read more

They control several groups for their own interest as current leaders fail to maintain command Taking advantage of ‘inept’ central leadership of Bangladesh Chhatra League, some former student leaders are allegedly pulling the strings behind the BCL factions blamed for the recent spate of violence in educational institutions. Several activists of Chhatra League, student wing ... Read more

We are accountable to none but the president, claim ACC officials Parliamentary experts and members of a legislative panel have expressed resentment at the reported refusal by officials of the Anti-Corruption Commission to explain the activities and procedures that were undertaken during the two-year rule of the military-backed interim government. They said that the ACC’s ... Read more

Cancellation of lease of Khaleda’s house slated The Bangladesh Nationalist Party will go for agitation programmes and legal battle against the government’s decision to cancel the lease of Khaleda Zia’s house in the Dhaka cantonment. The party made the decision at an impromptu meeting of its standing committee and available senior leaders in the office ... Read more

Govt action canceling Khaleda’s cantt. residence contrary to justice, says Barrister Mahbub The new government cancelled the lease of the much-talked-about cantonment residence of Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia as the house “allocation was not made legally”. A cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at Bangladesh Secretariat on Wednesday morning took the ... Read more

Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), student wing of BNP, yesterday staged demonstration on Dhaka University (DU) campus in protest against the government decision to cancel allotment of Begum Zia’s Cantonment residence. Protesting the government decision, JCD brought out an instant procession that marched on the campus starting from Madhu`s canteen. During the procession, leaders and activists ... Read more

The passage of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act is a violation of the constitution and the Supreme Court verdict in the Masder Hossain case, widely known as the separation of the judiciary case, said judiciary and legal experts on Wednesday. The Bangladesh Judicial Services Association has also expressed its disappointment at the passage ... Read more

5 pc cut costs exchequer over Tk 4,000cr The government might go harsh on the country’s corporate sector in the next fiscal budget with the denial of their long-time plea for reducing the corporate taxes, presently ranging up to 45 per cent. Sources in the National Board of Revenue (NBR) said that cuts in corporate ... Read more

Probe report into the brutal and bloody massacre inside Bangladesh Riffles [BDR] headquarters during February 25-26, 2009, done by a team of Bangladesh Army is reported set to be published by April 22. According to several sources, the preview of this much awaited investigation report was already completed last week. A large number of army ... Read more

The newly-elected members of parliament (MPs) in recently held bypolls of Jatiya Sangsad were sworn in yesterday making the House filled with all its 345 seats. The lawmakers of Awami League Sheikh Helaluddin, Nazmul Hasan Papon, Abul Kalam Azad and Zafar Ali, Bangladesh Nationalist Party lawmakers Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar and Barrister Moudud Ahmed, and Jatiya ... Read more

A delegation to visit next month for feasibility study Russia is ready to assist Bangladesh in generating hydropower by providing financial and technological supports utilizing river currents to meet the growing demand of electricity. After a meeting with Prime Minister’s Adviser Dr Toufiq-e-Elahi at his Secretariat Office yesterday, Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Dr Gennady P ... Read more

Even a cabinet decision to keep upazilas free of MPs’ influence ignored With the passing of the new upazila parishad bill in the Awami League (AL) majority parliament, the government empowered lawmakers to meddle in the functioning of upazila parishads, burying AL’s electoral pledge of making the parishads self-reliant and autonomous. The government could not ... Read more

The use of compressed natural gas (CNG) in the transport sector has not only reduced carbon emission but also is saving over $800 million worth of petroleum import annually, Petrobangla sources say. However, rapid expansion of CNG delivery network in the last few years has significantly contributed to instability of gas supply pressure in many ... Read more

Amnesty International (AI) has welcomed the UN assistance to Bangladesh’s efforts to investigate and prosecute crimes against humanity and other serious violations of humanitarian law during the War of Liberation in 1971. Welcoming the news, the AI said four international war crimes experts, Louis Bickford, Priscilla Hayner, Bogdan Ivanisevic and Alexander Mayer-Rieckh, have been named ... Read more

Upazila chairmen express anger over provisions curbing their powers A good number of upazila parishads might have difficulty functioning properly as they will have more than one lawmaker as advisers as per the upazila bill passed on Monday. “Due to the latest delimitation of parliamentary constituencies, more than 100 upazilas are made up of areas ... Read more

All political parties, irrespective of differences of opinion, need to work together in the interest of the country, its sovereignty and democracy, said the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Tuesday when the first session of the ninth parliament was prorogued. Hasina urged the opposition to give the government some time to ensure people’s welfare and ... Read more

The leader of the opposition in parliament, Khaleda Zia, on Tuesday said the army as an institution was not involved in wrongdoings during the tenure of the interim government, but some over-ambitious persons, involved in conspiracy, tarnished the reputation of the Armed Forces. She said the army as an institution was not involved in misdeeds ... Read more

BB also asks commercial banks to lower lending rate to 13pc Bangladesh Bank asked the commercial banks to waive down payment on loan rescheduling for next six months for the industries being affected by the global economic meltdown, as part of a government package measure for cushioning businesses against effects of the recession. The central ... Read more

The parliament on Tuesday, the last working day of the first session, passed the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill allowing the government to empower executive magistrates to take cognisance of any offences. The bill re-enacted two ordinances promulgated by the immediate-past interim government, with some changes made by the parliamentary standing committee on the ... Read more

Govt bound to try war criminals: Tuku The government will not allow any loophole in 1973 law which may either facilitate any war criminal to escape punishment or obstruct expedited trial procedure. At a press briefing Tuesday, Law State Minister Advocate Quamrul Islam said examination of the law of 1973 goes on to ascertain as ... Read more