Headlines

Bdnews24.com . Dhaka The Anti-Corruption Commission chief has dismissed as ‘not right’ the prime minister’s contention that the anti-graft drive was used to shackle politicians. ‘The Anti-Corruption Commission has conducted its drive on specific information and evidence. The remark that the commission was used to shackle politicians is not right,’ chairman Hasan Moshhud Chowdhury said ... Read more

Staff Correspondent The number of drug and alcohol addicts is alarmingly increasing in the city and across the country while drug traders have expanded their drug business pushing large number of people including young and women of low, middle and higher income families into drug addiction. At least 65 lakhs people including 1 lakh and ... Read more

Says Muhith, seeks NGO help Staff Correspondent Finance and Planning Minister AMA Muhith yesterday sought cooperation of the NGOs to eliminate begging from the country within five years. “Awami League in its election manifesto pledged to eliminate begging within five years but there is no model for achieving the target. So, a model has to ... Read more

Staff Correspondent BNP grassroots level leaders and activists on Thursday said that the party has been negatively affected organizationally due to its participation in election forming an alliance with Jamaat. As part of party reconstitution, 3rd day of exchanging opinions, BNP grassroots levels leaders and activists expressed their anger to the central leaders at Nayapaltan ... Read more

Staff Correspondent Large areas of the Old Town of Dhaka plunged into chaos as porters of Sadarghat launch terminal rampaged through the streets hurling crude bombs and halting traffic for about two hours Thursday afternoon over tender for labour handling at the terminal. Launch services remained suspended during the violent demonstrations causing enormous sufferings to ... Read more

She censures the commission for playing into hands of interim govt Staff Correspondent The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Wednesday said her government would reconstitute the Anti-Corruption Commission to eliminate the vices from the society. ‘The commission will be reconstituted so that it can operate effectively and with transparency and accountability,’ she said responding to ... Read more

Govt refuses to renovate the oldest 5-star hotel; ranking may go down Sayeda Akter Reluctant to renovate the country’s first five-star hotel, Bangladesh Services Ltd (BSL) is pushing Dhaka Sheraton into a franchise arrangement away from the existing management contract system, which is likely to downgrade the

Staff Correspondent The Election Commission approved the result of 435 upazilas elections for gazette notifications and kept pending the results of 40 upazilas out of the 475 upazilas where polling were held on January 22 amid irregularities. Among the 435 upazilas, the results of 427 upazilas in 62 districts have already been sent to the ... Read more

Ordinance banning the privilege would not be made law Shakhawat Liton Lawmakers of the ninth parliament might get back the controversial privilege of importing duty-free cars as the ordinance promulgated by the immediate past caretaker government scrapping the opportunity is unlikely to be ratified. The ordinance was not among the 44 short listed ones that ... Read more

SSF PROTECTION FOR KHALEDA BNP wants speaker to intervene Staff correspondent Lawmakers of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Wednesday urged Jatiya Sangsad speaker Abdul Hamid to use his good offices to restore protection of Special Security Force for the leader of the opposition, Khaleda Zia. ‘We have requested the speaker to use his ... Read more

Captures 40pc of int’l call Staff Correspondent The illegal business of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) based call termination made a rather robust comeback since the assumption of state power by the newly elected Awami League-led alliance government. The reinvigoration of the illegal telecom business based on the illegal technology has been eroding the market ... Read more

Alpha Arzu A section of employees of the drug stores of public hospitals are selling medicines in the market, thus depriving the poor patients of free medicines provided by the government for their treatment. In January the Drug Administration in association with law enforcing agencies conducted a drive in various drug markets in the city ... Read more

Danish minister tells The Daily Star to get a truly global deal to fight climate change Pinaki Roy Visiting Danish Minister for Climate and Energy Connie Hedegaard yesterday said climate change is not a “distant future” and Bangladesh should speak up clearly and loudly to get a truly global deal in Copenhagen in December this ... Read more

Excessive use of chemicals, river pollution blamed Helemul Alam For the past one week, residents in different parts of the capital are struggling to deal with a rather unpleasant whiff in the water supply. The areas affected by the stinky water supplied by Wasa include Kamalapur, Gopibagh, Mugdapara, Maniknagar, Jatrabari, Khilgaon, Chowdhuripara, Basabo, Nayatola, Shantinagar, ... Read more

UNB, Rangpur Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Lt Gen (retd) Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury has called upon all to join the ongoing anti-corruption drive for turning it into a social movement. “People who think the movement does not have its appeal like previous are wrong and the drive will not be halted for them,” he said while ... Read more

Staff correspondent The lawmakers of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led opposition on Wednesday continued abstaining from the parliamentary sessions. ‘We have kept the decision whether to return to the house pending till 4:00pm on February 9,’ senior opposition lawmaker and BNP’s vice-chairman, MK Anwar, told reporters after a meeting with the speaker, Abdul Hamid, on Wednesday ... Read more

Gazette notification soon Tawfique Ali The government is all set to publish a gazette notification within next week to urgently conserve around one hundred buildings and sites that are parts of the country’s national heritage in the capital. Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), to this effect, sent the gazette notification on Tuesday to the government press ... Read more

UNB, Dhaka Apparently in a subtle deviation from the country’s past foreign policy on the sensitive issue of giving transit to India, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Hasan Mahmud Wednesday said transit is not a political but an economic issue that should be considered from the perspective of mutual benefit. “Some quarters want to ... Read more

Staff Reporter Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Dipu Moni yesterday said that the grand alliance Government would show “zero tolerance” to extra-judicial killing or torture and death in custody. “We do not condone any such incident and will bring the responsible official to justice,” the Minister made the comment while replying to a question at ... Read more

UNB, Dhaka Industries Minister Dilip Barua on Wednesday invited entrep-reneurs from both home and abroad as well as the expatriate Bangladeshis to invest in the country to help create massive employment opportunities. “The government will provide necessary support to facilitate investment,” he said, calling upon investors to tap the advantage of an investment-friendly environment prevailing ... Read more