Sonali Board Recast Muhith at odds with central bank Bangladesh Bank’s request to the finance ministry to recast the board of state-owned Sonali Bank following the Tk 3,832-crore loan scam has sparked off a debate. “This is not Bangladesh Bank’s duty,” said Finance Minister AMA Muhith when asked by reporters on the central bank’s recommendation ... Read more
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665 BDR men jailed
Mutiny 2009 665 BDR men jailed A special court sentenced 665 jawans of the 44 Rifle Battalion of erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) to rigorous imprisonment ranging from four months to seven years in the 2009 BDR mutiny case yesterday. A total 113 jawans were sentenced to maximum punishment under the BDR Act, 1972. This is ... Read more
HC ‘no’ ignored
Wetland Filling HC ‘no’ ignored Rajuk has apparently failed to stop developers of illegal private housing schemes from destroying wetlands and floodplains around the capital despite a High Court order issued to this effect around two years ago. A powerful political clique has been lobbying hard for the real estate developers to ensure the Rajdhani ... Read more
‘Rab source’ is the attacker, not Limon
Finds police probe; HR commission to go to HC A police report has found “Rab source” Ibrahim Hawlader and his associates guilty of attacking Jhalakathi college student Limon Hossain on Eid day. Ibrahim and his aides swooped on Limon and his mother and brother on August 20. For the assault, Limon’s mother Henoara Begum on ... Read more
HC judges split on plea for admission test
Medical Dental Colleges HC judges split on plea for admission test The High Court yesterday issued a split verdict on a petition filed seeking its directives on the government to immediately start the admission process at medical and dental colleges by holding a test. Justice Qamrul Islam Siddiqui, senior judge of an HC bench formed ... Read more
BB for reconstituting Sonali Bank board
Failure To Stop Loan Scam BB for reconstituting Sonali Bank board The central bank yesterday requested the finance ministry to reconstitute the board of directors of Sonali Bank Ltd for its failure to stop Tk 3,832-crore loan scam. In a letter to the finance minister, Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman said the nature of the ... Read more
PM flies to Tehran tomorrow
NAM Summit PM flies to Tehran tomorrow Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will leave for Tehran tomorrow to attend the 16th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit on August 30-31 where Iran will seek support from world leaders to take a stand against Western sanctions. As Iran takes over the three-year NAM presidency from Egypt, it intends to prove ... Read more
Tk 1,450cr anomalies detected
Destiny Cooperatives Society Tk 1,450cr anomalies detected The Department of Cooperatives (DoC) has detected financial irregularities of around Tk 1,450 crore in the operations of Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd (DMCSL), cash-cow of the controversial Destiny Group. The DoC unearthed the irregularities — misuse of funds, unauthorised expenditures and investments, recruitment of members, commission and
Woman kills two daughters, commits suicide
A mother committed suicide after giving her two daughters poison in the capital’s Kafrul area yesterday allegedly because of her husband’s extramarital affair. The deceased were Jahanara Begum, 35, wife of Mohammed Islam, and their daughters Habiba Akhter Hawa, 12, and Sharmin Akhter
Bangladeshi killed in US
Robbery Attempt Bangladeshi killed in US A Bangladeshi national was shot to death in East Hartford, Connecticut, in the United States during an attempted robbery on Saturday night local time. The victim Belal Tarafdar, 45, worked as a store clerk at the Circle H Food Mart on Burnside Avenue. He hailed from Moulvibazar. Police described the ... Read more
Hallmark Loan Scam
Sonali Bank asked to suspend 31 officials The central bank has directed Sonali Bank to suspend 31 of its officers including two deputy managing directors by Thursday for their involvement in the Tk 3,547 crore loan scam. In a letter, Bangladesh Bank yesterday asked the managing director of the state-run commercial bank for taking action ... Read more
9 killed in Lakshmipur microbus plunge
At least nine people, including three of a family, were killed and five others went missing as a microbus fell into a roadside canal in Ramganj upazila of Lakshmipur on Sunday afternoon. Eight of the deceased were Joynal Abedin, 42, his wife Nasima Begum, 35, and sister Taslima Begum, 26, Harun-or-Rashid, 40, Hafez Ahmed, 45, ... Read more
Nazrul’s death anniv today
The 36th anniversary of the death of national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam will be observed today in keeping with the date in the Bangla calendar. Nazrul, also a lyricist, died at the age of 77 on Bhadra 12, 1383, which fell on August 27, 1976. Nazrul, born on May 25, 1899 at Churulia in Bardwan
No end to BUET stand-off
No classes taken on first working day No classes were held on Saturday at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology although the university opened after a 44-day vacation. The campus was almost empty and only a few students were found gossiping, mostly in the BUET’s cafeteria, and wandering here and there on the campus ... Read more
Mid-day meal plan for schools gets little response
The government directive to introduce free lunch for secondary students, to arrest the high dropout rate, has got almost no response at the grassroots level, reveals an investigation by The Independent. According to the latest report of the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BBEIS), the country has a total of 19,040 secondary schools, ... Read more
70,000 cases pending with Special Branch
Police verification for passport 70,000 cases pending with Special Branch About 70,000 applications for fresh Machine Readable Passports have been awaiting police verification report for a long time. Of the pending passports, 899 applicants have been waiting for more than one year, 2,525 for six months, 5,582 for two months, 15,682 for more than 15 ... Read more
UAE slaps visa ‘restrictions’
Bangladeshi Workers UAE slaps visa ‘restrictions’ Reasons unknown The United Arab Emirates has imposed restrictions on renewal and issuance of work visas to the Bangladeshis, said recruiting agencies and visa seekers. Bangladesh’s Consul General Abu Zafar in Dubai said they had been receiving such reports for two weeks but the UAE authorities were yet to ... Read more
Commission to look into NGO activities
4,000 more NGOs to lose registration soon The government has initiated a move to set up a commission to look into operations of non-governmental organisations in the wake of allegations that many of them are ‘involved in terror financing and other anti-state activities.’ The secretary-level committee for administrative development has already approved the social welfare ministry proposal ... Read more
Limon’s family leaves home in fear
The family of Limon Hossain, a college student maimed by Rapid Action Battalion, left their home on Friday as they felt insecure after a Jhalakathi court ordered the police to record a murder case against them. Rajapur police officer-in charge Tofazzal Hossain said he was yet to receive the court order. After receiving the order, ... Read more
Rab to collect DNA samples of suspects
Sagar-runi Murder Rab to collect DNA samples of suspects The Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) will collect DNA samples of the suspects in journalist couple Sagar-Runi murder case for cross-matching after it receives forensic reports from the US. Sagar Sarowar, news editor of Maasranga television, and Meherun Runi, a senior reporter of ATN Bangla, were killed ... Read more