3-day congregation of Muslims begins A large number of devotees thronged the bank of Turag in Tongi yesterday as the first phase of Biswa Ijtema, one of the largest congregations of the Muslims, got underway. The Ijtema venue literally turned into a human sea during the Juma prayers. Pesh Imam (prayer leader) of Kakrail Mosque ... Read more
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BSF tortures 2 Bangladeshis
Two Bangladeshi cattle traders, who were tortured and left unconscious by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) in border areas of the district’s sadar upazila, are fighting for life at Satkhira Sadar Hospital. Of the two, Rafiqul Islam, 35, is from Sultanpur of Satkhira town and Fazlur Rahman, 45, from Mahmudur village of sadar upazila
Stock efforts fall apart
6 brokers’ trading suspended for 30 days on market volatility charges; top bosses stripped of responsibilities; book-building system on hold; markets closed on Sunday The share index breaker failed to prevent a free fall in prices on the Dhaka and the Chittagong stock exchanges yesterday. The Dhaka stock index had nosedived 600 points before the ... Read more
India initiates probe of Felani killing
Indo-Bangla talks end, Delhi pledges to stop border killing India has initiated a ‘court of inquiry’ into the recent killing of a Bangladeshi minor girl in the border by its Border Security Force, according to Indian home affairs secretary. It also iterated its assurance, at the 11th India-Bangladesh home secretary-level talks that concluded in Dhaka ... Read more
Bourses to be shut on Sunday
The Securities and Exchange Commission has suspended share trading on the country’s twin bourses on Sunday. This move was taken by the regulator for the first time in the country as stocks have been crashing day after day, precipitating violent demonstrations for some weeks now. SEC also
Twin tragedy
9 killed as bus ploughs thru rescuers of road crash A three-bus pileup in thick fog killed nine people and injured 45 others in Pirganj upazila of Rangpur yesterday morning. The first crash occurred at around 7:00am when a speeding bus of Uttar Banga Paribahan rammed from behind a Dhaka-bound bus of FK Line on ... Read more
Bishwa Ijtema begins today
The annual Bishwa Ijtema of Tablig Jamaat—one of the worled’s largest congregations of muslim devotees—begins today on the bank of the river Turag in Tongi amid religious fervour and tight security measures taken by the authorities. This will be the first of the two phases of prayers as the organisers for the first time decided
Investors run amok over stocks plunge
Disgruntled share market investors on Wednesday locked in scuffles with the police on the street and threw brickbats at the Dhaka Stock Exchange building in the city’s Motijheel area after the share prices dipped further and a newly-introduced circuit-breaker halted trading on the bourse. Hundreds of angry investors came out on the road in front ... Read more
HC asks govt to stop ship scrapping
The High Court on Wednesday ordered the government to stop scrapping of ships in the country until further order. The bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Sheikh Md Zakir Hossain passed the order suo moto after Tuesday’s explosion at a ship-breaking yard in Chittagong that
Non-compliant drivers punished
Metered Fare of CNG Auto Non-compliant drivers punished Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) yesterday filed 132 cases against CNG-run autorickshaws and their drivers, and realised Tk 92,690 in fine from them for not installing or going by new fare meters. BRTA, in association with Dhaka district administration, conducted five mobile courts at Tejgaon, Paltan, Shahbagh, ... Read more
Deal inked for Dhaka expressway
Cost Tk 8,703cr Construction of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway will begin within the next six months with a target to complete it within three and a half years, according to a concession agreement signed yesterday. Bangladesh Bridges Authority (BBA) signed the agreement with Italian-Thailand Development Public Company Ltd (Ital-Thai Company) for building the expressway at ... Read more
India regrets Felani killing
India yesterday regretted the killing of a teenage Bangladeshi girl on Phulbari border in Kurigram by its Border Security Force (BSF). “Indian side expressed their sympathies and regrets at the recent killing of a minor girl at the border,” according to a joint press statement issued at the conclusion of the two-day
Power price to go up next month
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission officials at a public hearing at the commission on Wednesday proposed a 21 per cent increase in average bulk rate of electricity, at which the Power Development Board will sell it to distribution agencies, likely to be effective from February, The officials also proposed that the government should allocate to the ... Read more
BNP wins 95 mayoral posts, AL 89
Municipal polls end Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party-backed candidates dominated the municipality elections winning 95 mayoral positions while ruling Awami League-backed candidates won 89 in 242 municipalities. The staggered polls to 242 municipalities across the country ended with elections to 58 municipalities in the Chittagong and Sylhet Divisions on Tuesday amid sporadic incidents of clashes
Trading halted after stocks plunge
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday halted trading on the country’s two bourses, for the second time in the past eight days, more than an hour before the scheduled closure to stop a steep slide in share prices. Angry investors came out on the streets from different brokerage houses after the
Stop killings on border
Dhaka asks New Delhi Frequent killings of Bangladeshi citizens by Indian Border Security Force figured prominently at the Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting between the two countries that began in the capital yesterday. Dhaka strongly protested indiscriminate firings by BSF killing unarmed Bangladeshi nationals on a regular basis, meeting sources
4 die after taking toxic liquor
Four people including a liquor seller died on Monday night and early yesterday after drinking toxic alcohol in Mohasthangarh under Shibganj upazila of the district. The deceased were identified as liquor seller Lokman, 48, Rois Uddin, 35, Azizur Rahman, 48, Shahjahan Ali, 50. Arifur Rahman Mondol, assistant superintendent of police (A Circle) in
Johnsen new CEO of GP
Grameenphone yesterday named Tore Johnsen as its new chief executive officer. Johnsen will take up his new position from March 1. He will succeed Oddvar Hesjedal who has completed his tenure in Grameenphone and will move on to new responsibilities in Telenor Group
Swindlers thrive on missing regulations
Multilevel Marketing Business Swindlers thrive on missing regulations Multilevel marketing (MLM) companies are preying on regulatory and human weaknesses. They are managing funds and doing banking business illegally, but openly. Asset managers, merchant bankers, brokers or portfolio managers who manage others’ wealth are subject to government licence to
AL ahead with 27, BNP 24 in Dhaka Div
Kaliakoir polls suspended, Ghatail results withheld Candidates backed by the ruling Awami League won 27 posts of municipal mayor while candidates supported by its arch rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party trailed closely behind securing 24 posts of mayor in Dhaka division in the third spell of the local polls on Monday. Elections to 63 municipalities in ... Read more