Other Headlines

25,000 people marooned, 15 villages inundated At least 15 villages in Padmapukur, an Aila affected union under Shyamnagar upazila, were inundated again as water entered breaching a ring embankment at eight points on the river Kholpetua on Monday. Over 25,000 people of the Padmapukur union were marooned and gripped by panic they were

Bangladesh Upazila Chairman-Vice Chairman Oikya Parishad has announced a two-hour road, rail and waterways blockade on April 15. The road, rail and waterways blockade programme across the country will be held from 10.00 am to 12.00 pm on the day to protest against not fulfilling their 10-point charter of demands. To realise their demands, the

Illegal VoIP Operators Penalise, but let companies run PM asks telecoms regulator Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday directed the authorities concerned to fine telephone operators involved in ‘illegal’ VoIP business instead of shutting those down. “Penalise those instead of shutting them down so that people get the services,” the premier

The government has decided to close down some fertiliser factories temporarily to divert gas to the power plants. The decision came at a high level meeting held at the Power division yesterday. State minister for power Brig (Rtd) Enamul Huq chaired the meeting which was

Seminar told Inadequate publicity for the Right to Information Act, inability of the information commission and slow pace in making necessary rules and regulations have delayed implementation of the act, observed speakers at a discussion yesterday. They were very critical of the government for not providing the three-member commission,

The government on Monday asked power agencies to keep suspended for three months the process of giving new electricity connections across the country including the Dhaka city. The order was issued following severe power crisis persisting over the last one month, said a

The government has decided to deploy army troops on April 1 to help Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority tackle the capital’s severe water crisis. In a cabinet meeting on Monday, the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, gave the directive to deploy army personnel from April 1 to maintain security at water pump

The ministry of power Monday asked the cable operators to free the electric poles of city areas from wires and cable lines, and use optic fiber cables of BTRC for safety grounds. The ministry of power, energy and mineral resources directed Dhaka City Corporation, and

The Cabinet on Monday approved the draft of ‘Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act 2010’ allowing the extension of service tenure of labourers working with the government organisations. “As per the decision, labourers would retire from their services at the age of 60 instead of 57,”

The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) plans to dredge 666 kilometres of 11 important rivers so that passenger vessels and cargo vessels could navigate the rivers smoothly.   The 11 river routes are-Munshiganj-Taltala-Dohuri, Laharhat-Veduria, Shahaberhat-Tongibari-Laharhut,

A special court has fixed April 18 for delivery of verdict in a BDR mutiny case against 58 jawans of 19 Rifles Battalion in Feni. The three-member Special Court-3 headed by BDR Director General Maj Gen Md Mainul Islam fixed the date after holding a hearing on the

Gulshan Murders Another youth arrested Another youth was arrested yesterday in connection with the Wednesday’s gruesome double murder of a couple at Kalachandpur in capital’s Gulshan. Identified as Nazmul Islam Babu, 23, of Joarsahara under Badda, he is a friend of prime suspect

War crimes trial Tribunal starts work today The law minister, war crimes tribunal judges, investigation agency chief, and some of the members of the agency and the prosecution team on Sunday visited their offices and the courtroom, set up at the old High Court building on the Supreme Court

Detective Branch (DB) of police arrested three accused, including the prime suspect of the double murder in city’s Gulshan area, at Gabkhan under Jhalakati sadar upazila yesterday. They arrested accused are: Rubel, 25, his associate Mithun Chandra Chanda, 25, and Rubel’s brother-in-law

The government will offload shares of 26 state-owned enterprises (SoEs) by June this year as the finance ministry yesterday informed a Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) delegation of the progress in this regard. The progress in the government’s previous plan was apprised when a delegation of the new DSE executive committee, led by its president

The 2-hour load shedding after every two hours introduced across the country on Saturday has received with criticism and resentment from different sections of power consumers. Power distribution agencies-DESCO, DPDC, REB, PDB and WZPDC – introduced the system at the best of the highest policy makers replacing

A total of 622 suspected criminals were killed in ‘gunfights’ with the elite striking force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in the last six years since its inception on March 26, 2004. Director General (DG) of the RAB Hasan Mahmud Khandaker disclosed it yesterday at a function held at the battalion headquarters at Uttara in

Reveals WCS survey A dolphin habitat was found in the coastal rivers of the Sundarban and swatch of no-ground areas of the Bay of Bengal. A total of six species of dolphin and a species of porpoise graze there safely as water and environment of rivers of the world’s largest mangrove forest are suitable for

Remittance transfer High fees cost country $1b last year Few multinational financial institutions and banks are churning out a huge amount of money from the expatriate Bangladeshi workers in different parts of the world by charging high fees for transferring their remittances, according to a finance ministry

Upazila Vice-chairman Oikya Parishad at a press conference yesterday said they would go for tougher movement if their 10-point demands were not met immediately. Upazila Vice-chairmen Oikya Parishad convener Abdul Majid Khan and joint conveners Mohibur Rahman and Fatima Kabir were, among others, present at the