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Exercise franchise: AL; boycott and resist: BNP With tension, disappointment and fear of violence running high across the country, the Election Commission (EC) is all set to hold the 10th parliamentary poll today amid Opposition threat of resistance. The Awami League yesterday urged the voters to exercise their franchise without fear. On the other hand, ... Read more

Guinness authorities have certified Bangladesh’s record of forming the largest human flag. The record has also been officially posted on the Guinness World Record website http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/2000/largest-human-national-flag. To mark the 43rd Victory Day on December 16, a total of 27,117 volunteers including

The blockade of roads, railway and waterways that the opposition alliance started enforcing on January 1 became violent on the third day on Friday, with two days left to the 10th national elections to be held tomorrow. The alliance led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party on the day also announced a general strike for 48 hours ... Read more

The BNP-led opposition alliance enforces a general strike for 48 hours, amidst the current blockade of roads, railway and waterways, across the country beginning this morning, 24 hours before the national polls scheduled for tomorrow. The BNP chairperson’s adviser Osman Faruque announced the programme at a press conference in the capital on Friday evening

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, on Friday urged people to totally boycott the ‘farcical’ election scheduled for Sunday. She gave a clarion call to people to carry out ‘democratic movement’ in a situation when she was under ‘house arrest.’ ‘I call upon countrymen to fully

The poll-time government’s finance minister, AMA Muhith, yesterday dropped hints that the new government would not stay in power for five years. “I don’t think the new government will stay in power for five years. Another general election could be held any day after the formation of the new

The 10th parliamentary election is set to be held tomorrow in 59 districts across the country, amid boycott by the main opposition BNP and its allies. A total of 390 candidates will contest the polls in 147 parliament constituencies as candidates in the remaining 153 seats have been elected unopposed. As such, no voting will ... Read more

Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane highway Only 41 per cent of the upgrading work of the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway to four lanes has been completed till November 30, says a recent Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) report. The deadline for the project is December 2014.  According to the monthly IMED report, the Dhaka-Chittagong four-lane project has progressed only ... Read more

The failure of the major political parties in Bangladesh to take steps to hold free, fair and credible elections is not a good sign, the United States State Department said on Thursday. “As I’ve been clear, they haven’t taken steps to hold free, fair, and credible elections, so clearly that’s not a good sign,” Marie ... Read more

The curtain on election campaign fell at 8am today, 48 hours ahead of the start of voting for the January 5 election, reports UNB. As per the election rules, now all types of rally, procession and showdown are prohibited in the election areas till 4pm on January 7. No one can call or join any ... Read more

Police on Friday retrieved 28 human bones, including a broken skull, from the debris of Rana Plaza at Savar, reports UNB. Locals, former workers of the garment factories housed in Rana Plaza recovered the human remains and informed the police. However, after receiving the human bones, officer-in-charge of Savar Model Police Station, Mostafa Kamal, told ... Read more

Bangladesh will lose a big share of its readymade garments market to its competitors if the current political unrest and violence continue after the January 5 parliamentary elections, sources said. International buyers are shifting to India, Vietnam, Cambodia and Pakistan cancelling new orders in Bangladesh, said Mohammmed Hatem, acting President of Bangladesh

Rana Plaza COLLAPSE Eight months after the Rana Plaza collapse in the city’s suburb Savar, numerous human skulls and bones have surfaced at the disaster site in the past few days, hanging question marks against the Bangladesh Army-led rescue operation earlier. The body remains are being found by the locals, especially by urchins, who crossed the ... Read more

A Bangladeshi national was beaten to death by the members of Indian Border Security (BSF) along Dabalguri border in Patgram upazila early Friday, reports UNB. The deceased was identified as Abdul Hoque, son of late Kasar Uddin of Dabalguri village. Witnesses said the BSF members and some Indian nationals caught cattle trader Abdul near the ... Read more

Undocumented Expatriates KSA gives 2 months for legalisation In a major relief to undocumented expatriates, Saudi authorities have granted a two-month grace period for thousands of expatriates who could not correct their legal status during the seven-month amnesty period to complete the rectification procedures at their Passport Department. Jeddah-based English daily Arabnews reported on Friday that ... Read more

Denied by the parents in love affair, a schoolboy killed himself by jumping into the Hatirjheel Lake from a bridge at Badda in the capital on Friday morning. His lover, Mim, 15, who also jumped into the lake alongside Tonmoy, 16, however, survived. Quoting the girl Mim, 15, police said Tonmoy and Mim both were ... Read more

The United States keeps reserved its observation about Sunday’s general elections in Bangladesh saying that it will be monitoring the situation and engaging as necessary. Marie Harf, deputy spokesperson of the US state department, said in Washington on Thursday that they would not also comment on the election results

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday called upon people to resist those who would try to thwart the January 5 general elections and teach them an appropriate lesson. “Many plots and strategies are being hatched to foil the elections…You have to build resistance against those who would obstruct the polls. You will have to teach

A Juba Dal activist was killed and 20 others were injured in clashes with BGB troops in Chandpur on the first day of the countrywide indefinite blockade enforced by the 18-party alliance to force the government cancel January 5 polls and hold the election under a neutral administration. The deceased was identified as Faruk Hossain ... Read more

After five years (2009-2013) of the Awami League-led 14-party alliance government, the civil administration has become unstable, due to political influence on administration and in the absence of promised reforms, according to public administration ministry sources. At present, the civil administration is divided in two parts—pro-government and