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Countrywide demo today; British envoy meets Khaleda; Shamsher Mobin detained The BNP-led 18-party alliance yesterday announced a non-stop blockade programme across the country from 6:00am Wednesday, demanding the cancellation of January 5 general elections. BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s adviser Advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain announced

Police seize 200 crude bombs in capital As many as 82 people were arrested across the country, with sporadic incidents of violence taking place in the city in connection with the opposition’s ‘March for Democracy’ programme on Monday. Also, Anarul Islam, chairman of Agardari union parishad in Satkhira, was killed in a clash during a drive ... Read more

Even as thousands continued to suffer from biting chill, the Met office on Monday warned that two more cold waves are on the offing. The first one is likely to hit the country in a couple of days. It will be moderate to severe with dense fog, the Met office said. As a result, the mercury ... Read more

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said that the government has no problem with the agitation programmes of the opposition as it is their democratic right, reports UNB. “You can go for your agitation programme, we’ve no objection. It’s your democratic right. But you’ve to stop the killing of innocent people

Awami League supporters attacked pro-BNP lawyers for the second consecutive day on the Supreme Court premises on Monday. Activists of the Mohila Awami League, Sramik League and the Prazanma League threw brick bats at pro-BNP lawyers in front of the main gate, where a meeting was being held in protest against Sunday’s attack at around 12.00 ... Read more

The South Asia Regional Initiative (SARI) for Energy, the regional platform of cooperation, is set to start talks to establish a “virtual market” for South Asian countries for trading energy, particularly electricity, among its members. USAID has granted USD 9 million for five years to complete the brainstorming talks, titled ‘South Asia Regional Initiative for

Residents of Dhaka will have to forgo wild parties to ring in the New Year at midnight on Tuesday. But they can take cheer from the fact that they will be more secure inside their homes, or so feel the police in the capital city. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on Monday issued a directive banning ... Read more

Rafiqu-ul-Huq pleads for male leadership Eminent jurist Barrister Rafique-ul-Huq on Monday opted for male leader, not the female one for Bangladesh, reports UNB. “Now, the country does not need female leader, it needs male leader,” he said while giving his reaction regarding the attack of pro-government activists on the lawyers in the High Court premise. ... Read more

Apparently shifting blame to the opposition for not reaching a consensus on participatory polls, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali yesterday said BNP and its alliance partners never negotiated in ‘good faith’ for taking part in the elections, rather they were always insisting on ‘certain pre-conditions’, reports UNB. “Though the opposition was agitating in the name ... Read more

A metropolitan magistrate court in Dhaka on Monday remanded Bangladesh Nationalist Party vice-chairman Hafizuddin Ahmed in police custody for two days for interrogation in a case filed for the killing of a police constable in an arson attack on a parked bus in the capital’s Banglamotor on December 24. The metropolitan magistrate, Harun-or-Rashid, passed the order

None of 20 best primary schools from rural area Results of the Primary Education Completion and Ibtedayi Education Completion examinations were published on Monday demonstrating that the success rate and the number of highest Grade Point Average 5 scorers increased this year compared with that of past year. The pass rate in general education primary schools ... Read more

At least 70 journalists were killed on the job around the world in 2013, including 29 who died covering the civil war in Syria and 10 slain in Iraq, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, reports AP. The dead in Syria included a number of citizen journalists working to document combat in their home ... Read more

Police are yet to make any headway in the case filed over the killing of photojournalist Aftab Ahmed. Aftab was found dead at his residence in the capital on Wednesday morning. Inspector Nasim Ahmed, officer-in-charge of Rampura Police Station yesterday told The Independent that there was no progress in the investigation of

Police recovered the bodies of three youths from a paddy field at Sorail village under Panchbibi upazila in Jaipurhat Monday afternoon. The identity of the youths, aged between 22 and 25, could not be known immediately. Two of them were beheaded. Panchbibi police said that locals

The government has declared general holiday for January 5 in 59 districts to facilitate voters to exercise their franchise in the 10th parliamentary elections, reports UNB. The public holiday was announced for all government, semi-government, autonomous and private offices, organisations, agencies and educational institutions in all the districts except Joypurhat, Shariatpur,

The BNP-led 18-Party Alliance could not hold its Dhaka March programme on Sunday in the face of unprecedented obstructive measures from law enforcers that crippled life in the capital for the second day and prompted the opposition to extend the programme to Monday. Two persons were killed in the capital during the police action against the ... Read more

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia on Sunday said the opposition will continue its anti-government movement ‘to rescue the country’s democracy and sovereignty’. “We will continue our March for Democracy programme tomorrow and even day after tomorrow. It will go on as long as you (the Sheikh Hasina government)

Terming BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s attempt to come out of her residence and join the March for Democracy programme “a drama” staged by her, Awami League (AL) general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam on Sunday claimed she had no intention of going to the party headquarters to join the march. “On Sunday, Opposition chief Khaleda Zia just ... Read more

BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam yesterday accused the government of resorting to unprecedented autocratic path to foil the opposition’s ‘March for democracy’. In a statement, he said that the government stopped the movement of vehicles, rails and vessels in the last two days in bid to foil their programme. The BNP leader also ... Read more

DU teachers, journalists hurt in attacks at DU, Press Club Awami League (AL) activists, armed with sticks and meat cleavers, carried out a sudden attack on pro-BNP lawyers on the Supreme Court premises and created mayhem on Sunday. The AL activists broke through the locked entrance of the SC building, which was being guarded by ... Read more