Other Headlines

The BNP-led 18-Party Alliance would go in for a harsher, non-stop and one-point oust-the-government movement from next week if United Nations (UN) assistant secretary general for political affairs Oscar Fernández-Taranco’s initiatives for an inclusive parliamentary polls under a non-partisan management go in vain, according to party insiders.

JP members skip cabinet meeting Jatiya Party (JP) Chairman HM Ershad on Monday said he has asked his party candidates for the general elections to withdraw their nomination papers by December 13. “The election now seems meaningless without the participation of the opposition parties,” he said while talking to reporters at his Baridhara

Repeated blockades have put the garment sector in a tight corner as exporters are counting losses from order cancellation and rising transport costs. Buyers are cancelling orders as exporters fail to meet the lead time due to transport crisis, said Atiqul Islam, president of Bangladesh Garment

Bangladesh to gain from trade facilitation; duty privileges are still without legally binding commitment: CPD The country stands to gain considerably from the ‘Bali package’ struck at the ninth WTO ministerial meet in Bali on Saturday if it acts judiciously, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) said yesterday. The keystone of the agreement, the first in ... Read more

Early Winter Crops Growers frustrated with heavy loss due to blockade The growers were frustrated with heavy loss as seasonal crops including winter vegetables were being perished due to disruption of supply chain during the ongoing nationwide blockade enforced by the BNP-led 18-party alliance. The growers were compelled to sell their crops in local markets at ... Read more

Fifty-three heads of state and government have so far confirmed attendance at upcoming memorial events for peace icon Nelson Mandela, South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said on Sunday. Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid left Dhaka for South Africa on Monday on a three-day visit to attend the funeral of Nelson Mandela. A special

At least 10 people were injured as miscreants vandalised and set fire to the houses of national minority at Godagari in Rajshahi Sunday night. Among the injured Gonesh Mardy and Sonaton Marady were taken to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital on Monday as their conditions were critical.

Miscreants gunned down Kabir Hossain Palash, vice president of Jessore districts Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, at Civil Court intersection near Jessore Press Club at around 6:35 pm Monday. Police said 5/6 persons riding on two motorbikes shot Palash from point blank range while he was having tea with some friends. Another JCD

British minister of state at foreign and commonwealth office Baroness Sayeeda Hussain Warsi is likely to arrive in Dhaka on a day’s visit on Thursday with the current political standoff over elections on top of her agenda. Baroness Warsi is likely to meet the prime minister, the opposition leader, the foreign minister and different stakeholders during ... Read more

Bangladesh High Commissioner in Singapore Mahbub-uz Zaman yesterday called on the Bangladesh community to remain calm and show restraint, and cooperate law enforcement agencies following a riot in Little India district Sunday night. The rare riot broke out after international media reported that a Bangladeshi worker had been hit and killed by a bus in

Many things possible if rival camps reach consensus: CEC The visiting UN assistant secretary general Oscar Fernández-Taranco on Sunday inquired whether it was possible for the Election Commission to defer the polls after political parties and civic forum leaders preferred its rescheduling for an inclusive election. The chief election commissioner, Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad,

Another victim of bus arson dies Sporadic clashes between the police and opposition activists, torching of vehicles and crude bomb blasts at places across the country marked the second day of the 72-hour rail-road-waterway blockade on Sunday leaving one killed. Besides, another victim of bus arson by blockaders succumbed to her injuries in Savar on Sunday ... Read more

Frequent blockades organised by the BNP-led 18-Party Alliance have become a cause of suffering for justice-seekers. “I have been coming to court almost every working day since November 27 to learn about the position of my case, which has been pending with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. The case has been on the apex court’s ... Read more

Ershad, civil society urge Taranco Country’s civil society leaders have called upon visiting United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco to help stop the one-sided national polls scheduled to be held on January 5. On Sunday, Taranco received a civil society delegation at his hotel and also held meetings with Jatiya party Chairman HM ... Read more

The International Crimes Tribunal’s registrar on Sunday issued the execution warrant for Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla on war crimes charges. The registrar, AKM Nasiruddin, told reporters in his office that he had issued the warrant about 4:00pm at the instruction of International Crimes

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban on Sunday evening and apprised him about the country’s overall situation, reports UNB. During the meeting that began at 6.25pm and ended 7.33 pm, the premier enquired about the health condition of the President as he returned

Resignation letters of JP ministers, adviser ‘sent to president’ All six Jatiya Party ministers and an adviser to the prime minister yesterday sent their resignation letters to the premier by post, said party’s Secretary General Ruhul Amin Howlader. “We tried to get an appointment with the prime minister since morning [yesterday] but did not get ... Read more

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has called a countrywide daylong strike for Monday protesting death warrant against its senior leader Abdul Quader Mollah. Jamaat Acting Secretary General Shafiqur Rahman announced the programme in a press release on Sunday following the issue of a death warrant by

2004 Bus Arson Justice denied to 11 victims All 18 accused including Nanak, Azam cleared as police probe finds them not guilty Eleven people, burnt to death in June 2004 in an arson attack on a passenger bus in the capital’s Shahbagh, may never get justice after the failure of the Criminal Investigation Department in ... Read more

A rare riot broke out in Singapore’s Little India neighborhood Sunday night, apparently after a Bangladeshi worker was hit and killed by a bus, a local television channel reported. Channel News Asia showed dramatic pictures of burning vehicles and people attacking the windshield of a bus with sticks and garbage bins.