Staff Correspondent In a bid to permit the private sector to develop, build, operate and maintain nationwide optical fiber telecommunication transmission network, Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) handed over the first Nationwide Tele-communication Transmi-ssion Network (NTTN) license to Fiber @ Home Limited. The BTRC chairman Maj Gen Manzurul Alam (retd) handed over the license to ... Read more
News
Hasina takes oath as PM today: She is first to become premier for second term from AL
Staff Reporter President Prof Dr Iajuddin Ahmed has formally invited Awami League President Sheikh Hasina to form a new government and take oath today at Bangabhaban. The invitation was made over telephone at 12:30pm yesterday, Secretary to the President Md Sirajul Islam told reporters. The President congratulated her (Sheikh Hasina) and invited her to form ... Read more
Upazila electioneering picks up steam
AL plunges into campaigns, BNP fears attacks Staff Correspondent Campaigns for the January 22 elections to 481 upazilas across the country has gained some momentum with the Awami League plunging into electioneering in the wake of its landslide victory in the general elections though the Bangladesh Nationalist Party is yet to start electioneering apparently in ... Read more
AL cabinet may start with 35
Hasan Jahid Tusher The cabinet of the Awami League-led grand alliance government may be medium in size with around 35 members initially and is expected to be dominated by young lawmakers. AL advisory council member HT Imam yesterday confirmed speculations that there will be technocrats among the cabinet members who will be given charge of ... Read more
No more bell of runners, life becomes mechanised: Cellphones takes over appeal of letters
Ershadul Huq No more nervous parents write to their children staying far a way from them in cities or towns asking them to come home at least for a few days to be with them. And children are also not doing so to remove the unrest of minds of their parents. The worried wives do ... Read more
Refrain from violence: AL warns trouble-mongers
Staff Reporter Awami League (AL) Joint Secretary and spokeman Syed Ashraful Islam yesterday warned all including his party men to refrain from indulging in violence and attacking their political opponents. Addressing a press conference at the party;s Dhanmondi office, Ashraful said his party does not believe in the politics of revenge.” We have already sent ... Read more
Hasina slates Israeli attack
Unb, Dhaka Awami League President Sheikh Hasina has condemned the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza and expressed her profound shock at the deaths of innocent civilians in the attacks. Hasina expressed her condemnation when the envoys of seven Arab countries–Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Kuwait, Libya and Qatar–called on her at Sudha Sadan yesterday. Briefing ... Read more
4 convicts of Ahsanullah murder case held in Kolkata
Staff Correspondent Four fugitive convicts in the Awami League leader, Ahsanullah Master, murder case were arrested in Kolkata of West Bengal state, a senior official of CID said in Dhaka. A special team of Kolkata CID arrested the four fugitives — Nazrul Islam Dipu alias Nurul Islam Dipu, Shahadat Hossain, Obaidul Islam Tipu and Zakir ... Read more
Work slows down on land acquisition hitch
Begunbari-Hatirjheel Work slows down on land acquisition hitch Helemul Alam The road-embankment work of Begunbari-Hatirjheel development project is being delayed as the process of acquiring land has not been completed yet. Sources said the work of only 2.70 kms of the road-embankment has so far been completed out of about 11 km because of delay ... Read more
Call to set up war crimes tribunal in 1st JS session
Staff Correspondent The new government should start the process of setting up a war crimes tribunal in the very first session of the national parliament and seek help from the United Nations, said War Crimes Facts Findings Committee Bangladesh. Addressing a press conference yesterday at it office, the committee presented terms of reference for trial ... Read more
2 political activists killed in city, Bogra
Staff Correspondent Unidentified gunmen shot dead a Swechchhasebak Dal leader at Bijoynagar in the capital while another gang of miscreants stabbed a Jubo League activist to death in Bogra yesterday. The deceased, Nazrul Islam, 35, president of Swechchhasebak Dal’s ward-56 unit, was also the general secretary of Bijoynagar Bahumukhi Babosayee Samobay Samiti. Police and family ... Read more
Oli urges Hasina not to allow corrupts in cabinet
Demands punishment to war criminals Staff Correspondent Congratulating Sheikh Hasina for AL-led grand alliance’s landslide victory under her leadership in the 9th parliamentary election, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed called upon the coming Premier not to allow in the cabinet those persons who were involved in corruption earlier. “I am calling ... Read more
2,000 illegal mobile SIM cards seized
Staff Correspondent Bangladesh Telecommu-nication Regulatory Commi-ssion (BTRC) with the help of law enforces yesterday seized 2,000 illegal SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards of mobile phones at a stall in Dhaka International Trade Fair. In a statement the BTRC said an unlicensed call centre named “Awal Call Centre” distributed leaflets among visitors to sell World SIM, ... Read more
Muscle power, corruption plague DMCH
Sufferings of patients continue Staff Correspondent Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), the biggest state run health care center set up for providing treatment to the poor and common people, is failing in many ways to accomplish the task as muscle power, indiscipline, and corruption have plagued it causing immense suffering to the patients. An organized ... Read more
Post office to introduce EMTS soon
Staff Correspondent For quick and easy delivery of money across the country, the Bangladesh Post Office (BPO) is going to introduce Electronic Money Transfer System (EMTS) very soon, a high official said. “We hope to start the service by the end of January,” Mobassher ur Rahman, Director General of the BPO said adding that “Initially, ... Read more
Secretariat officials bid farewell to advisers
Civil servants too excited by state of transition to do much work Staff Correspondent Officials and employees at the Bangladesh Secretariat have started bidding farewell to the outgoing advisers to the interim government as the new Cabinet, to be led by Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina, takes oath tomorrow. Ministry officials hardly did any office ... Read more
Bird flu situation under control as govt takes adequate steps in N- dists
BSS, Rangpur The bird flu situation remains under full control everywhere in northern Bangladesh following adequate preventive measures taken by the government to check spreading of avian influenza, officials told BSS here on Sunday. Following spread of the bird flu disease at some places and parts of India, concerned authorities of the district and upazila ... Read more
Rural areas start vibrating with upazila electioneering
BSS, Chittagong After a week-long pause since the high-geared campaign of December 29 parliamentary polls, the rural areas of the district again become vibrating with the starting of electioneering centering January 22 upazila elections. Candidates belonging to different political parties and individual backgrounds have already begun work to manage the support of respective parties and ... Read more
Remittance sets benchmark
$10b expected this year Rejaul Karim Byron Remittance inflows set a new record in 2008 crossing an 8 billion-dollar mark, thanks to an increased number of outbound workers. According to Bangladesh Bank (BB) statistics, in the just-concluded calendar year remittance worth $8.22 billion came into the country marking a 25.36 percent growth. In 2007 remittance ... Read more
Capital market walks past volatile days
Looking Back 2008 Capital market walks past volatile days Sarwar A Chowdhury 2008 was a volatile year for Bangladesh’s capital market. Although the first half was fine for investors, the second half turned out to be gloomy, as their dream of a good return was dashed on many occasions by some factors. These factors include ... Read more