Staff Correspondent Owners of long-distance buses have decided not to reduce fare despite the government’s directive to cut fare by Tk 0.02 per kilometre following the reduction in fuel prices. ‘We will not reduce fare until a new government takes office after the elections,’ the Bangladesh Bus Truck Owners’ Association chairman, Golam Md Siraj, told ... Read more
News
DU 45th Convocation on January 29
BSS, Dhaka The 45 Convocation of Dhaka University (DU) will be held on January 29, 2009. Honorary ‘Doctor of Science’ degrees would be conferred on three persons on the occasion, said a DU press release here on Tuesday. The university will confer honorary Doctorate degree to Nobel laureate Emirates Prof. Yuan Tseh Lee of Taiwan. ... Read more
Policemen still work at Posta outpost marked ‘risky’ in ’95
Raihan Sabuktagin The government declared the building ‘risky’ in 1995, but the police department is running an outpost at the dilapidated building ignoring the risk of fatal accident. The members of police are forced to work at the Posta police outpost risking their lives. “When I arrived at the outpost several months ago, I was ... Read more
Privatisation Commission won’t offload Rupali stake
Staff Correspondent The advisory council committee on economic affairs in a meeting on Tuesday rejected the finance ministry’s proposal to assign the Privatisation Commission again to offload government’s shares in the Rupali Bank Ltd. ‘We have decided not to task the Privatisation Commission again with offloading government’s shares in Rupali Bank as the bank is ... Read more
Recession shattering global confidence
Reuters/Bdnews24.com . New York The financial crisis is shattering global confidence, with three quarters of households cutting spending and consumers in emerging countries feeling especially squeezed, a survey showed on Tuesday. While countries like China, India and Russia have helped fuel world growth in recent years, the survey of 22 states in November found consumer ... Read more
Hasina addresses voters thru video conferencing
Staff Correspondent The Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, on Tuesday addressed voters in Patuakhali and Sherpur through video conferencing from her house, Sudha Sadan, in Dhaka seeking vote for candidates of the AL-led alliance for the December 29 polls. She listened to the voters and answered their questions during the conference liked through a satellite ... Read more
Industries may face closure : Furnace oil price yet to fall
Syful Islam Despite price fall of diesel both in the local and international market, price of furnace oil is yet to come down which has created mayhem among the industrialists whose industries run on this by-product of crude oil in absence of gas. Furnace oil is a basic requirement for boilers and heating in the ... Read more
Convicted in 2, accused in dozen
Julfikar Ali Manik Infamous Islamist militant leader Mufti Abdul Hannan, who was awarded death sentence yesterday in a killing case linked to the grenade attack on British High Commissioner, stands accused in over two dozen more cases. With the latest verdict, Hannan has been convicted in two cases. He was handed down life term in ... Read more
Hectic task awaits first JS session
Over 100 ordinances to be dealt with in 30 days Shakhawat Liton The inaugural session of the ninth parliament is set to begin late January or early February next year with unprecedented workload of determining the fates of over 100 ordinances within 30 days of the first sitting. The next government, which will be formed ... Read more
Same old slogans
5 Days to Vote Same old slogans Arun Devnath Tajul Islam blares out slogans through his microphone and urges people to attend a rally, six days short of the national elections. Accompanied by his co-campaigner Md Sumon, Tajul rides a rickshaw through the shabbiness of Jurain in Old Dhaka. Both are rallying support for Abdul ... Read more
EC unable to apply Article 91E for want of time: CEC
Staff Correspondent The Election Commission is unable to apply Article 91E of the Representation of People Order 2008, which arms the commission up with ‘despotic’ power to cancel candidature at any stage of the process, to cases related to the December 29 general polls because of time constraints, according to the chief election commissioner, ATM ... Read more
Voters optimistic about electing capable candidate
CONSTITUENCY DHAKA 16 Voters optimistic about electing capable candidate Obaidul Ghani People of the Dhaka 16 constituency are optimistic about electing a capable candidate in the forthcoming national polls for the constituency to make the area drug- and violence-free. The women and the new voters are also very keen to cast their votes to elect ... Read more
BNP asks govt to tighten security for Khaleda
Staff correspondent The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Tuesday called all concerned to hold rallies and processions across the country today to protest against the attempt, according to the party, to kill its chairperson, Khaleda Zia. The party called on the interim government to increase security for the party chairperson Khaleda Zia. The party said in ... Read more
11 aspirants knocked out of poll race
SC turns down appeals Staff Correspondent The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday rejected appeals filed by 11 parliamentary aspirants against the High Court (HC) rulings, which upheld the Election Commission’s (EC) decisions cancelling their candidature on different grounds. Chamber judge of the Appellate Division Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim passed the orders after hearing arguments from both ... Read more
Tajul appeals to lift extortion case against Hasina
Staff Reporter The chairman of Westmont Power (Bangladesh) Ltd, Kazi Tajul Islam Farook, yesterday petitioned Tejgaon police station for withdrawing the extortion case he filed against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Amid a latest change of wind on the political front, he took the cue from another business tycoon, Azam J Chowdhury, who also backtracked ... Read more
EC fails to apply RPO section 91/ for lack of time
UNB, Dhaka The Election Commission cannot apply themuch-talked-about section 91/e of the Representation of People Order (RPO) in the December 29 polls for time constraint, much to the relief of politicians who were in fear of falling under this sword of Damocles. Talking to reporters at the Election Commission Secretariat Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) ... Read more
EC finds 27 contestants guilty of code breach
Staff Correspondent The electoral enquiry committee has found specific evidence of violation of the electoral code of conduct against 24 candidates running for the December 29 polls. The committees, which investigated 27 specific allegations against the contenders from major political parties, including the Awami League, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islam, Bikalpadhara Bangladesh and National Awami ... Read more
Manifestoes more populist than pragmatic
Khawaza Main Uddin and Nazrul Islam Despite having development goals galore, the election manifestoes of major contenders for power miss certain critical areas and lack strategies and programmes to achieve the ambitious targets for public welfare and national progress, shows an analysis of polls pledges. Issues such as checking farmland depletion and protecting environment in ... Read more
EC yet to requisition judicial magistrates for polls duty
Staff Correspondent The Election Commission is yet to requisition any judicial magistrates for election duties to deal with electoral offences with only three working days in hand before national polls. Election commissioner Sakhawat Hussain, however, told New Age the commission on Monday had asked its secretariat to send a requisition letter to the government in ... Read more
Election, the good and the bad
Hasnat Abdul Hye If democracy is a way of life, Bangladeshis have so far been able to enjoy it by fits and starts. It is not because of their fault or lack of interest but in spite of themselves. There have been abrupt interruptions at regular intervals in democratic dispensation after independence. The first came ... Read more