Ap, Bangkok Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva was chosen as Thailand’s prime minister yesterday in an effort to end months of political turmoil, but the move unleashed new protests by supporters of the previous government who hurled rocks at lawmakers. Abhisit, 44, one of the world’s youngest heads of government gathered 235 votes against 198 by ... Read more
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2008: Asia’s year for being vulnerable
Agence France-Presse . Hong Kong From the devastating China earthquake and Myanmar cyclone to the terror attacks in Mumbai and the freefall on the stock markets, 2008 was a year that exposed Asia’s vulnerability. A region hailed for its booming economies, led by China and India, and its enormous potential suddenly found itself fending off ... Read more
95 journalists killed doing their job in 2008: report
Agence France-Presse . Geneva Nearly 100 journalists were killed doing their job during 2008, a slight fall from the previous year due to security improvements in Iraq, a press rights group said Monday. The Geneva-based Press Emblem Campaign said in its annual report that 95 journalists were killed in 32 different countries in the past ... Read more
Fight within alliances for at least 22 seats
Total candidates 1,538; ballot paper printing starts in full swing, Noakhali-1 polls on Jan 12 Staff Correspondent Candidates of the grand alliance’s Awami League and Jatiya Party are set to fight each other in at least 11 constituencies, shows the final list of runners published by the Election Commission (EC) yesterday. The seats are in ... Read more
AL, BNP bank on freshers in Dhaka
Conviction, graft charges herald the change of guards Rakib Hasnet Suman and Hasan Jahid Tusher The two electoral alliances led by the Awami League (AL) and the BNP have for the first time picked a number of fresh less known persons as their candidates for city constituencies in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The two alliances ... Read more
Khaleda asks party men to guard against polls rigging
Shahidul Islam Chowdhury . Kushtia Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia on Sunday called for a consensus among all political parties to work together for making the country strong and prosperous. She asked her party activists to remain alert on December 29, the national polling day, so that none could rig the polls. ‘We will ... Read more
Hasina calls on people to cast vote for AL-led alliance
Staff Correspondent The Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, on Sunday called on the people to cast their vote for the Awami League-led alliance candidates in the ninth parliamentary polls to ensure their rights for food and franchise, food security, reduction in essential goods prices and happy and prosperous life for them. ‘The national elections of ... Read more
Azam Chy applies to withdraw case against Hasina
Staff Reporter In a surprise move, business tycoon Azam Jahangir Chowdhury yesterday prayed for withdrawing his Tk 3 crore extortion case against Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina and said he had not directly sued anyone. The Prime Bank chairman and top businessman, Azam, said to reporters at his Gulshan office, “I did not directly ... Read more
Govt on last mile on road to polls: Hossain Zillur
Staff Correspondent The commerce and education adviser, Hossain Zillur Rahman, on Sunday said the government was traversing the last mile on road to the national polls scheduled for December 29. ‘We are now on the last mile on the highway to the elections… Best wishes to all the candidates contesting the polls,’ Zillur said as ... Read more
Mohiuddin resumes office
Tushar Hayat . Chittagong The Chittagong mayor, ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, arrested by the joint forces on March 7, 2007 and released on bail on October 28 last, resumed office on Sunday. Ward commissioners, officials and employees of the city corporation received the mayor with bouquet when he reached the office in the morning after one ... Read more
Winter to set in at Dec end
Taib Ahmed This year’s winter is likely to set in at the end of the current month while the fog which has overcast the country excluding Khulna and Chittagong districts will take more two or three days to go, said meteorologists of the Bangladesh meteorology department. ‘The full-fledged winter will take at least two weeks ... Read more
Govt to set up automated DEDO for online bill collection
Staff Correspondent The government has decided to set up an automated Duty Exemption and Drawback Office (DEDO) aiming to reduce time to collect bills of entry from the customs houses through online across the country. “Collection of DEDO copy of bills of entry that is one of the major hassles often takes a long time. ... Read more
Govt invites parties to speak on media
bdnews24.com, Dhaka Fifteen political parties are being given the chance to deliver electoral speeches on state-run Bangla-desh Television and Bangladesh Betar. “The speeches will be broadcast from Dec 17 but the draft texts have to be submitted beforehand (by Dec 15),” information secretary Jamil Osman said on Sunday. The information ministry has sent letters to ... Read more
Govt steps in pipeline to keep remittance stable
Asif Showkat The government has decided to take initiatives to keep the remittance inflow stable in this stormy time of global financial turmoil, sources in Bangladesh Bank said. ‘We will take several plans for increasing remittance inflow, including asking the banks to reduce their charges on remitted money; as a result, more remittance will come ... Read more
Dhaka stocks see lacklustre day
Turnover drops to 9-month low Staff Correspondent Dhaka stocks finished lower on Sunday amid thin participation of investors as the bourse returned to trading after a nine-day closure, market operators said. The Dhaka Stock Exchange remained closed from December 5 to 13 on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha and the weekly holidays. The DSE general index ... Read more
Siemens bribed to bag contracts in Bangladesh, other countries
Kazi Azizul Islam Documents submitted to a US court in a case disclose that German industrial conglomerate Siemens bribed the authorities concerned to gain a telecom infrastructure contract in Bangladesh as it did at least in two other countries. The case documents were submitted on Friday to a US court, which is scheduled to hear ... Read more
TeleTalk eyes loan from China
Md Hasan State-run mobile operator TeleTalk seeks to get $221 million loans from the Chinese government, mainly to expand its network to provide third-generation technology (3G). The operator said its board had accepted the loan proposal, now pending with the Economic Relations Division (ERD) for further processing. “The telecommunication ministry is in talks over the ... Read more
BNP pledges accountable political system
Khaleda unveils 36-point election manifesto Shahidul Islam Chowdhury The Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, pledged to create a responsible and accountable political system in the country as she unveiled the party’s 36-point election manifesto on Saturday. She also promised to make Jatiya Sangsad the ‘centre of politics’, amendments to provisions of the caretaker government ... Read more
AL manifesto termed positive subject to implementation
Staff Correspondent Economists and political analysts on Saturday termed Awami League ‘election manifesto’ as positive but said political parties before election usually promise to do all good for the people and the country but when they go to power, they don’t implement their commitment. To The Bangladesh Today, economist and political analyst Farhad Mazhar said ... Read more
Martyred Intellectuals Day today
Staff Correspondent The nation pays tribute to the martyred intellectuals today amid increasing demand for trial of war criminals who systematically killed prominent Bangladeshi intellectuals and professionals at the fag end of the Liberation War on this day in 1971. On this day in 1971 renowned academics, doctors, engineers, journalists, teachers and other eminent personalities ... Read more