News

British high commissioner in Dhaka Stephen Evans on Wednesday refuted allegations that the diplomatic community in Bangladesh had a hand in “calling the army out of barracks” during the Jan 11, 2007 changeover. Evans said the state of emergency was imposed at the time as an “internal dynamic” in Bangladesh “I do not think neither ... Read more

Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni in her address to the ministerial meeting of the 15th NAM Summit in Egypt on Tuesday called for more coordinated efforts to achieve the best of the two themes of this year’s Summit: “International Solidarity for Peace and Development” and “Current Global Economic Crisis”. According to a press release issued ... Read more

With the continuation of downward trend in Country’s premier bourse Dhaka Stock Exchange for the third consecutive day yesterday, DSE noted that the dowenfall was the outcome of some recent steps taken by the central bank. Dhaka Stock Exchange, the premier bourse, sees the central bank’s recent intervention in the market as main reason for ... Read more

Collect tolls, as they say, for ruling party men, law-enforcers Some extortionist groups are collecting tolls in the names of ruling party men and law-enforcers from the city’s bus terminals–a phenomenon that has started in recent times after a halt of over two years. “To depart from Sayedabad bus terminal, I have to pay Tk ... Read more

The Jamuna bridge approach road and its guide embankment on the Sirajganj end have come under fresh threats or erosion as the swelling river with strong current has put the western Brahmaputra Right Embankment in danger, water officials said. Collapse of a major portion of the ‘hard point’ of the Sirajganj Town Protection Embankment on ... Read more

3,125-strong technology-based unit; proposal sent to PMO The police headquarters has sent a proposal to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for formation of a 3,125-member specialised and technology-based police unit to combat militancy and terrorism. Sources said the proposed unit, National Police Bureau of Counter Terrorism, will have forces having expertise in information technology (IT), ... Read more

The country’s trade deficit may go up in the current fiscal year due to higher imports and lower exports, central bank officials forecast. Bangladesh Bank has projected that external trade deficit might balloon to $5.530 billion this fiscal as an impact of declines in export prices caused by the global recession. ‘We have forecast an ... Read more

COUNCIL SESSION BNP indecisive about whether to seek time The Bangladesh Nationalist Party seems indecisive about whether to approach the Election Commission for an extension of the deadline for political parties to submit their amended constitutions after having them approved in the party council session. The Election Commission has set July 25 as the deadline ... Read more

50 hurt as students clash with villagers over trifling matter Maulana Bhasani University of Science and Technology (MBUST) was closed yesterday for an indefinite period following a fierce clash between students and local people that left at least 50 persons injured. Several student messes and shops adjacent to the university were also ransacked during the ... Read more

BSF kills 789 Bangladeshis in 9 years A three-day top-level meeting between the officials of the border guards of Bangladesh and India begins in the capital today against the backdrop of a sudden increase in the incidents of killing of Bangladeshi villagers in the border areas by the Indian Border Security Force. The director general-level ... Read more

More than 100 labourers from Bangladesh, India and Nepal have been stranded in their camps for about six months without pay and are living on charity of respective social and cultural groups, UAE’s The National newspaper reported. The camps are on the outskirts of Mohammed bin Zayed City. Groups such as the Kerala Social Centre ... Read more

Lack of judges, officials blamed A total of 18,29,165 cases have been pending with the courts across the country for a long time awaiting disposal, according to official sources. Of them, 3,03,276 cases are pending with the High Court (HC) and Appellate Division for disposal, official sources said. Of the remaining cases, a total of ... Read more

An inland water vessel carrying gypsum reportedly turned turtle after colliding a dredging barge and capsized in the bay near the outer anchorage of Chittagong maritime port yesterday morning. According to the radio control of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) the bulk vessel MV Modern met the accident while it had been crossing the Alpha anchorage ... Read more

Reshuffle in the cabinet will be made within a day or two as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina plans to include 10 more ministers and state ministers in the council of ministers, said sources. “It is at the final stage. The names of the new ministers and state ministers are likely to be announced on Sunday,” ... Read more

WDB office attacked A 500-feet stretch of Sirajganj town protection embankment caved in by the strong current of rain-fed Jamuna river Friday morning, endangering at least seven municipalities and villages on the river bank. Local office of Water Development Board said the embankment in front of Gaila Hindu cremation ground suddenly started caving in at ... Read more

Govt to scrutinise registration given by BNP-Jamaat; lax watch of social welfare ministry leads to irregularities Around half of the NGOs registered with the Ministry of Social Welfare remain inactive for long and a few of them are even regularly taking funds from the government, reveals a recent finding. The ministry makes the finding digging ... Read more

Nuclear power plant installation BD team to visit Russia soon for signing deal The move towards installing a nuclear power plant has gone one step forward as the Russian government has invited Bangladesh to send a delegation to visit its nuclear-power projects and sign deals. “We have received an invitation recently from the Russian government ... Read more

Industrial pollution and degradation by industries and human intervention goes on unabated as only 38 cases out of a total 340 filed till May 31 have so far been ended in conviction since the establishment of Environmental Courts in 2002. Although campaigns by environmental groups against pollution are gaining in strength in the country, only ... Read more

Garment sector unrest  Police have identified over 50 people, particularly labour leaders and jhut (garment cloth waste) traders, who are responsible for creating anarchy in the country’s largest foreign exchange earning readymade garment (RMG) sector. These unscrupulous people are responsible for creating unrest in Ashuliya-Savar and Mirpur-Tejgaon industrial belts in Dhaka district, Gazipur-Tongi-Joydebpur-Sreepur and Konabari-Kashempur-Mawna ... Read more