Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman on Tuesday said disbursement of loans to women entrepreneurs has been included in the CAMEL Rating so that they can easily avail loan facility for running trade and business. Speaking at a pre-budget discussion meeting of Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI) at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity, with ... Read more
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Legal notice to stop illegal occupation of Buriganga, Shitalakkha
A legal notice was served yesterday to the government for taking immediate steps to stop illegal encroachment on the banks of rivers Buriganga, Turag and Shitalakkha. Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) served the notice seeking steps to stop earth filling and building any kind of temporary and permanent structures along the rivers in ... Read more
Japan closes 4,000 schools for swine flu
178 infections confirmed Japan reported 178 swine flu infections yesterday and closed more than 4,000 schools, colleges and kindergartens for the rest of the week to slow the spread of the virus, officials said. Experts warned that infections had probably already spread to other regions including the capital Tokyo, which with almost 36 million people ... Read more
Three-decade abortive war of independence: Prabhakaran killed
Sri Lanka declared Monday it had crushed the Tamil Tiger rebels, killing their chief, Velupillai Prabhakaran, and ending his three-decade quest for an independent homeland for minority Tamils. State television broke into its regular programming to announce Prabhakaran’s death, and the government information department sent a text message to cell phones across the country confirming ... Read more
HC starts hearing Khaleda’s writ on cantt house
Hearing adjourned till May 25, govt directed not to disturb her till then At last the High Court took up hearing on writ petition challenging government notice asking BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia to vacate her cantonment house. A Division Bench comprising Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and Justice Moinul Islam Chowdhury started the hearing Monday ... Read more
Rohingya rebels trained JMB men
Investigators glean it from Boma Mizan; Huji too received training from the RSO Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) had close links with Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), an insurgent group in the Myanmarese state of Arakan, JMB explosives expert ‘Boma Mizan’ revealed in interrogations. Sources close to Rab interrogators said Mizan and some other JMB operatives received ... Read more
Profile of Prabhakaran
From an increasingly small area in the north-east of Sri Lanka, Velupillai Prabhakaran heads the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or Tamil Tigers. He has a reputation as a fearless and ruthless guerrilla leader and under his leadership, the Tamil Tigers have become a highly-disciplined and highly-motivated guerrilla force. But in recent months his ... Read more
HR Watch for disbanding DGFI, Rab
Accuses them of abuse, extra-judicial killing Human Rights Watch (HRW) has recommended the disbanding of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), terming them symbols of abuse and impunity in a report released yesterday. The New York-based HRW said if the two forces are not disbanded they should be made to ... Read more
591 more BDR jawans arrested
Sent to jail after filing sedition cases A total of 591 Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) jawans were arrested at different units in ten districts on charge of staging mutiny following the Pilkhana carnage on February 25-26. Police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) made the arrests after filing sedition cases against the suspected mutineers. The arrested border ... Read more
Newspaper reports speculative, says Faruk
Commerce Minister Lt Col (retd) Faruk Khan Monday questioned the veracity of newspaper reports on findings of the army probe report on BDR carnage, claiming that the newspaper reports are based on speculations, reports UNB. “It was not known to anybody except the investigators about findings of the probe report and I think the newspaper ... Read more
Suu Kyi’s release demanded
Several dozens of Rakhaing supporters of Burma’s long incarcerated democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi staged demonstration in front of city’s National Eidgah yesterday morning demanding her immediate release. Rakhaing Women’s Union (RWU) organized the hour-long programme and later placed their four-point demand at a press a briefing. Addressing the press briefing, RWU
Manju, Morshed granted bail in graft cases
The High Court yesterday granted bails to two bigwig graft convicts former, Communications Minister Anwar Hossain Manju of JP and Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan of BNP, in graft cases. A division bench comprising Justice MA Wahhab Mian and Justice M Marzi-ul-Huq passed the orders following separate petitions. The bails will remain valid until the ... Read more
Installation of solar power system in urban areas likely to be made easier, cost effective
The government is likely to take initiatives to make the installation of solar power system easier and cost effective in urban areas so people could cope with the mounting power crisis. Sources said the government appears positive to simplify solar power equipment import and offer special bank loan for its import and installation. Commerce Minister ... Read more
Major juice manufacturers flout BSTI rules
Some of the major juice manufacturers are flouting the rule by not marking the juice packs with maximum retail price. The rule of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution clearly states that every 250ml juice pack should have been marked with MRP. But, visiting some city outlets that sell packed juices it was found that some ... Read more
Congress alliance wins India polls: Sonia names Manmohan next premier: BJP concedes defeat
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s ruling coalition won an overwhelming election victory on Saturday, boosting hopes of a stable government as the emerging Asian power faces economic downturn and tensions with Pakistan. Singh’s Congress-led coalition, riding on the back of years of economic growth, did better than expected and will probably be only just short ... Read more
Two ex-NSI chiefs nabbed for links to Ctg arms haul
They’re to be produced in Ctg court today Former Directors General (DGs) of National Security Intelligence (NSI) Major General (Retd) Rezzaqul Haider and Brigadier General (Retd) Abdur Rahim were arrested in the capital early yesterday for their suspected links to the 10 truckloads of arms haul in Chittagong in 2004. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) ... Read more
JMB has at least 50 bomb experts now
All of them learnt the ropes from ‘Boma Mizan’ Law enforcers suspect there are at least 50 operatives in the militant Islamist organisation Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) who can make bombs, and almost all of them were trained by now detained Jahid Hossain Sumon alias ‘Boma Mizan’. ‘Boma Mizan’, key-explosives expert of the banned outfit, ... Read more
Sustainable architecture can ensure best use of resources: BUET team wins world award
Architects at a programme here yesterday said Bangladesh needs sustainable architectures to ensure the best use of its existing resources. “Bangladesh suffers from various problems due to mismanagement of wealth and lack of sustainable architectures,” Architect Ahsan Ullah Mojumder of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) told a press conference on the campus. Sustainable ... Read more
Rajuk set to falter on timeline, again
Purbachal, Uttara Projects Rajuk set to falter on timeline, again Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) may miss the deadline for allotment of plots at Purbachal New Town Project and Uttara Model Town (3rd Phase) by June due to non-completion of scrutiny of around 1.65 lakh applications submitted against over 7,000 plots. Besides, Rajuk has missed the ... Read more
Left’s red fort in West Bengal falls
The red fort in West Bengal crumbled yesterday as the poll results came out there. After being in power in the state for 32 years without a break, ruling Left Front suffered a severe drubbing at the hands of the alliance of Trinamool Congress and Congress, which swept the Lok Sabha elections. Trinamool Congress-Congress alliance ... Read more