News

228 feared dead An Air France plane carrying 228 people from Brazil to France has vanished over the Atlantic after a possible lightning strike, airline officials say, reports BBC. The Airbus sent an automatic message at 0214 GMT, four hours after leaving Rio de Janeiro, reporting a short circuit as it flew through strong turbulence. ... Read more

At least 428 primary school students of eight primary schools under Laxmichhari upazila in Khagrachhari district have fallen sick after taking the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) biscuits today (Monday). Laxmichhari upazila administration sources said, of the sick students, 150 were admitted into Manikchhari Upazila Health Complex and Laxmichhari Upazila Health Complex. A 5-member ... Read more

HC asks govt The High Court (HC) in a verdict yesterday directed the government to set up a food court in every district and to appoint sufficient food analysts and food inspectors in all districts within one year in order to prevent food adulteration. The court also directed the government to inform the court by ... Read more

It has been finally decided that the Congress-led UPA government would put a woman at the most prestigious seat of Indian lower house as Speaker. Meira Kumar is all poised to become the first woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha as her name was cleared by the Congress core group.  Meira will also be the ... Read more

Jhapa village still under water; survivors’ sufferings know no bound “My time has come, perhaps I will die this time round.” Sixty-five-year-old Santosh Mondol let out a sigh as he spoke the words. In the tiny makeshift shack he has managed to put up on the damaged embankment in Jhapa village, his future didn’t look ... Read more

Application deadline expired, DCs asked to send recommendation soon The Home Ministry received recommendations from deputy commissioners of Dhaka and some other districts in favour of withdrawing 500 politically motivated cases. According to sources, 2675 applications were submitted to Dhaka DC who upon approval of PP gave his opinion for withdrawal of 155 cases including ... Read more

Land registration fees to be reduced by 6-8 per cent The government has decided to increase the price of land four times in a bid to increase non-tax revenue income, sources in the Prime Minister’s Office told New Age on Sunday. An official of the PMO said that the increased rate would come into effect ... Read more

EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS NHRC calls for independent inquiries The National Human Rights Commission on Sunday demanded ‘independent inquiries’ into every incident of extra-judicial killing and publication of the reports. The commission also expressed grave concern at the news of extra-judicial killings in the country, especially the recent death of two students of the Dhaka Polytechnic Institute ... Read more

Their payment comes thru’ a money exchange firm, Daud Merchant tells The Daily Star; he manages a passport in exchange for Tk 50,000 Detectives suspect that more than 150 highly paid agents have been working in the country for international mafia don Daud Ibrahim and that his second-in-command “Chhota” Shakil has been dealing with their ... Read more

Former shipping adviser MA Matin has rebuffed the allegations against him and says ”a group” is trying to bring the Chittagong port back to the days before Jan 11, 2007 to commit corruption, reports bdnews24.com. He claimed that a specific group is being ”favoured” to spoil the successes in the last two years in improving ... Read more

Police unearthed a powerful clandestine radio transmission centre at a college dormitory in the town last night and arrested a student identified as an Islami Chhatra Shibir “cadre”. Acting on secret information, police raided Alam student dorm near Zia Hall of Satkhira Government College at night and discovered the radio station inside room no 14. ... Read more

Cyclone Aila victim 65-year old Omar Ali’s wait for fresh clothing ended in vain as he died of diarrhoea in Chandnimukho village in Shyamnagar in the early hours yesterday. Bangladesh Red Crescent Society on Saturday enlisted his name and gave him a non-food item relief card. “He was very happy to get the card as ... Read more

A Bangladeshi indigenous citizen, sentenced to two months rigorous imprisonment (RI) in a false case filed against him on charge of intrusion into the country, was released here yesterday after keeping him in different jails for 14 years. District and Sessions Judge Hrishikesh Saha ordered the authorities concern to release U Thoai Hla Marma from ... Read more

Sri Lanka appealed yesterday for international support in dismantling the global political network of the Tamil Tiger rebels after declaring a full military victory over the separatist movement. Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told a high-level security forum in Singapore that Colombo needed help in disabling the Tigers’ “powerful political lobbies in certain capitals” that are ... Read more

River-gobblers having a feast on Buriganga, Shitalakhya, Balu as they face no govt resistance The Buriganga Second Bridge in Postogola overlooks a significant part of the river. Anybody standing on the bridge would have a clear view of the river and easily realise how shamelessly and ruthlessly encroachers have squeezed the lifeline of the capital. ... Read more

River grabbers back after 2 years of hibernation; rampant encroachment narrows the river down to a canal Encroachment, after pollution, stands as the biggest threat to the life of our rivers. The reach and scope of the encroachers have made them seemingly invincible. Powerful, rich and ruthless, these encroachers have come to pull strings in ... Read more

The government has initiated an inquiry into unnatural deaths of Bangladesh Rifles soldiers in custody after the February 25–26 rebellion in the BDR headquarters in Dhaka. ‘The home affairs ministry has formed a committee for an executive inquiry into unnatural deaths of BDR soldiers after the February rebellion… The committee will find out the reason ... Read more

The government has decided to go ahead with the project of machine-readable passports, to be issued from the next year, backtracking from its earlier decision to introduce e-passport, to be commissioned in 2014. The Awami League government immediately after assuming office on January 6, 2009, first decided to implement machine-readable passports and then moved towards ... Read more