Interim Govt for Polls Unelected people not to be in govt AL, allies respond to BNP’s reported formulas The Awami League-led ruling grand alliance will not accept any proposal or formula of an unelected interim government to conduct the next parliamentary elections. Leaders of the alliance have vehemently rejected main opposition BNP’s idea of forming a ... Read more
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U-19 Cricket World Cup begins today
The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup gets underway in Australia today with four matches featuring on the opening day. Asian rivals Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will lock horns at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane in the Group D fixture while three-time champions Australia will launch their title defence against 1998 winner England in the Group ... Read more
High prices spoil Eid shopping
Eid shopping in the capital has gathered momentum with more of city dwellers roaming markets to make the best buys for the festival. However, majority of them say high prices are spoiling their joy. “The prices of garment items have gone up unexpectedly,” Rafeza Zaman Khan, consultant of a real-estate company, told The Daily Star ... Read more
Army given charge of passport printing
The Bangladesh Army-led ongoing machine readable passport project has been given the responsibility of passport printing, storing and quality control after over two thousand passport booklets went missing from Agargoan passport office recently, said sources in the Department of Immigration and Passports. ‘Under the office order, one army officer was entrusted with the whole procedure ... Read more
135 fishermen abducted in Bay
Robbers early yesterday abducted about 135 fishermen and hijacked three trawlers in the coastal areas of the Bay of Bengal in Patuakhali and Bagerhat. In Patuakhali, a gang of around 20 masked robbers on two trawlers attacked several fishing boats around 12:30am. They abducted around 100 fishermen and the boat drivers, said Shah Alam, a
Tickets vanish days before sale starts
Launch Cabins for Eid Trips Tickets vanish days before sale starts Cabin tickets of private launches almost disappeared a day before the owners formally started selling those yesterday, a week ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr. The ticket seekers who went to Sadarghat Launch Terminal yesterday had to return empty-handed as tickets of all the launches, except for ... Read more
Nazmul Huda launches BNF
Former Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Nazmul Huda on Friday launched a new political party called Bangladesh Nationalist Front terming it an ‘alternative’ to Awami League and BNP and asking all ‘nationalist forces’ to unite to consolidate independence and sovereignty. Huda, who recently resigned from BNP as vice-chairman, named his new party at an
Bangladeshis pay more to cops than to govt: AHRC
The ordinary people of Bangladesh, for whom the police are the most visible and powerful presence of the state in the rural and urban settings, pay bribes to the police on a daily basis. Corruption has replaced the chain of command with in the police. The constant failure of the police to credibly investigate crimes ... Read more
NHRC chief receives death threat
The National Human Rights Commission chairman, Mizanur Rahman, received a death threat in a short message on his cell phone on Thursday night, said his personal staff on Friday. ‘We have already informed the RAB and DB about the matter and they are investigating it,’ said Kazi Arfan Ashik, the private secretary to NHRC
Tough contest for admission seekers
About 26,400 students, who had scored the highest grade point average of 5 in this year’s higher secondary certificate and equivalent examinations, will not get seats in the reputed public universities and medical and dental colleges. In 2012 HSC results, some 61,162 students scored GPA 5 while, according to the
Global food prices spiralling again
Extreme Weather Global food prices spiralling again FAO raises alarm for world’s poorest; inadequate rainfall casts gloom over Aman prospect Global food prices shot up last month due to extreme weather conditions, says a report of the UN food and agricultural body. The price spike, which came after three months of decline, has raised the spectre ... Read more
Metro railway project hits snag
Delay in JICA loan signing feared The proposed elevated metro railway project in the capital with Japanese financial assistance has hit a snag as the communications ministry is yet to get approval for it from the ministry of planning, officials said. The delay in getting approval from the planning ministry is attributed to bureaucratic exercise ... Read more
Extortion YES Extortion NO
Police, transport leaders, ministers debate over state of the highway crime Police officials and transport leaders at a meeting at the Rail Bhaban yesterday were locked in a debate over whether extortion was taking place on the highways. While the law enforcers claimed the highways to be free of extortion, transport associations’ bosses said it ... Read more
Move to amend GB ordinance undemocratic
Ex-adviser tells seminar The government’s move to amend the Grameen Bank ordinance is “undemocratic” as it does not represent the opinions of the bank’s majority shareholders, former adviser to a caretaker government Dr Akbar Ali Khan said yesterday. “Ninety-seven percent stake in the Grameen Bank is owned by poor women. So the
Go tough on rights
Santu Larma urges indigenous people Jyotirindra Bodhipriyo Larma, chief of Bangladesh Adivasi Forum, yesterday called upon Adivasis to wage a movement to realise their demand for the government to recognise them as indigenous people and so ensure their rights. In the 15th amendment to the constitution last year, the government identified them as
Capital witnesses agonising traffic gridlock
The capital witnessed agonising traffic gridlocks thanks to traffic mismanagement and the pre-Eid shopping rush even on a public holiday. Passengers remained stranded for hours at almost all major city thoroughfares which were choked with huge traffic congestion on the public holiday for Janmashtami on
Dhaka-Ctg rail link resumes after 8 hours
Rail communication was restored after an eight-hour halt as the Nasirabad Express, a Chittagong-bound train from Mymensingh, derailed when it collided with a cement truck at a level-crossing in Faujderhat in Chittagong on Thursday. The accident occurred at about 4:30am. The engine along with two coaches of the
Hajj for 3,455 aspirants uncertain
The government’s indecision with regard to 12 Hajj agencies, banned by Saudi authorities last week, created uncertainty whether or not 3,455 aspirant pilgrims would be able to perform Hajj under private management, officials said. Bangladesh government allowed these agencies to take the Hajj aspirants to Saudi Arabia
Businessman stabbed to death in city
A businessman was robbed and stabbed to death by unidentified people in front of Bangla Academy in the capital on Wednesday evening. The deceased was identified as Mahmudul Hasan Chowdhury Ratan, 45, owner of a dying factory named Colour and Fashion Limited in
Priority high, approach low
2 top highway projects go awry for lack of fund Two high-priority highway development projects have totally lost momentum as the government released funds thinly and that too not on time. Both projects also suffered from bidding delays, exposing the inefficiency of the bureaucracy in implementing the projects. The projects are the Dhaka-Chittagong highway widening ... Read more