Archive for September 20th, 2006
Wednesday, September 20th, 2006Life has become virtually impossible in the capital and elsewhere in the country as continuing severe power crisis has affected the nation with all consequences.City dwellers have been suffering from frequent load shedding for long periods while industrial production has also dropped due to power failure.The worst victims in the capital are the electronics markets, engineering workshops and the cyber cafés.Meanwhile, at least 50 textile workers were injured in Narsingdi as police charged baton on them for attacking the Palli Bidyut Samiti office at Choala in the town yesterday demanding uninterrupted power supply.People of Munshiganj observed a five-minute work abstention ...
(read more) Wednesday, September 20th, 2006The 14-party opposition coalition enforces today a six-hour dawn to midday countrywide blockade of highways, railways and river routes to isolate the capital from the rest of the country while the home ministry directed law enforcers to take stern actions to thwart the programme. "We have directed the opposition leaders and activists to enforce the blockade strictly. No vehicle will be allowed to enter the capital and similarly no vehicle will be allowed to leave Dhaka," Abdul Jalil, coordinator of the Awami League-led 14-party opposition coalition, told reporters yesterday.Opposition activists intend to block at least 20 entry and exit ...
(read more) Wednesday, September 20th, 2006In the last two years, Bangladesh received a number of mammoth investment proposals for the energy sector from foreign companies but barring the reputed Tata, all the company profile is as obscure as their actual intentions. This trend continues with the recent revival of an inactive one-year old memorandum of understanding (MoU) with obscure South Korean company Luxon Global. This company wants to invest $ 1 billion in the energy sector and seeks a coal mining licence in the context of the Phulbari mining incident.Based on the success of incompetent Canadian oil company Niko Resources in bagging an energy ...
(read more) Wednesday, September 20th, 2006The parliament experienced an unscheduled debate yesterday between the ruling BNP and main opposition Awami League (AL) on the 'political affiliation' of former chief justice KM Hasan and the reform proposal on caretaker government system.Both the BNP and AL lawmakers blamed each other during the debate that also included amendment of the constitution, military rule, opposition's grand rally, Election Commission's preparation for the next general election, and recent speeches of the prime minister and the opposition leader.Branding KM Hasan as an "absolutely BNP man", the AL lawmakers said no election will be held without reforms.Rejecting the allegation and criticising the ...
(read more) Wednesday, September 20th, 2006To revive the government's bid to check financial crimes and money laundering, a secret meeting took place between the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Bangladesh side recently.A DOJ delegation met with high officials of the ministries of finance and home, National Board of Revenue, Bangladesh Bank (BB), Attorney General's Office and Criminal Intelligence Department (CID) at Cox's Bazar.Bangladeshi officials appraised the DOJ officials of the status of the 45 money laundering cases, and discussed the investigation process and how punitive measures could be taken against those who would be found guilty of financial crimes.The US side at the ...
(read more) Wednesday, September 20th, 2006Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has termed the opposition's grand rally in Dhaka a flop, saying that it has proved people do not support their designs to create chaos and disrupt democratic process."Being frustrated with the failed rally, they have again announced blockade and hartal programmes to disrupt peace and democracy," she told a public meeting at Mymensingh Circuit House ground yesterday.Khaleda, also the chairperson of the ruling BNP, urged people to take part in the parliamentary election in 2007 under a caretaker government "The coming general election is very important for the nation," she said.Alleging that national and international conspiracies ...
(read more) Wednesday, September 20th, 2006Hopes of the relatives of mass arrest victims to get them released were shattered as court granted bail only to a small number of them yesterday.The mass arrests were made prior to Monday's grand rally of the opposition, which is being followed by its blockade programme today and hartal tomorrow.Sources said the Metropolitan Magistrate's (CMM) Court, Dhaka, yesterday granted bail to lesser number of people compared to that on other days.Besides, relatives alleged that many of the mass arrest victims were not released from jail although they were granted bail because they were shown arrested in other cases."We ...
(read more) Wednesday, September 20th, 2006Citigroup Microentrepreneurship Awards, a global effort of the Citigroup Foundation, were formally announced in Dhaka yesterday, recognising those who had set outstanding examples for others in micro credit activities in Bangladesh. Jahida Begum won the Best Woman Microentrepreneur of the Year award 2006 while Zakir Hossain received the Best Microentrepreneur of the Year prize.Eco-Social Development Organisation (ESDO) got the Best Microfinance Institution of the Year award while Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS) Bangladesh won the Best Programme for the Hardcore Poor award. Nilufar Yasmin received the Best Innovative Micro Business of the Year award 2006.Rokia Afzal Rahman, former adviser to ...
(read more) Wednesday, September 20th, 2006Bangladesh Country Representative of Asian Development Bank (ADB) Hua Du yesterday said that the country's economy has been badly affected by the recurring political conflicts. "Confrontation between the two major political parties has been affecting the economy," she said speaking at a lunch meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Bangladesh.She said she hopes the country however will tide over the difficult time ahead and there will be a smooth and peaceful transition of power to the elected government"We have noted that the political situation is becoming increasingly confrontational in the lead-up to the next general ...
(read more) Wednesday, September 20th, 2006US Ambassador in Dhaka Patricia A Butenis yesterday reiterated her call for talks and said the people in the country crave for a dialogue between the political parties to break the impasse over the upcoming national election.She said she hopes that at the end of the day, the political leaders will work out a resolution of the ongoing dispute in the interest of the country.Butenis lauded the business community for their efforts to have the political parties smoothing out the differences over the election and discussing the proposals for reforms.Speaking to the journalists after a meeting with the board members ...
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