Archive for October 12th, 2006
Thursday, October 12th, 2006A small plane crashed into an Upper East Side high-rise Wednesday, shooting flames out the windows, raining debris on the sidewalks below and rattling New Yorkers' nerves exactly one month after the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. Police confirmed 2 people are dead.Christine Monaco, a New York spokeswoman for FBI, said there was no indication of terrorism in the crash, but that officials "have been sent to the scene as a routine." FAA spokesman Jim Peters said all three New York City-area airports are operating normally."The initial indication is that there is a terrible accident," said Department ...
(read more) Thursday, October 12th, 2006Thousands of passengers suffered as railway employees and workers paralysed train services across the country yesterday, enforcing a strike for the first time to protest the government move to restructure Bangladesh Railway.The striking staff held rallies and staged demonstrations at different railway installations including offices, workshops and stations during the dawn-to-dusk strike, enforced by Railway Sramik Karmachari Sangram Parishad (RSKSP).They also drove away officials and staff from their offices and locked those at different places in the country. Manhandling of officials by stranded train passengers were also reported.Railway sources said turning the railway into a corporate entity is ...
(read more) Thursday, October 12th, 2006A secret move is underway to break the political deadlock by convincing Justice KM Hasan not to accept the post of chief adviser to the next caretaker government "for greater interest of the nation".But Justice Hasan maintained silence over the requests made by different quarters as part of the secret move, sources close to those who initiated the move said.The sources said a few well-known persons from the country's political and cultural arena are maintaining close relations with ruling BNP and main opposition Awami League (AL) about the developments of their move.They have planned to engage more eminent personalities to ...
(read more) Thursday, October 12th, 2006After sitting idle for nearly three years on licensing internet telephony, Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is now hurrying award of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) licences without ensuring first a common platform for VoIP operators.The BTRC received 51 applications for VoIP licences on October 8. Applicants include 31 Internet Service Providers (ISPs), 14 Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTNs) and six mobile phone companies.But without a common platform, powerful illegal VoIP operators who are among these applicants will now easily get BTRC licences, and will not only eat up the market of Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) but ...
(read more) Thursday, October 12th, 2006Prime Minister Khaleda Zia yesterday categorically said the would-be chief adviser of the next caretaker government and the incumbent Election Commission (EC) are completely neutral for conducting the forthcoming elections."If you (opposition) have confidence in people and democracy, participate in the elections. Win or defeat depends on the verdict of the electorates--all will have to wait until that time," she told public meetings in Rangamati and Khagrachhari during her tour of the three hill districts.In an apparent negation of the opposition demand for neutral and non-controversial caretaker chief and election commission, Khaleda said when people are united, one cannot win ...
(read more) Thursday, October 12th, 2006Ten cases were filed with six police stations in and around the capital against over 7,000 people on charges of vandalising garment factories, shopping complexes, vehicles and assault on police that occurred during the strike on Tuesday called by several readymade garment (RMG) workers' organisations. Thousands of RMG workers staged violent demonstrations in Dhaka, Savar and Gazipur on Tuesday, vandalising around 100 RMG units and a number of banks, and looting shopping complexes.Following the incident, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters' Association (BGMEA) threatened to shut down their factories for an indefinite period if the government failed to take stern action ...
(read more) Thursday, October 12th, 2006Madhyapara Granite Mining Company Limited (MGMCL), a hard rock mining project of Petrobangla, finally entered into trial production yesterday afternoon after missing the original deadline of production 12 years back, according to MGMCL sources. The project is expected to be handed over within the next three months if Namnam -- the company that got the contract of the job -- performs the trial run successfully.According to the project proposal, Namnam will have to develop five blocks and have to extract at least 6660 metric tons of granite from each block, according to sources.Sources said rock extraction from the ...
(read more) Thursday, October 12th, 2006A Dhaka court yesterday ordered judicial probe after a lawyer filed a criminal case against the state minister for home, inspector general of police (IGP) and 809 other police personnel for attacking the opposition activists during their Election Commission (EC) siege programme on September 6.Jubo Ainjibi League General Secretary Advocate Nure Alam Uzzal filed the case with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court against the accused for their alleged involvement in the attacks.On the hearing, Metropolitan Magistrate ABM Abdul Fattah recorded statement of the complainant, took the complaint into cognisance and ordered judicial probe into the matter.The accused include State Minister ...
(read more) Thursday, October 12th, 2006As many as 310 government officials, 'loyal to the ruling BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami,' were recommended by the Special Selection Board (SSB) for promotion to the posts of deputy secretaries (DS) and secretaries at the fag end of the government's tenure, sources said.The highest body to recommend promotion of government officials, the SSB made the recommendations at a meeting on Tuesday. Chaired by the Cabinet Secretary Abu Solaiman Chowdhury, it was also the board's last meeting in the present government's regime.Sources said that the move had been made to ensure quick promotion of two assistant personal secretaries in the Prime ...
(read more) Thursday, October 12th, 2006Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP)-Janajuddha faction is apparently avenging the killing of their leaders and workers in 'crossfire' by attacking the ruling alliance leaders in the country's south-western region.The faction had vowed on a number of occasions to take revenge on the ruling alliance for 'engaging' Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and other law enforcement agencies to slay at least 215 of its cadres in 10 districts since June 2004.The outlaws have killed four people in Kushtia and Jhenidah in two days. In Jhenidah, three Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal men were killed while one Jamaat-e-Islami man was killed in Kushtia.Jubo ...
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