Archive for December 1st, 2006
Friday, December 1st, 2006In an unprecedented move, Chief Justice Syed JR Mudassir Husain yesterday stayed the proceedings of three writ petitions challenging the legality of the president's taking over as chief adviser, his "unilateral" decisions, and the Election Commission's move to declare election schedule, just minutes before a High Court bench was supposed to issue a ruling on them.Shocked by the order, lawyers and those who were present in the courtroom burst into anger and vandalised different sections of the Supreme Court (SC) and set fire to the vehicle of former state minister for law Shahjahan Omar.Hearing the matter for two days, the ...
(read more) Friday, December 1st, 2006Denouncing former prime minister Khaleda Zia's remark that the advisers to the caretaker government are working to thwart free and fair election, advisers yesterday said their talks with the press aim at holding a free and fair general election.They neither breached their oath nor are hatching any conspiracy, said the advisers, adding that the latest formula placed by noble laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus will be acceptable only if the political parties agree."We are not breaking the oath that we took one month ago. I have no comments on the political leaders' speeches," Finance and Planning Adviser M Akbar Ali Khan ...
(read more) Friday, December 1st, 2006Chief Justice Syed JR Mudassir Husain has not only violated the constitution but also tarnished the image of the Supreme Court by staying the proceedings of writ petitions before issuance of ruling, said eminent jurist Dr Kamal Hossain yesterday.He breached his oath to uphold the constitution, Kamal said urging the lawyers' community of 30,000 and the countrymen to boycott the chief justice and uphold the constitution and the judiciary."By issuing the stay orders today [yesterday], the chief justice has placed hurdles on the path to justice," he said, addressing a press briefing of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) at ...
(read more) Friday, December 1st, 2006The Awami League (AL)-led 14-pary alliance yesterday strongly protested and condemned the incident of vandalism at the High Court, saying that it has tainted the rule of law, liberty of judiciary and dignity of the highest court. "Sensing that the judgement of the court would go against President Iajuddin Ahmed, the chief justice (CJ) postponed the hearing of the writ petition on president's taking over as chief adviser (CA)," said 14-parth coordinator Abdul Jalil at a press briefing at AL's Dhanmondi office in the capital.The decision of the chief justice to postpone the hearing of one of the petitions when ...
(read more) Friday, December 1st, 2006Opener Shahriar Nafees struck his third consecutive hundred against his happy-hunting team as Bangladesh got off to a flying start in the five-match one-day international series against Zimbabwe with a thrashing nine-wicket victory here at the Khulna Divisional Stadium yesterday.Although the left-hander came to the spotlight after his unbeaten 105, there were two others -- Mohammad Rafique and Aftab Ahmed -- who also had their achievements in the one-sided match in front of an almost capacity crowd.Rafique took exactly two wickets to become the first Bangladeshi to claim 100 wickets in the shorter-version of the game and partnered with two ...
(read more) Friday, December 1st, 2006Foreign aid dropped by a staggering 53 percent in the first three months of the current fiscal year due to donor concern over pre-election political instability and slow implementation of foreign-funded development projects.Bangladesh Bank statistics show that during July-September in the current fiscal year, aid inflow was $ 129.26 million as against $273.84 million during the corresponding period in the previous fiscal year.Aid figures dropped every month from July to September this fiscal year compared to those in the corresponding months of last fiscal year.In July this year, aid inflow was $41 million, showing a sharp fall from $87 million ...
(read more) Friday, December 1st, 2006The Election Commission (EC) now expects a political consensus on the election schedule it declared on Monday dashing the hope for a peaceful resolution of the dispute. Apparently intent on holding the next parliamentary election on January 21, it however will not take any step on its own, rather will wait for the president/chief adviser, who had reportedly made the EC unveil the schedule surreptitiously, to act to that end.The UN Secretary General's special envoy Craig Jenness who met the acting chief election commissioner (CEC) and other election commissioners yesterday morning enquired how a political consensus could be reached on ...
(read more) Friday, December 1st, 2006Top business leaders of the country yesterday urged the president, also the chief adviser (CA), to urgently resolve the prevailing political stalemate to prevent the 14-party from enforcing its blockade programme from Sunday. They also requested the CA to create an environment so that the political parties do not go for such programmes in future that disrupt smooth running of the business activities.The president of top six business chambers and associations placed the demands to the President and CA Iajuddin Ahmed when they met him at Bangabhaban.Mahbubur Rahman, president of International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICCB), Fazlul Hoque, president of ...
(read more) Friday, December 1st, 2006BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan yesterday strongly condemned the attack and vandalism committed by lawyers loyal to 14-party alliance on High Court (HC) premises, saying such unprecedented acts tarnished the country's image throughout the world. "I can not find any appropriate word to condemn such a heinous act, Bhuiyan said, demanding punitive action against those responsible for the vandalism and claiming the 14-party had been trying to destroy the country's institutions.He said the 14-party alliance was now disobeying the chief justice. Earlier it disobeyed the president, the chief election commissioner and parliament, Bhuiyan alleged.However, the BNP secretary-general did not ...
(read more) Friday, December 1st, 2006Bangabhaban and its adjoining areas remained cut off from the rest of the city for several hours yesterday as a huge number of security personnel sealed off all thoroughfares around Bangabhaban during a sit-in by the activists of 14-party coalition and some other political parties.Awami League-led 14-party alliance, Liberal Democratic Party-led Jatiya Oikyo Front and some Islamic political parties staged the sit-in simultaneously for the second time this week to press home their demands for cancellation of polls schedule, correction of voter list, 'meaningful' reconstitution of the Election Commission (EC) and resignation of the chief adviser.The four-hour sit-in starting ...
(read more) 
