Archive for December 18th, 2006
Monday, December 18th, 2006With the political crisis deepening further, most advisers to the caretaker government are doubtful about holding of the next parliamentary election in line with the announced schedule with participation of all major political parties.The advisers, who had on several occasions discussed ways to face possible problems in case the election is not held within the 90-day tenure of the caretaker government, again started discussing the issue among themselves as their latest effort to resolve the crisis seems to have failed, sources said.Following a meeting of the council of advisers on Wednesday, Adviser Shafiqual Haque Chowdhury re-initiated moves to resolve the ...
(read more) Monday, December 18th, 2006Field level Election Commission (EC) staff have yet to visit most of the areas in the capital and elsewhere in the country on the last day of correcting the updated voter list today. While many prospective voters have not yet been registered, EC Secretary Abdur Rashid Sarker yesterday said he sees no possibility of a decrease in the number of voters on the updated roll which reportedly contains 1.22 crore duplicate or excess voters. He said rather there is a possibility of an increase in the number of voters at the end of the correction process which began on December ...
(read more) Monday, December 18th, 2006US Ambassador in Dhaka Patricia A Butenis yesterday said the caretaker government (CG) of President Iajuddin Ahmed has not always worked neutrally, meaning sufferings to the nation.She stressed that the chief adviser (CA) to the CG must listen to his advisers and lead them as a team through the elections.Calling on the political parties to open new talks to bridge the gap between them, Butenis said CA Iajuddin must play a direct and neutral role in this effort.She was delivering a keynote speech at a seminar on 'Democracy and Bangladesh'.Bangladesh Association for American Studies (BAAS) organised the seminar in ...
(read more) Monday, December 18th, 2006The US authorities yesterday handed over a youth to Bangladesh police, who was held at Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba for the last five years for his alleged link with al-Qaeda.The youth, Mubarak Hossain, 30, son of Abul Hashem of Moin Madhyapara in Brahmanbaria, was arrested from Afghanistan in 2001.A special US Air Force plane flew Mubarak in Bangladesh and handed him over to the Zia International Airport Immigration at 11:30am.The airport immigration authorities later transferred his custody to the Airport Police where he remained under detention till last night. His father was unable to meet or receive his son ...
(read more) Monday, December 18th, 2006Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina yesterday once again reiterated her demand for rescheduling the election following corrections on the voter list and publication of it.She also said the people will not accept a premature election in the name of following a constitutional provision of holding it within 90 days of dissolution of the last parliament."The people have to know whether their names are registered on the voter list, and to assure that the constitutional binding of holding the election within the stipulated 90 days must not be used as an excuse," the AL chief said while addressing a programme ...
(read more) Monday, December 18th, 2006Munshiganj potato farmers face a tough time this winter as seed prices have almost doubled because of frequent blockading of ports, roads and railways by the 14-party alliance since October. Seeds are also difficult to get."We bought a 50 kg box of imported seeds at Tk 5,500-6,000 compared to Tk 3000-3500 per box last year", said Mohammad Afazuddin, a farmer in Atpara union of the district.Farmers have had to resort to moving from door to door to find seeds. They have also been forced to pay whatever price was required for quality seeds, according to sources said. The price ...
(read more) Monday, December 18th, 2006Thousands of leaders, activists, workers and supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) yesterday brought out a huge colourful procession in the capital on the occasion of the Victory Day. Ahead the grand rally to be held on Tuesday at Paltan Maidan, the parade led by party central leaders virtually turned into a campaign for the general election scheduled for January 23."A few parties are conspiring to thwart the election as they have no trust on people. Even they have no faith on the government, administration, Election Commission, police and the army," said BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan at a ...
(read more) Monday, December 18th, 2006A nine-member advance team from the European Union (EU) arrived in Dhaka yesterday to observe the general elections in Bangladesh slated for January 23.The team comprising experts in law and politics arrived yesterday morning while the team leader is scheduled to arrive tomorrow, an official in the Delegation of the European Commission (EC) in Dhaka told the news agency.The EU will send a total of 150 observers.Meanwhile, EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner in a statement said successful and credible elections would be a positive contribution to the long-term stability of Bangladesh.The coming election ...
(read more) Monday, December 18th, 2006The dawn-to-dusk hartal imposed by Jatiya Party (JP) in five northern districts passed with a few untoward incidents as party activists burnt several motorbikes and a truck in Rangpur and Lalmonirhat towns yesterday.JP leaders of Rangpur district unit at a rally in the afternoon protested Thursday's High Court verdict that sentenced JP Chairman HM Ershad to two years' imprisonment in a Japanese boats purchase case.They threatened to paralyse the northern region with tough programmes if Ershad is barred to participate in the coming parliamentary election.All commercial complexes in Rangpur town and seven upazila headquarters of the district remained closed while ...
(read more) Monday, December 18th, 2006Finance Adviser Dr Shoeb Ahmed yesterday said his ministry will release Tk 58 crore in a day or two to meet election expenditures, including the spending on correction of the updated voter list.Earlier, the ministry released Tk 12 crore in this regard."We'll make more funds available, if necessary, for holding a free and fair election," the adviser told reporters at his ministry office. The current budget allocated Tk 100 crore for the election purpose.Replying to a question, he said the Election Commission will take measures against the loan defaulters through discussions with the commercial banks and Bangladesh Bank.He said the ...
(read more) 
