Archive for February 4th, 2007
Sunday, February 4th, 2007Joint forces early today, in a major crackdown, in different places of Dhaka arrested a number of former ministers and MPs of BNP and Awami League (AL).The detained BNP leaders are former communications minister Barrister Nazmul Huda, former PM’s parliamentary affairs adviser Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, former state minister for civil aviation Mir Nasir, former state minister for land Ruhul Quddus Dulu, former state minister for power Iqbal Hassan Mahmud (Tuku), former state minister for labour and empowerment Amanullah Aman, former finance minister Saifur Rahman’s son and ex-MP Naser Rahman, and BNP lawmaker Wadud Bhuiyan while the AL leaders are ...
(read more) Sunday, February 4th, 2007The council of advisers to the caretaker government yesterday approved the draft bylaws required to turn the nationalised commercial banks (NCBs)--Sonali, Janata and Agrani--into public limited companies.An advisory council meeting at the Chief Adviser's Office gave the seal of approval to the draft Memorandum and Articles of Association, meaning autonomous boards of directors instead of the finance ministry would run the three banks.This is the second policy decision of the caretaker government that is constitutionally mandated to carry out only routine government functions while assisting the Election Commission to hold the national polls. Last week, the interim administration signed a ...
(read more) Sunday, February 4th, 2007Dense fog caused disruptions of international flights as well as transportation across the country on road and river for more than 12 hours yesterday.Air traffic officials at Zia International Airport said at least 20 international flights of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Gulf Airlines, Emirates Airlines, and British Airways could not land at the airport at scheduled times.No national or international flights landed at the airport during 11:51pm on Friday and 10:41am on Saturday, they said.Heavy fog lowered down normal eyesight at only 200 metres, forcing drivers either to halt their journey halfway or to speed down. This doubled the time to ...
(read more) Sunday, February 4th, 2007For contractual violation, the Power Development Board (PDB) is most likely to cancel, within February 22, the 490-megawatt Meghnaghat-2 power project deal that was awarded to Obaidul Karim's shell company BON Consortium. Besides, BON Consortium is unlikely to be able to arrange bank loans to finance this project, as Karim is wanted by the police in connection with different graft and criminal cases filed against him for swindling Tk 594 crore from Oriental Bank. Charges against him were based on a central bank investigation done at the fag end of the alliance government rule, making the case rock solid.Karim has ...
(read more) Sunday, February 4th, 2007Most of the listed top criminals, their patrons and the corruptionists still remain out of the dragnet of joint forces although the forces arrested a staggering number of people across the country since the declaration of state of emergency.A large number of the absconding criminal suspects, their godfathers and corrupt businessmen, who had established a reign of terror, monopolised different business sectors, and misappropriated public property during previous governments' regimes, either went into hiding or fled the country in absence of an anti-crime drive during the 76-day rule of the caretaker government led by President Iajuddin Ahmed.The joint forces comprising ...
(read more) Sunday, February 4th, 2007Joint forces in separate operations all over the country yesterday sealed off 16 warehouses, arrested five people, seized around 12,000 sacks of fertiliser, 654 sacks of fake cement and over 2,500 sacks of various types of spoilt basic commodities. They seized 10,400 sacks of urea at Bhairab upazila, reports our Kishoreganj correspondent.Of those, 10,000 bags were seized from Bhuiyan Enterprise at Bhairab Bazar, Officer-in-Charge of Bhairab Police Station Zamir Uddin Ahmed said.Bhairab upazila Awami League Vice-President Nadiruzzaman, also vice-president of fertiliser dealers' association of the district, owns the store.Another 400 sacks of urea were recovered from his younger brother ...
(read more) Sunday, February 4th, 2007Lakhs of devotees will join Akheri Munajat (concluding prayer) today, the final day of the three-day Biswa Ijtema, the second largest Muslim congregation after Hajj.The concluding prayer and sermon of the 42nd annual Biswa Ijtema will start at 12:20pm.President Iajuddin Ahmed, Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, advisory council members, two former prime ministers and other dignitaries are expected to join the prayer.Muslims will raise hands standing on rooftops, open fields and roads stretched for several kilometres.The authorities concerned set up loudspeakers from Uttara to Cherag Ali Market and Ashulia Road to facilitate devotees to take part in the prayer.A ...
(read more) Sunday, February 4th, 2007Mr Nazmul Huda's threat (published yesterday in full), triggered by our story that the ACC has decided to investigate his alleged corruption, can best be described as pathetic and desperate. Fearful of his dirty linen being washed in public, he is trying to threaten and intimidate so that this paper desists from doing its public duty. No threat will silence us.One can only pity a man who, in order to hit out against someone, drags in his or her parents, which in my case is my late father who passed away 28 years ago and who was a minister half ...
(read more) Sunday, February 4th, 2007Eleven people died and 30 others were injured in road accidents in Goalando and Narsingdi yesterday morning.A Faridpur-bound passenger bus from Goalando skidded off Doulatdia-Khulna road and fell into a ditch near Mogbuler Dokan intersection at around 8:30am, killing five people on the spot and injuring 32 others.Of the injured, one died at Faridpur Medical College Hospital (FMCH) and the other at upazila health complex.Five of the dead were identified as Ayesha Begum, 40, her daughter Khaleda, 7, Kabir Molla, 38, Abed Molla, 40 and Jabbar, 42. Identity of the remaining two could not be known.Police and locals said the ...
(read more) Sunday, February 4th, 2007Zahid Hasan Jewel, arrested on charge of killing his schoolteacher wife in Kuakata on January 27, gave a confessional statement to a magistrate here yesterday.In the statement given under Section 164, Zahid, 35, of Khilgaon, Dhaka said that he planned to murder Tahmina Sharmin Tania, 28, as he was having an illicit affair with his cousin and wanted to get rid of his wife. He hired three professional killers in Dhaka to do the job during their trip to Kuakata.According to the plan, one of the hired killers Abul Hossain accompanied the couple and their 10-month-son Zayman to Kuakata ...
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