Archive for December 16th, 2007
Sunday, December 16th, 2007The country yet again suffered electricity blackouts for hours yesterday due to national grid failure.Power Development Board (PDB) sources said technical glitches in a transmission line at Ashuganj at around 11:45am caused local power units to shut down and soon led to cascading effect on almost all units across the country.It was the second massive outage in a month after the national grid failed on November 16 in the wake of Cyclone Sidr leaving the nation without electricity throughout the day.Electricity started coming back on after over two hours. By 10 last night, the PDB was selectively supplying around ...
(read more) Sunday, December 16th, 2007The nation today celebrates the 36th anniversary of its glorious victory over Pakistani occupation forces in the nine-month Liberation War with the demand for trial of the war criminals gathering momentum.While a grateful nation pays homage to the three million martyrs for their supreme sacrifice for the long-cherished freedom of the motherland, the people imbued with the spirit of Liberation war have united vowing to bring to book local collaborators of the occupation forces.Recent audacious statements by leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami on the war of independence and war criminals made it clear once again that they are still disrespectful of the ...
(read more) Sunday, December 16th, 2007The constitution provides the government with unlimited power to try the war criminals of 1971 by enacting any laws no matter whether those contradict the provisions of the constitution or not.First amendment to the constitution in 1973 empowers the government to detain, prosecute and punish any person for war crimes the way it wants but the person cannot enjoy protection of law, protection in respect of trial and punishment and seek remedy from the Supreme Court (SC) for enforcement of fundamental rights as enshrined in the constitution.The constitution also empowers the government to hold trial of the war ...
(read more) Sunday, December 16th, 2007Bangladesh Better Business Forum in its first meeting yesterday decided to form working committees on six areas to recommend measures for improving the country's business environment and help the economy grow.To be headed by a co-chairman, these committees will be formed within December 31 with representation from both the public and private sectors and are expected to start working by January next year, a forum member said."I am very hopeful. If the committee recommendations are implemented quickly, there will be a positive impact on the country's economy and our growth rate will accelerate," Manzur Elahi, administrator of Federation of Bangladesh ...
(read more) Sunday, December 16th, 2007The sector commanders of the Liberation War have demanded drawing up a list of collaborators of the Pakistan occupation forces alongside preparing a complete and authentic list of the freedom fighters.Though the government had recently said that it has been pondering about making a single list of the freedom fighters, it did not make any positive sign about preparing a list of the collaborators."At present, we're concerned only about the list of the freedom fighters," Secretary to Ministry of Liberation War Affairs Abul Kasem Mahbubul Alam told the reporters on December 9 when asked about listing the collaborators.However, the ...
(read more) Sunday, December 16th, 2007World Bank Vice-president Praful Patel yesterday said the issue of climate change will be mainstreamed into Bangladesh's development agenda while the bank will provide $325 million to Sidr relief and rehabilitation programmes.Speaking at a joint news conference with Agriculture Adviser CS Karim, before leaving the country last night, Patel said the World Bank (WB) preliminarily estimates that the economy of the country will suffer a dent of $3 billion from the two floods and the cyclone of this year, with oil and commodity price shocks inflicting another $1.6 billion in damages.Patel added, "In the absence of any domestic price adjustment, ...
(read more) Sunday, December 16th, 2007The Sector Commanders' Forum and pro-Liberation War political and social organisations will boycott the Victory Day reception party at Bangabhaban hosted today by President Iajuddin Ahmed and his wife, protesting invitation to anti-Liberation War forces.They have also vowed not to attend any state function to celebrate the Victory Day if any anti-Liberation War force is invited there.These political and social bodies include Awami League and its partners in the 14-party alliance, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Ekattorer Ghatok Dalal Nirmul Committee, newly formed Bangladesh Welfare Party, and South Asian People's Union against Fundamentalism and Communalism.Khandkar Delwar Hossain, secretary general of BNP loyal ...
(read more) Sunday, December 16th, 2007The final draft of the coal policy discourages aggressive development of the country's coal sector and places national bodies into the driving seat to lead the sector by pushing private and foreign investors into the backseat.Under this policy, private companies will not have sole ownership over any coal mining deal. They must come in as partners with a national coal mining company.The committee on reviewing coal policy finalised its report on Friday clearing some ambiguities in the policy.For instance, the committee opted for maintaining the existing coal development royalty rate against the earlier suggestion to increase the rate.The ...
(read more) Sunday, December 16th, 2007Demanding trial of the war criminals, senior BNP leader Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan yesterday said that the government should take initiative to try the war criminals, as it would not be possible for any individual to file cases now."It was possible to try the killers of martyred intellectuals earlier as there were a lot of supporting documents, but all the previous governments failed to do it," Bhuiyan, also the party standing committee member, observed.He was speaking at a discussion meeting held at a community centre in the city's Gulshan on the occasion of Victory Day.This is the first time ...
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