Archive for December 30th, 2007
Sunday, December 30th, 2007A militant group said yesterday it had no link to Benazir Bhutto's killing, dismissing government claims as a bitter dispute erupted over how the opposition leader was killed.Pakistan, meanwhile, indicated yesterday it would delay January elections because of turmoil caused by Benazir's death.A close aide to Benazir Bhutto told AFP Saturday she saw a bullet wound in the Pakistani opposition leader's head when she bathed her body after her assassination.Benazir's spokeswoman Sherry Rehman, who said she was in the former premier's motorcade at the time of the gun and suicide attack, rejected government claims that the death was ...
(read more) Sunday, December 30th, 2007 Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed called on expatriate Bangladeshis to help the country become a middle-income state by 2021 with their long-term contributions as the first non-resident Bangladeshi (NRB) conference drew to a close yesterday.The chief adviser also handed out eight awards of excellence to eight individuals, four each from residents and the NRBs, for their contribution in the fields of arts, technology and innovation, health, and education.The eight award recipients are artist Monirul Islam and singer Kalim Sharafi for arts, entrepreneur and academic Iqbal Quadir and farmer-scientist Haripada Kapali, doctors ABM Fazlul Karim and MR Khan for ...
(read more) Sunday, December 30th, 2007A week after two Vishnu statuettes were stolen from Zia International Airport (ZIA), law enforcers are yet to find out the motive behind the theft, their destruction and trace Abbas of "Abbas-Nasir" gang, a ZIA-based group who apparently had the artefacts stolen.Rab's search for the missing fragments of the two Vishnu statuettes at a garbage dumping ground of Baliarpur in Aminbazar on the outskirts of the capital failed to produce any results yesterday.The fragments, which were recovered earlier, are now in police hands as evidence.Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) sources said many of their personnel who were involved in the search ...
(read more) Sunday, December 30th, 2007Seventy-one socio-cultural and professional organisations yesterday asked the caretaker government to set up special tribunals to try the war criminals of 1971 as soon as possible for the sake of holding a free and fair election in the country.They also vowed to continue their united movement both in court and on the streets until the demand is fulfilled.The joint declaration came at a press conference at the BILIA Centre in the capital.Sector Commanders Forum Coordinator Lt Gen (retd) Harun-Ar-Rashid urged all organisations across the country to contact them to join the movement.Forum Chairman Air Vice-Marshal (retd) AK Khandakar said 14 ...
(read more) Sunday, December 30th, 2007Prices of rice varieties and soybean oil have been rising by the day for the last four days in the capital, forcing consumers to throng the price controlled shops set up by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR).The Daily Star correspondent visiting retail and wholesale kitchen markets in the city over the last four days found spiralling prices of most varieties of rice starting at Tk 28 a kilogram (kg) yesterday. The price of soybean oil sold loose rose by Tk 6 a litre over the last four days.Prices of coarse rice like chapal, Irri, and Indian swarna shot up to Tk ...
(read more) Sunday, December 30th, 2007Speakers at a discussion yesterday demanded that the present government begin the prosecution of war criminals and involve the international community including the United Nations (UN) in the process.They also urged the government to form an enquiry commission to mobilise witnesses and evidence for the trial.Titled "Genocide and Impunity", the discussion was held at the National Press Club in the city. It was organised by War Crimes Fact-finding Committee and presided over by Prof Anisuzzaman.Eminent writer Selina Hossain, Prof Farida Banu, sister of a martyred intellectual, Muhammad Zafar Iqbal and Yasmeen Haque, teachers of Shahjalal University of Science and ...
(read more) Sunday, December 30th, 2007Jail authorities have stepped up security in all the 67 prisons, where the Islamist militants are being kept, following the assassination of former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto on Thursday.The move was made after the Pakistani government suspected that radical Islamist outfit al Qaeda was behind the killing.Instructions have been given to the authorities concerned to keep a close eye on the visitors who come to meet the militants in jail.Inspector General (prison) Brig Gen Zakir Hasan told The Daily Star yesterday that security had been strengthened in the prisons and they are coordinating with Rab.Deputy Inspector General (prison) Maj ...
(read more) Sunday, December 30th, 2007Expatriates have sought government help in transferring their educational skill achieved abroad in a bid to enlighten next generations in Bangladesh with world-class education.Global education curriculum changes every day to follow new innovations, ideas and thoughts, but Bangladesh still lags behind due to not having sustainable educational vision, they said.The expats were sharing their views on the concluding day of the three-day conference of Non-Resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel yesterday. Farrukh Mohsen of Computer Literacy Program, New Jersey, USA moderated yesterday's morning session on areas of education and research.The NRBs working in educational development abroad made five presentations ...
(read more) Sunday, December 30th, 2007Michigan State Senator of the US Hansen Clarke thinks the current atmosphere in Bangladesh is congenial enough to attract foreign investors, but he also said a corruption-free environment remains the precondition.Election of a democratic government by the end of 2008 and handover of power to a new government as promised, are also very crucial to attract investors, Clarke, son of a Bangladeshi expatriate from Sylhet, said on the sidelines of Non-resident Bangladeshi (NRB) Conference 2007 in the capital yesterday.Clarke flew in on Thursday to join the first ever NRB conference with a mission to find investment potentials in Bangladesh for ...
(read more) Sunday, December 30th, 2007Nature tries to catch up as quickly as possible to regenerate what has been destroyed of the Sundarbans in Cyclone Sidr six weeks ago, with signs of thriving flora and fauna.The trees in vast areas of the world's largest mangrove forest seemed to be dead after the cyclone. Their leaves turned brown, giving a sad image of devastation.However, a visit to badly hit areas showed that most Keora trees, which thanks to their flexibility suffered less damage than others, are now back in fresh green. Also Gewa, the so-called Blinding Mangrove, is getting green again. As a fast growing ...
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