Archive for February, 2008
Friday, February 29th, 2008At least 31 people--most of them women and children--died after a launch with around 140 passengers was hit by a sand-laden cargo vessel and sank in the Buriganga in South Keraniganj yesterday.Over 50 passengers remained missing as of 10:00pm while 50-60 others either managed to swim ashore or were rescued by local boatmen after the mishap at Hasnabad Mokampara in South Keraniganj, police and witnesses said.The double-decker MV Shourav-1 bound for Taltola in Munshiganj from the Sadarghat Launch Terminal drowned 45 feet in the river within minutes after the sand-laden cargo vessel Al Amin hit it from behind at 3:35pm."The ...
(read more) Friday, February 29th, 2008Law Adviser AF Hassan Ariff yesterday said the government is considering withdrawing fully the emergency rules before the next general election.Some sections of the Emergency Power Rules (EPR), 2007 that bar electioneering will be withdrawn next month after the Election Commission (EC) announces timetable for the elections to city corporations, he added.“The Election Commission has been talking about schedule for polls to four city corporations. So, the EPR sections or other laws that are obstacles to electoral activities would have to go,” he said during his weekly press briefing at the secretariat.Asked if the state of emergency will be withdrawn ...
(read more) Friday, February 29th, 2008An inter-ministerial committee strongly recommends that the government allow low-cost airliners from Dhaka to save huge foreign exchange and earn huge revenue from aviation and other sectors.The committee after several meetings concludes that the countries signing bilateral air service agreement (BASA) with Bangladesh should be allowed to operate low-cost carriers from Dhaka subject to at least three weekly flights from Chittagong.Representatives from the ministries of civil aviation and tourism, foreign affairs, home, expatriate's welfare and overseas employment, Civil Aviation Authorities of Bangladesh (CAAB), Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd and GMG Airlines comprise the committee headed by Civil Aviation Ministry Joint Secretary ...
(read more) Friday, February 29th, 2008Demands for barring anti-Liberation War forces from elections, announcement of a specific date for the next parliamentary polls and lifting of the state of emergency dominated the second round electoral reform talks between the Election Commission (EC) and 15 political parties that ended yesterday.But the EC cannot yet wrap up the dialogue to initiate steps for making the proposals into laws without holding talks with the BNP, which is virtually divided into two factions--both claiming to be the party's mainstream.The commission is still waiting for a settlement of the dispute.Unless the two BNP factions can unite in a week resolving ...
(read more) Friday, February 29th, 2008A section of key leaders from major political parties including Awami League, BNP and Jatiya Party and different left leaning parties will hold inter-party discussions before having their political dialogue with the caretaker government.The leaders already had two meetings amongst themselves and reached a consensus to have a formal inter-party dialogue to talk about different issues and chalk out strategies to run the country after the election.The first meeting was held at the home of a former BNP lawmaker in Gulshan on February 15 where key leaders of pro-Saifur Rahman faction of BNP, Jatiya Party and other political parties ...
(read more) Friday, February 29th, 2008The GDP growth of the country will drop in FY08 due to a slowdown in the economic activities in the first half of the current fiscal year, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said yesterday.As per the ADB prediction, the GDP growth is expected to be below 6 percent this fiscal year compared with 6.5 percent in the previous fiscal year.The economic holdup resulted from the erosion in business confidence, extensive flooding and cyclone Sidr, and decrease in garments exports, says a quarterly economic report of the ADB.ADB country director Hua Du formally launched the report at a ...
(read more) Friday, February 29th, 2008The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday said they are not considering any move at this time seeking arrest of 13 accused in the Barapukuria coal mine graft case.Of the 16 people charged, former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, and two members of her cabinet Altaf Hossain Chowdhury and AKM Mosharraf Hossain are already behind bars in different cases.ACC Director General (Admin) Col Hanif Iqbal however said, “The accused might be arrested if needed in the course of investigation that has yet to begin.”He made the observations during a routine press briefing at the ACC headquarters yesterday afternoon.Many high ...
(read more) Friday, February 29th, 2008PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has ruled himself out as a candidate for the post of president and said his party could become part of Pakistan's new government only if President Pervez Musharraf steps down.Reacting to reports that he could be made president as part of efforts by the PML-N and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) to form the new government after the February 18 polls, Nawaz said he was not a candidate for the post.Musharraf faces the threat of being impeached if the two major parties--PPP and PML-N -- get the support of independents, a top US intelligence official has said.The ...
(read more) Friday, February 29th, 2008Doubling over with insurmountable emotional pain, Abdul Karim could only wail that he might have saved one or two of his family members if only he were with them. The launch capsize in the Buriganga yesterday has cost the 32-year-old man his entire family.His wife Minaki, 25, three-year-old daughter Kuheli, two-month-old daughter Jonaki and mother-in-law Jarina Begum were on board the ill-fated vessel on their way to a wedding festival at Saperchar in Munsiganj.Minaki's brother Rashed, 13, however, managed to swim ashore from the sinking craft and informed Karim of the accident that shattered his world for ever. Karim ...
(read more) Thursday, February 28th, 2008The Election Commission (EC) yesterday reached the halfway mark to finishing the mammoth job of voter listing by already registering four crore electors, three weeks ahead of schedule.According to the EC's plan, another four crore voters will be registered in the next four months, estimating that the number of voters is likely not to exceed eight crore. The number was 9.30 crore on the previous list prepared in 2006, which was scrapped due to a large number of duplications and other errors on it.If everything goes according to the electoral roadmap announced by the EC on July 15 of ...
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