Archive for February 7th, 2008
Thursday, February 7th, 2008Inflation rate of food items in urban areas reached 15.77 percent and 13.91 percent in rural areas on point-to-point basis in December last year as prices of essentials, especially rice and flour, skyrocketed.According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data, overall inflation rate in the country on point-to-point basis in December rose to 11.59 percent, which is 0.18 percent higher than that in November.Inflation rate of food items in the country reached 14.46 percent in December. It was 0.63 higher than the rate in November that stood at 13.83 percent, the BBS figures show.Inflation rate on non-food items however ...
(read more) Thursday, February 7th, 2008Fates of around 150 graft cases filed under emergency power rules (EPR) against many biggies of politics and business, in connection with corruption committed before the declaration of the state of emergency, became uncertain yesterday following a High Court (HC) verdict.The HC yesterday declared illegal the trial under EPR of an extortion case filed against Sheikh Hasina, following a writ petition filed by her challenging the trial's legality.The watershed verdict also affects all other cases that either had already been tried or are currently being tried or awaiting trials under EPR in connection with crimes committed before the ...
(read more) Thursday, February 7th, 2008Rangpur Carmichael College was closed indefinitely yesterday as Islami Chhatra Shibir activists rampaged through the campus, torched the house of a teacher and a power substation, ransacked the college principal's house and vandalised several motor vehicles.The Shibir workers roamed around the campus for nearly five hours since 10:00 in the morning and set fire to the house of Dr Hafizur Rahman, a professor of Mathematics and secretary of academic council of the college. They also ransacked the house of Dip Chandra Roy, the principal of the college, and vandalised his car.The mob vandalised at least ten automobiles and set a ...
(read more) Thursday, February 7th, 2008Disaster management experts have suggested immediate initiatives to identify and retrofit vulnerable buildings in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet as they are concerned about likelihood of earthquakes in the major cities.They said such disasters, if hit the major cities, will cause huge damage to life and property, as many buildings are not earthquake resistant and authorities concerned not well equipped.The observations came at the launching ceremony of Earthquake and Tsunami/Storm Surge Preparedness Component under Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP) at a city hotel yesterday.The experts also recommended detailed analysis of tsunami risk along the coast and investigation into the probability of ...
(read more) Thursday, February 7th, 2008Saudi Arabia yesterday denied media reports that it will stop issuing work visas to Bangladeshis from February 9.It however indicated at slowing down issuance of employment visas to citizens of some countries without mentioning their names."We deny reports that the (Saudi) Labour Ministry will stop issuing work visas to Bangladeshi workers. This is simply not true," Hatab S Al-Hatab, general manager for Media and Public Relations at the Ministry of Labour, told Saudi Gazette, an English language newspaper in the kingdom.Following press reports in this regard in Bangladesh, Foreign and Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury ...
(read more) Thursday, February 7th, 2008The Dhaka Central Jail library goes unused for years as prisoners including over 150 VIPs, who comprise politicians, students and businessmen, take no books at all.Insiders say the jail authorities have bought only a handful of religious books in the last 20 years in which no inmates show any interest.In addition to buying only religious books, the authorities have managed to provide over 10,000 prisoners with merely four newspapers.Besides, there is no library arrangement for the women prisoners in Dhaka, leave alone 66 other jails elsewhere in the country.A one-storey tin-shed building houses the library, which has around five thousand ...
(read more) Thursday, February 7th, 2008Awami League has said justice has won over injustice with yesterday's High Court verdict that quashed the Tk 2.99 crore extortion case against detained party chief Sheikh Hasina."It has been proved once again that justice prevails over injustice and truth wins over falsity. It has been unanimously established that Sheikh Hasina is completely innocent," AL Acting President Zillur Rahman said yesterday in an instant reaction to the verdict.Zillur also demanded that Hasina be freed immediately.The judgment has now made it clear that the AL is going to contest the polls together with Hasina, the veteran leader added as he ...
(read more) Thursday, February 7th, 2008The Awami League (AL) will hold talks with its allies in 14-party during February 11-13 for taking a common stance on the issues to be discussed at the proposed dialogue with the government.The decision came at a meeting of the party's senior presidium members yesterday held at acting AL president Zillur Rahman's Gulshan residence in the capital.The 2-hour long meeting discussed overall political situation of the country including holding the next parliamentary elections, dialogue with the government and city corporation polls."We sat to discuss different issues including elections. But the main agenda of the meeting was to ...
(read more) Thursday, February 7th, 2008Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for Fisheries and livestock Manik Lal Samaddar yesterday said although the bird flu has been spreading, there is no reason to be panicked."We are trying to keep the situation under control. We have taken all-out measures to prevent spread of the avian influenza virus," he told a press briefing at his ministry.So far 4,61,311 chickens, ducks and pigeons from 179 poultry farms in the country have been culled since March 2007.He said the government has increased the amount of compensation for culled chicken, and Tk 1.27 crore has so far been distributed among ...
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