Archive for March 23rd, 2008
Sunday, March 23rd, 2008 Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed has said detained former prime ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina will not be eligible to appear before the proposed Truth Commission for pardon as they are already arraigned on corruption charges and facing trial in courts.He, however, said the caretaker government will accept whatever decision comes from the judicial process.The CA made the remarks during an interview with Al Jazeera television in London last week. Renowned journalist David Frost took the interview during the CA's tour and was aired at 1:00am yesterday in a special programme styled “Frost”.On the question of ...
(read more) Sunday, March 23rd, 2008The national convention of Sector Commanders Forum (SCF) was held on Friday in the capital with a vow to put the war criminals on trial by any means so justice can prevail in the society.SCF, a platform of 11 sector commanders who led the Liberation War against occupying Pakistan forces, organised the daylong convention at Bangladesh China Friendship Convention Centre to mobilise public support for the trail of war criminals.Several hundred freedom fighters, known as Muktijoddha or Mukti Bahini, and numerous pro-liberation organisations attended the convention where the SCF adopted a 16-point declaration on the eve of the Day ...
(read more) Sunday, March 23rd, 2008Health services at all seven police hospitals in the country are in jeopardy as 380 staff members of the hospitals are not receiving their salaries for the last seven months due to bureaucratic tangles.The hospital staff were initially recruited in 2004 under a project titled 'Modernisation of Police Hospitals in Bangladesh' with an aim to improve health services for 1.35 lakh police personnel in the country.However, the quality of services at these hospitals are deteriorating fast as the morale of the hospital staff are waning due to the non-payment of their salaries.The primary cause behind the non-payment of salaries ...
(read more) Sunday, March 23rd, 2008The government will double rice supply for open market sale (OMS) and consider introducing dearness allowance for its employees as part of short-term measures to alleviate public sufferings from price spiral of essentials.Commerce Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman yesterday said, "The process is already underway to supply every day an additional 1,200 to 1,500 tonnes of rice to the OMS outlets across the country until the end of April."He was talking to reporters after a meeting with leading economists, NGO executives and government officials.He said a portion of the rice given under VGF (vulnerable group feeding) programmes would be ...
(read more) Sunday, March 23rd, 2008Bangladesh needs to significantly improve its power sector and infrastructure, alongside the ongoing anti-corruption drive, if the country wishes to unleash its growth potential, said World Bank Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who left the country on Thursday following a four-day visit.In a wide ranging interview with The Daily Star on the eve of her departure, she also said the prospects of long term high prices of energy and food, and climate change are two major challenges the country must deal with now to stave off future growth setbacks.Okonjo-Iweala, appointed as the World Bank's managing director in October last year, ...
(read more) Sunday, March 23rd, 2008The country is expected to have a bumper production of wheat this year that might help ease the current food shortage caused by last year's floods and Cyclone Sidr.Experts said favourable weather, good irrigation facilities, and adequate supply of fertiliser and seeds will help the farmers secure a bumper harvest of wheat this year.This year's production target of wheat has been set at 14-15 lakh tonnes against last year's eight lakh tonnes. About 4.25 lakh hectares of land have been brought under wheat cultivation this year, said Wheat Research Centre (WRC) in Dinajpur.The WRC also hopes that wheat production ...
(read more) Sunday, March 23rd, 2008For the first time in the country, 69 industrial units in Dhaka and Chittagong export processing zones (EPZ) have introduced workers' associations on the basis of referendums by workers.At the same time, workers of 22 industrial units have voted for not having any trade union body for themselves for yet another year.The referendums on having workers' associations were held from January to the middle of this month.There are 124 more "eligible" industrial units in these two EPZs which will have to hold their referendums by 2010 as per a decision of Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (Bepza) on the basis ...
(read more) Sunday, March 23rd, 2008Final voter lists for four city corporations and seven municipalities are scheduled to be published tomorrow, while the final lists for another 230 upazilas are likely to be published by the end of June.The Bangladesh Army plans to finish printing the draft voter lists for the 230 upazilas by the end of May, printing of which will shift to full throttle in the next month in a bid to ensure the publication of final lists in June.“Printing of draft voter lists for 100 upazilas will be completed by April and for another 130 upazilas by May,” said an official ...
(read more) Sunday, March 23rd, 2008Students of Jahangirnagar University blockaded Dhaka-Aricha Highway near the university for an hour and a half after transport workers vandalised three university buses and assaulted students at Gabtoli Bus Terminal yesterday.The students damaged around 25 vehicles and torched two others on the highway protesting against the attack on fellow students and the vandalising of university buses.Twelve students including several female students were wounded in the transport workers' attack.Witnesses said transport workers vandalised a Jahangirnagar University bus after the bus and a light truck had a minor collision and the driver of the bus was involved in an altercation ...
(read more) Sunday, March 23rd, 2008Opener Tamim Iqbal slammed his maiden one-day hundred as Bangladesh completed a clean sweep against Ireland with a 79-run victory in the third and final match at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.The visitors' hope to finish the series with some solace all but evaporated when the Tigers piled up 293 for seven, their second highest score in the shorter-version after a 301-7 against Kenya, after deciding to bat.In reply to the mammoth target, the Irish were never in the game and they lost wickets at regular intervals, interestingly four of them fell victims to run outs, before being bundled ...
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