Archive for April 1st, 2008
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday pressed charges against detained BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Tarique Rahman, his wife Dr Zobaida Rahman and mother-in-law Iqbalmand Banu for amassing wealth illegally and concealing wealth information.ACC Assistant Director Taufiqul Islam, also investigation officer (IO), submitted the charge sheet to the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate showing 57 people as prosecution witnesses.The IO prayed for issuance of arrest warrants against Zobaida and Iqbalmand Banu and an order to attach their property, as they has not obtained bail.He mentioned in the charge sheet that Tarique had concealed wealth worth about Tk 2.17 crore in his ...
(read more) Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 An anti-graft tribunal yesterday sentenced former BNP lawmaker M Naser Rahman to 13 years in prison for concealing wealth information and amassing assets beyond known sources of income.The Special Court-9 also fined Naser, son of former finance minister M Saifur Rahman, Tk 5 lakh. In the event of a default in payment, he will have to serve one more year in jail.Besides, the government was ordered to confiscate his wealth worth around Tk 1.80 crore.Of the term, 10 years' rigorous imprisonment was given for illegally accumulating wealth and three years' imprisonment for concealing information in wealth statement ...
(read more) Tuesday, April 1st, 2008Although the joint forces yesterday started monitoring the city markets in the wake of persisting price spiral of rice and some other essentials, price of rice varieties rose further at the wholesale markets.A seller at Badamtali wholesale market said the price of all varieties of rice was hiked further in the morning yesterday. The price of rice was hiked three times on Sunday, he added.Col MA Halim, director (operation and training) of BDR, told The Daily Star they have started patrolling the markets to watch over the price hikes.Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and BDR personnel were seen active during a ...
(read more) Tuesday, April 1st, 2008Amid acute liquidity crisis due to under-pricing of imported petroleum products, the government yesterday approved Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation's (BPC) proposal to take $300 million hard term loan from Standard Chartered Bank.On the other hand, the government is taking $220 million loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as emergency assistance to reduce pressures on balance of payment. A proposal regarding this loan will be placed at the IMF Board meeting tomorrow in Washington.Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam, after a meeting of the hard term loan committee chaired by him yesterday, told newsmen that the BPC would take the loan under ...
(read more) Tuesday, April 1st, 2008The present caretaker government will soon reconstitute the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Land Commission to settle the longstanding land disputes between indigenous communities and settlers in the region.Food and Disaster Management Adviser AMM Shawkat Ali yesterday said at a roundtable titled "Land Disputes in Chittagong Hill Tracts: Ways to settling the issue".The government will appoint a new chairman to the Land Commission and is also planning to appoint two fulltime members to facilitate the works of the commission, he said."The present government will finish reorganising the Land Commission so that the next government can take it forward," the ...
(read more) Tuesday, April 1st, 2008Malaysia has warned Bangladesh of deporting Bangladeshi workers living in open spaces in Kuala Lumpur if problems regarding those workers are not resolved soon.The Bangladeshi workers living in open spaces would be deported even if they have valid work permits and travel documents, said Malaysia's Immigration Department Enforcement Director Datuk Ishak Mohammed, reported Malaysian newspaper The Star on Saturday.Ishak said the department could no longer compromise on the matter as the workers have been tarnishing the image of the country.The Star reported that 150 Bangladeshi workers have been living along the riverbanks near the Damai LRT in Kuala Lumpur ...
(read more) Tuesday, April 1st, 2008At least three workers were killed and 16 others injured yesterday in a boiler explosion at a re-rolling factory at Kanchpur of Sonargaon upazila.The deceased are Majharul Islam Moza, 22, Rabiul Islam, 21, and Amir Hossain, 25.The injured were admitted to different hospitals and clinics. The conditions of most of the injured were stated to be critical.The boiler of Syed Steel Mill exploded at about 12:30am leaving Moza and Rabiul dead on the spot and 17 others injured.Seriously injured Amir was rushed to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) where he succumbed to his injuries.The tin-shed factory ...
(read more) Tuesday, April 1st, 2008Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed yesterday urged all concerned to maintain peace and discipline in the business arena and refrain from activities that cast negative impact on the national economy.The head of the caretaker government made the call while addressing National Export Trophy distribution function jointly organised by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and the commerce ministry at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the city.He called for increasing the country's export to keep pace with the fast rising economies of China, India and Vietnam.The CA said there is high demand in the international market for agro-based and processed agricultural goods, ...
(read more) Tuesday, April 1st, 2008A Dhaka court yesterday sentenced Khandaker Akhter Hamid Paban, son of Khaleda-appointed BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain, and four others to 17 years' rigorous imprisonment for possession of illegal firearms and ammunition.Following the verdict, Paban and his sister Luna Khandaker hurled abusive language at the judge saying that he had no right to sit in the judge's chair and that he was a disgrace to the judiciary.The other convicts are Anwar Hossain, Masud Ali alias Apu, Delwar Hossain alias Ratan and Paban's cousin Nahid alias Mota Nahid.Judge Mohammad Shafiul Azam of the Metropolitan Special Tribunal-12 handed down ...
(read more) Tuesday, April 1st, 2008Unbridled corruption through abuse of power kept Naser Rahman in the limelight during much of the BNP-led four-party alliance rule.Though there were allegations of graft aplenty against him, no-one dared to press any formal charge against the eldest son of Saifur Rahman, then the finance minister, for fear of reprisal.Hefty commissions from businesses in exchange for winning them contracts made him astronomically wealthy in a very short span of time.But things began to change for the worse for him soon after the present military-backed caretaker government took over on January 11 last year.He was detained as ...
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