Archive for May, 2008
Saturday, May 31st, 2008Dilapidated condition of over 2,000 km of the country's 2,835-km railway network and 675 unauthorised level crossings have made train journey quite risky.Poor signalling system and shortage of efficient manpower also contribute to train accidents that left 43 people killed and about 200 injured only in 29 days since April 16 this year.“Not more than 25-30 percent of the total rail track is now in good condition, the rest is quite risky,” a former director general (DG) of Bangladesh Railway (BR) told The Daily Star on Thursday.BR Statistics shows 4,051 accidents causing deaths to 172 and injury to 1,208 took ...
(read more) Saturday, May 31st, 2008The Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) officials yesterday questioned two more detained former ministers at Dhaka Central Jail gate in the case filed in connection with illegally awarding the Barapukuria coalmine deal to Chinese company CMC.Former commerce minister air vice-marshall (retd) Altaf Hossain Chowdhury was brought to Dhaka from Narayanganj jail around 11:00am and questioned for over an hour in presence of his lawyer. He was sent back in the evening.After the questioning of Altaf, an ACC team led by Deputy Director (DD) Munirul Huq, also the investigation officer (IO) of the case, interrogated former state minister for energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain ...
(read more) Saturday, May 31st, 2008As the caretaker government has been busy negotiating with political parties since early April, most of its advisers seem to have little time to visit places outside the capital, although a decision was taken earlier to boost development activities countrywide.Another late last year decision for accelerating administrative activities in rural areas also seems to be far from being implemented anytime soon, as the ongoing politico-electoral negotiation is expected to prolong till the end of next month.The government took the decisions in a bid to identify region based problems, and to generate employment opportunities following the back-to-back floods and cyclone Sidr ...
(read more) Saturday, May 31st, 2008Demanding release of all detained political leaders including two former prime ministers, pro-Khaleda BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain yesterday said the people will not accept any 'pre-scripted dialogue and rigged election' in the country.Urging his party leaders and activists to be united, he said BNP will announce agitation programmes if necessary, and the activists should be ready to implement those to realise their demands."There is no alternative to an election, and the people will not accept if anyone devises an alternative," he said at a discussion meeting held in the Engineers' Institution auditorium in the capital organised ...
(read more) Saturday, May 31st, 2008Malaysia is introducing new visa rules for Bangladeshi and Indian tourists in an effort to curb illegal immigration, The New Straits Times reported yesterday.Visitors from the two countries will have to obtain a two-week pass and a return ticket before they can enter Malaysia, the report said, quoting Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar."The social visit pass replaces the visas-on-arrival (VOA), which was discontinued in April," Syed Hamid said, adding the social visit pass must be obtained in advance from the tourists' home country.Malaysia first introduced the visa-friendly programme, allowing visitors from 24 countries to stay for one month when they ...
(read more) Saturday, May 31st, 2008The fate of the people is not leased out to any person or any political party, and the country is not anyone's family inheritance, eminent jurist Dr Kamal Hossain said yesterday.He made the comment during a discussion meeting titled 'National dialogues, upcoming general election, and the will of the people' held in the Liberation War Museum in the capital, organised by Shommilito Shamajik Andolon (SSA), a citizens' platform."The fate of the people is not leased out to any person or any political party. The idea that nothing can be done without some specific persons' permission, is intolerable. The country does ...
(read more) Saturday, May 31st, 2008The government is preparing a policy to finance the power sector with private partnership, said Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Prof M Tamim yesterday."The government will have 51 percent share while its private partners will have 49 percent," he said while speaking as the chief guest at a workshop styled "Energy Security and Development: Perspective Bangladesh" organised by Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA) and Bangladesh Heritage Foundation in cooperation with Grameen Shakti.The review of the draft coal policy is almost complete and it will be sent to the law ministry ...
(read more) Saturday, May 31st, 2008A student of Bangladesh Medical College (BMC) was beaten to death allegedly by a group of Dhaka University (DU) students yesterday.Police said a group of students of SM Hall beat up Ehtesham-Al-Ziad, a second year MBBS student of Dhanmondi branch of Bangladesh Medical College, on the hall premises in the morning, accusing him of stealing a mobile phone.On information, Shahbagh police rescued Ziad from the hall in a critical condition and admitted him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Later, he was shifted to Bangladesh Medical College where he succumbed to his injuries at around 2:30pm.Police quoted family ...
(read more) Saturday, May 31st, 2008The pro-Saifur faction of Sylhet unit BNP yesterday declared the party's new district convener M Ilyas Ali persona non grata (unwanted), inviting sharp retorts from the other group.Rejecting the Ilyas-led convening committee, they said the move is an attempt to destroy the party.Pro-Ilyas faction, meantime, said the role of the other group led to the damage to the party after 1/11.The two factions trotted out the denunciations of each other in separate meetings held to commemorate the 27th death anniversary of late president Ziaur Rahman, the party's founder.BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain Thursday reconstituted the Sylhet unit BNP ...
(read more) Saturday, May 31st, 2008Bahrain will execute a Bangladeshi in firing squad for killing a fashion designer of that country, reported All Headline News, a US-based news website on Thursday.The date for execution of Mizan Noor Al Rahman Ayoub Miyah is yet to be fixed.Mizan, a cook, was convicted of murdering Sana Al Jalahama in 2006 but the execution decision comes at a time when Bahrain stopped issuing work permits to Bangladeshis, All Headline News said.Manama's ban followed demands by a group of Bahraini lawmakers for expelling Bangladeshis from the Gulf country after the killing of a local allegedly by a Bangladeshi last week. ...
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