Archive for May 22nd, 2008
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008The formal dialogue between the caretaker government and political parties kicks off today with the hope of reaching a consensus over a number of debatable issues and creating an atmosphere congenial to holding of the stalled parliamentary election by the end of this year.Formulation of a national charter proposed by the government and the release of the top political leaders, complete withdrawal of the state of emergency and all restrictions on indoor politics are expected to dominate the talks to be held at the Chief Adviser's Office.Meanwhile, the BNP-led four-party alliance will hold a meeting at the residence of BNP ...
(read more) Thursday, May 22nd, 2008Defaulted loans in the banking sector increased by about Tk 1,215 crore or 5.36 percent in the first quarter of this year due to sluggish economy.According to Bangladesh Bank (BB) statistics, the loans defaulted till March 30 totalled Tk 23,838 crore, compared to Tk 22,624 crore on December 31 last year.Of the increased amount, the four state-owned banks accounted for Tk 421 crore, private commercial banks Tk 825 crore and foreign commercial banks Tk 33 crore. Development financial institutions' defaulted loans however declined by Tk 64 crore during the same period.Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled, Krishi Bank chairman and former BB ...
(read more) Thursday, May 22nd, 2008Rampant corruption in the control of imports became institutionalised as the bodies charged with monitoring trade, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and customs, became partners in the crime, an investigation by The Daily Star can reveal.Either through direct involvement or by turning a blind eye to the illegal actions of their colleagues, taxmen and customs officials joined the circle of some businessmen, politicians, and employees of pre-shipment inspection (PSI) firms who manipulated the system at will to enrich themselves at the country's cost.And despite the recent clampdown on corruption the country is still missing out on over Tk 1,000 ...
(read more) Thursday, May 22nd, 2008A special court yesterday started trial of the barge-mounted power plant graft case against former premier Sheikh Hasina and seven others with deposition of plaintiff Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) Deputy Director SM Sabbir Hasan.As Hasina's counsels started cross-examining the plaintiff, Judge Firoz Alam of the Special Court-1 set up on the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban premises adjourned the proceedings at 12:25pm and fixed Thursday (today) morning for further proceedings.Earlier yesterday, Sabbir submitted his statement for more than one and a half hours and identified Hasina and former power secretary Dr Toufiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury as the accused after they were hauled before the ...
(read more) Thursday, May 22nd, 2008A Dhaka court yesterday sentenced Sonali Bank Trade Union leader and collective bargaining agent (CBA) BM Bakir Hossain to 13 years imprisonment, for amassing illegal wealth and concealing information in his wealth statement to the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC).Judge Firoz Alam of Special Judge Court 1, set up on Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban premises, also sentenced Bakir's wife Nazma Hossain to three years imprisonment for abetting her husband in amassing wealth worth about Tk 1.52 crore illegally.The court also fined Bakir Tk 10 lakh, in default of which he will have to serve an additional year in jail, while his wife ...
(read more) Thursday, May 22nd, 2008The visiting Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslim Community, Prince Karim Aga Khan, yesterday said his community would undertake various training programmes to develop human resources in Bangladesh.He said this when talking to President Iajuddin Ahmed at Bangabhaban.Foreign Affairs Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, who was present at the meeting, spoke to reporters about the meeting.The Aga Khan assured the president of enhancing support to Bangladesh in achieving its development goals in different fields.During the meeting, the president welcomed Prince Karim Aga Khan and thanked him for his contributions towards social, economic, religious and cultural development of the world ...
(read more) Thursday, May 22nd, 2008The Election Commission (EC) has moved to formulate rules for deployment of armed forces alongside other regular forces in local government elections with powers to arrest anyone without warrant on grounds of violation of electoral rules.Empowered by the caretaker government to formulate rules to conduct elections to city corporations and municipalities, the EC has already drafted rules also seeking authority to cancel candidatures on grounds of gross irregularities in the elections, sources in the EC said.To enable the EC to make legal provisions for deployment of armed forces in elections to local government bodies, the term 'law enforcement agency' ...
(read more) Thursday, May 22nd, 2008Shushila, a 35-year-old woman serving a life term for murder, never thought she could do anything useful for anyone again.Instead today, she is training to be a beautician and also looking forward to someday begin a new life out of the jail.Her positive attitude towards life started with her participation in a beauticians' course offered by the authorities in Dhaka Central Jail, where she is serving time for killing her husband's second wife.Shafiqul Islam, jailer of Dhaka Central Jail, said the opportunity to train as a beautician was provided to female inmates as part of a new programme ...
(read more) Thursday, May 22nd, 2008A Dhaka court yesterday gave the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) permission to interrogate detained former LGRD minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, land minister M Shamsul Islam and Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami at jail gate in connection with the Barapukuria coalmine corruption case.Meanwhile, former chairman of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) AK Rashid Uddin Ahmed, an accused of the Gatco graft case, was sent to jail after he surrendered to a Dhaka court and sought bail.Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Golam Rabbani passed the order in favour of the ACC after ACC Deputy Director Monirul Haque submitted a petition for showing Bhuiyan, Shamsul and ...
(read more) Thursday, May 22nd, 2008The Election Commission (EC) will announce schedule for local-body polls soon after the law ministry finalises the electoral rules, the chief election commissioner (CEC) yesterday said."We hope we'll be able to hold the local-body elections in five city corporations and nine municipalities by the third week of July," ATM Shamsul Huda told reporters at Bhawal Mirzapur Hazi Jamiruddin High School.The CEC was inaugurating the work on voter registration and national identity cards as chief guest in sadar upazila of the district.Presided over by Deputy Commissioner Syed Mizanur Rahman, the function was attended by Police Superintendent Abdul Baten and deputy commander ...
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