Archive for June 20th, 2008
Friday, June 20th, 2008Junior British minister for international development Shahid Malik yesterday said Bangladesh will risk its "huge potential" for development and the country's future if it returns to confrontational and violent politics.Bangladesh has huge potential in development and growth that can be realised through greater investment in education and health, Malik said.But this potential and the opportunities for future generations would be jeopardised if the politicians return to the confrontational and violent politics of 2006, he said at a press conference at the end of his two-day visit to Bangladesh yesterday."The confrontational politics that we have seen in 2006 has to be ...
(read more) Friday, June 20th, 2008The government is considering resuming its open market sale (OMS) of rice after mid-August when the Boro procurement drive of the government would be over, Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam said yesterday.Meanwhile, the government decided to sell low-priced rice among the low-income group in labour-intensive regions of the country, reports UNB, quoting an inter-ministerial meeting at commerce ministry yesterday.These decisions came at a time when prices of rice, lentil and flour are on the rise across the country. Price of a 50-kilogram sack of best quality pulse increased by Tk 100, a 74-kg sack of flour by Tk 50 to ...
(read more) Friday, June 20th, 2008Aircraft are facing serious risks while landing at or taking off from Shah Amanat International Airport (SAIA) in Chittagong since all the airport's three fire-fighting vehicles have been unserviceable for about two months.Airport authorities have made arrangements with the fire service stations in Chittagong city for sending fire-fighting vehicles daily to attend aircraft landing and take-off. But the authorities often have to advise planes awaiting landing to fly slow or hover in the sky when fire-fighting vehicles delay in reaching the airport, about 12 kilometres from the city.Airline officials fear that if the international aviation watchdogs come to know about ...
(read more) Friday, June 20th, 2008Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina yesterday said if her party is voted to power through a fair and credible election they would continue anti-corruption drives.Hasina was addressing leaders and activists of the party's US chapter at her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy's Cambridge residence in Boston in the USA, reported US-based American News Agency (ANA).Corruption remains one of the major obstacles to the country's development, said Hasina, who is staying in the US for medical treatment. The AL president was released temporarily on an executive order of the caretaker government on June 11.Referring to the achievements made during ...
(read more) Friday, June 20th, 2008Around 40 top tier leaders of different outlawed outfits from 10 southwestern districts are still at large despite all-out efforts to trap them in last several years.Sources say these outlaws are still active and involved in various crimes, mostly extortion and murder, in the 10 districts.They say the leaders are also trying to reorganise their own outfits and gangs to increase strength before the local government and national elections.The outlaw leaders are also trying to recruit new cadres and allegedly maintaining close contact with some top political leaders including former lawmakers. The sources say these political leaders had earlier ...
(read more) Friday, June 20th, 2008In an apparent attempt to downplay the recent findings of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) about corruption, Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam yesterday claimed that the government has succeeded in reducing corruption at top levels while cutting down the menace at lower levels remains a time-consuming work.Questioning the TIB's method of concluding that corruption in some sectors increased in the first half of 2007, the adviser said, "It is not right to think, based on some numbers, that corruption has increased or decreased."The caretaker government's anti-corruption drive was aimed at cutting down corruption at top levels, not at lower levels, and ...
(read more) Friday, June 20th, 2008After a break of over a year and a half, the Election Commission (EC) resumes a formal electoral process today by announcing schedules for polls to four city corporations and nine municipalities amid a relaxed state of emergency.According to its plans, the next few months will be months of ballots with elections to more local government bodies including upazila parishads before the ninth parliamentary polls in December.Meanwhile, the home ministry has finalised a notification to be issued this afternoon, relaxing the Emergency Powers Rules (EPR), 2007. The amended EPR will facilitate electioneering amid the state of emergency by allowing ...
(read more) Friday, June 20th, 2008Awami League (AL) will sit for dialogue with the caretaker government on July3.The party took this decision yesterday at a meeting of its presidium, the highest policy making body, following invitation from the government to participate in the talks.A top official at the at the chief adviser's office telephoned AL acting general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam and conveyed the government's invitation.The AL presidium meeting, held at acting president Zillur Rahman's Gulshan residence, also decided that the party will hold talks with other like-minded parties to forge a common stance on vital issues, to be placed at the July ...
(read more) Friday, June 20th, 2008Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed yesterday said his caretaker government is working so that good governance prevails after next general election with a smooth transition of power.The CA made the remark as outgoing Canadian High Commissioner Barbara Richardson called on him at his office.He thanked the envoy for her government's support in preparing electoral roll and contribution to the development of Bangladesh.He noted that the high commissioner has witnessed the progress of work on general election and reform programmes undertaken by the caretaker government.Thanking the chief adviser for his appreciation, high commissioner Barbara assured continuation of the Canadian government ...
(read more) Friday, June 20th, 2008The High Court yesterday asked the trial court of Niko corruption case to send the case records to it by June 30 for scrutiny as the main accused, Awami League President Sheikh Hasina, petitioned for quashment of the case.A special court, meantime, set July 2 to decide whether to exempt Hasina from appearing at court hearings in person in connection with an extortion case filed by businessman Azam J Chowdhury while another special court deferred charge-framing hearing in MiG-29 graft case against the former prime minister and six other people to June 26.The Awami League president, now in the ...
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