Archive for July, 2008
Thursday, July 31st, 2008The government yesterday appointed chairman and members of the Truth and Accountability Commission, completing formation of the much-anticipated body to allow people exemption from prosecution in exchange for confession and surrender of ill-gotten wealth.Justice Habibur Rahman Khan, a retired judge of the High Court, has been picked as the chairman while former comptroller and auditor general Asif Ali and Major Gen (retd) Manzur Rashid Chowdhury as members of the commission.President Iajuddin Ahmed gave the appointments.Earlier on May 25, the council of advisers approved the Right to Voluntary Disclosure Ordinance 2008, paving the way for forming the three-member commission. ...
(read more) Thursday, July 31st, 2008The government will start deploying around 20,000 police and Ansar members in four city corporations and nine municipalities from tomorrow for the August 4 local-government elections there.A three-tier security blanket will be put up at 715 polling stations: 579 for the city corporations and the rest for the municipalities.Besides, special strike force and mobile teams drawn from the police, Rab and Ansar, will also work to ensure security during the polls.Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal and Sylhet city corporations and Naohata, Dupchanchia, Chuadanga, Sreepur, Manikganj, Fulbaria, Shariatpur, Gopalganj and Sitakunda municipalities will be the first to hold elections under the stewardship of ...
(read more) Thursday, July 31st, 2008Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed yesterday said the process is on for the release of former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and bringing her and her party to the pre-election dialogue.He categorically said the government wholeheartedly wants all political parities, particularly the two major parties--BNP and Awami League--to participate in the next general election.The CA noted that the chief of a major political party--indicating ex-prime minister and Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina--was released and the government had a dialogue with her and her party.“A press statement was issued during the temporary release of Sheikh Hasina, saying similar ...
(read more) Thursday, July 31st, 2008A delegation of legal experts from Awami League (AL) in an unscheduled meeting with the Election Commission (EC) yesterday labelled 'illegal' the commission's barring of political parties' central leaders from taking part in local government election campaigns.Later in the day in an AL central working committee meeting the party went even further and decided to send four campaign teams led by four of its presidium members to the cities of Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal and Sylhet to seek votes for 14-party backed mayoral candidates in the city corporation polls scheduled to be held in those cities on August 4.The ...
(read more) Thursday, July 31st, 2008Most of over 2 lakh Bangladeshi workers in Kuwait get monthly salary as low as Kuwaiti dinar (KD) 20-25 (equivalent to Tk 5,000-6,500) and cannot recover the amount they invest for the overseas job even in three to four years.Some employers even extort them by charging for health insurances, annual renewal of residency permits and even for vacation. All these leave the workers under precarious conditions who pay around Tk 2 lakh to find a job in the oil-rich Gulf nation.These are the reasons why the Bangladeshi workers have recently taken a strong position demanding pay hike and other facilities, ...
(read more) Thursday, July 31st, 2008Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, a top leader of the BNP's reformist faction and former LGRD minister, was released on bail from Dhaka Central Jail yesterday afternoon.After arriving at his Gulshan residence in the evening, Bhuiyan, also former BNP secretary general, for the first time demanded release of party Chairperson Khaleda Zia.He also urged the authorities to release and ensure proper treatment for all political leaders including Tarique Rahman, Mohammad Nasim, Mirza Abbas, Tariqul Islam, Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim.Bhuiyan came out of jail at about 5:35pm yesterday after the High Court on Monday granted him two months' ad-interim ...
(read more) Thursday, July 31st, 2008Nothing remarkable has yet been achieved to replace the age-old police laws of 1861, which encourage repressive and atrocious policing system, despite the recent reforms in the police department.A committee formed following an order from the chief adviser's office in March last year formulated the draft of Bangladesh Police Ordinance 2007 but it is still being given "finishing touches" by offices concerned.The reforms so far made in the police department are the results of the police authority's internal initiatives supported by the Police Reforms Programme (PRP).These include opening of service delivery centres at a number of police stations and introduction ...
(read more) Thursday, July 31st, 2008Jahangirnagar University (JU) students kept eight syndicate members including the acting vice-chancellor confined to the university administrative building for 16 hours demanding dismissal of Associate Prof Sanowar Hossain Sunny on charge of sexual harassment.The students also demanded formulation and implementation of policy against sexual harassment. At least four students fell sick during the demonstration.The demonstrators, however, withdrew their programme and set an ultimatum to meet their demands by August 5. The syndicate members were confined at 8:00pm on Tuesday and released at 12:30pm yesterday.The students also had heated debate with members of Jahangirnagar University Teachers' Association when the teachers tried ...
(read more) Thursday, July 31st, 2008CNG conversion of motor vehicles with substandard cylinders and parts continues unabated in the country as the Department of Explosives and the Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited (RPGCL) fail to take stringent measures against the illegal act.Numerous conversion workshops, with or without official approval, have been installing unauthorised cylinders and parts on vehicles, running the risk of fatal accidents, said sources.During the past six months, six people died and around 20 others left injured as several vehicles with substandard CNG (compressed natural gas) conversion caught fire or the cylinders in them exploded.Taking advantage of the lax monitoring of the ...
(read more) Wednesday, July 30th, 2008The High Court (HC) yesterday directed the Election Commission (EC) to bar the candidates, who have given false or incomplete personal information in affidavits, from the August 4 polls.In response to a writ petition, the HC bench of Justice Khademul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Mashuque Hosain Ahmed also ordered the EC to probe the allegations of contestants giving false information or keeping something back.Besides, it issued a rule on the chief election commissioner (CEC) and secretary to the EC to explain within two weeks why they should not be directed to take necessary measures including cancellation of candidatures of those ...
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