Archive for July 7th, 2008
Monday, July 7th, 2008Bangladesh Chashi Kalyan Samity (BCKS), farmers' wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, but also registered as an NGO, remained the party's financial front through illegal banking in at least 17 districts over a decade, sources say.Following a changed scenario after 1/11, the NGO has shut down its offices and swindled a huge amount of money collected through deposits, special deposit schemes and investment on loans among members since 1997.The BCKS business was also unlawfully sold to Jamaat supporters for covertly continuing the financial activities.Dissident BCKS officials, involved Jamaat leaders and victims say the accurate amount of misappropriation cannot be found out without ...
(read more) Monday, July 7th, 2008On the first day of scrutiny, the Election Commission (EC) yesterday cancelled six nominations for two mayoral posts on different grounds including loan defaulting.Out of the six, four were in Khulna City Corporation (KCC) and two in Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC). However, none of the mayoral nominations in Sylhet and Barisal city corporations was cancelled.The scrutiny of nominations submitted for councillor's posts could not be completed and will continue today.Of six city corporations, four along with nine municipalities are going to polls on August 4.Our Khulna correspondent reports: City Awami League (AL) General Secretary Mizanur Rahman Mizan, Muslim League ...
(read more) Monday, July 7th, 2008While scrutinising applications for candidacies in the August 4 polls to four city corporations and nine municipalities, the Election Commission (EC) is simultaneously following the 'traditional custom' and the stringent Emergency Power Rules (EPR).The 'custom' has been to allow individuals convicted in criminal cases to contest in polls while their convictions are at the appellate stage, while EPR strictly bars convicted individuals from contesting in polls even if the convictions are being appealed.In defence of its rather peculiar position on the matter, the EC claimed that it is 'just following the laws'.But eminent jurists said there is no ...
(read more) Monday, July 7th, 2008Prices of daily essentials including rice, lentils and edible oil shot up further in the capital in the last two days.However, prices of broiler chicken came down by Tk 10-20 per kg.Traders claim the price hike of fuel along with incessant rain was behind the price hike of daily commodities. A section of traders are also taking the opportunity of poor monitoring by the government, they allege.Prices of brand soya bean oil rose by Tk 9-10 per litre as the oil companies re-fixed the prices of different quantities yesterday. A five-litre can of Rupchanda was fixed at Tk 606.5 and ...
(read more) Monday, July 7th, 2008A special court yesterday exempted detained BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Tarique Rahman from appearing in person before the court during the trial proceedings of the Tk 21 crore bribery case.The court deferred to July 10 the hearing on charge framing against Tarique, former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and six others in the case involving the murder of Bashundhara Group Director Humayun Kabir Sabbir.Judge Shahed Noor Uddin of Special Court-3 also deferred to July 10 the hearing on a petition of detained former home minister Mohammad Nasim for exempting him from appearing before the court during the proceedings ...
(read more) Monday, July 7th, 2008Even though approximately 10,000 trained nurses are unemployed at the moment, lack of proper government monitoring enables private clinics and hospitals to use unskilled, untrained and non-registered nurses, deteriorating the service.A large number of private clinics in the country, especially clinics in the cities, are running with non-registered nurses (nurses without valid diplomas in nursing) violating condition for getting clinic or hospital licences.There are 1,005, according to stats of 2005, registered private hospitals in the country which received licences from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) under conditions of having hygienic environment for patients, at least 80 ...
(read more) Monday, July 7th, 2008The government yesterday finalised the draft of National Child Labour Elimination Policy-2008, seeking to phase out child labour and rehabilitate over 1 million children engaged in risky jobs.At a meeting at the secretariat the labour and manpower ministry also resolved to have 30,000 working children enrolled for primary education and introduce stipends for them.Identifying ship breaking as the most hazardous job, it decided to commission two taskforces--one to be comprised of government officials and the other of non-government ones--to visit Chittagong and report back on child labour situation there.Labour and Manpower Adviser Anwarul Iqbal who chaired the meeting said a ...
(read more) Monday, July 7th, 2008The Council of Advisers yesterday approved the Voluntarily Disclosure of Information (Amendment) Ordinance 2008 by bringing a few changes in the provisional law that provides for the formation a Truth and Accountability Commission.Earlier on May 25, the council gave final approval to the ordinance.The commission will be formed for exoneration of deserving ones of the high-profile corruption suspects booked as part of the drive launched by the caretaker government.Following a change to a sub-clause of the ordinance, now a retired military official with the rank not below major general from the Defence (Armed) Forces would be qualified for ...
(read more) Monday, July 7th, 2008The government has decided to ease the state of emergency on a limited scale to allow the trade unions carry out their activities for holding the overdue elections to the CBA (collective bargaining agents) bodies.“We have conveyed the government decision to the home ministry, and hope it will issue a circular in this regard soon,” said LGRD Adviser Anwarul Iqbal yesterday after a tripartite meeting on finalising the National Child Labour Elimination Policy 2008 at the Local Government Division's conference room.The government imposed restrictions on trade union activities after the declaration of the state of emergency on January 11 ...
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