Archive for August 6th, 2008
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008Monday's local government elections were more or less a success for the government and the Election Commission (EC) with some minor but important problems to be accounted for.Absence of violence, turnout of a large number of voters and almost rigging free elections with the exception of some allegations in Barisal which probably should not be taken lightly, were some of the most pronounced features of the first polls under the current state of emergency presided over by a military backed caretaker government.Almost dispute free poll results, again with the exception of Barisal, can be considered as the sign of the ...
(read more) Wednesday, August 6th, 2008As many as 36 out of 46 mayoral contestants in four city corporations lost their deposits and almost all of those who did not forfeit the sum belong to either Awami League (AL) or BNP.According to political observers, results of Monday's contest confined to the old hands backed by AL and BNP show that voters in the four cities and nine municipalities have little interest in “new leadership”, a buzzword since the changeover of January 11 last year.Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda yesterday said many people thought that fresh faces would come out of the elections, ...
(read more) Wednesday, August 6th, 2008The government yesterday extended the parole of ex-premier Sheikh Hasina by a month until September 6 to facilitate her treatment in the United States hours into her husband's appeal with the government.A handout from the Press Information Department yesterday evening said the extension will be effective from August 7 as per conditions set during her release on June 11.The Awami League president's parole is due to expire today.Hasina, who is standing trial on corruption charges, walked out of the sub-jail on June 11 after 11 months of detention following a government executive order on her eight-week parole with permission to ...
(read more) Wednesday, August 6th, 2008Following the caretaker government's hint about holding parliamentary polls under the state of emergency leaders of major political parties said they would not step back from their demand for full withdrawal of emergency before the all-important election.Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, a number of them said elections to the local bodies cannot be an excuse for holding the national election under the state of emergency."We will not dissociate ourselves from the demand for withdrawal of emergency ahead of the parliamentary polls," said Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon.On the peaceful holding of Monday's polls to four city corporations and ...
(read more) Wednesday, August 6th, 2008The Kuwaiti government on Monday announced monthly minimum wage for foreign workers -- KWD 40 (Tk 10,306) for unskilled workers and KWD 70 (Tk 18,035) for security guards.Meanwhile, Kuwaiti authorities yesterday deported 63 more Bangladeshi workers, bringing the total to 757 so far. The deportees have been charged with participating in and instigating strikes. Many of the deportees however denied their involvement with the strikes and said they had been arrested and beaten up before being deported.The decision of adopting a minimum wage for the expatriate workers came following last week's violent demonstrations by thousands of Asian workers, mainly from ...
(read more) Wednesday, August 6th, 2008After Arzina ducked the lighted matchstick, her husband chased and caught her and set fire to her, this time, with a gas lighter before locking the door from outside to ensure her death.While in flames she suddenly realised rolling on the floor might put out the fire. The idea worked, but by that time 57 percent of her body was already burned.Doctors termed Arzina Khatun's condition "very critical" as she suffered serious burns in her face, breast, abdomen, both arms, back and part of thighs.Struggling for life at the Burn Unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), Arzina, a master ...
(read more) Wednesday, August 6th, 2008Influence of black money, uncertainty regarding Jamaat support, and confusion among party activists and supporters about whether to vote or not in Barisal City Corporation (BCC) election, resulted in BNP-led four-party alliance supported candidate Ahsan Habib Kamal's outright defeat in Monday's mayoral race, according to observers.The final result of BCC mayoral race came as a surprise to city residents as Progressive Democratic Party leader Sharfuddin Ahmed Santu who contested as an independent candidate, bagged an enormous number of votes, beyond all imagination of the voters.Although, Santu on Monday night said he visited the voters from door to door ...
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