Archive for August 12th, 2008
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) could have charged Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan alias Shah Alam with amassing ill-gotten wealth worth Tk 606 crore had he not whitened Tk 498 crore under the money whitening schemes offered by successive governments.The anti-graft watchdog on Sunday finally charged him with amassing ill-gotten wealth worth only about Tk 107 crore. Alam whitened the money over the years during the rule of both Awami League and BNP.Detained businessman Giasuddin Al Mamun also whitened Tk 30.22 crore taking the same opportunity, while his brother former lawmaker Hafiz Ibrahim and his wife Mafruza Sultana whitened Tk ...
(read more) Tuesday, August 12th, 2008Prices of essential commodities including edible oil, pulses, rice and flour have dropped significantly at kitchen markets in the city over the last three days.Traders said usually prices tend to shoot up ahead of Ramadan, but this year they have marked a considerable drop.The price of non-brand edible oil has decreased by Tk 7-12 in the last two weeks while that of brand soya bean oil too came down yesterday.Five-litre jerry cans of brand soya bean oil were selling at Tk 570 yesterday in wholesale. The price was Tk 590 just a day before.Distributors of edible oil told The ...
(read more) Tuesday, August 12th, 2008Detained former prime minister Khaleda Zia yesterday again declined to register herself as a voter from behind bars, passing the last chance for it in the capital city area.Advisers to the military backed caretaker government on Sunday however said Khaleda Zia will be released 'unconditionally very soon' as the government completed all procedures for it.Khaleda, also the BNP chairperson, will not be eligible to contest in the upcoming parliamentary poll if she is not registered as a voter in any of the constituencies, according to the planned electoral reforms.The specified 15 days for inclusion of names of ...
(read more) Tuesday, August 12th, 2008Battered by employers and cheated by agents, 45 Bangladeshi workers returned from Malaysia yesterday after over one year with bruises all over their bodies.The returnees who spent over Tk 2 lakh each to get an overseas job allege Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur did not address their issue. As a result, they had to leave the "dreamland", which has now turned a "nightmare".At a press conference organised by IMA Research Foundation at Dhaka Reporters Unity, Shahadat Hossain said he went to Malaysia in a group of 40 through recruiting agency Mark Overseas in July last year and was employed ...
(read more) Tuesday, August 12th, 2008Deposed Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his family have fled to the United Kingdom, the former leader said yesterday after he and his wife skipped a hearing on corruption charges in a Thai court.A handwritten statement from Thaksin issued Monday said he fled because he could not expect justice in Thai courts. It came amid newspaper reports that he would seek asylum in Britain."My wife and I have travelled to reside in England," Thaksin said in the statement. "If I still have luck, I would come back and die on Thai soil like every other Thai person."Thaksin's statement, ...
(read more) Tuesday, August 12th, 2008With history about to slip away and Michael Phelps cheering him on, Jason Lezak pulled up next to the lane rope and set out after hulking Alain Bernard, like a NASCAR driver drafting down the backstretch at Daytona.Only 25 metres to go, half the length of the pool. Every stroke brought Lezak a little closer, a little closer, a little closer, his body seemingly carried along by the Frenchman's massive wake. The two lunged for the wall together. When the result flashed on the board, Phelps was still on course for his record eight gold medals.By a fingertip.Lezak, the oldest ...
(read more) Tuesday, August 12th, 2008Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain yesterday said army will work as strike force with the law enforcement agencies during next elections.“The Election Commission can bestow the magistracy power upon anyone who remains out of the law enforcement agencies,” he told reporters while replying to a question at the Election Commission Secretariat.Sakhawat said magistracy means the “power of instant judgment,” which the law enforcement agencies are not empowered to exercise.He said army remained a part of all big elections in the past and performed as the strike force.The election commissioner said as the elections to more ...
(read more) Tuesday, August 12th, 2008President Iajuddin Ahmed and Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed will visit Tungipara in Gopalganj on August 15 to pay homage to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the occasion of his 33rd death anniversary.The head of the state and the head of the government will offer special prayers and place wreaths at the grave of Bangabandhu, officials said.This year's commemoration of the country's slain independence leader takes place in a changed context of restoration of the August 15 as National Mourning Day by the High Court order and the caretaker government's decision to comply with the order.Bangabandhu was ...
(read more) Tuesday, August 12th, 2008The High Court (HC) yesterday granted adinterim bail to BNP leader and former health minister Dr Khandker Mosharraf Hossain and Awami Jubo League General Secretary and former lawmaker Mirza Azam in separate corruption cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).Responding to separate petitions filed by Khandker Mosharraf and Mirza Azam, an HC bench stayed the proceedings of the cases and issued rules upon the government to explain why the proceedings against them should not be quashed.The HC bench was comprised of Justice Sharif Uddin Chaklader and Justice Md Emdadul Haque Azad.Mosharraf was granted bail in the Gatco corruption case ...
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