Archive for August 22nd, 2008
Friday, August 22nd, 2008Government officials who resigned or retired after November 2005 will not be able to contest the parliamentary election planned for December, according to new electoral laws.“A person shall be disqualified for election as or for being a member of [parliament], if he has resigned or retired from the service of the republic or of any statutory public authority or of the defence service, unless a period of three years has elapsed since the date of his resignation or retirement,” reads an ordinance promulgated by the president Tuesday.Titled 'Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 2008', the ordinance brings into force ...
(read more) Friday, August 22nd, 2008The government departments concerned face difficulties in confiscating wealth of high-profile individuals convicted of graft in accordance with the court orders as there is no specific guideline on management of confiscated immovable property.Despite a large number of confiscation orders handed down by the special courts dealing with graft cases, lack of specific information about which property to be confiscated and what to do afterwards is causing difficulties.The special courts have so far ordered confiscation of property worth about Tk 500 crore.Giasuddin Al Mamun tops the list with his property worth Tk 111 crore to be confiscated. The lowest confiscation ...
(read more) Friday, August 22nd, 2008The High Court (HC) yesterday granted ad interim bails to former law minister barrister Moudud Ahmed, former health minister Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, former state minister for energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain and former BNP lawmaker Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anne in separate criminal cases.Upon separate petitions, an HC bench comprising Justice Sharif Uddin Chaklader and Justice Md Emdadul Haque Azad also issued rules upon the government, asking it to explain why the petitioners should not be granted regular bail in the cases.Barrister Mahbubuddin Khokon, counsel for Moudud, Khandaker Mosharraf and Anne, yesterday told The Daily Star that his clients would now ...
(read more) Friday, August 22nd, 2008Awami League (AL) yesterday observed the fourth anniversary of August 21 grenade attack on its rally in the capital pledging that if voted to power in the next polls, it would bring to book the masterminds and others involved in the carnage.The party also demanded immediate arrest of those intelligence officials who had plotted the 'Joj Miah drama' to cover up the dreadful incident and formation of a special inquiry commission for a fresh probe into it.At least a dozen grenades were hurled on the rally apparently in an attempt to kill AL President Sheikh Hasina, former prime minister ...
(read more) Friday, August 22nd, 2008The way Bangladesh Film Archive (BFA) is preserving Promothesh Barua's Devdas might make one think that this is one of the most available film in the country. The film is cleaned by unskilled and untrained workers using bare hands and velvet cloth or torn pieces of T-shirts.This is the only copy of the film which was made in undivided Bengal in 1934. A number of films based on the story of Devdas were later made in India and Bangladesh.The only print of the 1934 film is being preserved in a room of a rented house of BFA at Mohammadpur ...
(read more) Friday, August 22nd, 2008Pakistan's coalition government was close to collapse yesterday after former premier Nawaz Sharif threatened to quit if judges sacked by ousted president Pervez Musharraf are not restored.With a double suicide bombing outside Pakistan's main military arms factory highlighting the government's need to start tackling the country's problems, Sharif's warning plunged the alliance into further chaos.It came a day before the leaders of the coalition that won elections in February, headed by the party of slain ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto, were to hold last-ditch talks on the issue.But in a sign that Bhutto's party is seeking to move forward on its ...
(read more) Friday, August 22nd, 2008The energy ministry has asked Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) to urgently scrutinise the possibility of involving private sector in building a $700 million deep-sea petroleum unloading facility, sources say.Alternatively, BPC would see if it is more practical to develop a cheaper $100 million unloading facility at the Customary Outer Anchorage point in Chittagong.Such a facility should help BPC save more than 8 dollars per tonne during import and unloading petroleum. Presently, lack of this facility leads BPC to bear an unnecessary loss of $10.68 million while importing 13 lakh tonnes of crude oil annually.Besides, without developing this facility, a ...
(read more) Friday, August 22nd, 2008Police yesterday barred leaders and activists of BNP-led four-party alliance from marching towards the Chief Adviser's Office to submit a memorandum demanding release of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and her elder son Tarique Rahman, senior joint secretary general of the party.The marchers set out from the compound of Nam flats on Manik Mia Avenue but police resisted them at the entrance to it. As the demonstrators attempted to break through the police cordon, the law enforcers charged batons to disperse them.At one stage, activists of Jatiyatabadi Mahila Dal, BNP's women wing, threw brickbats at police resulting in a ...
(read more) Friday, August 22nd, 2008Three cases were filed yesterday against 1,450 people including Rajshahi University (RU) students and locals in connection with the Tuesday night's violence that led to closure of the university.Meanwhile, the eight-member probe committee formed by the RU syndicate started investigating the incidents yesterday.Mahabubul Alam Konok, an employee of bus service provider 'Hanif Enterprise' at a ticket counter at Binodpur Bazar, filed a case with Motihar Police Station against RU student Humayun Kabir and 500 other unnamed university students on charges of damaging and torching the counter.Following a syndicate decision, RU acting Registrar Prof Muhammad Shafi filed a case with Motihar ...
(read more) Friday, August 22nd, 2008The government will soon implement some action plans to ease traffic congestion in the capital by removing illegal possessions from footpaths and roads, constructing safe bus stops and introducing staggered school timings.The action plans were explained at a high-level meeting on “Traffic Congestion in Dhaka City and its Solution” at the Chief Adviser's Office yesterday.This was a follow up meeting to the July 29 meeting on traffic jam initiated by the chief adviser when he asked for identifying reasons, points of traffic jams and action of remedy. He expressed satisfaction over some steps taken to improve the traffic system. ...
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