Archive for September 13th, 2008
Saturday, September 13th, 2008Reunification of splintered BNP and the party's much awaited electoral dialogue with the Election Commission (EC) and the caretaker government seem only a matter of time as its standing committee, the highest policymaking forum, is scheduled to meet today under the leadership of its just released Chairperson Khaleda Zia.The so-called dissident reformist leaders of BNP started rallying behind the party chairperson as soon as she walked out of jail on Thursday changing the whole scenario of recent BNP politics.In a major turnaround, two leading 'reformist' figures also standing committee members M Saifur Rahman and Mahbubur Rahman met Khaleda in her ...
(read more) Saturday, September 13th, 2008Abdul Jalil could not resume his position as general secretary of Awami League (AL) because of the way he criticised party President Sheikh Hasina in his 'mercy petition' to the caretaker government in July last year, said AL sources.He was pushed aside and Syed Ashraful Islam was asked to continue as acting general secretary on orders from Hasina, who is now in the US, they added."She [Hasina] couldn't forget what he [Jalil] wrote in his mercy petition at a time critical for the party," a senior AL leader told The Daily Star, preferring not to be named.Jalil's petition to ...
(read more) Saturday, September 13th, 2008Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh confirmed Saudi Arabia's official ban on issuing visas to Bangladeshis seeking employment in households and in the agricultural sector.The kingdom is also refusing to allow transfers of sponsorship for workers and professionals who are already there, while refusing to extend residency permits of Bangladeshi immigrants' children aged 18 and over as well, the embassy added.Saudi Arabia had officially declared the partial ban in March this year saying it is aimed at striking a balance among various nationalities working in the kingdom, but Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh Dr Abdullah Bin Naser Al-Busairi's comment at a media conference ...
(read more) Saturday, September 13th, 2008Eminent educationists say the record growth in percentage of pass and GPA-5 achievers in this year's HSC examinations does not necessarily reflect qualitative improvement of education in the country.Principals of some renowned colleges however said comparatively good academic atmosphere and guardians' increased interest in education of their children contributed to the outstanding results.Some academics alleged that examiners were instructed to give more marks than the students deserved. They however could not explain why this was done.About 6.2 lakh students took the HSC and equivalent examinations under the nine education boards this year and about 4.66 lakh or 76.19 ...
(read more) Saturday, September 13th, 2008Aman production in four northern districts may fall 1,33,000 metric tons short of their targets due to floods and waterlogging, officials said.In Kurigram, floods damaged over 28,779 hectares of Aman paddies, which may bring down the projected yield by 96,660 tonnes, causing a loss of Tk 186 crore, Md Mohsin Ali, deputy director for the agriculture extension department in the district, said.The district had a target of 2,71,473 tonnes in Aman production this year, he said.The department in Bogra plans to promote Rabi crops like lentil and maize to make up for the loss in Aman production there, its ...
(read more) Saturday, September 13th, 2008Water-borne diseases marked rise in the flood-hit districts as overall flood situation continued to improve yesterday.The control room at the health directorate reported 1,995 new cases of diarrhoea in 76 upazilas of 48 districts in the past 24 hours till yesterday morning, up from 1,952 such cases in the previous corresponding period.A Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre bulletin yesterday said flood situation in central and south-central districts was improving fast, adding that things would get better significantly by the next 48 hours.It said water levels in the Brahmaputra, Jamuna and Ganges were falling fast which would continue for the ...
(read more) Saturday, September 13th, 2008Leaders and activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, student wing of BNP, assaulted three journalists and at least 10 students of department of mass communication and journalism of Dhaka University (DU) early yesterday.Sources said around 25 Chhatra Dal cadres led by Sir AF Rahman Hall Chhatra Dal unit President Aminur Rahman Amin attacked the journalists and students near Teacher Student Centre (TSC) on the campus with iron rods, cricket stumps, sticks and machetes.Shah Alam Kiron, a second year student and a contributing reporter of daily New Age, was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) with severe injures to his back, ...
(read more) Saturday, September 13th, 2008Rajshahi Medical College (RMC) was yesterday declared closed until October 10 following a clash between the activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) on Thursday night.The authorities asked the students to vacate their dormitories by 6:00 pm yesterday.The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the academic council in the morning with RMC Principal Prof Fazlur Rahman in the chair.Campus sources said the clash erupted at Shaheed Shah Mainul Ahsan Pinku Hostel at midnight when the JCD activists led by college unit President Mahmudul Hassan Raju and Secretary SM Shahriar Rizvi tried to capture a ...
(read more) Saturday, September 13th, 2008Unscrupulous greed of some Patuakhali fishermen for quick bucks is endangering the local people, livestock and aquatic resources as they are using insecticides in the canals of coastal areas for increasing the volume of their catches.Water of the canals and connected rivers has already become so toxic in some areas that a number of cows and buffalos died last week in Sonarchar area after drinking water from the canals. Dead fish are also seen floating in the rivers there as the toxins have been spreading."Water in the canals has already become toxic and malodorous. Around a dozen of ...
(read more) Saturday, September 13th, 2008Former prime minister Khaleda Zia's elder son Tarique Rahman, now out on bail, reached London for treatment yesterday afternoon.He left the country Thursday night quitting politics, in his mother's words, for the time being. The departure marked the end of his stint as the senior joint secretary general of BNP.The Emirates flight carrying him and his family touched down at Gatwick Airport at 7:15am local time. After about an hour in the airport, he was taken to a rented house in Enfield of North London.His wife Zubaida Rahman, daughter Zaima Rahman, sister-in-law Shahina Khan Zaman and her husband Air ...
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