Archive for October, 2009
Saturday, October 31st, 2009The ruling Awami League has seldom consulted with its grand alliance partners for taking any decision although the parties pledged before the parliamentary polls to work in unison for good governance and a strong democracy.Almost 10 months into power, the AL has not convened a single meeting with alliance partners Jatiya Party, Workers Party and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD-Inu) to fix the strategy to work as one political force to implement their common electoral pledges.As a result, the alliance cannot oversee whether the cabinet is functioning and taking measures in conformity with its pledges made before the December 29 polls.The ...
(read more) Saturday, October 31st, 2009The Criminal Investigation Department would bring Lutfozzaman Babar, three ex-investigators and Joj Miah face to face in a day or two for interrogation in connection with the August 21 blasts.CID took Babar, former BNP state minister for home, on a five-day remand yesterday. Earlier on Thursday, the apex court lifted the High Court's stay on Babar's remand.Babar was brought to the CID headquarters at the city's Malibagh from Kashimpur jail in Gazipur at around 11:30am.Interrogators quizzed him throughout the day with focus on sources of the grenades used in the August 21 attack that left 23 people killed and scores ...
(read more) Saturday, October 31st, 2009The bomb used in the attack on Awami League lawmaker Fazle Nur Taposh in the capital's Motijheel area on October 21 was remote controlled, said officials of the Detective Branch (DB) of police.Meanwhile, Khandaker Mehnaz Rashid, detained daughter of fugitive condemned convict in Bangabandhu assassination case Lt Col (retd) Khandaker Abdur Rashid, was put on a fresh remand for four days yesterday. She had been put on a five-day remand earlier.Assistant Commissioner (AC) Akbar Hossain of DB, who is also the investigation officer (IO) of the case in connection with the attack on Taposh, told The Daily Star yesterday, "We've ...
(read more) Saturday, October 31st, 2009Sixty-two-year-old Ayesha Khatun often makes serious attempts to fish in the vast stretches of the Kholpetua river so that she and her paralysed husband do not starve to death.Sometimes she manages to make a very small catch, which makes her day. But most of the days she returns empty-handed as her age doesn't allow her to stand against the strong current for long.Forced by never-ending hunger she still continues her struggle to catch fish as she sees no other alternatives to survive after the cyclone Aila shattered every piece of her dreams.A resident of Pakhimara village in Padmapukur union, Ayesha ...
(read more) Saturday, October 31st, 2009The 18-member Advisory Council for BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is yet to be engaged in the party's reorganisation process creating a sense of isolation among a large section of party leaders.BNP is set to hold a national council to elect its leaders at different levels on December 8 but party Chief Khaleda Zia has not formally discussed the matter with the Advisory Council members.Of the advisers, two are working as district conveners while the rest remain almost unattached with party activities.Exploiting the situation, a group of 10-12 pro-BNP professionals including journalists and businessmen are out to play the role of ...
(read more) Saturday, October 31st, 2009The National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH), the largest cancer hospital in the country, is now limping due to lack of useful medical equipment and shortage of manpower much to the woes and worries of patients, especially the poor ones.As two out of five radiotherapy machines of NICRH have been out of order for months, cancer patients have to wait now for about two months for their turn to get their life-saving therapy.Such a wait, in fact, is taking a toll on patients diagnosed with cancer at their early stages, hospital sources admitted.Consequently a huge number ...
(read more) Saturday, October 31st, 2009EU leaders have agreed to enter world climate talks arguing that poorer nations will need 100 billion euros a year by 2020 to tackle global warming, but failed to set levels for Europe's contribution, a draft text said Friday."The EU is ready to take its fair share of the global effort by setting an ambitious mitigation target, allowing for offsets and providing its fair share of public support," said the text, drafted for a summit in Brussels, without saying how big that share might be."The European Council endorses the (EU) commission estimate that the total net incremental costs of mitigation ...
(read more) Saturday, October 31st, 2009Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) decided to retrieve nine major canals from land grabbers and excavate them to rid the city from waterlogging.The engineering department of the SCC would soon invite tenders for the excavation of the canals, SCC sources said.The government, under a development project, allotted Tk 11.3 crore to the SCC in this regard, the sources said, adding the project is aimed at freeing the city from waterlogging.SCC will launch a drive to recover the canals sometime in December this year, he added.Acting Chief Engineer of the SCC Nur Azizur Rahman told The Daily Star tenders would be ...
(read more) Saturday, October 31st, 2009A draft of the gazette notification, which states any future mutiny and other offences in Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) will be tried under the Army Act, will be placed in the Monday's cabinet for approval.“We have decided to put forward the matter to the next cabinet for approval considering its importance,” Shafique Ahmed, minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, told The Daily Star after a meeting at his Indira Road residence yesterday afternoon.He said the BDR mutiny trial will begin next week with the formation of six separate courts across the country by the border force authorities. “The BDR director ...
(read more) Saturday, October 31st, 2009On the first day of three-day special drives against the criminals in the city, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) picked up 228 people, including two listed criminals, in 24 hours from Thursday morning.DMP sources said they had arrested two listed criminals, one mugger, two fugitive convicts, two killers, three illegal arms holders, 43 drug peddlers, 94 accused in regular case, and 81 persons against whom warrants have been issued.Besides, they had recovered six bullets and six sharp weapons, the DMP officials said.But DMP Commissioner AKM Shahidul Hoque, expressing his dissatisfaction over the first day's move, said the recovery of ...
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