Monday, March 30th, 2009 Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina yesterday sought cooperation from the media in strengthening the foundation of democracy and ensuring its uninterrupted run.The present government's main aim is to achieve people's economic emancipation through democracy without which country's "smooth and sustainable development is not possible," she said at a meeting with the chiefs and editors of the country's national dailies and electronic media at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO)."Before the nation, we have put forward a specific vision of building up a modern and prosperous Bangladesh by 2021. But without democracy smooth and sustainable development is not possible. Media can ensure ...
(read more) Sunday, March 22nd, 2009 Two female factory workers were burnt alive in a fire incident that broke out at Mrs Luna United Company, a cotton factory, in the city's Kadamtoli area yesterday night.The deceased were identified as Mary, 16, and Rina, 15, workers of the factory.Police said the fire originated inside the factory at about 8:00 pm and soon engulfed the entire factory.Factory sources said the two workers were burnt alive as they were trapped inside its bathrooms during the blaze that also gutted goods kept in the factory.On information, fire fighters rushed to the spot and brought the flame under control ...
(read more) Saturday, March 14th, 2009 Rajshahi University (RU) was closed for an indefinite period yesterday following sporadic clashes between Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) that left university unit ICS general secretary Sharifuzzaman Nomani killed and at least 100 people injured.The RU authorities at an emergency meeting held at 1:00 pm also asked the male students to vacate their dormitories by 5:00 pm yesterday while the female students by 10:00 am today.Rajshahi Medical College (RMC) and Rajshahi Government College were also closed sine die following the RU clash.Sources said, the RMC authorities at an emergency meeting also asked its students to vacate ...
(read more) Monday, March 9th, 2009 The then high officials of two top intelligence agencies had knowledge of transporting the 10 truckloads of arms and ammunition, Hafizur Rahman, the main accused in the case, told the court last week.An investigation has also revealed some proofs in support of his confessional statements, reported Bangla daily Prothom Alo.National Security Intelligence (NSI) Field Officer Akbar Hossain rented trucks to carry the arms before the consignment was transported to the jetty of Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Limited (CUFL), sources say.This officer was attached to the special wing of the NSI Director General in Dhaka from Chittagong two months before the arms ...
(read more) Sunday, March 8th, 2009 Military wing commander of the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) Paresh Barua, Naga rebel leader Anthony Shimray and several more people were stationed in Chittagong by using fake names before the abortive Ulfa arms shipment in 2004.They checked in Hotel Golden Inn but left Chittagong immediately after the arms were seized, according to a report of the Bengali daily Prothom Alo.Principal accused of the case Hafizur Rahman alias Hafiz in his confessional statement said he was introduced with one Zaman before the 2001 election. Later, he came to know that the said Zaman was Ulfa military commander Paresh Barua. ...
(read more) Sunday, March 8th, 2009 Military wing commander of the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) Paresh Barua, Naga rebel leader Anthony Shimray and several more people were stationed in Chittagong by using fake names before the abortive Ulfa arms shipment in 2004.They checked in Hotel Golden Inn but left Chittagong immediately after the arms were seized, according to a report of the Bengali daily Prothom Alo.Principal accused of the case Hafizur Rahman alias Hafiz in his confessional statement said he was introduced with one Zaman before the 2001 election. Later, he came to know that the said Zaman was Ulfa military commander Paresh Barua. ...
(read more) Saturday, February 7th, 2009 Deputy Inspector General of Prisons (DIG-Prisons) Maj Shamsul Haider Siddique violated at least 15 clauses of the jail code and abused his power in various ways to allow special privileges for a dreaded convict, Monowar Hossain Dipjol, according to an investigation by the jail authorities.A two-member investigating committee of the Jail Directorate submitted a 72-page report on Thursday to the acting inspector general of prisons (IG-Prisons), finding Haider guilty on the charges, and also mentioning that the present jail superintendent of Dhaka Central Jail had no control over the prison under Haider's supervision.The probe committee is comprised of DIG-Headquarters Commander ...
(read more) Friday, February 6th, 2009 The name-only newspapers received a huge chunk of public money allocated for publishing government advertisements and supplementary during the tenure of the last BNP-Jamaat alliance government.Information Minister Abul Kalam Azad disclosed it in the parliament yesterday while replying to a query of a lawmaker.The information minister placed a list before the House that showed that the BNP-led government spent over TK 104 crore during its five-year tenure over the purpose of advertisements in as many as 177 daily newspapers published from Dhaka.Most of those newspapers exist only in names but devoured major portion of the allocation, thanks to ...
(read more) Sunday, January 4th, 2009 Representation of mass people has to be ensured in the next parliament to guarantee accountability of lawmakers and establish participatory democracy in the country, speakers said at a roundtable yesterday.The next parliament will not be effective if parliamentary affairs are conducted on the basis of seat proportion because existence of such a small opposition cannot create the checks and balances required for a functional parliament, they observed.The speakers referred to the eighth parliament during the five-year tenure of the last BNP-led alliance government when 12 of the 52 parliamentary committees did not hold any meeting while the highest number of ...
(read more) Sunday, December 21st, 2008 Whoever loses the upcoming national election must accept the results to usher in a culture of tolerance and cooperation, said political analysts, economists and civil society members yesterday.The party that will form the next elected government will also be responsible for rendering the parliament effective, they said at a discussion on 'election and future Bangladesh' organised by the daily Prothom Alo in its office in the capital.The next government should continue the drive against corruption and strengthen democratic institutions to maintain good governance, and to de-politicise the civil administration, they added.Stating that 'politics of blame' severely harms the society, ...
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