Prime Minister and Leader of the House Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday told Parliament that the government would be able to announce new pay scale for government employees in the next fiscal. She said this while replying to a question from…
Tag: lead
Muhith blasts BB for ‘seeking IMF help for autonomy’
Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Wednesday blasted the Bangladesh Bank (BB) for what he said seeking IMF help to get more autonomy and accused the central bank of resorting to lies about it. “They (BB) have said they are not…
EC does not perform constitutional duty: Rafiqul
BNP standing committee member Rafiqul Islam Miah on Tuesday alleged that as a constitutional body, the Election Commission does not perform its duty properly. “The Election Commission works as subservient of the Prime Minister. The duty of the Election Commission…
Responsibility for UZ polls anomalies EC’s: Menon
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon on Wednesday blamed the Election Commission for its failure to check anomalies and election frauds in the just-concluded staggered upazila elections. “The Election Commission will have to shoulder the responsibility for whatever…
Chile declares disaster in quake-hit regions
Chile has declared two northern regions hit by a 8.2 magnitude earthquake to be disaster areas. At least six people are known to have died and tens of thousands of people have been evacuated. The quake struck at 20:46 local…
Muhith deplores Kamal’s manners
Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal aka Lotus Kamal should show some etiquette, Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said. Muhith, initially reluctant to comment on Kamal’s criticisms and uncharitable remarks about him, advised his colleague on Tuesday to have better manners.…
Govt seeks budget support from World Bank: Muhith
Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Tuesday said the government has sought budget support from the World Bank citing its outstanding overall economic performances. The Finance Minister made the request when visiting World Bank Vice President for South Asia Philippe Le…
Sramik Dal leader shot dead in Tangail
A local leader of Sramik Dal was shot to death by miscreants at his own furniture shop at Sabalia Suruj road in the district town on Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Golam Azam, 40, organising secretary of the district…
ADB projects 5.6 percent GDP growth
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday projected that Bangladesh may achieve 5.6 percent GDP growth in the current fiscal against the government’s target of 7.2 percent. However, the Finance Minister during a half yearly statement on the economy revised…
Hartals in 8 upazilas protesting polls irregularities end peacefully
Separate hartals in three upazilas of Satkhira, two upazilas of Narayanganj and Chuadanga each and Kasba upazila of Brahmanbaria enforced by 19-party alliance and its components protesting various irregularities during the 5th phase of upazila elections, passed off peacefully on…
61 percent voter turnout in fifth phase
Voter turnout in the fifth phase of the Upazila Parishad elections went up from the fourth phase, but still fell behind the first three rounds. The polls, held on Monday at 73 Upazilas in 34 districts, saw a 60.89 percent…
EC blames grassroots officials for vote centre seizures
The Election Commission (EC) has admitted to incidents such as seizure of voting centres and widespread stuffing of ballot boxes during the fifth phase of the Upazila Parishad elections. The Commission has blamed grassroots officials for letting such incidents occur…
UZ polls marked by irregularities: EC calls them free, fair, peaceful
The fifth and final round of voting in 73 upazila parishads in 34 districts was held amid reports of irregularities and election boycott by a number of candidates, mostly the BNP loyalists. The polling was held from 8am to 4pm…
No politician has rights to hurl abuses at EC: Mobarak
In a reaction to BNP’s criticims against him, Election Commissioner Mohammad Abdul Mobarak on Monday said no political leader has the rights to hurl abuses at the Election Commission. “We people who work at the Commission are the citizens of…
BNP demands apology from Election Commissioner Mobarak
Denouncing election commissioner M Abdul Mobarak’s remark that BNP has joined the upazila polls after rubbing its nose in the dirt, the party on Monday asked him to withdraw his comment and apologise to the nation. “The acting chief election…
Maldives shuts down Dhaka mission
Maldives is shutting down its mission in Dhaka on Tuesday, nearly six years after opening it. Its acting high commissioner Ahmed Adil on Monday told journalists that they had to take the decision following the country’s “unprecedented fiscal problems”. “Even…
US regrets Dhaka’s abstention from Crimea voting
A day after Russia’s Dhaka envoy ‘thanked’ Bangladesh for abstaining from voting on the UN General Assembly resolution on Crimea, the US ambassador in Bangladesh was found fuming. “I regret that Bangladesh was not able to join the majority on…
Khaleda, Tarique criticised for calling Zia first President
Lawmakers in parliament on Monday sharply criticised the Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman for their remarks on country’s first President. Speaking on the thanks giving motion on President’s speech, the lawmakers alleged that the…
Court rejects defamation plea against Khaleda
A Dhaka court has scrapped a defamation petition filed against BNP chief Khaleda Zia on charges of “distorting the history of Liberation War” by saying that her husband Ziaur Rahman was “Bangladesh’s first president”. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Shamsul Arefin issued…
Sujan president, secretary sued in Rajshahi
A case was filed on Sunday against Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Sujan) president Hafizur Rahman Khan, secretary Dr Badiul Alam Majumder and two others on charge spreading propaganda about a chairman candidate in the recently held upazila polls.
Tangail-8 by-polls results postponed for iregularities
A day after assistant returning officer declared the results of Tangail-8 by-elections, the returning officer on Sunday postponed the results, citing regularities. Withholding the election results, returning officer Khurshid Anwar, also the Mymensingh regional election officer, wrote to the Election…
AL criticises Khaleda for remark ‘on national anthem programme’
Awami League general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam has strongly protested BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Saturday’s remark about singing the national anthem and her plan to stage an anti-government uprising. Addressing the biennial conference of a faction of Bangladesh Federal Union…
Wealth probe not a stunt: ACC Chair
Chairman of Ant-Corruption Commission (ACC) M Badiuzzaman on Sunday urged the people not to suspect the activities and sincerity of the commission particularly in carrying out the ongoing inquiry against some ruling party leaders. “Please wait and see. Don’t be…
BNP fears large scale rigging in Monday UZ polls
BNP says it anticipates large scale rigging by the ruling Awami League during the fifth phase of the Upazila Council elections. BNP Joint Secretary General Salahuddin Ahmed held a press conference at the party’s Naya Paltan headquarters on Saturday, a…
‘High cost problem’ of rental power to go in 2 years: Muhith
Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Sunday said the ‘problem’ of the high cost power generation with rental power plants will get minimised to a great extent over the next two years. Addressing a meeting with the business community at the…
Rooppur nuke plant safe: Russian envoy
Russian Ambassador in Dhaka Alexander A Nikolaev on Sunday said the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is safe for Bangladesh saying those who are opposing its construction have a wrong perception. “I must tell you the reactor which is designed…
Mirza Azizul underlines peace for investment
Political stability and the rule of law are essential for investment that can fuel economic growth, former caretaker government adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam said on Saturday. “Investment will grow only when the political environment is peaceful,” he told a…
Raushan told: Resign to save your skin
Khaleda Zia said Leader of the Opposition Raushon Ershad should resign to “save her skin”. “This person, who identifies herself as the opposition leader, is now saying that she was forced to join the election,” said Khaleda, the former leader…
None can foil war crimes trials: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina says ‘politically rehabilitated war criminals’ will not be spared and may face prosecution. “Those who have grabbed power through coup and conspiracy after the assassination of Bangabandhu will be tried on the soil of Bangladesh, Inshaallah,”…
Khaleda warns of tougher movement
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Khaleda Zia has threatened to topple the government through mass upsurge. The former prime minister criticised the government’s record-breaking initiative of singing the national anthem in chorus at a meeting of the Bangladesh Federal Union…