Bangladesh

Clinton in troubled Bangladesh to press stability

Sat, 05 May 2012 16:39:00 +0200

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) May 5, 2012: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is in Bangladesh to press tolerance, democracy and development in one of the world's most impoverished nations that is now in the throes political turmoil. Clinton arrived Saturday in the capital of Dhaka, which has been increasingly tense in recent weeks with general strikes protesting the disappearance of an opposition leader and a crackdown on dissent. Homemade bombs have exploded around the city as the strikes have paralyzed the country, prompting the police to arrest dozens of opposition activists. However, Clinton's visit - the first by a secretary of state to the country since 2003 - is expected to bring a brief respite as the opposition has suspended protests for the occasion in a goodwill gesture that reflects the importance Bangladeshis place on relations with the United States, one of their largest trading partners. In talks with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, opposition...

Bangladesh - Alarming Rise in "Disappearances"

Tue, 01 May 2012 15:28:00 +0200

New York April, 27, 2012 The Bangladesh government should immediately order an independent and impartial investigation into the growing number of cases where opposition members and political activists have vanished without trace, Human Rights Watch said today. The most recent episode, on April 17, 2012, involved Elias Ali, secretary of the Sylhet Division of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Ali’s case is part of an alarming rise in such incidents, including those of opposition members and political activists. Human Rights Watch recently expressed concern over the April 4 abduction and subsequent death of Aminul Islam, a prominent labor rights activist. Ain-O-Sailash Kendra, a leading human rights group in Bangladesh, has documented the disappearance of least 22 people in 2012 alone. According to Odhikar, another Dhaka-based human rights group, more than 50 people have disappeared since 2010. “The rise in disappearances, particularly of opposition members and...

Nation celebrates Pahela Baishakh Saturday

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 20:25:34 +0200

DHAKA: 14 April 2012 People from all walks of life burst into jubilation, leaving behind all the sorrows and glooms of the previous year, will celebrate the Bengali New Year 1419 Saturday amid festivities featuring culture and tradition of the Bengalis. Pahela Baishakh, the first day of the year in the Bengali calendar, has its origin in the Mughal times when Emperor Akbar employed the Bangla calendar to facilitate tax collection. True to this line, traders and shopkeepers open Halkhata (fresh accounts book) on this day and offer sweets to their customers. President M Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and opposition leader Khaleda Zia conveyed the nation greetings of Bangla New Year and congratulated them on the occasion. On the occasion, the president, in his message, said the New Year comes to the lives to the Bangalees after lapse of a year with immense possibilities. He added: “It is a significant day in the diversified heritage of the...

Bangladesh honours 83 ‘foreign friends’

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:43:00 +0200

DHAKA, MAR 27: Bangladesh has honoured 83 foreign nationals and organisations for their outstanding contributions in the Bangladesh’s war of independence. President Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday conferred two categories of honours on distinguished personalities from different countries and organisations at a gala ceremony at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. As many as eight foreign dignitaries—an incumbent president, a former king, three former presidents and three former prime ministers - were awarded the “Bangladesh Liberation War Honour”, while 67 individuals, six organisations, people of India and Mitra Bahini were given the “Friends of Liberation War Honour” for their invaluable contribution during the nation’s struggle for freedom. In all, 19 distinguished foreign nationals received the honours themselves, while 56 of such honours were received by the recipients’ next of kin or representatives, as many of them have...

Cricket: Bangladesh reach first Asia Cup final

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 23:04:00 +0100

Dhaka: Bangladesh reached its first Asia Cup final when it cruised past Sri Lanka by five wickets with nearly three overs to spare in a rain-disrupted match this morning. Having failed at nine previous Asia Cups, Bangladesh will meet Pakistan in the final on Thursday at the same Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium having upset both finalists from last year's World Cup. Bangladesh's victory helped it leapfrog World Cup and Asia Cup champion India into the final. Pakistan has won the biennial event only once, in 2000, when it last appeared in the final. Winless Sri Lanka was already assured of missing the final for the first time. After limiting Sri Lanka to 232 in 49.5 overs, Bangladesh was handicapped by a mid-innings downpour which reduced the winning target to 212 but increased the required run rate from 40 overs. The home side wobbled at the start then Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan smashed half centuries to help them reach the target in...

Bangladesh wins Myanmar battle

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 23:13:00 +0100

Dhaka/Hamburg, Mar 14 (bdnews24.com)–In a historic victory at the UN maritime tribunal, Bangladesh has won territorial and economic rights to the vast Bay of Bengal resources even beyond it bargained for. "We've got all we wanted," an elated foreign minister told bdnews24.com on Wednesday by phone from Hamburg, Germany, where the International Tribunal for Law of the Seas (ITLOS) is based. Dr Dipu Moni said Bangladesh got more than it claimed in its long-running dispute with Myanmar. "Bangladesh claimed 107,000 square kilometres while it got 111,000 square kilometers area in the Bay of Bengal," she said. "The court has given equitable solution on equidistance basis," she said, immediately after the verdict. The President of the Tribunal, Jose Luis Jesus of Cape Verde, read the judgment in the Hamburg courtroom. "The judgment is final and without appeal," a foreign ministry statement said. "The court...

Closed, nervy city braces for today - BNP Rally

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:05:00 +0100

Govt actions disrupt communications, life; Khaleda to announce fresh agitation for caretaker govt at restriction-strung rally Almost all highways and waterways leading to the capital remain blocked, hotels and guesthouses closed and intra-city traffic movements restricted -- all in frantic government attempts to keep opposition activists and supporters from joining the BNP rally today. Opposition BNP is set to stage the much-talked grand rally on Monday afternoon in city’s Naya Paltan with inaugural speech of the party chief Khaleda Zia. After a long drama, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Sunday gave conditional permission to the party for holding the grand rally. According to DMP, the party is barred from using electronic devices and mega screen during the rally. Besides, the use of mike will also be controlled at the same time. The party cannot start rally before 2:00pm and has to bring an end by 5:00pm in between Fakirapool and Nightingale Crossing....

Historic 7th March: Tight security for AL mass procession

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:53:00 +0100

No room for razakars in country: PM (মার্চে বাংলার মাটিতে রাজাকারের ঠাঁই নাই: প্রধানমন্ত্রী) DHAKA: Strong security measures have been taken in Suhrawardy Udyan area from Wednesday morning to avert any untoward incident during Awami League mass procession on the occasion of the historic 7th March. The procession will start from Suhrawardy Udyan (gate in front of Engineers’ Institution) at 3:30 pm of the day and wind up at the historic Bangabandhu Bhaban on Road 32 of Dhanmondi of the city. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina, also the AL president, is set to address here and later will inaugurate the rally, party sources said. Law enforcers have been deployed here with dog squad. Wishing anonymity, several officers of Special branch (SB) and DB told banglanews, “Several numbers of DGFI, DB, SB and SSF team are working in the area to ensure security.” They informed that Prime...

Amar Ekushey & International Mother Language Day observed

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:46:00 +0100

Dhaka 21 Feb 2012: DHAKA: The nation Tuesady paid homage to the martyrs of the historic language movement of 1952 to mark the Language Martyrs Day and International Mother Language Day. President M Zillur Rahman, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia placed wreaths at the Central Shaheed Minar to lead the nation in paying floral homage to the martyrs. The mournful immortal chorus ‘Amar Bhaiyer Rokte Rangano Ekushey February, Ami Ki Bhulite Pari’ was reverberated all around in memory of the language heroes. President M Zillur Rahman first placed a wreath and then Premier Sheikh Hasina laid another on the altar of the memorial to the martyrs of the 1952 language movement after zero hour amid a tight security in and around the Central Shaheed Minar. They stood in solemn silence for some time in respect to the memory of the martyrs, who won the last battle for establishing Bengali as a state language during the then exploitative...

15 receive Ekushey Padak-2012

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:18:00 +0100

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged all to remain alert about upholding the spirit of ‘Amar Ekushey’ (immortal 21st) and said that those who reject the four main pillars of the Language Movement and the independence are the enemies of Ekushey and our independence. “To face them, we’ll have to infuse the spirit of Ekushey among the new generation and widely practice Bangla language and literature in every field and sphere of our social life,” she said. The premier was addressing a function, marking the distribution of ‘Ekushey Padak’ for 2012, at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the city on Monday. Hasina also urged all to establish a knowledge-based prosperous, peaceful and non-communal Bangladesh in line with the spirit of ‘Amar Ekushey’ as well as the ‘Sonar Bangla’ dreamt by father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Abul Kalam Azad presided over the function organised by the Cultural...

Saydee-led rajakars raped my wife: Madhusudan Gharami

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:53:00 +0100

DHAKA, February 2, 2012: A prosecution witness on Wednesday told the International Crimes Tribunal that his wife was raped by rajakars led by at his Hoglabunia village in Parerhat during the Liberation War in 1971. Narrating the painful episode, prosecution witness No. 23 Madhusudan Gharami said rajakars along with some people had entered his house in his absence and gang-raped his wife. “The man who converted you to Muslim had been here, you go away and I suffer unbearable pain as I’ve been raped by them, I can’t say anymore, don’t think about me,” Gharami quoted her wife as saying. Lying on a comfortable rolled away bed beside the witness box flanked by an attending physician and a ward boy following his sickness, octogenarian Gharami, a carpenter, gave his deposition before the tribunal. Raking the past up, Gharami burst into tears and the tribunal, both the prosecution and the defence counsel observed tears rolling down his cheeks. The attending ward boy was seen...

Army coup foiled in Bangladesh, top officers involved in conspiracy

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:08:00 +0100

DHAKA: A bid to topple the Bangladeshi government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been foiled, the Bangladesh Army said on Thursday. The Bangladesh Army said efforts by some officers to topple the government have been foiled and that the process to bring the culprits to justice has begun. "Specific information has been unearthed that some officers in active military service have been involved in the conspiracy to topple the system of democratic governance," bdnews24.com quoted army spokesman Brigadier General Muhammad Masud Razzaq as saying at a press briefing. Razzaq branded the accused officers as having extreme religious views. "Some unruly military officers have been actively engaged in the execution of the heinous conspiracy through maintaining contacts with fugitive Major Zia (Syed Mohammad Ziaul Huq) by mobile phones and internet," Razzaq said. "On Dec 22 last year, Major Zia met a senior officer and tried to provoke that senior...

Bangladesh celebrating 40th Victory Day

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 21:34:00 +0100

Bangladesh celebrating 40th Victory Day 40 years Bangladesh Dhaka, 16 Dec 2011: The nation is celebrating the 40th Victory Day Thursday with a renewed call for establishing the rule of law, institutionalizing democracy and holding war-crime trial as part of the efforts for fulfilling the objectives of the Liberation War. A 31-gun salute will herald the day. The other programmes include hoisting the national flag, placing wreaths at the National Mausoleum, parade, reception to gallantry award-winning freedom fighters, discussion meetings and prayer sessions.The nation is commemorating the country`s triumph in the nine-month of war of independence against the Pakistani forces and their local lackeys this very day in 1971.The day is being marked all over Bangladesh and the country`s missions abroad by paying glowing tributes to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for relentlessly leading a struggle towards the country`s independence. On this day in 1971, the chief of the...

Bangladesh to honour 124 dignitaries

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:54:00 +0100

DHAKA, Dec 12: The cabinet, on Monday, approved a list of 124 foreign dignitaries, to confer the country's state honour, for their outstanding contribution to the War of Liberation in 1971. The approval came in the weekly cabinet meeting held at the secretariat, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. AB Tajul Islam, state minister for the Liberation War, told The Independent that the foreign heroes would be honoured in an auspicious day between January 10 to March 26 this year, at the south or north plaza of Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. Some of the Indian recipients include former chief minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu; former foreign ministers – Sardar Swaran Singh and VK Krishna Menon; former chief minister of Tripura, Sachindra Lal Singh; former defence minister, Jagjivan Ram; former diplomats DP Dhar and PN Dhar; former Prime Minister IK Gujral; finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw; Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora; Pandit Ravi Shankar; Satyajit...

Bangladesh war crimes trial begins in Dhaka

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 14:10:00 +0100

Bangladesh war crimes trial begins in Dhaka BBC Report from Dhaka A leader of a Bangladesh Islamist party has gone on trial (21 November 2011) accused of crimes against humanity during the country's independence struggle against Pakistan. Delawar Hossain Sayedee is the first of seven suspects set to face a tribunal on charges relating to the 1971 war. Charges listed against him include genocide, rape and religious persecution - all of which he denies. The chief prosecutor said the trial, which resumes on Monday, was essential for the establishment of democracy. BBC correspondent Anbarasan Ethirajan said it marked a watershed moment for Bangladesh, which has yet to come fully to terms with its violent past. The special court will try Bangladeshis accused of collaborating with Pakistani forces, who were trying to stop Bangladesh becoming an independent nation. 'Vendetta' More than three million people were killed and many more were left homeless,...

BNP’s Khulna Roadmarch today

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 12:48:00 +0100

BNP’s Khulna Roadmarch today Roadmarch to Pabna, Khustia, Jhenidah, Jessore and Khulna Dhaka, Nov. 26 - Chairperson Khaleda Zia will direct a road march towards Khulna today to pulsate up support for her party’s demand that the government reinstate the caretaker government system to oversee in the next parliament elections. Senior leaders of the four-party alliance and similar minded parties will accompany the road march that will pass through Pabna, Kushtia, Jhenidah and Jessore before reaching Khulna.The BNP leader will stay at Jessore Circuit House tonight and restart the march towards Khulna tomorrow. The two-day programme will end with a public meeting on Khulna Circuit House premises at 3:00pm tomorrow. Hope BNP’s this long march will carry something for the citizens of Bangladesh.

Govt invites tender for 2nd Padma Bridge project

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 19:55:00 +0100

The government Friday invited tender for investors’ prequalification for building a $2 billion 2nd Padma Multipurpose Bridge under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative though construction of the first one hit snags over suspension of the World Bank funding over graft allegations. Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) under the communications ministry floated the international tender on 3 November for building the 6.1-km bridge over the mighty river Padma connecting Paturia and Daulatdia points. The proposed bridge will be constructed on public-private partnership (PPP) initiative with an estimated cost of Tk US$ 2 billion, according to the Communications Ministry officials. Both the planned bridges are to connect the country’s cutoff southwest with the eastern part, including the capital Dhaka. Earlier on 27 October, the cabinet committee on economic affairs approved the proposal for construction of the second bridge on ‘Build-Own-Operate-and-Transfer’ (BOOT) basis...

Dhaka, Berlin agree to boost economic ties

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:06:00 +0200

Bangladesh and Germany yesterday agreed to further explore bilateral trade and cooperation in the areas of sustainable development, climate change, health and social safety net programme. “Our development cooperation is very good. We have discussed how to strengthen our economic ties,'' German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after a luncheon meeting at German Chancellery in the afternoon. The two leaders also discussed cooperation in renewable energy, and primary and secondary education for the young people of Bangladesh. The Chancellor praised Hasina for her government's role in tackling the Bangladesh economy despite the global economic downturn. ''Bangladesh economy is on good track,'' Hasina said, adding Bangladesh could not achieve desired level of development since the country had been under military dictators. On international...

PM Hasina arrives in Berlin

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:38:00 +0200

Berlin, Oct 22 - Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived at Tegel Airport in Berlin at 3-30 pm local time. She was received by Bangladesh`s Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, Bangladesh Ambassador to Germany Masud Mannan and high German government officials. The Prime Minister was then driven to Hotel Adlon Kempinski in the heart of Berlin in a motorcade. On her arrival at the hotel several hundred Bangladeshi expatriates greeted her with flower bouquet. Among others, Awami League Europe chapter president Anil Das Gupta, UK Awami League president Sultan Sharif, and Europe chapter Awami League leader Nazrul Islam, were present. Earlier, Prime Minister Hasina left Dhaka for the German capital in the morning to attend World Health Summit-2011. The Prime Minister is scheduled to attend a reception to be hosted by students of Bangla Pathshala at Bangladesh House in Berlin Saturday. She will attend another reception the next day (Oct 23) to be hosted by non-resident...

Khaleda declares 3 road marches

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:37:00 +0200

Khaleda declares 3 road marches September 27, 2011: Paltan, adjacent areas turn into human sea DHAKA, September 27, 2011: BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia Tuesday afternoon declared three road marches to press home their demand for restoring the caretaker government system. In her address at a Naya Paltan rally, the opposition leader said they will conduct a road march towards Sylhet from Dhaka on October 10, another towards Rajshahi on October 18 and the other towards Chittagong on October 25. She accused the Awami League-led grand alliance government of torturing opposition leaders and activists. “They (AL) want to stay in power through intimidation,” she said. “But you do not know that you cannot stay in power through installing fear and torture.” Saying the government is using police as ruling party activists, she asked the policemen to stop torturing people and reminded them of their duty as the protectors of the people. The former prime minister...