Rashidul Hasan

The BNP is likely to participate in the Dhaka city polls, to be held in January next year. However, many leftist parties are yet to decide on contesting the elections.

A parliamentary body yesterday summoned the Anti-Corruption Commission chairman and ACC investigators concerned to explain as to why the anti-graft body did not take action against former BASIC Bank chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu for his alleged involvement in plundering around Tk 4,500 crore of the state-owned bank.

A parliamentary watchdog yesterday raised questions over the commerce ministry’s delay in importing onions to face the ongoing crisis, while another minister separately admitted the government’s “failure” in this regard.

Biman has finally got rid of the last of its two leased Boeing 777-200ER airplanes that have been causing the national flag carrier to incur huge losses for several years.

Workers Party suffered a blow as its former general secretary and current politburo member Bimol Biswas resigned from the left-leaning organisation, alleging that it was being run in an undemocratic manner.

Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) Managing Director Taqsem A Khan yesterday came under fire by a parliamentary body for his failure in providing safe drinking water to citizens, dealing with the waterlogging problem and allegations of widespread corruption against DWASA officials.

Rohingya settlements have severely damaged biodiversity and over 8,000 acres of reserved forest in Cox’s Bazar. The damage is equivalent to a loss of over Tk 2,420 crore, said a report of the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry.

A total of 110 female migrant workers returned empty-handed from Saudi Arabia on August 26. Around 38 of them were forced to return after facing physical and sexual torture, while 48 came back home as they were not paid their salaries on a regular basis.

The government yesterday imposed a travel ban on President of Jubo League’s Dhaka South unit Ismail Hossain Samrat, meaning he can no longer leave the country.

Dhaka South Jubo League President Ismail Hossain Samrat has allegedly dug himself in at his office in Kakrail to avert arrest and is desperately looking for ways to leave the country, his party men told The Daily Star yesterday.

Officials have attended multiple training abroad, bought five cars for Tk 2.5 crore and rented five more for Tk 10 lakh per month, but they have not even selected the project areas.

The Jatiya Party is considering curtailing the special powers of its chairman mentioned in the party charter.

The two feuding factions of Jatiya Party reportedly patched things up last night and decided that party Chairman GM Quader would remain in his post and Raushan Ershad would become the Leader of the Opposition in parliament.

Raushan Ershad was declared Jatiya Party chairperson yesterday as the rift between her and GM Quader over the party leadership and post of Leader of the Opposition in the Jatiya Sangsad deepens.

Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader is at loggerheads with Senior Co-chairperson Raushan Ershad over becoming the leader of the opposition in parliament.

The board of Biman Bangladesh Airlines has decided to cancel its contract with one of its official and suspended another in connection with corruption and irregularities while leasing two aircraft from EgyptAir.

In yet another dramatic move, a group of Jatiya Party MPs yesterday submitted a letter to Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, requesting her to make GM Quader the leader of the opposition in parliament.

Illegal gas and power lines pose serious dangers to around 1.55 lakh people living in three slums of the capital -- Korail Bosti in Mohakhali, Bhasantek Bosti and Chalantika Bosti in Mirpur.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh has turned down a parliamentary body’s request for relaxed security checks for MPs and former ministers at airports of the country.

A day after the gruesome grenade attack on August 21, 2004, the BNP government formed a one-member inquiry commission comprised of a High Court judge that submitted its report to the home ministry on October 2.