| Front Page | 
Ivy laid to rest
Thousands of mourners braved downpours to lay Ivy Rahman to eternal rest at Banani Cemetery last night, after a huge procession escorting the veteran Awami League leader's body wailed across the cityfrom
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Hasina first ventures out after attack to visit Ivy's family
Amidst a new threat of assassination from an Islamist militant organisation, Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina yesterday made the first public appearance since the Saturday's deadly grenade attack
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Arrests, cop actions on pickets mark hartal
Police action on peaceful processions and widespread arrests of opposition activists yesterday marked the last day of a two-day nationwide hartal called by 13 opposition political parties protesting grenade
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Govt refuses int'l help in probe to hide itself: Hasina
Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the government refused to take international help to probe grenade attacks on an Awami Legue (AL) rally on Saturday as 'it would expose their real
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Foreign missions critical of govt's performance
Several foreign missions in Dhaka have expressed critical dissatisfaction over the government's poor performance in identifying the criminals engaged in arms smuggling and the series of bomb attacks in
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Opposition calls 12-hr hartal for Saturday
The opposition last night called a dawn-to-dusk hartal across the country for Saturday in protest at the grisly grenade attack on an Awami League (AL) rally on August 21 and 'repression' on opposition
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Close watch on some people
Intelligence agencies are keeping a vigil on some people and closely watching their movements, suspecting their links to Saturday's deadly grenade attack on the Awami League (AL) rally as the probe into
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Ahmadiyyas urge govt to stop fanatics
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Bangladesh (AMJB) yesterday appealed to the government to take immediate action to prevent the religious fanatics from carrying out the threat to capture Ahmadiyya base at
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Rab arrests outlaw on rally bombing charge
The Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) on Tuesday arrested a man with close links to outlaws in Khulna region suspecting his role in the grenade attack on an Awami League (AL) rally in Dhaka.
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Battles rage around Najaf shrine
Iraq's most influential Shia leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has returned after medical treatment in Britain as fighting continues to rage in the Shia holy city of Najaf yesterday.
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Twin plane crashes kill 90 in Russia
Two Russian passenger planes crashed almost simultaneously late Tuesday killing all 90 on board, and security officials said they were investigating a possible terrorist attack.
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Rangpur arson victims live under sky
Members of the eight Hindu families who suffered the Monday's arson and plunder at Adam Sarkerpara village under Pirgachha upazila in the district continue to live under the open sky, exposed to the elements
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Rajin to lead Tigers in England
Rajin Saleh will lead Bangladesh in next month's ICC Champions Trophy in England.The Bangladesh team leave for the British Isles today morning.
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Observer editor gets death threat
Editor of The Bangladesh Observer Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury received an anonymous death threat mail on Tuesday.
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Dhaka jail conceals cellphone seizure
The one-man committee today submits its probe report on Sunday's grenade recovery from Dhaka Central Jail compound to the inspector general of police (Prisons).
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McKinnon calls AL chief to know her condition
Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon yesterday phoned Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina and inquired about her condition after the Saturday's attempt on her life.
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Biometric checks on visitors to US from Jan 1
Foreigners entering the United States across the busiest borders will be photographed and electronically fingerprinted beginning January 1 with the goal of flushing out potential terrorists.
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Rejoinder and our reply
Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) yesterday in a rejoinder disagreed with some facts of the report The Daily Star ran on Wednesday under the headline 'BJP, IOJ leaders refuse to refute comments'.
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SC Bar asks 19 new addl judges to stand down
The Supreme Court Bar Association yesterday asked the 19 newly appointed additional judges of the High Court (HC) to stand down voluntarily and protested the chief justice's swearing them into officeignoring
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Sramik Dal men bar gayabana janaja
Alleged Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal cadres yesterday barred local Awami League (AL) activists to hold the gayebana janaza for opposition leader Ivy Rahman in Khulna city.
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Hasina's son asks govt to step down
Sajib Wajed Joy, son of Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina, has condemned Saturday's grenade attacks on AL rally and asked the government to step down.
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Intelligence agencies activated
Intelligence agencies have been activated to identify the source of an e-mail sent to the Prothom Alo threatening to kill Awami League (AL) Chief Sheikh Hasina, who narrowly escaped Saturday's grenade
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FBCCI for political talks to restore normalcy
Condemning Saturday's grenade attack on the Awami League (AL) rally in the capital, the country's apex trade body has called for initiating an 'open and frank dialogue' between the top leaders of thetwo
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BTV DG made OSD
Director General of Bangladesh Betar Zafar Ahmed Chowdhury has been transferred to Bangladesh Television (BTV) as its Director General (DG), while BTV Director General Mostafizur Rahman was made Officer
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| Business |
Plant for pharmaceutical raw materials on cards
The government plans to set up an API (active pharmaceutical ingredients) unit to produce raw materials of medicines cashing in on developing countries' exemption from WTO restrictions regarding patent
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India offers jt tourism show with Bangladesh
India has proposed a joint tourism exhibition with Bangladesh to be held in New Delhi as the two countries agreed to promote greater flow of tourists between them.
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Ecnec okays 11 projects involving Tk 891cr
The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) at a meeting yesterday approved 11 development projects at a total cost of Tk 891 crore, including Tk 65 crore in foreign aid.
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Indian income funds hit as bond yields rise
India's income mutual funds have suffered a steady erosion in net asset value (NAV) and a plunge in assets under management this year as bond prices fell and rising inflation sparked worries of higher
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US may banish foreign banks suspected of laundering
The United States moved Tuesday to banish from the country two foreign banks suspected of helping the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein, before its ouster last year, launder money siphoned from the UN oil-for-food
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Southeast Bank to extend Tk 2cr to CDF microcredit programme
Southeast Bank Limited will finance upto Tk 2 crore through its Agargaon Branch, Dhaka to the CDF member NGO and MFIs (microfinance institutions) under the bank's microfinance programme.
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Greenspan welcomes global recovery
US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan welcomed, in remarks released Tuesday, a rebounding world economy last year, but expressed concern about high oil prices affecting countries like Japan.
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Malaysians dominate SE Asia's top 40 richest list
Malaysians led by media, hotel and property tycoon Robert Kuok dominated a list of Southeast Asia's 40 wealthiest people released here Wednesday by US business magazine Forbes.
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EU extends probe into Microsoft-Timewarner rights deal
The European Commission announced Wednesday an in-depth probe into a deal by Microsoft and Time Warner to buy a digital rights company, which it said risks extending Microsoft's dominance into that field.
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Toyota may invest $457m by '06 to up output capacity
Toyota Motor Corp, the world's second-largest auto maker, said Tuesday it was considering increasing its domestic production capacity to meet growing overseas demand.
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Oil prices rebound amid terrorism worries
Oil prices rose Wednesday after three consecutive sessions of losses as traders fretted that terrorists may have been behind two plane crashes in Russia.
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Malaysia to review laws to boost Islamic banking
Malaysia plans to incorporate Islamic principles into law to help grow its $23 billion Islamic banking and finance sector, its central bank chief said Wednesday.
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No oil price impact on eurozone growth: ECB
High oil prices are bad for growth and inflation, but there is no need as yet to revise down forecasts for eurozone growth this year, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said Wednesday.
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| Sports |
Conquest complete
Throughout the chilly Moroccan winter one dre-am burned bri-ght for Hicham El Guerrouj as he trained in the thin air of the Atlas mountains.
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'Chick with the Stick'
When Yelena Isinbayeva plan-ted the pole and vaulted over a bar set at a shade under five me-tres in the Olym-pic final it was the seventh time she had pushed up the limits of the event this year.
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Cricket:
'The Champions Trophy could give us a start'
After a dismal Asia Cup, damage limitation appear to be the first objective when the Bangladesh cricket team leave for England today to play in the ICC Champions Trophy.
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Drama as Hayes hurdles to glory
Joanna Hayes of the United States won a dramatic Olympic Games women's 100 metres hurdles gold medal here on Tuesday breaking the 16 year-old Olympic record held by Bulgaria's Yordanka Donkova.
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Cricket:
SL spinners strangle SA
Sri Lanka spinners Rangana Herath and Tillakaratne Dilshan shared six wickets to help bowl South Africa out for 191 in the third one-day international on Sunday.
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Russian boss hits out at 'judging mafia'
Russia's gymnastics chief Leonid Arkayev has added his voice to a cho-rus of public opinion calling for major re-forms in his sport, saying Olympic gymnasts are powerless against what he called "judging
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Irina won't give back her medal
Russia's Irina Korzhanenko, who won the Olympic Games shot put before being stripped of her gold after failing a drugs test, insisted on Wednesday that she would not give back her medal.
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Cricket:
Collingwood in, Bell out
Injury-plagued all-rounder Paul Collingwood was Wednesday included in England's tour party to travel to South Africa this winter, but Robert Key has beaten Ian Bell to the final batting place.
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Cricket:
Aussie-Pak tie washed out
Rain forced the Videocon Cup triangular series match between Australia and Pakistan to be abandoned without a ball being bowled here Wednesday.
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Cricket:
U-19s' second 1-dayer today
The second limited-overs match between visiting Bangladesh under-19 cricketers and England under-19s takes place today at Hove.
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Football:
JFA Cup soccer in September
The first-ever JFA Cup under-16 football competition will be held at different venues across the country from the third week of September.
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Cricket:
LATEST
Sri Lanka wrapped up the five-match one-day series against South Africa when they beat the tourists by four wickets at Dambulla yesterday to take an unassailable 3-0 lead.
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Iraq's voyage ends
Iraq's fairytale run in the Olympic football tournament ground to a shuddering halt in the shape of a 3-1 semi-final defeat to Paraguay.
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Argentina too classy
Italy coach Claudio Gentile said his football team's poor preparation played a major part in their crushing 3-0 Olympic semi-final defeat to Argentina.
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USA dream Hamm's dream
Mia Hamm is aiming to bring the curtain down on the most successful career wo-men's football has ever seen here Thursday by helping the United States strike Olympic gold.
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Football:
Big three through
Inter Milan and Monaco rattled up convincing wins but Liverpool lost at home as all three clubs reached the Champions League's lucrative group phase on Tuesday.
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Football:
Chelsea showing right signs
Jose Mourinho's Chelsea revolution finally seems to be gathering pace as his expensively-assembled side returned to the top of the Premiership table with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Crystal Palaceat
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Football:
Maradona weeps
Former Argentina captain Diego Maradona broke down in tears during a television interview on Tuesday as he talked about his frustrations over his treatment for cocaine addiction.
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Football:
Ref denies goof up
The Spanish referee in Liverpool's Champions League qualifier has denied that he issued two yellow cards to Graz AK captain Rene Aufhauser then failed to send him off.
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Football:
Spurs on 'free' Figo's trail
Tottenham hope to pull off the transfer coup of the summer by tying up the signing of Luis Figo before Friday.
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Football:
Flo retires
Norway striker Tore Andre Flo has retired from international football, national coach Age Hareide said on Wednesday as he named his squad for next month's World Cup qualifying matches against Italy and
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Cricket:
Pollock joins 300-wkt club
South Africa fast bowler Shaun Pollock became the seventh bowler to take 300 one-day international wickets on Wednesday.
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Chess:
Sagar wins again
Minhazuddin Ahmed Sagar won the fifth round board against Sandipan Chaterjee to maintain his all-win run in the Telegraph Schools Chess Championship in Kolkata on Tuesday.
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Taxi driver the hero
A Greek taxi driver was hailed as a hero here Wednesday after returning an Olympic silver medal left in the back of his cab by a Dutch rower.
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Tennis:
Sharapova shocked
Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova was stunned 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 by unheralded Mashona Washington in the second round of the 585,000-dollar WTA New Haven event on Tuesday.
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| Metropolitan |
Police action condemned
Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) and Bangladesh Ganatantrik Ainjibi Samity yesterday strongly condemned the police action on pro-hartal processions across the country, saying that such actions are clear violations
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Ctg mayor threatens hartal on Sept 4
Mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury yesterday threatened to enforce 24-hour hartal on September 4 if Awami League activists and senior lawyers are not set free immediately.
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BCL demands int'l probe
Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) yesterday demanded international investigation into the deadly grenade attack on Awami League rally in the capital on Saturday.
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2 injured ATN newsmen sent to Bangkok for treatment
Private television channel ATN has sent its two journalists Syed Riaz and Zakir Hossain, injured in Saturday's grenade attack on Awami League rally, to Bangkok for treatment yesterday.
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Security tightened at key installations in Ctg
The authorities of several strategic installations of the port city have tightened security in their respective establishments.
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One gunned down, elderly woman beaten to death
Three people were killed in a span of 18 hours that ended at 9:30am in the morning yesterday, in different parts of the city.
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Police, BNP men bar gayebana janaza for Ivy in 3 districts
Gayebana namaz-e-janaza for Ivy Rahman was obstructed yesterday in a number of places across the country including Barisal, Joypurhat and Kishoreganj, the home district of the veteran Awami League leader.
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More bodies condole Ivy's death
More individuals, organisations and political parties yesterday expressed their deep shock at the death of veteran Awami League (AL) leader Ivy Rahman.
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Attack on Hindu families protested
Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) and Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) yesterday strongly condemned the attack on Hindu families at a Pirgachha village in Rangpur.
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Pressurise govt into forming int'l body to probe grenade attack
Sixty-two Bangladeshi nationals in the UK demanded international probe into Saturday's grenade attack on Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina.
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BIWTA goes for fresh dredging
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) yesterday finally resumed dredging work to open up the Buriganga channel at Basila point to stop huge erosion there.
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NU first yr hons exams postponed
1st year honours examinations under the National University (NU) scheduled to be held today have been postponed due to unavoidable circumstances.
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CPA fines 20 vessels
The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has fined 20 vessels and two stevedore companies about Tk 2 lakh on charge of tax evasion, environment pollution and violation of shipping rules during its weeklong
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BAF certificate award ceremony held
The certificate award ceremony for the 66 Junior Command and Staff Course of Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) was held at the BAF Command and Staff Training Institute, Dhaka Cantonment yesterday.
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Obituary
Engineer Mizanur Rahman Khan, member of the trustee board of Bangladesh University and social worker, died of a heart attack at Sikdar Medical College and Hospital on Tuesday at the age of 64.
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Qulkhwani
Qulkhwani of Ferdousi Begum, mother of Food and Disaster Management Minister Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf, will be held after Asr prayers on August 27 at Moez Manzil here.
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| National |
45 hurt in Kushtia, Satkhira clashes
The hartal passed off amid stray incidents of violence in districts, leaving at least 40 people including a former state minister injured in Kushtia Tuesday evening and another 15 in Satkhira yesterday.
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Help govt probe the attack
Barisal City Corporation (BCC) Mayor Majibar Rahaman Sarwar MP yesterday called upon opposition Awami League to help the government probe Saturday's dastardly grenade attack on its rally and nab the culprits.
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Case filed against 12
Court Sub-Inspector (CSI) Nazrul Islam filled a case with Sadar thana Tuesday night against 12 people including Bogra Bar Association Secretary AHM Golam Rabbani Khan Roman for alleged involvement inransacking
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Small effort, great job
Thirty year-old Monwara was illiterate. She can read and write now and contributes at least Tk 800 to her family of three with two children. Her husband is a poor fisherman.
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Threat to 'blow up' Rajshahi Prothom Alo office
An unidentified man has threatened over telephone to blow up the Rajshahi office of Bangala daily Prothom Alo, creating panic among journalists and the city dwellers.
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BNP leader bullet-hit in Patuakhali
A BNP leader in Bauphal upazila sustained serious injuries after being hit by bullet of unidentified miscreants on Sunday.The injured person is Nirmal Kumar Datta, 30, also a businessman.
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Court boycott by Manikganj lawyers
Protesting appointment of High Court judges on political ground, lawyers here boycotted court on Wednesday.
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| Point-Counterpoint |
Will this also be a forgotten story?
The whole nation is shocked and suffering from bomb phobia since the attack on Awami League rally on 21st August believably to kill its leader.
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South Asia's democratisation
Civil societies in the South Asian region are not turning a blind eye to the developments in one of its smallest nations because the issue of representative authority is inextricably linked with the recent
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Ensuring quality engineering education
The quality and relevance of education that an engineer receives is of great importance to the country's development and economic activities.
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| Culture |
Out of sight but not out of mind
Remember Shankar Sawjal, playing the character of a frustrated individual in the play Swapner Shahar? Or the evergreen song Bhalo Aachhi Bhalo Theko that he sang in the same role? Though
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Remembering the National Poet
Commemorating the 28th death anniversary of our National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, BTV and private television channels have chalked out programmes like special drama, musicals, talk shows and documentary,
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Musical recital by Zohar Ali Khan
Indian violinist Zohar Ali Khan and his troupe held in trance a house full audience at Rajshahi Medical College auditorium recently.
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Bond, James Bond
Mention the name of Ian Fleming's super spy James Bond and it conjures up the image of the feisty Connery in film roles as Dr.
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Bachchan's return to Bangla films
After taking Bollywood by storm with his second innings in acting, mega super star Amitabh Bachchan is making a comeback in Bangla movies with his Hindi-Bangla bilingual Ora Kara scheduled foran
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| General |
Number of asylum seekers drops in Britain
The number of people seeking asylum in Britain dropped sharply in the second quarter of this year, the government has reported.
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| International |
Typhoon Aere makes landfall in SE China
The typhoon which has been battering Taiwan has now made landfall in south-eastern China.
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Palestinian intelligence chief shot in Gaza
Gunmen ambushed the commander of the Palestinian intelligence service in the Gaza Strip yesterday, wounding him, killing two bodyguards and fueling fears of spreading chaos.
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Nepali capital returns to normal
Traffic is back on the roads in and around the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, after Maoist rebels suspended a week-old blockade.
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'I stood up' against Vietnam war: Kerry
John Kerry Tuesday firmly defended his outspoken opposition to the Vietnam War, saying when the United States was in moral crisis over the conflict in the1970s "I stood up and was counted.
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Embassies in Sweden receive threats
The Stockholm embassies of several countries with a military presence in Iraq have recently received threatening letters in Arabic, the Swedish foreign ministry said Tuesday.
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Rumsfeld blamed for abuse indirectly
Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld came under fire Tuesday from a high-level inquiry into the Abu Ghraib prison scandal but a US military judge ruled he did not have to testify at a trial arising fromthe
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Sudan rebels to follow AU talks agenda
Rebel groups from Sudan's war-torn Darfur region agreed yesterday to accept an African Union agenda for peace talks with the Khartoum government, despite reservations to a clause referring to their demobilisation,
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Maldives sets free 122 detainees
The Maldives government anno-unced the release of more than 100 pro-democracy activists arrested during a massive protest in the capital earlier this month, saying it welcomes a visit by Amnesty International
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Thatcher's son detained in S Africa over coup plot
South African investigators yesterday arrested former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher's son Mark over his alleged involvement in a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea, the SAPA news agency reported.
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Moves on to woo Mamata back to Cong fold
Both the Indian parties will deny that such a move is on. But the Congress is seriously trying to woo Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Bannerjee back into the party fold.
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| Editorial |
Editorial:
Probe body
Our reaction to the news of the formation of a one-man probe body cannot but be somewhat mixed.
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Editorial:
International air travel to go private
In the midst if what can only be described as a horrendous week for the country, there is one piece of news that we feel could be a positive sign for things to come.
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Saga of bomb blasts and black Saturday
Yet again another bomb attack in Bangladesh! This time in the capital itself, and the target was of high value. By all definition, this attack is qualitatively different from all the past bomb attacks.
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Let not fanatics discredit fundamentals of Islam
Anews item released to the press recently revealed that the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations has expressed its concern over alleged obstructing the Kadianis in Bangladesh in the performance
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| Letters to Editor |
Bring the culprits to justice
The grenade attack on the AL rally was really shocking. This heinous attempt to silence 'protest against the Sylhet bomb attack' clearly shows that people are losing their freedom of speech.
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The horror continues...
The horror of the previous bomb blasts had not been wiped out from the memories of the people when another one occurred at the meeting of the AL, taking 20 lives and injuring hundreds of others .
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A free soul
Humayun Azad was a free soul (my atheist friends may abhor this very term!). His soul was soaring and fractious.
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Burial of Humayun Azad
We were informed that the body of Humayun Azad would be donated to Dhaka Medical College to be used by its students.
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Let love beautify ugliness
I enjoyed the movie "Beauty and the beast" by Jean Cocteau on 13 August, 2004 at the auditorium of Bishwa Shahityya Kendro, Dhaka. That's a nice movie.
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