Top Stories

BTCL-VOIP racket looting billions of Taka

Zahid Al Amin  •  February 2, 2012

The sources in Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited as well as the ministry concerned told Weekly Blitz that a general manager of BTCL sent a letter to the managing director of the organization giving information on how the Call Detail Recorder [CDR] system has been kept inoperative by a racket inside BTCL thus causing huge revenue loss to the country. Following such letter, a committee was formed to investigate the total volume of time as well as amount of loss incurred due to illegal activities with the Call Detail Recorder [CDR] as well as illegal VOIP calls in past 10 years. It is alleged that, more than US$ 1.5 billion had already been looted from the expected amount of revenue by the unscrupulous VOIP operators as well as organized racket inside Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited by keeping the Call Detail Recorder [CDR] inoperative. But, none of the kingpins of such huge illegal activities are brought into book. It may be mentioned here that, following publication of an investigative report in Weekly Blitz in 2006, the first ever illegal VOIP call centre in Dhaka was busted by the members of the Rapid Action Battalion. This illegal call centre was owned by Helal Khan, a leader of the cultural front of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

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Destiny masterminds leaving Bangladesh

Special Correspondent  •  February 9, 2012

Sensing stern action from the government as well as massive public wrath, owners of most of the large multi level marketing companies such as Destiny 2000 Limited, Neway, Aim Way Corporation Limited, Revnex etc are already transferring significant portion of the fund they already collection from the innocent people and gradually preparing to flee the country, thus leaving millions of people totally cheated. It may be mentioned here that, till date, only Destiny 2000 Limited has collected an amount equivalent to 9 billion dollars from the innocent people by giving them offers of high profit from its fake tree plantation and real estate projects. Though Destiny Tree Plantation Limited [a venture of Destiny 2000 Limited] openly proclaims to have planted more that 50 million trees in the country and has already collected the aforesaid amount of money from the people, people concerned said, the fraudulent MLM Company even does not have a fraction of the claimed trees in real.

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Deploy army to stop looting billions of Taka

Special Correspondent  •  February 5, 2012

Following publication of the report in Blitz, telecommunication experts in Dhaka opined that the government needs to immediately deploy army to check the Call Details Recorded [CDR] located at Satellite Earth Station located at Mohakhali [known as Mohakhali Inter-Connection Exchange], where a group of well organized racket combining officers and technicians of Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited [BTCL] in connivance with some unscrupulous operators of licensed VOIP exchanges are continuing to keep the Call Details Recorded switched off during peak hour [from 7 pm to 5 am] on a regular basis, thus deceiving the country from revenue of billions of Taka every month. According to information, on an average, there is 60 million minutes of call everyday from Bangladesh. Out of these calls, only 100~150 minutes are recorded on Call Details Recorded while the major portion is terminated by the corrupt officials and technicians of Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited. The source further said, eighty percent of these overseas calls go through Mohakhali Inter-Connection Exchange, while only 20 percent goes through Chittagong Inter-Connection Exchange.

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The fake friend of BD Prime Minister's son

Staff Reporter  •  February 9, 2012

Since Bangladesh Awami League formed government in 2009 [January], a controversial man named Mohammad A Arafat has been cashing significant amount of money by introducing himself to be the friend of Bangladeshi Prime Minister's only son Sajib Wajed Joy. He also runs an organization named 'Suchinta Foundation', which he claims to be the think-tank of the ruling party. According to a local Bangla daily newspaper, Mohammad A Arafat came into media controversy, when he married an elder actor few years back. Since then, this man has been continuing to use his wife's social status in creating a base for him. On a regular basis, people of various walks of life as well as city elites are regularly invited at his residence and the couple extends all possible "hospitality" to those people with the goal of cashing such relations. Due to influence of his wife in the media as well as connection of his wife's family with the ruling party, Mohammad A Arafat has been able to turn into a multi-millionaire just within the span of three years, as he has been lobbying in favor of various business individuals as well as business enterprises. Moreover, he also is reportedly involved in illegal Voice Over Internet Protocol [VOIP] business as well as VOIP business by keeping the Call Details Recorders at Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited switched off on a regular basis, thus deceiving the country from significant amount of revenue every day.

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Bangladesh war crimes trial raises specter of mass rape in 1971 Liberation War

A. Millar from USA  •  February 5, 2012

We should not lose sight of the fact that the conflict was one primarily about land and culture, and the war about independence verses the loss of territory, and the loss of face on the world stage. The East Pakistanis (now Bangladeshis) were more educated than the West Pakistanis, and their economy was stronger, largely as a result of East Pakistan's tea, jute, rice, and mango exports, among others. Although the two halves of Pakistan communicated in English, out of necessity, the two sides spoke different languages. The East Pakistanis spoke mostly Bengali. The West Pakistanis spoke mostly Urdu.

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I am the 0.00000000143%

Szandor Blestman  •  February 4, 2012

I am an individual. I am unique. I am the smallest minority. I am one out of seven billion or so. That's approximately 0.00000000143%. I am approximately the 0.00000000143%, and I am still significant. I matter. I have as much right to exist in this world as anyone else. I have as much right to express my opinion. I have as much right to pursue my interests as anyone else. I have as much right to acquire private property, goods and services in a fair and equitable manner as anyone else. I respect everyone else's natural rights, and everyone else should respect mine. If I need help, I would appeal to your sense of humanity and generosity to try to convince you to offer your help on a voluntary basis, I would not ask a violent organization to steal from you or coerce you through threats of imprisonment, or worse, into turning your hard earned property over to meet my needs.

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Danger! Still Existing in Nepal

Dirgha Raj Prasai  •  February 4, 2012

Nepal is a country which has a long history of communal harmony where all castes, religions and languages have survived and flourished with tolerance and co-existence. The Nepali language establishes the unity and collective identity of the diverse ethnic groups of Nepal. The Nepali Language has been both the official and the Lingua Franca between ethnic groups of Nepal (as well as abroad). Because it is the international language, we respect English language too. We regard the Hindi Language also but not as an official language, because everybody has their own mother languages. If Hindi also is accepted as an official language that will mean the domination of India. And we'll never support the suicidal demands of Indian agents.

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Why such brutalities on our men?

Maswood Alam Khan  •  February 4, 2012

For about an hour he was kicked in the stomach, beaten indiscriminately on his head, legs, arms, and genitals. With those terrible, desperate eyes, Habibur, at one stage before his hands were tied, grabbed tightly a foot of a soldier, beseeching him for a little mercy, still croaking in pains. He was made to lie flat on the ground and one soldier after another clubbed him with sticks and all their strength. Not satisfied as yet with this cruel torture, they took a long piece of rugged wood and wedged it between his back and his tied-up hands to inflict more pains on his body. Then they kicked on his buttock, pressed their boots on his breast, as if they intended to press him to death. Habibur was shrieking, calling upon God, 'Maa' (mother) and 'Baba' (father) to save him, while one soldier tried to gag him to prevent him from screaming.

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Tantric Sex, Finding Higher Self and Politics

Szandor Blestman  •  January 26, 2012

Much has been written about the art of tantric sex. I think that many people are drawn to explore it because of the physical aspect. They are titillated by the promise of longer orgasms, more control over orgasms, multiple orgasms and just a more satisfying sexual experience in general. There's no problem with this. Who wouldn't want to have a more pleasurable experience? Who wouldn't want to try something that may help them enjoy an experience as never before? Who wouldn't want to try to make something that has perhaps become old and boring new and exciting again? From what I have read, tantric sex can, indeed, do these things for you.

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Ambassadors of Bangladeshi music

Zahid Al Amin  •  February 5, 2012

Many of the young Bangladeshi music lovers may not be acquainted with the name of M. A. Shoeb, a very popular singer of the eighties, whose debut album 'Hits of M.A. Shoeb' was the biggest hit in Bangladeshi music industry with total 3.8 million copies sold throughout the country. This was rather a very courageous and challenging venture initiated by Mr. Shaheen of Disco Recording, at a time, when Bangladeshi audio industry was mostly captured by Long Play and Short Play discs of Indian singers as well as recorded audio cassettes of foreign singers [mostly Indian] were imported from abroad. Accepting all such limitations and adversities, Disco Recording and its young singer M.A. Shoeb took up the challenge of beginning a new era in Bangladeshi music industry by launching the first ever audio cassette of any local artiste. As speculated, Bangladeshi audience gave huge response to this project and just within the span of less than three months; M.A. Shoeb became a household name in the country. His songs were played not only in most of the music stores in Bangladesh, but even in the remote villages during any festivals or occasions. But for past couple of decades, most of the fans of M.A. Shoeb in Bangladesh never knew where the singer suddenly disappeared! The singer also did not initiate in telling millions of his fans in Bangladesh as to where he was living, nor could many in the music industry even tell his whereabouts.

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Hizb Ut Towhid continues jihadist propaganda

Staff Reporter  •  February 9, 2012

Notorious Jihadist outfit Hizb Ut Towhid, under the directives of its kingpin Bayezid Khan Panni aka Bayazeed Khan Panni aka Selim Khan Panni is continuing activities including spreading hate materials through various social networking sites. It may be mentioned here that, Hizb Ut Towhid activities and distribution of its jihadist publications are combated by Bangladeshi law enforcing agencies for past few months. A large number of Hizb Ut Towhid activists were though arrested from various parts of the country, most of its top ranking masterminds and financial patrons remain untouched for reason unknown. Intelligence sources seeking anonymity told Weekly Blitz, "There are many influential people behind Hizb Ut Towhid, so it is not very easy taking legal action against its patrons especially, though we have evidences of their connection with this group."

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Bangladesh's Invisible Minority

Rainer Ebert  •  February 9, 2012

Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people are our brothers and sisters, our friends, our neighbors, our teachers and our colleagues. Homosexuality and bisexuality have been part of every society and every culture, at every point in human history, and have also been found in a wide range of non-human animal species. Different surveys around the world have found that between one and ten out of one hundred people are sexually or romantically attracted to members of the same sex. Using the lower end of this range, we find that a minimum of 15 lakh people in Bangladesh are homosexual or bisexual. Despite this large number – which is roughly equivalent to the entire population of Qatar and could actually be up to ten times as high – LGB people are an invisible minority. Many face discrimination at school, university and their workplace, are denied access to health care and justice and, being torn between fear, confusion and guilt, find little support from family members and friends. Section 377 of the Bangladesh Penal Code makes same-sex intercourse a crime punishable by imprisonment for life.

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