United News of Bangladesh

The High Court on Thursday acquitted expelled Jubo League leader Golam Kibria Shamim alias GK Shamim in the money laundering case. The HC bench of Justice ASM Abdul Mobin and Justice Md Jabid Hossain passed the order after hearing a petition. Barrister Ruhul Kuddus and Barrister Kaiser Kamal stood for the GK Shamim while deputy attorney general Hemayet Ullah represented the state. On July 17, 2003, a Dhaka court sentenced GK Shamim to 10 years imprisonment in the case. The court also sentenced seven of his bodyguards to four years jail each for assisting GK Shamim in acquiring the laundered money. They were Md Delwar Hossain, Md Morad Hossain, Md Jahidul Islam, Md Shahidul Islam, Md Kamal Hossain, Md Samsad Hossain and Md Anisul Islam. The court also fined them Tk 3.83 crore, in default to suffer one year more in rigorous imprisonment. Later, GK Shamim filed an appeal petition challenging the lower court order. On September 25, 2022, a Dhaka court sentenced GK Shamim and his seven body guards to life imprisonment in an arms case. GK Shamim, who was known as an influential contractor of Sabujbagh, Basabo and Motijheel areas of the capital, was arrested on September 20, 2019 from Niketan area during a drive against casino and other anti-social business. Seven of his bodyguards were also arrested during the raid. RAB members seized Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDRs) worth Tk 165 crore, Tk 1.8 crore in cash and a huge stash of foreign currencies. A foreign-made pistol, seven shotguns and a huge cache of bullets were also seized from the office of ‘GKB & Company Pvt Limited’. The elite force lodged three cases –- one under the narcotics control, one under the money laundering prevention and the other under the arms acts -– against Shamim with Gulshan police on September 21, 2019.      

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Thursday said the interim government’s main task is now to ensure a fair election in Bangladesh. "August 5 marked the end of the first chapter. From today, the second chapter begins. Our main task is now to ensure a fair (national) election," the Chief Adviser was quoted as saying by his Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam during a press briefing after a meeting of the Council of Advisers at the Secretariat. Transfer of SPs, OCs thru lottery ahead of election: Home Adviser The Office of the Chief Adviser on Wednesday sent a letter to the Election Commission requesting it to complete all preparations to hold the next parliamentary elections before Ramadan in February 2026. Govt sends letter to EC for election arrangements  

Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has forecast rain or thunder showers in all divisions including Dhaka of the country in 24 hours commencing 9am on Thursday. “Light to moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to occur at most places over Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Khulna, Barishal and Chattogram divisions and at many places over Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions with moderately heavy to very heavy falls at places over Dhaka, Khulna, Barishal and Chattogram divisions,” said a Met office bulletin. Day temperature may fall by 1-2°C and night temperature may fall slightly over the country. Heavy rains likely in Dhaka, 4 other divisions Sitakunda experienced the highest 208 millimeters of rainfall in the last 24 hours till 6am on Thursday. Besides, the axis of monsoon troughs runs through Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal to Assam across northern part of Bangladesh. One of its associated troughs extends up to North Bay. Monsoon is active over Bangladesh and moderate over the North Bay.    

A Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) activist was stabbed to death in Panchagarh town over previous enmityon Wednesday night. The deceased was identified as Zaber Rahman Joy, 18, son of late Zahirul Islam of Akheri Road in Panchagarh municipality. Joy worked as a manager at a fruit wholesale shop in the town’s main market. Police and locals said Joy had enmity with two other JCD activists- Al Amin and Parvez. Earlier on Wednesday, the trio had an altercation in the Tinpatti area which was apparently resolved through mediation. Joy was called to Cinema Hall Market area over phone and an argument broke out again  around 8:30 pm when he was stabbed. JCD leader stabbed to death in Rangpur Locals rushed him to Panchagarh Sadar Hospital but later he was referred to Rangpur Medical College Hospital and he succumbed to his injuries on the way. Additional police and army members were deployed in the town to avoid further clash, said Abdullah Hil Zaman, officer-in-charge of Panchagarh Sadar Police Station. The body was sent to Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy and process is underway to file a case, he said.

Detectives have arrested former Vice Chancellor of Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur Dr Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah from Dhaka’s Mohammadpur area in a graft case. Talebur Rahman, deputy commissioner (DC media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said a Detective Branch (DB) team arrested him from a residence in Mohammadpur area on Thursday morning. JnU students besiege VC office, demand action over attack on teachers   Dr Kalimullah, known as a pro-Awami League teacher, was vocal during Sheikh Hasina’s regime. Earlier, on June 18, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against Dr Kalimullah and four others for the abuse of power, fraud and embezzlement of Tk four crore through various projects of the public university. The rest of the accused are former BRU VC Dr AKM Noor-un-Nabi, former executive engineer of the university and secretary of the tender evaluation committee Md Jahangir Alam, contractor Md Abdus Salam Bachchu and MM Habibur Rahman. On Wednesday, Director General and spokesperson of the ACC Akhtar Hossain in a briefing said the accused, in collusion with each other, misappropriated a total of Tk 34 crore from several sources.

South Asia affairs expert Michael Kugelman has said Bangladesh will go through a major test for a post-Hasina era as the interim government unveiled its plan to host the next national election in February next. "Bangladesh hasn’t experienced free and fair elections for a long time, and next year’s polls will mark a major test for a post-Hasina Bangladesh," said Kugelman in Foreign Policy’s South Asia Brief. On Tuesday, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus announced that the country will hold elections next February. The Office of the Chief Adviser on Wednesday sent a letter to the Election Commission requesting it to complete all preparations to hold the next parliamentary elections before Ramadan in February 2026. With this letter, the formalities of the government's request to the Election Commission to arrange the election have been completed. In the letter sent to the EC, Chief Adviser’s Principal Secretary M Siraz Uddin Miah requested him to take all necessary measures to arrange a "free, fair, peaceful and festive" national election of the expected quality within the specified time. On Tuesday, Bangladesh marked one year since mass protests prompted longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee to India. Washington views its ties with Dhaka through lenses of trade: Michael Kugelman "Hasina’s departure came after weeks of student-led demonstrations against her authoritarian rule, which prompted the country’s security forces to brutally crack down on protesters, resulting in the death of more than 1,400 people," Kugelman said. He said Hasina’s ouster has had massive political implications in a country that was ruled by her Awami League for more than 15 consecutive years. Today, Kugelman said, Bangladeshis are generally happier and freer than they were during the Hasina era, but the "post-revolution honeymoon" is a distant memory. The country’s interim government, led by Nobel laureate Prof Yunus, has struggled to stabilise the economy and strengthen law and order, he said. "Meanwhile, as Salil Tripathi writes in Foreign Policy this week, the country’s cycle of retributive politics has continued to persist,' he mentioned. Indeed, many protest leaders -- some of whom served in the interim government before leaving earlier this year to form a new political party -- have insisted on following through on ambitious structural reforms promised immediately after Hasina’s fall, Kugelman said. "But progress has lagged, leaving many Bangladeshis frustrated," he observed. "The election is approaching. If you live away from your home constituency, begin visiting regularly from now. Prepare yourself to help elect the most deserving candidate," Prof Yunus said in his televised speech on Tuesday. "As you cast your vote, let the faces of those whose fresh blood restored this sacred right appear before your eyes," he said, noting that February is not far away. Next govt to inherit both domestic policy challenges, growing external worries: Kugelman Prof Yunus said the days of preparation will pass quickly, and soon, it will be election day. After so many years of being denied, Prof Yunus said, they will all vote and no one will be left behind. "Let us all proudly say: On the journey to building a new Bangladesh, I will cast my vote. And it was my vote that helped this country set out on that path," Prof Yunus said. The Chief Adviser called on every citizen, "Let us pass the first great test in building a new Bangladesh, together, successfully."  

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus attended a meeting of the Council of Advisers at the Secretariat for the second time since taking office. He arrived at the Secretariat through Gate-5 at 9:25am under tight security. The meeting began around 10:30 am with Dr Yunus in the chair. Meanwhile, security was noticeably heightened throughout the compound. Dr Yunus last visited the Secretariat on November 20 last year.

Three people were killed and another was injured in a collision between a pickup van and a motorcycle in Bilaspur Bottola area of Dhanbari upazila in Tangail early Thursday. Sub-inspector of Dhanbari Police Station Akram Hossain said the two of the deceased were on the motorcycle while the other was the pickup driver. Bangladeshi youth dies in Malaysia crane accident Identities of the victims could not be confirmed immediately. Rescue operations were underway, police said.

A one-on-one meeting was held between BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and US Chargé d’Affaires to Bangladesh Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson in July last in London. Tarique Rahman’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Humayun Kabir and the US Embassy in Dhaka confirmed the meeting, according to a private television channel. Humayun Kabir described the meeting as “very good” and said it lasted for a couple of hours. “The ambassador exchanged pleasantries with Tarique Rahman and got to know him personally,” he added. The discussion focused on BNP’s views regarding the upcoming national election, the party’s vision for future governance and its international outlook. They discussed fundamental issues—what kind of country the BNP wants to build if it wins the next election, what the party’s position is on the electoral framework and how it sees its role internationally, Kabir said. He emphasised that the discussions were fully aligned with the interests of Bangladesh's people. “There is nothing that conflicts with the interest of the people of this country,” he noted. Kabir said Tarique Rahman’s approach to foreign policy will be shaped by the aspirations of the people of Bangladesh and the spirit of the July Uprising. “His foreign policy will prioritise the people’s interest and be rooted in what they have fought for,” he said. According to Kabir, the meeting took place in two phases. In the first phase, Ambassador Jacobson enquired about Tarique Rahman’s well-being and discussed how he has been guiding his party over the past 17 years while living abroad.  

Charge sheets have been filed in 19 cases so far in connection with the student-led mass uprising against discrimination in 2024, according to the Bangladesh Police Headquarters. Among the 19 cases, 8 are murder cases while 11 fall under other legal sections. Of the murder cases, 3 were filed in Sherpur, and one each in Feni, Chandpur, Cumilla, Kurigram, and under Chattogram Metropolitan Police. The 11 other cases include one each from Dhaka Metropolitan Police and Barishal Metropolitan Police, three from Chapainawabganj, two from Sirajganj, and one each from Pabna and Jamalpur. Two additional cases are currently under investigation by the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI). Senior police officials are directly supervising the progress of these investigations to ensure they are conducted properly and transparently. The Bangladesh Police affirmed its commitment to completing investigations into all remaining cases and bringing those responsible to justice.