Bangladesh
HSC selection test to begin from May 30
The selection test for Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) will start in colleges from May 30.
Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board issued a notice in this regard on Thursday.
All the educational institutions have been asked to complete the selection test within June 21.
Also read: HSC exams begin across the country
The decision is applicable for Dhaka, Rajshahi, Jashore, Cumilla, Chattogram, Barishal, Sylhet, Dinajpur, Mymensingh, Bangladesh Madrasha and Technical Education Board and the controller of examinations of Bangladesh Inter-Education Board.
The authorities concerned have been asked to take necessary steps in this regard.
False information being disseminated about arrest of Prothom Alo reporter: Minister
Information Minister Hasan Mahmud has said that false information is being disseminated saying that the Prothom Alo reporter was arrested for writing about the rise in commodity prices.
He said despite the protests of the Bangladeshi people against the newspaper report, the newspaper concerned has not issued an apology and is disseminating false information abroad.
He made the remark on Sunday at the Secretariat during a discussion with the Bangladesh Press Association (BSP).
Mozaffar Hossain Paltu, a member of the Awami League advisory committee, took part in the discussion.
Some individuals, both at home and abroad, mock Bangladesh's development, said the minister adding that negative news is sometimes given importance.
Mahmud said in this particular report the child did not make the remark but received TK 10 payment for it.
He continued by saying the quote mocked the country's independence, and that boy was exploited because his photo was released alongside the news.
He said that rising commodity prices are being reported on all media and that no one has been arrested for it.
He also said that the report in question violated the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and mocked the country’s independence.
3 more dengue patients hospitalised in 24 hrs: DGHS
Three more people were hospitalised with dengue in the 24 hours till Sunday morning.
Of the new patients, one was admitted to hospitals in Dhaka and the rest outside it, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Fifteen patients, including eight in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
So far, the DGHS has recorded 850 dengue cases, 826 recoveries, and nine deaths this year.
The country logged 281 dengue deaths in 2022 – the highest on record after 179 deaths recorded in 2019. Also, it recorded 62,423 dengue cases and 61,971 recoveries last year.
END/UNB/MAS
Covid-19: 6 more cases reported in 24 hrs
Bangladesh reported six more Covid-19 cases in 24 hours till Sunday morning.
With the new number, the country's total caseload rose to 2,038,038, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,446 as no new fatalities were reported.
The daily case test positivity rate dropped to 0.60 percent from Saturday’s 0.69 percent against the tests of 1005 samples.
Also read: Bangladesh logs 5 more Covid cases: DGHS
The death and recovery rates remained unchanged at 1.44 percent and 98.41 percent, respectively.
Why notification fixing high cost for hajj not illegal: HC
The High Court on Sunday issued a rule asking the government to explain as to why the notification fixing high cost of hajj package this year should not be declared illegal and contradictory to the public interest.
The HC bench of Justice KM Kamrul Kader and Justice Khizir Hayat issued the rule.
The HC also issued another rule asking the government to explain as to why all international airliners should not be allowed to carry the hajj pilgrims.
In its observation, the HC said the government failed to negotiate with Biman Bangladesh Airlines and Saudi Airlines on behalf of the pilgrims over hajj fare which is a sheer negligence.
Compared with different countries of the world, it has been seen that the cost of hajj is high in Bangladesh, it said.
Also read: High Court questions hike in price of performing hajj
The government of India and Pakistan provided Tk one lakh as subsidy to the pilgrims but the government is Bangladesh raised the hajj cost, it said.
Secretaries to the Religious Affairs Ministry, Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, Director General of Islamic Foundation and Hajj Association of Bangladesh (Haab) and Saudi Ambassador have been made respondents to the rule.
Advocate Gazi Md Mohsin, Advocate Ashraf-uz-Zaman Khan, Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon, Advocate Ahsan Ullah stood for the petitioner while deputy attorney general Abdullah Al Mahmud Bashar represented the state.
On March 12, a Supreme Court lawyer Ashraf-uz-Zaman filed a writ petition challenging the hajj package cost at Tk 6,83,018 for each hajj pilgrims who intended to go to hajj this year.
On March 6, lawyer Ashraf sent a legal notice to the Religious Affairs Ministry to fix Tk 4 lakh as hajj package cost after amending it.
On February 1, the government fixed at Tk 6, 83,018 as hajj cost for each pilgrim.
Meanwhile, the government reduced the cost of hajj packages under both public and private managements by Tk11,725 as Saudi Arabia has reduced a service charge for the intending pilgrims worldwide.
Pilgrims who will perform hajj under the government management have to pay Tk 6, 71,290 each to perform hajj this year after deduction of Tk 11,725.
Besides, those who will go under private management have to pay Tk 6, 60,893 each after deduction of the amount.
FOSWAL Literary Award to Bangabandhu handed over to PM Hasina
The FOSWAL Literary Award, conferred to Father the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was handed over to his daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday.
Noted writers and researchers Ramendu Majumdar and Mofidul Haque handed over the award to her at the latter’s official residence Ganabhaban, said PM’s Deputy Press Secretary KM Shakhawat Moon.
At the time, the premier was given a letter and book written by Eminent Punjabi novelist and FOSWAL Founder President Ajeet Cour as well as a centenary-old Phulkari cloth sheet (Chadar) as gifts.
Extending thanks to all the concerned, Hasina said Bangabandhu stood tall like the Himalayas as a politician. Besides, he also had left the signs of the unique talent in his writings, she added.
Referring to the historic 7th March speech, the PM said, Bangabandhu's speech is today a part of the world’s documentary heritage.
She described this speech as a political epic which inspired the whole nation on the eve of the Liberation War in 1971.
On March 26, the Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL) conferred 'Special Literary Award' to Bangabandhu for his trilogy -- The Unfinished Memoirs, The Prison Diaries, and New China 1952.
FOSWAL Founder President Ajeet Cour handed over the award to Ramendu Majumder and Mofidul Haque at its 63rd Literature Festival in New Delhi.
In the citation, it was stated, "Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the architect of Independent Bangladesh, 'Bangabandhu' to his people, is a towering figure of national liberation of oppressed people of the world. Like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther king he was brutally murdered by the forces of darkness, but no power on earth can erase him from history."
SAARC Literary Award is an annual award conferred by the Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL) since 2001.
BNP won't come to power whenever election is held: Quader
BNP will not come to power again whenever the national election is held, said Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Sunday.
“The Election Commission will fix the schedule of the next general election and we have no jurisdiction in this regard. Whenever the election is held, BNP won’t come to power,” he said while speaking at a programme at TSC of Dhaka University arranged by Bangladesh Chhatra League.
“BNP leaders and activists were disappointed with the nature of the movement. They are talking about a mass uprising, but not even a thousand people join their rallies. It is not possible to come to power only through movement involving only leaders and activists. A movement in which there is no participation of common people will never succeed,” he said.
He also urged the media workers to work with responsibility and sincerity.
“Those who are saying that there is no freedom of media, are criticizing the government most but it is true that Awami League government was always with media people and will remain so. It is Awami League led government who declared wage board for journalists,” said Quader.
He also said that mistake is not a crime, but it cannot be said to be wrong by committing a crime.
Also read: No scope for dialogue with any party before election: Obaidul Quader
'Child exploitation' is not a mistake, it is a crime, said Quader adding that maximum punishment should be ensured for those who commit such crimes.
"If anyone committed such a crime in a developed country of the world, the license of that newspaper would have been canceled. But Sheikh Hasina did not do this,”he said.
BCL President and General Secretary Saddam Hossain and Sheikh Wali Yeasir Inan were present at the programme.
Prothom Alo Editor gets anticipatory bail in DSA case
The High Court on Sunday granted six weeks anticipatory bail to Prothom Alo Editor and Publisher Matiur Rahman in a case filed under the Digital Security Act.
The HC bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Md Aminul Islam passed the order.
Senior Advocate Fida M Kamal stood for Matiur Rahman while additional attorney general Mehedi Hasan and deputy attorney general Sujit Chatarjee Bappi represented the state.
Earlier in the day, a petition was submitted before the court seeking anticipatory bail for Matiur Rahman.
The case was filed with Dhaka’s Ramna Police Station on March 29.
On March 29, an FIR was filed by a lawyer named Abdul Malek (Mashiur Malek), accusing Matiur Rahman, Prothom Alo reporter Shamsuzzaman Shams, an unnamed “assistant cameraman”, and unnamed others of “using print, online, and electronic media to tarnish the image and reputation of the state.”
Also read: Prothom Alo Editor seeks anticipatory bail in DSA case, hearing yet to begin
In the FIR, the lawyer also mentioned that the accused were “purposefully spreading misinformation to deteriorate the law and order situation of the country.”
The case was filed under sections 25, 31 and 35 of the DSA.
The plaintiff said the news reported by Shamsuzzaman Shams went viral on social media which “tarnished the image of the country and triggered criticism at home and abroad.”
Moreover, there was a possibility of deterioration in the law and order situation in the country over the matter, the case statement said.
Later, Shamsuzzaman Shams, the paper’s Savar correspondent, who wrote the report was sued in a separate case under the DSA on March 29, around 10 hours after being picked up from his house near Jahangirnagar University by members of the Criminal Investigation Department of police.
Minimum Fitra fixed at Tk 115 per person
This year (2023), the minimum Fitra has been fixed at Tk 115 per person while the maximum is Tk 2,640.
Fitra is an obligatory charity distributed to the poor at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Read more: Minimum Fitra fixed at Tk 75 per person
The decision was taken at a meeting of the National Fitra Fixing Committee held on Sunday (April 02, 2023), chaired by the committee's head and Baitul Mukarram National Mosque’s Khatib Hafez Maulana Mufti Mohammad Ruhul Amin.
The rate of Fitra is fixed on the basis of market prices of flour, dates, cheese, raisins and some other essentials.
Fitra is paid to the poor before the jamaat (congregation) of Eid-ul-Fitr.
Read More: Pakistani police arrest 8 after deadly Ramadan food stampede
12kg LPG cylinder to cost Tk 244 less
Price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has declined by a big margin of Tk 20.37 per kg – to Tk 98.17 from the previous price of Tk 118.54 – for the month of April.
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) announced the new price, saying that a 12kg LPG cylinder’s price has been cut substantially by Tk 244. A retail consumer will get it at Tk 1178 instead of Tk 1,422 (including VAT).
Prices of other sizes of LPG cylinders – from 5.5kg to 45kg – will go down rationally, said Md Nurul Amin, the newly appointed chairman of BERC, during his maiden press briefing today at the BERC office in Dhaka.
The new prices will be effective from 6 pm today (April 2, 2023).
However, on the sidelines of the same press briefing, MD Selim Khan, president of Bangladesh LP Gas Traders Cooperative Limited – a representative body of dealers and distributors in the business – complained that though the BERC set the new price, the LPG Operators Association of Bangladesh (LOAB) has verbally set the price at operators’ factory gates (wholesale points) price at Tk 1,200 for a 12kg LPG cylinder.
“So, a retail trader has to add at least Tk 120 to sell the 12 kg cylinder of gas to accommodate his other costs including transportation and staff costs,” he added.
The new BERC chairman, however, said the commission is planning to sit with all stakeholders to address the anomalies in the price fixation.
He also said, BERC will ask the district administration and law enforcement agencies to check discrepancies in the market and curb price manipulation.
BERC officials said the LPG price witnessed a big fall in the local market due to a decline in the prices of Saudi CP (contract price).
Read more: LPG gets costlier by Tk 62 per 12-kg container
Last month, as per the Saudi CP, the LPG price was $733 per metric ton while the current month’s CP was set at $548.5 per MT, he added.
Bangladeshi LPG operators normally import their products from the Middle-East market on the basis of Saudi CP.
As per the BERC decision, the price of “auto gas” (LPG used for motor vehicles) also decreased to Tk 54.90 per litre (including VAT) from the previous Tk 66.22 per litre, down by Tk 11.32 per litre.
The price of LPG, marketed by state-owned LP Gas Company, will remain the same as it is locally produced with a market share of less than 5 percent.
LPG witnessed the highest price at Tk 1,498 (per 12kg cylinder) in the local market in February this year following the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February last year.