United News of Bangladesh

A mass media campaign (MMC), named as FOPL campaign, was launched on Sunday to build public awareness and support for front-of-package warning labels (FOPL) on ultra-processed and packaged food and drinks high in sugar, salt and saturated fat.  This campaign aims to support government efforts to introduce warning labels that help consumers identify unhealthy products that may harm their health. The campaign was officially launched at a press conference held at the National Press Club in Dhaka. It is jointly organized by the Coalition for Healthy Food, Center for Law and Policy Affairs (CLPA), Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM), National Heart Foundation (NHF), PROGGA and Work for a Better Bangladesh (WBB) Trust. The campaign comes amid a growing burden of diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in Bangladesh. NCDs account for nearly 71% of all deaths in the country, with cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes among the leading causes. Additionally, overweight prevalence among adults in Bangladesh is approximately 31.8%, while 13.4% are living with obesity. Overweight and obesity increase the risk for developing NCDs, including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke. Front-of-package warning labels help consumers quickly identify packaged foods and drinks that contain excessive amounts of sugar, salt and saturated fat. By making nutrition information clear and easy to understand, these labels help people make informed choices and discourage purchases of unhealthy products. They are an important, evidence-based policy to help improve food environments and reduce the burden of diet-related diseases. Md Safiqul Islam, Chairman, (Additional Secretary), Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) attended the launch press conference as chief guest and formally inaugurated the front-of-package labeling campaign. The event was chaired by Dr. Sohel Reza Choudhury, Professor and Head of Research and Epidemiology, NHF and moderated by Iqbal Masud, Director of Health and WASH Sector, DAM, with Professor Dr. Mohammad Shoeb, Member (Food Industry and Production), BFSA and Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Bangladesh Country Lead, Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) speaking as special guests. Saifuddin Ahmed, Executive Director of WBB Trust, ABM Zubair, Executive Director of PROGGA and Advocate Syed Mahbubul Alam, Secretary of CLPA were also in attendance. In his speech as chief guest, Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) Chairman Md. Safiqul Islam said, “Ensuring safe food remains one of the authority’s key priorities. To this end, the BFSA is working to formulate the necessary regulations on front-of-package warning labels (FOPL) to raise public awareness of unhealthy packaged foods and beverages high in sugar, salt and saturated fat.” The two-month campaign will run through December 13, 2026, across television and radio, digital platforms, social media, online and print newspapers and Google advertising. The campaign aims to draw attention to the unhealthy ingredients and excessive sugar, salt and saturated fat in many common packaged food products. Moreover, the campaign will also support the government to promulgate the regulation of Front-Of-Package Warning Labels on Packaged Foods and Drinks in Bangladesh. Campaign materials include video and audio commercials, static images and other public facing content, which will also be shared through partner organizations’ social media pages.

Customs intelligence officials seized 49 gold bangles weighing 1.48kg, with an estimated market value of Tk 2.80 crore, including customs duties and taxes, from a passenger’s handbag at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram on Sunday. The seizure was made by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) following a tip-off about gold smuggling. According to the CIID, officials took position at the airport on Sunday morning based on secret information. A passenger, identified as MD SHARIF, arrived at the airport from Jeddah on Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG136 at 11:12am. He allegedly attempted to pass through the green channel without declaring any gold ornaments. When customs intelligence officials questioned him, he denied carrying gold. However, acting on the tip-off, the officials decided to search his baggage. During a search of his handbag in the customs hall in the presence of officials from other agencies, they recovered 49 gold bangles weighing a total of 1kg and 480 grammes. The estimated market value of the seized gold, including applicable customs duties and taxes, is Tk 2,80,23,800, the CIID said. The incident highlights the role of intelligence-led surveillance in detecting suspected gold smuggling at the country’s airports.

The bodies of a 15-year-old boy and his 14-year-old nephew were recovered from a pond in Amgaon village of Haripur upazila in Thakurgaon early Sunday. The victims were Umar Ali, 15, a seventh-grade student and son of Abdul Wahab Sarker, and his nephew Miraj, 14, son of Imran Ali. Both were residents of Amgaon village. Family members said Umar and Miraj left home on a bicycle on Saturday afternoon. When they did not return by evening, their relatives began searching for them. Later that night, locals found their bicycles near a large pond in the area and informed the Fire Service. Following the report, Fire Service personnel rushed to the spot and began searching. The bodies of the two teenagers were recovered in the early hours of Sunday. Although the exact circumstances of the incident remain unclear, it is suspected that the two may have slipped and fallen into the pond while riding the bicycle. Unable to swim, they may have drowned. Abdul Hakim Azad, officer-in-charge (OC) of Haripur Police Station, said the bodies were handed over to their families.

Police recovered the body of an unidentified man from the parking area near Sylhet Railway Station on Sunday morning. Police said the identity of the deceased, aged around 35, could not be ascertained immediately. According to police, locals spotted the body lying on a traffic island and informed the authorities. A team from Dakshin Surma Police Station rushed to the spot and recovered the body around 11:00 am. Later, police prepared an inquest report and sent the body to the morgue of Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital for an autopsy. Md Ashraf Uzzaman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Dakshin Surma Police Station, said the initial investigation suggested the deceased was a vagrant. Efforts were underway to determine his identity.

A total of 1,413 plots were allotted on political grounds in five housing projects in Dhaka between 2009 and 2024, with 1,074 plots in Purbachal and Jhilmil alone facing allegations of irregularities, a parliamentary committee was told on Sunday. Of the plots identified in reports as involving irregularities, 874 are in Purbachal New Town Project and 200 in Jhilmil Residential Area. The files relating to these plots have been kept on hold, according to the Housing and Public Works Ministry. The issue was discussed at the second meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Housing and Public Works Ministry chaired by its chairman Md Rezaul Karim Badsha at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. The committee discussed taking legal action after proper investigation into the alleged irregularities, including whether political considerations influenced the allotments. The  plots were allotted in Gulshan, Banani, Uttara and Jhilmil residential areas and the Purbachal New Town Project during the period. Purbachal accounted for the highest number, with 944 plots. A committee formed in response to a rule issued by the High Court Division reviewed documents relating to plot allotments in different Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) projects and submitted its findings to the ministry. The committee also reviewed progress on decisions taken at its first meeting. Regarding the reconstruction of the graves of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, the ministry said various initiatives have been taken to expedite the work. I t expressed hope that reconstruction of the main structures would be completed by December 2026. The committee also called for the speedy completion of unfinished landscaping and cleaning work in the adjoining garden and premises. The ministry informed the meeting that the development project proposal for installing rooftop solar panels on government buildings, titled “Enhancing Clean Energy Access through Rooftop Solar PV in Public Infrastructure”, was sent to the Planning Commission for approval. The proposed project is expected to generate 360 megawatts of electricity. Any surplus electricity remaining after use in the respective buildings could be supplied to the national grid. The meeting was also informed that preparations are underway to lay the foundation stone of the new secretariat in Agargaon, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka, on December 16. Housing and Public Works State Minister Ahmed Sohel Manzur and MPs Md Lutfozzaman Babar, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Iqbal, M Manjurul Karim Rony, Md Ruhul Amin and Md Tajuddin Khan attended the meeting.

Three people were injured in a tiger attack after the animal reportedly crossed into Bangladesh from India near the Amjhol border in Hatibandha upazila of Lalmonirhat on Sunday evening. The injured were identified as Sharifa Begum, Afsar Hossain and Nazrul Islam, all residents of Amjhol village. Locals said Sharifa went to the Amjhol border area, under the jurisdiction of the Bonchouki Border Outpost (BOP) in Gotamari Union, on Sunday evening to look for a goat. After spotting the goat grazing, she approached it and was attacked by the tiger. Afsar and Nazrul were also injured when they tried to rescue her. The three were rescued and taken to a local hospital before being transferred to Rangpur Medical College Hospital for advanced treatment. Lieutenant Colonel Mehedi Imam, commander of the Lalmonirhat 15 BGB Battalion, said three villagers sustained injuries following a tiger attack. He said the Forest Department had been informed and security in the area had been strengthened.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir will lead Bangladesh's delegation to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2026 in Antigua and Barbuda from November 1 to 4 as acting foreign minister. A notification signed by Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Ghani  was issued in this regard, said a PID handout on Sunday. Humaiun Kobir will enjoy the status and protocol of a full cabinet minister at the event, it said.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sought detailed account of the recent execution of two Bangladeshi nationals in Saudi Arabia and measures taken to prevent similar incidents in the future. At its third meeting, held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban on Sunday with committee chairman Joharat Adib Chowdhury in the chair, the committee was informed that the ministry sought detailed information from the Saudi authorities regarding the executions. The committee recommended that the ministry inform it of the full details of the incident once the information is received, steps taken to prevent a recurrence and any action taken against the consular officials concerned if negligence is found. It also recommended that the ministry present its detailed modernisation plan to improve the quality of services provided by Bangladesh missions in Saudi Arabia. The committee further recommended that the ministry take necessary measures to ensure the protection of Bangladeshi women workers employed in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries. The meeting discussed the activities and staffing of Bangladesh missions in Saudi Arabia in detail. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a presentation on the current state of Bangladesh-Saudi Arabia relations, the main activities of the missions, institutional cooperation, bilateral trade, employment and remittances, major challenges and opportunities in the labour market, labour welfare services provided by the Bangladesh Embassy in Riyadh and the Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah, and Hajj operations. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir attended the meeting at the special invitation of the committee. Committee members ABM Mosharraf Hossain, SK Azizul Bari, Sayeed Al Noman, Humam Quader Chowdhury and Sanjida Islam also attended.

Swedish Ambassador to Bangladesh Nicolas Weeks paid a courtesy call on Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad Bir Bikram at the Speaker’s office on Sunday, discussing parliamentary cooperation, investment and other areas of bilateral relations. During the meeting, the Speaker said Sweden had long been a development partner of Bangladesh. He noted that Sweden’s parliamentary system is a unicameral, representative democracy and said the two countries share similarities in several aspects of parliamentary democracy. Hafiz Uddin Ahmad said the formation of a parliamentary friendship group between Bangladesh and Sweden could play an important role in promoting parliamentary democracy in both countries. He said the people of Bangladesh had always been committed to democracy and had never hesitated to sacrifice their lives for it. Their voting rights were taken away during 17 years of autocratic rule, he added. The Speaker said students and people from all walks of life brought an end to the autocratic regime through the mass uprising of 2024. He said people in Bangladesh vote for their preferred political parties and candidates, adding that voters play an important role in parliamentary democracy by exercising their democratic right to vote. Swedish Ambassador Nicolas Weeks said Sweden’s parliament has 349 seats, with members elected by direct popular vote for four-year terms. He said Sweden is formally a constitutional monarchy, but all political and administrative powers of the state are vested in parliament and the government.   Both sides stressed the importance of forming parliamentary friendship groups and caucuses. They also discussed ways to increase investment between the two countries, including cooperation in sports and culture. During the meeting, the Speaker briefed the ambassador on the activities of the ongoing Constitution Amendment Committee. He also invited Swedish companies to participate in the exploration and extraction of oil and gas reserves off Bangladesh’s coast in the Bay of Bengal. Officials of the Swedish Embassy and relevant officials of the Bangladesh Parliament Secretariat, including its Secretary Barrister Md Golam Sorwar Bhuiyan, were present at the meeting.

An assistant teacher of a government primary school was beaten to death allegedly by a group of people on Sunday afternoon he intervened in a dispute among neighbours over land in Chirirbandar upazila of Dinajpur. The deceased was identified as Monoranjan Roy, assistant teacher of East Sukhdebpur Governemnt Primary School in Chirirbandar upazila and son of Ashim Chandra Roy of Sonapukur Majhipara in the upazila. Anwar Hossain, Additional Superintendent of Dinajpur Police, said an altercation ensued between Roman and his neighbour Asaduzzaman and his supporters over a disputed land at Naya Mollapara village in the upazila around 2 pm. At one stage, Monoranjan appeared there and tried to quell the situation. Later, Asaduzzaman along with his supporters beat up Monoranjan with tree branches and sticks leaving him dead on the spot, said a press release issued by district police media cell. Roman later informed the matter to police through the national emergency number 999. On information, police from Parbatipur Police Station rushed in and brought the situation under control. Police also detained Asaduzzaman, 32 in this connection. A tense situation has been prevailing in the area over the issue and surveillance by plainclothes intelligence officers was strengthened.