Bangladesh
Zakat Fund Management Bill passed in JS
The Zakat Fund Management Bill -2023 was passed in Parliament on Wednesay, aiming to make Zakat (obligatory charity in Islam) an important tool to eradicate poverty from the country.
As per the proposed Bill, it also aims to engage a zakat receiver in any profession or activity to make the person self-reliant and rehabilitated.
State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan moved the bill and it was passed by voice vote.
The proposed 'Zakat Fund Management Act, 2023' will replace the Zakat Fund Ordinance, 1982.
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The Bill said that there will be a Zakat Board consisting of 13 members. Religious Affairs Minister or State Minister will be the Chairman of that Board. Other members are-the Secretary of the Religious Affairs Ministry, an official from the ministry with minimum joint secretary level, an official of the Finance Ministry with minimum joint secretary level, an official with minimum joint secretary level from the legislative and parliamentary affairs division, government selected five eminent islamic scholars (Fakih), two representatives from country’s trade body organisation and the Director-General of the Islamic Foundation.
Their appointment will be valid for three years and they will hold at least two meetings per year.
A fund will be formed called the Zakat Fund which shall consist of voluntary payment of Zakat by the Muslims.
After the law is enacted, anyone from home and abroad will be able to give zakat at any government scheduled bank.
The moneys credited to the Fund shall be kept in non-interest bearing accounts of scheduled banks.
As per the objective of the Bill, Islam is a complete religion and way of life. Zakat is an important provision for the socio-economic welfare and security of people. Allah has made Zakat obligatory upon a compliant Muslim who possesses a Nisab amount of wealth as determined by the Shari'ah.
Zakat is a tool for poverty alleviation and rehabilitation. Zakat is not a voluntary donation, rather Zakat is a fixed portion of the wealth of the rich to be paid to the poor and needy by Allah.
Although zakat system has been in operation at the individual level for a long time in this country, the desired benefits were not being obtained from zakat due to various reasons.
Poverty was once possible to be eradicated throughout the Muslim world through the system of Zakat.
Therefore, the government formed the Zakat Board by enacting The Zakat Fund Ordinance, 1982 for the purpose of proper utilisation of Zakat and the permanent welfare of the destitute Muslims according to the provisions of Islam.
The Zakat Fund Management Bill -2023 was placed in parliament in order to repeal the military regime ordinance in line with a verdict of the High Court.
JETRO keen to work with ICT Division for flourishing innovations and startups, says its president
Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) is keen to collaborate with the ICT Division to explore opportunities from Japanese IT sector and provide support to local startup aimed at building Smart Bangladesh.
President of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Kazushige Nobutani said these during a meeting with State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak on Wednesday at the conference room of the ICT Division.
“Japan is an important development partner of Bangladesh and JETRO is ready to work together with ICT Division to flourish startup, innovation and research,” said Nobutani.
Read more: BGMEA eyes expanding RMG exports to Japan
Mentioning Japan as one of the largest development partners of Bangladesh, ICT State Minister Palak said the government under the visionary and prudent leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already implemented Digital Bangladesh. She wanted to transform Bangladesh into a Smart Bangladesh by 2041.
Seeking cooperation from Japan to provide support in the field of startups, innovations and research the ICT State Minister proposed holding IT Summit and exchanging 50 startups- 25 from Bangladesh and 25 from Japan—to mark the 50 years of diplomatic relations. The Japanese delegates welcomed the proposal.
Palak expressed gratitude to the government of Japan for providing support in various sectors including implementation of metrorail, Matarbari deep seaport, power projects and sought cooperation in building a Bangladesh-Japan University.
Earlier Managing Director of Startup Bangladesh Sami Ahmed presented a power point on Building an Inclusive and Resilient Smart Bangladesh.
Read more: ICT division partners withBrac Kumon to spread Japanese method of learning
In his presentation he said the government has already developed a Smart Bangladesh Masterplan that proposed for implementing more than 40 projects in line with four pillars- citizen government, smart government, smart economy and smart society.
ICT Senior Secretary N M Zeaul Alam also spok at the function which was attended by Executive Director of Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) Ranajit Kumar, Managing Director of Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority Dr. Bikarna Kumar Ghose, Project Director of Enhancing Digital Government and Economy (EDGE) Dr. Muhammed Mehedi Hassan and Executive Director of IDE-JETRO Ms. Mayumi Murayama, Director General of JETRO Satoshi Kubota, Assistant Manager of IDE-JETRO Ms. Yurika Nagamine and others.
Australia eyes strengthening defence cooperation with Bangladesh to promote "inclusive" Indo-Pacific region
Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Jeremy Bruer has said Australia is looking forward to strengthening their defence cooperation with Bangladesh to promote a "secure, prosperous and inclusive" Indo-Pacific region.
"We have established a defence office in Bangladesh with a resident Defence Adviser to strengthen relationships between the defence forces of our two countries," he said.
This development was followed by Bangladesh’s participation in Indo-Pacific Endeavour, one of Australia’s key regional defence engagements, and Australia’s participation in Bangladesh’s International Fleet Review in 2022.
The High Commissioner said Australian businesses are increasingly interested in Bangladesh as demand rises for their high-quality products and services.
He said Australian businesses see further opportunities to diversify trade and investment with Bangladesh in textiles and apparel, agricultural products such as wool, agribusiness, fisheries, food and beverages, minerals, manufacturing, information and communications technology services, skills development and education services.
Australia is also well-placed to supply energy resources, such as LNG, to help fuel Bangladesh’s growing demand for electricity, said the envoy.
"Our nations also share a love of sport, especially cricket, and many Australians have played with, trained, coached and befriended Bangladeshi players. Our cooperation in arts and culture is also growing, with participation by Australian artists in arts and literary events in Bangladesh, and by Bangladeshis in Australian events," said Bruer.
On 26 January, Australia Day, Australians around the world unite to mark Australia.
It is a chance to acknowledge the past, recognise the present and look optimistically towards the future.
Read more: Australia assessing viability of 2nd spl flight from Dhaka to Melbourne
"Today, we reflect on what it means to be Australian, to celebrate contemporary Australia, to acknowledge our history and connect with other Australians. We reflect on our diverse society, including our landscape, our resilience and innovation, and our bright future," said the High Commissioner in a message.
Australia Day is a day to acknowledge, interrogate and reflect upon their history.
Australia doesn’t date back merely to 1788.
For more than 60,000 years, Australia was cared for by the Aboriginal people, who represent one of the oldest continuing cultures on earth.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the traditional custodians of our lands and waterways.
They occupy a fundamental position in Australia’s story.
For many indigenous Australians, Australia Day represents the complexities and hardship caused by European settlement. We recognise this history, and we respect and honour our first Australians on our national day.
"Today, Australia is an outward-looking country, strongly connected to the rest of the world. It is also the most successful multicultural society in the world, a country built on migration," he said.
People from over 200 countries, including Bangladesh, have chosen to call Australia home.
And, as a multicultural country, Australia has benefited from its belief in diversity, inclusion and tolerance – values we hold dear.
Australia and Bangladesh are old friends, sharing Commonwealth traditions and strong links.
"Australia is proud to have been one of the first countries to recognise the newly independent nation of Bangladesh, in January 1972," said the High Commissioner.
Last year, they celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
"Today, I recall with considerable satisfaction that Australia assisted Bangladesh’s admission to the United Nations in December 1971, and with bipartisan support in our parliament," said the High Commissioner.
In January 1975, the then prime minister, Gough Whitlam, visited Bangladesh and met his Bangladeshi counterpart, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Father of the Nation.
"Our friendship will endure because of its strong and authentic foundation. The only foreigner ever to have received the Bir Protik — one of Bangladesh’s highest awards for bravery — was an Australian citizen, William Ouderland. Ouderland organised and trained the guerrilla fighters of the Mukati Bahini and provided them with food and shelter and medicine."
Links between Australia and Bangladesh, including sporting links, go back a long way before Australia’s support for Bangladesh’s independence.
In 1877, one of the players in the Australian team playing the first Test match in history, Bransby Beauchamp Cooper, was born here in Dhaka, when it was part of British India.
Australia and Bangladesh enjoy close people-to-people links, nurtured over many years of migration, and through sport and education.
About 80,000 people of Bangladeshi origin have settled in Australia, and we have welcomed thousands of Bangladeshi students studying in Australia’s world class institutions.
"Our Australia Awards program, which provides scholarships for Bangladeshi students to undertake master’s degrees in Australia, has produced over 3,000 Bangladeshi alumni," said the High Commissioner.
He said many of them today are occupying important and influential positions, and making great contributions to Bangladesh’s development.
Each year about 200 Bangladeshi nationals receive Australian Government scholarships to study masters degrees and short courses at Australian institutions.
Australia and Bangladesh are both active members of multilateral institutions such as the UN, WTO, the Commonwealth and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), the only ministerial-level forum in the Indian Ocean.
"Australia continues to support Bangladesh in its role as IORA chair. We remain committed to the aims and purposes of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to the promotion and protection of human rights," said the High Commissioner.
Australia is supporting a range of development investments to support Bangladesh’s transition to a middle-income country.
This includes support for inclusive education, skills development, poverty alleviation, social protection and private-sector engagement.
Supporting and providing economic opportunities for the most disadvantaged and marginalised, including women and girls and people with disabilities, is a priority in all our programs.
"Bangladesh has a young population. So investing in an educated and suitably skilled workforce is crucial to maintaining economic growth and recovery from the pandemic," said the High Commissioner.
The long-standing Strategic Partnership Arrangement (SPA) with BRAC means that Australian aid reaches a large number of people throughout Bangladesh.
"We are contributing $85 million from 2021 to 2026 to the third phase of the SPA. Our Social Security Policy Support program is supporting the Bangladesh Government’s reforms to strengthen the social security system," said the Australian envoy.
"Additionally, we support more than 50 national and international NGOs through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP), focusing on inclusive development across the country. We’re also supporting viable private sector opportunities through Australia’s Business Partnerships Platform and the forthcoming Emerging Markets Impact Investment Fund."
Australia recognises the impact on communities hosting over 919,000 displaced Rohingya, who rely on humanitarian assistance to survive.
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Australia will continue to work to find a durable solution and to pursue accountability and justice for the Rohingya as a result of the abuses they have suffered.
In the meantime, the envoy said, they remain committed to helping Bangladesh and humanitarian actors to meet the needs of Rohingya and host community members in Cox’s Bazar.
In 2022-23, Australia will provide AUD135 million (building on AUD480 million provided since 2017) to address humanitarian crises in Myanmar, as well as to support Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh, providing essential protection, education and health services for those most in need, including women, girls and people with disabilities.
Two-way trade between Australia and Bangladesh has grown substantially over the last decade, reaching AUD3 billion in 2021-22, with balanced imports and exports.
Bangladesh’s exports to Australia are largely ready-made garments, leather accessories, processed food and jute. Bangladesh is Australia’s largest chickpea market.
The Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA) signed with Bangladesh on 15 September 2021 was a significant achievement that recognised the strength and depth of the economic relationship.
Under the TIFA, both countries are working together to grow and diversify trade and investment opportunities.
Bruer said are proud of their shared history and of the warm, multifaceted and mutually beneficial relationship that exists between our two countries.
"I look forward to the next 50 years of friendship between Australia and Bangladesh," he said.
No new roads before national election: Quader
Road Transport and Bridge Minister Obaidul Quader has said the government will not undertake any new road construction projects until the next national election and maintenance of the existing roads will get priority.
“We have completed numerous development projects, now is the time to restore discipline on roads,” he told reporters after his meeting with the DCs at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital on Wednesday, the 2nd day of the 3-day DC Conference.
Deputy commissioners (DCs) have been instructed to prioritize work to restore order on the roads, said the minister.
“I told them I don’t want to construct more roads right now. Our main priority right now is road maintenance,” Quader, also the Awami League general secretary, said.
The minister said he instructed the DCs to focus on controlling movement of small vehicles like motorcycles on roads and highways.
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Motorcycle movement in Dhaka city is under control now but people rarely wear helmets outside the capital, he said.
Quader asked that the secretaries to formulate policy to regulate the movement of these vehicles instead of obstructing the sources of income of the poor.
"It is DC's responsibility to control traffic jams and accidents involving these small vehicles," he added.
"I am prioritizing restoring order in road transport," he said adding that small vehicles like motorcycles, easybikes, Nosimons, and Karimons should be brought under control.
“We have built many roads and bridges. But if we cannot restore discipline, it will be all in vain. I asked for their cooperation in this regard,” he said.
Australian High Commission celebrates women’s success in sports at Australia Day event
The Australian High Commission has celebrated the achievements of women in sports at an event marking Australia Day at the Australian High Commission.
Leading Bangladeshi sportswomen in badminton, swimming, shooting, weightlifting and archery, as well as members of the BKSP women’s team, attended the function held on Tuesday.
The Australian High Commissioner, Jeremy Bruer, recognised their achievements.
“We celebrate their achievements as champions of women’s empowerment, and role models for millions of women and girls across Bangladesh.”
The High Commissioner described Australia Day as an occasion on which to celebrate modern, multicultural Australia.
At the same time, it was a day on which to interrogate and reflect upon the country’s 60,000-year-old history and to acknowledge indigenous Australians’fundamental place in Australia’s story.
Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni was the chief guest.
Read more: T20 World Cup: Bangladesh Women’s team off to Australia
The event was attended by ministers, members of parliament, members of the diplomatic community, senior officers from the Bangladesh Armed Forces, senior officials from the Bangladesh Government and business, development, humanitarian, political and civil leaders, and the media.
2 including bus driver held with crystal meth in Dhaka
A bus driver and his associate have been detained with 1.700 Kg crystal methamphetamine (ice) from the capital’s Jatrabari area.
The detainees were identified as Jahangir Alam Hossain, the ringleader of the drug peddling gang and the main trader of crystal meth in Teknaf, and his associate Mehedi Hasan, Additional director of Department of Narcotics Control Al Amin told reporters at a press briefing at its office in the city on Wednesday noon.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of Department of Narcotics Control led by Assistant Director (Detective) Muhammad Rifat Hossain detained the duo after conducting a drive in front of Alkarim Hospital in Jatrabari on Tuesday afternoon with 1.700 Kg crystal worth Tk 50-60 lakh, he said.
Jahangir Alam Hossain used to trade crystal meth from Cox's Bazar’s Teknaf to Dhaka in the guise of a bus driver of St Martin Paribahan.
Read more: Over 2 kg Crystal Meth seized in Cox’s Bazar
Jahangir has been involved in Yaba peddling since 2015 and crystal meth smuggling since 2020. Earlier he used to deliver the drugs to Dhaka from Teknaf border. Later, he himself formed a ring to do such smuggling, said the officer, said Al Amin.
He also formed a separate syndicate for smuggling and selling crystal meth only due to its high price. He used to smuggle the drugs directly to his customers through his associates Mehdi.
Jahangir was arrested four times by the law enforcers for his involvement in drug peddling, said the officer.
Legal processes are underway to file a case against them, he added.
Bangladesh sees 9 more Covid cases
Bangladesh reported nine more Covid-19 cases in 24 hours till Wednesday morning.
With the new number, the country's total caseload rose to 2,037,478, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,441 as no new fatalities were reported.
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The daily case test positivity dropped to 0.47 percent from Tuesday’s 0.49 percent as 1,924 samples were tested.
The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.44 percent while the recovery rate rose to 97.75 percent.
Bangladesh reported its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 in 2021 and daily fatalities of 264 on August 5 of the same year.
Digital pass to be needed to enter Appellate Division from February 1
A digital pass will to be required to enter the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court from February 1.
The Supreme Court administration issued a notification in this regard on Wednesday.
Litigants can enter the Appellate Division by collecting this pass from the Supreme Court website.
One can get the digital pass by scanning the QR code or typing in the entry date, case number, plaintiff's name and mobile phone number and National ID number in the website menu.
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Later the pass can be printed by clicking on the registration button. The litigants can enter the Appellate Division by showing the printed copy or screenshot or download copy of this pass, reads the notification.
No plaintiff can enter or remain at the Appellate Division Bench and the area adjacent to the bench without showing an entry pass due to security, it added.
Bangladesh reports 12 more dengue cases
Twelve more people were hospitalised with dengue in 24 hours till Wednesday morning.
Of the new patients, six were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka and six other outside it, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
A total of 51 dengue patients, including 30 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
Read more: Dengue: 27 more patients hospitalised in 24 hrs
So far, the DGHS has recorded 515 dengue cases, 458 recoveries, and six deaths this year.
The country recorded 281 dengue deaths in 2022 – the highest on record after 179 deaths recorded in 2019.
Also, the DGHS recorded 62,423 dengue cases and 61,971 recoveries last year.
66 BNP men sent to jail in 3 sabotage cases in Khulna
A Khulna court on Wednesday sent 66 leaders and activists of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) including the party’s Khulna city unit member secretary Shafiqul Alam Tuhin to jail in three sabotage cases.
Khulna Additional Metropolitan and Sessions Judge SM Ashiqur Rahman passed the order turning down their bail pleas, BNP’s counsel Lawyer Touhidur Rahman Tushar told UNB.
Read more: Simultaneous Movement: BNP rally begins at Dhaka’s Nayapaltan
Khulna Metropolitan BNP convenor Shafiqul Alam Mona alleged that the police filed a case in every police station in Khulna on charges of sabotage to thwart BNP's divisional rally in Dhaka on December 10.
In these cases, about 50 leaders and activists were arrested and imprisoned for a long time while others secured six weeks' anticipatory bail from the High Court.
Meanwhile, hundreds of leaders and activists of BNP and affiliated organisations present on the court premises became agitated following the court order.
Read more: Tenth-grader in Ctg jail after getting picked up at BNP rally
They brought out a procession demanding withdrawal of the ‘false and fabricated cases’, unconditional release of their activists and resignation of the illegal government.