Bangladesh
SI Kanok withdrawn from DB over death of Shaon in Narayanganj
The Detective Branch (DB) of Narayanganj officer who allegedly shot dead a Jubo Dal activist with a Chinese Rifle he wasn't authorised to carry has been withdrawn and attached to the Police Lines.
The officer has been identified as Sub Inspector Mahfuzur Rahman Kanok.
Fakhruddin Bhuiyan, inspector of DB, confirmed the matter to UNB.
He said SI Kanok had been withdrawn from the DB and attached to the Police Lines soon after the incident.
Replying to a question, he said that investigation will be carried out in this connection.
He also said that the high ups officials know better whether the probe body has been formed to look into the matter.
On the other hand, Superintendent of Police Golam Mostafa and other high ranked officers refused to say anything in this regard.
Mentionable, on September 1, Jubo Dal activist Shaon was killed and 50 people were injured in a clash between police and the BNP activists in Narayanganj as the law enforcers tried to prevent local BNP leaders and activists from holding a rally during their founding anniversary.
Also read: Shaon’s brother joins Jubo Dal rally, seeks justice
Momen mourns UK's longest-serving monarch Queen Elizabeth II's death
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul has expressed deep shock at the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the UK's longest-serving monarch.
"A legend passed away. She left a legacy incomparable in human history and lived with honour, grace and dignity. We are deeply shocked," Momen said Thursday.
The Foreign Minister remembered his meeting with Queen Elizabeth II twice – once when he was a school kid in 1961 and when she visited the then East Pakistan and again in 2010 when she paid a visit to the UN in New York.
"May her soul rest in peace," Momen said.
Queen Elizabeth II died today at Balmoral aged 96 after reigning for 70 years.
Her family gathered at her Scottish estate after concerns grew about her health.
The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change. Her eldest son, Charles, becomes King Charles III, and the head of state for 14 Commonwealth realms.
He said the death of his beloved mother was "a moment of great sadness."
Also read: Queen Elizabeth II: Britain's longest reigning monarch, no more
Akbar Ali Khan no more
Former advisor to the caretaker government and economist Dr Akbar Ali Khan passed away in Dhaka Thursday night after a prolonged illness. He was 78.
Akbar Ali Khan was born in 1944 at Nabinagar in the Brahmanbaria district. He studied history at Dhaka University and secured first place in first class in both BA and MA exams. He studied economics at Queen's University Canada and obtained MA and PhD in economics.
He joined the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) in 1967. He actively participated in the Liberation War and was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment in absentia by a military court of the occupation forces. He joined the provisional government of Bangladesh as deputy secretary, Ministry of Defense.
Akbar Ali taught development economics and development administration for three years at the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Center as a member directing staff. He taught postgraduate courses in governance and development studies departments at Brac University after his retirement.
He served with distinction in various ministries. He worked at the Ministry of Finance for more than 16 years at levels of joint secretary and above. He was chairman of the NBR and secretary of the Internal Resource Division for nearly three years.
Akbar Ali served as finance secretary for more than five and half years covering three consecutive governments. He was appointed the cabinet secretary in 2001 and retired from that position in 2002.
He was an advisor in charge of the ministries of finance, planning, commerce, post, telegraph and telephones in the caretaker government in 2006 and resigned in protest against the failure of the chief advisor in ensuring a free, fair and impartial election. He also served as the first chairman of the Regulatory Reforms Commission during 2007-2009.
As Finance Secretary, he played a prominent role in establishing Grihayana Tahbil (Fund for Housing of the Poor) and Karmasangsthana (Employment Generation) Bank. He was the chairman of the Social Development Foundation for two years.
Dr Khan served as minister (economic) at Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC for four years from 1987-1991. He was the alternative executive director of the World Bank for more than three years, as the representative of the governments of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and India.
He was elected chairman of the 42-nation FAO sub-committee on Surplus Disposal (Food Aid) for the year 1989. He was elected Vice Chairman of the Officials Committee of the UNCTAD Trade Summit in Columbus, Ohio in 1995.
He has published 14 books and several articles on economics, history, public administration, literature and water resources in various national and international journals. His first book "Some Aspects of Peasant Behavior in Bengal" was praised by The Journal of Economic History (USA) as "a significant contribution to the growing body of new economic history in South Asia."
Dr Khan's book "Discovery of Bangladesh" was rated by the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh as the best publication in humanities for the period 1996-98 and was awarded the Justice Md Ibrahim gold medal. His book "Parathaparatar Arthaniti" was highly commended for its wit and originality by Desh – the most widely circulated literary magazine of Kolkata.
His book "People's Participation in Budgetary Process in Bangladesh: In Search of Policy Reforms" was published in 2008 by Shamunnay – a national advocacy NGO. His latest publications include "Abak Bangladesh Bichitra Chhalanajale Rajneeti" (2017), "Gresham's Law Syndrome and Beyond" (2015,) "Ajab and Jabor Ajab Authraneeti" (2013), "Andhakarer Utsa Hote" (2011), "Friendly Fires, Humpty Dumpty Disorder and other Essays" (2010).
Akbar Ali was a member of the American Economic Association and a life member of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. He was awarded the Maulana Akram Khan gold medal for distinguished public service and the Mercantile Bank gold medal for economics research.
He was elected fellow of Bangla Academy in 2010 in recognition of his contribution to the economics and history of Bangladesh.
Also read: Momen mourns Akbar Ali Khan's death
Bangladesh gets drug, precursor test kits from Japan through UNODC
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki and the delegates from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Thursday handed over drug and precursor test kits, funded by the government of Japan, to the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC).
Naoki said Japan attaches great importance to the implementation of a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)," a vision to secure peace, stability and prosperity in the region,
"We will continue to work with Bangladesh to realise the vision through various practical cooperation, including the capacity building of law enforcement agencies."
Md Abdul Wahab Bhuiyan, director general of the DNC, said Japan has been a time-tested friend and biggest development partner of Bangladesh and the country would like to continue to cooperate with Japan to strengthen its control capability of drug trafficking.
Also read: BGB seizes drugs worth Tk 12 crore in Cox's Bazar
Police recovers GM Quader's phone
Police Wednesday recovered Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader's mobile phone eight days after it was snatched.
The law enforcers also arrested five members of a gang – Azizul, Md Aziz, Md Ismail, Md Sanaullah and Subal Chandra Ghosh – in connection with the theft, Officer-in-Charge of Airport Police Station BM Farman Ali said.
Read: It seems Bangladesh is paradise of mismanagement: GM Quader
On August 31, GM Quader's phone was snatched while he was talking on the phone in his car in the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport area. Later a case was filed.
During investigation, Azizul said he stole the phone and sold it to Ismail for Tk18,000.
Ismail sold the phone to Sanaullah for Tk20,000 who then sold it to Subal for Tk22,000.
16, including 11 of bKash, held over money laundering
– Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police has said it recently arrested 16 people, most of whom worked for bKash, from Dhaka and Chattogram for their involvement in money laundering through hundi under the cloak of mobile financial services (MFS).
The arrestees include bKash's Rumon Kanti Das Joy, 34, Md Hosainul Kabir, 35, Nobin Ullah, 37, Md Junaidul Haque, 30, Adibur Rahman, 25, Asif Newaz, 27, Farhad Hossain, 25, Abdul Basir, 27, Mahbubur Rahman Selim, 50, Abdul Awal Shohag, 36, and Fazle Rabbi, 27.
The others are Akter Hossain, 40, Didarul Alam Sumon, 34, Khorshed Alam Emon, 22, Rashed Monjur Firoz, 45, and Shamim Akter, 32.
The financial crime and cybercrime units of CID conducted three separate drives to arrest the money launderers.
During interrogation, the arrestees confessed to the CID that they embezzled Tk20.70 crore through hundi in the last four months.
The CID team also seized Tk11 lakh in cash, digital money amounting to almost Tk3.5 crore, 34 mobile phones, three laptops, one tab, 33 SIM cards, one hard disk, seven modems and 10 cheque books from their possession.
Read: Banks instructed to campaign for bringing back laundered money
The launderers work in three groups.
The first group collects money in foreign currency from expatriates. The Bangladeshi agents or the second group distributed the money in local currency to MFS agents.
The third group, working for different MFS providers, sends money to the numbers provided by the expats.
Till now, the CID has filed three cases at different police stations in Dhaka and Chattogram over the issue.
Lightning strike kill 9 men at work in Sirajganj
Lightning strike killed nine agricultural workers and injured four others in Sirajganj's Ullapara upazila Thursday, according to police.
Eight of the deceased were identified as Md Mobarak, 40, Monnaf Hossain, 19, Shamsher Ali, 62, Md Afsar, 63, Md Shahin, 21, Abdul Kuddus, 60, Shah Alam, 42 and Ritu Khatun, 15, Mohammad Mahfuz, assistant superintendent of police (ASP) of Ullapara Circle, said.
The identities of the other deceased could not immediately be confirmed, he added.
The workers were planting paddy seedlings when it started to rain heavily, Nazrul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Ullapara Police Station, said.
Read: Lightning strikes kill three in Kushtia, Natore
"Then all of them sheltered in a house near the field. Suddenly a streak of lightning struck the men, killing five of them on the spot and leaving others critically injured," Nazrul said.
"The locals rushed the injured to different hospitals and clinics where they died while undergoing treatment."
PM returns home ending 4-day visit to India
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday night returned home wrapping her four-day official state visit to India.
A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the premier and her entourage landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 8:06pm.
Earlier, the flight departed Jaipur International Airport in Rajasthan at 5:30pm local time (6:00pm BST) where Rajasthan’s Education Minister Bulaki Das Kalla and Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Muhammad Imran saw her off.
Earlier in the morning, the Bangladesh prime minister arrived in Ajmer in Rajasthan to offer prayers at Khwaja Gharib Nawaz Dargah Sharif, the mazar (shrine) of Sufi Moinuddin Chishti on the last day of her visit to India.
Hasina travelled to New Delhi on Monday for her first India tour in three years at the invitation of her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
Also read: At a glance: Jointly agreed upon decisions during PM's India visit
She held bilateral talks with Modi and met Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Indian Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar separately on Tuesday.
After the bilateral talks between the two leaders, Dhaka and Delhi signed seven MoUs -- demonstrating cooperation in a number of areas, including water sharing of the Kushiyara River.
Other MoUs are cooperation in the areas of space technology, science and technology, railways, judiciary and broadcasting.
Besides, the two leaders unveiled unit-I of the Maitree power plant in Rampal and 5.13-km Rupsha Bridge in Khulna.
During Hasina’s stay in India, former Congress party president Rahul Gandhi, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Minister for Development of North Eastern Region of India G. Kishan Reddy, Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani and late Indian president Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee also separately met her.
The Bangladesh premier visited the altar of the Samadhi (memorial) of Mahatma Gandhi to pay tribute to India’s Father of the Nation.
Also read: PM leaves for Dhaka ending 4-day visit to India
Sheikh Hasina visited Nizamuddin Aulia Dargah in Delhi and joined a business event, jointly organised by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi.
Sheikh Hasina also awarded the Mujib scholarships among 200 students, the descendants of Indian soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
As work week ends, rain spells traffic woes for Dhaka dwellers
Dhaka, Sept 8 (UNB)-Sudden rain in Dhaka may have provided some relief from scorching heat, but for this city, rain also means traffic congestion —worse than it usually is on Thursday evenings.
As a mild heat wave sweeps over parts of Bangladesh, the sun was glaring in the capital from morning.
Unexpectedly around 4 pm, downpours with lightning started cooling off the Dhaka roads. But immediately after that, as it always happens, gridlocks formed on most major roads.
As the work week ends, it added to the severity of traffic woes for Dhaka dwellers.
People were in a hurry to rush back to their homes but the long tailback of vehicles meant they were stuck on the road.
The photos of rain and its repercussions in the form of traffic congestion were captured by UNB photographer Abu Sufiyan Jewel at TSC of Dhaka University and Bangla Motor areas.
UK to invest 54.5 mn pounds for children in Bangladesh by next 8 years
British Deputy High Commissioner Javed Patel has said ensuring 12 years of quality education for all children is at the centre of the UK’s drive to tackle poverty, promote gender equality, boost economic growth and reduce conflict.
“In Bangladesh, we are investing up to 54.5 million pounds over the next eight years to improve education outcomes for children, particularly girls and marginalised children,” he said.
The Deputy High Commissioner said he wholly believes that sport is integral to a child’s education, and today. “We are proud to stand with the girls’ football team that will be representing Bangladesh on the international stage.”
He hosted a send-off event for the girls’ football team on Thursday which will shortly represent Bangladesh in the Street Child Football World Cup in Qatar.
The team is comprised of children who were all rescued from life on the streets, and now live at the LEEDO (Local Education and Economic Development Organisation) Peace Home in Dhaka.
LEEDO is a not-for-profit, voluntary-based development organisation founded in 2000. Through the provision of education, shelters, and lifestyle support, LEEDO aims to protect vulnerable street children and help them return to the mainstream community.
Read: UK keen to invest in Bangladesh’s higher education sector
During the event, the young guests shared stories of their time living on the street, and appealed to guests to help improve the life chances of other less fortunate children.
They were excited about the opportunity to meet two players from the Bangladesh U-19 national football team, Aklima Khatun and Halima Akhther, and talk to the professional players about their upcoming big game.
They also showed off their footballing skills, and challenged the British Deputy High Commissioner to a ‘keepy-uppy’ contest!
Kazi Nabil Ahmed MP, Vice President of the Bangladesh Football Federation, and Abu Nayeem, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Football Federation, were also present at the event.
Forhad Hossain, Executive Director of LEEDO said they should all raise their voices together to protect the most vulnerable children from the dangers of the streets so that they can create a better Bangladesh.
According to the UNCRC all children have the right to survive with dignity. “I want to thank the British High Commission for organising this event with LEEDO,” he said.