Bangladesh
Robbers loot 500 bhori gold from Keraniganj jewellery shop
In broad daylight, a group of armed and masked robbers stormed into a jewellery shop on the Dhaka-Mawa highway in Keraniganj and fled with 500 bhori gold Wednesday, police said.
"Six motorcycle-borne men entered Al-Amin Jewellers at crowded Abdullahpur Bazar around 2pm. They fired about 15 bullets in the air and threw 12 bombs before and after committing the crime to terrorise the locals," Additional Superintendent of Police (Keraniganj circle) Shahabuddin said.
After barging into the shop, the robbers also threatened the shop owner Shwapon (50) and his staff to remain mum and not to resist.
"The robbers left the area after committing the robbery in five minutes. As Shwapon tried to catch one of them, they shot him in the leg," Shahabuddin said.
"Legal actions will be taken against them," he added.
Also read: Narayanganj: 6 highway robbery gang members held; 2 victims rescued
Uttara girder crash tragedy: Crane operator among 9 held
Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) Wednesday arrested the operator of the crane that tilted to one side and dropped a concrete girder on a passing car, crushing five of a family to death in Dhaka's Uttara.
The elite force also arrested the operator's assistant, a security guard of the contractor firm and six others from Dhaka, Gazipur, Sirajganj, and Bagerhat in a case filed over the accident, ASP Imran Khan of Rab headquarters (media wing) said.
Monday, a BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) project girder came crashing down on the car near Uttara's Jasimuddin road when it was being moved onto a trailer, suggesting the use of cranes of insufficient strength in the project.
Rubel, 50, Fahima, 40, her sister Jhorna, 28, and Jhorna's two children Jannat, 6, and Jakaria, 2, got crushed inside the mangled car.
Fortunately, a newlywed couple – Rubel's son Hridoy, 26, and his wife Ria Moni, 21, – also travelling with them escaped death.
It came exactly one month after a worker was killed by a falling crane in the Gazipur part of the BRT project, and last year six workers escaped with injuries after a part of a launching girder collapsed near them, close to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.
A case was filed at Uttara West Police Station over Monday's accident accusing the crane operator, contractor company China Gezhouba Group Corporation and unnamed people.
Also read: 5 hurt after iron rods fall on them from crane in Gulistan
President asks judges to ease litigants' suffering through IT
President Abdul Hamid has asked the Supreme Court to ease the suffering of litigants by using information technology (IT).
A delegation of judges led by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique submitted the Supreme Court's annual report of 2021 at Bangabhaban Wednesday, President's Press Secretary Joynal Abedin told UNB.
Read: President urges Rotary to work for public welfare
During the meeting, the chief justice said: "This year the Supreme Court will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Supreme Court."
Missing student's body fished out of Bay after two days
The body of an honours student of Gazipur Metropolitan College was fished out of the Sugandha point of the Bay of Bengal Wednesday, two days after he went missing, police said.
Second-year student Abdullah Al Maruf, 21, of Gazipur went missing from Kolatoli point of Cox's Bazar sea beach Monday.
Read: Tourist goes missing in turbulent seas off Cox’s Bazar beach
Maruf and his friends Shawon and Adnan went missing as they were bathing defying the local cautionary signal No. 3, Assistant Superintendent of Cox's Bazar Tourist Police Chowdhury Mizanur Zaman said.
SeaSafe, a joint initiative aimed to reduce the risk of drowning in the coastal area of Cox's Bazar, staff later managed to rescue Shawon and Adnan.
"The non-profit organisation fished out Maruf's decomposed body from the sea at Sugandha point around 12.30pm. It was later handed over to Maruf's family without a post-mortem," Mizanur said.
Indonesian Embassy celebrates 77th Independence Day amid festivities
The Indonesian embassy in Dhaka on Wednesday celebrated the 77th anniversary of the country’s independence amid festivities.
The day’s events began with a flag hoisting ceremony in the morning at the premises of the embassy, followed by a live broadcasting of the national Independence Day ceremony at Merdeka Palace from the capital Jakarta. A prayer was also held.
BGMEA wants industry-academia collaboration to tackle future challenges
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Acting President Shahidullah Azim has said industry-academia collaboration is imperative to meet the future challenges of the apparel industry, especially in the context of fast fashion and disruptive technologies.
Partnerships between the industry and academia would be instrumental in producing a qualified and competent workforce for the industry, he added.
The BGMEA acting president was speaking at the programme "Towards a Meaningful Industry-Academia Partnership: A Talk on RMG sector's impact on Bangladesh's Rapid Growth and Future Prospects" organised by the Department of Marketing and International Business of the North South University (NSU) Wednesday.
Read: RMG export growth to be affected by fuel price hike: BGMEA President
The business dynamics in the fashion industry is changing rapidly where the use of technologies is increasing to meet the changing demand of consumers for diversified fashionable products.
"The industry-academia linkage is important because our growth depends on our ability to move to diversified products which require complex skills. The job market has to be ready with the required skills to meet contemporary production techniques, product sophistication and fashion trends," Shahidullah said.
"From the BGMEA we have also taken several initiatives and one such initiative is the internship programme which will start soon. We would love to collaborate with NSU to involve young talents and let them calibrate their capabilities with the needs and pace of the industry."
Professor Abdul Hannan Chowdhury, dean of the School of Business and Economics, Professor ABM Rashedul Hassan, treasurer, Mohammad Tayeenul Hoque, chairman of the Department of Marketing and International Business, Ishrat Jahan Synthia, senior lecturer at Department of Marketing and International Business, of NSU were also present.
Case against Prof Yunus: Proceedings to continue in labour court
The High Court (HC) on Wednesday rejected a petition to scrap the case filed against Nobel Laureate and Chairman of Grameen Communications Dr Muhammad Yunus over violation of the Labour Law.
The HC bench of Justice S M Kuddus Zaman and Justice Fahmida Quader passed the order after hearing.
Now there is no legal bar to continue the case against him in the labour court, said Khurshid Alam Khan, counsel of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun appeared for Prof Yunus’s appeal at the court.
On June 13, the Appellate Division stayed the trial proceedings of the case for two months.
The SC also ordered the HC bench led by Justice SM Kuddus Zaman to dispose of the rule seeking explanation as to why the case against Prof Yunus should not be cancelled.
Read: Case against Prof Yunus: Final hearing on scrapping case on Aug 11
On June 7, the Appellate Division ordered disposal of the rule within two months.
On September 9 last year, Labour Inspector Arifuzzaman of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, filed the case with Dhaka third labour court.
Other accused in the case are- Ashraful Hasan, Managing Director of Grameen Telecom, its directors Nurzahan Begum and Shahjahan.
According to the case, in an inspection visit to Grameen Telecom inspectors of the department found that 101 workers and staff who were supposed to be permanent were not made so.
No participation fund and welfare fund was formed for them and five per cent of the company’s profit was not provided to the workers following the law.
Upon a complaint, a criminal case was filed under section 4, 7, 8, 117, 234 of the Labour Act.
On October 12, the labour court granted bail to the all four accused.
Later on December 7, Prof Yunus filed a petition with the High Court seeking scrapping of the case.
On December 12, HC stayed the procedure of a case for six months.
The court also issued a rule asking the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments why the case will not be set aside. The court asked secretaries of the Ministry of Law, Ministry of Labour and Employment and others involved to respond to the rule.
ViewSonic unveils gaming monitors on Metaverse
Global brand ViewSonic recently made its debut in Metaverse by launching its latest gaming monitors and display products in Bangladesh.
The event was headlined by the new Viewsonic ELITE series gaming monitors.
ELITE XG320U gaming monitor features a 32-inch pixel-dense 4k UHD screen with quantum dot technology and a hyper-responsive 150 Hz refresh rate for ultra-smooth gameplay.
ELITE XG251G gaming monitor has a 25-inch full HD IPS panel featuring a pro-level 360 Hz refresh rate along with VESA DisplayHDR 400.
Budget-friendly Viewsonic OMNI series gaming monitors were also launched.
Read:Motorola Moto G62 5G Review with Pros, Cons
XG2431 gaming monitor features a 24-inch 240Hz full HD fast-IPS display with VESA DisplayHDR 400.
XG2705 gaming monitor brings with it a 27-inch full HD IPS display with a 144Hz refresh rate. VX2405-P-MHD gaming monitor has a 24-inch full HD IPS display and a rapid 144Hz refresh rate.
VX3418-2KPC gaming monitor features a 34-inch 21:9 ultra-wide display with a rapid 144Hz refresh rate and a 1500R curved screen for immersive visuals.
Darren Low, country manager for all emerging markets at ViewSonic, said: "We are very excited to enter the Metaverse space and showcase ViewSonic's commitment to engaging the latest technology."
The ViewSonic products are now available at all leading computer stores around Bangladesh.
Why inaction to remove Wasa MD form his post should not be declared illegal: HC
The High Court (HC) on Wednesday issued a rule questioning why the inaction of the authorities concerned to remove Dhaka Wasa Managing Director Taqsem A Khan from his post should not be declared illegal.
The HC bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo passed order after a hearing a writ petition filed by the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB).
The HC also ordered the Wasa Board to submit a report within 60 days informing how much money the MD took as salary, bonus and enjoyed other facilities in the last 13 years.
The court wanted to know why the Wasa MD should not be ordered to return the extra money taken as salary and allowances.
Read: Dhaka BRT girder collapse: HC issues rule on providing TK 5 cr compensation
The court has issued a rule seeking explanation as to why Wasa MD’s salary and allowances should not be fixed as per the circular issued by the National Pay Scale of 2015 and the Finance Ministry in 2016.
Barrister Jotirmoy Barua appeared for the writ petition in the court while Deputy Attorney General Arobinda Kumar Roy represented the state.
On July 31, architect Mobasher Hossain filed the writ petition on behalf of CAB challenging the inaction of the Wasa Board of Directors to remove Taqsem A Khan from the post of MD.
According to the writ petition, Taqsem A Khan was appointed as Wasa MD on a three-year contract in 2009. His contract was extended three times even after his poor performance.
The writ also mentioned that Wasa MD was drawing extra salary and allowances going beyond the rules. According to the latest board decision, the monthly salary of Wasa MD is Tk 6.25 lakh.
Unilever Bangladesh wins 'Asia's Best Employer Brands 2022' award
Unilever Bangladesh has been recognised as "Asia's Best Employer Brand 2022" by the World HRD Congress for its "commitment to cater to the evolving demands of the youth's career preferences and the changing business environment."
The 13th edition of Asia's Best Employer Brand Awards gathered global industry leaders and organisations in Singapore.
Zaved Akhtar, chief executive officer and managing director of Unilever Bangladesh, said: "Becoming a top employer of choice gives us the privilege of onboarding a diverse group of the brightest minds as partners in our endeavour of building a better planet and society."
Read: Unilever Bangladesh donates Tk 50 lakh to employees affected by flood
Sakshi Handa, human resource director of Unilever Bangladesh, said: "Through various campus programmes, we offer the youth the opportunity to take up high-impact careers in a field of their choice – supply chain, marketing, finance or corporate."
"We also have freelancing opportunities, return from career break programs and BizMaestros – one of the best business competitions in Bangladesh, that challenges the youth to unleash their potential."