Bangladesh
Counter conspiracies against country's prosperity: PM Hasina tells expatriates
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked the expatriate Bangladeshis to give a befitting reply to the conspiracies against the country's prosperity with correct information.
"Some people don't want the progress of the country and the continuation of democracy. They are conspiring against the country's prosperity by giving false information. You (expatriate Bangladeshis) have to give a reply to the conspiracies raising correct information," she said.
The prime minister made the remarks while exchanging views with the leaders of All European Expatriate Awami League at her Place of Residence in Munich, Germany on Sunday afternoon.
She asked them to maintain communication with the leaders of their host countries and inform them of the real pictures of Bangladesh. “Every expatriate will have to work as an ambassador of Bangladesh,” she said.
She said some Bangladeshis try to tarnish the image of the country in foreign lands. “Stay vigilant so that they can’t do it,” she added. Noting that her government has been establishing 100 special economic zones and several high-tech parks across Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina called upon the Bangladeshi diaspora to invest personally or with foreign partners in Bangladesh. “You can search your investment partners. You can invest in Bangladesh,” she said.
The PM said the expatriate Bangladeshis can contribute to the socio-economic development of Bangladesh and its people, she said.
Focusing on her government’s measures to ensure the country's overall development, she said, "We have ensured development up to the grassroots."
She said Bangladesh has got the status of a developing country and will start its journey towards becoming a developing nation in 2026.
So, the expatriate Bangladeshis can play a pivotal role to smoothen the journey towards a developing nation, she added.The PM said they have been working to transform Bangladesh into a developed, prosperous and Smart Bangladesh by 2041.
Sheikh Hasina reiterated that Bangladesh held the country's most free, fair and credible election on January 7, 2024 since 1975.
Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud and Bangladesh Ambassador to Germany Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, among others, were present.
Ideal College Scandal: Tisha's father files GD over death threat
The father of Cynthia Islam Tisha, a student of Ideal School and College, who married Khandaker Mushtaq Ahmed, a donor member of the Management Committee, filed a general diary (GD) with Mugda Police on Saturday, alleging that he received a threat.
Tarikuzzaman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Mugda Police Station, said they received a complaint from Tisha's father Saiful Islam.
“We have already started an investigation in this regard,” he added.
Besides, Saiful Islam also went to the DB office around 3:30 pm on Sunday and submitted a written complaint.
Saiful Islam told the media that Khandaker Mushtaq Ahmed is threatening him in various ways. "Earlier, he also threatened to kill me. I think Mushtaq is threatening me through his men in various ways to put pressure on me. Legal action is needed in this matter. That's why I filed a GD at Mugda Police Station on Saturday, and today I made a written complaint to DB,” he added.
According to the GD, Tisha’s father received a WhatsApp call from an unknown person at 10:38 am on February 12 in which the individual threatened to kill his daughter.
“The caller also threatened him not to overstep boundaries," the GD states.
Regarding the complaint, Chief of Detective Branch (DB) of Police Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid, said they will investigate the matter.
Pinaki Bhattacharya, 6 others sued under CSA
A case has been filed against writer and online activist Pinaki Bhattacharya and six others under the Cyber Security Act (CSA) for allegedly spreading propaganda, making derogatory remarks and uploading distorted photos of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina using social media including YouTube.
Muktijoddha Mancha Sylhet chapter’s Vice President Abdur Rahman filed the case with the court of Sylhet Cyber Tribunal on Sunday, plaintiff’s lawyer Tipu Ranjan Das confirmed.
The others accused are Nazmul Islam, Shahriar Hossain Saqib (SH), Facebook page 'Fight for Democracy' admin Shakeel Ahmed, Facebooker Md. Hasan Mia (Hasan), Md. Abdul Hadi and Md. Rezaul Karim.
Taking the allegations into cognisance, Judge Md Monir Kamal ordered CID Sylhet Zone to investigate and submit a report.
According to the case statement, the accused recently uploaded distorted photos of Sheikh Hasina on YouTube and made derogatory remarks.
LGRD Minister announces Tk 20cr for each MP to develop their constituency
LGRD Minister Tazul Islam on Sunday announced allocation of Tk 20 crore for each MPs to fulfil the promises of development in their respective constituencies.
The minister said this in Parliament in response to a supplementary question of Jatiya Party MP and opposition chief whip Mujibul Haque Chunnu.
In his supplementary question, Chunnu wanted to know--MPs made election promises in their constituencies. Moreover, there was a bulk allocation for the development of his area. Now the question is whether this government will give allocations to MPs for the development in their respective areas?
In response, the LGRD minister said that it is normal for parliamentarians to make many promises to the people for the development of their respective areas.
Naturally, as the MPs are eager to fulfill those promises, the Prime Minister has very sincerely realized the matter by making a scheme to give Tk 20 crore to each MP's constituency for a period of five years which is ongoing, Tazul Islam said.
The minister also said that once this project is completed to fulfill the promises and development of the constituencies of the MPs, it will be considered to take up a new project.
Fire damages foam factory on Char Patharghata
A fire has broken out at a foam factory in Chattogram's Karnaphuli upazila.
The accident occurred at Nurani Foam Factory in Char Patharghata of the upazila around 2am on Saturday. The owners claimed that the damage was around Tk 60 lakh.
Factory Manager Humayun Kabir said, "After receiving the news of the fire, I rushed to the spot and removed the chemicals used in making foam. Later, the Fire Service personnel arrived and brought the fire under control."
Karnaphuli Model Fire Service and Civil Aviation Station Officer Shoaib Hossain confirmed the news.
He said, "We came to the spot immediately after receiving the news of the fire. But due to the narrow road, we could not enter the water reserve tank. Later, we brought the fire under control using water from a nearby pond."
"We are suspecting that the fire might have been caused by an electrical short circuit. There were no casualties . The extent of the damage will be known after investigation," he added.
Clash over supremacy leaves one dead in Bagerhat
A man was killed and 20 others injured in a clash between two groups of villagers over establishing supremacy at Mollarkul village in Mollahat upazila in Bagerhat district on Sunday.The deceased was identified as Molla, 40, son of Taiyab Molla of the upazila.Additional superintendent of Bagerhat Police, Russelur Rahman, said there had been enmity between Layek Kazi and Shahjahan Khati over establishing supremacy in the area for long.
14 unregistered clinics, diagnostic centres ordered to shut down in BagerhatAs a sequel to the enmity, the supporters of both groups, equipped with sticks, sharp weapons attacked each other around 6 pm, leaving one killed on the spot and 20 others injured.The injured were taken to different hospitals.
2 die in separate road crashes in Bagerhat On information, police brought the situation under control and arrested four people including Layek and Shahjahan.
Five policemen were also injured while trying to bring the situation under control.
Additional police have been deployed in the area to avert further trouble as a tense situation is prevailing in the area over the clash.
One killed as tractor overturns in Lalmonirhat
A 23-year-old man was killed when a tractor overturned at Panbari Pabnapra in Patgram upazila of Lalmonirhat district on Sunday.The deceased was identified as Abul Kalam Azad Naz, son of Hamidul Haque of the upazila.Quoting witnesses, Ferdous Wahid, officer-in-charge of Patgram Police Station, said Azad was ploughing a land with the tractor at noon.
Pedestrian dies in Lalmonirhat road crashAt one stage the tractor overturned while trying to get onto the road, leaving him injured.Later he was taken to the Patgram Upazila Health Complex where the doctors declared him dead.The body was handed over to Azad’s family.
"Stop culture of extortion in society': Anisul Islam Mahmud
Deputy Leader of the opposition and Jatiya Party Member Anisul Islam Mahmud on Sunday said extortion has become a culture in the society.
“My appeal to my fellow Members of Parliament. Let us unite in this one cause, where no penny will be spent. Nothing is needed. Only we will pledge not to support them, just resist them. By doing this, I think Bangladesh will survive,” he said in Parliament standing on a point of order.
Highlighting the news published in a newspaper, Anisul Islam Mahmud said that extortion money has to be paid for transportation of goods. It adds to the total price. "If you want to construct home, you have to pay extortion,” he said.
He also mentioned that if anyone wanted not to pay any extortion money, then they have to give the work of supplying rod, brick, cement or sand to the extortionist.
“The poor hawkers have to pay extortion while extortionists are also there at the rickshaw stands. Extortion has become a terrible disease,” he said.
He said that if action is not taken against it, there will be trouble ahead.
He called upon all members of Parliament to unite and take a pledge not to support extortionists and to resist them.
Participating in the unscheduled discussion, another Jatiya Party member and opposition chief whip Mujibul Haque showing a newspaper report said that the money for the sale of forms in Chattogram University is divided among the vice-chancellor, pro vice-chancellors and other teachers.
“CU Chhatra League wants to be a part of this money sharing like they did in the past.”
Addressing the Education Minister, Mujibul Haque said, if this is correct, then let the people know what measures have been taken.
BCI demands immediate action against extortion in transport sector
Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) has demanded immediate action against extortion in the transport sector saying that illegal toll collection by different groups are pushing up food prices.
“Although Bangladesh is self-sufficient in food, food inflation is the highest. One of the reasons behind it is extortion in goods transportation,” said BCI president Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury (Parvez) when he was leading a delegation to meet Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan at his office at the ministry on Sunday.
If illegal extortions are checked, the price of goods will come down a lot, he told the home minister.
He also mentioned that currently, some unruly groups called “Kishore Gangs” are deteriorating the law and order situation in the country and they are behind most of the crimes in Dhaka.
He also drew the attention of the home minister to the poor traffic management of Dhaka city and the entire country. Discipline in the traffic system will actually reduce time,cost and also save fuel, he added.
Bangladesh garment industry turning around rapidly: Salman F Rahman
The BCI president said Bangladesh Bank does not need to adopt contractionary policy if inflation remains at a tolerable level.
Currently, due to the various steps taken by Bangladesh Bank, the dollar current account has become positive, which is promising and the financial account will also become positive in the next few months, he noted.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Minister was presented with floral greetings from the BCI Board of Directors and a frame with BCI's 'My Product My Country' logo.
The BCI leaders said the industrial sector of the country is currently going through a challenging time.
Sprezzatura, a world class standard crafted men’s upscale clothing brand, opens its outlet in city
Any industrial company in the country is running at 60-70 percent of its capacity, sales of all companies have dropped due to high inflation, low gas pressure, high interest rate of loans and banks are not able to provide proper support. All together, the domestic industry is facing tough challenges, they said.
According to BCI, the Home Minister patiently listened to the statements of the directors of BCI and said that the government is aware of the state of industries in the country.
“We want to increase investment in the country and increase employment. Because if the country's industries survive, the country's economy will survive”, he told the BCI leaders.
In the meeting, senior vice-president of BCI Preeti Chakraborty, vice-president Mohammad Yunus, board of directors, Shahidul Islam Neeru, Dr. Delwar Hossain Raja, Abul Kalam Bhuiyan, Zia Haider Mithu, Mizanur Rahman, Ruslan Nasir, Nazmul Anwar, Sohana Rauf Chowdhury, Md Salim Jahan and Additional Secretary (Political and ICT Division) AKM Tipu Sultan of the Home Ministry were present.
Madrasah teacher to die for molesting 4 students in Chattogram
A Chattogram tribunal on Sunday convicted a man and sentenced him to death for molesting four students of a Madrasha in Rangunia upazila in 2020.
The condemned convict is Nasir Uddin, 47, a hostel super of Ahmadia Azizul Ulum Madrasha in the upazila and son of Nurul Islam of Chakaria upazila in Cox’s Bazar district.
Judge of the Chattogram Woman and Child Repression Prevention Tribunal -3 Joynal Abedin handed down the punishment after hearing 11 witnesses.
Kushtia court serves death sentence to suspended cop for killing wife, two others in 2021
According to the prosecution, a guardian of Ahmadia Azizul Ulum Madrasah filed a case against Nasir for molesting his son on October 12, 2020.
During investigation police came to know that the convict sexually harassed three more students of the madrasah in the same way.
On January 24, 2022, police submitted chargesheet against Nasir.
35 years after Sagira Morshed murder, Dhaka court to deliver verdict