Bangladesh
JS passes bill to make Bangladesh museums more dynamic
The Bangladesh National Museum Bill, 2022 was passed in parliament on Thursday to make the country's museums more dynamic and vibrant.
State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid moved the Bill in the House and it was passed by voice vote.
Read:Bill placed in JS to bring discipline in private medical, dental colleges
The Bangladesh National Museum Bill, 2022 has replaced the1983 ordinance in this regard.
The highest punishment for museum-related crimes is 10 years’ jail, Tk 10 lakh fine or both as per the proposed law which would be applicable for other museums alongside the National Museum.
BIMSTEC leaders pledge to intensify regional cooperation to offset economic losses
Leaders of the BIMSTEC on Wednesday vowed to intensify regional cooperation to strengthen connectivity, enhance trade and investment in tourism, technology and energy sectors to offset the economic losses caused by the pandemic.
They also pledged to strengthen their collective resilience to combat the challenges of poverty, natural disasters, climate change, pandemics and all other public health emergencies.
Read:Dhaka voted for humanitarian cause, PM says on second UN vote on Ukraine
The BIMSTEC leaders in its 5th Summit, held in Sri Lankan capital city, pledged to strengthen their efforts to effectively deal with terrorism and transnational crimes, and ensure food and energy security through partnership and joint actions, in parallel to the implementation toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, keeping in mind that COVID 19 may not be the last calamity to befall their region.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of Bhutan; Prime Minister of Nepal; President of Sri Lanka; Prime Minister of Thailand and representative of Myanmar met virtually in Colombo for the Fifth BIMSTEC Summit.
They encouraged Member States to continue to support one another in combating COVID-19 through the BIMSTEC framework as well as bilaterally to foster the spirit of BIMSTEC solidarity, according to the 5th BIMSTEC Summit Deceleration.
The key outcome of the Summit was the adoption and signing of the BIMSTEC Charter, which formalizes the grouping into an organization made up of member states that are littoral to, and dependent upon, the Bay of Bengal.
Dhaka voted for humanitarian cause, PM says on second UN vote on Ukraine
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said Bangladesh voted in favour of the second UN resolution on Ukraine as it highlighted the humanitarian issues rather than targeting a particular country.
“When there was a vote against a country we abstained. But when the issue of human rights came in the second resolution of UNGA Bangladesh voted in favour of it,” she told the Parliament.
Read:BIMSTEC leaders pledge to intensify regional cooperation to offset economic losses
The prime minister was replying to a supplementary question from Jatiya Party MP Md. Mujibul Haque( Kishoreganj-3) during PM’s question-answer session.
She said people in Ukraine, including children, are suffering and becoming refugees due to the war.
“When the issue of human rights was involved, Bangladesh stood for it ... It is very clear and none should have confusion about it,” she asserted.
Explaining further Hasina said that when the first resolution was tabled in the UNGA Bangladesh found that there was no issue of human rights, no initiative of stopping the war and no other issues, but only a vote against a country which is Russia.
“When I saw this I decided not to vote(in first resolution),"she said.
The PM, also the leader of the House, said the war didn’t start on its own. Rather there might be someone who provoked and forced it.
She questioned why a single country would be condemned?
She said that Russia is a friendly country of Bangladesh and it stood beside Bangladesh when the 7th fleet (of the US) was sent to help Pakistan during the War of Liberation in 1971.
Read:For climate migrants in Bangladesh, town offers new life
“Russia was beside us in our bad time and we are surely beside the country, but if they do anything unjustified we don’t accept this,” she said.
She, however, said it has to be seen who is provoking the war.
Blogger Ananta killing: 4 sentenced to death
A Sylhet tribunal on Monday sentenced four people to death in blogger Ananta Bijoy Das murder case.
Sylhet Anti-Terrorism Tribunal Judge Nurul Amin Biplab pronounced the judgment.
Read:4 to die for killing three-wheeler driver in Khulna
The condemned convicts are—Abul Hossain, 25, Foysal Ahmed, 27, Abul Khayer Rashid Ahmed, 25 of Kanaighat upazila and Mamunur Rashid, 25 of Tahirpur upazila in Sunamganj district.
Among them, Rashid was present on the dock while the others were tried in absentia.
The court acquitted Shafiur Rahman Farabi.
Besides, another accused in the case Manan Yeahia died on November 2, 2017 while undergoing treatment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.
According to the prosecution, blogger Ananta, also an activist of Sylhet Ganajagaran Mancha, was hacked to death some assailants in broad daylight at Subidbazar Bankalapara in Sylhet May 12, 2015.
Rateshwar Das, elder brother of Ananta Bijoy, filed a case against four people with Airport Police Station the following day.
Ananta Bijoy was also a writer in the ‘Mukto-Mona blog’, founded by blogger Avijit Roy - who had been murdered by some assailants in 2015.
On May 9, 2017, CID inspector Arman Ali submitted a chargesheet against six people in the case.
The case was shifted to the Anti-terrorism Tribunal in 2020.
Read:Verdict in Humayun Azad murder case on April 13
On March 2, 2015, a Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) team arrested Farabi from Jatrabari bus stand in the capital while Julhas Bishwas and Abul Bashar were arrested from Fakirerpool area of the capital on September 10 for their alleged involvement in the blogger Avijit Roy killing.
They were shown arrested in the blogger Ananta Bijoy Das murder case.
Farabi was sentenced to life imprisonment in blogger Avijit killing case.
Bill placed in JS to bring discipline in private medical, dental colleges
The Private Medical College and Dental College Bill, 2022 was placed in Parliament on Wednesday to ensure discipline in private medical and dental colleges by bringing those under a law instead of two separate guidelines.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque placed the Bill and it was sent to the respective Parliamentary Standing Committee for further scrutiny. The committee was asked to submit its report within 60 days.
The country’s private medical and dental colleges are now operated under the Private Medical College Establishment and Operation Guidelines, 2011 and Private Dental College Establishment and Operation Guidelines, 2009.
Read: Speaker nominates panel chair of 17th JS session
As per the bill, a private medical or dental college must have at least 50 students while its teachers-students ratio will have to be 1:10 as per the proposed law.
A medical college needs to have at least two acres of land in any metropolitan area while the land requirement for the dental college is one acre.
For setting up a medical college outside any metropolitan area, the land requirement is four acres and it is two acres for a dental college.
Hilsa will soon be on platter of common people, says Rezaul
Hilsa, the gastronome's delight, may soon be within the reach of the common people in Bangladesh, if the government is to be believed.
According to the fisheries and livestock minister SM Rezaul Karim, the Bangladesh government is trying its best to bring the prices of hilsa down in the country by taking measures to boost production.
“The government is working relentlessly to not only cater to the domestic demand but also earning foreign exchange through hilsa exports," he told reporters at a briefing on the occasion of ‘Jatka Conservation Week-2022’ at the Secretariat.
Read: Hilsha selling like hot cake in wholesale market
Like every year, the government will observe ‘Jatka Conservation Week-2022’ from March 31 to April 6, aiming to create mass awareness on preservation to boost the overall hilsa production, he said.
“The importance of hilsa is immense in meeting the nutrition 'needs' of people, creating employment opportunities, keeping the wheels of the economy active and in the financial-social development. Of the total fish production in the country, 12.22 per cent is hilsa,” he added.
Speakers laud Malaysia’s role in Rohingya issue, stress diversification in bilateral relations
Malaysia’s strong support to Bangladesh in the Rohingya crisis was lauded at a webinar that focused on shared heritage and extremely good relations between the two Muslim-majority countries.
The webinar titled “Bangladesh-Malaysia Relations: Prognosis for the Future” was hosted by Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Cosmos Group.
The opening remarks were delivered by Cosmos Foundation Executive Director Nahar Khan.
The session was chaired by Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, a renowned scholar-diplomat and former adviser on foreign affairs to the last caretaker government.
Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Haznah Md Hashim was the keynote speaker at the dialogue that will premiere on Thursday evening.
Ambassador (retd) Farooq Sobhan, Yanitha Meena, a researcher in the Foreign Policy and Security Studies programme of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Dhaka University Professor Imtiaz Ahmed and Dhaka University Professor Dr Rashed Al Mahmud Titumiir were panel discussants.
Read: Cosmos dialogue on Bangladesh-South Korea relations to be premiered Thursday
The Chair, Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury , described the excellent bilateral relations as “unsurprising”, given the commonalities of values between the two Muslim-majority nations.
“We look to Malaysia to keep up the sharp focus on the Rohingya issue in ASEAN, as well as in other regional fora” he said.
Dr Chowdhury commended the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for describing the atrocities perpetrated by Myanmar authorities’ as “genocide”.
He reflected on the possibility of the events of ethnic cleansing and other crimes triggering the principle of “the responsibly to protect” in line with the relevant United Nations resolutions.
Highlighting the Bangladesh-Malaysia relations, he said the two countries will need to work closely together, to ensure the survival of a rule-based global community, after the” double whammy” of Covid and the crisis in Europe.
High Commissioner Haznah, in her key-note address, stressed that Malaysia and Bangladesh should capitalise on the existing strong relations between the two countries.
She recalled her country’s long relations with Bangladesh in trade and investment, education, culture, tourism as well as technical assistance.
Read: Cosmos Dialogue on Dhaka-Washington ties premieres Saturday on Facebook
Bangladesh, the high commissioner noted, was currently Malaysia’s 30th largest trading partner, and ranked second among South Asian countries.
Haznah hoped that the bilateral trade value between Malaysia and Bangladesh would reach the figure of up to USD 4 billion in five years.
The ultimate goal, she believed, should be the establishment of a Free Trade Agreement to strengthen and diversify bilateral economic relations between the two nations.
The high commissioner listed the areas like defence, aero-space and food security where bilateral cooperation could also be enhanced.
About the Rohingya issue, she assured that Malaysia will remain one of the strongest supporters of Bangladesh in raising it in multilateral forums.
In his remarks Farooq Sobhan said Bangladesh needs to focus much more on its Look East policy.
“The centrepiece of this Look East policy, in my view, is our relations with ASEAN in particular,” he observed.
Recalling significant landmark bilateral visits in the past, Farooq Sobhan stressed the continued need for such interactions.
Read: Cosmos Dialogue on Bangladesh’s ties with Nordic countries Saturday
Dr Imtiaz proposed floating a new platform between the two States, similar to the “Bangladesh-India Foundation, for consolidating mutual cooperation further.
He said it can be a public-private partnership. “We can invite some private entrepreneurs as well to build the foundation.”
Dr Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir highlighted the issue of FTA and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP to deepen the bilateral cooperation between the two nations.
Currently, he said most of the important Asian state-players have joined RCEP and it was expected that these growing economies of Asia will dominate the global market in the next decade.
He focused on transparent, fair and safe migration that complied with the provisions of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Malaysian researcher Yanitha Meena said Malaysia and Bangladesh had signed an agreement on labour recruitment which is a very important part of the relationship between the two friendly nations.
“It’s the right step and a highly appreciated part of our relations. This does not come without challenges, as we have seen that there are several challenges to actually come to labour relations,” she added.
Cosmos Foundation Executive Director Nahar Khan said it is notable how Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur have remained truly 'all-weather' friends and allies for half a century.
She lauded Malaysia’s role in providing aid and services to the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh hopes that Malaysia would continue its political pressure on Myanmar, to make them see the wisdom in creating a suitable environment in their Northern Rakhine state for full repatriation of the community, at the earliest, Khan said.
Read: Cosmos dialogue on EU’s contemporary relevance begins
“On the economic front, the time is truly right for Bangladesh-Malaysia to step up their engagement as they strive to move up the economic ladder within this decade,” she observed.
With the growing focus on the Blue Economy, Khan said it was now opportune moment for Dhaka and Putrajaya to explore maritime engagement, as additional dimension of Bangladesh-Malaysia relations.
“For this, the obvious arena for maritime engagement to commence would be the Bay of Bengal, and other regional waters, which have grown in importance as a critical maritime theatre in the eastern part of the Indian Ocean,” she added.
The speakers were agreed that this important deliberation and exchange of ideas organised by the Cosmos Foundation will enormously assist the widening and deepening of bilateral relations.
For climate migrants in Bangladesh, town offers new life
The 29-year-old Monira Khatun was devastated after her husband abandoned her suddenly. She returned to her father only to face another blow: He died soon after, leaving her to shoulder three other family members’ care. Without any work, she was worried about how she would feed them.
“I lost everything. There was darkness all around,” Khatun said. “My parents’ home was gone to the river for erosion, we had no land to cultivate.”
She ended up working at a factory in a special economic zone that employs thousands of climate refugees — like Khatun — in the southwestern town of Mongla, where Bangladesh’s second-largest seaport is located.
Read:War shakes Europe path to energy independence, climate goals
8 injured in N’ganj chemical factory fire
Eight workers taking a nap after their night shift sustained burn injuries in a fire that broke out at a chemical factory in the district's Rupganj upazila in the early hours of Wednesday.
Deputy assistant director of Narayanganj Fire Service and Civil Defense, Abdullah Arefin, said that the blaze broke out at Lily Chemical Factory in the Dakkin Golakandail area of the upazila at 3am and spread soon.
Read: Khulna oil tanker workers call off strike
On information, three fire tenders were pressed into service and it took them over an hour to douse the flames.
The victims have been identified as Bayezid, Rokon, Khademul, Sajeeb, Ripon, Mehedi, Russel and Akalur. All the injured are being treated at Dhaka Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.
Firemen suspect an electrical short-circuit could have triggered the inferno. "Anyway, a probe is on to ascertain the exact cause of the fire,” said Arefin.
Read: Biker killed in road accident in Dhaka
Workers often stay back and sleep on factory floors after their night shift due to lack of public transport post-midnight.
Khulna oil tanker workers call off strike
Oil tanker workers in Khulna have called off their strike based on an assurance from the district authorities that the perpetrators of the attack on one of their union leaders would be brought to justice.
The decision was taken after members of the Khulna Divisional Tank-Lorry Workers Union held a meeting with the district administrator on Tuesday night.
Read: CNG pumps to remain closed for 6 hours during Ramadan
"We have agreed to call off our indefinite strike following the district administrator's assurance that our demand for the arrest of the attackers will be met. We have given authorities time till Saturday," Mir Moksed Ali, president of the union, told UNB.
Fuel supplies to 10 districts in Khulna and five in Faridpur were disrupted on Tuesday, as the workers embarked on an indefinite strike over the alleged attack on Al Amin, the line secretary of the union, in the Kashipur Banglar Mor area on Monday.
The strike began around 8am, as the tanker workers refused to refill or transport oil from Padma, Meghna and Jamuna depots, demanding the arrest of the assailants.
Read: Private sector critical for post-pandemic recovery: Cabinet Secretary
Meanwhile, a case was filed against two men and 12 unidentified people at the Khalishpur police station in connection with the assault, following a complaint from the victim’s brother on Monday night, said Md Kamal Hossain, the officer-in-charge.
On Monday, around 12pm, some people attacked Al Amin. He was subsequently admitted to Khulna Medical College and Hospital with severe injuries.