Bangladesh
BIMSTEC Summit: Six documents including its Charter to be adopted, signed
Six documents including BIMSTEC Charter are likely to be adopted and signed at the 5th BIMSTEC Summit to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on March 30, says Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday.
Five other documents are BIMSTEC convention on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters; memorandum of association on the establishment of BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility (TTF) in Colombo; memorandum of understanding (MoU) on mutual cooperation between diplomatic academies/training institutions of BIMSTEC Member States; rationalization and reorganization of sectors and sub-sectors of BIMSTEC and BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and other heads of government will join the Summit virtually while ministers-level and foreign secretaries-level delegations will join in person, Momen said while briefing the media at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, Secretary (East) Mashfee Binte Shams and Additional Secretary (SAARC & BIMSTEC) Md. Shamsul Haque were present.
READ: PM to attend BIMSTEC Summit virtually: FM
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will formally inaugurate the Summit. Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) consists of seven member states – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
The theme of the 5th BIMSTEC Summit is “BIMSTEC-Towards a Resilient Region, Prosperous Economies and Healthy Peoples.”
Asked whether Rohingya issue will be discussed in the BIMSTEC Summit, the foreign minister said Bangladesh raises the issue in all the forums.
Responding to a question, he said Bangladesh is now a hub of connectivity as it believes that connectivity is productivity. “That’s why we’ve given lot of emphasis on connectivity.”
Momen highlighted the importance of connectivity with the countries like India, Myanmar, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
State Minister Shahriar said the rail connectivity through Cox's Bazar-Ghumdhum is also part of BIMSTEC connectivity initiative.
He also mentioned about maritime connectivity between Chattogram port of Bangladesh and Ranong port of Thailand.
Foreign Minister Momen said a “Summit Declaration” will be issued after the BIMSTEC Summit and Sri Lanka will hand over the chairmanship of BIMSTEC to Thailand.
Before the key Summit, FM-level meeting will be held on March 29 while FS-level meeting on March 28. Bangladesh will join the meetings in person.
The 5th BIMSTEC Summit will be an opportunity to review and reflect what had worked and what did not, said the state minister.
“It will be an opportunity to refresh and renew their commitment to strengthen the BIMSTEC Process in all respects,” he said.
Child drowns in Khulna
A one and a half year old child drowned in a well at Tanjpur in Fultala upazila in Khulna on Wednesday .
The deceased was identified as Jararul Islam, son of Ramzan Ali of Tajpur Garuhat area.
The incident occurred near their house at around 3 pm on Wednesday, said ASI Babul Das of Fultana police station.
Read: Rajshahi: Two friends drown while bathing in Padma
According to family sources, mother of Jaharul was busy with household chores and he was playing at the courtyard.
When his mother did not see him at the courtyard after some time she started searching the child and later his body was found in the well near their house.
The child was rushed to Fultala Upazila Health Complex but doctors declared him dead.
Romanian ambassador presents credentials to President Hamid amid hope of growing Dhaka-Bucharest ties
Ambassador Daniela Sezonov Tane on Wednesday presented her credentials to President Abdul Hamid as the non-resident envoy of Romania to Bangladesh.
Based in New Delhi she also serves concurrently as her country’s ambassador to Indian and Nepal.
Ambassador Daniela was given a guard of honour by a smartly turned out contingent of Presidential Guard Regiment on her arrival at Bangabhaban, President’s Press Secretary Joynal Abedin said.
Read: Sustainable solution of Rohingya issues lies on repatriation: FS
Welcoming the new ambassador President Hamid hoped that Bangladesh’s good relations with Romania will grow further under her tenure.
Earlier on Tuesday evening Enayetullah Khan, Honorary Consul of Romania in Bangladesh, hosted a reception at his Baridhara residence in honor of Ambassador Daniela.
"I am happy to be in Bangladesh. I am very proud to be in Bangladesh," she said, adding that Bangladesh and Romania are trying to do some important events together to mark the 50 years of their diplomatic relations.
She said Romanians are trying to help as much as they can amid the crisis in Ukraine and recalled how they helped Indian students and some Bangladeshi people who got stranded in Ukraine.
“Now we need to be together to stand for some basic general values. I hope the situation will improve,” said the Romanian ambassador, adding that it is a war which has to be condemned by everybody. “We can’t have double standards.”
After falling in love with India, through the ancient wisdom of the Vedas and the Upanishads, Ambassador Daniela decided to study Hindi language and literature at the University of Bucharest.
She was part of the first batch of students studying Hindi in post-communist Romania. In 1992 Daniela received a scholarship from the Indian government, for the study of Hindi language and culture, at Kendriya Hindi Sansthan, Agra and this is how she discovered India at 22.
Enayetullah Khan said Romania was one of the first countries in the world to recognize Bangladesh as a sovereign country and expressed his happiness to see Ambassador Daniela in Dhaka who she met first almost 20 years ago.
He said Covid has taught them to think differently during the last two years and subsequent sufferings due to the pandemic made them stronger.
Khan hoped that the situation in Ukraine would turn better and would be peaceful. “I hope there will be peace in the world. There will be more prosperity.”
He said though there are new challenges they would be able to face those challenges unitedly for a better world.
“This is a new Bangladesh. It’s a rising Bangladesh,” Khan said, adding that they are working hard to promote Bangladesh coming out from “image deficit”.
Khan hoped for peace and prosperity in the world and noted that in every crisis there is an opportunity. “I hope Bangladesh-Romania relations will grow bigger, stronger and deeper.”
Secretary (West) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Shabbir Ahmad Chowdhury gratefully recalled the support of the Romanian Foreign Ministry and Bangladesh Mission in Bucharest in helping stranded Bangladeshis leave Ukraine through Moldova and Romania.
Read:EU, Bangladesh remain in 'constant dialogue' over HR issues
“I am very much impressed by the way she looks into Bangladesh and she (Romanian Ambassador) has expressed her willingness to elevate the relationship between the two countries to a different height,” he said.
The secretary said much progress has been made and Romania is looking forward to having a lot of manpower from Bangladesh and the new ambassador has committed to facilitate it. “Our relationship will grow strength to strength in the future.”
Current and former diplomats including former Ambassador Farooq Sobhan and Honorary Advisor Emeritus, Cosmos Foundation Ambassador (Retd) Tariq A Karim were present.
Rashed, Robin elected TRNB President, GS
Rashed Mehedi, special correspondent of Daily Samakal, and SM Masuduzzaman Robin, senior reporter of Jamuna Television, have been elected President and General Secretary respectively of the Executive Committee of Telecom and Technology Reporters’ Network Bangladesh (TRNB) for the year 2022-24.
The election and the Annual General Meeting of TRNB were held on Tuesday night.
Read: Mithu, Hasib elected DRU President, GS
Farooq Hossain, senior reporter for the Daily Inqilab, was elected treasurer while Al-Amin Dewan, executive editor of Techshohor organizational secretary.
Besides, senior reporter of Daily Ittefaq Sameer Kumar Dey, special correspondent of Channel I Pantha Rahman and senior reporter of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) Mazharul Anwar Khan Shipu were elected members of the committee.
Sustainable solution of Rohingya issues lies on repatriation: FS
Bangladesh has reiterated that it cannot bear the immense socio-economic and environmental costs by hosting over a million of Rohingyas for an indefinite period.
“Therefore, these people must be repatriated to their origin in Rakhine State,” said Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, adding that sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis lies in repatriation.
He made the call at the open-ended meeting of the OIC ad hoc ministerial committee on accountability for human rights violations against the Rohingyas, held in Islamabad, Pakistan on the sidelines of the 48th OIC Council of Foreign Ministers on March 22-23.
Read:Myanmar denies genocide, again describes Rohingyas as 'Bengali community'
While thanking The Gambia and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for supporting legal action, he called for keeping the momentum going to provide justice to Rohingyas, according to a message received here from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The foreign secretary also called for strong solidarity from the member states by contributing voluntarily to meet the legal expenses of the case.
Turkey committed US $ 2,00,000 to the fund. The members of the ad- hoc committee praised Bangladesh for hosting this large number of refugees over the years and even proving them Covid vaccine.
Schoolboy’s throat-slit body found in Tangail
Police recovered the throat-slit body of a schoolboy from a waterbody in Kalihati upazila of Tangail on Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as Rahat, 13, son of Shahadat Hossain of Agbaniya village of the upazila. He was a student of class VII of Balla Coronation High School.
Read:Truck-motorcycle collision leaves 2 dead in Tangail
Locals said Rahat remained missing since Tuesday night.
Locals spotted the throat-slit body in the waterbody at Kagujipara and informed police, said Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kalihati Police Station Mollah Azizur Rahman.
The body was later sent to hospital morgue for autopsy.
Read:Father, son die from electrocution in Tangail
Police detained two people for interrogation, the OC said.
Besides, processes are underway to file a case in this regard.
Covid-19: Bangladesh reports one death, 134 new cases
Bangladesh reported one more Covid-linked death with 134 fresh cases in 24 hours till Wednesday morning.
On Tuesday, the country reported 121 fresh cases with no death.
The country reported first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 last year along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020.
Read: Covid in Bangladesh: No death reported in 24 hrs
The daily positivity rate rose a bit to 1.27 per cent from Tuesday’s 1.11 per cent after testing 10,571 samples during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The lone death was reported from Dhaka Division and the deceased was a woman, aged between 51-60.
With the latest numbers, the country’s total fatalities mounted to 29,118 while the caseload to 19,50,980.
Besides, the mortality rate remained unchanged too at 1.49 per cent.
Read: Covid-19 in Bangladesh: No new death, 116 fresh cases as positivity stand at 1.06%
The recovery rate rose to 96.04 per cent with the recovery of 921 more patients during the 24-hour period.
On January 28, Bangladesh logged its previous highest daily positivity rate at 33.37 per cent reporting 15,440 cases and 20 deaths.
Besides, the country registered the highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year, while the highest number of daily fatalities was 264 on August 10 last year.
Madrasa teacher gets life term for molesting student in Khagrachhari
A Khagrachhari court on Wednesday sentenced a madrasa teacher to life term imprisonment in a case filed over molesting a 10-year-old boy in 2017.
The lifer is Hafez Md Noman Mia alias Roman, a teacher of Choto Merung Al Iqra Hifzul Quran Madrasa at Dighinala of the district.
Read:Ctg madrasha principal gets life term for violating female teacher
Khagrachhari Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Md Abu Taher handed down the verdict.
The court also ordered the lifer to give Tk 30,00,000 to the victim’s family as compensation.
According to the case statement, Noman Mia molested the student of the madrasa and a case was filed at Dighinala Police Station in this regard on August 23 in 2017.
On May 22 in 2018, charges were framed against Noman.
4 of a family burnt in Dhaka ‘gas leak’ fire
Four members of a family, including two children, suffered burns as a fire broke out at a flat in the city’s Badda area early Wednesday.
The injured were identified as Abu Saeed, 38, his wife Rekha, 29, their daughter Safa, 9, and son Safiyan, 7.
The fire might have originated from a leak in gas supply line in their flat in Satarkul area around 3:30am, said Duty Officer of fire service's Control Room Ershad Hossain.
Read: Kalyanpur slum fire under control
On information, fire fighters rushed to the spot and doused the blaze after an hour, he added.
The injured were rushed to Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute for treatment, said Inspector Bachchu Mia, in-charge of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) Police Outpost.
Ayub Hossain, a resident physician of the hospital, said Abu Saeed’s condition is critical as he sustained 95 percent burn wounds.
Nordic countries’ assistance to Bangladesh to continue: envoys
Three Nordic countries - Denmark, Norway and Sweden- have assured Bangladesh of continuing their assistance for the economic development of the country.
The Danish, Norwegian and Swedish ambassadors to Bangladesh -- Winnie Estrup Petersen, Espen Rikter-Svendsen and Alex Berg von Linde respectively-- said this at a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday.
Read: PM gives away National Film Awards to 32 winners
The three diplomats jointly paid a courtesy call on the prime minister at the latter’s official residence Ganobhaban on the occasion of the 50 years of diplomatic relationship between Bangladesh and Nordic countries.
PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting.
The envoys congratulated the prime minister on the occasion of the 50 years of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and the three Nordic countries.
They said their countries had given recognition to Bangladesh in 1972 soon after the independence.
They praised the progress of Bangladesh particularly the social development gained following the footsteps of Bangabandhu.
The ambassadors highly appreciated the prime minister for providing houses to the landless and homeless people.