bangladesh
Diplomats on way to Tungipara, see Bangladesh’s dream project Padma Bridge
Diplomats stationed in Dhaka had the opportunity to see Bangladesh’s dream project Padma Bridge on their way to Tungipara, Gopalganj by road on Thursday to pay respect to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam, who is accompanying the diplomats during the visit, explained how the dream of having a mega project like Padma Bridge is becoming a reality.
Also read: Hope rises as govt reiterates Padma Bridge to open to traffic by June
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki said the State Minister explained to the Head of Missions about the impact of Padma Bridge on the economy and people’s lives in Bangladesh.
“Another game changer for inclusive and sustainable development,” Naoki tweeted sharing photos of Padma Bridge which is set to be inaugurated soon.
Fugitive murder case convict held in city after 22 yrs
The Anti-Terrorism Unit of Bangladesh Police arrested a fugitive convict in a murder case from the city’s Khilkhet area early Thursday.
The arrestee was Md Anwar Hossain, 55, of Dinajpur district. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case in 2005.
Tipped off, a team of ATU conducted a drive in Barua Bazar area in Khilkhet around 12:30am, according to a media release of Bangladesh Police.
Also read: 7 protesters arrested from DU for demanding 2nd admission test
In 2000, Anwar killed his second wife Alfatun alias Alta Begum and went into hiding. He had been staying in different areas of Dhaka hiding his identity for 22 years.
During primary interrogation, the arrestee confessed to his involvement with the crime, said the release.
Legal steps will be taken in this regard, It added.
Also read: TCB goods recovered from Gazipur market godown; trader arrested
IFC to increase investments in Bangladesh in next 5 yrs
International Finance Organisation (IFC) aims to double its investments in Bangladesh within the next five years, said a top ranking IFC official of the development organisation.
It will have a focus on creating new jobs, with new investments to help accelerate the country's resilient recovery and to spur green growth.
The comments by IFC Regional Director for South Asia, Hector Gomez Ang, came at the end of a five-day visit to Bangladesh, which included meetings with senior government officials, private sector representatives, think tanks, potential new clients and other key stakeholders.
Read:Nordic envoys emphasise importance of democracy with fair elections in Bangladesh
Gomez Ang was accompanied by IFC's recently appointed Country Manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, Martin Holtmann, as well as senior IFC industry experts.
Energy and energy transmission as well as infrastructure to improve the quality of healthcare in Bangladesh, in the wake of COVID 19 impacts, and the need for affordable housing were among the areas singled out by Gomez Ang as targets for investment.
“IFC promotes energy diversification and already supports more than 20 percent of the private power generation in Bangladesh. We are looking to do more in terms of the energy mix and transmission, and also to explore new opportunities in healthcare, education, climate and economic zones, and green, affordable housing,” Gomez Ang added.
“An upper middle-income Bangladesh starts with a livable Dhaka, and we are eager to develop the affordable housing sector which is critical for inclusive growth.”
5 cops stabbed by mugger in Dhaka
Five cops have been hospitalised after being brutally stabbed by a mugger at a police station in the Fulbaria area of Dhaka, officials said on Thursday.
The injured have been identified as sub-inspector Robi Ahsan, assistant sub-inspector Tajul Islam, and constables -- Nazrul Islam, Sajeeb and Shafiqul.
Read:Youth stabbed on eve of wedding in Shariatpur: Accused injured in mob beating
They are being treated at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). Constable Nazrul's condition is said to be critical, a police officer said.
"We detained two muggers -- Emon, 22, and Jewel, 23 -- from the city's Fulbaria area on Wednesday night. While frisking them at the gate of Bangshal police station, Emon whiffed out a knife and stabbed the five indiscriminately,” said SI Mosarraf Hussain.
They were all rushed to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), where Nazrul is currently battling for his life, the officer said.
UP member found dead in Manikganj
A 50-year-old union parishad member was found dead in Saturia upazila of Manikganj early Thursday morning, a day after he went missing.
The deceased was identified as Farhad Hossain, a member of ward-6 of Baraid union. Police suspect Farhad was suffocated to death.
Read:Student, teacher die as truck ploughs through Manikganj school
Locals spotted Farhad's body near a neighbour's house around 9am and alerted cops, said Md Ashraful Alam, officer-in-charge of Saturia police station. "A team soon went to the spot and took the body into custody."
Farhad had been missing since Wednesday afternoon. "However, the exact cause of his death will be determined after an autopsy," said the OC.
Dhaka, Moscow working out modalities to keep transactions, trade uninterrupted: Russian envoy
Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander Mantytskiy on Thursday said his country and Bangladesh are working out modalities to keep transactions and trade uninterrupted, avoiding SWIFT system following the Ukraine crisis.
He said different options are being considered, including swap of national currencies and usage of third country's banks but did not want to go into the details of this work.
The Russian ambassador made the remarks at a press conference at the Russian Club highlighting Bangladesh-Russia economic cooperation and its development.
Read:Nordic envoys emphasise importance of democracy with fair elections in Bangladesh
The press conference titled "One month of the Russia's special military operation in Ukraine: causes and results. The world of post-truth" covered five key areas - the background of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia's diplomatic efforts aimed at avoiding the conflict, the results of the Russia's special military operation, role of the West in the militarization and Nazification of Ukraine, economic consequences of the conflict and Russia-Bangladesh relations in a new reality.
Responding to a question on Bangladesh’s voting at the UNGA on March 2, the Russian envoy said they highly appreciate Bangladesh's "responsible and balanced" attitude towards the resolution.
"We express our gratitude to the Bangladeshi side for its neutral position taken despite the enormous external pressure during the said voting," he said.
The ambassador said Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen very specifically defined the motives behind Bangladesh's abstention. "So, I have nothing more to add."
Rooppur NPP to be implemented as scheduled
Responding to a question Mantytskiy said construction of the Rooppur NPP is on schedule and the project will be implemented in accordance with previously approved plans. “All operations are being carried out on schedule.”
In 2021, he said, the dome of the inner containment was assembled at Unit 1, the reactor vessel and reactor plant equipment were installed, in February of this year while welding of the reactor coolant pipeline was completed.
Deaerator has been installed in the machine room and installation of the polar crane was completed at Unit 2 in November 2021, said the Ambassador, adding that the reactor vessel and steam generators are scheduled to be mounted by the end of the year.
Construction of a training centre for the operational personnel of the Rooppur NPP is at its final stage, he said.
Active work is currently underway on the installation of the key thermal and mechanical, electrical equipment and process pipelines, said the Russian envoy.
Bangladesh makes good progress despite Covid pandemic: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said that Bangladesh’s development forged ahead despite the Covid pandemic that affected the global economy and created food shortage even in many developed countries.
“We’ve been able to continue the development trend of Bangladesh despite facing the corona,” she told a function arranged to distribute the Swadhinata Purashkar-2022 (Independence Award-2022) at Shapla Hall of the Prime Minister’s Office.
The prime minister said that the people now get to know even the small problems of the country because of the media freedom guaranteed by her government.
“We know that massive food shortage has been seen in many developed countries as well,” she said, adding that many people throughout the world went below the poverty margin too.
She said these problems faced by many countries went unreported, while in Bangladesh the media could write about it.
The PM said there were only one television and one radio station in the country in the past before she opened the electronic media to the private sector.
She said the people can now know about even small problems here due to information technology and a large number of television and radio stations. But many other countries are there who never publish such problems, she added.
Hasina said Bangladesh has gained economic self-sufficiency. “Now we can implement our development projects with 90 per cent finance from our own resources,” she added.
She said her Awami League government has been working to reach the benefits of independence to the doorstep of every house in the country.
“We achieved Independence. Our goal is to reach its benefits to every house upholding this Independence. And we’ve been working with this goal,” she said.
Read: PM distributes Independence Award to 9 people, 2 organisations
Two killed in Meherpur road crash
Two persons were killed when a speeding truck crashed into a stationary lorry on Meherpur-Chuadanga Road in the district early on Thursday morning, police said.
The deceased were identified as truck driver Shahadat Hossain, 45, and his helper Faruk Hossain, 42, both residents of Sathia upazila of Pabna district.
Read:Road crash claims three lives in Habiganj
"The ill-fated truck coming from Chuadanga crashed into the sand-laden lorry that broke down and had been parked on the roadside in the Old Dorbeshpur area around 6am," said assistant sub-inspector ASI Shakhawat Hossain of the local police camp in Baradi.
The bodies were sent to the Meherpur General Hospital morgue for post-mortem, he said, adding that the two vehicles had been seized.
Bus-truck collision leaves 4 dead in Naogaon
Four people, including a two-year-old child, were killed and 15 others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck in Naogaon on Wednesday night, police said.
The accident occurred around 9pm on Badalgachi-Patnitala Regional Road in the district's Mohadevpur upazila.
Read:Dinajpur road crash leaves 2 dead
"The Naogaon-bound bus crashed into the truck coming from the opposite direction at high speed, as its driver could not apply brakes at the last minute," said Azam Uddin Mahmud, officer-in-charge of Mohadevpur police station.
Two passengers of the bus died on the spot and 17 were injured in the impact of the collision, he said.
The injured were taken to Badalgachi Upazila Health Complex and Naogaon Sadar Hospital. Five of the seriously injured were later shifted to Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital (RMCH) after their condition worsened.
"The child succumbed to his injuries at Naogaon Sadar Hospital that night only, while another injured at Badalgachi Upazila Health Complex died on Thursday morning," said the OC.
Read: Road crash claims three lives in Habiganj
Two of the deceased were identified as Abdur Rashid, 37, and Girij Pahan, 35, of Soasa village in Badalgachi upazila. The identity of the child and another deceased could not be known immediately.
A case of rash and negligent driving has been filed at Mohadevpur police station, the officer added.
PM distributes Independence Award to 9 people, 2 organisations
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday gave away “Swadhinata Purashkar-2022” (Independence Award-2022), the highest national award, to nine distinguished individuals and two organisations in recognition of outstanding contribution in their respective fields.
She handed over the prestigious award to the recipients or their family members, attending a function in person at Shapla Hall of the Prime Minister’s Office here.
Read: Eleven chosen for Independence Award 2022
Ilias Ahmed Chowdhury (posthumous), Colonel Khandaker Nazmul Huda (posthumous), Mohammad Sahiudiin Biswas (posthumous), Sirazul Haque (posthumous), Siraj Uddin Ahmed and Abdul Jalil were honoured for their contributions to the Independence and the Liberation War.
Prof Dr Kanak Kanti Barua and Prof Dr Md Kamrul Islam were given the highest state award for their contributions to medicine, while Syed Mainul Hossain (posthumous) for his contribution to architecture.