prime minister
Doraiswami lauds Hasina’s leadership in realizing Bangabandhu’s dream of Sonar Bangla
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram K. Doraiswami on Friday said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s dream of a Sonar Bangla would be realized where every citizen lives a free, happy, healthy and prosperous life.
“I hope with your support and with the capacity of both sides to cooperate together, the vision of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for a Sonar Bangla for realising the dreams of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of a Bangladesh (will be materialised) where every citizen lives a free, happy, healthy and prosperous life,” he said.
The high commissioner was addressing a function at Akhaura where Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq joined as the chief guest. Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen was also present as a special guest.
Read: Bangabandhu’s legacy clearly reflected in Hasina’s leadership: Modi
Earlier in the day Doraiswami handed over two life support ambulances to the 250-bed General Hospital, Brahmanbaria and Upazila Health Complex, Akhaura respectively.
Be careful during winter about Coronavirus: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday urged all to maintain health protocols like wearing masks to check the recharge of Coronavirus in the upcoming winter as the virus hits many countries of the world at this time.
“I urge all to remain careful so that Coronavirus cannot resurge in any way. You’ll have to wear facemasks always,” she said, adding that the virus has again hit many other countries including the USA, England and Europe in the world with the advent of winter.
The Prime Minister said this while receiving 2645,000 blankets for the destitute from the Bangladesh Association of Bank (BAB) for her relief godown ahead of winter.
She joined the blanket handover ceremony, held at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban.
Read: Bangladesh reports 6 more Covid deaths, 294 fresh cases
Noting that the season changes in October-November here, which is a very critical time for the outbreak of influenza and cough, she urged people to take precaution to prevent influenza and cough in this transitional period between the cold and hot seasons.
Hasina also asked people to keep vitamin C-enriched fruits in their food menu to enhance their immunity against the coronavirus alongside maintaining the health protocols.
She said the government has successfully been able to keep the coronavirus under control.
The PM reassured that all those who are eligible for vaccination according to WHO would be brought under vaccination by the middle of the next year.
Read: Conduct digital surveys to protect forests: PM
She thanked the representatives of the private banks for donating the blankets and cash for the poor. "You people are always coming forward to help the poor."
On behalf of the Prime Minister, her Principal Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus received the blankets and a cheque of Tk 10 lakh for the PM's Relief and Welfare Fund from 37 private banks.
BAB Chairman Nazrul Islam Majumder spoke at the function while top representatives from the banks were present.
Conduct digital surveys to protect forests: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday directed the authorities concerned to conduct digital surveys immediately to know the latest situation of all the forests across the country so that effective steps can be taken to protect the country’s forests.
She gave the directive while presiding over the virtual Cabinet meeting from her official residence Ganobhaban. Other cabinet members were connected from the Bangladesh Secretariat.
“The Prime Minister issued an instruction for conducting digital surveys immediately on all the forests, maintaining coordination among the Land Ministry and the Environment and Forest Ministry as the deputy commissioners concerned,” said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam while briefing reporters after the meeting.
She stressed the need for taking steps on completion of the digital surveys for permanent settlement of the people who are now living inside forests.
The Prime Minister also directed the authorities concerned to go for reforestation and engage the local people in it, sharing the ownership of trees with them.
Read: UN chief in plea for saving forests
Remain ever ready to make any sacrifice: Hasina to Army personnel
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday asked the members of the Bangladesh Army to remain always ready to make the highest sacrifice to protect the interests of the nation.
“I believe the Bangladesh Army will remain ever ready for the highest sacrifice in any national need alongside protecting the country’s sovereignty,” she said.
The Prime Minister was addressing a function of the Bangladesh Army virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban.
The function was arranged to give the national standard (national flag) to 10 units and hand over the new flag to Mujib Regiment and Rowshan Ara Regiment of the Bangladesh Army at the Artillery Centre and School at Halishahar Cantonment in Chattogram.
Hasina said the Bangladesh Army has been playing a significant role in building the nation with their works in facing natural and manmade disasters as well as socio-economic and infrastructural development alongside protecting the country’s sovereignty.
She mentioned their important role in the development of the country’s communication system and facing the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hasina said the members of Bangladesh Army brought honour and dignity for Bangladesh by demonstrating their outstanding dedication, dutifulness and professionalism in the establishment of global peace and different foreign missions, which undoubtedly have brightened the image of the country in the world arena.
On behalf of the Prime Minister, Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed handed over the national standards to the respective commanders of 4, 12 and 20 field regiments artillery, 5 Air Defence Artillery, Riverine Engineering Battalion, 1 and 2 Signal Battalions, Army Aviation group and NCO Academy as well as reintroduced the flag to the commanders of the Mujib Regiment and Rowshan Ara Regiment Artillery.
READ: Identify new market trends to diversify export: Hasina
The Prime Minister said the human and compassionate approach of the Army members while discharging their duty everywhere, including in foreign countries, impress the common people,’ she said.
Talking about her government’s activities for the modernization of the Armed Forces, she said, “Our armed forces have been strengthened and achieved enough progress in the last 13 years.”
The forces have particularly been making a special contribution towards curbing militancy and terrorism, the Prime Minister said.
She said her government that was formed in 1996 established the National Defence College and Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training (BIPSOT) to make the army a time-befitting force and improve its training quality.
Coming to power in 2009, her government formulated the Forces Goal-2030 and the Defence Policy 2018 in line with the Defence Policy 1974 framed by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, she mentioned.
The Prime Minister congratulated the members of the units which were conferred upon the national flag and asked them to uphold the dignity of the flag.
READ: South Asian nations should work together: Hasina
She said Bangladesh is marching forward defying hundreds of adversities as her government’s goal is to build a hunger- and poverty-free developed and prosperous Bangladesh as dreamt by the Father of the Nation.
“Bangladesh will continue to march forward with the spirit of the great Liberation War. We’ll move ahead keeping our heads high on the world stage,” she added.
At the event, the Prime Minister virtually witnessed a smartly turned-out parade of the members of the units.
Sudan's military takes power in coup, arrests prime minister
Sudan’s military seized power Monday, dissolving the transitional government hours after troops arrested the prime minister, and thousands flooded the streets to protest the coup that threatened the country’s shaky progress toward democracy.
Security forces opened fire on some of them, and three protesters were killed, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Committee, which also said 80 people were wounded.
The takeover, which drew condemnation from the United Nations, the United States and the European Union, comes more than two years after protesters forced the ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and just weeks before the military was supposed to hand the leadership of the council that runs the country over to civilians.
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency closed meeting on the Sudan coup late Tuesday afternoon. The United States, United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Norway and Estonia requested the emergency consultations.
Read:PM, officials detained, internet down in apparent Sudan coup
After the early morning arrests of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other senior officials, thousands demonstrated in the streets of the capital, Khartoum, and its twin city of Omdurman. They blocked streets and set fire to tires as security forces used tear gas to disperse them.
As plumes of smoke rose, protesters could be heard chanting, “The people are stronger, stronger!” and “Retreat is not an option!” Social media video showed crowds crossing bridges over the Nile to the center of the capital. The U.S. Embassy warned that troops were blocking parts of the city and urged the military “to immediately cease violence.”
Pro-democracy activist Dura Gambo said paramilitary forces chased protesters through some Khartoum neighborhoods.
Records from a Khartoum hospital obtained by The Associated Press showed some people admitted with gunshot wounds.
The head of the military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, announced on national TV that he was dissolving the government and the Sovereign Council, a joint military and civilian body created soon after al-Bashir’s ouster to run the country.
Burhan said quarrels among political factions prompted the military intervention. Tensions have been rising for weeks over the course and the pace of the transition to democracy in Sudan, a nation in Africa linked by language and culture to the Arab world.
The general declared a state of emergency and said the military will appoint a technocratic government to lead the country to elections, set for July 2023. But he made clear the military will remain in charge.
“The Armed Forces will continue completing the democratic transition until the handover of the country’s leadership to a civilian, elected government,” he said. He added that the constitution would be rewritten and a legislative body would be formed with the participation of “young men and women who made this revolution.”
The Information Ministry, still loyal to the dissolved government, called his speech an “announcement of a seizure of power by military coup.”
As darkness fell in Khartoum, barricades were still burning and occasional gunshots could be heard, said Volker Perthes, the U.N. special envoy for Sudan, at a briefing in New York.
President Joe Biden was briefed on Sudan in the morning, said White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre. She added that the U.S. was “deeply alarmed at reports of a military takeover" and called for the immediate release of the prime minister and other officials.
“The actions today are in stark opposition to the will of the Sudanese people and their aspirations for peace, liberty and justice,” Jean-Pierre said.
The Biden administration is suspending $700 million in emergency economic aid to Sudan that had been allocated to help the transition, said State Department spokesman Ned Price. He called it a “pause,” and urged the civilian-led government be immediately restored.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly condemns the ongoing military coup d’état in Khartoum and all actions that could jeopardize Sudan’s political transition and stability,” said his spokesman, spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.
Guterres also called for the release of the government officials, the spokesman said, as did the African Union. EU foreign affairs chief Joseph Borrell tweeted that he was following the events with the “utmost concern.”
Read: 10 killed in South Sudan plane crash
Kushtia journo held under DSA for defamatory post against PM
A journalist was arrested in Kushtia on Tuesday under the stringent Digital Security Act (DSA) for allegedly sharing a "defamatory" social media post against the Prime Minister.
Farhad Asif Tipu, 50, son of late Amir Uddin of Batikamara village of Kumarkhali upazila, is the Kushtia correspondent for Daily Jay Jay Din.
Read:Rangpur: 1 arrested in Joypurhat under DSA, 42 for arson
Police said Farhad shared on Facebook a defamatory post with a distorted image of the Prime Minister from his own page on the social media platform. It was originally posted on Facebook by someone else.
The arrest comes on a complaint from Kumarkhali Upazila Juba League organising secretary Farhad Imran. Based on the complaint, an FIR was filed against Farhad under the Digital Security Act at the Kumarkhali police station.
Read: DSA: Order on Jhumon Das’s bail plea Thursday
Kamruzzaman Talukder, officer-in-charge of the Kumarkhali police station, said they had arrested the journo based on the complaint.
Nepal can use Mongla and Paira ports, Hasina tells envoy
Bangladesh on Sunday offered Nepal to use its both Mongla and Paira ports.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made the offer when Nepalese Ambassador Dr Banshidhar Mishra met her at her official residence Ganobhaban.
PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting.
The Prime Minister said Bangladesh is developing Syedpur Airport as a regional one and Nepal can use that airport.
READ: Don’t waste food as crisis looms over many countries: Hasina
She recalled with gratitude Nepal's support during Bangladesh’s Liberation War.
The Nepalese envoy sought cooperation from Bangladesh for the development of their agriculture sector.
He also praised Bangladesh’s overall development saying that they are moved by its economic development.
The envoy thanked the Prime Minister as Nepal always gets Bangladesh beside them during their needs and recalled its medical assistance after a massive earthquake hit their country.
He thanked the Prime Minister on behalf of his country's President and Prime Minister as she sent Haribhanga mango as a gift.
READ: Hasina calls for hunting down culprits of Cumilla incident
Ambassador-at-Large Mohammad Ziauddin and Principal Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus were present at the meeting.
Don’t waste food as crisis looms over many countries: Hasina
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday urged all to stop wasting food as many countries in the world are going to face a famine-like situation.
“Wasting food has to be reduced. There’s a scarcity of food on one side of the world and heavy wasting on the other… there shouldn’t be any food wasting,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said this while addressing the World Food Day held at Hotel InterContinental joining from her official residence Ganobhaban.
The theme of this year is “Our actions are our future -- Better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life”.
The Prime Minister urged scientists to think about the reuse of excess food and conduct research in this regard.
READ: Hasina calls for hunting down culprits of Cumilla incident
She asked all to remain vigil so that Bangladesh never runs into a food crisis and no one can conspire to push the country into a famine. “All need to be watchful. Inshallah, we’ll fulfil the demand for food and ensure food security.”
Hasina added that there will be no food scarcity in the country as the government has taken numerous programmes and projects in this regard.
Underlining the importance of research, she said, “Research works need to be carried forward as this is a continuous process.”
Talking about various types of research-driven inventions that the Bangladeshi scientists achieved, including drought resilience and flood resilience rice for ensuring food security in the country, she said, “I think the scientists of Bangladesh are the best in the world.”
The Prime Minister said the government has introduced a land zoning system to protect arable lands of the country. “We’ll surely go for development but by preserving the arable lands,” she said.
Hasina mentioned that the government is taking various types of preparations so that the country does not lag behind in food production during the upcoming fourth industrial revolution.
“Our aim is to ensure food security along with nutrition. For that, we’ve given importance to protein production,” Hasina said.
READ: Unesco-Bangabandhu Prize: Hasina to visit France in mid-Nov
Briefly describing the remarkable success in Bangladesh’s food production in the last 12 years, Hasina said Bangladesh will export food items to earn foreign exchange after fulfilling the local demand.
Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder, Agriculture Minister Dr. Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim and Senior Secretary of Agriculture Minister Md Mesbahul Islam also spoke at the event.
A documentary on food production of the country was screened at the programme.
Hasina also unveiled a book titled ‘Agricultural Development in Bangladesh’ and a portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with a new variety of paddy ‘Bangabandhu Rice-100’ invented by BIRRI scientists.
The Prime Minister also directed all concerned to give due importance to marketing and processing of agriculture products alongside boosting their production.
She urged the farmers to utilize their land saying that not a single inch of land should be left uncultivated.
Elaborating various agriculture and farmer-friendly measures taken by her government during 1996-2001 and since 2009, Hasina said Bangladesh has now become a self-reliant country in food production due to the various pragmatic steps.
The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction that the production of vegetables, fruits, onions, dairy and other agriculture items has increased substantially and those are now available throughout the year.
Besides, she said, Bangladesh now ranks 11th in the world in terms of food production due to the coordinated efforts of the scientists, farmers and time-befitting steps of the government,
Hasina mentioned that all concerned will have to focus on quality and standard of food products and their processing, not only for the country but also for their exports.
Japan's Parliament elects former diplomat Kishida as new PM
Japan's parliament on Monday elected Fumio Kishida, a former moderate turned hawk, as prime minister. He'll face an economy battered by the pandemic, security threats from China and North Korea and leadership of a political party whose popularity is sagging ahead of a fast-approaching crucial national election.
With his party and its coalition partner holding a majority in both houses, Kishida won by a comfortable margin against Yukio Edano, head of the largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. Kishida and his new Cabinet will be sworn in at a palace ceremony later in the day.
He replaces Yoshihide Suga, who resigned after only one year in office as his support plunged over his government's handling of the pandemic and insistence on holding the Tokyo Olympics as the virus spread.
Kishida is expected to make a policy speech in Parliament on Friday but is looking to dissolve the lower house to hold elections on Oct. 31, Japanese media reported. Observers see the early date as a move to take advantage of his government's fresh image to rally support.
Read: Japan's Parliament set to formally choose Kishida as new PM
Jun Azumi, senior Constitutional Democratic Party lawmaker, criticized Kishida over his plan to dissolve the lower house in just over a week. “It's like a delicatessen that forces customers to buy without a chance to try samples."
A former foreign minister, Kishida, 64, used to be known as a moderate but turned hawkish on security and more conservative on gender equality and other issues, apparently to show loyalty to influential conservatives in the Liberal Democratic Party and win their support. He is firmly entrenched in the conservative establishment, and his victory in last week's vote to replace Suga as the party's leader was a choice for continuity and stability over change.
Kishida replaced all but two of Suga's 20 Cabinet members and 13 will hold ministerial posts for the first time, according to the lineup announced by new Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno. Most of the posts went to powerful factions that voted for Kishida in the party election. Only three women are included, up from two in Suga’s government.
Read: Japan's next leader: Higher wages cure for pandemic doldrums
Veteran female lawmaker Seiko Noda, one of four candidates who vied for the party leadership race, is becoming the minister in charge of the nation's declining birthrate and local revitalization. Another woman, Noriko Horiuchi, became vaccinations minister, replacing Taro Kono, the runner-up in the party leadership race.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, who is former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's younger brother, were retained, ensuring continuity of Japan’s diplomacy and security policies as the country seeks to closely work with Washington under the bilateral security pact in the face of China’s rise and growing tensions in the region, including around Taiwan.
Kishida supports stronger Japan-U.S. security ties and partnerships with other like-minded democracies in Asia, Europe and Britain, in part to counter China and nuclear-armed North Korea.
Kishida created a new Cabinet post aimed at tackling the economic dimensions of Japan's national security, appointing 46-year-old Takayuki Kobayashi, who is relatively new to parliament.
Finance Minister Taro Aso was shifted to a top party post and replaced by his 68-year-old relative, Shunichi Suzuki.
Japan faces growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, which last month test-fired ballistic missiles capable of hitting targets in Japan. Kishida also faces worsening ties with fellow U.S. ally South Korea over history issues even after he struck a 2015 agreement with Seoul to resolve a row over the issue of women who were sexually abused by Japan's military during World War II.
Read:Japan ex-diplomat Kishida wins party vote, to become new PM
An urgent task at home will be turning around his party’s sagging popularity, hurt by Suga’s perceived high-handedness on the pandemic and other issues. Kishida is expected to make a policy speech later this week before dissolving the lower house of Parliament ahead of the general election that must be held by late November.
He'll also have to ensure Japan's health care systems, vaccination campaign and other virus measures are ready for a possible resurgence of COVID-19 in winter, while gradually normalizing social and economic activity.
Kishida said last week that his top priority would be the economy. Kishida’s “new capitalism” is largely a continuation of Abe’s economic policies. He aims to raise income of more people and create a cycle of growth and distribution.
A third-generation politician, Kishida was first elected to Parliament in 1993 representing Hiroshima and is an advocate for nuclear disarmament. He escorted former President Barack Obama during his 2016 visit to the city that, along with Nagasaki, was destroyed in U.S. atomic bombings in the closing days of World War II.
PM returns from UNGA trip
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returned home on Friday night from her journey to attend the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, USA.
A VVIP chartered flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the Prime Minister and her entourage landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 11:13pm, said PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim.
On Thursday afternoon (local time), she left Washington for home wrapping up her two-week official foreign tour. Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA M Shahidul Islam and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations Rabab Fatima saw her off at Dulles International Airport there.
On her way to Dhaka, the aircraft reached Helsinki, the Finish capital at 9:00am (local time) and then departed the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport for Dhaka after a two-hour stopover there.
Read: PM opens Bangladesh House in Maryland, USA
On September 17, the Prime Minister left Dhaka to attend the 76th UNGA in New York. She reached New York on September 19 after a two-day stopover in Finland.
During her stay in New York from September 19 to 24, Sheikh Hasina addressed the UNGA general debate (September 24), attended high-level events and bilateral talks with heads of governments, states and organisations.
She also planted a honey locust tree and unveiled a bench at the UN gardens dedicating these to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the occasion of his birth centenary.
Later, the Prime Minister went to Washington DC on September 25.
During her stay in Washington, Sheikh Hasina opened the newly constructed ‘Bangladesh House’ and planted a fringe tree on its premises.