United News of Bangladesh

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Monday said that the BNP does not support vandalism or setting fire to anyone’s office or home. “If any party or political activist commits a crime, they should face consequences under existing laws. The BNP does not endorse acts of vandalism or arson, nor do we support the harassment of individuals who have committed no crime,” Rizvi said. Rizvi made the remarks while speaking to reporters after visiting the home of widow Asma in Nagarkanda upazila of Faridpur district on Monday. Rizvi also addressed media reports alleging that BNP leader Salahuddin Kabir vandalized and occupied Asma’s house in Nagarkanda. He stated that Tarique Rahman, the BNP's acting chairman, instructed him to visit Asma’s home promptly and take action against the alleged leader. Don't allow fallen fascists to return : BNP Reaffirming BNP's commitment to peaceful coexistence, he added, “Recently, we witnessed incidents of arson and vandalism linked to a political party in Dhaka and Khulna. We strongly condemn these actions.” Rizvi warned that anyone involved in such acts, regardless of political affiliation, will face consequences. "Criminals will not be spared, even if they are BNP leaders or activists," he emphasized. On behalf of the BNP, Rizvi extended financial support to Asma.    

A massive fire at Azahar Filling Station at Rahmatpur Bypass Road in Mymensingh Sadar killed two people and injured six others on Monday. One of the deceased has been identified as Himel, 30, son of Jamal Uddin from Kichmot village within the Mymensingh city corporation. No fire service station in 32 upazilas, says Home Adviser The injured were taken to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital for treatment, police said.  The fire reportedly broke out around 2:35 pm, following an explosion that occurred while gas was being unloaded from an LPG-carrying lorry at the filling station, according to Md. Mozammel Hossain, Deputy Director of Mymensingh Fire Service and Civil Defence. Seven firefighting units promptly responded to the emergency, managing to bring the flames under control by nearly 3:25 pm. Concern mounts as Chandpur lacks proper fire equipment amid violation of building code Following the incident, the Deputy Commissioner constituted a three-member committee tasked with investigating the cause of the explosion.  The committee was instructed to submit its report within three working days.

Two workers were killed when an old wall of a shop collapsed on them at Keranipara in Kuakata of Patuakhali district on Monday. The deceased were identified as Abu Bakkar, 42, son of Abdur Rahman, and Kamal Hossain, 40, son of Hakim Ali. Quoting witnesses, Md Noman, officer-in-charge of Mahipur Police Station, said the incident occurred in the morning when a portion of the wall collapsed on Abu Bakkar and Kamal as they were repairing the shop’s shutter, leaving them dead on the spot. 3 held with huge amount of foreign liquor in Patuakhali On information, police recovered the bodies and sent them to the local hospital morgue for autopsy.    

A construction worker died after falling from an under-construction building in the capital's Mugda area on Sunday afternoon. The victim was identified as Nayem Hossain, 24, son of Mosharraf Hossain in Kalirtobok village in Sadar upazila of Barguna district. Miraj Hossain, the elder brother of the deceased, stated that Nayem fell from the 7th floor of an under-construction building in the Mugda area around noon on Sunday. He was later taken to the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead around 12:45pm. Inspector Md Faruk, in-charge of Dhaka Medical College Hospital police outpost, said the body was kept at the morgue for an autopsy. The matter has been informed to the concerned police station, he added.

Ferry services on the Aricha-Kazirhat route resumed on Sunday after 38 hours of suspension. The ferry services on the Aricha-Kazirhat route remained suspended from 10 pm on Friday due to poor navigability, leaving 300 goods-laden vehicles stranded on the river. Nasir Mohammad Chowdhury, Deputy General Manager of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC), Aricha office, said a dredging unit of BIWTA conducted dredging and resumed the operation of the ferry services around 11am on Sunday. Osman Goni, engineer of BIWTA dredging unit, said the government has set a target to remove 38 lakh cubic meters of soil on Aricha-Kazirhat and Paturia-Daulatdia ferry routes and the navigability work of 240 feet basing and ten feet deep channel is going on. Several ferries were stuck on hidden shoals for the past several days due to the poor navigability in the Padma River, forcing the authorities to halt ferry services multiple times.    

The family and relatives of Nizam Uddin, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in war-torn Lebanon on his way to work, has urged the government to bring his body home as soon as possible. Nizam, 32, son of Mohammad Abdul Quddus of Khaira area of Kasba Upazila in Brahmanbaria, died in Grazmiye area of Beirut on Saturday afternoon (local time), said the Bangladesh Embassy on Sunday. Sayera Begum, elder sister of Nizam, said her brother was the youngest among five siblings of a poor family. Though poor the family managed to collect Tk 7 lakh to send him to Lebanon nearly 12 years ago. After arriving in Lebanon, he struggled to find suitable work and did not earn well. Although he could not bring financial security to his family through his overseas work, he managed to finance the building of a new house for his mother with some corrugated iron sheet, said Sayera. Nizam's younger sister, Parul Begum, said Nizam could not return to Bangladesh due to lack of legal documents. When the family discussed his marriage, he would say he wanted to earn money first and improve their living conditions before returning home to marry. Bangladeshi expat killed in Israeli air strike in Lebanon: Embassy “My brother's dreams were shattered in an Israeli airstrike at a hotel in Beirut,” she lamented, expressing her sorrow. She received the news of his death through a friend at night and called for her beloved younger brother's body to be brought back home. Kasba Upazila Executive Officer, Muhammad Shariar Muktar, said contact has already been made with the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment. The body of Nizam will be returned to the country as soon as the situation normalises.  

Production has been suspended at six garment factories in Gazipur since Sunday morning, as the authorities have closed them indefinitely. Approximately 14,000 workers were employed in the factories. The decision was made to ensure the safety of the staff and workers, as well as to protect factory property under Section 13 (1) of the Bangladesh Labour Law-2006. The factories include Tuska Jeans Ltd., Tuska Trousers Limited, Tuska Processing Ltd., Tuska Packaging Ltd., Tuska Denim Ltd., and Tuska Washing Ltd. Notices posted on the main gates of the factories indicate that some workers and outsiders disrupted production on Saturday, leading to unrest. Due to the unrest and to protect the lives and property, the garment authorities decided to suspend production indefinitely from Sunday. 1 more RMG factory gets LEED certification, total number reaches 230 Masum Hossain, General Manager of the factories, said operations would resume once a conducive working environment is established. Abu Taleb, Senior Superintendent of Gazipur Industrial Police-2, said while the authorities were willing to address some of the workers' demands, the lack of solidarity from the workers led to the decision to issue a closure notice. Several hundred workers demonstrated outside the factories, demanding payment of their dues, attendance bonuses, night shift allowances, and meal allowances on Saturday.    

Fishermen and their family members have become happy as hilsa fishing is set to resume Sunday midnight with the end of a 22-day ban on catching, selling, and transporting the fish. During visits to various area in Sadar upazila, including Raghunathpur, Harina, Ananda Bazar, Ranagoal, and Zafrabad, many fishermen were found busy repairing their nets and boats. Several fishermen, including Shahjahan and Anwar Hossain, voiced frustrations over illegal fishing in Munshiganj and Shariatpur districts, saying that some fishers had disregarded the government-imposed ban. Due to illegal fishing, fishermen   struggle to find hilsa even after the end of the ban period, they said. 165 fishermen jailed for defying hilsha ban They also expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s food assistance provided during the ban, noting that rising costs of essentials have made it difficult to support their families, especially bearing their children's educational costs. According to the district fisheries department, the ban was enforced to protect mother hilsa during its peak breeding season, thereby boosting hilsa output. The restriction on catching, selling, storing, and transporting hilsa began on October 13 and will be lifted this midnight. Approximately 50,000 fishermen, including 44,035 registered fishermen from Shatnol in Matlab North upazila to Char Bhairabi in Haimchar upazila of Chandpur district, are gearing up to resume fishing. During the 22-day ban, district and upazila task force members arrested 372 fishermen, said HM Iqbal, Officer-in-Charge of Chandpur River Police. Hilsha selling like hot cake in wholesale market Assistant District Fisheries Officer Farhana Akter Ruma reported that a total of 602 drives were conducted by the task force during the ban period. Besides, a total of 239 cases were filed and 2.731 tonnes of hilsa along with 1.75 million meters of illegal fishing nets were seized.

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-10 has arrested BNP student front Chhatra Dal leader, in the murder case of Businessman, Iyar Ali in Saltha upazila of Faridpur on Saturday noon. The arrestee has been identified as Md. Hafizur Rahman,35, son of Sahid Matubbar from Gopalia village in Sonapur Union, Salta Upazila and a former convener of Upazila Chhatra Dal. RAB-10 Faridpur camp informed about the arrest through a press release on Today. Woman charged in drugs case escapes from police station before court appearance According to the press release, acting on a tip-off  a RAB-10 operational team apprehended Hafizur Rahman late Friday night from the Bhanga Road intersection in Faridpur city. In a preliminary interrogation, Hafizur reportedly confessed to his direct involvement in the murder. Following his arrest, he was handed over to Saltha Police Station. However, it is known that the incident was triggered by a land dispute. Saltha Police Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md. Ataur Rahman said, Hafizur was sent to jail by a court on Saturday noon.

Two cousins drowned in a pond in Andharia Nijpara village of Shgerpur's Sadar upazila on Saturday afternoon. The deceased have been identified as Mahin Mia, 6, son of Sultan Mia, and Junayed Hossain, 5, son of Manowar Hossain. Both were students at a local madrasa. Unidentified man killed in road accident on Kuril Bishwa Road flyover Md Jobaidul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Sherpur Sadar police station, confirmed the incident, stating that the local UP Chairman reported the drowning of two children via mobile phone. However, they did not receive any formal complaint in this regard. Local resident Md Akabar Ali mentioned that the two children left home to play in the afternoon. When they had not returned by evening, a search was conducted, and their bodies were found in a nearby pond.