United News of Bangladesh

The namaz-e-Janaza of six Bangladeshi peacekeepers, who were killed in a drone attack on a UN peacekeeping base in Sudan’s Abyei region, were held on Sunday morning at the central mosque of Dhaka Cantonment. Representatives from the Chief Adviser, Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Md Nazmul Hassan, and Chief of Air Staff Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan, among others, attended the Janaza held at 9:15am. After the janaza, tributes were paid to the slain soldiers on behalf of the President and the Chief Adviser. Representatives from the three forces also paid their respects at the coffins. Later, the bodies were flown by helicopter to their respective home districts. Before the janaza, brief biographies of the soldiers were read aloud and prayers were offered for the departed souls. The slain peacekeepers are Corporal Md. Masud Rana from Natore, Soldier Md. Mominul Islam and Soldier Shanto Mondal from Kurigram, Soldier Shamim Reza from Rajbari, Mess Waiter Md. Jahangir Alam from Kishoreganj, and Laundry Worker Md. Shobuj Mia from Gaibandha. Bodies of 6 Bangladeshi peacekeepers arrive in Dhaka Their bodies were brought back to Dhaka on a special Emirates Airlines flight at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Saturday morning. On December 13, a drone attack by a rebel armed group at Kadugli Logistics Base in Abei of South Sudan under the UN peacekeeping mission killed the peacekeepers and injured nine others. The injured are Lt.Col Khondakar Khalekuzzaman, Sergeant Md. Mostakim Hossain, Corporal Afroza Parvin Iti, Lance Corporal Mohibul Islam, Soldier Md. Mezboul Kabir, Soldier Md. Umme Hani Akhtar, Soldier Chumki Akhtar, and Soldier Md. Manazir Ahsan.

A trader was stabbed to death allegedly by muggers in the capital’s Jatrabari area early Saturday. The deceased was identified as Ashish Joaddar, 32, a cloth trader and son of Amal Joyaddar of Paturia village in Magura Sadar. Al Amin, a witness, said when Ashish was walking past a warehouse under the Jatrabari flyover two to three muggers blocked his way and stabbed him with a knife. Hearing his screams, locals rushed to the spot, prompting the attackers to flee without managing to snatch anything, he said. He was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition around 1:30am where doctors on duty at the emergency department declared him dead. Inspector Md Faruk, in-charge of the police camp at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, the body has been kept at the hospital morgue and the matter has been reported to Jatrabari Police Station.

Seven wild Asian elephants, including calves, were killed after a speeding passenger train struck a herd as it crossed railway tracks in north eastern India, officials said. The collision occurred early Saturday in Hojai district of Assam, where another calf was also injured in the incident. According to the Northeast Frontier Railway, the train driver noticed dozens of elephants on the tracks and applied emergency brakes, but several animals were still struck by the Delhi bound express. Five coaches derailed following the impact, though railway authorities said no passengers or crew members were hurt. The accident led to multiple train cancellations and diversions in the area throughout the day. Veterinary teams later examined the dead elephants, which were subsequently buried, officials said. Assam is home to one of India’s largest elephant populations, with nearly 6,000 animals recorded across the state. Elephant herds frequently cross railway lines in the region. However, the Northeast Frontier Railway said Saturday’s accident did not occur at a designated elephant corridor.  

After burying beside the grave of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, agitated students replaced ‘Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall’ with ‘Shaheed Osman Hadi Hall’ at Dhaka University (DU) on Saturday night. On Saturday night around 9pm, leaders of the hall union brought a crane to the site and removed the existing name and wrote ‘Shaheed Sharif Osman Hadi Hall’ in its place. At the same time, the portrait of Sheikh Mujib on the upper wall of the old building at the hall’s entrance was disfigured. Earlier on Thursday night, students of the dormitory pasted posters reading ‘Shaheed Sharif Osman Hadi Hall’ over the hall’s nameplate.  Earlier on Saturday, Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) announced a programme to besiege the Vice-Chancellor’s office at 2:30pm on Sunday, demanding the renaming of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall and Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall. According to a media release signed by the DUCSU Literary and Cultural Affairs Secretary, the central student union announced to enforce the programme to press their three demands, renaming Mujib Hall as Shaheed Osman Hadi Hall, Fazilatunnesa Hall as Felani Hall, and taking administrative action against teachers, officers, and staff who took position against the July uprising. Speaking about the removal of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall’s name, the hall’s Vice President Muslimur Rahman said those responsible for Hadi’s killing are linked to the fallen fascist forces, and Sheikh Mujib is the ideological father of those fascists. “By removing Sheikh Mujib’s name and renaming the hall after Osman Hadi, we are showing respect for Hadi,” he said. Despite identifying the killers, the government has failed to arrest the killers, he alleged, saying that “From our position, this is what we can do renaming the hall after Hadi.” Muslimur claimed that they conducted an opinion poll where the majority of students supported the renaming of the hall. Earlier on 3 September, the university administration partially changed name of the hall by removing ‘Jatir Janak’ and ‘Bangabandhu’ and set Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall.  

The solution to the Rohingya crisis lies in Myanmar and among the three classical solutions, only the repatriation remains a sustainable solution. Repatriation of the Rohingya must take place today or tomorrow, although it appears difficult now. Abu Saleh Mohammed Obaidullah, Additional Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (Joint Secretary), Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC), Cox’s Bazar, made the comments at the inaugural session at the international conference titled “Sustainable Solutions to the Rohingya Crisis: Policies and Practices” was held at the SIMEC Institute of Technology, Uttara, Dhaka. SIMEC Research Centre, Singapore, and SIMEC Institute of Technology, Bangladesh, jointly organised the conference. The inaugural session was chaired by Dr Ratan Kumar Roy, Director, SIMEC Research Centre, Singapore. Dr Sariful Islam, Research Coordinator, SIMEC Institute of Technology, delivered the opening remarks of the conference. Obaidullah also notes that “Bangladesh is not in a position to integrate the Rohingya, locally, and the resettlement is not viable as a small number of Rohingya get repatriated. The resettlement number of the Rohingya stands now at just 5500. The change in the international political landscape, with the rise of anti-migrant and refugee sentiment, makes the resettlement option for the Rohingya bleak.” Rohingya representatives, joined virtually from the camps, expressed their strong sentiment to go back to their homeland, Arakan of Myanmar. The Rohingya speakers highlighted the importance of getting recognition for their identity and citizenship rights back in Myanmar. Astrid Castelein, Assistant Representative for Protection, UNHCR Bangladesh, said that digital intervention, i.e., digital data registration, is not only critical for providing humanitarian assistance to refugees but also for a sustainable solution to the refugee crisis. The UNHCR in Bangladesh began biometric registration for Rohingya refugees in 2018, following a joint Memorandum of Understanding. Castelein has made this comment in the plenary session on Digital Intervention for Sustainable Solutions: Biometrics, Data Protection and Legal Concerns for Rohingyas in Bangladesh. The conference was curated with an inaugural session, two plenary sessions, seven parallel thematic sessions, a special session on academic publishing, and a valedictory session. The conference concluded with a valedictory address by Dr Imtiaz Ahmed, who highlighted the importance of regional cooperation, international responsibility-sharing, and justice-oriented approaches to inspire confidence in collective efforts. Dr Imtiaz has stressed the need to view the Rohingya crisis comprehensively. Recognising the complex actors involved, including states, military forces of Myanmar, intergovernmental organisations, business communities, and civil society, is essential for fostering respect and a shared sense of responsibility. Engr. Sardar Md. Shaheen, Founder Chairman of the SIMEC Foundation, which sponsored the conference, was the chief guest at the closing session. He pointed out that Bangladeshi academicians, scholars and institutes should continuously produce scholarship as well as make policy deliberations to have a sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis, which has put extreme stress in many ways on Bangladesh. The conference has brought together scholars, policymakers, humanitarian practitioners, Rohingya representatives, media professionals, and government officials from Bangladesh, United States, Singapore, Germany and India to critically examine long-term responses to the Rohingya crisis. Discussions throughout the conference underscored the limitations of short-term humanitarian approaches and emphasised the urgent need for sustainable, rights-based, and politically informed solutions.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey on Saturday expressed deep concern over the situation in Bangladesh following recent violence in Dhaka and other parts of the country. In a statement, she said she joined the people of Bangladesh in mourning the loss of Sharif Osman Hadi and conveyed her sincere condolences to his family and loved ones. “I am deeply concerned about the situation in Bangladesh following the recent violence in Dhaka and other areas of the country,” she said. The Commonwealth Secretary-General urged respect for the rule of law and called on the authorities to ensure the safety of all, including members of the media. She welcomed the interim government’s statement pledging to hold those responsible for the violence to account and calling for restraint, responsibility and a firm commitment to rejecting hatred. She also appealed for calm and urged all concerned to exercise the highest degree of prudence and forbearance at this critical time.

The deadline for applying for admission to Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) for the 2025-26 academic year has been extended till December 25. The matter was confirmed in a notification signed by the Admission Committee President, Professor Md Ahmed Kabir Chowdhury, on Saturday. The notification said that in view of the current situation in the country and the requests of students and guardians, the application period for the 2025-26 academic year has been extended until 11:59 pm on December 25. The admission test for the 2025-26 academic year will be held on January 13 and 14 next year.

Law enforcement agencies have arrested ten people in connection with the killing of a Hindu youth who was beaten to death in Bhaluka Upazila of Mymensingh district. Of them, seven were arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and three by the police, the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing said on Saturday. Those arrested by RAB are Md Limon Sarkar, 19; Md Tarek Hossain, 19; Md Manik Mia, 20; Ershad Ali, 39; Nizum Uddin, 20; Alamgir Hossain, 38; and Md Miraj Hossain Akon, 46. The police arrested Md Ajmal Hasan Sagir, 26; Md Shahin Mia, 19; and Md Nazmul. RAB-14 and the police conducted operations at different locations to detain the suspects, the press wing added. The victim, Dipu Chandra Das, a local garment worker, was beaten to death by a mob over alleged blasphemy in Bhaluka Upazila. His body was later set on fire.

Police have arrested 16 more people in Naogaon in the last 24 hours as part of the ongoing ‘Devil Hunt Phase-2’ operation, police said on Saturday. All the arrestees are leaders and activists of different organs and affiliated bodies of the Awami League, whose activities have been banned, Naogaon Superintendent of Police Mohammad Tariqul Islam said in a press release. The arrestees are Arman Khan Palin, 34, of Bangabaria area in Naogaon Sadar upazila; Mostafizur Rahman Firoz, 55, of Chakdev Masterpara; Rezaul Haque, 72, of Krittipur; Mehedi Hasan Nirob, 28, of Bacharigram; Md Hasan, 45; Abdul Kader, 60, of Kachua (Gahelapur) area of Raninagar upazila; Rafi Hasan, 25, of Meerut area in Jalalabad; Jahangir Alam, 63, of Gana (Dighi Purbapara) area; Ayet Ali, 56, of Sonaidanga area of Atrai upazila; Motibul Islam, 54, of Harirampur area of Patnitala upazila; Mizanur Rahman, 40, of Battali area; Momtaz Uddin, 55, of Sherpur area of Mahadevpur upazila; Rafiqul Islam, 42, of Haripur area; Moslem Prodhan, 41, of Kusmail area of Niamatpur upazila; Chaiful Islam, 42, of Kharapa area of Porsha upazila; and Jotiranjan Adhikari, 46, of Mainam area of Manda upazila. SP Mohammad Tariqul Islam said the operation is being conducted as part of regular police activities to curb crime and maintain law and order in the district. “A total of 55 people have been arrested in recent days, including accused persons in various cases and those with outstanding warrants,” he added. The police official said the operation would continue to ensure overall law and order in the district.  

A doctor of Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar has been temporarily dismissed for allegedly making objectionable comments about Shaheed Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, spokesperson of Inqilab Moncho and a prospective candidate for Dhaka-8. Dr Tajin Afroz Shah, was relieved from her duties through a notice signed by the Principal of Enam Medical College, Professor Dr Md Motahar Hossain Bhuiyan, on Friday (December 19). According to the notice, Dr Tajin Afroz Shah has been temporarily dismissed from the Department of Medicine for making objectionable comments about Shaheed Sharif Osman bin Hadi on Facebook. The order came into effect from December 19, 2024. She has also been asked to show cause within seven working days as to why she should not be permanently dismissed from her position. In addition, Dr Tajin Afroz Shah has been removed from the post of secretary general of Bangladesh Doctors Foundation (BDF). Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, spokesperson of Inqilab Moncho, died on December 18 while undergoing treatment in Singapore. He was shot in Dhaka on December 12. Following his death, a screenshot of an alleged Facebook comment from Dr Tajin Afroz Shah’s account, criticising Shaheed Sharif Osman Hadi, went viral on social media, sparking widespread outrage. However, Dr Tajin Afroz Shah claimed that her Facebook account had been hacked. Later, she posted on the same account stating that unknown individuals had hacked her ID and demanded money. She described the circulated comments as “disgusting” and expressed her regret over the incident.