Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of valiant freedom fighter Squadron Leader (retd) Badrul Alam, Bir Uttam. PM to inaugurate potentially iconic tunnel project running beneath Karnaphuli River In a condolence message, Sheikh Hasina said that contribution of this fearless aviator, of the “Kilo-Flight”, to the Liberation War will be remembered. UNOPS Executive Director Jorge Moreira da Silva to meet PM Hasina Sunday The premier prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed deep sympathy to the members of the bereaved family. Motorcade from PMO makes trial crossing through ‘Bangabandhu Tunnel’ in Ctg

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday visited the Vatican Embassy, formally known as the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See, in Dhaka and signed a book of condolences for former Pope Benedict XVI who passed away on December 31, 2022. "We are deeply saddened at the passing away of His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. The demise of His Holiness the Pope Emeritus is surely an irreparable loss for the entire humanity," Foreign Minister Momen wrote in the condolence book. “Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will be remembered for his tireless pursuit to promote peace, development, and human rights across the world. Under his guidance, the Catholic community in Bangladesh played a noticeable role in promoting education and social services," he noted. “I am confident that Bangladesh will continue to uphold the teachings of His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in maintaining religious harmony and the defence of human rights,” Momen added. The Foreign Minister offered his sincere condolences to the Catholic faithful around the world, the Holy See, and all the people whose lives were enriched by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s spiritual teachings.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday expressed her condolences and sympathies to Chinese President Xi Jinping at the sad demise of the country's former president, Jiang Zemin. In a letter she said: "We pray for the eternal peace of the departed soul. Our prayers and thoughts are also with the bereaved members of family, and we pray that they may be able to overcome their irreparable loss. We, in Bangladesh, stand beside the government and the friendly people of China at this time of mourning.” In the letter, as per a press release from PMO press wing, Sheikh Hasina reiterated that Bangladesh and China are time-tested development partners and enjoy friendly relations with the ‘Strategic Partnership of Cooperation’. Read: PM expresses condolences at passing of Monzur E Mawla She recalled that the friendly relations between the two countries were greatly strengthened during the tenure of former President Jiang Zemin. She expressed her confidence that bilateral relations between the two counties would continue to flourish and strengthen in the days ahead.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday expressed her deep shock at the tragic loss of many lives in a stampede at Itaewon in Seoul during Halloween celebrations on the night of October 29, 2022. In a letter sent to South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, she on behalf of the people and the government of Bangladesh conveyed deepest condolences to him and to the bereaved families, relatives, and friends of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery to the injured. “As a longstanding friend of the Republic of Korea, Bangladesh profoundly sympathises at this tragedy and stands by the people of the Republic at this difficult hour.” She prayed so that people and government of South Korea overcome this tragic loss with courage and fortitude. Read: Ted Kennedy Jr. meets PM Hasina along with his family Associated Press (AP) reported that the death toll from the stampede rose to 153 while 133 others were injured during the country’s worst disaster in years. South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on Sunday that the death count could further rise as 37 of the injured people were in serious conditions.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of Ekushey Padak winning actor and screenplay writer Masum Aziz. In a condolence message, the prime minister said the talented actor will be remembered for his work. She prayed for the eternal salvation of the departed soul and expressed sympathy to the bereaved family. Masum Aziz died on Monday afternoon at a private hospital in the capital where he was under treatment for heart-related ailment. He was admitted to the hospital with cardiac problem on October 3 and was put on life support as his condition deteriorated on Thursday morning. Read: PM condoles death of Enamul Haque His body will be taken to the Central Shaheed Minar on Tuesday morning for the public to pay tributes. His body will later be taken to his ancestral home in Pabna where he will be buried at his family graveyard. The actor was awarded the country's second highest civilian award, the Ekushey Padak, this year for his remarkable contribution in acting.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of Ekushey Padak recipient eminent painter and professor of Dhaka University Fine Arts unit Samarjit Roy Chowdhury.She prayed for the eternal salvation of the departed soul and expressed sympathy to the bereaved family. Samarjit Roy Chowdhury, one of the most prominent Bangladeshi artists and art educators, passed away at 2:40 pm in a city hospital on Sunday.  The Ekushey Padak-winning painter (85) was suffering from multiple health issues, according to his family. Read: Eminent painter Samarjit Roy Chowdhury passes away Confirming the matter, Dhaka University fine arts faculty dean Nisar Hossain told the media that the revered artist was admitted to the hospital with heart complications and later suffered from pneumonia.According to Chowdhury’s son Surojit Roy Chowdhury, the art maestro was admitted to Labaid Hospital in the capital on September 5. After a week of treatment, the family took him home on September 12; however, he was readmitted to the hospital on September 15 due to complications.News of his departure created a shadow of grief among the artist community in the country.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep shock at the death of three peacekeepers from Bangladesh following the detonation of an explosive ordnance against a convoy of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic. “The Secretary-General is deeply saddened,” Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said in a statement on Wednesday.   One peacekeeper remains in critical condition. The Secretary-General expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the fallen peacekeepers and to the government and the people of Bangladesh. “He wishes a speedy recovery to the injured.”  The Secretary-General recalled that attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law. Read: UN in Bangladesh condoles tragic deaths of peacekeepers in CAR He called on the Central African authorities to spare no effort in identifying the perpetrators of this attack, so that they can be brought to justice swiftly. The Secretary-General called upon the Central African authorities to lift the restriction on night flights that negatively impacts the safety and security of peacekeepers who take considerable risks daily to support national authorities. The Secretary-General reaffirmed the solidarity of the United Nations with the people and government of the Central African Republic.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday expressed profound shock and sorrow at the death of Ekushey Padak recipient veteran journalist Toab Khan. In a condolence message, the premier recalled that Toab Khan, the Editor of Bengali daily ‘Dainik Bangla’, had played the role of a word hero of Swadhin Betar Kendra during the Liberation War.   She noted that the distinguished journalist served with patriotism and devotion in various fields of mass media after the independence of Bangladesh. Read: Veteran journalist Toab Khan dies at 87 Toab Khan served as the editor of Dainik Bangla, the Chief Information Officer, the Director General of Press Institute of Bangladesh and the advisory editor of the Daily Janakantha. He also served as the press secretary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. “This lifelong fighter and talented journalist will be remembered for his own works,” said Hasina. The PM prayed for salvation of the departed soul and expressed deep sympathy to the bereaved family members. Toab Khan, 87, died of old age complications at the United Hospital in the city at 12:30pm.   Read: President mourns death of journalist Toab Khan Khan started his journalism career in 1953 and joined Dainik Songbad in 1955.

President Abdul Hamid on Saturday expressed deep shock at the death of Ekushey Padak recipient veteran journalist Toab Khan. In a condolence message, the President said Toab Khan was a pioneer in journalism in Bangladesh. “The void created by his death in the country's media world will never be filled.” Read: Veteran journalist Toab Khan dies at 87 The President prayed for the departed soul of Toab Khan and expressed his deepest condolences to his bereaved family. Khan, Editor of  ‘Dainik Bangla’, died of old age complications at United Hospital in the capital on Saturday. He was 87.

Across the globe, the death of Queen Elizabeth II has prompted reflections on the historic sweep of her reign and how she succeeded in presiding over the end of Britain’s colonial empire and embracing the independence of her former dominions. Tributes to the queen’s life have poured in, from world leaders to rock stars to ordinary people — along with some criticism of the monarchy. It was in Cape Town, marking her 21st birthday in 1947, that the then-Princess Elizabeth pledged that her “whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.” The British empire soon crumbled, but Elizabeth managed to maintain a regal — if ceremonial — position as the head of the Commonwealth, the 54 nations of mostly previous British colonies. “The Queen lived a long and consequential life, fulfilling her pledge to serve until her very last breath at the age of 96,” Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, said Friday. “She was an exemplary leader of the kind seldom seen in the modern era.” As queen, Elizabeth was seen as endorsing the birth of democracies in former colonies in Africa where Black citizens previously had been denied basic rights, including the vote. When in glittering tiaras she danced with new African leaders in the 1960s and visited their capitals, she burnished their new institutions. When white-minority rule finally fell in South Africa in 1994, Elizabeth welcomed Nelson Mandela as a world leader. Her warm friendship with Mandela gave her a new relevance. “In the years after his release from prison, (Mandela) cultivated a close relationship with the queen. He hosted her in South Africa and visited her in England, taking particular delight in exploring Buckingham Palace. They also talked on the phone frequently, using their first names with each other as a sign of mutual respect as well as affection,” the Nelson Mandela Foundation said Friday. “For Madiba, (Mandela’s clan name) it was important that the former colonial power in southern Africa should be drawn into cordial and productive relations with the newly democratic republic of South Africa.” Fellow anti-apartheid fighter the late Anglican archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu also enjoyed good relations with the queen. Read: British sports hold day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II “Although ensconced in the pomp, ceremony and lifestyle of royalty and empire, in a world of profound inequality, she was a servant queen,” Tutu’s foundation and trust said Friday. In contrast, a scathing view of the queen’s rule was issued by South Africa’s populist party, the Economic Freedom Fighters. The queen was “head of an institution built up, sustained, and living off a brutal legacy of dehumanization of millions of people across the world,” it said. “We do not mourn the death of Elizabeth, because to us her death is a reminder of a very tragic period in this country and Africa’s history,” said the party. “During her 70-year reign as queen, she never once acknowledged the atrocities that her family inflicted on native people that Britain invaded across the world. She willingly benefited from the wealth that was attained from the exploitation and murder of millions of people.” Some Irish soccer fans raucously cheered the queen’s death at a match Thursday, according to videos posted online that angered her supporters. The Republic of Ireland’s leadership expressed condolences and admiration for the queen. The widespread tributes that followed her death came not only from U.S. President Joe Biden but also from Russian President Vladimir Putin. She was a “stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States,” Biden and first lady Jill Biden said, adding that she ”defined an era.” Putin sent a telegram to King Charles III — Elizabeth’s oldest son who automatically became Britain’s new monarch. “For many decades, Elizabeth II rightfully enjoyed the love and respect of her subjects, as well as authority on the world stage. I wish you courage and perseverance in the face of this heavy, irreparable loss,” Putin wrote. Elizabeth was mourned across Europe. In France, Britain’s historic rival and contemporary ally, flags at the presidential palace and public buildings were lowered to half-staff on Friday. French President Emmanuel Macron released a video Friday in English expressing a sense of “emptiness” after her passing. Addressing the British public, he said: “To you, she was your Queen. To us, she was THE Queen, to all of us.”