The National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Monday said it has waived the income tax for Grameen Bank for the next five years to remove discrimination in this field. Grameen Bank has been enjoying the tax exemption since its establishment in 1983. But the benefits were stopped in 2020. Grameen Bank was launched by Nobel Peace laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus, currently the chief adviser of the interim government. The tax exemption until 2029 was reinstated on October 10, Thursday in a statutory order after a four-year stoppage.The NBR in a press release said that to end the existing discrimination Grameen Bank has been given the waiver on all income until December 31, 2029 on some conditions.It did not provide any details of the conditions. It mentioned that other institutions operating homogeneous microcredit programmes same as Grameen Bank are enjoying the tax benefits. However, Grameen Bank will still be required to submit annual income tax returns, as per the gazette. NBR to focus on out-of-court settlement of tax disputes to boost revenue According to the press release since the inception of Grameen Bank- established through the Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983 - the income tax was waived on any income of the said institution, exemption from paying super tax or business profit tax.Established through the Grameen Bank Ordinance, 1983 and the subsequent Grameen Bank Act, 2013, Grameen Bank is not a Scheduled Bank and the institution primarily operates microcredit activities, the NBR press release said.It said that Grameen Bank does not enjoy the same tax exemption as per the Income Tax Act, 2023, despite providing homogenous services i.e. microcredit, only because it is not registered by the Microcredit Regulatory Authority.However, Grameen Bank will still be required to submit annual income tax returns, as per the gazette.

The international children’s rights organisation, Kochi Konther Asar, has submitted four separate memorandums to the Chief Adviser Prof Mohammad Yunus, the UN Regional Office, UNICEF and the US Embassy in Dhaka. These memorandums called for an end to the violation of children's rights globally including in Bangladesh. The organisation conducted a day-long programme on Thursday to mark World Children’s Day and World Children’s Week 2024. In response to questions from journalists, Kaium Khan, Secretary General of the Central Executive Committee of Kochi Konther Asar, stated, "Children are being abused in various ways in all countries, including Bangladesh. Children in war-torn countries, in particular, are suffering from extreme violence and hardship." Citing recent events, Khan added that many children were injured or killed during recent uprisings, with the world also witnessing the suffering of children in the conflicts in Palestine, Israel, Ukraine, and Russia. Founder of Kochi Konther Asar, Hemayet Hossain, emphasised that children in many countries, including Bangladesh, are still denied their basic rights. "Discrimination is evident even in fundamental human rights," he said, also pointing out that street children do not receive any support from government hospitals. Read: UN will declare both Israel and Hamas are violating children's rights in armed conflict After the speeches, a group of child representatives, alongside a UNICEF rally and road march, presented their demands through memorandums. A special memorandum was submitted to the office of the Chief Advisor at 11 a.m., followed by submissions to the United Nations and the US Embassy at noon. A minute of silence was observed in honor of children who were killed or injured in anti-discrimination movements. Students from various institutions, including Bengali and English medium schools, autism schools, madrasas, and schools such as USEP School, Autism Welfare Foundation, Mastul School, Karail Slum Street School, Academia, Manipur School (Tribal Students), Al Amin Hifzul Quran Madrasah and Orphanage, and Mapleleaf School, were present. The participants held placards with messages such as “End Child Labor,” “Reform Right to Education for Children,” and “Save Gaza, Save Ukraine, Stop the War.” Read more: Tuku for forming cross-sector body for protecting street children's rights Kochi Konther Asar distributed nutritious food to over 5,000 school students at Surupi Salina Baksa High School grounds in Muksudpur On October 1. Kochi Konther Asar USA and Children’s Voice sponsored this event. The organisation, which works across several countries including Bangladesh, has made significant contributions to the development of children's education, health, culture, and environmental awareness. This year, Kochi Konther Asar celebrates its 48th anniversary, marking a milestone in its service to children's development.

Bangladesh has highlighted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s zero-tolerance policy on discrimination or violence against religious minorities as it attended the '2022 International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief' in London. State Minister for Religious Affairs Mohammed Faridul Haque Khan delivered the country statement at the conference hosted by the UK government on July 5-6, according to Bangladesh High Commission in London. In 1971, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman founded a democratic and secular people’s republic, the spirit of which was destroyed by the communal forces following the brutal assassination of Bangabandhu in 1975, said the State Minister. Also read: Remain cautious about US to protect Bangladesh's RMG: Chinese envoy

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has said Myanmar’s future depends on addressing the root causes of the crisis with immediate cessation of the systemic discrimination. “Its people deserve a return to democracy, an end to impunity and the immediate cessation of the systemic discrimination that has persecuted minorities – in particular the Rohingya - for decades,” she said on Tuesday in Geneva. While giving update at the 50th session of the Human Rights Council on Myanmar, Bachelet also called for continued support to the efforts underway to pursue accountability for the ongoing and past serious human rights violations, as well as alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, through all available tracks. She urged all Member States, particularly those with the highest-level access and influence, to intensify their pressure on the military leadership. Read: UN envoy on Myanmar urged to work towards early repatriation of Rohingyas “Available measures include placing increased restrictions targeting military-controlled financial holdings and business interests, and limiting their access to foreign currencies to restrict their ability to purchase military equipment and supplies,” Bachelet said. In Rakhine State, she said, the situation is critical, with the Arakan Army and Tatmadaw seemingly on the verge of renewing armed conflict. Since last November, there have been regular ripples of violence between the two parties and public verbal exchanges have been increasingly hostile. “Members of the Rohingya Muslim community are caught in the middle,” ,” Bachelet said, adding that there have been no concrete and systematic efforts to work with the Rohingya to solve the longstanding human rights abuses, discrimination and exclusionary practices that have plagued their communities for decades. Added to this, she said, conditions in Rakhine State remain far from adequate for Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh, or for those who have been living in internal displacement camps in Myanmar for 10 years now, to return to their homes. Instead, the military has continued to use hostile and derogatory language to threaten and marginalize the Rohingya and to implement strict discriminatory limitations on their movement. Read: Mandate of UN peacekeeping mission in Mali should be extended, Security Council hears In the past weeks, Bachelet said, over 300 Rohingya have been arrested for traveling, what they call, ‘illegally’ outside their communities. “Hundreds have been prosecuted and sentenced to prison terms up to two years for exercising their basic right to freedom of movement.” On 21 May, she said, another boat capsized near the coast of Pathein township, just south of Rakhine State, resulting in at least 17 deaths, many of whom were children. UNHCR has reported that since the beginning of the year, at least 630 Rohingya have attempted desperate sea journeys to escape violence, the vast majority women and children, Bachelet said. Since her last update to this Council in February this year, the human rights situation in Myanmar has continued to rapidly decline. Still suffering from the devastating consequences of the February 2021 military coup, the people of Myanmar remain trapped in a cycle of poverty and displacement, human rights violations and abuses. Since February 2021, at least 1,900 killings by the military have been reported. The humanitarian situation is dire. One million individuals have been registered by the UN as internally displaced while some 14 million remain in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The military coup has crippled Myanmar’s economy, with millions losing their jobs or sources of income in the last year. The value of the national currency has plummeted, and prices of essential goods have surged. Despite the commitments made by the military to ASEAN, she said, senseless violence in Myanmar has intensified, with scant provision for civilian protection or respect for international human rights and humanitarian laws by the military.  

 There are very few female truck drivers in Zimbabwe, but Molly Manatse doesn't like to be singled out for her gender.

Many LGBTQI people is facing stigmatization, discrimination and harassment amid coronavirus lockdown particularly in rural areas in Myanmar, reports UN News.

Portuguese Primeira Liga club FC Porto's striker Moussa Marega's reaction to racist insults on Sunday is breaking the ice on racism in football and the Portuguese society.