BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday alleged that the Awami League government has led the country to the brink of a dark abyss, through ‘mega’ corruption in mega projects. In a statement, he said, “Lower and middle-income people of the country have lost all means of livelihood. Every indicator of the country's economy is going down.” Stating that the government has filled the country with misdeeds and corruption, the BNP leader said, the stories of looting, money laundering, killing and grand corruption of the ruling party are now on people's lips. Read: BNP won’t even join talks on polls until AL quits power: Fakhrul “The government has always cooperated (with the looters) in plundering the country's financial sector. Because the masterminds of those involved in the looting are all the agents of the government…Bangladesh has been made bankrupt,” he observed. The statement was issued denouncing the jailing of Feni district unit Jubo Dal president Jakir Hossain Jasim in a ‘false’ case. Fakhrul alleged that law enforcers arrested Jasim on Thursday evening from Kakrail in the capital and then brought him to his house in Feni. Later, the BNP leader said Jasim was implicated in a ‘false case’ and sent to jail. “The illegitimate government has got desperate to stay in power and continue its misrule. That’s why they’re implementing the blueprint of wiping out the opposition parties through repression,” Fakhrul said. He said the ruling party has snatched all human rights as they consider the country’s people as their enemies. “Freedom of expression is now imprisoned in Awami prison. People's lives are endangered by the poisonous grasp of Nazi rule and everyone is worried about the safety of life and property.” The BNP leader said the existence of the opposition party has become a threat to the government. “So, their only programme now is to create planned incidents, file false cases for the arbitrary arrest of the opposition activists. The government is shamelessly using the administration and police to implement the programmes”. As part of that ‘evil’ programme of the government, Fakhrul said  Jasim was arrested in a false case and sent to jail.   He demanded the withdrawal of the ‘politically motivated’ case against Jasim and his unconditional release.

HSBC in partnership with the British Council on Tuesday launched of a new programme to provide life skills for 2400 young girls in Bangladesh. The programme, ‘English and Digital for Girls’ Education’ (EDGE), aims to improve life skills for out-of-school and marginalised adolescent girls and build their self-confidence to enable them to have a greater say in their futures. British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson; Chief Executive Officer, HSBC, Bangladesh Md Mahbub ur Rahman; Director Bangladesh, British Council Tom Miscioscia; and EDGE Peer group leaders Jenny Akter and Sadia joined the virtual launching ceremony of the EDGE 2021 programme. British High Commissioner Dickson said English language and digital skills are important tools for success in the 21st century economy, in Bangladesh as elsewhere. With EDGE Bangladesh, he said, the British Council and HSBC aim to build these capabilities among marginalised adolescent girls, helping to give them economic opportunities and strengthen their voices. Read: Bangladesh holds hidden gems for investors: HSBC “It supports our work with the government in Bangladesh and elsewhere to make education more equitable and boost girls’ life chances. The disruption caused by the Covid pandemic has made this work all the more important and urgent and I’m very pleased to be launching this programme,” said the British High Commissioner. In this regard, Mahbub ur Rahman said at HSBC, their social sustainability strategy is focused on providing future skills for our customers, employees and for the community. “With project ‘EDGE’ reaching 2400 young girls located in urban and rural areas of Bangladesh, we trust that it will provide useful skills to help them thrive now and in the future. I want to thank the British Council for partnering with us on this great initiative,” he said. Tom Miscioscia said they are particularly proud to launch EDGE 2021 to coincide with their 70th anniversary of operations in Bangladesh and Bangladesh’s 50th anniversary of Independence. “The British Council is keen to work with strong partners like HSBC to increase English proficiency, build digital 21st century skills and awareness of social issues, among marginalised women and girls, so that they can make more informed and independent life choices in order to contribute more fully to the family, the economy and society”. Read: HSBC named Bangladesh's best international retail bank HSBC and the British Council are also partnering with local providers Dnet and Spreeha Foundation in the implementation across Bangladesh. ‘EDGE’ will use a combination of face-to-face and remote delivery models, aiming to reach the marginalised adolescent girls across Bangladesh and offer them the 21st century skills. This joint effort will benefit these marginalised students significantly by providing them 21st century skills of English and IT and opening new perspectives for them. This is especially relevant given the reduction of educational opportunities for children during the time of pandemic. The programme builds on the successes of previous EDGE programmes the British Council has run since 2012 and includes new training components. EDGE is designed around a ‘Peer-led’ model where more senior girls are trained as ‘Peer group leaders’ who then deliver training to their counterparts. This model builds capacity amongst young women and fosters sustainability.