United News of Bangladesh

Chhayanaut paid tribute to legendary folk singer Abbasuddin Ahmed marking his 125th birth anniversary through a special edition of its Shrotar Ashor at the Chhayanaut auditorium in the capital on Tuesday evening. The programme, which began at 6:30 pm with opening speeches by Chhayanaut President Dr Sarwar Ali, featured seven artistes performing Bengali songs from different musical traditions, including folk, Nazrul and traditional songs, highlighting the rich musical heritage associated with Abbasuddin Ahmed and other eminent composers and lyricists. The participating artistes were Priyantu Deb, Suman Majumdar, Most Sarifa Khatun, Biman Chandra Biswas, Md Abul Kalam Azad, Chandana Majumdar and Kiran Chandra Roy. Priyantu Deb opened his segment with ‘E Kon Modhur Sharab Dile’ and ‘Bosiya Nodikule, Elochule Ke Udasini’, both written by Kazi Nazrul Islam. Suman Majumdar performed ‘Khatune-Jamat Fatema Janani’, ‘Tomar Akashe Uthechhilo Chand’ and ‘Sadh Jage Mone Porojibone’. Most Sarifa Khatun presented folk songs including ‘Fande Poriya Boga’ and ‘O Ki Ekbar Asiya’, the latter associated with Abdul Karim.  

A youth was shot dead by miscreants near City Goli in the Dhalpur area of Jatrabari in the capital on Tuesday evening. The deceased was identified as Maruf Hossain Dukhu, 17, son of late Abdur Rashid of Dhalpur. The incident took place around 7pm. He was rescued in a bullet-hit condition and taken to the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), where doctors declared him dead. Maruf’s wife Mim said her husband worked at a pot factory in a lane beside Malancha Centre in Sayedabad. He was shot by miscreants at a field in City Palli near their home after returning from work in the evening. “We cannot understand who shot and killed my husband or why. He was a good person and never had disputes or trouble with anyone,” she said, breaking down in tears. Md Habibur Rahman, in charge of the DMCH police camp, said the body was kept in the hospital’s emergency department morgue and Jatrabari Police Station had been informed.

A salon owner was allegedly stabbed to death by a man for refusing to cut his hair on credit in Bhaluka upazila of Mymensingh on Tuesday evening. The deceased was identified as Rabendra Rishi, 43, son of Ranjit Rishi of Uttarpara area in Dhobaura upazila. He lived in a rented house in the Tariff Munshi Mor area of Jamirdia and ran a salon at a local market. The accused, Saddam Hossain, son of Babul Mia, was arrested by police from the National Polymer area of Habirbari following the incident. According to locals, Saddam entered Rabendra’s salon with a sharp knife and stabbed him. In an attempt to save his life, the bloodied victim ran to a nearby shop owned by Saddam’s father, but the attacker followed him and stabbed him repeatedly. Rabendra then tried to take shelter in the courtyard of a nearby house, where Saddam allegedly knocked him to the ground and stabbed him several more times. He died at the scene from excessive blood loss. The victim’s wife, Suchitra, alleged that Saddam frequently extorted money from her husband to buy drugs and regularly received haircuts and beard trims without paying. When Rabendra demanded payment, arguments would break out. She claimed her husband was killed after refusing to provide another haircut on credit. Saddam had allegedly threatened to kill him several times, including before Durga Puja, when he told her, “You will receive your husband’s body after Puja.” Officer-in-Charge of Bhaluka Model Police Station Md Zahidul Islam said police recovered the body and sent it to the Mymensingh Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. He said Saddam had been arrested and police were investigating the circumstances surrounding the murder.  

Reflecting on the changing nature of diplomacy, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T Christensen has underscored the importance of keeping diplomatic engagement “at the speed of relevance”—responsive to emerging challenges, attentive to evolving national priorities, and focused on delivering meaningful outcomes. The Foreign Service Academy hosted Ambassador Christensen for an interactive session with the trainee officers of the 32nd Specialized Diplomatic Training Course (SDTC) and the 4th Professional Master’s in International Relations and Diplomacy (PMIRD). The discussion offered valuable insights into the priorities guiding U.S. engagement with Bangladesh, particularly in the areas of commercial diplomacy, trade facilitation, energy and defence cooperation, humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya, and cooperation in the health sector.  

Two British men have been charged with national security offences over an alleged Iran-backed plot targeting a US-operated military air base in England, prosecutors said Tuesday. Mohmed Ahmad Abdulkarim and Nouman Essghir, both 24 and from London, were charged under the National Security Act, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. Abdulkarim is accused of assisting Iran’s intelligence service, while Essghir faces a charge of entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the United Kingdom. The case centres on RAF Fairford in western England, which has been used by the US military for strikes against Iran during this year’s war. The US withdrew its bombers from the base following a security scare last month, when five men were detained near its perimeter. Prosecutors told Westminster Magistrates’ Court that Abdulkarim acted as an intermediary for a handler identified as Ali, who police believe is based outside Britain and working for Iran. Prosecutor Louise Gray said Ali instructed a group of men to drive three vans carrying containers of gasoline to the base, leave the vehicles and walk away. In the early hours of September 27, the men received a phone message saying there was a bomb in the vehicles, prompting one of the suspects to contact police. Armed officers rushed to the area, and five men, including Essghir, were arrested. Residents were evacuated while army bomb-disposal experts searched the vehicles. Police later found oil drums containing gasoline but no explosives. Essghir was initially released on bail before being arrested again last week. The charge against him relates to an alleged reconnaissance mission to film the base on August 22. Abdulkarim was arrested in the past week. Prosecutors alleged that he helped Ali by purchasing equipment for the operation and received payments totalling about £70,000 ($93,000). Essghir was remanded in custody until his next hearing, while Abdulkarim, who appeared in court in a wheelchair, was granted bail. Both are scheduled to appear in court again on November 20. Six other men have also been arrested and released on bail as the investigation continues. Iran has denied involvement in the incident, although it has previously said that any military base used to attack its territory would be considered a legitimate target. Earlier this month, MI5 chief Ken McCallum warned that Iran and Russia were expanding their hostile activities in Britain, adding that the RAF Fairford incident was not an isolated case. McCallum said Iran was seeking to extend its operations beyond its traditional targets, including opponents of the country’s Islamic authorities. More than 50 people have been arrested over Iran-linked plots in the past year, he said. Laurence Taylor, head of Britain's Counter Terrorism Policing, said authorities believed several recent incidents had been directed by the Iranian state and were working to identify and respond to the threat.

Police have submitted a charge sheet against five accused in the murder case of customs official Bullet Baishnagi in Cumilla. Officer-in-Charge of Cumilla District Detective Branch (DB) Police and the case’s investigating officer, Md Samsul Alam, confirmed the development on Tuesday night. The accused are Md Sohel, 34, Ismail Hossain Jony, 28, Emran Hossain alias Hridoy, 34, Rahat Hossain Jewel, 27, and Md Sujon, 32. All five are currently in Cumilla Central Jail. Samsul Alam said the charge sheet was submitted after a lengthy investigation. The court accepted it and sent the case to the Cumilla District and Sessions Judge’s Court for trial. He said investigators could not establish the permanent addresses of Jony, Jewel and Sujon, so they were listed as having no fixed address in the charge sheet. Bullet Bairagi was a 41st BCS non-cadre officer serving as an assistant revenue officer at the Bibir Bazar land port in Cumilla. His hometown was Dumuria village in Tungipara of Gopalganj. He lived with his family in the Panpatti area of Rajganj in Cumilla city. According to the case statement, Bairagi left Chattogram for Cumilla on April 24 after completing the 44th basic training course at the Customs, Excise and VAT Training Academy in Chattogram. On April 25, police recovered the body of Bullet Bairagi from the Kotbari area of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway under Cumilla’s Sadar South Police Station. The complaint alleged that miscreants killed him on his way back from Chattogram and looted the cash he was carrying. His mother, Lilima Bairagi, filed a murder case against unidentified assailants with Cumilla Sadar South Model Police Station that day. Lilima said police had informed her about the submission of the charge sheet. She expressed hope that those responsible for her son’s murder would receive exemplary punishment.  

Prime Minister’s Political Assistant Rashed Khan on Tuesday alleged that Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar held a secret meeting with a senior Indian intelligence official and released photo, video claiming to support his allegation. Rashed claimed that on October 16, after Maghrib prayers, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar, party leader ATM Masum and one other person met a senior Indian intelligence official at a house in the capital’s Baridhara area. In another post on Tuesday night, Rashed claimed that the Jamaat delegation, travelled in the vehicle to Hotel Six Seasons to meet the Indian intelligence official before switching to another vehicle to leave the place. “I also have details of that vehicle,” he said. Referring to a statement issued by Jamaat in response to the allegation, Rashed said the party had issued a “light” rejoinder, prompting him to share a picture of the vehicle in response. “They (Jamaat) can come to me and collect the vehicle’s registration number and the house number as well, if they want,” he wrote. Jamaat’s statement said the party maintains diplomatic relations with foreign countries while upholding the dignity of the state. Questioning the statement, Rashed asked whether Jamaat was trying to portray the intelligence official as a diplomat to evade the allegation. He also questioned why Jamaat’s rejoinder was so weak, saying that if the party believed there was a conspiracy to tarnish its image and that of Mia Golam Parwar, it should file a defamation case against him. Earlier, Rashed shared the video on his Facebook account on Tuesday evening. In the accompanying post, he claimed that Mia Golam Parwar and other members of the Jamaat delegation were seen leaving in the vehicle after meeting the Indian intelligence official. “After the meeting with the Indian intelligence official, Mia Golam Parwar and the Jamaat delegation came out in this vehicle. I am saying again that Mia Golam Parwar can file a defamation case against me if he wants,” Rashed wrote. Rashed had made the same allegation in a social media post on Monday (Oct 26). Rashed questioned why Jamaat leaders, who publicly speak against India, would hold a secret meeting with an Indian intelligence official. He said a meeting with an Indian diplomat and one with a senior intelligence official were not the same thing. Addressing Jamaat leaders, Rashed said he hoped Mia Golam Parwar would clarify the alleged meeting if he believed in ethical politics. Otherwise, he said, the incident could create the impression that Jamaat was involved in a conspiracy against the state. Rashed also alleged that Jamaat is planning to launch a movement in collaboration with the Awami League.