United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s first-ever direct export of readymade garments by sea  started on Monday with MV Songa Cheeta leaving Chattogram port for Italy. The ship left the port at around 3 pm for Ravenna port in Italy carrying 950 TEUs (Twenty Equipment Unit) in 493 boxes. On Saturday, the ship anchored at NCT04 jetty of the port carrying the empty containers. Port chairman, Rear Admiral M Shahjahan inaugurated the direct ship operation on Bangladesh-Italy route on Monday at NCT jetty of the port. Also read: Don’t get trapped by traffickers, warns Embassy after deaths in Italy Terming it as a ground breaking turn of Bangladesh economy he said ships on this route will be prioritized for facilitating with berthing, key gantry crane allotment and other amenities. Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the EU to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley, Italian Ambassador to Bangladesh Enrico Nunziata, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan were present at the inauguration They hailed the direct shipment as a new milestone for Bangladesh in international sea trade. “Now it will mostly take 15 days to send goods to European ports which used to take one and a half months before. It will decrease the carrying cost by 45 to 50 per cent, “said Md Omar Faruque, a Chattogram port official. BGMEA leaders and concerned shipping agents said until now the RMG goods for export were sent to Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysian ports in containers on feeder ships from Chattogram port. From there the containers are carried by larger ships bound for European and US ports, they said.    Also read: Increased capacity of Ctg Port to cut cost of doing business: FBCCI According to them if direct container ship operation on Chattogram-Italy route remains uninterrupted Bangladesh will be ahead of Vietnam in RMG export as it will save lead time and fare. On December 23, the first trial ship operation to Bangladesh from Italy began by bringing empty containers.

Three people were killed and 10 others injured in a collision between a  bus and a mini-truck in Medhakachchapia area  in Chakaria upazila on Chittagong-Cox's Bazar highway in early hours of Monday. The deceased were identified as bus driver Bazlul Haque, 40, of Kalkini in Madaripur district, his helper Alal of Dhamrai in Dhaka and truck driver Maulvi Khaled, 35, of Maheshkhali in Cox's Bazar. Read: Man dies after being hit by train in city Police and locals rescued the injured people and admitted them to Malumghat Memorial Christian Hospital and Chakaria Upazila Health Complex. Mohammad Osman Gani, officer-in-charge (OC) of Chakaria Police Station said the Chittagong-bound picnic bus collided with the salt-laden mini-truck, leaving three people dead on the spot. Of the injured, six are in critical condition, the OC added.

Two people including a teenage boy were killed and several others injured in clashes between supporters of chairman candidates during union parishad elections in Satkania upazila of Chattogram . The deceased were Md Abdur Shukkur, 34, of Bajalia union and Tasif, 13, a seventh grader and son of Jasim Uddin of Nalua Union. Satkania Upazila Election Officer Abu Taleb Talukder  said they were killed during clashes. According to the locals, at Nalua Union, Tasif was stabbed dead in a clash that broke out between the supporters of two chairman candidates over occupying Morphala polling center in Ward 8 at noon. The relatives of the deceased blamed the supporters of the boat candidate for the death. Read: Bodies of 2 fishermen recovered from Bay; 12 still missing In Bajalia union, Abdur Shukkur sustained bullet injuries during a clash between supporters of two chairman candidates in Ward No. 2. Later, he was rushed to Keranihat Ma O Shishu Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, said Dr Md Rakib Uddin, Resident Medical Officer of the hospital. Meanwhile, in Khagaria union, supporters of Awami League-backed candidate Akhter Hossain and independent candidate Jasim Uddin clashed in wards 6 and 7 and a few rounds of bullets were exchanged between the two groups around 10am. Superintendent of Police (SP) SM Rashidul Haque and Executive Magistrate Omar Faruq visited the spot  after the clashes and postponed elections  at two centers in the union. Additional police were deployed at these two centres to bring the situation under control, said Md Abdul Jalil, officer-in-charge (OC) of Satkania Police Station. Voting is underway for the seventh phase of local body elections to 138 Union Parishads (UPs) in 24 upazilas of 20 districts. The voting began at 8am Monday at 1,350 polling stations and will continue till 4pm without any break.  

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) detained three suspected terrorists with a large quantity of arms busting a terrorist hideout in the remote hilly area of Jungle Salimpur at Sitakunda upazila in Chattogram. The detainees were identified as Andha Jamal, 42, of Khulna, Siraj, 35, of Lalmonirhat and Chashma Mizan of Banshkhali. Read: 2 killed in JSS-UPDF gunfight in Rangamati Nurul Absar, assistant director (Media) of Rab-7, said acting on a tip off, a team of Rab-7 made the arrests conducting a drive at Salimpur jungle on Saturday night. Later, while conducting another drive to recover firearms from the hideout with the detainees, the gang of top terrorist Mashiur Rahman Prakash, a former AL leader now under custody, led by son Shiblu, hurled brick-bats and opened fire on them, forcing the Rab members to fire back. At that time, Mashiur's son Mohirul Hasan alias Shibli and several other terrorists managed to escape the spot. During the drive, Rab seized 10 firearms, a foreign pistol, a sharp knife, 22 rounds of ammunition, military gazettes, military uniforms, military binoculars and illegal coins from the terrorist hideout. Read: ‘Pirate’ killed in gunfight with Rab in Barguna Three cases were filed at Sitakunda police station in this regard, said the official. Earlier on December 27 last year, Rab arrested Mashiur Rahman, an accused in 26 cases, one of the top terrorists in Chittagong and a former Awami League leader, along with a number of firearms.

Police have recovered 10 locally made grenades and bomb-making equipment from a house at Hijalbaria village in Gangni upazila  of  Meherpur district. Gangni Police Station officer-in-charge Abdur Razzak said being tipped off that there were two hand grenades in Abdul Jabbar's house they conducted a drive During the hour-long drive, 10 locally made grenades from different places of the house, 100 grams of gunpowder, iron nails, 100 grams of cannabis, cannabis cutter and other equipment were recovered. Read: Live grenade found in Chattogram’s steel factory However,  house owner Abdul Jabbar, his wife, bricklayer trolley driver Sohail Rana and younger son Samrat fled sensing the presence of police. The OC said Jabbar has also been involved in thefts, robbery and extortion in the area for a long time. OC Razzak said two cases will be filed against Abdul Jabbar—one under the Narcotics Control Act and another under the Explosive Substances Act.

Members of the Coast Guard recovered bodies of two fishermen who went missing from the trawlers that capsized in the Bay of Bengal during a storm early Saturday.The deceased were identified as Mamun Sheikh, 40, son of Anwar Sheikh of Kaliganj village in Chitalmari upazila of Bagerhat district and Ismail Khan, 36, son of Azizul Khan of Janerpar village in Matbaria upazila of Pirojpur district.The bodies were recovered during a search  operation conducted by the Coast Guard, the Forest Department and fishermen.Among the missing, three were identified as Shahin, 40, and Mofizul, 30, of Rampal upazila in Bagerhat and Mizan, 34, of Chakla village in Koyra upazila of Khulna.Earlier, the Coast Guard rescued three fishermen hours after several trawlers sank during a sudden storm. READ: Trawler capsize at Bay: 3 missing fishermen rescued Pralad Chandra Roy, in-charge of Dublarchar Forest Camp in the eastern parts of the Sundarbans, said a sudden rainstorm hit the area around 10 pm on Friday.Ten fishing trawlers sank within 8 kms of Dublar Char and 8 fishing trawlers capsized in different areas of the Bay of Bengal,  45 kms  off Dublar Char. READ: 18 trawlers sink in Bay, 3 fishermen go missingHe also said that a large quantity of dried fish worth Tk 2 crore were damaged during the storm.

Sunday marks the seventh anniversary of the tragic petrol bomb attack on a moving bus in Gaibandha by some BNP-Jamaat activists that killed eight people. On February 6, 2015, the miscreants hurled a petrol bomb through the window of a Dhaka-bound bus of Napu Enterprise carrying 40 passengers near Shahapara area. Within minutes flames spread throughout the bus leaving four people dead on the spot and 35 injured. Later four more people succumbed to their injuries under treatment at hospitals. The others  injured in the incident returned home after taking treatment at Rangpur Medical College Hospital but most of their lives did not become normal again with disabilities. The families of the victims now demand only justice for the heinous act. Then Sub-Inspector of Gaibandha police station Mahbubur Rahman filed a case against 77 people in the incident who were all BNP, Jamaat activists. A chargesheet was also submitted against the accused but four of them including the main accused died while the trial got backlogged. Other 73 accused in the case are currently on bail granted by the Higher Court and have become politically active again, said Public Prosecutor Saiful Islam Prince. He however said the charges have been framed in this case by the District Judge Court. Read: PBI nabs fugitive accused in 7 cases “Most of the passengers in that bus were low-income earners who were forced to take the risk to reach Dhaka to earn some living. long hartal and road blockades by BNP-Jammat created a crisis for them and the whole country back then,” said Syed Shamsul Alam Hiru, president of District Awami League. Shanti Khatun, daughter of one of the victims Syed Ali, had to end her studies at sixth grade as her father, the only breadwinner for the family of six was burnt to death that day. “We buried him in our yard without even seeing his face as the body was charred. I will continue seeking justice for my father until my death,” said Shanti Khatun. Shilpi Das, a toddler, was one of the victims. Her mother Shadhona Rani said, ”I did not get back my child rather got a lifeless charred body. Was it a crime getting on that bus to earn our livelihoods?”

Two Russian employees of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant at Ishwardi upazila in Pabna died early Saturday. The deceased are Schukin Pavel,48, mechanical engineer of sub-contractor company Trest Rossem, and Tolmasoff  Vassiliev, 59, installer of another company SMU-1. Both of them were residents of Green City Project, housing project for the Russian officials of the power plant Police said Pavel fell sick around 3 am and was brought to Ishwardi upazila health Complex where a doctor announced him dead. Also read: Rooppur NPP Unit-2: Inner containment construction completed “We suspect he died from excessive alcohol intake,” said Asaduzzaman Officer-in-Charge of Ishwardi police station. Meanwhile, Tolmasoff collapsed at 2 am while getting down from the stairs on the 14th floor of the building and died on the spot, said a doctor of the employer company. OC Asaduzzaman said both the bodies will be sent to Russia through the embassy after autopsy. Also read: DGHS closes 11 private Covid testing booths in Rooppur due to irregularities

The throat-slit body of a  nine-year-old boy was recovered from Rupatoli area in the city on Saturday. The deceased was identified as Yasin, son of Sirajul Islam of the area. READ: Hit by speeding bike, man killed while crossing road in Barishal Kotwali Model Police Station inspector(investigation) Lokman Hossain said local people found the slaughtered body of the boy near an abandoned toilet in the area and police recovered it around 9am. The boy might have been slaughtered sometime at night, he said adding that the motive will be known after investigation READ: BNP forms committees for Barishal city, south district

At least three people were killed in separate road accidents in Burichang and  Debidwar upazilas on Friday, police said.In Burichang, two motorcyclists were killed in a road accident on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway in Nazira Bazar area of the upazila on Friday.The deceased were identified as Morshed Alam, son of Khorshed Alam of Burichang upazila and Anand, son of Latif Miah of the same area.The accident occurred around 1.15 pm as their motorcycle collided with an unidentified long-haul vehicle heading towards Chattogram. Both of them fell off the bike and died on the spot, said police sources.Mainamati Highway Police have recovered the bodies and seized the motorcycle, said the sources.In Debidwar, an auto-rickshaw driver was killed after his vehicle collided with a truck at Kalikapur area of Jafarganj in Debidwar upazila on Friday afternoon.The deceased was identified as Alamgir, a resident of Koralpara in Fatehabad union of Debidwar upazila. Read: Auto-rickshaw driver killed in Sylhet road crashThe accident occured place on Comilla-Sylhet regional highway when the truck collided with the auto-rickshaw around 4pm, leaving Alamgir dead on the spot, said Arifur Rahman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Debidwar Police Station.The OC said "during my patrolling, I found a Dhaka bound truck hit a tree and fell on the side of the road. The driver of the autorickshaw was stuck under the wheel of the truck. When I went the spot, the man was alive then. Despite many attempts, I could not get out from under the wheels. He died shortly afterwards. Later I called the fire service".However, the truck driver managed to flee the scene" he said.After completion of due legal process, the body will be handed over to the family, the OC added.