United News of Bangladesh

Members of Coast Guards in a drive seized 700 kgs of shrimps with jelly like substances in their bodies from the estuary of the Padma River in Chandpur on Saturday. Tipped off, a team of coast guard led by Lieutenant Rohan Majur of Chandpur sub-station conducted a drive in a trawler and recovered the shrimps in the afternoon. Read: Cox's Bazaar: Drugs worth Tk 2.7cr seized, 5 held However, no one was arrested in this connection. Later, the Coast Guard members destroyed the shrimps. Some unscrupulous businessmen inject jelly like substances  into shrimps to increase their weight to cheat consumers.

A stone-laden lighter vessel near Mongla port on Saturday. Cracks developed at the bottom of MV Beauty Lohagara-2 in the early hours of Saturday after it hit a hidden shoal and then it started to sink, said Mongla port harbor master commander Sheikh Fakhar Uddin. Also read: Abul Khayer Group’s lighter ship sinks off Patenga coast The Coast Guard members immediately rescued 10 crew from the vessel. The port authority said the vessel was heading towards Khulna after loading 100 mts stones from another vessel. On Friday noon, another cargo vessel carrying fertilizers named MV Desh Bondhu sank in the Pashur River near Mongla Port. Ten crew of the cargo vessel managed to swim ashore. Also read: Cargo ship with Padma Bridge construction materials sinks in Hatiya The ship was heading towards Jashore after loading 850 MT Diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilizer from a foreign ship anchored at Pashur channel.

Priyanka Bhadra, a 16-year-old college student from Sirajganj, has been nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize by Netherlands-based Kids Rights Foundation. She has been nominated for the prize under the ‘gender equality’ category. Read: Nobel physics prize goes to 3 for climate discoveries Prianka’s brother Dipankar Bhadra Dipto said that his sister’s name came among the nominees in KidsRights Foundation’s website (kidsrights.org) under gender equality category. Prianka, daughter of Dipak Kumar Bhadra of Sirajganj’s Darga Road is a first-year (science) student of Sirajganj Govt. College.  She is a child journalist, writer and activist. She has been advocating for the safety of the girls. She worked with many organisations and raised her voice against the child-rape in Bangladesh.  She is a child journalist for hello.bdnews24.com and shishubarta.com. Read: Journalists from Philippines, Russia get Nobel Peace Prize She mostly makes articles and videos to raise awareness regarding rape, child marriage and other daily issues related to safety. Last year, 17-year-old Sadat Rahman from Narail won International Children’s Peace Prize for his involvement in setting up a social organisation and mobile app "Cyber Teens" to stop cyberbullying and violence against children. The International Children’s Peace Prize is awarded annually to a child who fights courageously for children’s rights. This years nominees once again demonstrate that children are changemakers. 

The government has geared up its nationwide vaccination drive to inoculate 70-80 percent people by March next, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday. “So far, 5 crore people have been vaccinated as the countrywide campaign is underway. Fifty percent people will be given the jabs by December and 70-80 percent by March next. We’ve already procured necessary vaccine jabs,” the minister said. Zahid Maleque also announced a programme to bring children between 12-17 years of age under the vaccination programme soon. Also read: Covid: Dhaka advocates an equal shot at recovery He was speaking at a progamme arranged by district Puja Celebration Council in Sadar upazila, marking Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Hindu community. He urged the Hindu community to celebrate the festival maintaining health protocols.

Three people, including a garments worker were killed in two separate road accidents in Dhamrai of Savar on Freiday. The deceased are Khokon Mia, 25, Delwar Hossain ,24, and Radhanath Sarkar, 55. Of them, Khokon Mia was  a worker in a garment factory called Joypura Mom Fashion. According to witnesses, the motorcycle boarding Khokon and Delwar came in collision course with a truck near Joypura bus stand in Dhamrai Friday evening. READ: 2 killed in Dhaka road accidents While Khokon died on the spot, Delwar was pronounced dead after being shifted to a local medical facility. Meanwhile, Radhanath died after a covered van moving at breakneck speed crushed him while he was out on a walk near Sutipara bus stand. Officer-in Charge of Dhamrai Police Atiqur Rahman said,”Although we failed to trace the truck that hit Khokon and Delwar, highway police seized the covered van that hit Radhanath.” READ: 7 killed, 22 injured in three road accidents in Chattogram, Rangamati Further action will be taken in accordance with law, he added.

Armed Police Battalion (APBN) on Friday held six Rohingyas accused in different cases from the refugee camps in Ukhia and Teknaf. The arrestees were Abdul Mannan and Enayetullah from Madhuchhara camp; Taher from Irani hill; Nazim Uddin and Nur Bashar from Lambasia camp; Usman from Kutupalongwas. Read: 11 Rohingyas held in Panchagarh Captain of the 14th Armed Police Battalion and in-charge of the Ukhia Rohingya camp, superintendent of police Naimul Haque, said the detainees were involved in various crimes including extortion, kidnapping, robbery, murder cases in the Rohingya camp area. Read: 74 Rohingyas held in Chattogram He said that the arrestees were handed over to Ukhia police station to take necessary legal action.

A 38-year-old Chinese citizen died after falling from a foreign ship off Chattogram's Patenga beach on Friday morning, authorities said. The deceased was identified as Hu Haikiang who used to work as a crew member of ‘Mykers Jakarta’ ship. Read: Missing Chinese citizen found dead in Chattogram According to Chattogram Port sources, the Panamanian flag-carrying ship 'Mykers Jakarta' brought the goods to the outer port of Chattogram on Thursday. On Friday morning, the ship's crew Hu Haikiang fell into the sea while the vessel was anchoring at the outer anchorage. Being informed, the Coast Guard patrol ship rescued the crew and rushed him to Chattogram Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) where the doctor declared him dead around noon. Read: Chinese citizen stabbed to death by compatriot in Sylhet In this regard, CMCH police outpost SI Nurul Alam Ashek said, the local agent of the ship is taking necessary measures including autopsy and sending the body to his country in accordance with the international rules.

Two Ansar members were injured and a shotgun went missing in Gazaria river on Friday after a fishing trawler rammed into the speedboat of Mehendiganj upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) while he was overseeing a ban on Hilsa fishing. Confirming the incident UNO Mohammad Shahadat Hossain Masud said legal action will be taken in this regard. He gave no further details about the incident that occurred in Darirchar Khajuria Union of Mehendiganj upazila of the district. The injured have been given first aid. Read: 22-day ban on Hilsa fishing begins Sunday midnight The divers of Barisal River Fire Service station launched a search for the missing firearm. The 22-day Hilsa ban took effect on Sunday midnight aimed at ensuring the safe spawning of the popular fish during its peak breeding period. The ban will remain in place till October 25. Fisheries department, upazila and district administrations, police and coast guard personnel will carry out regular drives to make sure that the ban is implemented strictly.

A Bangladeshi family suffered harassment at the hands of Indian border guards who entered their frontier home while chasing drug smugglers, border officials said on Friday. The incident occurred on Thursday night at the Phulbari border of Uttar Kuthi Chandrakhana in Kurigram Sadar. Read:Bangladeshi man found dead at Kurigram border, police suspect BSF shooting Local villager Rafiqul Islam said BSF members forced their entry into the house despite his protest that no smuggler was there. They misbehaved with him and his family members. However, BSF members told the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at a flag meeting on Friday that they entered Bangladesh by mistake while chasing the smugglers in darkness. Read:2 Bangladeshi youths killed in BSF firing along Lalmonirhat border Lalmonirhat 15 BGB Battalion Commander Lt. Col. SM Touhidul Alam PAC said that the situation was brought under control after the flag meeting. The BSF guards have admitted their wrongdoing, he said.  

A moderate-intensity earthquake struck Sylhet in the small hours of Friday. Fortunately, no casualties or damage to properties have been reported. The earthquake of 5.6 magnitude hit Sylhet at 12.28am, said a senior meteorologist of Sylhet Meteorological Office, Saeed Ahmed Chowdhury. The epicenter of the quake was in Myanmar, 477km from Dhaka. Massive tremors sparked panic among local residents. "I felt the tremors as I was preparing to go to bed," said Kamrul Islam, a resident of a highrise in city’s Lalbazar area. Also read: Sylhet again jolted by successive earthquakes Sylhet is marked as a risky zone for quakes by experts as it is situated on the southeastern part of the Dauki fault line. Several low magnitude tremors have been felt in the region recently. On June 7, two quakes shook Sylhet within a span of a minute. On July 7 also, a 5.2 magnitude quake was felt in Sylhet and some other regions in the country. Also read: Hazardous buildings in Sylhet to remain shut for 10 days: SCC mayor However, experts say these types of tremors are normal and there's no need to panic.