United News of Bangladesh

Members of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have been deployed  at Chittagong Medical College Hospital for security of doctors and other employees. This information was confirmed by BGB's public relations officer, Md. Shariful Islam at BGB headquarters this morning. The deployment comes after doctors demanded security at work places. Earlier, doctors across the country had called for a "complete shutdown" to demand justice for the assault and vandalism against medical professionals at the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Expressing solidarity the doctors at CMCH, the only specialized hospital in greater Chottogram, also went on strike, resulting in a suspension of all hospital services. However, the strike was later called off, and the doctors resumed their duties.

A group of Bangladeshi expatriates in Europe has submitted  a memorandum to the European Union (EU) denanding it put pressure on the interim government to stop alleged  human rights violations and killings in Bangladesh. A good number of Bangladeshi diaspora living in EU countries inincluding President of All European AL Nazrul Islam signed the memorandum. In the memorandum addresed to the EU president Ursula von der Leyen the expats also urged withdrawal of false cases against leaders and activists of Awami League, including its president Sheikh Hasina who stepped down as prime minister  and fled to India on August 5 in the face of a mass upsurge. An EU official received the memorandum at the European Union headquarters in the Belgian capital Brussels on Monday (September 2, 2024) afternoon, according to a press release. It said that false cases one after another are being filed against Bangladesh Awami League president. They alleged that conspiracy is on to ban Bangladesh Awami League, the leading party in the Bengali liberation movement and independence war. They mentioned that historic  32 Dhanmondi house of Bangabandhi was burnt down after fall of AL government.

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested Dilip Kumar Agarwala, the managing director of Diamond World Limited. ANM Imran Khan, assistant director (ASP) of the Legal and Media Wing of RAB said Dilip was taken into custody from Gulshan on Tuesday night. RAB said he faces allegations of money laundering, fraud, and forgery, linked to the import of gold and diamonds.  

Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Fouzul Kabir Khan has said that in most of the cases, development projects were implemented at much higher cost during the previous government. He made the remarks while a delegation of the UNDP, led by its Resident Representative, Stefan Liller met him at his office at the Power and Energy Ministry. Citing an example of a recently visited power project, he said, it was set up in Khulna at a cost of Tk 9000 crore without making arrangement for its primary fuel supply. The Padma rail link project has been implemented at a cost of Tk 39,000 crore showing an estimated monthly income of Tk 1400 crore from Dhaka -Bhanga part, he noted. But in last six months, only Tk 37 crores were earned from that part, he said adding that such a dire situation would not have happened if these projects were taken after proper feasibility study and assessing real needs. During the meeting Fouzul Kabir, also the adviser for the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges and Ministry Railway, sought the cooperation of UNDP in the development of the country's energy sector. He said that unplanned development projects have been taken up and implemented in all sectors in the country during the previous government. He also said that the present government will be careful in taking up projects. Projects will be selected on the basis of people's expectations, needs, that can be economically profitable. He said G2G system will be given priority in government procurement process. Transparency will be ensured in government procurement through competitive process through open tender. He pointed out that care should be taken to ensure that the project works are completed on time, as the cost of the project increases in the long run. The UNDP delegation expressed interest in providing support to the development of the country's energy, power, communication and rail networks, especially in increasing the use of renewable energy. They promised to provide financial and technical support to increase the use of solar energy, electricity generation from waste and other renewable energy sources. In addition, they promised to release of the previously promised financial grant of about $6 million as soon as possible. During the meeting, Road Transport and Highways Department Senior Secretary Md. Ehsanul Haque, Electricity Division Senior Secretary Md. Habibur Rahman and Railway Ministry Secretary Abdul Baki were present.

Anti- Corruption Commission on Tuesday decided to launch the probe against former members of parliament Enamul Haque and Naimur Rahman Durjoy and son of the former health minister Mohammad Naseem, Tamal Mansoor ACC spokesperson Aktarul Islam told UNB that the commission will investigate the allegations of the concerned person. Allegation against former Member of Parliament of Rajshahi-4 Enamul Haque was the abuse of power, various corruption and immoral activities, including various irregularities and corruption in the appointment of office of primary school in his selected area in exchange of bribe of TK4 to 5 lakh. The primary investigation found the assets in his name and relatives' names which amounted to more than TK23 crore. Alongside, Naimur Rahman Durjoy, former Member of Parliament, Manikganj-1 Constituency, through abuse of power and various irregularities and corruptions, including illegal activities, has illegally usurped the land of BIWTA near Aricha Naval Terminal. He made huge money illegally in the name of dredging the river and lifting sand by forming a syndicate in the name of his relatives. The primary investigation team also found 12 bigha land in Baikanthpur, Ghior, Manikganj, one storey house in Manikganj town, assets worth more crore in his name including investments in various banks and businesses. He is also the owner of Mark Toyota and Toyota Land Cruiser. Thirdly Tamal Munsoor was a student but abused his father's power through various corruption and immoral activities, including various irregularities and corruption. He embezzled TK 175 crore from the Shaheed Tajuddin medical college in the name of purchasing machineries. They also found allegations of embezzlement, real estate business in Jamaica, New York, USA named "Aftab Sky View Condominium" located in Jamaica, New York, USA. He purchased 12 apartments and 4 parking spaces in the tower, worth 49,60,000 USD ( Bangladeshi Taka 59,52,00000).

A case has been filed against former Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed, the then ministry’s secretary and 101 others on charge of misappropriating and laundering money through syndicate. One Altaf Khan filed the case with the capital’s Paltan police station on Tuesday, a police official confirmed. In the case statement, the plaintiff alleged that the accused in collaboration with each other embezzled Tk 24, 000 crore from the victims.

The posts for Chief Information Officer at Press Information Department and Director General (DG) for Department of Films & Publications were reshuffled on Tuesday. Separate gazette notifications from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting were issued in this regard on Tuesday afternoon. Mass Communication Department’s DG Md Nizamul Kabir has been appointed new Chief Information Officer with current duty. On the other hand, Department of Films & Publications’ DG Aktar Hossain has replaced Md Nizamul Kabir while Senior Deputy Chief Information Officer Abul Kalam Mohammad Shamsuddin has been entrusted with the current duty of DG at the Department of Films & Publications. He was on deputation at Press Institute of Bangladesh as director and DG (additional duty).

The committee formed to prepare the White Paper on the state of Bangladesh economy will look into the energy sector loan agreements signed during the Awami League regime. “If the agreements on foreign loans that were signed over the past years are available, we will evaluate those. We will definitely look into those. Especially, we have thought of looking into the agreements in the energy sector,” Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya told reporters on Tuesday, emerging from the second meeting of the committee held at the Planning Commission. Dr Debapriya, Distinguished Fellow at Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and Convener of the Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh, said that at the meeting they have decided which issues specifically will get priority. “We have identified those matters accordingly. Work has also been distributed among the members of the committee. At the same time, we have decided on the method for preparing this report,” he said. The renowned economist also mentioned that the committee will look at the available data for formulating the report, adding that they will consider those data and information in a cynical manner. “We will scrutinise the credibility of the available data as well as compare them with international standards,” he added. The chair of the committee said that the available researches in these fields will also be considered while preparing their report. Dr Debapriya mentioned that they will discuss the matters with various stakeholders and experts in sociology, economy and political science at home and consider their opinions. “We have taken the decision to move forward with our work within the next two months,” he said. He also said that the topics of the discussions will feature general economy, macro economy as well as sectoral issues like heath, education and energy. Banking, resource mobilisation, revenue collection, smuggled money, mega projects, poverty alleviation and disparity will also feature in their focus, he said. Dr Debapriya said that they have planned the preliminary work and within the next three days they will get the initial outlines of their work. The government has formed the committee for the preparation of a comprehensive White Paper on the state of Bangladesh economy with Dr Debapriya in the chair.

Hoping that Bangladeshi industries will reach new heights, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday said that his government is committed to protecting factories from violence and attacks. "Our first responsibility is to provide protection to the industries," said Prof Yunus when a business delegation led by President of the International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh Mahbubur Rahman met him at the state guesthouse Jamuna. The Chief Adviser assured the business leaders of all possible support to take Bangladesh's industrial growth to a new height. "We want to take the industry to a new level," he told the business delegation during the courtesy meeting. The Chief Adviser said the student-people's revolution has ushered in a new era of hope in the country, and the interim government is committed to carrying out much-needed reforms in industry, finance, and manufacturing. The business leaders raised the issue of recent unrest in the garment and pharmaceutical sectors, saying they suspect the factories were vandalised at the instigation of outsiders, including groups living outside the country, according to the Chief Adviser’s press wing. They demanded stepped-up security in the industrial areas, saying the image of the country will be dented if safety and security are not ensured in the factories. Prof Yunus also urged the industry leaders to undertake labour reforms in an effort to win more orders from top global brands and retailers. "We've got a big opportunity to carry out vital reforms. We need to upgrade our labour laws to ILO standards," he said. Prof Yunus said he has spoken to top business CEOs from across the globe, and they were keen in investing in Bangladesh and placing more orders with the country's manufacturers. Tapan Chowdhury, managing director of Square Pharmaceuticals; AK Azad, former FBCCI president; Mir Nasir Hossain, a former FBCCI president; Khondker Rafiqul Islam, president of the BGMEA; and Naser Ezaz Bijoy, managing director of Standard Chartered Bangladesh, attended the meeting.  

The bank accounts of the former Director General (DG) of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) Saiful Alam, his wife, and children have been frozen. Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) on Tuesday sent instructions in this regard to banks and financial institutions. A senior official of BFIU confirmed this information to UNB. The bank accounts of the businesses owned by them have been asked to be suspended. All transactions through these accounts have been frozen for the next 30 days. If necessary, the period of suspending the transactions will be extended, the BFIU said. The BFIU directive further states that banks and financial institutions have been asked to send account related information or documents such as account opening forms, KYC and transaction statements, etc. to BFIU within five working days.