United News of Bangladesh

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has called on bus owners to ensure that passengers are not overcharged as they travel home for Eid-ul-Azha. Speaking at a press briefing today, Quader emphasized the need for strict monitoring of bus fares and enhanced measures to facilitate safe and smooth journeys. “We must guarantee fair treatment for all passengers, especially during the Eid rush,” Quader said. “No extra fare should be imposed on homebound travelers." Quader urged authorities to increase surveillance at key entry points to Dhaka and other strategic locations to manage the influx of travelers. He also stressed the importance of ensuring an adequate number of vehicles to prevent overcrowding and delays. BNP rally means arson, havoc and bloodshed: Obaidul Quader “Now, people can travel from Cumilla to Dhaka in 30-40 minutes. However, due to heavy traffic, passengers often face one to two-hour delays on the Hanif Flyover,” Quader said, adding that this issue needs to be resolved in the national interest. The minister highlighted the difficulties faced by garment workers, particularly in the Chandra area of Gazipur, during Eid journeys. “Thousands start walking on the streets due to a shortage of vehicles,” he remarked, urging for more adequate transportation arrangements. Quader reiterated that motorcyclists cannot be allowed to ride without helmets and stressed the importance of vehicle fitness. Bangladesh has progressed significantly, but the standards of bus owners have declined, he noted. “Proper surveillance is crucial to prevent road accidents.” Govt takes zero tolerance policy against offenders: Obaidul Quader He called on bus owners to ensure that only qualified drivers, not their helpers, operate the buses. “We need to strengthen the monitoring system to reduce the recurrence of accidents,” Quader added. Addressing the ongoing construction works, Quader directed authorities to halt road digging during the Eid holidays and monsoon season to avoid inconvenience to travelers. He also ordered a temporary suspension of construction activities for seven days around Eid. Furthermore, CNG fuel stations have been instructed to remain open for seven days before and five days after Eid-ul-Azha to accommodate increased demand.  

The BNP on Thursday paid homage to its founder Ziaur Rahman, marking his 43rd death anniversary. Party leaders and activists, led by its Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, placed a wreath at Ziaur Rahman's grave at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar around 11:25 am paying rich tributes to him. They also joined a special prayers (munajat) seeking eternal peace of the departed soul of Zia and the good health of party Chairperson Khaleda Zia. The leaders and workers of BNP’s different units and associate bodies also placed wreaths at Zia’s grave on the occasion. Apart from Fakhrul, BNP Standing Committee Members Mirza Abbas, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Nazrul Islam Khan, Vice Chairman AZM Zahid Hossain and Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi were, among others, present. BNP’s 15-day programme to mark Zia’s death anniversary The party and its different associate bodies chalked out a 15-day programme to observe the death anniversary nationwide with due respect. The programmes include arranging discussion meetings, seminars, photo exhibitions, wearing black badges, publishing supplements in newspapers and distributing food and relief materials among the destitute. The observance of Zia's death anniversary programmes began on Tuesday through a discussion programme arranged by Jatiyatabadi Muktijoddha Dal, freedom fighters' wing of the party, at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU). The party organised a discussion meeting on Wednesday at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, in memory of Zia. Ziaur Rahman who founded the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in 1978 was assassinated by a group of disgruntled army officers at Chittagong Circuit House on 30 May ,1981. In observance of the day, black flags were hoisted and party flags kept at half-mast atop the offices of the party and its associate bodies, including Nayapaltan headquarters at 6 am. Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir issued a message on the occasion paying deep tributes to Zia. Khaleda returns home from hospital He recalled the BNP founder’s huge contributions to the Liberation War and the nation. “The popularity of this great liberal democratic leader, Ziaur Rahman, could never be accepted by domestic and foreign conspirators. These conspirators assassinated President Ziaur Rahman on 30 May 1981. The nation lost a great patriotic nationalist leader through this tragic incident,” Fakhrul said.

Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has predicted rain or thundershowers in five divisions including Dhaka and Chattogram over 24 hours, starting from 9 am today. “Rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to occur at a few places in Rangpur, Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions and at one or two places in Dhaka and Chattogram divisions,” said a BMD bulletin. Rains likely to drench Dhaka, six other divisions in 24 hours Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country. Day and night temperatures may fall slightly over the northern part and may rise slightly elsewhere in the country. A trough of westerly low lies over West Bengal in India to northwest Bay. Southwest monsoon has advanced upto Teknaf coast. Rains likely in Dhaka, 4 others divisions  

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized a 2.5 kg consignment of cocaine from the Khulna-bound Kapotaksha Express train today. Acting on a tip-off, a special patrol team from the Kushtia Battalion (BGB 47) positioned themselves at Mirpur Railway Station in Kushtia. Over 4-kg crystal meth seized in Cox’s Bazar, 1 detained: BGB When the train stopped at Mirpur Railway Station, the BGB patrol team conducted a search operation and recovered 2.5 kg of cocaine, Lt Col Mohammad Mahbub Morshed of Kushtia Battalion (BGB 47) said. A general diary entry regarding the seizure is currently being processed at Mirpur Police Station

A gas cylinder explosion on DIT Road in the Badda area of Dhaka early this morning resulted in one fatality and left another person injured.  The explosion occurred at approximately 6:43 am on the ground floor of a three-storey building. The identities of the deceased and the injured have not yet been confirmed. Two units from the Baridhara Fire Station responded promptly to the incident and extinguished the fire.  Fire burns over 50 houses in Gazipur Talha bin Jashim, Station Officer of the FSCD Headquarters Media Cell, said that the exact cause of the explosion will be known after investigation. Preliminary suspicions suggest that a gas cylinder leakage may have caused the blast.  Authorities are conducting a thorough investigation to determine the precise cause of the explosion.

In the Bhanga Upazila Parishad election of Faridpur, a presiding officer was attacked for preventing fake votes. The assailants allegedly looted government-allocated funds from the centre. The incident occurred on Wednesday at 3:30 PM at the Rashidpur Dakhil Madrasa Centre at Gharua union of the upazila. Presiding officer Hasib Uddin Mridha reported that in the final moments of voting, local UP Chairman Monsur Ali and his associates entered the polling centre, demanding votes for Kawsar Bhuiyan’s “Inkpot and Pen” symbol. When Mridha refused, he was assaulted and humiliated. The attackers then looted Tk 73,000 from his office, funds reserved for conducting the election. Mridha mentioned that he could not file a complaint on time due to the ongoing election results process but plans to submit a written complaint to the police soon. He has already informed law enforcement via phone. Ziaul Haque Khan, the returning officer for the third phase of the Upazila Parishad elections, confirmed awareness of the incident but could not provide details due to the ongoing vote count. In this election, Bhanga Upazila had five chairman candidates, four female vice-chairman candidates, and six male vice-chairman candidates, with a total of 99 polling centers. Repeated calls to UP Chairman Monsur Ali went unanswered. Regarding the issue, Bhanga Police Station Officer-in-Charge Golam Muntasir Maruf acknowledged awareness of the incident but noted that a formal written complaint had not yet been received. He assured that an investigation is underway. Sources from the Faridpur Election Office revealed that in the elections for two Upazila Parishads in Faridpur, Shahidul Islam Babul was unofficially elected chairman of Sadar Upazila with 40,333 votes, while his nearest competitor, Kazi Shafiqul Rahman, received 35,508 votes. Babul is the former president of the Upazila. Additionally, in Bhanga Upazila, Kawsar Bhuiyan, running with the motorcycle symbol, was unofficially elected chairman with 62,872 votes.

The Livelihoods Improvement of Urban Poor Communities Project (LIUPCP) of the Local Government Division in partnership with the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organised a day-long workshop titled “Mayors’ Knowledge Exchange Workshop on LIUPCP Good Practices” on Wednesday at a hotel in Dhaka. The objective of the workshop was to share and discuss good practices around pro-poor and climate-resilient urban development emerging from LIUPCP interventions in 19 cities and towns. Local Government, Rural Development Cooperatives Minister Md Tazul Islam was present as the Chief Guest while Stefan Liller, Resident Representative, UNDP Bangladesh, and Matt Cannell, Deputy High Commissioner and Development Director, British High Commission were present as Special Guests. Muhammad Ibrahim, Secretary, Local Government Division, MoLGRD&C chaired the workshop. In her opening remarks Sonali Dayaratne, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Bangladesh said, “The government has taken full ownership of our urban resilience programme. It has showcased how community women are tailoring solutions to the community’s needs in cities and towns.” Mayor of Dhaka North Md Atiqul Islam, while chairing the session on 'Good practices of community empowerment and locally led approaches for climate-resilient infrastructure’ said, “Local action is the key to national success, and a bottom-up community-led development process will ensure pro-poor urban development.” The Chief Guest Md Tazul Islam, MP said, “By 2041, we want to become a developed country and this development journey will leave no one behind”. “To look forward to using the learnings from this workshop in the coming days.” Stefan Liller, while addressing the workshop said, “Our longstanding partnership with the Bangladesh Government and the UK spans nearly two decades, showcasing a robust model of urban poverty reduction and climate change adaptation. The programme continues to strengthen resilience at the community level, ensuring that our efforts are integrated into broader urban development strategies of local governments. Commenting on the learnings from LIUPC, Matt Cannell said, “I am glad to see the partnership between the Bangladesh government, the UK government and UNDP improved the livelihoods and living conditions of 4 million poor urban people in Bangladesh.” Muhammad Ibrahim, Secretary, MoLGRD&C thanked the UK Government and UNDP for supporting the LIUPC. “We look forward to fostering this partnership in the coming years. Among others, Mayor of Chandpur, Md Jillur Rahman, Chairperson of Chandpur Town Federation, Nazma Alam also spoke. Around 120 participants comprising Mayors from City Corporations and Municipalities, development partners, government agencies, NGOs, INGOs, and bilateral and multilateral partners attended the workshop. The LIUPCP is working for pro-poor climate-smart urban development. Started in 2018, the project has reached around four million urban poor in its program cities and towns and has demonstrated several good practices in community empowerment, affordable housing, adaptive livelihoods, improved socioeconomic conditions, climate resilient infrastructures and pro-poor planning and municipal governance.

UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh Sheldon Yett on Wednesday said UNICEF is "appalled" by the killing of a Rohingya teacher in gunfire in one of the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar. 3.2 million Children at risk as Cyclone Remal hits hard in coastal areas of Bangladesh: UNICEF “UNICEF expresses its sincere condolences and extends its sympathy to the family, friends and students of the victim," Yett said in a statement. UNICEF strongly condemns any attack against schools and other places of learning, which must always be a safe space for children, and for the staff delivering this essential service, Yett added.

State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat on Wednesday urged the country’s mass media to work with utmost sincerity to safeguard the interests of the country and its people. “The country belongs to all of us so, conspiracies against the interests of this country must be dealt with staying united,” he said. Govt-citizen partnership needed to resolve civic problems: State Minister Arafat The state minister said this while addressing the Bangladesh Press Council (BPC) Medal-2023 distribution ceremony at Tathya Bhaban Auditorium in the city’s Circuit House Road this afternoon (Wednesday). “To build a non-communal society with liberation war spirit, in moving this society forward, in the efforts of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the field of inclusive development, everyone, including the media, must play a collective role.,” he added. Arafat divulges how govt proceeding to shut 'unregistered' news sites “The government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina always stands by the people working in the media with different types of incentives so they can work professionally with responsibility,” he said. Reiterating the government’s commitment to foster professional journalism, Arafat said, “We believe that freedom of the press is the part of our Liberation War spirit." Regarding German broadcaster Deutsche Welle’s (DW) recent documentary, he said, "You will see it was not against any individual or the government but against the country and its important institution - Bangladesh Army." They have made the documentary to belittle our success and reputation in international peace keeping missions, the state minister added. Arafat criticises US police response to peaceful campus protests for Palestinian rights “A vested quarter is spreading such kind of propaganda to tarnish the image of the Bangladesh Army and the country by using the international media,” he added. Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting Ministry Kazi Keramat Ali, Senior Secretary of the ministry Humayun Kabir Khandaker, and jury board chief and Professor of Dhaka University (DU) Mass Communication and Journalism Department Dr Abul Mansur Ahmed spoke at the function, with BPC Chairman Justice Md Nizamul Huq Nasim in the chair.

The Chittagong University (CU) administration has issued show-cause notices to 23 Chhatra League leaders of the CU unit for their alleged involvement in wielding local weapons and engaging in clashes to capture polling centers during the Upazila elections in Hathazari. BCL to host nationwide flag hoisting on May 6, aimed at backing global student movement for Palestine The accused have been given three days to respond. Following their responses, disciplinary actions will be taken as per the decision of the university's disciplinary committee, the CU authorities stated. After reviewing CCTV footage and other evidence, the 23 students were identified and served notices on Wednesday. Notices were also sent to the families of the accused students. Mohammad Rifat Rahman, Assistant Proctor and Assistant Secretary of the Investigation Committee at the university, confirmed the issuance of the show-cause notices. Attack by ‘rivals’ leaves 4 BCL activists injured in Lakshmipur "We have issued show-cause notices to 23 students after verifying all evidence and footage. Notices have been sent simultaneously to their halls, departments, and families. They have three working days starting tomorrow to explain their actions. Necessary steps will be taken based on the disciplinary committee's decision," he said. He added, "Two incidents occurred. The first one took place in front of the Laboratory School, and the second in front of Abdur Rab Hall. During this time, some students defied our prohibitions and displayed local weapons. Legal actions will also be taken against them." We envision a system where Buet students will choose their leaders: BCL President For the sake of the investigation, the names of the 23 students served with show-cause notices have been kept confidential. Previously, a clash broke out between two sub-groups of the CU BCL unit – 'Choose Friends with Care (CFC)' and the 'Bijoy' group – over the occupation of polling centers during the upazila parishad elections at around 2pm on May 21. During the incident, Bijoy activists attempted to occupy the center for the motorcycle symbol candidate, while CFC activists supported the horse symbol candidate. At that time, Salah Uddin, a follower of Bijoy Group, was hacked with sharp weapons by CFC followers. To investigate the incident, a three-member committee was formed with Assistant Proctor Enamul Haque as the convener, Assistant Proctor Mohammad Rifat Rahman as the member secretary, and Assistant Proctor Tanvir Hasan as a member.