United News of Bangladesh

A low pressure area has formed over the south-west Bay and adjoining west-central Bay. It is likely to intensify further, Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said on Wednesday morning. It also predicted rain or thundershowers likely accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind in many places over Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions; at a few places over Dhaka, Mymensingh, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions; and at one or two places over Khulna and Barishal divisions starting from 9 am today. Rains likely amid mild heat wave sweeping country, low pressure formed in Bay: BMD Besides, a mild heatwave is sweeping over Sylhet division and the districts of Dhaka, Netrokona, Chattogram, Rangamati, Feni, Cox’s Bazar, Bagerhat, Jashore and Chuadanga and it may continue. Day temperature may remain nearly unchanged and night temperature may rise slightly over the country. Due to increase of moisture incursion the discomfort may increase, according to the BMD bulletin. Country’s highest temperature was recorded in Bagerhat’s Mongla at 37.5 degree Celsius over 24 hours till 6 am Wednesday, and the lowest temperature was recorded in Panchagarh’s Tetulia at 22.4 degree Celsius. Weather forecast: Rain, thunder showers likely over 8 divisions, BMD says In the meantime, the highest 64mm rainfall was recorded in Patuakhali.

The British Asian Trust has appointed Eshrat Waris as its first Bangladesh Director.  Eshrat will be guided and supported by the British Asian Trust’s Bangladesh Advisory Council led by Shayan F Rahman, CEO of BEXIMCO Group, and Farooq Sobhan, Runa Khan and Elthem Kabir, according to a media release. Chair of the Bangladesh Advisory Council Shayan F Rahman said that British Asian Trust is delighted to have appointed Eshrat as the first ever Director in Bangladesh.  "With her wealth of experience, she will play a key role in driving the substantial growth of our programmes in Bangladesh,” he said. Legendary Women in Bangladesh with Pioneering Contribution in Diverse Fields The newly appointed director Eshrat Waris mentioned that she was thrilled to join the British Asian Trust and lead its efforts in Bangladesh.  "I’m excited to work with our team and Advisory Council to drive innovative solutions for lasting social and environmental impact,” she said. The British Asian Trust was founded in 2007 by His Majesty King Charles III, together with leading British Asian business leaders.  To date the Trust has supported more than 12 million people across South Asia and is now committed to ensuring greater growth and impact in Bangladesh. With over a decade in the climate tech and development industries, Eshrat has played a pivotal role in community-based programmes that create lasting social impact. She has worked for the World Bank, BRAC and SOLshare.

A contract has been signed with the Indian company RITES LTD. to procure 200 broad-gauge passenger carriages for Bangladesh Railway at a cost of Tk 1,205 crore and 54 lakhs. Railway Minister Md. Zillul Hakim said, "Bangladesh Railway currently has 2016 carriages and 3,095 wagons. Recently, the railway network has been expanded in the southern part of the country after the opening of the Padma Railway Bridge. Alongside supplying new trains to the southern region, there is a need to replace old coaches with new broad-gauge passenger coaches. When providing carriages according to the time mentioned in the contract, it would be good for us if two sets of carriages are given in the next two months and the rest are scheduled." The minister made these remarks yesterday at the contract signing ceremony with Bangladesh Railway and the Indian company RITES LTD. at the railway office in the capital. Bangladesh signs $289.52 million loan agreement with IsDB for housing finance project The project will be funded by the Government of Bangladesh and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The carriages will be made of stainless steel, equipped with air conditioning on the roof, automatic air brake system, and environment friendly features. The carriages will be integrated with the trains of the southwestern region of the country after the completion of this project, expressing hope for new horizons in passenger transportation on Bangladesh Railway. Humayun Kabir, Railway Secretary, Sardar Sahadat Ali, Director General of Bangladesh Railway, Rahul Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director of RITES LTD., Sanjay Kumar Pankaj, Additional Member of the Production Unit of Indian Railways, and Michal Krejza, Head of Corporation of the European Union, were present at the contract signing ceremony. FBCCI signs deal to establish joint business council with Qatar

Bangladesh has been categorised "in crisis" for freedom of speech and expression, said a latest report of Article 19, a British human rights organization. According to the Global Expression Report 2024, released worldwide on Tuesday, Bangladesh ranked 128th out of 161 countries in terms of freedom of expression, with a score of 12 out of 100. Countries getting between 0-19 are categorised as "in crisis". In its report last year, Article 19 gave Bangladesh a score of 13 out of 100 and ranked it 131st out of 161 countries. The report shows that Bangladesh’s position of freedom of speech and expression improved compared with the previous year. The organisation's South Asia and Bangladesh Regional Director, Sheikh Manjur-E-Alam, presented the latest report at a hotel in the capital on Tuesday. Executive Director of TIB Iftekharuzzaman and the Chief Executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) Syeda Rizwana Hasan also spoke at the event. There shall be free, unrestricted freedom of expression and information: Arafat According to the report, Bangladesh scored the lowest in the category of 'Journalists working without suppression'. From 2007, Bangladesh's score in this category has been going down as well as its score in the 'self-censorship of the media' category, the report said, adding that the trend has been going on for more than one and a half decades. Bangladesh also scored the second lowest among the South Asian countries, with only Afghanistan scoring lower than Bangladesh. Hasan Mahmud says European countries suppressing freedom of expression by banning pro-Palestine rallies The report said the state of freedom of expression in India and Afghanistan is "in crisis". India scored 19 out of 100, and Afghanistan 2. Nepal remained at the top position in South Asia, scoring 57 out of 100. The report mentioned five categories: "crisis (0-19)", "highly restricted (20-39)", "restricted (40-59)", "less restricted (60-79)", and "open (80-100)". The data reveals that in 2023, the percentage of people living in countries under "crisis" category rose to 53 percent, which is more than four billion people in 39 countries. Drik hosts frank conversation about freedom of expression, media in Bangladesh

Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Ministry on Monday suspended Faridpur’s Dumain union parishad chairman Shah Asaduzzman for his alleged involvement with the deaths of two workers in a mob beating following a fire at a temple in Madhukhali upazila on April 18. In a notification, signed by AKM Anisuzzaman, senior assistant secretary to UP-1 Section under Local Government Division of the ministry, on Monday issued a show cause notice to the UP chairman to explain within 10 working days as to why he wouldn’t be finally suspended. Faridpur’s deputy commissioner (DC) was also recommended to take measures against the chairman under 34 (4) (kha) (gha) section of the Local Government (UP) Act-2009, reads the notification. On April 18, a fire broke out at Kali idols of the Barwari temple in Hindu-dominated Panchpalli village under Madhukhali upazila of the district. Faridpur temple fire: Probe body finds no involvement of 2 workers    Hindu residents became angry over the incident and they locked seven workers, in a room of a government primary school, on suspicion of their involvement in the desecration of the idols. The workers were constructing a wash block at Panchapalli Government Primary School, 20 yards off the temple. On information, Madhukhali police and upazila administration officials rushed to the spot but the mob also confined them. Later with the help of Faridpur District Sadar and Rajbari District Police, the besieged people were rescued after a few hours. Seven workers were rescued with injuries and taken to Madhukhali Upazila Health Complex and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital in Faridpur. Two of the injured succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment. Faridpur temple fire: Hefazat e-Islam thratens countrywide progs unless accused are held The deceased were identified as Ashraful, 21, and his younger brother Ashadul, 15, sons of Shahjahan Khan of Ghoperghat village under Naowarpara union of the upazila. They were both construction workers. Following the incident, the local administration formed a three-member probe committee led by Md Siddik Ali. Later the members of the committee were increased to seven. Later, the victims’ father Shahjahan filed a case with Madhukhali police station in this connection. Faridpur temple fire: Villagers clash with police demanding arrest of accused in construction workers' lynching Moreover, another case was filed by temple’s worshipper Topoti Rani Mandal for setting fire on it and one more case by a police officer for barring law enforcers from performing duty, damaging public property and arson.  Police have arrested 31 people in the cases till now and drives are on to arrest the rest.

Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Tuesday instructed banks to submit information related to willful defaulters in the Credit Information Bureau (CIB) database. At the same time, commercial banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) have been directed to report June data on July 1 in real-time. Publish names of loan defaulters: Left Democratic Alliance The CIB of the central bank issued a circular in this regard on Tuesday and sent it to the top executives of banks for immediate execution. Earlier, the BB took the initiative to identify the willful defaulters in the banking sector through a circular on March 12. Besides, the central bank also specified what action will be taken against the willful defaulters. Central bank seeks info on upazila election candidates, ostensibly to identify defaulters According to the circular, if a defaulting client takes a loan anonymously and misuses that loan, it will be marked as a willful defaulter. It was also directed to form a 'willful defaulter identification unit' by April 9 to identify willful defaulters. The circular also said that if any bank violates the conditions of this directive, it will be fined at least 50 lakhs and a maximum Tk1.0 crore. And if the condition continues to be violated, a fine of Tk 1.0 lakh per day will be imposed. Ban traveling abroad and state honours for wilful defaulters: Bangladesh Bank

A 2-day National Renewable Energy Conference and Green Expo-2024 is going to take place at the Nawab Nawab Ali Senate Building in Dhaka University from Wednesday. Institute of Energy at the University Dhaka and Greentech Foundation are jointly organizing the 24the national conference and expo in collaboration with USAID, SREDA, IDCOLL, Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh and BSREA. Addressing a press briefing at Dhaka Reporters Unity on Tuesday, the organisers informed that there will be 4 technical seminars at the conference during the two-day event. Empowering Bangladesh with clean energy today means a brighter, sustainable future for generations to come: Peter Haas They said Foreign Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud will inaugurate the conference while Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury will address at the concluding session. State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid and State Minister for Finance Wasika Ayesha Khan will attend two separate sessions at the event. Lutfar Rahman, CEO and Executive Director of Greentech Foundation said that the 24th national renewable energy conference will focus on investment and other issues of green energy. He said the government policy makers, bankers, investors, development partners, government agencies, NGOs and industrialists will participate. Time to build environment-friendly, energy efficient green buildings: Nasrul Hamid The event is expected to create closer links between entrepreneurs, government and funding institutions. He said renewable energy in Bangladesh has both potential and challenges. Bangladesh has committed to ensure 40 percent renewable energy by 2040. To achieve the target, an investment of $24 billion dollars will be required in this sector. That is why investment has been given priority in this year's event. Nasrul Hamid advocates for AI in enhancing Bangladesh's power and energy sector

Replying to a question about the news of US sanctions on former Army Chief General Aziz Ahmed, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Tuesday said he has no information about it. “I have no comment on it. Why the US sanction has been imposed on the former Army Chief, I don't know. I just came to know about a notice and without knowing anything I can’t answer it,” he said while talking to reporters at the Secretariat. The US government has imposed sanctions on a number of persons and it is not new, he added. The US Department of State on Monday imposed sanctions on Aziz Ahmed and his immediate family members due to “his involvement in significant corruption”. Responding to a question about the disappearance of Jhenaidah-4 MP Anwarul Azim Anar, the minister said “He went to India after crossing our immigration. We were informed by his family that there was no trace of him. All government agencies are working on it. Our National Security Intelligence (NSI), Special Branch (SB) and police are working with the Indian police and detectives.” He also hoped that the information about the Jhenaidah-4 MP will be known soon through India. Asking about any update information about him, said “No update has been received about him, so far and the phone number of Anar was also found switched off.” Anwarul Azim Anar, the lawmaker from Jhenaidah-4 constituency, has been missing since at least May 14, having gone on a medical trip to India on May 11.

Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) will procure 1.26 lakh Spun Pre-stressed Concrete (SPC) poles and 140 km high voltage underground cables for its “Modernisation and Capacity Extension (Dhaka-Mymensingh Division)” distribution project. Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) in a meeting on Tuesday, with Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali in the chair, approved four separate proposals in this regard. Power Division moved the proposals on behalf of its subordinate body. As per the proposals, the BREB will procure 63, 178 SPC poles from Confidence Infrastructure Limited JV with Contech Construction Ltd, Dada Engineering Ltd, and Poles and Concrete Limited at a cost of Tk 213.10 crore under lot -1 of the tender for the project. Under lot -2 of the tender, the same 63,178 SPC poles will be procured by the REB from Bangladesh Army-owned Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory Ltd, Gazipur, at Tk 212.97 crore. The BREB will procure 57 km 11 kV underground cables for the same project from Zhongtian Technology Submarine Cables Co. Ltd at a cost of Tk 83.81 crore under the lot-1 while 83 km 33 kV underground cables will be purchased from BRB Cable Industries Ltd at a cost of Tk 68.16 crore.

The per capita income of Bangladesh stands at US $2784 in the current fiscal year, slightly higher than the previous fiscal year. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) released the periodic data on Monday. The end of the current fiscal year is just a few days away. The BBS prepared this projection from an existing trend of the economic situation. BBS says that by the end of FY 2023-24, the provisional GDP growth will stand at 5.82 percent, which was 5.78 percent in the previous FY2022-23. At present the per capita income in terms of taka is Tk3.61 lakh, which in the last financial year was Tk2.73 lakh. The amount of per capita income in the local currency increased due to the devaluation of taka.