United News of Bangladesh

Describing the situation a "hard situation", interim government Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday said the world will do more business with Bangladesh if the country, as a nation, could collectively get over the “mess”. "We will have the world’s attention. The world will look to us for inspiration, and the world will want to do more business with us," he said when leaders of the International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh, called on him at his office at the State Guest House Jamuna. The business delegation led by ICC-B President Mahbubur Rahman greeted the Chief Adviser on his assumption of the leadership of the Interim Government, saying the country's businessmen fully support him in his new role. "It’s a very hard situation that we are in now. But it’s also the biggest opportunity that we can get. Our job is difficult, but very much doable," Prof Yunus said. Professor Muhammad Yunus thanked them and said that his administration inherited an economic mess, but he was confident the situation would soon improve with the introduction of vital reforms. The ICC-B leaders urged the 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate to carry out much needed reforms without a haste to bring back stability in the economy, according to Chief Adviser’s press wing. They said the previous government left the country in ruins. Deep reforms and restructuring were needed in the banking sector, revenue administrations, education, and industry, they added. "We are a witness to what happened over the last 15 years. The Bangladesh private sector is with you 100 per cent," Mahbubur Rahman, the ICC-B President, said. Professor Muhammad Yunus asked the delegation "to think outside the box to achieve greatness as a nation". He said: "If we can make the young people’s dream come true, we can make the nation’s dream come true.” Senior business leaders, including FBCCI President Mahbubul Alam, Tapan Chowdhury, Kutubuddin Ahmed, AK Azad, Simeen Rahman, Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, Naser Ezaz Bijoy, Fazlul Hoque and Mohammad Hatem attended the meeting.

The interim government has decided to set up a “Foundation” to take care of the wounded and the families of the dead and wounded who participated in the student-led revolution in July-August 2024. Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus will head the Foundation, which will include a number of Advisers of the Interim Government, student representatives, and the family members of the deceased and injured. The modalities of the Foundation will be announced very soon, according to Chief Adviser’s press wing. Citizens and the Bangladeshi diaspora have been urged to contribute to the Foundation. "We can never forget the contributions of the students and people who sacrificed their lives and who were grievously wounded while participating in the protests against the dictatorship," Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus said on Tuesday. “It is my duty and our national duty to stand by their side. We will do whatever is needed to take good care of the wounded and families of the deceased as soon as possible,” he added. He said arrangements have been made for their medical and family needs. Dedicated government departments and officials would be assigned in this regard, Prof Yunus said.

Home Affairs Adviser Lt. General Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury(Retd) on Tuesday assured that the government will provide all necessary support for the treatment of those injured in the student-led mass movement. He said this while talking to reporters after visiting people who were in the movement and undergoing treatment at National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) and the National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital in Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. The adviser inquired about the treatment of the injured and expressed his sympathy towards them. He also instructed the hospital authorities to ensure advanced medical care to the injured.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has asked banks to provide account details of Awami League presidium member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim and his family members. The tax zone 15 of the NBR has issued a letter to banks and financial institutions in this regard on August 19. In the letter, the NBR asked the banks and financial institutions to provide information on bank accounts and credit cards as soon as possible under the Income Tax Law-2023 of 200 sections. Details of the bank accounts of Sheikh Selim, his father, mother, sons and daughters were sought in the letter.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Tuesday approved the filing of a case against former Director General of the Postal Department, Sudhangshu Shekhar Bhadra, and Deputy Postmaster General, Mostaq Ahmed, on charges of irregularities and corruption in government procurement. The case will be filed by an ACC Assistant Director at the Dhaka Coordinated Office, ACC-1. The allegations center on Bhadra and Ahmed, who served as Project Director and Deputy Project Director, respectively, for the “Post e-Center for Rural Community” project, ACC spokesman Aktarul Islam confirmed. The two officials are accused of misappropriating over Tk 15 crore during the procurement of 500 HPE Servers and UPS units. Despite the significant expenditure, the equipment was never utilized, leading to a loss of public funds. An investigation conducted by the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology in 2017, supported by witness testimonies, revealed that contracts for purchasing the servers, UPS units, and other electronic equipment were made with the government-owned telephone industry. The equipment was intended for distribution to post offices at the district and upazila levels. A three-member investigation team, led by Additional Secretary (Telecom) Muhibur Rahman, was formed to probe the allegations of waste and embezzlement. The team included members from the Department of Posts and Telecommunications. The investigation team conducted random inspections of post offices and verified stock registers. They found that the project, completed in June 2017, had significant discrepancies. The supply invoices indicated that some goods were delivered nearly two years after the project's official completion. According to the investigation, the responsible employees, including the concerned postmasters, cited a lack of training and knowledge on how to operate the equipment as the reason for it remaining unused. There was also no evidence of any instructions from the Directorate of Posts on the intended use of the machines, rendering them effectively useless. The report further highlighted that despite Tk 6 crore being allocated for training purposes, no training sessions were conducted. The investigation concluded that purchasing the servers without developing the necessary skilled manpower primarily benefited the supplier organization, violating contractual obligations.

Dhaka metro rail operations are expected to resume from August 25, Road Transport and Highways Department senior secretary Ehsanul Haq  said on Tuesday (August 20, 2024). Ehsanul Haq visited the National Press Club metro rail station today and instructed the officials concerned to take necessary steps to resume the metro rail services. The striking metro rail workers returned to work today.  Read more: Metro Rail to resume operations within 7 days max: Adviser Fauzul The authorities suspended metro service since 18 July, citing damage due to arson and vandalism. The metro rail operations did not resume on Saturday as planned because officials were unable to finish the necessary technical tests. The two stations in Mirpur-10 intersection and Kazipara which were vandalized during the recent student movement will remain shut for necessary renovation work. Read more: Metro rail operations not resuming Saturday: DMTCL

Women leaders had a meeting with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday and demanded expediting treatment of the injured persons and formation of judicial reforms commission to avoid repletion of previous mistakes. They put forward a number of recommendations and also sought steps to stop violence against women and make recruitment processes judicious. The chief adviser listened to them and considered their recommendations positively. Adviser for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Syeda Rizwana Hasan briefed the media after the meeting held at state guesthouse Jamuna. Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam was also present. “Our goal was to listen to all and take their opinions in line with the broader reforms agenda we have. Recommendations came in a broader way,” Rizwana told reporters, adding that emphasis was given on making a priority list. She said if they cannot bring those changes in line with priority proposals it might be difficult to do under a partisan government. “We can’t finalise things in a one-hour meeting. These will be discussed with other stakeholders. There is no negative position by the interim government on any proposal,” Rizwana said. She said there is an initiative from the government for the treatment of the injured persons but there was a proposal for expediting the process. Rizwana also talked about creation of a Foundation in which people can come up with financial support but there was a demand to do things for the interim period as it might need some time for the creation of the Foundation. There was a discussion whether a Women’s Rights Commission can be formed instead of dealing with women issues separately. They also proposed to truly empower the Bangladesh Information Commission and National Human Rights Commission. On violence against women, one of the female student coordinators said she bears the attacks of previous government’s students wing members. “I am not here to talk about that. But the entire system needs to be changed so that people involved in any violence against women must not go unpunished,” Rizwana quoted the student representative as saying. She said there was a discussion on the importance of making the society friendly towards women and the issues of Kalpana Chakma, Tonu, Munia and Nusrat were raised seeking punishment against the responsible people.      Rizwana said there was a discussion on the overall situation of the country, not just women issues.  Talking about the reforms, she said there was a proposal to see whether these things can be done through a “Judicial Reforms Commission” so that old mistakes are not repeated. The participants also sought steps so that NGOs are not harassed by NGO Bureau. Appointments in Shilpakala Academies and CHT issues were also discussed.   Interim government Advisers Nurjahan Begum and Farida Akthar; principal coordinator for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) affairs Lamiya Morshed, Shireen Huq, Samia Afrin, Seema Das Seemu, Taslima Akhtar, Ritu Sattar, Bithi Ghosh, Sultana Begum, Nigar Sultana, Sufia Rahman, Taskin Fahmina, Meghna Guhathakurta, Rani Yan Yan, Prof Dilara Chowdhury, Barrister Sara Hossain, Shaheen Anam, Nirupa Dewan, Prof Fahmida Khatun, Shamali Sheel, Irene Khan and Nabila Idris were among the participants.    

A predawn  search for former Public Administration Minister Farhad Hossain  ended in failure, authorities said Tuesday.   On information that he was hiding in a house police and upazila administration conducted an hour-long drive at Shibpur village of Mujibnagar. The operation,  lasting from 3am to 4am, was led by the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Mujibnagar, Khairul Islam, along with Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Saiful Alam of Mujibnagar Police Station. Earlier, members of the local Jubo Dal, led by Meherpur District Jubo Dal Joint General Secretary Huzaifa Deklar, along with hundreds of locals, surrounded the house. Huzaifa Deklar said that there was information that Farhad was staying at this house late Monday night. When the police attempted to enter the house, they were met with resistance, with the occupants stating that the gate would only be opened if the UNO and army personnel were present. The search began after the arrival of UNO Khairul Islam. However, the former minister was not found, the officials said  OC Saiful Alam confirmed that there is an ongoing case against Farhad under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

After 17 years, all bank accounts of former prime minister and BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia have been activated. In this regard, a letter from the Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has been sent to Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Monday to activate all bank accounts of Khaleda Zia. According to NBR and BB sources, the newly appointed chairman of NBR Md. Abdur Rahman Khan after consulting with the Chief Adviser of the interim government Professor Muhammad Yunus, decided to activate Khaleda Zi’s bank accounts. In 2007, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's bank accounts were seized during the caretaker government. Later, because of the application through the lawyer, she could withdraw a certain amount of money every month from Rupali Bank's Shaheed Moinul Road branch of Dhaka Cantonment for running regular expenses. Initially, its amount was Tk 2.0 lakh. Later the amount of money gradually increased. The former caretaker government also seized former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's bank accounts in 2007. After she won the election and became the Prime Minister, her account was opened.

Farooq-E-Azam Bir Pratik, Advisor to the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief in the Interim Government, revealed that he hasn't watched television for the past 15 years. He made this remark today, Monday, August 19, while speaking with local officials and residents after visiting the graves of his parents at his ancestral home, "Gol Mohammad Chowdhury Bari," in Forhadabad, Hathazari Upazila, Chattogram. The advisor stated, "Whenever I turn on the TV, all I see is misinformation, which is why I haven't watched television for 15 years. It is a natural and constitutional right for people to protest against injustice." He further mentioned, "Advisors are working to dispel the fear of administration and police. The interim government is sincerely working for the welfare and development of the people." Additionally, he emphasized that students have not only inspired us but have also enlightened many neighboring countries, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. Among those present at the event were Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Abul Bashar Mohammad Fakruzzaman, Upazila Nirbahi Officer A.B.M. Moshiuzzaman, Additional Superintendent of Police (Hathazari Circle) Shoaib Ahmed Khan, and Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Mehejabin Sharmin, among others.