United News of Bangladesh

A 20-year-old employee of a motorbike parts shop was burnt to death in a fire in Nathullabad area of Barishal city early Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Sajeeb Jamadar, hailing from Nangallia village under Bakerganj upazila of Barishal district and a part-time employee of ‘Habib Motors’.  He was also a student of a polytechnic institute. He used to stay inside the shop at night. Rabiul Al Amin, station officer of Sadar Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD), said the fire began in one of the four shops on the opposite of Zia Road in the Nathullabad area around 3 am. On information, five firefighting units rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control around one hour after efforts, he said. The fire might have erupted from an electric short-circuit in a furniture shop and spread fast to other shops, he said. He suspected that Sajeeb might have died from electrocution during the fire. Kotowali model police station’s Sub Inspector Al Mamun said the body was sent to Sher-E-Bangla Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. A case will be registered in this connection, he said.

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested three people in connection with the murder of a college teacher in Kaliakoir upazila of Gazipur on Monday. Maj Gen Yasir Arafat Hossain, company commander of RAB-1in Porabari camp, disclosed the information at a press briefing on Tuesday. The arrestees are Md Mojibur, his sons Md Sumon and Md Sejan, hailing from Sajandhar village under Kaliakoir upazila. Mojibur is the younger brother of victim Reza Sayeed Al Mamun. Read: Barendra Express train narrowly escapes accident; rail link with Rajshahi suspended Reza Sayeed Al Mamun was an assistant professor of economics department at Jatir Pita Bangabandhu Government College in the Kaliakoir upazila. On Sunday afternoon, the accused, equipped with locally-made weapons and sticks, swooped on Reza from behind over a land dispute when he was working on the land near his house. Later, victim’s wife Hasina Akhter filed a murder case with the Kaliakoir police station. Read: Body of Bangladeshi killed by BSF returned through Lalmonirhat border  A team of the elite force conducted a drive in the Konabari area and arrested them with the help of technology. During interrogation, the arrestees confessed to their involvement in the killing. 

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has approved a charge sheet against 14 people, including Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, for embezzling Tk 25.22 crore of the Grameen Telecom Workers' welfare fund.The decision was made during a commission meeting held at the ACC headquarters on Monday.Among the accused, a new addition to the list is Kamrul Hasan, office secretary of the Union of Grameen Telecom Employees. The charges will be officially filed in court by Gulshan Anwar, the Deputy Director of ACC.The 14 individuals facing charges include Dr Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Telecom MD Nazmul Islam, Director Ashraful Hasan, former MD Parveen Mahmood, Director, Najnin Sultana, Shahjahan, Noorjahan Begum, and S. M. Hazzatul Islam Latifi, all serving as directors, along with Advocate Yusuf Ali, Advocate Zaforul Hasan Sharif, Mo. Kamruzzaman, President of the Union of Gramin Telecom Employees, Firoz Mahmud Hasan, General Secretary Kamrul Hasan, office secretary of the Employees' Union office, and representative Mainul Islam.The ACC's decision to press charges follows a thorough investigation into allegations of corruption and embezzlement from the Employee Welfare Fund of Grameen Telecom. The case is set to be heard in court soon, with anticipation building around the outcome of this high-profile legal battle.

The maiden session of the 12th Parliament will go into session on Tuesday at 3pm. President Mohammed Shahabuddin will address the first session. Earlier, he convened the first parliament session of 2024 exercising the power bestowed upon him as per the Article 72 (1) of the Constitution. The President's speech has already been approved in the cabinet. The current parliament was formed through January 7 national election. Make the business of parliament meaningful: PM Hasina tells independent MPs Out of 299 seats, AL won 223, JP 11, Bangladesh Workers Party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), and Bangladesh Kalyan Party one each, and independent candidates 62 seats. 58 of the independent candidates were ruling party leaders. At the beginning of the sitting, the Speaker and deputy speaker of the House will be elected and they will be sworn in by the president. BNP relies on ‘other force’ to go to power: PM Hasina tells British parliamentary team Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and Shamsul Haque Tuku will continue in their post as Speaker and Deputy Leader of the House as the AL parliamentary party in a meeting has already nominated them for this post. The president, who addresses the first parliamentary session of a new year, will give a speech on the first day of the session. The Business Advisory Committee of the new parliament will be formed with the new speaker as its head. Neither parliament nor current govt was formed with people’s mandate: Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan The committee will decide the tenure of the inaugural session and other businesses of parliament. The standing committees on different ministries are likely to be formed during this session.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said that realistic measures have been taken for power generation. “The Power Division has been working on as how to use the hydrogen and ammonia as energy alongside the conventional sources of energy”, he told a workshop on “Techno-Economic Study of Electricity Generation Technologies for Bangladesh: Challenges and Opportunities” at Bidyut Bhaban in the city on Monday. 9 more wells to be drilled in Bhola to expedite local gas production: Nasrul Hamid He informed the workshop that nuclear power will come to the national grid soon. “Some 12,047 MW of electricity is now in different stages of generation”, he added. Bloomberg NEF, a US technology and financial strategic research organization, presented research on various sources of power generation in Bangladesh and its cost in this workshop. He said availability of non-agricultural land is one of the major problems in the promotion of renewable energy in Bangladesh. Uninterrupted gas supply by 2026 : Nasrul Hamid outlines energy plans “We are also moving forward with onshore and offshore wind power. One of our main goals is to provide uninterrupted power at affordable cost. Special emphasis is now being laid on modernisation of transmission and distribution systems and also grid synchronization”, he added. The head of Bloomberg's Asia Pacific Region Dr. Ali Izadi, South Asia Market Leader Isshu Kikuma and Senior Associate Tarun Blakrishnan presented the research paper on behalf of Bloomberg at the workshop. They emphasised on supporting renewable energy at the utility scale, increasing the use of rooftop and floating solar, and training for clean technology jobs. They pointed out that  carbon emissions can be reduced by mixing coal with ammonia or natural gas with hydrogen, but the cost will be high, while the use of batteries with solar or batteries with wind is much more cost-effective. Challenges in power and energy supply to increase in global context: Nasrul Hamid The event conducted by Nirod Chandra Mandal, Joint Secretary of Power Department, was also addressed among others by Member of Parliament Nahim Razzak, Senior Secretary of Power Department Md. Habibur Rahman, Srade Chairman Munira Sultana, BPDB Chairman Md. Mahbubur Rahman, BREB Chairman Ajay Kumar Chakraborty, Power Cell Director General Mohammad Hossain, Professor of BUET Ijaz Ahmed, Professor of Dhaka University Badrul Imam, Director of Energy Research Center Shahriar Ahmed Chowdhury and heads of departments.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Mohammad Ali Arafat said on Monday that efforts will be made to bring more cleanliness and accountability under each ministry's jurisdiction in every field.He said he does not want to be personally involved in the decision-making process in every instance. If a committee is formed in a professional capacity and decisions are made with cleanliness, then there is no reason for him to interfere as the head of the ministry.He was speaking at the end of a discussion with the leadership of the National Press Club at the conference hall of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Monday.Arafat stated that his ministry deals with both technical and administrative aspects of information. If he is busy with administrative matters, he will think about technical issues and find ways to address them when necessary.He said that to think about political matters, sometimes needs to be allocated. Thinking is also a task. If he is involved in every committee, every task, and every decision-making process, it will not be easy to find solutions to fundamental issues.As much media freedom as necessary should be maintained, but misinformation needs to be controlled. He emphasized that there should be no dual standards in this matter. “If these are true, then we need to find ways to control misinformation.”In response to a question, the junior minister said, “There are some commercial issues, and some go beyond personal interests. Socially, no one should prioritise personal interests. We cannot make everyone happy with every decision. The effort will be to protect balance and make the right decisions, considering broader interests in the end.”National Press Club President Farida Yasmin led the view exchange meeting where the vice-president Rezwanul Haque Raja, joint secretary Ayub Bhuiya, and Ashraf Ali, treasurer Shahed Choudhury, committee member and UNB editor Farid Hossain, Shahnaz Siddiqui Soma, Kalyan Saha, Julhas Alam, and Mohammad Momin Hossain, took part.

Criminal Investigation Department (CID), a specialized police unit, has found technological negligence for the incident of cyber heist of $101 million from Bangladesh Bank’s account in 2016 during their investigation into the case. "Investigation of the case is at the final stage. During investigation, what we found was technological negligence as the BB was not technologically sound when the incident took place, that is the reality," said CID Chief Additional IGP Mohammad Ali Mia, while exchanging views with the newly elected Executive Committee (EC) of Bangladesh Crime Reporters Association (CRAB) at the CID headquarters in the city on Monday. Death of Bangladesh Bank official: HC asks why failure to keep footpaths safe should not be declared illegal DIG Mainul Hasan, Additional DIG Khondkar Rafiqul Islam, Md Kamrul Ahsan and other senior officers of the CID, while CRAB President Kamruzzaman Khan, Vice President Shaheen Abudal Bari, General Secretary Sirajul Islam and other members of the executive committee attended the view exchange meeting. When asked about the progress in the money laundering case from the Bangladesh Bank Reserve, the CID chief said, "We are investigating the case, the investigation is almost in a good position." Bangladesh government is also trying to bring back the stolen money. Besides, there is also a case registered in a court in New York regarding this. The judge in that case in New York has already concluded the hearing, the CID chief said. "Without the support of Interpol, we will not be able to arrest the accused," he added. Bangladesh Bank unveils SMART-derived interest rates for January He, however, said, what we want is how to bring back the fund. Replying to a question, the CID chief said: "Although the Bangladesh Bank was not technologically sound when the forex reserve was stolen, the Bangladesh Bank's Governor recently informed us that they have already overcome the problem and there is no more technological weakness. Now they are technologically sound." International hackers stole $101 million from the Bangladesh Bank account with the Federal Reserve Bank through fraudulent instructions against their target of about $1 billion in February 2016. Bangladesh Bank authorises 90-day buyers' credit to import essentials for Ramadan Bangladesh has so far recovered around $18 million of the $81 million transferred to the Philippines. It was later suspected that Dridex malware was used for the attack. On March 15, 2016, Deputy Director of Accounts and Budgeting Department of Bangladesh Bank Zubair Bin Huda lodged a case against unidentified people under Money Laundering Prevention Act at Motijheel police station.

The High Court has issued a rule over the death of a Bangladesh Bank official in the capital's Mouchak Market area. The High Court has asked why the failure of the government to keep footpaths safe should not be declared illegal. The HC bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice Md Atabullah came up with the rule following a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Mosharraf Hossain. 2 gold bars recovered passenger’s rectum in Benapole Road Transport and Bridges secretary, home secretary, CEO of Dhaka South City Corporation, chairman of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha and Dhaka Deputy Commissioner have been made respondents to the rule. However, the court did not pass any interim order in this regard. The High Court said that a case of unnatural death has been filed and investigation is underway. No interim order will be issued. Mild to moderate cold wave sweeps three divisions including Dhaka: Met Office Dipannita Biswas Dipa (Dipu Sana) was working as assistant manager of Sadarghat Branch of Bangladesh Bank. After work on January 10, she was walking home after getting down at Shantinagar from the office bus. When she came in front of the Party Centre at 1171 New Circular Road around 7:30 pm, a brick made of cement and sand suddenly fell on her head and she fell on the ground. Later, locals took her to Sirajul Islam Medical College and Hospital where doctors declared her dead. Fire at bank in Dhaka’s Gulistan extinguished Dipannita's husband Tarun Kumar Biswas filed a murder case at Ramna Model Police Station on the same day. Unknown people have been accused in the case. Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sultan Sohag Uddin set February 18 for submitting the report in the case.

Two gold bars weighing 233 grams were recovered from a passenger’s rectum  at Benapole customs in Jashore on Monday morning. According to customs intelligence sources, Mehedi Hasan, son of Abdul Baten of Joag village in Chandina upazila of Comilla, was challenged for his suspicious movement and then detained.  Read: 10 crude bombs recovered from Benapole  Deputy Commissioner of Benapole Customs Intelligence Arefin Jahedi said they recovered the gold bars from his rectum after interrogation. The detainee will be handed over to Benapole Port Police Station, he said. A case will be filed in this regard, he added. 

A mild to moderate cold wave is sweeping  three divisions including Dhaka and some other districts and it may abate in some places, said Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) on Sunday. According to a regular weather bulletin, “Mild to moderate cold wave is sweeping Dhaka, Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions and Moulvibazar, Cumilla, Feni, Jashore, Chuadanga, Barishal and Bhola districts and it may abate from some places.” This lowest temperature 5.7 degrees Celsius was recorded in Dinajpur while the highest temperature 28 degrees Celsius was recorded in Chattogram’s Sitakunda upazila over the last 24 hours till 6 am on Monday, reads the bulletin. This season’s lowest temperature, 5 degree Celsius, was recorded in Panchagarh on Sunday. Temperature between 8 to 10 degrees Celsius is considered a mild cold wave, 6 to 8 degrees Celsius a moderate cold wave, and less than 6 degrees Celsius a severe cold wave. Moderate to thick fog may occur over the river basins and light to moderate fog elsewhere over the country during midnight to morning. Inland river transport may disrupt temporarily due to thick fog. Night temperature may rise slightly and day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country. Weather may remain dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country. People of the country, especially in the northern part, have been experiencing severe cold for the last couple of days that has thrown normal life out of gear.