United News of Bangladesh

Two farmers were killed when a thunderbolt struck them while harvesting paddy amid rain at Jathail in Raninagar upazila of Naogaon district on Thursday. The deceased were identified as Akkas Fakir, 60, son of Asad Fakir and his relative Tarek Fakir, 24, son of Aminul Islam Fakir of Paroil village in Raninagar upazila. Zakaria Mondal, Officer-in-Charge of Raninagar Police Station, said the two farmers died on the spot after being struck by lightning while working in the paddy field during rain. On information, police recovered the bodies and handed them over to the families. Meanwhile, Raninagar Upazila Project Implementation Officer (PIO) Nazrul Islam said Tk 20,000 will be provided to the families of the deceased through the local administration.  

The High Court on Thursday dismissed a writ petition seeking an investigation into the 18-month activities of the immediate past interim government, led by Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus. The HC bench of Justice Ahmed Sohel and Justice Fatema Anwar passedthe order after hearing the petition. Advocate MK Rahman and Advocate Muhsin Rashid argued for the writ petitioner, while Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal represented the state. The Attorney General said the petitioners are not the aggrieved parties, which the legal standing requires to file a writ petition challenging the activities of the interim government. The matter is related to the structure of the state. A writ petition on the same issue had previously been dismissed and the latest petition was rejected as it was filed for a second time on the same matter, he said, adding that the writ had been filed with political ill intent. Senior Supreme Court lawyer Muhammad Muhsin Rashid had filed the writ petition with the HC on May 17 challenging the 18-month activities of the interim government. Cabinet, and Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Secretary were made respondent to the rule. Earlier, another writ petition was filed with the High Court challenging the legality of the oath and the process of forming the interim government. On December 4, 2024, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld the High Court verdict declaring lawful the oath and the process of forming the interim government. Lawyers said the Appellate Division also dismissed the petitioner’s leave-to-appeal petition filed against the relevant High Court order with observations. Later, another writ petition was filed challenging the activities of the Chief Adviser of the interim government. Following the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024, the President dissolved Parliament on August 6 of the same year. Subsequently, the interim government, led by Yunus, was formed on August 8. Before the formation of the government and the swearing-in of the advisers, the President sent a reference to the Supreme Court seeking its opinion under Article 106 of the Constitution. In response to the President’s special reference, the seven-member Appellate Division, headed by then Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan, gave its opinion on August 8. The apex court observed that in order to fill the constitutional vacuum of the state in an emergency situation, the President could appoint the Chief Adviser and other advisers as an interim arrangement to carry out the executive functions of the state and could administer their oath.  

Seven members of notorious ‘Sumon Bahini’ including its chief have surrendered to the Bangladesh Coast Guard in the Sundarbans along with firearms and ammunition. They surrendered around 11:00 pm on Sunday near Nandabala canal in the Sundarbans under Mongla upazila of Bagerhat, said a Coast Guard press release on Thursday. The surrendered pirates are Soman Hawlader ,32, chief of the gang, Robiul Mallik,25, Rafiq Sheikh,29, Siddiq Hawlader, 40, Golam Mallik, 38, Ismail Khan, 31 and Mahfuz Mallik,34. They are residents of different areas of Mongla and Rampal upazilas in Bagerhat district. According to the Coast Guard, the gang had long been involved in piracy in the Sundarbans and used to abduct fishermen and forest-dependent people for ransom. During the surrender, the pirates handed over five firearms including three locally made single-barrel guns, two pipe guns along with 25 rounds of live cartridges and three blank rounds. Coast Guard Media Officer Lt Commander Sabbir Alam Sujan saidcontinuous drives, intelligence surveillance and strict monitoring by the Coast Guard have significantly weakened pirate groups operating in the Sundarbans. “As a result of regular operations and strong surveillance, pirate groups are failing to continue their activities in the Sundarbans,” he said. He added that the Coast Guard is conducting two special operations titled “Operation Restore Peace in Sundarbans” and “Operation Mangrove Shield” to eliminate forest-based criminal gangs and ensure the safety of fishermen, honey collectors, woodcutters and other forest-dependentcommunities. According to the Coast Guard, from February 12 to Thursday, special drives in the Sundarbans led to the recovery of 26 local and foreign firearms, 10 rounds of ammunition, 178 live cartridges, 25 blank cartridges, 187 air gun pellets and two walkie-talkies. During the same period, 21 forest pirates were arrested and 20 fishermen held hostage by pirate groups were rescued alive, it said.  

Police have arrested a madrasah student in connection with a case filed over the rape and alleged abetment to the suicide of a 10-year-old student at the educational institution in the Banasree area of the capital. The arrestee is Md Shihab Hossain, 19, a student of Alokito Quran International Hifz Madrasah in Banasree C-Block. A team of Rampura Police Station picked him up from Khagchhara village in Bera upazila of Pabna around 12:50am on Thursday. According to police, the victim, identified as Abdullah, a student of the same madrasah, was found dead inside the institution on Tuesday night. On information, police recovered the body and sent it to Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. Police said preliminary observations during the inquest found signs indicating possible sexual assault on the victim’s body. Later, they questioned the madrasah authorities and came to know that Shihab committed sexual assault on four other students earlier. Later, victim’s mother Tuku Ara filed a case at Rampura Police Station in this regard. The accused reportedly fled to Pabna before Abdullah took his own life. Following intelligence information and with the assistance of technology, police launched a drive in Pabna and arrested him.

A mild heat wave is sweeping across 11 districts including Dhaka and it may continue, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said on Thursday. “A mild heat wave is sweeping over the districts of Rajshahi, Pabna, Sirajganj, Dhaka, Tangail, Khulna, Jashore, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Chandpur and Lakshmipur and it may continue,” said a regular bulletin of Met office. It also forecast light to moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind and lightning flashes is likely to occur at many places over Rajshahi, Rangpur, Mymensingh, Dhaka and Sylhet divisions and at one or two places over Khulna, Barishal andChattogram divisions with moderately heavy to heavy falls at places over Rangpur, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, Dhaka and Sylhet divisions. Country’s highest temperature 37.5 degree Celsius was recorded in Ramgati of Lakshmipur district on Wednesday. Day and night temperatures may fall slightly over the country. A trough of low lies over west Bengal to North Bay across southwestern part of Bangladesh.    

Macroeconomic stabilisation alone will not be sufficient to restore high and sustainable growth in Bangladesh, Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) Chairman Dr Zaidi Sattar said on Thursday, calling for a bold new phase of productivity-enhancing reforms ahead of the fiscal year 202-27 budget. He made the remarks while chairing the PRI's Monthly Macroeconomic Insights event titled “Restoring Growth through Productivity Reforms: Pre-Budget Priorities” at the PRI conference room at Banani. “The six reform pillars identified in our report: rationalising tariffs, revamping trade openness, radically reforming the tax system, improving the investment climate, reforming the energy sector, restructuring state-owned enterprises, promoting FDI, and investing in critical infrastructure, together outline a coherent pathway towards restoring competitiveness and growth dynamism," Sattar said. He acknowledged that Bangladesh has demonstrated remarkable resilience over recent years in the face of multiple global and domestic shocks, including the pandemic, global inflationary pressures, geopolitical disruptions, and energy market volatility. The PRI Chairman, however, cautioned that the economy now stands at a crossroads. “Growth has slowed significantly, investment momentum has weakened, inflation remains elevated, and vulnerabilities in the fiscal, financial, and energy sectors continue to constrain policy space.” On the positive side, he noted encouraging signals: export recovery, robust remittance inflows, improved foreign exchange reserves, and resilient PMI indicators, suggesting the country retains strong underlying economic potential. Sattar stressed that the upcoming national budget will need to strike a delicate balance between maintaining macroeconomic discipline and supporting growth recovery. He flagged critical concerns around revenue mobilisation, expenditure efficiency, subsidy management, debt servicing pressures, and the effectiveness of public investment execution, describing these as “not merely accounting issues” but fundamental questions of state capacity and long-term development sustainability. With Bangladesh approaching its post-LDC graduation, the PRI Chairman underscored the urgency of export diversification, integration into global value chains, and adoption of a modern industrial policy framework. “Bangladesh can no longer rely solely on traditional drivers of growth; future competitiveness will depend on productivity, innovation, policy predictability, and openness to investment and technology,” he said. Sattar noted that Bangladesh faces daunting challenges in the external sector from shocks not of its own making, and said he will separately offer his insights on industrial policy and trade strategy to navigate the evolving global order.

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman has directed the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner to submit the probe report within one week over the brutal rape and murder of eight-year-old child Ramisa Akter at Pallabi. “The first thing I did after arriving at the office today was call the Police Commissioner and ordered that the investigation report be completed within one week. He agreed with me. I also spoke with the Home Secretary shortly before this,” he told reporters at Secretariat on Thursday. The minister said steps will be taken to complete the trial proceedings of the murder case in the shortest possible time. “The government will do everything possible to ensure the speedy completion of the trial over the murder of the child,” he added. He also said the government aims to set another example through the swift trial of  Ramisa murder case, similar to the trial in the Achiya murder case. The trial over Ramisa’s murder would be conducted under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal, not under the Speedy Trial Tribunal, said the minister. When asked about Ramisa’s father’s lack of confidence in the judicial system, Asaduzzaman said “What Ramisa’s father said reflects his feelings from his position. I would not say his remarks are baseless. We will take steps to reduce the case backlog in Bangladesh’s judicial system.” About the Achiya case, he said “We did everything within our capacity. We ensured that the charge sheet was submitted within seven days, and the trial was completed within one month. If the trial is conducted any faster than that, questions may arise regarding its fairness.” Noting that there is a legal framework regarding the execution of death sentences, the minister said death references require confirmation from the Supreme Court. The government is giving the highest importance to the trial of Ramisa’s murder, he added. Ramisa, a Class-II student, was slaughtered by a tenant of their next-door flat at Pallabi in the capital on Tuesday. The suspect – Sohel Rana – reportedly lured her into his room when Ramisa left her flat in the morning. Later, he raped the girl and slaughtered her. The girl’s decapitated body was found beneath the bed while her severed head inside a bucket in the bathroom. Locals detained suspect’s wife Swapna Akter, though Sohel managed to escape by cutting through a window grille. He was later arrested in Fatullah of Narayanganj in the evening of the same day. On Wednesday, Sohel gave a statement before a Dhaka court confessing to his guilt.    

Sandhani, an Independence Award-winning student organisation, on Wednesday called for an effective increase in tobacco prices in the fiscal year 2026-27 national budget to discourage tobacco use among young people. The organisation proposed merging the low and medium cigarette tiers and setting the retail price of a 10-stick cigarette pack at Tk 100, along with a specific supplementary duty of Tk 4 per pack. It also recommended setting the prices of high-tier and premium-tier cigarette packs at Tk 150 and Tk 200 respectively. The demands were presented at a press conference titled “Effective Increase in Tobacco Prices to Discourage Youth Tobacco Initiation: Sandhani’s Budget Proposals for FY 2026-27”, held at the Jatiya Press Club. The press conference was organised by the Sandhani Central Council with technical support from National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh. Dr Humaira Jamil Him, Adviser to the Sandhani Central Council, delivered the welcome speech, while the keynote presentation was made by Dr Mukarrabin-Haq Nibir. The event was chaired by Dr Sadikur Rahman Ifat, General Secretary of the Sandhani Central Council and an intern at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital.  Public health expert Dr Mushtaq Hossain and Prof Dr Sohel Reza Choudhury, Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Research at the National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute, also spoke at the event. According to the keynote presentation, Bangladesh has the highest tobacco use rate among South Asian countries, with 35.3 percent of adults using tobacco products. Around 37.8 million adults currently consume tobacco in the country, while tobacco use among adolescents aged 13-15 remains a serious concern. Tobacco-related diseases cause nearly 200,000 premature deaths every year in Bangladesh according to The Tobacco Atlas, accounting for around 18 percent of total deaths nationwide. Mushtaq Hossain said increasing tobacco prices through effective tax measures is one of the most effective ways to prevent young people from starting smoking. He added that the proposed tax and price reforms could encourage nearly 500,000 adults to quit smoking and discourage more than 372,000 young people from initiating smoking. In the long run, the reforms could help prevent around 370,000 premature deaths. Sohel Reza Choudhury said young people make up nearly one-fourth of Bangladesh’s population, while tobacco use among people aged 18-24 stands at 22.3 percent. 

Bangladesh recorded its highest-ever electricity generation on Wednesday night, with the production reaching 17,200 megawatts at 9:00pm, according to a notification issued by Power Grid Bangladesh PLC. The new milestone surpassed the previous record of 16,794 MW achieved on July 23, 2025. In the notification, the state-owned power transmission company said it successfully transmitted the record amount of electricity smoothly across the country. BERC Hearing: Stakeholders reject BPDB proposal to hike bulk power prices by up to Tk 1.50 per unit It said the achievement was made possible through the coordinated efforts of power generation plants and all relevant power distribution agencies nationwide.

The main congregation of Eid-ul-Azha will be held at 7:30am at the National Eidgah on the Supreme Court premises in the capital. However, if weather conditions turn unfavourable, the main Eid congregation will instead be held at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque at 8:00am. Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs Mamun Al Morshed Chowdhury confirmed the matter on Wednesday, saying the decision was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting held recently at the ministry. The Dhaka South City Corporation has been entrusted with the overall management of the main Eid congregation. Bangladesh is set to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha, the second largest religious festival of Muslims, on May 28 this year. The festival commemorates the spirit of sacrifice, with Muslims across the country offering sacrificial animals seeking the blessings of Almighty Allah.