United News of Bangladesh

Cosmos Foundation has announced the appointment of former Ambassador and Assistant Chief of Naval Staff, Bangladesh Navy Rear Admiral (retd) Abu Sayed Mohammed Abdul Awal as its Senior Fellow. Awal was born in a noble Muslim family at Narundi in the district of Jamalpur, Bangladesh on January 1, 1957. He joined the Bangladesh Navy in 1976 and was commissioned in the Executive Branch in 1979. He has to his credit 36 years of leadership, management, professional, and diplomatic experience spanning a career in the Bangladesh Navy, Inter-Service Institution and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh. Bangladesh, Türkiye keen to increase bilateral trade through diversification of commodities Upon promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral, he served as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Operations) and Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Personnel) in the headquarters.               Welcoming him, Chairman of Cosmos Foundation, Enayetullah Khan, said, “Rear Admiral ASMA Awal does us great honour by joining with the Cosmos Foundation. He has had an illustrious career at home and abroad. We will benefit enormously from his knowledge and experience.” Cosmos Foundation is a philanthropic arm of the Cosmos Group, registered as a trust dedicated to providing strategic insights and policy solutions to help Bangladesh chart its course towards a better future, apart from discovering, cultivating and disseminating for a global audience, the art of Bangladesh. Read Admiral Awal commanded various types of ships of the Bangladesh Navy including Fast Attack Craft, Torpedo Boat Squadron, Large Patrol Craft, Training Ship and two Frigates and served as Commandant of the Bangladesh Naval Academy. He held staff appointments in different Naval areas of the Bangladesh Navy and Naval Headquarters (NHQ) and served as Director of Naval Operations, Director of Naval Plans and Director of Signals in the NHQ. Ireland’s Minister for Enterprise, Trade, Employment Simon Coveney due in Dhaka March 17 Read Admiral Awal also held Operational Command of the Bangladesh Navy Fleet as COMBAN (Commodore Commanding BN Flotilla) in the rank of Commodore. He gained extensive knowledge on military, diplomatic and political dimensions of the ethnic conflict and war against terrorism. Read Admiral Awal was awarded with “Extra Ordinary Service Medal (OSP)” and the Bangladesh Navy’s highest peacetime award “Navy Medal (NBP)” for trustworthy, courageous and dedicated service. 

A schoolgirl died and her father injured as a truck bit a motorbike on Natore-Bagura highway in Singra upazila of Natore on Monday morning. The deceased was identified as Trisha Rani, daughter of Taposh of Bagatipara upazila in the district and a class-VIII student of Jamnagar High School in Singra upazila. Singra police station Officer-in-Charge Abul Kalam Azad said Trisha was going to school riding on her father’s motorbike. The speeding truck crashed into the bike in Balubhora area on the highway, leaving the Trisha dead on the spot and father critically injured, he said. The injured was rushed to Natore Sadar Hospital.

A recent series of research projects conducted by the Covid-19 Learning, Evidence and Research Programme (CLEAR) in Bangladesh has uncovered a noteworthy rise in poverty, catapulting previously non-poor households into economic hardship amid the global pandemic. These findings were unveiled during the "Knowledge, Power, and Change in Polycrisis: Lessons from Bangladesh for the World" conference, jointly organized by CLEAR, BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University, and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex. In the opening ceremony of the conference, speakers spoke of the challenges, particularly the worsened socioeconomic inequalities, and also stressed on the lessons that can be learned from Bangladesh’s experience in living through a polycrisis such as the pandemic, reads a press release. Pro Vice-Chancellor and Acting Vice-Chancellor of Brac University, Professor Syed Mahfuzul Aziz, recognized Bangladesh’s relative success in managing mortality during the pandemic while acknowledging socioeconomic challenges such as poverty and the digital divide. “I believe that allocating resources to better prepare us for future crises could actually be instrumental in more effectively tackling their negative effects. This is where research as the ones conducted by CLEAR are so important. Lessons from this conference will show how knowledge and evidence from the local community can enrich the global community,” he said.  Dr. Sohela Nazneen, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies and Research Lead for the CLEAR, highlighted the programme's collaborative nature and its key objectives. "Crises push the boundaries of what we know and what we can learn. CLEAR was established as a co-constructed and co-developed program. This approach underscores our commitment to inclusive research and knowledge generation,” she said. While emphasizing the urgency of learning from crises, Dr. Imran Matin, Executive Director, BIGD stressed upon the immediate value of research at critical junctures, explaining that research needs to look into a crisis’ socioeconomic and sociopolitical impacts on communities and highlighted the importance of translating knowledge into action. “Knowledge matters if we actually take the power dimension into the knowledge perspective,” he added. The CLEAR programme study also found that households resorted to various coping mechanisms to mitigate the economic impact. Prolonged school closures exacerbated educational challenges, and uneven access to social protection and the psychosocial toll of poverty that pose additional barriers to recovery efforts.

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has formed a committee on appointment and reappointment to the post of Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer of banks, in consideration of good governance in the banking operation. The Banking Regulations and Policy Department (BRPD) of BB on Sunday issued a circular in this regard and sent it to the chairman and the board of directors of all scheduled banks other than specialized banks, for immediate execution. The circular stated that the BB has the power to approve an appointment or re-appointment to the post of Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of banks. The initiatives have been taken to ensure more good governance in bank management and protect the interests of depositors, bring back credit discipline by removing existing barriers, said the purpose of the circular. Immediately, the nominated person of the bank as Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer in pursuance of the circular. To verify his/her qualifications, suitability, commitment to responsibility, experience, age, and leadership qualities, the central bank formed a committee consisting of four members for the purpose of interviewing. The committee members are the Chairman-Deputy Governor (in charge of BRPD, member-Executive Director (In charge of BRPD, Executive Director (Department in Charge of Offsite Supervision), Director (BRPD, Division-II) Member, and Member Secretary.

 Drive against illegal clinics, diagnostic centers, and hospitals across the country will intensify in upcoming days, said Health and Family Welfare Minister Samanta Lal Sen He sought cooperation from Deputy Commissioners (DCs) during today's conference to conduct operations nationwide through the Directorate General of Health Services(DGHS).   Speaking to reporters after addressing the Deputy Commissioners' Conference on Sunday , the health minister said, "DGHS teams will fully support the ongoing drives against illegal clinics and diagnostic centers. The Ministry lacks magistracy power, unlike the DCs. We have informed them that the operation should proceed smoothly without obstruction throughout the year." Highlighting challenges discussed during the conference, the minister stated, "Deputy commissioners informed us about various limitations in medical services and a manpower crisis. The imbalance between patient numbers and healthcare providers, along with hospitals not allocating funds to patients, disrupts health services. I assured them of my commitment to addressing these issues." Additionally, the new State Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Rokeya Sultana, affirmed that punitive action would be taken against doctors, nurses, and employees if they are absent during working hours.  

It will be possible to prevent the recurrence of fire incidents and deaths if punishment is ensured against the responsible persons including the institutions, individuals and building owners, who are responsible for the fire accidents.   Day after day of not taking action against those responsible has created a culture of impunity. Because of this, the fires keep happening. Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission(NHRC) Kamal Uddin Ahmed came up with the remarks while briefing reporters at the meeting room of the NHRC on Sunday. The NHRC chairman said it is absolutely necessary to hold accountable the government departments responsible for ensuring the fire safety of a building. Besides, there must be a system of maximum penalty against officials and institutions who fail to fulfill such duties, he said.  Our law also has detailed provisions, but enforcement is not doneproperly.  This is what keeps the problem alive. Indifference, tendency to be managed and irresponsibility of government regulatory bodies are evident, the NHRC added. The NHRC chairman also said that though one after another fire incidents have occurred due to the irresponsibility of those involved, most of the cases have not been filed. Again, there are one or two cases, but there has no precedent for punishment. In most cases the culprits are identified but no action is taken against them. We have not learned the proper lessons from the incidents of major fires and explosions that have taken place in the past years. Incidents of fire are recurring due to lack of effective measures, the NHRC chairman added. There are a total of 22 fire laws and one High Court judgment in the country. Appropriate action could be taken accordingly. Again, in many cases, it is seen that the relevant authorities provide licenses without proper monitoring while issuing licenses in the legal framework. He also said that all safety measures have to be strictly monitored and licensing must be made mandatory. On the other hand, after every fire, multiple agencies form inquiry committees. For a few days, the events were discussed and criticized. Investigation reports on major fire incidents are bogged down in formalities. Incidents continue as perpetrators are not punished and recommendations are not implemented. It is noted that the National Human Rights Commission has closely monitored, analyzed and provided recommendations from the perspective of human rights in recent fire and explosion incidents. Implementation of the recommendations made by the commission to prevent accidents would have prevented recurrence of accidents.  

Jatiya Party co-chairman Salma Islam on Sunday called upon the government to take stern actions against the loan defaulters, bank looters and money launderers. "They are destroying the backbone of the country’s economy," she said while participating in the discussion of the thanksgiving motion on the President's speech in Parliament. Highlighting various challenges of the economy including inflation, Salma Islam said the main challenge of the country’s economy is inflation. Extreme mismanagement in the financial sector has been added with this. She said that non-performing loans are increasing at an unbridled pace and thousands of crores of taka are being laundered abroad. It cannot be controlled in any way. “The dollar crisis is growing. Reserves continue to decline. Banks are suffering from liquidity crisis. Many banks are going bankrupt.” Mentioning three major challenges facing the country, Salma Islam said that one of them is to reduce commodity prices and inflation. "Another is to ensure good governance and the last is to bring international diplomacy to Bangladesh's side." She also said that in order to reduce the price of goods, it is not enough to take action against the syndicate. She added that the dollar crisis must be solved. Because if there is no dollar, goods cannot be imported and if there is no supply of goods in the market, unscrupulous traders will raise prices by creating an artificial crisis. She said that strict measures should be taken against corruption to ensure good governance. Even if allegations of corruption are raised against influential persons, actions should be taken against them as per law. "The rule of law must be ensured. It should also ensure that everyone gets a fair trial."

A new executive body has been elected for the Bangladesh CNG Filling Station and Conversion Workshop Owners Association. Manoranjan Bhakta and Farhan Noor have been made president and secretary general of the organisation respectively through a bi-annual election on February 19 which was announced in the general meeting at Samson H Chowdhury Centre of Dhaka Club on Saturday. The other elected leaders of the new executive committee aresenior vice president Najeeb Ahmed, vice presidents Abdullah Al Mamun, Mizanur Rahman, Amiruzzaman Chowdhury, Safiuddin Ahmed, senior joint-secretary general Abdul Qayyum Khan, joint-secretary general Tanveer Rahman, finance secretary Mohammad Al Mamun Bhuiyan, joint finance secretary Humayun Rashid, organising secretary Nurul Imran Chishti, Joint-organising secretary Dr. Md. Wasiul Huda, department and publicity secretary Humayun Ahmed, joint-office and publicity secretary Abdullah Al Kafi.

Bangladesh received inward remittances of USD $2.16 billion in February, which is the highest in 8 months (July-February) in the current fiscal year 2023-24. According to the provisional data of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) revealed on Sunday, the expatriates sent $2.16 billion remittance to the country through the legal channel. In the previous month January, the expatriates had sent $2.10 billion in remittances. Bangladesh has received so far $13.26 billion in inward remittances in the first eight months of the year through the legal channel. Md Mezbaul Haque, BB spokesperson, told UNB that inward remittances flow increased in the legal channel as the government and banks are providing incentives. Read more: Brac Bank introduces digital Form C, electronic document submission platform for commercial remittances He said the central bank instructed banks to provide additional incentives from their financial sources, which keeps a role in increasing the flow of inward remittances in the legal channel. With the government's 2.5 percent incentive on expatriate income, banks can buy dollars at an additional 2.5 percent higher price. A total of 5 percent is getting incentives. As a result, remittances are coming to the country through legal channels. The executive director of the private research institute South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) Prof Dr. Selim Raihan said that a total of 5 percent incentive on remittances will help to boost remittances temporarily. But there will be no long-term solution. Dr. Raihan said,”To increase remittances, hundi should be stopped. If you want to stop hundi, you have to stop money laundering. Now a lot of money is being smuggled abroad. It has to be controlled by any means.”  Read more: How to safely send remittance to Bangladesh?

Motwalli of Baghdad Sharif of Iraq Hazrat Sheikh Khalid Abdul Quader Monsoor Al Jilani (R) on Sunday invited Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to visit the shrine of Boro Pir Abdul Quader Jilani (R). He gave the invitation while paying a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office in Sangsad Bhaban. PM’s Deputy Press Secretary Noorelahi Mina briefed the reporters after the call on. He said that Motwalli of Bagdad Sharif of Iraq Hazrat Sheikh Khalid Abdul Quader Monsoor Al Jilani (R) said that Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman visited the Shrine of Abdul Quader Jilani (R) in 1974 during his visit in Iraq. He presented a photograph of Jalipaak and a gilaf of the Shrine to the Prime Minister. He mentioned that the relations between Bangladesh and Iraq are friendly and people of Bangladesh respect Boro Pir a lot. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that after the devastating Nimtoli fire incident she adopted two Shia girls and arranged marriage ceremonies like her daughters. She also thanked Motwalli of Bagdad Sharif of Iraq Hazrat Sheikh Khalid Abdul Quader Monsoor Al Jilani (R) for coming to Bangladesh. Abul Hasnat Abdullah, Kazi Keramat Ali, PMO Secretary Mohammad Salauddin, former member of parliament Qurayeshi, Anjuman Kaderiya Bangladesh President Md. Mahbub Ul Alam, Treasurer Syed Mamnoon Quader and its member Ziaul Jamal Abu Swaeed Siddiqui, among others, were present.