United News of Bangladesh

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Aninda Islam Amit on Friday said the government will introduce crop insurance for farmers to help compensate losses caused by natural disasters. He made the announcement while inaugurating the government’s Boro paddy procurement drive for the current season. The programme was jointly organised by the district administration and the Directorate General of Food at the government silo on the town’s Rail Road. Addressing the event as the chief guest, the state minister said the crop insurance scheme will provide financial protection for farmers affected by floods, storms, droughts and other natural calamities, reducing their vulnerability and ensuring greater security in agricultural production. He also said the government has already begun implementing its election pledges for farmers through the introduction of Farmers’ Card, which enabled them to purchase agricultural inputs at subsidised prices and access low-interest agricultural loans when needed. Amit said the government has also waived agricultural loans of up to Tk 10,000 in line with its commitments to support the farmer community. Highlighting the country’s agricultural progress, he said the foundation of Bangladesh’s agricultural advancement was laid by Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman through initiatives, including canal excavation programme and the introduction of improved fertilisers, seeds and agricultural machinery. The state minister said the current government, led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, has revitalised those initiatives to sustain the momentum in the agricultural sector. Despite global challenges, he said, the government’s efforts to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity, diesel and fertiliser in line with farmers’ needs have contributed to a bumper Boro harvest this season. Amit warned officials concerned against any irregularities in paddy procurement and stressed ensuring fair prices for farmers. The state minister formally launched the Boro procurement drive by purchasing paddy directly from marginal farmers. He later planted a tree on the venue premises. Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ashek Hasan presided over the programme. Superintendent of Police Syed Rafiqul Islam, District Controller of Food Safaur Rahman, Sadar Upazila Food Officer Md Mamunur Rahman, District Council Administrator Delwar Hossain Khokon, Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shahriar Haque and district BNP President Advocate Syed Saberul Haque Sabu, among others, were present. Safaur Rahman said the procurement target for Jashore district this Boro season has been set at 15,166 tonnes, with the government fixing the procurement price of paddy at Tk 36 per kilogram. Farmers welcomed the government procurement initiative, saying it will help them receive fair prices for their produce.

Young climate activists have welcomed the government’s target to generate 10,000 MW of solar power by 2030, calling for a clear and time-bound roadmap to achieve the goal, along with a greater share of renewable energy in the Energy and Power Sector Master Plan (EPSMP) and a gradual phase-out of fossil fuel dependence. The call was made during a global climate strike held in front of the Jatiya Press Club in the capital on Friday, according to a media statement. YouthNet Global and Youth for NDCs organised the programme. Over 200 youths gathered with banners, placards and slogans highlighting the economic and environmental costs of importing oil, gas and coal. Sohanur Rahman, executive coordinator of YouthNet Global, said Bangladesh cannot achieve climate justice while remaining dependent on fossil fuels. “Every new LNG import deal increases pressure on ordinary people and deepens our vulnerability to global instability,” he said, adding that young people are demanding a just transition powered by renewable energy where energy is affordable, locally generated and sustainable. “The upcoming EPSMP must include a clear roadmap for at least 10,000 MW of solar power by 2030 and a significantly higher share of renewables in the national energy mix,” Sohanur added. Youths warned that continued dependence on fossil fuels is undermining both economic stability, energy security and climate resilience. Founder and Executive Director of Youth4NDC Amanullah Porag said the country needs more affordable energy and an immediate shift towards renewable energy. The demonstration took place amid escalating global energy market disruptions triggered by geopolitical tensions, which have destabilised fuel supply chains and driven up global energy costs. Referring to Bangladesh’s international commitments, the activists stressed that reducing carbon emissions is not optional. “As a signatory to global climate agreements, Bangladesh must accelerate its transition to renewable energy.” Expressing solidarity with the youth movement, Shafiqul Alam, Lead Energy Analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), said renewable energy is essential to building a livable planet. In Bangladesh’s case, its importance is even greater because the country remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels, he said. Waterkeepers Bangladesh’s Coordinator Sharif Jamil said, “Transitioning away from fossil fuels is no longer merely a demand to respond to the planetary emergency due to the catastrophic impacts of climate change. Ensuring energy security through the development of renewables has become an issue of our independence. We must expand solar and wind as quickly as possible.” Organisers said similar climate strike programmes were held simultaneously in 50 districts across the country, drawing participation from school, college and university students.

The 165th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore was observed across the country with various programmes. Tagore, a towering figure in Bengali literature, was born on 25 Baishakh, 1268 (May 7, 1861) at the Jorasanko Mansion in Kolkata. A poet, philosopher, playwright and painter, he remains one of the most influential cultural figures in South Asia. Marking the occasion, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy has arranged a four-day programme titled “Rabindranath: Poet of Peace and Humanity” at the National Theatre Auditorium beginning today. Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr ABM Obaidul Islam was attended the opening-day programme as the chief discussant, while Bangla Academy Secretary Mohammad Zakir Hossain  delivered the welcome speech. The event features music, dance and recitations based on Tagore’s works. On the second day on Saturday, Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni will attend as the chief guest, while State Minister for Cultural Affairs Ali Newaz Mahmood Khyom will be present as a special guest with Cultural Affairs Secretary Kaniz Moula in the chair. The programme will again include Tagore’s songs, recitations and dance performances. On the third day on Sunday, a cultural programme featuring Tagore’s music, dance and recitations will be held at the National Theatre Auditorium. On the same day, a painting exhibition will be inaugurated at Gallery-2 of the National Theatre Building. The exhibition will remain open from 11:00am to 8:00pm daily until May 23. On the concluding day on May 11, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Industrial Affairs Ruhul Kabir Rizvi will attend a discussion as the chief guest. After the discussion, theatre troupe Prachyanat will stage the play “Achalayatan”, directed by Azad Abul Kalam. Besides the central programme in Dhaka, Shilpakala Academy branches across the country are organising discussions and cultural events highlighting Tagore’s literary and artistic contributions. Meanwhile, University of Dhaka also celebrated the occasion on Friday with a discussion and cultural programme at the RC Majumdar Arts Auditorium. The discussion was chaired by Dhaka University Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education) Abdus Salam, while Pro-Vice Chancellor (Administration) Mohammad Almujaddade Alfasane spoke as the guest of honour.

Nahida Sultana Bristy, one of the two Bangladeshi doctoral students at the University of South Florida who were murdered in the United States, has begun her final journey for home in coffin. An Emirates flight carrying her mortal remains departed from Orlando International Airport in Florida at 8:50pm local time on Thursday. The flight will transit through Dubai. From there, flight EK 0582 is scheduled to land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 8:40am on Saturday. A representative of the Bangladesh Consulate in Miami was present at Orlando Airport and oversaw the repatriation process, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday night. Since April 16, two days after the disappearance of Bristy and another Bangladeshi student Jamil Ahamed Limon, the Bangladesh Consulate in Miami, under the directives of the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC, has remained in constant contact with the investigating police, university authorities, and members of the Bangladeshi community in Tampa, it said. The relevant local police department also worked in coordination to complete all necessary legal formalities and ensure the earliest possible repatriation of the body, the ministry said. The embassy has also been in contact with the US Department of State and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Following the advice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the embassy completed the entire process related to sending the body back to Bangladesh. Earlier, the first namaz-e-janaza for Bristy was held in Tampa, Florida on Wednesday. Many students and teachers from the University of South Florida, along with members of the Bangladeshi community, attended the prayer.Meanwhile, Limon was laid to rest in Madarganj upazila of Jamalpur on May 4. His body reached the country on the same day. Limon and Bristy, both 27-year-old doctoral students from Bangladesh, disappeared on April 16. Limon was last seen at the off-campus complex where he shared an apartment with murder suspect Hisham Abugharbieh, 26 and another roommate. Detectives used cellphone location and licence plate reader data to track Abugharbieh’s car and Limon’s phone to the bridge where Limon’s body was found on April 24. Limon had numerous stab wounds and appeared to be bound, according to a report filed by prosecutors. On May 1, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office confirmed the identification of the second body as Bristy’s. The suspect was arrested days after the incident by a SWAT team at his parents’ home. A court ordered that he be held without bond.

The Cyber Police Center (CPC) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested an app and website developer on charges of illegally collecting and selling highly sensitive personal information of citizens. The arrestee Md. Arman Hossain, 22, is the son of Abdul Mannan of Uttar Rahimpur village under Dewanganj Police Station in Jamalpur district. He is a student of the Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) department of a private university. Man arrested for killing wife in Narail According to CID, on October 9, 2025, a Facebook ID named “Siam Howlader” came under observation during routine online monitoring by the Cyber Monitoring Cell of CID headquarters. The account was allegedly promoting the sale of sensitive data, including National Identity Card (NID) information, SMS records, mobile financial service (MFS) account details (bKash, Rocket, Nagad), bank account information, and case-related data in exchange for money. Following an investigation, CID arrested Md. Siam Howlader, 23, from the Kamalnagar Police Station area in Lakshmipur on October 13, 2025. During the arrest, a mobile phone, SIM card, hard disk, and other digital evidence were seized. An Android application named “Sob Akhane” was also found on his device. During preliminary interrogation, he reportedly admitted to collecting and selling citizens’ sensitive information through the app and an associated website. A case was subsequently filed at Paltan Model Police Station on October 14, 2025, by CID Sub-Inspector Mehedi Hasan. Based on information provided by the accused, another suspect, Md. Al Amin, 23, identified as an admin of the network, was arrested from Koyra in Khulna on October 28. He later gave a confessional statement under Section 164, claiming he was involved only in marketing activities while the system and applications were developed by a skilled programmer. Following continued investigation, CID conducted a raid on May 5, 2026, in the Manikdi area under Cantonment Police Station in Dhaka and arrested Arman Hossain. During the operation, police seized three mobile phones, six SIM cards (including three bKash merchant SIMs), and a laptop. The accused has been produced before the court with a remand petition. CID said the investigation is ongoing to identify all individuals involved in the network. The agency also urged the public to remain cautious about fraudulent online offers and illegal data trading activities.

Chittagong Customs House has initiated the auction of 220 containers of unreleased goods through an electronic process to reduce container congestion and enhance the operational capacity of Chittagong Port. The move aims to ensure physical and financial security at the port while preventing the loss of state resources. According to NBR officials, the auctions are being conducted under the digital E-Auction system to ensure transparency and accountability. The auction process is divided into two phases based on National Board of Revenue (NBR) orders. Under E-Auction-04/2026, a total of 160 containers across 120 lots will be sold. These include chemicals, machinery, paper, fabrics, household items, and AC parts. In the second phase, under E-Auction-05/2026, 60 containers across 17 lots will be auctioned. This category includes capital machinery, passenger elevators, steel scrap, vehicles, and salt. Interested buyers can register and submit their bids online via the official Bangladesh Customs E-Auction portal. However, pay orders for security deposits and other required documentation must be submitted physically in the tender boxes. The tender box for E-Auction-05/2026 is scheduled to be opened on May 14, 2026, at 3:00 pm, while the box for E-Auction-04/2026 will be opened on June 09 at 11:00 am.

Independent lawmaker Rumeen Farhana on Thursday said the government should ensure that the children of members of parliament (MPs) study at educational institutions in their respective constituencies. “If not, at least they should attend their zilla (district) school,” she said while speaking at a dialogue titled “Government Priorities and the Education Sector: Budget and Reality”, organised by Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Agargaon. ‘I will fulfill the responsibility given by Khaleda Zia’: Rumin Farhana “Since I am the MP of Sarail, my children must study at the Zilla school in Sarail,” she said. She also said MPs should receive treatment at local hospitals. Rumeen said she had promised during her election campaign that she would receive treatment in her local area, and she is keeping that promise. “If I suffer from a serious illness, I will go no further than the district hospital,” she added. “If this is made mandatory for MPs, you will see that many candidates, especially loan defaulters, will disappear from the election race,” she said. She also emphasised teachers’ wages. “If we can address the issue of teachers’ salary structures, the country will at least get qualified teachers,” she added.   Rumeen Farhana said it is time for Bangladeshi governments to scale up the funding ogaton education and health.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Thursday directed the authorities concerned to prepare a transparent and accurate list of farmers affected by recent heavy rainfall in the haor region, ensuring that financial assistance reaches the genuine victims promptly. The directive came at a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office in the Cabinet Division at the Bangladesh Secretariat in the afternoon. The meeting reviewed the government’s planned support programme for farmers in the haor areas who suffered crop losses due to recent heavy rains, said a release issued by the Prime Minister’s Press Wing. “The Prime Minister said the authorities must identify the actual affected farmers and prepare a correct and transparent list. Financial assistance will be provided to the farmers for the next three months based on this list,” it said. The meeting decided that the affected farmers will be provided with financial assistance very swiftly, soon after the completion of the list. The meeting also discussed slightly advancing the paddy planting and harvesting seasons to help farmers avoid losses caused by heavy rainfall. On April 29, while speaking in parliament, the Prime Minister said the government would try to provide three months of assistance to farmers affected by heavy rainfall in the haor region. Disaster Management and Relief Minister Asadul Habib Dulu and Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Aminur Rashid Yasin attended the meeting. MPs from the haor region including Deputy Speaker of Parliament Barrister Kaiser Kamal, State Minister for Textiles and Jute Shariful Alam, Dr Osman Faruk, Fazlur Rahman, Lutfuzzaman Babar, Kamruzzaman Kamrul, Nurul Islam, Kalim Uddin Milon and Kaisar M Ahmed were, among others, present at the meeting.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Thursday said that the police force has returned to a disciplined state after the elected political government assumed office and the army will be gradually withdrawn. “After the elected political government assumed office, it has been possible to restore discipline within the police force. According to the government’s policy decision, the army will not remain deployed indefinitely for maintaining law and order. A decision has been taken to gradually withdraw the army through coordination among the police, military and relevant agencies,” he said. The Home Minister came up with the information while talking to reporters after a meeting on the current situation and future measures regarding stone and sand-mixed stone quarries in Sylhet division at the conference room of the Home Ministry at the Bangladesh Secretariat. Referring to the stone quarries, the minister said the government has formed a high-level expert committee to facilitate limited leasing of stone quarries in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts while ensuring environmental protection and strict compliance with existing laws and regulations. The committee has been formed with the Sylhet divisional commissioner as convener. Members of the committee include the deputy commissioners of Sylhet and Sunamganj, representatives from the Department of Environment, Ministry of Water Resources and Geological Survey of Bangladesh (GSB), a professor from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, and a director from the Ministry of Mineral Resources. The superintendents of police of the two districts have also been included in the committee to ensure law enforcement coordination. Describing the committee’s responsibilities, the minister said it will conduct field inspections of quarry areas, assess water barriers caused by siltation in border rivers, examine risks of border changes due to river erosion and provide technical recommendations on environmentally sustainable methods and depth for stone extraction. The committee will also ensure protection of major tourist attractions, including Bichanakandi, Sada Pathor and Bholaganj. Besides, ecologically critical areas (ECA) such as Jaflong will remain outside the leasing process, he said. However, the government expects to receive the committee’s report by the end of this month and take a final decision in the first week of June, he added. Initiatives will be taken through the Law Ministry to expedite disposal of pending cases related to the issue in the higher courts.  

Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) on Thursday presented three research papers aimed at accelerating the rollout of Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) systems across its installations as part of broader efforts to make toll management cashless, faster, and more transparent. The presentations were held under BBA's Human Resource Development and Capacity Building Project, with BBA Executive Director and Bridges Division Secretary Mohammad Abdur Rouf in the chair. Dispute over toll collection halts bus services across Chapainawabganj routes As part of building a self-reliant Bangladesh, we are committed to ensuring cashless and automated toll systems at all BBA installations at the earliest possible time, Rouf said. “The findings of today's research will serve as a roadmap for our future planning and help us address existing challenges.” He added that the recommendations would be reviewed and swiftly moved to field-level implementation, so that commuters can pay tolls seamlessly without any interruption. The first paper, titled “Developing an Effective Communication Protocol for Emergency and Traffic Disruptions in Bridge and Toll Operations,” was presented by Maliha Tabassum, Assistant Professor of Mass Communication and Journalism at Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP). The study identified critical communication gaps in current bridge and toll operations and recommended several structural reforms, including posting a dedicated communication officer at each bridge, adding a live traffic tab to BBA's website for real-time updates on fog or accident-related disruptions, and simplifying the ETC registration process from five steps to two, with registration available both at toll plazas and online, eliminating the need for users to visit the Mawa office in person. The second paper, “Adoption of Electronic Toll Management of Padma Bridge: A Study Based on the Stakeholders' Perspective for Implementation,” was presented by Bridges Division Joint Secretary Mahmood Ibne Kasem. The research captured the views and challenges of users, drivers, and other stakeholders regarding the full rollout of ETC at the Padma Bridge. It recommended establishing an integrated data-sharing system among BRTA, mobile financial service (MFS) providers, and BBA to enable automatic vehicle verification and payment processing. The study also called for broad awareness campaigns on ETC benefits, digital literacy support for users, and targeted training for marginal-level drivers and transport owners. It further urged ensuring the accuracy of RFID readers and sensors at toll plazas to prevent technical faults from worsening traffic congestion. The third paper, “Efficiency of MFS-Based Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) System as a Part of Toll Management in Bangladesh: Case Studies,” was presented by Md Mushfiqur Rahman, Personal Secretary to BBA's Executive Director. The study explored the current state and future potential of MFS-based toll collection through case studies on popular mobile banking platforms. It recommended direct integration between MFS wallets and the ETC system to enable real-time balance checking and automatic toll deduction with low-balance notifications. The research also called for regular training of toll operators on digital systems and, as a long-term goal, the introduction of a multi-lane free-flow system, where vehicles would not need to stop at toll plazas, with tolls collected automatically through sensors while vehicles remain in motion. Senior officials of the Bridges Division and BBA attended the event in person, while field office officers joined via Zoom.