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IGP urges students to advance in knowledge, science
Inspector General of Police (IGP) and also Chief Patron of Bangladesh Retired Police Officers Welfare Association Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun on Saturday called on the students to advance in knowledge and science through hard work and relentless efforts.
The IGP made the call in his address as the chief guest at the 'IGP merit scholarship' awarding ceremony at the Bangladesh Retired Police Officers Welfare Association complex seminar hall at Rajarbagh police lines in the capital on Saturday.
President of Bangladesh Retired Police Officers Welfare Association AT Ahmadul Haque Chowdhury presided over the event where Managing Director and CEO of Community Bank Bangladesh Mashiul Haque Chowdhury attended as special guest.
Welcoming the meritorious students on scholarship, the IGP said, besides acquiring knowledge, you have to work for the welfare of the country and the people. You have to increase reputation of your (students) educational institution, family and above all the reputation of the country, he added.
The top officer of the police force also said, you have to increase the reputation and status of Bangladesh by leaving the mark of merit in the international arena beyond the borders of the country.
Among others, Vice Presidents of the association Waliur Rahman and Md. Nazmul Haque, Additional IGP Abu Hasan Muhammad Tariq, DMP Commissioner Habibur Rahman also spoke on the occasion. Members of the association, teachers and students were present.
It is to be noted that, among the students of schools and colleges managed by the Bangladesh Police, the IGP scholarship is given to the students who obtained GPA 5 in SSC and HSC examination in 2023 under the initiative of the association.
Scholarships, crests and certificates were awarded to 66 students from 5 educational institutions in Dhaka city and Gazipur and Narayanganj districts.
Later, the IGP handed over merit scholarships and certificates to the students.
Speaker Shirin Sharmin attends national conference of Aparajita Network
Speaker of Parliament Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury on Saturday said there will be a time when women will be elected to direct seats and not to reserved seats.
She said this in the "National Aparajita Conference'' organized by Aparajita Network which was held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital.
Chief Guest Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury said the current government is women friendly. Women are moving forward and it is visible in different parts of the state due to the right decision of the Prime Minister.
Urging the participants of the conference to work together to make the way of the implementation of women's rights easy, she said that the laws and policies of the state should be easier.
Former Culture Minister Asaduzzaman as special guests said, "There may be criticism, then I will say that the most work has been done for women's rights and development during the tenure of this government. Women are moving forward."
Member of parliament Amatul Kibria said, "We women are in today's seat after a lot of hard work. I hope the Aparajita sisters will make the hard work easier from today's conference."
Another member of parliament Arma Dutta said the more women participate in the political arena, the easier it will be to participate in elections.
Nasima Zaman Bobby MP said that women are always marginalized in elections and politics, especially in elections.
Ambassador of the Swiss Embassy in Bangladesh Reto Siegfried Renggli said that the participation of women and men in the Aparajita conference is important in the politics and elections of Bangladesh. Participation will increase exponentially in the future, he also said.
In the second session of the seminar on women's political empowerment, the speakers said that the main reason for grassroots women not being empowered is the patriarchal social system.
The seminar was attended by Bangladesh Works Party President Rashed Khan Menon-MP, Jatiya Party Co-Chairman Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud MP, Bangladesh Awami League Joint General Secretary Afom Bahauddin Nashim MP, Bangladesh Nationalist Party National Standing Committee Member Nazrul Islam Khan, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal General Editor Shirin Akhtar. Aparajita Fahmida Munni of Barisal division read the main article on political empowerment. Jagannath University Vice Chancellor Professor Sadeka Halim and Women for Women President Zakia K Hasan were panel discussants on women empowerment.
Social Welfare minister Dipu Moni who was the chief guest of the closing session said women in so-called developed countries have the same problem.
Executive Director of Gana Swarakshata Abhiyan Rasheda K Chowdhury, Switzerland Embassy Deputy and Head of Co-Operation Corinne Henchoz Pignani and Helvetas Bangladesh Country Director Benjamin Blumenthal were present as special guests.
More than 300 grassroots women leaders, executive directors of implementing organizations including 30 women-friendly chairmen/members, Switzerland Embassy Program Manager Sabina Yasmin Lubna, representatives of Helvitas Bangladesh, civil society, officials of the four organizations implementing the Aparajita project, Prep Trust, Khan Foundation, Transformation and Democracy Watch, attended the conference while 72 women and men were honoured for their special contribution in various fields of Aparajitas, encouraging participation of Aparajitas in elections and politics by men and family members.
RRF elects Habibullah Mizan as president, Nishat Bijay as secretary
The Rail and Road Reporters Forum (RRF), a journalists organization specialized on road and railway coverage, has formed a new 25-member full Executive committee on Saturday.
The new committee was announced at a meeting of the forum at its Segunbagicha office in the capital.
Habibullah Mizan of the Daily Bangladesh Post and Nishat Bijay of BanglaNews24.com have been elected President and Secretary respectively for the next two years.
Other office bearers are: Nizamul Haque Bipul (Dhaka Prokash) as Senior Vice President, Rajan Bhattacharya (Kalbela) as Vice President, Saugata Bose (Ajker Patrika) as joint general secretary, Ekhlas Haque (Daily Inqilab) as Organizing Secretary, Sanmun Ahmed (Desh Rupantor) as Treasurer, Hasan Mehedi (Dhaka Times 24) as Office Secretary, Nazmul Huda (Manabzamin) as Publicity Secretary and Rajneen Farzana (Sara Bangla) as Women Affairs Secretary.
Zubair Ahmed (Bangla Tribune), Mostafizur Rahman (Dainik Sangbad), Jayant Kumar Saha (Daily Newspaper), Nahid Sabbir (Jagonews), and Abhijit Roy (Barta24) will take charge as Training and Workshop secretary, Publication Secretary, Cultural Secretary, Sports Secretary, and Information Technology Secretary respectively.
The executive members are: Ashish Kumar Dey (Pathoker Kontho), Lion Mohd Jahangir Alam (UNB), Shahjahan Swapan (FNS), Abu Zakir (Daily Messenger), SK Reza Parvez (RisingBD), Nazmul Hasan Likhan (Desh Rupantor), Qazi Mubarak Hossain (bdnews24.com), Akhtaruzzaman (Bangladesh Pratidin), Jannatul Ferdous Linda (GTV), and SM Russell Ahmed (Dainik Paribartan Sangbad).
RRF elects Habibullah Mizan as president, Nishat Bijay as secretary
The Rail and Road Reporters Forum (RRF), a journalists organization specialized on road and railway coverage, has formed a new 25-member full Executive committee on Saturday.
The new committee was announced at a meeting of the forum at its Segunbagicha office in the capital.
Habibullah Mizan of the Daily Bangladesh Post and Nishat Bijay of BanglaNews24.com have been elected President and Secretary respectively for the next two years.
Other office bearers are: Nizamul Haque Bipul (Dhaka Prokash) as Senior Vice President, Rajan Bhattacharya (Kalbela) as Vice President, Saugata Bose (Ajker Patrika) as joint general secretary, Ekhlas Haque (Daily Inqilab) as Organizing Secretary, Sanmun Ahmed (Desh Rupantor) as Treasurer, Hasan Mehedi (Dhaka Times 24) as Office Secretary, Nazmul Huda (Manabzamin) as Publicity Secretary and Rajneen Farzana (Sara Bangla) as Women Affairs Secretary.
Zubair Ahmed (Bangla Tribune), Mostafizur Rahman (Dainik Sangbad), Jayant Kumar Saha (Daily Newspaper), Nahid Sabbir (Jagonews), and Abhijit Roy (Barta24) will take charge as Training and Workshop secretary, Publication Secretary, Cultural Secretary, Sports Secretary, and Information Technology Secretary respectively.
The executive members are: Ashish Kumar Dey (Pathoker Kontho), Lion Mohd Jahangir Alam (UNB), Shahjahan Swapan (FNS), Abu Zakir (Daily Messenger), SK Reza Parvez (RisingBD), Nazmul Hasan Likhan (Desh Rupantor), Qazi Mubarak Hossain (bdnews24.com), Akhtaruzzaman (Bangladesh Pratidin), Jannatul Ferdous Linda (GTV), and SM Russell Ahmed (Dainik Paribartan Sangbad).
Dhaka records its season’s highest temp at 40.4°C, Jashore hits countrywide highest
The highest temperature in the capital Dhaka has been recorded at 40.4 degrees Celsius this season, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.
Today's highest temperature was recorded in Jashore at 42.6 degrees Celsius, which is also a season's high for the country.
2 die from heat stroke amid ongoing countrywide heat wave
The BMD issued a warning that the heat wave condition will remain unchanged for the five days commencing 9 am on Saturday (20 April).
Severe heat wave is sweeping Khulna division and Rajshahi, Pabna and Tangail districts. A mild to moderate heat wave is sweeping Barishal division, the rest of Dhaka and Rajshahi divisions and Chandpur and Moulvibazar districts and it may continue.
Schools, colleges to remain closed till Apr 27 due to heat wave
In the face of current weather condition, the government has announced that schools, colleges, madrasas, and technical education institution across the country will remain closed until April 27
BAF chief departs for Egypt
Chief of Air Staff of Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) Air Chief Marshal Shaikh Abdul Hannan left Dhaka for Egypt on Saturday on an official visit along with three entourages.
Chief of Air Staff of the BAF will visit Egypt from 21-24 April at the invitation of the Commander of Egyptian Air Force.
During the visit, the Chief of Air Staff will visit Egyptian Air Force Headquarters in Cairo and make a courtesy call on the Commander of Egyptian Air Force to discuss various bilateral issues of mutual interest, says an Inter Service Public Relation (ISPR) media release.
Besides, Chief of Air Staff will visit Egyptian Air Force College, Combat Training School, 292 Air Brigade and various important installations.
The Chief of Air Staff will return to Bangladesh on 25 April after completing the visit.
Aviation minister directs Biman to address concerns with Boeing, following whistleblower's warning
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Muhammad Faruk Khan has directed Bangladesh Biman to talk to the Boeing Company about technical defects raised by a whistleblower- a former Boeing engineer, regarding the 787 Dreamliner jet.
He gave this instruction during a telephone conversation with Biman's managing director and chief executive officer Shafiul Azim today (20 Apr 2024).
The minister said that since the Dreamliner aircraft in the fleet of Biman Bangladesh Airlines are new, it has nothing to worry about the technical problems that have arisen for now.
Boeing predicts air travel in Bangladesh will double in next 10 years
“However, with a view to the future and to ensure passenger safety, it is necessary to quickly discuss technical issues with the aircraft manufacturer Boeing,” he said.
The whistleblower, in US Congressional hearings, urged Boeing to ground every 787 Dreamliner jet worldwide after warning they are at risk of premature failure.
Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivers last 747 jumbo jet
Bajus decreases gold price by Tk840 per bhori, after raising it by Tk 4560 earlier
After raising gold price by Tk 4560 per bhori over three occasions in April, the Bangladesh Jeweller’s Association (Bajus) on Saturday announced a decrease of Tk 840 per bhori.
According to the latest announcement Bajus fixed the best quality 22- carat gold price at Tk118,798 per bhori (11.664 grams), effective from 3.30 pm on Saturday (April20).
On Wednesday Bajus announced the 22-carat gold price would be Tk 119,638 per bhori (rising Tk2065 per bhori), which would've been the highest ever. In April Bajus increased gold price thrice so far (April 6, 8, and 18) claiming a price hike in the global market.
Gold prices hit new record high
Masudur Rahman, Chairman of the Price Determination and Price Monitoring Standing Committee of BAJUS issued a notification of the price hike on Saturday.
As per the new price, per bhori (11.664 grams) of 22-carat gold will cost Tk 118,798 as Tk 10,185 per gram. Apart from this, the price of 21-gold has been set at Tk113397 per bhori, 18-carat gold at Tk 97196 per bhori and the traditional method price set at Tk78242.
Gold price goes up by Tk 3,499 per bhori over just two days
Though the price of gold has decreased, the price of silver has been kept unchanged. According to the category, currently, the price of 22-carat silver is Tk2100, 21-carat is Tk2006, 18-carat is Tk1715 and the price of silver in traditional is Tk1283.
Gas supply to remain suspended for 12 hours in Narayanganj Sunday
Gas supply will remain suspended from 10 am to 10 pm on Sunday in different areas in Narayanganj district for emergency repairing works at pipelines.
According to Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd, the areas where the gas supply will remain off are Nayapur, Qutubpur, Araihazar Road, Madanpur to Nangalband Bridge, Bandar, Kanchpur and Jatrapur.
Regretting the temporary inconvenience to the consumers, Titas Gas authority said the adjoining areas may experience low-pressure problems in gas supply during the period.
In the same areas, gas supply remained suspended for 2 hours on Saturday for the emergency repairing works of gas pipeline.
PROGGA and ATMA push for 63% tobacco tax hike
To safeguard public health, research and advocacy organization PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) have called for an effective hike in the prices of tobacco products in the upcoming FY 2024-25 national budget.
The two organizstions have presented their tobacco taxation and pricing related proposals for upcoming FY today (20 April 2024) during a press conference held at the National Press Club.
Dr. Mahfuz Kabir, Research Director of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), proposed to raise the supplementary duty to 63 percent from 58 percent.
"Currently 75 percent of total cigarette users belong to the low tier. However, the supplementary duty (SD) in this tier stands at only 58 percent. Raising the SD to 63 percent would certainly reduce the prevalence of cigarette use and raise revenue inflow for the government. The additional revenue would also play a major role in tackling the ongoing financial crisis,” he said.
An analysis of the average retail prices of essential commodities in 07 metropolitan cities of the country (Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Barisal, and Rangpur) between 4 July 2021 and 04 July 2023, as reported by the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM), shows that price of loose sugar has seen an 89 percent hike in this period, the hike is 87 percent for potatoes, 75 percent for loose flour, 47 percent for pangash fish, 43 percent for eggs, 34 percent for soybean oil, 30 percent for powdered milk, and 27 percent for broiler chicken.
However, during this same timeframe, the hike in the prices of different tiers of cigarettes ranged between 6-15 percent only.
The proposed tobacco pricing and taxation adjustments outlined during the conference advocate for a significant upsurge in prices across various product tiers. Notably, the suggested retail price for low-tier cigarettes would rise to BDT 60 for 10 sticks from the current BDT 45, complemented by a 63 percent supplementary duty. Similar adjustments were recommended for medium, high, and premium tiers, with corresponding price increments and supplementary duties.
For non-filtered bidis, the retail price should be BDT 25 for 25 sticks. In the case of filtered bidis, the retail price for 20 sticks should be set at BDT 20. Both prices should be followed by a 45 percent supplementary duty.
Regarding smokeless tobacco, the retail price for 10 grams of jarda and gul should be BDT 55 and BDT 30, followed by 60 percent supplementary duty. The budget proposals also suggest continuing the existing 15 percent VAT and 1 percent health development surcharge (HDS) on the retail prices of tobacco products.
The implementation of these proposals is anticipated to yield a substantial additional revenue of BDT 10,000 crore, which holds the potential to alleviate the prevailing financial constraints. Moreover, in the long term, these measures are projected to avert the premature deaths of 1.1 million Bangladeshis, including nearly half a million youths.
In support of the budget proposals, economist and convener of the National Anti-Tobacco Platform, Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad said, that tobacco products becoming cheaper over time compared to the prices of essential commodities is an ominous sign for public health.
“Considering hundreds of thousands of premature deaths, diseases, detrimental effects on environment and ecosystem- all caused by tobacco, the upcoming national budget must effectively hike the prices of tobacco products to bring it beyond the purchasing power of the people,” he said.
The panel of speakers in the event include Md. Abdus Salam, Program's Manager (Bangladesh) for Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), Mortuza Haider Liton, Convener, ATMA and ABM Zubair, Executive Director, PROGGA.
37.8 million adults in Bangladesh use tobacco products (smoked and smokeless). Tobacco claims 161,000 lives every year in Bangladesh. In 2017-18, the toll of tobacco use in the national economy (due to medical expenses and loss of productivity) stood at BDT 30,560 crore while the revenue generated from the tobacco sector stands at only BDT 22,810 crore.