Month: August 2021

Resident Representative (Asia and Pacific Department) of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Jayendu De has expressed the willingness of IMF to support the development activities in the apparel sector of Bangladesh .

The international financial institution is also interested to work closely for the betterment of the RMG industry, said the Bangladesh Garment industry and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

The IMF official met BGMEA President Faruque Hassan on Sunday and discussed issues of mutual interest.

Issues pertaining to the RMG industry of Bangladesh were discussed at the meeting, which was also attended by BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Vice President Miran Ali and Director Md. Mohiuddin Rubel at BGMEA office in Gulshan, Dhaka.

BGMEA President Furuque Hassan gave an overview of how the garment industry has been making immense contributions to the socio-economic development of Bangladesh, especially in terms of export earnings and employment generation.

The remarkable socio-economic development has made Bangladesh eligible for LDC graduation.

He also highlighted the industry’s achievements particularly in the areas of safety and sustainability.

A high-level delegation of IMF will visit BGMEA in December to hold discussions and explore avenues of how IMF, a specialized agency of the United Nations, can support the growth and development of Bangladesh’s RMG industry, he informed.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) Jashore Zone organised the webinar “Compliance of Shari’ah in Banking Operations” recently.

Dr Mohammad Saleh Jahur, director of the bank, addressed the webinar as chief guest and Md Omar Faruk Khan, additional managing director, as special guest.

Professor Md Mozahidul Islam Chowdhury, member of IBBL Shari’ah Supervisory Committee, addressed the webinar as chief discussant.

Md Maksudur Rahman, head of Jashore Zone, presided over the programme.

Also, executive vice-presidents Md Shamsuddoha and Md Shafiul Azam spoke at the programme, according to a press release.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday said the government must take the responsibility of the families of those who were ‘subjected to enforced disappearance’.

“Who will take the responsibility for the helplessness of these families? There’re many people who have not been found for 9-10 years. Over 500 of our leaders and workers, including Ilias Ali and Chowdhury Alam, remained missing for many years,” he told a human-chain programme.

The BNP leader said the children of the victims of the enforced disappearance still wait for the return of their fathers.

“You’ve heard the cries of the children of the victims. You (govt) say these (disappearances) do not happen here. If so, where did they go? It’s your responsibility to trace them and give them back to their families one by one. You must do it. Otherwise, you’ll be tried in people’s court.”

BNP’s human rights cell arranged the programme in front of the Jatiya Press Club, marking the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

The family members of many victims of the enforced disappearances joined the programme holding the photos of their missing near and dear ones.

Speaking at the programmes, the aggrieved family members appealed to the government for taking effective steps to find out the whereabouts of their fathers and sons and brothers.

Fakhrul bemoaned that Bangladesh has now become such a country where children go missing, but no one find their whereabouts.

“Law enforcers pick them up, but the government don’t give any answer to it. We can’t hold back our tears seeing the pain and agony and the helplessness of the relatives of the victims,” he said.

Expressing solidarity with the distressed family members, the BNP leader called upon the government to return the missing people to their parents, children, wives and brothers and sisters.

Fakhrul urged the people of all walks of life to be vocal to stop the culture of enforced disappearance and get rid of such a crime against humanity.

He alleged that the current government is “destroying” the entire nation just to hang onto power “illegally”. “It has destroyed our constitution, our democratic rights and economy, and politicised the entire administration.”

Fakhrul called upon people to get united to install a democratic and pro-people administration by politically defeating Awami League government. “Let’s work together and launch a movement to remove the monstrous regime.”

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Noted Bengali writer Buddhadeb Guha died in a Kolkata hospital late Sunday, reported Indian daily The Hindustan Times.

He was 85.

Earlier this year in April, Guha was detected with Covid-19 and was admitted to a hospital for over a month. He had to be hospitalised again recently with lung and urinary tract problems. He died around 11.30 pm on Sunday due to post-Covid complications after a massive cardiac arrest, PTI cited his family as saying.

A chartered accountant by profession, Guha was one of the most popular writers who created the popular children’s character Rijuda and his sidekick Rudra, who explore jungles. Nature and forest were recurrent themes in his novels and short stories. He is best remembered for his novel Madhukori which is considered a milestone in Bengali literature.

He was married to eminent Rabindra Sangeet exponent Ritu Guha who died in 2011. He has left behind two daughters.

Guha was the recipient of many awards, including Ananda Purashkar in 1976 and later Shiromani Puraskar and Sharat Puraskar. He was also an accomplished musician.

“Buddhadev Guha is no more. He was blessed as to be one with the Divine on the night of Janmashtami (Lord Krishna’s birthday) 2021.Do join his family and friends in celebrating his life,” his elder daughter Maleni B Guha posted in social media.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Rail communication between Khulna and the rest of the country remains suspended since Sunday night following the derailment of five train bogies at Uthli in Jibannagar upazila of Chuadanga district.

The bogies of an oil laden train KN-17 derailed when it entered the main line from the loop line of Uthli railway station at around 1.15 am on Sunday.

Ali Ahmed, the station master on duty at Uthli railway station, confirmed the information to UNB.

Although no serious injuries were reported following the incident, rail communication between Khulna and other parts of the country remained suspended ever since resulting in immense suffering for passengers who are waiting for hours at different stations of the division.

A rescue train arrived on Monday 8 am to clear the line by removing the bogies, however people related to the operation have informed UNB that it might take a long time.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Youth-centric smart phone brand realme has recently launched its first laptop ‘realme Book Slim’ for the tech-savvy youth in the Bangladeshi market to meet their rising technological needs.

According to a recent report by Canalys, realme has become the top 1 smart phone maker in Bangladesh during Q2, 2021.Of late, realme has also entered AIoT 2.0 development phase with its advanced ‘1+5+T’ strategy to bring more AIoT products to young consumers, said a press release issued on Monday.

As part of it, they have recently brought its first laptop ‘realme Book Slim’ for the users to ameliorate their lifestyle. To know details, visit – https://cutt.ly/BuyNow_realme_BookSlim.

Tim Shao, Managing Director of realme Bangladesh, said on this occasion, “This is indeed a happy moment for us as we have taken another leap to live up to the expectations of the youth. Apart from smartphones, realme as a youth-favorite brand will bring more lifestyle-related products that will add value to the lives of the youth and enhance their lifestyle.”

Realme Book Slim comes with 14-inch IPS fullscreen, 2K full vision display (the only laptop in this price range to come with such specification) and 3:2 screen ratio,offering a wide viewing angle to the users. Coming with only 14.9 millimeters thickness and a weight of only 1.38 kilograms, realme Book Slim is equipped with 11th Gen Intel® Core™ Processor.

With the help of 65W Super-Fast Charge, the users can enjoy up to 11 hours of battery life and it can be charged up to 50% in only 30 minutes. The laptop comes with pre-installed original Windows 10 that is upgradable to Windows 11 and the users can enjoy other exciting features such as 2 in 1 fingerprint power button, a three-level backlit keyboard and fast file interchange option.

Facilitated with HARMAN DTS HD stereo sound effect, realme Book Slim comes with immersive and crystal-clear sound. It also has built-in HD camera to make the communication more convenient and effective for the users. With the help of a brand new function called PC Connect, the users can connect their smartphone and computer. This new laptop supports Wi-Fi 6 technology, which is 2.7 times faster than the previous generation.

Coming with 8GB RAM and 512GB storage capacity, realme Book Slim is available in two colors – blue and grey and two variants.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam on Monday said the “Bangabandhu-Bangladesh Book Corner” in Brunei will serve as an effective conduit to bring the academics and students of Brunei and Bangladesh to collaborate and learn from each other.

“Education is a priority of our government; we want to collaborate with the universities of Brunei more,” he said, noting that the education sector worldwide suffered a huge blow from the pandemic.

The State Minister thanked the University Technology Brunei (UTB) for opening the Bangabandhu-Bangladesh Corner at its premises.

“I hope this corner to grow up further in the coming years through our joint efforts opening many more avenues of shared cooperation especially in the field of higher education,” he said during the launching of Bangabandhu-Bangladesh Corner at the University Technology Brunei (UTB).

Bangladesh High Commissioner Nahida Rahman Shumona, Vice Chancellor of University Technology Brunei (UTB) and faculty members joined the function held virtually.

Shahriar said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman envisioned a Shonar Bangla – Golden Bengal – as a land of peace and prosperity.

He said Bangladesh hosts 1.2 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals known as Rohingyas.

“We have done our best to help them, ours is a country with a huge population of 165 million, our Prime Minister opened our land for them, but we have constraints and we cannot host them forever,” said the State Minister.

He said these people need to return to their homeland with a sense of safety and dignity.

“We are grateful for His Majesty’s contribution for these people, and we hope as ASEAN Chair Brunei will come forward to work on a sustainable solution for the return of the Rohingyas,” said the State Minister.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Rail communication between Khulna and other parts of the country, which was disrupted following a derailment at Uthli in Jibannagar upazila of Chuadanga district, resumed after 11 hours of suspension on Monday afternoon.

The train services had remained suspended since 1 am as five bogies of an oil-laden train, KN-17, from Khulna veered off the tracks in Jibannagar upazila, said Ali Ahmed, the stationmaster on duty at Uthli railway station.

No causality was reported from the incident, but four trains got stranded in Darshana, Ansarbaria and Sabdalpur Station following the incident.

A rescue train from Ishwardi reached the spot around 8 am to clear the tracks by removing the bogies.

Rail link with Khulna and country’s other parts restored after 11 hours

The train services restored around noon after the tracks were cleared, said Mohammad Ali.

Meanwhile, Railway authorities formed a five-member probe body, led by Anwar Hossain, transport officer of Pakshi Division, to investigate the incident.

The other members of the committee are Birbal Mandal, Enginner-1 of Pakshi Division, Momtajul Islam, mechanical engineer, Ashish Kumar Mandal, loco and Rajib Billah, telecommunication engineer.

The committee has been asked to submit its report within a day.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

The Hindu community of the country celebrated Janmashtami, marking the birth of Lord Krishna, on Monday with due religious fervour.

According to Hindu religion, Lord Vishnu incarnated in the universe as Lord Krishna in the prison of Raja Kangsa on this day, the eighth of “Shukla Pakkha” (bright fortnight) in the month of Bhadra in Dwapara Yuga in order to protect “Dharma” from the hands of devils.

Sri Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudeva in Mathura to which Krishna’s parents belonged.

The day was a public holiday.

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in separate messages greeted the members of the Hindu community on the eve of the occasion.

National dailies published special articles while Bangladesh Betar and Bangladesh Television and other private TV channels and radio stations also aired special programmes highlighting different aspects of the eventful life of Lord Krishna.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Newly appointed Ambassador of Netherlands to Bangladesh Anne Gerard van Leeuwen

has praised the progress made by the RMG industry of Bangladesh and expressed interests in cooperation and collaboration for the development of the industry.

The Ambassador paid a courtesy call on BGMEA President Faruque Hassan on Sunday and discussed various issues of the sector.

BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Vice President Miran Ali and Director Md. Mohiuddin Rubel were also present during the meeting held at BGMEA PR office in Gulshan, Dhaka.

They had discussions about the current situation of the readymade garment industry of Bangladesh, especially how the industry has faced the challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the way it is turning around.

They discussion also encompassed potential areas of further collaboration between Bangladesh and Netherlands for the betterment of the Bangladesh RMG industry.

BGMEA President also highlighted the industry’s progress in the areas of workplace safety, social and environmental sustainability, including how participating garment factories under the Partnership for Cleaner Textile (PaCT) program have reduced their water footprint. PaCT is financially supported by the Netherlands government.

He apprised the envoy of the future priorities of Bangladesh apparel industry, especially more focus on diversification in products, market and innovation in product development and process optimization.

Faruque Hassan sought support of the Government of Netherlands through extension of transition period for smoother graduation from LDC.

He also requested the Netherlands government to extend cooperation for the development of knowledge and professional skills of Bangladeshi students through exchange programs in collaboration with universities in the Netherlands.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

The government has permitted 428 businesspeople and firms to import 17.2 lakh metric tonnes of rice at a lower duty rate, aiming to keep the rice market stable in Bangladesh.

The Food Ministry gave the permission from August 17 to 30 and informed the Commerce Ministry about it, said an official.

On Monday, another 79 business firms got permission to import 1.01 lakh metric tonnes of boiled and atap (non-boiled) rice. With that, the Food Ministry permitted a total of 428 firms to import some 17.2 lakh metric tonnes of rice.

However, the importers will have to market the imported rice by September 25 next.

The other conditions imposed by the ministry include ensuring maximum 5 percent broken grains among the imported rice, opening LC (Letter of Credit) within 15 days and informing the Food Ministry about the LC-related information through emails instantly.

Besides, the imported rice cannot be repackaged using the name of importers and the rice will have to be sold in plastic sacks.

If anyone fails to open LC in the stipulated time, the permission will be cancelled, the ministry says.

Earlier, 41 firms got permission on August 17 last to import 4.10 lakh tonnes of rice, 69 firms on August 18 to import 4.18 lakh tonnes of rice, 91 firms on August 21 to import 3.91 lakh tonnes of rice, 73 firms on August 22 to import 2.22 lakh tonnes of rice (boiled and unboiled ones), 41 firms on August 23 to import 94,000 tonnes of rice (boiled and unboiled ones) and 34 firms on August 24 to import 57,000 tonnes of rice (boiled and unboiled ones).

On August 12, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) issued a gazette notification slashing the import tariff on rice to 25 percent from 62.5 percent in order to keep the rice prices stable in the local market. The facility of lower import duty will remain effective till October 30 next.

The imported rice has already started entering Bangladesh through land ports, the official added.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh media suffers from an odd sense of identity crisis. The tabloid media and the mainstream media look largely the same. While the mainstream may be doing less click baiting, the tabloids do it as much as possible, for both a matter of survival now. In the end, both are closer than what mainstream would like to be. The search for differentiated content has become a crisis.

One reason could be that the total news items are probably lesser than the total number of media outlets in town. No one with surety can say how many there are exactly. News is churned out by media workers that are often based on social media content. But even though social media, despite its endless variety can only provide so much news and journalists who cover events are basically doing so sitting at the desk, the news variety is limited and so is the treatment.

Bangladeshis are used to seeing media as adjunct political workers, that is they will follow political lines and uphold one party’s cause or another. This is the colonial legacy when media workers were also freedom fighters and so on. After 1947, this tradition continued grandly and journalists doubled as pushers of the national cause. Hence the journalist and the politicians became interchangeable identity and that tradition was more established after the Pak army action in 1971.

After 1971, this tradition continued and there have been many cases where political roles were focused both by professionals and by the consumers. It became the critical indicator. Political reporting and editing are partisan and don’t require much creativity or even hard work but can gain followers because it’s political. The result is that the media over time has become lazy. But now that is causing a crisis.

Low politics, high corona

For the last few years, the Opposition party failed to mount any significant movement of strength making it less and less significant. As their citadels fell one after another and without much contest, political activities nosedived. Thus depletion of the political sector as a whole became a factor which failed to generate much news. Public interest therefore grew less and less and the media had to resort to sensational news making to fill up the gaps left by the lack of political news.

Second was corona which also killed political news and an unprepared media workforce just kept on repeating numbers in which public interest soon declined. This led to more of the same.

Finally, social media began to do what media had done before, providing sensational, partisan and high voltage news and views including political ones which satisfied various consumer segments.

All these factors together have created a situation in which mainstream and tabloid media are both scrambling for viewers and readers. As IP TV grows but will face the same crisis, it’s time to observe if media in general can make it through the transition as a whole, now knowing where it’s going in the end.

Source: United News of Bangladesh