Day: April 18, 2024

The district of Taplejung has received a huge investment in hydropower projects in Tamor river, the main river in the district, and other rivers. Officials shared that 16 hydroelectricity projects are under construction in Tamor river and as high as 1,654.51 megawatt of power is expected to be generated. According to the Department of Electricity Development, 14 hydropower projects in the river are exclusively based in Phaktanglung Rural Municipality and two other projects are in other local levels. Likewise, four hydropower projects are being constructed in Mewakhola (river) that flows through Mikwakhola Rural Municipality. The projects in Mewakhola are expected to produce 178.42 megawatt of power. The Department said four projects are under development in Kabeli river and the projects there would generate 95.43 megawatt of power. Source: National News Agency Nepal

Eight Chinese tourists were injured in a road accident in Pokhara today. According to Superintendent of Police at the District Police Office, Kaski, Mohan Kumar Thapa, the accident took place when a microbus (Ba 1 pa 851) heading towards Mustang chowk from Lakeside and a jeep (Ba 13 Cha 513) en route to Ratna chowk collided with each other at Rastra Bank chowk in Pokhara. All the injured are receiving treatment at Gandaki Medical College, said Kaski Police. All of them are out of danger, according to the Hospital. Police have arrested both drivers. Source: National News Agency Nepal

The special session of the Koshi Province Assembly is beginning at 1:00 pm today. The special session is scheduled today as more than one-fourth of the Koshi Province Assembly members had furnished their request in writing on April 8 demanding the special session. Spokesperson of the Office of the Province Chief, Narendra Kumar Shrestha, said Province Chief Parshuram Khapung summoned the special session today as per Article 183 (3) of the Constitution of Nepal. Source: National News Agency Nepal

Kathmandu: President Ramchandra Paudel today appointed Toyam Raya as the Auditor General of Nepal at the recommendation of Constitutional Council. President Paudel appointed Raya to the post of Auditor General in accordance with Article 240 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal, reads a press release issued by Spokesperson of the Office of the Presidnet, Shailaja Regmi Bhattarai. Source: National News Agency Nepal

Without a comprehensive and durable ceasefire, humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip are doomed to fail, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya told the UN Security Council meeting. "We have repeatedly warned that in the absence of a full-fledged, sustainable ceasefire regime, which must be properly monitored through military observers, humanitarian efforts are doomed. Colleagues, humanitarian workers are defenseless against an army. No amount of voluntary deconfliction will help if one side is determined to continue fighting. And especially when there are signals from a member of the Security Council that the Council's resolutions are allegedly non-binding," he said. He went on to say that hostilities in the Palestinian enclave continue to escalate contrary to the demands of UN Security Council Resolution 2728 and in violation of norms of the international humanitarian law. "Under these conditions, the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza is practically impossible. U N agencies are unanimous in saying that humanitarian access to the enclave is virtually non-existent. According to OCHA, the Israel Defense Forces block half of the humanitarian convoys to Gaza. At the same time, according to information from humanitarian workers, aid is available, humanitarian supplies are waiting at the borders, and there are enough financial resources to organize deliveries. The only thing is to open the checkpoints and ensure security," he said. Nebenzya is convinced that the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is indispensable under these circumstances. "We call to pay tribute to the heroism of the Agency's staff, who carry out their humanitarian mandate in inhumane conditions, paying for it with their lives. To date, 178 staff members have lost their lives. That is the highest single-time death toll for a United Nations entity," he said. "Against that background, attempts to label UNRWA as a terrorist organization and cal ls to disband the Agency, which we have heard in this Chamber too, are categorically unacceptable. Indiscriminate accusations against UNRWA representatives must not be used to besmirch this large and vital UN entity, which employs 13,000 people in Gaza alone. If UNRWA is suspended, this move will become yet another illegal and immoral instrument of collective punishment for millions of Palestinians in need," the Russian diplomat added. The UN Security Council session began its work with a minute of silence in memory of humanitarian workers killed in the Palestinian enclave. According to the UN's latest estimates, at least 224 humanitarian workers have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the conflict escalated on October 7, 2023. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Chinese Embassy here today opened a Chinese Visa Center (CVC) to facilitate smooth travel to the Bangladeshi citizens in China. The CVC is authorized by the Embassy to accept visa applications in strict accordance with the Embassy's requirements and provide applicants with services such as on-site reception, application materials acceptance, passport and legalization documents issuance, and question and answers services, said the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka. With this one today, China currently has 103 visa application centers in 55 countries around the world, with a sound management system and extensive experience in operation. "In recent years, the strategic cooperation between Bangladesh and China has sustained a sound momentum of growth, and the two countries enjoy an increasingly close and frequent exchanges at all levels and in all sectors," said Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen while inaugurating the CVC. "It is believed that, following its launching, the CVC will significantly enhance the eff iciency of visa issuance and the service provided to visa applicants," said Yao, wishing the Chinese Visa Center in Dhaka a smooth operation and a great success. Recently, he said, the Embassy has also simplified the visa application documents for participants in the Canton Fair who are exempt from TE Invitation Letters, which has been well received by participants. "On behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh, I would like to extend the warmest congratulations on the launching of the CVC, and express my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the friends from all walks of life who have long cared about and supported the work of the Embassy!" he said. The envoy said more and more Bangladeshi people are willing to travel to China and their demand for Chinese visa has been growing. "Last year, the number of visa applicants hit a peak at 1,500 per day. Despite that we were short-handed and the visa hall of the Embassy was under a strain, we continuously improved our service as well as the capacity to accept mo re visa applications," he said. Nevertheless, the envoy said, it was still difficult to fully satisfy the increasing demands of visa applications. With the purpose of breaking through the development bottleneck of visa services and further promoting the people-to-people exchanges, he said, they have decided to launch the CVC in Dhaka after meticulously and prudently study and discussion. It is a common international practice to set up visa application centers in countries where overseas visa application demand is concentrated, and many countries have already established such centers in Bangladesh. "The CVC attaches great importance to data security and has taken various measures to protect applicants' privacy. In accordance with regulations, the embassy will rigorously oversee the operations of the CVC to ensure that applicants receive services that are both comfortable and reliable," said Ambassador Yao. Throughout this process, he said, they encourage ongoing support to and oversight on their visa oper ations. Since the full resumption of visa issuance on March 15 last year, in order to meet the rising demand for personnel exchanges between China and Bangladesh, the Embassy has rolled out a series of measures to facilitate Bangladeshi citizens' travel to China, the Ambassador said. These are shortening visa application forms, lowering visa fees for the entire year, exempting certain applicants from fingerprinting, providing walk-in without appointment visa application service, recruiting more staff, adding service counters, extending office hours, optimizing waiting areas, and providing green channels for urgent humanitarian affairs. Most notably, with effect from June 15th last year, the Embassy officially launched the China Online Visa Application System, said Ambassador Yao. All steps including filling out application forms, submitting application documents, and having interviews are conducted online, reducing the frequency of applicants' visits to the Embassy. "These measures have yielded significa nt results, with nearly 44,000 visas of various types issued by the Embassy in less than 10 months," said the envoy. Toufique Hasan, Director General of the East Asia and Pacific Wing of the foreign ministry, S.N. Manzur Murshed, former President of the Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB), Wang Jicheng, Deputy General Manager of Qiandaifu Company, and Tian Wen and Wang Xiaojing from CIIC Group, were present. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

The price of unpackaged soybean oil has been reduced by Tk 2 to Tk147 per litre. State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu today announced this price of soybean oil at the Secretariat in the city. However, the price of bottled soybean oil has been hiked by Tk 4 to Tk167 per litre while the price of palm oil per liter bottle has been set at Tk 135. Meanwhile, the prices of 5 litre bottled soybean oil has been increased from Tk800 to Tk 818. Earlier on 7 February, the National Board of Revenue gave a 5 percent VAT exemption on the import of raw materials of edible oil at the request of the Ministry of Commerce. The ministry reduced the price of bottled soybean oil by Tk10 to Tk163 per litre after VAT exemption. After the exemption's validity expired on 15 April, the executive officer of the Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association sent a letter to the commerce secretary on the same day requesting that the price of bottled soybean oil be increased by Tk10 to Tk173. S ource: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

A daylong fair and workshop related to the Sarbojanin Pension Scheme (Universal Pension Scheme) will be held at Hazi Muhammad Mohsin Government High School in the city tomorrow (Friday). National Pension Authority (NPA) and Commissioner office of Rajshahi division organized the divisional event aimed at familiarizing the public in general with the pension scheme along with its contribution to the national economy. These were revealed in a press briefing held at the commissioner office conference hall today. Divisional Commissioner Dr Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir, Director of Local Government Division Parvej Raihan and Additional Commissioner Tarafder Akter Jamil addressed the press briefing. Dr Humayun Kabir said Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister's Office Tofazzal Hossain Mian is scheduled to attend the fair and workshop as chief guest with Commissioner of Rajshahi division Dr Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir in the chair. Around 200 officials from various government and non-government offices and ins titutions, public and private banks and other financial establishments will showcase the aspects of the pension scheme in 117 stalls. The workshop will be held at Jail Training Centre auditorium where NPA Member Golam Mostofa will present a keynote paper. Financial Institutions Division Secretary Sheikh Muhammad Salim Ullah, Executive Vice-chairman of Microcredit Regulatory Authority Muhammd Fasiullah and Director General of NGO Affairs Bureau Saidur Rahman will talk about the strategy selection of making the pension scheme successful. Director General (Administration) of Prime Minister's Office Ahsan Kibria Siddiqui will speak on publicity tactics of the universal pension scheme. Speaking at the press-briefing Commissioner Dr Dewan Muhammad Humayun Kabir said the contribution towards pension will be treated as investment and eligible for tax concession and the monthly pension will be free from income tax. Government will pay part of the subscription for the insolvent and those are of low-income threshol d. He also said the government has already started its activities by establishing the National Pension Authority. The Universal Pension Management System has been developed on a complete IT platform in line with the implementation of the Hon'ble Prime Minister's goal to achieve 'Smart Bangladesh'. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Awami League (AL) General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today condemned and protested the "false, fabricated and politically motivated" statements of BNP leaders. "BNP leaders, including its secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, are lying continuously. In fact, they have no respect for democracy and the rule of law," he said in a statement. Quader said BNP is patronizing arson terrorists. On the other hand, they allege that the government is suppressing the opposition party when the law enforcers take legal actions against the terrorists, he said. He said BNP is hatching conspiracy continuously to destroy the continuation of democracy and stability. The party (BNP) carried out terrorist activities to destroy democracy and to foil elections before the 12th national polls, he said, adding, BNP-Jamaat had killed hundreds of innocent people through arson and petrol bombs attacks during 2013, 2014 and 2015. The AL general secretary said the government is not sending anyone to jail recklessly rather accused BNP leaders and activists are facing law and court and getting bails. The court will take proper legal actions against the terrorists and their godfathers who were involved in killing innocent people and destroyed public and state properties, he added. Quader said BNP leaders are not respectful to the law. So, they are trying to provide protection to terrorists raising false allegation of suppression against the opposition party. "I would like to say confidently that Awami League does not believe is suppression of opposition party. But there is no concession the terrorists. The terrorists, irrespective of their party affiliation, must face trial," he said. He said the BNP leaders have made confusing and unethical political statements over upazila polls. Awami League is determined to uphold the culture of democracy, he said, adding local elections of different levels are needed to establish the empowerment of people. The AL general secretary said the upazila parish ad elections will be held in a free, fair and transparent manner. But, BNP has taken stance against the polls and country's democracy like before, he continued. He said Awami League has to take strategic stance in the perspective of BNP's stand over the polls. So, AL is not allocating party symbol in the polls, he said, adding Awami League hopes that the acceptable candidates from the party and beyond will be elected. He said tough directive has been given from the party so that ministers, lawmakers and party leaders cannot interfere in the election. Quader said a festive mood has been created across the country centering the upazila parishad elections in first phase. But, BNP is trying to make the polls questionable, he added. The AL leader urged the countrymen to remain alert against BNP's ill efforts to destroy democracy. He also urged the AL leaders and activists to cooperate the Election Commission to hold the polls in free, fair and peacefully. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Md Atiqul Islam has announced to launch month-long awareness-raising programme from April 22. Before the beginning of breeding season of aedes mosquito, the programme will be carried out in 54 wards, he said. The mayor said this while addressing a coordination meeting on "conducting month-long campaign for prevention of dengue" with all ward councilors and officials concerned on virtual platform on Wednesday, said an official handout today. Atiqul Islam urged all ward councilors and officials and employees concerned to work together for implement the programme before the beginning of breeding season of aedes mosquito to prevent dengue. He said abandoned polythene, packets of chip and ice-cream cups, waste green coconut shells, unused vehicle tyres, commodes and other abandoned objects, which are most preferred breeding habitats of aedes mosquitoes, will be purchased from people with cash money. Anyone can collect cash money by giving the aforementioned objects to concerned ward councilor's office, he said. Ward councilors have been given directives to purchase waste at specific price, he added. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Chairman of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission Dr Md Shawkat Akbar today paid rich tribute to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by placing a wreath at his mausoleum at Tungipara in Gopalganj. After laying the wreath, he stood in solemn silence for some time as a mark of profound respect to the memory of the Father of the Nation. Later, Shawkat Akbar prayed for eternal peace of the departed souls of Bangabandhu and other martyrs who had to embrace martyrdom on the fateful August 15, 1975 and Liberation War martyrs A special prayer was offered seeking longevity of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her family members. Project Director of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Dr Md Zahedul Hasan, Dr Md Mazibur Rahman, Tungipara Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Moinul Haque and Officer-in-Charge of Tungipara Police Station Aminul Rahman were present. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Chief of Army Staff General S M Shafiuddin Ahmed today said Bangladesh Army never forgets that the main role of military forces is to protect the sovereignty of the country. "We never forget the main role of military forces is to protect the sovereignty of the country. That is our prime duty and we should be ready to doing that," he said. The army chief was addressing as the chief guest a seminar titled "Defence Diplomacy: Strategy for Bangladesh" organized by Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) at its auditorium. Describing the military diplomacy, he said intention can change overnight but capability does not change overnight. "You are my friend today but what happens if you are not my friend tomorrow? We should be capable of defending our national interest, our motherland but the main foreign policy dictum says every tone for us," he said. Noting that Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's foreign policy dictum "Friendship to all, malice towards none", General S M Shafiuddin said Bangladesh Army is doing everything in contributing to achieving that foreign policy. "Whenever there is any opportunity whether it is told or untold we grab and do everything so that it only benefits Bangladesh and Bangladesh becomes a Sonar Bangla as dreamt by our Father of the Nation," he said. The Army Chief said military persons not only learn how to fight a war but also know how to prevent or avoid any war to achieve the national interest. Diplomacy is nothing but an effort to achieve national interest in any form, he added. BIISS Chairman Ambassador AFM Gousal Azam Sarker chaired the seminar while its Director General Major General Md Abu Bakar Siddique Khan delivered the welcome address. Chief of General Staff, Bangladesh Army Lieutenant General Waker-Uz-Zaman was also present in the seminar. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha