Page 4 - Bangladesh

Bangladesh court sentences Sheikh Hasina to 5-yr jail in land scam case

A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to five years of imprisonment in a land scam case. Judge Md Rabiul Alam of the Special Judge's Court-4 of Dhaka also handed down a seven-year jail term to Hasina's sister Sheikh Rehana, and a two-year term to her niece, British parliamentarian Tulip Siddiq, in the same case, The Daily Star newspaper reported. This is the fourth verdict involving Hasina in graft cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the report said. The ACC filed six separate cases between January 12 and 14 with its Dhaka Integrated District Office-1 over alleged irregularities in the allocation of plots under the Purbachal New Town project. According to the anti-graft body, Hasina, in collusion with senior Rajuk officials, unlawfully secured six plots, each measuring 10 kathas (7,200 square feet), in the diplomatic zone of Sector 27 of the Purbachal New Town project for herself and her relatives, including her son Sajeeb Wazed

Bangladesh's ex-PM Khaleda critical, exiled son uncertain of return

Her party has regained prominence after Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's long-serving former prime minister, was ousted in a student-led uprising last year

Bangladesh ex-PM Hasina gets 21 yrs prison sentence in corruption cases

A Bangladesh court on Thursday sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to 21 years of imprisonment in three corruption cases, local media reported. The three cases were lodged over alleged irregularities in allocating plots in the Rajuk New Town Project in Purbachol, state-run BSS news agency said. The judge pronounced the judgment in absence of the convict as she is yet to be arrested and was tried in absentia. Hasina was sentenced to seven years in each case, totalling 21 years in prison. "The plot was allotted to Sheikh Hasina without any application and in a manner that exceeded the legally authorised jurisdiction," the court observed in its judgment.

Thousands left homeless as fire in Bangladesh slum destroys 1,500 shanties

A fire in a crowded slum in Bangladesh's capital has burned or damaged 1,500 shanties, leaving thousands homeless, authorities said Wednesday. No casualties were reported. The blaze, which began Tuesday evening at the Korail slum in Dhaka, was doused Wednesday after 16 hours, said Rashed Bin Khalid, a duty officer at the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defense. The fire service's director, Lt Col Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, said about 1,500 shanties were burned or damaged in the blaze and thousands remained homeless. According to official data, about 60,000 families many of them climate refugees live in the slum which has an area of more than 160 acres (65 hectares). The slum straddles Dhaka's upscale Gulshan and Banani neighbourhoods, and it is surrounded by clusters of high-rise apartment and office buildings. Heavy smoke blanketed the area as flames engulfed the dwellings overnight. On Wednesday, the residents who lost their homes were desperate to collect their ...

Bangladesh's ex-PM Hasina's party announces nationwide protests till Nov 30

Bangladesh's ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League party on Tuesday announced nationwide agitations and "resistance marches" till November 30 in protest against the death sentence handed to the former premier by what it described as an "illegal" tribunal. On November 17, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) sentenced 78-year-old Hasina to death along with then home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on charges of committing crimes against humanity after a trial held in absentia. Hasina is currently in India, while Kamal is also believed to be hiding in the country. In a post on its official social media account, the Awami League alleged that the tribunal's verdict was part of a political "conspiracy" by the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government to keep Hasina and the party "out of the election" scheduled for February next year. Rejecting the "illegal verdict of the illegal ICT tribunal" and demanding the resignation of Yunus, the party announced protests, ...

Pakistan to export 100K tonnes of rice to Bangladesh, marking record trade

Pakistan is set to export 1,00,000 tonnes of rice to Bangladesh, highlighting the improved trade relations between the two countries since the ouster of former premier Sheikh Hasina last year in August. The tender for the same was issued by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) last week, a TCP official said. This is the highest consignment of rice to Bangladesh from Pakistan to date. The first Batch of 50,000 tonnes of rice was exported after both countries began government-level trade with rice imports in February this year. A leading rice exporter said that if trade increased with Bangladesh, it would be good for business as rice exports had fallen 28 per cent in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2025-26. It is because of the many barriers we face from the government, which complicates the entire process, Waqar Ahmed, who runs his own rice mills in Punjab province, said. He added that the reasons for the decline were the resumption of rice exports by India last year, an

Bangladesh needs reform, not old executioners and political vengeance

Elections are due in February - and whoever wins will have a mandate tainted by violence and weakened by the enforced absence of the League

New Tripura BSF IG ramps up border vigilance amid Bangladesh instability

Speaking in his first interview since assuming office, Chakravarty highlighted Tripura's strategic importance, sharing borders with Bangladesh on three sides

Former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia hospitalised with chest infection

Khaleda Zia was brought to the hospital on Sunday night for health examinations, and following preliminary tests, she was admitted for urgent treatment

Stronger quake may hit Bangladesh, warn experts as 5.7 tremor kills 10

Experts have urged the Bangladesh government to take immediate action after an earthquake claimed at least 10 lives in the country, warning that a far stronger tremor may lie ahead and that failure to act now could result in greater losses. A 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck on Friday morning, causing at least 10 deaths and significant damage to buildings, mostly in central parts of Bangladesh, including the capital Dhaka. Three mild-intensity tremors also rocked the country on Saturday. According to a report published in The Daily Star newspaper on Sunday, Friday's quake "lays bare Dhaka's fragility". The Dhaka district administration has confirmed damage to at least 14 buildings, while Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) put the figure at more than 50. Officials said the number was expected to rise as inspections continued. We are still working. Many more buildings will be identified, the paper quoted Rajuk Chairman Md Riazul Islam as saying. Rajuk, the agency responsible for .

Three tremors jolt Bangladesh after 5.7 magnitude quake claimed 10 lives

Three subsequent jolts after a relatively major earthquake claimed at least 10 lives within a span of 32 hours panicked Bangladesh amid experts warning of a major earthquake, calling the four ones as foreshocks. A 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck on Friday morning causing at least 10 deaths and significant damage to buildings mostly in central parts of the country, including the capital Dhaka, while a subsequent tremor rocked the country at around the same time on Saturday morning. The Bangladesh capital and adjoining administrative districts, including Narsingdi, the epicentre of the 5.7 magnitude quake, were jolted by two back to back jolts on Saturday evening. The Bangladesh Meteorology Department (BMD) said the epicentre of the one of the subsequent three jolts was located beneath the surface of crowded Badda area in the capital city with rest being in Narsingdi. Met office spokesman and meteorologist Tariful Newaz Kabir said two earthquakes struck on Saturday evening near ...

Ten dead as 5.7 magnitude earthquake jolts Dhaka, parts of Bangladesh

At least 10 people were killed and over a hundred injured as a massive earthquake of magnitude 5.7 jolted Dhaka and parts of the country on Friday, damaging buildings, causing fires at several places and sending panic among residents. Officials said four of the victims died in the capital Dhaka, five in Narsingdi, the epicentre of the tremor, and one in suburban river port town of Narayanganj. Media reports suggested that in the industrial town on the outskirts of the capital Gazipur alone, at least 100 workers were injured at different units as they tried to rush out of buildings during the tremor. The Met office said the epicentre of the quake that struck at 10:38 am (local time) was located some 10 kilometres beneath the surface in Narsingdi, which is around 13 kilometres east of the seismic centre in Dhaka's Agargaon area. Dhaka's Deputy Police Commissioner Mallik Ahsan Uddin Sami said, quoting the fire service, that at least three people were killed after a railing, bamboo ...

Assam invokes 1950 Immigrants Expulsion Act: What’s behind the move?

For the first time since it was created, Assam has activated a 75-year-old law to expel individuals declared foreigners. What does this mean for the state, and why now? Here’s a breakdown.

Four dead as 5.7 magnitude earthquake jolts Dhaka, parts of Bangladesh

Tremors were felt in several places of south Bengal, including Kolkata on Friday morning, as an earthquake of magnitude 5.7 jolted Bangladesh's Narsingdi, the IMD said. The quake struck 13 km south-southwest of Narsingdi in the neighbouring country at 10.08 am, and at a depth of 10 km, it said. Several people in Kolkata and other districts were seen coming out on the streets as a precautionary measure. There was no immediate report of any injury or damage.

Bangladesh HC bars Adani group from Singapore arbitration over power deal

Bangladesh's High Court on Thursday ordered India's Adani Group not to proceed with its planned international arbitration in Singapore over the payment dispute with state-run Power Development Board (BPDB) until an investigation into its power supply deal is completed. The court officials said a two-judge High Court bench issued the order that the arbitration must remain suspended until a committee it appointed to scrutinise the power purchase agreement and investigate potential irregularities submits the findings. The order came in sequence of a lawyer's petition, seeking the High Court's intervention for review of scrapping BPDB's agreement with Adani, calling it a "one-sided" deal signed during deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's regime. The petition said Adani's power price is much higher than other regional sources, as electricity from Indian state-owned companies costs 5.5 taka per unit against 8.5 taka per unit by other Indian private companies, and from Nepal, it is 8 tak

India saved my mother's life: Hasina's son questions her extradition

Wazed flatly rejected the legitimacy of Bangladesh's extradition request, alleging violations of judicial norms in the cases against his mother

Best of BS Opinion: A new migration survey offers hope for policymaking

Best of BS Opinion explains the need for a new migration survey, diplomatic challenges after Sheikh Hasina's death sentence, China's internal tremors, and governance lessons from Tesla and OpenAI

Governance vacuum: Bangladesh's government must settle into its role

India needs to ensure that this chaos does not bleed across the frontier, cause an increase in cross-border terrorism, or lead to a flow of refugees

Indian Coast Guard seizes 3 Bangladeshi boats, 79 crew for illegal fishing

All three boats and their crew members were handed over to the West Bengal Marine Police in Frazerganj for further legal action

Sheikh Hasina death verdict: What India-Bangladesh extradition treaty says

Bangladesh's interim government has urged India to extradite Sheikh Hasina after a tribunal sentenced her to death, raising questions over what the 2013 treaty permits and when India can refuse