Page 57 - Bangladesh

B'desh court indicts Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus on embezzlement charges

A special judge's court in Bangladesh indicted Wednesday Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and 13 others on charges in an over USD 2 million embezzlement case. Yunus, 83, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for pioneering microcredit to help impoverished people, especially women, pleaded not guilty and is out on bail for now. He told reporters that authorities were harassing him and other colleagues and denied being involved in any corruption. In a packed Dahka courtroom, Special Judge in Dhaka Syed Arafat Hossain dismissed petitions seeking the charges which centres around Yunus' non-profit Grameen Telecom to be dropped. The prosecution has accused Yunus and the others of embezzling 250 million takas (about USD 2 million) from the workers welfare fund of Grameen Telecom, which owns 34.2 per cent of the country's largest mobile phone company, Grameenphone, a subsidiary of Norway's telecom giant Telenor. They are also accused of money laundering. Hossain, the judge, said th

Look forward to India, Maldives working together closely: Jaishankar

Union Minister S Jaishankar on Monday held separate bilateral meetings with Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Muizzu, Hasina and Wickremesinghe were among seven leaders from India's neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Council of Ministers on Sunday. "Delighted to call on President Dr Mohamed Muizzu of Maldives today in New Delhi. Look forward to India and Maldives working together closely," Jaishankar said on 'X'. Jaishankar was the external affairs minister in Modi's previous Cabinet. He took oath as a Union minister on Sunday. It was Muizzu's first visit to India after he became the island nation's president on November 17 last year. The ties between India and the Maldives came under severe strain since Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took charge of the top office. Within hours of his oath, he ha

Sheikh Hasina invited PM Modi to visit Bangladesh, says Foreign Min Mahmud

He further highlighted that the relationship between the two nations has reached to a "new height" under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister Modi

Passenger movement through Maitri Setu to start in Sept, says official

Passenger movement through Maitri Setu which connects India and Bangladesh in South Tripura district will start by September this year, a senior government official said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina virtually inaugurated the Maitri setu on March 9, 2021. The bridge is built over the Feni river which flows between the Indian boundary in Tripura state and Bangladesh. The 1.9 km long bridge joins Sabroom in India with Ramgarh in Bangladesh. "The Maitri setu has already been inaugurated. The land port is almost ready... The movement of passengers through the bridge will commence in September. It will take two or three months to introduce goods movement after passenger movement gets underway," Tripura's Industries and Commerce department secretary Kiran Gitte said at a press conference on Friday. The goods movement through the bridge is seen as strategically important not only for the state but also for the entire northeast as Chittagong port

Nearly 1,500 pigs died of African Swine Fever in Mizoram since January

The African Swine Fever (ASF) continued to wreak havoc in piggeries in Mizoram, killing nearly 1,500 pigs and piglets since January, an official of the state Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department said. The outbreak has currently affected 80 villages or localities across seven districts, she said. She said 64 pigs died, while 235 were culled on Thursday."At least 1,488 pigs have died due to ASF, and 3,002 culled to prevent the dreaded swine fever since January," the official said. The outbreak was first reported at Lungsen village in south Mizoram's Lunglei district near the Bangladesh border in March 2021. Officials believed the outbreak was caused by pigs illegally imported from the neighbouring country. Mizoram shares a 318-km-long international border with Bangladesh. The Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department said that 33,417 pigs died due to ASF in 2021, 12,795 in 2022 and 1,039 in 2023. It said that 12,568 pigs have been culled in 2021 to prevent the spread of Afr

Netherlands emerges as India's 3rd largest export destination in 2023-24

The Netherlands has emerged as India's third largest export destination after the US and UAE during 2023-24, even as the country's merchandise shipments dipped by over 3 per cent, according to the commerce ministry data. The main commodities which registered healthy exports growth in the Netherlands include petroleum products (USD 14.29 billion), electrical goods, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals in the last fiscal. India's trade surplus with the Netherlands has increased to USD 17.4 billion in the last fiscal from USD 13 billion in 2022-23. The Netherlands has taken over major destinations such as the UK, Hong Kong, Bangladesh and Germany. India's exports to the Netherlands rose by about 3.5 per cent to USD 22.36 billion in 2023-24 as against USD 21.61 billion in 2022-23, the data showed. In 2021-22 and 2020-21, the outbound shipments to the European country stood at USD 12.55 billion and USD 6.5 billion, respectively. The exports have been registering healthy growth continuously

Key accused in trafficking of Bangladeshis, Rohingyas into India arrested

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested a wanted accused involved in trafficking of Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas into India through the north-eastern borders. Jalil Miah, a resident of the north-eastern state of Tripura, has been arrested by the NIA team, an official statement said. The NIA had in February declared a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to the arrest of Jalil, who was absconding in the case, in addition to nine others. As per the NIA investigations, a large number of Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas are being trafficked to India every month through the porous stretches of the Indo-Bangladesh border. They are further transported to different parts of the country and provided fake documents and forced into labour, said the statement issued by the probe agency. "In yet another success in its fight against human traffickers operating across the country, the NIA on Tuesday arrested a key conspirator in a case relating to ...

Cyclone Remal ravages West Bengal, leaves millions without electricity

With winds gusting up to 135 kilometres per hour, severe cyclonic storm 'Remal' made landfall between the coasts of Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal, bringing heavy rains that flooded homes and farmland, and leaving a trail of destruction. The landfall process began at 8:30 pm on Sunday over the adjacent coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh between Sagar Island and Khepupara, near the southwest of Mongla in the neighbouring country. 'Remal' flattened fragile dwellings, uprooted trees and knocked down electric poles. One person was injured after being hit by debris in the Gosaba area of the Sundarbans. More than one lakh people were evacuated from vulnerable areas in West Bengal before the cyclone struck. "Severe cyclonic storm Remal made landfall between Sagar Island in West Bengal and Khepupara in Bangladesh on Sunday night with wind speeds reaching up to 135 kmph," the meteorological office said. News footage showed gigantic tidal waves crashing into a seawall in coastal res

Cyclone Remal update: IMD issues red alert in Tripura; 3 injured in Kolkata

Updates on Cyclone Remal: At least seven people died in Bangladesh, and millions were left without power. Services begin to resume as reports of the cyclone weakening emerge

Landfall process of Remal commences over West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts

The landfall of severe cyclonic storm 'Remal' commenced on Sunday evening between West Bengal and Bangladesh coasts with an intensity of 110 to 120 kmph, gusting to 135 kmph, the Met office said. The landfall process of Remal, with its centre about 30 km from the coastline at 8.30pm, will continue for about four hours, it said. "The landfall process of severe cyclonic storm 'Remal' commenced over the adjacent coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh between Sagar Island and Khepupara close to the southwest of Mongla in the neighbouring country," the Met said. Gale wind speed reaching 110 to 120 kmph, gusting to 135 kmph, was prevailing along and off West Bengal and Bangladesh coasts and north Bay of Bengal and is likely to continue for the next six hours and decrease thereafter, the Met added.

Bangladesh evacuates over 800,000 people as cyclone Remal approaches

Over 800,000 people from vulnerable areas have been evacuated to shelters on Sunday as Bangladesh prepares for severe cyclonic storm 'Remal' forecast to make landfall by midnight with a potential high tidal surge and heavy rainfall in the country's coastal districts of Satkhira and Cox's Bazar. Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said Remal would make landfall between 6:00 pm and midnight. The Met Office issued "great danger signal no 10 on a scale of 10 for southwestern greater Barisal and its shoals and great danger signal no nine for the southeastern coastlines including the port city of Chattogram. "Under the peripheral effect of the severe cyclone and steep pressure gradient, the low-lying areas of the coastal districts...and their offshore islands and chars are likely to be inundated by a wind-driven surge of 08-12 feet height above normal astronomical tide, the BSS news agency reported, citing the latest met office bulletin. State Minister for Disaster Management and

Bangladesh MP's body 'deskinned and minced' by illegal immigrant: Police

Jihad Hawladar, an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh, confessed to his involvement in the crime, leading to the arrest of three other Bangladeshi nationals

Cyclone Remal to hit West Bengal, Bangladesh coasts by May 26 evening: IMD

Impact on monsoon progress 'not clear,' say experts

Mystery deepens over 'murder' of Bangladesh MP in India, body not found

Home Minister of Bangladesh, Asaduzzaman Khan, said that missing Anwarul Azim Anar was murdered in a 'planned manner' in a house in a Kolkata suburb

Bangladeshi MP Anwarul Azim killed in Kolkata. What happened?

Bangladesh's MP from ruling party Awami League, Anwarul Azim, who had visited India and went missing a few days later, was found dead in Kolkata under mysterious circumstances today. Watch the video t

Missing Bangladeshi MP Anwarul Azim found dead in Kolkata; 3 arrested

Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan called the incident 'a planned murder', stating that Bangladeshi nationals were most likely involved

India to expand overseas port operations with Mongla terminal in Bangladesh

This will be the third international port operations by India after Chabahar in Iran and Sittwe in Myanmar and will be managed by IPGL

Govt to train 1,500 civil servants of Bangladesh in next five years

India will train 1,500 civil servants of Bangladesh by conducting mid-career capacity building programmes on good governance initiatives in the next five years, a top government official said on Thursday. A letter for extension of an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard by another five years will be exchanged soon, said V Srinivas, Secretary of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG). The consensus on extension of the existing agreement was reached during the visit of an Indian delegation -- headed by Srinivas to Bangladesh from April 28-30. "The two sides agreed on renewal of the existing MoU, which envisages capacity building programmes for 1,500 Bangladesh civil service officers at India's National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) from 2025 to 2030," Srinivas told PTI here. The programmes for middle and senior management covers new paradigms of governance like project management, public procurement, blue economy and food ...

India-B'desh ties could be key contributor to regional connectivity: Envoy

The destinies of India and Bangladesh are intertwined and the relationship between the two countries could be a valuable contributor to regional connectivity, Bangladeshi envoy Mustafizur Rahman said on Tuesday. In an interactive session at a think-tank here, Rahman also said South Asia is one of the least integrated regions in the world and a "synergistic approach" could ensure regional integration. "The destinies of our two countries and people are intertwined, not only due to our geographical proximity, shared history, culture, heritage and value system, but also because of the indelible bond that was forged when we stood together, shedding blood together in 1971 for the independence of Bangladesh," he said. The Bangladeshi high commissioner also referred to the common vision of India and Bangladesh to build a stronger South Asia. "In recent years, the leaders of Bangladesh and India have emphasised the significance of building a stronger South Asia," he said at the Ananta ...

Govt delegation on three-day visit of Bangladesh to further boost ties

A central government delegation is on a three-day visit to Bangladesh beginning Sunday to further boost bilateral ties on governance matters, according to an official statement. The visit is being undertaken on the invitation of the Bangladesh Ministry of Public Administration and will focus on the mid-career capacity building programs in field administration for Bangladesh civil servants, said the statement issued by the Personnel Ministry on Sunday. "V Srinivas, Secretary of Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) will lead a four-member delegation to Bangladesh from April 28-30, 2024 for bilateral discussions regarding renewal of memorandum of understanding (MoU) between National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) India and Bangladesh Ministry of Public Administration for the period 2024-2029," it said. The NCGG and the Bangladesh Ministry of Public Administration have collaborated for conducting capacity building programs for Bangladesh civil servants .