United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz said that any leader requires time to properly develop a team, speaking during a press conference Tuesday ahead of a three-match ODI series against Pakistan. The first match is scheduled to begin at 2:15 p.m. Wednesday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. The series marks the start of a critical year for Bangladesh, which faces a 22-match ODI schedule. The team aims to secure direct qualification for the upcoming World Cup by maintaining a position within the top nine of the global rankings. BCB announces ticket prices for Pakistan ODI series Addressing questions regarding his leadership philosophy and future, Miraz deferred long-term decisions to the cricket board. His current tenure as captain extends until June, and he emphasized his immediate focus is on guiding the team to a strong position during that period. "Whoever is given the captaincy, if given time, can build the team beautifully," Miraz said. "My role, for however long I have been given this responsibility, is to try and take the team to a good place." Miraz holds a difficult record as ODI captain, securing three wins in 13 matches, though two of those victories occurred during the team's recent series against the West Indies. He noted that the upcoming Pakistan series is crucial for the nation's World Cup qualification, prioritizing the team's advancement over his individual captaincy record.

BNP lawmaker from Faridpur-3 constituency Chowdhury Nayab Yusuf on Tuesday said a vested quarter may attempt to create an undesirable situation during the Eid holidays, but the government and administration will remain more vigilant to handle any such challenge. We want to present people with a peaceful Eid by working together with the administration, he said while speaking as the chief guest at a meeting of the law and order committee of Faridpur Sadar upazila. The meeting was held at the conference room of the upazila parishad on Tuesday afternoon. Saying people are eager to cooperate with the BNP-led government, the MP urged all to work together over the next few days to ensure a smooth Eid celebration. He also stressed the need for vigilance so that people travelling home for Eid do not face any harassment. Calling for honesty in public duties, he said if intentions remain good, problems can be avoided. The lawmaker also issued a strong warning against drug trafficking and terrorist activities, urging people to inform authorities immediately if they notice such incidents. The meeting, presided over by Faridpur Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Meshkatul Jannat Rabeya, was attended by officials from different departments, political leaders and journalists.

Police recovered the blood-stained body of a woman from the kitchen of her house in the Borobil area of Manikchhari upazila in Khagrachhari on Tuesday. The deceased was identified as Ramra Marma, 41, a mother of three sons and a daughter. Police said the body was found at her residence in Ward No. 6 under Batnatali Union. UPDF man gunned down in Khagrachhari According to the victim’s daughter, college student Anuma Marma, she and her mother had dinner and went to sleep in their bedroom around 10 pm on Monday. When she woke up around 7:30 am on Tuesday, she could not find her mother in the room. After searching the house, she found her mother lying on a bed in the kitchen covered with a blanket. When she removed the blanket, she saw her mother’s blood-stained body with injury marks on the head and neck and started screaming, drawing the attention of neighbours. Later, police were informed and the body was recovered. Officer-in-Charge (Investigation) of Manikchhari Police Station Md Al Amin said police suspect the woman was murdered. “The body has been recovered and legal procedures are underway,” he said. Family members said Ramra Marma had been living with her children for several years after divorcing her husband and worked as a labourer to support them. Her only daughter lived with her, while two of her sons stayed elsewhere for work and another spent the night at a nearby Buddhist monastery on the day of the incident.

A Project Implementation Officer (PIO) in Nalchity upazila of Jhalakathi has been accused of taking a bribe over the allocation of soil for a government graveyard development project. A written complaint was submitted to the Jhalakathi Deputy Commissioner on Tuesday by Mohammad Oliul Islam, a resident of Ward No. 5 of Nalchity municipality. According to the complaint, a TR project worth around Tk 1.15 lakh was allocated for filling soil at the government graveyard in Mallikpur under Nalchity municipality. However, the Upazila Project Implementation Officer, Awlad Hossain, allegedly took Tk 9,000 as a bribe citing additional expenses related to the project. The complainant said they were compelled to pay the money due to various pressures and to ensure smooth completion of the project. The complaint also described such bribery in a religious development project as unethical and contrary to public service. Oliul Islam urged the district administration to conduct a proper investigation and take necessary action against the accused official. Contacted for comment, PIO Awlad Hossain hung up the phone after identifying the caller as a journalist. Further attempts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful. Jhalakathi Deputy Commissioner Md Momin Uddin said the matter has been assigned to the Deputy Director of Local Government for investigation. Necessary action will be taken according to the rules after receiving the investigation report and informing the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.

Police recovered the blood-stained body of an elderly man from beside an under-construction building in the Duri Angul Lane area of Lalbagh in the capital on Tuesday evening. The victim, Md Mainuddin, 70, a resident and house owner in the same area, was found unconscious around 7:15 pm. He was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), where the doctor on duty at the emergency department declared him dead. Electrician electrocuted to death in Dhaka’s Kadamtali Sub-Inspector (SI) Apu Mitra of Lalbagh Police Station said police rushed to the spot after receiving information and recovered the elderly man from beside an under-construction building owned by Raja Mia. Local residents told police that Mainuddin lived nearby and was unmarried, the officer said. Police also found multiple injury marks and blood stains on the body. The exact cause of death will be determined after an autopsy. The body has been kept at the Dhaka Medical College morgue for post-mortem examination and legal procedures are underway.

The Ruwais oil refinery, the largest single-site refinery in the Middle East and one of the world’s top four, has been shut down as a precaution following a drone attack, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. Earlier, Abu Dhabi authorities said a fire broke out at a facility within the Ruwais industrial complex after the drone strike, with no injuries reported so far. There was no immediate confirmation on whether the refinery itself was directly hit. The facility has a refining capacity of about 922,000 barrels of crude oil and condensate per day. Iran launches missile attacks on Israel, Qatar and UAE The closure comes as the deadly regional conflict enters its 11th day. On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities, killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei along with senior military officials and civilians. Iran retaliated with waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israeli and U.S. assets across the Middle East. On Tuesday, the UAE Defense Ministry said its air defense systems had detected 262 ballistic missiles, 1,475 drones, and eight cruise missiles since the start of Iranian attacks. The systems intercepted eight of nine ballistic missiles and 26 of 35 drones launched toward the country on Tuesday alone. Six nationals from the UAE, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh have been killed, while 122 residents of various nationalities sustained minor to moderate injuries amid the escalating tensions.

The ongoing crisis in the Middle East has begun to impact Bangladesh's foreign exchange market, driving up the price of the US dollar for both remittance procurement and import payments. On Tuesday, commercial banks were seen purchasing remittance at a maximum rate of Tk 122.90 per dollar. Consequently, the exchange rate for settlement of import letters of credit (LCs) has climbed to Tk 123, according to banking sources. Just a week ago, the dollar rate for imports stood at approximately Tk 122.50. The recent jump of nearly 50 paisa per dollar has sparked concerns among businesses. "Banks are capitalizing on the war situation in the Middle East," an importer told the media on Tuesday. "The sudden hike in the dollar rate is increasing our import costs, the impact of which will eventually be felt by consumers,’ he said. Banking officials noted that uncertainty caused by the conflict has led foreign remittance houses to demand higher rates. While remittance dollars were previously available at Tk 122, the rate has now neared Tk 123 per dollar. Bangladesh Bank’s latest exchange rate report reflects this upward trend. The average price of the dollar, which was Tk 122.33 on March 3, has now risen to Tk 122.58. A top official of a private commercial bank stated that the central bank has issued an informal message to banks to ensure the rate does not cross the Tk 123 threshold for now. "However, if the pressure of import liabilities increases and supply remains tight, the price may rise further," the official said, adding that the central bank might need to provide dollar support from the national reserves to stabilize the market. Industry experts emphasized that moving toward a fully market-based exchange rate is crucial to increasing the supply of greenbacks in the local market.

The Election Commission has asked its field-level officers to send updated information over all the local bodies as part of preparations for holding local government elections across the country. The EC on Tuesday sent a letter to its regional election officers and district election officers to send back the updated information regarding city corporations, municipalities, Zila Parishads, Upazila Parishads and Union Parishads. City corporation elections after Ramadan: EC Masud The Commission asked the field-level officials to send the date of last election, the date of the first meeting of the elected bodies and the expiry date of an elected representatives in every local government bodies to the EC Secretariat by March 15 next. Besides, the EC sought if there is any complication related to boundary demarcation, ward distribution and voter list or legal issues as well as the court’s stay order concerning any local government body. The officials were directed to send the information in the specific formats on an urgent basis by March 15. According to the local government laws, the five-year tenure of a local government body begins with the first meeting of the elected representatives, and elections must be held within 180 days before the expiry of the tenure. Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government on August 5, 2024, many elected representatives of city corporations, municipalities, upazila parishads and union parishads either went into hiding or were arrested. So, citing disruption in civic services due to the absence of elected representatives, the then interim government later removed the representatives of 12 city corporations, 330 municipalities, 497 upazila parishads and 61 Zila parishads (excluding three CHT districts). Administrators were subsequently appointed in many local bodies, including the 12 city corporations. However, BNP leader Shahadat Hossain, who had been second in the mayoral election, later became the mayor of Chattogram City Corporation following a court order. Following the 13th national election, the newly formed BNP government on February 23 last appointed administrators to six city corporations – including Dhaka South City Corporation, Dhaka North City Corporation, Khulna City Corporation, Gazipur City Corporation, Narayanganj City Corporation and Sylhet City Corporation.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar on Tuesday claimed its Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman didn’t direct his adviser on foreign affairs Dr Mahmudul Hasan to seek a ‘ministerial status’ in a recent letter sent to the Foreign Ministry. “He (Dr Hasan) was assigned to send a letter to the Foreign Ministry to clarify Jamaat-e-Islami’s position on the country’s foreign affairs. But he included some issues in the letter sent to the foreign ministry going beyond the Ameer’s directives. Particularly the part related to ‘ministerial status’ was not in the Jamaat Ameer’s instruction,” said he in a statement. As soon as the matter came to the party’s notice, Jamaat Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman took necessary steps, he said “Dr Mahmudul Hasan was formally relieved of his responsibilities on March 2 and immediately Dhaka-14 MP Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem (Arman) was appointed as the new foreign affair adviser to the Opposition Leader,” he said. The incident, which recently surfaced in the media, actually took place about two weeks ago and had created some confusion among the people, Parwar said in the statement issued on Tuesday to clarify the matter. The Jamaat leader said Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami believes in responsible, transparent and accountable political conduct. “If any confusion or misunderstanding is created on any issue, we believe in promptly correcting it. Necessary measures have already been taken regarding the matter, so there is no further scope for misunderstanding,” Parwar said, urging all concerned to present accurate information properly. According to media reports, Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and Jamaat Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman sent a letter to the Foreign Ministry on February 22 seeking an appointment for his foreign affairs adviser Prof Mohammad Mahmudul Hasan at the Foreign Ministry. The opposition leader reportedly requested Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman to assign Hasan to the ministry with ministerial status.

The International Crimes Tribunal will conduct an internal investigation over the allegations of bribery of Tk one crore involving a prosecutor at the International Crimes Tribunal, said Chief Prosecutor of the tribunal Aminul Islam on Tuesday. The Chief Prosecutor said this at a press conference after an audio recording surfaced on social media containing a conversation between prosecutor Saimum Reza Talukder and a lawyer of former Chattogram-6 lawmaker ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury, who is an accused in a crimes against humanity case linked to the July movement. Action taken over Barishal courtroom chaos: SC The internal committee would investigate all complaints received since the formation of the tribunal, he said. Chief Prosecutor Aminul convened a closed-door meeting with the entire prosecution team on Tuesday morning which lasted over an hour.  “During my tenure, if any prosecutor or official is found involved in misconduct or corruption, strict action will be taken. There will be zero tolerance on such issues,” he said at the press conference. “Those working at the International Crimes Tribunal must rise above greed and personal gain. If one cannot do so, there is no need to remain here. Anyone can leave,” he added. “The entire judicial process of the tribunal becomes 100 percent questionable if such an allegation arises,” Aminul Islam said in response to a query from journalists. On the leaked audio, Aminul Islam said, “Even if no formal complaint reaches me, I will personally conduct an internal inquiry through the Chief Prosecutor’s office. Besides, I will form a committee to investigate all matters since the tribunal’s formation on August 5.” Any findings of wrongdoing would be reported to the authorities, he added. He also issued a warning to current and future prosecutors saying “If I receive even a small complaint against any prosecutor, consider that person gone from my office the very next day.” If I receive even a thread of an allegation against any prosecutor, you can assume that the next day he will no longer be here,” he said. According to the allegations, Saimum Reza Talukder had demanded Tk 1 crore from the family of former Awami League MP ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury in exchange for helping secure his bail in a crimes against humanity case related to incidents in Chattogram during the July uprising. Multiple audio recordings of WhatsApp conversations revealed the alleged demand for money. After the allegation surfaced, then chief prosecutor Tajul Islam removed Saimum from the case but did not take further action or relieve him of his other responsibilities at the tribunal. Later, the Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry accepted Saimum’s resignation and relieved him of his duties as a prosecutor, according to a notification issued on Monday. Saimum had been appointed as a prosecutor of the tribunal on October 7, 2024.