Author: Desk Report

The government will complete bringing about amendments to the Bangladesh Labour Act by October this year as the country has committed to improving it to international standards, said Labour and Employment Adviser Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain yesterday. Afterwards, it will be possible to provide it to the International Labour Organization (ILO) as proof of the progress made in labour rights, he said. Bangladesh had made the commitment earlier as the international community, including the ILO, European Union (EU), and the US, had been pressing for it over the past couple of years. The adviser…

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested 21 brokers from Chattogram Medical College Hospital (Chamek) during a special raid on Wednesday, June 25. The arrests were made from different wards of the hospital. Later, a mobile court sentenced the arrested people to jail for different periods. RAB-7 commander Hafizur Rahman said they are checking the background of all 21 arrested persons. Some of them had been caught before and were also punished, but they returned to the same illegal activities. Brigadier General Mohammad Taslim Uddin, director of the hospital, told reporters that broker groups have been active in…

Former CEC Kazi Habibul Awal Detectives on Wednesday arrested former Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal from the capital. Deputy Commissioner (media) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Talebur Rahman said he was arrested from Moghbazar area in a case filed with She-e-Banglanagar Police Station. The detention came two days after the case was filed by BNP at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station accusing 24 people, including former Chief Election Commissioners, Election Commissioners and other officials involved in conducting the 10th, 11th and 12th national elections, of irregularities and biased conduct. Besides, police detained former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM…

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today inaugurated the Environment Fair-2025′ and the ‘National Tree Plantation Campaign and Tree Fair-2025’ at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre here. He also distributed the National Environment Award, the National Wildlife Conservation Award and the National Tree Plantation Award among the recipients in recognition of their outstanding contributions to protection of environment and conservation of wildlife. Profit-sharing cheques were, as well, handed over among beneficiaries of the Social Forestry Programme. Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan and Environment Secretary Dr Farhina Ahmed also spoke at the event. Speaking…

The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent exams for the year 2025 will begin tomorrow, Thursday, June 26. The written exams will start at 10:00 AM with the Bangla First Paper and continue until August 10. Practical exams will be held after that. In Chattogram, a total of 1,02,869 students from 307 colleges will take part in the exams. According to the education board, there are 71,523 examinees in Chattogram district, including the city. Among them, 31,839 are boys and 39,684 are girls. In the city alone, the number of candidates is 35,584. Cox’s Bazar has 12,005 candidates…

Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first in the second and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo on Wednesday. On a traditionally flat SSC surface expected to offer good batting conditions early on, skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto chose to put runs on the board. Bangladesh made two changes to their playing XI — Jaker Ali and Hasan Mahmud were left out. It was leanred that Hasan was ruled out deu to injury. Ebadat Hossain making a comeback after a two-year gap while Nahid Rana kept his place. Ebadat…

Amid a sharp rise in COVID-19, dengue and other viral fevers across Bangladesh, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Admin) of Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) Prof Dr Md Abul Kalam Azad on Tuesday warned of growing pressure on the country’s healthcare system and emphasised the urgent need for a scientifically guided well-coordinated response. Speaking at a Continuing Medical Education (CME) seminar hosted by BMU, Prof Azad said, “We are entering a critical period. COVID-19 and dengue cases are surging simultaneously, and if we fail to act now—guided by medical evidence—we risk overwhelming our hospitals and frontline services.” He called for heightened surveillance…

Bangladesh are boosted by the return of star all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz for the second Test against Sri Lanka, but it also provides a selection dilemma for the team management. The 26-year-old, who missed the first Test due to illness, is ranked number two among Test all-rounders. Off-spinner Nayeem Hasan, who replaced him in the first Test in Galle that ended in a draw on Saturday, finished with a six-wicket match haul including a five-for in the first innings. Head coach Phil Simmons admitted the team now face a “good headache” in balancing the playing eleven. …

The “July Fighters” of the student-people uprising will get allowance from next month, said Liberation War Affairs Adviser Faruk-e-Azam. “In addition to the monthly allowance, the wounded fighters in the July uprising will receive free treatment in government hospitals throughout their lives,” he said in an exclusive interview with the state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) at the Secretariat on Monday. Faruk-e-Azam said it took 54 years to prepare a list of the genuine freedom fighters of the 1971 Liberation War. “But, we (the current interim government) prepared the final list of the July uprising’s martyred…

Iran said on Tuesday that at least 610 civilians had been killed and more than 4,700 wounded in the Islamic republic since the start of the war with Israel on June 13. “They are all civilians,” health ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour said, announcing the increase from the previously reported toll of more than 400 dead and 3,056 wounded. “Over the past 12 days, hospitals… have been confronted with extremely harrowing scenes,” he wrote on social media platform X. Those killed in the Israeli strikes included 13 children, the youngest of whom was two months old, the ministry…