News Brief

                The fourth session of the 11th Parliament will begin on September 8 next after a 59-day recess. President Md. Abdul Hamid yesterday summoned the session.

            Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asserted that punishment would be inflicted to those responsible for the heinous attack on August 21, 2004 on an Awami League rally in Dhaka. The Premier made the assertion while addressing a memorial discussion at KIB in Dhaka yesterday marking the 15th anniversary of the August 21 grenade attack. The Premier also reiterated her commitment to do everything possible till her death to build a poverty and hunger-free country as dreamt by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

            Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader while talking to journalists after paying homage to all the martyrs of 21st August grenade attack at Bangabandhu Avenue in the city by placing wreaths at the memorial erected on the spot said, all the masterminds of the killing would be brought to trial. The State will move the High Court seeking capital punishment for the masterminds, the Minister added. Information Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud while paying homage said, BNP Chief Begum Khaleda Zia is also liable for the heinous 21st August grenade attack and she cannot avoid the liability. The Minister also said, BNP and Jamaat are hatching conspiracy to turn Bangladesh into a militant state. He urged all to remain alert against the conspirators. Law Minister Anisul Huq while talking to journalists at his ministry said, the Supreme Court is preparing paper book to start the hearing on death reference and appeals in connection with the August 21 grenade attack case and it will be ready within two to four months. Liberation War Affairs Minister A K M Mozammel Haque at a discussion meeting at National Press Club yesterday said, the trial of the August 21 grenade attack case is underway and it will be completed in time.

            In a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday, Bangladesh described Indian government's abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, scrapping the special status for Jammu and Kashmir State, as an internal issue of India. Meanwhile, Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar left Dhaka for Kathmandu yesterday wrapping up his visit to Bangladesh. On the occasion, the Indian Minister said, he had productive discussions with his Bangladesh counterpart Dr. A K Abdul Momen. Bangladesh-India relations are now on a 'positive trajectory', he added.         

            A joint IAEA-FAO-WHO expert team arrived in the capital yesterday on a three-day visit aiming to help Bangladesh tackle dengue outbreak caused by Aedes mosquito. On the first day of its visit, the team held a meeting with senior officials of the agencies concerned and discussed mosquito control by applying the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam in an event to annihilate Aedes mosquito larvae at a house in Dhaka yesterday threatened the citizens with legal action on charges of obstruction of government duty if they do not cooperate with city corporation workers during drives on homes to kill mosquitoes. Meanwhile, DGHS has said, a total of 47 dengue patients died since January 1. A total of 1,626 new dengue patients were admitted to different hospitals in the past 24 hours till 8:00 am yesterday. Among them, 711 were infected in Dhaka.

            Bangladesh is ready to send back the first batch of Rohingyas to their place of origin in Rakhine State of Myanmar today. Five buses and two trucks have been kept standby at Ghumdhum transit point in Bandarban in addition to taking tight security measures along the border, repatriation officials said.          

            Agriculture Minister Dr. Md. Abdur Razzaque while speaking at a meeting on Farm Mechanization at his ministry yesterday said, the government will attach priority to good quality agricultural machineries though it is costly. The government will discuss with companies about easy installment process for farmers to buy the machineries, the Minister added. Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury while inaugurating a workshop on e-Mutation at the Dhaka Divisional Commissioner's office yesterday said, the government will introduce an e-Payment Gateway for various land-related transactions for providing corruption-free and transparent land services to the country's people. Telecommunication Minister Mustafa Jabbar has said to media that the government has planned to introduce barcode system for postal documents including letter and postal cards for maintaining real time tracking of letters and parcels. The government wants to develop every post office as a digital hub for citizen service delivery, the Minister added.    

            Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) has taken an initiative to create 24,000 new and skilled entrepreneurs within two years in line with one of the Prime Minister’s 10 initiatives –'Investment Development', BIDA Chief Kazi M Aminul Islam said this while inaugurating the activities of 'Entrepreneurship Creation and Skill Development' project in Dhaka yesterday.         

            US Department of State's Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism John T Godfrey who visited Bangladesh from August 18-19, along with US Ambassador in Dhaka Earl R Miller met with Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque to discuss partnering on counterterrorism priorities in Bangladesh and the region.

            The government has appointed Mahbub Uz Zaman, currently serving as Secretary (Asia and Pacific) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the new Bangladesh Ambassador to China.

                                                                                                                                                                                             Surath Kumar Sarker

                                         Principal Information Officer

                                                  Phone -9546091