President Md. Abdul Hamid yesterday urged all concerned specially guardians and teachers of educational institutions to be aware of the misguided youths involved in militancy and terrorism. He said this to a public gathering on President Abdul Hamid Government College premises at Itna upazila, Kishoreganj.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina goes to Laxmipur today to inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of 27 development projects in the district. This will be the first visit of her to the district since 1997.
The Cabinet yesterday approved the draft of ‘The Standards of Weights and Measures Bill, 2017’, raising the amount of fine for cheating in weight and measurement. The approval was given at the regular weekly meeting of the Cabinet held at the Bangladesh Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has invited Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to stay at Rashtrapati Bhavan during her upcoming visit to New Delhi in April. ‘It’s exceptional because no head of state stays at Rashtrapati Bhavan,’ Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla said this to the media after his meeting with Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque at the ministry of foreign affairs at Dhaka.
Shaiyo Triple A, a business conglomerate of Thailand, has expressed its keen interest to invest in Bangladesh to generate electricity from garbage. Thai group’s founding President Dr Suwira Songmetta conveyed the interest for the ‘waste-to-energy’ project when he met State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid at his ministry yesterday. Thai ambassador in Dhaka Panpimon Suwannapongse led the Thai delegation.
The Economic Relations Division has finalised a foreign assistance policy that will make the government, development partners and NGOs accountable for not making the best use of aid money. The final draft of the ‘National Policy on Development Cooperation’, which aims to cut debt risk and quick implementation of donors’ soft money, was finalised last week at a meeting chaired by Finance Minister AMA Muhith.
Celebrating 45 years of diplomatic relations, Bangladesh and Switzerland have vowed to strengthen cooperation on a wide range of bilateral, regional, and multilateral issues, said a press release of the Swiss embassy in Dhaka yesterday.
In his letter, Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter, the head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, wrote that the excellent relations have grown and multiplied since March 13, 1972, the day when Switzerland recognised independent Bangladesh. Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, in his letter to Burkhalter, highlighted the historic relations.
Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque yesterday said police forces of different countries needed direct communications for sharing of real-time information on terrorists and quickly responding to terror strikes.
The diplomatic procedures are time-consuming and will come to no use in catching terrorists, he said this on the second day of a regional security conference at Dhaka. The three-day ‘Chiefs of Police Conference on Regional Cooperation in Curbing Violent Extremism and Transnational Crime’ was organised by Interpol and Bangladesh Police.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque yesterday dismissed an international security expert’s statement that Islamic State carried out the July 1 Gulshan attack last year. The expert, Prof Rohan Gunaratna, lacks ‘experience in real issues’ about Bangladesh, IGP said this to the media at Dhaka.
Prominent business leaders have shown interest in building a ‘strong economic partnership’ with India through private sector initiatives. They shared their views at a reception hosted by Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla at the new Indian High Commission Complex on Sunday, said a press release.
-Press Wing, London, 14 March 2017