Bangladesh

    Bangladesh has reiterated its commitment to making further efforts in realising the civil and political rights of people irrespective of their age, sex and colour. Law Minister Anisul Huq conveyed the message during a two-day interactive dialogue between a high-level delegation of Bangladesh and members of the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHR) that ended on Tuesday in Geneva. The two-day meeting was convened by the committee for consideration of Bangladesh's initial report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Bangladesh delegation participated in an interactive dialogue. The committee appreciated Bangladesh for submitting its initial report on ICCPR. During the meeting, the Law Minister provided a brief account of various statutory and...

    Rights groups on Tuesday criticised a controversial new child marriage law in Bangladesh which allows children as young as 14 to be married off by their parents. Parliament passed the Child Marriage Restraint Act on Monday night, replacing a law dating back to the British colonial period. The new law keeps the minimum marriageable age for males at 21 and for females at 18 but relaxes the age bar for ‘special circumstances’ including for girls who elope, are raped or bear children out of wedlock. Rights groups have criticised the law, saying it would jeopardise the gains Bangladesh has made in cutting the levels of child marriage and improving the health of women and children. The biggest concern is the law has not set any minimum marriage age for special circumstances, mea...

    The countrywide indefinite transport strike, enforced by Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation, protesting the life term imprisonment of a bus driver in a case filed for a road accident that killed five people, including noted filmmaker Tareque Masud and cinematographer Mishuk Munier, entered the second day on Wednesday. In the capital, no inter‐district bus left Gabtoli, Mohakhali or Sayedabad bus terminals in the morning while very few buses were seen plying the road throughout the city. The commuters, especially the SSC examinees, suffered badly in the morning for lack of adequate public transports. They complained that rickshaws and CNG‐run auto‐rickshaw drivers charged them excessive fares, taking advantage of the situation. Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Fe...

    Department of Food has constructed the modern multi-storied and air-conditioned food warehouse, having capacity of storing 25,000 metric tons of food grains, at a cost of around Tk 232.71 crore with the financial and technical support from Japan. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday inaugurated a modern multi-storied food warehouse, having capacity of storing 25,000 metric tons of food grains at Santahar in Bogra. Department of Food has constructed the air-conditioned warehouse at a cost of around Taka 232.71crore with the financial and technical support from Japan. It will preserve food grain through using solar power round the year. Inside air coolers and other machineries are very much modern and powerful having capacity of keeping the food grains in controlled temper...

    Today is the 8th anniversary of the atrocious carnage at Pilkhana BDR Headquarters in the capital that left 74 people, including 57 army officers, killed in 2009. To mark the day, special prayers were offered at the mosque of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Pilkhana Headquarters after Fazr prayers, seeking divine blessings for the departed souls of these victims, reports UNB. Besides, wreaths placed at the graves of the army officers, who were killed during the BDR outrage, at Banani Graveyard at 9.10am on behalf of President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said Public Relations officer of the BGB Headquarters Mohsin Reza. Later, the Home Minister, the chiefs of the three services, the home secretary and the BGB DG paid tributes to the slain army officers. On F...

    Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina handed over the Ekushey Padak 2017 to seventeen eminent personalities on Monday in various categories for their outstanding contributions to their respective fields. The prime minister gave the prestigious award to the recipients at a ceremony held at Osmani Memorial Auditorium. The awardees are—Dr Sharifa Khatun (Language Movement), Shushama Das (music), Julhas Uddin Ahmed (music), Ustad Ajijul Islam (music), Tanvir Mokammel (film), Syed Abdullah Khalid (sculpture), Sara Zaker (acting), Abul Momen (journalism), Syed Akram Hossain (research), Professor Emeritus Sr Alamgir Mohammad Sirajuddin (education), Dr Zamilur Reza Choudhury (science and technology), Professor Sr Mahmud Hasan (social welfare), late poet Omar Ali (language and literature), ...

    The European Union (EU) has highly appreciated Bangladesh’s role in maintaining global peace and security as one of the highest troops and police contributing countries for the UN peacekeeping operations. Both sides agreed to intensify collaboration on matters of regional and global interests such as connectivity, migration, terrorism. These issues came up for discussion at the second diplomatic consultations between Bangladesh and the EU held in Brussels recently. Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific at the European External Action Service (EEAS) Gunnar Wiegand led the EU delegation, while the Bangladeshi delegation was led by Foreign Secretary Md. Shahidul Haque, said a foreign ministry press release on Saturday. Both sides recognised that adoption of the 2030 Agen...

    The ruling Awami League-led 14-party alliance on Wednesday demanded the World Bank pay US$ one billion in compensation for delaying the start of the construction of the Padma Bridge bringing graft allegation. Mohammad Nasim, spokesperson of the 14-party alliance, made the demand at a meeting at Awami League President Sheikh Hasina’s political office at Dhanmondi in Dhaka, reports BSS. Nasim, also an Awami League presidium member, said the country has been affected badly financially due to false allegation involving the Padma Bridge funding made by the World Bank and demanded the Bank pay US$ one billon in compensation for the loss incurred due to several years’ delay in starting the project. Besides, Nasim demanded the Speaker call Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus and othe...

    Pahela Falgun, the first day of Spring in the Bengali month of Falgun, is being celebrated across the country on Monday in a colourful way with young girls and boys joining various functions wearing dazzling dresses. Falgun is the eleventh month in the Bengali calendar and the first month of the season, Spring, the king of all the six seasons that brings back warm sunshine, budding flowers and dancing of birds. The first of Falgun is known as Pahela Falgun and usually falls on 13 February of the Gregorian calendar. After the dryness of winter, new leaves start to come out again and the nature adorns the branches with new colourful flowers such as Shimul, Polash and Marigold. Falgun brings joys and colours both in nature and life. Everything in nature gives an impression of...

    Guinness World Records, known from its inception in 1955 until 1998 as The Guinness Book of Records is a reference book published annually, listing world records and national records, both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. Like other countries, Bangladesh has enlisted its name in the world record book in several category stands. Most people singing a national/regional anthem simultaneously In 2014, Guinness World Records, the global authority on record breaking achievement, provided The Bangladesh Ministry of Cultural Affairs, with remote adjudications service for the official record ‘Most people singing a national/regional anthem simultaneously’. Thinnest nation The country with the lowest Body Mass Index (BMI) is Bangladesh, with a national ave...