Exclusive Stories

MNA Editorial Desk: Law enforcement agency foiled a rally of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Port near Mowchak area in the capital on Tuesday. The rally is opposing the construction of a coal-fired power plant at Bagerhat’s Rampal near the Sundarbans. Police fired teargas shells and used water cannons to disperse the rally heading towards the Indian High Commission with an open letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Bangladesh has signed the deal for the 1,300-megawatt thermal power plant with India’s energy conglomerate NTPC Ltd. A Bangladeshi-India joint venture company signed an agreement ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Police on Tuesday said that they had recognized three people as the chief suppliers of finance for the Gulshan cafe attack and one of them had joined Islamic State. The July attack was claimed by the jihadist group Islamic State, hit by a spate of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year. Police identified one of the three as a doctor who left Bangladesh with his family for Syria to join Islamic State, reported news agency. He provided 8 million taka ($100,000) for a faction of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), known as New ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Veteran leftist politician Ajoy Roy passed away at his Dhanmondi residence in Dhaka around 5am on Monday. He was 89-year-old and suffering from old age complications for a long time. He was also the president of Sammilito Samajik Andolon, a citizens’ platform for democratic social reform and also a coordinator of a stage against militancy and communalism. He left his wife Joyonti Roy with two daughters and a son who live in the US and Germany. The body has been kept at the morgue of Dhaka’s BIRDEM Hospital. Ajoy’s body will be kept at the Central Sheed ...

MNA Exclusive Desk: Prime minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in India’s Goa on Sunday morning to join the BRICS-BIMSTEC Leaders’ Outreach Summit. The two-day summit kicked off in the Indian southwest state, Goa, on Saturday with the theme ‘BRICS-BIMSTEC: A Partnership in Opportunities’. It is being organized on the sidelines of BRICS Summit that began on Saturday, reported news agency. As host of this year’s BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Summit, India, as is the practice, can invite neighboring countries to join in for an outreach summit. Hasina landed in Goa at 10:30 a.m. and was greeted by Prime ...

MNA Business Desk: Bangladeshi and Chinese firms have signed $13.6 billion in trade and investment deals on the sidelines of President Xi Jinping’s brief tour to Bangladesh, a trade group official said Saturday. The deals are in addition to $20 billion in loan agreements that the two governments signed on Friday, in a mark of Beijing’s growing ties with Dhaka, which is a very close ally of regional power India. The deals were signed after the FBCCI, Bangladesh’s top trade and business lobbyist group, and the China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) organized a two-day tete-e-tete between business ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The High Court on Thursday granted bail to BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi for six months in a violence case filed in 2015. An HC vocational bench comprising Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and justice Shahidul Karim issued the order after hearing on a petition, reported news agency. Advocates Joynul Abedin and Johirul Islam Sumon led the hearing for the BNP leader. On 28 January 2015, a case was filed against some BNP leaders, including Rizvi, with Ramna police station for torching a bus in the city’s Matsya Bhaban area that killed a policeman. On ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) members detained 39 people at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong on Thursday while they were going to Libya illegally. Being tipped off that some people were trying to go Libya with fake visa and documents, a team of RAB-7 conducted a drive at the airport around 11:30am and arrested the 39 people, said Chandan Debnath, assistant director of media wing of RAB-7. Several human traffickers were among the arrestees, he said. A press briefing about the drive was held at Patenga RAB headquarters in the afternoon, reported news agency. However, earlier on ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza and middle-order batsman Sabbir Rahman have both been fined 20 per cent of their match fees, while England captain Jos Buttler has received an official reprimand for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during their sides’ second One-Day International in Mirpur on Sunday, said a release published on the ICC website on Monday. Both the Bangladesh players were found to have breached Article 2.1.7 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Two policemen were killed in coordinated attacks by an unidentified group on posts along Myanmar’s border with Bangladesh early Sunday morning, police said. The attacks hit three border posts around 1:30am near Maungdaw in Rakhine, an impoverished state on Myanmar’s western flank simmering with religious tensions between Buddhists and Muslims. A police source also confirmed the attacks; adding as many as eight policemen might have been killed, as well as some of the attackers, reported news agency. A number of arms were also detained by the assailants from the border posts, that source added. Rakhine has been ...

MNA Editorial Desk: A total of eleven suspected militants were killed in a combined raid dived by the counter-terrorism unit of police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in different areas of Gajipur and Tangail on Saturday. Two suspected militants were killed in a raid Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Kagmara area of Tangail district town in the early morning. RAB also has driven an operation in two suspected militant grottos in Gazipur since Saturday and killed two suspected militants. The identity of these eleven militants could not be recognized yet. Law enforcement agency had surrounded a house at Harinal area ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Three women leaders of ruling Awami League’s associate Juba Mohila League have drawn severe public anger over group selfie taken beside the bed of Khadija Akter Nargis. MP Sabina Akter Tuhin posted the group selfie with Juba Awami Mohila League general secretary Apu Ukil and joint general secretary Koheli Kuddus on her Facebook profile on Wednesday evening. In another status, Sabina wrote, “We despise people like Badrul. My BCL brother Imran took the girl to hospital and donated blood for her.” However after the viral selfies Sabina in another post claimed that the photos were not selfies ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Tahmid Hasib Khan, student of University of Toronto, has been cleared of all charges after the court on Wednesday two days after he was granted bail. Court ruled that he had no connection with the Holey Artisan attack in Gulshan on 1 July. Tahmid, a Bangladeshi-origin Canadian, who was detained under Section 54 of the CrPC in linking with the Gulshan attack. Tahmid and Hasnat Karim, former North South University teacher, suspected masterminds of the 1 July Gulshan attack, was detained by the police force from Bashundhara residential area in the capital on 3 August. However, Hasnat ...

MNA Exclusive Desk: British-born David Thouless, Duncan Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz won the 2016 Nobel Prize for Physics for studies of unusual states of matter such as in superconductors, the award-giving body said on Tuesday. “Thanks to their pioneering work, the hunt is now on for new and exotic phases of matter,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement awarding the 8 million Swedish crown ($937,000) prize. “Many people are hopeful of future applications in both materials science and electronics.” Thouless was awarded half the prize with the other half divided between Haldane and Kosterlitz. Physics is ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Pope Francis announced on Sunday he would “almost certainly” visit India and Bangladesh in 2017, as he wrapped up a three-day tour in the Caucasus and headed home to Rome, reported news agency. Asked on board the papal plane what his plans for the coming year were, the Argentine pope confirmed he would join the big annual pilgrimage to Fatima in Portugal next year. According to Catholic tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared to three young shepherds six times over the course of the year 1917, the first time on May 13. The sanctuary will mark the centenary ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Prime minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the circulation of much- awaited machine readable smart national identity (NID) cards on Sunday among 10 crore citizens. Sheikh Hasina unlocked the procedure through giving biometric details, impression of 10 fingers and picture of her iris at a programme held at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital, reported news agency. The supply of NID cards will begin in two city corporations in Dhaka and in now-defunct Dashiarchhara enclave in Fulbari upazila in Kurigram from tomorrow. Then smart cards would be distributed at upazila, municipality, union and ward levels in phases. According to ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The 19th SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) summit in Islamabad is set to be postponed, as Bangladesh and India are not going to attend it citing growing interference in the internal affairs of member states as well as the recent terror attack in India. The summit is slated for November 9-10. Nepal, which is the current chairperson of SAARC, asked for new venue after countries refuse to go to Islamabad India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan refused to attend the event in Islamabad citing increase in terrorism leading to deterioration of regional peace and security in ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Two Bangladesh-born German citizens have been arrested at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital with small weapons. The detainees were initially identified as Aminul Islam and Monir Ben Ali. And the men were arrested during a joint drive of Rapid Action Battalion and Customs, said RAB. Customs official claimed that the men were seized from the green channel at the airport. The two men arrived in Dhaka from Dubai by an Emirates flight. On secret information, customs officials found nine small arms inside a box of them. However, details of the incident will be informed in ...

MNA Editorial Desk: A writ petition was filed on Monday challenging the legality of nominating Advocate Sahara Khatun MP as the chairperson of Dhaka Women College in Uttara. Supreme Court lawyer Eunus Ali Akond filed the petition with the High Court (HC) on behalf of Bahauddin Ahmed, a former member of the college’s governing body. Hearing on the petition is likely to be held on Tuesday, reported news agency. The High Court recently declared two sections of the Governing Body and Managing Committee Regulations, 2009 as illegal as those allow MPs to lead the managing committees or governing bodies of ...

MNA Editorial Desk: British Council offices in Bangladesh will reopen on Monday, a press release from the organization confirmed the issue. “All public-facing operations and services will resume across the country,” the press release stated on Sunday. It also said, “After the temporary closure to carry out necessary renovation works, The British Council is now ready to welcome everyone back to their premises in Chittagong, Sylhet and Dhaka.” Registration for the Pearson Edexcel Examinations in January 2017 session has started from Sep 22 and ends on Oct 13 this year. However, it has temporarily closed its offices in Bangladesh on ...

MNA Editorial Desk: PM Sheikh Hasina has received the ‘Planet 50-50 Champion’ and ‘Agent of Change Award’ for her excellent contributions to the empowerment of women. The UN-Women recognized the prime minister as ‘Planet 50-50 Champion’, while Global Partnership Forum handed over the ‘Agent of Change Award’ to her at a high-profile reception at the UN Plaza of the UN Headquarters on Wednesday evening, reports news agency. In her acceptance speech, she said, “I feel humbled by these recognition … I thank UN-Women and Global Partnership Forum for giving me this honour.” “This is a recognition for our women working ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Workers of a RMG factory in Tongi BISIC area of Gazipur district went to a strike on Wednesday morning demanding instant payment of their two months’ outstanding salaries. Kant Asia Garment Factory’s workers went to their workplace in the morning and found the gate locked, reported news agency. The workers also went on a work abstention and brought out a demonstration and staged protest in front of Tongi police station. However, the Ready Made Garments (RMG) sector of Bangladesh has emerged as the biggest earner of foreign currency. The RMG sector has experienced an exponential growth since ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC), specialized anti-terrorism unit of DMP (Dhaka Metropolitan Police), will from now on be able to perform its functions across the country. The CTTC has been given the authorization in an official order issued on 25 August. The official order was signed by AKM Shahidul Hoque, the Inspector General of Police (IGP). However, the official statement said that it will be capable to perform its operations in any district of Bangladesh under some conditions. CTTC has housed police personnel with experience in full time policing and having remarkable capabilities in investigating ...

MNA National Desk: The Supreme Court (SC) stayed the bail order issued by the High Court (HC) to ‘Amar Desh’ acting-Editor Mahmudur Rahman in a case filed in link with an alleged plot to kidnap and kill Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy. Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division, stayed the bail order until 30 October following a plea filed by the prosecutor. Murad Reza, additional attorney general, stood for the state as senior lawyer AJ Mohammad Ali argued for Mahmudur Rahman. On 7 September, an HC bench of justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Militants attacked an Indian army base headquarters near the de factor border with Pakistan on Sunday, killing 17 Indian soldiers in the most deadly such attack in the northern region of Kashmir in recent years. Four commando-style gunmen willing to fight to the death – were confirmed killed after penetrating the base in Uri near the Line of Control with Pakistan, an Indian army spokesman said. The number of Indian soldiers killed in the attack had risen to 17, making the toll far worse than a similar raid on an army base in Punjab state in January ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Police have killed a suspected militant and three women have injured during a raid in Dhaka’s Azimpur. Five police officers were also injured in gunfight on Saturday evening. The injured suspects and policemen were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. According to RAB sources, the law enforcers locked into a gunfight after conducting a raid in a militant den near BDR-2 gate area of city’s Azimpur at around 7.45pm on Saturday. Acting DMP Commissioner Shahabuddin Qureshi told the media at the police barricade near the house that the deceased suspect could not be recognized immediately. Deputy Commissioner ...

MNA Editorial Desk: A 20 km long tailback has created on the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Mirzapur upazila of Tangail on Thursday, imposing vast miseries on the travelers ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. The tailback was created on the highway from Chandra point in Gazipur to Mirzapur upazila in Tangail due to serious pressure of vehicles, counting the flow of the cattle-laden trucks, leaving several thousand vehicles stranded, reports news agency. Vehicles were seen moving slowly on the highway. The Dhaka-bound cattle-laden trucks and empty trucks returning from the capital have resulted in excess pressure on the highway. The traffic is three to ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The HC (High Court) released the full text of its verdict upholding the death sentences of six convicts and commuting those of seven others to life term imprisonment in Master Ahsanullah  killing case. The copy of the 182-page full verdict, which was issued by two HC bench judges-Justices Obaidul Hassan and Justice Krishna Debnath-on September 1, was released Wednesday morning, reported news agency. On June 15, the HC upheld the death sentences of six convicts and commuted those of seven to life term in the case. However, the bench passed the order after hearing an appeal against ...