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MNA Editorial Desk: The government of Bangladesh has protested against a statement published on the website of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Quasem’s execution. The Bangladesh foreign ministry claimed that it has issued a letter of protest to the Turkish embassy in Dhaka on Monday. In Sunday’s statement, the Turkish foreign ministry stated, “We stress once again that the wounds of the past cannot be healed with these methods and hope that this wrong practice will not lead to separation among the brotherly people of Bangladesh”. Top Jamaat-e-Islami financier Quasem was president of the Chittagong town unit of ...

MNA Editorial Desk: As news agency reported, detectives have detained 4 suspected female activists of banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)’s ‘suicide squad’ in Kazipur upazila of Sirajganj. OC Waheduzzaman of Sirajganj DB Police told media on Monday that the four were nabbed on Sunday and they are the members of  JMB’s suicide squad. The detainees were recognized as Fulera Khatun, 45-year-old, wife of Abu Sayed, their two daughters Sakila Khatun, 18-year-old, Salma Khatun, 16-year-old, and Rajia, 35-year-old, wife of Rafiqul Islam. Acting on a tip-off, a team of DB police conducted the drive in the house of Faridul, ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Family of death-row convict Mir Quasem Ali will reach at the Kashimpur Central Jail in Gazipur in the afternoon as the authorities called them to meet him. There is no barrier to the execution of Mir Quasem as he decided not to seek clemency to the president. The government has not made any official declaration until Saturday noon about the impending execution. The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) sentenced Jamaat leader Mir Quasem to death in 2014 for the killing he committed during the Liberation War. The Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, however, ...

MNA Editorial Desk: A suspected militant identified as top Neo-JMB leader Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury’s ‘second-in-command’ has been killed in a raid on a house in Dhaka’s Rupnagar. Law enforcement agency raided the house at Road No 33 in Rupnagar Residential Area around 9:30pm on Friday. Two personals of police recognized as Syed Shaheed Alam, OC of Rupnagar Police Station, Inspector Shaheen Fakir and Sub-Inspector Md Momenur Rahman were wounded seriously. The wounded police officials were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and later transferred to Square Hospital. Earlier, police cordoned the house around 8:30pm after being informed about the ...

MNA Editorial Report: Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said that war criminal Quasem’s death would be executed on any day after completion of all sorts of legal procedures. “The government will follow all the legal course of actions before hanging the infamous war criminal,” said the home minister while addressing a rally to observe the 41st assassination anniversary of the father of nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the premises of Sreepur Degree College premises in Sreepur upazila of Magura district Wednesday noon. Meanwhile, the family members of death-row convict Jamaat-e-Islami leader Quasem Ali met him at Kashimpur jail in ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The SC (Supreme Court) has granted journalist Shafik Rehman a conditional bail for three months. He will be capable to stay out of jail for this time by passing on his passport or until police submit the charge sheet in the case he has been accused in. A five-strong Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha granted Rehman’s appeal against a High Court decision scrapping his bail petition on Wednesday. Shafik Rehman, prominent Bangladeshi magazine editor, was arrested in Dhaka on suspicion of sedition earlier on April 16. Police said that he was held ...

 MNA Editorial Desk: Jamaat-e-Islami has called a countrywide all day long hartal  for tomorrow, Wednesday, protesting at the death penalty of Mir Quasem Ali, the pro-Pakistan Al-Badr militia commander of 1971. The Islamist party published a press release signed by a central publicity committee member issued soon after Mir Quasem Ali’s review verdict was declared on Tuesday. Top Jamaat-e-Islami financier Quasem, 64-year-old, was president of the Chittagong town unit of the Islami Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of Jamaat, till 6 November 1971. SC (Supreme Court) on Tuesday has rejected the review appeal of Quasem Ali and upheld his ...

MNA Editorial Desk: John Kerry, US secretary of state, said that US would work together with Bangladesh to fight terrorism and reiterated its offer to provide experts to this end. “We would fight with Bangladesh to combat terrorism … we have enough experts in this regard and we could help Bangladesh by giving these experts,” John Kerry said to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office at noon. After the meeting, the prime minister’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters. Highly praising Bangladesh’s tremendous development in socioeconomic progress, Kerry said Bangladesh has been doing “brilliantly” in the sector. “We have ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Owners and workers of petrol pump, tanks and lorries have started a seven-hour nationwide strike to press for a 12-point of charter of demands which includes cancellation of a hike in lease charges. All petrol pumps and tank-lorries across the country will keep their shutters down from 6am to 3pm on the day as per an announcement of Bangladesh Petrol Pump and Tank-Lorry Owners-Workers Unity Council. The declaration came from a press conference of the council at a city hotel last week. One of the main demands of the council is abolition of new ‘abnormal’ land lease ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Suraiya Akter Risha, a schoolgirl, stabbed by miscreant in city’s Kakrail area on August 24, died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on Sunday morning. The 14-year-old was an eighth grader of Willes Little Flower School and the daughter of Md Ramzan Ali. Her family lives at Old Dhaka’s Siddik Bazar. SI Bacchu Miah, in-charge of DMCH police camp, quoting witnessed said miscreants stabbed Risha in front of the school while she was returning home after school, leaving her seriously wounded. Quoting her mother Tania, police said that a youth named ‘Obayed’, working in a tailoring shop ...

MNA Editorial Desk: John Kerry, US secretary of state, is scheduled to visit in Dhaka next Monday to discuss bilateral issues, especially America’s cooperation in addressing militancy in Bangladesh. During his first-ever visit to the country, the top US diplomat is expected to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and foreign minister AS Mahmood Ali, a high-level source in the government confirmed. John Kerry may also meet professional groups, representatives of the civil society and a delegation of the media. According to the schedule, John Kerry will be coming to Dhaka from Geneva only for a day before he moves to ...

MNA Editorial Report: The students of JnU (Jagannath University) announced that they will continue their strike on Tuesday and Wednesday. The students made the announcement after being blocked by police for marching to the Prime Minister’s Office in Dhaka, where they intended to submit a memorandum containing their demands. A group of JnU students brought out the procession demanding construction of residential halls for them on the empty space of recently abandoned Dhaka Central Jail since August 2. Around 10am in the morning, police blocked the students’ procession at Bangshal intersection. The law enforcers then fired blank shots and threw ...

MNA Editorial Desk: A massive fire broke out at Bashundhara City shopping mall in the city’s Panthapath area on Sunday morning. The fire broke out at level-6 of the market around 11.30am. The cause behind the fire could not be known instantly. Authorities have immediately removed shoppers and staff of the mall after fire erupted on the fifth-floor. As much as 20 units of the fire fighters have been working to extinguish the fire with insufficient logistics over the last three hours. The fire service said that they have reached to the spot immediately after heard the news. Annisul Huq, ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The state minister of posts and telecommunications, Tarana Halim, has said that selling unauthorized, biometrically verified SIM cards will invite $50 penalty per fake SIM within in a week. The suggestion is aimed at restriction on the use of SIM cards that are not registered with bona fide consumers. “We are monitoring all operators closely. If any SIM has been inadvertently registered with the wrong biometric details the operators will have to bear penalty of $50 per SIM. A letter in this regard from the BTRC will be sent out to operators soon. So far, 120 million ...

MNA Editorial Desk: HSC (Higher Secondary Certificate) and equivalent exam results of 2016 will be published on Thursday (August 18). Nurul Islam Nahid, Education Minister, along with chairmen of all education boards will hand over copies of the results to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at 10am. Nahid will officially announce the results at a press conference at 1pm. Applicants will be able to know their results after 2pm. This year a total of 1,218,628 students took part in the exams from eight education boards, and madrasa and technical boards between Apr 3 and Jun 12. The result will be available ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Identity of four detained female members of Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) has been found out and revealed. Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has confirmed the authenticity of the information. The information was disseminated today at a press conference arranged by the Rapid Action Battalion 4 (RAB-4) at Paikpara of Mirpur in the capital on Tuesday morning. RAB informed that, those four were detained from the Signboard area of Gazipur, Moghbazar and Mirpur area of the capital. They are JMB leader Aklima Rahman, Oishee, Mou and Meghla. Among them, Aklima is a student of Manarat International University. A circular ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Two Bangladeshi citizens, including an Imam, were shot to death near a mosque of the Queens area in NY (New York) of US on Saturday afternoon. They were shot in the head from a short distance on their way back home after Zuhr prayers. Two Bangladeshi were recognized as Imam Alauddin Akhonjee, 55-year-old, and his friend Tara Mia, 64-year-old. Akhonjee was the imam of Al – Furqan Jame masjid of the Ozone Park area in Queens, New York. “The purpose of this killing is not yet clear,” deputy inspector Henry Sautner of New York police told news ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Saudi Arabia has officially lifted a six-year ban on recruiting workers from Bangladesh. The decision will benefit all classes of workers comprising skilled, unskilled and professionals such as doctors, nurses, teachers, farm and construction workers, Golam Moshi, Dhaka’s envoy to the kingdom, told to news agency. Organizations for recruitment from Bangladesh was reopened after talks between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at Jeddah in June, he said. However, the embargo did not put on to female domestic labors who make up for 60,000 of the 1.3 million Bangladeshis working in the ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The HC (High Court) on Wednesday ordered a judicial inquiry over the humiliation of headmaster Shyamal Kanti Bhakta in Narayanganj. A bench including Justice M Moinul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Ashish Ranjan Das asked the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate to submit a judicial inquiry report by 3 November. The court also rejected an investigation report submitted by Narayanganj police over the incident. The police report submitted to the court found that MP AKM Salim Osman guiltless. Earlier on 9 June, the HC ordered the superintendent of police and officer-in-charge of Bandar thana in Narayanganj to submit complete ...

MNA Editorial Desk: RAB (Rapid Action Battalion) arrested the Editor of ‘banglamail24.com’, an online newspaper, and two other employees on charges of spreading rumors about Sajeeb Wazed Joy. Officials of RAB invaded the online portal’s office on Monday and detained its acting Editor Shahadat Ullah Khan, executive editor Maksudul Alam and staff reporter Pranta Palash. The elite force also seized a computer and locked the door of the office at Scout Bhaban in the city’s Kakrail area. Khandaker Golam Sarwar, commanding Officer of RAB-3, said that “They have been brought in on allegations of spreading rumors. Whether we let them ...

MNA Editorial Desk: The HC (High Court) has ordered 20 pharmaceutical companies to stop production of all drugs manufactured by them and asked 14 others not to manufacture antibiotics. An HC bench including justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akond approved the order after hearing on a supplemental petition in this regard. On behalf of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, Manzil Morshed filed the petition, replying to a report titled “Low quality medicines of 34 cos still exist in market’ printed by ‘Dainik Samakal’ on 28 June. The writ petition was submitted with the HC ...

MNA Editorial Desk: A press release, published by British Council Bangladesh, floated to the media on Saturday said that the O-level and A-level exams (Cambridge International Examinations and Pearson Edexcel) will take place as per schedule. Through the release, the council stated that the authorities of the organization are working on to bring the exams services to the students. The registration limit for the Cambridge International Examinations in November-2016 session has been extended till Wednesday. School applicants are asked to contact their schools for a unique school candidate registration link. Private candidates from Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Dinajpur, Rajshahi, and Khulna ...

MNA Editorial Desk: DB (Detective Branch of police) has identified five individuals who took part in the murder of the gay rights activists Xulhaz Mannan and Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy. Investigators are trying to detain these suspects. Police got info on the murders after arresting Shariful Islam Shihab, a member of the Ansarullah Bangla Team, from Kushtia, said the DB officer in charge of the case’s inquiry. Law enforcement agency detained Shihab from Kushtia after 19 days of the attack. “Shihab supplied weapons to the killers. We got some important information after he was remanded twice in custody. He is now ...

MNA Editorial Desk: Former North South University (NSU) lecturer Hasnat Reza Karim and University of Toronto student Tahmid Hasib Khan, two suspected masterminds of the 1 July Gulshan attack, were detained by the police force on Wednesday. “Hasnat was arrested from Gulshan around 8:45pm yesterday, while Tahmid was arrested from Bashundhara residential area in the capital,” said Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner (media) of Dhaka metropolitan police (DMP). Both have been detained under Section 54 and presented at the court where the police would pursue 10-day remand, the police official also added. Earlier, AKM Shahidul Hoque, the inspector general of police ...

MNA Editorial Desk: BNP leader Moudud Ahmed have to vacate the Gulshan house, where he is living using the name of his brother, as the Supreme Court yesterday scuffled a High Court verdict that had ordered the authorities to alter the house land. The Appellate Division bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha yesterday also scrapped a case continuing filed for Moudud and his brother Monjur Ahmed’s alleged connection in grabbing the land of the Tk. 300 crore house. “After the verdict, I think it is clear that they have been staying there as grabbers. ...

MNA Editorial Desk: IGP Shahidul Haque, the inspector general of the police, on Tuesday announced Tk. 20 lakh reward each for capturing two militants suspects, Canadian immigrant Tamim Chowdhury and retired army officer major Syed Md Ziaul Haque. IGP made the declaration about reward calling them as masterminds of the attacks on Holey Artisan restaurant in Gulshan and the Sholakia Eid congregation in July. Earlier in 31 July, news agency reported that at least five people, included in the missing list released by Bangladeshi Law enforcement agency after the Gulshan and Sholakia attacks, may have moved in India. One of ...

MNA Editorial Desk: As news agency reports, at least five people, included in the missing list released by Bangladeshi Law enforcement agency after the Gulshan and Sholakia attacks, may have moved in to India. The report said that the problem was a crucial part of a current meeting between home ministers of Bangladesh and India in New Delhi. Three days back, RAB has published names of 68 persons were missing since 2011. All of them aged between 15 and 40 years. Two months back, Assam police smashed a JMB campground in Chirang district, which was used for working out purpose ...