UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a renewed commitment to finish what they have started and to make the AIDS epidemic a thing of the past. “The world is well on its way to meeting the target of ending…
Author: Lutfun Nahar
May condemns Trump but says UK-US relations will endure
Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday repeated her condemnation of US President Donald Trump’s retweets of anti-Muslim videos posted by a British far-right leader but said US-UK relations would survive the row. “I’m very clear that retweeting from Britain First…
Sophia says ‘dhonnobad’ through video message
Sophia, the world’s first artificially intelligent robot from Hanson Robotics, on Wednesday expressed her gratitude through a video massage as the ICT Division of Bangladesh invited her to join this year’s Digital World expo in Dhaka.
World must assist BD to face refugee crisis: Pope Francis
Pope Francis has called on the international community to take “decisive measures” to resolve not only the political issue surrounding the refugee crisis in Bangladesh, but also to provide “immediate material assistance” to respond to the humanitarian needs. In his…
For Rohingyas every day is a nightmare
Parul Akhtar, a Rohingya woman in her mid-twenties, may never wish to remember the homeland she and her children left about three weeks ago. Too scared to speak out, Parul, the mother of two young children, rests inside the makeshift…
One-third food lost or wasted is enough to feed hungry people
Believe it or not, the way to eradicate hunger from the face of the Earth is as feasible as it is handy. In fact, the current loss and waste of one-third of all food produced for human consumption would be…
PM opens Rooppur nuke plant’s main concrete work
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today inaugurated the main construction work of the much-awaited Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, the maiden nuclear plant of the country. She formally launched the main construction work of the plant by pouring concrete at the plant…
Warrant of arrest as Khaleda seeks court adjournment for ‘hartal’
Dhaka – The Special Judge Court-5 of Dhaka on Thursday cancelled the ad interim bail of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and also issued a warrant of arrest against the BNP leader as she failed to appear before the court…
Pope Francis arrives in Dhaka
A red carpet was rolled out as Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, arrived here on Thursday afternoon on a three-day state visit, aiming to promote peace and reconciliation. President Abdul Hamid received the…
Only Govt can call snap election: CEC
Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda on Wednesday said arrangement of snap election depends on the government decision. “It is government who decides over snap election. We’ll find 90 days to complete the election. If the government decides, we’ll be…
Six dies of suffocation sleeping beside lit woven in India
Six men died while in sleep apparently due to suffocation inside a huge container in Indian capital city of New Delhi, police said Wednesday. “The men working with a caterer slept in a huge container, which also had a coal…
Scientists reveal Himalayan Yeti was in fact local bear
Legend-slaying scientists on Wednesday dismantled the myth of the abominable snowman, the towering yet furtive half-human rumoured for centuries to inhabit inaccessible reaches of the Himalayas. It turns out, they report in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B, that the…
Pope calls for forgiveness – healing old wounds
Pope Francis urged Myanmar’s long-suffering ethnic minorities to resist the temptation to exact revenge for the hurt they have endured, preaching a message of forgiveness Wednesday to a huge crowd in his first public Mass in the predominantly Buddhist nation.…
BNP lends support to shutdoen called by left parties
BNP on Wednesday extended its full support to the eight-hour hartal to be enforced by left-leaning parties on Thursday protesting the fresh power tariff hike. BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi came up with the announcement while speaking…
HRW urges Govt. for new trial of BDR mutiny
The Bangladesh government should agree to new trials meeting international standards for members of the former Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) accused of mutiny and murder including 139, whose death sentences were upheld by the High Court, said the Human Rights Watch…
Amnesty urged Govt not to relocate Rohungyas to Thengerchar
Amnesty International, a human right organisation on Wednesday urged the government to abandon all plans to relocate over one lakh Rohingya refugees to an ‘uninhabitable’ island. In a statement Amnesty said the government on Tuesday approved a $280 million plan…
Violence undermines democracy in Bangladesh – seminar told
Noting that violence undermine Bangladesh’s democracy, US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bernicat on Tuesday said when elections are inclusive, free, and peaceful, the results are more likely to be respected by all voters. “In a strong democracy, citizens must be…
BD takes up Ashrayan-3 project to shelter Rohingyas
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved a project, Ashrayan-3, involving Tk 2,312.15 crore for giving temporarily shelter to Rohingyas who crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar. The approval came at a meeting of the ECNEC held at…
PM to open main concerte work of Rooppur Nuke Plant Thursday
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to inaugurate the main concrete construction works of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) project at the project site in Pabna on Thursday. Officials said this will be the final phase of civil construction…
Why did intelligence agencies failed in BDR mutiny
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday questioned why the intelligence agencies failed to sense the BDR mutiny beforehand. Addressing a discussion meeting in the capital, the BNP leader also said the reasons of failures…
RAB wraps up anti-militancy raid in C’Nawabganj – 3 killed
Three presumed militants were killed today as elite anti-crime force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) wrapped up their overnight crackdown at a militant den in Sadar upazila of the district, officials said. “We have wrapped up the operation . . .…
The failure of Angela Markel
The failure of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel to form a government after the elections a month ago came as a shock for many observers. What has happened to the “leader of the Western World”? Is German power on its…
As Burma grapples with Rohingya crisis Pope calls for unity in diversity
Pope Francis on Tuesday urged the leaders of majority-Buddhist Myanmar, mired in a crisis over the fate of Muslim Rohingya people, to commit themselves to justice, human rights and respect for “each ethnic group and its identity”. The pope avoided…
106 Norwegian reindeer killed by freight trains in 3 days
A Norwegian reindeer herder says that freight trains have killed more than 100 of the animals on the tracks in three days. Torstein Appfjell, a distraught reindeer herder in Helgeland county, said Sunday that the worst incident happened Saturday when…
South African wins Miss Universe crown
Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, who represented South Africa, won the Miss Universe crown Sunday. The 22-year-old, who recently earned a business management degree, was crowned at The AXIS theater at Planet Hollywood casino-resort on the Las Vegas Strip. The runner-up was Miss…
Indian police use elephants to clear their protected habitat
Indian police have taken the unusual step of using elephants in an attempt to evict hundreds of people living illegally in a protected forest area in the country’s remote northeast.
HC upholds 139 death penalties and life term for 146 in BDR mutiny
The High Court (HC) on Monday upheld the death sentence of 139 people among 152 condemned convicts in the Pilkhana BDR mutiny case. Among the 152 condemned convicts, one died, four were acquitted and the death sentence of eight commuted…
From Gothenburg social summit to social union
On 17 November, the European Parliament, Council and Commission proclaimed a European Pillar of Social Rights in Gothenburg. The launch of the Pillar signals a cautious but steady paradigm shift, away from austerity, at least at the level of the…
A real riddle: Whether Pope Francis speaks ‘Rohingya’
In August, responding to the first reports of Rohingya Muslims fleeing an army-led crackdown in Myanmar, Pope Francis called on his flock to pray for “our Rohingya brethren.” “Let all of us ask the Lord to save them, and to…
Brazil offers to share wind energy experience
Brazil has offered to share its experience in the field of wind power with Bangladesh. Brazilian Ambassador in Dhaka Joao Tabajara De Oliveira Junior made the offer when he met State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid at his…