Bangladesh Chhatra League has threatened to take direct action against the editor of a website www.provatbangla.com for spreading hateful propaganda against Sheikh Hasina and the AL party. They want the website shutdown by the authorities and immediate action taken against the editor, Yesmin Rukaya, for spreading lies so close to the election scheduled for 7, January 2024. Chhatra League claims this is the work of the BNP, which is using online platforms to influence the forthcoming elections of 7 January by spreading propaganda.

This is a developing story and we will update you when we have more information.

All kinds of assistance including loans will be given to flower farmers and entrepreneurs to deal with losses during the Corona period, said Agriculture Minister Dr. Md. Abdur Razzaq.

He said this after visiting the tulip and strawberry garden of entrepreneur Delwar Hossain at Sreepur in Gazipur on Friday afternoon. At this time, the local member of parliament. Iqbal Hossain Sabuj was present.

The agriculture minister said that tulips are foreign flowers. Now in Bangladesh too tulips of different colors are being cultivated - it is very happy. These flowers have to be marketed in the country and if exported abroad, a huge amount of foreign exchange can be earned.

In response to the question of what support the government will give to the entrepreneurs, the agriculture minister said that the government is giving agricultural loans at only 4% interest to deal with the damage caused by Corona. Apart from this, loan program is also running in some identified crops. Along with loans, all kinds of support will be given to flower growers, processors and entrepreneurs.

French schools have sent many students home for wearing abayas on the first day of the year. The French government banned wearing abayas in schools last month. This, they claim, is violating the norms of secularism in education. France has already banned the wearing of the hijab to stop the display of religious identity. News from AFP

Education Minister Gabriel Atal said about 300 students came to school wearing abayas, defying the ban on Islamic dress. Most students agreed to change clothes when asked to remove their abayas, but 67 refused to change clothes and were sent home. While the move pleased the right, the hard left said it was an infringement on civil liberties.

In the face of criticism, the minister claimed that abaya is a political symbol. He said letters were sent to the families of the girls who refused to change the abaya. Where it is written, secularism is not a barrier, it is a freedom.

French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, supported the controversial move, saying there was a minority community in France that hijacked a religion and challenged the state and secularism.

In France, a 2004 law banned the wearing of symbols or clothing displaying religious affiliation in schools. These prohibitions include – the large Christian cross, the Jewish kippah and the Islamic hijab.

The US wants to know what role the government will play in security and how it plans to provide security during free and fair elections. At this time, they also want to know the role of the government in upholding human rights. These issues came up in Dhaka-Washington Ninth Security Dialogue.

The dialogue was held at Foreign Service Academy in the capital on Tuesday morning. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regional Security for Political Military Affairs of the US Department of State, who is visiting Dhaka, Meera Kay Resnick, led the US delegation in the dialogue. Khandaker Masudul Alam, Director General of the North American Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led the Bangladesh side. Mira K. Resnick paid a courtesy call on Foreign Secretary Masood Bin Momen at the Foreign Service Academy after the dialogue.

According to a source, the United States wants to see free and fair elections in Bangladesh. There should be no violence at this time. Therefore, it is requested to know what plan the government has taken to make the elections fair. At the same time, during the elections, Washington gave an opinion in favor of keeping the human rights situation of Bangladesh at international standards.

A diplomat who participated in the dialogue told Samakal on condition of anonymity that the Bangladesh delegation has highlighted the government's commitment to make the upcoming parliamentary elections free and fair. However, there is no clear idea on how to do that.

After the dialogue, the Foreign Secretary told reporters, 'Bangladesh is fulfilling its obligations regarding human rights. The point is reiterated in the dialogue. They want to know about the election. Bangladesh is determined to hold free and fair elections. The Prime Minister has said this many times. He also told foreigners. The Election Commission (EC) is working on it. Recently EC started training program. If help is needed there, the United States wants to do it. But we cannot say what the political party is thinking.' However, the foreign secretary said that there was no discussion about the government during the election.

Foreign Secretary Masoud bin Momen said that the talks were fruitful and the US delegation expressed its satisfaction. "Apart from defence, human rights, upcoming national elections, cyber security, Indo-Pacific outlook and energy security were also discussed," he said.

He said, 'There was no direct discussion on the defense treaty, as it was the subject of the defense dialogue. However, we have said that Bangladesh is working on similar agreements with different countries. We are gathering experience in this regard from different countries.

Regarding the lifting of the ban on Rabe, he said, 'The United States has discussed the lifting of the ban on Rabe. We have stated that we take every complaint about human rights violations seriously. We discuss them with law enforcement agencies and disseminate their answers to the outside world. We do not allow any chance of injustice in our country. RAB-Police each has a code of conduct. Even if you spend a bullet, you have to be accountable. Not all complaints or accidents involve the government. For example, a labor leader died in Gazipur. The government has no hand there. In the end we have to answer.' He said that the process to withdraw the ban on Raber is being followed.

When asked about the United States' comments on Bangladesh's Indo-Pacific outlook, the foreign secretary said, 'United States and Bangladesh have a lot in common in the Indo-Pacific. The two countries agree on the free movement of ships there, the full use of economic potential. They also don't want any particular country to dominate or become a barrier to free movement.' The foreign secretary did not give any answer when asked if the United States talked about China as a single hegemony.

Masud bin Momen said, 'They are currently banned from going out, let their assistance with other forces and organizations including our police-army continue. Army to Army joint exercises are there, they will continue and will be intensified in the future.'

In the dialogue, updated information on the Rohingya issue was presented to the US. The foreign secretary said, 'We have said that we want a solution to this crisis. Talking about humanitarian aid, we also stated our position on how to repatriate the 1.1 million Rohingya. However, the US has raised questions about security in Rakhine at the moment. They have some observations. There is no different attitude, the United States has advised the Rohingyas to take initiative in repatriation if their safety and security is ensured and they want to go voluntarily.

Prime Minister's visit to India

The Foreign Secretary said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during her visit to India. The meeting will be held on the evening of September 8. Important issues including Teesta will be discussed in the meeting.

Masood bin Momen said, 'There are many bilateral issues. All will be discussed. Connectivity and Teesta water will be discussed. Energy and food security will also be discussed. All important issues will be discussed. There are many projects between the two countries, the progress of which will be discussed.

Visit of the Russian Foreign Minister

Foreign Secretary Masud bin Momen said that with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen will have a bilateral meeting. He will have a courtesy meeting with the Prime Minister. After the Russia-Ukraine war, the critical situation in the world will be discussed. Food security, sanctions, counter-sanctions will also be discussed.

কক্সবাজারের কলাতলীর হোটেল-মোটেল জোনে দুই কিশোরী ‘সংঘবদ্ধ’ ধর্ষণের শিকার হয়েছে বলে অভিযোগ উঠেছে। তাদের মধ্যে একজনকে কক্সবাজার সদর হাসপাতালের ওয়ানস্টপ ক্রাইসিস সেন্টারে ভর্তি করা হয়েছে। এ ঘটনায় একজনকে আটক করা হয়েছে। তবে তার নাম-পরিচয় জানায়নি পুলিশ।

মঙ্গলবার রাত ৯টার দিকে কক্সবাজার সদর থানার ভারপ্রাপ্ত কর্মকর্তা (ওসি) মো. রফিকুল ইসলাম এক ব্যক্তিকে আটকের তথ্য নিশ্চিত করেন। তিনি বলেন, পুলিশের অভিযান এখনও চলছে। জড়িতদের শনাক্ত করা হয়েছে। একজন আটক রয়েছে। তার নাম-ঠিকানা পরে জানানো হবে।

পুলিশ ও স্থানীয়রা জানান, কক্সবাজার শহরের কলাতলী হোটেল-মোটেল জোন এলাকায় ‘রাজন কটেজ’ নামের একটি আবাসিক হোটেলে সোমবার রাতে ২ কিশোরী ‘সংঘবদ্ধ’ ধর্ষণের শিকার হন। কয়েকদিন আগে একটি অনুষ্ঠানে নৃত্য পরিবেশনের জন্য ঢাকা থেকে তাদের কক্সবাজারে আনা হয়েছিল। যার মাধ্যমে তারা আসেন সেই ব্যক্তি একটি চক্রের হাতে তাদের তুলে দেন। পরে রাজন কটেজে নিয়ে তাদের ধর্ষণ করে চক্রের সদস্যরা। সোমবার সকালে তাদের ঢাকার একটি বাসে তুলে দেওয়া হয়। কিন্তু অসুস্থ হয়ে পড়লে বাস থেকে রামু বাইপাস এলাকায় নেমে যান এক কিশোরী। অপরজন ঢাকায় চলে যান। রামুতে নেমে স্থানীয় হাসপাতালে চিকিৎসা নেন ওই কিশোরী। পরে ওই কিশোরীর চিকিৎসক ঘটনা শুনে পুলিশকে জানান। পুলিশ তাকে কক্সবাজার সদর হাসপাতালে নেয়।

রামু উপজেলা স্বাস্থ্য কমপ্লেক্সের আবাসিক মেডিকেল কর্মকর্তা নোবেল কুমার বড়ুয়া জানান, সকালে ওই কিশোরীকে চিকিৎসা দিয়েছেন চিকিৎসক নুরুল হুদা শাওন। কিশোরীর বক্তব্য পাওয়ার পর তাকে পুলিশের কাছে হস্তান্তর করা হয়।

কক্সবাজারের অতিরিক্ত পুলিশ সুপার (প্রশাসন) মো. রফিকুল ইসলাম জানিয়েছেন, পুলিশ ঘটনায় জড়িতদের শনাক্ত করতে পেরেছে। জড়িত একজনকে আটক করা হয়েছে। অন্যদের আটকের চেষ্টা চলছে।

ঘটনার পর থেকে রাজন কটেজের কোনো কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীকে পাওয়া যায়নি। প্রতিষ্ঠানের কর্মচারীরা পুলিশ হেফাজতে রয়েছে বলে অনেকে দাবি করলেও পুলিশ এ ব্যাপারে কোনো তথ্য দিতে রাজি হয়নি।

২০২৪ সালের এইচএসসি ও সমমান পরীক্ষা আগামী বছর জুনের দ্বিতীয় সপ্তাহে অনুষ্ঠিত হতে পারে বলে জানিয়েছে ঢাকা শিক্ষা বোর্ড।

সোমবার ঢাকা শিক্ষা বোর্ডের চেয়ারম্যান ও আন্তঃশিক্ষা বোর্ড সমন্বয় কমিটির সভাপতি অধ্যাপক তপন কুমার সরকার স্বাক্ষরিত এক পত্রে এ তথ্য জানানো হয়।

এতে জানানো হয়, ২০২৪ সালের এইচএসসি ও সমমানের পরীক্ষার সকল নিয়মিত, অনিয়মিত ও মানোন্নয়ন পরীক্ষার্থীর পরীক্ষা শুরুর সম্ভাব্য সময় আগামী বছরের জুনের দ্বিতীয় সপ্তাহ।