United News of Bangladesh

What began as a routine search for a missing sum of money spiralled into a shocking double murder inside a Mohammadpur flat, a crime that investigators say was rooted in a heated altercation between a housewife and the domestic worker she had employed only three days earlier! Police have arrested the housemaid, Ayesha, and her husband, Rabbi, from Nalcity in Jhalakathi, ending their frantic run across districts following the killings. The case has since unfolded as a chilling account of deception, theft and unverified domestic employment. Tracked Down Through an Old Police Record At a briefing at the DMP Media Centre on Thursday noon, Additional Commissioner of DMP SN Nazrul Islam revealed how investigators identified Ayesha. A crucial breakthrough came from an old record at Mohammadpur Police Station, a file containing her photograph, marked by burn scars on her face. This small but telling clue led police to the Geneva Camp, where she was already known for theft-related activities. Nazrul Islam said Ayesha had a long history of stealing from the homes where she worked. She routinely concealed her identity, avoided using a mobile phone, provided no address and kept her face veiled, making it difficult for employers to identify her later. In July, she allegedly stole Tk 8,000 from a residence, prompting the filing of a general diary at Mohammadpur Police Station. She has also been accused of stealing from her sister’s home. A Husband Drawn into the Trail Investigators traced Rabbi after learning that Ayesha had once handed him her damaged mobile phone for repair. That allowed police to track the SIM card previously used in the device. Teams then conducted a series of raids — in Hemayetpur of Savar, Mohammadpur, Patuakhali’s Naluya, and finally in a village in Nalchity of Jhalakathi — where the couple were arrested around 12:30 pm on Wednesday. A stolen laptop was recovered from their room. Police say Ayesha has confessed to the murders. Three Days of Work, A Deadly Climax Ayesha joined the victims’ household only three days before the incident. Throughout her time there, she kept her face covered, preventing anyone from recognising her clearly. On the second day, she allegedly stole Tk 2,000, triggering an argument with the housewife, Laila Afrooz. On the third day, Ayesha returned with a switch-gear knife. Another confrontation broke out over the missing money — and this time, the dispute turned fatal. According to police, Ayesha stabbed Laila. When Laila’s daughter, Nafisa, tried to intervene, she too was stabbed to death. In her escape, Ayesha wore Nafisa’s school uniform and fled the apartment, taking with her a laptop, a mobile phone and other valuables. She later changed her clothes at her mother’s home in Savar, before travelling to Manikganj, where she disposed of the school uniform and blood-stained clothing in the Singair River. A Call for Vigilance The Additional Commissioner has urged city residents to verify the identity and background of any domestic worker before employing them, stressing that structured records and proper documentation could prevent similar tragedies in the future.  

Twenty percent of Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims must travel to Saudi Arabia via Madinah next year and 30 percent will return through the same route, according to the 2026 Hajj agreement between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. The Religious Affairs Ministry sent a letter to all lead Hajj agencies informing the new rule on Wednesday. According to the letter, 20 percent of all pilgrims travelling under both government and private management must enter Saudi Arabia through Prince Mohammad bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Madinah while 30 percent will return through the same airport. As per the deal, all lead Hajj agencies have been instructed to ensure necessary arrangements in this regard. The agencies were asked to prepare for all logistical arrangements related to flights and pilgrim movement through the airport. Bangladesh has managed a quota of 78,500 pilgrims to perform Hajj next year.  

The viva voce of the candidates who passed the written examination of the 46th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) will begin on December 28. The Public Service Commission (PSC) announced the schedule through a press release on Thursday. A total of 975 candidates have been called for interviews. The detailed interview schedule is available on the PSC’s official website www.bpsc.gov.bd or http://bpsc.teletalk.com.bd.  

Two devotees died while nine others fell sick at the Rangpur Divisional Ijtema ground in Rangpur on Thursday. The deceased were identified as Saidur Rahman of Pirganj upazila and Tara Mia of Tangail district. Maidul Islam, officer-in-charge of Pashuram Police Station, said both of the devotees died from old age complications or cold-related diseases. Abul Hossain, a supervisor of Ijtema ground No 6 tent, said the nine devotees who fell sick are receiving treatment at the venue. The Rangpur Divisional Ijtema is being held at Amashu Kukrul area in Ward No. 4 of Rangpur city.  

A 45-year-old woman who returned home from Saudi Arabia recently was found dead at her rented house on Tank Road in Khulna city early Thursday. The deceased was identified as Sheuli Begum, who had married her second husband Md Salauddin Khan only a few days ago. Neighbours said her first husband’s son Riad, 28, a tiles worker, used to live with his mother in the same house. Sheuli returned from Saudi Arabia 10 days ago and rented the house. About one month ago, she divorced her first husband from abroad and married Salauddin after returning home, said Shahjahan Ahmed, inspector (investigation) of Khulna Sadar Police Station. Around five to six days back, she withdrew Tk 5.75 lakh from a bank and brought the money home which the family members knew, the police official said. Shihab Karim, assistant commissioner of police (Khulna Zone), said the body was recovered from a locked room, and since the murder her son Riad remained abscoding. Senior officers visited the spot and a CID forensics team collected evidence from the scene, he said. Investigators suspect she was first struck on the left side of her head and later suffocated with a pillow. No case has been filed yet.

The Election Commission has directed all aspirants in the upcoming national election to remove their campaign materials within the next 48 hours, ahead of the announcement of the polls schedule and the July National Charter referendum this (Thursday) evening. Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin will announce the election schedule at his pre-recorded address to the nation, which is set to be aired by the state-owned Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar at 6:00pm (December 11, 2025). The much-sought schedule for the 13th parliamentary election and the national referendum will be announced at 6pm. The Election Commission issued a notification on Wednesday night, asking the probable candidates to remove all election-related displays, including posters, banners, wall writings, billboards, gates, arches, pandals, and decorative lighting, at their own expense. Besides, the EC directed local government bodies, including city corporations, municipalities and union parishads to ensure implementation of the removal order within the stipulated time. The CEC’s speech was already recorded by Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar on Wednesday afternoon. EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed on Wednesday afternoon said the schedule would be declared for elections in all 300 constituencies. Election schedule to be announced Thursday evening Earlier on Wednesday, the Election Commission, headed by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, met President Mohammed Shahabuddin at Bangabhaban to brief overall preparations to hold the upcoming parliamentary elections and the referendum. Four election commissioners Abdur Rahmanel Masud, Tahmida Ahmad, Anwarul Islam Sarker and Brig Gen (Retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah as well as EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed were present in the meeting. The President expressed satisfaction over the overall preparations undertaken by the EC for the upcoming election and the referendum. “The President expressed satisfaction after we informed him in detail,” EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said while talking to reporters after a meeting. The Secretary said they informed the President about extending the balloting hours by one hour—now set from 7:30am to 4:30pm. “When we said that we extended the balloting hour by one hour from 7:30am to 4:30pm, he termed the decision logical and expressed his satisfaction,” he said. During the meeting, he said, they apprised the President of various preparatory activities, including the updating of electoral rolls, the registration of new political parties and Out-of Country Voting (OCV) and In-Country Postal Voting (ICPV). The President was also briefed on the Commission’s plan to use two types of ballot papers—one for the national election and another for the referendum—to be held simultaneously on the same day, said Akhtar Ahmed. The President assured them that he would extend all necessary cooperation and support for the arrangement of a free, fair and meaningful election. Avoid unauthorised gatherings after election schedule: Govt There are some 12.76 crore voters under 42,761 polling stations across the country’s 300 constituencies. White ballot papers will be used for the national election and pink ballot papers for the referendum. Though the postal balloting system has been in the laws for a long time, it was never practiced in the previous elections. This is the first time the Election Commission is introducing a hybrid postal balloting system, enabling expatriates, government staff, polling personnel, and the persons who will be in the legal custody to exercise their franchise through a combination of digital registration and manual voting. Till Wednesday (December 10), nearly 300,000 expatriate voters from some 120 countries across the world have already registered through ‘Postal Vote Bd’ app to vote in the national election and referendum. The registration process for expatriates will continue till December 25. The ICPV (In-Country Postal Voting) registration process for the government staff on duty outside their voting places, polling personnel, and the persons under the legal custody (jails) will start after the announcement of election schedule and continue for 15 days. Election schedule soon as request made for recording CEC’s address According to EC’s projection, some 10 lakh people from inside the country may vote through the postal ballot papers in the election.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday said Bangladesh is now facing two major challenges, building a strong political and economic foundation and resisting forces that are misleading people using religion. “We want to state something very clearly that the year 1971 is our very existence. Remember this loudly and firmly. Today I saw in a newspaper that someone has called the generation of 1971 ‘the worst generation.’ How can they show such audacity in saying this?” he said. Speaking at the opening session of the fifth day of BNP’s ‘Plan to Build the Country’ workshop at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) auditorium in Farmgate, the BNP leader also said certain quarters are trying to confuse the people by exploiting religion. “A dark claw seems to be emerging from behind the shadows…another form of fascism is trying to grip us. Unfortunately, by using our beloved religion, they are trying to mislead the people of Bangladesh,” he said. The BNP leader called upon his party colleagues to stand firm against these forces. “Today we face a new struggle. On one side, it is the struggle to place Bangladesh on firm political and economic footing. On the other side, it is the struggle to resist these destructive forces. You must move forward keeping both in mind. We always practise positive politics. We always think progressively,” he said. Bangladesh urges Pakistan to resolve 1971 genocide, historical issues Fakhrul told the party leaders and workers joined the workshop that it would not be enough to simply listen to the discussions and take notes. “You must present these ideas to the people… these are the things we want to do. If you do this, the people will surely be drawn to you. You have to win them over,” he said. The BNP leader said struggle is a part of human life, and a nation also has to struggle to rise. “We have carried out these struggles again and again. Our people have sacrificed their lives, our boys have sacrificed their lives. The boys of this generation also gave their lives in the July 2024 movement, just as our freedom fighters did in 1971. Let us unite all our strength and take a vow to win this battle.” Fakhrul said the upcoming struggle is the party’s toughest and most important yet, urging leaders and activists to move forward with determination and a strong mindset. He recalled the party’s long fight against autocratic regimes over the last 16 years, including the deaths of 20,000 party members and the hardships they faced amid immense repression and harassment. Fakhrul also highlighted the party’s historic contributions to Bangladesh’s development, recalling reforms by party founder Ziaur Rahman and Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia in democracy, education, women’s empowerment, youth employment and the economy. He urged party members to unite, reach out to the people, win their hearts, and bring them to the polls. “This election is different from those under the Awami League. It will be a truly neutral election. You must ensure the people vote for us by understanding our leader’s vision and the plans we have for the country.” Fakhrul also prayed for the speedy recovery of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and expressed hope that a new phase of struggle will begin once Tarique Rahman returns home. Fakhrul inaugurated the fifth day’s programme at the KIB auditorium, with BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi in the chair. It’s painful to see 1971 sacrifices questioned, says BNP’s Hafizuddin BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman is expected to address the concluding session virtually in the afternoon. Leaders and activists of BNP joined the programme to receive training on different issues so they can reach out to people and explain BNP’s plans, election manifesto, and promises before the polls.

Director General of International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) Pema Gyamtsho on Thursday said the future of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) depends on collaboration across borders, sectors, and generations, stressing that cooperation is their only realistic strategy. "Mountains ignore political borders. Rivers do not stop at national frontiers. Glaciers do not melt according to geopolitics," he said marking the International Mountain Day that falls on December 11. ICIMOD is an intergovernmental knowledge and learning centre working on behalf of the people of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) and they work for eight regional member countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. Gyamtsho, who grew up believing that mountains are eternal, said fragmented action in mountain regions is not only inadequate, but it is also dangerous. "The future of the HKH depends on collaboration across borders, sectors, and generations. This is not only an environmental imperative, it is a question of stability, security, and peace," he said. The ICIMOD DG said they stand at a crossroads: choose reactive crisis response, or proactive resilience building. "The glaciers that shaped us are changing rapidly; our response must be faster still." On this International Mountain Day, he called on governments, development partners, businesses, researchers, and citizens to treat mountains with respect and care for their sustainability as a shared responsibility. The ICIMOD DG called for investing urgently in mountain resilience funding cryosphere protection as a global necessity supporting communities as custodians of climate solutions protecting our water towers, not only in words, but through action Because protecting glaciers is not about saving ice. "It is about saving lives, livelihoods, cultures, and possibilities," he said, adding that the mountains have sustained them for centuries. "Let us act now to help them sustain our future generations." The ICIMOD DG said mountains have taught them so much - they have taught resilience, standing firm against storms. "They have taught humility, reminding us that ambition must respect nature’s limits. They have taught patience, that real change, like geological time, demands persistence. Above all, they have taught balance: to take only what we need, and give back more than we take," he mentioned. Gyamtsho said mountains are eternal and their silence felt powerful, their glaciers unshakeable. "Like many across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), I never saw them as geological formations, but as guardians, sanctuaries of our rivers, our forests, and our lives. Today, I know those silent giants are speaking louder than ever, and we cannot afford to ignore them," Gyamtsho mentioned. He said this year’s theme for International Mountain Day, ‘Glaciers matter for water, food, and livelihoods in mountains and beyond’, is deeply personal to him, not only as someone working for mountain sustainability, but as someone shaped by these landscapes and protected by their generosity. In the HKH, glaciers are not just symbols of beauty or adventure, they are custodians of daily life, silently feeding the taps in our homes and watering the fields that sustain our communities, said the ICIMOD DG. He said the HKH is a global treasure and holds the largest volume of snow and ice outside the Arctic and Antarctica, home to more than 54,000 glaciers, nearly 9% of the world’s total. These frozen reservoirs feed ten major rivers that support over two billion people downstream. From farms and fisheries to hydropower, remote villages, towns, cities, and megacities, our lives are shaped by what happens to these rivers and the glaciers that feed them. "We often treat glaciers as metaphors. In our region, they are infrastructure: natural water tanks that secure food, energy, and human security. To protect them is not just to save their majestic forms, but also to safeguard the future of economies, cultures, and generations," Gyamtsho said. But they are disappearing faster than expected. Glacier mass loss in the HKH has increased by 65% in just one decade. "If emissions continue as they are, we could lose up to 80% of our ice by the end of this century," he said. Gyamtsho said the science continues to warn them and the HKH Snow Update 2025 shows: three consecutive years of below-average snow across key basins dangerously reduced spring snow shifts in snowmelt already disrupting agriculture, hydropower, and daily life For farmers, he said, this means less water for crops. For families, greater struggle to access clean water. For downstream regions, it threatens food, water, and energy security while increasing disaster risks for millions. "Yet I want to pause here, because urgency does not mean hopelessness," said Gyamtsho. Across the HKH, he witnesses extraordinary resilience: farmers adopting climate-smart irrigation, women leading community-based restoration, and youth mapping glacial lakes with drones. "Governments are beginning to recognise that mountains no longer remain in the realm of peripheral references in national discourses, but they are being recognised as national priorities," he said, noting that mountain communities have already shown great resilience to devastating changes. "What we need now is to scale up the investment to match the urgency. Cooperation is our only realistic strategy," Gyamtsho said.  

 He is Prof. Mahbubullah to many and “bhai” to us, He was felicitated by many of his admirers at a recent event at the Press Club where his books were discussed by eminents like him. The occasion was meant not just to salute the person but also his books, the work that he will be leaving behind bearing his thoughts. It's an interesting journey that the once jailed revolutionary has slowly evolved in the public mind as an eminent scholar.   I realize that in many ways, he remains one of the last of his generation, who believed that there was such a place as a better world, where Marxist socialism held all the answers and the young ones like him were all ready to give their all for it all.  That is no longer so anywhere and it’s in this departure that sharpens the profile of a generation who in so many ways personified politics as the path to hope , a path now lost to the weeds of time. The Marxist’s manifesto of Independent Bangladesh I am saying all this because Mahbubullah bhai is very much a part of that “independent state” making history of Bangladesh in 1971.  How many people would know that he along with his party comrades had stood in front of a crowd and read out a manifesto of an independent Bangladesh?.  As a consequence, others on the podium – Kazi Zafar  and others + - had arrest warrants issued but they  went into hiding  but Mahbuullah bhai was arrested. In the trial that followed. Mahbubullah bhai was found guilty and jailed. His 1971 was spent behind bars, a testimony to the integrity of his political thoughts. But it was not nationalism that had moved his mind, it was socialism that separated him and his politics from the mainstream and the two never met. The post 1971 Bangladesh The politics of pre-1971 Left was very ideological, uncompromising, commitment driven but also very dogmatic and intolerant. What held them together was also what divided them. The ideology of the Left was either pro-“Peking “as Beijing used to be called and pro- Moscow, two distant meccas.  International politics ruled the waves of local politics going deep into the realms of  Bengal’s distant villages even. Between 1972 and 1975, despite all the bloodshed, the Left emerged as a ship of nobler souls than the average politicians of the mainstream. Whether it was Siraj Shikder  of the Sharbohara Party  who had taken to armed confrontations and was felled or Mahbubullah bhai’s political chariot that was more focused on the structure of political change making , they  stood tall. They were however never a serious contender  for state power as 1975 and subsequent changes showed but they stood tall , respected for their integrity and who some hoped would perhaps succeed one day and set up a poor people’s  paradise on earth. It was not to be as global history shows  but to many including us, they were people of integrity who were committed to positive change. But history has its own way of deciding its path. And one day the old regime died and if the AL was a casualty, on looking back can see that the independent Left of many kinds also faded away partly perhaps as the main foe was gone. A political construction which had pushed away the old regime claimed the formal seat of power and many members of the old Left drew close to that.  History’s equations once more decided the march of  time and those who  once wanted to capture the State now became more loyal to the same but as it wore different robes. The academic and the critic       Mahbubullah bhai’s life too changed gears and had soon joined the academia at Chittagong University and both his status in scholarship and rose rapidly. And one day he had reached the top in both the academic ladder but ancillary ones as well. Meanwhile, he was closer to the BNP cluster which was far less regimental or orthodox than his earlier Marxist ones. Yet he didn’t exactly give up his belief structure but was less ideological class politics driven perhaps and emerged as an eminent senior intellectual. I would remember meeting him once to discuss class politics in the home of the late Editor of Dainik Bangla Ahmed Humayun in the early 70s and occasionally later at events or socials. His world was more about words while earlier it was about action. There is a certain inevitability in this process but that affects us all. New realities emerge as one ages, family time demands grow but he remains full of heat and passion that suited him. His four walls may have changed over time but his own role within that space remained the same- to be loyal to what his intellect considered was right. It’s not about agreement but commitment.   

The country’s stock markets witnessed a mixed performance in the first half of Thursday’s trading session, with key indices at both the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) fluctuating between gains and losses. At the DSE, the benchmark DSEX edged up by 1 point, while the Shariah-based DSES dropped by 2 points and the blue-chip DS30 declined by 3 points. A total of 219 companies saw price gains against 91 that declined, while prices of 80 issues remained unchanged. The turnover at the bourse surpassed Tk 200 crore during the first half of the session. Meanwhile, trading at the CSE moved into negative territory as the overall index fell by 15 points. Despite the index decline, most issues at the port city bourse posted gains, with 41 companies advancing, 34 losing and 17 remaining unchanged. The turnover at the CSE exceeded Tk 5 crore in early trading.