PRESS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT GOVERNMENT OF DTIAKA

Most Ursent From: PIO, PID, For: Ban"sladoot" All Missions Fax: 9540553 19540026 MSG: l8?/2020:21 E-mail: oiddhaka@smai l.com Date: Saturday, 06 March 2021 We b : wfi w. p reGE6 rm eov. b-d News Brief

Bangladesh has been elected as the member of the Council of 'International Seabed Authority (ISA) for a four-year term from January l, 2O2l to December 31,2024. Located in Kingston of Jamaica, the ISA is mandated under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to organise, regulate and control all mineral-related activities in the international seabed area for the benefit of mankind as a whole. Its Council is composed of 37 members. Being elected as the member of the Council, Bangladesh will get the opporlunity to better protect its interest in the organisation in future, said a press release in Dhaka yesterday. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said, the characteristics of BNP's fascist, conspiracy and murderous politics have become clear through the statement made by one of its leader in Rajshahi. Speaking at a press conference at his residence in Dhaka yesterday he also said, the net of this conspiracy is spread in home and abroad. Whethertheir statements are part of the implementation of the secret plan designed in London will also be examined, he added. Prime Minister has put Bangladesh in a dignified position in the world through her farsighted and strong leadership. Agriculture Minister Dr. Muhammad Abdur Razzaque stated this while inaugurating a training programme on information and communication technology in women empowerment at Dhanbari Government College in Tangail yesterday. He said, Bangladesh has seen remarkable progress in terms of women empowerment during the tenure of this government. Information Minister Dr. Hasan Mahrnud said, Bangabandhu's daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government are sports friendly. He said this while addressing the prize distribution ceremony of late Advocate Nurushsfa Talukder Smriti Gold Cup Football Tournament at Rangunia IJpazrla in Chattogram yesterday. Highlighting the success of Bangladesh's youth cricket team which became the world champion, Dr. Hasan Mahmud said, all these achievements came due to the Premier's earnest and relentless efforts. All have to wait for a few days to see whether the government would bring any amendment to the Digital Security Act. Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq said this while speaking a function at Akhaura Rail Station in Brahmanbaria yesterday. Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said, it is not possible to build a better Bangladesh by leaving any group behind. Speaking at a function to distribute high quality cows and cow feed among 130 beneficiaries to improve the socio-economic life of tl're small ethnic groups in Naogaon yesterday he said, the present government has also formed a separate cell in the Prime Minister's Office for this srnall ethnic group. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ensured communal. harmony irr the country by upholding the fundamental principles of its Constitution. While addressing the triennial conference of the Bangladesh Hindu- Buddhi;;Christian Oikya Parishad's Singra upazila unit in Natore yesterday, State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak also said, formed the government in 2008 under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina and started working to build an inequity-free country putting emphasis on secularism, one of the fundamental principles of the country's Constitution. The third Dash-8 aircraft purchased from Canada reached Dhaka yesterday. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina named the new aircraft as 'shwetbalaka', said a press release of the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry yesterday. The first Dash-8 aircraft out of three, purchased on a Government-to-Govemment basis from Canada, was added to the Biman's fleet on December 27,2020, while second one arrived in the country on February 24,2021. State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md. Mahbub Ali received the Dash-8 model aircraft, manufactured by Canadian aircraft manufacturer De Havilland, atHazrat Shahjalal International Airport here. He said it is expected that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would formally inaugurate the two new aircraft - 'Akash Tori' and 'Shwetbalaka'. -2-

State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Swapan Bhattacharjee has called for quelling communal forces strongly. He said this while addressing the biennial council of Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Parishad Manirampur Upazilla unit in Jashore on Thursday. The government has quashed with iron fist the evil attempts to create communal hatred in the country and would do that in the future too, he added.

International Organization for Migration (IOM) organised a 'Safety at Sea' training for 200 boatmen based on the island of Moheshkhali. IOM will conduct the training from March 5 to 6 in coordination with the Moheshkhali Upazila administration and other govemmental bodies with the support from Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance, said a IOM press release yesterday. Indian Fxternal Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar concluded his day-long visit in Dhaka on Thursday night reaffirming the robust Bangladesh-India partnership. He emphasised greater connectivity as the key gamechanger, bilaterally and regionally. The two sides prepared ground for the first international visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi since COVID-19 set in. The High Court has ruled that children cannot be jailed for more than l0 years upon conviction for punishable crimes. The statement of a child cannot be recorded as evidence, the court mentioned in a verdict, according to media reports. The full text of the verdict, containing 63 pages, was published recently. The admission process for first-year honours courses at National University (NU) for the 2020-21 academic session are set to begin from June 8. Admission application forms will be available online till June 22, according to an NU press release yesterday.

The popular Joy Bangla Concert, will return in 2022 as the celebration is put on a halt this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic, said Bangabandhu's grandson Radwan Mujib Siddiq in a post shared on his Facebook wall. It is the biggest concert for youths in the country organised every year commemorating the March 7 speech of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

With the death of 6 more people yesterday, the number of deaths from Covid-19 in Bangladesh rose to 8,441. At the same time recovery count rose to 5,07,144, DGHS disclosed this information in a press release yesterday. With the detection of 635 new cases, the total number of Covid-l9 cases rose to 54,91,84. A total of 48,08,458 people have so far been registered to receive COVID-I9 vaccines till yesterday. Total number of vaccine receivers stood at 35,81,169. ,t-M y[rincipal In forinati on Officer Phone- 9546091