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Govt to spend Tk 14.5bn for uninterrupted power supply

Human Rights Report
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina unveils a cover of a report titled Bangladesh Perspective Plan 2021-2041) prior to begin the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council through video conference in the capital on Tuesday.
Five development projects involving Tk25.70 billion were cleared on Tuesday including a key scheme to ensure uninterrupted power supply in Dhaka and Narayanganj cities and create facility for 1.15 lakh more power connections.
The approval came at a virtual meeting of Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also the Ecnec chief, in the chair.
Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) will upgrade old power infrastructures in the two cities by spending Tk14.54 billion.
The project titled-construction and renovation of substations, setting up capacitors in power system, and introduction of smart grid system-will be implemented by June 2023.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal and Planning Minister MA Mannan joined the meeting from Ganobhaban through a videoconference while other Ecnec members joined it from NEC Bhaban.
"A Tk14.54 billion project was placed at the meeting aimed at ensuring uninterrupted power supply for DPDC clients through upgrading the system," MA Mannan said at a post-meeting press briefing.
 

ACC sues OC Pradeep, wife over 'illegal wealth'

Human Rights Report:

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Sunday filed a case against suspended officer-in-charge (OC) of Teknaf Police Station Pradeep Kumar Das and his wife on charges of amassing illegal wealth worth Tk 3.95 crore.
ACC Assistant Director Riaz Uddin filed the case with its Integrated District Office-2 in Chattogram, accusing Pradeep and his wife Chumki Karon of accumulating wealth illegally.
Earlier in the day, the anti-graft body decided to file the case against OC Pradeep Kumar Das and his wife Chumki Karon for graft charges.
According to the case, the couple in collusion with each other amassed wealth worth Tk 3.95 crore beyond known sources of income and laundered the money.
The accused also concealed their wealth worth Tk 13.13 lakh in their wealth statement report submitted to the commission, it said.

ACC Director (media) Pranab Kumar Bhattacharjee said the case was filed under section 26 (2) of the Anti-Corruption Act-2004, section 109 of Penal Code, section 27 (1) of Money Laundering Act and section 4 (2) of Prevention of Corruption Act-1947.
ACC officials said in 2018, the ACC had launched an inquiry on charge of amassing illegal wealth against OC Pradeep Kumar Das and his wife. But the inquiry was halted due to unknown reason.
The inquiry resumed again recently after OC Pradeep Kumar was sent to jail in connection with a case filed over murder of Major (retd) Sinha Mohammad Rashed Khan in Teknaf of Cox's Bazar on July 31.
 

Pranab Mukherjee, Indispensable Man of Indian Politics, Dies at 84   
 

Human Rights Report:
A journalist turned politician, he was India's president from 2012 to 2017 and wore many hats during a career that spanned political generations.
Pranab Mukherjee in 2012. He filled many governmental roles in India, but the top job of prime minister eluded him.Credit...Adnan Abidi/Reuters
Pranab Mukherjee, an Indian politician who rose to high office alongside one of India's longest-serving prime ministers, Indira Gandhi, died on Monday at a hospital in New Delhi. He was 84.
His death was announced on Twitter by his son Abhijit Mukherjee.
Before undergoing brain surgery in recent weeks, Mr. Mukherjee announced on Twitter that he had also tested positive for the coronavirus. He was later put on a ventilator and slipped into a coma, according to doctors who were treating him at a military hospital.
Though Mr. Mukherjee never became prime minister, the top post in India's government, his ability to build consensus on contentious issues earned him the title of the indispensable man of India's coalition-era politics. He played a major role in the government of Mrs. Gandhi and the political career of her daughter-in-law, Sonia Gandhi.
declared by the United Nations is to call upon the youth of the world to become proficient in various skills and to highlight the important role of skilled youth in meeting the global challenges of the future.


 

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UK to stop Channel migrants
 

Human Rights Report:
LONDON, Aug 16: British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Sunday additional navy personnel and aircraft were being sent to help tackle a sharp rise in migrant crossings of the Channel.The deployment of "specialist personnel from the Royal Navy" and a third air force plane to conduct surveillance followed a request for support from the interior ministry.
"These dangerous crossings ultimately put people's lives in danger and it is right that we support the Border Force by providing specialist capabilities of defence, and our expert personnel to stop this criminal behaviour," Wallace said in a statement.
More than 1,000 migrants have arrived on Britain's shores in the last 10 days after crossing the Channel in small boats, according to analysis by the domestic Press Association news agency.
 

Anti-racism protesters rally in Kenosha, Trump plans visit

Human Rights Report:

About 1,000 people joined a mile-long march in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Saturday, chanting "Black Lives Matter" and "No Justice, No Peace" as US president Donald Trump announced plans to visit the violence-rocked city next week.
Jacob Blake Sr., father of the 29-year-old Black man whose shooting by a white police officer on Sunday sparked the unrest, called on protesters to refrain from looting and vandalism, which had overshadowed peaceful protests before a tense calm set in the past three nights.
"Good people of this city understand. If we tear it up we have nothing," he told a gathering at a park that was the hub of protests in support of his son, Jacob Blake Jr. "Stop it. Show 'em for one night we don't have to tear up nothing."
The shooting of Blake, in front of three of his children, turned the mostly white city of 100,000 people south of Milwaukee into the latest flashpoint in a summer of US-wide demonstrations against police brutality and racism.
Trump, who has taken a hardline stance against the protests, will visit Kenosha on Tuesday to meet law enforcement officials and assess damage, a White House official told reporters.
"The thing I'd like to tell Mr. President is that Black Lives Matter members are not the thugs, not the looters," said Clyde McLemore, founder of a BLM chapter just outside of Kenosha. "He's blaming us, and that's not the way it is."
Blake, 29, survived but was left badly wounded and paralyzed from the waist down. He will likely participate via video from his hospital room in a court hearing next week about criminal charges that predated the shooting, his lawyer told Reuters on Saturday, adding he would plead not guilty.
Anger at Blake's shooting, captured on video that went viral, led to street skirmishes; protesters hurled firecrackers and bricks at police in riot gear who countered with tear gas and rubber bullets. On Tuesday night a white teenager with a semi-automatic rifle shot three demonstrators, killing two of them.
In Kenosha on Saturday, people painted messages of unity on boards protecting storefronts after many businesses were burned to the ground in arson attacks and vandalism.
Residents hoped calm would hold for a fourth night as protesters, some wearing "Justice for Jacob" masks, spoke about the need for racial justice.


 

People are almost starving since govt failed to continue OMS support

Human Rights Report:

The government has suspended the special open market sale (OMS) of rice introduced to help the urban poor who were forced to cut food consumption after being hit by the coronavirus crisis. Though normalcy yet to be restored and nobody has a clear idea when the economy will resume in full scale, the suspension of special OMS rice sale will bound the urban poor to starve and half starve. The decision surprised many as evidence grew that millions remained half-fed in Bangladesh as they tried to make up for the drastic fall in their income caused by the coronavirus crisis. The situation is further worsened by a devastating flood that continued to wreak havoc across Bangladesh for over a month.
The government decided to shutdown special OMS shops, through which a limited number of ration card holders could buy a kilogram of rice at a subsidized price of Tk 10, which comes amid depleting government rice stock due to poor procurement. The government failed to stock up enough rice needed to run the special OMS rice scheme and was making the poor pay for its failure. It is a classic case of management failure when hungry people roam around, though there is no shortage of food in the country.

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