The Labour Reform Commission, one of the five commissions formed in the second phase to recommend state reforms, submitted its final report to Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus at noon on Monday. The interim government formed five commissions in the second phase to recommend media, health, labour, women, and local government reforms. Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed served as the head of this commission formed for labour reforms. The reports of the six reform commissions formed in the first phase have already been published. The commissions gave recommendations for constitutional reform, judicial reform, electoral system reform, public administration reform, police reform and Anti-Corruption Commission reform.

The criticism began after the commission handed over its report to Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus on Saturday. Hifazat has given the government until May 3 to meet several demands, including the dissolution of the commission. In the statement, party chief Shafiqur Rahman said: “The Women’s Affairs Reform Commission submitted its report to the chief advisor (Saturday). While Jamaat rejected the report, Hifazat wants the entire commission scrapped. Hifazat chief Shah Muhibullah Babunagari presided over the meeting, attended by Secretary General Sajidur Rahman and other senior leaders.

They have been arrested in a raid in Dhaka’s Mohakhali, police sayPolice have arrested three teenagers over the murder of Primeasia University student Zahidul Islam Parvez. The case filed by the deceased's cousin Humayun Kabir over Parvez’s murder names eight suspects, including two leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement. Among them, Tushar has been identified in the complaint as the joint convener of the Banani Thana Anti-Discrimination Student Movement unit. At a press conference on Sunday, the Chhatra Dal alleged that some leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement from Banani were involved in the murder, claiming Parvez as one of its activists. However, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement denied the allegations of the Chhatra Dal on its Facebook page, stating that the Chhatra Dal was lying and that their leaders were not involved in the incident.

The government has held only "vague policy-level discussions" on the Teesta project without any internal consensus or feasibility study, according to Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud.Asked whether the government or the National Economic Council's Executive Committee (ECNEC) has had any formal discussions on the project, Wahiduddin said the matter remains largely at a conceptual level. "Only vague, policy-level discussions are taking place on the Teesta project. Years ago, China submitted something resembling a design, but it doesn't really qualify as a project proposal. The chief adviser has sought President Xi Jinping's support, and China has expressed full commitment to assist us. "The Teesta project was originally proposed to the now-ousted Awami League government by China.During former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's final months in office, tensions reportedly surfaced between her government and Beijing over the matter.In a briefing in mid-July 2024, Hasina also said she was considering offering the project to India.

The three-member tribunal, led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder, passed the order on Sunday following a plea from the prosecution. Chief Prosecutor Md Tajul Islam told the tribunal that "hundreds of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances" had taken place during the period. Among them, 300 victims were killed. The investigation agency has so far visited several sites linked to enforced disappearances, including a so-called "detention centre" at the RAB-1 office in Uttara, where victims were allegedly kept. According to the prosecution, torture equipment used on victims after abduction was also recovered from these locations.

An investigating agency says it has found initial evidence of organised "crimes against humanity" during the July Uprising against Awami League General Secretary and former minister Obaidul Quader and 44 others, reports bdnews24.com. Chief Prosecutor Advocate M Tajul Islam presented the finding to the International Crimes Tribunal on Sunday. He asked for three more months to submit the investigation report in the case, and the three-member tribunal headed by Justice Md Golam Murtaza Mozumder granted it. During the hearing, Tajul said that the tribunal had issued arrest warrants against 45 people, including Quader, in the case. In addition, it reviewed the videos recorded on the mobile phones of the people present at the scene, reports and video clips published in print and electronic media, and medical records from the hospital."

Editor : Iqbal Sobhan ChowdhuryPublished by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Online: 41053014; Advertisement: 41053012.E-mail: [email protected] , news©dailyobserverbd.com, advertisement©dailyobserverbd.com, For Online Edition: mailobserverbd©gmail.com

Air Astra, the newest privately-owned Bangladeshi airline, seeks to procure three to four Airbus jets to fly international routes two and a half years after its launch, reports bdnews24.com. The company called for proposals involving "Dry/operating lease or outright purchase" of Airbus aircraft from the A320 and A321 series on their website and Facebook page. We want to buy Airbus aircraft." However, we would like to operate flights on international routes by 2025." Air Astra launched commercial flights on domestic routes on November 24, 2022.

Mufti Shuaib Ibrahim, the leader of the “Khatm-e-Nabuwat Markaz”, spokw at a gathering and spread false allegations against the Ahmadiyya group, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at claimsAhmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Bangladesh has expressed its “grave concern” regarding a recent incident where about 60 members of the group were allegedly forced to leave their faith under pressure created by a group of anti-Ahmadiyya Maulvis under the banner of “Khatm-e-Nabuwat Markaz”. The incident occurred at Rupsha in Khulna on Apr 16, the group said. The anti-Ahmadiyya organisation created pressure on the Ahmadiyya families to leave their faith, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at claims. Islam does not permit the application of force on matters of faith and beliefs, the statement said. Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at appealed to the government to look into the matter and ensure freedom of religion and belief of the citizens, including the Ahmadi Muslims.

The government has held only “vague policy-level discussions” on the Teesta project without any internal consensus or feasibility study, according to Planning Advisor Wahiduddin Mahmud. “Only vague, policy-level discussions are taking place on the Teesta project. When asked about the much-discussed Teesta River project, Wahiduddin said: “The reality is, how can we make full use of the water we do receive? Speaking about the visit, Chief Advisor’s High Representative Khalilur Rahman told the media that China responded “positively” to discussions on the Teesta project. The chief advisor has sought President Xi Jinping’s support, and China has expressed full commitment to assist us.”The Teesta project was originally proposed to the now-ousted Awami League government by China.

Chief Prosecutor Md Tajul Islam told the tribunal that “hundreds of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances” had taken place during the period. He requested two more months for submission of the full investigation report. The investigation agency has so far visited several sites linked to enforced disappearances, including a so-called “detention centre” at the RAB-1 office in Uttara, where victims were allegedly kept. On Jan 6, the tribunal issued arrest warrants against 11, including Hasina, former defence advisor Tarique Ahmed Siddique, and former IGP Benazir Ahmed. Over 50 complaints have so far been submitted to the tribunal against Hasina, her ministers, MPs, and senior Awami League leaders—many of them relating to enforced disappearances.

The Karigari Chhatra Andolon (Technical Students’ Movement), a protest platform for students under the Technical Education Board, have announced protest rallies in districts across the country on Sunday to push for a six-point list of demands. A rally is to be held today in Dhaka’s Agargaon near the Mohila Polytechnic Institute at 11:00 am. “The rally will start on the new road next to the Mohila Polytechnic Institute in Agargaon at 11:00 am. At the end of the programme, the students covered the name of the institute on the main gate with red cloth. On Friday afternoon, the polytechnic students held mass marches while wearing “burial shrouds”.

The Women’s Affairs Reform Commission of Bangladesh proposed increasing parliamentary seats to 600, with one general and one reserved for women per constituency. read moreThe Women’s Affairs Reform Commission of Bangladesh has suggested expanding the number of seats in the parliament to 600, with one general seat for each parliamentary constituency and one allocated for women, according to a media source on Saturday. After submitting the report to Yunus, the Commission head, Shirin Parveen Haque, explained the reason for proposing 600 seats at a press conference at the Foreign Service Academy. So 600 seats seem logical enough. Whether in a discussion or a debate, we believe 600 seats is not too many for this population.

The US State Department has been screening foreign students' data, including their activism, over the past four monthsThe US government's recent crackdown on international students has raised concerns, particularly among Indian students. According to a report by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), about half of the 327 recent visa revocations collected by the organisation have been of Indian students. The AILA brief, titled “The Scope of Immigration Enforcement Actions Against International Students”, highlights that 50 percent of these students were from India, followed by 14 percent from China. The impact of these visa revocations is significant, with 50 percent of the 327 cases being Optional Practical Training (OPT) holders. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We are aware that several Indian students have received communication from the US government regarding their F-1 visa status.

“We have noted with distress the abduction and brutal killing of Shri Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh. This killing follows a pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities under the interim government,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote on X on Saturday. A man named Bhabesh Chandra Roy, 52, died in Biral on Thursday. Indian newspaper the Hindustan Times wrote, "Bhabesh's death by beating after abduction was reported by PTI [Press Trust of India] citing local media reports. Bhabesh's son, Swapan Chandra Roy, told bdnews24.com that his father had gone to a nearby market on a motorcycle with some people he knew in the area.