Dhaka University (DU) authorities have decided to hold classes virtually until further notice due to the ongoing heatwave. The university authorities made the announcement on Thursday (21 April). According to a press release issued by DU today, the  online classes will be held until further notice. However, the residential halls at the university will remain open, Prof Sitesh Chandra Bachar of DU said.

The 3rd Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between Bangladesh and Bhutan was held in Thimphu (April 19) . Bangladesh delegation was led by Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Masud Bin Momen, while Bhutan delegation was led by Pema Choden, Foreign Secretary of Bhutan.  During the Foreign Office Consultations, whole gamut of bilateral relations was discussed. Both the Foreign Secretaries expressed satisfaction on the excellent bilateral relations that exist between Bangladesh and Bhutan. They discussed all the major issues of mutual interests and agreed to promote cooperation encompassing all sectors, especially trade and commerce, health, investment, connectivity, power and energy, tourism, culture and education among others. Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen urged Bhutan to take necessary measures to rejoin the BBIN MVA framework to promote prosperity through people to people contact.  Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh raised the issue of Sustainable Development Fees for tourists and requested to reduce the current SDF for the Bangladeshi tourists. The Bhutanese side assured of positive consideration. The two sides agreed to work together to enhance tourism and foster people to people contact. Both the Foreign Secretaries also discussed the means and ways of faster implementations of the  decisions taken and MoUs signed  during the recent visit by the King of Bhutan to Bangladesh.  Bhutanese Foreign Secretary, Pema Choden, stressed on the exploration of the untapped potential in economic, cultural and educational areas and proposed to establish meaningful collaborative relationship. She mentioned that Bhutan would like to pursue more trade and investment cooperation with Bangladesh. She also stressed on mutual efforts to conclude the pending Agreements/MoUs. She also emphasized on the exchange of government and private level visits between the two countries.  Both the Foreign Secretaries discussed regional issues of mutual interest and  hoped that both countries would continue to work to reinvigorate the SAARC and BIMSTEC processes.  Bangladesh Foreign Secretary also called on Lyonpo D. N. Dhungyel, Minister of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Royal Government of Bhutan at the latter’s office. During the meeting, they discussed the issues of mutual interests including trade & investment, special economic zone in Kurigram, power sector cooperation, cooperation in health and education, regional cooperation etc.  Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen also attended the National Day Reception hosted by the Bangladesh Embassy in Bhutan as the Special Guest. He also inspected the progress of the ongoing construction work of the Chancery and Residence Construction project of Bangladesh Embassy in Thimphu. 

A village official and senior monastery administrator are still detained, sources say. Chinese authorities have released hundreds of monks and other Tibetans arrested in February for peacefully protesting the construction of a dam in a Tibetan-populated area of Sichuan province, but are still holding two accused of being ringleaders, two sources inside Tibet said.  Tenzin Sangpo, senior administrator of Wonto Monastery, and a village official named Tenzin, were arrested on Feb. 23 on suspicion of leading protests last month against the Gangtuo Dam project in Dege county, or Derge in Tibetan, in the province’s Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The dam is expected to submerge six monasteries, including Wonto, and force the resettlement of at least two major communities along the Drichu River, or Jinsha River in Chinese.  All told, more than 1,000 Tibetan monks and residents of Dege county were arrested for protesting. Several of those arrested, including Sangpo and Tenzin, were transferred from where they were previously detained to the larger Dege County Detention Center. Sangpo and Tenzin have been handed over to the government Procuratorate Office, responsible for investigating and prosecuting serious criminal cases, said the sources who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals by authorities. Since then, authorities have provided no details about their whereabouts or the charges against them, the sources said.  “The local Tibetan people are worried that the government will accuse them of having instigated the February protests and being responsible for sharing information with the outside world,” said the first source, referring to Sangpo and Tenzin. Another monk, who has assumed the responsibility of monastery administrator in place of Sangpo, was also briefly detained by authorities, the sources said.  Beaten and given little food or water One monk who was arrested, detained and released said authorities kept those arrested in crowded cells meant to hold fewer than eight people. They also fed the detainees poor quality tsampa – ground-up, roasted barley flour that is a Himalayan staple – fit for horses, mules or other animals. “Some days, we were not given any water to drink,” he said. “On other days, when there was water, we were given very little.” Authorities also slapped the monks and made them run around the prison grounds as punishment for their crimes or beat them if they refused to run, the monk said. “One monk was beaten so badly that he could not even speak,” he said. “He is now under medical treatment.”   Tibetans who had been arrested were pressured to incriminate each other, causing psychological trauma, said the sources. Since the protests and arrests in February, authorities have been closely monitoring villages and monasteries on both sides of the Drichu River, and no outsiders have been allowed to enter the township, sources said.  They have set up five checkpoints between Wonto village and Dege county, with dozens of police at each, they said.  Villages residents and monks from Wonto Monastery are not free to travel unless they have a permit to visit the county, the sources added.  Before the protests, there were more than 50 younger monks at Wonto Monastery, but they were sent to the county government school after the protests. Future of dam project uncertain Chinese officials and media reports have given mixed and contradictory information about the future of the dam project. The Gangtuo Dam is part of a plan that China’s National Development and Reform Commission announced in 2012 to build a massive 13-tier hydropower complex on the Drichu. The total planned capacity of the 13 hydropower stations is 13,920 megawatts.  Some have said that its future is uncertain, with preliminary checks being conducted to determine whether it is possible to complete it, sources said. Their findings will be presented to the State Council, the national cabinet of China, for a final decision. But others made clear that the Gangtuo Dam project would continue, with a visiting county official telling the leaders of the project coordination team to adhere to their work orders and make arrangements for “the next step of work,” according to a local Chinese government announcement.      Source: rfa

The National Eidgah Maidan in the capital is being prepared for the main Eid-ul-Fitr jamaat (congregation). The main congregation of Eid-ul-Fitr will be held at 8:30 am. Md Abu Bakr Siddque, public relation officer of Religious Affairs Ministry confirmed this information to the media on Monday (March 25). However,  But if the weather is unfavourable, for any reason, the main congregation of Eid-ul-Fitr will be held at National Mosque Baitul Mukarram at 9 am. Besides, a total of five Eid congregations will be held at National Mosque Baitul Mukarram. The first congregation will be held at 7 am. Abu Bakar Siddique said that the last congregation will be held at 10:45 am.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal on Thursday said the elections of Mymensingh and Cumilla city corporations were held peacefully. The CEC has made the remarks in an immediate reaction after voting at election commission in the capital on Saturday afternoon (March 9). He said, “The elections were free, fair and peaceful. Though a shooting incident occured outside a centre in cummila city corporation but voting was not affected." Election Commissioner Md Alamgir said that some insignificant incidents took palce outside the polling stations but those was insignificant considering the situation of Bangladesh’s local government polls context.

The CCP exerts significant control even over notionally private firms operating overseas. Sadly, Chinese citizens’ well-being seems to be the only area that that control does not penetrate. Many Chinese workers employed by Chinese companies abroad suffer degrading conditions. A China Labor Watch investigation in China’s Belt and Road nickel production projects in Indonesia, for example, found labor abuses such as wage withholding and extremely poor safety practices to be routine. Of course the employers shoulder much of the blame for these abuses, but it would be a mistake to believe they are the only ones responsible. Host countries also have a large part to play in minimizing the extent of labor violations. But China’s party-state itself should hold the ultimate responsibility, especially given the Communist Party’s compulsion to control over all aspects of the country and the Chinese people.  A case in point is governance activities called “Party Building Work (党建工作) (hereby PBW). Historically, PBW involves regular or irregular meetings, workshops, or performances to “study” policy documents and work policies within the CCP bureaucracy. The goal is to enforce acceptance and propagate ideologies such as “socialism with Chinese characteristics” and loyalty to CCP’s traditions and central organ’s leadership. Aside from checking the bureaucratic boxes, PBW carries a more practical meaning of showcasing CCP members’ fulfillment of their “political responsibilities” to stand in line with the party core cadre. There has been a recent surge of PBW activities. Starting in 2015, policies were issued mandating regular PBW activities as a crucial part of Chinese state-owned enterprises’ (SOEs) corporate compliance. Other Chinese entities were soon required to follow suit. In 2018, the CCP Central Committee issued a regulation stipulating that organizations and entities with three or more CCP members present must establish party branches (党支部) to conduct PBW.  Given that there are over 98 million CCP members – representing about 7 percent of China’s total population – on average any company employing at least 45 Chinese nationals could be expected to have three CCP members present. That means a large number of CCP-affiliated and -funded activities in Chinese-run entities worldwide are required to host party branches and conduct PBW, marking a global expansion of CCP-affiliated activities. According to the State-owned Asset Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), in 2018, China’s central SOEs (companies owned or supervised by CCP central organs) directed 3,116 Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects – the country’s transnational, strategic, state-backed development projects – worldwide. And through a cursory look into public announcements issued by 100 central SOEs on the SASAC list, a total of 61 were found to have engaged in PBW abroad.  PBW generally comprises political exercises centered around ensuring CCP ideological and institutional governance over individuals and companies overseas and/or improving China’s image and expanding China’s influence, cultural, political, and otherwise. Screenings of “red” history documentaries (i.e., documentaries on China’s history with an emphasis on the CCP’s value), for example, belong to the prior category and PBW-branded charity events go under the latter category.  Why are Chinese companies doing PBW abroad? In an increasingly globalized world, an increasing number of Chinese companies, professionals, and students seek opportunities abroad. These Chinese citizens – especially those residing in democratic societies – are essentially beyond the CCP’s control, which presents a destabilizing risk to the party. The increased spread of PBW abroad appears to be a response to this existential threat.  Let’s not forget that Chinese companies operate in a unique system of state capitalism that functions under China’s authoritarian logic. This logic requires centralized control, be it ideological, economic, or institutional. And in fact, China has successfully controlled virtually all aspects of institutions and people’s livelihood in China, which is achieved through control and surveillance apparatus penetrating China’s cultural, economic, and political institutions, censoring discourse and collective memories, and shaping how people think and live. PBW is a manifestation of this logic of state control.  What Does This Mean for Labor?  What are the implications of the CCP’s activities in Chinese-run entities within China or overseas, manifested through PBW?  One obvious implication concerns geopolitics. China’s involvement of civilian party members in CCP-centered political exercises is nothing new. Yet the heightened PBW requirements to disseminate CCP core values and justify its rule in virtually every corner of Chinese society and institutions (even those overseas) in recent years is new – and bears a worrying resemblance to the Mao era political frenzy. The political work of party cells embedded in commercial entities, as performed by Chinese citizens abroad, potentially challenges the unspoken principles of sovereignty and nonintervention underlying the current order of international relations. Further, the reality of PBW within Chinese-run companies exposes the myth that Chinese companies are entities driven (solely) by corporate interests. Instead, Chinese companies – particularly SOEs – are, in multiple ways, intimately connected with the CCP. These entities have the expressed need to follow the Chinese government’s “leadership” and protect China’s policy and economic interests. It is, in fact, more appropriate to understand Chinese SOEs as extended branches of the Chinese government. The far-reaching impact of PBW is a clear example that China’s party-state can directly influence Chinese-run entities abroad. After Beijing’s passing of the all-encompassing PBW law, not only Chinese businesses, but civil society organizations such as Chinese Student Associations of different schools have been participating in PBW. And Chinese companies’ contracting of overseas projects, foreign aid, charity events, and other publicity activities overseas often brandish the party-building brand, connecting their PBW to China’s national interest of enhancing its “soft power” in the global scene. But as media and China Labor Watch’s reports show, labor rights abuses are common in Chinese-run companies overseas, overshadowing the “China Image” that PBW tries to create. Long hours, wage withholding, poor living and working conditions, and poor health and safety protection and forced labor are endemic to Chinese companies. Passport confiscation is a common practice to strip workers of the freedom to leave and select new employers. Physical segregation is devised to ensure Chinese workers are isolated from local workers and local communities. Chinese living quarters are usually enclosed compounds with strict entrance and exit controls, and Chinese workers often report facing repercussions for speaking to the outside world about their mistreatment.  All of these conditions are occurring even though Chinese management is supposed to abide by Chinese labor laws. The Chinese government bears irrefutable responsibility for labor rights abuses in these entities, especially SOEs.  China’s government might seek to duck this responsibility by claiming it cannot enforce labor laws overseas, but the party branches set up in these overseas SOEs are clear evidence of the CCP’s extraterritorial reach. Yet party cells embedded in SOEs do not seem to have taken any interest in the well-being of the Chinese workers being exploited in these enterprises, despite PBW flirting with the idea of creating a good “China image” globally.  Sadly, Chinese citizens’ well-being seems to be the only area that PBW’s control does not penetrate. Given the CCP’s pervasive and controlling presence in firms overseas, it cannot evade accountability for the abuses committed by these companies.

Election to 233 local government bodies, including by-polls to Cumilla City Corporation (CCC) and general election to Mymensingh City Corporation (MCC), will be held on March 9. Election Commission (EC) secretariat secretary Jahangir Alam announced the polls schedule at a press conference held at Agargaon Nirbachan Bhaban today (Jan 24). According to the schedule, the last date for submission of nomination papers to the returning officers is on February 13 and nomination papers will be scrutinized on February 15. Appeals against cancellation of candidatures will be settled on February 19 and 20.   The last date for withdrawal of candidatures is February 22 and symbol will be distributed on February 23.   Voting will take place from 8am to 4pm on March 9.   EC secretary said voting of city corporations, pourashavas and district councils will take place in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). But ballot paper will be used in general elections of union parishads and different vacant posts, he added.   Jahangir Alam said Regional election officials will act as returning office for Mymensingh and Cumilla city corporation polls.   Source: BSS

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested a fugitive militant of an outlawed militant outfit "Hijbut Tahrir" from the city's Kotwali area.   The arrested was identified as Ahmmed Nizam, 35, who was a top cadre of the banned militant outfit and was a fugitive while he was convicted for two-year in five cases.   Acting on a tip-off, a team of the elite forces arrested him around 3:30 pm on Monday from Kotwali Police Station area in the capital, Senior ASP Shihab Karim, also a senior assistant director (Media) of the RAB, disclosed the matter today (Jan 17).   A total of five cases---four had been under the Anti-Terrorist Act and the rest other was filed under Police Assault Case-- filed with Khilgaon Police Station against Nizam in 2013, he said.   Nizam also had been working in the dawati department of the banned outfit and carrying out militant activities while keeping himself in a hiding place for a long. He had completed diploma in Civil Engineering from a Polytechnic Institute in 2010, the sources said.

Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate officials arrested a woman with 8.217 kilograms (kg) of gold at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) here last night. Detainee Rekha Parveen reached Dhaka from Dubai on a flight of Emirates Airlines. "On a tip off, the officials conducted a drive inside the aircraft and arrested the woman. 69 gold bars, a chain and three pairs of gold bangles were recovered from her possession at that time," Assistant Director of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate Farhana Begum told. The total worth of the seized gold is approximately Taka 6.58 crore, she said. "She was handed over to the airport police after a case was filed against her in this regard," the official added.    Source: BSS

On 6 December, UNHCR held project launch of China’s hygiene kits donation to displaced people, hosted by Sumbul Rizvi, UNHCR New Representative in Bangladesh. H.E. Yao Wen, Ambassador of China to Bangladesh attended and delivered a key note speech. Mizanur Rahman, Joint Secretary of Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Md. Keramot Ali, Programme Coordinator of Myanmar Refugee Relief Operation of Bangladesh Red Crescent Society also participate in this event.   Yao indicated that since the outbreak of the Rohingya crisis more than six years ago, Prime Minister Hasina and the Government of Bangladesh have provided generous assistance to the displaced people, fully demonstrating the humanitarian spirit.   However, with the decreasing attention and assistance from the international community, the living conditions and security situation of the camps aredeteriorating. The displaced people are eager to return to their homes, and they should do so. Chinese Government is committed to promoting the joint efforts of Bangladesh and Myanmar to achieve the repatriation process at the earliest date.   At the same time, Chinese Government is also very concerned about the survival of the displaced people, especially women and children. The donation of $1.5 million hygiene kits will help the displaced women raise their awareness of hygiene and improve their health. China stands ready to further strengthen its cooperation with UN agencies, including UNHCR, and to work actively for the repatriation and resolution of the issue of displaced people. Ms Rizvi expresses her sincere gratitude to the Chinese side for its assistance to the displaced people, especially women and children. She noted that the camps for displaced peoples are currently facing a serious humanitarian crisis. The generous assistance provided by the Chinese Government at this critical moment fully reflects its concern for the displaced people, its support for the work of UNHCR, demonstrating the moral commitment of a responsible major country. UNHCR appreciates the Chinese side's commitment to solve the issue of displaced people politically, shares the view that voluntary, safe and sustainable repatriation is the only way to solve the issue, and is willing to further strengthen cooperation with the Chinese side.