Northern Ireland is to swear in Michelle O'Neill as the first Irish nationalist leader in its history after an agreement with pro-UK unionists. The development is seen by many as a milestone on the path to reunification. Northern Ireland lawmakers were set to elect Irish nationalist Michelle O'Neill as first minister on Saturday — a landmark event in a province established more than a century ago to ensure that pro-British unionists would never lose their grip on power. O'Neill's ascent to the role is the latest sign that her Sinn Fein party's ultimate goal of achieving a united Ireland may be within touching distance.   What is the importance of this? The 1998 Good Friday Agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement, brought with it the end of three decades of sectarian violence over UK rule in Northern Ireland. Under its terms, intended to maintain a delicate balance between the province's largely Catholic nationalist and mainly Protestant unionist communities, the first minister and deputy first minister essentially share power. The only real difference in the first-among-equals arrangement is that the first minister greets official visitors to Northern Ireland before the deputy first minister. The 47-year-old O'Neill has been first minister-designate since May 2022, when Sinn Fein emerged as the largest party in elections for the 90-seat Northern Ireland Assembly. She will share power with a deputy first minister from the pro-UK Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). That development reflects the shifting demographics of the province since the island of Ireland was divided into two states in 1921. "This is an historic day. It is about the future," O'Neill said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, ahead of her swearing-in. "As a First Minister for All, I am determined to lead positive change for everyone, and to work together with others to progress our society in a spirit of respect, cooperation, and equality."   Why is it happening now? O'Neill had not been able to take up the role of first minister because of a boycott of the assembly by Sinn Fein's arch-rival, the DUP. The DUP said it was unhappy about post-Brexit trading rules for Northern Ireland, which shares the only border that the UK has with the European Union. Under the 1998 peace deal, signed when the UK was a member of the EU, the land border needs to be kept open with no customs checks and infrastructure. As a result, checks had to be introduced on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from mainland Britain.   The arrangement — keeping only Northern Ireland in the EU single market— upset unionists who feared it risked cutting the province adrift from the rest of the UK. In turn, there were fears that this would make a united Ireland more likely.   The DUP finally agreed to a deal this week after the UK government eased customs checks and other constraints on goods crossing the Irish Sea. That followed the agreement of the so-called Windsor Framework with the EU to make the changes possible.   There were also small legal changes to assure unionists that Northern Ireland's position in the UK is secure, at least for the time being. A referendum on Irish unity is at the discretion of the British government, which would come under pressure to approve such a vote if it appears likely a majority would seek to join a united Ireland.   When Northern Ireland was formed, the population split was roughly two-thirds Protestant to one-third Catholic. A 2021 census showed Catholics outnumbering Protestants for the first time.

The month-long "Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela 2024", the country's largest book fair, is going to begin on its traditional date of the first day of February this year. "Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to open the fair to be held under the auspices of Bangla Academy on its premises and Suhrawardy Udyan on February 1 at 3 pm," Member Secretary of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair Committee Dr KM Muzahidul Islam told BSS.   A total of 895 stalls have been allocated to 573 organizations. Among them 786 are general stalls while 109 stalls will be dedicated to little magazine chattar, said Muzahidul. Moreover, a total of 37 pavilions have been allocated this year. Last year, a total of 901 stalls were allocated in favour of 601 organizations. This year, the entire work of the fair is being done by Bangla Academy alone to avoid any criticism, said Muzahidul, adding, "In the previous years, some event management companies were involved in fair arrangements which faced some criticism last year".   The preparation for the fair started soon after the end of the last fair and committees have been formulated in three-phase - committee for preparation phase, committee for inaugural ceremony and separate committees for conducting the month-long fair. Along with cultural programmes and month-long seminars, there will be arrangements for children and teenagers which include drawing, music and recitation competitions. Stall allotment for old and newly enlisted publications was done through a digitalized lottery system on January 23, said the organizers. Meanwhile, besides the enlisted 601 organizations, some 70 new publications have applied to get stall allocation responding to the notice. Among them, 23 new publications got selected.   Like previous years, the main stage of the fair will be on the Bangla Academy premises while book unwrapping and 'Lekhak Bolchi' stages will be set up on Suhrawardi Udyan premises, said Mujahidul. 'Shishu Chattar' has also been set up in Sadhu Shanga area beside the Ramna Kali Temple. For notable contributions to various aspects of Bangla literature, this year, the Bangla Academy Literary Award-2023 will be given to 16 individuals in 11 categories- poetry, fiction, essay/research, translation, drama, children's literature category, Liberation War, Bangabandhu, environment/science field, biography and folklore.   Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will hand over the awards at the inaugural ceremony of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair-2024 scheduled to begin on February 1, said the release. The award recipients are: Shamim Azad (poetry), Novelists Nuruddin Jahangir and Salma Bani (jointly in fiction), Zulfikar Matin (essay/research), Saleha Chowdhury (translation), Playwrights Mrittika Chakma and Masud Pathik (jointly in drama), Tapankar Chakrabarty (children's literature), Afroza Parvin and Asaduzzaman Asad (research on the Liberation War), Saifullah Mahmud Dulal and Md Mojibur Rahman (research on Bangabandhu), ornithologist Inam Al Haque (environment/science field), Ishak Khan (biography) and Tapan Bagchi and Suman Kumar Das (jointly in folklore). Meanwhile, Dhaka Metropolitan Police has taken all measures like the previous years to ensure foolproof security of the Fair considering current political situation and challenges caused from operation of the metro rail in the book  fair area. Militancy, arson attacks and traffic management are among the main challenges centering the book fair, DMP said in a press release after a meeting with senior police officials. DMP observed that Metrorail service has appeared as a new challenge as it was noticed that miscreants have been trying to carry out sabotages on the Metrorail. However, DMP will deploy a sufficient number of police personnel in both uniform and plain cloth inside and outside the book fair ground while a watch tower and fire tender will be set up to monitor everything around the fair venue, he said. Besides, the fairground and its surroundings will be monitored round the clock with CCTV cameras and drones, DMP commissioner said. Team of DMP will sweep the whole venue while social media will be monitored to thwart rumours.   Source: BSS

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi jointly inaugurated the 12.24 km Akhaura-Agartala cross-border rail link on Wednesday, November 1. The big project foster possibilities in trade, business, tourism and people to people contact between two countries. The two leaders jointly opened the rail link unveiling the inaugural plaque by pressing button through video conferencing, from Dhaka and New Delhi. Reports BSS. At the same programme, they also jointly inaugurated India-assisted two more development projects, Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line; and Unit - II of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant. Chief Minister of India's Tripura Dr Manik Saha also virtually joined the event. The 12.24 km Akhaura-Agartala Cross-Border Rail Link project with a 6.78 km Dual Gauge rail line in Bangladesh and 5.46 km in Tripura has been implemented under India grant assistance of INR 392.52 crore. On Monday, the trial run took place on this route by a cargo train that travelled from Bangladesh's Gangasagar to Nischintapur railway station in Agartala while the trial run of passenger train will be conducted soon. The Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line project has been implemented with India's concessional Line of Credit as its total project cost is $388.92 million (69.18 percent funding came from Indian LoC). The construction work of the approximately 64.7km rail line was completed at a cost of Tk 4,260 crore which to usher in new opportunities in trade and commerce in the country's southwestern region, including the Mongla Port. With opening of the rail link, Mongla, the second largest port of Bangladesh, has got connected to the broad-gauge railway network. The Maitree Super Thermal Power Project under Indian Concessional Financing Scheme loan of $1.6 billion, features 1320MW (2x660) Super Thermal Power Plant (MSTPP) located in Rampal in Khulna Division. The plant help meet the growing demand of power in Bangladesh. The project has been implemented by the Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company (Private) Limited (BIFPCL), which is a 50:50 Joint Venture company between India's NTPC Ltd and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). Unit I of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant was unveiled jointly by the two prime ministers in September 2022 as Unit 2 was inaugurated today. The operationalization of Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant will enhance energy security in Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to inaugurate the Agargaon-Motijheel part of Dhaka Metro Rail MRT Line-6 on October 29. Earlier on December, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the first phase of the first ever metro rail from Uttara to Agargaon. ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, Secretary of Road Transport and Highways Division said, "Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the Agargaon-Motijheel part of Dhaka Metro Rail MRT Line-6 on October 29."    After the opening of Agargaon-Motijheel section, general people will avail the service from Uttara to Motijheel, he said.  The secretary said the high-speed trains will help reduce carbon emissions . . . reduce traffic. However, It will take just 40 minutes from Uttara to Motijheel. 

The inauguration of the third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, or Terminal 3 - one of the most exciting and potentially transformative projects undertaken by the Awami League-led governments across three electoral cycles.  Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the first phase of the project on October 7. The chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), Air Vice Marshal Mofidur Rahman confirmed the news.  The preparation for the inauguration is in its final stages. Structure of the terminal is ready, and now equipment is being installed,” AVM Mofidur said “The preparation for the inauguration is in its final stages. Structure of the terminal is ready, and now equipment is being installed.” However, The total area of the third terminal building is going to be 230,000 square metres, with a capacity of handling 12 million passengers annually.

After the successful conclusion of inter-upazila and inter-district phase, curtain of final phase of Sheikh Kamal 2nd Bangladesh Youth Games 2023 is being formally rise today. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the final phase of the Games as the chief guest with state-owned Bangladesh Television to telecast the inaugural ceremony live that begins at 7 pm at the Bangladesh Army Stadium. The volleyball and chess events of the Games have already began from today (Saturday), one day before the formal inauguration ceremony. The Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) organized the Youth Games for the first time in 2018. The main motto of the Games was to select future players for national teams in various disciplines and to groom the talents of young athletes. At the same time, the BOA also has taken initiative to ensure the regular presence of young athletes in the sports arena. The BOA has been organizing Bangladesh Games and Youth Games every four years since 2018. In the first edition Youth Games, fifty thousand athletes, coaches, technical officials and sports organizers participated in twenty one disciplines. However the number of disciplines including individual and team has been increased to twenty four in the second edition. Nearly four thousand athletes will compete for 193 gold, 193 silver and 287 bronze medals in 193 events of twenty four disciplines in the final phase. The second edition of the Youth Games has been named after Sheikh Kamal, the eldest son of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Earlier, the inter-upazila first phase of the games was held from January 2-10 last, the inter-district second phase was held from January 16-22 January last. Eight divisions are participating in the final phase in Dhaka. Organised by Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA), Sheikh Kamal 2nd Bangladesh Youth Games is being held in three phases under the overall direction of Sheikh Kamal 2nd Bangladesh Youth Games' chief patron Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

During four day visit to the UK and Italy, Indian Army chief General MM Naravane innagurates the Indian Army Memorial at Cassino in Italy. Between July 5 and July 8, MM Naravane talks his counterparts and the senior military leadership of these countries. In the Battle of Monte Cassino during World War II 3,100 commonwealth servicemen who took part in the effort to liberate Itally. Apart from this, 900 Indian soldiers were also commemorates on this memorial. Nearly 50,000 Indians were enlisted for Italy’s liberation between September 1943 and April 1945. Both the UK and Italy are important partners for India in the fields of defence, healthcare, aerospace, education, clean technology, renewable energy and information and communication technology among others, officials said. The visit to the United Kingdom Naravane interacts with the British Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of General Staff, the Minister of State for defence and other dignitaries. Officials said during the second leg of his tour, the Army Chief discusses with the Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of Staff of the Italian Army. These visits are part of military diplomacy that marks an ongoing process in India’s outreach to important partner countries and signals India’s increasing importance in the wider global community as a significant player and a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific. Source: India Today

Eleven water treatment plants are in operation to provide safe drinking water for the people of Bhandaria in Pirojpur. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the water treatment plants through video conference. The project was implemented with financial support from India. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from New Delhi and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from Dhaka joined the video conference and inaugurated the project jointly. On this occasion a program was organized by the Pirojpur district administration at Bhandaria Government College ground where Member of Parliament from Pirojpur-2 constituency and former minister Anwar Hossain Manju, Deputy Commissioner Abu Ali Md. Sajjad Hossain, district council Chairman Mahiuddin Maharaj, police Super Salam Kabir among others were present. Mentionable, 11 water treatment plants were constructed at 11 points of Bhandaria upazila sadar with 11 and half crore taka financial support from India. General people can drink the purified water like mineral water. 5 thousand liters purified water will be reserved round the clock in each plant. At Bhandaria 51 thousand families will get the benefit of safe drinking water. AH

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate Boeing's 787-8 Dreamliner 'Hangsabalaka' at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Wednesday noon. After inauguration, the premier will look around the aircraft. Hangsabalaka, the second dreamliner of the national flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines, reached Dhaka on Saturday night after flying around 16 hours non-stop from Seattle, USA. With this one, the number of Dreamliner of Biman Bangladesh Airlines is two while the number of aircrafts in Biman fleet reaches 15. The Biman got the first of their Dreamliner Boeing 787-8, known as Akashbeena, on August 19. The commercial operation of the aircraft will begin on December 10. Six flights of the aircraft will be operated on Dhaka-London route, four on Dhaka-Dammam route and three on Dhaka-Bangkok route in a week. In 2008, Biman Bangladesh Airlines signed a US$2.1 billion agreement with Boeing to purchase 10 new aircrafts. Of these, Boeing has already delivered six 777-300ER’s and two 737-800’s and one Dreamliner to Biman. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has named all four Dreamliners in advance. The passengers of the Dreamliner, which has 271 seats, with 247 economy and 24 business class slots, will get wi-fi facility at the altitude of 43,000 feet. The 787 Dreamliner is Boeing’s most fuel-efficient and environment-friendly aircraft as it consumes about 20 per cent less fuel compared to other aircraft. MHK

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to formally inaugurate the second Teesta Road Bridge constructed on the Teesta at the juncture of Rangpur and Lalmonirhat through a videoconferencing from Ganabhaban on Sunday. A wave of cheerfulness caught the people in adjoining six upazilas of Rangpur and Lalmonirhat districts giving a festive look before the videoconferencing to be held on Lalmonirhat end of the bridge at 11.30 am. Reports BSS. Rangpur and Lalmonirhat district administrations, Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED) and law enforcement agencies have completed preparations to arrange videoconferencing of the Prime Minister. Deputy Commissioners Enamul Habib of Rangpur and Mohammad Shafiul Arif of Lalmonirhat told reporters that preparations were completed for the videoconferencing to be held on north side of the bridge under Kaliganj upazila. Public representatives, government officials, political leaders, civil society members and elite of both districts will attend the videoconferencing at Lalmonirhat end. Kaliganj Upazila Engineer of LGED Parvez Newaz Khan said the LGED has constructed the pre-stressed concrete girder bridge at around Taka 123-crore after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated its construction works on April 12 in 2012. “Commissioning of the bridge will improve communication networks paving the way to accelerate economic progress in the region side by side with promoting international trade through the Burimari Land Port (BLP),” he said. The 850-metre long bridge with 9.60-metre width, including footpaths in both sides, has been constructed on 16 pillars with 17 spans on 85 girders and two apartment walls on the river Teesta at the juncture of Rangpur and Lalmonirhat districts. “The Prime Minister will formally inaugurate the bridge on Sunday to fulfill another long-cherished demand of over 18-lakh people of adjoining six upazilas of Rangpur and Lalmonirhat,” Khan added. Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) of Rangpur Rabiul Islam said commissioning of the second Teesta Road Bridge would contribute to speed up progress for bringing socio-economic benefits to the common people. “The bridge will open a new door to development improving communication system to expand regional and international trade and promote agriculture and other sectors to change socio-economic conditions of the people,” he said. Talking to BSS in each side of the bridge, local people Shamsul Haque, Armina Begum and Abdul Mannan said the bridge would establish direct communication with divisional city of Rangpur, capital city Dhaka and other parts of the country. “The Teesta was the main obstacle so far for the people of six upazilas for direct road communication between Lalmonirhat and Rangpur districts,” said housewife Kobiza Khatun of adjoining Mohipur village. Kaliganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Rabiul Hassan said the bridge would reduce 60-km distance between Dhaka and Rangpur with BLP to pave the way for increasing international trade among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN). President of Rangpur Chamber Mostafa Sohrab Chowdhury Titu said commissioning of the bridge would ease shipping of export-import goods and encourage joint investments in the region to enhance international trade among the BBIN nations through the BLP. AH