RELIANCE

SIRAJGANJ: Bangladesh is standing amid what he described as a “ruined” economic landscape and could eventually face difficulties paying government officials because of the country’s mounting debt, Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku said on Friday. “If we do not plan properly, there will come a time when it will be difficult even to pay the salaries of government officials,” Tuku said at a meeting with officials and employees of Sirajganj municipality. He said development would not be sustainable without proper planning and that the government had prepared a budget aimed at avoiding excessive tax pressure on ordinary citizens. Implementing the budget, he added, would require cooperation between the public and the administration. Municipal services Earlier on Friday, Tuku handed over six vehicles, including dump trucks, for use in the city’s waste-cleaning operations. He also climbed onto one of the trucks, explaining that his gesture was prompted by mem...

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has nominated its secretary-general and Local Government Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as its candidate for the country’s 23rd presidency, according to senior party leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi. Rizvi, the BNP’s senior joint secretary-general, told reporters at the Secretariat on Thursday that BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman finalised Fakhrul’s candidacy during a meeting with senior party leaders. Fakhrul resigned from his positions as BNP secretary-general and a member of the party’s standing committee after being selected as the presidential candidate, Rizvi said. Presidential election could be contested Thursday is the deadline for submitting nominations for the presidential election. Under the Election Commission’s schedule, nomination papers can be filed with the returning officer at the Election Commission headquarters between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. A separate nomination has already been submi...

DHAKA: Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have agreed to significantly expand air connectivity between the two countries, increasing the permitted number of weekly passenger flights from 49 to 84 and introducing new opportunities for cargo operations and airline cooperation. The expanded framework was outlined by Air Vice Marshal Md Mostafa Mahmood Siddiq , chairman of the Bangladesh Civil Aviation Authority (CAAB), during a meeting with media representatives at CAAB headquarters in Dhaka on Thursday. Under the new memorandum of understanding between the two countries’ civil aviation authorities, designated airlines will be permitted to operate up to 84 passenger flights a week , an increase of 35 flights from the previous limit. The agreement also provides for 21 cargo flights a week , fifth-freedom traffic rights, code-sharing, co-terminalisation and aircraft leasing arrangements. More Flights for Pilgrims and Migrant Workers CAAB said the additional passenger capacity is expected to help...

TAIPEI: Taiwan has detected a series of unusual cyberattacks targeting government agencies that allegedly used artificial intelligence to automate parts of the hacking process, according to the island's Ministry of Digital Affairs. The attacks, which originated from overseas and were first detected on July 20, targeted government systems and later expanded to include Taiwan's nuclear safety authority and at least seven energy companies, the ministry said. Israeli artificial intelligence security company Dream told the Financial Times that the attackers used open-source AI agents to develop an automated hacking tool capable of operating like a coordinated cyber team. Dream described the incident as unprecedented in its experience. 85 Government Accounts Compromised According to Dream, the attackers gained access to at least 85 government user accounts and collected information relating to more than 2,500 employees . Taiwan's cybersecurity monitoring authorities detected ...

FENI: A police station chief in Bangladesh’s Feni district who had been ordered to be withdrawn from his post was rebuffed by a judge after entering a courtroom without permission and attempting to draw the judge’s attention by saluting three times, according to court sources and officials. The incident involving Mohammad Faizul Azim Noman , officer-in-charge of Daganbhuiyan Police Station, took place on Wednesday, Aug. 12, at the Feni Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal, where Judge A.N.M. Morshed Khan was presiding. Court-related sources said Noman had earlier sought permission to meet the judge before the hearing began but was told that he could not meet the judge without authorization. He later entered the courtroom after proceedings had begun and saluted the judge three times. The judge then asked court staff to identify the officer and, after learning who he was, told him that there was no personal relationship between them and that an order had already been issue...

Special Report A railway hospital in Chattogram that once treated only a handful of patients has reportedly expanded its services to a much larger number of people after steps were taken to make better use of its existing facilities. The account was shared by Mohammad Fouzul Kabir Khan , former adviser to Bangladesh’s Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources. According to Khan, during his tenure as an adviser, he visited a railway hospital in Chattogram and found a large facility serving only three patients. Around 20 people—including doctors, nurses, cleaners and security personnel—were working at the hospital. The facility also had some modern medical equipment. However, its services were largely restricted to railway employees and their dependants. The situation contrasted sharply with that of Chattogram Medical College Hospital, where, according to Khan, overcrowding had left some patients receiving treatment on the floor. Seeking to understand why the railway hospital was u...

AL-BIREH, West Bank: Palestinian club football is set to resume on Sept. 4 after a nearly three-year interruption, with 226 teams from the West Bank, Gaza and Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon scheduled to take part in a tournament created to honour athletes killed during the conflict. The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) has named the inaugural competition the “Thousand Martyrs Cup” , describing it as the first step toward restoring organised football after years of disruption. PFA President Jibril Rajoub announced the tournament on Monday at the Joseph Blatter Academy in Al-Bireh in the occupied West Bank. He said the initiative was intended to revive Palestinian sport and provide a source of hope and community life for Palestinians at home and abroad. Rajoub also called for support from FIFA and other international football organisations to help clubs cope with financial and security challenges. 226 clubs from three regions The tournament will bring together 146 clubs from...