Chief Advisor returns home

Desk Report: Principal Advisor Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus has returned to Dhaka from New York after attending the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). He arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 9 am today, Thursday, on an Emirates Airlines flight. The Principal Advisor’s press wing confirmed the matter. Earlier, the Principal Advisor left New York at 9:10 am Bangladesh time on Wednesday. Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Salahuddin Noman Chowdhury and Bangladesh’s Ambassador to the United States Tarek Md. Ariful Islam bid…

Read More

UK provides $36 million in aid to Rohingya

Desk Report: The UK government has announced more than $36 million in new humanitarian aid for Rohingya refugees. The announcement comes amid fears of a crisis due to dwindling international aid for refugees in Bangladesh, according to a report by the British newspaper The Independent. Earlier this week, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper unveiled the aid package. The UK took this step ahead of a key UN conference on the plight of Myanmar and its minority population, particularly the Rohingya. A statement from the British Foreign Office said the money…

Read More

What the Awami League’s chief advisor said about returning to politics

Desk Report: Mehdi Hasan: A lot has happened since you and I last spoke. I think we last spoke in 2017. You were an ordinary citizen then, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist, but you weren’t running a country. A little over a year ago, student protesters in Bangladesh overthrew the Awami League government and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country. For two decades, she had been a de facto dictator in your country and had committed numerous human rights violations. Many were happy to see her go. What was…

Read More

UN Secretary-General pledges full support for Bangladesh’s democratic transition

Desk Report: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has pledged his full support and solidarity for the ongoing democratic transition and reform efforts in Bangladesh. He made the pledge during a meeting with Principal Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the UN Headquarters in New York on Monday. The high-level Bangladesh delegation led by Professor Muhammad Yunus included Foreign Affairs Adviser Md. Towhid Hossain, National Security Adviser Dr. Khalilur Rahman, Principal Secretary Siraj Uddin Mia and Principal Coordinator for SDGs Lamia Morshed. The meeting discussed various issues including political reforms, the upcoming February…

Read More

One of the specialties of India now is fake news: Dr. Yunus

Desk Report: One of the specialties of India now is fake news: Dr. Yunus Principal Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus has denied allegations of persecution of Hindu minorities during the tenure of the interim government in Bangladesh. He said, “There is no Hindu-hating violence” in Bangladesh. Rejecting allegations of persecution of Hindus, he said, “One of the specialties of India now is fake news.” The principal advisor said these things in an interview with Mehdi Hassan, a journalist of the new media outlet GTO, on the sidelines of the United Nations…

Read More

The days of sitting in the gallery and watching are over, we will now play ourselves: Chief Advisor

Desk Report: Principal Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus has called on the Bangladeshi diaspora (NRB) to cooperate and actively contribute in the reconstruction of the country and the nation. Stating that everyone will have a role in building the country, the Principal Advisor said, “It will not be like watching the game from a distance while standing in the gallery. The days of watching from the gallery are over. We will now play ourselves.” Describing the Bangladeshi diaspora as an “integral part” of Bangladesh, the Principal Advisor said that the Bangladeshi…

Read More

Chief advisor mourns death of 4 people, including 3 firefighters, in Tongi fire

Desk Report: Principal Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus has expressed deep shock and sorrow over the death of four people, including three firefighters, in a fire at a chemical warehouse in Tongi. In his condolence message, the Principal Advisor said, “Four people, including three of our brave firefighters, lost their lives in the fire while performing their noble duty of saving lives. This is a heartbreaking incident. I pray for the souls of the deceased and express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families.” The Principal Advisor further said, “Members of…

Read More

World leaders meet with chief advisor, express full support

Desk Report: Influential world leaders have expressed their full support for Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and his interim government. They gathered at Dr. Yunus’s hotel suite in New York on Friday. They pledged to provide Bangladesh with support and important advice at this crucial time. On the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, a delegation led by former President of Latvia and Vice-President of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center (NGIC) Vaira VK-Freiberga met with Professor Yunus. The NGIC is named after the renowned 11th-century…

Read More

TIB’s claim about number of chief advisor’s entourage ‘baseless’: Press Secretary

Desk Report: The Chief Advisor’s Press Secretary, Shafiqul Alam, said that Transparency International Bangladesh’s (TIB) recent claim about the number of entourage of Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus to attend the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly is ‘based on incorrect information and taken from unverified social media posts’. In a status posted on his verified Facebook page on Friday, the Press Secretary mentioned, ‘The current delegation of the Chief Advisor is significantly smaller than the previous Hasina era and is much more focused, hardworking and result-oriented.’ Shafiqul…

Read More

Women’s empowerment one of the government’s top priorities: Chief Advisor to the UN

Desk Report: Chief Advisor Dr. Muhammad Yunus said, one of the top priorities of the interim government is women’s empowerment. This government’s efforts continue to ensure women’s safety, dignity and equal opportunities. He said this in his speech at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday (September 26) night. In his speech, the Chief Advisor said, ‘One of our top priorities is women’s empowerment. In the words of our national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam – “Whatever great creations in the world are eternally beneficial, half…

Read More