Dhaka: The interim government has signed a 100 million dollar loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to support infrastructure development.

The agreement was signed on Thursday (December 12).

On behalf of Bangladesh government Secretary of the Economic Relations Division Md. Shahriar Quader Siddiqui and Country Director of the Bangladesh Resident Mission Hoey Yun Jeong signed the agreement on behalf of the Asian Development Bank.

The project will be implemented by Bangladesh Infrastructure Finance Fund Limited by 2029 at the initiative of the government's Finance Division.

A press release from the Economic Relations Division said that ADB will provide a $100 million loan for the project to invest in infrastructure development through public-private partnership and increase the capacity of BIFFL.

An agreement has been signed between ADB and BIFFL in this regard.

It was further said that this loan from ADB has been received as Ordinary Capital Resources. The loan will be repaid over a total of 25 years, including a five-year grace period.

Yesterday, ADB announced in a press release that it has approved a policy-based loan of 600 million dollars for Bangladesh.

The loan will be used to strengthen domestic asset management, public investment efficiency, and structural reform activities to develop the private sector.

Dhaka: The Appellate Division Chamber Court has suspended the bail granted by the High Court to actress Shomi Kaiser, former president of the E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (E-CAB), in a case filed at the capital's Uttara Purba Police Station on charges of attempted murder.

Appellate Division Chamber Justice Md. Rezaul Haque gave the order on Thursday (December 12) after hearing the state's application seeking suspension of bail.

At the same time, the state's application has been scheduled for hearing on January 6 at the regular bench of the Appellate Division.

Senior lawyer Ahsanul Karim made the plea on behalf of actress Shomi Kaiser in the court. Deputy Attorney General Md. Zahirul Islam Sumon heard the case on behalf of the state.

Last Tuesday, a High Court bench comprising Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain granted three-month bail to actress Shomi Kaiser. Lawyer ABM Hamidul Mejbah represented Shomi Kaiser in the High Court that day.

An attempt to kill a businessman named Ishtiaq Mahmud was made on July 18 during the anti-discrimination student movement. An attempt to kill case was filed at Uttara Purba Police Station on September 29. Shomi Kaiser was arrested in that case. Later, after being remanded, a Dhaka court sent Shomi Kaiser to jail on November 9.

Stating that South Asian countries will benefit from activating SAARC, Chief Adviser to the interim government Dr. Muhammad Yunus said, SAARC is very important to me.

He said this in a meeting with a delegation of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Oncology (SFO) via video conference from the Chief Adviser's residence in Jamuna at 10 am on Thursday (December 12).

Dr. Muhammad Yunus said, I spoke about activating SAARC immediately after taking oath as Chief Adviser. SAARC is not being activated due to some issues between India and Pakistan. I think that the problems between the two countries should not affect other countries.

He said, if South Asian leaders meet every year, stand together and take pictures, then the message goes to the whole world that we are together. This will present South Asian countries to the world in a positive light and help them move forward.

He paid tribute to the contributions of Professor Dr. ABMF Karim, the founder of the SAARC Federation of Oncologists (SFO), and mentioned his personal experience of interacting with him.

At this time, Professor Yunus remembered his younger brother, a prominent writer, journalist, critic and renowned television personality Muhammad Jahangir. He shared the experiences of the suffering his entire family had to go through during his brother's cancer diagnosis and treatment. At that time, the Chief Adviser also mentioned how Dr. Karim helped him in his treatment.

He said, "We are still not getting the technical support that is needed in cancer treatment. The special importance that SAARC is giving to cancer treatment is very urgent and inspiring."

Palestine was the most dangerous country for journalists this year, according to a report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an international organization working on the rights of journalists around the world. It is followed by Pakistan, Bangladesh and Mexico.

The report, released on Thursday (December 12), said that so far this year 54 journalists have been killed while carrying out their professional duties or because of their profession. A third of them were killed by Israeli forces. Five journalists have been killed in Bangladesh this year.

The AFP news agency, citing RSF, reported that 18 of the 54 journalists killed were killed by Israeli armed forces. Of these, 16 were killed in Gaza and two journalists were killed in Lebanon.

The report, citing information available until December 1 of this year, said that Gaza topped the list of the most dangerous places for journalists this year. It is followed by Pakistan. Seven journalists have lost their lives in the country this year. And five journalists have been killed in Mexico and Bangladesh each.

The organization has filed four complaints with the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes committed against journalists by the Israeli military.

55 journalists are currently held hostage around the world. Of those held, 25 are held by the Islamic State (IS). In addition, 95 journalists went missing in 2024. Four new people were added to the list this year.

The three countries with the highest number of journalists imprisoned are China (124), Myanmar (61) and Israel (41).

The report said that since the start of the Palestinian-Israeli war in October 2023, the Israeli military has killed more than 145 journalists in Gaza. 35 of them were killed while carrying out their professional duties. It described these killings as an unprecedented bloodbath.