People's Republic of Bangladesh - News and Developments

 

Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party rallied in the capital on Saturday to show their strength before an election expected next year, as the South Asian nation stands at a crossroads after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
 
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At least 19 people have died and 164 were injured after a Bangladeshi air force training jet crashed into a school campus in the capital, Dhaka.

Footage from Milestone School and College in the northern suburb of Uttara shows a huge fire and thick smoke, after the aircraft slammed into a two-storey building.

The armed forces said in a statement on Facebook that the F-7 jet experienced a mechanical fault after taking off for a training exercise just after 13:00 local time (07:06 GMT). The pilot was among those killed, the air force added.

More than 50 people, including children and adults, were taken to hospital with burns, a doctor at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery said.
The age range for students attending the school is between four and 18 years old.
 

Meanwhile, many hardline Islamists have either fled prison or have been released, and the Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party, which has a controversial past, is now aspiring to a role in government. It often bitterly criticizes the BNP, equating it with Hasina’s Awami League, and recently held a massive rally in Dhaka as a show of power. Critics fear that greater influence of the Islamist forces could fragment Bangladesh’s political landscape further.
 
As BD seeks to upgrade its AF, this is how its fleet currently stands:


Aircraft ModelRoleManufacturer/OriginKey SpecificationsQuantity (Approx)*
Chengdu F-7Fighter/InterceptorChinaSupersonic, Mach 2 capability~30-40
MiG-29UBMultirole FighterRussiaTwin-engine, air superiority capabilities8-10
Yak-130Advanced Trainer/Light AttackRussia/ItalyCombat-capable trainer aircraft16
AW139Search & Rescue HelicopterItalyMaritime operations, 12-15 passenger capacity10+
C-130J Super HerculesTactical TransportLockheed Martin (USA)19-ton payload capacity, 4 turboprop engines5
 

Infiltration and subsequent criminal activity go hand in hand. Most of these fellows run back to BD when facing arrests.
 
Bodies lying in the open. People shot and left along village roads. These are the sights that the Indian Army took in as it made its way to Dhaka. The BD quam seems to neglected its own history. I will not pitch anything or make comments about its attitude towards.

 

A massive fire broke out at the cargo terminal of Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Saturday, prompting authorities to suspend all flight operations at the airport.

According to local media, the incident took place around 2:15 pm near Gate No. 8 when the airport’s cargo village, where imported goods are stored, caught fire.

Biman Bangladesh spokesperson Kawser Mahmud said teams from the airport fire department, the Bangladesh Air Force fire unit, and other agencies responded to contain the blaze.

Fire Service spokesman Talha Bin Zasim said nine firefighting units were initially deployed to control the fire, with fifteen more heading to the scene soon after, bdnews reported.

Confirming the incident, HSIA Executive Director SM Ragib Samad told BSS, “The fire broke out at the cargo area of the airport, and all relevant fire units are working to bring the blaze under control."

He added that flight operations have been temporarily suspended due to the fire.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Bangladesh Civil Aviation Authority, the Fire Service, and two Air Force firefighting units were working jointly to douse the blaze. The Navy has also joined the operation to bring the situation under control.