Latest news with #Chowdhury
Express Tribune
11 hours ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Pakistan, Bangladesh agree on visa-free entry for diplomats, officials
Listen to article Pakistan and Bangladesh have agreed to grant visa-free entry for holders of diplomatic and official passports, as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral ties, Radio Pakistan reported. The agreement was reached during a meeting between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his Bangladeshi counterpart, Lieutenant General (retired) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, in Dhaka on Wednesday. The two sides also discussed increasing cooperation in internal security, police training, anti-narcotics, and anti-human trafficking. In addition, they explored joint counter-terrorism measures and the possibility of exchange programmes between police academies of the two nations. ڈھاکہ۔وفاقی وزیرداخلہ محسن نقوی کی بنگلہ دیش کے وزیر داخلہ لیفٹیننٹ جنرل(ر) جہانگیر عالم چودھری سے ملاقات وفاقی وزیرداخلہ محسن نقوی کا وزارت داخلہ آمد پر بنگلہ دیشی ہم منصب نے پرتپاک خیرمقدم کیا وزیرداخلہ محسن نقوی کو گارڈ آف آنرز پیش کیا گیا — Ministry of Interior GoP (@MOIofficialGoP) July 23, 2025 Upon his arrival at the Bangladesh Home Affairs Ministry, Chowdhury welcomed Naqvi with a guard of honour. Speaking on the occasion, Chowdhury expressed the importance of Naqvi's visit for promoting bilateral cooperation between Islamabad and Dhaka. He also thanked Naqvi for offering police training to Bangladeshi officials. A joint committee, headed by Interior Secretary Khurram Agha, has been formed to further boost cooperation between the two countries. Chowdhury confirmed that a high-level Bangladeshi delegation would soon visit Islamabad to tour the Safe City Project and National Police Academy. Earlier in February, Pakistan and Bangladesh resumed direct trade on an official level for the first time since the 1971 separation, with the first government-approved cargo departing from Port Qasim. Read More: Bangladesh resumes direct trade with Pakistan for first time since 1971 This marks a historic step in bilateral trade relations, as Bangladesh agreed to purchase 50,000 tonnes of Pakistani rice through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP). In April, Pakistan and Bangladesh resumed high-level diplomatic consultations for the first time in 15 years. Senior officials from both sides met in Dhaka to revive bilateral engagement and address regional and international matters of mutual interest. The Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) were held at the State Guest House Padma and led by Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch and her Bangladeshi counterpart, Md Jashim Uddin. The meeting marks the first formal FOC between the two countries since 2010, signalling renewed efforts to rebuild trust and cooperation.
American Military News
15 hours ago
- General
- American Military News
Video/Pics: 31 killed, 171 injured as air force jet crashes into school in Bangladesh
A Bangladesh Air Force F-7 BGI jet crashed into the Milestone School and College in the Uttara neighborhood of the country's capital on Monday. The crash left at least 31 people dead and 171 people injured. According to The Associated Press, at least 31 people were killed after a Bangladesh Air Force F-37 BGI jet crashed into the Milestone School and College in Dhaka. The outlet noted that Monday's jet crash was the deadliest airplane crash to occur in the capital of Bangladesh in decades. The Associated Press reported that the Bangladesh military and a fire official confirmed that 171 people, the majority of whom were students, were injured in Monday's jet crash. According to the outlet, in addition to other victims, the pilot and at least 25 students were killed in the crash. Additionally, at least 78 people remained hospitalized as of Tuesday. According to Fox News, Lieutenant Colonel Sami Ud Dowl Chowdhury confirmed that the F-7 BGI jet departed for a routine training mission from the Bangladesh Air Force Base A.K. Khandaker in Kurmitola, Dhaka, at roughly 1:06 p.m. before experiencing a mechanical failure, crashing into the Milestone School and College, and igniting on fire. READ MORE: Video: Plane engine fire forces emergency landing in Los Angeles The Associated Press reported that Bangladesh officials confirmed that the F-7 BGI jet experienced a 'technical malfunction' on Monday and noted that a Bangladesh Air Force committee is expected to investigate the cause of the crash. 'The pilot … made a valiant attempt to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas,' Chowdhury said. 'Despite his best efforts, the aircraft … crashed into a two-story building belonging to Milestone School and College.' A video shared on X, formerly Twitter, shows fire and smoke from the site of Monday's jet crash. Pictures shared on social media show the remains of the military aircraft and the damage caused by the crash at the Bangladesh school. Bangladesh Air Force jet crashes into Dhaka school. One dead, rescue op still on. Around 1:30 PM, a BAF F‑7 training jet slammed into Milestone School & College, Uttara. The aircraft burst into flames, classrooms damaged. Firefighters, military and medics still at the scene,… — Deepti Sachdeva (@DeeptiSachdeva_) July 21, 2025
New Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
ICJ to hand down watershed climate opinion
THE HAGUE: The world's top court will deliver a seminal ruling laying out what legal obligations countries have to prevent climate change and whether polluters should pay up for the consequences. It is the biggest case ever heard at the International Court of Justice and experts say judges' opinion could reshape climate justice forever, with major impacts on laws around the world. The ICJ advisory opinion is "potentially one of the most consequential legal rulings of our times," said Joie Chowdhury, Senior Attorney at the Centre for International Environmental Law, an advocacy group that backs the case. It could "define a new era, where climate justice is not a distant aspiration, but a global mandate for the here and now," added Chowdhury. The United Nations has tasked the 15 ICJ judges to answer two fundamental questions that, according to Chowdhury, "strike at the heart of climate justice." First: What must states do under international law to protect the environment from greenhouse gas emissions "for present and future generations"? Second: What are the consequences for states whose emissions have caused environmental harm, especially to vulnerable low-lying island states? To help answer these questions, ICJ judges have pored over tens of thousands of pages of submissions from countries and organisations around the world. Analysts say today's ruling is the most consequential of a string of recent rulings on climate change in international law. Courts have become a battleground for climate action as frustration has grown over sluggish progress toward curbing planet-warming pollution from fossil fuels. The Paris Agreement struck through the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has rallied a global response to the crisis, but not at the speed necessary to protect the world from dangerous overheating. In December, the iconic Peace Palace in the Hague hosted the court's biggest-ever hearings, with more than 100 nations and groups giving oral statements. In what was billed as a "David Vs Goliath" battle, the debate pitted major wealthy economies against smaller, less developed states most at the mercy of a warming planet. Major polluters, including the US and India, warned the ICJ not to deliver a fresh legal blueprint for climate change, arguing the existing UNFCCC sufficed. The US, which has since withdrawn from the Paris accord, said the UNFCCC contained legal provisions on climate change and urged the court to uphold this regime. But smaller states said this framework was inadequate to mitigate climate change's devastating effects and that the ICJ's opinion should be broader. These states also urged the ICJ to impose reparations on historic polluters. "The cardinal principle is crystal clear. Responsible states are required to make full reparation for the injury they have caused," said Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh representing Vanuatu. These states demanded a commitment and timeline to phasing out fossil fuels, monetary compensation when appropriate, and an acknowledgement of past wrongs. Representatives from island states, many wearing traditional dress as they addressed the court for the first time in their country's history, made passionate pleas to the robed judges. "Despite producing less than 0.01 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, on the current trajectory of GHG emissions, Tuvalu will disappear completely beneath the waves that have been lapping our shores for millennia," said Eselealofa Apinelu from Tuvalu. The ICJ's advisory opinions are not binding upon states, and critics say that top polluters will simply ignore what comes out of the court. But others note the moral and legal clout enjoyed by the world's highest court and hope the opinion will make a tangible difference to national climate change policies. "The impacts of climate change, absolutely dire right now, will become catastrophic as the years go by if we do not course-correct," said Vishal Prasad, director of a campaign by Pacific Island students that pushed the issue before the court. "The urgency of the matter, the seriousness of why we're here, and how important this is, is not lost upon all Pacific Islanders, all small island countries. "That's why we're looking to the ICJ." — AFP
Int'l Business Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
ICJ To Hand Down Watershed Climate Opinion
The world's top court will Wednesday deliver a seminal ruling laying out what legal obligations countries have to prevent climate change and whether polluters should pay up for the consequences. It is the biggest case ever heard at the International Court of Justice and experts say judges' opinion could reshape climate justice forever, with major impacts on laws around the world. The ICJ advisory opinion is "potentially one of the most consequential legal rulings of our times," said Joie Chowdhury, Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law, an advocacy group that backs the case. It could "define a new era, where climate justice is not a distant aspiration, but a global mandate for the here and now," added Chowdhury. The United Nations has tasked the 15 ICJ judges to answer two fundamental questions that, according to Chowdhury, "strike at the heart of climate justice." First: what must states do under international law to protect the environment from greenhouse gas emissions "for present and future generations"? Second: what are the consequences for states whose emissions have caused environmental harm, especially to vulnerable low-lying island states? To help answer these questions, ICJ judges have pored over tens of thousands of pages of submissions from countries and organisations around the world. Analysts say Wednesday's ruling is the most consequential of a string of recent rulings on climate change in international law. Courts have become a battleground for climate action as frustration has grown over sluggish progress toward curbing planet-warming pollution from fossil fuels. The Paris Agreement struck through the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has rallied a global response to the crisis, but not at the speed necessary to protect the world from dangerous overheating. In December, the iconic Peace Palace in the Hague hosted the court's biggest-ever hearings, with more than 100 nations and groups giving oral statements. In what was billed a "David Vs Goliath" battle, the debate pitted major wealthy economies against smaller, less developed states most at the mercy of a warming planet. Major polluters including the US and India warned the ICJ not to deliver a fresh legal blueprint for climate change, arguing the existing UNFCCC sufficed. The US, which has since withdrawn from the Paris accord, said the UNFCCC contained legal provisions on climate change and urged the court to uphold this regime. But smaller states said this framework was inadequate to mitigate climate change's devastating effects and that the ICJ's opinion should be broader. These states also urged the ICJ to impose reparations on historic polluters. "The cardinal principle is crystal clear. Responsible states are required to make full reparation for the injury they have caused," said Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh representing Vanuatu. These states demanded a commitment and timeline to phasing out fossil fuels, monetary compensation when appropriate, and an acknowledgement of past wrongs. Representatives from island states, many wearing traditional dress as they addressed the court for the first time in their country's history, made passionate pleas to the robed judges. "Despite producing less than 0.01 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, on the current trajectory of GHG emissions, Tuvalu will disappear completely beneath the waves that have been lapping our shores for millennia," said Eselealofa Apinelu from Tuvalu. The ICJ's advisory opinions are not binding upon states and critics say that top polluters will simply ignore what comes out of the court. But others note the moral and legal clout enjoyed by the world's highest court and hope the opinion will make a tangible difference to national climate change policies. "The impacts of climate change, absolutely dire right now, will become catastrophic as the years go by, if we do not course-correct," said Vishal Prasad, director of a campaign by Pacific Island students that pushed the issue before the court. "The urgency of the matter, the seriousness of why we're here, and how important this is, is not lost upon all Pacific Islanders, all small island countries. "That's why we're looking to the ICJ." The ICJ has its seat in the historic Peace Palace AFP
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
New Town boy showcases kamikaze drones for Army
1 2 Kolkata: Sourya Chowdhury, a 20-year-old New Town resident and BITS Pilani student in Hyderabad, who co-developed a radar-proof kamikaze drone now acquired by multiple regiments of the Indian Army , is in Kolkata to present the indigenous combat drone to an Eastern Command unit near the Indo-Bangla border. The St Xavier's Collegiate School alumnus said this is a different homecoming as he has returned to Bengal not for vacation, but to expand his defence venture. "It's a different homecoming this time when I hardly had time to spend with my family. I went for a presentation at a unit of Eastern Command for the indigenous drones on Tuesday and have more related work in the coming days, following which I will go back to my institute. It's a different feeling altogether, to develop something on my own and to serve the nation," said Chowdhury. TOI had reported on Tuesday how Chowdhury, along with his classmate from Rajasthan's Ajmer, Jayant Khatri, stunned India's defence circles by building and selling cutting-edge UAVs to Army units across Jammu, Haryana, Bengal's Panagarh, and Arunachal Pradesh, all within two months of launching their start-up, Apollyon Dynamics. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata The idea for the drone came in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and India's military response through Operation Sindoor. Moved by the developments, Chowdhury and Khatri began assembling their first prototype inside a hostel room using readily available parts. "Both of us were interested in robotics since our school days. As we were seeing the visuals on TV and reading news of India's counter-attack, we thought of trying to make a drone that would cut down our nation's dependency on imported drones," said Chowdhury. "We worked on the same, built a successful prototype with off-the-shelf parts, and then pitched them before the Indian Army." Initial outreach to the Army through emails and LinkedIn messages yielded little response, but they were eventually invited to make a presentation in Haryana. That opportunity opened doors to multiple orders and further demonstrations across the country. Currently, the duo has active orders from four different regiments of the Indian Army across the country. While they are currently operating from a lab offered to them by the institute authorities, they plan to move out soon and rent an office in north India to upscale their production. The team, now comprising six second-year students, is developing advanced vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drones and fixed-wing platforms aimed at enhancing operational versatility. They also conduct practical training sessions for military personnel, including those without any previous flight experience. Chowdhury, who is currently pursuing a dual degree of Bachelors in Engineering in Electronics and MSc in Physics, said while he will graduate in 2028, he is focused on building his start-up parallelly while continuing his studies.
