Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday said her party – Bangladesh Awami League (AL) is the strongest, largest and the most credible political party in the country now. “Today Awami League is the strongest and biggest organisation in Bangladesh. It`s a reality. The most acceptable party among the people is the Awami League,” she said. The AL president, Sheikh Hasina, made the remarks when her party leaders and activists came to Ganabhaban to greet her on her historic Homecoming Day. Recalling her election as the President of Bangladesh Awami League in her absence before her return to home on May 17, 1981, the PM said she had no experience to lead a big party like AL at that time. It was definitely a big responsibility for her to lead AL, she added. She said the party has overcome conspiracies on many occasions. "Conspiracies are hatched every time and we overcome them. We have to keep it up,” she added. Recollecting the day she had returned home ending six years of forced exile, the AL president said she had been welcomed by hundreds of thousands of people defying the storm and rain on that day. She said when she returned to Bangladesh in 1981, the country was then run by war criminals and the killers of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with most of his family members. The prime minister said she returned to the country despite knowing she might have been killed as she had trust in the countrymen and leaders and activists of Awami League. “I’d returned home with a conviction as the desire with which the Father of the Nation made the country independent was not fulfilled. Rather the condition of the people deteriorated further,” she said. She said now her government has been able to implement at least to some extent the desire and the spirit with which Bangabandhu made the country independent. “All my strength and courage I’ve got from my parents,” said Hasina. Talking about AL’s role in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, she said, “We’ve been able to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic as we have a well-organised political party and its associate bodies.” She said no other political party except the Awami League stood beside the people during the period of Covid-19 pandemic and many AL leaders and workers sacrificed their lives in doing so. "No other organisation except Awami League does make this sacrifice for the people of Bangladesh," said Sheikh Hasina, who has been steering the Awami League since 1981. The PM said her government has been able to change the country. “But we’ve to progress further in future,” she added. Earlier in the morning, AL leaders and activists led by its General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader greeted their party chief with flowers at Ganabhaban, marking her 44th homecoming Day. Leaders and activists of the associate and friendly bodies of the Awami League were also present at that time.

The United States has said the sanctions imposed against Bangladesh`s elite force RAB are not being withdrawn. "Those claims are false. The U.S. is not withdrawing sanctions against the RAB," said Principal Deputy Spokesperson at the US Department of State Vedant Patel. In a regular briefing at the US Department of State, he said sanctions are intended to change "behaviour and promote accountability". Nobody from the government of Bangladesh claimed that the US is withdrawing the sanctions. "The issue is with the US Department of Justice which is independent and separate from the White House and the State Department. They work independently," PM`s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman told reporters earlier on Tuesday night in Dhaka. Salman said the White House and the US Department of State are in favour of lifting sanctions on the RAB but it depends on the Department of Justice. "The issue is moving through a process," Salman said after his discussion over dinner with US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu who on a three-day visit here last week.

A bus fell into a roadside ditch on Dhaka-Chattogram Highway in Chauddagram end of Cumilla early Friday morning, killing five people and injuring 15 others, said police. The double decker bus of ‘Relax Paribahan’ carrying several passengers was heading towards Cox’s Bazar from capital Dhaka, said Md Gias Uddin, In-Charge of Chauddagram highway police outpost. It lost control on the highway before it plunged into the roadside ditch, he said. Five people died on the spot and 15 others sustained severe injuries, the police officer said, adding that the injured were taken to Chauddagram Upazila Health Complex after members of highway police and Fire Service and Civil Defence rescued them. “After the first aid, twelve of the injured were shifted to Cumilla Medical College Hospital for better treatment,” said the officer. The identities of the victims couldn’t be known immediately, he added. Road accidents are common in Bangladesh due to poor safety standards and infrastructure.

The 44th homecoming day of Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is being observed todayOn May 17 in 1981, she returned to the country after a long exile.  Boarding on an aircraft of the Indian Airlines, Awami League President Sheikh Hasina reached the then Kurmitola Airport here from the Indian capital of New Delhi via Kolkata at 4.30pm on that day.  Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was brutally killed along with most of his family members on August 15 in 1975 and his two daughters-- Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana --- luckily escaped the brutal assassination as they stayed abroad.  In a national council session of the Awami League on February 14, 15 and 16 in 1981, Sheikh Hasina was elected as party president in her absence and then she returned to the country on May 17.

Bangladesh team have landed at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston in USA for their three-match T20I series against the hosts. To be prepared for the ICC T20 World Cup, Bangladesh recently played a T20I series against Zimbabwe at home which concluded on May 12. They won the series by 4-1. And after that, they have now reached one of the hosts of T20 World Cup alongside West Indies, USA. The series is scheduled to start from May 21. The other two matches of the series will be on May 23 and May 25. Before leaving the country for the three-match T20I series against USA, which is also the World Cup venue, head coach Chandika Hathurusingha said that the current goal of Bangladesh is to qualify from the group stage. Hathurusingha said, "I understand we as a country now, have high aspirations because we have been playing good cricket generally out of ICC events. It`s the same. We have high expectation as players and the staff and as well as the fans and the country. The first step is to get through this difficult group stage. We are in a very strong group. Then we take, if we get through that one, that`s the main target, first one, and then we`ll take it from there." After the series against USA, the Tigers will face USA again in a World Cup warm-up match. Additionally, in their second and final warm-up match of the World Cup, they will face India. Bangladesh will not face either the USA or India in the group stage of the World Cup. In this year`s T20 World Cup, featuring 20 teams, Bangladesh is in `Group D.` Group D includes Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Netherlands, and Nepal.Bangladesh will start their T20I World Cup campaign with a match against Sri Lanka on June 8 in USA. There will be another match in USA for Bangladesh, against Bangladesh, on June 10. The other two matches against Netherlands and Nepal will be in West Indies.  Read More: https://www.bdcrictime.com/bangladesh-cricket-team-reach-usa-ahead-of-t20i-series