Viral Facebook video helps Bangla man reunite with family
Dhaka: A viral Facebook video has helped a 78-year-old Bangladeshi man reunite with his family over four decades after he went missing on a business trip, according to a media report.
Habibur Rahman, who hails from Bajgram in Sylhet, left for a business trip when he was 30 years old and went missing. It was after 48 years, his family found him in MAG Osmani Medical College hospital in the city, the Daily Star reported.
He was located when his eldest daughter-in-law, who lives in the US, on January 17 stumbled on a Facebook video of a man seeking financial help for a patient next to him. She grew suspicious and shared the video with her husband who, in turn, called his brothers in Sylhet to check out on the patient.
The following morning, his brothers Shahab Uddin and Jalal Uddin confirmed that the patient in the video was their father, the report said. Rahman, who had a rod and cement business, has four sons. His wife died in 2000.
“I remember that my mother and uncles did everything to find him for years, before finally giving up. Later, my mother passed away in 2000,” Jalal said.
For the last 25 years, Rahman has been living in Moulvibazar district in Sylhet, where a woman named Razia Begum looked after him. Begum said her family members found Rahman in a disoriented state at Hazrat Shahab Uddin shrine in 1995. He could not disclose his details at that time, it said.
“He said he used to live a nomadic life. He has been staying with us ever since. We respect him and call him peer,” she said.
Begum said Rahman has been suffering from old-age complications for the last decade and few days back, he fractured his right hand after falling from the bed. Doctors told her that Rahman had to be operated after he developed infection in the fractured hand but she could not afford it.
A patient from the hospital made the video to explain his situation and seek money, the report said.
Rahman’s grandson Kefayat Ahmed said his parents used to tell him of his grandfather but he never thought he would be able to meet him. “Today, the wait is over and I am very happy.” (PTI)
US Space Force mocked for camouflage uniforms
Washington: The US Space Force has defended its newly unveiled camouflage uniforms after they were mocked on social media, the media reported.
The force, officially launched by US President Donald Trump last month, posted a picture of the uniform to its Twitter account on Saturday, reports the BBC.
The uniform has a woodland camouflage design with badges embroidered on the arm and chest.
Reacting to the uniform, many critics had the same question: “Camo in space?”
One Twitter user asked: “Have they never seen space before?” while another illustrated the difference between space and camouflage, which is designed to help military personnel blend in with their surroundings.
Following the mocking, the force explained its rationale in a tweeted response, saying it was “utilising current Army/Air Force uniforms” and “saving costs of designing/producing a new one” in doing so.
“Members will look like their joint counterparts they’ll be working with, on the ground,” it added.
During the launch last month, Trump said the force would help the US military “deter aggression” in what he called “the world’s newest war-fighting domain”, the BBC reported.
But the new military service, overseen by the US Air Force, was not intended to put troops into orbit. Rather, it will protect US assets such as the hundreds of satellites used for communication and surveillance.
US Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett said the Space Force would comprise about 16,000 air force and civilian personnel. (IANS)