B’desh Nobel laureate Md. Yunus granted bail in graft case
Dhaka, March 3: A court in Bangladesh on Sunday granted bail to Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus in a USD 2.3 million embezzlement case. Yunus, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for pioneering the use of microcredit to help impoverished people, was sentenced to six months in prison in January on a separate charge of violating labour laws. He was granted bail in that case too and has appealed. Prosecutor Mir Ahmmad Ali Salam said the embezzlement case involves a workers welfare fund of Grameen Telecom, which owns 34.2 per cent of the country’s largest mobile phone company, Grameenphone, a subsidiary of Norway’s telecom giant Telenor. Defence counsel Abdullah Al Mamun told the court that Yunus, 83, and the others were innocent. Last year, more than 170 global leaders and Nobel laureates urged Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to suspend legal proceedings against Yunus. His supporters say he has been targeted because of his frosty relations with Hasina. The government has denied the allegations. (AP)
Resolution to ban on social media sites in Pakistan
Islamabad, March 3: Amidst serious concerns over the continued disruption of the social media platform X in Pakistan for over a fortnight now, a member of the Senate has demanded a permanent ban on all social media due to its negative impact on the younger generation. Senator Bahramand Khan Tangi, who was recently expelled by the Pakistan Peoples Party after he moved a resolution seeking the delaying of the February 8 polls, in the resolution called for a complete ban on all social media platforms, deeming them detrimental to the future of the young generation, Dawn News reported. (PTI)
MQ9 B drone sales to India enters next step
Washington, March 3: The sale of 31 MQ9-B SkyGuardian Drones to India is expected to be fast-tracked now that the major hurdle of mandatory 30 days of Congressional notification is likely to pass without any objection from the lawmakers on Sunday, but for the routine procedural matters posed by the upcoming general elections. The Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified the US Congress in February about the determination of the State Department of a possible Foreign Military Sale to India of 31 MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of USD 3.99 billion. The 31 MQ9-B SkyGuardian Drones itself cost USD 1.70 billion, while the rest of the services including technology and equipment are estimated to cost USD 2.29 billion. In addition to 31 MQ-9B SkyGuardian Aircraft, the proposed deal includes 161 Embedded Global Positioning & Inertial Navigation Systems (EGIs), 35 L3 Rio Grande Communications Intelligence Sensor Suite. The next step is for the United States to send a letter of offer and acceptance to India, which under normal circumstances should be considered as a mere formality. (PTI)