DHAKA, Sept 3, 2026 (BSS) - Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam today sought stakeholders' cooperation and suggestions to finalise three cyber-related laws, stressing the need for strong laws and public awareness to protect people from cyber invasion. He made the remarks at a press conference held at the ICT Division Conference Room marking 180 days of the BNP government. Faqir Mahbub Anam, also Science and Technology Minister, said the Cyber Security Act, Personal Data Protection Act and National Data Management Act had been approved by the National Parliament. "We want to discuss these further with the stakeholders and turn them into final laws," he said. He said strong laws and public awareness were needed to protect people from cyber invasion in the context of current social media content. "Especially, we need your cooperation and suggestions on what our children should watch or how much they should watch," he said. "We want you to make constructive criticism so that society remains good and our children can be kept on the right path while moving forward in step with modern technology," he said. The minister said an integrated platform for providing startup grants had been launched at an event titled "Tarunyo Startup and Promising Bangladesh" held at Dhaka University in the presence of the Prime Minister, while a Tk 500 crore grant fund was formed. He said broadband internet connections had been provided to 19,822 institutions, while construction of 15 Upazila Service and Information Technology Training Centres had been completed. Faqir Mahbub Anam said Tk 7 crore had so far been invested in three technology-based startups, while Startup Bangladesh Company Limited had launched a Fund of Funds. He said a Bangla screen desktop and mobile version had been developed for visually impaired people, while construction of a Disaster Recovery Centre had been completed at the Software Technology Park in Jashore. The minister said the National High School Programming Competition had been organised, while a Cyber Instant Reporting System and a National ICT and Cyber Security Ready System had been launched. He said the National Cyber Drill 2026 had also been organised. The minister said the pilot of the National Response Data Exchange (NRDEX) Platform had been completed. He said one of the government's flagship projects was "One Citizen, One ID, One Digital Wallet". "The DPP of this project will be completed very soon, and I hope we will be able to take it to a stage within the next six months," he said.

COX'S BAZAR, Sept 3, 2026 (BSS) - Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) today seized 10,000 yaba tablets from a bag abandoned by a suspected smuggler in the Ukhia border area. Ukhia Battalion (64 BGB) Commander Lt Col Md Zahirul Islam confirmed the seizure in a press release issued tonight. He said a special patrol team of Palongkhali Border Outpost (BOP) spotted a man entering Bangladesh from Myanmar around 10 am, dressed as a fisherman, through an area near East Fari's Bill Coconut Garden. When the patrol team challenged him, the suspected smuggler dropped his bag inside the coconut garden and fled towards a nearby village. The BGB team later searched the area and recovered 10,000 yaba tablets from the bag. The tablets were wrapped in khaki-coloured packets and kept inside an airtight blue-coloured package. A thorough search of the area found no other illegal goods, the commander said. He added that intelligence surveillance has been intensified to identify the drug suppliers and other smugglers involved in the incident and bring them to justice.