Mursalin Nomani of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) and Mynul Hasan Sohel of the Daily Inqilab have been elected President and General Secretary of the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU). Nomani bagged 635 votes while his rival candidates Kabir Ahmed Khan and Nazrul Islam Mithu got 543 and 264 votes respectively in the election held on Wednesday. Sohel got 422 votes to defeat his nearest rival Mohiuddin (383 votes) contesting for the post of General Secretary. Read more: DRU concerns over DSA case against journo Nurnabi Dipu Sarwar was elected vice-president getting 823 votes and Moinul Ahsan was elected joint secretary securing 508 votes. Other elected office bearers are Finance Secretary Shakhawat Hossain Sumon (712 votes), Organizing Secretary Saiful Islam  (878 votes), Office Secretary Kausar Azam (806 votes), Women Affairs Secretary Marium Moni Sejuti (741) Publicity and Publication Secretary Kamaluddin Sumon (731 votes),  ICT and Training Secretary Tofajjal Hossain Ruble (792 votes ), Cultural Secretary Mizan Chowdhury (738 votes), Hospitality Secretary Mohammad Naymuddin (unopposed) and Welfare Secretary Tanvir Ahmed (664 votes) . The elected seven members of the new DRU executive committee are Monirul Islam Millat (930 votes), Ismail Hossain Russel (772 votes), Mohsin Bepari (751 votes), Mozzamel Haque Tuhin (683 votes), Kiron Sheikh (672 votes), SM Mostafizur Rahman Sumon  (648 votes) and Ibrahim Ali (634 votes). The DRU election voting began at 9am and continued till 5pm without any break. A total of 1,457 votes were cast out of 1,744 voters of the country's biggest organisation of reporters. Read more: Home Minister to DRU: 'Media is completely independent now' Chief Election commissioners Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul announced the results after vote counting in the evening. A total of 43 candidates contested for 20 posts while hospitality secretary was elected uncontested.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Tuesday said the mass media is currently working completely independently as there is no control exercised over the media.  The Home Minister came up with the remark while addressing a function on DRU Best Reporting Award-2022 at Nasrul Hamid Auditorium  of Segunbagicha in the city organised by Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) on Tuesday afternoon.  In his speech, the Home Minister said that as the number of daily newspapers has increased, the number of electronic media has also increased. Earlier, when writing news, there were various types of censorships, but now there is no such thing, he said.   "There is no control over the mass media. They are currently working completely independently," the Home Minister said.  The minister said that there are roaming journalists everywhere. "When something is happening, it is coming out through them immediately," he added. "It is a challenging world, in which you are earning reputation. Today, those who excelled are being honoured. Thank you to all who have been awarded," Khan said.  The Home Minister called upon the journalists to contribute more, and to write "positive news" equally.  "You will work to advance the country," he added.  Read more: Militancy has no place in Bangladesh: Home Minister  The awards were given to 11 winners for 10 prizes in four categories based on the marks received from the jury board members.   Later, the invited guests along with the minister handed over the prizes to the winners. Rajeev Noor (Samakal) won the award in the liberation war category. He received this award for his series reporting on Etihaser Chhera Pata.  Abu Zar Anshar Uddin Ahmed of Samakal won the first prize in the print media category, Md Ismail Ali of the Daily Share Biz got second prize, while Jameel Khan of Daily Star and Obaidullah Roni of Samakal jointly got the third prize in this category.  Read more: Warned Myanmar against firing shots towards Bangladesh, says Home Minister Abu Zar Anshar Uddin Ahmed of Samakal won the first prize in the print media category, Md Ismail Ali of the Daily Share Biz got second prize, while Jameel Khan of Daily Star and Obaidullah Roni of Samakal jointly got the third prize in this category.  Among others, Somoy TV web editor Mahfuzur Rahman, publisher of Dainik Bangla Chowdhury Nafiz Sarafat, DRU President Nazrul Islam Mithu and general secretary Nurul Islam Hasib were also present.   

Samina Khatun Roshni became the champion, and Maksuda Lisa of Voice of Asia finished runner-up in the ludo competition of the "Walton-Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) Summer Sports Festival 2022" held in Dhaka Thursday. Nargis Jui of Bangladesh Television earned third place in the competition. DRU President Nazrul Islam Mithu and General Secretary Nurul Islam Hasib inaugurated the competition in the morning. The men's singles carom competition will be held Sunday. Also read: V-Day Carom: Robin emerges men’s singles champion

Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU) on Wednesday urged the law enforcement agencies and other authorities concerned to cooperate with the media people in discharging their professional duties during the strict lockdown set to be enforced from Thursday. In a statement, DRU president Mursalin Nomani and general secretary Mosiur Rahman Khan also urged the media workers to carry their press cards while performing their duties. They said the government is going to impose tough restrictions across the country from July 1 to prevent the upsurge of coronavirus infections. The DRU leaders said the government in its notification issued on Wednesday listed mass media as ‘emergency services’ during the restrictions. Also read: Violation of lockdown rules to invite legal action, warns DMP “However, in the context of past experience, it can be seen that media workers in different parts of the country, including Dhaka, have been subjected to various forms of harassment while performing their professional duties (during such restrictions,” the statement said. Under the circumstances, the DRU leaders called upon the law enforcement agencies and the authorities concerned to cooperate and play a responsible role so that the journalists and employees of newspapers, television and news portals are not subjected to any kind of harassment. They also requested the media workers help the members of the law enforcement agencies carry out their professional duties. Earlier in the day, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam told reporters that the journalists have been asked to cover their assignments after hanging their ID cards and they can move in the city to perform their duties during the seven-day tough lockdown. Also read: Govt outlines restriction rules ahead of ‘tough’ lockdown “Police won’t obstruct them. They can also use vehicles provided by their respective offices,” he added. The government is all set to enforce a weeklong countrywide strict lowdown from Thursday in a bid to control the growing Covid infections. All public movement, except emergency services, will be restricted during the lockdown by deploying the members and army and other law enforcement agencies.

The IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC) on Sunday demanded six months’ fully paid maternity leave for workers at readymade garment (RMG) factories.

Dhaka University teacher Samia Rahman, who was demoted for plagiarism in research papers, has claimed that she is a victim of “filthy politics” of the university teachers.

Planning Minister MA Mannan on Wednesday said the government will accelerate its efforts to support journalists and ensure the security of their lives.

Young journalist Afzal Mohammad on Thursday died of COVID-19 at a hospital in the capital. He was 31.

The Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry (BACI) on Friday said the price of MS rod, a key input component in construction, has been hiked unreasonably by 25-30 percent in just two months (November to December) by a supply-side syndicate in the country.

The departing Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) committee handed over responsibilities to the new one on Monday for the next year.