Saima Wazed, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional director for Southeast Asia and daughter of ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, resigned on Wednesday amid fraud investigations by the UN agency and Bangladeshi authorities, according to her resignation letter seen by Reuters.Wazed’s resignation highlights how the fallout from Hasina’s ouster following a deadly uprising around mid-2024 has extended beyond her political allies to members of her family. Many of Hasina’s allies face criminal charges, including allegations of corruption in Bangladesh, while others, including Hasina, live in self-imposed exile.Wazed took office as WHO’s Southeast Asia regional director in early 2024 for a five-year term. The WHO placed her on unpaid administrative leave late last year. She was first sent on leave in July 2025 after Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission, under the interim government that replaced Hasina, filed charges against her in March that year alleging fraud and forgery.According to a separate letter from Wazed’s lawyers to the WHO dated July 3, 2026, and seen by Reuters, the agency accused her of committing financial fraud related to travel to China and misrepresenting her academic credentials. Wazed has denied the allegations.The WHO also alleged that she had illegally acquired a plot of land in Bangladesh, according to her resignation letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Wazed said she had acquired the land before joining the WHO and was entitled to it under a Bangladeshi law covering the families of the country’s independence leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s father.‘Loss of trust’: WazedIn her resignation letter, sent to Tedros late on Wednesday, Wazed said she had sincerely served the countries in her region since being elected to the position.“Since you continue to prevent me from effectively carrying out my duties, I have lost all trust and confidence in your leadership of WHO,” she wrote.She also said that after nearly a year without remuneration following the decision to place her on unpaid leave, her financial situation had become untenable. “In these circumstances, I am choosing to step aside,” she wrote.Wazed declined to comment further.The WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last month, it said Wazed was on leave but declined to comment further on her case, citing confidentiality.WHO may hold fresh election in JanuaryTwo sources said earlier that the UN agency was planning to formally remove Wazed. One of them said the WHO would announce nominations for the position on October 12, vet applications in December and hold elections on January 24.The sources declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.Regional directors are among the world’s most influential health policy officials. Their responsibilities include responding to outbreaks and emergencies and adapting WHO policies to local conditions. They are elected every five years by member states, which include Bangladesh and India in the Southeast Asia region.In the July letter, Wazed’s lawyers denied the travel fraud allegation, saying it resulted from an administrative oversight by an assistant processing routine reimbursement requests and involved $901. Regarding the credentials allegation, Wazed said she held an honorary doctorate for her work on autism in Bangladesh and had been clear with Tedros about the qualification.Source: Reuters

Peace spread after 16 students fell ill at Jorkhali High School in Tamruddi Union of Hatia Upazila of Noakhali. A day after the incident, an administration investigation revealed that the students fell ill after toxic fumes from Acemix pesticide sprayed in a paddy field next to the school entered the classroom.Hatia Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Russell Iqbal visited Jorkhali High School on Tuesday (September 8) morning to investigate the cause of the incident. He was accompanied by police, intelligence agency representatives and members of an expert medical team. Earlier, on Monday afternoon, 16 students of classes 6, 7 and 10 of the school suddenly fell ill in the classroom.According to school sources, 16 students suddenly fell ill after feeling dizzy, nauseous and restless while at school on Monday. Later, 13 of them were admitted to the hospital in an unconscious state. After the necessary treatment, everyone returned home at night. After recovering, they returned to school on Tuesday and participated in teaching normally.An expert medical team led by UNO Russell Iqbal visited Jorkhali High School on Tuesday morning to investigate the cause of the incident. During the inspection, the investigation team received information about pesticide spraying on a land to the west-northeast of the school. The investigation revealed that the toxic vapors mixed with the air and entered the classroom as the pesticide was sprayed on that land right next to the school. This caused physical reactions among the students and some of them became unconscious.Jorkhali High School Headmaster Md. Jasim Uddin said that yesterday's incident had created extreme panic among teachers and guardians. However, relief has returned as the real cause of the incident has been revealed with the immediate action of the administration. About 500 students study in the school. The 16 affected students have fully recovered after treatment and returned home and all of them attended class on Tuesday.UNO Russell Iqbal said that a farmer sprayed Acemix pesticide on that land on Monday. Later on Tuesday morning, the farmer brought the pesticide bottle from his house to the investigation team. It is clearly mentioned on the bottle that the strong smell or contact with such a liquid can cause dizziness, nausea, restlessness and loss of consciousness. The pesticide bottle and other evidence have been seized in this incident.Meanwhile, strict warnings and instructions have been given by the administration to avoid such incidents in the future. UNO Russell Iqbal said that no type of pesticide can be sprayed on the land adjacent to the school boundary during school hours. If pesticides are to be used around the school, it should be done only on holidays like Fridays and Saturdays.It is worth noting that on Monday afternoon, 16 students of classes 6, 7 and 10 suddenly fell ill in the classroom of Jorkhali High School in Tamruddi Union. Of them, 13 were admitted to the Hatia Upazila Health Complex in an unconscious state.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said that every person in the country should enjoy equal rights and security based on citizenship, not religion or any other form of division. He said no community living in Bangladesh should need to be identified as a “minority.”“Our first identity should be that we are all Bangladeshis,” he said, adding that religious, social and ethnic identities should come afterward.He made the remarks on Friday while speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the historic Janmashtami procession, held at the Dhakeshwari National Temple premises in the capital to mark the Central Janmashtami Festival 1433. The event was organized by the Mahanagar Sarbajanin Puja Committee and the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad.Expressing his commitment to building a non-communal Bangladesh, Salahuddin Ahmed said the principle of “Bangladesh first” should guide the state. Therefore, everyone should identify themselves as Bangladeshis first, while religious, social and ethnic identities should not become grounds for division.The home minister said attempts had previously been made to portray followers of Sanatan Dharma as the “vote bank” of a particular political party for political gain. However, he said, the conscious people of the country had rejected that misconception and artificial narrative.He further said that since the current government took office, the religious freedom and right to observe religious practices of people of all faiths had been ensured over the past six months.Referring to the people as the ultimate judges, Salahuddin Ahmed said they had already delivered their verdict and would continue to stand united to strengthen democracy and oppose all forms of evil forces and extremism.Highlighting the importance of the Constitution, he said the state is obligated to ensure every citizen’s religious freedom. In keeping with the spirit of the Constitution, no discrimination can be made on the basis of religion.The minister said the government had ensured the security and freedom of all places of worship and those responsible for them. He added that the government wanted to go beyond constitutional guarantees and establish equality and harmony in practice.Calling for a change in the use of language, he said the phrase “communal harmony” should be replaced with expressions emphasizing religious and social harmony, coexistence and peace. He said this positive practice would help make society better.The event was chaired by Gopal Chandra Debnath, president of the Mahanagar Sarbajanin Puja Committee. Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator and freedom fighter Md. Abdus Salam spoke as the inaugural guest.Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and Ethnic Minority Affairs Bijon Kanti Sarker and Dhaka-7 lawmaker Hamidur Rahman also spoke as distinguished guests.Among others, speeches were delivered by Tapan Chandra Majumder, vice-chairman of the Hindu Religious Welfare Trust; Jayanta Kumar Kundu, joint organizing secretary of the BNP National Executive Committee for the Khulna Division; Basudev Dhar, president of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad; and its general secretary, Santosh Sharma.The event was moderated by Shubhashish Kumar Biswas (Sadhan), general secretary of the Mahanagar Sarbajanin Puja Committee.The procession was formally inaugurated by Dhaka South City Corporation Administrator Md. Abdus Salam by lighting a ceremonial lamp. It later began at the Dhakeshwari National Temple premises near Palashi Mor and ended at Bahadur Park.