New Age
New Age logo
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Owner(s)Media New Age Limited
EditorNurul Kabir
Founded2003
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersHamid Plaza, 3000/5/A/1 Bir Uttam CR Datta Road, Hatirpool, Dhaka-1205
Websitenewagebd.net

New Age is a Bangladeshi English-language daily newspaper published from Dhaka.[1][2][3] It is printed in broadsheet. It is one of the country's most outspoken newspapers, regarded for its anti-establishment editorial policy.[4][failed verification] Nurul Kabir, a former leftwing activist, is the present editor of the newspaper.[5][6]

History

Content

At one point, New Age–like its rival, the Daily Star–included a literature page (defunct by mid-2019), which stimulated Bangladesh's English literary scene.[7]

Conflicts

In 2014, the offices of New Age were searched without a warrant by Bangladesh Police.[8][9][10]

In 2009, a New Age reporter was tortured by the law enforcement agency Rapid Action Battalion members.[11][12][13]

In 2013, editor Nurul Kabir allegedly received a phone call from a person claiming to be a criminal nicknamed "Shahadat," who threatened him, his wife and children, demanded Tk100,000, and ordered him to "speak carefully" when appearing in talk shows. In response, a group of 50 activists signed a petition calling for an investigation and punishment of the alleged crime.[6]

In 2014, police attempted to search the New Age office, at the Tejgaon area in the capital, without a warrant. Over objections from staff, police entered and videotaped some of the interior. Later, a police official said it was a "misunderstanding" due to a report "that Jamaat Shibir activists" were "in the area."[3]

In February 2015, police allegedly beat Nazmul Huda Suman, the Dhaka University correspondent for New Age, and a companion, as they returned to the university from the newspaper's office. He alleged that he had photographed some police misconduct, and was promptly surrounded by 20-30 officers, and attacked—on site, in a police car, and at the police station. Friends later rushed him to a hospital where he was examined for head injury.[14][15][16] The incident sparked various public protests by political and cultural organizations.[15] The correspondent promptly sued 13 officers of the Ramna police, sparking a court-ordered police investigation.[16]

David Bergman issues

New Age blogger David Bergman (journalist)[17] has been a subject of particular controversy. Bergman is the husband of human rights lawyer and activist Sara Hossain, who is daughter of Bangladeshi politician & Internationally acclaimed lawyer Kamal Hossain.

In 2014, the controversial[18] International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh ordered Bergman to pay a fine of approximately US$65, or serve a week in prison, for questioning the controversial, allegedly exaggerated, official historical record on the actual death toll in Bangladesh's 1971 War of Independence. The court's actions, essentially declaring that its judgments could not be the subject of journalistic inquiry, even after issued, met with international condemnation.[18][19][20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Daily English newspaper from Bangladesh - New Age". Bangladesh Directory. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  2. ^ "7 raped everyday in September," October 2, 2019, Dhaka Tribune, retrieved March 30, 2020
  3. ^ a b "Police attempt to raid New Age office," December 28, 2014, Dhaka Tribune, retrieved March 30, 2020
  4. ^ "Bangladeshi Newspapers". World Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
  5. ^ "Concern over death threat to New Age editor". The Daily Star. 2010-02-28. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  6. ^ a b "50 citizens concerned over alleged threat to New Age editor," October 5, 2013, Dhaka Tribune, retrieved March 30, 2020
  7. ^ "English fiction from Bangladesh: A vibrant prospect," April 13th, 2019, Dhaka Tribune, retrieved March 30, 2020
  8. ^ "Cops attempt to 'search' New Age office". The Daily Star. 2014-12-28. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  9. ^ "Police enter New Age office premises for 'search'". The Daily Star. 2014-12-28. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  10. ^ "Raid on New Age office". The Daily Star. 2015-01-05. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  11. ^ "Assault on New Age reporter". The Daily Star. 2009-10-24. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  12. ^ "Brutalised New Age journo sues 3 cops". The Daily Star. 2015-02-03. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  13. ^ "Cops 'brutalise' New Age journo". The Daily Star. 2015-02-01. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  14. ^ "Police beat New Age DU correspondent," February 1, 2015, Dhaka Tribune, retrieved March 30, 2020
  15. ^ a b "Punishment to police officer demanded," February 2, 2015, Dhaka Tribune, retrieved March 30, 2020
  16. ^ a b "New Age reporter sues police for assault," February 3, 2015, Dhaka Tribune, retrieved March 30, 2020
  17. ^ "David Bergman," Foreign Policy, retrieved March 30, 2020
  18. ^ a b "Bangladesh court convicts British journalist on contempt charges," December 9, 2014, Committee to Protect Journalists, retrieved March 30, 2020
  19. ^ Greenslade, Roy, "British journalist found guilty of contempt in Bangladesh: He is fined for 'examining' 1971 war statistics," December 2, 2014, The Guardian, retrieved March 30, 2019
  20. ^ "British journalist found guilty of contempt by Bangladesh court for questioning war death toll: David Bergman 'did not have the right' to examine the figures, it ruled," December 2, 2014, The Independent, retrieved March 30, 2020

External links

HRC Group Media
Newspapers of Bangladesh
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