Third person in Cardiff family dies in Bangladesh holiday poisoning

Police in Bangladesh believe Rafiqul Islam, father of the latest victim, and his family were poisoned. (Family Handout)
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Updated 06 August 2022
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Third person in Cardiff family dies in Bangladesh holiday poisoning

  • Death of Samira Islam and father, brother ‘tragic,’ says mosque official

LONDON: A 20-year-old Cardiff woman on holiday in Bangladesh with her family of five is the latest to die from suspected poisoning after the passing of her father and brother, the BBC reported on Saturday.

After being found unconscious by local police in a locked room in an apartment in the city of Sylhet on July 26, Samira Islam and four family members were rushed to hospital and placed on life support. But she died on Friday in what police suspect was a case of poisoning.

The funeral of her father and brother drew hundreds of mourners from around Sylhet on July 28. Her mother and older brother reportedly recovered and were released from hospital.

The two survivors told police that there was a faulty electricity generator in the apartment that was used on the night of the incident. The device emitted smoke, which police also say could be behind the poisoning.

The Cardiff family was visiting relatives on a two-month holiday when the incident took place. They were discovered unconscious in the apartment by visitors on July 26.

Police official Farid Uddin said: “Our primary suspicion is that they were poisoned. Our investigators are speaking with the relatives of the victims. So far we don’t think they have any enmity with anyone.” 

Investigating officer Masudul Amin said: “We are also speaking with the relatives who were in the apartment and other residents of the building. No one has been detained or arrested in this murder.”

Friends of the family in Cardiff reacted with shock to the news, with Muhibur Islam, a mosque official, describing the incident as “terrible”, “tragic” and “hard to take in.” The family was described as “quiet” and “nice” by a neighbor.

Local Labour Party councillor Kanaya Singh said: “I hope that the authorities are able to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible.”


India plans AI ‘data city’ on staggering scale

Updated 15 February 2026
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India plans AI ‘data city’ on staggering scale

  • ‘The data city is going to come in one ecosystem ... with a 100 kilometer radius’

NEW DELHI: As India races to narrow the artificial intelligence gap with the United States and China, it is planning a vast new “data city” to power digital growth on a staggering scale, the man spearheading the project says.

“The AI revolution is here, no second thoughts about it,” said Nara Lokesh, information technology minister for Andhra Pradesh state, which is positioning the city of Visakhapatnam as a cornerstone of India’s AI push.

“And as a nation ... we have taken a stand that we’ve got to embrace it,” he said ahead of an international AI summit next week in New Delhi.

Lokesh boasts the state has secured investment agreements of $175 billion involving 760 projects, including a $15 billion investment by Google for its largest AI infrastructure hub outside the United States.

And a joint venture between India’s Reliance Industries, Canada’s Brookfield and US firm Digital Realty is investing $11 billion to develop an AI data center in the same city.

Visakhapatnam — home to around two million people and popularly known as “Vizag” — is better known for its cricket ground that hosts international matches than cutting-edge technology.

But the southeastern port city is now being pitched as a landing point for submarine internet cables linking India to Singapore.

“The data city is going to come in one ecosystem ... with a 100 kilometer radius,” Lokesh said. For comparison, Taiwan is roughly 100 kilometers wide.

Lokesh said the plan goes far beyond data connectivity, adding that his state had “received close to 25 percent of all foreign direct investments” to India in 2025.

“It’s not just about the data centers,” he explained while outlining a sweeping vision of change, with Andhra Pradesh offering land at one US cent per acre for major investors.