Toufique Imrose Khalidi, the editor-in-chief of bdnews24.com and a pivotal figure in Bangladesh’s transition to digital journalism, has died at the age of 59.
He was admitted to St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London on Thursday night after suffering a sudden brain haemorrhage during a private visit to the United Kingdom, where medical staff declared him dead at 2:23pm local time on Friday.
His passing arrived just three weeks before bdnews24.com was set to mark its 20th anniversary on 23 October, an occasion he was actively and enthusiastically planning.
The date for bringing his mortal remains back to Bangladesh has not yet been determined. His family will announce the time and place for his funeral prayers and burial once arrangements have been finalized.
Born on 14 June 1967, Khalidi earned a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Dhaka University in 1987 – studying political science and international relations as subsidiary subjects – before completing a Master’s degree in English Literature from the same institution.
He initially began his professional career in population research in 1987 and worked for Save the Children Fund (UK) prior to entering journalism.
Throughout a distinguished news career, Khalidi served as assistant editor at Sunday Express (1989–1991), diplomatic correspondent at The Daily Star (1991–1993), and senior correspondent, assistant editor, lead writer, and special correspondent at The Financial Express (1993–1995).
Between 1996 and 1997, he worked in Paris for Europe, a quarterly journal published by the Journalists in Europe Foundation.
He subsequently returned to The Daily Star as assistant editor and head of the Business and Economy Desk (1997–1998), later serving as joint news editor and news editor of its Weekend Edition (1999–2000).
In 2000, Khalidi joined the BBC World Service in London, working until 2005 as a producer and presenter of news and current affairs programmes, reporting on business and economic topics, and anchoring a monthly debate programme.
In July 2006, he assumed leadership of bdnews24.com as its editor-in-chief and managing director, whilst also serving as director and stakeholder of its owning company, Bangladesh News 24 Hours Ltd.
Following the takeover, news agency BDNEWS was rebranded and launched as bdnews24.com, becoming Bangladesh’s first free online newspaper.
