Bangladesh
PM Hasina arrives at Ajmer to offer prayers at shrine of sufi saint Mainuddin Chisti
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina this morning (September 8, 2022) arrived at Ajmer to offer prayers at Khwaja Gharib Nawaz Dargah Sharif on the last day of her India visit.
“The Prime Minister will offer nafal prayers and munajat, seeking the development, prosperity and welfare of the country, its people and for the entire Muslim ummah,” PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said.
Read:Nobel laureate Kailash lauds PM Hasina's efforts for the vulnerable
A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the premier was landed at Jaipur International Airport in Rajasthan at 9:55 am local time.
Earlier, the flight departed Palam Airport, New Delhi at 9:12am Indian time.
Read:PM Hasina is like a guardian to me: Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmistha
Ihasnul Karim said that the prime minister will spent some time offering Fateha and munajat at the Khwaja Gharib Nawaz Dargah Sharif, the mazar (shrine) of Sufi Moinuddin Chishti.
Later, Hasina will go around the Ajmer Dargah Sharif.
Swechchashebak activist beaten to death in Shariatpur
A 32-year-old Swechchashebak League activist was beaten to death allegedly by his rivals in Naria upazila of Shariatpur district on Wednesday night.
The deceased was identified as Mamun Khan, former publicity secretary of Swechchashebak League's Naria municipality unit and son of Abdus Salam Khan.
Mamun and Mokhles Bepary, organising secretary of Awami League's Naria municipality unit, had been at loggerheads over political issues, said Mahbub Alam, officer-in-charge of Naria Police Station.
As a sequel to the enmity, supporters of Mokhles attacked Mamun with iron rods in front of Naria Pilot Girls High School while he was returning home on Wednesday.
He was taken to a local hospital around 9pm where doctors declared him dead.
Also read; Kushtia: 10th grader stabbed after refusing youth's proposal
As soon as the news spread, supporters of Mamun beat up Mokhles mercilessly, leaving him injured. "He is being treated at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital," the police officer said.
No written complaint has been lodged yet, said the OC.
Dhaka’s air quality turns ‘unhealthy’ again
After a marked improvement on Wednesday, Dhaka's air quality slipped back to the 'unhealthy' zone on Thursday morning.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 180 at 8.50am, the metropolis ranked second in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.
Pakistan’s Lahore and China’s Hangzhou occupied the first and third spots in the list, with AQI scores of 184 and 170, respectively.
An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups.
Similarly, an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be 'poor', while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.
AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, is used by government agencies to inform people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.
Also read: Dhaka's air quality remains 'unhealthy'
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.
Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy during winter and improves during monsoon.
With the advent of winter, the city’s air quality starts deteriorating sharply due to the massive discharge of pollutant particles from construction works, rundown roads, brick kilns and other sources.
Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
Global Covid cases near 612 million
The overall number of global Covid cases is approaching 612 million amid a rise in new infections in parts of the world.
According to the latest global data, the total case count mounted to 611,946,556 while the death toll reached 6,509,276 on Thursday morning.
The US has recorded 96,870,378 cases so far and 1,074,171 people have died from the virus in the country, both highest counts around the world.
India recorded 5,379 new Covid-19 infections in 24 hours, taking the total tally to 44,472,241, official data showed on Wednesday.
According to federal health ministry data released on Wednesday morning, with the fresh cases, India's active caseload currently stands at 50,594.
The country also logged 27 Covid-related deaths in 24 hours, bringing the overall toll to 528,057, the ministry said.
Read: Onset of northern winter could see spike in Covid hospitalisations, deaths: WHO
Covid in Bangladesh
Bangladesh reported zero Covid-linked deaths and 382 cases in 24 hours till Wednesday morning.
With the new numbers, the country's total fatalities remained unchanged at 29,329 while the caseload rose to 2,013,689, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The daily case test positivity rate rose to 6.94 percent from Tuesday's 6.71 percent as 4,066 samples were tested.
The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.46 percent and the recovery rate stood at 97.23 percent.
In August, the country reported 32 Covid-linked deaths and 6,689 cases.
Japanese Embassy celebrates Abul Kalam's receipt of Order of the Rising Sun
The Japanese Embassy in Dhaka Wednesday celebrated former principal secretary at Prime Minister's Office and former chief coordinator for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Abul Kalam Azad's receipt of the "The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star" award of Japan.
Azad received the honour for his longstanding contribution to Bangladesh-Japan economic ties.
"Azad's achievements and contributions to Japan-Bangladesh relations are remarkable. I am particularly pleased that we are able to celebrate Azad's conferment in the year of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Bangladesh," Japanese Ambassador Ito Naoki said.
On May 10, 2022, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida conferred the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star to Azad in Tokyo.
Azad specifically contributed to the Japanese development projects in Bangladesh under the Initiative of BIG-B (The Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt) as a promoter within the government from the conceptual stage and laid the foundations for the strong development partnership between Bangladesh and Japan.
Read: Japanese Embassy celebrates 50 years in Dhaka
Azad also co-chaired the Japan-Bangladesh Public-Private Economic Dialogue (PPED) with the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry of Japan from 2014 to 2019.
His leadership through PPED enhanced public and private investment from Japan to Bangladesh, and Japan acknowledged Bangladesh as an attractive place for investment today.
BCL leader expelled after getting caught with Yaba in Chattogram
A Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) leader of Patiya municipality in the district has been expelled from the organization following his arrest by police with Yaba pills early Wednesday.
The BCL leader has been identified as Atiqul Rahman alias Gazi Alvi, joint convener of Patiya municipality unit BCL. Sources said Alavi along with his aide identified as Ashraful Islam alias Shawon was arrested with 1,400 Yaba pills from the Jungle union of Patiya upazila in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Reacting to the incident, the organizing committee of the Chattogram south district BCL fired Alvi from the organization, said a press release signed by its President SM Borhan Uddin and General Secretary Md Abu Taher on Wednesday.
Read: BCL leader hacked to death in Cox's Bazar
Besides, the leaders jointly recommended to the central body to expel him permanently.
Ahsan Habib, sub-inspector of Patiya Police Station, said on information they conducted a drive in the area and detained them on suspicion.
Later, a total of 1,400 pieces of Yaba pills were recovered from the duo's possession.
A case under the Narcotics Control Act was filed accusing Alvi and Shawon in this connection, the police officer added.
Suborno Nagorik Foundation honours champions of differently-abled people's wellbeing
Suborno Nagorik Foundation recently honoured the activists and organisations who work for the well-being of differently-abled persons at an event in the capital.
United Commercial Bank and The Daily Star were the partners of the event held Sunday.
The awardees include parents of special children, employers of differently-abled people, differently-abled women and men, differently-abled sports persons and their patrons.
The Daily Star Executive Editor Syed Ashfaqul Haque and Daffodil University Founder Chair Sabur Khan, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries Senior Vice-President Mostofa Azad Babu; UCB Bank Deputy Managing Director ATM Tahmiduzzaman, Executive Vice-President Abul Kalam Azad and Building Technology and Ideas Managing Director Faizur Rahman Khan were present at the event.
Read: 15,93,070 registered as disabled in Bangladesh
Suborno Nagorik Foundation CEO Asif Iqbal Chowdhury moderated the programme.
There are more than 10 million people in Bangladesh who have physical disabilities, the organisers said. "More than half of them are children and women."
Nobel laureate Kailash lauds PM Hasina's efforts for the vulnerable
Indian social reformer Kailash Satyarthi, who was the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize along with Malala Yousafzai in 2014, has lauded Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's efforts for the most vulnerable in Bangladesh.
"Her compassion and resolve to ensure the welfare of the most vulnerable is commendable," Kailash said.
Read: PM’s India Visit: Bilateral instruments on water management, defence, railway likely to be signed
The Nobel laureate said meeting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is always a pleasure.
"I thank her for supporting my vision of a Global Social Protection mechanism for marginalised children," Satyarthi tweeted after meeting Hasina in New Delhi.
The prime minister is now in India on a four-day state visit and is scheduled to return home Thursday.
Nobel laureate economist Tirole to address 53rd DU convocation November 19
Jean Tirole, a French economist who was awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize for Economics, will address the 53rd convocation of the University of Dhaka (DU) scheduled to be held on November 19 this year.
Tirole, whose work had a significant impact across a wide range of fields within economics, including microeconomics, game theory, and industrial organisation will join the event as the convocation speaker, DU said Wednesday.
Read: 8th convocation of DIU held
The date for the DU convocation was set at an online meeting today. DU Vice-Chancellor Professor Md Akhtaruzzaman presided over it.
PM Hasina is like a guardian to me: Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmistha
Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of late Indian president Pranab Mukherjee, has described Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as her guardian.
"She (PM Sheikh Hasina) would always say that my father (Pranab Mukherjee) was like a guardian to her family. Now in his absence, she (PM Hasina) is being the same for me," she tweeted after she met with Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi.
Read: Bangabandhu as revered in India as he is in Bangladesh: Jaishankar
Sharmistha also mentioned the long association between the two families.
May God grant her (PM Hasina) a long and healthy life, she said.
Sheikh Hasina is now in India on a four-day state visit at the invitation of her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
The prime minister is scheduled to return home Thursday.