Bangladesh
90pc Cabinet’s decisions implemented in 3 years
Some 90 percent decisions, taken by the Cabinet in three years from January 2019 to December 2021, have been implemented, while the implementation of remaining 10 percent decisions is underway.
The Cabinet took a total of 689 decisions during the period. Of them, 615 have already been implemented and the implementation of 74 others is underway, according to a report placed at the Cabinet meeting held on Monday.
Read: Cabinet clears draft law over EC formation
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting, joining it virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban, while the others concerned were connected from the Bangladesh Secretariat.
“The implementation rate of the cabinet’s decisions taken in the three years is 89.26 percent,” said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam while briefing reporters at the Secretariat after the meeting.
Some 251 decisions (97.29pc) out of 258 decisions taken by the Cabinet in 2019 were implemented, while 232 ones (92.43pc) out of 251 decisions taken in 2020 were executed and 132 ones (73.33pc) out of 180 decisions taken in 2021 were implemented.
Read: Cabinet body okays extension of deals with 4 rental power plants
In the three months from October 2021 to December 2021, the Cabinet took 56 decisions. Of them, 34 decisions have already been executed and the implementation of remaining 22 ones is now underway.
All to be fully vaccinated in Bangladesh by Dec: Health Minister
All the people of the country will get the two doses of vaccines and the booster one against Covid-19 by December as per the target, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Monday.
"Bangladesh has been successful in its vaccination campaign. Around 10 crore people in the country have been vaccinated so far," he said while talking to reporters at the Secretariat.
Read:Mohibul says student vaccination makes progress; 64 % done
The minister said the government has so far spent more than Tk 20,000 crore on vaccinating the people of the country.
“About 70 per cent of people have been vaccinated. Among them, around 6.75 crore people have received the second doses and 26 lakh people got the booster shots,” he said.
“The government is not finding people to vaccinate,” he said.
Senior journalist Shamsul Alam Belal no more
Shamsul Alam Belal, former city editor of state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), passed away early Monday. He was 60.
Shamsul Alam, a member of the Jatiya Press Club(JPC), breathed his last at Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital in Dhaka at 2 am.
Read: Mother of BCB Director AJM Nasiruddin passes away
His namaz-e-janaza was held at the Jatiya Press Club premises at 11:30 am.
JPC president Farida Yasmin and general secretary Ilias Khan expressed deep shock at the demise of Shamsul Alam Belal.
South Sudanese delegation arrives in Dhaka
A South Sudanese delegation led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Deng Dau Deng Malek arrived here on Monday morning.
Director General (Africa) Md. Tarikul Islam received the delegation members.
The delegation will have a series of meetings during their stay in Bangladesh.
Read: Dhaka-Washington’s 8th partnership dialogue likely in March-end
The delegation is scheduled to have a meeting with Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen this (Monday) evening.
The delegation members will also meet State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam.
7th phase of UP polls: Voting underway in 138 unions
Voting is underway for the seventh phase of local body elections to 138 Union Parishads (UPs) in 24 upazilas of 20 districts.
The voting began at 8am Monday at 1,350 polling stations and will continue till 4pm without any break.
Read: Rangamati UP polls: Bar on Sajek tourism on Feb 6,7
Out of 138 UPs, the electronic voting machines (EVMs) are being used in nine UPs, while the traditional ballot papers in the rest ones.
There are more than 2.45 million voters with 5,874 candidates contesting the elections.
A total of 5,874 candidates, including 576 chairman contenders, are in the electoral race in the 138 UPs, joint secretary of the Election Commission Secretariat SM Asaduzzaman said on Sunday.
But 71 contestants, including 11 chairman candidates, have already been elected unopposed, finding no rival candidate against their post.
On December 29 last, the EC announced the schedule for the 7th phase countrywide UP election. The deadline for submission of nomination papers expired on January 12 last.
Read:UP polls-violence leaves 29 dead in Jan alone: MSF
Among the 138 Ups, 24 are in Cumilla, 19 in Rangamati, 17 in Rangpur, 16 in Chattogram, 11 in Mymensingh, nine in Kishoreganj, eight in Noakhali, seven in Sunamganj, six in Patuakhali, five in Khagrachhari, three in Bandarban, two each in Thakurgaon, Nilphamari, Joypurhat and Sirajganj, one each in Chuadanga, Jhenaidah, Pirojpur, Sylhet and Cox’s Bazar.
Global Covid cases top 394 million amid Omicron spread
The overall number of Covid cases has surpassed 394 million, with Omicron variant’s rapid spread across the globe.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 394,771,347 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,738,938 Monday morning.
The US has recorded 76,505,442 cases so far and 902,624 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.
Russia is reporting a record daily count of new coronavirus infections, a tenfold spike from a month ago as the highly contagious omicron variant spreads through the country, reports AP.
Read:Omicron amps up concerns about long COVID and its causes
The figure of 189,071 new infections released by the state coronavirus task force on Sunday was about 2,800 cases more than the previous day and continued a surge that began in mid-January, when daily new cases were around 17,000.
Although the number of infections has increased dramatically in recent weeks, the country's task force reported that daily deaths from COVID-19 are holding steady or marginally declining: 661 more deaths were recorded Sunday, compared with 796 on Jan. 6.
For the entire course of the pandemic, Russia has reported 12.8 million infections and 335,414 deaths, the highest death toll by far in Europe.
India has registered 107,474 new cases in the past 24 hours, with the tally reaching 42,188,138 on Sunday, the health ministry's data showed.
The ministry also reported 865 deaths since Saturday morning, bringing the death toll to 501,979.
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since last January, registered 197,442 COVID-19 infections and 1,308 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing its nationwide counts to 26,473,273 and 631,802 respectively, the National Council of Health Secretaries said Saturday.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged 29 more Covid-linked deaths with 8,345 fresh cases in 24 hours till Sunday morning.
The daily positivity rate slightly declined to 21.50 from Saturday’s 23.83 percent after testing 38,247 samples during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The fresh numbers took the country’s total fatalities to 28,589 while the caseload mounted to 1,861,532.
Read: Follow health guidelines; new Omicron to be more contagious: DGHS
Meanwhile, the mortality rate remained static at 1.54 percent.
However, the recovery rate slightly increased to 86.09 percent with the recovery of 8,159 more patients during the 24-hour period.
The cases of Omicron variant of Covid-19 have jumped to 187 in Bangladesh with the detection of 81 fresh infections till Monday, according to GISAID, a primary source that provides open access to genomic data of Coronavirus.
Bangladesh's Omicron tally rises to 187
The cases of Omicron variant of Covid-19 have jumped to 187 in Bangladesh with the detection of 81 fresh infections till Monday, according to GISAID, a primary source that provides open access to genomic data of Coronavirus.
The latest cases were detected at the lab of PRAVA Health that was later submitted by Genomic Research Lab of Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) on Sunday.
Read:Omicron amps up concerns about long COVID and its causes
Bangladesh reported its first two Omicron cases on December 11 last year in two members of the Bangladesh women's cricket team that had been forced to return early from the ICC Women's World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe, deep in southern Africa, where the most transmissible variant of SARS-CoV-2 till now is believed to have originated.
The newly detected sub-variant of Omicron, the South African variant of coronavirus, can be even more contagious, warned the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Citing various studies, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that this sub-variant, which has already been detected in 57 countries, might be more contagious than before and if it is more infectious it may create greater risks, DGHS spokesperson Dr Md Nazmul Islam said at the daily briefing on Covid-19 situation on February 2.
Read: Follow health guidelines; new Omicron to be more contagious: DGHS
There is no alternative to abiding by the health protocols to stay safe, the official added.
Search committee asks political parties to suggest names for CEC, ECs
The six-member search committee, tasked with suggesting names for the formation of the next Election Commission, has called upon the registered political parties to send nominations for the posts of chief election commissioner (CEC) and other election commissioners (ECs).
The Cabinet Division issued a circular today, urging the registered political parties to recommend up to 10 names for CEC and ECs by 5pm Thursday.
Also, individuals interested to serve as either CEC or EC can also send their own names.
The names will have to be emailed to [email protected] or directly to the Cabinet Division (snail mail) within this time, the circular added.
President Abdul Hamid formed the search committee, headed by Justice Obaidul Hassan, in line with the new law on forming the Election Commission.
The other members of the committee are Justice SM Kuddus Zaman, Comptroller and Auditor General Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, Public Service Commission Chairman Md Sohorab Hossain, former election commissioner Sohul Hussain, and writer Anwara Syed Haq.
The "Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners Act 2022" was published in an extraordinary gazette by the National Parliament.
Search committee
The search committee would take decisions on majority votes and in the case of equal votes, the meeting's chair would have the authority to cast the second or deciding vote as per the law.
The committee can seek names from political parties and professional organisations for the posts of CEC and ECs.
The search committee will recommend two names against each vacant post before the president.
The Cabinet Division will provide secretarial assistance to the committee.
On January 27 last, Parliament passed the Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners Bill 2022 to have a law under the Article 118 (1) of the Constitution. The president assented to the bill on January 29.
The government framed the law as the incumbent EC, headed by KM Nurul Huda, is set to fulfil its five-year tenure in mid-February.
In absence of this law, the president appointed the CEC and commissioners in the past.
The last two election commissions, headed by Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad and KM Nurul Huda, were constituted in 2012 and 2017 through search committees formed by the president following dialogues with political parties.
Mild cold wave sweeping over country
A mild cold wave is currently sweeping over the districts of Nilfamari, Panchagarh, Kurigram, Jashore, Chuadanga Pabna, Moulvibazar and the upazila of Sitakunda, said the Met office.
The cold wave is likely to continue and spread over the surrounding areas, according to a forecast of Bangladesh Meteorological Department for 24 hours till Monday evening.
Moderate to thick fog may occur over north-western part and the river basins and light to moderate fog may occur elsewhere over the country during mid-night to morning, said BMD.
Night temperature may fall slightly and day temperature may rise slightly over the country, said the forecast.
Weather may remain dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country, predicted the Met office.
The lowest temperature in the country was recorded at 6.9 degree Celsius in Tetulia while the highest temperature was 28 degree Celsius recorded in Teknaf.
5 Jamaat leaders arrested in Pabna
Detective Branch of Pabna Police on Sunday arrested five top leaders including the Ameer of Pabna district Jamaat-e-Islami from Bus terminal area of Pabna town.
The detainees are Pabna District Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Prof Abu Taleb Mandal, Naib-e-Ameer and former chairman of Atgharia Upazila Parishad Maulana Zahurul Islam Khan, Naib-e-Ameer Professor Nazrul Islam, Finance Secretary Maulana Abdus Shakur and Workers Welfare Federation Pabna District President Rezaul Karim.
Acting on a tip off that Jamaat leaders were holding secret meetings for planning anti-government and sabotage activities, police conducted a drive at Darul Aman Trust campus in Pabna at noon and arrested them, said Abdul Hannan, officer-in-charge (OC) of Detective Branch of Pabna Police.
However, Pabna district Jamaat secretary principal Hafeez Maulana Iqbal Hossain said it was not a party meeting but a meeting of the board of trustees of Darul Aman Trust.