Bangladesh
10 Zebras’ death: Probe panel visits Safari Park
The inquiry committee formed to investigate the death of 10 zebras at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park in Gazipur visited the park on Sunday.
The inquiry committee contacted foreign experts and experienced doctors to prevent such deaths of zebras.
The committee also talked to South African farm owners from where the zebras were imported.
READ: Another zebra dies at Gazipur Safari Park
Symptoms of disease and test results have been emailed to them, said a media release.
The members of the medical board held meetings on January 25 and 29 at the Safari Park to provide emergency medical care to zebras to prevent their death.
The safari park authorities have been taking measures as per the 10-point recommendation given by the medical board.
The 10 Zebras died within a month till Saturday at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park.
Nine of the 22 zebras in the park died between January 2 to 24 , park authorities disclosed on Tuesday.
On Saturday noon, the members of the medical board held an emergency meeting in the park.
The members of the medical board are Dr ABM Shahidullah, former curator of National Zoo, Professor Dr Rafiqul Alam, and Professor Dr Abu Hadi Md Nur Ali Khan from of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Hatem Sazzad Md Julkarnine, veterinary doctor of the safari park.
READ: Committee to probe death of 9 zebras in Bangabandhu Safari Park
Dr Shafiul Ahad Sardar, Director of Central Veterinary Hospital and Dr Golam Ajam Chowdhury, Chief Scientific Officer of Central Disease Investigation Laboratory joined the meeting as experts.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change formed the five-member inquiry committee to find out the real cause of death of 1o zebras at the Gazipur safari Park.
The committee was asked to submit the investigation report to the ministry within 10 (ten) working days.
People shiver as cold wave persists in Bangladesh
A cold wave is sweeping different parts of the country and it may continue during the next couple of days, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).
“Mild to moderate cold wave is sweeping Rajshahi, Rangpur, Tangail, Gopalgonj, Faridpur, Madaripur, Rangamati, Feni, Moulvibazar, Jashore, Kushtia, Chuadanga, Barishal and Bhola districts and Sitakunda upazila and it may continue,” said a Met office bulletin.
In its forecast for the next 24 hours (till 9am Sunday), it said weather may remain dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country.
Moderate to thick fog may occur over north-western part and river- basins and light to moderate fog may occur elsewhere over the country during midnight to morning.
Night and day temperatures may rise slightly over the country.
The lowest temperature of the country was recorded at 6.8˚C at Tetulia in Panchagarh on Sunday morning.
Read: Winter rain lashes Dhaka, more likely on Thursday in parts of Bangladesh
The Met office has recorded 13.0 ˚C temperatures in Dhaka while the country's highest temperature was recorded 23.7˚C in Kutubdia.
The people of the country as well as the residents of Dhaka are feeling the pinch of winter in the last couple of days due to the dip in mercury.
Most people preferred to stay indoors due to the shivering cold and it is difficult for the day labourers to stay inside as they have to hand to mouth.
UNB Kurigram Correspondent reports :Department Agriculture Extension (DAE) authoriitesare fearing damage of standing crops due to cold weather.
Read: Rain, thundershowers likely in parts of Bangladesh
The number of patients with cold-related problems are rising in hospitals and many people are seen standing in long queues at the local hospitals to take medical treatment.
Deputy Director of District DAE, Md Abdur Rashid said the standing crops are likely to get damaged slightly if the temperature dips below 8 degrees Celsius. “Potato fields might see late blight disease while boro seedbeds might face damage,” he said.
Resident Medical Officer of Kurigram General Hospital said some 296 people are undergoing treatment in the hospital.
Deputy Commissioner Rezaul Karim, said blankets were distributed among 70,000 people while 6,000 warm clothes were also disbursed in the district.
Air Pollution: Dhaka ranks 2nd worst, Lahore tops list
Dhaka’s air was classified as ‘poor’ or ‘very unhealthy’ as the megacity ranked the 2nd worst in Air Quality Index (AQI) Sunday morning .
Dhaka’s AQI score was recorded at 212 at 10.21 am while Pakistan’s Lahore and Afghanistan’s Kabul occupied the first and third spots, with AQI scores of 221 and 190, respectively.
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.
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.
A report by the Department of Environment (DoE) and the World Bank in March 2019 pointed out that the three main sources of air pollution in Dhaka "are brick kilns, fumes from vehicles and dust from construction sites".
Read: Globe bounces back to nearly 2019 carbon pollution levels
With the advent of winter, the city’s air quality starts deteriorating sharply due to the massive discharge of pollutant particles from construction work, 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 a 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.
Read: Can Dhaka improve its air quality?
Global Covid cases top 372 million
The overall number of Covid cases has surpassed 372 million amid a surge in Omicron infections across the globe.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 372,116,742 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,656,941 Saturday morning.
The US has recorded 74,213,736 cases so far and 883,864 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.
READ: Global Covid cases top 369 million
Omicron, the highly contagious coronavirus variant sweeping across the country, is driving the daily American death toll higher than during last fall’s Delta wave, with deaths likely to keep rising for days or even weeks, reports AP.
Omicron is estimated to account for nearly all the virus circulating in the nation. And even though it causes less severe disease for most people, the fact that it is more transmissible means more people are falling ill and dying.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 40,858,241 on Saturday with 235,532 new confirmed cases registered in 24 hours, as per the health ministry's latest data.
Besides, 871 deaths reported due to the pandemic since Thursday morning took the total death toll to 493,198.
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since last January, registered 25,256,198 cases as of Friday, while its Covid death toll rose to 626,870.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh reported 21 more Covid-linked deaths with 10,378 fresh cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning.
The daily positivity rate dropped to 31.10 per cent from highest-ever 33.37 per cent recorded on Friday after testing 33,373 samples during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
READ: Global Covid cases surpass 366 million
The country logged its earlier highest daily positivity rate at 32.55% on July 24 last year reporting 6,780 cases and 195 deaths.
On Friday, Bangladesh reported 20 Covid-linked deaths with 15,440 fresh cases.
The fresh numbers took the country’s total fatalities to 28,329 while the caseload mounted to 1,731,149.
Among the new deceased, 14 were men and seven women.
Twelve deaths were reported in Dhaka division while two each in Chattogram, Khulna, Rangpur and one each in Rajshahi, Barishal and Mymensingh divisions.
Meanwhile, the mortality rate further declined to 1.60 per cent.
However, the recovery rate also declined to 88.18 per cent with the recovery of 1,109 more patients during the 24-hour period.
Bangladesh’s total tally of Omicron cases reached 69 with the detection of five more cases till Sunday, according to GISAID, a global initiative on sharing all influenza data.
On December 9 last year, Bangladesh again logged zero Covid-related death after nearly three weeks as the pandemic was apparently showing signs of easing.
The country reported this year’s first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 last year along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020.
Besides, the country registered the highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year, while the highest number of daily fatalities was 264 on August 10 last year.
END/UNB/SS/FH
Man beaten dead ‘by in-laws’ in Khulna
A man was beaten to death allegedly by his brother-in-law and father-in-law at Miyapara Pipermor in Khulna city Saturday afternoon.
The deceased is Md Sabuj, 30, a resident of the area.
Sabuj’s father-in-law Siddique and brother-in-law Sagar beat him up severely after he had a quarrel with his wife.
They hit on his head and chest with bricks and then stabbed him with knives, said locals.
He was rescued and taken to Khulna Medical College Hospital by locals and where he died at night.
Sabuj used to live with his wife in a rented house in the area. His in-law’s house was near Tota Bridge in Labanchora area.
READ: Trucker stabbed dead in city
Khulna Sadar Police officer-in-charge (OC) Hasan Al-Mamun said it is being investigated whether Sabuj was beaten to death by them.
Sabuj’s family has not yet filed any complaint yet, he said.
READ: Teenage girl found dead at police station in Rangpur
Safe food to be ensured for all amid pressure over subsidy
Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzak MP said that safe food will be ensured for all in the next 3-4 years."It will be possible to ensure safe food for all in the next 3-4 years and the incumbent government is working tirelessly to ensure this,".The minister said this while addressing as the chief guest at the Shadow Parliament on "appropriate steps of the government to ensure safe food" at FDC in Dhaka on Saturday.For ensuring safe food, the government has enacted 'Safe Food Act' and the Safe Food Authority has been formed, he added.
Read: Edible oil price may go up further: Tipu MunshiMentioning that safe food should also be ensured in case of export, the minister further said that efforts are being made to produce safe crops. Production activities have already started in accordance with good agricultural practices.The Minister further said that in order to ensure safe and nutritious food, the income of the common man must also be increased. If income and standard of life cannot cannot be improved, the incidence of adulterated and unsafe food will increase.Therefore, the government is taking and implementing effective initiatives for mechanization, commercialization and processing of agriculture in order to increase the income of the people and improve the living standards of the large rural agricultural population.
3 journos injured while reporting on UP polls in Thakurgaon
Three journalists were seriously injured by some miscreants on Saturday while collecting news on upcoming UP elections in Thakurgaon.
The injured journalists are Tanvir Hossain Tanu, district correspondent of Independent television, Mainuddin Talukdar Himel, correspondent for RisingBD website, and Sohel Rana, correspondent of NewsBangla24 and Doinik Bhorer Akash.
According to witnesses, ahead of the Senua Union Parishad set to be held on February 7, candidate Motiur Rahman was conducting his election campaign in Molankhur Mandalpara.
Also read: Pre-poll violence: 1 killed, 12 hurt in Jamalpur
At one point some supporters of his rival candidate attacked the campaigners with arms and as the journalists went to take photos, the miscreants beat them up.
The journalists said their cameras, mobile phones were broken and moneybags were snatched during the attack.
Locals and other journalists rescued the three journalists and admitted them to Thakurgaon General Hospital.
Also read: Pre-poll violence leaves 3 injured in Ctg
Rakibul Alam Chayan, Resident Medical Officer of the hospital, said the injured received primary medications and further treatments will be provided after examining their physical condition.
Bodies of 2 newborns recovered from a box in Sherpur
Police on Saturday recovered bodies of two newborns from inside a carton in Nalitabari upazila of Sherpur district.
The bodies were found under Kharaghat Bridge in Gaglajani village.
According to locals, Mukul Hossain, a local fisherman spotted the box under the water while fishing.
Informed of the incident, police recovered the bodies from the spot later.
Read: Indian national held in Kurigram for illegal entry
Basir Ahmed Badal, Officer-in-Charge of Nalitabari police station said they suspect someone threw the box in the water late Friday night.
The bodies were sent for autopsy and investigation is on to identify who was behind it, he said.
Indian national held in Kurigram for illegal entry
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) detained an Indian citizen from Roumari bordering area of Kurigram on Saturday morning for entering Bangladesh territory without valid travel documents.The detainee was identified as Pashan Ali, 32, son of late Chattar Ali of Kuadanga village in Dhubri district of Assam.Khaledur Rahman, subedar of Dantbhanga BGB camp, said Pashan Ali entered Bangladesh from India illegally on Friday night. Tipped off, a BGB patrol team detained Pashan from the sub-pillar no. 1052 in the Roumari bordering area.
Read: 2 held over killing woman in KhulnaThe detainee was involved in smuggling, subedar Rahman said.Later, the detainee was handed over to Roumari Police Station, he added.Montasser Billah, officer-in-charge of Roumari Police Station, said a case has been filed against Pashan Ali for trespassing. He will be sent to Kurigram Jail on Sunday, he added.
Edible oil price may go up further: Tipu Munshi
The price of edible oil may rise again in Bangladesh if it is increased in Brazil as the country imports it from the Latin American country, said Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Saturday.
The minister said this while talking to journalists at Sheikh Shafi Commerce College in Lalmonirhat.
“The prices of essentials usually go up during the month of Ramadan. Efforts are on to keep the prices stable in the market during the period,” he said, adding that the selling of goods through OMS will be doubled during Ramadan.
Also read: No hike in edible oil prices in 15 days, readjustment after that: Minister
To keep the prices of daily essentials within people’s purchasing capacity, the market is being monitored, Tipu Munshi added.