Bangladesh
6 members of theft gang held in city
Detectives arrested six alleged members of a gang of thieves on charges of involvement in theft at Uttara Paradise Tower in the capital.
Tipped off, members of DB (Uttara Division) conducted drives in the capital's Demra and Kandirpar areas of Cumilla district on Monday and arrested the six thieves.
During the drive, equipment used for theft including a hammer, iron range, three blades, pliers, screwdrivers and 20 SIM cards were seized from their possessions.
The arrestees are Md. Jamal Uddin, Shafiq Bhuiyan alias Bacha, Jasim Uddin, Quader Kibria alias Babu, Md. Shakil, Alamin and Mukta Akter.
Read: Three arrested in joint drive against counterfeit medicines
Joint Commissioner of Police (Admin & DB-South) Mohammad Mahbub Alam told a press briefing at DMP Media Center on Tuesday that the theft took place on June 11 at the office of Golden Touch Imports INC on the 8th floor of Paradise Tower of Uttara in the city.
A case was filed at Uttara West Police Station on June 13 in this connection, he said.
Detectives of Uttara division started investigation into the case. During the investigation, the accused were identified with the help of CCTV footage review and information technology.
ACC approves case against DGHS driver
The Anti-Corruption Commission on Tuesday approved a case against Abdul Malek, a driver of the Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS) and his wife Nargis Begum.
Assistant director of ACC's head office Syed Nazrul Islam lodged the cases on February 14,2021.
According to the first case, Abdul Malek (currently suspended) has amassed Tk 1,50,31,810 illegally but submitted a false statement of Tk 93,53,648 to the ACC.
READ: Following complaints, ACC launches drive against Jibon Bima MD
Malek was also made lone accused in the first case for concealing information regarding his wealth.
Malek and his wife Nargis Begum were made accused in the second case.
According to the second case statement, Malek directly assisted his wife in acquiring wealth worth Tk 1,10,92,050 beyond known sources of income.
BU waives students' hall, transportation fees incurred during Covid closure
Barishal University has waived the hall and transportation fees of its students for the period of the Covid-19 closure.
The decision on the fee waiver was taken at a meeting of the university’s finance committee chaired by Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Md. Sadequl Arefin .
University Proctor Dr Khorshed Alam said on Tuesday the decision was taken following written requests made by the students.
Read: Barishal University: 82, inc. 40 teachers, earn promotions
According to the decision, the authorities will coordinate with or repay the students who have already paid the fees soon, said the Proctor
Obaidur Rahman, a student of BU, said on August 31 they sent a written application to the VC through Proctor Khorshed Alam to waive the fees.
Bank official found dead in city
A bank official was found dead in the city’s Sabujbagh area on Tuesday.
The deceased was identified as Shawkat Hossain, 35, senior officer of Basic Bank of Fakirapool branch.
Inspector Bachchu Mia, in-charge of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital police camp, said Shawkat used to live on the fifth floor of a nine-story building.
Also read: Couple killed in Sunamganj over family feud
He was found lying on a road in front of the building around 11 am, he said.
Later, he was taken to the hospital where doctors declared him dead.
It is not clear yet how the bank official died, he said.
Family sources said he had left home for going to office.
Dengue: 246 more hospitalized, no fresh death reported
Another 246 new Dengue patients were hospitalized across the country in 24 hours till Tuesday morning, but no fresh deaths were reported by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The number of fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease remained static at 59 for the year.
Among the new patients, 211 were undergoing hospital treatment in Dhaka while the remaining 35 cases were reported from outside the division, according to DGHS.
Some 1,031 patients diagnosed with dengue are receiving treatment in the country as of Tuesday morning.
Read: Dengue cases likely to come down within a month: LGRD Minister
Of them, 836 patients are receiving treatment at different hospitals in the capital while the remaining 195 were listed outside Dhaka.
Among the deceased, 54 died in Dhaka city alone, two each in Chattogram and Khulna divisions and one in Rajshahi.
Some 16,222 patients have been admitted to different hospitals with dengue since January.
So far, 15,132 dengue patients have left hospitals after recovery, said DGHS.
The highest number of dengue patients hospitalized in a single day so far this year was 343 patients on September 7.
Read: 'National laws need to be revised to tackle dengue menace'
In the current month, 5,866 Dengue cases have been reported while the number of fatalities stands at 13 so far.
In August the country recorded the highest number of 7,698 dengue cases of the current year.
In July, 2,286 people were diagnosed with dengue and 12 died while in June 272 cases were recorded with no deaths.
DSA: Order on Jhumon Das’s bail plea Thursday
The High Court on Tuesday fixed Thursday for passing an order on the bail petition of Jhumon Das in a case filed under the Digital Security Act.
A HC bench of Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam and Justice KM Zahid Sarwar fixed the date after hearing on the petition.
Advocates ZI Khan Panna, Nahid Sultana and Ashraf Ali stood for Jhumon Das while assistant attorney general Mohammad Mizanur Rahman represented the state.
Jhumon was arrested in a case filed under DSA for posting defamatory remarks about then Hefazat leader Mamunul Haque on his Facebook page.
READ: HC orders investigation on assets and bank accounts of Rajarbagh Pir
The case was filed with Shalla Police Station in Sunamganj district.
On March 17, miscreants carried out an attack on the houses of minority people at Noagaon village in Shalla upazila over his Facebook post.
On March 16, police detained Jhumon Das and police produced him before a court showing him arrested in a case filed under section 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) the next day. Then the court sent him to jail.
On March 22, police filed a case under DSA with Shalla police station and Jhumon was shown arrested in the case on March 23.
READ: HC grants anticipatory bail to 11 lawyers in a DSA case
On March 30, he was taken on a two-day remand in the case.
On July 18, a magistrate court rejected the bail petition of Jhumon.
Later, Jhumon filed a petition with the High Court seeking bail in the case.
HC bench embarrassed to hear Dr Zafarullah’s writ petition
A High Court bench on Tuesday felt embarrassed to hear a writ petition filed by Dr Zafarullah Chowdhury on grounds that he earlier praised one of its judges in a public speech.
Dr Zafrullah filed the writ seeking an increase of seats at his Gonoshasthaya Samaj Vittik Medical College before the HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Md Mostafizur Rahman.
In a speech in front of the National Press Club on September 11 Dr Zafarullah criticized former chief Justice ABM Kharul Haque and praised the HC Justice M Enayetur Rahim.
Read: Govt trying to suppress new generation: Dr Zafrullah
In expressing to hear the writ the bench observed that a decision from this bench might get questioned.
The court suggested the writ petitioner’s lawyer to appeal for hearing it in another bench.
Barrister Fakhrul Islam presented the petitioner’s side at the court while Deputy Attorney General Bipul Bagmar stood for the state.
Read: Dr Zafrullah finds lockdown allocation too small, slams govt
Gonoshasthaya Medical College had been allowed by Dhaka University to admit 110 students a year, but in 2021the university lowered the number to 50.
Following an appeal in this regard the number of seats was increased to 60.
Later Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder Dr Zafarullah filed a writ petition challenging the decision.
Girls to ‘be built with 21st century skills’
HSBC in partnership with the British Council on Tuesday launched of a new programme to provide life skills for 2400 young girls in Bangladesh.
The programme, ‘English and Digital for Girls’ Education’ (EDGE), aims to improve life skills for out-of-school and marginalised adolescent girls and build their self-confidence to enable them to have a greater say in their futures.
British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson; Chief Executive Officer, HSBC, Bangladesh Md Mahbub ur Rahman; Director Bangladesh, British Council Tom Miscioscia; and EDGE Peer group leaders Jenny Akter and Sadia joined the virtual launching ceremony of the EDGE 2021 programme.
British High Commissioner Dickson said English language and digital skills are important tools for success in the 21st century economy, in Bangladesh as elsewhere.
With EDGE Bangladesh, he said, the British Council and HSBC aim to build these capabilities among marginalised adolescent girls, helping to give them economic opportunities and strengthen their voices.
Read: Bangladesh holds hidden gems for investors: HSBC
“It supports our work with the government in Bangladesh and elsewhere to make education more equitable and boost girls’ life chances. The disruption caused by the Covid pandemic has made this work all the more important and urgent and I’m very pleased to be launching this programme,” said the British High Commissioner.
In this regard, Mahbub ur Rahman said at HSBC, their social sustainability strategy is focused on providing future skills for our customers, employees and for the community.
“With project ‘EDGE’ reaching 2400 young girls located in urban and rural areas of Bangladesh, we trust that it will provide useful skills to help them thrive now and in the future. I want to thank the British Council for partnering with us on this great initiative,” he said.
Tom Miscioscia said they are particularly proud to launch EDGE 2021 to coincide with their 70th anniversary of operations in Bangladesh and Bangladesh’s 50th anniversary of Independence.
“The British Council is keen to work with strong partners like HSBC to increase English proficiency, build digital 21st century skills and awareness of social issues, among marginalised women and girls, so that they can make more informed and independent life choices in order to contribute more fully to the family, the economy and society”.
Read: HSBC named Bangladesh's best international retail bank
HSBC and the British Council are also partnering with local providers Dnet and Spreeha Foundation in the implementation across Bangladesh.
‘EDGE’ will use a combination of face-to-face and remote delivery models, aiming to reach the marginalised adolescent girls across Bangladesh and offer them the 21st century skills.
This joint effort will benefit these marginalised students significantly by providing them 21st century skills of English and IT and opening new perspectives for them.
This is especially relevant given the reduction of educational opportunities for children during the time of pandemic.
The programme builds on the successes of previous EDGE programmes the British Council has run since 2012 and includes new training components.
EDGE is designed around a ‘Peer-led’ model where more senior girls are trained as ‘Peer group leaders’ who then deliver training to their counterparts. This model builds capacity amongst young women and fosters sustainability.
ADB unveils new partnership strategy for Bangladesh
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a new country partnership strategy (CPS) for Bangladesh that will help the country realize its aspiration of becoming an upper middle-income country by 2031 and support rapid socioeconomic recovery from coronavirus pandemic.
The CIP aims to boost competitiveness, employment, and private sector development; promote green growth and climate resilience; and strengthen human capital and social protection.
During this period, ADB will increase its lending operations to $10 billion–$12 billion, from $9.6 billion in the past 5 years.
The new ADB strategy was prepared in close coordination with the government to support the implementation of its Eighth Five-Year Plan, which aims to address the need for higher resource mobilization, diversification of manufacturing and exports, and sustainable urbanization.
READ: ADB lowers its economic growth forecast for developing Asia
“Sustained growth and appropriate policy measures have helped Bangladesh achieve good development outcomes. Moving forward, the country’s industry and export base need diversification,” said ADB Director General for South Asia Kenichi Yokoyama.
“Diversification in manufacturing and export items, such as agricultural products, information and communication technology, light engineering, and pharmaceuticals, together with increased competitiveness and access to new markets, will be critical in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, sustaining rapid economic growth, and generating substantial employment.”
ADB will further expand its private sector operations in Bangladesh and continue to leverage a high level of cofinancing with other development partners. Improving the banking sector, the ease of doing business, business environment, and investment climate will help accelerate private sector development and promote economic diversification.
The CPS also envisages enhancing ADB operations to support climate change adaptation and mitigation, and disaster risk management to address the country’s high vulnerability to climate events and other natural disasters, in line with the Paris Agreement.
A holistic approach to integrate climate change will be applied to all operations, while expanding programs to directly address climate change impacts through integrated management of water, river, and coastal areas.
READ: Bangladesh to get $ 940 mln ADB loans for procuring Covid vaccine
Efforts to reduce poverty will continue. Specific actions to reduce inequality and poverty include effective implementation of the government’s social protection program, more equitable rural and regional development, investments in low-cost housing and basic services—including quality health and education for the poor. In the next 5 years, Bangladesh aims to reduce poverty from 20.5% to 15.6% and extreme poverty from 10.5% to 7.4% of its population.
ADB has supported Bangladesh’s response against the COVID-19 pandemic with a $940 million loan for vaccine procurement under the Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility and other initiatives.
The government has requested $1 billion programmatic budget support for economic resilience and health and social protection, of which $250 million has been provided and the remainder is under preparation for approval in 2021–2023, said the ADB.
Malaysia lifts entry restriction on travellers from Bangladesh
The government of Malaysia has lifted the entry restriction for foreign nationals from a number of countries, including Bangladesh, with immediate effect.
However, to curb further spread of COVID-19 , an entry into Malaysia may only be allowed, on a case-by-case basis upon obtaining a prior entry approval from the Immigration Department of Malaysia.
Read: UK removes Bangladesh from travel red list
The visitors need to have valid Malaysian visa and must be fully vaccinated (WHO approved vaccines) with a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test result.
They will have to undergo mandatory quarantine in accordance with the latest ruling as issued by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia.