Bangladesh
UN chief showers praise on Hasina, says Bangladesh a ‘development miracle’
Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres has highly praised Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the development in Bangladesh, calling it a ‘miracle’.
“The UN Secretary-General commended Bangladesh for its development in different sectors and humanity…. he thanked the Prime Minister for achieving a development of miracle,” said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen.
The Foreign Minister was briefing reporters after a bilateral meeting held between Sheikh Hasina and António Guterres at the UN Secretariat Building in New York on Thursday.
Also read: PM’s presence in UNGA important for critical issues: Dr Momen
As the Bangladesh Prime Minister arrived at the meeting venue, the UN Secretary-General said, “Welcome to your home.”
He said both the UN and Bangladesh shared common priorities in different areas, including climate, financing and SDGs. “We share common priorities. Whether it’s climate, financing and SDGs. Those priorities in the UN are also the priorities of Bangladesh,” Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations Rabab Fatima, who was at the briefing, quoted António Guterres as saying.
Sheikh Hasina urged the Secretary-General to appoint more Bangladeshis to higher posts in the United Nations since Bangladesh plays a significant role in the United Nations. “We’re your major tools, but there’re a few Bangladeshis in your different higher posts,” she said.
In reply, the Secretary General said they would consider it.
In this regard, the Foreign Minister told reporters that Bangladesh and the UN are very closely linked. Bangladesh is the number-1 troops-contributing country to its peacekeeping mission. All the UNDP projects are fulfilled (implemented) in Bangladesh, he said.
“Bangladesh is a model (case) to the UN as it’s a vibrant economy coming out from a poor economy. This is why the UN always respects Bangladesh,” said Dr Momen, adding that the Bangladesh is a success story for the United Nations.
Bangladesh has been playing a very significant role in the UN since it became a member of the multilateral organisation in 1974, he said.
“Bangladeshi peacekeepers are creating a brand name wherever they work. So, we asked them to appoint Bangladeshis in other areas also,” Dr Momen added.
Also read: PM joins opening session of 76th UNGA general debate
More meetings
The Bangladesh Prime Minister also had a bilateral meeting with Queen Maxima of the Netherlands at the former’s place of residence.
Queen Maxima, also the UN Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, said they are thinking whether an insurance programme can be launched in Bangladesh to bring poor farmers who are affected by flood and storm under the insurance coverage.
Hasina also held two separate bilateral meetings with President of the Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and President of Vietnam Nguyễn Xuân Phúc at the UN Headquarters on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly.
In the meeting with Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Bangladesh asked the Maldives to introduce a commercial shipping service between Chattogram port and Male port to transport goods and food items at cheap rates in order to boost trade and business between the two countries.
In response, the Maldives said they are working on it, but the operation of Male-Dhaka private airline services would begin soon.
Bangladesh also requested it to regularize undocumented Bangladeshis living in the Maldives, said Dr Momen.
The President of the Maldives was reminded about signing some proposed deals like the Promotion and Protection of Investment Agreement, remained pending with the court in the Maldives.
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih invited Sheikh Hasina to visit his country and the Bangladesh Prime Minister accepted the invitation.
In the meeting with the Vietnamese President, Vietnam was asked to help Bangladesh over the repatriation of forcibly-displaced Rohingyas as it has very good relations with Myanmar.
Sheikh Hasina asked Vietnam to explore investment scopes in different sectors in Bangladesh.
As Bangladesh has a large negative trade balance with Vietnam, Dhaka asked Hanoi to raise its import from Bangladesh.
Now the bilateral trade volume is some US$ 900 million. Of the money, Bangladesh imports goods of 600-650 million. “So, we asked them to raise the business of Bangladesh in their country,” said Dr Momen.
He said Vietnam is a rising star while Bangladesh is a rising giant. Both sides put emphasis on strengthening the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Since Vietnam is a member of ASEAN, Bangladesh also sought support from Vietnam to its application to become a sectoral dialogue partner of the association.
Foreign Senior Secretary Masud Bin Momen and PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim were present at the briefing.
Global Covid cases near 231 million
Believe it or not, the overall number of global Covid cases is fast approaching 231 million.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 230, 542,888 while the death tally from the virus reached 4,727 ,498 on Friday morning.
The US has recorded 42, 667, 412 cases to date and more than 684,286 people have died so far from the virus in the country, as per the university data.
Brazil, which has been experiencing new wave of cases since January, registered 21,308,178 cases. Brazil's Covid-19 death toll has also risen to 593,018.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 33,593, 492 on Thursday, as 31,458 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry's data.
Besides, as many as 319 deaths due to the pandemic since Thursday morning took the total death toll to 446,399.
Situation in Bangladesh
Covid-19 claimed 24 more lives and infected 1,144 others in Bangladesh in 24 hours till Thursday morning.
This is the lowest death toll in the country since May 15 when the country saw 22 single-day fatalities.
The latest cases were detected after testing 24,820 samples, showing a slight fall in the daily case positivity rate from Wednesday’s 4.79 percent to 4.61 percent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
According to DGHS, the fresh numbers of deaths and cases took the country’s total Covid-19 fatalities to 27,337 while the caseload mounted to 15,48,320. However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.77 percent.
The recovery rate increased slightly to 97.38 percent, with the recovery of 1,653 patients during the period. So far, 15,07,789 people have recovered from the deadly virus infections, the directorate added.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the daily case positivity rate should remain at 5% or below for 14 days before mass unlocking.
However, Bangladesh eased its lockdown restrictions on August 11, even though public health experts had warned of Delta variant spread.
On September 12, after nearly 18 months, primary, secondary and higher secondary schools in Bangladesh reopened with some Covid-safety protocols in place.
Global leaders commit support for equitable access to Covid vaccines
The global leaders have pledged financing, dose donations, support for country readiness and delivery, and scale-up of global manufacturing to enable equitable access to Covid vaccines.
To improve access for the lower-income economies, the US will contribute an additional 500 million doses of Pfizer vaccine, to be delivered through COVAX, beginning in 2022. Sweden will provide an additional $243 million through 2021 and 2022.
New dose commitments from the European Union, including Italy and Spain, as well as Sweden, Denmark, and Japan mean further doses will be available to COVAX participants in 2021 and 2022.
Global leaders made the commitment while attending the Global Covid-19 Summit hosted by the US Thursday.
They underlined their commitment to ensuring equitable access to Covid vaccines for all countries through COVAX – noting that equitable access is essential to end the acute stage of the pandemic.
Building on the momentum and global solidarity generated over the past eighteen months by various commitments, including at summits organised by the European Commission, the G20 under the Saudi and Italian presidencies, the UK, including the G7 under its presidency, the US, and the prime minister of Japan, the summit saw further pledges made to COVAX and equitable access.
READ: Declare Covid vaccines as 'global public good': Hasina
Alongside these commitments, several countries pledged additional dose donations to be made available to countries around the world, including through COVAX, with Spain pledging an additional 7.5 million doses, Italy pledging an additional 30 million doses to be made available by the end of the year.
And Japan, which hosted the "One World Protected" Gavi COVAX AMC Summit in June 2021, pledging approximately 60 million doses.
Also, Denmark announced during the United Nations General Assembly this week that it would be doubling its dose donation commitment, bringing the total to 6 million doses pledged to be shared.
José Manuel Barroso, chair of the Gavi board, said this summit marks a major step forward in the global response against Covid and a major step forward for multilateralism.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organisation, said if they are to meet the targets they have set of vaccinating 10% of the population of all countries by the end of this month, 40% by the end of 2021 and 70% by mid-next-year, they need to drastically scale up access to vaccines now.
Unicef Executive Director Henrietta Fore said with only 12% of the pledges made earlier this year turning into actual doses, low-income countries can no longer wait. "We urge dose-sharing countries to accelerate their donation plans."
READ: Conduct study to understand vaccine performances, suitability in Bangladesh: Experts
Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, said with the rise of variants and the current gap in equitable access to Covid vaccines they must urgently vaccinate those most at risk everywhere in the world.
"We cannot afford further delays in getting vaccines to the most vulnerable – to do so will mean a continuation of this pandemic and its impact on all of our lives."
So far COVAX has delivered more than 300 million doses to 142 economies, and according to the latest forecast, approximately 1.2 billion doses will be available for the lower-income economies supported by the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) by the end of 2021.
This is enough to protect 20% of the population, or 40% of all adults, in all 92 AMC economies with the exception of India.
The key COVAX milestone of 2 billion doses released for delivery is now expected to be reached in the first quarter of 2022.
Russian House lauds growing presence of online journalism in Bangladesh
Online journalism is now very popular in Bangladesh and playing a leading role in the news media with its growing presence, Director of the Russian House in Dhaka Maxim Dobrokhotov said Thursday.
Dobrokhotov also noted the crucial contribution of the national media to everyday life.
The Russian House in Dhaka hosted a special briefing dedicated to the "International Day of Journalists' Solidarity."
Read: Future of journalism depends on adaptation, professionalism: Dr Arefin
Khulna man buys land on moon for wife
A Khulna man has bought an acre of land on the moon as a token of love for his wife on their sixth wedding anniversary.
MD Ashim, a resident of Modern Mor area in Khulna city, handed over the land deeds to his wife Israt Tupma on Thursday.
Md Ashim, divisional head of a private TV channel, told UNB he fulfilled his dream of gifting something very special today inspired by a man in India, who also bought land on the moon for wife for their anniversary.
On September 20, Ashim bought the land worth $45 from a US agency named ‘Lunar Embassy’ owned by a man named Dennis Hop.
Ashim said after buying the land he received a selling agreement, a satellite photo of the land, geographical position of the land and legal documents from the agency.
Israt Tumpa said she feels as if she literally has got the moon in her hands as a surprise gift.
Lunar Embassy is the most famous company known for selling land on the moon. According to the company per acre of land costs $24.99 to $499.
Decomposed body of 'foreign citizen' recovered from Kushiara river
A suspected Indian citizen’s half-decomposed body was recovered from Kushiara river in Beanibazar upazila in Sylhet on Thursday.
Police recovered the body around 7:30 after being informed by locals who spotted the floating body.
Read: Another body washes ashore on Cox’s Bazar beach
Police have recovered a smartphone and a money bag with a mobile SIM card and some Indian visiting cards with the body.
“From the possessions we are primarily suspecting the man was an Indian citizen,” said Officer-in-Charge of Beanibazar police station Hillol Ray.
The body was sent for an autopsy after filing a primary inquiry report, said the OC.
BGMEA urges US businesses, NRBs to invest in Bangladesh
Terming Bangladesh a land of opportunities, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan has urged US businessmen and also the non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) living in the US to invest in the country which offers an attractive and investment-friendly environment.
The BGMEA chief made the call while addressing a business roundtable held in New York recently, said a media release Thursday.
The US-Bangladesh Business Council of the US Chamber of Commerce hosted the roundtable with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and over 30 senior executives from the US and Bangladesh business communities on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
READ: BGMEA wants to increase RMG exports to Canada, promote positive image
The event was presided over by Jay R Pryor, vice-president of business development at Chevron and the council's chair of the board of directors, and Nisha Biswal, president of US-Bangladesh Business Council and senior vice-president – South Asia, international strategy and global initiatives at the US Chamber of Commerce.
Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed, ICT Affairs Adviser to the prime minister, M Shahidul Islam, Bangladesh ambassador to the US, and Md Jashim Uddin, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries, also attended the roundtable.
The virtual roundtable engaged high-level Bangladesh government officials as well as major US and Bangladeshi companies across sectors and supply chains as well as major Bangladeshi business associations, including the BGMEA.
READ: BGMEA chief invites Canadian businessmen to invest in Bangladesh
"With our ever-increasing economy, political stability and all-out effort made by our government to build infrastructures, we are now one of the most favoured countries in South Asia for trade and investment. We have favourable fiscal and non-fiscal policies for the foreign investors," Faruque said.
The BGMEA president highlighted the prospects of investment in different potential sectors, including high value-added and non-cotton textiles along with others.
Also, there are huge investment opportunities in other sectors that can substitute imports and complement industries in Bangladesh like spare parts, textile machinery, light engineering, jute, leather, pharmaceuticals, ceramics and shipbuilding, he added.
Injured rare fishing cat rescued from Cumilla
A rare fishing cat, locally known as ‘Mecho Bagh’, was rescued in an injured condition from Gokulnagar village in Cumilla on Thursday.
According to locals, Anis Mia rescued the injured cat from the road after it was hit by a motorcycle and kept it chained in his house.
Members of police led by Sub-Inspector of Muradnagar police station Abdul Hamid rescued the fishing cat from Anis’s house.
Read: Lethal Russell's Viper snake rescued in Kushtia
SI Hamid said the cat was immediately sent to the upazila livestock department for treatment.
Upazila veterinary surgeon Dr Ishrat Jerin said the injured cat has received primary treatment and the Forest Department has been informed to take necessary steps.
Forester Fazle Rabbi from district Forest Department said there is nothing to be frightened for the locals as Mecho Bagh is not a ferocious animal.
It will be released in the area where it was rescued from after proper treatment, said the official.
Cyclist killed in city road crash
A cyclist was killed in the city’s Hatirjheel area after being hit by a microbus on Thursday noon.
The deceased was identified as Monir Hossain, 55, son of Hazil Uddin of Chandpur’s Shahrashti.
The incident occurred in front of the MyTV office. The cyclist got seriously injured as he fell on the road after the speeding microbus hit him.
Read: Two die in Naogaon road crash
He was rushed to the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) in the same microbus in a critical situation where he died at around 2.30 pm.
Hospital sources said that the microbus driver managed to escape as soon as Monir died.
Read: CMCH doctor dies from road crash injuries
Mohammad Bachchu Mia, in-charge (inspector) of the DMCH police outpost, said that the body was kept at the hospital morgue for autopsy.
The incident has been informed to the concerned police station, he added.
Woman sentenced to life imprisonment for husband’s murder in Feni
A court here on Thursday sentenced a woman convicted of her husband’s murder in 2014 to life imprisonment.
District and session Judge Dr Jebunnesa passed the order against Shahnaz Nadia for her role in the murder of her husband businessman Kawsar Mahmud in Feni.
Hafez Ahmed, public prosecutor in the case, said, “We are satisfied with the exemplary sentence given to Shahnaz Nadia in Kawsar Mahmud’s murder case.”
Meanwhile defense lawyer Ahsan Kabir said an appeal will be filed with the higher court as the judgment was given based on confessional statement only.
Also read: 3 get life term for murder in Kushtia
Kawsar’s brother-in-law Saif Uddin Mahmud said they will appeal for death sentence to the convict at the higher court.
Testimonial statements of 17 of the 29 witnesses in the case were recorded by the court in this case including the investigation officers and the plaintiff till September 15 this year.
On April 11, 2014 Kawsar went to visit a doctor with his wife Nadia when some miscreants near Falahia Madrasa in Feni hacked him with a knife and ran away.
Doctors announced him dead after he was rushed to Feni General Hospital.
The next day Kawsar’s father professor Abul Khayer filed a murder case against Nadia and one Md Harun.
Also read: DU student rape: Lone accused Majnu gets life term
On April 13, 2014 investigation officer of the case Sub-Inspector Md Alamgir Hossain arrested Nadia from her residence.
Accused Nadia confessed to killing Kawsar alone before the court the same day.
On June 7, 2014 the case was handed over to SI Kamrul Islam for investigation.
Meanwhile the other accused of the case Md Harun was murdered by some miscreants.
On October 30, 2015, SI Kamrul Islam filed charge sheet of the murder case against Nadia and Harun.