Bangladesh
3 killed in Gaibandha road crash
At least three people were killed in a road crash in Gaibandha’s Palashbari area Friday.
The deceased could not be identified yet, however one of them was a woman and another was the driver of the CNG autorickshaw.
Read: 7 killed, 22 injured in three road accidents in Chattogram, Rangamati
The incident occurred in front of a petrol pump on the Rangpur-Bogra highway at around 6 pm.
Palashbari Fire Service Station Officer Syed Mohammad Imran said a CNG was traveling from Gobindganj to Dhaperhat in Sadullapur with five passengers. When the CNG reached the petrol pump, a truck coming from behind hit the CNG leaving three dead on the spot and injuring three others.
Read: 7 die in separate accidents in Bagerhat
The injured taken to local health complex and later shifted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital, he said,
The driver managed to escape with the truck after the incident.
Body comes up of fisherman who went missing at sea
The body of a fisherman, who was swept away by the tide on Wednesday, has been found floating in the sea at Banshkhali in Chittagong on Friday morning.
The deceased was identified as Md Nezam Uddin, 21, son of Taher Miah of Sardar Para area of Chhonua Union in Banshkhali.
Locals said Nezam was swept away by low-tide while trying to save his boat from getting capsized on Wednesday noon.
Later, members of the Banshkhali Fire Service team tried to find the missing Nezam Uddin.
Banshkhali Fire Service team leader Abdur Rahman said, "Locals rescued a body after seeing it floating around 11 am today. Later we identified it as Nezam's body."
273 killed on roads during Eid rush; highest in 6 years
Road accidents during the recent Eid-ul-Azha holiday rush claimed 273 lives in just 15 days, even though long-haul buses were operating for just eight of those days, according to the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Shamiti (Passenger Welfare Association).
At least 240 road crashes occurred during the July 14- 28 period, BJKS revealed, while presenting its road accident report-2021 at a press briefing on Friday.
Members of the road accidents monitoring cell of the organisation prepared the report collecting information from widely published and trustworthy national, regional, daily newspapers and online portals over the 15 days covered.
The report also said 447 people were injured in the accidents that occurred at a time when lakhs of people hit the road to go home and celebrate the Eid festival with their families -home being wherever one's family may be permanently resident, either village or district away from urban centres.
The report also stated that among the deceased, 27 were women, 17 children, 53 pedestrians, 16 transport workers, and 87 drivers.
Read: 7 die in separate accidents in Bagerhat
BJKS also tallied the types of accident most prevalent. They find that roughly a quarter (25.8%) are head-on collisions, and even more overwhelmingly, over 44% feature pedestrians struck or overrun by vehicles. A little over 18% are cases of the driver losing control and falling into a ditch.
Like other years, motorcycles were the most lethal form of transport, recording 93 deaths in 87 accidents. This accounts for 36.25% of the total accidents and 34.06 % of the total deaths recorded.
Community radios sensitise people on World Day Against Trafficking in Persons
Bangladesh remained one of the Asian countries at risk of human trafficking due to Covid-19 as the country observed World Day Against Trafficking in Persons Friday.
This year, the theme of the day was set by the UN as "Victims' Voices Lead the Way."
So, Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication and Winrock International today ran awareness-raising campaigns, through radio programmes, to highlight the victims' experiences to prevent human trafficking at the local level and to strengthen the role of the concerned stakeholders.
Read: Trafficking Report: Bangladesh still on Tier 2
The country's community radios broadcast programmes including features, general radio talk shows, puppet shows, songs, and magazine shows.
The programmes focused on the survivors or experience, different types and causes of human trafficking, the legal immigration process; the risks, and consequences of illegal immigration, existing laws and penalties to prevent human trafficking, and helpline numbers.
Amid a global pandemic, growing inequality, and massive economic losses, people who have survived are at risk of human trafficking.
Read: Human trafficking: UN to act responding to voices of victims
So, it is now more urgent than ever to listen to them as the pandemic has pushed more than 124 million people into extreme poverty, putting millions at risk of being trafficked.
Hasan Mahmud warns of clampdown on IP TVs
Information and Broadcasting Minister and Awami League Joint General Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud has said that action will be taken soon against unregulated and unauthorized Internet Protocol Televisions (IPTV) across the country.
The minister was responding to a question from reporters at his official residence in Dhaka on Friday afternoon.
“Some IP TVs are often involved in spreading rumors, serving false information and engaging in hoaxes. Again, it is seen that before getting the approval, some people have opened offices like television channels, appointing district representatives. All these issues need to be brought into a regulation,” said Dr Mahmud.
Read: Hasan Mahmud urges BNP to accept truth about its founder Ziaur Rahman
After the ministry called for registration, more than five hundred applications were submitted.
Only the ones with quality would be sorted out and given approval, the Minister said.
During his conversation with the reporters, the Information Minister in reference to Helena Jahangir, director of Joyjatra IPTV, that it was not appropriate for such a person to enter the party's sub-committee.
Read: Connection between Bangladeshis and Indians ‘indelible’: Hasan Mahmud
Action was being taken against her and the authority would look into the allegations about her IPTV; if found to be true, action will be taken, he said.
Bangladesh records 212 more Covid deaths setting off alarm bells
As Bangladesh races to head off a surge in Covid-19 cases driven by the Delta variant, the country added 212 fatalities to its national tally on Friday, up from 166 logged a week earlier.
The country has been shattering the records of daily cases and deaths almost every other day, reporting over 200 single-day fatalities for the last six days as it tries to prevent the spread of the Delta variant.
The rapid rise in cases and fatalities in July is enough to set off alarm bells, showing the pandemic is far from slowing down in Bangladesh.
The Covid-19 infections are at their peak now, with 12,293 new cases reported on average each day, plunging the country into uncertainty.
As the worst days of the pandemic are not over, Bangladesh recorded 13,862 new cases on Friday after testing 45,044 samples, up from 6,364 logged a week earlier on 23 July.
President mourns Prof Ali Ashraf's death
President Abdul Hamid on Friday expressed grief over the death of Comilla-7 MP Prof Ali Ashraf.
In a condolence message, the President said, “Prof Ali Ashraf with his experience and professionalism had played a very positive role in the practice of parliamentary democracy. His role was important in various parliamentary committees and parliamentary activities, including the Public Accounts Committee."
Read: Cumilla-7 MP Prof Ali Ashraf passes away
Hamid said Bangladesh has lost an experienced parliamentarian at the death of Ali Ashraf, which is an irreparable loss to the country's political arena.
The President prayed for the salvation of Ashraf's departed soul and conveyed his deepest condolences to his bereaved family members.
Read: President mourns the passing of Dr SA Farooq
170 more hospitalised with Dengue in 24 hrs
Health authorities reported 170 new dengue cases in 24 hours till Friday morning amid a spike in the Aedes mosquito-borne disease in the country.
Bangladesh has been seeing over 100 dengue patients for a week, adding worries to the country’s health services, already overburdened with growing Covid cases and fatalities.
Of the new cases, 164 were reported in Dhaka while only six from outside Dhaka, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Read: Dengue vs. Severe Dengue: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention
According to the (DGHS), 709 patients are currently receiving treatment at different hospitals across the country, while just 30 outside Dhaka.
Some 2,462 patients have been admitted to different hospitals with dengue since January and 1,749 of them have been released after they recovered.
The DGHS reported 1,193 dengue cases and three confirmed dengue-related deaths in 2020.
Read: 143 more dengue cases reported in 24 hrs
According to official statistics, 101,354 dengue cases and 179 deaths were recorded in Bangladesh in 2019.
Dengue fever was first reported in Bangladesh in 2000, claiming 93 lives that year. In the years that followed, the country learned to deal with the disease much better.
The fatalities had almost fallen to zero at one stage, before surging again in 2018, leading to the horrific crisis the following year.
Cumilla-7 MP Prof Ali Ashraf passes away
Awami League MP from Cumilla-7 constituency (Chandina) and valiant freedom fighter Prof Md Ali Ashraf passed away in a hospital in the capital on Friday afternoon. He was 74.
The five-time MP breathed his last at 3:50pm at Square Hospitals where was undergoing treatment for pneumonia and respiratory problems, his personal assistant Jashim Uddin told UNB.
Meanwhile, President Abdul Hamid expressed grief at the death of Prof Ali Ashraf.
READ: Senior photojournalist Lutfur Rahman Binu passes away
In a condolence message, the President said, “Prof Ali Ashraf with his experience and professionalism had played a very positive role in the practice of parliamentary democracy. His role was important in various parliamentary committees and parliamentary activities, including the Public Accounts Committee."
Hamid said Bangladesh has lost an experienced parliamentarian at the death of Ali Ashraf, which is an irreparable loss to the country's political arena.
READ: Ex-state minister Prof Jahanara Begum passes away
The President prayed for the salvation of Ashraf's departed soul and conveyed his deepest condolences to his bereaved family members.
In another condolence message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of the sitting Awami League MP.
READ: Senior journalist Ruhul Quddus no more
Hasina said, “With his death, we’ve lost a patriotic public leader and soldier of the ideology of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.”
The Prime Minister prayed for the salvation of the departed soul and conveyed profound sympathy to the bereaved family members of the seasoned parliamentarian.
Sylhet division reports highest single-day Covid cases of 802
Sylhet division on Friday morning logged as many as 802 fresh Covid cases in 24 hours, the division's highest single-day figure this year.
Of the fresh Covid cases in the division, 464 are from Sylhet district alone. So far, 21,525 people have been infected with Covid-19 in this district.
Read: Sylhet div reports record 17 deaths in a day
Besides, 39,116 people have been found infected with the virus in the division up to now.
Besides, 17 more Covid-related deaths have been recorded in Sylhet division during the 24- hour period, officials said.
Of the total deaths, 14 died in Sylhet and three in Moulvibazar districts, raising the death toll from the virus in the division to 684.
On Wednesday, the Sylhet division reported the highest single day records in both the number of deaths of 17 and 736 new cases.
Read: Sylhet scenario as strict lockdown resumes
Dr Himangshu Lal Roy, director (health-Sylhet division), said 413 people have recovered from the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to 30,320.
Currently, 402 people are undergoing treatment with Covid symptoms in Corona hospitals of the division, he said.