bangladesh
Three bike riders killed in Gazipur road crash
Three motorcycle riders were killed when a private car hit their bike on the Konabari flyover in Gazipur on Friday noon, police said.
The deceased have been identified as Raju Islam, 26, Md Shamim, 26 and Shahin Islam, 31, from Konabari’s Dewliyapara area.
A three-year-old kid was severely injured in the crash and sent to hospital.
The car and the motor bike were badly damaged, police said.
According to the police, the four were going to Baimail from Konabari College Gate area. A private car hit them while they were crossing the Konabari flyover. All of them fell off the flyover, which resulted in the instant death of two riders and serious injuries of the other two.
Read: Road crash leaves one dead in city
Raju died on his way to hospital, while Raisa, the injured kid, has been sent to Pangu Hospital (National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedic Rehabilitation) for treatment.
Bodies of the deceased have been sent to hospital for autopsy, police said.
Legal procedure regarding the accident is under way, said Md Shakhawat Imtiaz, a Sub-Inspector (SI) of Konabari police station.
Dengue: 31 patients hospitalised in 24hrs
Thirty-one more dengue patients were hospitalised in 24 hours till Friday morning amid a rise in the mosquito-borne disease in Bangladesh, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Among them, 30 patients were hospitalised in Dhaka, it said.
As many as 186 dengue patients, including 145 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
The dengue cases are rising in the capital allegedly due to insufficient measures taken by the two Dhaka city corporations for preventing mosquito-borne diseases like dengue.
Read: 48 more dengue cases reported in Bangladesh
On June 21, the DGHS reported the first death of the season from the mosquito-borne viral disease.
This year, the DGHS has recorded 1,610 dengue cases and 1,423 recoveries so far.
Although dengue – a leading cause of serious illness and death in some Asian and Latin American countries – was first reported in Bangladesh in 1964, the first epidemic occurred in 2000, claiming 93 lives that year. It has since become endemic in the country, with outbreaks recorded every year since. Although for a three-year period at one point, the number of deaths from the virus fell almost near zero, its most fatal year yet was in 2019, when 179 died experiencing the severe form of the disease.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, it seemed to take a backseat, as only three deaths were reported from dengue that year.
However, 105 dengue patients, including 95 in Dhaka division, died in 2021.
Dengue is found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas.
About 4 billion people, almost half of the world's population, live in areas with a risk of dengue, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Each year, up to 400 million people get infected with dengue while approximately 100 million get sick from infection, and 40,000 die from severe dengue, it says.
"There is no specific treatment for dengue or severe dengue. Early detection of disease progression associated with severe dengue, and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates of severe dengue to below 1 per cent," according to the World Health Organization.
Stranded tourists rescued from Kaptai Lake after 999 call
Police rescued 20 tourists, including women and children, after their boat ran out of fuel amid rain and got stuck on Kaptai Lake in Rangamati district on Thursday night
According to Additional Superintendent of Rangamati police Mahmuda Begum, the tourists went to Kaptai lake from Chattogram’s Agrabad. They got stranded on the lake as fuel of their engine boat ran out amid heavy rain along with gusty wind triggering panic.
Read: Rangamati tourism needs big boost
“Someone from the group called 999 and informed us about the situation. A team of Rangamati police rescued the tourists from the lake’s Peda Ting Ting area and brought them to the district police’s Polwell park at about 8:00pm on Thursday night,” said Mahmuda.
Md Rashed, one of the tourists, said that he called 999 and informed police about their situation.
The tourists lauded Rangamati district police for their quick response.
Missing BUET student’s body fished out of Padma
The body of a final-year student of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) was fished out of the Padma River on Friday, nearly 24 hours he went missing.
The deceased was identified as Tariquzzaman Sunny.
Also read: Two farmers go missing as boat capsizes in Sunamganj haor
Mostafa Kamal, officer-in-charge of Dohar police station, said that Sunny went missing while bathing in the river with three of his friends at Moinot Ghat in Dhaka's Dohar upazila around noon on Thursday.
Also read: Missing tourist’s body fished out of Kishoreganj haor
Members of the Fire Service fished out his body around 11am, he said.
A case of unnatural death has been filed in this regard and the body will be handed over to the deceased's family after an autopsy, said OC Mostafa.
Let's build a more just, thriving workforce leaving no one behind: Guterres
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for working together to build a more just and thriving workforce, rescue the Sustainable Development Goals and leave no one behind.
The UN chief convened a Transforming Education Summit in September that will bring together world leaders, youth and other education actors.
"Guided by the United Nations Youth 2030 strategy, I urge everyone to act for youth skills development as a priority, at the Summit and beyond," he said wishing all a happy World Youth Skills Day.
Guterres said young people are drivers of change and must be fully engaged in decisions affecting their future.
Also read: Around 3 in 4 youth lack skills needed for employment, new report says
He highlighted the importance of transforming youth skills for the future of work.
"Young people are disproportionately impacted by interlinked global crises, from climate change to conflicts to persistent poverty," said the UN chief.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these fragilities. In 2020 alone, youth employment fell by 39 million, he said.
Today, 24 million young people remain at risk of not returning to school.
The pandemic also accelerated the transformation of the labour market, adding uncertainty and widening the digital divide.
Also read: There're no real democratic societies without press freedom: Guterres
"We must ensure the right of young people to effective and inclusive education, training, and lifelong learning. That requires ramping up youth skills development, while investing in Technical Vocational Education and Training, broadband connectivity, and digital skills," he said.
Ekushey Padak winner Justice Kazi Ebadul Hoque departs
Former Supreme Court judge and Language Movement activist Kazi Ebadul Hoque passed away due to age-related ailments at a city hospital on Thursday night. He was 82.
Ebadul Hoque is survived by his wife and four daughters.
Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddiqui and Law Minister Anisul Huq on Friday expressed their condolences at the demise of the former judge of the Appellate Division.
They also prayed for the eternal salvation of the departed soul and expressed their deepest sympathies for the bereaved family.
Ebadul Hoque was born on January 1, 1936, in Feni. He played an active role in organising the Language Movement to establish Bangla as an official language of then East Pakistan in Feni town.
He entered the legal profession in Feni after obtaining a law degree from the coveted Dhaka University. He enrolled as an advocate in High Court in Dhaka in 1966.
Read: Rain may provide respite from searing heat in 24 hours
Ebadul Hoque became a judge in the High Court Division in 1990 and set himself apart by writing judgments in Bangla.
After 10 years in the High Court Division, he was appointed to the Appellate Division. But he retired from the bench after a year.
Ebadul Hoque was awarded Ekushey Padak in 2016 for his contribution to the Language Movement.
His daughter, Kazi Zinat Hoque, is a judge in the High Court Division of Supreme Court.
Rain may provide respite from searing heat in 24 hours
Expect some reprieve from the searing heat, as the weather department has predicted showers across Bangladesh in the next 24 hours.
“Showers are likely in the next 24 hours at many places over Chattogram division; at a few places over Dhaka, Mymensingh, Barishal and Sylhet divisions; and at one or two places over Rajshahi, Rangpur and Khulna divisions,” the Met department said in its bulletin on Friday morning.
Moderately heavy showers are likely to occur at isolated places over the country.
Also read: Mild heat wave sweeping over parts of country
Meanwhile, mild to moderate heatwave conditions prevailing in Rangpur, Rajshahi and Sylhet divisions and in the districts of Dhaka,Tangail, Rangamati, Cumilla, Chandpur, Feni and Chuadanga may continue, as per the bulletin.
“But at the end of the next 72 hours, rainfall activity is likely to increase over the country," said Md Monwar Hossain, a meteorologist with the department.
Also read: Sylhet sizzles: Thursday hottest July day in 66 years!
The highest temperature in the country was recorded at Rajshahi at 39 degrees Celsius in the last 24 hours till 6am on Friday.
Sylhet sizzles: Thursday hottest July day in 66 years!
Sylhet on Thursday witnessed its hottest day in July in 66 years, at 38.9 degrees Celsius.
After receiving highest rainfall in June in 64 years that triggered massive floods across the district, Sylhet is now reeling under an intense heat wave.
“Such a high temperature was last recorded in the district in July 1956. On Wednesday, the temperature was recorded at 37.3 degrees. And it was recorded at 36.3 degrees on Tuesday,” said Sayeed Ahmad Chowdhury, a senior meteorologist with the Sylhet met office.
On Thursday, the roads of Sylhet city wore a deserted look. A handful of people who had stepped out in the afternoon were equipped with umbrellas and water bottles.
Meanwhile, the met office said the ongoing heatwave may continue for one or two days more and showers may occur after 72 hours.
Also read: Mild heatwave sweeps 27 districts
Meteorologist Tariful Newaz Kabir said, “Little showers may occur at a few places but it won’t be enough to reduce the heat. Rainfall activity may increase after July 17 or 18.”
“Excess humidity is compounding the woes of the residents. This humidity is due to the seasonal trough,” he added.
Also read: Heat wave, flooding leave multiple people dead in China
Sylhet: 2 Bangladeshis shot at near border
Two Bangladeshi nationals were injured after being shot at allegedly by members of the Indian Khashi community in the Majhergaon border area of Sylhet's Companiganj upazila Thursday.
The shooting occurred around noon near the eighth sub-pillar area of pillar number 1255, said Lieutenant Colonel Saiful Islam Chowdhury, commander of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Camp 48.
Read: Bangladeshi shot dead ‘by BSF’ along Lalmonirhat border
The injured have been identified as Sudhangsu Das, 45, son of Hemanta Das, and Mukhlesur Rahman, 30, son of Tota Mia of Majhergaon village, he said.
“They were shot at as they went near the border to cut grass for their cows. Both of the injured were rushed to hospital and are said to be out of danger,” the officer added.
11-yr-old girl drowns in Khulna river
An 11-year-old girl has drowned while bathing in the Ataro Beki river in Khulna, police said on Friday.
The deceased was identified as Bushra, daughter of Shahabur Rahman of Chandpur village under Rupsha upazila.
Locals said that Bushra was bathing in the river with her family members around 1pm on Thursday.
Read: Two minor children drown in Sylhet
At one stage, the girl slipped into deep water and went missing. Locals fished out her body around 8pm, police said.
The girl was immediately rushed to Rupsha upazila health complex, where doctors declared her dead on arrival.