bangladesh
PM Hasina congratulates Nepalese PM Deuba, hopes to strengthen ties
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday congratulated newly appointed Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and expressed hope that his new leadership will further deepen the excellent relations between their two close neighbours.
"Your return to the high position for the fifth time and the overwhelming support extended to you by the Parliament of Nepal on 18 July 2021, is a testimony to the trust and confidence the people and the political leadership of Nepal have on your leadership," she said in the congratulatory message.
Sheikh Hasina stated that as close neighbours, Bangladesh and Nepal enjoy excellent bilateral ties that are based on multiple commonalities and shared linkages, said a media release of PM’s press wing.
Also read: PM congratulates Tigers for win against Zimbabwe
She expressed her deep confidence that under Deuba’s able leadership the existing multifarious cooperation between Bangladesh and Nepal will further be deepened through exploring the untapped opportunities in potential sectors of collaboration.
She recalled the recent visit by the President of Nepal to Bangladesh which, she said, added “immense value to our celebrations of the twin epochal events of the Birth Centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Golden Jubilee of the independence of Bangladesh.”
She stressed that Bangladesh is on its way to translating the dream of the Father of the Nation for “Sonar Bangla” into a reality by becoming a developing economy by 2021 and a developed economy by 2041.
Also read: Prime Minister congratulates Tigers for ODI series win against West Indies
The Premier said Nepal can benefit from Bangladesh’s socio-economic development.
She reiterated that the relationship between the two countries that was forged when the leadership of Nepali Congress extended support to Bangladesh during the Liberation War in 1971 will continue to expand and deepen in the years ahead.
She extended invitation to Deuba to visit Bangladesh at his earliest convenience.
Chapainawabganj: 35 shops gutted in fire day after Eid
A devastating fire broke out at Tahabazar of Chapainawabganj’s Puratanbazar area on Thursday afternoon.
At least 35 shops were burnt in the blaze.
However, no casualties were reported.
Also read: 5 of family injured as cylinder leak triggers fire in Keraniganj
According to police, locals noticed smoke coming out of the shops and informed the fire service at around 4:15 pm.
Five units of the fire service brought the fire under control after 3 hours of effort.
Chapainawabganj Sadar Police Station OC Mozaffar Hossain said no deaths were reported as the shops were closed due to Eid holidays but the fire burnt 35 shops.
Also read: Hashem food factory fire: CID asked to investigate case
The amount of damage was not immediately known, he said.
Rajshahi Fire Service Deputy Director Abdur Rashid said on information, the Chapainawabganj Fire Service team started working to control the fire. Later four units from Shibganj, Nachol, Gomstapur and Godagari joined them and brought the fire under control after 3 hours of joint effort.
Domestic flights to carry intl passengers to port of departure during lockdown
Domestic flights would continue during the strict lockdown set to resume Friday, but only to facilitate the movement of the international flight passengers in the country.
According to a circular of Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB), domestic flights of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, US-Bangla Airlines and NovoAir may only carry the passengers who are ultimately scheduled to catch an international flight, said a press release Thursday.
Read: Strict lockdown from Friday, again
The flights could continue maintaining health protocols strictly as per instructions.
Airlines were told to ensure that the domestic flight tickets are issued only to the passengers having international air tickets and the documents pertaining to their international flight should be checked as well.
Read: Ferry-launch suspended from Friday morning
The instructions would come into effect from 6 am Friday at all domestic airports, the release also said.
“Green Corridor” for oxygen tankers at ICP Petrapole
Bangladesh received 180 metric tonnes of liquefied medical oxygen from India carried by 11 tankers, which were provided a green corridor on an emergency basis.
The movement of 11 tankers to Bangladesh was facilitated on an emergency basis at Integrated Check Post (ICP) Petrapole, India on Wednesday.
Given the criticality of these supplies of liquid oxygen to hospitals in Bangladesh, ICP Petrapole officials provided a green corridor for medical oxygen export.
Read: Increase oxygen supply, Corona beds: PMO
The oxygen was imported by Linde, Spectra and Pure Oxygen, said a media release.
Anit Jain, Assistant Commissioner of Customs at ICP Petrapole informed that despite being Eid-ul-Azha holiday a special team of Land Port officials, Custom officials, BSF and CNF agents was constituted and they were in regular contact with the High Commission of India in Dhaka and their Benapole counterparts.
Kamlesh Saini, Director, Petrapole Land Port said, field level officials have been given special instructions to ensure that essential commodities like Liquefied Medical Oxygen could be cleared quickly from the Petrapole port.
Read: 4 held for selling oxygen cylinders at Pabna Hospital
He said port authorities on both the side share excellent relations having a long tradition of assisting each other.
Government officials on both sides of the border have demonstrated the spirit of brotherhood in supporting each other on the Eid-ul- Azha day.
Vaccine inequity undermining global economic recovery, shows new data
An acceleration in scaling up manufacturing and sharing enough vaccine doses with low-income countries could have added $38 billion to their GDP forecast for 2021, according to new data released on Thursday.
Covid-19 vaccine inequity will have a lasting and profound impact on socio-economic recovery in low- and lower-middle income countries, according to data jointly released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the University of Oxford.
They called for urgent action to boost supply and assure equitable access for every country, including through dose sharing.
At a time when richer countries have paid trillions in stimulus to prop up flagging economies, now is the moment to ensure vaccine doses are shared quickly, all barriers to increasing vaccine manufacturing are removed and financing support is secured so vaccines are distributed equitably and a truly global economic recovery can take place, said UNDP, WHO and University of Oxford.
A high price per COVID-19 vaccine dose relative to other vaccines and delivery costs – including for the health workforce surge – could put a huge strain on fragile health systems and undermine routine immunization and essential health services and could cause alarming spikes in measles, pneumonia and diarrhea.
Also read: Challenges remain despite Europe meeting 70 pct vaccine delivery goal
There is also a clear risk in terms of foregone opportunities for the expansion of other immunization services, for example the safe and effective rollout of HPV vaccines.
Lower income countries need timely access to sustainably priced vaccines and timely financial support.
These insights come from the Global Dashboard for COVID-19 Vaccine Equity, a joint initiative from UNDP, WHO and the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, which combines the latest information on COVID-19 vaccination with the most recent socio-economic data to illustrate why accelerating vaccine equity is not only critical to saving lives but also to driving a faster and fairer recovery from the pandemic with benefits for all.
“In some low- and middle-income countries, less than 1 per cent of the population is vaccinated – this is contributing to a two-track recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic”, said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.
“It’s time for swift, collective action – this new COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Dashboard will provide Governments, policymakers and international organizations with unique insights to accelerate the global delivery of vaccines and mitigate the devastating socio-economic impacts of the pandemic.”
According to the new Dashboard, which builds on data from multiple entities including the IMF, World Bank, UNICEF and Gavi, and analysis on per capita GDP growth rates from the World Economic Outlook, richer countries are projected to vaccinate quicker and recover economically quicker from COVID-19, while poorer countries haven’t even been able to vaccinate their health workers and most at-risk population and may not achieve pre-COVID-19 levels of growth until 2024.
Meanwhile, Delta and other variants are driving some countries to reinstate strict public health social measures.
Also read: Vaccine inequity: Inside the cutthroat race to secure doses
This is further worsening the social, economic and health impact, especially for the most vulnerable and marginalized people.
Vaccine inequity threatens all countries and risks reversing hard won progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.
“Vaccine inequity is the world’s biggest obstacle to ending this pandemic and recovering from COVID-19,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.
“Economically, epidemiologically and morally, it is in all countries' best interest to use the latest available data to make lifesaving vaccines available to all.”
Designed to empower policy makers and development partners to take urgent action to reduce vaccine inequity, the Global Dashboard breaks down the impact of accessibility against a target for countries to vaccinate their at-risk populations first to reduce mortality and protect the health system and then move on to vaccinating larger shares of the population to reduce disease burden and re-open socio-economic activity.
The Dashboard is facilitated by the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All (SDG3 GAP), which aims to improve collaboration across the multilateral system to support an equitable and resilient recovery from the pandemic and drive progress towards the health-related SDGs.
“Closing the vaccine gap is required to put this pandemic behind us. The dashboard can help scale up and accelerate global delivery of vaccines by providing accurate, up-to-date information on not just how many vaccines have been given, but also the policies and mechanisms through which we get them into arms,” said Dr. Thomas Hale, Associate Professor of Global Public Policy, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.
The Dashboard will be updated in real-time as new data becomes available, filling a critical gap to help guide the international community's understanding of what can be done to achieve vaccine equity. Users are able and encouraged to download all data sets in full from the website.
MOFA changes application link for vaccination of students
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to change the application link for the vaccination of the outbound students due to some technical reasons.
All other conditions and statements of the earlier circular remain unchanged.
Read: MoFA introduces Public Diplomacy wing
The students who could not apply on July 21 and 22, 2021 and reach the mail address [email protected] for application, have been requested to fill up the new link (https://forms.gle/KPa33LddmSKFPezd7).
Read: MoFA releases video marking Bangabandhu's historic March 7 Speech
Ferry-launch suspended from Friday morning
All water transports, including ferries, launches, speedboats and trawlers, will halt operation from 6 am Friday as the country begins another round of strict lockdown fearing a spread of the coronavirus infections following Eid celebration.
As per the July 13 cabinet decision, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) ordered water transports services to remain closed from 6 am on July 23 to 12 am on August 5, said a media release on Thursday.
Also read: Strict lockdown from Friday, again
Meanwhile, no passenger vehicles and transports will be permitted on ferry from Friday (July 23) morning, as per another notification from Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) issued on July 9.
However, emergency vehicles and ambulances would be allowed to cross in compliance with strict health guidelines.
Also read: Bangladesh loses 187 more lives as Covid situation remains girm
Both the notifications said that action would be taken against those who disobey the orders.
MoU signed to promote health and sport for everybody ahead of Paralympic Games
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) on Thursday signed an agreement to work together to foster diversity and equity through global initiatives promoting health and sport for everybody, everywhere.
The two partners will collaborate to improve global access to quality rehabilitation and assistive technology as part of universal health coverage; and mitigate existing inequalities in relation to access to these life-changing services -- a prerequisite for equal opportunities and participation in sports for persons with disabilities, including for Paralympians and Para athletes.
IPC President Andrew Parsons and WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus signed the MoU in Tokyo.
The Paralympic Games will be held in Tokyo between on Aug. 24 and and Sept. 5.
“Sport and health are natural allies, with mutually reinforcing benefits,” said Dr Tedros.
More than that, he said, the Paralympic Games are an inspiring statement of what persons with disabilities can achieve.
"We hope this partnership between WHO and IPC will provide a platform for more persons with disabilities to participate in sport, but also for demonstrating why universal health coverage is so important, by ensuring all persons have the care and technologies they need to fulfil their potential.”
Andrew Parsons said this new partnership is one that will greatly benefit society, as sport is a tremendous tool for ensuring that persons lead active and healthy lifestyles.
"The IPC’s partnership with the WHO goes beyond promoting physical and healthy lifestyles and will also focus on highlighting the role assistive technology plays in the creation of an inclusive world, especially for the over 1 billion persons with disabilities.”
Disability is a global public health issue but with a higher prevalence in lower-income countries with even less access to health care and assistive technology.
The WHO estimates about 15% of the world’s population live with a disability – and this number is growing due to demographic changes including population ageing and the global increase in chronic health conditions.
Only 1 in 2 persons with disabilities can afford health care, including rehabilitation services; and 1 in 10 have access to life-changing assistive technology.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed persons with disabilities to increased risks of contracting COVID-19 and having poorer health, as health information and care have not been provided in ways easily accessible to them.
Afghan VP slams Pakistani trolls with an image of 1971 Pak Army surrender
Afghanistan's Vice-President Amrullah Saleh has hit out at Pakistani trolls by sharing on Twitter the iconic picture of the signing of the instrument of surrender by Pakistan’s Army in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
"We don't have, and never will have, such a picture in our history...Dear Pak Twitter attackers, the [Taliban] and terrorism will not be able to cure the trauma of this image. Find other ways," he tweeted.
On December 16, 1971, Pakistani Commander Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi surrendered to Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora, the commander of the Joint Forces, at then-Ramna Race Course (now Suhrawardy Uddayan), where Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman made his historic call for independence on March 7, 1971.
As a symbol of surrender, Niazi also handed over his revolver to Lt. Gen. Aurora.
“Yes, yesterday I flinched for a fraction of a second as a rocket flew above and landed few meters away,” Saleh said.
Bangladesh loses 187 more lives as Covid situation remains girm
Bangladesh reported 187 more Covid-19-related deaths in 24 hours until Thursday morning as the vaccination drive failed to gather pace.
The virus also infected 3,697 others during the period as Bangladesh observed the last day with the lockdown rules relaxed.
With the fresh figures, the total caseload from Covid stands at 11,40,200 while the death toll rose to 18,685, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The country saw 200+ Covid-related deaths for the last two weeks on average.
Bangladesh reported its highest daily Covid-19 fatality of 231 on Monday.
The new cases were reported after testing 11, 486 samples. The case positivity rate increased to 32.19 % from Wednesday’s 30.48% %, said the DGHS.
Read: 22 more die of Covid at Rajshahi hospital
Meanwhile, the country’s fatality rate increased slightly to 1.64%.
So far, 9,69,610 people have recovered from the disease, taking the recovery rate to 85.04%
Dhaka division reported 75 of the deaths while Khulna saw 44 and Chattogram 23 deaths. Besides, 15 people died in Rangpur, 10 in Rajshahi, 11 in Barishal, five in Mymensingh and four in Sylhet divisions.
Of the deaths, one was within 11-20 years of age; four were within 21-30; 20 between 31-40, 12 between 41-50; 49 between 51-60; 64 were between 61-70 years; 27 were between 71-80 years; eight between 81-90, and two were between 91-100 years of age.
With over 4,000 deaths so far, July looks to be the most fatal month since the country saw its fast Covid cases in March, 2020.
Earlier, the country saw 2,404 Covid deaths in April, 1,169 in May and 1,884 in June.
Read: Khulna division sees 40 new Covid deaths
Also, July was the most fatal month in 2020, reporting 1,264 deaths followed by 1,197 deaths in June that year.
Hospitals are now overwhelmed with patients and struggling to cope with the country’s devastating second wave of Covid infections, driven by the Delta variant.
Upping its guard against the devastating Delta variant of Covid-19, the Bangladesh government on Thursday announced the resumption of the countrywide strict lockdown from July 23.
The restrictions are to come into force at 8am on July 23 and will continue till August 5 midnight, unless extended again.