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Hafez Abu Darda secures first position in Madrasa Education Board exam
Hafez Abu Darda has secured the first position with 99 percent marks in the central examination of Bangladesh Madrasa Education Board (Befaqul Madarisiddinia Bangladesh) held in 2021.
He was a student of Madrasatun Noor Dhaka Al Islamiyah Al Madaniyah Madrasha which is located in Kuril, Dhaka.
Hailing from Ishapashar village in Tarail upazila of Kishoreganj, Hafez Abu Dard is the youngest son of Abu Taher, said a press release.
All the seven sons and four daughters of Abu Taher are Hafez and Mufti and studying in madrasha.
Abu Taher is also the founding chairman of Madrasatun Noor Dhaka Al Islamiyah Al Madaniyah in Kuril, Dhaka.
Read DU to take exams online from July 1 if Covid situation remains unchanged
Metrol rail project sees 63.2 pc progress: Quader
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Tuesday said the average progress of the construction work of the first metro rail in Bangladesh is 63.2 percent.
He made the remarks while talking to reports after visiting the first metro rail set and progress of the project work at the Uttara depot.
Read:Metro train coaches being moved to depot: Quader
Obaidul Quader joined the programme virtually from his official residence.
He said the progress of the construction work from Uttara to Agargaon section scheduled to be completed in the first phase is 84.9 percent.
He further said that the progress of the construction work from Agargaon to Motijheel section scheduled to be implemented in the second phase is 59.7 percent and the overall progress of procurement of electrical and mechanical system, rolling stock and depot equipment is 54.4 percent.
Several microbuses seized in Cumilla over lockdown violations
Highway Police in Cumilla Tuesday claimed to have seized a number of microbuses and pick-up vehicles for violating lockdown norms.
According to Additional Superintendent of Cumilla Police Molla Mohammad Shahin, cops are keeping a strict vigil on all roads, particularly the Dhaka-Chattogram highway, to prevent the entry of public transport vehicles carrying home-bound passengers from other districts ahead of the Eid holidays.
"This is to ensure strict compliance with all lockdown norms. Though bus services have resumed in cities, inter-district public transport services still remain suspended," the police officer said.
These public transport vehicles were seized on Monday night for carrying home-bound passengers from Dhaka ahead of the Eid holidays, police said, adding a number of passengers were also found without masks and flouting social distancing norms.
As per the directives of the government, police have set up several check posts on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway for curbing the mad rush of home-bound people.
Also read: 100 buses seized in Cumilla for violating govt rules
The drive to seize vehicles flouting lockdown norms will continue till the restrictions are lifted by the government, said ASP Shahin.
At least 100 buses have been seized for flouting government directives in Cumilla district in the last two days.
Public transport services were suspended in Bangladesh on April 5, with the government announcing a countrywide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus. However, the government subsequently allowed the resumption of intra-city bus services.
Also Read: Police seize four buses for violating lockdown norms in Jashore
The transport owners' associations have already urged the government to resume bus services across the country and demanded food assistance for all unemployed transport workers in Bangladesh.
Thailand axes travel corridors with Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan
Thailand has shut its door to travellers from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan after confirming cases of the Indian variant of Covid-19 in the country.
"The Thai embassies in these countries have also stopped issuing certificates of entry for non-Thai nationals from May 10 until further notice," Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanee Sangrat said.
The ban was slapped as health authorities Monday confirmed the country's first cases of the Indian variant of Covid-19 in a Thai woman and her 4-year-old son who have been in quarantine after arriving from Pakistan.
The finding comes as Thailand fights against a new wave of the Covid-19 that began in April. Many of the recent cases involve the British variant of the virus – more infectious than the original form found last year.
Thailand banned travellers from India, other than its citizens, starting May 1 in response to the rising tide of Covid-19 cases in the South Asian nation that began in early April. India has reported more than 22.6 million infections, second only to the US, and more than 246,000 deaths. However, the experts believe both figures are undercounts.
Also read: 78 Bangladeshis, foreign nationals arrive from Thailand
Apisamai Srirangsan, a deputy spokesperson for Thailand's Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration said: "The Indian variant was found in a pregnant 42-year-old woman who arrived on April 24 with three sons. She and her 4-year-old were staying in the same room under state quarantine. The two other sons, ages 6 and 8, stayed in another room and tested negative."
"The authorities are also worried about people who cross into Thailand illegally, mostly from neighbouring Cambodia and Myanmar," Apisamai added.
Thailand on Monday announced 1,630 new cases, bringing its confirmed cases to 85,005 since the pandemic began. There were 22 new deaths, for a total of 421.
New clusters continue to be discovered in Bangkok, not only in crowded communities but also at markets and department stores. Other clusters have been found among migrant workers at factories in two provinces near Bangkok, reports AP.
Benapole Port to remain shut for 3 days
Trade with India through the Benapole Land Port will remain suspended from May 13 to May 15 during the celebrations of Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest festival of the Muslims.
Import-export activities through the port remained suspended on Monday on the occasion of Shab-e-Qadr, the holiest night in the Islamic calendar.
Assistant Director of the port Atiqul Islam said export-import, customs and other activities will remain shut from Thursday due to Eid holiday.
Trade activities will resume from May 16, he said.
Also read: 105 Bangladeshis return from India through Benapole
Deputy Director of the port (traffic) Mamun Trafdar said security will be tightened at the port.
Benapole port police station’s Officer-in-Charge Azizul Haque said they will remain alert to avert any untoward incident during the holiday.
Benapole check post’s immigration Officer-in-Charge Ahsan Habib said no-one can travel to India or come to Bangladesh from the neighbouring country through the port due to the travel ban imposed on April 26.
But those who got stuck in India before the border shutdown can return by securing release paper from the concerned High Commission. They must complete a 14-day quarantine upon arrival, he said.
Khaleda ‘improving’, not out of ‘danger’ yet: Doctor
Though the health condition of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia improving slowly, she is still not out of danger due to various post-Covid complications, her medical board member Dr AZM Zahid Hossain said on Monday.
“There’s a slow improvement in her condition, it’s almost the same as it was yesterday (Sunday),” he told UNB.
He said the BNP chief needs to stay at the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of the Evercare Hospital for a few days more due to her post-Covid complications. “She’s still not out of danger.”
“A corona patient of this age like Madam (Khaleda) can suffer from various post-Covid complications. She has some other diseases which aggravated during her stay in jail for lack of proper treatment.”
Another member of the BNP chief’s medical team, wishing anonymity said, Khaleda’s saturation level has improved, but she is still given 1-2 litres of oxygen a day for avoiding any risk.
He also said fluids are still coming out of her lungs and it is a matter of concern.
The doctor hinted that Khaleda may be kept at the CCU of the hospital until her health condition improves significantly.
Meanwhile, BNP will hold a press conference on Tuesday on the government’s rejection to an application of Khaleda’s family seeking permission to send her abroad.
The party will present legal explanations on the matter and the instances of receiving treatment abroad by convicted people on different occasions since the independence of the country.
Talking to UNB, BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy said the government has a taken a political decision, not a legal one, on Khaleda’s treatment abroad.
Also read: Khaleda’s condition looks better: Fakhrul
“It’s not a correct statement of the government that the convicted persons cannot go abroad. If this is the fact, how did a convicted Awami League leader go to Singapore for treatment in 2008?
On Sunday, the government turned down the application of Khaleda Zia’s family seeking permission to send her abroad for advance treatment, saying there is no scope for a convicted person to avail of such a scope.
On Wednesday, Khaleda’s younger brother Shamim Iskander met Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan at his Dhanmondi residence and submitted the application to take Khaleda abroad for treatment.
The 76-year-old BNP chief, who tested positive for Covid-19 for the second time on April 24, was admitted to Evercare Hospital on April 27 for a thorough health checkup. She was shifted to the CCU of the hospital with shortness of breath on May 3.
On April 28, a 10-member medical board, headed by Prof Shahabuddin Talukder, was formed for the treatment of Khaleda at the Evercare Hospital a day after her admission there.
Khaleda Zia tested positive for Covid-19 on April 10 as eight people at her residence were infected with the virus. She underwent the second Covid-19 test on April 24 and her report was positive.
Meanwhile, Khaleda Zia tested negative for Covid-19 on Saturday, 27 days after she had been infected with the deadly virus.
Also read: Govt turns down family’s application to send Khaleda abroad
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government freed Khaleda Zia from jail for six months through an executive order suspending her sentences on March 25 last year.
Experts frustrated at NBR's role as calls for specific taxes on tobacco go unheeded
Increasing the prices of tobacco products through specific taxation will discourage youths from using tobacco and encourage the existing users, particularly those financially vulnerable, to quit.
Experts said this Monday at the online discussion "Tobacco Tax and Price Measures for a Tobacco-Free Bangladesh: Reality and the Way Forward" organised by Progga and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance.
However, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, chair of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, said: "We raise our demand to increase tobacco taxes each year before the budget. Unfortunately, the national budget never reflects our demand."
Also read: Doctors for raising tobacco tax to protect public health
Dr Nasir Uddin Ahmed, former chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), said, one of the major impediments in realising such proposals in the national budget is the government's investment in British American Tobacco Bangladesh and the tobacco industry's influence on the NBR.
He called on the finance minister to increase the prices of tobacco products in the upcoming budget and also to divest the government's involvement in a tobacco company.
The convener of the National Anti-Tobacco Platform, Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad said: "It is quite frustrating for us to find NBR saying increasing tobacco taxes would harm the poor. The reality is quite the opposite. An increase in tobacco taxes benefits the poor the most."
He also called for the reinstatement of export duty on tobacco.
The Research Director of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies Dr Mahfuz Kabir said the users of low-tier cigarettes constitute around 70% of total smokers. "So, if we can increase the price of this tier through specific taxation and raise it closer to the medium-tier, it would not only reduce use but also increase government revenue manifold."
Specific taxes are levied on the quantity of a good or service sold. Also known as a per unit tax, they are applied as a fixed amount for each unit of a good or service sold.
Abdul Quayum, the associate editor of the Daily Prothom Alo, said, "Use of bidi and cigarettes causes diseases and thus increases medical expenses which, in turn, makes the poor even poorer."
Also read: Speakers want specific taxes imposed to increase price of tobacco products
Additional Director-General of Directorate General of Health Services Dr Meerjady Sabrina Flora said reducing the affordability and use of cigarettes through tax increases allows the people, particularly the poor, to spend more on nutrition and other necessities.
7 who fled Covid facility in Jashore arrested, later released on bail
The seven individuals who were arrested today for having escaped from Jashore General Hospital (JGH) while admitted as Covid-19 patients have been released on bail following a court appearance.
Jashore Judicial Magistrate Mahadi Hasan granted their bail application at 4:30 pm today, confirmed our Jashore correspondent.
Earlier today, seven of the ten individuals who caused a furore by fleeing from the 250-bed district general hospital last April 23-24 (they were later brought back) were arrested by the police upon discharge from JGH.
Although they were later found and brought back to the medical facility, the incident triggered concern regarding the spread of a highly transmissible and deadly Indian variant of Covid-19, as seven of the escapees had just returned from India.
The arrestees have been identified as MoniMala Datta, 49, Milon Hossain, 32, Nasima Aktar, 50, Bibekananda, 52, Amirul Sana, 52, Sohel Sardar, 17, and Fatema, 19.
They were held immediately upon release from the hospital.
Besides, the court arrest warrants were issued on Sunday against all 10 people who had escaped from the hospital on April 23-24.
The other three are still undergoing treatment at the hospital.
The arrest warrants were issued after Jashore Kotwali police station filed a non-FIR prosecution under Section 25 (2) of the Infectious Diseases Prevention (Prevention, Control and Eradication) Act, 2016.
Kotwali Police Station OC Tajul Islam said the court had issued arrest warrants against 10 people who had escaped from the hospital while under treatment for Covid-19. Seven of them were arrested and sent to court today, he added.
Also read: Fled from Dhaka, coronavirus-infected couple held in Rajbari
Indian variant in Bangladesh
Two cases of the Indian Covid-19 variant were detected at the Genome Centre of Jessore University of Science and Technology on May 8
Earlier in that day, the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) confirmed the first case of Indian coronavirus variant in Bangladesh
The Indian strain of the virus was detected in a sample test at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka and it has been published on Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID), said chief scientific officer of IEDCR ASM Alamgir.
Also read: 98 workers held who fled EPZs, sent to home quarantine
Bangladesh suspends border with India for 14 more days
Bangladesh on Saturday extended the closure of land borders with India for 14 more days, hours after the country detected six cases of the Indian variant of the COVID-19.
The land borders with India were sealed on April 26 in view of the worsening coronavirus situation in the neighbouring country.
Members of Border Guard Bangladesh held 27 people including women and children while trying to enter through Jhenaidah border today, which proves the government's commitment in executing the decision.
India: Mamata inducts 43 Ministers into her Cabinet
Indian state of West Bengal's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday inducted as many as 43 Ministers into her Cabinet, including 18 new faces.
The Ministers, including nine junior ministers, were administered the oath of office by West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar at Raj Bhavan (governor's house) in state capital Kolkata.
However, two of Mamata's senior Cabinet colleagues -- Finance Minister Amit Mitra and Higher Education Minister Bratya Bose -- were sworn in virtually. While Mitra has been unwell, Bose is said to be recovering from Covid-19.
Also read: Game over: How an injured Mamata won against a fully fit saffron squad
All the veterans of Mamata's ruling Trinamool Congress party -- Subrata Mukherjee, Partha Chatterjee, Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Sujit Bose, Chandrima Bhattacharya and Shashi Panja -- have found a berth in Mamata's new Cabinet.
Though Mamata allocated almost all the ministries to her new Cabinet colleagues, she has retained six key portfolios, including home and health. Mamata, affectionately called Didi, took her oath as the chief minister of West Bengal for the third time on May 5.
The swearing-in ceremony of Mamata's new ministers comes a day after the Bengal Governor approved the country's top federal investigative agency's plea to prosecute four former ministers of Mamata's government in a cash-for-favours scam.
Surprisingly, two of the accused in the Narada tapes scandal -- Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim -- are in the new Cabinet.
"Governor accorded sanction for prosecution... being the appointing authority of ministers @MamataOfficial under article 164 and thus competent authority," the Governor tweeted on Sunday evening.
The Narada scandal was a sting operation carried out by a journalist that caught on tape several ministers and senior officials of the erstwhile Mamata government accepting cash bribes in exchange for doling out unofficial favours to a private firm.
Last week, Mamata scripted history by single handedly pulling off an astounding victory in the assembly election. She not only defied anti-incumbency and staved off a huge challenge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP, but also decimated the Left Front.
Though her party swept back to power with a resounding majority of 213 seats in the 292-member assembly, the 66-year-old firebrand politician lost her own seat in Nandigram to her former protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari by a thin margin of around 2,000 votes.
"This is Bangla's win... this is Bengal's win... this is your win. This win has saved Bengal, it has saved the culture and tradition of Bengal," she said, addressing a press meet on May 5.
Mamata, however, made it clear in that presser only that she would challenge the result in a court of law. "How come the Election Commission reversed the results in Nandigram after formally announcing it? We will move court."
Also read: Mamata compensates kin of Bengal post-poll violence victims
The BJP though has made major gains in Bengal, winning some 77 seats. In 2016, the party had just three legislators in the state. However, the Left Front has failed to grab a single seat this time. The Left Front ruled Bengal for 34 years -- from 1977 to 2011.
Bengal witnessed the most high-profile contest in India's recently held state elections. While Mamata harped on being Bengal’s daughter, the BJP asked people to vote for "change and socio-economic development" after 50 years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule.
GM Quader seeks govt support for local vaccine Bangavax
Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Sunday urged the government to extend its necessary support to local company Globe Biotech so that it can succeed in developing its vaccine - Bangavax.
In a statement, he voiced resentment as Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC) is not giving approval to the company for conducting a clinical trial of the vaccine.
“The people of the country want to know in whose interest the trial of Bangavax is not taking place though four months have elapsed (since it has sought permission). The government should extend support for the success of the locally developed vaccine alongside importing foreign ones to prevent the coronavirus,” he said.
The Jatiya Party chief said Globe Biotech applied to the BMRCH for ist approval to carry out a clinical trial in January last. “But the permission has not been given yet for reasons unknown.”
Even, he said, the World Health Organization has listed Bangavax as a potential vaccine for corona prevention.
Also read: Take mega projects to improve healthcare system: GM Quader
On December 26 last year, GM Quader said the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) also allowed Globe Biotech to produce a vaccine for the trial. “But Bangavax cannot make any breakthrough for lack of BMRC’s permission.”
Citing researchers of Globe Biotech, the Jatiya Party chairman said a single dose Bangavax found effective in developing antibodies during the animal trial of the vaccine.
“The researchers expect to have similar results in clinical trials. As the one-dose vaccine Bangavax is made synthetically, it’s virus-free and 100% halal,” he said.
GM Quader said the government should help the company produce its vaccine. “If Bangavax succeeds in the clinical trial, it’ll be possible to export it abroad by meeting the local demand.”
Also read: GM Quader for effective steps to prevent waterway accidents
He also said Bangladesh's Bangavax can come to the global spotlight by exhibiting its efficiency in preventing the coronavirus.