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Bangladesh sees 4 more Covid cases, zero death
Bangladesh reported 4 more Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours till Friday morning.
With the new number, the country's total caseload rose to 2,037,416, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,441 as no new fatalities were reported.
The daily case test positivity increased to 0.41 percent from Thursday's 0.32 percent as 1,948 samples were tested.
The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.45 percent while the recovery rate rose to 97.70 percent.
Bangladesh reported its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 in 2021 and daily fatalities of 264 on August 5 of the same year.
World Bank managing director to arrive in Dhaka Saturday
World Bank Managing Director of Operations Axel van Trotsenburg will arrive in Dhaka Saturday on his first official visit to Bangladesh.
During his three-day visit, Axel will join a public event in Dhaka on January 22 to mark 50 years of the partnership between Bangladesh and the World Bank Group and celebrate the country's "remarkable" development achievements, said a media statement.
"Bangladesh has shown the world what can be done to dramatically reduce poverty through successful innovations in human development, women’s empowerment, and climate adaptation," Axel said.
Read more: Bangladesh wants low-interest loan from World Bank amid economic woes
"The World Bank is proud of its 50-year partnership with Bangladesh and being part of the country's remarkable development journey. I look forward to my visit and to seeing these achievements firsthand."
Axel will meet with the prime minister, finance minister, senior government officials, civil society representatives, and development partners, and visit the World Bank-supported projects.
World Bank to provide US$300 million to help Bangladesh’s pandemic responseHe will be accompanied by Martin Raiser, World Bank vice-president for South Asia.
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2 college students killed in Gazipur as their motorcycle tips over
Two college students were killed as their motorbike tipped on its side and crashed into a railing of a bridge in Gazipur's Sreepur upazila Friday, police said.
The deceased – Siam, 18, from Kapasia upazila of the district and Shakil Hossain, 18, from Pakundia upazila of Kishoreganj – were students of BGMEA College.
Mohammad Moniruzzaman, officer-in-charge of Sreepur police station, said the accident occurred around 9am when the bike tipped over and hit the railing of Dumni Pagla Bridge in Prahladpur union.
Read more: 3 teens killed in Barguna bike crash
The students died from the impact of the crash, he added. "The bodies were sent to the Sadar hospital morgue for autopsies."
Season's lowest: Sreemangal shivers at 5.4 degrees Celsius
Biting cold gripped Sreemangal as the lowest temperature in the country this season was recorded at 5.6 degrees Celsius in the upazila in the 24 hours to Friday morning.
The lowest temperature in Sreemangal was recorded at 2.8 degrees Celsius on February 4 in 1968, Mujibur Rahman, an officer at the Srimangal weather monitoring station, said.
Read more: At 6 degree C, Naogaon records lowest temperature in 24 hours
Temperature between 8 to 10 degrees Celsius is considered a mild cold wave, 6 to 8 degrees Celsius a moderate cold wave and less than 6 degrees Celsius a severe cold wave.
Severe cold with frosty winds and dense fog is disrupting daily life in Sreemangal. The low-income people who get by working every day are being hit hardest.
Many were seen making fires along the roadsides to keep warm. Most people are staying home unless there is an emergency.
Also, the number of diarrhoea and pneumonia patients – mostly children and elderly – is increasing in the hospitals of Moulvibazar, district Civil Surgeon Dr Chowdhury Jalal Uddin Murrshed said.
Read more: Tetulia records season’s lowest temperature at 6.1 degrees C this morning
A mild to moderate cold wave is sweeping Rangpur division; Faridpur, Madaripur, Gopalganj, Rajshahi, Pabna, Naogaon, Sirajganj, Sreemangal, Rangamati, Cumilla, Feni, Brahmanbaria, Jashore, Chuadanga, Kushtia, Barishal, and Bhola districts and it may continue, the BMD said this morning.
Also, moderate to thick fog may envelop the river basins and light to moderate fog may occur elsewhere from midnight to morning.
"The weather may remain dry with a temporary partly cloudy sky over the country. Night and day temperatures may remain nearly unchanged," the BMD said.
2nd phase of Biswa Ijtema begins
The second phase of the three-day Biswa Ijtema, billed as the second largest congregation of Muslims after Hajj, began on the banks of the River Turag in Tongi Friday.
This phase of the 56th edition of the Biswa Ijtema (World Congregation) started with the "a'm bayan" (general sermons) after Fajr prayers with the participation of a large number of devotees, including the followers of Indian preacher Maulana Muhammad Saad Al Kandhalvi.
Read more: 2nd phase Bishwa Ijtema: Metro rail to operate from 8am-5pm on Jan 22
However, Maulana Saad is not attending this year's Ijtema. The sermons were delivered by Pakistani Islamic scholar Maulana Mohammad Osman and were translated into Bangla by Maulana Zia bin Qasim.
Thousands of devotees from home and abroad thronged the banks of the Turag River to listen to scholars reciting and explaining verses from the Quran and to renew their commitment to Islamic values.
In the afternoon, they offered Jumma prayers, led by Maulana Saad's son Yusuf bin Saad Kandhalvi, at the Ijtema ground.
"Additional police personnel have been deployed in and around the Ijtema venue to ensure the security of the devotees. The venue has been brought under closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera surveillance," Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Commissioner Molla Nazrul Islam said.
Health camps were set up for the devotees to provide them with treatment like the previous years.
Read more: First phase of Bishwa Ijtema ends today with ‘Akheri Munajat’
However, a 75-year-old devotee from Barguna, Mofizul Islam, died at the Ijtema venue early Friday due to complications of old age.
The three-day Biswa Ijtema will end on January 22 with Akheri Munajat (final prayers).
Meanwhile, the metro rail service will run from 8am to 5pm on January 22 for the smooth movement of the devotees attending the second phase of the congregation.
The first phase of the three-day Biswa Ijtema ended on January 15 with Akheri Munajat.
Tabligh Jamaat has been organising the congregation in Tongi since 1967. In 2011, it divided Ijtema into two phases to accommodate a large number of attendees.
Ctg Kotwali OC accused of harassing journos covering detention of BNP activists
The officer-in-charge (OC) of Kotwali police station allegedly harassed a cameraperson and a reporter of private NTV while they were capturing video of detention of BNP men in Chattogram city on Thursday.
The accused OC Jahedul Kabir also took away the camera from the cameraman Suman Gowsami and deleted footage of the incident.
In an instant reaction, journalists from a rally in front of Chattogram Press Club demanded the OC be withdrawn within the next 24 hours. Otherwise, they will go for a tougher movement.
NTV Senior Reporter Arich Ahmed Shah said OC Jahedul obstructed them from capturing the incident of detention of the BNP men in front of the party office in the city’s Kazir Dewri area around 2pm.
“He (OC) threatened to arrest us within two minutes when we protested the incident of deletion of footage from the memory card after taking away the camera from Suman (cameraperson),” he said.
Atonu Chakrabartya, assistant commissioner (Kotwali zone) of Chattogram Metropolitan Police, said they detained four BNP men from in front of the BNP office and they were shown arrested over the clash with the cops on January 16.
However, no higher police officers agreed to make comments over the harassment by the OC.
Read more: Journalist suspensions widen rift between Twitter and media
Bangladesh's first-ever kidney transplant from dead donor saves 2 patients
In a milestone achievement surgeons at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) completed the country’s first-ever cadaveric kidney transplant from a clinically dead woman to two separate patients successfully on Wednesday night.
BSMMU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Md Sharfuddin Ahmed, also president of National Cadaveric Transplant Committee, revealed this at a press conference at Dr Milon auditorium on Thursday.
He said they took the kidneys from the 20-year-old Sara Islam at the intensive care unit, who was earlier declared clinically dead on Wednesday afternoon, after her mother gave her consent for the operation.
The VC said a team of surgeons led by Dr Md Habibur Rahman Dulal, a professor of urology department at the BSMMU, conducted the kidney transplant operation for around six hours from 10:30pm to 4.30am on Wednesday night.
The operation was completed successfully in association with the Anesthesia, analgesia and Intensive Care Medicine departments, he said.
Read more: Kidney donation: A noble act that can save lives of millions
The kidney donor Sarah who was admitted to the hospital four days ago while the recipients of the kidneys were two female patients recovering well after the surgery, the VC said.
Separate surgeries were conducted at the BSMMU and National Kidney Foundation to transplant the kidneys.
One of the kidney recipients was 34-year-old Mirpur resident Shamima Akter and another one the patient at the Kidney Foundation.
Apart from this, the cornea of the donor was transplanted to eye patients successfully, he said.
The VC said the brain-death is called the ICU patients whose brains get inactive while those who have no possibility of getting back their lives are cadaveric.
The cadaveric patients can donate their organs unless they are affected with cancer, hepatitis, HIV and other diseases, he said.
The namaz-e-janaza of Sara was held in front of the central mosque of the BSMMU before she was buried at the Azimpur graveyard.
Sara, the eldest child of Shahidul Islam and teacher Shabnam Sultana, was the first-year-student of the Fine Arts department at private University of Development Alternative.
She was affected with irrecoverable tuberous sclerosis when the latter was only 10 months old.
“Sara made history as the first organ donor of the cadaveric kidney transplant in the country,” he said, adding that her courage will encourage dying people to donate organs.
Many can be brought to normal life through donation of organs by the cadaveric patients, he observed.
The VC thanked the operation head Dr Dulal and his team for becoming successful in the mission.
Dr Md Saiful Hossain Dhipu, Dr Faruk Hossain, Dr Kartik Chandra Ghosh, Dr Debashis Banik, Dr Debabrata Banik, Dr Dilip Bhowmick and Dr Md Ashrafuzzaman among others took part in the operation.
Read more: Organ Donation by Living Donor: Which organs can be donated while alive?
Health service delivery: Promising interventions, good practices highlighted at URC event
US-based international organisation URC has recently organised the event "Integrated Community Development for Better Health: Perspectives from Bangladesh" at a city hotel.
Bangladesh has been a leader in public health research and implementation on a large scale for low-cost technologies provided at the community level. The event highlighted promising interventions and good practices in health service delivery at the community level.
Integrated Community Development for Better Health: Perspectives from Bangladesh provided an opportunity for the Bangladesh government of officials, the international donor community – including the United States Agency for International for Development (USAID) – and representatives from Bangladeshi NGOs and the university community, to discuss how to best ensure delivery of high-quality care at all levels of the health care system in Bangladesh and beyond.
The programme featured keynote remarks from Professor Ainun Nishat, former vice-chancellor of Brac University, USAID Mission Director Kathryn Stevens, and Dr Jahir Uddin Ahmed, director of the board of Social Marketing Company.
Read more: Govt plans a big push in medical education and facilities by 2024, says official document
Two panel discussions featured voices of individuals with experience in designing, implementing, and sustaining health systems that are responsive to the needs and preferences of the communities where they work.
Max Foundation Country Director Riad Mahmud, Public Health Physician and URC Technical Advisor Dr Najmus Sadiq, Social Sector Management Foundation CEO Dr Abu Muhammad Zakir Hussain, RDRS head of Agriculture and Environment Programs Mostafa Nurul Islam Reza, Social Marketing Company Managing Director and CEO Toslim Uddin Khan, URC Portfolio Director Jean Margaritis, DAM Health Sector Deputy Director Md Mukhlesur Rahman were the panellists.
They discussed how incorporating strong community actions and voices into health systems strengthens societal partnerships, builds capacity in communities, and promotes trust and shared accountability for health system performance.
PMO: Seminar on Bangladesh development agenda, challenges held
A seminar on Bangladesh's development agenda and challenges was held at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Thursday; it discussed critical issues regarding the future development agenda of the country.
The Governance Innovation Unit of the PMO hosted the seminar as part of a memorandum of understanding signed between the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation of Harvard Kennedy School and the Governance Innovation Unit of the PMO for the capacity development of Bangladesh civil service.
Prime Minister's International Affairs Adviser Professor Gowher Rizvi spoke as the chief guest at the seminar. It was chaired by Governance Innovation Unit Director General Mohammad Abdul Latif.
Faculty members from ASH Center for Democratic Governance delivered their speeches on public value and public administration, administrative reforms, the cost of climate change, disaster response and energy transitions.
Read more: Bangladesh performing well in fulfilling SDGs, but many challenges ahead
To discuss the Bangladesh development agenda and challenges, faculty members from different public and private universities such as the University of Dhaka, the South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance of North South University, the Brac Institute of Governance and Development, the Center for Energy Research of United International University and researchers from the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies and the Bangladesh Institute of Governance and Management participated in the discussion.
Career bureaucrats from the PMO, the Ministry of Public Administration, the Ministry of Commerce and the Finance Division also joined the event.
Read more: Bangladesh committed to path of sustainable development
Faculty members from the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre, Bangladesh Civil Service Administration Academy and the Institute of Public Finance were also invited.
2nd phase Biswa Ijtema begins Friday
The second phase of three-day Biswa Ijtema, billed as the second largest congregation of Muslims after hajj, begins on the banks of the Turag River at Tongi on Friday.
This phase of 56th edition of the Biswa Ijtema will begin through "a'm bayan" (general sermons) after Fazr prayers with the participation of a large number of devotees including the followers of Indian Islamic preacher Maulana Muhammad Saad Al Kandhalvi.
Read more: 2nd phase Bishwa Ijtema: Metro rail to operate from 8am-5pm on Jan 22
Several thousand devotees are expected to offer Jum'a prayers, led by Maulana Saad’s son Yusuf bin Kandalvi, on the first day of the second phase Ijtema.
Thousands of devotees from home and abroad have started thronging the banks of the Turag River to take part in the religious event to seek divine blessings of the Almighty Allah.
State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan inaugurated the Free Medical Camp of Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Bangladesh this noon (Thursday) to provide health services for the devotees.
Additional police will be deployed in and around the Ijtema venue to ensure security of the devotees. The venue has been brought under CCTV surveillance, said Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Commissioner Molla Nazrul Islam.
The three-day Biswa Ijtema will end on January 22 with Akheri Munajat (final prayers).
Read more: First phase of Bishwa Ijtema ends today with ‘Akheri Munajat’
Meanwhile, metro rail in Dhaka will be operated from 8am to 5pm on January 22 for the smooth movement of the devotees attending the second phase of Bishwa Ijtema.
The metro rail authority will extend their service hour to facilitate the devotees on the Akheri Munajat day, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) (Public Relations) Nazmul Islam Bhuiyan told UNB on Thursday.
The first phase of three-day Biswa Ijtema ended on January 15 with the Akheri Munajat.
Tabligh Jamaat has been organising the congregation at the venue since 1967. In 2011, it divided Ijtema into two phases to accommodate a large number of attendees.