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HC Circuit Bench in Ctg to be formed in 2 months: Hasan
A High Court Circuit Bench will be formed in Chattogram within two months as demanded by the local lawyers, said Information Minister Hasan Mahmud.
The minister said he has talked to the law minister regarding the formation of HC circuit bench here.
He said this at the installation of the executive committee of Chattogram District Bar Association on Thursday night.
Hasan said lawyers can play a big role in shaping the society and the state, and leading the society in the right direction.
“Lawyers are the natural leaders of society. That is why it is easy for them to do politics," he said.
Read: No bar to implementing wage board once case is disposed: Hasan Mahmud
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a student of law department in Dhaka University as he wanted to be a lawyer. But he could not fulfill his dream as the university authority expelled him, he added.
“If you look at the first parliament of 1970, the legislature of East Pakistan before the independence of the country, the legislature of Pakistan and the legislature of Bengal in India, the majority members were lawyers," he said.
The minister also said Chattogram District Lawyers Association is the highest bar among the District Bars of Bangladesh.
The past members of the bar led the struggle for independence of this country as well as the independence struggle of India before the partition, he added.
“Many members of Chattogram Bar have played a role in every turn of the country’s history,” he added.
Malaysia offering premium visa to draw wealthy investors
According to Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin, Malaysia has established a premium visa program (PVIP) to entice wealthy foreigners to invest in the nation and live there for 20 years.
The Malaysian home minister declared that applications would be accepted starting from October 1, 2022, for the government’s groundbreaking “Residency Through Investment” program, which is intended to spur economic growth in the nation, Malaysian National News Agency Bernama reported on September 1, 2022.
Business tycoons from all countries, with the exception of Israel and those without diplomatic connections with Malaysia, are welcome to apply for PVIP, according to Hamzah.
Read: US embassy holds “Super Friday” to help meet huge demand for student visa interviews
Participants in the scheme, according to him, would receive advantages such as visa approval for up to 20 years, permission to study, permission to buy real estate for residential, commercial, or industrial use, and permission to make active investments in industries that are allowed, the Bernama report said.
At a news conference in Putrajaya yesterday, the minister said, “Program participants are also allowed to work and carry out lawful commercial activities in compliance with the rules of the country.” Immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud was also present at the event.
Participants from all age groups who can show documentation of an offshore income of at least RM40,000 (USD 8,920) per month or RM480,000 (USD 107,047) yearly are eligible for the scheme, Bernama quoted Hamzah as saying.
Also read: Dhaka seeks greater trade, investment with visa-free Commonwealth regime
Other requirements include a fixed savings account with a deposit of at least RM1 million and a one-year restriction on principle withdrawals. After that, one may withdraw up to 50% of the principle amount for home purchases, medical expenses, or educational pursuits.
Hamzah stated that his ministry was aiming for at least 1,000 participants in the program’s first year, which would bring in an estimated RM200 million in revenue and RM1 billion in fixed savings for Malaysia, the Bernama report added.
The Malaysian ringgit’s value will be strengthened by rising demand, he predicted.
Read Visa Free Country List for Bangladeshi Passport Holders in 2021
He further guaranteed that the Malaysian police and the immigration department would monitor and enforce the Malaysia premium visa program’s adherence to its policies and objectives.
Rains likely to quell heat in Bangladesh
Expect some reprieve from the high heat and humidity, as the weatherman has predicted showers in Bangladesh in the next 24 hours.
“Light to moderate rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty winds is likely to occur at many places over Rangpur, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, Dhaka, Barishal, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions and at a few places over Khulna division with moderately heavy to heavy falls at places over the country,” the Met department said in its weather bulletin on Friday.
Also read: Rains likely to quell heat in Bangladesh
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said a mild heatwave that is sweeping through the districts of Jashore and Satkhira may abate during the same time.
Day temperature may fall slightly and night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country, according to the bulletin.
Also read: Met office forecasts rain across Bangladesh
The maximum temperature was recorded at 36 degree Celsius in both Satkhira and Jashore in the last 24 hours till 6am Friday.
Meanwhile, the maximum rainfall was recorded at 67 mm in Syedpur.
Dhaka’s air quality remains 'good'
Dhaka's air quality continued to be in the 'good' zone on Friday.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 25 at 9am, the densely populated metropolis ranked 64th in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.
An air quality between 0 and 50 is considered 'good'.
Pakistan’s Lahore, Brazil’s Sao Paulo and Chile’s Santiago occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 162, 153, and 144, respectively.
An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups.
Also read: Dhaka's air quality remains 'good'
Similarly, an AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be 'poor', while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.
AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, is used by government agencies to inform people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.
Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.
With the advent of winter, the city’s air quality starts deteriorating sharply due to the massive discharge of pollutant particles from construction work, rundown roads, brick kilns and other sources.
Also read: Dhaka’s air quality is ‘good’
Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
Global Covid cases surge past 608 million
The overall number of global Covid cases has surged past 608 million amid a rise in new infections in parts of the world.
According to the latest global data, the total case count mounted to 608,700,634 while the death toll reached 6,498,459 on Friday morning.
The US has recorded 96,465,126 cases so far and 1,072,125 people have died from the virus in the country, both highest counts around the world.
India's federal health ministry reported 3,928 new cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours on Thursday morning, taking the total tally to 44,440,267 in the country.
Also read: Onset of northern winter could see spike in Covid hospitalisations, deaths: WHO
With the reporting of the fresh cases, India's active caseload currently stands at 66,676.
The country logged 37 more related deaths, pushing the overall toll to 527,911 since the beginning of the pandemic, the ministry said.
Covid in Bangladesh
Bangladesh reported two more Covid-linked deaths and 216 cases in 24 hours till Thursday morning, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
With the new numbers, the country's total fatalities rose to 29,325 and the caseload to 2,012,162, it added.
The daily case test positivity rate rose to 5.46% from Wednesday’s 4.20% as 3,955 samples were tested.
Also read: Bangladesh reports 2 more Covid deaths, 216 cases
The deceased included a man and woman from Dhaka and Sylhet divisions, respectively.
The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.46%. The recovery rate remained static at 97.24% as 232 patients recovered during this period.
BNP demands probe into alleged conspiracy to kill PM Hasina
BNP lawmaker Md Harunur Rashid on Thursday demanded an investigation to determine whether there is actually a conspiracy to kill prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
He came up with the demand while taking part in an unscheduled discussion in the parliament.
Abul Kalam Azad, a member of parliament of the ruling Awami League and former information minister, on Wednesday claimed that there is a conspiracy to kill the prime minister and some AL people are also involved in this plot in exchange for money.
Referring to Azad’s allegation, Harun it deserves a clear explanation since a ruling party lawmaker made the claim in the House.
“There is no way to brush it aside. A deep investigation is needed to find out whether such a conspiracy is really happening or not and who is involved in it,” he added.
Slamming the government on the issue of enforced disappearance Harun said the victims are unable to get protection of the law.
"People being shot dead in the moveent is one thing and missing is a completely different matter. Human rights and freedom of expression need to be discussed. The ruling party says that the country is on the highway of development," he said.
He questioned whether corruption, money laundering, rising commodity prices, or road accidents have decreased or not.
He also questioned what has been the development of the electoral process.
The BNP MP said that India is using the ports of the country. But transit is not being given to Bangladesh.
He criticised Bangladesh’s very soft attitude towards India.
Protesting the attack on BNP’s procession, another BNP MP Rumeen Farhana, said that the prime minister had given clear instructions that the programmes of the opposition would not be obstructed.
“But the behaviour of police administration is different. The prime minister is giving some sort of assurance. And the activists of Juba League, Chhatra League are behaving differently with the opposition party,” she said.
Rumeen dismissed Awami League’s claim that they are in the field to prevent sabotage.
“Why are police being used if Awami League leaders and activists are in the field to prevent vandalism?”
Rumeen said that the government claims that there is democracy in the country, but it does not exist in practice.
About the death of two members of the BNP in Bhola, Rumeen said that there was no investigation into the murders.
She claimed that more than 70 places were attacked in the programmes of BNP which started on August 22.
Responding to Rumeen, AL lawmaker Tofail Ahmed said that before the start of the procession that day, BNP leaders and activists attacked the police with sticks and bricks.
Awami League leaders and activists did not take to the streets that day, Tofail said adding in the 2001 election, they could not even stay at home, he said.
Also read: Plot to assassinate PM Hasina on, warns AL lawmaker
Police too have the right to protection when under attack, Hasina tells Parliament
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday told the Parliament that police have the right to protect themselves when they come under attack.
“Won’t the police have the right to protect themselves when they come under attack just because they are police? Their remarks seem that they (police) can do nothing even after bombs, sticks and brickbats are hurled toward them or they come under gun attack,” she said.
Hasina made the remarks as opposition BNP MP Rumeen Farhana earlier claimed in the House that the party’s recent protest programmes came under attacks in different places including Bhola contrary to the PM’s clear instructions.
The premier said police did nothing where BNP’s movement and programmes were peaceful.
“It is normal that opposition parties will wage movement. Yes, I told police to do nothing. It is right. But the police said (did) nothing first. If a man comes under attack, that person has the right to protection, let alone police,” she said.
Hasina, also the Leader of the House, was delivering her valedictory speech in the 19th session of the current parliament.
Read: BNP vows to avenge blood of its slain workers by ousting the govt
She said she promised that no one would say anything in case of peaceful procession and movement. “Where the programmes are peaceful, no one would anything there,” she said.
She said BNP men try to go for attack or create a situation for media coverage.
Criticising a section of media and opposition parties, the PM said they are spreading frustration in recent times as if everything is going to be destroyed. “But they (critics) are in good condition.”
Referring to a recent report of the World Bank, she said Bangladesh is not at food risk. The IMF also in its evaluation on August 16 last remarked that Bangladesh is in no crisis, she added.
President prorogues the Parliament
The 19th session of the 11th Parliament was prorogued on Thursday after five sittings.
Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury read out the prorogation order of the president at 8:48pm.
The Parliament in this session elected Shamsul Hoque Tuku as the deputy speaker.
Three bills were passed in the House during the session that convened on August 28.
Some 37 questions were received for the prime minister to respond. She replied to 15 questions.
Read: Parliament passes Public Debt bill by voice vote
The session received 986 questions for different ministers and they replied to 369 questions.
Besides, two proposals were adopted in the Parliament after discussions in this session.
One proposal was on government measures to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, global unrest following Russia-Ukraine war and another was on the need for identifying the masterminds of August 15 carnage in 1975.
Onset of northern winter could see spike in Covid hospitalisations, deaths: WHO
Although Covid deaths have dropped across the world, numbers could rise as northern countries head into winter, according to the UN health agency.
"We are now seeing a welcome decline in reported deaths globally. However, with colder weather approaching in the northern hemisphere, it is reasonable to expect an increase in hospitalisations and deaths in the coming months," World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday.
"Subvariants of Omicron are more transmissible than their predecessors, and the risk of even more transmissible and more dangerous variants remains."
Vaccination coverage among the most at-risk groups – such as health workers and older persons – also remains too low, especially in poorer countries, Tedros said.
"Living with Covid does not mean pretending the pandemic is over. If you walk in the rain without an umbrella, pretending it is not raining will not help you. You will still get wet. Likewise, pretending a deadly virus is not circulating is a huge risk," he said.
Read: Bangladesh’s Covid-19 death toll stands at 2,668
Worldwide, nearly 600 million cases of Covid have been recorded, some 2.5 years into the pandemic.
Europe is projected to reach 250 million cases in a matter of weeks, Dr Hans Kluge, director of the WHO's Office for the region, said. Like Tedros, he also anticipates the "winter surge" in cases.
"We have made great strides in addressing the pandemic. But the virus is still circulating widely, still putting people in hospital, still causing too many preventable deaths – some 3,000 in the past week alone, about a third of the global recorded total," Kluge said.
Trade deficit in FY 2021-22 is $21,528.74 million: Commerce Minister
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi in the Parliament today (September 1, 2022) claimed that prices of daily essentials are at a tolerable level.
In response to a question from Jatiya Party MP from Kishoreganj, Mujibul Huq, Tipu Munshi said that several steps have been taken to keep prices of essentials within the reach of the masses.
In response to Awami League MP, elected from Brahmanbaria, Ebadul Karim's question, the Commerce Minister said that Bangladesh exported goods to 203 countries in the financial year 2021-22.
Out of these, Bangladesh has trade deficit with 91 countries and trade balance with 112 countries is in favour of Bangladesh.
In the 2021-22 financial year, exports are worth 60, 971.26 million dollars and imports worth 82, 500 million dollars.
That means the trade deficit in the financial year 2021-22 is 21, 528.74 million US dollars.
In response to Awami League MP elected from Dhaka Benazir Ahmed, the Minister said that trade deficit with SAARC countries in the financial year 2021-22 is 11, 986.98 million US dollars.
In the 2021-22 financial year, trade deficit with China is 19,353.37 million US dollars.
The minister said that some 8930 products (98 percent) have received duty-free, quota-free access to the Chinese market due to the government's efforts from today.
Also read: Bangladesh’s trade deficit widens to over $27bn in 10 months
As a result, exports to China will increase and the trade deficit will decrease, he said.
In response to AL MP elected from Bhola Ali Azam, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said that currently (as of August 30, 2022) the country has 19,50,531 metric tons of food grains.
Among them are 17,33,300 metric tons of rice and 1,41,118 metric tons of wheat.
He said that to import wheat from Russia and rice from India, Myanmar and Vietnam, the government is going for G2G system.
In response to another question from the same MP, the food minister said that the total food grain consumption of 16.52 crore people of the country is 233.35 lakh metric tons.
Out of this, 221.41 lakh metric tons are rice and 11.94 lakh metric tons of wheat.
In the financial year 2021-22, the production of food grains was 389.29 lakh metric tons, Which is more than the demand.
Stating that there is no possibility of food crisis in the country, the minister said that according to the National Food and Nutrition Security Policy, 10.5 million metric tons of foodgrains are supposed to be kept in safety stock, but currently there is more stock than this.
In response to Jatiya Party MP elected from Pirojpur Rustam Ali Faraji, the Food Minister said that in the financial year 2021-22, 15,44,145.8 metric tons of rice, 19,95,539.6 metric tons of edible oil, 699,129.3 metric tons of onions and 54,237.6 metric tons of garlic have been imported.
In response to Jatiya Party MP elected from Rangpur Mashiur Rahman Ranga, the minister said that in the financial year 2021-22, 67,02,688.5 metric tons of wheat, 27,77,468.8 metric tons of oilseeds, 27,08,049 metric tons of sugar, 3,63,107.5 metric tons of spices, 12,48,392.7 metric tons of pulses, 12,36,131.4 metric tons of fruits, 1,56,246.2 metric tons of dairy products have been imported.
In response to a question of AL MP from reserved seats for woman Begum Nazma Akhtar, Expatriates Welfare Minister Imran Ahmed said that according to the information of the Expatriate Welfare Desk, 4,08,408 workers have returned from abroad in 2020 during the pandemic. Besides, in 2021 some 34, 494 workers have returned without pass till May.
Also read: Bangladesh’s trade deficit rose to $30.81 billion in 11 months
In response to AL MP elected from Bhola Nurunnabi Chowdhury, the Minister of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment said that some 73,19,316 workers have been sent to different countries from the financial year 2008-2009 to the financial year 2020-21.
According to the minister, the highest number of people went in the financial year 2016-17 which is 8,93,739 people.
The lowest number is 2,71,445 people in the financial year 2020-21.