others
Trader stabbed to death in Lalmonirhat
A 38-year-old man returning home on a bike was waylaid and stabbed to death by miscreants in the Batrish Hazari area of Lalmonirhat in the small hours of Thursday, police said.
The deceased was identified as Ayub Ali, a mobile phone trader and son of Abdul Matin of Hariswar area in Kaliganj upazila.
Golam Rasul, officer-in-charge of Kaliganj Police Station, said some men tailed Ayub's bike and blocked his way on a desolate road adjacent to Dhananjoy Kechu Bari at 1am.
READ: 5 held for murder in Cox’s Bazar
"They tried to snatch a bag containing money from his possession. When Ayub resisted, the miscreants stabbed him indiscriminately, leaving him dead on the spot," the OC said.
Efforts are on to identify and nab the perpetrators of the crime, he added.
Global Covid cases top 506 million
The overall number of Covid cases has now surged past 506 million amid a rise in new infections in parts of the world.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 506,793,550 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,207,183 Thursday morning.
The US has recorded 80,801,505 cases so far and 990,206 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 43,047,594 on Wednesday, as 2,067 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's data.
Also read: Bangladesh sees 2 Covid deaths after 7 days gap; New cases 36
Besides, 40 more deaths from the pandemic were recorded since Tuesday morning, taking the death toll to 522,006.
Covid Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh has logged one more Covid-linked death with 28 fresh cases in 24 hours till Wednesday morning.
As per the latest government data, the country’s total fatalities stood at 29,127 while the caseload mounted to 19,52,440 with the new numbers.
Also read: Shanghai reports 1st deaths from current COVID-19 outbreak
The daily positivity rate dropped to 0.55 per cent from Tuesday’s 0.90 per cent after testing 5,133 samples during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Besides, the mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.49 per cent.
The recovery rate rose to 96.91 per cent with the recovery of 546 more patients during the 24-hour period.
In March, the country reported 85 Covid-linked deaths and 8,000 new cases while 66,639 patients recovered from the disease, according to DGHS.
Among the 85 deaths during the period, 44 were unvaccinated patients, 11 were vaccinated with the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, 28 with the second dose and two with the third dose.
The country reported its first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 last year, along with 178 infections, since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020.
On January 28, Bangladesh logged its previous highest daily positivity rate at 33.37 per cent reporting 15,440 cases and 20 deaths.
Besides, the country registered the highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year, while the highest number of daily fatalities was 264 on August 10 last year.
BGMEA calls for uninterrupted gas supply
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has urged the government to keep the supply of natural gas to the export-oriented garment and textile industries uninterrupted with adequate pressure to facilitate smooth production in factories.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan made the call during a meeting with Md Haronur Rashid Mullah, managing director of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited (TGTDCL), in the capital Wednesday.
Interruption in gas supply will disrupt production in various industrial sectors, including spinning, weaving, finishing, dyeing and printing sections in the industrial belts of Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Savar, Ashulia, Manikganj, Narsingdi and Chattogram, hurting export, Faruque said.
The apparel industry of Bangladesh is recovering from the pandemic fallout, and global buyers have grown more confident in the country's garment manufacturers' capacity and commitment to deliver shipments on time even amid the Covid-19 crisis, he added.
But factories will not be able to run at full capacity if gas is not supplied smoothly, making it difficult for the exporters to make shipments on time, he added.
BGMEA Vice-President Shahidullah Azim and TGTDCL Director Md Salim Miah were also present at the meeting.
Man dies as sunshade collapses in Dhaka's Kalabagan
A man died, and another was hurt as the concrete sunshade of an old building collapsed in the capital's Kalabagan Thursday.
The police identified the deceased as Shafi Ullah (42), a businessman in Green Road, and the injured as Enamul Haque (50), a restaurant manager from the same area.
Part of a six-story building sunshade in Green Road fell on Shafi Ullah and Enamul as they were returning to their workplaces from a nearby area after dusk, said Inspector Bachchu Mia, in-charge of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) Police Outpost.
They were rushed to the emergency department of DMCH where Shafi Ullah succumbed to his injuries at around 10:45pm, he added. "Enamul is still undergoing treatment at the hospital."
National Budget to be placed in Parliament on June 9 : Mustafa Kamal
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has said that the upcoming national budget will be placed in the Parliament on June 9.
He announced this while briefing reporters after the two consecutive meetings of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and Cabinet Com mitre on Public Purchase on Wednesday.
Responding to reporters’ questions, Kamal said that he has no plan to increase the taxes.
“Lowest income tax will be set considering the affordability of the people. We will try to fix the minimum tax considering the increasing cost of living”, he told the reporters.
The finance minister said the government will control the import of luxury items. But there is no plan to control import of essential commodities.
He noted that both import and export have increased. But always import is larger than export and export cannot overtake import in our country.
“Some imports are directly related with projects which we have to allow. Some imports must be controlled as those are not always open”, he said.
He said as far as any internal vulnerability exists, these luxury items will be controlled.
READ: Speakers for increasing allocation for mental health in national budget
“If the situation becomes normal, then we will allow import of these items”, he opined.
Referring to a report of the World Bank the finance minister said globally the market prices have gone up by 38 per cent while price of beef has increased by 35 per cent, chicken by 55 per cent, soya bean oils by 35 per cent, tea by 13 per cent, TSP fertiliser by 65 per cent and urea fertiliser by 135 per cent.
The government has to take coordinated measures to control the market, said Kamal.
One killed in brawl over dumping waste in city’s Badda
A shopkeeper was stabbed to death and two of his brothers were injured during a brawl over dumping garbage near their shop in the city's Badda on Wednesday evening, police said. The killed was identified as Syful Islam, 25, while the two injured were his brothers Babu, 18, and Sabu, 14.
Also read:Dentist stabbed dead ‘by muggers’ in city
Police said they arrested three people for their alleged involvement in the killing at at Satarkol Road in Badda before Iftar on Wednesday. Syful, along with brothers, ran a shop at Satarkol Road. "My brothers had an argument with Samiul, a shopkeeper of next to their shop, his brother Khairul and their father Jowel over dumping of waste,” said Russel, a brother of the deceased. “At one stage, they stabbed and injured my brothers Syful, Babu and Sabu. They were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where Syful was pronounced dead, while two other brothers are being treated in the emergency department of the hospital, he said. Syful was the second of seven siblings. His father Khaleq Hawladar hails from, Sadar upazila in Barisal district.
Also read: Teen stabbed to death in Chattogram Officer-in-Charge of Badda Police Station Abul Kalam Azad told UNB that the quarrel was over dumping waste. At one stage, the victim and his two brothers were allegedly stabbed by owners of another shop. Police have already arrested Samiul, Khairul and thier father Jowel for their alleged involvement in the killing, the OC said.
Coast Guard seizes banned fishing nets worth over Tk 115 cr
Members of Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG) seized banned fishing nets worth around Tk 115.25 from Chowk Mogultuli Al-Sahani Market at Chawkbazar in the city on Tuesday evening.
Lt. Commander Labib Usama Ahmadullah, a media officer at the BCG headquarters, said on the basis of secret information, a special operation was conducted by BCG Station Pagla led by Station Commander Lt. Shams Sadekin Nirno in the area adjacent to Chowk Mogultuli Al-Sahani Market of Chawkbazar at around 4:00 pm on Wednesday.
Also read: Foreign clothes worth Tk 20 crore seized by Coast Guard
During the raids, the law enforcers seized around 35 million meters of new current nets and 500 pieces china chai nets from four current net shops and godowns in the area.
The seized nets were later burnt in the presence of Executive Magistrate, Upazila Senior Fisheries Officer and Station Commander Pagla, the BCG headquarters’ media officer added.
Tipu Munshi meets West Bengal CM Mamata in Kolkata
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi met Chief Minister (CM) of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on Tuesday and discussed the issues of common interest in the area of trade and investment.
The Commerce Minister is leading the Bangladesh delegation to two-day business event ‘Bengal Global Business Summit’ that started on Wednesday, said a press release.
At the bilateral meeting on Tuesday, both the Commerce Minister of Bangladesh and the Chief Minister of West Bengal agreed that closer collaboration will be mutually beneficial for business sectors of both Bangladesh and India, particularly West Bengal.
Issues like the need of improving infrastructure at the border for trade facilitation, working together for investment in jute and leather sectors, as well as the possibility of establishing border haats came up during the meeting.
READ: Bangladesh keen to sign FTA with South Korea, Tipu Munshi tells Ambassador
Earlier, Tipu Munshi and Mamata Banerjee recalled the close and warm relationship between the peoples of Bangladesh and West Bengal.
The Commerce Minister referred to the whole hearted support of the people of West Bengal in 1971 during the great war of liberation.
Tipu Munshi is also expected to visit Mizoram at the invitation of the Minister of Industries of Mizoram during his trip to India.
Digital payments to boost Bangladesh GDP by 1.7pc: Report
Digital payments can boost Bangladesh’s annual GDP by 1.7 per cent, an addition of US$6.2 billion (Tk 50,058 crores) annually to the economy, according to a new report by the United Nations-based Better Than Cash Alliance and its member, the Bangladesh government’s flagship program a2i.
Planning Minister MA Mannan in an online event officially launched two publications titled ‘National Digital Payments Roadmap, Bangladesh 2022-2025’ and ‘Measuring progress to scale: Responsible digital payments in Bangladesh’.
According to the report, 53 per cent of the US$6.2 billion will come from digitizing just 30 per cent of micro-merchant transactions in the retail sector; 45 per cent from digitising credit disbursements in the agricultural sector; and the remaining from scaling digital wages in the informal ready-made garments (RMG) sector.
Responsible payments digitisation in these sectors, crucially prioritizing women, will help accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
The planning minister said digitisation can play a crucial role in country’s target to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and by 2041to transform into a fully developed state.
He said Bangladesh's economy has grown significantly in the last 13 years.
“We are moving forward towards being recognized as one of the top 25 economies in the world by 2035,” he said.
“It is one of the main commitments of our government and we are working diligently to achieve this goal by building a cash-less society, leaving no one behind,” he said.
READ: RMG workforce survey reveals seamless shift to digital payments
a2i Policy Advisor Anir Chowdhury said that there are many areas where the country has already witnessed remarkable adoption of digital payments.
As digital payments ecosystem grows in scale and complexity, its dependence on infrastructure increases commensurately, he added.
“We are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that we build a reliable and inclusive digital infrastructure that will serve as the foundation on which digital payments and services can be built,” he said.
Deputy Managing Director at the Better Than Cash Alliance Camilo Tellez said that Bangladesh has achieved remarkable progress towards the Digital Bangladesh vision.
He said that digital transactions have grown from 5 per cent to 20 per cent in 5 years – an impressive four-fold increase.
He mentioned that it has also withstood the impact of the pandemic by digitally delivering social safety payments, wages, and stimulus packages to citizens and industries.
“We look forward to continuing our work with the leaders of Bangladesh to advance digital payments nationwide, particularly for women, and sharing lessons from Bangladesh with our global Alliance members.”
Since joining the Better Than Cash Alliance in 2015, reports suggest that Bangladesh has made significant progress in moving towards a digital economy.
Based on the reports, the government has released the National Digital Payments Roadmap 2022-2025.
The roadmap identifies 22 solutions to build a safe, inter-operable and inclusive digital payments ecosystem over the next three years in the ready-made garment (RMG), retail, agriculture, health and education sectors.
Tension mounts after explosions near Dhaka College
Tensions heightened in New Market area on Wednesday after two crude bombs were exploded near Dhaka College campus, forcing the shopkeepers to shut down their shops.
The students of Dhaka College blocked road and blasted two crude bombs in front the college around 5 pm, creating panic among the pedestrians and shopkeepers.
Vehicular movement in the area came to a halt for some time after the blasts.
Shahen Shah, additional superintendent of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said police forces have been deployed in the area to bring the situation under control.
Vehicular movement retuned to normalcy when police cleared the road and sent the students to the campus.
“Discussions are on between the teachers of the college and leaders of Traders Association over the issue and a solution will come by today,” said Shahen Shah.
Besides, New Market shopkeepers hanged a white flag on the gate of the market as a symbol of peace.
READ: First death reported in New Market-Dhaka College clash
A 20-year-old man identified as Nahid Hossain, a delivery man for Dlink courier service , who suffered injuries during violent clashes between Dhaka College students and New Market traders died on Tuesday.
Over 30 people, including journalists and students, were injured Tuesday as students of Dhaka College locked into a series of clashes again with traders of New Market around the Nilkhet intersection.
The whole area turned into a battleground after a fresh clash erupted between them around 10 am Tuesday, as a sequel to Monday night's tensions, said witnesses.
Around midnight on Monday, a clash ensued between the traders and college students, with the latter alleging that a few of their peers were thrashed and stabbed by a couple of shopkeepers when they had gone to the market for shopping, and refused to pay the bill at an eatery.