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Covid-19: 20 more cases reported in 24 hours
Bangladesh reported 20 more Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours till Friday morning.
With the new numbers, the country's total caseload rose to 2,044,957 according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The daily case test positivity stood at 1.88 as 1, 066 samples were tested, it said.
Read: Bangladesh sees one more Covid death, 77 cases in 24hrs
However, the recovery and death rates remained unchanged at 98.39 percent and 1.44 per cent, respectively.
Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 in 2021 and highest number of fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year.
Read more: Bangladesh sees one more Covid death, 109 cases in 24hrs
Dhaka’s air unhealthy for sensitive groups this morning
Dhaka's air quality was marked as 'unhealthy for sensitive groups' this morning.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 123 at 10:21 am, Dhaka ranked 6th on the list of cities worldwide with worst air quality, according to IQAir.
UAE’s Dubai, Indonesia’s Jakarta and Qatar’s Doha occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 527, 164 and 158 respectively.
An AQI between 50 and 100 is considered ‘moderate’ with acceptable air quality. However, there may be a health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution. AQI between 101 and 150 is considered ‘unhealthy', and between 201 and 300 is said to be 'very unhealthy', while a reading of 301+ is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.
Dhaka has long grappled with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in the winter and improves during the monsoon.
Invest in Bangladesh, Planning minister tells NRBs
Planning Minister M.A. Mannan on Thursday urged Non-Resident Bangladeshi investors to invest in a large scale as Bangladesh government has created a congenial and investment-friendly environment.
" Investment of non- resident Bangladeshis is limited to small areas like restaurants and petrol pumps. I request them to pay their attention to expand their areas for investment," he said.
Read: NBR earned highest Tk1.25 lakh crore from VAT in FY23
He made the statement in a seminar on contribution and constraints of Non-Resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) in Dhaka.
The planning minister was the chief guest at the event while state minister for cultural affairs K.M.Khaled delivered his speech as the special guest.
K M khaled urged the NRBs to go for long-term investment without expecting immediate profit for the betterment of the country.
"It is very sad to say that the NRBs are not interested in any heavy industry. It will be better to focus on long-term investment," he said.
Read: Expand tax net and integrate digital system to enhance tax-GDP ratio, ICAB urges NBR in budget proposal
President of the NRB Club Shahzada Hamid delivered the welcome speech while general secretary of the club Reza Karim also spoke.
Member of parliamentary standing committee on Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Mouazzam Hossain Ratan, Foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen, Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority Lokman Hossai Miah, director general of BMET Shahidul Alam were present at the event.
NRBs from all over the world came along to form a club in order to defend and advance their rights in Bangladesh.
‘Please have some rice and vegetables with us’: Formerly homeless Jahera invites PM Hasina to her first house
“We want to host you, invite you over to have some rice and vegetables with us.”
Brimming with excitement over finally having a permanent roof over her head, a home she can call her own, this is how the elderly Jahera Begum wanted to share the unadulterated joy with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina over a humble meal.
“My three daughters and a son, my physically challenged husband, and I used to live on the bank of a canal,” Jahera said.
Read: PM takes responsibility of visually impaired Lily Begum’s treatment
“Without a roof over our head, whenever there was rain or storm, we had to endure hell. My husband is no longer employable; the entire family survives on my income. As we were homeless, people looked down on us. We were treated like outcasts,” she recounted.
With tears rolling down her face, Jahera thanked the PM for the house given to her under the Ashrayan-2 project.
This is Jahera’s first house.
On Wednesday, 22,101 more people became beneficiaries of the project after PM Hasina declared another 12 districts and 123 upazilas free of homeless and landless people.
Read: 90-year-old Pabna woman grateful to PM Hasina for providing her a home
“I am now a proud owner of a house with two rooms and it’s a blessing. I never thought I’d be a homeowner in this lifetime.”
For Abdur Rahim, father of four daughters, who earns a living pulling rickshaw-vans, life now has a new meaning with the new home.
“We used to stay at the base of a bridge and were at the mercy of weather,” he recalled.
Read: PM declares 12 districts, 123 upazilas free of homeless people
“What you have given us is surely going to change the course of our lives. We are grateful to your motherly gesture,” Rahim thanked PM Hasina.
The Ashrayan project has provided land and homes to thousands of disadvantaged people since the celebration of ‘Mujib Year’ marking the 100th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during 2020-21.
US-Bangla to increase number of flights on Guangzhou and Bangkok routes from Sept 1
US-Bangla Airlines is set to increase the number of its flights to Chinese province of Guanzhou and Thailand’s Bangkok from September 1.
US-Bangla Airlines is going to operate five flights a week on the Dhaka-Guangzhou route from 1 September as per the plan, after the post-Covid passenger demand and various restrictions of Covid were lifted, according to a press release.
At present, flights are being operated on the Dhaka-Guangzhou route three days a week.
From 1 September, flights will depart from Dhaka at 10:10pm and arrive in Guangzhou at 3:50am local time on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
In addition, flights from Guangzhou will depart from Guangzhou on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays at 5:00am and arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 7:00am. The minimum one-way fare for the Dhaka-Guangzhou route is Tk 30,669 and the return fare is Tk50,540.
In addition to Bangkok, Guangzhou, US-Bangla Airlines operating flights Dhaka to Kolkata, Chennai, Dubai, Sharjah, Muscat, Doha, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Male, the capital of the Maldives. Besides, US-Bangla Airlines is operating flights on all routes within Bangladesh.
US-Bangla is operating flights with Boeing 737-800 aircraft on Bangkok and Guangzhou routes. Currently, the US-Bangla fleet has a total of 20 aircraft including 8 Boeing 737-800, 9 brand new ATR 72-600. The US-Bangla fleet plans to add a total of 6 wide-body and 20 narrow-body aircraft, including 2 Airbus 330s, soon.
Besides, US-Bangla is planning to operate flights on Dhaka-Delhi and Dhaka-Jeddah routes in the shortest time.
Bangladesh urges OIC for efforts to send Rohingya back home in Myanmar
Bangladesh on Thursday urged OIC to mobilise the international community for the sustainable repatriation of the Rohingyas to their own country, Myanmar.
Bangladesh made the request at a meeting with the visiting OIC delegation at the Prime Minister’s Office, according to a press release from PMO.
Read: Natore’s ‘Kachagolla’ latest Bangladeshi product to get GI recognition
OIC Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian and Social and Cultural Affairs Ambassador Tarig Ali Bakheet led the delegation.
Principal Secretary to the PM M Tofazzel Hossain Miah presided over the meeting where PMO secretary Mohammad Salahuddin was present, among others, from Bangladesh side.
Bangladesh in the 45-minute meeting also requested the OIC delegation to keep alive the issue of the Rohingyas in the international forum and urged the GCC and OIC to contribute significantly for the creation of the fund for the Rohingyas.
Read: Rohingya man stabbed to death in Cox’s Bazar camp
Bangladesh made the request to extend financial and other assistance towards the relocation of the Rohingyas to Bhashan Char, the press release stated.
OIC Special Envoy to Myanmar Ambassador Ibrahim Khayrat, OIC Assistant Director of Humanitarian Affairs, OIC ICHAD focal point on Rohingya issue Mohammed Ali Elkhamlichi, Qatar Fund for Development, Head of Africa and Asia Project Section Dana Al Misnad, Acting Director-General, Kuwait Zakat House Dr Majid Suleiman Al-Azmi, International Relations Specialist, Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development Talal Al Baker and Senior Advisor to the HC, UNHCR’s Representative for the GCC Countries Khaled Khalifa, UNHCR Representative in Bangladesh Johannes van der Klaauw and Executive Assistant, UNHCR Bangladesh Jessica Watts, were present, among others.
Read: Sajeeb Wazed shares video ‘exposing BNP men involved in arson attack’
Media has key role to play in upcoming election in Bangladesh: Speakers at BIPSS talk
Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS) President Major General (Retd) ANM Muniruzzaman has said Information space has to be filled up by correct information.
"If there is no right information in the information space, the space will be filled up by disinformation," he said while speaking at a policy café titled 'Role of Media in Democracy' on Thursday.
Read: Dhaka’s air 3rd most polluted in the world this morning
BIPSS, in collaboration with USAID, IFES, and CEPPS, organised the policy café.
Ayesha Kabir, Head of English Web at Prothom Alo, and Shahriar Feroze, Editorial Chief of The Daily Observer, shared invaluable insights on the vital role of media in shaping democratic discourse.
Muniruzzaman moderated discussions, fostering an engaging exchange.
The event emphasised the integral role of media in the democratic process, particularly as Bangladesh approaches a pivotal election.
The collaborative effort underscores a commitment to promoting informed democratic engagement.
Muniruzzaman stated the importance of media in a democratic society, especially in the case of Bangladesh where the national election is not far away, the media will play a major role.
In such circumstances, overcoming the challenges of the freedom of media in the democratic society is a significant issue.
Ayesha asserted that in a country where the opposition is not very strong, the media plays a very important role to get the voice of the people heard.
Read: Bangladesh and Britain agree to boost bilateral trade
In the context of Bangladesh, she said, an active role of media is necessary but often it faces obstacles by political entities, corporate, or even by the foreign entities which must be avoided to ensure a vibrant democratic society.
According to Shahriar, the media is supposed to ensure the meaningful participation of the people in democracy.
But the challenges and restrictions that the media faces from the government and the other entities have an adverse effect which threatens a democratic society, he said.
In response to the question about how media influences people’s decision-making, Ayesha highlighted the information and the analysis that are provided by the media and the mass people get the idea of what is going on around them.
Read: ARTICLE 19 applauds government for taking initiative to amend Digital Security Act
But social media, in this case, plays both a positive and negative role, she said.
As a lot of fake news, misinformation and disinformation are spread by social media, it affects the people negatively.
But on the bright side, people mostly rely on the mainstream media to check the facts they find in the social media and thus, social media does a favour to the mainstream media.
Shahriar, while discussing the slipping down of the ranking of the freedom of press in Bangladesh, asserted that despite having a rich media industry, ranking is going down.
He analysed some statistics and showed that despite the increase of the TV channels and media presence in Bangladesh, they are not focusing on ensuring the rights of the people, rather the channel owners and the government have a symbiotic relationship.
Ayesha thinks that the media should be bold despite all the pressures from various entities and strike a balance between everything.
Genuine investigation and fact checking must be ensured, she said.
Shahriar thinks that the fake news and misinformation are spread mainly through the social media and so, the focus should be on how to reduce the dependency from social media and relying more on mainstream media.
Read:Efforts on to invite int’l bidding within a month for gas exploration: Energy Secretary
Also, while talking about ethics, he questioned the ownership of the media channels and the linkage between them and the government is a cause of the failure to ensure professional journalism and overcoming the other existing challenges.
The discussion at the Policy Cafe was followed by an interactive session where the audience shared some observations that it becomes difficult to find authentic information as different types of information come from several sources.
The session also included topics like the possible impact of social media (like TikTok) in upholding democracy.
Besides, the topic like robust media has come in front while discussing the media’s role in shaping public perception.
The event was attended by ambassadors and diplomats based in Dhaka, academicians, journalists, students from different universities, and scholars.
Natore’s ‘Kachagolla’ latest Bangladeshi product to get GI recognition
Natore's traditional sweet, Kachagolla, has been recognized as the 17th Geographical Indication (GI) product of Bangladesh.
Natore Deputy Commissioner Abu Naser Bhuiyan said this information was revealed in a letter signed by Khandaker Mostafizur Rahman, Director General of the Department of Patent, Design and Trademark under the Ministry of Industries.
Also read: Langra and Ashina mangoes recognised as GI product
On March 30 this year, the Natore district administration filed an application to prevent the distortion of the nearly 250-year-old Kachagolla and to recognize its geographical innovation site.
After verifying the application, Natore's Kachagolla has been recognized with Geographical Indication certification.
As a result, there is an excitement prevailing among the people and sweet manufacturers in Natore.
Read more: Famous Traditional Sweets and Desserts in Bangladesh
Rohingya man stabbed to death in Cox’s Bazar camp
A man was stabbed to death at Ukhiya Rohingya camp in Cox's Bazar.
The incident took place at Ukhiya Balukhali Camp No. 11 around 10 am on Thursday.
The deceased was identified as Mufti Jamal, 35, son of Nazir Ahmed of Ukhiya Balukhali camp.
Read: 2 brothers die of suffocation while cleaning septic tank in Cox's Bazar
Quoting locals, Ukhiya Police Station Officer-in-Charge Sheikh Mohammad Ali said 10-20 unidentified miscreants called Mufti Jamal away from his house and stabbed him, and then fled the spot.
Later, police rescued him and took him to Friendship Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Read: Coast Guard seizes 700,000 pieces of yaba pills in Teknaf
Mufti Jamal was earlier a member of ARSA. However, it is not known what led to the killing, said OC Mohammad Ali. The body was sent to Cox's Bazar District Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy.
Nagad offers Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar return air ticket with free hotel stay
Nagad has come up with an exciting offer of winning a return ticket on Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar route along with a two-night hotel accommodation on shopping from selected lifestyle brands using its app or USSD *167#.
To stand a chance to win this holiday package voucher, a customer needs to purchase goods worth a minimum of BDT 1,000 from different outlets of nine popular lifestyle brands across the country. The fashion houses are Gentle Park, Sailor, Twelve Clothing Limited, Sara Lifestyle, Mbrella Ltd, Easy, Top Ten, Artisan and Vogue.
The lifestyle-centric reward campaign will run for three weeks, starting from 10 August this year. Every week, from each lifestyle brand, the customer making the highest transactions using Nagad will win a return ticket (Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar-Dhaka) for a single person along with hotel accommodation on a twin share basis.
In this way, a total of 27 people – three each from each of the nine lifestyle brands – will win the attractive holiday package. But a customer will be eligible to enjoy this offer once from all merchants during the whole campaign period.
Md Shihab Uddin Chowdhury, chief commercial officer of Nagad Limited, “Nagad has taken up many initiatives to popularise cashless transactions in the country as it believes that Bangladesh cannot grow into a smart nation, envisioned by our Honourable Prime Minister, unless people completely embrace digital lifestyles.”
Mentionable, the US Bangla and the respective hotels will be responsible for any issues related to the holiday package.