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Mr Noodles arranges iftar for 16,000 orphans
Noodles brand Mr Noodles is distributing iftar meals among 16 thousand underprivileged children in various orphanages every day across the country.
Meanwhile, the brand has already distributed iftar meals among 4 thousands orphans of 7 orphanages under the campaign ‘Rahmoter Mashe Etemder Valobeshe’.
Toshan Paul, Deputy General Manager (Marketing) of Mr. Noodles, said, “We are distributing iftar across the country including Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur and Chattogram. Iftar distribution campaign will continue till the whole Ramadan.”
This initiative will be continued in the years to come, he added.
Japan provides $1.27 billion to develop Matarbari port, highway and train line
Japan will provide $1.27 billion for the tranche of the Matarbari Port Development Project, Chattogram-Cox's Bazar highway improvement project, and for the construction of a dual gauge double line (railway) between Joydebpur-Ishwardi sections.
In this regard, loan agreements for the projects were signed between Bangladesh and Japan at the Economic Relations Division (ERD).
Sharifa Khan, Secretary, ERD, and IWAMA Kiminori, the Ambassador of Japan in Bangladesh signed the 'Exchange of Notes' agreement on behalf respective sides.
ICHIGUCHI Tomohide, Chief Representative, JICA Bangladesh Office, Dhaka signed the 'Loan Agreements on behalf of Japan. The signing ceremony was held at the NEC-2 Conference Room of ERD, Sher-E-Bangla Nagar on Wednesday.
999 call: Coast Guard rescues 12 Chinese nationals stranded in Bay of Bengal
Bangladesh Coast Guard members rescued 12 Chinese nationals were stranded in the Bay of Bengal after receiving a call from the National Emergency Service 999 on Tuesday.
The Chinese nationals were given first-aid after rescue from the sea.
Police said the Chinese nationals boarded a speedboat to unload goods from mother vessel ‘KANG HUAN-1’ on Tuesday afternoon.
The cable of the lift of the speedboat tore off while it started to move with them. The boat overturned while all the foreigners except two got stranded in the vessel.
Ali Asgar, a sailor of lighter vessel ‘NDE-14’, called the National Emergency Service 999 to rescue them.
Akash Chandra Nath, a constable of the Emergency Service Centre, received the call and immediately informed the east zone of Coast Guard (CG).
A CG team led by Lieutenant Commander Russell Miha rushed to the spot and rescued them.
Bangladesh’s total labour force is 7.34 crore, 26.3 lakh are jobless: BBS
The total labour force in the country is over 7.34 crore while there are 26.3 lakh people who do not have jobs.
The figure came in the "Labour Force Survey 2022" released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Wednesday.
Out of the total force, men are 4.74 crore and women 2.59 crore while among the jobless people men are 16.9 lakh and women are 9.4 lakh.
The figures came as the BBS organised a discussion meeting at Statistics Bhawan in Agargaon where Planning Minister MA Mannan was present as the chief guest.
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the unemployed population means those who do not get a chance to work even for an hour in a week.
The data showed the unemployment rate decreased in fiscal year 2021-22 compared to fiscal year 2016-17. Previously the unemployment rate was 4.2 percent but now it has come down to 3.6 percent.
Read more: Overall inflation rose by 8.78 percent in February: BBS
Meanwhile, the number of people aged 15 years and above who are outside the work force is 4.69 crore. On the other hand, the number of people who are engaged in work is 7.78 crore.
The BBS revealed the data based on Housing Census-2022, in which information was collected from 1284 primary record areas across the country.
Covid-19: Bangladesh reports 4 more cases
Bangladesh reported four more Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours till Wednesday morning.
With the new numbers, the country's total caseload rose to 20,38,018 according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,446 as no new fatalities were reported.
The daily case test positivity rate increased to 0.38 percent from Tuesday’s 0.37 percent against the tests of 1,049 samples.
During this time, 37 patients recovered from the disease, bringing the total number of recoveries to 2006858.
The death and recovery rates remained unchanged at 1.44 percent and 98.47 percent, respectively.
Bangladesh reports 2 more dengue cases
Two more people were hospitalised with dengue in the 24 hours to Wednesday morning.
The new patients were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Nineteen dengue patients, including 11 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
So far, the DGHS has recorded 837 dengue cases, 809 recoveries, and nine deaths this year.
The country logged 281 dengue deaths in 2022 – the highest on record after 179 deaths recorded in 2019. Also, it recorded 62,423 dengue cases and 61,971 recoveries last year.
Body of 10-year-old missing girl recovered in Ctg after 9 days
Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) has recovered the body a 10-year old girl, who was abducted while going to school on March 21, at Pahartali Wireless Chicken Farm area of the Chattogram city.
Body of Abida Sultana Ayoni was recovered from a pond early Wednesday and it is suspected that she was raped before murder, said PBI SP Nayeema Sultana.
Prime suspect in this case Rubel was interrogated and according to his information, Abida’s body was recovered from the pond, she said.
Details will be revealed through a press conference today, said the PBI SP.
According to the case statement, the 4th grader was going to school on that day. When she reached Kazir Dighi's Sagarika Road area, local vegetable seller Rubel lured her to give kittens and abducted her which was caught on CCTV footage. Since then the girl remained untraced.
Nur-E-Alam’s contribution to establishing independent Bangladesh will be remembered: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today expressed deep shock at the death of Nur-E-Alam Siddiqui, one of the organizers of the Liberation War, former president of Chhatra League and also former lawmaker from Jhenaidah-2 constituency.
In a condolence message, she said Nur-E-Alam Siddiqui, one of the leaders of the All-Party Chhatra Sangram Parishad, remained steadfast to the ideals of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and played an important role in the anti-Ayub movement, the six-point movement and the 1970 election.
Also read: Former MP Nur E Alam Siddique passes away
The premier said he had served as an organizer of the Liberation War. “The contribution of this brave son of the nation in the establishment of independent Bangladesh will be remembered with reverence forever by the next generations,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina prayed for the eternal salvation of the departed soul and expressed profound sympathy to the bereaved family members.
Nur-E-Alam Siddiqui, 82, passed away early today while undergoing treatment at United Hospital in the city.
Ex-student leader Nur-E-Alam Siddiqui passes away
Nur-E-Alam Siddiqui, who served as convener of Swadhin Bangla Kendriya Chhatra Sangram Parishad during the mass upsurge of 1969 and the War of Liberation in 1971 has passed away. He was 82.
He was a Member of Parliament and former president of Bangladesh Chhatra League (1970-1972).
He died at 4:37 am Wednesday, confirmed his press secretary Aniket Rajesh.
Siddiqui was one of the organizers of independence, also known as one of the four prominent student leaders who the mass movement of 1969. He was one of the leaders of Mujib Bahini.
Siddiqui played an active role in all the political activities of the time, including participation in the six-point movement, the 11-point movement, the language movement. He was elected MP from Jashore-2 constituency as a candidate of Bangladesh Awami League in the first parliamentary election of 1973.
He contested from Jhenaidah-2 constituency as a candidate of Bangladesh Awami League in the 7th parliamentary elections of 1996 and 8th Jatiya Sangsad in 2001.
Still no respite from 'unhealthy' air in Dhaka
Dhaka’s air quality continued to be in the 'unhealthy’ zone this morning.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 160 at 9:04am, Dhaka ranked seventh in the list of cities around the world with the worst air quality.
Thailand’s Chiang Mai, Pakistan’s Lahore and India’s Delhi occupied the first three spots, with AQI scores of 253, 227 and 214, respectively.
An AQI between 150 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy'.
Also read: Dhaka's air 3rd most polluted in the world this morning
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, Dhaka’s air quality starts deteriorating sharply due to the massive discharge of pollutant particles from construction work, rundown roads, brick kilns, and other sources.