In an effort to promote local tourism, a weeklong beach carnival and tourism fair is set to start today. The local administration has taken all preparations to inaugurate the carnival that will continue till October 3. Hotels and motels in Cox’s Bazar are ready to welcome local and foreign tourists. Tourism fair to begin Sunday at DU Rooms of hotels and motels are booked ahead of the tourism fair. Abu Morshed Chowdhury, president of Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Cox’s Bazar, said the fair can positively brand local tourism. Muhammad Shaheen Imran, deputy commissioner of Cox’s Bazar district, said different programmes including circus, beach bike rally, cultural programmes, fireworks, road show, seminar, kite festival, magic show, fire spinning, surfing, beach marathon, beach volleyball and concert will be held during the weeklong fair. Popular band Chirkutt, as well as artistes from Sunamganj, Kushtia, Sylhet, Kurigram and Mymensingh will arrive to perform at the carnival. 10th Asian Tourism Fair & 1st Bangladesh Tourism Development Summit 2023 opens Young dancers from Bandarban, Khagrachhari and Rangamati, and the Rakhaine community from Cox’s Bazar will also participate in the fair. A number of stalls have been set up at Laboni Point and other beach points. 3-month ban on fishing, tourism in Sundarbans begins on June 1 Hotels and motels in Cox’s Bazar have offered up to 60 percent discount on the occasion.    

A 40-year-old woman with intellectual disability was burned to death while two sustained burn injuries in a fire that broke out at their house at Naupara in Lalpur upazila of Natore district on Tuesday night. The deceased was identified as Shahnaz Begum, daughter of Ramjan Ali of the village. Ujjal Hossain, officer-in-charge of Lalpur Police Station, said a fire broke out at Shahnaz’s house, originating from a lamp, at 9 pm and spread soon. Sweetmeat shop catches fire in Dhaka's Lalbagh Hearing screams, neighbors rushed to the spot but failed to douse the fire. On information, a firefighting unit recovered the body of Shahnaz and rescued two Mayesha Khatun, 8, Shahnaz’s daughter; and Yeatul Begum, 70, from the house. 35 killed in petrol warehouse fire in Benin The injured were taken to a local hospital and later shifted to Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital. Over 200 shops burnt down in Krishi Market fire: DNCC CEO      

Dhaka's air quality has been categorized as ‘unhealthy’ this morning. With an air quality index (AQI) score of 155 at 8:55 am, Dhaka ranked 5th on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality. Pakistan’s Karachi, Kuwait’s Kuwait City and Indonesia’s Jakarta occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 168, 158 and 157, respectively. Dhaka’s air quality still 'unhealthy', 6th most polluted in the world this morning An AQI between 150 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', AQI 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 been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon. Dhaka's air quality 'moderate' this morning Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. 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. Dhaka's air quality 'moderate' Friday morning  

Unaisi Lutu Vuniwaqa, United Nations assistant secretary general for Safety and Security, has visited the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar.She visited the Kutupalong-2 and Balukhali-8 refugee camps, as well as the extended part of the 20-year-old refugee camp in Ukhiya upazila on Tuesday.Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mizanur Rahman said during the visit, Vuniwaqa spoke to officials of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN World Food Programme and other humanitarian agencies involved in monitoring the situation in the camps.Earlier in the day, the UN assistant secretary general held a meeting with officials of Bangladesh Armed Police Battalion (APBN) and tried to understand the overall security situation in the refugee camps.The security situation in the Rohingya camps has been deteriorating for some time. The issues have been discussed several times in the meetings of the national task force formed to look after the Rohingyas.This is the first time a representative of the UN Safety and Security Division has visited Bangladesh to monitor the security situation in Cox's Bazar.The UN assistant secretary general arrived in Cox's Bazar on Monday morning. She held a meeting with Cox's Bazar Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammad Mizanur Rahman at 11:30am on Monday. Later, she also held a meeting with Cox's Bazar deputy commissioner and superintendent of police.It was learnt that Vuniwaqa is visiting Cox's Bazar to know more about the situation in the camps, and discuss the possible steps going forward to resolve the problems.

Welcoming increased interest from Saudi Arabia to invest in Bangladesh, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Tuesday said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has emerged as a valued development partner. Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has contributed some 533.23 million dollars in loan assistance and 106.38 million in grant assistance in infrastructure development of Bangladesh, he said. "Bangladesh deeply appreciates Saudi Arabia’s commitment and efforts to diplomacy and regional stability," said the State Minister, while speaking at a reception as guest of honor marking the 93rd National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the Royal Saudi Embassy. PM's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman joined as the chief guest. Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh Essa Yousef Essa Al Duhailan also spoke at the event, attended by Cabinet members, Ambassadors and High Commissioners stationed in Dhaka, business leaders and senior journalists. Shahriar Alam said Bangladesh welcomes Saudi Arabia’s restoration of ties with Iran and Qatar, its willingness to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, its initiative to bring Syria to the Arab League, and finding a political solution to the Yemen crisis. "We further reiterate our support for the Middle East peace process." 'We also take note of Saudi Arabia’s increasing global clout and welcome Saudi Arabia’s inclusion to BRICS. Indeed, we are happy to support Saudi Arabia in hosting Expo 2030 in Riyadh," he said. The State Minister laid emphasis on continued peace, progress and prosperity of Saudi Arabia. "We hope that Bangladesh-Saudi relations will grow from strength to strength and move forward to the mutual benefits of our two peoples," he said, commending the Ambassador for his active and dynamic roles in strengthening mutual cooperation and bilateral engagements to new dimensions. The State Minister conveyed their heartfelt felicitations to the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince and the Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, brotherly people and the government of Saudi Arabia on this grand occasion. He said Bangladesh and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are trusted friends and bilateral partners. "Bangladesh enjoys excellent multifaceted relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the bilateral and multilateral areas," said the State Minister. The relations take roots in the commonality of positions on major global issues and complementarity of interests in the economic fields, deep understanding, mutual respect, similar aspirations for peace and development underpinned by common Islamic tradition and culture, he said. "The engagements today span across many areas including economy, trade, investment, energy security, agriculture, culture, education, etc. in addition to the dominant sector of manpower," said the State Minister. Shahriar Alam said Bangladesh-Saudi relationship is witnessing a new era of partnership through a plethora of engagements. "The depth and warmth of our ties is reflected in the high level visit and frequent exchange of messages between the leaders of our two countries," he said. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited Saudi Arabia five times during the last 15 years in 2009, 2016, 2017, and twice in 2018 respectively. Bangladesh also received high level delegations from Saudi Arabia to Dhaka including the Saudi Foreign Minister, Commerce Minister, Deputy Minister for Interior Affairs, and the Minister and Deputy Minister for Hajj and Umrah, along with a number of business delegations to Dhaka. "Our President and Prime Minister’s recent productive meetings with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud this year has inspired us to further elevate our excellent fraternal relations," said Shahriar. The Kingdom is hosting 2.8 million workers from Bangladesh, who are not only the largest expat group in the Kingdom but also the biggest community of Bangladeshi expatriates outside Bangladesh. "It’s a matter of great satisfaction that our overseas employment cooperation has expanded many-fold in recent years," Shahriar added. The two countries signed a vital agreement this year related to Workers’ Recruitment and Skill Verification Programme (SVP) specific to the Bangladeshi workforce, through which the Kingdom will recruit skilled workers while continuing to recruit unskilled workers from the country.

The Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur (KL) has expressed its grief over the death of Bangladeshi student Irfan Siddiq in Malaysia. Irfan was a student of the Management department at the Kuching city campus of the Swinburne University of Technology in Sarawak, one of the thirteen provinces of Malaysia. He died on September 18.  The High Commission conveyed its deepest condolences to the bereaved family members of the deceased, according to a press release. It said as soon as news of the student's death came to their notice, the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Malaysia Md Golam Sarwar sent an officer of the rank of counsellor to Sarawak the next day. Meanwhile, the family of the deceased student, with the help of a DIG-rank officer of Bangladesh Police, submitted a petition through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh to prevent any post-mortem and further investigation of the body, said the release. Taking into account the sentiments of the family members and written requests, the authorities allowed the body to be sent back to Bangladesh without conducting a post-mortem. All the ancillary preparations, including making tickets to send the body home, were completed as usual. The student was reportedly suffering from mental trauma/depression for the past few months. He had reportedly informed the family about his mental state in the past and even told his mother that he would commit suicide, according to the KL mission's account set forth in the press release.  The family and university authorities were reportedly aware of his disturbed state, but no one was able to take the steps that may have prevented such a tragic finale, which is very sad, added the High Commission's press release. After his death, the family has tried to blame the High Commission, even though it had no prior information pertaining to the situation.  It only became aware of the matter after his death, according to the press release. The entire sad episode played out in Sarawak, the Malaysian part of the island of Borneo, whereas the Bangladesh mission is in Kuala Lumpur, located in what is known as peninsular Malaysia. The distance between KL and Sarawak is close to 1300 kilometres.  The distance notwithstanding, all Bangladeshis in Malaysia of course are to be served by the same mission. But the distance and location is pointed out to convey that there was no shared social scene or close-knit community through which the High Commission or its officials could become aware of the situation, without someone specifically informing it.  The KL mission in its press release also hit back at the family's allegations by  questioning why the family had not sought any help from it earlier, despite knowing about the mental instability afflicting the student. The High Commission is being blamed only on the basis of what is heard from various media outlets and on the basis of perceptions, which is unexpected and sad on behalf of the family/relatives of the deceased student. Where the High Commission has worked sincerely to fulfill the wishes of the family of the deceased student, it added Since the family has called for a re-investigation, considering the seriousness of the matter, the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur has already written to the Malaysian government to re-investigate the death. It is taking the unexpected death of Bangladeshi student Irfan Siddique very seriously. The High Commission believes that this press release, based on the information of the High Commission and disseminated with evidence, will put an end to the reasonable questions of all the concerned people.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is under close observation of the medical board formed for her in a cabin of the Critical Care Unit (CCU) of Evercare Hospital in the capital. BNP's media wing officer Shairul Kabir Khan said, "I contacted Madam's (Khaleda Zia) medical board member Professor AZM Zahid Hossain at 5 pm. He said the chairperson is under close observation of the medical board. Dr Zahid asked everyone to pray for her." Also read: Khaleda Zia taken back to cabin from CCU BNP Health Affairs Secretary Dr Rafiqul Islam said, "Madam's health condition has not improved. She's been the same for the last few days. She is under close observation by the medical board." Also read: Khaleda's condition not good enough to be discharged from hospital: Doctor Dr Rafiqul Islam said, "In the past, we have seen as ASM Abdur Rob or former health minister Nasim or Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina or MP Haji Selim, they went abroad for treatment. If the government had given permission to Khaleda Zia for medical treatment abroad from the beginning, she would not have been in this situation." Also read: Khaleda Zia moved to CCU at Evercare Hospital

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) on Tuesday said that visa restrictions by the United States would not disrupt exports of garment products to the country, rather it may fall due to the financial crisis in the West, said the president of the sector’s apex body. “We are sharing the latest industry statistics with you regularly. You must have noticed that in the first seven months of this year, overall apparel imports by the US and the European Union have come down at an alarming rate,” BGMEA President Faruque Hassan told a press conference in its office in Uttara. The US is the single largest importer of Bangladeshi garment products. Read: BGMEA installs CBC machine at its Chattogram Hospital for dengue patients During the period, overall global apparel imports by the US fell by 22.28 percent in terms of value, while their imports from Bangladesh fell by nearly 20 percent, Faruque said. On the other hand, in terms of volume, global imports by the US decreased by 28 percent while import share in volume from Bangladesh decreased by 29 percent, he said. It means, in terms of quantity, the import by the US from Bangladesh has decreased by one-third over the last seven months, he said. Read: US officials discuss bilateral trade workers' rights with BGMEA Meanwhile, global imports by Europe fell by 7.5 percent and from Bangladesh by about 12 percent. Also, imports by the European Union from exporting countries decreased by about 13 percent, and from Bangladesh by 14.50 percent, he said. “Our two main markets – North America and Europe account for about 80 percent of total exports. And if there is instability in these two markets for any reason, it will have an adverse effect on our industry,” Faruque said. “We have always focused on market expansion and the creation of new markets to overcome this vulnerability. We have been doing this continuously since 2010. Recently, we held a daylong Bangladesh Apparel Summit in Australia. There we have highlighted the overall progress of our industry,” he added. Read: BGMEA urges Chattogram Port Authority to continue capacity development efforts to meet growing trade demand The BGMEA expects a new momentum in exports to Australia. He said that the BGMEA is working with many more unconventional markets like South Korea, Japan, China, India, Saudi Arabia and even Iraq. The growth of exports to new markets will help Bangladesh during this crucial time, he said. In the press conference, the BGMEA also said that recent news coverage in Bangladesh’s media claiming that 10 companies laundered Tk300crore is not true.  Of the 10 companies, four are members of the BGMEA, two are members of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and four others are not associated with any of them. It has been said that 3 crore 53 lakh 66 thousand 918 US dollars have been charged against 10 exporters of Dhaka and Gazipur in the name of exporting ready-made garments. The media of the country also spread news about this. After that, the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate got the initial confirmation. “This information is false and fabricated,” Faruque said.  He demanded that the government form a separate taskforce to investigate the allegation of money laundering by the garment factories. The BGMEA leaders said that they took the responsibility for decreasing exports amid drop of retail sales of garment products impacting the country’s export  severely due to inflationary pressure in the West.  BGMEA’s Senior Vice-President SM Mannan Kochi, Vice-President Shahidullah Azim, former Presidents of the organisation Abdus Salam Murshedy and Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, and other factory owners attended the news conference.      

The government has reset rates of commission for the dealers and agents on the sales of petroleum fuels. Despite reducing the percentage of the commission on the sales of the petroleum products, their commission rates were increased as the prices of all petroleum fuels were raised by the government in August last year. Also read: BPC incurs Tk 63 crore loss a day in petroleum sale, but experts suggest cut on import duty In a gazette notification the Energy and Mineral Resources Division of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources announced the decision on Tuesday refixing the commission rates for the dealers and agents. As per the gazette notification, the dealers and agents will get 4.28 percent in commission on the sales of per litre octane, 4.24 per percent on the sales of petrol, 2 percent on sales of kerosene and 2.85 percent for per litre diesel. Previously, the commission on octane and petrol was 4.9 percent, 3 percent on diesel and 1.92 percent on kerosene. Also read: Consumer slapped with largest ever hikes in fuel oil prices In terms of the value of the products, as the prices of all the petroleum fuels were raised by the government by up to 51.7 percent in August last year, the petrol pump owners said that the dealers and agents will get an increased rate of commission by Tk 0.50 for octane and petrol while Tk 0.28 for diesel. The government re-fixed the commissions in terms of value of the products against the backdrop of the demand of the petrol pump owners. Also read: Bangladesh ‘looks unable’ to take advantage of low fuel price They started observing a countrywide strike at the petrol pumps to raise the commission rates on the sales of petroleum products from September 2. But upon assurance from the government to raise the commission they called off their strike on September 3.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun on Tuesday instructed the police officials to remain alert so that no one can spread rumors targeting the upcoming Durga Puja. Besides, he also ordered intensified police patrolling across the country on the eve of the Puja. Also read: Keep vigil against vandalism during Durga Puja: Obaidul Quader asks AL members The IGP gave the directives while addressing a meeting regarding security and law and order situation surrounding the numerous puja mandaps around the country on the occasion of Durga Puja. It was held at the Hall of Pride of the Police Headquarters on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by Additional IGPs, chiefs of various police units based in Dhaka, Metropolitan Police Commissioners, Range DIGs, representatives of various intelligence agencies, Bangladesh Puja Celebration Parishad and Dhaka Metropolitan Public Puja Committee. Superintendents of Police of various districts were joined in the meeting virtually. Also read: With scars from 2021, Cumilla sees tighter security for Durga Puja The IGP said that the policemen have to remain vigilant so that no person or group can cause any deterioration of law and order. He directed the field level police officers to ensure security before Puja, during Puja and after puja by communicating and coordinating with local Puja celebration committee leaders. The IGP said there is excellent communal harmony among people of different religions in the country. He expressed the hope that as in the past Durga Puja was celebrated in a festive and joyous atmosphere, this time too the celebrations will be safe with no untoward incidents. Also read: No security lapses for Durga Puja: Rab DG Leaders, including religious figures, of the Hindu community expressed their satisfaction over the steps taken by the police in the meeting. The meeting was informed that monitoring cells will be set up at police headquarters and other police units on the occasion of Durga Puja. Durga Puja, one of the biggest religious festivals of the Hindu community, is slated to be held from October 20-24.