Bangladesh
Gas supply to stop in some city areas Tuesday
The supply of gas will remain suspended for 12 hours from (9 am to 9 pm) at some areas of the city on Tuesday.
According to Titas Gas Supply and Transmission Company Ltd, the areas include Kamlapur Rail Station to Titipara slum, Saydabad bus terminal, Mugda, Golapbagh, Beltala, Maniknagar, Atish Dipankar Road, RK Mission Road, Gopinagh, Uttar Jatrabari, Dhalpur.
READ: Areas in Dhaka where gas supply to be suspended Sunday
The gas disruption will take place due to relocation works of gas pipeline from Titipara to Golapbagh to facilitate the implementation of the Padma Bridge Rail project, said Titas Gas.
It also said the consumers in the adjoining areas may experience low pressure for the relocation works.
READ: No gas supply to several capital areas Thursday
Registered people will get Pfizer vaccine first, says health minister
Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said that Pfizer vaccine shots for Covid-19 will be given at four centres in Dhaka to those who have already registered.
He added that the Pfizer vaccine diluent will arrive here Monday night.
“Efforts are underway to collect Pfizer's dilute mixture. It's coming tonight. Those who have registered will get it first according to the serial,” he said on Monday.
Read: Bangladesh approves emergency use of Pfizer vaccine
The minister was talking to the reporters after a meeting at the BCPS Auditorium on the occasion of the National Vitamin 'A' Plus Campaign-2021.
Earlier on May 27 the government approved the emergency use of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in the country.
This is the fourth Covid-19 vaccine approved for emergency use in Bangladesh.
The first batch of 1.06 lakh doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Dhaka on June 1 .
Read: 1 lakh-plus Pfizer vaccine doses reach Dhaka
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the first coronavirus jab to show promising results in the latter stages of its testing process.
It is a new type called an mRNA vaccine that uses a tiny fragment of genetic code from the pandemic virus to teach the body how to fight Covid-19 and build immunity.
The US Food and Drug Administration has authorised the storage of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine at standard refrigerator temperatures for up to one month, to make the vaccine more widely available.
Read Russian Vaccine Sputnik V: Things we should know to fight COVID-19
Vaccination drive
Around 7,363 people have received the second dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in the last 24 hours.
A total number of 42,16,696 people got their second dose of this vaccine while the number is 58,20,015 for the first dose.
Besides, the total number of people receiving their first jab of Chinese Sinopharm vaccine reached 2,162 during the same period.
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses bought from India's Serum Institute.
Read Can I take COVID vaccines from two different brands?
62 Bangladeshis detained in Malaysia
Malaysia's Immigration Department detained 156 immigrants, including 62 Bangladeshis, during an integrated operation at an illegal settlement in Cyberjaya city Sunday night.
The detainees also include Indonesian, Myanmarese, Nepali, Pakistani and Indian nationals.
Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud, director-general of the Immigration Department, said: "In the 11pm operation, a total of 202 immigrants from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar and India, including 12 women and two children were checked."
Read: Malaysian police detain Bangladeshi featured in Al Jazeera documentary
"However, 156 of them were detained for not having valid travel and identification documents before being taken to the Immigration Department's screening centre in Putrajaya for further action," he added.
The raid on the settlement that has access to water supply and electricity through illegal connections was carried out in collaboration with several enforcement agencies including the police, the Malaysian Civil Defence Force and the National Registration Department, Datuk Khairul said.
"This illegal settlement has the potential of spreading Covid-19 infections as it fails to comply with the stipulated standard operating procedures under the Movement Control Order," he added.
However, Khairul Dzaimee denied allegations that the Immigration Department only took action against illegal immigrants, but not their employers.
"The claims are untrue because, in 2019, a total of 1,052 employers were charged in court with various offences under the Immigration Act, involving a total fine of RM19.3 million," he said.
"Last year, 519 employers were brought to court, involving a total fine of more than RM10 million. As of last month, 130 employers were slapped with fines amounting to RM3.2 million."
HC orders to release woman serving jail for another woman for money
The High Court on Monday ordered the release of Minu Akter who has been in prison for three years serving a life term on behalf of real convict Kulsum Akter for money.
The high court passed the order to Chattogram fourth additional metropolitan session court to free Minu Akter, subject to its satisfaction.
Read: Why no separate compartment for women in trains: HC asks govt
Minu impersonated as Kulsum who was sentenced to life in prison for killing a female garment worker in Chittagong in 2006.
The bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim passed the order during a virtual hearing.
The court also ordered to take necessary steps to arrest Kulsum.
Besides, the court ordered special public prosecutor of Chattogram Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-2 MA Naser and junior lawyer Nurul Anwar and Bibekananda Chowdhury and clerk Showrabh to submit written explanation about their role in the fraudulent act within two weeks.
The court has also ordered the four to appear before the court on June 28, the next date of hearing on this case.
Advocate Md Shishir Munir stood for Minu during the hearing while Attorney General AM Amin Uddin and Deputy Attorney General Dr Bashir Ullah presented the state side.
Advocate Iqbal Hossain presented the appeal submitted to the High Court against Kulsum’s life term.
How Minu ended up in Jail:
October 26 in 2007 Kulsum was arrested in a case filed over a garment worker’s murder in 2006.
Two years later she was freed after being granted bail by a Chattogram court.
On November 30, 2017 Chattogram fourth additional metropolitan session court found Kulsum guilty and sentenced her to life term and ordered to pay a fine of TK 50,000 after completing the trial. Failure to pay the fine the convict was to spend an additional one year in jail.
On June 12 in 2018 Minu, pretending to be Kulsum, surrendered to police and began spending time behind bars. According to case proceedings she did it for money.
In 2019 advocate Iqbal Hossain filed a petition on the sentence passed by lower court on behalf of Minu pretending to be Kulsum.
Following which the case document was sent to the High Court on June 12 the same year.
On March 18 this year, senior jail super of Chattogram central jail Md. Safiqul Islam Khan noticedthe issue of fraudulence and brought the matter to Chattogram court’s notice.
Following the court’s order Minu was brought before court on March 22.
In the court Minu said, “three years back a woman named Morzina promising to give some rice sent me to jail and said after Ramadan she will bring me out.”
“Now I want to be out of the jail,’ she said.
Later sub-document of the case was sent to the high court and advocate Shishir Munir presented it before court.
The accused of the case Kulsum was a housewife living in Rahmatganj under Kotwali police station with his husband.
Minu used to live in a slum in the city with her three children before ending up in jail as Kulsum.
6-points anniversary: Bangladesh to keep advancing with dignity, says PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said Bangladesh will continue advancing as a nation with dignity and will be established as a developed and prosperous country in the global arena.
“We had lost the ideology of the Liberation War after 1975 but it has come back today. Bangladesh will continue to march forward with dignity raising its head in the world and Bangladesh will be established as a developed and prosperous Sonar Bangla (golden Bangla),” she said.
The Prime Minister said this while addressing a special discussion marking the historic Six-Point Demand Day on June 7.
READ: PM calls for massive tree plantation to save environment
On this day in 1966, Bangabandhu put forward a set of six demands widely acknowledged as the "charter of freedom" for Bengalis and a key milestone on the road to independence in 1971.
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Birth Centenary Celebration National Implementation Committee arranged the discussion titled "Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Charter of Freedom for Bengalese" on the virtual platform.
“Bangladesh will go ahead. It is proven true that blood (sacrificing lives) never goes in vain. Though the Father of the Nation is no more among us today, his ideology is there,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh gained independence on the basis of the Six Points Demand as it had been actually a one-point demand for independence.
“We won the (1970) election, the war and finally the independence on the basis of the Six Points Demand since this formula had been written with blood on June 07 to materialize the demand,” she said.
Hasina, also eldest daughter of Bangabandhu, said there had been one-point demand inside the Six Points Demand. “We, the family members, at least knew it. He (Bangabandhu) used to always say that the Six Point Demand means the one point that means independence. Now we are an independent nation,” she said.
She said the date is very significant for the Bengali nation and the day was inscribed as a red letter one as 11 people including Monu Mia, Abul Hossain and Shamsul Haque sacrificed their lives going to enforce a nationwide hartal demanding the realisation of the six-point demand and release of the Father of the Nation from the jail.
She also recalled the role of her mother in enforcing the 7th June hartal successfully.
Referring to several speeches Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered in the rallies in different places to drum up support in favour of the Six Point Demand, she said that the Father of the Nation knew well before that Bangladesh would be an independent country.
READ: Bangladesh always with Palestinians, reaffirms PM
The Prime Minister said the announcement of Six Point Demand was a reflection of the thoughts Bangabandhu had cherished since the birth of Pakistan to change the fate of Bengali nation.
She said Bangabandhu had finally got a ground to place the Six Point Demand after the 1965 India-Pakistan war when the people of Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan) remained totally unprotected.
Immediately after its announcement, Pakistani rulers considered the demand as a move to separate Bangladesh completely from Pakistan, she noted.
Seasoned politicians Amir Hossain Amu and Tofail Ahmed, and Professor of Dhaka University Dr Nazma Shaheen also spoke at the discussion moderated by Dr Nuzhat Chowdhury.
Order on writ against declaring Papul's parliamentary seat vacant Tuesday
The High Court has fixed Tuesday for giving order on a writ filed by Laxmipur-2 lawmaker Shahid Islam Papul's sister against the gazette notification that declared the MP's Laxmipur-2 constituency seat vacant.
The bench of Justice Md Mojibur Rahman Mia and Justice Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah Monday fixed the date after hearing a writ filed by Papul's sister Nurunnahar Begum.
On January 28, a Kuwait court sentenced Papul to four years' jail in a case related to human trafficking, residency visa trading and money laundering. He was also fined around 1.9 million Kuwaiti dinars.
READ: Freezing bank accounts of ex-AL MP Awal, wife: HC questions legality of order
On 6 June last year, Papul was arrested in Kuwait.
On August 16 of the same year, Abul Fayez Bhuiyan, an independent candidate from the Laxmipur-2 constituency, filed a writ petition challenging the legality of Papul's parliament membership as he had been accused of providing fake documents and submitting fake education certificates.
On February 22 this year, the parliament declared the Lakshmipur-2 constituency seat vacant following the conviction of Papul on charges of human trafficking and money laundering by a court in Kuwait.
The Parliament Secretariat issued a gazette notification declaring that the Laxmipur-2 constituency (Parliamentary Seat-275) fell vacant on January 28, 2021, the date of the court's sentence.
According to the gazette, Papul is ineligible to remain an MP under Article 66 (2) of the Constitution as he was sentenced by the Kuwaiti criminal court to four-year rigorous imprisonment on January 28.
READ: MC College gang-rape:HC orders suspension of principal, hostel superintendent
His seat has remained vacant since the date of the court's sentence according to Article 67 (1) of the Constitution, said the gazette signed by Senior Secretary of the Parliament Secretariat Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan.
MP Papul, who won the Lakshmipur-2 seat in the 2018 election as an independent candidate, is now in Kuwait jail.
BGMEA seeks central bank support for RMG sector to address pandemic challenges
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has sought support of Bangladesh Bank for the RMG industry in its struggle to overcome the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and retaining competitiveness in the global market.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said the RMG industry was going through a tough time due to an unprecedented crisis caused by the Covid pandemic.
A delegation of the BGMEA led by its President had a meeting with Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir at the central bank on Sunday afternoon and discussed the issue, said apex body of the apparel industry on Monday.
The BGMEA delegation included Senior Vice President SM Mannan (Kochi), Vice President Md. Shahidullah Azim, Vice President (Finance) Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, Vice President Rakibul Alam Chowdhury and Directors.
He thanked the Bangladesh Bank for coming forward with policy support for the garment industry when it fell into deep trouble following the outbreak of the pandemic -- at a time when the sector needed it most.
READ: BGMEA wants continuation of 0.5 per cent source tax
The pandemic is not over yet and the RMG sector is still trying hard to overcome the massive impacts, he said.
Given the situation, the support of Bangladesh Bank in terms of simplification and relaxation of financial policies pertaining to the RMG industry would help the sector to address the challenges and turn around, said the BGMEA chief.
Earlier, Bangladesh Bank extended the loan limit of garment and textile factories from the export development fund (EDF) to $30 million from $25 million.
Faruque urged the Bangladesh Bank to extend the time limit for the enhanced EDF by six months.
He requested the BB to extend the payback period of the loans under the Covid response stimulus package from two years to five years as the sector is going through a rough patch.
He also urged the central bank to write off all debts, interest, and cost of fund charges for the 133 sick RMG factories, taking them into special consideration.
READ: It’s a very significant budget: BGMEA
Deputy Governors of Bangladesh Bank Ahmed Jamal and Kazi Sayedur Rahman were also present at the meeting.
Sylhet again jolted by successive earthquakes
Two earthquakes in two minutes jolted Sylhet on Monday evening.
The tremors were felt at 6:27 pm and 6:29 pm, according to the report.
The magnitude of the quakes were 3.8 and epicenter was Jalalpur Union of South Surma Upazila, 10 km away from Sylhet Meteorological Office.
READ: Hazardous buildings in Sylhet to remain shut for 10 days: SCC mayor
Senior meteorologist of Sylhet Meteorological Office Saeed Ahmed Chowdhury confirmed the development to UNB.
Earlier on May 29, Sylhet was hit by five earthquakes in quick succession.
Frequent quakes are causing panic among the people of Sylhet .
READ: Mild tremor shakes Sylhet again
Govt's apathy behind recurring slum fires: BNP
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday alleged that there have been repeated fire incidents at different slums in the capital due to the government’s indifference to take effective preventive measures.
In a statement, he also alleged that the ruling party men’s efforts to grab land, evict the slum dwellers and establish their control over the slum areas are also the major reasons behind the repeated fire incidents.
READ: Govt 'doing business' over Covid vaccine: BNP
The BNP leader issued the statement voicing deep concerns over the fire incident at ‘Sat Tala Slum’ in the city’s Mohakhali area early Monday.
“More than 200 shanties of the poor and hard-working people were gutted in a fire at Sat Tala Slum in Mohakhali today (Monday). It’s a very heartbreaking incident. I extend my deepest sympathy to the victims of this horrific fire incident,” he said.
Fakhrul said though the fire incidents repeatedly took place in the capital’s different slums in the past, the government and the city corporations have remained reluctant about taking any effective step to prevent that.
He said the government formed probe bodies after the fire incidents, but the reports of these committees have so far not come to light. “Due to such indifference of the government, many lives are lost in incidents taking place one after another, and people are becoming pauper and helpless by losing their belongings.”
The BNP leader said the government’s failure and negligence to protect the shanties and property has put the lives of many slum dwellers at stake. “Many questions have also arisen in public mind about the government's failure.”
He said the victims of the slum fire are now left in a humanitarian crisis under the open sky with no food and shelter amid rain and coronavirus risk.
READ: BNP desperate to regain power through dark ways: Quader
Fakhrul urged the government to rehabilitate the homeless people of the Sat Tala Slum and take steps to ensure necessary food, clothing, medical treatment and relief for the fire victims.
He also demanded the formation of an impartial investigation committee into the fire in the incident and compensation for the victims.
Covid-19 in Bangladesh: New cases get close to 2,000; 30 more die
Amid the rising infections in frontier districts, Bangladesh reported 1,970 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours until Monday morning.
The deadly virus also claimed 30 more lives during the period, pushing up the death toll to 12,869.
The positivity rate increased to 11.47% from Sunday's 10.73 % while the mortality rate remained static at 1.58 %, a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.
The total number of coronavirus cases climbed to 8,12,960 with the fresh cases.
During the same time at least 1,918 Covid-19 patients have recovered in this period.
The total number of recoveries now stands at 7,53,240 with a recovery rate of 92.65 %.
Among the recent deaths, 19 were men and 11 women.
Of them, 11 died in Chattogram, 7 in Dhaka, 4 in Sylhet, 3 in Khulna, 2 each in Rajshahi and Mymensingh and 1 in Rangpur.
Besides, three were between 31-40 years’ old, three within 41-50, two between 51-60 and 22 were above 60 years old, added the DGHS handout.