bangladesh
Flood death toll stands at 118
The death toll from the devastating floods in Netrokona and Habiganj districts rose to 118 Wednesday morning, with the recovery of two more bodies in the past 24 hours.
These two victims had drowned in floodwaters, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Of the total deceased, 91 people drowned in floodwaters, 15 were struck by lightning, two died from snake bites, one from diarrhoea, and nine others due to other reasons.
Read:Flood in Sunamganj: Siblings spend 17 days on a tree
Of the deceased, 64 people died in Sylhet, 41 in Mymensingh, 12 in Rangpur and one in Dhaka division, the DGHS said.
Of a total of 70 flood-hit upazilas, 33 are in Sylhet division, 16 in Rangpur division, 20 in Mymensingh division and one in Chattogram division.
Sylhet, Sunamganj, Netrokona and Kurigram are the worst-hit districts, with 13, 11, 10 and nine upazilas being affected by floods, respectively.
Fire breaks out at Gazipur warehouse
A fire broke out at a scrap material warehouse in the Dewliyabari area of Gazipur on Wednesday morning, officials said.
According to the deputy director of Gazipur Fire Service and Civil Defence, Abdul Hamid Mia, four firefighting units were working to douse the flames.
The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, he said.
Read: Small fire at BSCIC complex in Mirpur brought under control
Over 1 lakh people homeless in Barguna dam collapse
Over a lakh people have been rendered homeless in Barguna's Taltoli upazila after portions of the Payra river dam collapsed due to a tidal surge on Tuesday night, inundating eight villages.
A vast tract of low-lying areas in Joyalbhanga, Nolbunia and Tetulbaria villages have been inundated, while at least 50 fish enclosures were swept away by the flood waters, said SM Sadik Tanvir, upazila nirbahi officer of Taltoli.
The disaster forced the residents of the eight villages to take shelter on high land with their livestock.
Besides, the Boroitola Ferry Ghat near the Bishkhali river has also been submerged due to the swelling of the river.
Read: 2,000km of roads damaged in Sunamganj, with losses over Tk 1500-cr
Aminul Islam Shohag, deputy assistant engineer of the Water Development Board, Barguna, said a proposal has been sent to the higher authorities for the construction of another dam here soon.
"A permanent embankment will be constructed soon," he said.
3 killed as car plunges into ditch in Dinajpur
Three friends were killed and two others injured when their car skidded off the road and fell into a ditch on the busy Panchagarh-Rangpur highway in Dinajpur district on Tuesday night.
The deceased were identified as Borno Basak, 22, son of Kapil Basak and student of a private university in Dhaka, Shahriar Shaon, 24, son of Shafiqul Islam of Syedpur, and Imon, 23, son of Nurul Amin of Munshipara.
The accident occurred around 11pm in the Nashipur Sat Mile area of Dinajpur district.
"The one driving the car at high speed lost its control while negotiating a U-turn on the high-speed corridor, leading to the accident. All its five occupants sustained injuries in the crash," said SM Masud, in-charge of Highway Police Station.
Also read: Mother-daughter duo killed in Dinajpur road accident
The injured were taken to a local hospital, where three of them succumbed to their injuries, he said. "The two injured -- Tamzid, 19, and Nobi Priyo, 23 -- were later shifted to M Abdur Rahman Medical College and Hospital for better treatment."
Rains likely to drench Bangladesh
Brace for a wet spell, as the weather department has predicted showers in parts of the country in the next 24 hours.
“Light to moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to occur at a few places over Barishal, Chattogram, Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions and at one or two places over Dhaka, Rangpur, Rajshahi and Khulna divisions with moderately heavy falls at isolated places over the country,” the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said on Wednesday.
A mild heat wave is sweeping over Sylhet division and the districts of Rajshahi, Panchagarh and Nilphamari and it may continue, according to the BMD forecast.
Meanwhile, the low over the Northwest Bay off Odisha coast has intensified into a well-marked low over Odisha and adjoining areas.
Read: Parts of Ctg port city go under water amid incessant rains
It is likely to intensify further. Its associated trough extends to the East Central Bay. Monsoon is fairly active over Bangladesh and moderate elsewhere over North Bay.
Day and night temperatures may remain nearly unchanged over the country, as per the BMD bulletin.
Fire breaks out in Gazipur warehouse
A fire broke out at a textile waste warehouse in the Majukhan area of Gazipur city early on Wednesday, gutting two adjacent houses.
No reports of casualties were reported till the filing of this report.
Abdul Hamid Mia, deputy assistant director of Gazipur Fire Service and Civil Defense, said the fire broke out in the warehouse at 5.30am and spread to the nearby houses.
Also Read: N’ganj factory fire under control
Four fire tenders were pressed into the service and it took them over two-and-a-half hours to douse the flames, he said.
"A probe has been ordered to ascertain the exact cause of the fire," the officer added.
Global Covid cases top 562 million
The overall number of Covid cases has now surpassed 562 million amid a rise in new infections in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
According to the latest global data, the total case count mounted to 562,846,844 and the death toll from the virus reached 6,376,711 Wednesday morning.
The US has recorded 90,683,223 cases so far and 1,046,613 people have died from the virus in the country, the data shows.
India reported 13,615 fresh cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours, taking the total tally to 43,652,944, as per the federal health ministry data released on Tuesday.
With this, the number of active cases in the country rose to 131,043.
According to the ministry, 20 deaths related to Covid have been recorded in 24 hours, pushing the overall death toll to 525,474 in the country.
Covid in Bangladesh
Bangladesh registered nine more Covid-linked deaths with 556 cases in 24 hours till Tuesday morning amid a rapid surge in new infections.
Also read: Covid: Bangladesh logs 4 months’ highest 12 deaths with 2,285 cases
The fresh numbers took the country's total caseload to 1,991,031 and the fatalities to 29,212, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The daily case positivity rate slightly increased to 13.78 per cent from Monday’s 13.18 per cent as 4,799 samples were tested during the period, said the DGHS.
The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.47 per cent. The recovery rate rose to 96.22 per cent as 1,542 patients recovered during the period.
Dhaka's air quality is 'good'
Dhaka's air quality has turned 'good'.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 37 at 9.04am, the densely populated metropolis ranked 39th in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.
Indonesia’s Jakarta, Pakistan’s Lahore and Chile’s Santiago occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 160, 151 and 124, respectively.
An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups.
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.
Read: Global pollution kills 9 million people a year, study finds
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.
A report by the Department of Environment (DoE) and the World Bank in March 2019 pointed out that the three main sources of air pollution in Dhaka "are brick kilns, fumes from vehicles and dust from construction sites".
With the advent of winter, the city’s air quality starts deteriorating sharply due to the massive discharge of pollutant particles from construction work, rundown roads, brick kilns and other sources.
Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.
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.
Couple found dead in Naogaon river
A couple was found dead on a boat in the Shib river in Niyamatpur upazila of Naogaon district on Tuesday, police said on Wednesday.
The deceased were identified as Raihan Ali, 25, son of Adam Ali of Bil Surshunia village, and his wife Tarabanu, 19, daughter of Iskendar Ali of Srikla village.
Humayun Kabir, officer-in-charge of Niamatpur Police Station, said Tarabanu and Raihan got married six months ago without the consent of their families.
READ: 2 farmers’ suicide for irrigation water: Agriculture secy vows strict action
Local people spotted the bodies in the river and informed the police. Cops suspect they died by suicide.
Climate Change: Special Rapporteur to visit Bangladesh Sept 4-15
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change will undertake an official visit to Bangladesh from September 4-15.
Ian Fry, also an international environmental law and policy expert, will be visiting Bangladesh at the invitation of the government of Bangladesh.
During the visit, the Special Rapporteur will study and identify how the adverse impact of climate change affects the human rights of communities in vulnerable situations including climate change-induced displacement.
Read: Climate change wipes out $525 bn over last 2 decades: Report
Furthermore, he plans to identify good practices, strategies and policies implemented by the Government in building resilience to the adverse impact of climate change on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights.
In order to prepare for the visit, the Special Rapporteur has sought input from civil society, human rights organizations and other interested stakeholders by July 27.
He primarily remains focused on mitigation policies and loss and damage associated with the Paris Agreement, Kyoto Protocol and related instruments.