Dhaka
Gang of muggers nabbed in city
Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) said on Friday that the force detained 21 members of a mugging gang from the city’s Motijheel, Paltan, Shahjahanpur and Tejgaon area.
The elite force also seized sharp weapons and sedatives from them during the drive on Thursday.
A team of Rab-3 detained the muggers after conducting simultaneous drives in Motijheel, Paltan, Shahjahanpur and Tejgaon area on Thursday night, said Rab-3 Additional Superintendent Bina Rani Das.
Read: 4 ‘muggers’ held over killing dentist in city
During primary interrogation, the alleged gang members said they usually hide in the alleys and mug pedestrians, rickshaw riders, and CNG-run auto-rickshaw passengers, brandishing sharp weapons. They also commit murder if anyone resists their bid.
The muggers are active in and around Khilgaon, Malibagh Rail Gate, Dainik Bangla intersection, Pir Jangi Mazar crossing, Kamalapur Battala, Motijheel Calvert Road, Nasirertek of Hatirjheel, Shahbagh, Gulbagh, Rajuk crossing, UBL crossing, Paltan intersection, Golap Shah Mazar crossing, High Court crossing, Abdul Gani Road, Maniknagar Stadium, Nandipara Bridge, and Basabo crossing from evening till dawn.
Legal steps are underway against the detainees, the official added.
Dengue: 29 patients hospitalised in Dhaka in 24hrs
A total of 29 new dengue patients were hospitalised in 24 hours till Friday morning amid a rise in the mosquito-borne disease in Bangladesh, authorities said.
All the new patients were hospitalised in Dhaka division, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
As many as 121 dengue patients, including 113 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
The dengue cases are rising in the capital allegedly due to insufficient measures taken by the two Dhaka city corporations for preventing mosquito-borne diseases like dengue.
On June 21, the DGHS reported the first death of the season from the mosquito-borne viral disease.
This year, the DGHS has recorded 1,376 dengue cases and 1,254 recoveries so far.
Dengue – a leading cause of serious illness and death in some Asian and Latin American countries – was first reported in Bangladesh in 2000 and claimed 93 lives. In three years, the fatality number almost fell to zero.
However, 105 dengue patients, including 95 in Dhaka division, died in 2021.
Dengue is found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas.
Read: Dengue: 31 cases reported in Dhaka in 24 hrs, 5 in other districts
About 4 billion people, almost half of the world's population, live in areas with a risk of dengue, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Each year, up to 400 million people get infected with dengue while approximately 100 million get sick from infection, and 40,000 die from severe dengue, it says.
"There is no specific treatment for dengue or severe dengue. Early detection of disease progression associated with severe dengue, and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates of severe dengue to below 1 per cent," according to the World Health Organization.
Icddr,b study shows rapid rise in Omicron sub-variant in Dhaka
Dhaka has reported scores of COVID-19 cases traced to the BA.5 Omicron sub-variant, which appears to be more infectious than the past versions of the virus, extending the current Covid surge.
International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) on Tuesday told about the rapid spread of BA.5 Omicron subvariant cases.
During the last six weeks (May 14 to June 24 this year), this subvariant became the most predominant. During this period, 51 out of 52 covid cases were identified as BA.5 subvariant and one BA.2 by using complete genome sequencing, according to icddr,b.
Read: Social distancing norms flouted at Kamalapur railway station amid Covid surge
SARS-CoV-2 variants are outcompeted one by another over time, which underscores the continuation of variant surveillance for a regular update on the emergence of new variants, states the icddr,b report.
A study, conducted on 40 Omicron BA.5 infected patients, found that 38 patients had received at least one dose vaccine. Among them, 16 had received booster doses of vaccines, 21 had two doses, and one had received only one dose.
Besides, 39 patients had mild to moderate symptoms, and one had no symptoms. And only one was hospitalised for a day which means the severity of this subvariant is low.
The researchers also urged everyone to practice all precautions to keep safe from COVID-19 as well as to get vaccinated against the virus who are not vaccinated yet.
Read:Bangladesh reports 7 Covid deaths, positivity rate now 16.74%
The first suspected Omicron subvariant BA.5 in Dhaka was detected on May 19. The Omicron variant in Bangladesh was first identified on December 6 last year.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh registered seven more Covid-linked deaths with 1,998 cases in 24 hours till Tuesday morning amid rapid surge in new infections.
The fresh numbers took the country's total caseload to 1,982,972 and the total fatalities to 29,182, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The daily case positivity rate rose to 16.74 per cent from Monday’s 16.51 per cent as 11,882 samples were tested during the period, said the DGHS.
Dhaka joins Int'l Ministerial Conf on freedom of religion in London
Bangladesh is participating in the two-day International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) that began on Tuesday in London.
State Minister for Religious Affairs Mohammed Faridul Haq Khan is representing Bangladesh at the conference hosted by the UK government.
Delegates from Bangladesh include: Shahidul Alam, Social Activist and Managing Director of DRIK Picture Gallery; Father Tapan Rozario, Associate Professor, Department of World Religions and Culture at Dhaka University; and Shaheen Anam, Executive Director of Manusher Jonno Foundation.
Read:Govt launches migration compact taskforce to ensure safe migration
The overarching themes of the conference are preventing FoRB abuses and protecting and promoting freedom of religion or belief.
The conference is featuring a number of sessions, including on the role of education in promoting a better understanding and the discrimination or abuse of women and girls as a result of their beliefs.
The conference brings together faith and belief leaders, governments, parliamentarians, and civil society organisations from 100 countries to take global action to promote freedom of religion or belief for all.
Speaking in advance of the conference, Lord Ahmad, UK Government Minister for South Asia, North Africa, the United Nations and the Commonwealth, said he is delighted that the UK is hosting the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief in London.
“Article 18 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that ‘everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion’. Put simply, Freedom of Religion or Belief – or FoRB for short – is a right for everyone, everywhere," he said.
However, he said in practice too many people around the world are unable to choose their religion or belief, how they practice it, or to change that belief if they so wish.
"It is vital that the international community comes together and does everything it can to safeguard this right," Ahmad said.
He said they have over 600 delegates from 100 countries and multilateral organisations around the world attending the conference including faith and belief leaders, government delegations and civil society representatives.
Read:Bangladesh sends help to quake-hit Afghanistan
This is the first International Ministerial Conference on this theme to take place in person since 2019, and the host wants to use the moment to turn words into action.
“Participants include the Most Rev and Rt Hon Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, Islamic Scholar Sheikh Abdallah Bin-bayyah, and Archbishop Bashar Warda of the Chaldean Catholic church in Erbil, Iraq. It will be an incredibly diverse gathering, reflecting interest from across the religion and belief spectrum, government and civil society in this important issue," he said.
“I look forward to discussing how we can best prevent persecution and protect and promote individuals’ right to freedom of religion or belief.”
‘Thief’ dies after falling off building in city
A suspected thief died after falling off a five-story building at Maddhya Sanarpar in Demra of the capital on Tuesday, said police.
The deceased was identified as Raihan Hossain, 18.
Read: Man dies after falling off under-construction building in Chattogram
Inspector Bachchu Mia, in-charge of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital police camp, said Raihan climbed up to the fifth floor of the building around 3:30 am in a bid to steal something.
When local people raised a hue and cry seeing Raihan on the building, he jumped off it and sustained injuries.
He was taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries around 9:30 am on Tuesday.
Dhaka’s air quality worsens again
Dhaka's air quality worsened again, as it turned ‘unhealthy’ on Tuesday after remaining in the ‘moderate’ zone for the last four days.
The metropolis, with an air quality index (AQI) score of 113 at 11.05am on Tuesday, ranked 14th in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.
South Africa’s Johannesburg, Pakistan’s Lahore and Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh occupied the first three spots, with AQI scores of 166, 163, and 161, respectively.
An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups.
Read: Global pollution kills 9 million people a year, study finds
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.
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".
Read: Effects of Air Pollution on Unborn Children, Neonates, Infants
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 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.
Rohingya Repatriation: Dhaka seeks proactive role from Indonesia, ASEAN
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has urged Indonesia and the ASEAN to play a proactive role to facilitate an early repatriation of the displaced Rohingya people currently sheltered in Bangladesh on humanitarian grounds.
He reiterated that the problem was created by Myanmar and it has to be solved by Myanmar as well, and the only possible solution in this regard is the repatriation of the displaced people to their homeland, the Rakhine State of Myanmar.
Momen also sought Indonesia’s support in favour of Bangladesh’s candidacy as a Sectoral Dialogue Partner of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Also read: FM Momen’s new book focuses on Bangladesh’s successes, potential
The foreign minister discussed the issues when Ambassador of Indonesia to Bangladesh Heru Hartanto Subolo met him at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.
Momen recalled with gratitude the support of Indonesia for early recognition of independent Bangladesh in 1972.
He expressed happiness on the celebration of Golden Jubilee of Diplomatic ties with due festivity both in Bangladesh and Indonesia.
While appreciating the current volume of bilateral trade, Momen stressed on further expanding and accelerating the scope of trade and investment tapping into the unexplored potentials by the business communities of the two countries.
He specifically emphasized on having a better balance of bilateral trade by allowing more Bangladeshi products, including RMG, Pharmaceuticals, leather goods etc., into the Indonesian market and on concluding the Bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement which is under negotiations.
Momen suggested more frequent interactions among the business communities of the two countries, according to the MoFA.
The foreign minister explained briefly the remarkable socio-economic success of Bangladesh to the new Indonesian envoy.
Also read: Malta to send team for hassle-free visa processing of 3000 Bangladeshis: FM
He specifically highlighted the success of digital integration and ICT development in Bangladesh under the vision of ‘Digital Bangladesh’ as steered by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Momen elaborated how a well-built ICT infrastructure helped Bangladesh in coping with the challenges of the pandemic and in administering one of the largest inoculation programs in the world.
Echoing the views of the foreign minister, the Indonesian Ambassador also emphasized on further strengthening economic relations between the two countries through various means including exchange of trade delegations, participating in trade expo etc.
Momen wished the Ambassador all success and assured him of all possible support during his tenure in Bangladesh.
Dhaka's air quality remains ‘moderate’
Dhaka's air quality continued to remain in the ‘moderate’ zone with the city recording an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 68 Monday morning.
With the AQI score at 10 am, the metropolis ranked 24th in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.
Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh, India’s Delhi and Pakistan’s Lahore occupied the first three spots, with AQI scores of 159, 154, and 153, respectively.
Read: Dhaka's air quality now 'moderate'
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.
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.
Read: Dhaka's air quality improves
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 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.
Crimes against humanity: Fugitive death row convict held in city
A fugitive convict, who was sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971, has been detained from the city’s Kalabagan area, said Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) on Sunday.
The death row convict is AK Aminul Haque alias Rajab Ali, 69, of Kishoreganj.
Read:1994 assassination attempt: Fugitive death row convict held in city
According to a media release from Rab Headquarters, a team of Rab’s intelligence force and Rab-2 detained Rajab Ali after conducting a drive in the city’s Kalabagan area on Saturday night.
On Novenber 5 in 2018, the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Rajab Ali to death for his involvement in the crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
He was found guilty of murder, looting, arson, torture and kidnapping in Kishoreganj, Bhairab, Brahmanbaria and Habiganj in 1971.
He also formed 'Al -Badr' forces in the area to assist the Pakistani army in Bhairab and served as the commander of Kishoreganj district.
On December 18 in1971, Rajab Ali surrendered to the Joint Forces.
In 1972, five cases were filed against him at Ashtagram police station. He was sentenced to 40 years jail in these cases. But he was released from Dhaka Central Jail in 1982 as he got presidential clemency after serving jail term for only 10 years.
Read:Ramna Batamul carnage: Fugitive death row convict held in Kishoreganj
Later, he fled to a country in the Middle East and then went to Pakistan several times. In 1997, Rajab came to Dhaka again.
On December 27 in 2015, the investigating agency submitted the chargesheet against Rajab Ali to the International Crimes Tribunal and since then he remained fugitive.
Dhaka's air quality now 'moderate'
Dhaka's air quality remains moderate as the metropolis with an air quality index (AQI) score of 64 at 10 am on Sunday ranked 28th in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.
When the AQI remains between 51 and 100, the air quality is acceptable. However, there may be a risk for some people, particularly those who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
Read: Dhaka's air quality improves
Iran’s Tehran, Indonesia’s Jakarta and Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 177, 164 and 152, 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.
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.
Read: Dhaka air quality turns ‘moderate’
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.