Bangladesh
Bangladesh urges IORA member states enhance economic cooperation
Bangladesh has urged the Member States and Dialogue Partners of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) to formulate and implement projects for economic cooperation relating to trade facilitation and liberalization, promotion of investment, scientific and technological exchanges.
Bangladesh will assume the charge of the Chair of IORA from November 2021 for two year tenure, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Bangladesh has seconded a Director to IORA Secretariat recently.
Also read: Dhaka seeks joint efforts to implement IORA's new Action Plan
The 11th IORA bi-annual meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) was held virtually on June 15-16.
Delegations from 23 Member States of IORA participated in the CSO meeting.
Bangladesh, the current Vice-chair of the IORA, participated in the meeting with a delegation led by Rear Admiral (retd) Md. Khurshed Alam, Secretary (Maritime Affairs), Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Vice-chair of the IORA, Secretary Alam highlighted IORA’s importance as a platform to collectively pursue a concerted, comprehensive and suitable response for facing the specific challenges due to COVID-19 pandemic.
He also requested for further commitment for implementing and integrating the IORA Concord; IORA Action Plan; Mauritius, Jakarta and Dhaka Declaration in national development paradigm.
Also read: IORA starts addressing regional, global issues: Dhaka
A number of important issues were discussed during this CSO meeting including nomination of Sheikh Fazle Fahim, President, FBCCI as the next chair of Indian Ocean Rim Business Forum (IORBF), update on Ad-hoc Working Group (AhWG) for the eligibility and criteria for selecting the Secretary-General, inclusion of Russia as Dialogue Partner, Signature of IORA Instrument of Acceptance by France as a new IORA member, preparation of next Action Plan (2022-2026).
Secretary Alam expressed his deepest gratitude to the current Chair, Government of United Arab Emirates for hosting the CSO amid the pandemic and thanked all the member states for their well-thought and prolific interventions, comments and deliberations.
He invited all to join the next 23rd Committee of Senior Officials’ and 21st Council of Ministers’ meeting due in November this year to be hosted by Bangladesh as Chair.
Mizanur becomes first centurion of Dhaka League T20
Mizanur Rahman of Brothers Union hit 65-ball 100 on Thursday against Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club and became the first batsman to score a century in the ongoing Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Division Twenty20 Cricket League at BKSP.
Sheikh Jamal won the toss and sent the Brothers bat first, who riding on Mizanur’s bat, scored 133 for two in 17 overs before the rain came and interrupted the game.
Read:Sabbir denies allegation of racism against him by Elias
Along the way of hitting the first ton of the season, Mizanur hit 13 fours and three sixes.
The match never got a resumption due to rain and ended up with no result.
It was the 11th and last game of both teams in the initial round of the Dhaka League T20.
Read:Kamrul takes four wickets as Doleshwar beat Abahani
After all these rounds of games, Sheikh Jamal won six games and ensured a place in the Super League, the next phase of the league, which will be played between six teams.
Brothers, on the other hand, have won only four games and failed to secure a place in the Super League.
The match between Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club and OLD DOHS Sports Club also ended up with no result on Thursday morning, while the other match between Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity and Prime Bank Cricket Club was won by Prime Bank by five wickets under the DL Method.
Read:BAN vs. ZIM Series 2021: Key ODI Records Between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe
All these teams— Prime Doleshwar, DOHS, Khelaghar and Prime Bank— have also completed all 11 rounds of games. Of them, Prime Bank and Prime Doleshwar have booked a place each in the Super League which will begin on Saturday.
More homeless families set to receive homes Sunday
Over 53,340 homeless and landless families are going to receive well-built homes on Sunday as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s focus on addressing the accommodation problem of the homeless continues even during the pandemic.
These families will be provided with modern homes and land ownership documents across the country under Ashrayan-2 project on the day.
Read:Ashrayan-2: Over 53,000 houses set to be distributed in June
The Prime Minister will inaugurate the second-phase distribution of semi-pucca houses in the Mujib Year through a videoconference from Ganobhaban.
“The houses will be given to 53,340 more homeless and landless families on June 20 next (Sunday),” said PM’s Principal Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus at a press conference in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Thursday.
The joint ownership documents of the two-decimal homes along with a tin-roofed pucca dwelling will be given to both the husband and wife of a family ensuring gender equality, he said.
Besides, 100,000 more houses will be given by December next as part of the government’s move to rehabilitate the country’s homeless people in the Mujib Year, said Dr Kaikaus.
Read:Ashrayan project: 50,000 more houses for homeless in April
On January 23 last, 70,000 such houses along with documents were given to homeless and landless people in the first phase of the project in line with the Prime Minister’s announcement that there would be no homeless and landless people in Bangladesh, Dr Kaikaus said.
He said it is Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s unique model in the world to rehabilitate homeless people.
The Principal Secretary said this is how each family is getting overall property worth Tk 2.6 lakh.
Mentioning that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had undertaken the Ashrayan project in 1997, Dr Kaikaus said a total of 373,562 houses have so far been given to homeless and landless families under the Ashrayan project run by the PMO.
Read: Hasina inaugurates home distribution under Ashrayan-2 Project
On Sunday next, the highest 12,436 houses will be given in Rangpur division, while 10,547 in Chattogram, 7,630 in Dhaka, 7,172 in Rajshahi, 37,153 in Barishal, 911 in Khulna, 2512 in Mymensingh and 1979 in Sylhet divisions.
According to the lists prepared under the Ashrayan project, the number of homeless and landless families (under class-K) is 293,361 in the country, while that of just-homeless families (under class-Kha) is 592,261.
FM seeks clear roadmap from UN for Rohingya repatriation
Bangladesh has sought a clear roadmap from the United Nations for repatriation of the Rohingyas to Myanmar.
“We provided shelter to the Rohingyas out of humanitarian consideration. However, the solution to the crisis lies in their safe and sustainable repatriation to Myanmar, which couldn’t even be commenced in the last four years. Now UN needs to provide us with a clear roadmap in this regard," said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen.
Read:Dhaka urges UN to take immediate steps to resolve Rohingya crisis
He made the call at a bilateral meeting with Christine S. Burgener, the Special Envoy of the Secretary General on Myanmar at the Bangladesh Permanent Mission in New York on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the Foreign Minister referred to the negative impacts of protracted presence of the Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar, particularly for the host community, and stated that if repatriation doesn’t commence soon, it would only deteriorate the overall situation there and create instability in the region and beyond.
He briefed the Special Envoy on Bhashan Char project where the Rohingyas can engage in economic activities and stressed the engagement of UN in providing humanitarian assistance there.
Read: FM's NY Visit: Dhaka to press for early repatriation of Rohingyas
Korean envoy seeks jabs for all foreign investors in Bangladesh
All foreign investors and business people working in Bangladesh should get equal treatment under the country’s Covid-19 vaccination program, South Korean Ambassador in Dhaka Lee Jang-keun said on Wednesday.
Ambassador Lee said this will be in line with the government’s policy to promote business-friendly environment.
Read: Korea to provide $700 mn of EDCF loan to Bangladesh
He hoped that all foreign investors will be eligible for vaccinations as soon as the vaccine supply becomes normal in Bangladesh.
Speaking at a virtual discussion, the ambassador pointed out that despite the growth of overall trade volume, bilateral trade between Dhaka and Seoul has remained static at $1.7 billion for the past decade.
In order to realize the full bilateral commercial potentials he called for fostering a business-friendly environment, including addressing the challenges in tax and tariff policy, repatriation of profit, and streamlining administrative procedures.
The Embassy of Bangladesh in Seoul hosted the virtual discussion on “Bangladesh and ROK: Trade and Investment Opportunities”.
Read:S Korea pledges $200mn to provide vaccines in lower-income countries
Alarming Covid surge in Bangladesh, 60 more die
Bangladesh recorded 60 Covid-related deaths and 3,956 new cases in 24 hours till Wednesday morning, showing an alarming sign of deterioration in the pandemic situation.
With the new figures, the death toll jumped to 13,282 while the death rate stood at 1.59 percent, said a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Bangladesh’s fight to tackle the second wave of coronavirus has become tougher after the detection of the Delta variant of the virus in different parts of the country.
The higher infection rate in frontier districts and limited capacities in district hospitals have become a challenge amid the worsening situation.
The total caseload reached 8,37,247 with the new cases while the daily infection rate climbed to 16.62% in the 24-hour period.
However, the overall positivity rate stood at 13.41%.The daily positivity rate was 14.27% on Tuesday and 14.80% on Monday.
Among the deceased, 36 were men and 24 women.
Of them, three were between 11-20 years of age, one was between 21-30, seven between 31-40, 10 between 41-50, 16 between 51-60 and 23 were above 60 years’ old, according to the handout.
Besides, eight of them were from Dhaka division, another eight from Chattogram, 17 from Rajshahi, 14 from Khulna, six from Sylhet, four from Rangpur and three from Mymensingh divisions.
The numbers were found after testing a total of 23,807 samples across the country.
Read: Biotech's Covid vaccine to get conditional approval for human trials: BMRC
Besides, 2,679 Covid-19 patients recovered in the last 24 hours.
The total number of recoveries now stands at 7,73,752, while the recovery rate at 92.42%.
Lockdown extended
The government has extended the ongoing countrywide lockdown till 15 July as the Covid-19 situation continues to worsen in the country.
However, all government, semi-government, autonomous private offices, banks and financial institutions will remain open maintaining health protocols.
Biotech vaccine to get go-ahead
The National Research Ethics Committee of Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC) on Wednesday decided to approve Globe Biotech's Covid-19 vaccine, Bangavax, for human trials.
Globe Biotech will get the final nod on conducting clinical trials on humans only after meeting some conditions set by the BMRC, its director Prof Dr Ruhul Amin said this after a virtual meeting.
Read: 9 more Covid patients die in Khulna division
Bangladesh to set up international vaccine institute
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said the government is going to set up an international vaccine institute to produce vaccines, including the Covid-19 ones, in Bangladesh.
She said the government will sign an agreement with South Korea to set up the vaccine institute and the issues relating to ratification, accession and approval of the agreement by the Cabinet are under process.
The Prime Minister said the government has taken an initiative to produce Covid-19 vaccines in the country alongside collection from foreign sources to check the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
Hasina said government-to-government (G2G) negotiations are underway with the countries that have developed vaccines for transferring technology to this end.
14 die in Khulna, 17 in Rajshahi
Khulna continues to be one of the hardest hit frontier districts as 14 more people died of coronavirus in the district, according to the DGHS handout.
Besides, 139 patients are currently undergoing treatment at Khulna Corona Dedicated Hospital, said Dr Suhash Ranjan Haldar, the nodal person for the corona unit.
Of them, 70 people are receiving treatment in the red zone of the hospital, 21 in the yellow zone, 20 in ICU (intensive care unit), and 28 in HDU (high deficiency unit), said Dr Suhash.
Read: Bangladesh extends ‘lockdown’ till July 15
In Rajshahi, 17 more died of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, the highest in the country during the period.
Meanwhile , director of Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital (RMCH) Brigadier General Shamim Yeazdani on Wednesday told UNB that as many as 48 people have been admitted to the corona unit of the hospital during the time.
Currently, some 344 people are undergoing treatment at the hospital against its capacity of 305 beds in the corona unit.
To deal with the pressure of Covid patients, the hospital authorities have added 34 beds, including two ICU beds, to the hospital's existing capacity, he said.
Besides, a letter has been sent to the Department of Health Services to send 15 more physicians to the hospital. Some 15 doctors have joined the hospital in the past week.
Test at home
The district administration of Bagerhat has introduced mobile Covid testing booths for collecting swab samples at the doorsteps of people.
Sheikh Sarhan Naser Tonmoy, Bagerhat-2 MP, took the initiative, following a sudden surge in Covid-19 cases in the district.
To avail of the opportunity, people have to make a call on the hotline numbers -- 01920-922229 and 01400-305405.
Biotech's Covid vaccine to get conditional approval for human trials: BMRC
The National Research Ethics Committee of Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC) on Wednesday decided to approve Globe Biotech's Covid-19 vaccine, Bangavax, for human trials.
Globe Biotech will get the final nod on conducting clinical trials on humans only after meeting some conditions set by the BMRC, its director Prof Dr Ruhul Amin said this after a virtual meeting.
On January 17, Globe Biotech, the only Bangladeshi company trying to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, submitted a protocol to the BMRC for ethical approval to conduct Bangavax’s clinical trials.
Vaccination drive in Bangladesh
Bangladesh, the prime recipient of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, suspended the registration for Covid-19 vaccination due to jab shortage amid a delay in the arrival of shipments from India.
However, Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Tuesday announced that administering of Sinopharm and Pfizer vaccine doses will begin on June 19.
Also read: International vaccine institute to be set up in Bangladesh: Hasina
Some 4,257,499 people got the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine while the number is 58,20,015 for the first one.
Besides, the total number of people receiving their first jab of Chinese Sinopharm vaccine is 2,162.
The health minister earlier said Pfizer vaccine shots will be given at four centres in Dhaka to those who have already registered.
The Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) on Tuesday approved Janssen Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in the country.
This is the sixth Covid-19 vaccine to get DGDA nod for emergency use, but the first single-dose jab approved in the country.
The other approved vaccines are: Covishield produced by Serum Institute of India, Sputnik V of Generium Joint Stock Company of Russia, Sinopharm from Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co. Ltd of China, Pfizer vaccine manufactured by Pfizer Manufacturing Belgium NV, and Coronavac produced by Sinovac Life Sciences Ltd of China.
Also read: Alarming Covid surge in Bangladesh, 60 more die
Vaccine procurement update
Bangladesh will soon receive 10 lakh and 800 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine soon under COVAX facility, said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Friday.
Bangladesh Ambassador to the US conveyed the message of this development to the Foreign Minister.
Bangladesh, earlier sought 2 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine doses from the US for addressing Bangladesh's immediate needs but the US is yet to reply on that particular request.
Meanwhile, the second consignment of the Sinopharm vaccine, amounting to some 600,000 doses, arrived here on Sunday as a gift from the Chinese government.
Bangladesh has also received 100,620 doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine on June 1.
President Hamid calls on OIC to cooperate in poverty alleviation
President Abdul Hamid on Wednesday called upon the OIC member countries to make better use of science and technology in alleviation of poverty through sustainable development.
"Science and Technology will work as a game changer in poverty alleviation and sustainable development," he said while addressing the second OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) summit on science and technology.
The virtual summit at Kazakhstan’s capital Nur-Sultan carried the theme “Science, Technology and Innovation: Opening New Horizons”.
Read: SSF chief calls on President Hamid on its founding anniversry
The president said the collaboration can be done on dedicated projects bilaterally or on collective basis. “Many OIC member states have similar strengths and prospects in different areas and we can complement each other,” he said.
He also called upon scientists and researchers from OIC member country to exchange their expertise and knowledge in these fields.
He said that Bangladesh is giving special emphasis to scientific research, sustainable and environment friendly technology, peaceful uses of nuclear energy in the field of food and agriculture, health, power, human resource development, blue economy and so on.
"We have already entered the elite nuclear club by constructing a 2 thousand 400 Megawatt nuclear power plant in Rooppur," he added.
Bangladesh, he said, is promoting nuclear medicine, nanotechnology, food processing and preservation, modern biotechnology, gene banking and blue economy resources.
Hamid also proposed some ideas for joint plan of action like collaboration for Research and Development among OIC member states with OIC institutional support, establishment of high-tech industry and implementation of gradual clustering projects under IDB co-financing arrangement, development of mechanisms, networks and associations of scientists and entrepreneurs, incubation support for OIC-wide commercial application of innovations and job creation and technology transfer among member states.
Aga Khan Academy set to develop future leaders for Bangladesh
The Aga Khan Academy in Dhaka will soon begin its journey with “globally-minded but locally rooted” diversified students to develop future leaders for Bangladesh, officials said on Wednesday.
“I’ve visited many educational institutions across the world. I can tell you, amazing things are going to happen on this campus,” said Theodore John Coburn, the Founding Head of the Academy in Dhaka, while describing the goal and facilities of the Academy to a small group of journalists.
The goal of The Aga Khan Academy Dhaka is to develop future leaders for Bangladesh who are equipped with the skills to compete in a highly interconnected, competitive, and globalised world.
Read: Bangladeshi Marina Tabassum in Aga Khan Award for Architecture’s Steering Committee
“In addition to providing a rigorous academic and leadership experience, the Academies help students develop ethical and pluralistic behaviours through community engagement and service,” said Coburn who spent many years in the USA.
He said global as well as local perspectives are reflected in the curriculum, and students’ study in both English and Bangla languages, with a high percentage expected to graduate with a bilingual IB Diploma.
Admission process will start next month for the academic year starting from July 2022 when the Academy will be welcoming the first cohort of students, said the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).
Read Govt to set up National Judicial Academy: Law Minister
Award-winning and designed to international standards, the Academy in Dhaka, what they say an educational centre of excellence, will be the fourth in the network of 18 Aga Khan Academies globally, joining those in Mombasa (Kenya), Hyderabad (India) and Maputo (Mozambique).
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen who visited the Academy campus in Dhaka recently said the investments made by AKDN in the country and the establishment of this landmark project in Dhaka is in part a result of the cordial bilateral relations between the AKDN and the government of Bangladesh.
“The Ministry looks forward to facilitating and supporting all such worthy investments specially to help educate future global Bangladeshi leaders,” he said.
Read:Dhaka urges UN to take immediate steps to resolve Rohingya crisis
AKDN’s Resident Diplomatic Representative Munir M Merali said the Academy will have diversity in the classrooms with students from various parts of the country.
“Education remains a key area of interest for the Network in Bangladesh,” he said acknowledging the support of the government.
Govt takes tough stance against corruption : Quader
The government will take tough action against all those including ministers, MPs, businessmen and bureaucrats who are involved in corruption, said Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on Wednesday.
He said this during a regular briefing at his official residence in the morning.
Read: Quader warns tough action against errant party members
Claiming that the Anti-Corruption Comisison (ACC) is working as an independent investigation agency, the Awami League leader said that many ruling party MPs have also been convicted, no one is being freed and many of the AL men are in jail on corruption charges too.
Obaidul Quader made it clear that any candidate involved in corruption and misdeeds will not get nomination from the Awami League in the next elections.
He said according to ACC many cases are not seeing progress due to lack of evidences and so BNP should provide clear information without making false allegations and throwing stones in the dark, said Quader.
He also said that it is a matter of mockery when BNP which made the country five-time world champion in corruption and the founded ‘Hawa Bhaban’ talks against graft.
Read: Govt. is strengthening democratic institutions, says Quader
He said action would be taken through proper investigation against those who siphoned off money or amassed wealth through corruption.
Referring to Sheikh Hasina's government as a media-friendly one, the Awami League general secretary said she is involved in the joys and sorrows of the journalist community.
He said the massive expansion of the media in recent years demonstrates the government's liberal mindset.
The Awami League general secretary said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stood by media workers as a friend and relative during the Corona period and stressed on the importance of implementing the 9th Wage Board for protecting their professional dignity and financial security.
Read: Quader slams BNP for anti-people conspiracy
The Minister said that steps have been taken to provide legal assistance for the safety and security of media personnel.
Obaidul Quader also assured that the Digital Security Act will not be misused against journalists in any way.