death
Youth stabbed to death by cousin in Kishoreganj
A 22-year-old youth was stabbed to death allegedly by his cousin in Sadar upazila of Kishoreganj district on Wednesday night.
The deceased was identified as Abid Hasan Rahat, son of Anowar Ul Hoque of Rajgati union in Nandail upazila of the district. He was a first-year honours student of Government Gurudayal College.
The accused has been identified as Jubayer, 25, son of Shahidul Hoque.
Police said Rahat used to teach the accused’s nephew Fuyad, a resident of the Ukilpara area of the district town.
Around 6.30pm on Wednesday, an altercation broke out between Rahat and Jubayer at Fuyad's place over an unknown issue. The altercation suddenly turned violent when the accused pulled out a knife and stabbed him to death.
Read: Man killed trying to resist snatcher in Dhaka
Md Daud, officer-in-charge of Kishoreganj Model police station, said that as soon as they were alerted, a team rushed to the spot and recovered the body.
The body was sent to Kishoreganj Sadar Hospital morgue for an autopsy, he said adding that they are trying to determine the reason behind the murder.
One killed in Gazipur wall collapse
A 29-year-old man was killed and another injured when a mud wall collapsed on their housing shed in the Dighodha village of Gazipur district in the small hours of Friday.
The deceased was identified as Naim Hossain of the village.
Sabed Ali Khan, acting station officer of Kapasia Fire Service and Civil Defense, said the mud wall collapsed on the housing shed of the victims while they were fast asleep, leaving them injured.
Read: Worker dies in Ashulia wall collapse
On information, firemen pulled both of them out of the debris and rushed them to Kapasia upazila health complex where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Teen gansters stab teenager to death in Khulna
Members of a teen gang allegedly stabbed an 18-year-old fish seller to death in a dispute over Tk 100 Khulna city on Friday morning.
The victim, Yeasin Arafat, 18, was a fish trader of Sandhabazar in the city.
Locals and police said the gangsters aged between 15 and 18 attacked Yeasin over a debt of Tk100 they owed him.
The gangsters numbering about eight came on a battery-powerd three-wheeler at the southern end of Kashem Road in the city and hit Yeasin on the head with brick around 11am, they said.
Later, the teens stabbed him in the chest with meat cleavers and fled the scene leaving him critically injured.
Read: 6 teen gang members held over murder in Cumilla
He was rushed to Khulna Medical College Hospital where he succumbed to his wounds while undergoing treatment, Abul Hannan, sub-inspector of Nirala Police Outpost, said.
“We are trying to determine the actual reason for the murder and a drive is underway to nab the perpetrators,” the SI added.
Covid deaths lowest since pandemic began: WHO
The head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday that the number of coronavirus deaths worldwide last week was the lowest reported in the pandemic since March 2020, marking what could be a turning point in the years-long global outbreak.
At a press briefing in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the world has never been in a better position to stop COVID-19.
“We are not there yet, but the end is in sight,” he said, comparing the effort to that made by a marathon runner nearing the finish line. “Now is the worst time to stop running,” he said. “Now is the time to run harder and make sure we cross the line and reap all the rewards of our hard work.”
In its weekly report on the pandemic, the U.N. health agency said deaths fell by 22% in the past week, at just over 11,000 reported worldwide. There were 3.1 million new cases, a drop of 28%, continuing a weeks-long decline in the disease in every part of the world.
Still, the WHO warned that relaxed COVID testing and surveillance in many countries means that many cases are going unnoticed. The agency issued a set of policy briefs for governments to strengthen their efforts against the coronavirus ahead of the expected winter surge of COVID-19, warning that new variants could yet undo the progress made to date.
“If we don’t take this opportunity now, we run the risk of more variants, more deaths, more disruption, and more uncertainty,” Tedros said.
The WHO reported that the omicron subvariant BA.5 continues to dominate globally and comprised nearly 90% of virus samples shared with the world’s biggest public database. In recent weeks, regulatory authorities in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere have cleared tweaked vaccines that target both the original coronavirus and later variants including BA.5.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19, said the organization expected future waves of the disease, but was hopeful those would not cause many deaths.
Meanwhile in China, residents of a city in the country’s far western Xinjiang region have said they are experiencing hunger, forced quarantines and dwindling supplies of medicine and daily necessities after more than 40 days in a lockdown prompted by COVID-19.
Hundreds of posts from Ghulja riveted users of Chinese social media last week, with residents sharing videos of empty refrigerators, feverish children and people shouting from their windows.
On Monday, local police announced the arrests of six people for “spreading rumors” about the lockdown, including posts about a dead child and an alleged suicide, which they said “incited opposition” and “disrupted social order.”
Leaked directives from government offices show that workers are being ordered to avoid negative information and spread “positive energy” instead. One directed state media to film “smiling seniors” and “children having fun” in neighborhoods emerging from the lockdown.
The government has ordered mass testing and district lockdowns in cities across China in recent weeks, from Sanya on tropical Hainan island to southwest Chengdu, to the northern port city of Dalian.
Also read: Global Covid cases near 615 million
Four killed in Chattogram as covered van crashes into auto-rickshaw
At least four people have been killed and five, including an inspector of Highway Police, hurt in Chattogram's Mirsharai, where a collision took place close to one hour before midnight.
"Wednesday's accident occurred at 10:45pm at Dakshin Sonapahar of Zorarganj as a covered van crashed into a CNG-run auto-rickshaw. The identities of the deceased could not immediately be confirmed," Mohammad Khairul Alam, officer-in-charge of Zorarganj Police Station, told UNB.
Before that, there was a crash involving a Chattogram-bound bus and a Dhaka-bound lorry. Although there were no casualties, the drivers and passengers of the vehicles got into a heated debate.
A team of Highway Police went to the spot to calm things down. Also, four locals went to the scene on an auto-rickshaw. At this time, a covered van rammed into the vehicle and ran over Highway Police Inspector Monir Hossain, killing four on the spot.
"Locals rushed Monir to the hospital in a critical condition. He was later shifted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital as his condition worsened," Khairul said.
Also read: 8 killed in India elevator crash
One dead, five injured in Kushtia clash
A 55-year old man was stabbed to death while five others were injured in a clash between two groups in Kumarkhali upazila of Kushtia district on Saturday morning.
The deceased was identified as Abdur Razzaque, who worked as a peon with the Gopgram land office in the upazila.
Around 8.30am, local residents called a meeting at Kamarkandi Bazar to resolve the differences between supporters of the current member of Kamarkandi village's ward number 5 Abdus Sattar and former member Firoz Khan.
Abdus' supporters had allegedly given shelter to a thief since Friday night, said Kamruzzaman Talukder, officer-in-charge of Kumarkhali police station. "This was after the thief was chased by Firoz’s supporters."
Read: 10 including Ansar members hurt in clash with Sitakunda slum-dwellers
Amid a heated debate, supporters of Firoz allegedly stabbed Abdur who was part of the other group, the OC said.
Abdur was rushed to Kushtia General Hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival. The injured are being treated, said the police officer.
Police personnel have been deployed in the area, and the situation is currently under control, said the OC.
World pays respects to Queen Elizabeth II, 'a servant queen'
Across the globe, the death of Queen Elizabeth II has prompted reflections on the historic sweep of her reign and how she succeeded in presiding over the end of Britain’s colonial empire and embracing the independence of her former dominions.
Tributes to the queen’s life have poured in, from world leaders to rock stars to ordinary people — along with some criticism of the monarchy.
It was in Cape Town, marking her 21st birthday in 1947, that the then-Princess Elizabeth pledged that her “whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”
The British empire soon crumbled, but Elizabeth managed to maintain a regal — if ceremonial — position as the head of the Commonwealth, the 54 nations of mostly previous British colonies.
“The Queen lived a long and consequential life, fulfilling her pledge to serve until her very last breath at the age of 96,” Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, said Friday. “She was an exemplary leader of the kind seldom seen in the modern era.”
As queen, Elizabeth was seen as endorsing the birth of democracies in former colonies in Africa where Black citizens previously had been denied basic rights, including the vote. When in glittering tiaras she danced with new African leaders in the 1960s and visited their capitals, she burnished their new institutions.
When white-minority rule finally fell in South Africa in 1994, Elizabeth welcomed Nelson Mandela as a world leader. Her warm friendship with Mandela gave her a new relevance.
“In the years after his release from prison, (Mandela) cultivated a close relationship with the queen. He hosted her in South Africa and visited her in England, taking particular delight in exploring Buckingham Palace. They also talked on the phone frequently, using their first names with each other as a sign of mutual respect as well as affection,” the Nelson Mandela Foundation said Friday.
“For Madiba, (Mandela’s clan name) it was important that the former colonial power in southern Africa should be drawn into cordial and productive relations with the newly democratic republic of South Africa.”
Fellow anti-apartheid fighter the late Anglican archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu also enjoyed good relations with the queen.
Read: British sports hold day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II
“Although ensconced in the pomp, ceremony and lifestyle of royalty and empire, in a world of profound inequality, she was a servant queen,” Tutu’s foundation and trust said Friday.
In contrast, a scathing view of the queen’s rule was issued by South Africa’s populist party, the Economic Freedom Fighters. The queen was “head of an institution built up, sustained, and living off a brutal legacy of dehumanization of millions of people across the world,” it said.
“We do not mourn the death of Elizabeth, because to us her death is a reminder of a very tragic period in this country and Africa’s history,” said the party. “During her 70-year reign as queen, she never once acknowledged the atrocities that her family inflicted on native people that Britain invaded across the world. She willingly benefited from the wealth that was attained from the exploitation and murder of millions of people.”
Some Irish soccer fans raucously cheered the queen’s death at a match Thursday, according to videos posted online that angered her supporters. The Republic of Ireland’s leadership expressed condolences and admiration for the queen.
The widespread tributes that followed her death came not only from U.S. President Joe Biden but also from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
She was a “stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States,” Biden and first lady Jill Biden said, adding that she ”defined an era.”
Putin sent a telegram to King Charles III — Elizabeth’s oldest son who automatically became Britain’s new monarch.
“For many decades, Elizabeth II rightfully enjoyed the love and respect of her subjects, as well as authority on the world stage. I wish you courage and perseverance in the face of this heavy, irreparable loss,” Putin wrote.
Elizabeth was mourned across Europe. In France, Britain’s historic rival and contemporary ally, flags at the presidential palace and public buildings were lowered to half-staff on Friday.
French President Emmanuel Macron released a video Friday in English expressing a sense of “emptiness” after her passing. Addressing the British public, he said: “To you, she was your Queen. To us, she was THE Queen, to all of us.”
3 youths killed as two motorcycles collide head-on with lorry in Kushtia
Three youths were killed and another was seriously injured as two motorcycles collided head-on with a lorry in Kushtia on Friday.
The victims who died were identified as Jewel, 25, of Mohini Mill area of Kushtia, Faruk Mistry, 24, son of Shaukat Ali of Kumargara area and Rahul, 20, son of Manohar Sheikh of the same area.
Injured Biplab, 20, from the Serhas area, was rushed to Kushtia General Hospital from where he was referred to Dhaka for better treatment.
Read: BGB member killed in Bhola road accident
The accident occurred near the Battail Ansar camp on the Kushtia-Jhenaidah highway around 8:30 pm on Friday, said Idris Ali, officer-in-charge (OC) of Kushtia Highway Police.
The victims were coming towards Kushtia on two motorcycles and trying to pass each other. Suddenly both motorcycles collided head-on with a lorry near Battail Ansar camp on the Kushtia-Jhenaidah highway, leaving two dead on the spot.
Another one died after being rushed to hospital, added the OC.
Prof Yunus condoles death of Akbar Ali Khan
Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammed Yunus has expressed shock and deep sorrow at the death of former adviser to the caretaker government and prominent economist Dr Akbar Ali Khan.
Akbar Ali Khan passed away in Dhaka Thursday night after a prolonged illness. He was 78.
In his condolence message, Prof Yunus said "I knew Akbar Ali Khan since his student life but I got the chance to work with him in-depth when he was appointed as the chairman of Grameen Bank as a representative of the government."
Dr Khan worked as the chairman of Grameen Bank for almost five years and he quickly adopted the activities of Grameen Bank as his own, said Prof Yunus.
"His thoughts gave us inspiration all the time," the Nobel Laureate said.
Read: Akbar Ali Khan laid to rest
"During his chairmanship, his support and initiatives made Grameen Bank a powerful institution. Dr Khan had a deep love for the countrymen, especially needy women," he added.
Prof Yunus said that in his personal life Dr Akbar’s honesty was beyond question and recalled his huge contributions to the country.
Prof Yunus prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and extended his heartfelt sympathy to Akbar Ali Khan's family.
Sirajganj: Woman dies of heart attack after seeing dead bodies
A 62-year-old woman died after suffering a cardiac arrest on seeing the dead bodies of a group killed in a lightning strike in Ullapara of Sirajganj.
Hosne Ara Khatun was the wife of Shobha Ali Mallik of Mallikpara village in Enayatpur.
Ujjal Hossain, upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Ullapara confirmed the matter to UNB and said that nine agricultural workers were killed by a lightning strike while working on a paddy field in Matikora village of Panchkroshi union of the upazila on Thursday afternoon.
Among the victims, five of them were from the same family of Shibpur village in the municipal area. When the bodies were brought to their home in Shivpur village, hundreds of men and women from different areas gathered to see them.
Hosne Ara Khatun also went to see the bodies. Seeing the bodies affected her badly, and on her way back home, she suffered a cardiac arrest.
She was eventually rushed to a nearby hospital where the doctors declared her dead, added the UNO.
Earlier, lightning strike killed nine agricultural workers and injured four others in Sirajganj's Ullapara upazila Thursday, according to police.
Read: Lightning strike kill 9 men at work in Sirajganj
Eight of the deceased were identified as Md Mobarak, 40, Monnaf Hossain, 19, Shamsher Ali, 62, Md Afsar, 63, Md Shahin, 21, Abdul Kuddus, 60, Shah Alam, 42 and Ritu Khatun, 15, Mohammad Mahfuz, assistant superintendent of police (ASP) of Ullapara Circle, said.
The workers were planting paddy seedlings when it started to rain heavily, Nazrul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Ullapara Police Station, said.
"Then all of them sheltered in a house near the field. Suddenly a streak of lightning struck the men, killing five of them on the spot and leaving others critically injured," Nazrul said.
"The locals rushed the injured to different hospitals and clinics where they died while undergoing treatment."