United News of Bangladesh

Eminent artist Professor Mostafizul Haque, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Shanto-Mariam University of Creative Technology, has received Mahatma Gandhi International Peace Awards-2023 from the Bharat Bangladesh Maitry Society Kolkata and Asian Business Partnership Summit.  The award giving ceremony was held as a part of India-Bangladesh Friendship Festival in Kolkata recently. Mostafizul won the award for his contribution to field of fine arts through developing children’s interest in art and drawing.  He said that to him the best use of his creativity was inspiring young children to become artists. Prof Mostafizul completed his Bachelors and Masters in Fine Arts from the then Art College (now Fine Arts Faculty under Dhaka University). Later, he studied in Japan on scholarship, says a press release on Wednesday afternoon.  He joined drawing and painting department of Fine Arts Faculty of Dhaka University in 1995.      

A child who suffered burn injuries in a gas cylinder blast at Bhashan Char Rohingya camp on Saturday died at Chattogram Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) on Wednesday, taking the death toll from the incident to four. The deceased was identified as Sohel, 5. Sohel succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at CMCH this morning, said hospital Director Brigadier General Md Shamim Ahsan. The child suffered 50 percent burn injuries and his trachea was also severely affected.   On Saturday, nine people were injured when a gas cylinder exploded at the Rohingya camp in Bhashanchar area. Of them, seven were taken to Chattogram Medical College and Hospital for treatment where Russel, 3, succumbed to his injuries on that day. Two more Rohingya children -- Mubashshera, 4, and Robi Alam, 5 -- died at CMCH on Monday. Currently, Jobaida, 22, Rosmina, 5, and Amena Khatun, 24 are undergoing treatment at the hospital, said Director of Chattogram Medical College and Hospital, Brigadier Shamim Ahsan. Of them, Roshmina suffered 50 percent burn injuries, Amena eight percent, and Jobaida 25 percent burn injuries.  

MPs elected to reserved women's seats will take their oaths this afternoon. Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury will administer the oath-taking ceremony at the oath chamber of the Jatiya Sangsad at 3:30 pm. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be present at the ceremony, according to her official schedule. The Parliament Secretariat has taken all preparations for the oath-taking ceremony, according to the sources in Parliament. The Election Commission Secretariat announced the election of 50 MPs to reserved women's seats for the 12th National Parliament on Tuesday.  Among them, two are from Jatiya Party while the remaining are from Awami League and one from Ganotantri Party, a partner of the 14-party alliance. According to sources in the Parliament Secretariat, the oath of Awami League MPs will be held first. After that, two members of Jatiya Party will take oath.  The sworn-in MPs will attend today’s parliament session. According to sources, the seat distribution has been finalised.  

Dhaka has topped the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality with an AQI score of 274 at 9 am on Wednesday morning . Dhaka’s air was classified as 'very unhealthy', posing serious health risks to residents, according to the air quality index. China’s Shenyang, Kyrgyzstan’s Bishkek, and China’s Wuhan occupied the second, third and fourth spots on the list, with AQI scores of 194, 176 and 169 respectively. When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 101 and 150, air quality is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, between 150 and 200 is ‘unhealthy’, between 201 and 300 is said to be 'very unhealthy', while a reading of 301+ is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents. The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, informs people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is and what associated health effects might be a concern for them. The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five 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. As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.    

Seven people sustained burn injuries from two fires that broke out at a house in Dhaka’s Shahjahanpur Jheel Mosque area on Tuesday. The fires broke out in the same house at 8am and 6pm on Tuesday. The injured were identified as Mintu Hawlader, 40; his daughter Maria Ishrat, 19, sanitary mechanic Monir Hossain, 41, Delwar Hossain, 57; and neighbours Ali Akbar, 35; Bachchu Mia, 45; and Sirajul Islam, 48. They were admitted to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Mintu said the smell of gas was often found in the bathroom and kitchen of their rented house on the ground floor. “However, I could not find where the gas leaked from.” A fire broke out in the kitchen around 8am on Tuesday. He and his neighbour, Bachchu Mia, were burned. Mintu's wife Jharna Akhter said the injured were taken to the burn institute in the morning. After the fire incident in the morning, the sanitary mechanic went to the house to repair the leak in the evening. Then there was a fire from the accumulated gas again, she said. Maria, the sanitary mechanic, and the rest were burned in the second fire. Later, they were taken to the Burn Institute, added Jharna. Tariqul Islam, a resident surgeon at the burn institute, said Mintu suffered 40 percent burns. The other injured have burn injuries in different parts of their bodies, including hands and faces. All have been kept under treatment.

Agriculture Minister Dr Md. Abdus Shahid said climate change is a key challenge to sustainable food security. The importance of agriculture is immense for the food security of the country's 17 crore people. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the present government has achieved tremendous success in food security and agricultural production due to its agriculture-friendly policies, he said. The minister was speaking at an international seminar on climate change, food security and challenges in sustainable agriculture in Bangladesh at Hotel Amari in the capital on Tuesday. The Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an organization of international agricultural research institutes, organized the event. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. Climate change will pose a direct risk to future food production, especially rice production; It can have a negative impact on rice production. Considering these issues, the present government is working on a priority basis to combat the adverse effects of climate change. The government's goal is to build a sustainable, safe and profitable agricultural system, said the minister. Presided over by Prof Lutful Hassan, member of the expert poll of the Ministry of Agriculture, the function was addressed, among others, by Homnath Bhandari, Bangladesh Representative of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Dau Da An, Senior Officer of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, Phelloun Chan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia and Björn Ole Sander, Senior Scientist of IRRI. A total of 50 delegates from 17 countries are participating in the seminar.    

Development Organization of the Rural Poor (DORP) and Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK) Bangladesh has held a joint partners’ meeting in a bid to increase cooperation for strengthening Tobacco Control law. The meeting, organised at the DORP central office on Tuesday, discussed the future action plan to advance the advocacy activities for strengthening the tobacco control law and increasing tobacco tax, reads a press release.  CTFK Regional Director for South Asia Dr Maheen Malik visited the DORP office prior to the meeting.  She said, "DORP and CTFK will continue their coordinated activities to stop the menace of tobacco and will play a leading role in building a tobacco-free future for Bangladesh and the rest of the world". Rubina Islam, program coordinator of the TC project, gave a detailed presentation on the progress and achievements of the organisation in combatting tobacco. DORP Executive Adviser Md. Azhar Ali Talukder felicitated Dr. Malik with flowers. DORP Founder and CEO AHM Nouman delivered the welcome address on the occasion. In the brief meeting, Mohammad Zobair Hassan, the deputy executive director of the organization, highlighted DORP's activities across the country. Mostafizur Rahman, Lead Policy Advisor, Md. Abdus Salam Mia, Manager of programs, Ataur Rahman Masud, Manager of advocacy, and Humaira Sultana, Manager, of Communications were also present on behalf of CTFK Bangladesh. Senior officers of DORP also actively participated in the meeting. DORP has been involved in various development programs since 1987 and is best known for introducing maternity allowance. In line with this, DORP is currently working on tobacco control law increasing tobacco taxes, and implementing various projects to achieve the government's sustainable development goals.    

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Faruk Khan said on Tuesday that the development work of Osmani Airport will be completed within the next 2-3 years. “The slow pace of development work in different countries of the world is an inevitable reality. There are many international crises including dollars in our country.For these reasons, it is taking some time to complete the mega project of Sylhet MAG Osmani International Airport,” he said. “Efforts are being made to complete the project as soon as possible,” the minister said after visiting the development work of Sylhet Osmani International Airport on Tuesday afternoon. “Work has begun to install advanced radar at Osmani Airport. All problems will be solved in the next two years,” he added. At the time, the minister also inquired about the construction work of the cargo terminal at Sylhet Osmani International Airport and provided overall directions. Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Md Mokammel Hossain, among others, were present at the time.

Md Omar Faruque was elected as president and Md Mohibul Ahsan as general secretary at the 10th general election of the Executive Committee of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Officers' Association of Bangladesh on Tuesday. The results were announced in the presence of UGC Secretary Dr Ferdous Zaman, the contesting candidates and officials, according to a press release on Tuesday. UGC Additional Director of Planning and Development Department Shah Aminul Islam acted as the Chief Election Commissioner. The election commissioners were Deputy Director of Planning and Development Department Shibananda Shil and Deputy Director of Public Relations and Right to Information Division Mohammad Abdul Mannan. Faruque is the director of Private University Division of UGC and Mohibul Ahsan is the deputy director of the same department, it said. The 11-member executive committee will serve for the next two years. The other office-bearers of the committee are- Vice-Presidents Md Mostafizur Rahman and Md. Abdul Mannan, Joint General Secretary Mohammad Yousuf Ali Khan, Sports and Cultural Secretary Mosharraf Hossain, Organizing and Publicity Secretary Rabiul Islam, Treasurer Morshed Ahmed and members M Maruf Alam James, Mohammad Nur Islam Chowdhury and Md. Nurul Islam Chowdhury. Abdullah Al Mamun, added the release.

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has issued a detailed guideline regarding the appointment and responsibilities of the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a bank. Banking Regulation and Policy Department of BB issued the guideline on Tuesday and sent it to the top executives of all banks for immediate execution.The introduction of the guidelines states that to ensure good governance in the banking sector, it is necessary to appoint a suitable, professionally competent, and experienced managing director or chief executive officer.Bank companies are facing greater challenges in operational management along with managing business and technical risks than ever before. In this context, there is a need to issue clear instructions regarding the appointment of the managing director or chief executive officer of the bank, said the instruction.