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AIBTRI holds development programme on Bangladesh's LDC graduation
Al-Arafah Islami Bank Training and Research Institute (AIBTRI) held a day-long development programme on "Bangladesh's LDC Graduation: Implications and Challenges" organised Wednesday.
Farman R Chowdhury, managing director and CEO of the bank, inaugurated the programme online as chief guest.
Professor Mostafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, was the keynote speaker at the programme.
Deputy managing directors of Al-Arafah Islami Bank S M Jaffar, Shabbir Ahmed, Md Shafiqur Rahman, Syed Masodul Bari, Md Mahmudur Rahman, Abed Ahmed Khan, Md Abdullah Al Mamun; AIBTRI Director-General Md Abdul Awwal Sarker and senior executives of the bank joined the programme, according to a media statement.
Humayun Rasheed Choudhury’s role in protecting Bangabandhu’s daughters unforgettable: President
President Abdul Hamid on Thursday said the role of late Speaker Humayun Rasheed Choudhury in arranging political asylum for Bangabandhu’s two daughters after his assassination in 1975 will never be forgotten.
“Bangabandhu's two daughters were safe in his (Humayun’s) shelter for six days from August 15 to August 21 and he gave them mental strength and courage. He arranged political asylum for them in Delhi. This incomparable contribution of the late Speaker in time of their extreme danger can never be forgotten,” he said.
The President made the remarks while addressing a virtual discussion meeting on late Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Humayun Rasheed Choudhury.
Speaker Humayun Rasheed Choudhury Memorial Council (HRCMC) organised the event, marking the late Speaker’s 94th birth anniversary.
Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque and Labour and Employment Ministry Secretary Ehsan E Elahi also spoke at the programme with HRCMC president and former Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Md Nojibur Rahman in the chair.
Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, a Singapore-based renowned scholar-diplomat and former Foreign Affairs Advisor of Bangladesh Caretaker Government, delivered the keynote speech titled “Humayun Rasheed Choudhury: My Memory of a Hero”.
President Abdul Hamid said Humayun Rasheed was the Ambassador of Bangladesh to Germany when Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with most of his family members was brutally assassinated on August 15, 1975.
At that time, he said, many politicians, bureaucrats, intellectuals and opportunists changed their stance overnight. “But Humayun Rasheed Choudhury was different. Neither greed nor the risk of life could deviate him from justice and ideals; he didn’t sell his conscience.”
The President said Bangabandhu’s daughters -- current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana -- fortunately escaped the bullets of the assassins as they were staying at the house of Sanaul Haque, a close associate of Bangabandhu and then Bangladesh Ambassador to Belgium.
Extensive research needed to unlock potentials of blue economy: Minister
Planning Minister MA Mannan has emphasised extensive research on blue economy to unlock its potentials and get maximum benefits from the Bay of Bengal.
“The government is interested to assist private sector and different organizations in carrying out research works on sea and coastal areas for the development of blue economy,” Mannan said.
The minister came with remarks at a discussion meeting on ‘Blue Economy Prospectus and Challenges’ on Thursday at the Jatiya Press Club, organized by Save Our Sea, a platform that works for clean sea.
He said environment and blue economy are getting priority in the global arena as both the sectors would play a vital role in the world economy in future.
Regarding the demand of including oceanography in the textbooks, the Planning Minister said that the Prime Minister always encourages children to know about the resources of the country.
Dr. Jasim Uddin, professor of Department of Botany of Dhaka Univeristy and Dr Sontosh Kumar, Chairman Hospitality and Tourism Department, attended the discussion as special guests.
Chairman of the department of Oceanography of Chinttagong University Dr. Muhammad Muslem Uddin Monna gave key note presentation in the discussion meeting.
Head of maritime development and strategic studiesof Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Maritime University Commodore Wahid Hasan Kutubuddin, assistant chief conservator of Forests, the Directorate of Forest, Dr. Maryam Akter, Deputy Director (operation) of Cost Guard Department M Nur-Uzzaman, among others, spoke at the function.
Anowarul Hoque, secretary of Save Our Sea, moderated the discussion.
Dengue outbreak in Bangladesh: 176 more hospitalised in 24 hrs
Bangladesh reported 176 new dengue patients being hospitalized in 24 hours till Thursday morning.
The number of fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease this year remained unchanged at 96 as no fresh death was reported during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Of them, 88 people died in Dhaka division alone, two each in Chattogram, Mymensingh and Khulna divisions and one each in Rajshahi and Barishal divisions.
Also read: Dengue: Another 163 people hospitalised, no new death
Among the new patients, 135 were undergoing treatment in hospitals in Dhaka while the remaining 41 cases were reported from outside the division.
Some 684 patients diagnosed with dengue are receiving treatment in the country as of Thursday.
Of them, 550 patients are receiving treatment at different hospitals in the capital while the remaining 134 were listed outside Dhaka.
Also read: Dengue claims one more and infect another 106 people
Since January, some 25,241 patients have been admitted to different hospitals with dengue in the country. So far, 24,461 dengue patients have left hospitals after recovery, said DGHS.
In September, the country recorded the highest number of 7,841 dengue cases of the current year with 23 deaths.
In October, the number of dengue cases came down to 5,604 with 22 deaths recorded.
Developed countries must fulfill climate pledges: Info Mins
Information and Broadcasting Minister Hassan Mahmud has said that the procrastination of developed countries to provide funds to mitigate climate change damages is not acceptable.
Hasan Mahmud said that donors are not coming forward to help Bangladesh with funds to boost its capacity to tackle climate crisis.
Read: COP26: Time running out in Glasgow, as delegates wrangle over details
The minister made this remark at a COP26 side event titled ‘Transparency Mechanism under Paris Agreement: issues, concern and opportunity for effective implementation in Bangladesh’ organised by Center for Climate Change & Environmental Research (C3ER) BRAC University at Bangladesh Pavilion in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Wednesday evening.
‘Bangladesh has the capacity to deal with the damage caused by climate change and the government has shown its capability to take effective adaptation activities’, he added.
He said that Bangladesh is an innocent victim of climate damage caused mainly by developed countries. But they are not taking any reponsibilityfor this.
Yet Bangladesh did not surrender to the effects of climate change. On the contrary, it is working with its own funds at the directive or Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the minister added.
He said that various initiatives have been taken by the government to produce climate tolerant rice. Especially crops tolerant of drought, flood and salinity.
He also said the developed countries should provide necessary financial and technical assistance to the affected countries to address climate risk.
Tanvir Shakil Joy Member of Parliament, said adaptation is most important for Bangladesh. Climate projects should be developed based on indigenous and traditional knowledge through consultation and participation of local communities.
ICCAD Director Dr Saleemul Huq said the biggest failure of the COP is to meet 100 billion dollar climate fund pledge. The second failure is that there is very little funding for climate finance adaptation.
Read:Prepare road map to raise green energy use to 40% by 2041: Info Minister
Gerry Fox, Team Leader, PROKAS, British Council "stated that local adaption will be key to the future in combating climate change. In Bangladesh we are developing a climate finance ecosystem which brings together lead organizations working at local, national and global, creating a virtuous circle to strengthen adaption solutions that respond to community needs, and develop a system that provides the necessary MRV to encourage increased global funds.)
Climate experts Dr. Salimul Haque and Dr. Atik Rahman spokev at the event which was presided over by water and climate expert Dr. Ainun Nishat.
Bangladesh gets close to zero Covid-linked death
Bangladesh reported just one Covid-related death from Dhaka division and reported 237 fresh infections in 24 hours till Thursday morning.
On November 6, the country saw another single death from Covid-19 which was the lowest in nearly 18 months along with 154 cases.
With this, the daily-case positivity rate slightly declined to 1.21 per cent from Wednesday’s 1.31 per cent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS)
The fresh numbers took the total fatalities to 27,907 while the country’s caseload mounted to 1,571,906, said the DGHS.
Also read: Uber to provide 50,000 free rides for Covid vaccine seekers in Dhaka
The one who died during the period was a man.
Of the fresh cases, 188 were detected from Dhaka division while the other divisions logged 49 Covid-19 infections.
However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.78 per cent.
The fresh cases were detected after testing 19,544 samples, said the DGHS.
Besides, the recovery rate remained unchanged at 97.71 per cent with the recovery of 231 more patients during the period.
Also read: Two Bangladeshi companies get DGDA nod for marketing oral Covid drug
So far, 32,259,705 people have fully been vaccinated in the country while 50,151,447received the first dose as of Wednesday, according to the DGHS.
Decision to raise fuel price was political, not bureaucratic: Energy Secretary
Senior Scecretary of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division has said that the decision to raise fuel price was absolutely a political, not a bureaucratic one.
“This was fully a political decision and it was not taken by bureaucrats”, he told a webinar, organised by Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh (FERB) on Thursday.
Defending the fuel price hike, he said there was no other option for Energy Division but to raise the price.
He, however, said there is no plan of raising the price of octane or petrol as the two items are produced locally.
Read:Consumers have to bear some of the burden of increased fuel price: Finance Minister
In the seminar: titled: “Fuel Price Hike: Upcoming Impact” Secretary General of the Bangladesh Jatrikalayan Samity, Mozemmel Haque Chowdhury said the people will have to pay Tk 73,000 crore extra due to the fuel price and bus fare hike.
The government recently increased the price of diesel and kerosene by 23 percent and subsequently bus fare by 26 percent.
With FERB chairman Arun Karmaker, the virtual seminar was also addressed by Chairman of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) ABM Azad, advisor of Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) prof M Shamsul Alam, energy expert Prof Ijaz Hossain, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Director Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) director Mohiuddin Rubel.
ABM Azad said BPC has no authority to take decision on price.
“The ultimate decision comes from the government and it has to implement the decision as per law”, he added.
Mozammel Haque said the mass people have been pushed to a deep crisis through raising the fuel price.
He said passengers have to pay daily Tk 200 crore and Tk 73,000 crore annually for increased bus fares.
He said the government can easily adjust the BPC’s loss of Tk 6000 crore from the National Budget of Tk 600,000 crore
Dr Golam Moazzem said the government had many options other than raising the fuel price to cover its loss.
He said if the taxes are waived on the fuel import, it would not have to raise the price or the government can compensate BPC loss with stimulus package.
Read:CPD for reinstating previous fuel prices
Mohiuddin Rubel said the garment sector will have direct impact of Tk 3000 crore loss. It would have been better if the government waited for some more times. “We have just started recovering from the Cofid-19 effect. At this stage, such a decision was taken to raise the fuel price”.
Mohammad Hatem, President of BKMEA, said this was not right time to increase the fuel price when economy has just started recovering from shock of the COVID-19.
CAB advisor Prof Shamsul Alam said it’s a bureaucratic decision to raise the fuel price, not a political one.
He alleged that the government is now acting as player instead of a regulator while owners of transport sector has been acting as regularor.
He said the BPC violated the law in raising the fuel price and In future, the officials will face the trial for violation of law.
BUET’s former Professor Ijaz Hossain said all previous governments tried keep the diesel price lower. But current decision seems it is trying to change the policy.
BPDB chairman Belayet Hossain said BPDB is a consumer of energy sector. He also agreed with the apprehension as the economy will suffer from fuel price hike.
2nd phase of UP polls marred by violence; 6 dead
At least six people were killed and over 100 others injured as the 2nd phase of union parishad (UP) elections ended on Thursday afternoon amid sporadic violence and irregularities. Violence was reported from different parts of the country, including Narsingdi, Cox’s Bazar, Cumilla and Chattogram. Three people had been killed and 30 others injured at Bashgari union in Raipura upazila of Narsingdi district, hours before the voting began. The deceased were identified as Salauddin, 30, son of Hekim Mia, Jahangir, 26, son of Abdul Haque Mia and Dulala, 45, son of Hazi Siraj of Bashgari village in the upazila. The deceased were supporters of Ashraful Islam, an Awami League-backed candidate for the post of chairman in Bashgari UP. Satyajit Kumar Ghosh, assistant superintendent of police (Raipura circle), said supporters of Ashraful and Ratul Hasan Zakir, an independent candidate, attacked each other in front of Bashgari Union Parishad complex around 6 am, two hours before the beginning of the elections. The two groups fired gunshots and attacked each other with teta (a type of fish spearing), leaving three people dead and 30 others injured, he said. The injured were taken to Brahmanbaria and Narsingdi Sadar hospitals. On information, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.
Read: UP polls violence leaves one dead in Cumilla UNB Cox’s Bazar correspondent reports: A man was shot dead and six others were injured in a clash between the supporters of two member candidates at Khurushkul in Sadar upazila. The deceased was identified as Akteruzzaman Putu, 35, younger brother of Sheikh Kamal, a member candidate of Khurushkul No 1 ward. Commander of Crime Prevention Specialized Company (CCPS) Major Mehedi Hasan of Rab-15 said the supporters of member candidate Babul were trying to stuff ballots during voting at Khurushkul Tetoia Government Primary School centre. But the supporters of Akterruzaman obstructed them, triggering the clash. In Cumilla, a clash broke out around 12pm between the supporters of Awami League-backed chairman candidate Zakir Hossain and independent candidate Harun-ur-Rashid over establishing dominance at Amirabad Primary School centre of Manikar union in Meghna upazila, leaving 21 people injured.
UP polls violence leaves one dead in Cumilla
A youth was killed and 20 others were injured at Manikar union in Meghna upazila of Cumilla district during the Union Parishad (UP) polls across the country on Thursday.
The deceased was identified as Shaon Mia, a supporter of an independent candidate for chairman post.
Read: College teacher on poll duty dies in Kushtia
Locals said a clash broke out around 12pm between the supporters of Awami League-backed candidate Jakir Hossain and independent candidate Harun-ur-Rashid over establishing dominance at Amirabad Primary School center in the union leaving over 20 people injured.
Later, the injured were sent to Meghna upazila Health Complex where doctors declared Shaon dead.
Dr Salauddin Molla, consultant of the Health Complex, said one of the inured died upon arrival and six others were shifted to Dhaka for better treatment as their condition deteriorated.
Read: UP polls violence: 3 killed in Narsingdi
Polling began in 835 of 848 UPs at 8am on Thursday and will continue till 4pm.
More than 41,000 candidates, including 3,310 contenders for the post of chairman, are contesting in the countrywide second phase UP election.
Highway commuters suffer as sinkhole appears on Tongi Bridge in Gazipur
A sinkhole has appeared on Tongi Bridge, triggering traffic chaos on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Gazipur.
In fact, since Thursday morning, vehicles have been moving at a snail's pace on the highway, leading to a long tailback on the Gazipur-Dhaka carriageway of the corridor.
Commuters are having a harrowing time due to the snarl on the highway, reports our Gazipur correspondent.
Read: Govt rolls back Jhilmil Flyover project
Due to the ongoing BRT project and the construction of another bridge, Kamarpara Road always remains congested. The sinkhole has added to the sufferings.
Gazipur Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (traffic) Abdullah Al Mamun said a small pothole on the bridge grew into a sinkhole, disrupting traffic on the highway.
Read: Two women die after being hit by train in Khulna