Others
Shaheed Asad Day Friday
Shaheed Asad Day will be observed in the country on Friday, commemorating the great sacrifice of student leader Asaduzzaman Asad during the mass upsurge of 1969 that led to Bangladesh’s independence.
The nation is set to recall Asad's supreme sacrifice with deep gratitude though various programmes, marking the 54th anniversary of his martyrdom.
On this day in 1969, Asaduzzaman Asad was killed in firing by Pakistani forces before Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) while protesting against their repressive acts on the then East Pakistan people.
Read more: Why hasn’t the UN recognised 1971 Bangladesh Genocide yet?
A graduate student of History at Dhaka University during that time, Asad was also the DU unit president and Dhaka city unit general secretary of erstwhile East Pakistan Chhatra Union.
Then President Ayub Khan was forced to step down amid a mass revolt fuelled by the incident.
Different socio-political organisations, including Shaheed Asad Parishad, have chalked out elaborate programmes marking the day.
Meanwhile, President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages on the occasion paying homage to the memory of Asaduzzaman Asad. They also prayed for the eternal peace of Asad's departed soul.
2nd phase Bishwa Ijtema: Metro rail to operate from 8am-5pm on Jan 22
The metro rail in Dhaka will be operated from 8am to 5pm on January 22 for the smooth movement of the devotees attending the second phase of Bishwa Ijtema.
The metro rail authority will extend their service hour to facilitate the devotees on the ‘Akheri Munajat’ (final prayer) day, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) (Public Relations) Nazmul Islam Bhuiyan told UNB on Thursday.
The second phase of Ijtema will be held from January 20 to 22 this year.
Read more: GMP issues traffic directives to reduce sufferings of Ijtema devotees
The metro rail currently operates for four hours daily from 8:00am.
The country’s commuting system entered a new era on December 28 last year with the inauguration of the operation of the first phase of metro rail service -- Uttara to Agargaon in the capital.
Covid-19: Bangladesh logs 9 more cases
Bangladesh reported nine more Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours till Thursday morning.
With the new number, the country's total caseload rose to 2,037,408, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,441 as no new fatalities were reported.
Read more: Hong Kong to scrap isolation rule for new COVID-19 cases
The daily case test positivity dropped to 0.32 percent from Wednesday's 0.53 percent as 2,823 samples were tested.
The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.45 percent while the recovery rate rose to 97.69 percent.
Bangladesh reported its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 in 2021 and daily fatalities of 264 on August 5 of the same year.
Bangladesh reports 16 more dengue cases
Nineteen more people were hospitalised with dengue in the 24 hours till Thursday morning.
Of the new patients, six were admitted to hospitals in Dhaka and 10 outside it, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
A total of 75 dengue patients, including 35 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
Read more: Bangladesh reports 2 more dengue deaths, 14 new cases
So far, the DGHS has recorded 454 dengue cases, 374 recoveries, and five deaths this year.
The country recorded 281 dengue deaths in 2022 – the highest on record after 179 deaths recorded in 2019.
Also, the DGHS recorded 62,423 dengue cases and 61,971 recoveries in the last year.
MSF demands legal action, investigation into Gazipur trader's death 'in custody'
Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation (MSF) today (January 19, 2023) condemned the death of a trader "in police custody" in Gazipur and demanded legal action against those involved after ensuring fair investigation.
Family members and locals say that Rabiul Islam, 40, a resident of Peyara Bagan in Gazipur city died while in police custody. The incident came to light on Wednesday.
According to the statement of MSF, the statement of police over the incident was not acceptable. The organization demanded fair investigation into the death, autopsy and publication of the autopsy report.
Read More: Trader's beheaded body found in Chandpur
They also demanded legal action against those involved after finding out the actual reason behind the death.
Police arrested Rabiul along with three others on charge of gambling on January 14. However, police released three of them.
On January 17, a team of police went to the house of Rabiul and took a signature on a white paper from his wife, the latter said. After that, Rabiul’s wife came to know that her husband was dead.
Read more: Trader’s death in ‘police custody’: Locals block Dhaka-M’sing, Dhaka-Tangail highways
Malek Khasru, officer-in-charge of Basan Police Station, said two sub-inspectors took Rabiul to the police station and they let him go from the police station on January 17. But on the way home, Rabiul was knocked down by a truck, he said. Later, he was taken to Shaheed Tajuddin Medical College and Hospital and he died there, according to police.
Enraged by the death, local people, equipped with sticks, put up barricades on Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Mymensingh highways on Wednesday morning, disrupting traffic movement.
Two policemen of Gazipur Metropolitan Police were withdrawn from their duty on Wednesday over the death.
Read More: Trader’s death in ‘police custody’: Locals block Dhaka-M’sing, Dhaka-Tangail highways
The policemen are: Mahbub and Nurul Islam, both assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs) of Bason Police Station, Gazipur Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (Crime) Abu Torab Mohammad Shamsur Rahman told UNB.
Meanwhile, a three-member probe committee headed by Additional Police Commissioner of Gazipur Metropolitan Police Md Delwar Hossain has been formed to investigate this incident, he added.
Somoy TV journo files complaint against BNP activists for assaulting him while covering Jan 16 rally
A Somoy TV journalist has filed a complaint against Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) activists for “assaulting” him when he was covering the party’s rally held in Nayapaltan, Dhaka on January 16, 2023.
In the complaint filed with Paltan Model Police Station, he also said “the unruly mob damaged a drone being used to record the turnout at the rally, and snatched his personal belongings.”
The Somoy TV journalist, Mobarak Hossain Shuvo, claimed that Monir Chairman, president of Kamrangir Char unit of BNP; Nayem, general secretary of the same unit; and around 60 unidentified activists started verbally abusing him when he was recording the BNP rally with a drone and tried to take it away. When Shuvo resisted, they swooped on him and beat him up, the complaint says.
Also read: AL leaders, activists gather on Dhaka streets as BNP holds sit-in programme
Later, he was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where he received initial treatment, he says.
Earlier, ahead of BNP’s divisional rally in Rajshahi on December 3, 2022, the party’s move of putting photos of Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman on press cards triggered criticism from local journalists.
Some journalists posted on social media, criticizing the party for using Tarique Rahman’s photo on the press card, as he is a “convicted fugitive”.
At 6 degree C, Naogaon records lowest temperature in 24 hours
A mild to moderate cold wave is sweeping over parts of Bangladesh. The country’s lowest temperature in 24 hours -- till 6 am today -- was recorded at 6 degree Celsius in Badalgachhi of Naogaon district, according to Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).
The highest temperature was recorded at 28.4 degree Celsius in Teknaf during this period.
Read more: 2022 was fifth or sixth warmest on record as Earth heats up
The BMD in its bulletin said, a mild to moderate cold wave is sweeping over Rangpur, Rajshahi and Mymensingh divisions and the districts of Tangail, Faridpur, Rangamati, Cumilla, Moulvibazar, Chuadanga and Kushtia, and it may continue.
Moderate to thick fog may occur over the river basins and light to moderate fog may occur elsewhere over the country from midnight till morning.
Read more: Rains to drench Bangladesh
Weather may remain dry with temporary partly cloudy skies over the country. Night and day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country, it added.
‘Always a proud moment to see our girls doing so well’: PM tells MasterChef finalist Kishwar
Kishwar Chowdhury – the Australian cook of Bangladeshi origin, who placed third in the most popular reality show on food, MasterChef Australia, and won the hearts of Bengalis worldwide for putting everyday Bangladeshi home-cooked food under the limelight – recently met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana.
Posting photos with the Bangladesh PM and her sister on her Facebook page yesterday, Kishwar shared the experience she called “one I’ll remember for years to come.”
Read More: Kishwar Chowdhury: The woman who brought traditional Bangladeshi dishes in MasterChef Australia
“I had the immense privilege of being invited into the home of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and creating some signature dishes that reflected my visits during winters in Bangladesh,” she wrote.
“What I thought would be a quick meet and greet, turned into long conversations over several cups of cha, ‘Tungipara Roshogolla’ and my first time trying ‘Mukhsolli Piththa’.
Also read: Masterchef Australia finalist Kishwar honoured by Australian High Commission
“It was an incredible experience sharing food, learning heritage family recipes and hearing stories of a bygone era of the lived history from two sisters who, despite having lived through so much, hold food, family and heritage at the very heart of their home,” Kishwar added.
Woman found dead inside Sylhet hotel room: Police
A 19-year-old woman was found dead in a Dakshin Surma residential hotel room Wednesday, police said.
However, hotel manager Jahir Miah, the former husband of the 19-year-old, went into hiding after the incident.
The deceased was identified as Nilima Begum Lily from Sylhet's Osmaninagar upazila.
Md Kamrul Hasan Talukdar, officer-in-charge (OC) of Dakshin Surma Police Station, said the two kept in touch despite their separation.
"We recovered the body from the first floor of 'Shapla Residential Hotel,' ramming the door of room No. 105 open after getting information from the hotel staff around 10.45am," he said.
The body was sent to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical Hospital for post-mortem, Kamrul said, adding that the body bore no injury marks.
"Police are looking for Jahir. The cause of Lily's death can be confirmed after investigation," the OC said.
Read more: 2 Ansar members found dead inside Agrani Bank in Narsingdi
Truck mows down three motorcycle riders in Gazipur
Three motorcycle riders of the same family were killed after being run over by a truck in Sreepur upazila Wednesday, police said.
The dead were identified as Babul Miah, 32, his seven-year-old daughter Nusrat and 52-year-old mother-in-law Bachhiron from the upazila.
The accident occurred in the evening in the Chukkabari area as a speeding truck ran over the bikers after they fell off their vehicle, Khorshed Alam, sub-inspector (SI) at Mawna Police Outpost, said.
"Bachhiron died from the impact of the crash. Nusrat succumbed to her injuries on her way to Sreepur Upazila Health Complex. And Babul was declared dead after being taken to the hospital," he added.
The bodies were sent to Gazipur General Hospital morgue for autopsies, the SI said. "The truck was seized but its driver managed to flee."
Read more: 2 killed in Sirajganj road crash