United News of Bangladesh

Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury has said the Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament provides an opportunity to promote gender equality, eliminate gender-based violence, empower women and support women leadership. “This summit is an excellent platform to exchange experiences on global issues,” she said on Friday. She said this while addressing a conference titled "Preparatory Committee for the Fifteenth Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament" at the headquarters of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva, Switzerland, according to a press release from Parliament Secretariat. Speaker Dr. Shirin Sharmin said that one of the features of this summit is to establish link among parliament speakers of different countries. Parliamentary diplomacy can help in facing challenges of present world: Speaker She said the speakers can find solutions to national and international issues by sharing ideas and experiences on a common platform. The speaker said that in the past summits, commendable work has been done on gender equality, women leadership and women empowerment. She expressed hope that the 15th Women Speakers Summit will take strong steps for the overall development of women through various activities. President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Tulia Ackson and IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong were present. Bangladesh highly vulnerable to climate impacts despite being least carbon emitter: Speakers

Parliamentarians from Southeast Asia on Saturday urgently called on the United Nations, ASEAN, and the wider international community to take immediate action in order to prevent the mass killing of Rohingyas who are under siege by the Arakan Army in northern Rakhine State. “We are extremely alarmed and concerned by reports that the Arakan Army is indiscriminately attacking Rohingya civilians in northern Rakhine State,” ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) Chair and Indonesian Member of Parliament Mercy Chriesty Barends said. “It is imperative that the international community act quickly in order to prevent further catastrophic loss of life and potential genocide.” According to reports received by APHR from reliable sources, Rohingya civilians in Buthitaung town and surrounding villages have been under attack from heavy weapons by the Arakan Army since Friday, May 17. According to an eyewitness, Buthitaung Town was arsoned by the Arakan Army, who also forced Rohingya to leave the town. Several Rohingya houses, including the house of U Shwe Maung, APHR Board Member and former MP of Buthitaung township, was burned down. There have also been unconfirmed reports that the Arakan Army is conducting mass killings of Rohingya in Tatmin Chaung, Kyauk Phyu Taung, Letwedat Pyinshay, Ngakyi Dauk village tracts in Buthitaung township. Previously, in 2017, Myanmar security forces conducted a “clearance operation” in Rakhine State in which whole villages were massacred, tortured, raped, and burned – resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, as well as the displacement of over 730,000 people. In 2019, Gambia, with the backing of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), filed a case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing them of violating the Genocide Convention. In January 2020, the ICJ adopted provisional orders ordering Myanmar to prevent all genocidal acts against the Rohingya. Neither the Myanmar military junta, nor the Arakan Army, is abiding by these provisional measures, according to a message received from Jakarta. “There is no doubt that if no action is taken, countless lives will be lost, with even more displaced from their homes, further exacerbating the refugee crisis in the region,” said Barends. “The Rohingya people have already experienced so much adversity for so long; allowing further atrocities against them to go unanswered would be an unforgivable abandonment of the principles of decency and humanity that the international community profess to uphold. We urgently call on the UN, ASEAN, ASEAN member states and all countries that claim to value human life to take immediate action to put a stop to this barbarity.”

Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has predicted rains or thundershowers in different parts of the country including Dhaka in 24 hours commencing 9 am on Saturday.“Rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely at a few places over Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions and at one or two places over Rajshahi, Rangpur and Barishal divisions with hails at isolated places,” it said.Besides, a mild to moderate heat wave is sweeping Rajshahi, Rangpur, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna and Barishal divisions and the districts of Moulvibazar, Rangamati, Chandpur and Feni and it may abate. Rains likely to drench Dhaka, six other divisions in 24 hoursDay temperature may fall by 1-2 °C and night temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.A trough of westerly low lies over West Bengal to North-west Bay.Flash floods kill over 300 people in Afghanistan after heavy rains: UN  

A light rain drenched the capital on Saturday morning, offering city dwellers some relief from scorching heat. The sky had been gloomy since early morning and the much-awaited downpour started around 8:30 am. Light rain was reported in different areas of the capital including Shyamoli, Jatrabari, Agargaon, Farmgate, Kawran Bazar, Asadgate, Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi, Jigatala, New Market, Kalyanpur and Banglamotor areas. Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has predicted rains or thundershowers in different parts of the country including Dhaka in 24 hours commencing at 9 am on Saturday. “Rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely at a few places over Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions and at one or two places over Rajshahi, Rangpur and Barishal divisions with hails at isolated places,” it said.

The fire that broke out at the Mutual Trust Bank’s Dholaikhal branch was fully doused on Saturday. Deputy-assistant director of Fire Service and Civil Defense  headquarters media cell Shahjahan Sikder said the fire broke out at the bank located on the 1st floor of a six-story building around 10:40 am and engulfed it. On information, five firefighting units rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire around 11:57 am. However, no casualty was reported. The origin of the fire and the extent of the damages could not be ascertained immediately.

A fire which broke out at a hotel in the city's Karwan Bazar on Saturday morning has been doused, said Fire Service authorities. Lima Khanom, duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defense Control Room, said the fire broke out at the generator room of Hotel La Vinchi around 10:17 am. On information, six firefighting units rushed to the spot and extinguished the blaze shortly. However, what caused the fire could not be ascertained yet.

The prevailing heat wave over the western part of Dhaka division, Rangpur, Rajshahi and Khulna divisions  may continue  for the next 48 hours, said Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD). BMD issued the heat wave alert at 6 pm on Friday. Due to the increase of moisture incursion, the discomfort may continue.

Dhaka, May 17 (UNB) - The government has earned over Tk 14 crore in revenue from the mobile banking service 'Nagad' without any investment in any form, according to Junaid Ahmed Palak. More than Tk 5 crore has been received in the current fiscal year alone. This information was revealed by State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Junaid Ahmed Palak as the chief guest at an event organized to celebrate the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital on Friday. The State Minister stated that in the current fiscal year, the Postal Department has earned nearly Tk 5 crore from Nagad. He said, "We have been able to generate revenue only through infrastructure and policy support without any investment. So far, we have earned over Tk 14 crore from Nagad." On the occasion of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2024, Minister Junaid Ahmed Palak unveiled new commemorative postage stamps, inauguration stamps, and seals featuring Dak, Telecommunications, and Information Technology. He also distributed awards to the winners of the debate competition and essay writing competition. Abu Hena Morshed Zaman, Secretary of the Postal and Telecommunication Department, chaired the event, which was attended by special guests including Secretary of the Information and Communication Technology Division, M. Shamsul Arefin. Abdul Bari, Policy Adviser and Component Leader of the EDGE project, presented the keynote paper. Also present were Engineer Mohammad Mohiuddin Ahmed, Chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, and Dr. Shahjahan Mahmud, Chairman and CEO of Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited.  

Dhaka's air quality was marked as ‘moderate’ this morning. With an air quality index (AQI) score of 99 at 9:09 am, Dhaka ranked 14th on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality. India’s Delhi, Iraq’s Baghdad and Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Kinshasa occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 339, 241 and 203, respectively. After rain, Dhaka’s air quality ‘moderate’ this morning An AQI between 50 and 100 is considered ‘moderate’, AQI between 101 and 150 is considered 'unhealthy', AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be 'very unhealthy', while a reading of 301+ is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents. In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria 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. Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections. Dhaka’s air quality ‘unhealthy’ this morning

A 40-year-old school teacher was beaten to death allegedly by his cousins over a land dispute in Mymensingh's Phulpur upazila on Friday. The victim was identified as Sajjat Hossain Kamal,  headmaster of Gowatla Raghurampur Government Primary School. The incident took place at Puran Nagar village of Baola Union of the upazila around 11am on Friday. Locals said Kamal had a long-standing dispute with his uncle Abul Khair and his cousin Zakaria Gong over a piece of land. On Friday morning, when  Kamal went to irrigate the disputed land, his cousins beat him mercilessly, leaving him seriously injured. He was rushed to Phulpur Upazila Health Complex where doctors declared him dead on arrival. Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Phulpur Police Station Mahbubur Rahman said police visited the spot after receiving the information. The body was recovered and sent to Mymensingh Medical College morgue for an autopsy. Police have detained three people including the cousin and aunt of Kamal for questioning, added the officer.