foreign-affairs
Holy Eid-E-Miladunnabi observed in New Delhi
Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Tuesday observed holy Eid-E-Miladunnabi, the day of birth and demise of Prophet Hazrat Mohammad (PBUH) with due religious solemnity.
On this occasion, the High Commission held a discussion, doa, milad mehfil and special monajat.
Shaban Mahmood, Minister (Press) of the mission read out the message issued by President Md. Abdul Hamid and Nasir Uddin, First Secretary (Consular) read out the message issued by Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Deputy High Commissioner Md. Nural Islam conducted the programme where High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India Muhammad Imran along with all other officials of the mission was present.
Solshare to receive £300,000 as Earthshot finalist: UK envoy
The UK's Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office will provide £300,000 of financial support to Bangladesh-based Solshare, one of the 15 finalists in the inaugural Earthshot Prize competition.
British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson has made the announcement.
To mark the occasion, the British High Commissioner hosted a celebratory event where guests learned more about Solshare’s ground-breaking work to repair our planet, and the finalists received a personal message from HRH Prince William, who congratulated them on their fantastic achievement.
Congratulating Solshare, the High Commissioner said reaching the final three in the global Earthshot competition is a huge achievement for Solshare.
"I am delighted that FCDO will now provide £300,000 to a partnership between Shakti Foundation and Solshare, to help scale up their innovative model using rooftop solar home systems for peer-to-peer energy exchange networks, enabling poor households both to generate electricity from a renewable source and gain an income by selling their surplus energy to the national grid," he said.
The High Commissioner said Solshare’s innovative work will help Bangladesh move towards carbon neutrality and improve the lives and livelihoods of millions of Bangladeshis.
Launched by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in October 2020, The Earthshot Prize is the most prestigious global environment prize in history.
Bangladesh receives 1 million doses of Sinovac vaccine
Bangladesh on Tuesday received 1 million doses of Sinovac vaccine as a gift from the Chinese government.
This is the fifth batch of gifted Covid-19 vaccine doses from the Chinese Government to Bangladesh.
Bangladesh received four batches of gifted Chinese Sinopharm vaccine doses in May, June, and August of 2021.
US for opposing targeted violence, orchestrated hate
The United States has urged all to remain steadfast in opposing targeted violence and orchestrated hate, and work to ensure all are able to attend a religious service or celebration without fear of violence because of their faith.
“Everyone must remain steadfast in opposing targeted violence and orchestrated hate,” said the US Embassy in Dhaka in a statement on Tuesday.
The US Embassy sent their condolences to the families of victims of recent religious violence. “Freedom of religion is sacrosanct.”
Also read: PM orders stern action against those involved in communal attacks
The United States stands with Bangladeshis of all beliefs calling to preserve diversity, unity, and mutual respect, reads the statement.
Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the government remains "concerned" that certain vested quarters are carrying out such pre-meditated attacks to gain some dubious political mileage.
"It is regrettable that the local elements that opposed Bangladesh’s independence 50 year ago are still propagating their toxic narratives to instigate violence, hatred and bigotry," MoFA said.
Also read: Rangpur: 1 arrested in Joypurhat under DSA, 42 for arson
When the people of Bangladesh were celebrating the Durga Puja in a joyous mood, there emerged reports of attacks on Hindu religious sites and idols in different parts of the country.
“My condolences to victims of recent violence affecting Durga Puja celebrations. UK stands with those working for religious tolerance and harmony, in Bangladesh and around the world," British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson tweeted on Tuesday.
Bangladeshi BiP users can share photos, videos as ‘status’
BiP’s mother company Turkcell keeps adding new features to BiP, a global life and communication platform home-grown in Turkey with recently launched the ‘status’ feature for its app.
Now, users can instantly share their videos and photos and add text to images, said a media release. Other users can also view them and comment on them.
The new feature allows BiP users to share their videos or photos, they can also upload fresh or previously archived images or videos from their gallery.
They can also see who has viewed their ‘status’. Those who share their status can see others’ status as well (from their contact list).
Read: Turkish BiP offers group calls up to 15 participants to brighten up this Eid
They can also enter their chat window and reply to other people’s statuses. On how users’ feedback helps improve BiP, the company’s Executive Vice President of Digital Services and Solutions, Ataç Tansuğ said that Turkcell always listens to its customers about their wants and needs and then creates products and services accordingly.
“We’re constantly updating and improving BiP – and rely on user feedback to do so. For example, our users have been demanding a ‘status’ feature for a long time, so we added one. In addition, we fine-tune all of our products and services per the latest requirements in both safety and privacy. We are investing in new security features at the moment; we aim to introduce end-to-end security by the end of this year," he said. Turkcell stores BiP users’ data at special high-security data centers across Turkey.
BiP’s latest version is available at GooglePlay AppStore, GooglePlay and Huawei AppGallery, please visit http://onelink.to/bip-id
Keep watch against further efforts to malign state institutions, country's image: Govt
The government has urged all concerned to uphold the spirit of tolerance, inclusivity, peace and pluralism and stand guard against further efforts to malign the state institutions and tarnish the image of the country. "The government remains committed to preventing the recurrence of such untoward incidents and would expect that further complication or misunderstanding would be averted through responsible and fact-based reporting through all media platforms," said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday. The government remains "concerned" that certain vested quarters are carrying out such pre-meditated attacks to gain some dubious political mileage. "It’s regrettable that the local elements that had opposed Bangladesh’s independence 50 year ago are still propagating their toxic narratives to instigate violence, hatred and bigotry," MoFA said.
Read:PM orders stern action against those involved in communal attacks They are trying to undermine Bangladesh’s secular, non-communal and pluralistic credentials in the international context by deliberately targeting one of the biggest religious festivals of the country, it mentioned. The government appreciated the Hindu community for concluding the festivities in a befitting spirit and also welcomed the overwhelming show of solidarity by people in general. When the people of Bangladesh were celebrating the Durga Puja in a joyous mood, there emerged reports of attacks on Hindu religious sites and idols in different parts of the country. The government "unequivocally condemned" those incidents and took "serious note of the reactions" from within and outside the Hindu community. As an immediate measure, MoFA said, the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) forces were deployed in 22 districts of the country in aid of the civilian administration.
Speakers for increasing allocation for mental health in national budget
Speakers at a webinar have stressed the need for raising people’s awareness about mental health and increasing allocation for it in the national budget.
The ACTIONISTS organized the webinar on the occasion of World Mental Health Day.
Psychologist Mehtab Khanam said inequality is increasing day by day and economic inequality in particular is becoming more obvious having impact on mental health.
Read:Protecting Your Child’s Mental Health: 10 Tips for Parents
"And there is a deep connection between this inequality and mental health. Having good mental health means that a person does not stumble in life," said the Professor at the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, Dhaka University.
It is imperative to increase the allocation for mental health in the national budget, said Mehtab Khanam.
Sabina Fayez Rashid, Professor, Dean of James P. Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University; Samanjar Chowdhury, Operations Lead of BRAC Youth Platform, BRAC, Fairuz Faiza Bithar, Co-Founder of Moner School and founder of ACTIONISTS A.N.M Fakhrul Amin Forhad also spoke at the webinar conducted by Sharin Shahjahan Naomi, Assistant Professor, Asian University for Women.
Professor Sabina Fayez Rashid said policies and interventions are needed because mental health issues are still neglected.
"Different communities, young people, government, NGOs and many such organizations are working but there should be more and more discussions on this issue," she said.
Fairooz Faizah Bitheer said mental health awareness should start at an early age. "Policy makers need to raise their voices on this issue as well. Mental health should not be neglected but should be seen as a priority."
Samanjar Chowdhury said ensuring good mental health involves good governance and leadership from the lowest to the highest level.
"Everyone must come forward to make everyone aware of this, from teenagers to young people."
Read:World Mental Health Day: What effect does depression have on the performance of athletes?
Quoting recent statistics, ACTIONISTS said 85 percent of people in low- and middle-income countries suffer from a variety of mental and neurological disorders, while about 92 percent are denied access to health care.
In addition, the Corona epidemic has created financial, social, and political inequalities around the world, with the rich gaining more and more wealth, and the poor falling below the poverty line.
As a result of this inequality, the mental health of the people has deteriorated even more.
Bangladesh has a nominal 0.44 percent of the total health budget allocation for mental health, which is set aside for most mental hospitals but is not implemented properly, said ACTIONISTS.
BBIN pact to boost Bangladesh-Nepal ties: Momen
Dhaka has underscored the need for the early implementation of BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal) motor vehicles pact for regional connectivity and cooperation with Kathmandu in the areas of energy and trade.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen raised the issue with the NepaleseAmbassador in Dhaka, Dr Banshidhar Mishra, at the Foreign Service Academy on Monday.
Dr Momen also highlighted the excellent bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Nepal during the meeting.
Read: Nepal can use Mongla and Paira ports, Hasina tells envoy
On his part, the Ambassador of Nepal underscored the necessity of enhanced trade and commerce between the two countries through early conclusion of Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).
'Turn pledges into action': Hasina's clarion call to combat climate change
Reiterating the need for reducing global carbon emissions, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called on world leaders "to turn pledges into action" to stave off the worst consequences of climate change.
Showcasing Bangladesh's efforts in the fight against climate change, Hasina hasurged world leaders to join her in fixing the global problem that "requires a great deal of fortitude, imagination, hope and leadership".
"If western leaders listen, engage and act decisively on what science demands of them, there is still time to make COP26 the success it desperately needs to be," she wrote in an article published by leading British daily 'Financial Times'.
Read:'COP26 outcomes crucial for climate-vulnerable countries like Bangladesh'
In the article, "We need a global ‘climate prosperity plan’ not empty pledges", Hasina slammed the developed nations for not taking seriously the needs of those countries most immediately affected by climate change.
"Bangladesh was born 50 years ago this year, a birth shrouded in blood and pain. My father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, inspired and led our independence struggle. It is in his memory that we have named our climate prosperity plan the Mujib Plan," she wrote.
'Climate change is a very different foe from those he faced, but dealing with it requires a great deal of fortitude, imagination, hope and leadership.
"The inconvenient truth of our times is that while action on climate change has never been more urgent and achievable, governments are not cutting emissions fast enough to keep nations such as mine safe," Hasina wrote.
Attacks on Hindus need to be stopped: UNRC
UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo has said the recent attacks on Hindus, "fueled by hate speech" on social media, are against the values of the Constitution and need to be stopped.
"We call upon the Government to ensure protection of minorities and an impartial probe," she said on Monday.
READ: Protesting recent communal attacks, Hindus issue 24 hrs ultimatum before withdrawing Shahbagh blockade