Dhaka
Eminent artists mark Victory Day with art camps in Dhaka
Hundreds of renowned artists of the country celebrated the 52nd Victory Day in a slightly different atmosphere through art camp and painting competition for children and teenagers.
Shanto-Mariam University of Creative Technology organised this colorful event on Friday morning at its campus in the capital’s Uttara.
Renowned artists Rafiqun Nabi, Hashem Khan, Shishir Bhattacharjee and Nisar Hossain were present in the event.
Acting Vice-Chancellor and Treasurer of the University Prof Shamsun Nahar inaugurated the program with the hoisting of the national flag.
Read more: Nation celebrating Victory Day
Dhaka ranks 2nd worst in Air Quality Index
Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, ranked second worst in the Air Quality Index (AQI) Friday morning.
The city had AQI score of 245 at 10.30am.
Pakistan’s Karachi and Lahore occupied the first and third spots in the list respectively.
An AQI score between 101 and 200 means that there is an increased likelihood of adverse effects and aggravation to the heart and lungs among the general public, particularly the sensitive groups.
Read more: Dhaka’s air quality stays ‘unhealthy’
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.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants – Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone (O3). The Department of Environment has also set national ambient air quality standards for these pollutants. These standards aim to protect against adverse human health impacts.
Dhaka, one of the most densely populated cities in the world, has been battling air pollution for a long time.
The air quality generally worsens during summer and shows signs of improvement during monsoon.
Dhaka air once again world’s most polluted this morning
Dhaka has once again topped the list of cities with poor air quality.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 323 at 8:49 am today (December 15, 2022), Dhaka ranked first in the list of cities with the worst air.
An AQI between 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.
India’s Kolkata and Bosnia Herzegovina’s Sarajevo occupied the second and third spots in the list, with AQI scores of 192 and 190, respectively.
Read More: Effects of Air Pollution on Unborn Children, Neonates, Infants
Similarly, an AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups while a reading of 201 and 300 is said to be 'poor'.
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. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.
Also read; Dhaka's air quality 'unhealthy' as winter approaches
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.
4th-grader killed in Dhaka road crash while returning from sister's wedding
A fourth-grader, who peeped out of the window of a bus, was killed in the capital's Hazaribagh Wednesday afternoon after he was hit by a covered van.
The deceased Sayeed, 11, was from Cumilla's Homna.
The accident occurred at Pilkhana Gate 1, while the 11-year-old was returning to his village home along with his family members after attending the wedding reception of his elder sister.
Read more: Schoolboy killed in Dhaka road crash
The critically injured Sayeed was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) where he was declared dead around 7:30pm, Md Bachhu Miah, in-charge of DMCH Police Outpost, said.
The body has been kept at the hospital morgue for autopsy, he added.
Dhaka seeks Riyadh's support to meet energy needs
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Monday said Bangladesh needs brotherly support from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in meeting its energy needs.
He said this while reflecting on the current energy crisis in view of the Russia- Ukraine war when KSA Ambassador to Bangladesh Essa Yousef Essa Al Duhailan met him at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Read: UAE keen to scale up engagements with Bangladesh
The Saudi envoy stated that he would take up the issue with the concerned Saudi stakeholders.
The Saudi envoy also apprised the Minister about the recent terrorist activities conducted by the Houthis in Arab peninsula despite ceasefire.
He appreciated the role of Bangladesh in supporting Saudi Arabia and in denouncing terrorism against the Houthis.
Read: Argentina’s foreign minister says will open embassy in Dhaka: Media report
During the meeting, the State Minister underlined the need to engage more efforts to scale up bilateral collaboration beyond the traditional labour market and Hajj and Umrah.
He stated that Saudi Arabia was playing a more visible role in multilateral fora which is encouraging for the Muslim Ummah.
Dhaka's air quality turns ‘very unhealthy' this morning
Air pollution still remains one of the top-most challenges for Bangladesh and Dhaka’s air turned ‘very unhealthy’ on Monday morning.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 176 at 9 am, the metropolis ranked seventh in the list of world cities with the worst air quality.
Read more: Air pollution 2nd biggest cause of deaths in Bangladesh in 2019, cost about 3.9-4.4% of GDP: World Bank
An AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be ‘very unhealthy’, while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.
Iraq’s Baghdad, Kyrgyzstan’s Bishkek and Uzbekistan’s Tashkent occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 340, 316 and 243, respectively.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Lahore and India’s Kolkata occupied the next two spots with an AQI of 223 and 216, respectively.
An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy', particularly for sensitive groups.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants -- Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone.
Read more: No improvement in Dhaka’s air quality, still ‘unhealthy’
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. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.
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.
Public transport thin in Dhaka; Commuters suffer
The presence of public transport was relatively thin in Dhaka on Thursday amid tension and fear of violence following Wednesday’s clash between police and BNP men, causing suffering to commuters.
Commuters were seen waiting on roads for long due to lack of public transport.
Md Asharf, operation manager of private transport agency ‘Alif Paribahan’, told UNB that though some 250 buses of the agency usually ply different roads in the city every day, the number was 130-135 buses since today’s morning.
Read more: Traffic movement halted in front of BNP’s Nayapaltan office
The number of passengers and general people on the roads was also thin compared to the normal days, he said adding that general people are not coming out of their houses unless they have any emergency work.
The number of passengers was low since morning, he said.
Md Hiron, a lineman of ‘Raich Paribahan’, said they have been operating 20-25 out of 40 buses on different routes as most of buses are running with a low number of passengers.
Abu Saleh Md Raihan, joint commissioner of traffic (north), said there was no traffic congestion in parts of the city today.
“The number of public transports on the roads is low compared to any other day,” he said.
Dhaka air 2nd most polluted in the world this morning
Dhaka has been ranked the second most polluted city in the world with ‘very unhealthy’ air quality this morning.
Dhaka’s air quality index (AQI) score was 215 at 9:15 am today (December 08, 2022).
An AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be ‘very unhealthy’, while a reading of 301 to 400 is considered ‘hazardous’, posing serious health risks to residents.
Pakistan’s Lahore and Mongolia’s Ulaanbaatar occupied the first and third spots in the list, with AQI scores of 343 and 201, respectively.
Also read: Dhaka’s air quality ‘very unhealthy’
An AQI between 101 and 200 is considered ‘unhealthy’, particularly for sensitive groups.
In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five kind of 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. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing a heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections and cancer, according to several studies.
Read More: Air pollution 2nd biggest cause of deaths in Bangladesh in 2019, cost about 3.9-4.4% of GDP: World Bank
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.
The worsening air quality of Dhaka city is threatening the health and lives of its residents.
Dengue death toll now 260 with two deaths
With two more deaths from dengue recorded in 24 hours till Wednesday morning, the official death toll from the mosquito-borne disease rose to 260 this year.During this period, 253 more patients, including 130 in Dhaka city, were hospitalised, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Read more: Dengue menace to continue till mid-November: ExpertsA total of 1,171 dengue patients, including 683 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.The DGHS has recorded 59, 449 dengue cases and 58,018 recoveries so far this year.
Dhaka is all set to raise the curtain of 19th Asian Art Biennale on Thursday
The 19th edition of the Asian Art Biennale, the longest-running international art biennale event in Asia, is now all set to welcome the art enthusiasts from home and beyond at the National Art Gallery of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) on Thursday.
The month-long art extravaganza will be inaugurated by Prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who will virtually raise the curtain of the biennale as the chief guest of the opening ceremony at the National Theatre Hall of the academy at 10 am.
State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid will chair the inaugural ceremony, which will be joined by Cultural Affairs Secretary Md Abul Monsur, President of the jury board of the event artist Rafiqun Nabi and jury board Jaroslaw Suchan as special guests.
Sponsored by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, the 19th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh 2022 will include 649 pieces of art created by 493 artists from 114 nations, including 149 Bangladeshi artists. Three grand prizes and six honourable mention prizes will be announced at the opening ceremony.
On Tuesday, a press briefing was held at the Seminar Room of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, where BSA Director General and chief coordinator of 19th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh 2022 Liaquat Ali Lucky shared the details of the long-awaited flagship event of the organisation with the media.
“This 19th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh 2022 is dedicated to the country's founding President and the father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who envisioned and established Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy which has been organizing the Asian Art Biennale, the largest art exhibition in Asia, for the past 40 years,” Lucky said at the press conference.
The 19th edition will showcase two-dimensional and three-dimensional artworks such as paintings, prints, photographs, sculptures, performance arts, installations and new media arts, crafted and presented by the participating native and foreign artists who channelled their contemporary thoughts through these artworks, Lucky said at the press conference.
Read more: 19th Asian Art Biennale to begin March 1, 2021
Eyeing for a regular event like the previous years, BSA had to postpone the 19th edition several times, according to Lucky. “Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, we had to change the schedule for this biennale more than three times. Although we held other major exhibitions within the period, we are really happy to finally host this grand festivity at this time,” he said.
The 19th edition will feature a two-day international seminar titled ‘Home and Displacement’ with the participation of local and foreign artists, art critics, jury and observers. The seminar will be held on Friday and Saturday at the National Art Gallery Auditorium and Seminar Rooms of the National Theatre Building of the BSA.
In addition to the main exhibition at BSA, the Bangladesh National Museum will display 42 artworks of Bangladeshi legendary master artists from its collection as a part of the 19th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh 2022.
The international jurors of the 19th Asian Art Biennale - Iwona Blazwick from the UK, Jagath Weerasinghe from Sri Lanka, artist Nurseren Tor from Turkey, and Jaroslaw Suchan from Poland were also present at the press conference, alongside BSA Fine Arts Director Syeda Mahbuba Karim and BSA Secretary Salahuddin Ahmed.
The 19th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh 2022 will welcome its visitors till January 7, every day from 11 am to 8 pm.