Bangladesh
Dhaka’s air quality remains ‘unhealthy’ amid heat wave
As heat wave continues to impact daily life, Dhaka’s air quality has been again marked ‘unhealthy’.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 156 at 8:59 am this morning, Dhaka ranked ninth on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.
Pakistan’s Lahore, India’s Delhi and Nepal’s Kathmandu occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 206, 191 and 178, respectively.
No improvement in Dhaka’s air quality, still ‘unhealthy’
When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 101 and 150, air quality is considered ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’, between 150 and 200 is ‘unhealthy’, 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.
Dhaka’s air quality 5th worst in the world this morning
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.
Teen drowns in Sitakunda waterfall
An 18-year-old boy drowned while bathing in a waterfall in Sitakunda upazila of Chattogram on Wednesday.
The deceased was Tahmid, of Gahira village of Raozan and a resident of Kusumbagh area of the metropolis.
Tahmid and his two friends came to the waterfall in the Chhoto Darogarhat area under Sitakunda upazila from the port city in the morning.
Around 1:30 pm, they all went down Suptodhara waterfall to take a bath and suddenly Tahmid drowned.
On information, a team of Sitakunda Fire Service rushed to the spot and recovered the body of Tahmid around 3 pm, said Nurul Alam Dulal, senior station officer of Sitakunda Fire Service and Civil Defense.
Kamal Uddin, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Sitakunda Police Station, said that as there was no complaint the body was handed over to the family.
Tamabil land port to remain closed on April 18-19 for Indian general election
Import-export and immigration activities through Tamabil land port in Sylhet will remain suspended on Thursday and Friday.
Indian immigration police verbally informed Tamabil immigration police that import-export and immigration activities at Tamabil land port will be closed for the next two days on the occasion of the 18th general election of India.
Runu Mia, In-charge of Tamabil Immigration Police, confirmed the matter on Wednesday.
He said no letter has been received yet in this regard.
The 18th general election of India will be held in seven phases from April 19 to June 1.
It is to be noted that voting will be held in the first phase on April 19 in the two Lok Sabha seats of Meghalaya state, India, located opposite to Tamabil land port.
Unidentified boy crushed under CU shuttle train
An unidentified boy aged around 14 years was crushed under the wheels of Chittagong University shuttle train in Sholo Shohor area on Wednesday.
The accident occurred in front of the Pilkhana Mosque next to the city's Sholo Shohor railway station around 6pm while the train was going from the university campus to Chittagong city.
“We recovered the body of the boy wearing a yellow coloured T-shirt and black jeans and sent it to the Chittagong Medical College and Hospital,” said Khorshed Alam, sub-inspector (SI) of Railway Thana police outpost.
He said the victim was a street boy.
He also said that they did not find any witness who could describe how the accident occurred.
Police are trying to know his identity, added the officer.
Faridpur road crash: 18-month old loses both parents
The death toll from the bus pickup van collision on the Dhaka-Khulna highway in Faridpur rose to 15 after another woman died on Tuesday night.
The deceased, Popi Begum, 25, breathed her last while undergoing treatment at Faridpur Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital on Tuesday night, said Highway police super Mohammad Shahinur Alam Khan.
Her Husband, Ikbal also died in the accident on Tuesday afternoon.
Their 18-month-old son, Yasin, survived and is currently admitted at hospital.
They were on their way to the district’s deputy commissioner's office to get relief supplies.
Iqbal Hossain's elder brother Enamul Sheikh filed a case at the Karimpur Highway Police Station against the driver of the passenger bus.
The accident occurred when the Magura-bound bus of Unique Paribahan from Dhaka collided with the Dhaka-bound pickup van.
According to Faridpur DC office sources, government relief tins were supposed to be distributed among the disaster affected families on Tuesday, and the affected family members enlisted from Alfadanga and Boalmari upazilas were coming to Faridpur.
A five-member investigation committee headed by the additional district magistrate has been formed.
Tk 5 lakh has been announced for the family members of the deceased and Tk 3 lakh for the compensation of the injured.
CID seizes assets worth Tk 179 crore of 10 drug traffickers
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has seized the assets worth nearly Tk 179 crore of 10 drug traffickers after an inquiry into illegal earnings from drug trafficking.
They acquired the assets by selling drugs including yaba, liquor and Phensedyl, CID Director Mohammad Ali Mia revealed this information during a press briefing at the CID headquarters on Wednesday afternoon.
Ex-UP member injured in BSF firing at Lalmonirhat border
He said that they initially investigated 35 cases and found various movable and immovable properties including money deposited in banks, land, houses and flats obtained illegally from the drug trading.
The value of these illegally acquired assets is about Tk 178. 44 crore, he added.
Of the cases, the CID has already frozen 9.14 acres of land and 2 houses with an estimated value of Tk 8.11 crore in 3 cases.
9 more KNF operatives arrested with arms in Bandarban: ISPR
Another 35.173 acres of land, 12 houses and 1 car with an estimated value of Tk 36.82 crores are still in the process of freezing, he added.
Athens Conference: FM Hasan calls for responsible, sustainable ocean management
Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has stressed the need for responsible and sustainable ocean management at the high-level panel of Foreign Ministers in the "9th Our Ocean Conference" in Athens on Wednesday.
He also pointed the need for adopting a holistic approach to balance between sustainable management of the ocean for environmental conservation and socioeconomic development of people living in the proximity of the ocean.
Minister Hasan highlighted the initiatives taken by Bangladesh, a country with long Maritime border and Maritime history, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to ensure sustainable ocean management and utilization of maritime resources to uplift the socioeconomic condition of the coastal population.
The Foreign Minister also called upon the world community to ratify the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty and allocate funds for the restoration of biodiversity of the Oceans as about 10 billion USD was committed by various countries for overall development of ecosystems and green shipping.
Foreign Ministers of Greece, Costa Rica, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe also made intervention and made national commitments at this conference concluding day panel discussion.
24-year-old killed ‘by elder brother’ over land dispute
A 24-year-old man was killed allegedly by his elder brother and his family over a land dispute on Wednesday morning in the Paschim Baluadanga area of Dinajpur.
The deceased, Russell Rana Babu was the son of freedom fighter and retired police constable Hasan Ali.
The victim was hacked with an axe, said Farid Hossain, officer-in-charge of Kotwali Police Station.
He was taken to M Abdur Rahim Medical College in the morning and was declared dead around 4:45 pm, he said.
The accused are currently absconding.
The body has been sent to the morgue for an autopsy. Babu’s family is preparing to file a case, added the OC.
FOC: Dhaka, Kathmandu for operationalisation of BBIN MVA framework to boost trade, connectivity
Bangladesh and Nepal have emphasised the operationalisation of the (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) framework to contribute to the individual country’s economy not only by expanding trade and connectivity, but also by creating more opportunity to promote people-to-people contacts.
Bangladesh also emphasised the expeditious conclusion of tripartite power agreement among Bangladesh-India-Nepal soon, which will help Bangladesh to import power from Nepal, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The issues were discussed at the third round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between Bangladesh and Nepal held in Kathmandu on Wednesday.
During the consultations, Bangladesh delegation was led by Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, while Nepali delegation was led by Sewa Lamsal, Foreign Secretary of Nepal. Ambassadors of both countries and other senior officials attended the meeting.
During the FOC, the whole gamut of bilateral relations was reviewed.
Both the foreign secretaries expressed satisfaction over the excellent bilateral relations that exist between Bangladesh and Nepal.
They discussed all the major issues of mutual interests and agreed to promote cooperation encompassing all sectors, especially trade and commerce, transit and connectivity, power and energy sector, tourism, culture and education.
The Bangladesh foreign secretary thanked the government of Nepal for allocating land for the construction of Monastery in Lumbini.
He added that it would be a milestone between "our relations and enhance people-to-people contacts between Bangladesh and Nepal in the days ahead."
Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal stressed the exploration of the untapped potential in economic, cultural and educational areas and proposed to establish meaningful collaborative partnership including in the private sector.
She mentioned that Nepal would like to pursue more trade and investment cooperation with Bangladesh.
She urged Bangladeshi side to explore investment opportunities in Nepal including in hydropower sector.
She also requested the Government of Bangladesh to eliminate the existing Other Duties and Charges (ODCs) levied on Nepali products being exported to Bangladesh.
The Nepali foreign secretary emphasized the exchange of visits at different levels.
Both sides discussed regional issues of mutual interest.
They also underscored the necessity of revitalising SAARC and strengthening BIMSTEC for promoting regional cooperation.
They also agreed to cooperate with each other at various multilateral forums, especially at the UN to pursue common interests especially in the areas of LDC graduation, poverty alleviation, climate change and safety and security of migrant workers.
An MoU between Foreign Service Academy of Bangladesh and Foreign Service Institute of Nepal was also signed by the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries.
In the afternoon, Masud Bin Momen paid a courtesy call on the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha at the latter’s office in Singha Durbar.
During the meeting, discussions were held on issues of mutual interest between Nepal and Bangladesh.
The next FOC will take place in Bangladesh at a mutually convenient time.
Panthakunja to be turned into an aesthetic Udyan before July: Taposh
Panthakunja will be turned into an aesthetic Udyan before July, Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh said on Wednesday.
He came up with the announcement during an exchange of views with journalists after inspecting the cleaning programme of Panthpath box culvert inside Panthakunja Park in the morning.
Taposh said Panthakunja is a very important park in this area. In 2017, initiatives were taken under the mega project for its development but the work of this park was stopped due to taking Dhaka Elevated Expressway in this direction.
Motijheel kitchen market: Taposh hands over keys to 57 shops allotted in 1997
“After taking charge, I discussed with them several times over the issue. As a result, they decided to work in specific areas leaving the rest of the place for the Udyan. Later, we started working at that place. Currently, its infrastructure development is going on,” he stated.
He also said, “We want to present an aesthetic Udyan to the people of Dhaka city. However, due to the elevated expressway work, a large part of the park will be lost to it. Even so, as much as we have been able to save, we will soon be able to open it up for the city dwellers."
Stating that new initiatives have been taken to resolve the waterlogging in the Newmarket area, Mayor Taposh said that last year there was waterlogging in a few places, particularly in front of Newmarket and in Shantinagar areas.
“Pointing out the reasons, we have already solved it. Hopefully, there will be no waterlogging this time.”
Construction work of Kanchpur inter-district bus terminal to be completed by mid-2024: Taposh
Later, he visited Sayedabad Super Market adjacent to Sayedabad Terminal, Zaheer Raihan Cultural Program Center Library in Gandaria and Tajuddin Memorial Library in Wari.
Among others, the Corporation's Chief Executive Officer Md Mizanur Rahman, Secretary Akramuzzaman and Acting Chief Engineer Ashikur Rahman were also present.