Donors and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have agreed to a replenishment of $5 billion for ADB&rsquo;s Asian Development Fund (ADF) 14 and Technical Assistance Special Fund (TASF) 8.&nbsp;
The commitment was made during ADB&rsquo;s 57th Annual Meeting.
&nbsp; The following developing member countries are the primary recipients of grants from ADF 14: Federated States of Micronesia; Kiribati; Kyrgyz Republic; Maldives; Marshall Islands; Nauru; Samoa; Solomon Islands; Tajikistan; Tonga; Tuvalu; and Vanuatu.&nbsp;
Grants will also be available to support the people of Afghanistan and Myanmar, and for transformative projects in Bangladesh; Bhutan; Cambodia; Cook Islands; Fiji; Lao People&rsquo;s Democratic Republic; Mongolia; Nepal; Niue; Pakistan; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Sri Lanka; Timor-Leste; and Uzbekistan.
The ADF is ADB&rsquo;s largest source of grants for operations in its poorest and most vulnerable developing member countries and is replenished every 4 years.&nbsp;
ADF 14&mdash;marking the 13th replenishment since the fund&rsquo;s establishment&mdash;will support grant operations during 2025&shy;&shy;&shy;&ndash;2028.&nbsp;
The ADF 14 replenishment is about 22% higher than the $4.1 billion available in ADF 13, and will provide eligible ADB members with the largest-ever volume of ADF grants.
TASF 8 will provide grants that help prepare projects, build capacity, and provide technical or policy advice.
&ldquo;Grants are more important than ever as our poorest and most vulnerable members seek to reverse recent development setbacks and take urgent action to combat the climate crisis,&rdquo; said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa on Friday.&nbsp;
&ldquo;This remarkable replenishment demonstrates ADF donors&rsquo; continued partnership with ADB to address the pressing development challenges of those most in need.&rdquo;
ADF 14 prioritizes dedicated assistance to small island developing states that are particularly vulnerable&mdash;especially to climate change&mdash;and to countries in fragile and conflict-affected situations. &nbsp;
ADF 14 will continue to play a critical role in supporting climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. It will enable expanded assistance for regional cooperation and regional public goods, and for transformative gender action.&nbsp;
&nbsp; It will also provide agile assistance in the event of emergencies through its crisis response window.
More than $2.5 billion, or 51%, of the replenishment will be funded by contributions from donors including two new countries: Armenia and Georgia. ADB will significantly increase its net income transfers to ADF, from just under $1.2 billion in ADF 13 to almost $1.6 billion in ADF 14, an increase of 35%.&nbsp;

ADB to replenish $5b grant fund to support most vulnerable in Asia and Pacific including Bangladesh

Staff Correspondent

Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has issued a country-wide heatwave alert for the next two days.
"The prevailing heatwave over Khulna, Rangpur, Rajshahi divisions and the western parts of Dhaka division may continue for the next 48 hours starting from 6:00pm today," said BMD Meteorologist Md Omar Faruq on Friday (3 May).
During this time, increased moisture in the air may cause discomfort, he added.
Meanwhile, BMD said more heat waves and rains are likely to sweep across the country throughout the month of May.
Temperatures are, however, anticipated to marginally decrease compared to April, BMD Meteorologist AKM Nazmul Haque said.
&ldquo;During the month of May normal rainfall is expected. In some parts of the country, two to three severe and occasionally one to three mild to moderate heatwaves may occur,&rdquo; he added.
&ldquo;There is a possibility of rain in Dhaka and its surrounding districts from the 5-6 May, and it may rain across the country from the 6-10 May. After that, the temperature will increase slightly from the 12 May,&rdquo; the meteorologist further said.

BMD issues heat wave alert for next 2 days

More heat waves and rains are likely to sweep across the country throughout the month of May, said the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).&nbsp;
Temperatures are, however, anticipated to marginally decrease compared to April, BMD Meteorologist AKM Nazmul Haque told Bangladesh First on Friday (3 May).
&ldquo;During the month of May normal rainfall is expected. In some parts of the country, two to three severe and occasionally one to three mild to moderate heatwaves may occur,&rdquo; he added.
&ldquo;There is a possibility of rain in Dhaka and its surrounding districts from the 5-6 May, and it may rain across the country from the 6-10 May. After that, the temperature will increase slightly from the 12 May,&rdquo; the meteorologist further said.
He also said daytime temperatures may surpass seasonal averages in some areas during May.
BMD warns of potential nor'westers over a three to five-day period in May, accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning across various regions of the country.
Moreover, coastal areas along the Bay of Bengal may experience the formation of one to two light to moderate cyclones, with a depression in the middle of the month.
In the northern and northeastern regions of the country, including Sylhet and the haor areas, the water level of rivers may rise rapidly. In some places, it may exceed the danger level.
The severity of the April heatwave prompted the issuance of multiple heat alerts, with reports indicating widespread incidents of heat-related illnesses, including heat strokes. &nbsp;Such an extreme scenario has not been witnessed in the past 76 years, BMD added.

More heatwaves and rains in May: BMD

Two platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have been deployed to assist in the rescue work of two trains derailed after a commuter train crashed into an oil-carrying train in Joydebpur Railway junction in Gazipur on Friday morning.
The information came in a media release signed by Shariful Islam, public relations officer of the BGB headquarters in Dhaka.
The paramilitary members led by BGB-63 commander would remain deployed to maintain law and order and assist in the rescue operation, it reads.
Earlier in the morning, the Dhaka-bound Tangail commuter train smashed into Gazipur-bound freight train allegedly due to an error of the signalman on the south end of the railway junction.
Several compartments of both the trains derailed after the accident that occurred around 11am, disrupting rail communication with Dhaka and northern and western parts of the country.
Four people including the loco master of the commuter train sustained injuries in the accident.

Gazipur train derailment: 2 BGB platoons deployed to help rescue work

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is keen to work together with Bangladesh and other partners on climate front, extending finance to important projects which are useful and impactful.
"We want to finance very impactful, very useful and very important projects with other private sector investors," ADB Vice-President (Market Solutions) Bhargav Dasgupta told UNB while responding to a question during an interaction on Friday.
Dasgupta, who assumed the position on December 4 last year, said in Bangladesh what they understand is that there is a lot of interest in diversifying the energy sources.
"We are happy to see how we can partner with the government of Bangladesh and how we can work together," he said.
ADB&rsquo;s private sector operations are designed to empower businesses, unlock investments, and support the advancement of key development priorities in Asia and the Pacific.
ADB collaborates with a diverse range of stakeholders to address critical development challenges such as climate change, food security, and gender equality by providing innovative solutions to our clients.
Dasgupta, who is responsible for management of the operations of ADB&rsquo;s Private Sector Operations Department and Office of Markets Development and Public&ndash;Private Partnerships, ADB has been one of most "respected and trusted" partners for the governments in Asia's developing countries.
"We are trying to continue the good work we do always," he said.
The ADB vice president said they have been playing a fair role in the private sector, but they need to increase and scale up that role.
In 2021, ADB announced its ambition to increase its cumulative climate financing to $100 billion between 2019 and 2030, and to allocate $34 billion of this amount for cumulative adaptation and resilience investments, and $66 billion for cumulative mitigation financing.
ADB also aspires to reach $12 billion in cumulative climate finance for private sector operations by 2030, and to crowd in an additional $18&ndash;$30 billion to support the development of more commercially viable and climate-friendly businesses.
In 2022, ADB committed climate financing from own resources reached $6.7 billion, of which $2.7 billion is on adaptation and resilience and $4.0 billion is on mitigation.
The ADB official said one of the numbers that they have studied that Asia needs $1.7 trillion to achieve net zero objective.
Talking about engagement in Bangladesh with the private sector, he referred that the ADB last month signed a $121.55 million financing package with Dynamic Sun Energy Private Limited to build and operate a 100-megawatt (MW) grid-connected solar photovoltaic power plant in Pabna, Bangladesh.
&nbsp; The plant is the country&rsquo;s first private sector utility-scale solar facility to secure support from global financiers.
ADB arranged, structured, and syndicated the debt package as the sole mandated lead arranger and bookrunner.
The financing package comprises a $46.75 million loan from ADB, a syndicated B-loan of $28.05 million from ILX Fund I, an Amsterdam-based emerging market private credit fund focused on supporting the Sustainable Development Goals with ADB as lender of record, and a syndicated parallel loan of $46.75 million from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
&ldquo;As Asia&rsquo;s climate bank, ADB welcomes the opportunity to support renewable energy in Bangladesh, where obtaining long-term financing for such projects is a challenge,&rdquo; said ADB Private Sector Operations Department Director General Suzanne Gaboury.
&ldquo;This partnership exemplifies our lead role in mobilising financing for clean energy facilities and stimulating further investment in sectors where it&rsquo;s needed the most.&rdquo;
The solar power plant will generate 193.5 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually and avoid 93,654 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. &nbsp;

ADB keen to work together with Bangladesh on useful, Impactful projects

The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) has released the apparel export statistics for the period of July-April FY-2023-24.
During the mentioned period, the readymade garment (RMG) exports grew by 4.97% year-over-year to US$ 40.49 billion from US$ 38.58 billion during the same period of the fiscal year 2022-23, said BGMEA Director Mohiuddin Rubel.
The export of knitwear was US$ 22.88 billion, growth increased by 9.11% and woven garments were US$ 17.62 billion, growth increased by 0.03%, the business group&rsquo;s leader said.
The single-month apparel export earnings that indicate export in April 2024 was US$ 3.29 billion which decreased by 1.01% growth compared to April 2023, he added.

RMG exports up by almost 5pc in FY 2023-24

Although the rainfall in different parts of the country has declined heatwave intensity by this time in various places while&nbsp;medium to high range heatwave still continue in several north and southern parts of the country. &nbsp; "Severe heatwave is sweeping over Rajshahi, Pabna, Jashore, Chuadanga and&nbsp;Kushtia districts. Mild to moderate heatwave is sweeping over Dhaka, Rangpur,&nbsp;Mymensingh and Barishal divisions and rest part of Rajshahi and Khulna&nbsp;divisions and the district of Chandpur and it may abate from some places over&nbsp;the country," said a met office release for the next 24 hours begins from 9am on Friday (3 May).
Rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind are likely to occur at a few places over the Chattogram division and at one or two places over Dhaka, Barishal and Sylhet divisions with hails at isolated&nbsp;places.
Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky elsewhere over&nbsp;the country, the release added.
Trough of westerly low lies over West Bengal to the North-east Bay across the&nbsp;southwestern part of Bangladesh.
The country's highest temperature on Thursday was recorded 41.8 degree Celsius at Chuadanga and today's minimum temperature 16.1 degree Celsius was recorded at&nbsp;Tetulia.
Maximum rainfall for the last twenty-four hours till 6am today was recorded 67 millimetres (mm) at Rangamati.
Day temperature may fall slightly and night temperature may rise slightly&nbsp;over the country.
The sun sets at 06.28 pm today and rises at 05.22 am tomorrow in the capital.

Heat wave weakens thanks to rain but still sweeping over country

Desk Report

Bangladesh has ranked 165th among 180 nations in on the World Press Freedom Index 2024.
Only Afghanistan is below Bangladesh in the list among South Asian countries, according to the index by Reporters Without Borders published on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on Friday (3 May).
Bangladesh&rsquo;s score dropped to 27.64 out of 100 - a decrease from 35.31 last year, when it was ranked 163rd.
In 2022, Bangladesh held the 162nd position with a score of 36.63.
Meanwhile, it was in 2021, it was in 152nd place with a score of 50.29.
World Press Freedom Index assesses the level of freedom enjoyed by journalists and media across various countries and territories, analysing five contextual indicators: Political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context, and safety.
The report underscores that press freedom worldwide faces threats from political authorities, as indicated by the significant decline in the political indicator, which has experienced a global average decrease of 7.6 points.
The report highlights the Asia-Pacific region as the world's second most challenging region for journalism.
Myanmar, China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan are among the top 10 most dangerous countries for media personnel, according to the index.
Norway retains its top spot in the global index with a score of 91.89, followed by Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Finland, Estonia, Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland, and Germany, rounding up the top 10.
Ranking 74th globally with a score of 60.52, Nepal has emerged as the leader in press freedom in South Asia.
It is followed by the Maldives at 106th with a score of 52.36.
Bhutan, previously leading in the region, now stands in third place in the region with a score of 37.29 and a global ranking of 147th.
Sri Lanka follows closely behind at fourth place with a score of 35.21 and a global rank of 150th.
Pakistan occupies the fifth position in the region, standing at 152nd place.
India holds the sixth position regionally and has climbed to 159th globally from last year's 161st.
Afghanistan now ranks at the bottom of the region, plummeting 26 places to 178th, with a score of 19.09.

Bangladesh among bottom 15 countries in Press Freedom Index 2024

The present situation of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia is the result of the party leaders&rsquo; negligence, said Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader.
&ldquo;The case was filed against her by the caretaker government, Awami League did not file the case. She was arrested and imprisoned in that case. &nbsp;BNP leadership&rsquo;s negligence is the reason for Begum Zia's current situation,&rdquo; he said at a press briefing at the Awami League president's political office in Dhanmondi on Friday (3 May).
&ldquo;A trial that could have been over in a year has not been completed in ten years,&rdquo; he added.
He said PM Sheikh Hasina was generous enough to allow Khaleda&rsquo;s punishment to be suspended.
&ldquo;Arrangements have been made for her to stay at home and receive treatment,&rdquo; the AL leader said.
In response to a question about domestic and foreign pressures, Obaidul Quader said, "We feel these pressures while performing the duties of the country."
&ldquo;Before the elections, there were public threats, intimidation, and fear of sanctions. These were given openly. Our statement on this matter is also clear,&rdquo; he further said.

BNP’s negligence responsible for Khaleda Zia’s present situation: Quader

Chapainawabganj, the country's mango capital, is facing a potential fruit failure this year due to the relentless heatwave scorching the region. Mango cultivation, already hit by an off-year with lower yields, is now under further threat as the intense heat dries up and causes immature mangoes to fall from trees.
Despite efforts by farmers to irrigate and control the situation with pesticides, the mangoes continue to fall, raising serious concerns about the district's mango output. The woes of growers began earlier in the season when excessive cold delayed the emergence of mango buds. This was followed by untimely rains during the blooming stage, destroying many buds and reducing fruit production.
Disheartened by these initial setbacks, farmers are now grappling with the scorching heatwave. A visit to several orchards revealed a disheartening scene &ndash; small mangoes scattered on the ground instead of hanging healthily on the trees. The lack of rain has stunted their growth, leaving them significantly smaller than they should be at this stage.
Some fortunate farmers with the resources have installed diesel-powered irrigation machines to provide much-needed water to their trees. However, many others lack this facility and can only watch helplessly as their mangoes fall victim to the harsh weather conditions.
Abdur Ahad, a local mango grower, shared his worries: "This year, there were very few mangoes to begin with due to the scarce buds. Now, the situation is even worse with the drought. The mangoes are drying up and falling every day. Despite irrigating and spraying, I can't seem to stop them. The lack of rain is hindering their growth as well."
Abdur Rakib, another grower from Ajaipaur, echoed Ahad's concerns. "The intense heatwave is causing the mangoes to fall. I've already sprayed them thrice, and the production cost is skyrocketing. If the yield is affected, I'm looking at a major financial loss."
Shamima, a grower from the same area, painted a bleak picture: "The condition of mangoes in our district is very bad. We won't be able to achieve our goals from cultivating the orchards. It seems like there will be a mango fruit failure this time."
Palash Sarkar, Deputy Director of the District Agricultural Extension Department, explained the factors contributing to the crisis. "This year, we observed a significant decrease in mango bud formation. The dense fog in February and March followed by rain and light hailstorms damaged the flowers during the crucial flowering stage. Now, the intense heatwave is causing the remaining mangoes to fall. The possibility of future hailstorms and Kal Baisakhi storms further threatens the yield."
According to the Department of Agriculture, mango cultivation in Chapainawabganj this season covers 37,604 hectares of land, with a target production of 450,000 metric tons. Last season, the district produced 443,625 MT of mangoes.
The current heatwave poses a significant threat to exceeding or even meeting last year's production. The plight of Chapainawabganj's mango growers highlights the vulnerability of agriculture to extreme weather events and the urgent need for climate-resilient practices to safeguard future harvests. &nbsp;

Fear of fruit failure grips mango growers in Chapainawabganj as heatwave intensifies

The United Nations General Assembly has unanimously adopted Bangladesh&rsquo;s flagship annual resolution on the &lsquo;Culture of Peace&rsquo; with an overwhelming number of co-sponsorships.
Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN in New York Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith introduced the resolution at the General Assembly Hall.
It marks the 25th anniversary of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace.
In 1999, during the first tenure of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the delegation of Bangladesh led the intergovernmental negotiations for adoption of the Declaration and Programme of Action which identified eight areas of action to promote culture of peace and non-violence.
While introducing the resolution, Ambassador Muhith highlighted the continued relevance of culture of peace, as the world faces spiralling conflicts and dereliction of human dignity.
&ldquo;To reverse the trend, we must rekindle the brighter and harmonious faculties of the human minds, foster respect for equality and equal value of all human beings; and most importantly we must make peace more profitable than war,&rdquo; he said.
To observe and celebrate the 25th anniversary in a befitting manner, the president of the General Assembly has been requested to convene a day-long high-level forum.
Through this resolution, the General Assembly also invited the Member States, United Nations entities, international and regional organisations and other relevant stakeholders, including civil society, the private sector, academia and the media to observe the 25th anniversary, in an appropriate manner, including through educational and public awareness-raising activities.
Referring to Bangladesh&rsquo;s own experience of war and devastation, Muhith said that the initiative of Bangladesh to introduce the notion of culture of peace in the UN was inspired by the country&rsquo;s own experience.
&ldquo;Having born out of a devastating war that was rooted in discrimination, racial intolerance and subjugation, we made promotion of peace a fundamental principle of our foreign policy,&rdquo; he added.
The consideration of the resolution was preceded by a general debate on the culture of peace.
A large number of member states and groups of countries delivered statements in which they expressed their commitment to advancing the implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a culture of peace.
The delegations particularly acknowledged the historic leadership of Bangladesh on this agenda.
This year's resolution has been cosponsored by 112 countries, showcasing a broad-based endorsement from a diverse representation of UN Member States.

UN unanimously adopts Bangladesh’s Resolution on Culture of Peace

The former joint secretary general of Hefazat-e-Islam, Maulana Mamunul Haque has been released from jail after securing bail in the cases filed against him.
He walked out of Kashimpur High-Security Central Jail in Gazipur at around 10:30am on Friday (3 May), Senior Jail Superintendent Subrata Kumar Bala said.
Mamunul Haque's supporters and Hefazat activists gathered at the jail gate to welcome him.
Initially slated for Thursday (2 May) night, Mamunul's release was postponed due to security concerns, as disclosed by a source familiar with the matter.
Mamunul is accused in 41 cases filed with different police stations.
On April 3, 2021, Mamunul was found at a resort in Sonargaon, Narayanganj, with a woman. He was surrounded by Awami League activists.&nbsp;
Later, activists and supporters of Hefazat went there, ransacked the resort and took him away. &nbsp;
Then on April 30, 2021, the woman appeared at Sonargaon police station and filed a case against Mamunul alleging that he had raped her with the promise of marriage.
Two cases were filed against Mamunul Haque at Paltan police station in the capital and Sonargaon police station in Narayanganj in connection with violence and the resort incident.

Mamunul Haque walks out of jail after getting bail

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina received eye treatment at the National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital like a general patient after buying a Tk10 ticket.
The premier reached the National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital in the capital at around 11am on Friday (3 May), PM's Assistant Press Secretary ABM Sarwar-e-Alom Sarkar said.
She stood in line, collected the ticket herself and went for regular eye exams.
While leaving the hospital, she exchanged pleasantries with the patients and their relatives, as well as the doctors, nurses, and employees of the hospital .
&nbsp;

PM Hasina takes treatment at eye hospital as general patient

The health authorities in Bangladesh said they are monitoring the global concern over the serious side effects of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
However, no serious side effects have been reported so far among the vaccine&rsquo;s recipients in the country, said the officials.
The National Immunisation Technical Advisory (NiTAG) acts as an advisor to the government on vaccine approval and implementation in the country.
When the AstraZeneca vaccine was introduced under the Covishield name in 2021, public health expert Professor Dr Bey-Nazir Ahmed was a member of NiTAG.
"In emergency situations, after analysing the scientific data, NiTAG advised to approve the vaccine in the country. The AstraZeneca vaccine was prepared in a very short time. It usually takes 10-12 years for a vaccine to reach the implementation stage. Sometimes more time is needed. When the vaccine was approved in Bangladesh, it was also approved in the UK,&rdquo; he told the media recently.
&ldquo;A clinical survey is needed to determine whether the problem that is being talked about is happening in Bangladesh. We advised the government at that time to monitor those who will be vaccinated. This observation is usually for a short or long period of time,&rdquo; he added.
&ldquo;Which vaccine can be approved, whether there will be a trial or not, how it will be applied, who will get priority, how to save - NiTAG advises the government on these issues. The Directorate of Drug Administration (DGDA) seeks feedback when a vaccine is discovered. These procedures have been adopted regarding coronavirus vaccination. If a vaccine causes a problem in a person, it may not be detected if the subject is not properly reviewed. For this, a certain number of people should be monitored for a long time after vaccination,&rdquo; the health expert further said.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), so far 8 coronavirus vaccines have been administered in the country.
More than 15 crore people of different ages have received 36,68,75,000 vaccinations in the first to fourth doses, DGHS added.
DGHS Line Director (Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Expanded Immunisation Programme) Dr Mohammad Nizam Uddin said, "We are not giving AstraZenecar vaccine now. We have heard about the side effects of this vaccine. However, no such incident has been found in Bangladesh. We have an expert committee to work on this. The issue of vaccine side effects is observed across the country.&rdquo;
On 27 January, 2021, the government administered the first Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on an experimental basis.
It was developed by the Serum Institute of India. After that, Bangladesh got AstraZeneca vaccine from other sources as well.
So far, 5,62,80,000 doses of vaccine has been administered in the country - which is 15.3% of the total administered vaccines.
Rare side effects have recently been reported in Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine recipients and the British-Swiss pharmaceutical company even has been forced to admit it in a legal battle following a case in the British court on the matter.
Although the company had said so far, the COVID-19 vaccine developed with the help of Oxford University is not harmful; however, there were claims that some people died and some suffered serious illnesses because of the vaccine.
UK&rsquo;s The Telegraph reported that it causes a rare side effect called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS).
According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), TTS is a rare physical condition that causes low platelets in the blood.
Platelets help blood clot. As a result, if this component of the blood decreases, the physical condition of the person may deteriorate.
TTS causes blood clots in the brain or intestines, sometimes in the legs or lungs. As a result, the platelet count in the blood can drop below 150,000 per microlitre.
Symptoms of TTS include severe headache, abdominal pain, leg swelling, shortness of breath and seizures.
Considering the various side effects, no vaccine other than Pfizer is being used in the country, said NiTAG President Professor Dr Khan Abul Kalam Azad.
"Last November, we only told the government about Pfizer's vaccination. Moderna&rsquo;s vaccines have some side effects on the heart, so we stopped that too,&rdquo; he added.
"When the AstraZeneca vaccine was introduced, there was no alternative vaccine. Later many vaccines were found. These vaccines have been approved in different countries of the world including the USA, UK, Australia, Japan, and Germany. We have suggested the same. This approval was given based on scientific data,&rdquo; the health expert further said.
However, he said those who have received the CoviShield vaccine have been asked to monitor whether there are any problems.
Doctors have been asked to seriously monitor patients with neurological, heart and lung problems.
As early as March 2021, concerns about side effects of the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine spread in Europe.
Blood clots in about 40 people who received the vaccine in Norway and Denmark raised concerns.
In a statement at the time, AstraZeneca said there was no scientific evidence that the vaccine it developed increased the risk of blood clots.
DGHS says that the vaccination programme is now ongoing in the country on a regular basis.
As advised by the technical advisory committee, only Pfizer vaccine is being used in the country.
The AstraZeneca vaccine was last administered at least a year and a half ago, DGHS added.

AstraZeneca side effects: Bangladesh monitoring global situation

Several people were injured when a freight train collided head-on with a passenger train in Gazipur.
The incident took place at Joydebpur railway station around 10:45am on Friday (3 May).
Locals said a commuter train leaving Dhaka for Tangail hit a freight train standing at the outer signal at Kazipara when it crossed Joydebpur railway station.
Five compartments of the passenger train have been derailed.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

Several injured as trains collide head-on in Gazipur

Despite there being no shortage of supply, the prices of almost every daily essential commodity have increased on the pretext of the heat waves sweeping across the country.
Traders say there is adequate supply but high prices are due to items rotting faster than before because of the severe heat waves.
However, the price of broiler chicken has decreased slightly compared to week.&nbsp;
Visiting the capital's Karwan Bazar kitchen market on Friday (3 May), broiler chicken was found to be selling at Tk190-200 per kg, which was Tk220-230 per kg last week.
Beef was being sold at Tk780-800 per kg while mutton was at Tk1,100 per kg.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, the price of vegetables has increased compared to last week, citing less supply due to last night's rain.&nbsp;
No vegetable was being sold for less than Tk60-70.
Carrots were being sold at Tk60, beans at Tk80, and eggplants at Tk100 per kg.
A hali (set of four) of lemons was being sold at Tk40.
Prices of fish have not increased much compared to last week.&nbsp;
Hossain Ali, a resident of Moghbazar, came to the kitchen market for his weekly grocery shopping.
&ldquo;The price of fish seems to be the same as before. But the price of vegetables is increasing day by day,&rdquo; he said.

Prices of kitchen market essentials still high

Chattogram division is likely to experience rain and thundershowers accompanied by gusty winds, with the possibility of hail at isolated spots, according to BMD&rsquo;s weather bulletin for Friday.
Similarly, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Barishal, and Sylhet divisions may see rain in one or two places, alongside temporary gusty winds. Elsewhere in the country, the weather is expected to remain dry with partly cloudy skies.
A severe heatwave continues to grip districts including Rajshahi, Pabna, Jashore, Chuadanga, and Kushtia.
Meanwhile, Dhaka, Rangpur, Mymensingh, and Barishal divisions, along with parts of Rajshahi, Khulna, and the district of Chandpur, are experiencing mild to moderate heatwave conditions.
There are expectations that this heatwave may begin to ease in some areas, it said.
Daytime temperatures are expected to slightly decrease, and night temperatures may fall by 1-2 degrees Celsius across the country, added the bulletin.

Rain, thunderstorms likely in Dhaka, Chattogram

Dhaka's air quality was categorised as &lsquo;unhealthy&rsquo; this morning.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 158 at 9:33am, Dhaka ranked sixth on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.
India&rsquo;s Delhi, Nepal&rsquo;s Kathmandu and Pakistan&rsquo;s Lahore occupied the first three spots on the list, with AQI scores of 318, 197 and 193 respectively.
When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 101 and 150, air quality is considered &lsquo;unhealthy for sensitive groups&rsquo;, between 150 and 200 is &lsquo;unhealthy&rsquo;, between 201 and 300 is said to be 'very unhealthy', while a reading of 301+ is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.
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.
The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five 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.
As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections. &nbsp;

Dhaka air ‘unhealthy’ this morning

Bangladesh recorded a substantial increase in remittances, receiving $2.04 billion in April, marking a 21.3%&nbsp; rise compared to the same period last year.
According to Bangladesh Bank, from January to April this year, the country received a total of $8.31 billion from expatriates, spurred by various bank initiatives aimed at encouraging the flow of remittances.
The figures show a consistent upward trend with $2.11 billion received in January, $2.16 billion in February, $1.99 billion in March, and $2.04 billion in April. This influx has been a boon to the economy, particularly during the ongoing foreign exchange crisis.
Dr Ahsan H Mansur, a noted economist, told UNB that Bangladesh could further increase remittances through legal channels by offering more financial and non-financial incentives to expatriates. He highlighted the preference among remitters for using the hundi system, an illegal money transfer method, due to its higher exchange rates, which are Tk5-7 more per US dollar compared to the official rates.
To counter this, Dr Mansur proposed that the government could introduce various benefits for legal remitters, including health cards, insurance coverage, and pension schemes, to make formal channels more attractive and dissuade the use of illegal methods like hundi.

Bangladesh secures $8.31 billion remittance in first 4 months of 2024

A delegation of the Near East South Asia (NESA) Centre for Strategic Studies, a pre-eminent institution of the US Department of Defense (DoD), visited Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC on Wednesday and joined an interactive session with officials of the mission.
Dr. Hassan Abbas, the distinguished professor of the NESA Centre for Strategic Studies, led the 46-member team. The delegation comprised of participants of 28 countries in a seminar organised by the NESA Centre in Washington DC, said a press release.
Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA Muhammad Imran welcomed the NESA Centre delegation at the embassy and presented a keynote speech at the event.
In his keynote speech, Ambassador Imran highlighted the history of Bangladesh and the country&rsquo;s recent socioeconomic development. He also focused on the Rohingya crisis issue, Bangladesh&rsquo;s success in countering terrorism and extremism and the progress on Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF).
The ambassador stressed the need for undertaking coordinated and concerted efforts by all countries to effectively address the global challenge of terrorism. Terrorism is a global challenge and no country can handle the challenge alone, he said.
While talking about the protracted Rohingya crisis, Ambassador Imran reiterated Bangladesh&rsquo;s stance on durable and dignified repatriation of all displaced Rohingya people to their homeland in the Rakhine State of Myanmar.
If the problem persists further, it may affect the security and stability of the entire region and jeopardize development initiatives, he said.
While addressing the interactive session at the Bangabandhu Auditorium in Embassy, Dr. Abbas, highly commended Bangladesh&rsquo;s success in combating terrorism, violent extremism as well as climate change challenges.
Referring to Bangladesh&rsquo;s rich history, culture and heritage, he said he was highly inspired by the historical figures of Bangladesh in his personal and professional life.
Dr Abbas said his institution&mdash; NESA Centre for Strategic Studies &mdash; is looking forward to closer relationship between Bangladesh and the United States and wished more prosperous and developed Bangladesh.
First Secretary of the Mission Wahiduzzaman Noor highlighted the various initiatives and successes of Bangladesh in combating terrorism and extremism before the delegation.
First Secretary of the Mission Ataur Rahman moderated the event, while Counsellor and Head of Chancery Shamima Yasmin Smriti was in the overall coordination of the session.

US NESA Centre delegation praises Bangladesh’s success in combating terrorism

After a relentless month of fierce heatwave, Dhaka finally witnessed the much-desired rain, bringing a breath of cool relief.&nbsp;
The first drops fell around 9 pm on Thursday, as if the sky itself sighed in relief.&nbsp;
Across the capital, the rains whispered their arrival. The evening had already cloaked the city in heavy clouds, with occasional flashes of lightning piercing the gathering darkness, hinting at the impending downpour.&nbsp;
The Meteorological Department had forecasted this welcome change, signaling it as the clouds began to rumble in the evening. Lightning flickered, lighting up the sky, a prelude to the rain that would soon quench the heat-oppressed city.&nbsp;
The promise of rain lifted spirits, and prompted some to prepare to step out and embrace the cooling showers.&nbsp;
The lightning and the patter of rain gradually quieted, leaving behind a serene hush over Dhaka. Streets, dusty and dry till this evening, now glistened under the lamplight, reflecting the calm after the storm. The fleeting showers, though short-lived, provided a temporary escape from the persistent heat, whispering promises of cooler days ahead.

Rain arrives in Dhaka after prolonged heatwave

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Thursday said the government has taken plan to build open jail in Bangladesh like those in the developed countries.
He said this in reply to a query from ruling Awami League MP Mamunur Rashid Kiran elected from Noakhali-3.
The Home Minister said that 160 acres of land has been acquired in Ukhiya Upazila of Cox's Bazar district for the construction of an open jail following the model of Malaysia's Community Rehabilitation Program (CRP).
&ldquo;The construction of the open jail will start soon,&rdquo; he said.
In response to the question of Nizam Uddin Hazari, another ruling AL MP from Feni-2, the Home Minister said that 83,577 posts have been increased in the Bangladesh Police in the past three terms of the current government in order to modernise the Bangladesh Police Force.
&ldquo;Recruitment of manpower to these posts has been ensured through a transparent and corruption-free process,&rdquo; he said.
The minister said that the process of adding two sophisticated helicopters is underway to prevent criminal activities and conduct operations and transform the Bangladesh Police into a three-dimensional force.
&nbsp; He said that with the aim of making the police a smart force, various types of modern firearms are being given to them.
For example, the home minister said that 7.62 mm rifles are currently being used instead of the previous .303 rifles.
Also, policemen are being supplied with necessary ammunition including 7.62/9 mm pistol, 9 mm SMG, .45 inch SMG, 12 bore shotgun, 38 mm tear gas, gas gun/launcher.
In response to the question of AL MP Mahbubur Rahman from Chattogram-1, the Home Minister said Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has been equipped with modern weapons, vehicles, aircraft and watercraft.
State-of-the-art weapons including 40 ALCOTAN, 12 ATGW, 132 Sniper Rifles, 3 AAMG, 28 APC Amors have been added to BGB.
The vehicles include 259 ATVs, 10 Riot Control Vehicles (RCV), 40 Armored Personal Carrier (APC), among others.
Three helicopters were also included in BGB.
Among the vessels, there are 87 speed boats, 12 high-speed engine boats, 4 air boats, 1 logistics ship, 5 pontoons, 25 motor launches, 4 petrol boats, 15 rescue boats, and 2 water carrier vessels.
In response to the question of AL MP Morshed Alam from Noakhali-2, the Home Minister said, for the first time in the country, seven grams of black cocaine was recovered by the Department of Narcotics Control on December 11, 2023.
&nbsp;

Govt plans to build open jail in Cox's Bazar’s Ukhiya: Home Minister

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia returned to her Gulshan residence on Thursday night after receiving treatment for just a day at Evercare Hospital in the capital.
"She was discharged from the hospital as per the advice of the medical board. The board took the decision after reviewing her medical test reports," said her personal physician, AZM Zahid Hossain.
He said the BNP chairperson will now be provided with proper treatment at home.
The BNP chief left the hospital at 8:20 pm and reached home around 9:00 pm, said BNP media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan.
Earlier on Wednesday night, Khaleda was admitted to Evercare Hospital in the capital and placed in the CCU following the advice of the medical board.
She was shifted to a cabin from the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) in the afternoon.
Dr Zahid said the BNP chief underwent several urgent tests on Wednesday night.
Based on the test reports, the medical board determined her next course of medical treatment.
Since her conditional release from prison in 2020, the BNP chief has been receiving medical care at the hospital under the supervision of a medical board headed by cardiologist Prof Shahabuddin Talukder.
The 79-year-old former prime minister has long been battling various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, and issues related to the kidney, lung, heart, and eyes.
Khaleda's physicians have been advocating for her treatment abroad since she was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis in November 2021.
On October 26 last year, three US specialist doctors performed the hepatic procedure known as transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS procedure) to alleviate fluid accumulation in Khaleda Zia&rsquo;s abdomen and chest, as well as to address bleeding in her liver.

Khaleda returns home from hospital

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation, led by Chris Papageorgiou, engaged in discussions with key Bangladeshi energy officials on Thursday. The meetings, centered around the pressing financial challenges in the country&rsquo;s power and energy sectors, remained closed to the media.
The delegation first met with officials from the Power Division, led by Power Secretary Habibur Rahman, before progressing to talks with the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, and concluding with Petrobangla, the nation&rsquo;s energy corporation.
Despite the high-profile meetings, officials were tight-lipped about the discussions. "Right at this moment it&rsquo;s really tough to comment on the issues discussed in the meeting,&rdquo; Rahman told UNB, reflecting the general reluctance among the participants to disclose any outcomes.
Sources close to the matter indicate that the primary focus of the discussions was on reducing the subsidies provided in the power and energy sector and adjusting power and gas tariffs accordingly. The IMF voiced concerns over pending dues amounting to approximately Tk 50,000 crore ($5 billion), pressing for a detailed plan on how the government intends to settle these substantial bills.
The IMF's visit forms part of a broader review of Bangladesh's adherence to economic commitments, including the implementation of an automated price adjustment system for petroleum fuels and recent hikes in power and gas prices aimed at curbing financial losses. Despite these measures, the disparity between government spending and income in these sectors continues to necessitate significant subsidies.
The ongoing negotiations also touched on the necessity of further tariff adjustments as a means to bridge the financial gap, a stance that the IMF has consistently maintained. As Bangladesh navigates these economic reforms, it anticipates the next installment of the IMF&rsquo;s $4.7 billion loan, with hopes pinned on an upcoming tranche worth around $690 million.
Previously, the IMF had disbursed an initial $476 million in January 2023, following the government's commitment to economic reforms, and a subsequent $690 million in December 2023, despite not meeting revenue and forex reserve targets.

IMF wants to know govt plan on settling energy dues

The authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) have published a list of 80 Saudi companies that are keen to invest in various sectors of Bangladesh, said Salman F Rahman, Private Industry and Investment Adviser to the Prime Minister.
Salman, who is currently visiting Saudi Arabia, attended meetings with the Saudi Ministers and various important persons in the country and discussed potential investment opportunities in Bangladesh.
After attending the special meeting of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Salman held these meetings with Saudi officials, according to a press release on Thursday.
He also met with the Chief of Staff and Secretary General of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saad Alkroud.
&ldquo;PIF Secretary General praised the economic development of Bangladesh and gave this information in a meeting: 80 Saudi companies have expressed interest in investing in Bangladesh,&rdquo; Salman said.
He said Saudi Arabia is interested in energy cooperation with Bangladesh. Saudi Arabia's Assistant Minister of Energy, Mohammed Al Ibrahim, said that the Saudi government is actively considering the proposal to buy crude oil on a deferred payment basis from Bangladesh. At this time, they discussed various issues of partnership between the two countries.

80 Saudi companies keen to invest in Bangladesh: Salman F Rahman

Press Release

Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has called upon the UK government to collaborate with Bangladesh to establish a peaceful and conflict-free world and to put an end to the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
During his speech as the Guest of Honour at a high-profile diplomatic reception hosted by Bangladesh High Commission, London to celebrate the 54th Independence and National Day of Bangladesh on Wednesday, the Foreign Minister emphasized the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire in conflict zones worldwide, including Gaza and Ukraine, reads a press release.&nbsp;
He stressed that stopping the killing of innocent people is crucial to restoring normalcy and establishing peace.&nbsp;
Speaker of the UK&rsquo;s Parliament Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle was the Chief Guest at the event where Leader of the House of Commons Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt, UK FCDO Minister for Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations Lord Tariq Ahmad, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed, and Chairman of All-party Parliamentary Group on Bangladesh Rushanara Ali spoke as special guests.&nbsp;
International Affairs Adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Dr Gawher Rizvi, Former Foreign Minister and Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs Dr AK Abdul Momen and State Minister for Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Shofiqur Rahman Choudhury attended the reception.
Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK Saida Muna Tasneem gave welcome remarks at the reception held at the historic Churchill Room of Queen Elizabeth II sited in a magnificent setting centering the British Parliament.&nbsp;
In his speech, the Foreign Minister Dr Mahmud paid profound homage to Bangladesh's Founding Father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the 3 million martyrs, and the valiant freedom fighters of the 1971 War of Liberation. He expressed his gratitude to the UK Government, its citizens, and the British-Bangladeshi diaspora for their support during Bangladesh's War of Liberation, and pledged to elevate Bangladesh-UK historical relations to new heights under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He paid tribute to British Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath, who warmly welcomed Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib as the President of independent Bangladesh at No 10 Downing Street on 8 January 1972.&nbsp;
The Minister also paid tribute to the then opposition Leader and two-time British Prime Minister Sir Harold Wilson, who welcomed Bangabandhu in London and later mourned his brutal assassination on 15 August 1975.
&ldquo;Bangabandhu&rsquo;s shared values of democracy, secularism and progressive aspirations with these stalwart British leaders and his special love and affection for his British Bangladeshi compatriots set the foundation of today&rsquo;s Bangladesh-UK friendship&rdquo;, he said.
Dr. Mahmud thanked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for emphasizing his commitment to enhancing the economic and security partnership between Bangladesh and the UK in his congratulatory letter to Prime Minister Hasina after the national election on 7 January 2024.&nbsp;
He stated that Prime Minister Hasina remains dedicated to strengthening their robust trade, investment, aviation, climate, defence, security, and migration cooperation to the next level in her current term, as agreed upon by the two Prime Ministers in London last May.
The minister termed the UK as a true friend of Bangladesh and hoped that Bangladesh-UK friendship would continue to thrive, as they are an important partner in ensuring peace, prosperity, and security in the Bay of Bengal and a free, open, peaceful, and secure Indo-Pacific region.&nbsp;
He also emphasized the importance of the UK's support in the early repatriation of 1.2 million Rohingyas back to their ancestral home in Myanmar.
In his speech, he highlighted the sustained economic growth of Bangladesh over the past one and a half decades under the globally acclaimed dynamic Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who has leapfrogged Bangladesh from 41st to the world&rsquo;s 34th largest economy- just over the past decade. Today, the world has its eyes on Bangladesh, which is set to become the 9th largest consumer market by 2030, and a tech-based &lsquo;Smart Bangladesh&rsquo; by 2041.&nbsp;
The minister commended the Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK for launching the 'Bangabandhu-Edward Heath Friendship Award' and the 'Bangabandhu-Harold Wilson Friendship Award.'&nbsp;
Speaker of the UK's Parliament Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle in his speech paid tribute to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and recalled the contribution of the British-Bangladeshis to the War of Liberation in 1971.&nbsp;
He reaffirmed that the UK would remain a steadfast partner of Bangladesh efforts towards a developed country.
Penny Mordaunt commended Bangladesh's recent progress and assured that the UK would collaborate with Bangladesh to build a better and prosperous future.&nbsp;
He also praised the significant role of the British-Bangladeshi diaspora for their contribution to the UK&rsquo;s economy and society.
Lord Tariq Ahmad lauded Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for upholding the values and spirit of Bangabandhu in creating a self-sustaining, inclusive, and secular Bangladesh, which is now one of the world's most rapidly growing economies.&nbsp;
He said that Sheikh Hasina is a leader who showed the world the magnanimity of humanity by hosting over a million of Rohingya displaced from the country Myanmar.&nbsp;
Lord Tariq Ahmad also praised Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her efforts in upholding the values and ideals of Bangabandhu, which has resulted in a self-sustaining, inclusive, and secular Bangladesh.&nbsp;
He also highlighted Bangladesh's rapid economic growth, which has made it one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Lord Ahmad further acknowledged Sheikh Hasina's compassionate leadership in providing refuge to over a million Rohingya people who were displaced from Myanmar.
Paying deep homage to the Father of the Nation and 1971 martyrs, High Commissioner Saida Muna Tasneem in her welcome remarks said: &ldquo;Bangabandhu founded Bangladesh on democratic, secular, and progressive values. Now, as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina relentlessly strides to realise Bangabandhu's vision of a prosperous Bangladesh, the UK remains a crucial partner in achieving this goal&rdquo;.&nbsp;
The High Commissioner thanked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for his congratulatory message to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following January election, and also recalled the bilateral meeting of the two Premiers where they agreed to take Bangladesh-UK relations to new heights towards a sustainable, greener and more prosperous future.&nbsp;
High Commissioner also thanked the UK Government for its continued support to the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh, and urged the UK to take stronger diplomatic leadership for the return of the Rohingyas to their ancestral home in Myanmar.&nbsp;
In her speech, the envoy thanking the Foreign Minister Lord David Cameron for his congratulatory message to Bangladesh Foreign Minister, also highlighted the significant collaborations between Bangladesh and the UK in various fields including in trade, investment, climate, aviation, and defence, and said that the first-ever home office dialogue between the two countries would be held later this month.
The Foreign Minister along with the UK&rsquo;s Speaker, High Commissioner and distinguished guests unveiled the exclusive &ldquo;Mujib and Britain&rsquo; publication by Bangladesh High Commission, London and handed over the Bangabandhu-Edward Heath Friendship Award&rsquo; and the &lsquo;Bangabandhu-Harold Wilson Award&rsquo; to two great friends of Bangladesh Lord Marland and Lord Swaraj Paul respectively to honour their extraordinary contributions in promoting Bangladesh-UK Friendship.
The event's highlights included an Exhibition on Bangabandhu, a colourful cultural performance by British-Bangladeshi prominent performers; and a traditional Bangladeshi Saree exhibition. It was well attended by the vibrant presence of a distinguished selection of guests including UK parliament members, UK government officials, eminent British Politicians, high commissioners and ambassadors, senior representatives from Commonwealth and International Maritime Organisation (IMO), and representatives from the diplomatic missions in London, think tanks, members of the media, academia as well as members of the Bangladesh community in the UK.

Bangladesh wants UK on its side to end war in Gaza for world peace: FM Hasan in London

Speakers at a panel discussion in Dhaka on Thursday said there is no alternative to freedom of the press and freedom of expression to ensure democracy.
It is also imperative that the safety and freedom of the press be prioritised to tackle the ongoing environmental crisis and natural disasters, they said.
Marking World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) 2024, speakers made these remarks at panel discussions organised jointly by UNESCO, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), and Article 19 at MIDAS Centre in Dhaka&rsquo;s Dhanmondi on Thursday.
The discussions centred on the WPFD theme of this year, &ldquo;A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of the Environmental Crisis.&rdquo; There were two separate panel discussions where the panellists talked about issues like the ongoing oppression against journalists and their safety concerns in the context of climate-related issues, freedom of expression and the press, tackling misinformation, and access to information.
Dr Iftekharuzzaman, TIB executive director,, said, &ldquo;In the period from 2022 to 2023, while covering environmental issues, there were 23 attacks on the media, resulting in the torture of 43 journalists.
Between 2016 to 2021 alone, 12 individuals, including environmental rights activists, were killed for protesting against coal-based plants.&rdquo;
He further stated that those who are legally responsible for protecting the environment are the ones leading the destruction of the environment. Therefore, it is imperative to create an environment where journalists and civil society organisations can play their active roles. But in reality, such space is being shrunk by the use of repressive acts like the Digital Security Act.
Taking part in the &ldquo;zero-sum political game,&rdquo; journalists and rights activists are harassed by misusing laws, which ultimately benefits a certain faction. The harassment of media workers and civil society actors has been normalised through this process, he added.
There are additional risks while reporting on land grabbing, water bodies' destruction, or the construction of training centres by taking over protected land. To tackle such challenges, those who are responsible in the government have to respect the commitment to freedom of press and speech enshrined in the constitution, so journalists and activists working on environmental issues do not become the victims of "shoot the messenger".
Speaking at the opening session, Susan Vize, Head of Office and UNESCO Representative to Bangladesh, said, &ldquo;Raising public awareness about climate change and other environmental issues in Bangladesh is critical to achieving behavioural change. The media remains the single most influential source of credible public information. WPFD 2024 aims to build the capacity of Bangladesh&rsquo;s media to ensure accurate and impactful coverage of the current environmental crises.&rdquo;
Alexandra Berg von Linde, Ambassador to Bangladesh, Sweden Embassy, said, &ldquo;Public interest is inextricably linked to climate change and environmental degradation. The negative effects of climate change are becoming more visible, affecting people's daily lives. People want to know about the results and effects of negative climate change. Freedom of the media and the ability to report independently on all such matters of public interest are important elements of democracy.&rdquo;
Responding to a question about the misuse of repressive acts (ICT, DSA and CSA) and the safety concerns of journalists, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad A Arafat said, &ldquo;We always talk about ensuring freedom of the press. However, in some cases, vested interests exploit this freedom to publish agenda-driven news and disseminate misinformation. Instances of such misinformation regarding Rampal or Adani power plants have been observed. Therefore, alongside ensuring media freedom, accountability must also be ensured.
"If media freedom is misused to spread false information or disinformation, appropriate legal action should be taken. However, I will take necessary steps to ensure the protection of journalists in the country who report on environmental crises or climate issues based on truth and scientific evidence.&rdquo;
The first panel discussion titled &ldquo;A Press for the Planet: Free Press and Freedom of Expression in the Context of the Current Global Environmental Crisis&rdquo; kicked off with the presentations of Shamsuddin Illius, bureau chief of Chattogram, The Business Standard, and Usraat Fahmidah, freelance journalist, regarding the challenges of journalism in environmental issues and training young journalists.
The second panel discussion focused on the safety issues of journalists under the theme of &ldquo;Media Defence for Crisis Reporting,&rdquo; where journalists and experts from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka participated.
&nbsp;

No alternative to press freedom to ensure democracy: Speakers

Maximum temperature in the country started falling on average one or two degrees Celsius from today, the Met Office said predicting temperature may dip more from 5 May as almost all parts of the country may witness much awaited rainfall. &nbsp; "Maximum temperature has started one or degree Celsius . . . it is an indicator that rainfall is likely to occur from May 5 in most areas in the country," Md Omar Faruq, a meteorologist of Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) told BSS today.
Analyzing the mathematical model of rainfall index, he said, Bangladesh may witness heavy to very heavy downpour from the next three or four days meaning intense of heat will decrease significantly providing some relief as the entire country braced for more extreme heat since 1 April.
Large swaths of Khulna and Rajshahi division are sweltering through a heatwave as the Met office logged highest temperature above 40 degree Celsius in most stations located in the two divisions since 1 April, Omar said predicting rains are likely to occur in different areas of the two division.
"Northeastern, central parts including Sylhet division and some parts of Mymensingh and Dhaka division are likely to experience heavy to very heavy rainfall from 2 May," Dr Abul Kalam Mallik, BMD meteorologist said.
The meteorologist attributed uncomfortable feelings of unbearable hot-weather to high humidity persisting in the air during the afternoon and evening period suggesting avoiding movement between 12 noon to 4pm as the sunlight is getting too hot as it (the Sun) provides sunlight vertically with intense heat.
"Normally we record temperature from the air," Mallik said the highest temperature was found between 12 noon and 4pm because of vertical position of the Sun.
Analyzing humidity indexes, Mallik continued, "There is a close relation of temperature and humidity . . . discomfort feelings will increase, if high humidity persists in the air with high temperature. "Although temperature decreases after 4pm, but we feel very hot weather due to high humidity," he added. &nbsp; The Met Office today recorded 41.7 degree Celsius at Chuadanga, the highest temperature of the current year while the temperature in Dhaka was recorded at 37.9 degrees Celsius but the high humidity has exposed the residents to massive discomfort.
The BMD official said the country witnessed the longest duration of the heatwave for the past 30 days since April 1 and the met office warned the phenomenon would continue throughout the next month.
"But unlike the previous heatwaves, this year it spread all over the country," commented meteorologist Abul Kalam Mollik, who was supported by Zebunnesa as well.
Visibly for the first time the meteorologists acknowledged that the climate change phenomenon caused the erratic weather pattern with gradually expanding areas of heatwave, joining the voice with the climate experts and activists.
According to the weather bulletin of BMD issued here today, very severe heat wave is sweeping over the districts of Jashore, Khulna, Chuadanga, Pabna and Rajshahi and severe heat wave is sweeping over the districts of Tangail, Faridpur, Gopalgonj and rest parts of Khulna division.
Mild to moderate heat wave is sweeping elsewhere over the country and it may abate from some places over eastern part of the country, the bulletin said adding day temperature may fall slightly over western part and it may fall by (1-2)oC elsewhere over the country
April is typically hot in Bangladesh as it is in other South and Southeast Asian countries, but according to meteorologists, temperatures this month have been unusually high which was highlighted by international media outlets as well.
According to the New York Times, hundreds of millions of people in South and Southeast Asia were suffering from a grueling heatwave that has forced schools to close, disrupted agriculture, and raised the risk of heat strokes and other health complications.
The recent report also specially acknowledged the Bangladesh scenario saying temperature in some areas soared above 42 degrees Celsius but the "numbers don't quite capture how extreme humidity makes the heat feel even worse".
The schools across the country were closed due to the extreme weather but students are struggling to or doing anything at home as well.
The heatwave has forced the healthcare facilities to take emergency measures to provide medical services with higher number of patients reporting to hospitals with heat-related ailments since the beginning of April while the children and elderly people appeared as the most vulnerable during this prolonged hot weather.
"Large numbers of people are becoming ill with heatstroke, dehydration, exhaustion and breathing problems and they are suffering from other heat-related diseases as well," Director of Mugda Medical College and Hospital Dr Md Niatuzzaman told BSS.
The other hospitals and healthcare facilities including Shishu Hospital, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital and International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) reported identical scenarios.
"Nearly, 500 diarrhoea patients have been admitted to the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B). A significant number of patients are getting admission to ICDDRB daily," ICDDR'B spokesman AKM Tariful Islam Khan said. &nbsp; The health ministry issued a directive to take extra measures to face the crisis in hospitals across the country.
Doctors suggested people to stay indoors as much as possible and wear weather-suitable clothes during exposure to sun to protect themselves from heatstroke and take rest after one or two hours during working period alongside consuming more liquid food beside water to avoid dehydration during the heatwave.
"Our brains can tolerate certain level of temperature, if it exceeds people may faint, suffer heatstroke besides suffering from dehydration causing electrolyte imbalance and other complications including kidney dysfunction," former Suhrawardy Hospital director Professor Dr Khalilur Rahman said.

Temperature starts falling, may dip more from 5 May

Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali has sought increased support from the development partners including ADB to improve Bangladesh's food distribution system, develop market connectivity and scale up innovation in agriculture in the wake of climate challenges.
The Finance Minister said this while addressing a High-Level panel titled "Harvesting hope; ensuring a food secure, climate resilient Asia and the Pacific" as a distinguished speaker at the 57th annual meeting of ADB at Tbilisi in the capital of Georgia today. &nbsp; Ali is currently leading a seven-member Bangladesh delegation to the 57th annual meeting of ADB at Tbilisi, said a press release received here today.
In his remarks, the Finance Minister said despite being a land scarce country, Bangladesh emerged globally as the third largest producer of rice and vegetables by increasing food production, supporting agriculture and expanding social safety net programmes under the guidance of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's inclusive development policies.
On the same day, The Finance Minister met ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa to discuss bilateral issues.
In the meeting with the ADB President, the Minister sought policy based lending (PBL) supports for undertaking trade policy, logistics, climate, and LDC graduation reforms.
He also requested ADB to increase concessional climate finance, facilitate cross-border energy trade, assist Bangladesh in its initiatives for tax sector reforms, undertaking projects for river restoration and developing some of the thrust sectors of its economy such as, jute, leather and tourism towards Bangladesh's drive for diversifying economy.
In response, the ADB President praised Bangladesh government's strong climate and development agenda, and assured ADB's continued support both in sovereign and non-sovereign resources, in Bangladesh's prioritized sectors.

Finance Minister seeks increased support from development partners to improve food distribution system

The price of gold has dropped for the consecutive eighth time as the Bangladesh Jewellers Association (BAJUS) reduced prices again on Thursday (2 May).
The price of 22-carat gold was downed by Tk1,878 per bhori (11.664g).
Each carat of top-quality gold will now cost Tk1,09,163, BAJUS said in a statement on Thursday.
The new revised prices will be effective from 3 May, it said, adding that the price will remain in effect until further notice.
Meanwhile, each bhori of 21-carat gold will cost Tk1,04,194 while 18-carat gold&rsquo;s price now stands at Tk89,331.
The traditional gold price has been set at Tk 74,276. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Gold prices reduced for 8 times straight

Expatriate Bangladeshis sent $2.04 billion remittances in April, which is 21.3 per cent higher than the corresponding period of the preceding year.
The country received $1.68 billion remittances during the month of April, 2023.
According to bankers, the flow of remittances usually rises during Eid.
In March, remittances dipped below the $2 billion mark after two months amid the weakening of the dollar against the Taka.
Data from the Bangladesh Bank show expatriate Bangladeshis sent home $1.99 billion in March.

Remittance rises 21% in April

Awami League (AL) General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today said that the main goal of the ruling Awami League (AL) is to work for the welfare of the toiling people of the country. &nbsp; &ldquo;The goal of AL is to change the fate of farmers, workers and the toiling people,&rdquo; he said in a statement sent to the media today, protesting the misleading and provocative statements of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
Recalling BNP-Jamaat&rsquo;s tenure, the AL general secretary said that when the BNP-Jamaat evil forces were in power, the people of the country had to live in misery due to their misrule.
&ldquo;Today, they talked about the rights of working people. But they never increased the wages of the workers while in power,&rdquo; he added.
Highlighting BNP-Jamaat&rsquo;s atrocities, he said this evil force shot dead laborers who were agitating for salary and bonus, killed farmers who were agitating for fertilizer and murdered ordinary people who were agitating for electricity.
Thus, the BNP-Jamaat clique crushed Bangladesh by holding people hostage at gunpoint, he said.
Obaidul Quader said that they made the life of working people miserable by shutting down different factories, including the Adamjee Jute Mills. &nbsp; On the other hand, Awami League has increased the salaries of garment workers as well as tea workers after coming to power, he said, adding that the living standard of all, including working people, has improved.
Quader further said that Awami League always comes to power with people's vote.
Awami League is not like a political party which came into being from the pocket of a military dictator, he said, adding that this party led the struggles for establishment of all rights, including democratic rights, of the people of this country, he said.
In continuation of that, Awami League is working to establish people's voting rights and other rights, he added.
He said that the 12th national election, held on January 7 last, was fairer than all the elections held in the country after 1975.
&ldquo;Awami League has come to power through elections by ensuring people's right to vote and is running the country with people's mandate,&rdquo; he said.
Obaidul Quader said that BNP had always taken away the voting rights of the people to grab the power. &ldquo;For this, they are afraid of elections and they don't want to participate in it,&rdquo; he added.
&ldquo;Once they excluded half a crore voters from the list to make smooth their way to grab power. They also created 1.23 crore fake voters,&rdquo; he said.
He said that issues like democracy and right to vote do not fit in the mouth of those who undertook different tactics to snatch the voting rights of the people.
&ldquo;The main objective of BNP&rsquo;s politics is to seize power by any means,&rdquo; he continued.
They seized state power and used it illegally to make Bangladesh a dysfunctional state through corruption and looting, he said.
Bangladesh had the stigma of being the champion of corruption for five times because of BNP, he said.

AL’s main goal is to work for welfare of toiling people: Quader

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, who is currently undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in the capital, was shifted to a cabin from the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) on Thursday.
"Madam was previously in the CCU. The medical board has now shifted her to the cabin. She is receiving treatment under the close supervision of doctors in the cabin," Khaleda's personal physician Prof AZM Zahid Hossain told UNB.
In response to a question, Zahid said the BNP chief underwent several urgent tests on Wednesday night. &ldquo;Based on the test reports, the medical board is now giving her medical treatment.&rdquo;
Earlier on Wednesday night, Khaleda was admitted to Evercare Hospital in the capital and placed in the CCU following the advice of the medical board.
Since her conditional release from prison in 2020, the BNP chief has been receiving medical care at the hospital under the supervision of a medical board headed by cardiologist Prof Shahabuddin Talukder.
The 78-year-old former prime minister has long been battling various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, and issues related to the kidney, lung, heart, and eyes.
Khaleda's physicians have been advocating for her treatment abroad since she was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis in November 2021.
On October 26 last year, three US specialist doctors performed the hepatic procedure known as transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS procedure) to alleviate fluid accumulation in Khaleda Zia&rsquo;s abdomen and chest, as well as to address bleeding in her liver.

Khaleda moved to cabin from CCU

Milton Samadder, chairman of Child and Old Age Care, has been placed on a three-day remand in a case filed in connection with forging death certificates.&nbsp;
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Tofazzal Hossain of Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court passed the order on Thursday (May 2) after police produced him in the court seeking a 7-day remand.
Earlier on the day, Sub-Inspector Mohammad Kamal Pasha at Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Detective Branch (DB) in Mirpur Zone filed the case against Milton at Mirpur Model Police Station.
Apart from this, two more cases on charges of human trafficking and illegal detention are under process, police said.
According to the case statement, &ldquo;Milton Samaddar used to forge death certificates of people who died in his shelter centre. He used to forge doctors&rsquo; signatures and seals in the death certificates of those who would die at the centre.
&ldquo;Milton Samadder is not a registered medical practitioner. No registered doctor has been appointed in his institution. He fraudulently made money by creating institutions in the name of child and old age care services.&rdquo;&nbsp;
It stated that Milton and his manager Kishore Bala cheated anonymous children and elderly people in the name of service to humanity.
A team of Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) detained Milton Samadder from Mirpur, Dhaka on Wednesday.&nbsp;

Milton Samadder on 3-day remand in death certificate forgery case

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday asked the country&rsquo;s leftist parties who they want to bring to power by ousting her.
&ldquo;The leftists have turned by 90 degrees. Well, they want to oust me. But could they determine who would come next? It is my question. Who would come to power and who would work for the country? But it is not clear who they want to bring,&rdquo; she said.
The premier said this while addressing a press conference arranged at her official residence Ganabhaban on the outcome of her recent six-day visit to Thailand.
Replying to a question, she said since it is not clear whom the leftists want to bring in power next, none of them don&rsquo;t get response from the people.
She said yes, movement is being carried out. Staying in a foreign land as a fugitive, someone is doing movement as well as giving orders online everyday thanks to Digital Bangladesh made by her government, she added.
&ldquo;Let those who are waging a movement do it. We at least are not hindering it,&rdquo; she said.
Criticising the US style to curb ongoing demonstrations carried out against Israeli aggression on Palestine, the PM said there is a possibility now for Bangladesh to stop the movement here following the American style.
&ldquo;I think our police now can follow the American police. We asked them (Bangladesh Police) to show patience,&rdquo; she said, adding that their member was beaten to death in October 2023.
&ldquo;So, our police can take measures to curb movement in American style,&rdquo; she went on.
Replying to another question, the prime minister said her government&rsquo;s goal is to make the ongoing upazila election a meaningful one.
In this context, she said a good number of political parties boycott elections as they have no capacity to run in the polls.
&ldquo;Why do they boycott elections? The reason is that they actually don&rsquo;t have capacity to compete in the elections,&rdquo; said Sheikh Hasina, also the President of ruling Bangladesh Awami League.
The prime minister returned to Bangladesh on April 29 after concluding her visit, which began on April 24 at the invitation of her Thai counterpart Srettha Thavisin.

Who they want to bring to power ousting me: PM Hasina wonders about leftists

The Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) has argued that it is possible to withdraw the subsidy provided in the energy sector without raising power tariffs, as suggested by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
&ldquo;The government can withdraw the power subsidy without hiking electricity prices by addressing issues such as irregularities, waste of resources, extravagance, and mismanagement prevailing in the sector,&rdquo; CAB&rsquo;s Energy Adviser M Shamsul Alam said on Thursday.
He read out a written statement from CAB at a press conference held under the banner &ldquo;Energy justice, not price hike, is needed to save the graft-hit electricity and fuel business&rdquo; at the auditorium of Dhaka Reporters Unity in Segunbagicha.
Earlier, on April 25, during a meeting with the budget sub-division under the Finance Division, the IMF delegation, which visited Bangladesh to evaluate the progress of conditions set as part of its $4.7 billion loan agreement, suggested that the government withdraw subsidies provided in the power, gas, and fertilizer sectors and adjust prices upward at the consumer level. The team also suggested using the money saved from the budget allocated as a subsidy in the social safety net.
The Finance Division informed the team that the government will continue subsidies in agriculture given the importance of ensuring food security.
Criticizing the government&rsquo;s response to the IMF proposal, the CAB energy adviser said, &ldquo;It seems the government is indifferent to ensuring energy security. Don&rsquo;t they understand that it is not possible to ensure food security if energy security is not ensured?&rdquo;
He further added, &ldquo;It would be possible to meet the deficit of around Tk40,000 crore without a price adjustment if the plundering expense and profit made in the energy sector could be prevented. But the IMF does not offer any such suggestion, as donor organisations like IMF want to turn Bangladesh into an export destination for electricity and fuel.&rdquo;
Speaking at the conference, Shamsul Huda, Executive Director of the Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD), said, &ldquo;World Bank, IMF could not help any nation to be self-reliant, to come out of the crisis by providing them with loans since their century-old journey. So it is merely an injustice to create a burden for common people to meet their conditions to secure a loan.&rdquo;

CAB opposes IMF proposal to hike power tariff, withdraw energy subsidy

WHO Regional Director for Southeast Asia Saima Wazed addressed the Regional Consultation on WHO South-East Asia Priority Programme Initiative in New Delhi, marking a significant step in her first year of leadership.
Wazed's opening remarks came after completing the first quarter of her tenure, a period she described as full of learning and valuable interactions with Member States and the WHO team.
During the consultation, Wazed emphasised the creation of a roadmap for the Priority Programmes that will guide the strategic direction during her term. These programmes were developed with contributions from Member States, aiming to address key health issues across the region and achieve transnational and multigenerational benefits.
Wazed shared her vision for the region, focusing on a holistic approach to health and well-being.
She emphasised prioritising the health of women, children, and marginalised groups such as persons with disabilities and underscored the goal of achieving universal health coverage within primary health care.
The WHO Regional Director highlighted the need for strong partnerships and collaborations beyond traditional health system boundaries to address determinants of health outside these systems.
She stressed that in working with a new and expanded range of partners, WHO's technical leadership, drawn from an extensive network of health professionals, could enrich all collaborations.
The consultation will delve into technical and non-technical aspects necessary for promoting health and well-being in the region. Wazed called for country engagement and ownership of the regional Priority Programme Initiatives as a tactical strategy to meet these ends.
Participants are expected to discuss and contribute to the draft strategic framework known as the Regional Roadmap for Results and Resilience. This roadmap aims to drive results, promote resilience, and enhance the health and well-being of communities across the region. It is synchronised with the WHO 14th General Programme of Work to support the accelerated progress towards SDG3 through five key action points: Promote, Provide, Protect, Power, and Perform.
Reflecting on the collective effort required, Wazed stated, "The roadmap for these programmes is now in your hands. I urge all of you to take ownership of it. This is not my roadmap - it is ours. Please give it the best of your intuition, experience, and expertise."
As the region faces various public health challenges, Wazed's call to action sets a hopeful tone for strategic health improvements driven by local solutions and collaborative efforts across South-East Asia.

WHO Regional Director Saima Wazed calls for collaborative health leadership in South-East Asia

The price of a 12 kg cylinder of Liquefied petroleum gas has been reduced by Tk 49 from Tk1,442 to Tk1,393 for the month of May.
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission announced the new rate on Thursday (2 May).
The new prices will be effective from this evening.
According to the announcement, the retail price of private LPG has been fixed at Tk116 per kg at the consumer level including tax.
Price of LPG supplied in liquid form by private companies in the reticulated system has been fixed at Tk112 per kg inclusive of the price.
Besides, the price of autogas has been fixed at Tk63.92 at the consumer level.
Earlier in April, the price of 12kg cylinder was reduced by Tk40 to Tk 1,442.

Price of 12kg LPG cylinder drops by Tk49

The government will take steps to bring the people and groups involved in anti-state activities under surveillance to protect the country but media will be given full freedom, said the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad A Arafat.
&ldquo;Government has no intention to control the media, the government is committed to freedom of the media,&rdquo; he said while participating in a discussion meeting organised by UNESCO, Transparency International Bangladesh and Article 19 on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on Thursday (2 May).
&ldquo;Media in Bangladesh is open because of which anyone can do what they want&rdquo;, he added.
Stating that the media has the freedom to criticise the government, Arafat said, &ldquo;There is no obstacle to healthy journalism in the country.&rdquo;
However, the minister urged people to be aware so that the law is not misused.&nbsp;
&ldquo;If anyone abuses the law under the pretext of media freedom, they should be booked,&rdquo; he added.
The global theme for this year's Press Freedom Day is "A Press For The Planet: Journalism In The Face Of The Environmental Crisis".
Speaking at the event, TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said environmental journalists in the country have come under attack many times while in the line of duty.
"Bangladesh has played a commendable role in combating global warming. However, increasing land grabbing, destruction of biodiversity in the name of development and encroachment in the name of urbanisation have now become normal.&nbsp;A section of the ruling class is benefiting from attacks on the environment and those who are supposed to enforce the law are not doing their work,&rdquo; he added.
&ldquo;In the 2022-23 year, a total of 23 incidents of cases and attacks have happened because of publishing reports related to environmental degradation news. In those incidents, at least 43 journalists have been injured,&rdquo; he further said.
The TIB executive director said such incidents are not isolated incidents that have become common.

People involved in anti-state activities will be brought under surveillance: Arafat

All primary and secondary level educational institutions which remained closed because of the countrywide heat wave will reopen on Saturday (4 April)
The Ministry of Education issued a notice in this regard on Thursday (2 May).
"Classes will resume from Saturday," reads the notice signed by the ministry&rsquo;s public relations officer MA Khayer.
Schools and colleges were scheduled to reopen on 21 April after the end of the Eid holidays but the closure was extended till 27 April due to sweltering heat across the country caused by heat waves.
Classes resumed on 28 April although there was no remarkable change in the heat wave condition, worrying the guardians, especially those of primary level students.
The authorities extended the closure of primary and secondary level educational intuitions till 2 May following a High Court order to keep those shut.
The HC passed the suo moto order following reports of death and sickness of people including teachers and students after the reopening of the educational institutions

Classes at schools, colleges to resume from 4 May

The bodies of eight Bangladeshi nationals who died while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to enter Europe and subsequently drowned near the coast of Tunisia arrived at Dhaka airport on Thursday (2 May) afternoon.
A flight of Saudia Airlines, carrying the bodies, arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at around 12:30pm.
Following the tragic incident on the night of 14 February, officials at the Bangladesh Embassy in Tripoli worked closely with Tunisia's Foreign Ministry and local authorities to manage the forensic identification, confirmation of identities through domestic agencies, issuance of death and medical certificates, and coordination of the repatriation process.
A boat, carrying 52 passengers and a sailor from the coast of Zuwarah on its way to Europe, sank off the Tunisian coast.&nbsp;
Out of the 44 survivors, 27 are Bangladeshis, with others from Pakistan (8), Syria (5), and Egypt (4).
Among the nine fatalities, eight were identified as Bangladeshis and one as a Pakistani national. The deceased Bangladeshis are - Sajal, Noyon Biswas, Mamun Sheikh, Kazi Sajib, and Kaiser Khalifa from Madaripur district, and Rifat, Russel, and Imrul Kayes from Gopalganj district.
BRAC Associate Director (Migration and Youth Platform) Shariful Hasan said, "11 Bangladeshis, who were on that boat but survived have returned to the country. Among them, two from Rajoi upazila of Madaripur contacted BRAC. They alleged that those 8 Bangladeshis were killed. Since a case has been registered in this incident, we hope that the details will come out in the investigation of the law enforcement agencies."
According to the police, Sunil Bairagi, the father of deceased Sajal Bairagi, filed a case at Dhaka Airport Police Station in this incident.
Two accused in the case were arrested.
They were arrested two days after the filing of the case on 19 April.
In the statement of the case, Sunil Bairagi alleged that his son Sajal Bairagi wanted to go to Italy in the hope of a better life.&nbsp;Sajal's former acquaintance Yuvraj Kazi, 24 and Mosharraf Kazi, who is now in Libya, offered to send him to Italy legally in exchange for Tk14 lakh. Sajal Bairagi and his family agreed to this proposal.
With the consent of both parties, on 17 November last year, Sajal gave Tk2.5 lakh and a passport to Yuvraj Kazi in Gopalganj.
He was taken to Shahjalal International Airport on 30 December, Sajal's father said.
Before entering the airport, Yuvraj Kazi took another five lakh cash from Sajal before getting out of the car. He left for Dubai at six in the morning on 31 December.
Sunil Bairagi gave another Tk6.5lakh to Yuvraj Kazi on 8 January.
But since then Sunil could not contact his son, he said.
After that, Sunil came to know from media reports that Sajal was among the eight Bangladeshis who were killed in a trawler travelling from Libya to Italy on 14 April.
He alleged that a gang of 20 people smuggled the victims out of Bangladesh illegally in exchange for huge sums of money with the lure of a better life.
Knowing that they would surely die, they put them in a small boat in the rough sea and drowned them in the water, he said.

Bodies of 8 Bangladeshis who died in Tunisia boat capsize arrive in Dhaka, case filed

A Dhaka court has granted bail to Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, an economist, in a case filed under the Money Laundering Prevention Act.
Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 passed the order on Thursday, Dr Yunus' lawyer Abdullah Al Mamun told the media.
The court has also scheduled June 2 for the hearing of the charge sheet filed regarding the case, the lawyer added.
&nbsp;"The court was scheduled to hold the hearing today, but it deferred the date to June 2, taking into account an application filed seeking time," said Abdullah Al Mamun.
Dr. Yunus and the other accused individuals in the case appeared in court, he added.
On February 1, the Anti-Corruption Commission submitted a charge sheet against 14 people, including Yunus, in the case of embezzlement of Tk25.22 crore, which was entitled to Grameen Telecom workers as their share in the company&rsquo;s dividend.
ACC Deputy Director Gulshan Anwar filed the case as the main plaintiff on May 30 last year.
According to the investigation report, the accused embezzled Tk25.22 crore by transferring money illegally to another account, which is an offense under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
According to the ACC, in the presence of Grameen Telecom Chairman Yunus, the board of directors decided to open a bank account on May 9, 2022. Pursuant to that decision, a bank account was opened at the Gulshan branch of Dhaka Bank on May 8.
The ACC report states, &ldquo;An agreement was signed with the labor union and Grameen Telecom on April 27 of the same year for the distribution of dividends owed to Grameen Telecom employees. The contract shows that the bank account was opened on May 8, which is impossible in reality. This was done by forging documents.&rdquo;
It further stated, according to the agreement and the decision of the 108th board meeting (Grameen Telecom), on May 10, 2022, Tk437,112,621 was transferred from the Mirpur branch of United Commercial Bank to the Gulshan branch of Dhaka Bank. The dividend was embezzled without being disbursed to the employees.&rdquo;
However, Dr. Yunus's lawyer, Abdullah Al Mamun, told the media on Monday, &ldquo;Grameen Telecom reached an agreement with the workers when they went to court to demand their share of the dividend. Based on that agreement, the workers demanded an advance of Tk25, including the expenses of the lawyers, and it was paid. Employees have written consent in this regard.&rdquo;
Abdullah Al Mamun also added, &ldquo;The space for bank account information was left blank in the contract because the workers were late in opening bank accounts. Later, both parties included the bank account numbers. It was based on consent.&rdquo;
A total of 176 employees of Grameen Telecom filed more than 100 lawsuits demanding payment of dividend shares. They also approached the High Court. Later, Grameen Telecom agreed to disburse the dividend.
The lawyer said, &ldquo;Grameen Telecom workers dropped the lawsuits in May 2022 after receiving the dividend through a settlement. However, the ACC filed a case regarding the payment of the dues as embezzlement.&rdquo;
Abdullah Al Mamun said, &ldquo;The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) sent a letter to the Law and Justice Division on the government's instructions, which they can't do. When Yunus disclosed this, the ACC hastily filed a charge sheet against him.&rdquo;
In another case filed by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) on charges of violating labor laws, four people, including Yunus, were sentenced to six months in prison on January 1 by the labor court. Dr. Yunus and three others challenged the sentence, leading to a hearing date on January 28 set by the Labour Appellate Tribunal.

Yunus granted bail in money laundering case

With no sign of relief from the scorching heat felt in most parts of the country, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department has come up with good news for five divisions - Chattogram, Sylhet, Dhaka, Mymensingh, and Barishal.
Rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally winds are likely to occur today at a few places over Chattogram and Sylhet divisions, and at one or two places over Dhaka, Mymensingh, and Barishal divisions, with hailstorms at isolated places, according to the BMD weather forecast.&nbsp;
However, the met office have no good news for Rajshahi and Khulna divisions, which are experiencing very severe heat waves with temperatures exceeding 42 degrees Celsius.
The meteorological office said the very severe heat wave, indicating temperatures above 42 degrees Celsius, is sweeping over the districts of Jashore, Khulna, Chuadanga, Pabna, and Rajshahi, and a severe heat wave is sweeping over the districts of Tangail, Faridpur, Gopalganj, and the rest of the Khulna division. Mild to moderate heat waves are sweeping elsewhere across the country, and they may abate in some places over the eastern part of the country.
While rain is likely to continue until Saturday in Chattogram and Sylhet divisions, and until Friday in Barishal division, the weather may remain dry in Rajshahi, Khulna, and Rangpur divisions.
The prevailing heat wave may abate from some places over the country from Friday, according to the weather forecast.

5 divisions including Dhaka to experience rain today

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina once again appealed to the international community to speak out against all forms of aggression and atrocities and to say 'no' to war.
&ldquo;I have called upon the world community, including the Asia-Pacific region, to work together to resolve the ongoing genocide in Palestine, the ongoing conflict in Myanmar, and the Rohingya issue,&rdquo; the premier said while briefing the media about her recent visit to Thailand at a press conference organised at the Ganabhaban at 11:30am on Thursday (2 May).
&ldquo;UN Under-Secretary-General and the Executive Secretary of UN-ESCAP Armida Salsian Alisjahbana and I met during my Thailand visit. I emphasised increasing mutual cooperation between the countries of South Asia and Southeast Asia region,&rdquo; she added.
The premier said that has expressed interest in exchanging the development models invented and implemented in Bangladesh with other countries in the region through the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP).
PM Hasina said she requested her Thai counterpart to encourage the participation of the private sector, especially investment in our Special Economic Zones and Hi-Tech Parks, to keep the balance of trade between the two countries.
"I requested the Thai Prime Minister to consider the issue of granting duty-free access to some Bangladeshi goods, including ready-made garments, for a logical period,"
PM Hasina said as an agricultural country, Bangladesh can utilise Thailand's experience and technological expertise to strengthen food security through increasing cooperation in the sector.
"I also urged Thailand to invest in the health sector of Bangladesh," she added.
&nbsp;The two countries agreed to strengthen economic relations between Bangladesh and Thailand by quickly launching direct coastal shipping between Thailand's Ranong Port and Chattogram Port with the aim of economic development through seamless regional connectivity, the premier said.
She also reiterated Bangladesh's expectation of joining the &ldquo;India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway&rdquo; to strengthen regional cooperation.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returned home from Bangkok on 29 April after a 6-day visit to Thailand.
She went to Thailand on 24 April at the invitation of Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
Following the meeting, five bilateral documents were signed in the presence of the two leaders on visa waiver, energy cooperation, tourism and customs issues and free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between Bangladesh and Thailand.
Apart from this, the Prime Minister addressed the 80th session of the UN-ESCAP at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok.

Speak out against aggression and atrocities: PM Hasina to international community

Five people inlcuding an elderly woman were killed in separate incidents of lightning strikes in Rangamati and Cox's Bazar in the early hours of Thursday.
Fifty-year-old Nazir Ahmed was struck by lightning while he was catching fish with a fishing rod at Kaptai lake around 8:30am.&nbsp;
He was taken to Rangamati General Hospital where the doctor on duty declared him dead.
The hospital&rsquo;s Residential Medical Officer Shawkat Akber Khan said he was already dead on arrival.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, two woman -- 60-year old Baharzan from Baradom Muslim Block area and 37-year-old Tonibala from Betling Mouza in Sazek -- under Baghaichari upazila were killed by lightning strike this morning, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shirin Akter told the Bangladesh First.&nbsp;
Another woman named Tonibala Tripura, 37, was hit by lightning in Longthian area of Betling Mouza in Sajek.&nbsp;
In Cox's Bazar, two salt cultivators died after being struck by lightning in Pekua upazila.&nbsp;
Didarul Islam from Kodailya Dia area in Magnama union went to collect salt at dawn sensing rainfall when he was hit by lightning, said the union parishad&rsquo;s Chairman Chairman Yunus Chowdhury.
He was rushed to Pekua Upazila Health Complex where the doctor on duty declared him dead.&nbsp;
In a repeat of such an incident, salt cultivator Arafat from Charipara area in Rajakhali union lost his life after being struck by lightning while collecting salt from a land, said local Union Parishad Nazrul Islam Sikder Babul.

Lightning kills 5 people in Rangamati, Cox's Bazar

Amid the persistent severe heat waves sweeping across the country, the residents of Chattogram got some relief as rain graced the port city and the surrounding areas.
The local meteorological office has recorded 7 millimetres of rain in two phases of rain in the city.
Rain graced Chattogram at around 3am on Thursday (2 May), later it rained again at 9am.
Due to the rain, the intensity of heat waves has decreased.
Chittagong's Patenga Meteorological Office said intermittent light to moderate rain is likely in the port city in the next 24 hours.
Meteorologist Abdul Baker said, "A total of 7 mm of rainfall has been recorded so far. There may be more rain in Chattogram in the afternoon and evening. There is a chance of intermittent rain tomorrow as well&rdquo;.

Chattogram residents get some relief from heat wave thanks to rain

The bodies of eight Bangladeshi nationals who died while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe and subsequently drowned near the coast of Tunisia will arrive in the country this afternoon.
According to a Facebook post by the Bangladesh Embassy in Libya, the coffins, transported via Saudia Airlines, are scheduled to arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 12:15pm on 2 May.
On Tuesday, in the presence of Bangladesh's Ambassador to Libya and non-resident envoy to Tunisia, Major General (Retd.) Abul Hasnat Mohammad Khairul Bashar, embassy officials transferred the bodies to the authorities at Tunis International Airport.
Following the tragic incident on the night of 14 February, officials at the Bangladesh Embassy in Tripoli worked closely with Tunisia's Foreign Ministry and local authorities to manage the forensic identification, confirmation of identities through domestic agencies, issuance of death and medical certificates, and coordination of the repatriation process.
The Foreign Ministry's Africa Wing coordinated inter-ministerial efforts to facilitate the repatriation of the bodies, with assistance from the ministries of home, law, and funds from the Expatriates Welfare Ministry.
Among the deceased are Sajal, Noyon Biswas, Mamun Sheikh, Kazi Sajib, and Kaiser Khalifa from Madaripur district, and Rifat, Russel, and Imrul Kayes from Gopalganj district.
A boat, carrying 52 passengers and a sailor from the coast of Zuwarah on its way to Europe, sank off the Tunisian coast. Out of the 44 survivors, 27 are Bangladeshis, with others from Pakistan (8), Syria (5), and Egypt (4). Among the nine fatalities, eight were identified as Bangladeshis and one as a Pakistani national.

Bodies of 8 Bangladeshis who died in Tunisia boat capsize to arrive today

Dhaka's air quality was categorised as &lsquo;unhealthy for sensitive groups&rsquo; this morning.
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 106 at 10:19 am, Dhaka ranked 11th on the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.
Pakistan's Lahore, India&rsquo;s Delhi and Nepal&rsquo;s Kathmandu occupied the first, second and third spots in the list, with AQI scores of 214, 175 and 170, respectively.
When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 101 and 150, air quality is considered &lsquo;unhealthy for sensitive groups&rsquo;, between 150 and 200 is &lsquo;unhealthy&rsquo;, between 201 and 300 is said to be 'very unhealthy', while a reading of 301+ is considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks to residents.
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.
The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five 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.
Dhaka&rsquo;s air quality &lsquo;moderate&rsquo; this morning
As per World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, mainly due to increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.

Dhaka’s air ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’ this morning

District Correspondent

At least five people were killed in a head-on collision between a truck and a car in Madhavpur of Habiganj.
The accident took place in the Haritala area on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway of the upazila.at around 1:30am on Thursday (2 May),&nbsp;Shaestaganj Highway Police OC Badrul Kabir said.
Police said that among the five killed, four were members of the same family.
However, the names and other details of the deceased could not be known immediately.
The bodies were kept at Habiganj Sadar Hospital morgue.

5 killed in truck-car collision in Habiganj

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to brief journalists on the outcome of her recent Thailand visit on Thursday (2 May) morning.
The scheduled briefing will be held at her official Ganabhaban residence here at 10am.
The premier returned home from Bangkok on 29 April wrapping up her six-day official visit to the East Asian country - Thailand.
Five bilateral documents on visa exemption, cooperation on energy, tourism, and customs matters, and negotiation of a free trade agreement (FTA) between Bangladesh and
Thailand were signed in the presence of both leaders during Sheikh Hasina's visit to Thailand. Sheikh Hasina also had a bilateral meeting with Thai Prime Minister Thavisin at the Government House, the Thai Premier's Office.&nbsp;
The premier of Bangladesh also made a courtesy call to Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshan and King and Queen of the Kingdom of Thailand, Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua, at Amphorn Satharn Throne Hall at Dusit Palace.
In addition, she gave a speech in Bangkok during the 80th session of UNESCAP, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

PM to brief media this morning

Reuters

Police in Paris entered France's prestigious Sciences Po university on Friday and removed student activists who had occupied its buildings in protest against Israel's conduct in its war against Hamas in Gaza.
A Reuters witness saw police go into the buildings and take out many of the 70-odd protesters inside. Unlike in some college campuses across the United States, the French protests have been peaceful and there were no signs of violence as the students were brought out of the buildings.
Sciences Po has become the epicentre of French student protests over the war and academic ties with Israel, which have spread across France but have remained much smaller in scale than those seen in the United States.
The university was closed for the day on Friday, with a heavy police presence around its main building.
Jack, a Sciences Po student who declined to give his surname, said he was one of around 70 students who spent Thursday night occupying one of the university's main buildings in central Paris.
He told Reuters on Friday morning that protesters had declined an ultimatum by university officials to clear large parts of the building and restrict their movement to a determined smaller area.
A Sciences Po spokesperson, speaking before the police intervention, said the university was seeking a "negotiated solution to end the standoff" with its students, and that some of the its satellite campuses in Reims, Le Havre and Poitiers were also affected by protests.
Sciences Po Lyon, an unaffiliated university in France's third largest city, was also blocked by protesting students on Friday, as well as the Lille school of journalism, images broadcast by French news channels showed.
Sciences Po's director Jean Basseres on Thursday rejected demands by protesters to review its relations with Israeli universities, prompting protesters to continue their movement with at least one person entering a hunger strike, according to a student speaking on behalf of the protesters.
Samuel Lejoyeux, who heads the Union of Jewish Students of France, said French student protests had remained more peaceful than those in the United States as there was a greater desire for dialogue in France.
"With the overwhelming majority of students at French universities, including Sciences Po, it is still possible to have a debate. I even think there is an increased hunger for debate," he told broadcaster BFM TV.
&nbsp;

Paris police remove pro-Palestinian students occupying Sciences Po university

A bus veered into a ravine in Pakistan's far north early on Friday, a local government spokesman said, killing 20 passengers, while 21 injured were rescued and taken to hospital.
The bus was headed to the mountainous northern area of Gilgit-Baltistan from the garrison city of Rawalpindi in Pakistan's eastern province of Punjab, when the accident happened in the early hours.
"The bus was passing through Diamer district in Gilgit-Baltistan when it fell into a deep ravine," Faizullah Firaq, a spokesman for local government authorities in the area, told Reuters, adding that 21 people were injured.
The government immediately launched a rescue operation to evacuate all the injured, who were taken to hospital, he added.
Fatal road accidents are common in Pakistan, where traffic rules are rarely followed and roads in many rural areas are in poor condition.
For decades Pakistan has done extensive work in carving roads through its dramatic rugged northern terrain, home to some of the world's highest mountain ranges, approached by narrow roads perched on sheer cliffs.
Militant attacks, including one in March nearby in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that killed six people, pose another risk to travellers in the area, targeting Chinese-backed dams and hydropower infrastructure projects.

Bus falls into ravine in Pakistan's far north, killing 20

AP/UNB

Police have arrested nearly 2,200 people during pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses across the United States in recent weeks, sometimes using riot gear, tactical vehicles and flash-bang devices to clear tent encampments and occupied buildings. One officer accidentally discharged his gun inside a Columbia University administration building while clearing out protesters camped inside, authorities said.
No one was injured by the officer's mistake late Tuesday inside Hamilton Hall on the Columbia campus, the NYPD said Thursday. He was trying to use the flashlight attached to his gun at the time and instead fired a single round that struck a frame on the wall.
There were other officers but no students in the immediate vicinity, officials said. Body camera footage shows when the officer's gun went off, but the district attorney's office is conducting a review, a standard practice.
More than 100 people were taken into custody during the Columbia crackdown, just a fraction of the total arrests stemming from recent campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war. A tally by The Associated Press recorded at least 56 incidents of arrests at 43 different U.S. colleges or universities since April 18. The figures are based on AP reporting and statements from universities and law enforcement agencies.
Early Thursday, officers surged against a crowd of demonstrators at University of California, Los Angeles, ultimately taking at least 200 protesters into custody after hundreds defied orders to leave, some forming human chains as police fired flash-bangs to break up the crowds. Police tore apart a fortified encampment&rsquo;s barricade of plywood, pallets, metal fences and dumpsters, then pulled down canopies and tents.
Like at UCLA, tent encampments of protesters calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies they say support the war in Gaza have spread across other campuses nationwide in a student movement unlike any other this century.
Israel has branded the protests antisemitic, while Israel&rsquo;s critics say it uses those allegations to silence opposition. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making antisemitic remarks or violent threats, protest organizers &mdash; some of whom are Jewish &mdash; call it a peaceful movement to defend Palestinian rights and protest the war.
President Joe Biden on Thursday defended the right of students to peaceful protest but decried the disorder of recent days.
The demonstrations began at Columbia on 17 April with students calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas war, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the Health Ministry there. Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, on Oct. 7 and took roughly 250 hostages in an attack on southern Israel.
On April 18, the NYPD cleared Columbia's initial encampment and arrested roughly 100 protesters. The demonstrators set up new tents and defied threats of suspension, and escalated their actions early Tuesday by occupying Hamilton Hall, an administration building that was similarly seized in 1968 by students protesting racism and the Vietnam War.
Roughly 20 hours later, officers stormed the hall. Video showed police with zip ties and riot shields streaming through a second-floor window. Police had said protesters inside presented no substantial resistance.
The officer's gun went off at 9:38pm, the NYPD said, about 10 minutes after police started pouring into Hamilton Hall. The department did not name the officer, whose actions were first reported by news outlet The City on Thursday.
The confrontations at UCLA also played out over several days this week. UCLA Chancellor Gene Block told alumni on a call Thursday afternoon that the trouble started after a permitted pro-Israel rally was held on campus Sunday and fights broke out and &ldquo;live mice&rdquo; were tossed into the pro-Palestinian encampment later that day.
In the following days, administrators tried to find a peaceful solution with members of the encampment and expected things to remain stable, Block said.
That changed late Tuesday, he said, when counterdemonstrators attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment. Campus administrators and police did not intervene or call for backup for hours. No one was arrested that night, but at least 15 protesters were injured. The delayed response drew criticism from political leaders, including California Gov Gavin Newsom, and officials pledged an independent review.
By Wednesday, the encampment had become &ldquo;much more of a bunker&rdquo; and there was no other solution but to have police dismantle it, Block said.
The hourslong standoff went into Thursday morning as officers warned over loudspeakers that there would be arrests if the crowd &mdash; at the time more than 1,000 strong inside the encampment as well as outside of it &mdash; did not disperse. Hundreds left voluntarily, while another 200-plus remained and were ultimately taken into custody.
Meanwhile, protest encampments at other schools across the US have been cleared by police &mdash; resulting in more arrests &mdash; or closed voluntarily. But University of Minnesota officials reached an agreement with protesters not to disrupt commencements, and similar compromises have been made at Northwestern University in suburban Chicago, Rutgers University in New Jersey and Brown University in Rhode Island. &nbsp;

Nearly 2,200 people have been arrested during pro-Palestinian protests on US college campuses

Nine Bangladeshi universities have made it to the Times Higher Education 2024 Asia list.
Times Higher Education, a renowned education magazine from the UK, shared a list of 739 universities across Asia for the year 2024 on its website on April 30.
Including Bangladesh, the list includes universities from 31 different territories in Asia. Among them, India has 91 universities, China has 86, and Pakistan has 40 universities.
Bangladeshi universities, including BUET and Jahangirnagar University, are ranked between 301-350.
Other top universities in Bangladesh include Bangladesh Agricultural University, North South University, BRAC University, University of Dhaka, University of Rajshahi, Khulna University, and Shahjalal University of Science and Technology.
The top two spots on the list went to Chinese universities: Tsinghua University and Peking University. China also has 33 universities in the top 100.
In India, the Indian Institute of Science is at the top, ranking 32nd in Asia. In Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam University leads nationally and ranks 121st in Asia.
The rankings consider things like teaching quality, research, industry connections, and international influence.
The list was made available on Times Higher Education's website on Tuesday (April 30th).

9 Bangladeshi universities in Times Higher Education 2024 Asia list

This year's Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent exam results will be published on 12 May.
Education Minister Mahibul Hasan Chowdhury Naufel will hand over the summary and statistics of the results to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at 10am on that day, said a letter sent from the Prime Minister's Office to the Education Secretary on Thursday (2 May).
The chairmen of nine education boards will be with him at that time.
&nbsp;

SSC results on 12 May

Islami Bank Plc and Social Islami Bank Limited (SIBL) were the top remittance collectors in April as $2.4 billion was sent to Bangladesh by expatriates in the month.
A total of around $500 million in remittances were sent through Islami Bank PLC in the month of April this year, according to Bangladesh Bank data released on Thursday (2 May).
SIBL, BRAC Bank, Janata Bank and National Bank respectively stood at the second, third, fourth and fifth positions.
The central bank said the growth in remittance flow in April compared to March was 2.16%.
Earlier, remittances fell by 8.46% in March compared to February.
&ldquo;Decrease or increase in remittance flow is a regular and normal phenomenon. However, the remittance flow is increasing every year. Remittances help stabilise the supply and exchange rate of foreign currency in the country and strengthen reserves,&rdquo; said a top official of the Bangladesh Bank.
Meanwhile, central bank sources said that if the 'hundi' syndicates are not stopped, the flow of remittances through the legal route will decrease.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, in the first 10 months of the current financial year, remittance inflows saw a 7% increase compared to last year.
According to sources, a total of $1.99 in remittances came to the country in March. The amount of remittance in February was $2.16 billion.

Islami Bank, SIBL top remittance collectors in April

AFP/BSS

Modern Europe is facing a triple existential threat; a new paradigm is needed to counter it, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with the British weekly The Economist.
"It's this triple existential risk for our Europe: a military and security risk; an economic risk for our prosperity; an existential risk of internal incoherence and disruption to the functioning of our democracies," the French president said. "So these are the three risks that have accelerated in recent years, very strongly no doubt. Moreover, after the pandemic, we underestimated these tensions, even though Europe began to respond to them, but too timidly or sometimes a little too late," he added.
According to Macron, "a new geopolitical, economic and societal paradigm for Europe" is needed to address these challenges. First of all, as the president believes, Europe must take care of its own security. In addition, it needs to ensure its strategic autonomy "in terms of energy, materials and rare resources, but also in terms of key skills and technologies."
Among other things, this concerns the active participation of its companies in the development of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, where the United States and China may get a long-term advantage. Finally, Europe needs to address the vulnerabilities "created by social networks and the digitalization of our societies and the way democracy works," he went on to say.
In reply to the question whether this will lead to a gradual death, or will it be a sudden death, Macron said: "Things can fall apart very quickly. In Europe and everywhere else, they are creating a rise in anger and resentment."

Europe facing 'triple existential risk,' Macron warns

Former British prime minister Boris Johnson, who introduced a contentious requirement for voters to show photo ID while voting, was turned away from a polling station on Thursday for forgetting to bring his.
Johnson, who quit in 2022 following a scandal-ridden premiership, was initially turned away at a polling station in Oxfordshire, southern England, while trying to vote in local elections taking place across England on Thursday (2 May), reports the BBC.
As prime minister, Johnson's government introduced the ID requirement in 2022 to crack down on possible voter fraud but it was heavily criticised for the potential to disenfranchise parts of the electorate.

Boris Johnson, who introduced voter ID rule in UK, turned away from polling station after forgetting his own

The success of ballistic missile defences facing their first complex, high-stakes combat scenarios in Israel, the Red Sea and Ukraine will encourage militaries globally to invest in the pricey systems, experts say - and intensify missile arms races.
Iran launched as many as 120 intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Israel on 13 April, US and Israeli officials say. US SM-3 and Israeli Arrow interceptors destroyed nearly all of them, leaving drones and smaller threats to the Iron Dome system. &nbsp; In previous months, interceptors fired from US Navy destroyers stopped Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles, while in Ukraine, US-made MIM-104 Patriot batteries have shot down advanced Russian Iskander and Khinzal missiles.
Reuters spoke with six experts who said more militaries would look to invest in ballistic missile defence, a potential windfall for companies such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, which build those types of systems. &nbsp; "It's undeniable that any wealthy country with the technological wherewithal will continue to invest in missile defence," said Ankit Panda of the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a defence and security think tank. "All of this is a recipe for a conventional arms race."
European countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Poland already operate RTX subsidiary Raytheon's Patriot batteries, the most common Western advanced ballistic missile defence system. &nbsp; Saudi Arabia has used its Patriots for years to defend against Houthi attacks; it and the United Arab Emirates also operate the Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), opens new tab Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) system.
Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain have Patriot batteries as well, and Oman has expressed interest in missile defence.
In the US, Lockheed Martin in April won a $17.7 billion contract for a next-generation interceptor for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) programme - designed to shoot down small numbers of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) aimed at the continental United States. &nbsp; But the impact may be most acute in Asia, where China has invested heavily in conventionally armed ballistic missiles.
A 2023 Pentagon report said the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force has about 500 DF-26 missiles, designed to accurately strike targets thousands of kilometres away.
That puts US and allied bases in Japan and Guam within range of an attack that may only come with 20 to 30 minutes' warning.
Ballistic missile defence works by spotting an attacking weapon either at launch or in flight, then using a surface-based radar to guide an interceptor to the target.
Interceptions can occur in the atmosphere or in space, and each domain requires different hardware. For instance, fins won't work outside the atmosphere - interceptors must have small steering rockets to function there.
The necessary high-powered computers, far-seeing radars and missiles as large as telephone poles are not cheap, together stretching into the billions. In 2022, for example, the US approved the sale of both Patriots and THAAD systems to Saudi Arabia, in deals worth as much as $5.3 billion.
In the Indo-Pacific region, wealthier countries such as Japan, Australia and South Korea are prime candidates for missile defence, Lewis said, while nearly every country in Asia is already investing in missiles.
Japan's defence ministry said the country "needs to fundamentally and swiftly reinforce its defence capabilities, including integrated air and missile defence". It said it is investing in improved Patriot missiles, better radars and enhanced naval anti-missile capabilities.
In its latest defence budget, South Korea increased funding by 12% for its Korea Air and Missile Defense System to expand it "from the existing lower-level defence concept," the country's defence ministry said in a statement.
"Cases such as the Israel-Hamas conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war have reaffirmed the importance of a 'ballistic missile defence system' to respond to increasingly sophisticated missile threats," the ministry said.
In mid-April, Australia announced a A$500 million ($328 million) contract with Lockheed Martin to deliver its Joint Air Battle Management System for tracking and destroying aircraft and missiles.
The cost of a ballistic missile is often much cheaper than the system meant to stop it.
But that isn't the right way to consider cost, said Yoji Koda, former commander in chief of Japan's Self-Defense Fleet, and an advocate of stronger missile defences in his country.
"In a war economy, the cheaper the better. But sometimes what is necessary, is we need to protect key infrastructure, or key command centres, at any cost. Because without them we would lose."
THE CHINA QUESTION
Most of China's conventionally armed ballistic missiles are designed to hit targets on land.
But it also fields steerable warheads meant to hit ships at sea, including the DF-21D and variants of the DF-26, developed by the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
Such anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs) had never been used in combat until late 2023, when Houthi forces in Yemen began firing Iranian-made models at ships in the Red Sea.
Between November - the first documented use - and April, U.S. Central Command reported at least 85 ASBMs fired in the region, with 20 interceptions and one civilian ship reported sunk.
CENTCOM has declined to provide specifics about the effectiveness of Iranian ASBMs but has noted missiles posing no threat were not engaged and most that were not intercepted landed harmlessly.
The effectiveness of missile defences on land and at sea will catch China's attention, said Tong Zhao, a senior fellow with the Nuclear Policy Program and Carnegie China.
"It raises the possibility that the US and its allies could depend on missile defence significantly against a ballistic missile attack," Zhao said.
Although the technical specifics of China's missiles are closely held secrets, the country's heavy investment means they are likely to be more reliable, and are widely believed to use complex countermeasures to complicate interception.
"For opponents such as China which have missile stockpiles an order of magnitude larger than that of Russia or Iran and which field more sophisticated systems ... it's not clear that the lessons learned invalidate existing operational constructs," said Sidarth Kaushal, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.
But the political and practical incentives to invest in missile defence will be too attractive for many countries to ignore, Lewis said.
"All defence procurement decisions are ultimately about politics," he said. "The politics of this stuff is really simple: do you want to defend the country or not? And the winning answer is always 'Yes'."
($1 = 1.5225 Australian dollars) &nbsp;

Missile defence successes in Israel, Ukraine fuel global urgency to acquire systems

Under mounting political pressure, US President Joe Biden broke his silence on campus unrest over the war in Gaza on Thursday, saying Americans have the right to demonstrate but not to unleash violence.
"There is a right to protest, but not a right to cause chaos," Biden said in remarks at the White House.
With television images of campus unrest that have swept the country in recent days playing out on news networks, Biden has faced criticism of his handling of the situation. He had been leaving it largely up to his spokespersons to comment.
The Democratic president, seeking re-election in November, has walked a careful line of denouncing antisemitism while supporting young Americans' right to protest and trying to limit longer-term political damage.
Biden said both sides had a point, that peaceful dissent was critical to a democracy but that violence would not be tolerated.
"Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It's against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancelling of classes and graduations -none of this is a peaceful protest," he said.
Biden said the United States was not an authoritarian nation that silences critics but that "order must prevail."
"Dissent is essential to democracy but dissent must never lead to disorder or denying the rights of others so students can't finish the semester and college education," he said.
Biden, asked whether state governors should call in National Guard troops to restore order if necessary, replied "no."
In response to a reporter's question, Biden said the campus protests had not forced him to reconsider his policies in the Middle East.
Student protesters are calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and demanding schools divest from companies that support Israel's government.

Biden breaks silence on college protests over Gaza conflict

Police forcibly removed scores of defiant pro-Palestinian protesters at several colleges on Thursday, including taking down an encampment at UCLA in a jarring scene that underscored the heightened chaos that has erupted at universities this week.
In the pre-dawn hours, helmeted police swarmed a tent city set up at the University of California in Los Angeles, using flash bangs and riot gear to push through lines of protesters who linked arms in a futile attempt to halt their advance.
Hundreds were arrested at UCLA and other schools.
"I'm a student here," one UCLA protester told cameras as he was led away, his hands bound. "Please don't fail us. Don't fail us."
Hours later, the student, who would only give his first name as Ryan, was back on campus and vowed he would not stop fighting.
"We will be back," said Ryan, who was cited for unlawful assembly. "We will be disrupting. We will be demanding divestment."
Students have rallied or set up tents at dozens of universities in recent days to protest Israel's war on Gaza. Demonstrators have called on President Joe Biden, who has supported Israel's right to defend itself, to do more to stop the bloodshed in Gaza and demanded schools divest from companies that support Israel's government.
Many of the schools, including Columbia University in New York City, have called in police to quell the protests.
Biden broke his silence on the demonstrations on Thursday after the UCLA raid, saying Americans have the right to protest but not to unleash violence.
"Destroying property is not a peaceful protest," he said at the White House. "It's against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancelling of classes and graduations - none of this is a peaceful protest."
Biden, who is seeking re-election in November against Republican former President Donald Trump, has walked a careful line as he confronts criticism from both the right and the left over his Israel policy.
VIOLENCE ON CAMPUS
At UCLA, police repeatedly urged demonstrators to clear the protest zone, which occupied a central plaza about the size of a football field, before they moved in.
Dozens of loud explosions were heard from stun grenades, fired by police, while demonstrators, some carrying makeshift shields and umbrellas, chanted "push them back" and flashed bright lights in officers' eyes.
Live TV footage showed officers taking down tents and tearing apart makeshift barricades.
Some of the protesters had been seen donning hard hats, goggles and respirator masks in anticipation of the siege a day after the university declared the encampment unlawful.
By morning, the plaza was strewn with detritus from the destroyed encampment: tents, blankets, food containers, a Palestinian flag, an upturned helmet. Police remained on hand during the first half of the day as the area was cleaned of debris.
In Portland, Oregon, police entered the Portland State University library on Thursday morning, where demonstrators had barricaded themselves since Monday. Several dozen protesters ran out of the building and rushed into a phalanx of officers in riot gear, who arrested them.
In New Hampshire, police arrested approximately 100 protesters in separate incidents at Dartmouth University and the University of New Hampshire overnight, breaking up encampments.
The protests follow the deadly Oct 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip, which killed 1,200 people and saw dozens taken hostage, and an ensuing Israeli offensive that has killed about 34,000 and created a humanitarian crisis.
The campus demonstrations have been met with counter-protesters accusing them of fomenting anti-Jewish hatred. The pro-Palestinian side, including some Jews opposed to Israeli actions in Gaza, say they are being unfairly branded as antisemitic for criticizing Israel's government and expressing support for human rights.
UCLA had cancelled classes for the day on Wednesday following a violent clash between the encampment's occupants and a group of masked counter-demonstrators who mounted a surprise assault late Tuesday night on the tent city.
UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, in a written statement, said that officials had allowed the encampment to remain on campus for several days as it was peaceful at first, but that the clashes with the pro-Israeli crowd clearly put students in harm's way.
"It led to unsafe conditions on our campus and it damaged our ability to carry out our mission," Block said of the encampment. "It needed to come to an end."
Taylor Gee, a 30-year-old pro-Palestinian protester and UCLA law student, said the police operation on Thursday felt "especially galling" to many protesters given the slow police response a night earlier.
"For them to come out the next night to remove us from the encampment, it doesn't make any sense, but it also makes all the sense in the world," he said.
UCLA officials said the campus, with nearly 52,000 students, would remain shuttered except for limited operations on Thursday and Friday.

Fresh chaos, arrests on US college campuses as police flatten camp at UCLA

Seventy percent of environmental journalists from 129 countries, polled in March, reported experiencing attacks, threats or pressure related to their job, UNESCO said Thursday.
Of those, two in five subsequently experienced physical violence, it said in a report released on World Press Freedom Day. More than 900 reporters were questioned for the poll.
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization warned of an increase in violence against and intimidation of journalists reporting on the environment and climate.
"Without reliable scientific information about the ongoing environmental crisis, we can never hope to overcome it," UNESCO director general Audrey Azoulay said in a statement.
"And yet the journalists we rely on to investigate this subject and ensure information is accessible face unacceptably high risks all over the world, and climate-related disinformation is running rampant on social media."
UNESCO said at least 749 journalists and news media outlets reporting on environmental issues were "targeted with murder, physical violence, detention and arrest, online harassment or legal attacks" between 2009 and 2023.
More than 300 of those attacks occurred between 2019 and 2023 -- a 42 percent increase on the preceding five-year period.
"The problem is global, with attacks taking place in 89 countries in all regions of the world," the agency added.
At least 44 environmental journalists have been killed for their work in the past 15 years, with convictions in only five cases, said the report.
On top of hundreds of reported physical attacks, "a third of journalists surveyed said they had been censored," it added.
"Almost half (45%) said they self-censored when covering the environment due to fear of being attacked, having their sources exposed, or due to an awareness that their stories conflicted with the interests of concerned stakeholders."
At a press freedom conference in Chile this week, UNESCO will announce the launch of a grants program to provide legal and technical support to over 500 environmental journalists facing persecution, said the statement.

70% of environment journalists report attacks, threats, pressure: UN

Quebec Premier Francois Legault said on Thursday the encampment at Montreal's McGill University should be dismantled as more students erected pro-Palestinian camps across some of Canada's largest universities, demanding they divest from groups with ties to Israel.
The Canadian protests come as police have been arresting hundreds on US campuses and the death toll in Gaza has been mounting.
While McGill had requested police intervention, law enforcement had not stepped in Thursday to clear the encampment and did not respond to Reuters' questions about their plans. Students also set up encampments at Canadian schools including the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia and the University of Ottawa.
"We want the camp to be dismantled. We trust the police, let them do their job," a spokesperson for Legault said.
There was also a pro-Israel counter-protest in Montreal Thursday. The two sides were kept separate.
On Thursday morning, students at the University of Toronto set up an encampment in a fenced-off grassy space at the school's downtown campus where some 100 protesters gathered with dozens of tents.
According to a statement from organisers the encampment will stay until the university discloses its investments, divests from any that "sustain Israeli apartheid, occupation and illegal settlement of Palestine" and ends partnerships with some Israeli academic institutions.
Israel says it does not participate in apartheid and that its assault on Gaza does not constitute genocide.
A university spokesperson told Reuters it was "in dialogue with the protesters" and that, as of midday, the encampment was "not disruptive to normal university activities."
University of Toronto graduate student and encampment spokesperson Sara Rasikh told Reuters they will remain until their demands are met.
"If public disruption is the only way to get our voice heard, then we are willing to do that," she said.
Some Jewish groups have accused protesters of being antisemitic. Organisers deny that charge, noting that some protesters are Jewish.
Asked to comment on the encampments, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office pointed to a statement he made on Tuesday, saying "Universities are places of learning, they&rsquo;re places for freedom of expression ... but that only works if people feel safe on campus. Right now ... Jewish students do not feel safe. That&rsquo;s not right."The protests follow the deadly Oct 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip, which killed 1,200 people and saw dozens taken hostage, and an ensuing Israeli offensive that has killed about 34,000 and created a humanitarian crisis.

Students erect pro-Palestinian encampments across major Canadian universities

The United&nbsp;Nations said Thursday that the post-war reconstruction of Gaza would require an&nbsp;international effort unseen since the aftermath of World War II, estimating it&nbsp;could cost up to $40 billion.
It came as Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh struck an optimistic tone over a&nbsp;possible truce and hostage release deal for Gaza, after weeks of largely&nbsp;stalled negotiations.
There have been reports of sticking points between the group and Israel nearly seven months into the war that has devastated the Palestinian&nbsp;territory.
But Haniyeh, head of the militant group's Qatar-based political bureau,&nbsp;said in calls to Egyptian and Qatari mediators that Hamas was studying the&nbsp;latest proposal with a "positive spirit".
Much of Gaza has been reduced to a grey landscape of rubble and the United&nbsp;Nations estimated the cost of reconstruction at between $30 billion and $40&nbsp;billion.
"The scale of the destruction is huge and unprecedented... this is a&nbsp;mission that the global community has not dealt with since World War II," UN&nbsp;assistant secretary-general Abdallah al-Dardari told a briefing in the&nbsp;Jordanian capital Amman.
The UN official said "72 percent of all residential buildings have been&nbsp;completely or partially destroyed".
Reconstruction is made more difficult by the presence of large quantities&nbsp;of unexploded ordnance in the debris that Gaza's Civil Defence agency says triggers "more than 10 explosions every week".
The war started with Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in&nbsp;the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of&nbsp;Israeli official figures.
Israel estimates that 129 captives seized by militants during their attack&nbsp;remain in Gaza. The military says 34 of them are dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 34,596&nbsp;people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Mediators have proposed a deal that would halt fighting for 40 days and&nbsp;exchange Israeli hostages for potentially thousands of Palestinian prisoners, according to details released by Britain.
An Israeli official not authorised to speak publicly said Israel was still&nbsp;waiting for Hamas's formal response to the latest proposal.
Before Haniyeh's comments on Thursday, Hamas officials had given it a&nbsp;generally negative reception.
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told AFP late Wednesday that the&nbsp;movement's position on the proposal was "negative" for the time being.
Another senior Hamas official, Suhail al-Hindi, said the group's aim&nbsp;remained an "end to this war" -- a goal at odds with the stated position of&nbsp;Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But the militant group has come under intense pressure from mediators to&nbsp;accept the latest offer.
"Hamas needs to say yes and needs to get this done," US Secretary of State&nbsp;Antony Blinken said in Israel Wednesday on his latest Middle East crisis tour.
&nbsp;

Gaza needs biggest post-war reconstruction effort since WWII: UN

Myanmar's junta has suspended the issuing of permits for men to work abroad, it said, weeks after it introduced a military conscription law that led to thousands trying to leave the country.
The labour ministry had "temporarily suspended" accepting applications from men who wish to work abroad, the ministry said in a statement posted by the junta's information team late Thursday.
The measure was in order to "take more time to verify departure processes and according to other issues," it said, without giving details.
The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since the military seized power in 2021, sparking massive armed opposition it has failed to crush.
In February, it said it would enforce a law allowing it to call up all men aged 18-35 and women aged 18-27 to serve in the military for at least two years.

Myanmar junta bans men from applying to work abroad

Japan and India are struggling economically because they are "xenophobic," US President Joe Biden told a campaign event, lumping the American allies in with rivals China and Russia as countries rejecting immigrants.
"Why is China stalling so badly economically? Why is Japan in trouble? Why is Russia in trouble? And India? Because they're xenophobic. They don't want immigrants," Biden said on Wednesday, with a transcript not made public until Thursday.
The 81-year-old Democrat, who is seeking reelection against Republican rival Donald Trump in the November presidential vote, made the remarks at a campaign fundraising event in Washington marking the start of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month.
Such events are neither filmed nor recorded, but a small number of journalists attend and provide a written account.
"One of the reasons why our economy is growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants," the president said.
While China and Russia are considered US rivals, Biden's remarks on Japan and India came as a surprise.
Since taking office in 2021, Biden has made a point of strengthening ties with US allies in Asia, in particular with New Delhi and Tokyo.
He has hosted state dinners -- a rare high-level diplomatic gesture -- for both Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The White House sought to downplay the president's remarks on Thursday.
"The broader point the president was making, and I think people all around the world recognize this, is that the United States is a nation of immigrants, and it's in our DNA," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
"Our allies know very well how much the president respects them, values their friendship, values their contributions," he added.

Biden calls ally Japan 'xenophobic' along with India, China

Turkey said Thursday it was suspending all trade with Israel until it allows aid to enter Gaza unhindered during its offensive against Hamas in the territory.
"Exports and imports to and from Israel have been suspended," the trade ministry said in a statement, adding: "Turkey will apply these new measures... until the Israeli government authorises an uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza."
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz had earlier on Thursday accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of breaking agreements between the two countries by blocking Israeli exports and imports.
The move is the latest incident degrading relations after Turkey, one of the few Muslim-majority nations to recognise Israel, restricted exports to the country in April.
The Gaza Strip is suffering a humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's war against Hamas that has been raging since 7 October, with the United Nations and aid agencies warning of impending famine.
The war started with Hamas's unprecedented 7 October attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel estimates that 129 captives seized by Hamas during their attack remain in Gaza. The military says 34 of them are dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 34,596 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

Turkey says suspending all trade with Israel

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida unveiled an international framework for regulation and use of generative AI on Thursday, adding to global efforts on governance for the rapidly advancing technology.
Kishida made the announcement in a speech at the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
&ldquo;Generative AI has the potential to be a vital tool to further enrich the world,&rdquo; Kishida said. But &ldquo;we must also confront the dark side of AI, such as the risk of disinformation."
When Japan chaired the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations last year, it launched a Hiroshima AI process to draw up international guiding principles and a code of conduct for AI developers.
Some 49 countries and regions have signed up to the voluntary framework, called the Hiroshima AI Process Friends Group, Kishida said, without naming any. They will work on implementing principles and code of conduct to address the risks of generative AI and &ldquo;promote cooperation to ensure that people all over the world can benefit from the use of safe, secure, and trustworthy AI,&rdquo; he said.
The European Union, the United States, China and many other nations have been racing to draw up regulations and oversight for AI, while global bodies such as the United Nations have been grappling with how to supervise it.

Japan's Kishida unveils framework for global regulation of generative AI

Earthquake warning smartphone apps have surged in popularity in Taiwan due to high demand from people eager to get a few extra seconds to take cover after more than 1,300 aftershocks rattled the island in the past month following a large temblor.
Taiwan's east coast was struck by a 7.2 magnitude quake on April 3, killing 17 people.
The frequent aftershocks since then - including more than 200 tremors in a 24-hour period starting April 22 - have unnerved many.
While the government has an automated quake warning system, sent in the form of an text message accompanied by a loud alert sound meant to sound a few seconds before the shaking starts, it can be patchy. In the capital Taipei it did not sound before the April 3 quake, prompting criticism of the system.
That, along with the rising demand to stay more informed about forthcoming earthquakes, have helped a surge in popularity in privately-developed quake warning apps.
"What we offer is customised earthquake early warning. You get to set your own threshold," said Kuo Chen-yu, the 20-year-old co-founder of Disaster Prevention Information Platform, whose users jumped to nearly 370,000 from around 3,000 in recent weeks.
Lin Ruei, another co-founder of the app launched in 2022, said their app tracks fast-moving seismic waves from more than 130 seismic sensors the team installed across the island to give users early warnings. For instance, he said, the app could give users in more populated western Taiwan up to 30 seconds warning for a quake from the remote eastern coast.
"Some people might feel quite panic with just an earthquake of intensity 2, then they can download our app," said Lin, a 17-year-old student.
"If you get a 10-second early warning and you move to a secure spot, maybe it would be a life-saving tool for you."
The official, government-run warning system only goes to phone users in areas where major earthquakes with estimated intensity of 4 or above are expected, which authorities say are powerful enough to move some furniture, cause wall cracks or disrupt power or water supplies.
Wu Chien-fu, Director of the Central Weather Administration's Seismological Center, told Reuters they encourage development of alternative tools which provide innovative means for disaster response, adding authorities were aware of calls to lower thresholds for official alerts, a system designed for bigger tremors that are more likely to bring damage.
"We will consider whether to issue warnings to the whole of Taiwan for big earthquakes," Wu said.
Still, many are drawn to the privately-developed apps extra functionalities, such as automatic flashlight switch-on before the shaking starts, a countdown timer, or alerts for smaller quakes that did not trigger the government warnings - a reassurance for those who wish to stay more alerted for the frequent tremors.
"The 30-second countdown gave me enough time to mentally prepare myself, grab my survival kit, and dash to my child's room," one user wrote in the review of Taiwan Earthquake Quick Alert, currently one of the most-downloaded apps for iPhones in Taiwan which issues a countdown to the first shock waves.

Quake warning app demand surges in earthquake-rattled Taiwan

Russian military personnel have entered an air base in Niger that is hosting US troops, a senior US defence official told Reuters, a move that follows a decision by Niger's junta to expel US forces from the country.
The military officers ruling the West African nation have told the US to withdraw its nearly 1,000 military personnel from the country, which until a coup last year had been a key partner for Washington's fight against insurgents who have killed thousands of people and displaced millions more.
A senior US defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russian forces were not mingling with US troops but were using a separate hanger at Airbase 101, which is next to Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger's capital.
The move by Russia's military puts US and Russian troops in close proximity at a time when the nations' military and diplomatic rivalry is increasingly acrimonious over the conflict in Ukraine.
It also raises questions about the fate of US installations in the country following a withdrawal.
"(The situation) is not great but in the short-term manageable," the official said.
The Nigerien and Russian embassies in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US and its allies have been forced to move troops out of a number of African countries following coups that brought to power groups eager to distance themselves from Western governments. In addition to the impending departure from Niger, US troops have also left Chad in recent days, while French forces have been kicked out of Mali and Burkina Faso.
At the same time, Russia is seeking to strengthen relations with African nations, pitching Moscow as a friendly country with no colonial baggage in the continent.
Mali, for example, has in recent years become one of Russia's closest African allies, with the Wagner Group mercenary force deploying there to fight jihadist insurgents.
Russia has described relations with the United States as "below zero" because of US military and financial aid for Ukraine in the war now approaching the end of its second year.
The US official said Nigerien authorities had told President Joe Biden's administration that about 60 Russian military personnel would be in Niger, but the official could not verify that number.
After the coup, the US military moved some of its forces in Niger from Airbase 101 to Airbase 201 in the city of Agadez. It was not immediately clear what US military equipment remained at Airbase 101.
The United States built Airbase 201 in central Niger at a cost of more than $100 million. Since 2018 it has been used to target Islamic State and al Qaeda affiliate Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) fighters with armed drones.
Washington is concerned about Islamic militants in the Sahel region, who may be able to expand without the presence of US forces and intelligence capabilities.
Niger's move to ask for the removal of US troops came after a meeting in Niamey in mid-March, when senior US officials raised concerns including the expected arrival of Russia forces and reports of Iran seeking raw materials in the country, including uranium.
While the US message to Nigerien officials was not an ultimatum, the official said, it was made clear US forces could not be on a base with Russian forces.
"They did not take that well," the official said.
A two-star US general has been sent to Niger to try and arrange a professional and responsible withdrawal.
While no decisions have been taken on the future of US troops in Niger, the official said the plan was for them to return to US Africa Command's home bases, located in Germany.

Russian troops enter base housing US military in Niger, US official says

Shamsunnahar Seba

With the world yet to be civilized enough to see a girl as a human being akin to a man, &ldquo;Laapataa ladies&rdquo; played the role of a wake-up call, alerting those oblivious to the struggles of girls living in the lowest echelons of our multi-layered society.
Just as the life of Jaya, who was barred from pursuing her dreams despite showing potential, sheds light on the struggles of Afghan girls who are prevented from continuing their studies after completing their academic year in schools.
Meanwhile, Phool, one of the two brides who were swapped, leading to the exposure of the flaws of patriarchal society that sets norms to handicap women for its survival, represents those who are unaware of their rights.
She was content with society until she had to face the world alone. Phool found herself unable to take a single step without the support of others, making her realize the hypocrisy of the paternalistic patriarchal society.
It showcases the independent nature of women through the portrayal of Manju Maai, who embodies strength and humanity simultaneously.
Apart from depicting the harsh reality, the movie possesses every element to captivate an audience. Especially, the love story of Deepak and Phool touches the hearts of the audience and provides satisfaction with their reconciliation. The joyful moments of people with limited or no access to entertainment uphold the notion that wealth or fame has nothing to do with happiness. It can be attained anywhere through the right approach to life.
Additionally, the flawless cinematography lends the movie a semblance of reality. Director Kiran Rao did not compromise on the length, cast, or timing required to film the perfect version of the movie.
Kiran Rao, the ex-wife of Bollywood actor Amir Khan, has already garnered acclaim both domestically and internationally for this outstanding movie. I believe the movie will surely endure beyond its time, much like the struggle of women.

Laapataa Ladies: Heart wrenching yet wonderful

Palestinians may be gratified to see American university campuses erupt in outrage over Israel's offensive in Gaza, but some in the embattled enclave are also wondering why no similar protests have hit the Arab countries they long viewed as allies.
Demonstrations have rocked US universities this week, with confrontations between students, counter protesters and police, but while there have been some protests in Arab states, they have not been nearly as large or as vociferous.&nbsp;
"We follow the protests on social media every day with admiration but also with sadness. We are sad that those protests are not happening also in Arab and Muslim countries," said Ahmed Rezik, 44, a father of five sheltering in Rafah in Gaza's south.&nbsp;
"Thank you students in solidarity with Gaza. Your message has reached us. Thank you students of Columbia. Thank you students," was scrawled across a tent in Rafah, where more than a million people are sheltering from Israel's offensive.&nbsp;
Reasons for the comparative quiet on Arab campuses and streets may range from a fear of angering autocratic governments to political differences with Hamas and its Iranian backers or doubts that any protests could impact state policy.&nbsp;
American students at elite universities may face arrest or expulsion from their schools, but harsher consequences could await Arab citizens protesting without state authorisation.
And US students may feel more motivation to protest as their own government backs and arms Israel, while even those Arab countries that have full diplomatic relations with it have been strongly critical of its military campaign.&nbsp;
When asked about the conflict, Arabs from Morocco to Iraq have consistently voiced fury at Israel's actions and solidarity with Gaza's embattled inhabitants, leading to muted Ramadan celebrations across the region last month.&nbsp;
Some rallies to support Palestinians have erupted, notably in Yemen where the Houthis have joined the conflict with strikes on shipping in the Red Sea.&nbsp;
And Arabs around the region have also shown their horror at the war and support for their fellow Arabs in Gaza on social media, even if they have not taken to the streets.&nbsp;
But whatever the reason for the lack of public protests, some people in Gaza are now drawing unfavourable comparisons between the tumult in the United States and the public reaction they can see in other Arab countries.&nbsp;
"I ask Arab students to do what the Americans have done. They should have done more for us than the Americans," said Suha al-Kafarna, displaced by the war from home in northern Gaza.&nbsp;
PUBLIC OPINION
In Egypt, which made peace with Israel in 1979 and where President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has largely outlawed public protests, the authorities fear that demonstrations against Israel could later turn against the government in Cairo.&nbsp;
At state-sanctioned protests over the war in October, some demonstrators veered off the agreed route and started chanted anti-government slogans, prompting arrests.&nbsp;
"One cannot see the lack of large public protests against the war and the muted reaction on the Egyptian street in isolation from a broader context of crackdown on all forms of public protest and assembly," said Hossam Bahgat, head of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.&nbsp;
At the American University in Cairo security forces are less likely to intervene on campus and there have been some protests. But a student activist there who requested anonymity said they could still face consequences for demonstrating.&nbsp;
"Being arrested here is nothing like being arrested in the US It's completely different," he said, adding that there was "the factor of fear" preventing many from taking to the streets.&nbsp;
In Lebanon, where success in studies has become even more personally important to many young people after years of political and economic crises that have shrunk their shot at future prosperity, that calculation is even tougher.&nbsp;
Several students Reuters approached at campus protests in Beirut declined to be interviewed, saying they feared repercussions from university authorities.&nbsp;
The complex histories of Lebanon and other Arab states such as Jordan that host many Palestinian refugees also play into the question of public protests.&nbsp;
In Lebanon, some people blame Palestinians for triggering the 1975-90 civil war. Others fear any overt displays of support for Palestinians might be hijacked by the Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has been trading fire with Israel since the start of the Gaza conflict.&nbsp;
"The Arab world is not reacting like Columbia or Brown (US universities) because they don't have the luxury to do so," said Makram Rabah, a history professor at the American University of Beirut.&nbsp;
Besides, he added, with public opinion already largely backing the Palestinian cause it was not clear what protests there would achieve.&nbsp;
"The dynamics of power and the way you change public perception are just different in the Arab world compared to the US," he said.

Why Palestinians can count on American students but not Arab allies to protest

The Government of Bangladesh has signed a $71 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a climate-resilient water management project.&nbsp;
The loan will fund the "Climate-Resilient Integrated Southwest Project for Water Resources Management," to enhance socio-economic conditions through improved water resources management in Bangladesh.
The agreement was signed by Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky, secretary of the Economic Relations Divisiona at the Ministry of Finance, and Mr Edimon Ginting, country director of the ADB's Bangladesh Resident Mission.&nbsp;
The ceremony was attended by senior officials from both the Government of Bangladesh and ADB.
Scheduled to be implemented from January 2024 to December 2028, the project will be overseen by the Bangladesh Water Development Board under the Ministry of Water Resources.&nbsp;
Key objectives include increasing agricultural and fisheries development, implementing integrated water resources management, and establishing Water Management Organisations (WMOs) to ensure the sustainability of the benefits.&nbsp;
The project also aims to provide improved infrastructure and coordinated support services for sustainable development.
The loan, provided under ADB&rsquo;s Ordinary Operations (Concessional), features a 25-year repayment term, including a 5-year grace period, with a fixed interest rate of 2%.&nbsp;
This financial package is part of ADB&rsquo;s ongoing commitment to supporting Bangladesh&rsquo;s priority sectors since the country joined the development bank in 1973.
To date, ADB has extended loans totalling US$ 31.5 billion and grants worth approximately US$ 571.2 million to Bangladesh, focusing on various sectors including power, energy, transport, education, agriculture, and health.

Bangladesh signs $71 million loan agreement with ADB for climate-resilient project

Featured

Paris police remove pro-Palestinian students occupying Sciences Po university

ADB to replenish $5b grant fund to support most vulnerable in Asia and Pacific including Bangladesh

BMD issues heat wave alert for next 2 days

More heatwaves and rains in May: BMD

Gazipur train derailment: 2 BGB platoons deployed to help rescue work

ADB keen to work together with Bangladesh on useful, Impactful projects

More From Bangladesh

ADB to replenish $5b grant fund to support most vulnerable in Asia and Pacific including Bangladesh

BMD issues heat wave alert for next 2 days

More heatwaves and rains in May: BMD

Gazipur train derailment: 2 BGB platoons deployed to help rescue work

ADB keen to work together with Bangladesh on useful, Impactful projects

Latest

Paris police remove pro-Palestinian students occupying Sciences Po university

ADB to replenish $5b grant fund to support most vulnerable in Asia and Pacific including Bangladesh

BMD issues heat wave alert for next 2 days

More heatwaves and rains in May: BMD

Gazipur train derailment: 2 BGB platoons deployed to help rescue work

ADB keen to work together with Bangladesh on useful, Impactful projects

RMG exports up by almost 5pc in FY 2023-24

Heat wave weakens thanks to rain but still sweeping over country

Bangladesh among bottom 15 countries in Press Freedom Index 2024

Bus falls into ravine in Pakistan's far north, killing 20

Categories

Support

Legal