Day: April 24, 2024

Kathmandu: The Meteorological Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has predicted partly cloudy weather in the hilly region and generally fair in remaining parts of the country. According to the Division, the weather will be partly cloudy in the hilly areas of Koshi, Gandaki, Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces and mainly fair in remaining areas of the country this afternoon. Light to moderate rain is likely to occur at a few places of Koshi, Gandaki, Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces. Light snowfall is forecasted to occur at one or two places of the high hilly and mountainous regions of Koshi, Gandaki, Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces. There is a possibility of thunderstorm in some places of the Tarai including Lumbini province. Similarly, the weather will be partly cloudy in hilly regions of Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali provinces tonight. Light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning is likely to occur at one or two places of the hilly regions of Koshi, Gandaki, Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces in the afternoon and night. In view of possible incidents of storm in some places of the Tarai including Lumbini Province, the Division said cautioned the general public to adopt safety measures in the areas. Source: National News Agency RSS

A total of 173 Bangladeshi nationals imprisoned in Rakhine returned here today while 288 Myanmar security personnel who fled here due to conflict in other side of border will be repatriated by a naval ship sent by Naypyidaw. "Under Foreign ministry Myanmar wing's special initiatives, the 173 'verified Bangladeshi' today returned home from Sittwe prison in Rakhine State of Myanmar," said a foreign ministry's press release here. Cox's Bazar Sadar Lawmaker constituency Saimum Sarwar Kamal received the returnees in jetty Ghat area, it added. The returnees were carried by the 'Myanmar Naval Ship Chin Dwin' which will bring back 288 members of Myanmar defence forces including Border Guard Police (BGP) and army. The foreign ministry said the repatriation procedure of the Myanmar security members will take place from Cox's Bazar BIWTA Ghat after verifying by the Myanmar delegation on April 25. If required, the repatriation process will be expanded up to April 26, it added. The repatriation process will take pl ace in the presence of representatives of the Bangladesh foreign ministry and Myanmar Embassy in Dhaka. Earlier, Bangladesh Embassy in Yangon, upon receipt of the information of the tentative visit of the Myanmar ship to Bangladesh, took up the issue with the Bangladesh Foreign and Home Ministry and relevant Myanmar authorities to seize the opportunity to send back the maximum number of verified Bangladeshi Nationals who were in different prisons of Myanmar. The Embassy also pursued the relevant host authorities to bring back the 144 'verified and jail term completed or pardoned' returnees in Sittwe prison for smooth return and pursued for releasing the 29 verified Bangladeshi nationals who were still serving their jail terms or under trial. Pursuant to the Mission's efforts the 29 persons were pardoned and sent back to Bangladesh. On humanitarian grounds, so far this year, more than 600 members of Myanmar's BGP and military forces have been provided shelter in Bangladesh and arranged their repatriation t hrough bilateral initiative by the foreign ministry. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has appointed Commander Arafat Islam as its new Director (legal and media wing), succeeding Commander Khandaker Al Moin. The elite force issued a notification in this regard today (Wednesday). Commander Arafat, also a seasoned officer of the Bangladesh Navy, began his military career as an officer cadet with the 35th BMA Long Course in 1995. He was commissioned in the executive branch on July 1, 1997. He received training on various sophisticated technologies of the Navy at home and abroad. He joined the elite force on deputation on December 26, 2022. He has performed as a Commanding Officer of RAB-13 from January 20, 2023 to April 23, 2024. Islam also performed important responsibility in Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG) where he demonstrated exceptional efficiency. Earlier, he performed his duty as a Deputy Director of RAB-4 and RAB-5 from 2007 to 2009. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

The ruling pro-Awami League and Vice Chancellor backed teachers at Jahangirnagar University (JU) swept Senate and Syndicate representative elections in the college principal category. The elections were held from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm at the senate hall of the university on Tuesday. JU registrar and returning officer of the elections Md Abu Hasan announced the poll results last night. Citing two sections of the Jahangirnagar University Act 1973, Abu Hasan said, "The polls were held at the 138th academic council meeting to elect five college principals as senate members and two principals as syndicate members, by 19(1) (g) and 22(1) (d) of the act." "A total of 286 out of 346 members of the academic council have cast their vote to select the seven candidates among 16 college principals as senate and syndicate members through ballot," he added. The fresh syndicate members are - Dhaka College Principal Prof Mohammad Yusuf and Tejgaon College Principal Prof Md. Harun-Ur-Rashid. They bagged 163 and 155 votes re spectively. Besides, the fresh Senate members are - Rashidajoha Government Women's College Principal Prof Md. Khademul Islam, Government Michael Madhusudan College Principal Prof Morjina Akhtar, Shaheed Bulbul Government College Principal Prof Md. Bahej Uddin, Ananda Mohan College Principal Prof Md. Aman Ullah, Begum Rokeya Government College Principal Prof Chinmay Barai. This year, a total of 16 candidates have participated in two separate combined panels to contest the election. The last Senate and Syndicate representative elections in the college principal category were held in 2018. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Severe heat wave is sweeping over several northern and southern districts as mild to moderate heat wave is sweeping over three divisions and rest parts of other districts, said a met forecast. "Severe heat wave is sweeping over the districts of Rajshahi, Pabna, Khulna, Bagerhat, Jashore and Patuakhali," it said. Mild to moderate heat wave is sweeping over Dhaka, Rangpur and Mymensingh divisions and rest parts of Rajshahi, Khluna and Barishal divisions and the districts of Moulvibazar, Rangamati, Chandpur, Bandarban and it may spread, it added. Rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely to occur at one or two places over Sylhet division with hails at isolated places, said the weather bulletin valid for the next 24 hours from 9am today. Weather may remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country. Trough of low lies over West Bengal and adjoining area. Country's maximum temperature on Tuesday was recorded 40.5 degree Celsius at Ishurdi and minimum temperature today was recorded 20.7degree Celsius at Tetulia. Day temperature may rise slightly and night temperature may fall slightly over the country. Due to increase of moisture incursion, the discomfort may persist. The sun sets at 6:24 PM today and rises at 5:29 AM tomorrow in the capital. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

Roads turned into gushing rivers and homes swamped by waist-high muddy waters: storms and flash floods wreaked devastation across the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Wednesday, claiming at least four lives. The East Africa region has been lashed by relentless downpours in recent weeks, as the El Nino weather pattern exacerbates the seasonal rainfall. Across Nairobi, images posted by Kenyan media showed trucks, cars and motorbikes stuck in the deluge and people wading through floodwaters in slum areas of the city to try to reach safety. An estimated 60,000 people, mostly women and children, have been "severely affected" by the flash floods, according to the Nairobi county governor's office. "Unfortunately we have lost four lives, and the search is on to locate six others who have been reported missing," it said in a statement. In one incident, police fired tear gas to try to disperse angry residents who had blocked a main highway with long queues of cars calling for government action over the floods. Kenya Ra ilways announced it was temporarily suspending commuter train services as a precautionary measure, while the roads authority said four roads in the capital had been partly closed. "The city is at a standstill because most roads are flooded," said Uber driver Kelvin Mwangi. "We are having to use longer routes and in some cases we can't get to our destination." - Marooned boy rescued - Homes were engulfed in the sprawling Nairobi slum of Mathare, where local media reports said residents were forced to sleep on rooftops overnight. The Kenya Red Cross said it had rescued 18 people including seven children who were stranded in Mathare. It posted a picture on X showing its workers, some waist-high in water, engaged in rescue efforts, as a man carried a young child on his shoulder. In a dramatic rescue on Tuesday, Kenyan police said they had saved a five-year-old boy who had been marooned alone by floods in Machakos County south of the capital. The youngster had been left behind by his father as the waters r ose and was airlifted to safety by chopper, the National Police Service said on X. The Red Cross said the Athi River, the second longest in Kenya that runs south of Nairobi to the Indian Ocean, had burst its banks, blocking roads and leaving residents stranded. "Our response teams are on the ground in most of these areas, evacuating families to safety and providing other life-saving interventions," it added. - 'Extreme' situation - Prominent opposition senator Edwin Sifuna said the situation in Nairobi had "escalated to extreme levels" and that the county authorities were "clearly overwhelmed". "We need all national emergency services mobilised to save lives," he said on X. UN humanitarian response agency OCHA had said on Friday that rains and floods had claimed the lives of at least 32 people in Kenya and forced more than 40,000 from their homes in almost half the country's counties. Elsewhere in the region, nearly 100,000 people have been displaced in Burundi, while at least 58 people have died in Ta nzania and several thousand made homeless. El Nino often has devastating consequences in East Africa, where late last year more than 300 people died in torrential rains and floods in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia after the region suffered its worst drought in four decades. From October 1997 to January 1998, massive floods caused more than 6,000 deaths in five countries in the region. The Horn of Africa is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change -- even though the continent's contribution to global carbon emissions is a fraction of the total. Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha