Category: General

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has been asked to investigate the case over deaths of 52 workers in a massive fire in Hashem Food and Beverages Limited.

Narayanganj district Superintendent of police Md Zaidul Alam said the order came from the police headquarters on Thursday evening.

As the case is very sensitive, the headquarters has ordered handing over the case to CID for ensuring more intensive investigation, he added.

Following the order, the investigation officer of the district police will hand over the case documents and collected samples to the investigation officer of CID, said Zaidul Alam.

The handing over process will be completed by tomorrow, he added.

On July 8, a devastating fire swept through the seven-storey building housing the juice factory of Hashem Foods Ltd at Bhulta Karnagop in Rupganj, Narayanganj, killing 52 workers.

Police in Narayanganj arrested eight people, including the chairman of Sajeeb Group that owns the factory, his four sons and the CEO of the group, on July 10, in connection with the fire. A court put the eight accused on a 4-day remand the same day.

Earlier, police filed a case with Rupganj police station against the eight people following the massive fire in the factory.

A Narayanganj court on Wednesday sent to jail six accused, including Abul Hashem, owner of Hashem Foods Ltd., on completion of the four-day remand. Hashem two sons accused in the case – Hashem Bin Hashem and Tareq Ibrahim -were among those sent to jail.

However, the court granted bail to Hashem’s two other sons Tawsif Ibrahim and Tanjib Ibrahim, on grounds that they study abroad and don’t have any ownership of the company.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Nineteen more people have died of Covid-19 at four different hospitals in Khulna in the past 24 hours, health officials said on Thursday.

While 15 of the patients tested positive for Covid, the remaining showed symptoms of the virus, the officials said.

Of them, 12 died at Khulna Corona Dedicated Hospital, one at the Covid unit of Khulna General Hospital, two at the private Gazi Medical College Hospital and four at Shahid Sheikh Abu Naser Hospital.

Khulna Corona Dedicated Hospital’s nodal officer Dr Suhas Ranjan Haldar said that 12 people have died at the hospital in the past 24 hours.

Besides, 195 people are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital. Of them, 134 are receiving treatment in the red zone, 21 in the yellow zone and 20 in the intensive care unit, said Dr Suhas.

Some 33 people have been admitted to the hospital in the past 24 hours. During the period, 20 people were discharged from the hospital post-recovery, he said.

Dr Gazi Mizanur Rahman, owner of Gazi Medical College Hospital, said 113 people are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital. Some 14 people have been admitted to the hospital in the past 24 hours and 13 discharged.

Kazi Abu Rashed, spokesman for the corona unit of Khulna General Hospital, said 12 people have been admitted to the medical facility in the past 24 hours and 11 patients discharged after recovery.

Dr Chandra Debnath Shekhar, spokesman for Shaheed Sheikh Abu Naser Specialised Hospital, said that 44 patients are currently being treated at the hospital and of them 10 are in the ICU.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Star studded Bashundhara Kings just inches away from the “Women’s Football League’ 2020-21” crown outplaying Cumilla United Club by 6-0 goals at the Kamalapur Stadium here on Thursday.

Shamsunnahar Jr scored twice while Sabina Khatun, Monika Chakma, Tohhura Khatun and Ritu Porna netted one goal each for the Kings, which dominated the first half by 1-0 goal.

With the day’s well merited victory, the Kings are almost ascertained of their 2nd league title securing full 36 points from straight 12 matches and needs just one point from remaining two matches to celebrate the league crown.

Bashundhara Kings also have a fair chance to be the league champions by virtue of better goal differences, despite they lose the remaining two matches.

In the day’s other match, Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan College SC earned a massive 11-0 goals victory over Jamalpur Kacharipara Ekadash at the same venue, featuring two hattrcks by Marzia and Ety.

Marzia made the first hattrick scoring four goals in the 1st, 7th , 20th and 50th minutes while Ety Khatun scored 2nd hattrick netting three goals in the 37th, 38th and 45+3 minutes.

Halima Khatun netted twice, Surma Jannat and

Anuching Mogini scored one goal each to complete the goal galore for ARB College team.

In the day’s remaining match, FC Brahmanbaria outplayed Nasrin Sports Academy by 4-0 goals at the venue.

Sadia Akhter scored two while Maynu Marma netted one for FC Brahmanbaria.

Sumi of Nasrin SA further widen the winners margin scoring a suicidal goal.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh takes on hosts Zimbabwe in the first ODI of the three-match series in Harare on Friday, but less than 24 hours before the start of the play the Tigers are in the dark about the opposing team.

To finalize a game plan, the Bangladesh team was supposed to analyse the performance of the players they would compete against.

“But this is not happening in Harare as we are yet to know who will play for Zimbabwe,” Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal said in the pre-series press conference on Thursday.

Tamim didn’t hide his surprise when he was asked about the young Zimbabwe squad.

“We may come to know about Zimbabwe team when the toss will be done tomorrow (July 16). It’s less than 24 hours before the first match, and we know nothing about the Zimbabwe squad,” he said.

Tamim added that before a series begins, every team does conduct some special meetings— team meetings, batting or bowling meetings— to finalize the plan to win matches.

“It came as a surprise to me. If you have no idea about the opponent, how will you prepare yourself for an international match? I don’t have an answer to this question. To play in this series, every Zimbabwe player needs to maintain a 10-day quarantine in the hotel where we are staying here. But we don’t see anyone,” Tamim added.

Apart from this, Bangladesh are worried about the injury problem of at least two players including the captain. The left-handed opener has sustained a leg injury during the Bangabandhu Dhaka Premier Divison Twenty20 Cricket League last month. He is yet to be fully fit.

“It’ll take much time to heal. It’s not something to get healed in five or six days,” Tamim told about his condition. “The physio has set a plan for me. For now, we’ll try to manage it without taking any risks. I batted yesterday (in practice match) taping my leg. There was no problem. Let’s see what happens next.”

While Tamim is still on to play the ODI series, left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman is doubtful for the series opener. He suffered a blow on this ankle in the lone practice game on Wednesday.

The Tigers will miss the service of Mushfiqur Rahim as well. The wicketkeeper-batsman had to leave the team due to family reasons. And the experienced pacer, Rubel Hossain, is yet to join the team due to visa complications. He left for Zimbabwe only on Thursday. It’s unlikely for Rubel to take part in the first match.

“You cannot always field the best team,” Tamim told in a virtual press conference. “You sometimes have to fight with what you have. Look at the situations of Mushfiq and Mustafiz— you cannot control it. So we are not worried much about it. The other players in the squad are also capable of doing well.”

These matches of the ODI series are the parts of the World Cup Super League. Bangladesh are currently placed second in the points table of this event with five wins in nine games. A 3-0 win in this series will help the Tigers to secure 30 points which will surely increase their chance to book a place in the World Cup directly.

“Since this series is a part of the World Cup Super League, we will put our best foot forward to win this series. Every match is equally important for us,” Tamim added.

Bangladesh played Zimbabwe in 75 ODIs to the date and winning 47 and losing 28. Of those 28 were played in Zimbabwe, and the hosts have a great record of winning 15 matches at home.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

BNP on Thursday demanded the government formulate a ‘National Standards Act’ to ensure proper compensation for the workers who are killed and injured in different accidents in their workplaces, including mills and factories.

“When an incident happens and we raise our voices for a few days, and then all fall silent. So, for a permanent solution, we propose enacting a National Standards Act with outlines of how the killed and injured workers will get compensation and what action will be taken against the owners after any factory accident,” said party standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan.

Speaking at a press conference at BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office, he said this law will have necessary provisions and directives so that it can help reduce fire and other accidents in mills and factories.

On Tuesday, a BNP delegation, led by Nazrul, visited Sajeeb Group’s Hashem Foods factory in Narayanganj where 52 workers were burnt alive in a massive fire last week.

Nazrul, also a noted labour leader, said people go to work in mills and factories to earn their livelihoods. “If people have to die prematurely while working there, then it’s not a factory, it’s a deathtrap. No state can accept it. It’s the responsibility of the state to ensure safe working places for workers. We hope the state will fulfill that responsibility.”

Referring to newspaper reports, the BNP leader said, Sajeeb Group has taken over Tk 2,000 crore bank loan, including Tk 993 crore by Hashem Foods. “But the workers of this factory had been on a movement before the fire incident as they were not given their salaries and overtime allowances for the last two months. “Partial payment was supposed to be made on July 5, but it was not done.”

Amid such a situation, he said, workers died in the fire at Hashem Foods factory and the relatives of the victims returned empty-handed. “Such inhumane act is a despicable crime and condemnable incident.”

Nazrul said the factory owner provided some workers with their June month salaries under pressure on Wednesday, but it is uncertain whether the rest workers will get it timely.

He demanded the Hashem Foods factory owner pay the salaries, dues, overtime allowance and festival bonus to all workers immediately.

About his Tuesday’s visit to the fire-ravaged Hashem Foods factory, Nazrul said the factory was not set up following the national building code.

He said 49 bodies were found on the 3rd floor of the factory as the gate of the floor was shut.

He urged the government to unearth the reason behind the closure of the gate through an investigation and take stern action against those responsible for the fire.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh has expressed gratitude to the Chinese government for standing by the people of the country at an extremely difficult time by sending vaccine doses as gifts and also opening the commercial supply line.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen reiterated his request to initiate vaccine coproduction in Bangladesh with partnership from Bangladeshi and Chinese stakeholders.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister discussed the issues with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during their meeting on the sidelines of the International Conference on “Central and South Asia: Regional connectivity – Challenges and opportunities” inTashkent, Uzbekistan on Thursday.

The Chinese Foreign Minister assured Dr Momen of the Chinese government’s support on vaccine coproduction issue.

Dr. Momen thanked the Chinese government for initiating the six-party COVID consultation.

Both the foreign ministers agreed to continue to work further towards the repatriation of the Rohingyas.

They also underscored the need to resume the tripartite dialogue.

Both sides reciprocated their appreciation to each other for exchanging video messages by President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Hasina on the occasions of the joint program of the 100th anniversary of the Father of the Nation and Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence and the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China respectively.

During his separate meeting with Foreign Minister of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Dr Momen proposed to initiate a joint working commission to boost bilateral trade and investment.

Foreign Minister Muhriddin expressed his country’s appreciation to Bangladesh for graciously hosting the persecuted Rohingya people and pledged to continue support to Bangladesh in its multidimensional efforts to repatriate the displaced Rohingyas.

At the invitation of his Uzbek counterpart, Dr Momen is leading a Bangladesh delegation comprising of Bangladesh ambassador to Uzbekistan and senior officials from Dhaka to the International Conference.

Dr Momen will hold a meeting with the President of Uzbekistan during his stay there.

He is scheduled to hold bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev is hosting the two-day global forum to strengthen regional connectivity in the context of the new open foreign policy strategy of Tashkent.

The idea is aimed at further deepening economic cooperation in Central Asia, with access to South Asia, which has historically been closely linked to this region in economic, social, cultural and civilizational dimensions.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to major reductions in childhood vaccinations in South Asia, with coverage of basic vaccination dropping by 6 per cent from 2019 to 2020, according to World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.

More than 5.3 million children in South Asia missed out on essential vaccines through routine immunization services in 2020 – nearly 1.9 million more than in 2019, said official data published by WHO and UNICEF on Thursday.

This is the highest number of under-vaccinated children since 2014.

Between 2019 and 2020, the South Asia region experienced a sharp decline in children receiving three doses of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) vaccine, falling from 90% to 84%.

The percentage of children covered by three doses of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) vaccine had increased steadily from 6 per cent in 1980 to a record high of 90 per cent in 2019 in South Asia.

“It is heartbreaking to see this reversal in child vaccinations due to COVID-19 in a region where tremendous progress was being made, thanks to political will and collective action,” said George Laryea-Adjei, UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia.

“Nearly 4.4 million children are not even receiving a single dose of a vaccine that can protect them from deadly diseases, which is almost twice as many as the previous year. This is a huge setback for children in South Asia, as it puts their lives at risk, and leads to unspeakable suffering.”

The majority of countries in South Asia experienced drops in childhood vaccination rates.

The rates for DTP3 reduced by 9 per cent points in Nepal; 7 per cent points in Pakistan; 6 per cent points in India; 3 per cent points in Sri Lanka and 2 per cent points in Bhutan and Afghanistan.

However, robust recovery efforts mounted in many countries towards the end of the year helped to blunt the impacts of overall declines. In India, for example, vaccination drives in remote areas are helping to reach missed children.

Globally, the data shows that just 10 countries account for 62 per cent of all under- or unvaccinated children globally. India – particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic – had the highest number of unprotected children worldwide at 3.5 million, an increase of 1.4 million.

Pakistan had 1.3 million unprotected children in 2020, an increase of 0.4 million.

Concerningly, most of these children did not receive a single vaccine during the year, an indication that the most vulnerable, hard-to-reach children are paying the steepest price for pandemic-related disruptions to vaccine access.

At nearly 4.4 million, in 2020 South Asia recorded the highest number of children having failed to receive any routine vaccination in the past ten years. More than 3 million of these “zero-dose children” in 2020 lived in India.

Measles remains a concern, as well as outbreaks of diseases like diphtheria and yellow fever which can spread quickly where people are unvaccinated.

In South Asia, coverage for the first dose of the measles vaccine fell from 92 per cent in 2019 to 88 per cent in 2020.

This is well below the 95 per cent recommended by WHO to protect against measles.

South Asia has had lengthy school closures, which have had significant ramifications for several vaccines such as HPV, which is critical for the achievement of cervical cancer elimination, and which is offered to children and adolescents at school.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, childhood vaccination rates against diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, measles and polio had increased steadily for more than a decade in South Asia, as opposed to other regions in the world where coverage rates mostly stagnated.

However, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many health facilities and personnel were diverted to support the COVID-19 response.

In some countries, health facilities have been closed or hours reduced, while some families may have delayed seeking healthcare because of safety fears.

As the health community attempts to recover lost ground due to COVID-19 related disruptions, UNICEF, WHO and partners are supporting government efforts to strengthen immunization systems in the region by:

Restoring services so countries can safely deliver routine immunization services during the COVID-19 pandemic;

Helping health workers communicate actively with caregivers to explain the importance of vaccinations;

Rectifying coverage and immunity gaps, including identifying communities and people who have been missed during the pandemic.

Beyond disruptions to immunization, other essential healthcare services in South Asia also experienced severe disruptions in 2020.

Research commissioned by UNICEF has estimated that in 2020, 228,000 children died due to disruptions to essential healthcare services in South Asia.

The main killers of children in South Asia are diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhea, which are both preventable and treatable when essential health services are operational, and families feel safe to use them.

“COVID-19 related disruptions are not just affecting vaccination efforts, but also other critical maternal and child health services. Today, the biggest health threat to children in South Asia is not from COVID-19, but from the childhood diseases which continue to kill children in the region,” added Laryea-Adjei.

“UNICEF calls on governments to invest in essential maternal and child health services, to ensure the most vulnerable children don’t succumb to preventable diseases while COVID-19 rages on.”

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Barrister Mutasim Billah Faruqui, Governor of Rotary International District 3281, will inaugurate a nationwide tree plantation campaign on Friday as part of Rotary’s target of planting one million saplings this year.

The opening ceremony will be held at 10:30 am on Friday on the premises of Salimuddin Choudhury Degree College at Kanchan at Rupganj in Narayanganj. The tree plantation drive by Rotary District 3281 is set to begin in line with the call from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who last month urged all citizens to plant at least three saplings during this monsoon.

“As an international voluntary organisation, Rotary in Bangladesh has planned to plant at least 1 million saplings to help improve the environment of our beautiful country. We’re starting this campaign under a multi-club initiative,” Faruqui said in a statement ahead of the inauguration.

“As Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina rightly asked all citizens to come forward, Rotarians can’t sit idle. It’s our national duty to help improve the ecosystem as protection of the environment is a vital part of our seven areas of focus Rotary is working on across the world,” he said.

Faruqui said nearly 100 clubs are directly joining the opening on Friday while others will do the same across the country. “We want to make it successful with the help of all the Rotary clubs under the RID 3281.”

Besides the opening ceremony, Barrister Faruqui will also release fish fry in the Shitalakhya River, organise a free medical camp at KPS General Hospital and distribute educational materials among school children on Friday.

Under the RID 3281, some 300 Rotary clubs are working under the Rotary International, headquartered in Illinois in the United States, in various sectors, including water and sanitation, economic and community development, maternal and child health, supporting the environment, basic education and literacy, disease prevention and treatment and peace and conflict resolution.

More than 1.2 million Rotarians are members of the Rotary International from over 35,000 clubs across the world.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Two bulls belonging to a farmer have been allegedly poisoned to death in the Majlishpur area of Kushtia’s Mirpur upazila ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.

Quoting local people, Golam Mostafa, officer-in-charge of Mirpur Police Station, said that Rafi Fakir, a local farmer, reared the animals so as to sell them during the Muslim festival.

“Rafi had taken Tk 1.70 lakh from a person for the bulls and was scheduled to deliver the animals on Thursday. But in the morning, he found them lying dead in the cattle shed,” the OC said.

Mirpur Upazila livestock officer Dr Sohag Rana said that legal action would be taken against those involved in the crime. “Police are investigating the deaths,” he said.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman is uncertain in the first ODI of the three-match series between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe which is set to begin on Friday at the Harare Sports Club.

Mustafizur has sustained a blog on his ankle during the lone practice match on Wednesday. He had to leave the field due to this injury.

Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal on Thursday said the chance of Mustafiz to take part in the series opener is fifty-fifty.

“Our physio is looking after him,” Tamim told in the pre-series virtual press conference. “He just suffered a blow. As of today, he is not fully fit. His chance to play the first match is fifty-fifty. We might get a better idea by the time going.”

The captain himself is also suffering from a knee injury which might take a longer period of time to heal. For now, Tamim decided to continue playing managing his injury as per the advice of the doctors.

“It’ll take much time to heal. It’s not something to get healed in five or six days,” Tamim told about his condition. “The physio has set a plan for me. For now, we’ll try to manage it without taking any risks. I batted yesterday (in practice match) taping my leg. There was no problem. Let’s see what happens next.”

Bangladesh are set to miss the service of Mushfiqur Rahim as well. The wicketkeeper-batsman returned home yesterday. His parents tested positive for Covid-19. After hearing the news, he opted to skip the ODIs and T20Is of the ongoing series.

Rubel Hossain, the right0-arm pacer, is also doubtful for the first match. He just left Dhaka on Thursday. Due to the vis complications, he and Shamim Hossian couldn’t take the flight for Zimbabwe early.

Without Mustafizur and Rubel, Bangladesh’s pace-bowling line-up will be led by Taskin Ahmed who has been tremendous in recent times. He will be accompanied by Shoriful Islam. Along with them, Mohammad Saifuddin is also capable of bowling pace.

Before the ODIs, Bangladesh played a one-off Test against the hosts and won by 220 runs riding on the career-best batting performance by Mahmudullah Riyad. Mehidy Hasan also did well taking a nine-wicket haul in the match— Bangladesh’s best in away Tests.

While the first ODI is on July 16, the second and third ODIs will be played on July 18 and 20. After that, the three-match T20 series will be played on July 23, 25 and 27. All the matches will take place at the same venue— the Harare Sports Club.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Expanding the vaccine eligibility target, Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Thursday said everyone above 18 years will gradually be vaccinated in Bangladesh.

“Arrangements are being made to gradually bring all citizens above 18 years under the Covid-19 vaccination programme in order to revive the country’s education system,” he said.

Zahid Maleque came up with the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a progamme on Covid-19 ICU Bed Expansion and inauguration of Outpatient Department of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).

“At present, the government has 45 lakh doses of vaccines in stock. We’ll receive 29 lakh doses of AstraZeneca vaccine very soon. Besides, Pfizer vaccine doses will reach the country within the next month,” he added.

All adults to be gradually vaccinated: Health Minister

“Our health sector has the capacity to store 3 crore doses of vaccine. So, there’ll be no problem in storing and distributing vaccines,” the minister said.

He also said a process is underway to recruit 2,000 new doctors and 4,000 nurses to deal with the Covid-19 situation.

The government will also hire technologists all over the country, Zahid Maleque added.

Turning to criticisms against the health sector, the minister said those should be criticized who are spreading propaganda about the sector to confuse people.

“There’s no food crisis in the country, industries are running and health services are available. Then why so many conspiracies are there about the heath sector? These are nothing but conspiracies to undermine the achievements of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” he said.

DMCH director Brigadier General Nazmul Haque presided over the pogamme.

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Launch services resumed here on Thursday morning, with the government easing the lockdown curbs for a week ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.

On Wednesday, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury visited Sadarghat Launch Terminal and asked the authorities to ensure that all passengers comply with Covid-safety protocols.

“Everyone should follow health safety guidelines and those found without a mask will be fined,” he had said.

Khalid had also urged the launch owners and officials of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) to remain alert in view of the worsening Covid situation in the country.

On July 13, the Bangladesh government decided to ease all lockdown restrictions in the country for eight days ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.

In a notification on Tuesday morning, the cabinet division said that the lockdown restrictions would be lifted from July 14 midnight to the morning of July 23.

However, strict restrictions will resume from July 23 and will continue till August 5, as per the order.

A record rise in the number of Covid cases and fatalities in recent days prompted the government to enforce a nationwide stringent lockdown.

All modes of public transport, including the road, river, rail and air, remained suspended during the lockdown.

On June 22, the authorities suspended the movement of all passenger vessels in Narayanganj, Gazipur, Munshiganj, Manikganj, Madaripur, Rajbari and Gopalganj to curb the spread of Covid in these districts.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) announced its decision to suspend the movement of launches, speed boats and trawlers on June 21, following the Cabinet Division’s circular on the imposition of lockdown in these seven districts.

However, the restrictions won’t apply on the movement of cargo vessels and emergency services. And legal action will be taken against violators, according to the BIWTA notification.

Source: United News of Bangladesh