Maxsourav

Bangladesh doesn’t need India’s army team to deal with COVID-19: Foreign Minister Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday said that Bangladesh did not require services of the Indian Army team for containing COVID-19 pandemic. ‘We do not need, rather we are sending teams to different countries,’ the foreign minister told New Age over phone, about an Indian media report on preparations of the Indian Army for deploying troops to several countries including Bangladesh for containing the disease. Bangladesh armed forces have sent medical teams to Kuwait, he said. Bangladesh also extended support to Maldives, Bhutan and China, the foreign minister added. ‘The Indian Army is readying separate teams to be deployed in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan to help those countries boost capabilities to deal with rising cases of coronavirus,’ Indian media The Print reported on Tuesday with reference to the state-owned news agency Press Trust of India. The teams for Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan are being readied as part of India’s policy of extending helping hand to all friendly countries in the region to fight the pandemic. Bangladesh diplomatic sources said that the Indian side did not inform anything about their plan to send Indian Army teams in COVID-19 operations. ‘Publishing a report by Indian state-owned news agency PTI is, however, significant,’ a Bangladesh official said. India has been playing a key role in pushing for a common framework in fighting the pandemic in the SAARC region. As part of its policy to help friendly countries to deal with the pandemic, India is also supplying anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to 55 countries, according to the report. In the neighbourhood, India is sending the drug to Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh Nepal, Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, it added.

Modi’s canceled Bangladesh visit is an opportunity Bangladesh’s decision to cancel the public celebration event of ‘the Mujib centennial’ due to public health concerns after the detection of three cases of coronavirus in the country is a welcome development and deserves appreciation, but it has also saved the government from a political embarrassment. The centennial of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman—the leader of the nationalist movement which established independent Bangladesh in 1971—was planned by the government headed by his daughter, Sheikh Hasina. The government declared the year beginning March 17 “the Mujib Year.” The inaugural public event was supposed to be attended by several international dignitaries, including the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi’s visit became a controversial issue and provoked large-scale demonstrations and protests in Bangladesh. In the past week, left wing political parties, Islamists, some members of civil society, and students demonstrated and demanded that the government of Bangladesh withdraw the invitation. Protesters had planned further demonstrations in the days ahead of Modi’s arrival at Dhaka. The large-scale demonstrations against Modi and scathing criticisms of the invitation have surprised many observers outside the region. The governments of Bangladesh and India have described the current relationship as in a “golden era.” Modi’s previous visit to Dhaka in 2018 caused no such reactions. Such massive protest against an Indian prime minister’s state visit in any country was unprecedented. This reaction in Bangladesh should give a pause to the Indian government. Although spurred by recent events in India, Bangladesh’s domestic political environment and the widespread perception of the Bangladesh-India relationship undergirded these protests. The cancellation of the event and Modi’s visit will push the issue out of the news cycle, but ignoring it will be a mistake. Instead, it provides both Bangladesh’s ruling Awami League and the Indian policymakers an opportunity to assess the underlying aspects. The opponents of the visit highlighted the recent actions of the Modi government against the Muslim community in India, including the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as the reasons for their campaign. Violence against Muslims in Delhi by the BJP activists in February galvanized last week’s protests in Bangladesh. The Indian government repeatedly assured that the NRC and CAA will not affect Bangladesh, but such assurances have not convinced Bangladeshis, as there are reports of Indians migrating to Bangladesh in fear of being persecuted and the virulent rhetoric of BJP leaders that ‘illegal migrants’ are from Bangladesh; BJP leaders have described them as ‘termites’ and threatened to throw them in the Bay of Bengal. Bangladeshi officials have echoed the Indian position that the NRC and CAA are India’s internal matter, yet their discomfort is palpable as Hasina commented that ‘it was not necessary,’ and Bangladesh cancelled trips of several ministers since the passage of the CAA and Delhi violence. In the wake of these protests, the ruling Awami League doubled down on the invitation and the Secretary General Obaidul Quadir said that, “refraining from inviting the Indian prime minister would have been an act of ingratitude.” The ruling party and their supporters have alleged that their opponents are trying to disrupt the “Mujib Year.” Criticism of Mujib has become a sensitive issue since Hasina returned to power. The draconian Digital Security Act (DSA), enacted in October 2018, has made “negative propaganda” about Sheikh Mujibur Rahman a punishable offence. Several people have been arrested under the law in the past year. Many protestors had couched their opposition in language which they hoped would appeal to Mujib’s daughter and protect them from being labeled as “anti-government,” a potentially dangerous label. They insisted that Modi’s divisive communal politics are inconsistent with the secularist ideals of Sheikh Mujib. It failed to sway the government. Tying the criticism to Mujib’s ideals to avoid persecution is a testimony to the remarkable shrinking space for dissent in Bangladesh. Since the 2014 election—boycotted by opposition—the country has taken a turn to electoral authoritarianism. The 2018 election—described by The New York Times as “farcical” and The Economist as “transparently fraudulent”— exacerbated the situation as freedom of press and assembly has diminished, opposition has been neutered, and extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances have skyrocketed. The government and the ruling party activists have previously ruthlessly quelled grass roots movements such as the road safety movement in 2018. In the absence of a robust opposition party which can take on the government, issue-based social movements have become the means to vent resentment against the government. The demonstrations against Modi’s visit were in part fueled by this domestic political environment. Many Bangladeshis view the invitation as an unqualified endorsement of India by the Hasina regime. Expressing criticisms of India has become perilous. Last October, an engineering student was tortured to death in his university dormitory by student activists from the ruling Awami League after posting a comment on Facebook critical of the agreement signed between India and Bangladesh during Hasina’s visit to India. The widespread perception that the relationship between these two countries have become unequal and that Bangladesh had given more to India than it had received is bolstered by unresolved issues between the two countries. Killing of Bangladeshi civilians on the India-Bangladesh border has increased three-fold to forty-one in 2019 despite repeated promises of the Indian authorities to the contrary. In the past five years, 158 Bangladeshis have died in the hands of the Border Security Force. Recent claims by the Indian foreign secretary that the killings are of equal numbers of Indians and Bangladeshis is not borne out by facts and has irritated Bangladeshis further. A water sharing treaty for the Teesta river—supposed to be signed in 2011—has yet to see the light of day. Bangladesh, however, has allowed India to withdraw water from the Feni River. Since Hasina came into power, Bangladesh has allowed India to transit its goods through Bangladesh and permitted transshipment of Indian goods via Bangladeshi seaports without charging customs duties and transit fees. Bangladesh has enabled Delhi to set up coastal surveillance system radar in Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal. India’s support to Myanmar on the Rohingya crisis, however, does not augur well with Bangladeshis. Recent demonstrations in Bangladesh against Modi’s visit speak volumes, literally and metaphorically. Instead of dismissing them as a conspiracy, both countries will be better served if their policymakers listen and take this opportunity to reassess their relationship and the domestic political environment in Bangladesh. New Atlanticist by-Dr. Ali Riaz is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council South Asia Center and a distinguished professor at Illinois State University.

The meaning of MARINES: Marines Are Respected Individuals Needed Everywhere Serving OooooRah! - Roger D. Stewart

CHAIN OF COMMAND During training exercises, the Lieutenant who was driving down a muddy back road encountered another car stuck in the mud with a red-faced Colonel at the wheel. "Your car stuck, sir?" asked the Lieutenant as he pulled alongside. "Nope," replied the colonel, coming over and handing him the keys. "Yours is."

Dhaka ranks worst in Air Quality Index Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka ranked worst in the Air Quality Index (AQI) on Sunday morning, reports UNB.. It had an AQI score of 258 at 08:44am. The air was classified as ‘very unhealthy’. India’s Delhi and Pakistan’s Lahore occupied the second and third positions in the list of cities with worst air with AQI scores of 257 and 255 respectively. Earlier, Dhaka had topped the list on 17 and 23 November, 26 December and 6, 29, and 31 January. The city has been continuously staying within the five most polluted cities around the world. The AQI is a tool for measuring daily air quality of any city or country. It refers to the degree of pollution or cleanliness of the air. An AQI score between 201 and 300 indicates the air is unhealthy while a value over 300 refers the air is highly dangerous with possible serious health complications. In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five criteria pollutants including Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone (O3). The environment department has also set national ambient air quality standards for these pollutants. These standards aim to protect against adverse human health impacts. Dhaka has long been suffering from a number of environmental pollutions including that of air.

Coronavirus Outbreak: Government served legal notice The notice asked the concern authorities to formulate a high-level monitoring cell, supply sufficient masks and others necessary equipments, as well as make awareness among the citizen across the country A legal notice has served to the government for taking appropriate steps within 48 hours in order to stop outbreak of novel coronavirus. Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Humaun Kabir Pallob and Mohammad Kawser, on behalf of “Law and Life Foundation”, sent the legal notice to eight people including the Secretary to the Ministry of the Health, on Sunday. The notice asked the concern authorities to formulate a high-level monitoring cell, supply sufficient masks and others necessary equipments, as well as make awareness among the citizen across the country.

Better Road Safety Will Boost Economic Growth in Bangladesh Five winning teams of the World Bank-United Nations Road Safety Champions’ Video Competition were awarded today in Dhaka. The competition sought ideas for making Dhaka’s roads safer from young Bangladeshis between the ages of 18-23 and received an overwhelming response. “Road fatalities are more than personal tragedies, they undermine a country’s growth and human development. Like other countries, by improving road safety, Bangladesh can further reduce poverty and accelerate economic growth,” saidWorld Bank Vice President for South Asia, Hartwig Schafer during the Award Ceremony. While congratulating the winners, Schafer added, “We all are very impressed with the creative, practical and scalable solutions for Dhaka’s road safety proposed by the contestants. These ideas are a testament that road safety crisis is preventable. The World Bank and the United Nations will continue working together with the Government of Bangladesh to improve road safety.” The World Bank and the government of Bangladesh are discussing a possible $250 million support for comprehensive road safety improvement. “Road safety affects us all. With increasing number of motorized vehicles, road accidents have become the fourth leading cause of death of children between 5 and 14 in Bangladesh. So, road safety is very much a development agenda and we must act now,” saidMercy Tembon, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan. The competition was launched in September 2019 by the Honorable Finance Minister A H M Mustafa Kamal, MP, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety Mr. Jean Todt, and Hartwig Schafer. “SDG target 3.6 seeks to halve road traffic deaths and injuries by 2020 and SDG target 11.2 includes a focus on providing safe, sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety and with special attention to key groups such as children and the vulnerable. This joint UN and WB initiative reached out to young people to find unique ideas and solutions from their fresh perspective through the video competition. I congratulate all the young people who took part in this video contest. Your ideas contribute to the effort to find sustainable solutions and make the roads safer for all of us,” said Mia Seppo, UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh. Schafer, Tembon and Seppo handed out certificates and prizes to the winners at the World Bank’s Dhaka Office. The contest called for participants to submit a video within 2-minutes duration with a befitting title to respond to the question, “What would you change to make the roads in Dhaka safer?” A five-member panel of judges included Korvi Rakshand, founder of JAAGO Foundation, Iqbal Habib, Architect and Joint Secretary of Bangladesh Environment Movement (BAPA), Ayman Sadiq, founder of 10 Minutes School, Dandan Chen, World Bank Operations Manager for Bangladesh and Bhutan, and Dr Mahfuzul Huq, Technical Officer, World Health Organization. Key themes that emerged from the contest included: introducing separate bus lanes, mobile apps, smart buses, under-the-surface barricade system, speed camera, and limiting the number of bus trips and random parking to take or drop passengers through digital means. The winners are: First Prize: Kazi Md. Marfu-Um Abid, Farhana Haque, and Md. Fahimur Rahman Shuvo from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Second Prize: Md. Fahmid-ul-Alam Juboraj, Farnaz Fawad Hasan, and Reshad Karim Navid from BRAC University Third Prize: Md. Taufiquzzaman Pranto from BUET First Runner-up: Prottoy Roy, Srishti Roy Chowdhury, and Fahim Faisal Raunaq from BUET Second Runner-up: Abrar Mahmud Chowdhury, Naweed Kabir, and Md. Fahad Wafiq from BRAC University

Coronavirus: 20 China nationals quarantined in southern district A total of 20 Chinese citizens have been quarantined in Bangladesh's southern district as a cautionary measure against the outbreak of coronavirus that originally spread from China. Officials of the health department have confirmed the quarantine and said the China nationals had come to Bangladesh on or after 23 January and have been kept in a building closed off to visitors. Earlier on 1 February, 312 Bangladeshis were brought back from China’s Wuhan, the epicentre of the new virus outbreak, and have since been kept in Ashkona Hajj Camp in Uttara, Dhaka. The Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) has said the returnees are in good health and five among them including two mothers and their children have been quarantined separately. According to government officials, the health condition of the China nationals and Bangladeshis back from China are strictly being monitored while already seven Bangladeshis have been admitted to Kurmitola General Hospital and three to Combined Military Hospital. On Sunday, foreign minister AK Abdul Momen told the media that visa on arrival for China nationals had been suspended for one month in temporary measures following the outbreak. The first reported death by coronavirus occurred on 9 January in China's Wuhan. By 3 February, the death toll surged past 360 and since emerging out of Wuhan late last year, more than 17,200 people across China have been infected while the disease reached about 25 nations. Outside of China, the Philippines reported the first death from the mysterious virus on 2 February. Amid the growing concerns World Health Organization (WHO) declared a world-wide coronavirus emergency on 30 January. It said evidences were available, in several countries that the virus transmits from human to human. A number of China nationals have been working in a number projects currently undergoing in Bangladesh. Some 5,000 people came to Bangladesh from China since the virus breakout. The 20 quarantined China nationals came to work in a power plant project in the southern region, according to the health department, Barishal and concerned upazila health officer. They were screened at the airports both in China and Dhaka, but were taken into isolation for further security measures. Officials from several projects where China citizens are involved include Padma bridge, Payra power plant, Barapukuria coal mine. They are keeping contact with the government, said Meerjady Sabrina, director of IEDCR and added that they were advised to isolate those who are coming from China. As of 2 February, relatives of the quarantined Bangladeshis were visiting Ashkona Hajj Camp with food, clothes and so on though no one was allowed to enter. The essentials were provided to the returnees by the government officials and employees. Earlier, a China national was admitted into a private hospital with fever and another Bangladeshi software engineer returned from China was admitted to Kurmitola hospital with fever too. According to the IEDCR, the saliva samples of the admitted people were collected and no coronavirus was found. The government has been saying from the onset of the outbreak that steps have been taken for screening at airports and land ports while government hospitals have been ordered to maintain separate room.

7 returnees from China to be admitted to Kurmitola hospital The virus is believed to have originated late last year in a food market in Wuhan, China, that was illegally selling wildlife Health officials will be hospitalizing seven Bangladeshi citizens, who arrived in Dhaka from China's Wuhan, at Kurmitola General Hospital. Preparations are underway for admitting them to the hospital as their body temperature was over 100 degrees, Dr Shahriar Sazzad, assistant director of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) told Dhaka Tribune on Saturday morning. Earlier in the day, a special flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines bringing back Bangladeshi citizens stranded in China's Wuhan, the epicenter of the deadly coronavirus outbreak, landed in Dhaka around 11:30am. The 316 Bangladeshis include 312 returnees from China, including three infants, and four physicians who were sent from Bangladesh, Professor Sania Tahmina, additional director of DGHS, said. She said eight BRTC buses brought them to Ashkona Hajj camp, under the supervision of DGHS and army officials. Since its emergence, coronavirus has infected more than 11,000 people, mostly in China. More than 100 cases have been reported outside China, in 22 countries. The local health commission of Hubei Province earlier on Saturday reported 45 new deaths from the outbreak on Friday, bringing the total to 249 - mostly in China. Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen had told reporters at a briefing on Friday that the returnees from Wuhan will be put under observation at the quarantine unit in Ashkona Hajj camp for a certain period time. It was later confirmed that they will be observed for a 14-day restriction period, which is required in order to avoid any risk. WHO declares coronavirus a global health emergency The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency as the death toll from the virus has been escalating. The virus is believed to have originated late last year in a food market in Wuhan that was illegally selling wildlife. New cases are being reported every day around the world, spurring cuts to travel, outbreaks of anti-China sentiment in some places and a surge in demand for protective face masks. Medical experts say the rising number of human-to-human transmissions outside China suggests a greater potential for the virus to spread further. Statistics from China indicate that just over 2% of people infected have died, suggesting that the virus may be less deadly than the coronaviruses behind 2002-2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

Bangladesh takes 5 steps ahead on list of tourist-friendly countries A list of 140 countries has been published considering the 90 criteria for air transport, accommodation, security, culture and stable travel opportunities for tourists Bangladesh has gone five notches up on the list of tourist-friendly countries in the world, now being ranked 120th among 140 countries. The World Economic Forum has recently published a report on tourism titled “Travel and Tourism Competitive Report-2019”, ranking Bangladesh 120th. Bangladesh’s earlier rank was 125th. The report lauded Bangladesh's stride towards being a tourist-friendly country. In the regional analysis, Bangladesh has made the most progress in security and safety in Asia-Pacific. A list of 140 countries has been published considering the 90 criteria for air transport, accommodation, security, culture and stable travel opportunities for tourists in the report. Covering 140 economies, the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index measures the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable development of the travel and tourism sector, which contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country. Spain topped the list, followed by France, Germany, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Canada, Switzerland. Among the SAARC countries on the list, India ranked 34, Sri Lanka ranked 77, Nepal 102. Pakistan’s rank is below Bangladesh. The country's rank is 121. This year, the World Economic Forum gave importance to four aspects of tourism — natural and cultural resources, aviation infrastructure, national travel and tourism policies and appropriate environment (from security to labor market hygiene). According to the report, Bangladesh has made the significant progress in security and safety. The hope for Bangladesh is that due to natural resources and cultural heritage, there will be significant improvement in the tourism industry, it says, adding that the number of tourists will also increase. There are also some challenges for the tourism industry of the country, which is facing poor tourism services, air pollution and water logging. For these reasons, the country's natural tourism is threatened, it says. Increasing wildlife sanctuaries for sustainable development of Bangladesh tourism, conservation of natural resources and preventing deforestation can accelerate the development of tourism, the report adds. Taslim Amin Shovon, director, trade and fair, Tour Operators Associations of Bangladesh (TOAB), said: "It is obviously a good news for us, it will have a positive impact on our tourism sector." "For the past few years, Bangladesh Tourism Boards has been developing their relationships with different organizations including Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for international promotions and various fairs on tourism issues. It helped to develop our tourism sector a lot," he said.

I think It’s difficult to restrict non-Bangladeshi to access.

Valid point. Hopefully admin panel must lite on this point.

Thanks for clarification. By the way i'm Sourav from Dhaka. Good to see that forum back after long time.