The decision came days after Dhaka suspended the first dosing of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on a supply crunch…reports Asian Lite News.
The Bangladeshi government has approved the import and use of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19.
Major General Mahbubur Rahman, Director General of the country’s Drug Administration, made the announcement on Tuesday, the Xinhua news agency reported.
AstraZeneca vaccine
The decision came days after Dhaka suspended the first dosing of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on a supply crunch.
“We’ve given permission for the emergency use of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine,” Rahman told journalists.
Amid uncertainty over timely arrival of the next Covid-19 vaccine shipment from India, the Bangladeshi government halted administering first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine across the country from Monday.
Nearly 6 million people have so far received the first dose of the vaccine in Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on January 28 virtually inaugurated the country’s Covid-19 vaccination drive.
The Bangladeshi government on Monday announced that it decided to extend the ongoing lockdown which began on April 14 for another week.
Bangladesh recorded 112 deaths from Covid-19 on April 19, its highest daily toll from the pandemic, the government said.
On Tuesday, the country’s Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reported 3,031 new cases of Covid-19 and 78 new deaths, bringing the number of total cases to 751,659 and the total death toll to 11,228.
The demand for the drug has recently increased in India, as the country witnessed a sudden rise in coronavirus cases…reports Asian Lite News.
Bangladesh will be sending Remdesivir, an anti-viral medicine being used in COVID-19 treatment, along with other medical supplies to India next week, said country’s Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen.
“India sought Remdesivir [from us]. We have taken measures to send it,” Dhaka Tribune quoted Momen said on Thursday.
The demand for the drug has recently increased in India, as the country witnessed a sudden rise in coronavirus cases.
The worsening COVID-19 situation has seen a surge in the demand for medical oxygen, drugs and beds for the COVID-19 patients and many states are reporting an acute shortage in essential medical supplies.
Last week, the Indian government waived import duty for the Remdesivir vials and the raw materials.
Bangladesh Foreign Ministry on Wednesday offered to dispatch emergency medicines and medical equipment supplies for the people of India who are fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The supplies include about 10,000 vials of injectable anti-viral, oral anti-viral, 30,000 PPE kits, and several thousand zinc, calcium, vitamin C and other necessary tablets
About the risks of the Indian triple mutant Covid-19 variant entering Bangladesh, the foreign secretary said: “The situation in the country will be manageable if the infection rate goes down.”
Bangladesh on April 25 closed its border with India for 14 days to control the spread of the deadly virus. (ANI)
The girl’s body was recovered from the flat and Anvir was booked by the Gulshan area police following a complaint filed by the victim’s sister Nusrat Jahan….reports Asian Lite News
Bangladesh industrialist Sayem Sobhan Anvir, Managing Director of Bashundhara Group, was booked by the police for abetting a 21-year-old girl of suicide. Anvir had rented a flat to the victim.
The Bashundhara Group is one of the largest conglomerates in Bangladesh and Anvir is son of its Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan. The business house also owns leading media platforms — News 24, Daily Kaler Kontho, Banglanews 24.com and a Radio channel.
The girl’s body was recovered from the flat and Anvir was booked by the Gulshan area police following a complaint filed by the victim’s sister Nusrat Jahan. The police said that the deceased was unemployed and Anvir used to visit her flat.
The complainant, Nusrat, said in her statement that her sister had told her that the accused would marry her and they would live abroad because that they were fearing that if they remain in Bangladesh then Anvir’s parents would kill her.
Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), Gulshan Division, Sudip Kumar Chakraborty, told IANS, “Earlier, on Sunday morning the victim informed her sister that she was in trouble and threatened. Then Nusrat rushed to Dhaka to from Cumilla to meet her on Monday.”
He said that when Nusrat reached at the residence of the victim and found the door locked from inside she tried to open it. Also, the victim’s phone was not reachable. Thereafter, when Nusrat broke open the door she found her sister hanging from the ceiling fan in her bedroom.
“She later informed the building owner and then the police were called in,” said Sudip.
According to the information, Anvir and the victim were in touch since last two years. They were also dating each other. In 2019, Anvir rented an apartment and represented themselves as husband and wife to the owner. A photo of the couple was also framed in the apartment in which they can be seen posing as married.
When Anvir’s parents got to know about his relationship with the victim, his mother called her through another lady Piasa and threatened the girl to leave Dhaka. Following the incident, assuring the victim that he would marry her, Anvir sent back her to Cumilla.
After sometime, Anvir convinced the victim to return Dhaka and she moved in at the flat located in Gulshan area on March 1.
“Sayem forcibly rented the flat using my husband’s and my ID cards,” Nusrat said.
According to the complainant, the victim’s life was under threat and she might have been murdered. Also, Piasa, who is a Facebook friend of the accused’s mother, might have informed her about the recent developments.
“The accused Sayem told my sister to go back to Cumilla and he would leave for Dubai on April 27, fearing that his mother would find out about his relationship again and kill my sister,” Nusrat said.
Meanwhile, Anvir’s wife left the country for an unknown location on Monday afternoon from Shahjalal International Airport in a cargo flight. However, Anvir also made a failed attempt to leave the country.
However, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Shahidul Islam issued an order barring Anvir,from leaving the country on Tuesday. Whereas, in the petition, the Investigation officer said that there was a chance that Sayem might leave the country to evade the arrest.
The police have collected all the gadgets from the flat that the victim was using and searching the CCTV footage.
The deceased was a second grade student and HSC exam candidate at Mirpur Cantonment Public school and College, started living alone in the flat in March. Her father, Shafiqur Rahman, was a freedom fighter and the family hails from Cumilla Sadar.
The complainant also said that the victim had got into an argument with Anvir after photos of an iftar party that she attended with the landlord’s family were shared on social media by the landlord’s wife on April 23.
A leaked audio clip reportedly between the victim and the accused, which was not independently verified, reveals that a male voice accusing a female person of stealing money worth Tk50 lakhs. The female was heard crying and repeatedly denying that blame while the male voice repeatedly curses and uses expletives. According to immigration police, besides Bangladesh, Anvir also holds the passports of Slovakia.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said that agencies were identifying Hefazat’s financers and Police would seek another seven days to interrogate Mamunul…reports Asian Lite News
Funds for militant outfit Hefazat-e-Islam, which was behind the widespread violence last month, was deposited into two bank accounts of its senior leader Mamunul Haque and the donors have been identified, Bangladesh Police said on Wednesday.
“We’ve so far identified 313 people who have financed Hefazat on different occasions. We have found evidence of 6.47 crore takas being transacted to and from Mamunul’s two bank accounts,” Additional Commissioner, Detective Branch, of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, A.K.M. Hafiz Akhter told IANS.
Police would seek another seven days to interrogate Mamunul, he added.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told IANS that agencies were identifying Hefazat’s financers. “Detectives have identified 313 people who assisted Hefazat-e-Islam by funding it for several atrocities and massacres,” he said.
Mamunul, who has confessed his involvement in getting huge funds from militant outfits of Pakistan, stayed in Pakistan on 2005 and is brother-in-law of fugitive Major (dismissed) Shariful Haque Dalim – convicted for assassinating Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Top militant Mamunul trained in Pakistan Bangladesh Police
Arrested on April 18 in connection with sabotage, the Hefazat leader is currently on remand for a week in two cases – one filed over the 2013 Shapla Chattar mayhem by the militant outfit and the other over the March 26 Baitul Mokarram clashes with the police.
Meanwhile, Mamunul also confessed the police that a meeting was held at the home of Hefazat Ameer Junayed Babunagari to remove Ahmed Shafi, the founder of the Qaumi Madarsa, seen as the breeding ground of militants.
“The meeting was held on the occasion of the wedding ceremony of Babunagari’s son… where the Hefazat leader planned to replace Shafi with himself and become the party chief,” the police official said.
Meanwhile, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Baki Billah passed an order on Wednesday on fresh six-day remand of Hefazat’s former Assistant Secretary General, Ataullah Amini, and former Assistant Office Secretary of its Dhaka city unit, Ehteshamul Haque, in two cases lodged with capital’s Motijheel and Paltan Police Stations over a 2013 violence case.
The court also sent Haque, who was arrested on April 22, on two-day remand in a case lodged with the capital’s Paltan Police Station over the mayhem in Baitul Mukarram area on March 26.
The same court on April 22 had sent Amini on five-day remand in another case relating to the 2013 violence.
On April 23, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Nivana Khayer Jessy had sent Haque on four-day remand in a case lodged
The approval comes after Bangladesh health authorities stopped administering Covishield vaccine from India…reports Asian Lite News
The Bangladeshi government has approved the import and use of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19.
Major General Mahbubur Rahman, Director General of the country’s Drug Administration, made the announcement on Tuesday, the Xinhua news agency reported.
The decision came days after Dhaka suspended the first dosing of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on a supply crunch.
“We’ve given permission for the emergency use of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine,” Rahman told journalists.
Amid uncertainty over timely arrival of the next Covid-19 vaccine shipment from India, the Bangladeshi government halted administering first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine across the country from Monday.
Nearly 6 million people have so far received the first dose of the vaccine in Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on January 28 virtually inaugurated the country’s Covid-19 vaccination drive.
The Bangladeshi government on Monday announced that it decided to extend the ongoing lockdown which began on April 14 for another week.
Bangladesh recorded 112 deaths from Covid-19 on April 19, its highest daily toll from the pandemic, the government said.
On Tuesday, the country’s Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reported 3,031 new cases of Covid-19 and 78 new deaths, bringing the number of total cases to 751,659 and the total death toll to 11,228.
Hasina, in a bid to tackle other extremist groups such as the Jamaat E Islam and others however, has maintained “live and let live” policy with the Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI) until recently when it broke onto violence, reports Mahua Venkatesh
South Asia watchers appeared to have arrived at a consensus: A peaceful Bangladesh is a boon for India and the region. After members of Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI) members resorted to violence in Bangladesh last month, Prime Minister of the south Asian nation Sheikh Hasina has cracked down on the outfit while promising to uphold the principles of inclusivity and cultural unity.
Her government has continued with unabated efforts to choke the radical outfit.
In a major development, HeI’s Brahmanbaria District Unit Joint Secretary Mufti Abdur Rahim Qasemi resigned as he sought justice over “the mayhem carried out by the Islamist group’s leader and activists in the district,” during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the south Asian nation, Dhaka Tribune (DT) reported.
Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina
“The loss of life and property of the people cannot be approved by Islam in any way. So, I personally stayed away from all these activities (mayhem) and forced the teachers and students of all the madrasas under my supervision not to take part in those,” he said in a statement.
In the last few days, a total of 15 leaders of HeI have been arrested by the Bangladesh authorities.
Not only have intelligence reports shown that HeI members have been actively involved in the violence in Bangladesh which coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, a few arrested members of the outfit have also confessed.
The Bangladesh based Daily Star, in an article published in its Bengali section, noted that HeI has been attempting to bring down the Hasina government. The outfit also wants to make Bangladesh much like Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Hasina has been cracking down on radical forces
“In the years since, and against the odds, Bangladesh has prospered. And while Pakistan has remained fixated with India, Bangladesh hasn’t manifested similar obsession vis-�-vis Pakistan, despite having borne unspeakable atrocities,” the Spectator �a British weekly magazine�in a report last month said.
However, the report also said the “Bengali identity, forming the basis of Bangladesh as a separate nation, rooted in millennia of Indic pluralism and religious co-existence, continues to be attacked by the perpetrators and collaborators of the 1971 genocide.”
Bangladesh police
“Weeding out of extremism in the region is absolutely essential for the development of India and the south Asian nations. There have been various radical elements that are working to destabilise development and peace in the region,” Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, visiting fellow at ORF and a former ambassador told India Narrative.
HeI, as a group also controls most of the madrassas in the country.
“The recent crackdown comes as a boon for India, as extremist elements have the potential to create discord with the country, especially in the eastern and northeastern region. At a time when the geopolitical structure of the region is changing fast, it is key that India keeps a close watch on the developments,” another analyst on condition of anonymity said.
India PM Narendra Modi and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina
Hasina, in a bid to tackle other extremist groups such as the Jamaat E Islam and others however, has maintained “live and let live” policy with the HeI until recently when it broke onto violence.
According to the European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS), in the early 1990s, the Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) was established with funds from Al-Qaeda. HuJI-B had strong links with the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and at the peak of its operations in 2004, the group claimed that up to 15,000 members had been recruited from Madrassas (Islamic religious schools) in Bangladesh and Pakistan, the EFSAS said.
In the Global Terrorism Index by the Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the country ranked 33rd out of a total of 163 countries. Though in 2019, Bangladesh was placed 30th and a year earlier grabbed the 25th position, it appears to have stemmed the tide of Islamic terrorism that was threatening the nation of over 161 million in the first decade of the 21st century.
(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
Chinese minister is likely to meet Bangladesh President Md Abdul Hamid and the Bangladesh Army chief during his visit…reports Asian Lite News
Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe will arrive in Dhaka on a brief visit on Tuesday amid the ongoing talks between the two countries over COVID-19 vaccine cooperation.
During his brief visit, the Chinese minister is likely to meet Bangladesh President Md Abdul Hamid and the Bangladesh Army chief.
In December last year, the last-minute postponement of the Chinese Defence Minister’s visit to Bangladesh had raised curiosity about the state of the relations between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Fenghe will later on Tuesday leave for Sri Lanka on a three-day visit, the second high-level visit by a senior Chinese official in recent months.
Wei Fenghe(wikipedia)
General Fenghe will be visiting the island from April 27 to 29, Colombo Page reported.
The Minister is slated to hold bilateral talks with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and other government officials.
This is the second-highest visit by a Chinese official to the island nation following the visit of Yang Jiechi, Vice Chairman, Chinese Communist Party, in October last year.
There have been concerns about Beijing seeking to increase its footprint in the country through contentious infrastructure projects.
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court is currently hearing several petitions against a Bill that will give special powers to govern the China-backed port city in Colombo.
Meanwhile, amid the controversy surrounding the China-backed Port City in Colombo, Sri Lanka Minister of Justice Ali Sabry has said the government owns 100 per cent of the land and the project has been initiated to bring investment in the special financial zone.
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Addressing a media briefing, Minister Sabry said the total area of the investment zone is 269 hectares and 91 hectares for public facilities and cannot be given to the project company, The Colombo Page reported. Out of the remaining land of the financial zone, 116 hectares or 43 per cent will be given to the project company which initiated the project in 2013 and spent USD 1.4 billion to develop the Port City.
“But all 100 per cent of the land is owned by the government. It is completely false to say that land was given to someone else,” Sabry said.
This comes as the opposition has alleged that a bill to set up a Commission to govern a Colombo Port City has given it too much discretion, denied equal opportunity to Sri Lankans who did not have black money stashed abroad.
Bangladesh has been waiting for two million doses of Covishield as they had paid in advance for the two million doses…reports Asian Lite News
Bangladesh has temporarily suspended the Covishield vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India, Pune, media reported.
This was after growing uncertainty over the vaccine supply given the worsening situation in India after hit by the second Covid-19 wave.
According to reports, Directorate General of Bangladesh’s Health Services, General ABM Khurshed, issued a circular on April 25, stating that it will enable those who have already received the first dose to complete the procedure.
Bangladesh has been waiting for two million doses of Covishield. The Bangladeshi officials had earlier said that they had paid in advance for the two million doses, reported The Hindu.
Meanwhile, the country has decided to extend its ongoing lockdown for another week to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Covidshield
“The decision was taken in line with suggestions by public health experts and considering the global COVID-19 situation,” said the State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain.
Shops and malls will remain open from 10 am to 8 pm, the Dhaka Tribune reported, quoting public official Hossain.
Indo-Bangla border closure
However, the final decision will be taken at another meeting on Tuesday, officials further said.
Officials from different ministries including health, home, foreign, public administration, and civil aviation were present at the inter-ministerial to discuss the COVID-19 situation.
Bangladesh had also decided to close its border with India for the next 14 days following a sharp rise in the country’s COVID-19 cases and deaths.
A ban on entry from India has been imposed in line with the instructions of the prime minister’s office, Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told Dhaka Tribune on Sunday.
On Thursday, a proposal to shut down borders with India was rejected at an inter-ministerial meeting.
Mushtuq Husain, former Chief Scientific Officer of the Institute of Epidemiology and Disease Control, had earlier suggested imposing institutional quarantine requirements on arrivals from India.
India -Bangladesh border
He also said, “If the border cannot be closed completely, then those who come from India should be kept in a 14-day institutional quarantine. There is no alternative.”
He noted that most of incoming travellers from India are citizens of Bangladesh and they cannot be stopped by shutting down the border.
“But they must get their samples tested 72 hours in advance (of travelling). They must carry a coronavirus-negative certificate and quarantine upon arrival. If possible, everyone should be kept in institutional quarantine. If that is not possible, we must ensure that they quarantine at home.”
Mushtuq, however, played down concerns over the coronavirus variant that is running rampant across India and said that it has not yet been proven to be more harmful than other strains.
Many countries including Germany, Iran, UK, Canada, Hong Kong, and the UAE have already blocked flights from India….report Asian Lite News
Bangladesh has decided to close its border with India for the next 14 days following a sharp rise in the country’s COVID-19 cases and deaths.
A ban on entry from India has been imposed in line with the instructions of the prime minister’s office, Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told Dhaka Tribune on Sunday.
On Thursday, a proposal to shut down borders with India was rejected at an inter-ministerial meeting.
Due to massive surge in COVID-19 numbers, India has been witnessing shortage of hospital beds and medical-grade oxygen for past few days.
Several countries around the world including Germany, Iran, UK, Canada, Hong Kong, and the UAE have suspended passenger flights from India.
Asaduzzaman KhanMinster, Ministry of Home Affairs; Govt. of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh(Twitter)
India recorded 3,49,691 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike since the pandemic broke out last year. According to the Union Health Ministry, the country has recorded 2,767 new deaths due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.
The country’s total infection count has mounted to 1,69,60,172 cases, while 1,92,311 people have so far succumbed to the viral infection so far. There are 26,82,751 active COVID-19 cases in the country, said the official data of the ministry.
Mushtuq Husain, former Chief Scientific Officer of the Institute of Epidemiology and Disease Control, had earlier suggested imposing institutional quarantine requirements on arrivals from India.
He also said, “If the border cannot be closed completely, then those who come from India should be kept in a 14-day institutional quarantine. There is no alternative.”
He noted that most of incoming travellers from India are citizens of Bangladesh and they cannot be stopped by shutting down the border.
“But they must get their samples tested 72 hours in advance (of travelling). They must carry a coronavirus-negative certificate and quarantine upon arrival. If possible, everyone should be kept in institutional quarantine. If that is not possible, we must ensure that they quarantine at home.”
Mushtuq, however, played down concerns over the coronavirus variant that is running rampant across India and said that it has not yet been proven to be more harmful than other strains.
The fire broke out at the chemical storage on the first floor of the Haji Musa Mansion…reports Sumi Khan
Two persons, including a security guard, were killed and at least 17 including three firefighters were injured in a fire at a six storied building in Dhaka, that was housing a chemical warehouse located in density populated Armanitola area. The incident took place at around 3 a.m. on Friday when the devotees were having food for fasting on Muslim holy month Ramadan.
The fire broke out at the chemical storage on the first floor of the Haji Musa Mansion, Brig Gen Md Sazzad Hussain, Director General of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence told IANS.
Seventeen units of fire service and civil defence managed to control the inferno after a hard struggle of three hours.
The six-storey building at Armanitola, next to the Babubazar Bridge in old Dhaka, has a chemical storage and a few shops on the ground floor, while tenants were living in upper floors.
Earlier, on June 3, 2010, 124 people died in a fire at an illegally operated chemical warehouse in Nimtali, Old Dhaka. Besides, on the night of February 20, 2019, at least six people died in a terrible fire from a series of chemical factories in the resident area of Churihatta of Chawkbazar. Then after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directly asked to shift the chemical industries from the residential are of old Dhaka, which is denied, and created this calamity.
The dead body of the security guard was recovered from the building and a woman, who was severely burned, died on the way to hospital confirmed the fire service official. Other residents of the building rescued with crane cutting the Iron made porch- grill of the building, he said.
