Lawmakers of eight countries form new alliance to counter China
According to them, China’s growing influence poses a threat to global trade, security, and human rights. The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China launched on Friday, comes as the US struggles to assemble a cohesive alliance to take on China’s growing economic and diplomatic influence, reports Bloomberg. The US has been leading foreign governments in condemning Beijing’s move to impose national security legislation in Hong Kong that threatens the city’s autonomy. Several of those nations have faced intense economic or political consequences for crossing China’s strategic ambitions. “The time has come for democratic countries to unite in a common defense of our shared values,” UK lawmaker Smith said on Twitter.
Source:Dhaka Tribune
June 05, 2020 10:07 UTC
Three arrested for humiliating imam of mosque in Barisal
Video footage of the incident went viral on Facebook causing a wave of criticismThree people including a Union Parishad (UP) chairman were arrested in connection with humiliating the imam of a mosque in Barisal's Mehendiganj upazila. Mostofa Rardri, UP chairman of Darirchar Khajuria union and Abdus Sattar, a former union council member of Barisal’s Muladi upazila, and another Bazlu, were arrested in connection with the incident on Thursday, reports Bangla Tribune. The humiliated imam, Shahidul Islam alias Alauddin, filed a case against them and a few others on the same day. According to sources, Shahidul, imam of a local mosque and clerk of Khajuria Dakhil Madrasa, allegedly embezzled the scholarship money of students, amounting to Tk4,800. Video footage of the incident went viral on Facebook shortly afterwards, causing outrage on the social media platform.
Source:Dhaka Tribune
June 05, 2020 10:07 UTC
‘I tried my hardest to get the Bangla right’
Suraj playing Farhad in ExtractionHow did you learn to speak Bangla for Extraction? We all were instructed by a dialogue coach who made us try to get the accent right. Our audience thought the film did not do a good job of getting the accent right. He patiently explained to me, working in an action movie like Extraction, a few cuts were inevitable for actors. Are you working on anything in particular right now?
Source:Dhaka Tribune
June 05, 2020 09:55 UTC
US military commander says China pushing territorial claims under cover of coronavirus
“Through the course of the COVID crisis we saw a surge of maritime activity,” he told Reuters in a phone interview. He said Beijing had also increased its activity in the East China Sea, where it has a territorial dispute with Japan. In addition to defending Japan, they are deployed to deter China from expanding its influence in the region, including in the South China Sea. China has dismissed that criticism as an attempt by President Donald Trump’s administration to cover up its own mistakes. Beijing has built military island bases on reefs in the energy-rich South China Sea, in or near waters claimed by other countries, including the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia.
Source:bd News24
June 05, 2020 09:33 UTC
Bangladesh records 30 new virus deaths, caseload tops 60,000
Another 2,828 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the 24 hours to 8 am Friday, bringing the tally of infections to 60,391, according to the health directorate. The recovery count also jumped to 12,804 with the release of 643 patients from hospitals in the same period, DGHS Additional Director General Nasima Sultana said in a media briefing on Friday. A total of 14,088 samples were tested at 50 authorised labs across the country during that time, she added. Globally, over 6.64 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 391,295 have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
Source:bd News24
June 05, 2020 08:48 UTC
Ministry of Land wins UN Public Service Award
The award would serve as an inspiration and encouragement for others working for the public serviceThe Ministry of Land in Bangladesh has been adorned with the prestigious ‘United Nations Public Service Award” for 2020, in the category of “Developing transparent and accountable public institutions” as recognition of the “E-Mutation” initiative. “Its outstanding achievement has demonstrated excellence in serving the public interest and I am confident it has made a significant contribution to the improvement of public administration in your country,” Liu wrote in the letter attributing the Ministry of Land. In the letter, he further wrote the award would serve as an inspiration and encouragement for others working for the public service. On 23 June each year, the UN organizes a ceremony to commemorate the United Nations Public Service Day, during which the most innovative initiatives in the public sector around the world are recognized. In the context of Covid-19 pandemic, the UN has postponed this year’s “United Nations Public Service Award” giving ceremony.
Source:Dhaka Tribune
June 05, 2020 08:37 UTC
Woman gang-raped, murdered in Jhenaidah
Photo: Dhaka TribunePolice arrested 3 people in connection with the incidentA woman was gang-raped and murdered by a man whom she refused to have a relationship with in Jhenaidah's Kaliganj upazila. Police arrested Milon Hosain, 26, Israfil, 25, and Azim, 26, all of Trilochonpur village in connection with the murder and rape commited. The principal accused, Milon, had a romantic relationship with Keya three years ago. On February 26, Milon took Keya to a field two kilometres away from her father's house in Dadapur village. But the case investigation officer worked very hard to find the three involved in the rape and murder.
Source:Dhaka Tribune
June 05, 2020 08:26 UTC
Tesla's Elon Musk calls for breakup of Amazon in tweet
"This is insane @JeffBezos," Musk tweeted at Amazon's chief. Both men are billionaires and oversee competing space exploration companies on top of their duties at Telsa and Amazon. Musk does not have legal authority to break up Amazon. The decision to greenlight the book's sale was not due to Musk, Amazon said. After Amazon approved the book's sale, he tweeted, "thanks to @elonmusk and everyone who helped."
Source:bd News24
June 05, 2020 08:26 UTC
Urology doctor Golam Kibria dies from COVID-19
He breathed his last at the ICU of Dhaka Medical College Hospital around 1 am on Friday, BSMMU Vice-Chancellor Kanak Kanti Barua said. Kibria was moved into intensive care on Jun 3, a few days after his admission to DMCH, said Dr Rahat Anwar Chowdhury, Dr Rahat Anwar Chowdhury, joint secretary of Foundation for Doctors' Safety Rights and Responsibilities. A syndicate member of BSMMU, Kibria also served in different capacities at the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council and Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is survived by three children. Expressing condolences over Kibria's death, Kanak said, “He made a huge contribution in expanding the scope of urology, a specialised branch of medical science; he played an important role in mentoring many other specialist doctors.”Bangladesh has reported 18 deaths among doctors from COVID-19 until now, with the disease infecting another 1,037, according to the FDSR.
Source:bd News24
June 05, 2020 08:03 UTC
Over 1,000 coronavirus deaths reported in the past 24 hours. Officials fear protests will drive up numbers
But complacency by people and governments could increase its spread, said Maria Van Kerkhove, a disease epidemiologist at the World Health Organization. And as it is a coronavirus ... there are normal changes in this virus that one would expect over time," she said. "None of these changes so far indicate that the virus itself is changing in terms of its ability to transmit or to cause more severe disease." "They may become lax in the measures needed to control the spread of the virus, such as social distancing," she said. Study highlights a new reaction in childrenEarly on in the outbreak, there were reports that coronavirus doesn't affect children as much.
Source:Daily Sun
June 05, 2020 08:03 UTC
The Latest: British Airways mulling suit vs quaratine rule
Though the government said it is backing further study, the commission said it will use its statutory powers to investigate. The Interior Minister said the new stay-at-home order comes into effect at midnight on Friday and will end at midnight on Sunday in the 15 provinces that include Istanbul and Ankara. Grocery stores will remain open to allow residents to walk to shops for essential needs, the ministry said. Last weekend’s curfew was expected to be the last and Friday’s announcement came as a surprise to many. It followed reports of widespread complacency and breach of social distancing practices this week, after restaurants began welcoming sit-in customers and beaches, swimming pools, parks, gyms and museums reopened.
Source:Daily Sun
June 05, 2020 07:41 UTC
Wife starts case against policeman over domestic violence
Ishrat Rahman, the wife of ASP Nazmus Shakib, initiated the case with Ramna Police Station on Thursday. Shakib’s father Shafiullah Talukdar and mother Khaleda Sultana were also named in the case, said Ramna Police OC Monirul Islam. Ever since their marriage in March 2007, Ishrat's in-laws subjected her to torture for dowry, according to the case statement. Shakib even threatened to divorce Ishrat and forced her to abort their unborn child in July 2019, she alleged in the case. He added that Shakib and his mother have filed three general diaries against Ishrat until now.
Source:bd News24
June 05, 2020 06:56 UTC
India's Yamuna river regains sparkle as virus lockdown banishes waste
"Because everything is closed right now - all the factories, industries are shut...their waste is not coming into the river." One of the world's toughest lockdowns against the coronavirus, which has caused nearly 217,000 infections and more than 6,000 deaths in India, kept out most of the industrial waste that normally clogs the Yamuna. That was the key reason for the better water quality, said Anshuman Jaiswal of city research body the Energy and Resources Institute. "The industrial discharge which was going into the Yamuna actually stopped and that, for sure, has reduced the pollution load," he added. Nevertheless, while it lasts, a clean, revitalised Yamuna also augurs well for the environmental condition of the Taj Mahal, India's famed monument to love that stands on the riverbank in the northern city of Agra.
Source:bd News24
June 05, 2020 06:56 UTC
Two minors die of insecticide poisoning in Pabna
Map of Pabna districtThey mistakenly drank insecticide stored in a beverage bottleTwo children died in Pabna's Ishwardi upazila after consuming insecticide stored in a beverage bottle, not knowing that the bottle had insecticide in it. Rahima Khatun, 8, Khadiza Khatun, 4, died undergoing treatment at a hospital in Dhaka on Wednesday and Thursday. Locals said the three siblings Khadiza, Rahima, and Ritu Khatun, went to visit their grandparents' house on Tuesday in the village of Athail, in Dashuriya of the upazila. Their uncle Rokon Uddin had stored insecticide in a bottle of 7 Up, which the two children drank and fell severely ill. Khadiza died on Wednesday night and Rahima passed away on Thursday afternoon.
Source:Dhaka Tribune
June 05, 2020 06:45 UTC
Two huge COVID-19 studies are retracted after scientists sound alarms
The other found that some blood pressure drugs did not increase the risk of COVID-19 and might even be protective. Both studies were led by a professor at Harvard, and both depended on a huge international database of patient medical records that few experts had ever heard of. On Wednesday, after the journals noted concerns about the studies, the World Health Organisation announced that it would resume trials of the medications. Mehra said he hoped the data could be used in rapid studies that improved outcomes of patients with COVID-19. Hospital systems contract with vendors who then pass records along to other companies, including those compiling big data for health care marketing and research.
Source:bd News24
June 05, 2020 06:22 UTC