June 01, 2017
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Owing largely to preparedness, adequate precautionary measures, the much talked-about cyclone Mora had not had the devastating impact people apprehended. Days before the deadly storm made landfall, as many as 4,60,000 people of the affected areas have been shifted to different shelter centers, thanks to the hard work placed by different government agencies. In the aftermath, Honourable Prime Minister (HPM) Sheikh Hasina gave an assurance that all the houses and establishments damaged by Cyclone would be rebuilt, while a navy ship laden with relief assistances are sent to turn around lives of the affected families.
According to a survey released by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, a quantum leap has been marked in the country’s quest towards ensuring education for all, alongside average life expectancy has jumped up further. Adult literacy rate has increased by 11.6% to 72.3% in 2016 from 60.7% in 2012. On health index, the infant mortality rate declined to 28 in 2016 from 33 per thousand live births in 2012 while the maternal mortality ratio recorded a consistent fall over the last five years from 2.03 maternal deaths per 1000 live births in 2012 to 1.78 in 2016.
HPM Sheikh Hasina sought enhanced International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) assistance for Bangladesh and other developing nations in implementing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through peaceful use of nuclear technology. The Bangladesh Premier was delivering her statement at the 'IAEA Technical Cooperation Programme - 60 Years and Beyond: Contributing to Development' here. In addition, she also urged the developing countries to forge greater cooperation to draw maximum benefits from peaceful uses of nuclear technologies through IAEA expertise.
According to the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations, Bangladesh has lost a total of 133 peacekeepers since 1989 to establish peace in conflict-stricken countries across the globe, given that the country is one of the largest contributors of military and police peacekeepers to the UN. In observance of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, President Abdul Hamid and HPM Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages on Sunday assuring Bangladesh's continued support to the United Nations for the protection and promotion of world peace.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
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The government has planned to construct an elevated expressway from the city's airport to Savar Export Processing Zone (EPZ). With the financial assistance of the Chinese government, work of the important project is likely to start from December. This move stands as a shining testament to the government’s commitment to change the course of the national progress, as well as uplift the fortune of the countrymen.
Denmark will give $3.3 million for establishing 16 new One-stop Crisis Centres (OCCs) at public medical college hospitals in Bangladesh to provide shelter as well as medical, legal and psychological support for women and children who have been victims of violence. The OCCs give women who have been exposed to violence safe haven and an important help for them and their children. At the centres, doctors, a lawyer, police officers and a psychologist will ensure that they can get treatment and take legal actions all under one roof. The OCCs are managed by the Bangladesh government, which is covering 75% of the costs.
POWER AND ENERGY
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An agreement has been signed between the Asian Development Bank and the government for $616 million in loans to enhance the coverage and reliability of Bangladesh's power systems and improve the efficiency of the distribution network. The deals are aimed at bringing reliable power supply to 950,000 households and commercial users, including 875,000 households in rural areas. The project will also help in distributing more power to the Dhaka region to meet the rising demand for electricity in the largest and rapidly expanding growth centre in the country.
In sync with the government’s promise to ensure electricity for all by 2021, a target has been set to take the country’s power generation capacity up to 24,000 MW. To this end, a total of 34 power plants capable of producing 11,363 MW are under construction and these plants would come into operation in next four years. Moreover, Besides, 34 more power plants having the capacity of 4,917 MW are now in the process of bidding and those are expected to go into operation from 2018 to 2023.
TRADE AND INVESTMENT
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Bangladesh emerged as the fourth largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) host among the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the past year, reveals the latest global trends monitor report, released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It showed the inflow of FDI to Bangladesh stood at $2.3 billion in 2016, a record amount; posting 4% growth over the previous year’s amount while total flows of FDI has marked a downturn.
International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, Tuesday announced an investment of US$ 10 million for the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh. The investment will boost the financing available for climate resilient small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and strengthen their capacity to address operating difficulties arising from climate change.
INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL COOPERATION
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Australia had expressed its keen interest to train up members of the Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies on how to curb cyber-crimes, counter terrorism and also crimes in the social media to uproot all criminal acts. The outgoing Australian envoy assured that his country would send experts to Bangladesh for providing training to the members of Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies. Meanwhile, the number of killing, murder and abduction as well as the overall crimes fell considerably low as the law and order improved.
The Indian navy ship conducting search and rescue operations at the Bay of Bengal have pulled out 33 Bangladeshi victims of Cyclone Mora from two boats in the Maheskhali region. According to the Indian disaster management protocol, this vessel always remains ready in the Bay of Bengal when a situation builds up. It also keeps limited relief materials onboard for the survivors.
DIGITAL BANGLADESH
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The Bangabandhu-1 satellite will be ready to provide commercial service from the middle of next year. More than 85% of the work on the satellite has been completed; the manufacturer is now only fine-tuning it. In November 2015, Bangladesh Tele-communication Regulatory Commission signed a deal with Thales Alenia Space for designing and manufacturing the satellite at $248 million. Once launched, its services will narrow the digital divide by taking broadcasting and telecom services to rural areas and introducing profitable services, including direct-to-home services. Bangladesh bought the orbital slot from Intersputnik, a Russian satellite company, for $28 million.
Police last month began training thousands of teenage girls to defend themselves against blackmail or harassment online keeping in mind that girls and women make up 70% of the victims of cyber-harassment, according to authorities. More than 10,000 girls have taken part in the workshops during April and May, with Facebook safety a key focus. According to a guardian report, the scale of the programme, and its urgency, is particularly great in Bangladesh, which has experienced double-digit growth in internet use each year since 2002.
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