Bangladesh Jeweller's Association (BAJUS) has increased the price of gold. The price of 22-carat gold has been increased by Tk 1,750 per bhori (11.664 grams) to Tk 1,17,573, which is the highest in the country's economy, said a press release issued by Bajus on Monday (April 8). Besides, the price of 21 carat gold has been fixed at Tk 1,12,208, 18 carat gold at Tk 96,228. According to the notification, the price of gold has increased in the local market. Considering the overall situation, BAJUS has fixed the new price of gold. The new prices will be effective from Tuesday (April 9). For the first time the country witnessed the price of gold to rise above Tk 1 lakh per bhori on July 20, 2023.    

The departure of a new four-member crew to the International Space Station has been postponed by for a second time. High winds halted the latest launch attempt, for a trip initially scheduled for February 22. The planned launch of a new crew to the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday has been postponed by a day due to poor weather, US space agency NASA said. Originally scheduled for February 22, the launch has now been postponed for a second time. SpaceX said on social media that "elevated winds" forced Saturday's delay. NASA said it was now targeting Sunday at 10:53 p.m. (0353 Monday GMT/UTC) for liftoff. Crew-8 — which includes three American astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut — was set to launch towards the ISS from Florida's Cape Canaveral space center. Billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX began operating astronaut launch services for NASA since 2020 under NASA's Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebyonkin are to spend around six months on the space outpost carrying out research. This will be the first space flight for Epps, Dominick and Grebyonkin and the third stint on the ISS for Barratt. Space has remained a rare area of cooperation between the United States and Russia amid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Dhaka has topped the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality this morning, with an AQI score of 298 at 8 am on Friday. According to the air quality index, Dhaka’s air was classified as “very unhealthy”, posing serious health risks to residents,  India’s Delhi, Kolkata, Pakistan’s Karachi and Bosnia Herzegovina’s Sarajevo occupied the second, third, fourth and fifth spots on the list, with AQI scores of 277, 208, 205 and 196, respectively. When the AQI value for particle pollution is between 101 and 150, air quality is considered “unhealthy for sensitive groups”, between 150 and 200 is “unhealthy”, between 201 and 300 is said to be “very unhealthy”, while a reading of 301+ is considered “hazardous”, posing serious health risks to residents. The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone. Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.  

Resolutions are not enough, yet they are formal acknowledgments by international authorities. This one also denounces the cases of Ding Yuande and Ma Ruimei, which “Bitter Winter” contributed to expose. While the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) didn’t decrease in 2023, and the most recent report released by the movement denounces 209 new verified cases of persecution to death in 2023, bringing the total documented number of killed victims to over 5,000 since 1999, a decisive step has been taken by the European Parliament (EP). On January 18, 2024, the EP adopted a resolution “on the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong in China, notably the case of Mr Ding Yuande.” The decision “[s]trongly urges the PRC to immediately end the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and other minorities, including Uyghurs and Tibetans,” and “[c]alls for the PRC to end domestic and transnational surveillance and control and the suppression of religious freedom.” For these reasons, the EP intimates “the PRC to abide by its obligations under international law and its own constitution to respect and protect human rights.” Of course, public proclamations, even when authoritative, are not enough to push rogue regimes to adopt more acceptable behaviors. We all know even too well that internationally strong regimes are not scared just by documents. Yet, one should never underestimate documents such as this recent resolution by the EP. They in fact constitute formal acknowledgments by international authorities of a situation, in this case a painful situation, that exit the circles, as large as they could be, of victims and their defenders in NGOs and similar. It enters the larger scenario of world organizations, supernational bodies, and even world political and to some extent legal powers. They can still remain unenforced, but they constitute an insuppressible precedent, surely binding all decent people and governments on a moral level, but also with serious effects on law and politics. Yes, the success of these effects depends on the good wills of the juridical and political personnel, and of governing entities and agencies. However, after resolutions and documents are adopted, good people can always count on one more permanent masterful reference to advance good cases and defend innocent people. The January 18 EP resolution strongly commands the European Union (EU) “Member States to suspend extradition treaties with the PRC.” Stressing “that respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law should be at the centre of the EU’s relations with China,” calls for “the EU and its Member States to support and facilitate an international investigation into the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and raise the persecution of religious minorities during all political and human rights dialogues with the Chinese authorities.” Then, to make actions follow proclamations, the EP resolution “calls on the Member States and the EU Delegation to the PRC to monitor trials”. A specific section of the resolution touches upon the ongoing horror of organ harvesting, of which Falun Gong practitioners are the historical designated victims by the Chinese Communist regime, even if sadly nowadays no more the only ones. The resolution “[c]alls for the EU and its Member States to publicly condemn organ transplant abuses in China and to use the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime and national human rights sanctions regimes against all perpetrators and entities that have contributed to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China and abroad”. Again, to act concretely, the document “stresses that EU measures should include refusing visas, freezing assets, expulsion from EU territories, criminal prosecution, including on the basis of extraterritorial jurisdiction, and bringing international criminal charges” against the perpetrators of such horrors. In fact, quoting “its previous resolutions on China,” the EP importantly acknowledges that “since 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has engaged in systematic persecution to eradicate the Falun Gong religious movement.” It also underlines that “freedom of religious belief is deteriorating across the People’s Republic of China (PRC)”—ignoring the “Article 36 of the PRC’s Constitution” that “stipulates that its citizens must enjoy freedom of religious belief”—and adds that “technology-based censorship and surveillance are central to this repression.” Within the framework of this persecution, the EP resolution states that “it is documented that thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have died as a result of the CCP’s persecution since 1999” and that “practitioners are frequently detained and reportedly subjected to torture, psychological abuse and organ harvesting so that they renounce their faith.” One specific case is highlighted in the EP resolution to serve as an archetype of this whole dreadful scenario. It is the case of Ding Yuande and his wife, Ma Ruimei, both Falun Gong practitioners in the PRC who were arrested on May 12, 2023, without a warrant. Later, Ma was released on bail only to be “intimidated by police because of a rescue campaign launched by their son abroad,” whereas Ding was detained, and no family visits were allowed for eight months. Finally, on December 15, 2023, he was sentenced to three years in prison with a CNY 15000 fine (almost €2,000 and more than US$2,000,) and has appealed the judgment. “Bitter Winter” told the story of the couple in July 2023, interviewing their son, Ding Lebin. Now, demanding “the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Ding and all Falun Gong practitioners in China,” the EP also “[i]nstructs its President to forward this resolution to the EU institutions, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, and the Government and Parliament of the PRC.” Today, January 22, 2024, CAP-Coordination des Associations & Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience, a French NGO with ECOSOC special consultative status presided by Thierry Valle, will address the systematic violation of human rights in China, concentrating on the persecution against Falun Gong and organ harvesting in sight of the UN Universal Periodical Review on Human Rights of the PRC. Among prestigious experts on the case, and Ding as well, also “Bitter Winter” will participate. The EP resolution will serve as a decisive, non-partisan, authoritative document to hold the Chinese regime accountable for its crimes.

Awami League President Sheikh Hasina on Thursday made an impassioned appeal to the people to return her party to power for a straight fourth term by casting votes in Sunday’s general election. “Today I’ve appeared before you to ask for votes in favour of the symbol, Boat,” she said in a televised address to the nation, her final campaign speech before the January 7 national election to form the country’s 12th parliament. The speech was aired at 7pm. “The call has come, it’s time to take the road”, Sheikh Hasina said quoting from poet Sunkanta Bhattacharya’s poem, Udayachal (From the east). In her over 24 minute speech, the prime minister said she is seeking another five-year term in office to make the development sustainable, work to improve people’s living standards and build a developed smart Bangladesh free from hunger and poverty. Prime Minister Hasina said during her Awami League government’s three consecutive terms (2009-2023) the country has witnessed the continuation of a “democratic trend and stability” in the process of building a people’s welfare-oriented society based on “equality and justice.” “If we can form the government again by getting your valuable votes we will be able to continue with the implementation of the programs taken by us,” she said adding that this will give “us an opportunity to further improve your living condition.” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina thanked the people of the country for allowing Awami League to serve them by voting for the Boat symbol in the past. She also said whatever she has achieved in this long journey “would not have been possible without your support.” “If I have made any mistakes along the way, my request to you is to look at the matter in the eyes of forgiveness. If I can form the government again, I will get a chance to correct the mistakes. Give me an opportunity to serve you by voting for the Boat symbol in the January 7 election,” she said. She requested the people to keep confidence in her as she considers them as her family. “Let's all make this Bangladesh a smart Sonar Bangla and fulfill the dream of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,” she appealed to the people. The prime minister urged all political parties and institutions that believe in democracy and the rule of law not to pamper and fuel any idiosyncratic ideas that will disrupt the constitutional process of the country. The ruling party chief said that her party is expecting a free, fair and impartial election on Sunday. In this connection, she said that this is the first time in Bangladesh that the Election Commission has been formed under a law passed by the parliament. “The Election Commission has been given financial independence. The administration and law enforcement agencies are now placed under the Election Commission,” she said. The prime minister also said that the Election Commissiom is conducting the election independently. “Our government is giving all kinds of support to the Election Commission for conducting fair and peaceful elections,” she said. She mentioned the Awami League is a party of the mass people and whenever it comes to power it ensures the economic and social development of the country. The government has ensured food, safety, health services, housing, education, and employment to the people besides making massive infrastructure development, she said. Talking about her party’s election manifesto, Hasina mentioned 12 priorities for the socio-economic development of the country. These are: 1. To protect and promote the practice of democratic systems at all levels. 2. Making every effort to keep prices within the purchasing power of all. 3. Ensuring employability education and youth employment. 4. Building smart Bangladesh based on modern technology. 5. Mechanization of integrated agricultural systems with the aim of increasing production and taking measures to preserve the products. 6. Establishment of agricultural products and food processing industries. 7. To create employment opportunities by developing infrastructure and industries up to the village level. 8. To increase efficiency and capacity of the bank, insurance and financial sector. 9. Making health services affordable to low-income people. 10. To ensure individual and social security by including all in the universal pension system. 11. Making law enforcement agencies efficient in the use of modern technology and ensuring their accountability. 12. Elimination of communalism as well as all forms of terrorism and militancy. Briefly describing the overall development of the country in the last 15 years, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the growth reached 7.25%, per capita income increased five times, budget size increased 12 times and the Annual Development Program increased 13 times, GDP size increased 12 times, foreign exchange reserve increased 36 times, export earnings increased five times, annual remittance increased six times, foreign investment increased six times. Wages of workers increased nine times, foreign exchange reserve increased 36 times while export earnings increased five times, she noted. She also mentioned that the poverty rate declined from 41.51%to 18.7% while the extreme poverty rate reduced by five times. Drinking water coverage increased from 55% to 98.8%. Sanitary latrines increased from 43.28% to 97.32% Infant mortality decreased from 84 per thousand to 21. Maternal mortality decreased from 360 per 100,000 to 156. The average human lifespan is 72.8 years now. The prime minister said that power generation capacity increased eight times in the last 15 years while the electricity consumption rate increased from 28% to 100%. Literacy rate increased to 76.8% while 22 times enhancement in technical education. The grain production increased four times, she added. She said that there is a huge difference between Bangladesh 15 years ago and today's Bangladesh. People's quality of life has improved. People today dream of a better life. Turning to her foreign policy Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that Bangladesh wants peace and shuns war. “We want an end to the wars in Palestine and Ukraine. We want an end to the ongoing genocide in Palestine. Bangladesh is always with the people of Palestine,” she said.

Sisimpur, the popular television series for children's edutainment will be broadcast on RTV. From 6 January of the coming year 2023, Sisimpur will be broadcast on RTV every Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at 5pm, reads a press release.  It will be re-telecast on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at the same time, ensuring children can enjoy watching Sisimpur with their parents on RTV six days a week at 5pm.    Recently, a contract has been signed between RTV and Watermark MCL to initiate this partnership. Watermark MCL is the distribution partner of Sesame Workshop Bangladesh, the producer of the Sisimpur program in Bangladesh.   Syed Ashik Rahman, the CEO of RTV and Palash Mia, the managing director of Watermark MCL, signed the contract on behalf of their respective organizations. During this time, Mohammad Shah Alam, the managing director of Sesame Workshop Bangladesh, along with top officials from three organizations were present.   USAID/Bangladesh has been supporting the development and implementation of all activities of Sisimpur in Bangladesh since its beginning in 2005.

Elon Musk has failed in his bid to avoid giving more testimony in US authorities' investigation of his Twitter takeover. The judge stopped short of compelling Musk to appear but said she would do so unless Musk agreed. A federal judge in San Francisco on Thursday told Elon Musk's legal team that the billionaire must testify again as part of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation of his $44 billion (€40 billion) buyout of the social media website Twitter, since rebranded as X.  US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler stopped short of ordering Musk to testify, but she rapidly rejected arguments from his attorney that SEC officials lacked the authority to issue subpoenas.  Beeler said the US agency, charged with enforcing laws against stock market manipulation, among others, had broad investigative powers and that no judge would "second guess" an SEC probe.  She called on Musk and the SEC to agree to a date for another day's testimony in the case, adding that she would set one for them if they did not.  "You've got one more four-hour deposition, one more day of depositions to survive and it's over," she said. "It seems unlikely there's going to be any more hassle. "If you don't work it out, then it's in San Francisco in February," Beeler said. What's the SEC case against Musk about?   The SEC opened an investigation into Musk's 2022 purchase of Twitter last April after he first disclosed he had purchased stock in the company.  It's probing whether Musk followed the law when filing the paperwork required for the takeover and whether his public comments about the purchase were misleading. He had initially implied he planned to be a passive stakeholder in the company, then switched to bidding for a full takeover, then ultimately completed the deal by October 2022 after trying to pull out of the purchase. Musk testified twice as part of the investigation via video-link in July 2022, as well as providing documents at the SEC's request.  But the SEC said in October that Musk had refused to attend another interview this September, which it had called for in light of receiving new documents. It sought a court order to compel him to testify, and Musk's legal team, in turn, urged the court to overturn the appeal, saying "the SEC's pursuit of Mr. Musk has crossed the line into harassment."  Latest of several clashes between Musk and SEC Musk and the SEC have locked horns several times in recent years, with the billionaire frequently alleging that the watchdog employed dubious methods against him.  The most famous case pertained to Musk's 2018 public claim that he had "funding secured" to take electric carmaker Tesla private. No such deal ultimately emerged, but the comments led to volatile Tesla share prices and complaints of unfair losses from investors. In a civil lawsuit, though, a jury found Musk was not liable for investor losses. The SEC and Musk ultimately settled in the case, with an agreement for him to pay some $20 million and to have lawyers vet some of Musk's future social media posts about Tesla.  However, Musk has since alleged the deal was made under duress, claiming the SEC exploited Tesla's liquidity needs at the time to strongarm him into submission. The SEC accused Musk in 2019 of violating the terms of the agreement. In May, Musk lost an appeals court case seeking to remove what he called the "muzzling" of his free speech, but he could yet try to take the issue to the Supreme Court. Over the years, the SEC has also opened several other cases against Musk and Tesla.

National Bureau of Statistics said some regions in Guizhou province had falsified data, while county governments in Shaanxi province had intervened in data gathering The bureau inspected several provinces in summer amid an effort to improve data accuracy, while another round of visits started earlier last month China’s statistics authority has issued a fresh warning to local authorities over fabricating statistics and intervening in data gathering to overinflate performance as part of a latest bid to improve data accuracy and help refine Beijing’s economic decision-making. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday indicated that some regions in the southwestern province of Guizhou were still falsifying data, while it said that some county governments in the northwestern Shaanxi province had intervened in data gathering. But the bureau did not provide names and the data involved, or reveal any punishments, according to two statements published on its website. Analysts have long been concerned over the accuracy and authenticity of China’s data, as well as a lack of transparency, while internally, Beijing needs reliable figures to guide its policy direction. The bureau inspected several provinces in summer, including Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hunan, Guizhou and Shaanxi, to ensure raw economic data was being gleaned from genuine businesses and had not been inflated by officials. A new round of visits started earlier last month, with another six provinces as well as the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Natural Resources inspected. A twice-a-decade nationwide economic census of businesses and households has also started, which is hoped would provide information on the post-Covid landscape as well as highlight the losses businesses suffered due to China’s zero-Covid policy. “Data reliability is fundamentally important for rational policymaking, as well as for business decision-making,” said Chen Zhiwu, chair professor of finance at the University of Hong Kong. “It’s definitely in the government’s interest to ensure maximum data reliability.” In meetings with local officials, the statistics bureau said that some city and county level officials in Henan province lacked a full understanding of the “extreme criticality and exigencies” of data authenticity. They had also delayed amending falsified data, according to media reports in China. NBS director Kang Yi was also quoted as saying that some county governments padded gross domestic product and other economic statistics as part of “macroeconomic management”. Local officials tend to inflate economic figures to boost their promotion prospects or because they are under pressure to meet economic growth targets. The widening local government debt crisis has also led to increased efforts to falsify data. Amid rising debt, property slump, data may be China’s next financial hurdle In a rare move in October, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress warned some asset quality data at small and medium-sized financial institutions did not “truly reflect the actual situation”. Beijing has previously punished officials and overhauled data collection and reporting systems, including centralised data preparation and announcements at state and provincial levels. Chen at the University of Hong Kong said a structural way would be to make the statistics bureaus independent of political interference. “This is doable if Beijing is really serious about rational policymaking,” he added. The NBS has collected an increasing amount of its data, including industrial output, directly from large enterprises or through surveys. Source: South China Morning Post

Taiwan's representative office in Fiji has again changed its name, this time removing the official name of the country -- the Republic of China (ROC) -- from the title at the request of Fiji's government due to Chinese pressure. In March, the office's website changed the name listed on its website from "Taipei Trade Office in Fiji" to "Trade Mission of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the Republic of Fiji." The move came after the new Fiji government, which is considered to be more friendly toward Taiwan than its predecessor, notified MOFA that its representative office there could revert to its former name, which included "ROC." The new government allowed the move even though Fiji has formal diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC), which frowns at any symbol conveying the idea that the ROC is a sovereign entity. Since then, however, Fiji had faced pressure from the PRC to have Taiwan change the office's name back to the one without "Republic of China (Taiwan)," according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) back in June. Asked to comment on the latest developments, Liu told CNA on Wednesday that the office's website changed back to its former name -- the Taipei Trade Office in Fiji -- on Sept. 8, due to the demands made by the Fiji government. Taiwan has since issued an official protest to the Fiji government over pressuring Taipei on the matter, he said. Aside from allowing Taiwan to use its official name, the Fiji government in March also announced that diplomatic privileges for Taiwanese diplomats at the representative office, which had been revoked in 2018, would be restored in accordance with Fiji's Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities Act 1971. In response, Taiwan's government thanked the Fiji administration and expressed the hope that the two sides would continue to deepen their friendly relations. The decisions announced in March were made despite the lack of formal diplomatic relations between the ROC and Fiji after Fiji elected a new government in December 2022, bringing a Taiwan-friendly three-party coalition to power. The previous Fiji administration had forced the Taiwan representative office in 2018 to change its name to the "Taipei Trade Office in Fiji," according to MOFA. The Republic of Fiji was the first Pacific island country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in 1975. China set up an embassy there in 1976, and Fiji opened its embassy in China in 2001. Despite the lack of official diplomatic ties with the ROC, Fiji leaders have visited Taiwan and have advocated on several occasions for Taiwan's participation in international organizations, according to a diplomatic source, who asked not to be named. Source: focustaiwan.tw

A powerful earthquake in Afghanistan in the early hours of Wednesday, October 11. European Mediterranean Seismological Center confirmed the information. According to EMSC, the epicenter was located at the depth of 10 km, 34 km northwest from the city of Heart, the country's third largest city with a population of over 272,000 people. It said, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake was registered on that area.