At least Five people have died from heat stroke across the country. Among the deceased, two died in Chattogram, one each in Pabna, Chuadanga and Gazipur.  Two people, including a child, have died of heat stroke in Chattogram. Due to the intensity of heat, the movement of people and vehicles has decreased in different parts of the city. Severe heatwave continues in Pabna. The highest temperature of the season was recorded at 41.6 degrees Celsius at Ishwardi in Pabna on Saturday. Besides, a man named Sukumar Das (60) died of heat stroke in Pabna town. On the other hand, a mentally challenged youth has died of heat stroke at Konabari Jail Road area in Gazipur City Corporation.  In Chuadanga, a man named Zakir Hossain died of heat stroke while working in the field.  

At least 16 people were killed in road accidents in eight districts of the country. Many others were injured in these incidents. This information was revealed in the report sent by Rtv representatives from Tuesday (Aprin 9) morning to afternoon. Mymensingh: Three accidents took place in Mymensingh Sadar, Trishal and Tarakanda upazilas of the district from Tuesday morning to afternoon. Eight people, including three of a family, were killed in the incidents. Tangail: A man was killed in a collision between a pick-up van and a CNG-run auto-rickshaw at Madhupur in Tangail on Tuesday afternoon. Another person was also injured in that incident. Dinajpur: A motorcyclist named Babul Hossain (40) was killed in a collision between two motorcycles on Dinajpur-Gobindaganj highway on Tuesday afternoon. Kurigram: A man was killed in a collision between a trolley and a motorcycle on Kurigram-Bhurungamari highway on Tuesday noon Besides, two people were killed in Sitakunda and three in Munshiganj, Bogura and Gaibandha. At least six people were injured in the incident.

Spearheaded by the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE), a Washington, DC-based parliamentary government in exile, this coalition represents Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other native peoples of East Turkistan. In a historic and unified effort, 61 organisations across the global East Turkistani and Uyghur diaspora have come together to address the United States Congress with an urgent plea to recognize their homeland, East Turkistan, where their peoples are suffering an ongoing genocidal occupation under China, East Turkistan National Movement said in a press release. Spearheaded by the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE), a Washington, DC-based parliamentary government in exile, this coalition represents Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other native peoples of East Turkistan. They applaud the passage with broad bipartisan support of the Uyghur Policy Act through the House of Representatives, and urge the Senate to follow suit. Such actions demonstrate the continued leadership of the United States in supporting the peoples of East Turkistan, and they call on Congressional leaders to build on that leadership with sustained and increasing actions, the release also said. Just as the United States pioneered support for the people of Tibet, just as the United States stands firm with the people of Taiwan, they ask the United States to stand with the peoples of East Turkistan and resist the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) nationalism, expansionism, and human rights atrocities. They are calling on the US to recognise their homeland, East Turkistan, as an occupied country, highlighting the significant historical context that on October 12, 1949, the PRC's People's Liberation Army invaded East Turkistan and overthrew the independent East Turkistan Republic on December 22, 1949. In October 1955, the People's Republic of China designated much of East Turkistan as the "Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region." "Xinjiang" means "the colony" or "new territory" in the Mandarin language. The open letter to Congress outlines the grave situation in East Turkistan under the People's Republic of China's occupation, highlighting ongoing genocide, crimes against humanity, and the systematic attempt to erase the identity and existence of the East Turkistani people. The letter acknowledges the US Congress's support thus far but stresses that more decisive action is needed to address the root cause of these atrocities: the colonization and occupation of East Turkistan by China. The United Nations' Human Rights Council's recent Universal Periodic Review of China demonstrated the divide between countries willing to call out human rights atrocities and countries coerced into complicity with those atrocities. The gravest of these atrocities occur daily in East Turkistan, and throughout China and Central Asia with the forced displacement and genocide of the native peoples of East Turkistan. The ETGE has documented these atrocities in four separate filings with the International Criminal Court, it added. Mamtimin Ala, President of the ETGE, emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating, "The recognition of East Turkistan as an occupied country by the U.S. Congress would be a significant step towards restoring the rights and freedoms of our people. It is not just a matter of political recognition but a moral imperative to stand against ongoing genocide at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party led Chinese state and affirm the right to external self-determination for the oppressed peoples of East Turkistan." Salih Hudayar, Foreign Minister of the ETGE, added, "The United States has always been a beacon of freedom and justice on the global stage. By recognizing East Turkistan's status as an occupied nation and upgrading legislative actions, the US can lead the international community in a meaningful stand against China's relentless campaign of erasure and oppression." This collective call to action underscores the critical need for the U.S. and the international community to confront the reality of China's colonization, genocide, and occupation of East Turkistan. The signatories express their readiness to provide further information and assistance to advance the cause of justice, human rights, and dignity for East Turkistan. The East Turkistan Government in Exile urges the US Congress to heed this call and take a stand for freedom, justice, and the right to external self-determination for the people of East Turkistan.  Source: ANI

Mild cold wave is sweeping over the districts of Kishoreganj, Pabna, Dinajpur and Chuadanga and it may continue, said a met office forecast for the next 24hours begins from 9am today. Weather may remain dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country, said the forecast. Moderate to thick fog may occur over the country during midnight to morning and it may continue till noon at places. Air navigation, inland river transport and road communication may disrupt temporarily due to fog. Night temperature may rise slightly and day temperature may fall slightly over the country. Cold day condition is likely to prevail at places over the country. Country's highest temperature on Thursday was recorded 27.3 degree Celsius at Teknaf while lowest temperature today was recorded09.6 degree Celsius jointly at Nikli and Chuadanga. Ridge of sub-continental high extends up to West Bengal and adjoining northwestern part of Bangladesh.  Seasonal low lies over South Bay, extending its trough to North Bay. The sun sets at 05.30pm today and rises at 06.43am tomorrow in the capital.

Hong Kong should end its ban on Japanese seafood imports as the Fukushima nuclear waste water discharge had not caused contamination and doing so will show it can make decisions separately from mainland China under “one country, two systems”, Japan’s top diplomat in the city has said. In an exclusive interview with the Post, Japanese Consul General Kenichi Okada said the city had already taken a different approach from the mainland by applying a more narrow ban on only 10 prefectures. “Mainland China banned all seafood imports from Japan, while Hong Kong banned imports from only 10 prefectures,” he said. “[This] already shows a stark contrast between the mainland and Hong Kong.” Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. The consul general said he believed the city could “continue to show one country, two systems in various manners”. “For example, if Hong Kong can lift the ban earlier than mainland China, Hong Kong can showcase the beautiful merits of one country, two systems in front of Japan,” he said. The governing principle guarantees Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy for 50 years after reunification, and is stipulated in the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution. The consul general said he believed the city could “continue to show one country, two systems in various manners”. “For example, if Hong Kong can lift the ban earlier than mainland China, Hong Kong can showcase the beautiful merits of one country, two systems in front of Japan,” he said. The governing principle guarantees Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy for 50 years after reunification, and is stipulated in the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (Dec 4, 2023) said the rivers have to be saved to protect the country.   "We have to save our rivers if we want to save Bangladesh," she said. "We have to do dredging and maintain navigability. We have to go for river dredging to stop erosion," the premier said.   The Premier was speaking at a meeting on the presentation of the survey report and the policy decision for the adoption of the related project in the light of the master plan designed to prevent pollution and protect the navigability of the rivers around Dhaka at the cabinet room of her office. "We have to do dredging and maintain navigability. We have to go for river dredging to stop erosion," the premier said.   PM Sheikh Hasina said after assuming power, the aim of her government was to protect the rivers, maintain its navigability and save those from pollution.   PM recalled that during the first tenure of her government, river dredging started and the silts was used for land reclamation.   "We have to do dredging and maintain navigability. We have to go for river dredging to stop erosion," she added.   In the name of river training, once it was normal phenomena to build embankments that had heavy toll on the fertile crop lands, the PM said.   She added that the industries that are constructed beside the rivers usually dump its wastes in the rivers.   "All waste of the sewerage lines also goes to the rivers resulting in increasing pollution," she said.   The Premier said it is very much painful that bad smell comes from the Buriganga River due to pollution.   "Whatever we do, we have to keep in mind first the waste management," she added.   Sheikh Hasina also opted to set up small treatment plants in different parts of Dhaka city to save the rivers around the capital.   For river training, she said the depth of a river has to be considered. "And we must have to create a buffer zone beside the river aiming to preserve the rainwater during monsoon," PM further told.   The Head of the Government also put emphasis on coordinated efforts of all concerned authorities for any development plan keeping in mind the preservation of the environment.   "Since, I came to power, I asked everyone to sketch plan for all cities. Whatever plan we take there should be wastage management and flow of water has to be maintained properly," she said.   She added it is very regrettable that the country's development programmes did not take place in a planned way in the past. "It didn't happen in the Pakistan period and even, after 1975, the illegal state power grabbers, who came through violating the constitution with arms, did not pay attention to overall coordinated and planned development of the country", she continued.   As a result, the environmental issues were neglected and the rivers were also encroached, PM Sheikh Hasina said.

A 5.6 magnitude earthquake jolted different parts of the country including the capital this morning. The quake was felt at 9:35 am on Saturday (December 2). The quake was felt in Chattogram, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Rangpur, Chuadanga, Noakhali, Kushtia and other parts of the country. Rabiul Haque, officer-in-charge of the Meteorological Office, said that the place of origin of the earthquake was Ramganj. According to the United States Geological Survey, USGS, the epicenter of the earthquake is 8 km east-northeast of Ramganj upazila in Laxmipur district. Many people came out of their houses in fear during the earthquake. No casualties or damage were reported immediately.   Source: BSS

A senior official in Paraguay, Arnaldo Chamorro, has lost his job after announcing he'd signed a deal with the fictional United States of Kailasa, dreamed up by a Hindu cult leader who fled India's legal system. The chief of staff at Paraguay's Agriculture Ministry, Arnaldo Chamorro, was replaced this week after admitting he'd been conned into talks and signing a memorandum of understanding with representatives of a non-existent country.  Chamorro told reporters on Thursday that purported officials from the "United States of Kailasa" had told him the country was a South American island.  "They came and expressed a wish to help Paraguay," he said. "They presented several projects, we listened to them and that was that."  He had been replaced on Wednesday, he said.  He said the fake officials also met Agriculture Minister Carlos Gimenez and that their motives for duping him were not clear.  MoU pledged to seek diplomatic relations and UN membership Chamorro and Paraguay's Agriculture Ministry are not the first officials to fall for tricks by representatives of the "United States of Kailasa," whose purported "pontiff" and leader is a Hindu cult leader who goes by the name "Nithyananda."  The memorandum signed by the two parties had envisaged the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two "countries." In the document, complete with the ministry's letterhead and official seal, Chamorro salutes "the honorable Nithyananda Paramashivam, sovereign of the United States of Kailasa" and praises his "contributions to Hinduism, humanity and the Republic of Paraguay." The memorandum also called for Paraguay to push for Kailasa's acceptance into "various international organizations, including the United Nations." The agriculture ministry in a statement lamented "procedural errors" committed and said the memorandum "cannot be considered official" nor could it confer any obligations on the state of Paraguay. Hindu cult leader, fugitive and 'pontiff'  Nithyananda, a self-styled guru, fled India in 2019, wanted on various criminal charges, including sex offenses. His whereabouts remains unknown.  People purporting to represent the United States of Kailasa attended two UN events in Geneva earlier this year. UN officials later said their comments would be disregarded.  The City of Newark in the US also had to issue an apology for a "regrettable incident" after Mayor Ras Baraka entertained a delegation from the United States of Kailasa for five days and signed a sister city partnership deal.  The fictional state has an active social media presence, often either celebrating supposed government initiatives or sharing similar agreements purportedly made with prominent people or organizations.  On Kailasa's website, the fictional country is described as the "revival of the ancient enlightened Hindu civilizational nation which is being revived by displaced Hindus from around the world."

The new country representative of UNHCR to Bangladesh, Sumbul Rizvi, has presented her credentials to Foreign Minister Dr A. K. Abdul Momen at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, October 9. Foreign Minister welcomed the new country representative to Bangladesh and assured her of necessary supports of the Government in executing her duties.  He appreciated the persistent engagement of UNHCR in rendering the humanitarian operations for the Rohingyas temporarily sheltered in Bangladesh as well as for the host community.  Foreign Minister highlighted the innumerable challenges Bangladesh has been facing in hosting for than 1.2 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals (Rohingya) in Bangladesh.  Noting that a single Rohingya could not be repatriated to Myanmar in the last six years, Dr Momen cautioned that their prolonged stay in Bangladesh may pose threats to the security of the region and beyond. He called upon UNHCR and other UN agencies having presence in Myanmar to work with the Myanmar government towards creating conducive environment in Rakhine. The UNHCR Representative expressed her gratitude to Bangladesh for its continued cooperation to UNHCR. Underscoring the need for repatriation of the Rohingyas temporarily sheltered in Bangladesh, she mentioned that the UNHCR would continue its sincere efforts in maintaining the humanitarian response to the Rohingyas.  She concurred with the Foreign Minister that the Rohingya issue must remain at the top of the global agenda. She also agreed with Dr Momen that concerted and meaningful efforts by the international community were required for ensuring sustainable repatriation of displaced Rohingya people.

At least 80 passenger flights to Tel Aviv canceled Airlines have canceled more than 80 flights to and from Tel Aviv following Hamas' incursion in Israeli territory. This amounts to roughly 14% of all flights scheduled for Saturday evening. German carrier Lufthansa canceled several flights between Frankfurt and Tel Aviv. American Airlines, Air France, Emirates, Ryanair, Italy's ITA, Spain's Iberia Express, Poland's LOT and Greece's Aegean Airlines also pulled flights. However, airport authorities did not stop commercial air links with Israel's second-largest international airport, located near the Red Sea city of Eilat. Meanwhile, the US' air regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), urged airlines and pilots to use caution when flying in Israeli airspace. The Israeli government previously issued a similar warning. Blinken speaks with regional power Egypt to de-escalate crisis US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to discuss Hamas' surprise attack. "I spoke with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry about the horrific attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israel," he said. "We appreciate Egypt’s ongoing efforts and reiterate the urgent need to halt the Hamas attacks." Egypt, which borders the Gaza Strip, has mediated previous cease-fires between Israel and Palestinian militants. In June, Egypt helped broker a truce between Israel and the Islamic Jihad militant group. Blinken also spoke with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan regarding the attacks on Israel. The two sides "called for coordinated efforts to achieve an immediate halt to the Hamas terrorists and other militants," according to a US State Department press release.  The Hamas attack on Israeli territory comes as the US attempts to broker a deal that would normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel.  Berlin's Brandenburg Gate lit up in colors of Israeli flag Late on Saturday, Berlin's Brandenburg Gate lit up with the colors of the Israeli flag following a deadly attack by Hamas fighters. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz posted an image of the gate on the platform X, formally known as Twitter. "In solidarity with #Israel," the chancellor said in the post.   Meanwhile, Germany moved to reinforce security around Jewish temples, schools and monuments after the attack. "In Berlin, police protection has been immediately stepped up," Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told the Bild newspaper. "The federal government and the regions are closely coordinating their actions." She said that German authorities were closely watching "potential supporters of Hamas in the Islamist sphere." Hamas is classified by Germany, the EU and the US as a terrorist organization. Berlin police posted photos on social media showing "people celebrating the attacks on Israel by passing out pastries" on the major street of Sonnenallee in the Neukölin district. In some cases, officers carried out identity checks and filed complaints, police said. Neukölln District Mayor Martin Hikel described the event "a horrible glorification of a terrible war," calling for a ban on "disgusting terrorist propaganda."