In a monumental event, Silent Hands Support Incorporated running zakat Project in Bhola, Bangladesh, on March 3, 2024. They offered an Auto Rickshaw to a physically challenged man named Md. Siraj, initiative signifies the organization's steadfast dedication to uplifting communities since its establishment in 2018.  The project aims to catalyze positive change and improve the lives of many in Bhola and beyond.  Key figures including Mohammad Anwar Hosen Choton (Chairman) and Mohammad Delowar Hosen (Upazila Social Welfare Officer) graced the ceremony, highlighting the significance of this endeavor.  Among the attendees from the organization were Md. Rofiqul Islam, Rezaul Karim, Asmaul Husna Shimu, and Md Jeshan Gazi, pivotal members driving the project's implementation and the broader mission of Silent Hands Support Incorporated.  Reflecting on the occasion, the organization's founder Tahamina Ahammed Tania (Tajj Momo) emphasized, "The zakat Project symbolizes our unwavering commitment to effecting meaningful change in the lives of those in needs."  Mohammad Anwar Hosen Choton, Chairman, echoed this sentiment, stressing unity and collaboration as indispensable in addressing societal challenges. The Zakat Project embodies hope for Bhola's community, championing values of compassion, solidarity, and progress.  As it unfolds, the project promises enduring impact, paving the way for sustainable development and empowerment. Silent Hands Support Incorporated pledges to continue its mission, ushering in a brighter future for all.

Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA) organized a 7 days Capacity Development Training Program under the project “Mid-term Review and Updating of Revised Strategic Transport Plan for DTCA Area” at the BIAM foundation, Eskaton, Dhaka.  The closing and certificate awarding program was presided over by Ms. Neelima Akhter, Executive Director, DTCA which was held on 3rd February 2024. The honorable Secretary of the Road Transport and Highways Division, Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, A B M Amin Ullah Nuri was the Chief guest of the opening program. The city is already facing chronic traffic congestion and if we do not take the necessary action now, the situation will further deteriorate. To address the rapid population growth and increasing traffic demand in the DTCA jurisdiction area, a transport master plan was developed in 2005 by the then DTCB known as the Strategic Transport Plan, STP. Later, it was revised in 2016 by DTCA with JICA’s assistance which is known as the Revised Strategic Transport Plan, RSTP.  Several projects were proposed in RSTP to resolve the traffic issues. To update the Revised Strategic Transport Plan, DTCA has taken the project for review and update the strategic transport plan for the DTCA area. The project is being implemented by DTCA with the assistance of ADB using the Technical Assistance Special Fund and Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia & the Pacific. The updated Strategic Transport plan will dictate the future of the Transport system in Dhaka City. This assignment has been awarded to the consortium of OCG- SMEC- BCL-ACE-MSL-PRIMEX. Under the project, for capacity development of DTCA and other relevant organizations, the Transportation Planning training program was arranged. This was a unique 7 days training program and very few of its kind which include hands-on training on:  •    Trip Production/Attraction Model •    Analysis of Household Interview Survey Data •    OD Visualization and Trip Distribution Model •    Highway Assignment using TransCAD software •    Public Transport Assignment using TransCAD software •    Economic Evaluation and Analysis •    OD matrices update methodology using Building Floor Area Data •    Basic Traffic Impact Assessment using TransCAD software In the training, Microsoft Access and Excel were used for data analysis and visualization, whereas Kepler.gl, qGIS and TransCAD were used for mapping, OD matrix preparation, travel demand modeling, and visualization of the demand models. The training program was conducted by the TA Consultants, especially Team Leader Tomokazu WACHI, Takatoshi MORIWAKI, Keisuke AKIHO, Pallab Debnath, and other members were involved in arranging fruitful training on transport planning and modeling. In the training program, 17 participants were from DTCA. Apart from DTCA, delegates from other 13 organizations such as Capital Development Authority (RAJUK), Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), Roads and Highways Department (RHD), Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA), Bangladesh Railway (BR), and other organizations have participated in the training.   

A second convoy of humanitarian aid trucks has begun the process of crossing into Gaza, according to multiple news agencies. A convoy of 17 aid trucks was allowed to enter Gaza from Egypt on Sunday, Egypt's state-run media reported. It was the second shipment into the territory since Israel imposed a complete siege two weeks ago. AFP news agency described how the first fuel trucks entered the Palestinian enclave Sunday since the violence unfolded two weeks ago. Six trucks with fuel to power generators at two hospitals crossed from Egypt, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and an Egyptian source told AFP. Hospital personnel in Gaza have reported that doctors have been performing procedures by the light of cellphones in recent days due to severe fuel shortages. Residents of the Palestinian territory have been under an almost total Israeli blockade, including the halting of water and power supplies, since the Islamist Hamas militant group launched a terror attack in southern Israel on October 7. Cindy McCain, the head of the UN World Food Program (WFP) told ABC's "This Week" program that the humanitarian situation in Gaza was catastrophic. She called for aid agencies to be given secure, sustainable access to the enclave, which she said was a war zone.

On the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) 52nd General Session in Geneva Women in Data (WiD) announced plans to launch its Data Curiosity Program in India in coordination with the Centre For Global Affairs and Public Policy (CGAPP), The program seeks to stem the Gender Gap in STEM fields and add more women to the workforce in these sectors. India has made strides in achieving gender parity in STEM graduates, but the proportion of women working in these sectors is lower, informed the Geneva Women in Data. Women make up 34 per cent of the workforce in the Indian IT sector, with most of them being under the age of 30. The Data Curiosity Program intends to encourage girls aged 12-16 years to take up careers in data and STEM fields. CGAPP and WiD also held a roundtable conference to discuss Sustainability Enablement Through Technology. The roundtable brought together representatives from Civil Society, Business, Government and Foundations. Several tech-enabled sustainability projects from India were discussed, such as the Inspection as a Service (IaaS) module developed by TCS which uses an AI engine to monitor toilet sanitation in over 45,000 schools in India. Participants also shared ideas about other use cases for the technology in development, such as the use of AI and Machine Learning for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) norms, Health, Re-skilling and Education. Dinanath Kholkar, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Partner Ecosystems and Alliances at TCS, delivered the inaugural address at the conference congratulating WiD and CGAPP for organising the event. He acknowledged the importance of discussing stories of development through technology from across the world and looking for new use cases. In her remarks, Sudeshna Choudhury, Director, PE&A, TCS pointed out that the benefits of having more women in the workforce are often ignored. She shared a case study of Inspection as a Service from the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where a TCS-developed AI model is being used to track sanitary conditions in school toilets. Director, CGAPP Anindya Sengupta noted that as G-20 chair, India has identified a set of priority areas, which include tech-enabled development in sectors ranging from agriculture to education and the promotion of digital public infrastructure. Stories of technology from education, climate, health and development good need to be brought to the global platform, he said. Sadie St. Lawrence, Founder and CEO, WiD, shared that addressing the Gender gap can add close to 35% to the global GDP according to the World Economic Forum. She also emphasised the need for reskilling for women as climate change and other challenges lead to changes in the labour market. Lawrence talked about various initiatives of WiD to address gender disparity through their programs. Various sector experts also discussed innovative uses of AI in their fields ranging from climate sustainability, energy transition, health, and other areas. Tatyana Kanzaveli, Founder and CEO, Open Health Network, Maria Hutcheson, Head of Growth, TheMathCompany, Shuchi Rana, Global Head of Whitespace, ServiceNow, Veronica Grasso, Scientific and Program Officer, World Meteorological Organization & Navin Rauniar, Sustainability Partner, Tata Consultancy Services took part in the roundtable and shared their sectoral insights & case studies and discussed other potential areas where technology can be leveraged for development with other attendees.

On Tuesday, March 14,  the online quiz winners of the program ''English4U"  broadcast on RTV were awarded. The award program held at Linnex Bengal Square, RTV Studio Building, Dhaka. Jodie Anna Milto, the producer and content creator of Voice of America, Monoj Roy, U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA Country Representative/South Asia, Abu Sayed Bhuiyan, teacher at Government Laboratory School, Sajjadur Rahman, the president of BIAM Model School and College, and students and parents from different schools were present at the function. However, as an international language, american english is widely used in almost all fields. It is very helpful to communicate. To motivate the students to learn this language, the program "English4U"  is broadcast every Friday at 12:10 pm on RTV and its YouTube channel and Facebook page.  Over the past six months, the program held at various schools in the country and help to learn this language.  Top 60 winners were awarded at the ceremony. Speakers of this program said, ''Every year, millions of Bangladeshi, mainly young portion, go to abroad including United States for education or work purpose. They urged everyone to learn and practice the english language.''

On Tuesday, March 14,  the online quiz winners of the program ''English4U"  broadcast on RTV were awarded. The award program held at Linnex Bengal Square, RTV Studio Building, Dhaka. Jodi Anna Milto, the producer and content creator of Voice of America, Monoj Roy, U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA Country Representative/South Asia, Abu Sayed Bhuiyan, teacher at Government Laboratory School, Sajjadur Rahman, the president of BIAM Model School and College, and students and parents from different schools were present at the function. However, as an international language, american english is widely used in almost all fields. It is very helpful to communicate. To motivate the students to learn this language, the program "English4U"  is broadcast every Friday at 12:10 pm on RTV and its YouTube channel and Facebook page.  Over the past six months, the program held at various schools in the country and help to learn this language.  Top 60 winners were awarded at the ceremony. Speakers of this program said, ''Every year, millions of Bangladeshi, mainly young portion, go to abroad including United States for education or work purpose. They urged everyone to learn and practice the english language.''

In Indian administrated Jammu and Kashmir, Jammu Kashmir Peoples Justice Front (JKPJF) hosted a day-long drug de-addiction awareness program at Government Higher Secondary School Hygam in Sopore region of Jammu and Kashmir recently. A large number of students, locals and parents participated in the event. The drug menace is spreading among youth like wildfire which has engulfed a large chunk of budding youth of Kashmir and it has become imperative to control it before it’s too late. The program was aimed at creating awareness among the youth and members of the society so that the very fabric of Kashmiri society can be saved from this curse, reports ANI. Among dignitaries were SSP Sopore, ADC Sopore and Drug De-addiction Specialist Dr.Fayaz Ahmad and Chairman JKPJF Agha Syed Abbas Rizvi, Master Syed Shamsuddin, Moulana Abdul Kareem, Syed Agha Mujahid, Social Activist Mohd Ibrahim, Dr. Kamran and others were present on the occasion who spoke about the drug addiction and its consequences. SSP Sopore while speaking on the occasion appealed the people and parents to come forward so that the drug menace could be eradicated from society. He said, “The J&K Police has been working tirelessly to control and eradicate the drug menace from the society but police can’t do anything alone, the society has to come forward and cooperate in this matter, only then it is possible to overcome this curse”. Source: India Blooms

An Iranian scientist that Israel alleged led the Islamic Republic’s military nuclear program until its disbanding in the early 2000s was “assassinated” Friday, state television said. Israel declined to immediately comment on the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once called out in a news conference saying: “Remember that name.” Israel has long been suspected of carrying out a series of targeted killings of Iranian nuclear scientists nearly a decade ago. State TV Friday cited sources confirming the death. It said it would offer more information shortly. The semiofficial Fars news agency, believed to be close to the country’s Revolutionary Guard, said the attack happened in Absard, a small city just east of the capital, Tehran. It said witnesses heard the sound of an explosion and then machine gun fire. The attack targeted a car that Fakhrizadeh was in, the agency said. Those wounded, including Fakhrizadeh’s bodyguards, were later taken to a local hospital, the agency said. State television on its website later published a photograph of security forces blocking off the road. Photos and video shared online showed a Nissan sedan with bullet holes through windshield and blood pooled on the road. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Iranian media all noted the interest that Netanyahu had previously shown in Fakhrizadeh. Hossein Salami, chief commander of the paramilitary Guard, appeared to acknowledge the attack on Fakhrizadeh. “Assassinating nuclear scientists is the most violent confrontation to prevent us from reaching modern science,” Salami tweeted. Hossein Dehghan, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader and a presidential candidate in Iran’s 2021 election, issued a warning on Twitter. “In the last days of their gambling ally’s political life, the Zionists seek to intensify and increase pressure on Iran to wage a full-blown war,” Dehghan wrote, appearing to refer to U.S. President Donald Trump. “We will descend like lightning on the killers of this oppressed martyr and we will make them regret their actions!” The area around Absard is filled with vacation villas for the Iranian elite with a view of Mount Damavand, the highest peak in the country. Roads on Friday, part of the Iranian weekend, were emptier than normal due to a lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic, offering his attackers a chance to strike with fewer people around. Fakhrizadeh led Iran’s so-called “Amad,” or “Hope” program. Israel and the West have alleged it was a military operation looking at the feasibility of building a nuclear weapon in Iran. Tehran long has maintained its nuclear program is peaceful. The International Atomic Energy Agency says that “Amad” program ended in the early 2000s. IAEA inspectors now monitor Iranian nuclear sites as part of Iran’s now-unraveling nuclear deal with world powers. Source: UNB AH

The United Nations' World Food Program on Friday won the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to combat hunger and food insecurity around the globe. The announcement was made in Oslo by Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chair of the Nobel Committee. The Nobel Committee said that the coronavirus pandemic has added to the hunger faced by millions of people around the world and called on governments to ensure that WFP and other aid organizations receive the financial support necessary to feed them. "With this year's award, the (Committee) wishes to turn the eyes of the world to the millions of people who suffer from or face the threat of hunger," said Reiss-Andersen. "The World Food Program plays a key role in multilateral cooperation in making food security an instrument of peace." "The World Food Program contributes daily to advancing the fraternity of nations mentioned in Alfred Nobel's will," she said. There was no shortage of causes or candidates on this year's list, with 211 individuals and 107 organizations nominated ahead of the Feb. 1 deadline. However, the Norwegian Nobel Committee maintains absolute secrecy about whom it favors for arguably the world's most prestigious prize. The award comes with a 10-milion krona ($1.1 million) cash prize and a gold medal to be handed out at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway, on Dec. 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel's death. This year's ceremony will be scaled down due to the pandemic. On Monday, the Nobel Committee awarded the prize for physiology and medicine for discovering the liver-ravaging hepatitis C virus. Tuesday's prize for physics honored breakthroughs in understanding the mysteries of cosmic black holes, and the chemistry prize on Wednesday went to scientists behind a powerful gene-editing tool. The literature prize was awarded to American poet Louise Glück on Thursday for her "candid and uncompromising" work. Still to come next week is the prize for outstanding work in the field of economics. Source: UNB AH

After the detection of coronavirus cases for the first time in Bangladesh, the year-long programs taken to celebrate the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman during the ‘Mujib Borsho’ have been rearranged considering public health. The grand inaugural ceremony of the birth centenary celebrations scheduled for March 17 next at the National Parade Ground will be held later due to the prevailing situation across the world caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Other celebration programs will also be observed avoiding massive public gatherings. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Birth Centenary Celebration National Implementation Committee at Ganobhaban in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana. Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, chief coordinator of the committee, made the announcement at a press briefing at the International Mother Language Institute on Sunday night. Kamal Abdul Naser said foreign guests are not coming for now. He, however, said other programs will continue throughout the year. The government declared the period from March 17, 2020 to March 26, 2021 as the ‘Mujib Borsho’ marking the birth centenary of Bangabandhu. Year-long massive programs have been chalked on the occasion. Heads of government of different countries, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were invited to join the celebrations. Meanwhile, three coronavirus-infected patients have been detected in Bangladesh. Prof Meerjady Sabrina Flora, director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), came up with the information at a press briefing at IEDCR on Sunday. Coronavirus, which was first reported in China’s Wuhan, has infected more than 100,000 people and killed over 3,400 as of Sunday. Source: UNB AH