China's arms exports have declined due to poor quality, and weak and inconsistent performance, which puts buyer countries in peril. In the last decade, China's weaponry exports have dropped by nearly a quarter, according to a report by the Directus. Furthermore, China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) is plagued by the issue of low-quality weapons. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), China's arms shipments fell 7.8 percent between 2016 and 2020 when compared to the preceding five-year period. Its global market share has shrunk from 5.6 percent to 5.2 percent. Demand for Chinese weaponry increased since they were less expensive than competitors' offerings. It began to contract, however, after the Chinese armaments failed to perform as promised. "China attracts customers for its military equipment with cutrate pricing and financing, but there are hidden costs - especially when gear malfunctions," said Cindy Zheng, a researcher at the think tank RAND Corporation. "A lack of technological compatibility with the Chinese military equipment can prove particularly expensive," the researcher added, according to Directus. China supplies weapons to over 53 nations, most of which are not markets for big arms suppliers such as the United States or France. 34 Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and African and Middle Eastern countries are major importers of Chinese armaments. According to Alexander Vuving, professor at the Daniel K Inouye Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies, the topic of problems in Chinese military gear has been emphasised. "China-made weapons are not just technologically inferior, they also remain untested on the battlefield," he said. Myanmar expressed concern about the low accuracy of the radar on the Chinese jets it purchased. Due to technical issues, Myanmar grounded the majority of the Chinese jets. Myanmar paid a high price for these Chinese-made jets, but they were still in need of repair four years after they were delivered, Directus reported. Due to maintenance issues, Nigeria was compelled to send seven of nine Chengdu F-7 fighters to China. Pakistan, China's all-weather ally, also encountered problems with Chinese-made navy warships. The F-22P frigates had various technical issues, including engine degradation, faulty sensors, and the missile system's inability to lock on the target, the Directus reported. Collin Koh, a maritime security analyst based in Singapore, stated that importer countries are concerned about the absence of combat testing for most Chinese hardware. Another difficulty is political tension with China in the case of integration with non-Chinese systems. "Many countries acquiring Chinese military equipment for the first time are finding that certification standards are lower than in the West, where there are standards of excellence shared by Nato countries, which endorse the certification of technologies," said Andrei Serbin, a geopolitical intelligence expert and director of the Argentine think tank CRIES. China does not have a system that even comes close.

The government has issued 18-point directive to contain the sharp rise of COVID-19 cases in the country. A gazette notification, signed by Prime Minister’s principal secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus, was issued today comprising the directives. The directives are as follows: 1. All kinds of public gatherings, including social, political, religious have to be limited in all places and no gatherings will be allowed in areas of higher transmission of coronavirus. 2. Compliance with health rules has to be ensured in mosques and other places of worship. 3. Gatherings have to be limited in tourist attractions and entertainment venues, cinema and theatre halls. Arrangement of all kinds of fairs and exhibitions has to be discouraged. 4. Public transports cannot carry passengers over 50 percent of their capacity and have to follow Covid-19 health codes. 5. Inter-district transport movements have to be limited to areas with higher infections of the virus. If necessary, transport movements have to be stopped to halt the spread of the deadly virus. 6. Incoming passengers from abroad have to remain in quarantine for 14 days in hotels at their own expenses. 7. Purchase and sale of daily essentials have to take place in open spaces, maintaining proper health rules. Health codes also have to be maintained properly in pharmacy shops. 8. Health guidelines including wearing masks must be followed in healthcare service institutions. 9. All educational institutions including primary, secondary, higher secondary, universities, madrasas and coaching centres will remain closed. Both sellers and buyers at shopping malls must follow health rules. 10. Going out after 10pm without any emergency would be avoided and non-essential movements must be stopped. 11. Legal action will be taken if mask is not worn and other health rules are violated while travelling. 12. Patients with COVID-19 symptoms have to stay in isolation. Persons in close contact with patients will have to be quarantined as well. 13. All government and private offices, establishments and factories should be managed by 50 percent of the manpower except emergency services. Pregnant and ill officials or those aged above 55 have to perform official duties staying at home. 14. Meetings, seminars, trainings and workshops must be arranged online. 15. Proper health codes must be ensured in any type of public examinations with physical presence mandatory. 16. Hotels and restaurants can serve only up to 50 percent of the customers they can accommodate. 17. It is compulsory to wear masks properly and ensure all necessary health rules at workplaces. The directives will be effective immediately and remain in force for two weeks until further instructions, the gazette notification reads. All relevant ministries, departments, directorates and agencies will take all necessary measures to implement the guidelines to stop recent rise of coronavirus in the country. Source: BSS  AH

Although the prevalence of Covid-19 is now relatively lower in Bangladesh, it will surge during the winter months, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday. "As of now, the Covid-19 pandemic has been tackled successfully due to the farsighted role of the government -- timely decisions and skilled management. Right now, its prevalence is slightly lower, but experts fear it might spike in the coming winter. By the time, the second wave has started in Europe and America," she said. The Prime Minister said this while answering a tabled question from ruling party MP (Chattogram-4) Didarul Alam in Parliament during the PM's question-answer session. She said the government has taken massive preparations to face the second wave of the virus and infection during the winter. "To prevent the surge during the winter, directives have been given for adopting ‘no mask, no service policy’. Screening at the entry points of the country is on, while 14-day quarantine has been made mandatory for everyone coming from abroad. Programmes are going on as per the planning to control the Covid-19," she said. The Prime Minister also mentioned that an agreement has been signed with Serum Institute of India, Beximco Pharma and the government to import three crores of vaccine. Replying to a question from ruling party MP AKM Rahmatullah, she said the government has been able to manage financing for emergency periods from development partner countries. Hasina mentioned that Japan is providing Tk 2,720 crore while the Asian Development Bank (ADB) USD 600 million. For procuring coronavirus vaccine and medical equipment, the  ADB is providing USD 30 lakh while the World Bank has given USD 105 crore for employment during the Covid-19 pandemic. She said the government has received 110 million Euro from the European Union for the RMG sector, while Germany and the European Union have pledged to provide 113 million Euro as assistance for the RMG and Leather Industry and the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB) approved USD 100 million loan for Bangladesh. Replying to Jatiya Party MP Fakhrul Imam, Hasina said law enforcement and intelligence agencies, including the police, are discharging their duties round the clock through mutual coordination to take appropriate lawful steps against those involved in violence and destructive acts. Source: UNB AH

The death tally from coronavirus in Bangladesh reached 3,184 on Monday with the death of 30 more patients in the last 24 hours. Besides, 1,356 new cases were detected during the period testing only 4,249 samples, bringing the total cases to 2,42,102. Additional Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Dr Nasima Sultana came up with the disclosure at the daily health bulletin. She also revealed that 1,066  patients have made full recovery from Covid-19, raising the total recoveries to 1,37,905. Global coronavirus situation Total Covid-19 cases across the globe reached 18,082,616 with 689,428 deaths on Monday, according to John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Coronavirus was first reported in China’s Wuhan province in December last year and later it spread across the globe rapidly. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus a pandemic on March 11. Source: UNB Read In Bangla Version AH

Under-five mortality rate in Bangladesh is 32 per 1000 live births, according to new mortality estimates released by Unicef, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Division and the World Bank Group on Thursday. It has significantly reduced from 532,000 deaths in 1990 to 100,000 in 2017. Among them, little over half are newborns, who die in the first 28 days of their live, according to a report UNB received from New York. The government has taken multiple initiatives to address the gaps in newborn care, such as launching National Newborn Campaign to promote affordable interventions at community and household level for essential newborn care for all newborns.  In early September 2018, the government launched the National Newborn Health Program that brings focus on the critical interventions to be scaled up in all 64 districts of the country.  To save the lives of the sick and low-birth weight babies, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) is partnering with Unicef and partners to establish Special Newborn Care Units (SCANUs) in Bangladesh.  The SCANUs provide specialized care for the sick and low-birth weight babies who are most vulnerable and bear the highest mortality risk.  An estimated 6.3 million under-15 children died in 2017 or 1 every 5 seconds, mostly of preventable causes, according to the new mortality estimates. The vast majority of these deaths – 5.4 million – occur in the first five years of life, with newborns accounting for around half of the deaths. “Without urgent action, 56 million children under five will die from now until 2030 – half of them newborns,” said Laurence Chandy, Unicef Director of Data, Research and Policy.  “We have made remarkable progress to save children since 1990, but millions are still dying because of who they are and where they are born. With simple solutions like medicines, clean water, electricity and vaccines, we can change that reality for every child.” Globally, in 2017, half of all deaths under five years of age took place in sub-Saharan Africa, and another 30 percent in Southern Asia. In sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 13 children died before their fifth birthday. In high-income countries, that number was 1 in 185.  “Millions of babies and children should not still be dying every year from lack of access to water, sanitation, proper nutrition or basic health services,” said Dr Princess Nono Simelela, Assistant Director-General for Family, Women and Children’s Health at WHO.  “We must prioritize providing universal access to quality health services for every child, particularly around the time of birth and through the early years, to give them the best possible chance to survive and thrive.”  Most under -5 children die due to preventable or treatable causes such as complications during birth, pneumonia, diarrhea, neonatal sepsis and malaria. By comparison, among children between 5 and 14 years of age, injuries become a more prominent cause of death, especially from drowning and road traffic.  Within this age group, regional differences also exist, with the risk of dying for a child from sub-Saharan Africa 15 times higher than in Europe. “More than six million children dying before their fifteenth birthday is a cost we simply can’t afford,” said Timothy Evans, Senior Director and Head of the Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice at the World Bank Group.  “Ending preventable deaths and investing in the health of young people is a basic foundation for building countries’ human capital, which will drive their future growth and prosperity.” For children everywhere, the most risky period of life is the first month. In 2017, 2.5 million newborns died in their first month.  A baby born in sub-Saharan Africa or in Southern Asia was nine times more likely to die in the first month than a baby born in a high-income country. And progress towards saving newborns has been slower than for other children under five years of age since 1990. Even within countries, disparities persist. Under-five mortality rates among children in rural areas are, on average, 50 percent higher than among children in urban areas. In addition, those born to uneducated mothers are more than twice are likely to die before turning five than those born to mothers with a secondary or higher education. Despite these challenges, fewer children are dying each year worldwide. The number of children dying under five has fallen dramatically from 12.6 million in 1990 to 5.4 million in 2017. The number of deaths in older children aged between 5 to 14 years dropped from 1.7 million to under a million in the same period. “This new report highlights the remarkable progress since 1990 in reducing mortality among children and young adolescents,” said UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin.  “Reducing inequality by assisting the most vulnerable newborns, children and mothers is essential for achieving the target of the Sustainable Development Goals on ending preventable childhood deaths and for ensuring that no one is left behind,” Zhenmin added. Source: UNB AH