Economy
Bangladesh welcomes Brunei Sultan Bolkiah
The red carpet was rolled out as Brunei Darussalam Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah arrived on a 3-day tour to Bangladesh today, 15 October.
A special VVIP flight landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport carrying the Brunei Sultan and his entourage members at 2:24 pm for his maiden Bangladesh visit.
President M Abdul Hamid along with senior ministers and high civil and military authorities received the Brunei Sultan, encouraged by his royal family members, ministers of various ministries of Brunei and high-level government authorities.
A 21-gun salute heralded his arrival as he disembarked from the aircraft when Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid welcomed him with a bouquet.
A combined contingent of Bangladesh army, navy and air force presented him with a guard of honor while Sultan Waddaulah along with Bangladesh President stood on a makeshift dais when the military band played national anthems of both countries as well.
The Brunei Sultan also inspected the guard and then Bangladesh President introduced him to Bangladeshi dignitaries who were present at the reception line.
Sultan Waddaulah also introduced President Hamid to the delegation, accompanying him.
The Brunei Sultan is making his maiden tour to Dhaka at the invitation of Bangladesh President Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Brunei is an independent Islamic sultanate on the northern coast of Borneo Island in Southeast Asia and entirely surrounded by Malaysia.
Brunei gained its independence as a British protectorate on 1 January 1984 but is being led by Hassanal Bolkiah since 1967.
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, most of the members of the visiting delegation were seen to follow health guidelines, including wearing masks and maintaining social distancing at the time of the reception.
Later, Brunei Sultan was escorted to the National Martyrs’ Memorial at Savar on the outskirts of the capital in a motorcade from the airport. He will place a wreath at the Memorial in memory of Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War martyrs, plant a sapling and sign the “Visitors’ Book” there.
The Sultan is scheduled to stay at Hotel InterContinental in Dhaka, according to the program schedule.
Sultan Waddaulah to hold separate meetings with the President and the Prime Minister during his visit.
He is scheduled to return to Brunei on October 17.
This year, the Islamic Foundation has set the Fitra minimum at Tk 115 with a maximum of Tk 2, 640.
The National Committee on Fitra set the donation rate at a meeting on Sunday (2n April) led by committee President Hafez Mufti Mohammad Ruhul Amin, also the khatib of the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque.
The amount of Fitra for all Muslim people has been determined based on the market prices of flour, dates, raisin, cheese, and some other essential items.
Fitra, also known as Zakat al-fitr, is the compulsory charity that Muslims have to give to the poor before the Eid day prayer congregation or Jamaat. Without giving these alms, their Eid is considered incomplete.
Dhaka’s air quality is ‘unhealthy’ on Sunday morning (2nd April).
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 125 at 9 am, Dhaka ranked 10th in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.
Thailand’s Chiang Mai, China’s Beijing and India’s Delhi occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 254, 166 and 160, respectively.
An AQI between 101 and 150 is considered ‘unhealthy’, AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be ‘very unhealthy’, while a reading of 301+ is considered ‘hazardous’, posing serious health risks to residents.
Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
The price of gold in the bangladesh national market has been set at yet another all-time high, just below Tk 1 lakh per bhori.
Bangladesh Jeweller’s Association (BAJUS) announced a hike of Tk 1,516 for 22-carat gold, setting the new price at Tk99,144 per bhori, effective from Sunday (2nd April).
BAJUS in a press release on Saturday said the price of 22-carat gold with hallmark would be sold at Tk 99,144. Apart from this, the price of hallmarked 21-carat gold bars will be Tk 94,653, 18 carats will be Tk 81,123 and traditional gold bars will be Tk 67,593.
However, the price of another precious metal, silver, was left unchanged.
On Saturday, a bhori of 22-carat gold ornaments was sold at Tk 97,628, 21-carat at Tk 93,195, 18-carat at Tk 79,898 and traditional style gold ornaments are being sold at Tk 66,543.
In other words, from tomorrow, 22-carat gold bars will be increased by Tk 1,516, 21-carat by Tk 1,458, 18-carat by Tk 1,225, and traditional gold bars by Tk 1,500.
