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☆ ‘Discomfort May Increase’: Asia’s Heat Wave Scorches Hundreds of Millions
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Saif Hasnat | Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hundreds of millions of people in South and Southeast Asia were suffering on Monday from a punishing heat wave that has forced schools to close, disrupted agriculture, and raised the risk of heat strokes and other health complications. The weather across the region in April is generally hot, and comes before Asia’s annual summer monsoon, which dumps rain on parched soil. In Bangladesh, where schools and universities are closed this week, temperatures in some areas have soared above 107 degrees Fahrenheit, or 42 degrees Celsius. “Due to increasing moisture incursion, the discomfort may increase” over the next 72 hours, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said in a notice on Monday. In Dhaka, the capital, the humidity was 73 percent, and many areas in the country have experienced daily power outages.

Organizations: Bangladesh Meteorological Department Locations: South, Southeast Asia, Bangladesh, Dhaka

At least 43 people were killed and dozens were injured when a fire ripped through a shopping mall late Thursday night in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, officials said. “So far, we know that 43 have died,” Dr. Samanta Lal Sen, the health minister, told reporters outside a hospital where some of the injured were being treated. Some were being treated at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Mr. Sen said. The fire erupted at about 9:51 p.m. on the mall’s second floor, which features a popular biryani restaurant. It quickly spread to the rest of the seven-story building, fire officials said, ripping through a clothing store on the third floor.

Persons: ” Dr, Samanta Lal Sen, Sen Organizations: Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Mr Locations: Dhaka

☆ Workers Making Clothes for Top Brands Reject a Proposal: $113 a Month
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Saif Hasnat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Days after violent protests over wages as low as $80 a month, officials in Bangladesh said on Wednesday they would increase the pay of garment workers by about 50 percent, a concession that appeared to fall short of satisfying thousands of workers who produce clothes for brands like H&M and Zara. Over the weekend, at least two garment factory workers were killed and several police officers wounded in Gazipur District, north of Dhaka, as protesters ratcheted up their longstanding demand for higher wages. The garment industry accounts for more than 80 percent of Bangladesh’s annual exports of about $55 billion, and it is seen as the key driver of Bangladesh’s economic growth in recent decades. More than 50 percent of employees in the industry are women, in a region with abysmal female participation in the formal work force. They are calling for an increase to about $200 a month to meet the rising cost of living.

Persons: Covid lockdowns Locations: Bangladesh, Zara, Gazipur District, Dhaka

☆ Train Collision in Bangladesh Leaves at Least 17 Dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Saif Hasnat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

At least 17 people were killed when a passenger train and a freight train collided outside Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, during a busy holiday season. The accident, in the Kishoreganj district, 45 miles east of the capital, also left over 100 others wounded, officials said. Sadiqur Rahman Sabuj, the chief administrative officer of Bhairab, where the accident occurred, said the passenger train was trying to switch tracks en route to Dhaka when a freight train headed in the opposite direction struck its last two coaches, which were packed with 300 passengers. “As Bangladesh is celebrating Durga Puja, many are moving from city to city,” Mr. Sadiqur said, referring to a Hindu festival. “The death toll may rise further.”

Persons: Sadiqur Rahman Sabuj, Durga Puja, Mr, Sadiqur, ” Organizations: “ Locations: Bangladesh’s, Dhaka, Kishoreganj, Bangladesh

A deadly outbreak of dengue fever in Bangladesh is the most severe in the country’s history, the authorities said, with fast-spreading infections from rural areas further straining the already overwhelmed hospital system in the capital, Dhaka. On Monday, the Bangladeshi authorities said they had recorded 909 dengue-related deaths this year through Sunday, compared with 281 in all of 2022. “Hundreds of patients are also coming to Dhaka from outside,” said Dr. Khalilur Rahman, a director at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and hospital. He said some hospitals in Dhaka were facing shortages of intravenous fluids used to rehydrate patients with dengue, and pharmacists were increasing their prices as demand for IV treatment rises, adding to the severity of the crisis.

Persons: ”, Khalilur Rahman Organizations: Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Locations: Bangladesh, Dhaka, “

☆ Cyclone Mocha Leaves Thousands Homeless in Bangladesh and Myanmar
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Saif Hasnat | Suhasini Raj | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Hundreds of thousands of people began repairing or rebuilding their homes and livelihoods on Monday after a deadly cyclone hit Myanmar and Bangladesh over the weekend. The storm, named Mocha, killed several people in Myanmar, though there were conflicting accounts from leaders as to exactly how many. The Myanmar government said the number was five, but the shadow government, called the National Unity Government, which may have more sources in the country’s remote conflict zones, said it was 18. Though the damage from the powerful storm was not as dire as predicted, there were still hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees left homeless, along with reports of people stranded and having to make their way through storm debris to get home. The damage in Myanmar was mostly confined to Rakhine State, Chin State and other areas in the west, according to officials and aid workers.

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