Bangladesh ferry fire: Dozens killed near Jhalakathi - BBC News

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At least 37 people have been killed and about 100 others injured after a packed ferry caught fire in southern Bangladesh, local officials say.

The blaze on the three-decked vessel started mid-river near the town of Jhalakathi as it sailed from the capital Dhaka to the town of Barguna.

Some of the victims drowned after jumping into the water.

The number of casualties in Friday's disaster is likely to increase as many of the passengers have severe burns.

As many as 500 people were reportedly on board the vessel.

The fire is believed to have started in the engine room and quickly spread as the ferry travelled along the Sugandha river in the early hours, fire services official Kamal Hossain Bhuiyan told local media.

The blaze reportedly continued for hours.

One passenger who survived, an elderly grandmother, told AFP news agency most people had been sleeping when the fire broke out.

"We were sleeping on a mat on the ground floor deck," she said. My nine-year-old grandson, Nayeem, was with me, he jumped into the river. I don't know what happened to him."

Ferry risks left unaddressed for years

By Akbar Hossain, BBC News, Dhaka

It is common to see ferries capsize in Bangladesh. Passengers are loaded on to poorly maintained boats, with poorly trained crews, often way above the vessel's rated capacity. Hundreds have drowned in the country's rivers in the past 10 years. But the fire that engulfed this ferry adds a new layer of horror to the story.

The fire is thought to have started in the engine room, spreading rapidly, and sprinklers or other safety measures may have had little effect.

This and other tragedies stem from a failure of enforcement. Operators are rarely punished and so defective ferries continue to carry hundreds of passengers every day.

Nearly 30% of Bangladesh's 170 million people commute through river routes. But they are mostly poor Bangladeshis, and the government has not made it a priority to tackle lax safety standards. Ferry disasters are so common that there is little international outcry to pressure them, and it is widely believed that the ferry owners are politically powerful.

The result is hundreds of poorer Bangladeshis risking their lives just to make it to work.

A special committee has been set up to investigate the incident, according to reports.

Barguna is about 250km (155 miles) south of Dhaka.

Ferry accidents are not uncommon in Bangladesh, with incidents blamed on overcrowding, and poor maintenance and safety standards in the country's many shipyards. Vessels often sink in bad weather.

In June 2020, dozens of people were killed when a boat carrying about 50 people capsized near Dhaka.

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2021-12-24 09:47:24Z
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NORAD Santa Tracker 2021 LIVE: Follow Father Christmas and his reindeer on their journey today - Daily Record

With just one sleep until Christmas, your household will likely be bursting with excitement.

St Nick is due to pop down chimneys and use his magic keys on doors across Scotland tonight - and now you can track him as he heads off on his journey.

Before your little ones head off to bed for the night you can let them see where Santa is on his route via the Norad Track Santa app.

The site lets you see where Father Christmas is on his epic 41-million mile route across the globe.

Parents can login any time from around 11am GMT on Christmas Eve to track Santa and his reindeer and count how many gifts he's delivered so far.

You can track where Santa is and how many presents have been delivered (Image: NORAD)

Santa will set off on his journey from his home in the North Pole, before heading to his first stop at the Republic of Kiribati in the central Pacific Ocean visiting 390,000 homes per minute - that’s 6.424 per second.

Then he'll head off to New Zealand and Australia to pop presents under the trees of boys and girls there before zooming over to Asia and Africa and then finally arriving in the UK.

After dishing out all his gifts and filling up on mince pies, cookies, milk and whisky, he will then head across the Atlantic, with his reindeer; Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen.

More than nine million people are set to watch him make his amazing journey which will end in Canada, the USA and Mexico and finally South America.

Before your little one heads off to bed for the night you can let them see where Santa is on his route via the Norad Track Santa app. (Image: Getty Images/Tetra images RF)

The NORAD Santa tracker began in 1955 in America, after an advertisement misprinted the telephone number for children to call Santa.

NORAD stands for the North American Aerospace Defense Command. As a pretty important organisation, they are responsible for keeping tabs on all US and Canadian airspace.

Instead of reaching Santa, the misprinted phone number put youngsters through to NORAD.

The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole.

(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Children who called were given updates on his location, and the tracker was born. Before it became an interactive tool, children could find out where Santa was by calling the NORAD hotline in December.

On Christmas Eve click here to watch as Santa begins his journey at the North Pole - or download the NORAD Track Santa app to track him.

If you have Amazon Alexa, you can ask for Santa's location through the NORAD Tracks Santa skill for at any time on December 24.

Latest parenting news

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2021-12-24 04:30:00Z
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Russia doesn't want conflict with Ukraine but the West must provide 'unconditional security guarantees', Putin says - Sky News

Russia doesn't want conflict with Ukraine but Western powers must provide Moscow with "unconditional security guarantees", President Vladimir Putin has said.

Speaking at his annual news conference, Mr Putin said the US has missiles at "Russia's doorstep" and the "ball is in the West's court" in relation to security in the region.

The conference comes as Western powers fear Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine as early as the beginning of next year, which President Putin has again denied.

The Russian leader has welcomed talks with the US that are set to start in Geneva next month, but warned the discussions about Moscow's demands need to produce quick results.

"We want to ensure our security," Mr Putin said. "We put it straight: there must be no further expansion of NATO eastward."

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Asked by Sky's Moscow correspondent Diana Magnay whether he can guarantee Russia won't invade Ukraine or any other sovereign country, or whether this depends on the negotiations, Mr Putin said: "Our actions will depend not on the negotiation process but on the unconditional security of Russia. Today and towards the historical perspective.

"In this sense we have made it clear that any further NATO movement to the East is unacceptable, there is nothing unclear about this.

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"We are not deploying our missiles over at the border of the US. On the other hand, the US is deploying its missiles close to our home, on the doorstep of our house."

Image: Vladimir Putin has been speaking about the West's behaviour on the Russian border

Putin says NATO 'fooled' Russia and keeps expanding

The Russian president continued: "What would the Americans think if we decided to come to the border between Canada and the United States, or Mexico, and simply deploy our own missiles over there?"

Mr Putin later said that NATO had "fooled" Russia by saying it would not expand eastwards across Europe in an agreement made in 1990.

He said since then the alliance had carried out "five waves of expansion" that went against that guarantee.

Waving his finger, Mr Putin said: "And you keep demanding some guarantees from us. You must give us the guarantees. It is up to you, and you must do this immediately, right now, instead of talking about this for decades.

"Using this small talk, soft talk, about the need for guarantees of the security for everyone. We are not threatening anybody."

Russia-Ukraine border: What is happening and will tensions lead to war?

Image: The Russian president was questioned by Sky's Diana Magnay

Last week, Moscow submitted draft security documents demanding that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back the alliance's military deployments in central and Eastern Europe.

A key principle of the NATO alliance is that membership is open to any qualifying country. The US and its allies have said they will not give Russia the kind of guarantee on Ukraine that Mr Putin wants.

Moscow presented its demand amid soaring tensions over a Russian troop build-up near Ukraine that has stoked fears of a possible invasion. US President Joe Biden warned Mr Putin in a conference call earlier this month that Russia will face "severe consequences" if it attacks Ukraine.

Russian leader says West has supported terrorists

Asked by Diana Magnay what he thinks the West doesn't understand about Russia, Mr Putin replied: "Sometimes it seems to me that we live in two different worlds.

"You say you will not expand and then you keep expanding. You say we will have equal guarantees for everyone on a number of international agreements, and then we see there is no equality or no equal security."

Mr Putin went on to say that in the 1990s, the Soviet Union did everything it could to build good relations with the United States and the West.

He added that CIA advisers were able to visit Russian military nuclear sites.

Mr Putin continued: "What else did you need? Why did you have to support the terrorists in the North Caucasus and use the terrorist organisations to reach your goals and break down the Russian federation?

"This is exactly what you were doing, and as a former director of the FSB I know that."

Analysis by Dominic Waghorn, diplomatic editor

It is unusual for Vladimir Putin to appear so animated. You might say he lost his cool. The question certainly got under his skin. But it also allowed him passionately to present his side of the argument over Ukraine.

He was asked to guarantee unconditionally if he would not invade Ukraine or any other country. He pointedly failed to do so.

"Our actions will not depend on negotiations they will depend on the unconditional compliance with the Russian security demands.

"We have made it clear that any further movement to the east is unacceptable."

Vladimir Putin wants a guarantee Ukraine will not be granted membership of NATO.

Today he cited a promise by then US Secretary of State James Baker to Mikhail Gorbachav in 1990 about NATO expansion.

"You are well aware that we said not an inch to the east. That was a NATO guarantee. We have seen five waves of NATO expansion."

NATO has made it clear any country has a sovereign right to join. The gulf between that position and Vladimir Putin’s is where lies the possibility of escalation and conflict.

Putin says Russia doesn't want conflict with Ukraine

The conference comes a day after Mr Putin threatened a "military-technical response" if Western countries continue with what he calls "unfriendly" actions over Ukraine.

Concerns are growing that Russia is planning to invade its neighbour Ukraine with thousands of troops gathering near the border.

Russia has denied it is preparing a military advance.

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2021-12-23 14:03:45Z
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Pillar of Shame: Hong Kong's Tiananmen Square statue removed - BBC News

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A famous statue at the University of Hong Kong marking the Tiananmen Square massacre was removed late on Wednesday.

The statue showed piled-up corpses to commemorate the hundreds - possibly thousands - of pro-democracy protesters killed by Chinese authorities in 1989.

It was one of the few remaining public memorials in Hong Kong commemorating the incident.

Its removal comes as Beijing has increasingly been cracking down on political dissent in Hong Kong.

The city used to be one of few places in China that allowed public commemoration of the Tiananmen Square protests - a highly sensitive topic in the country.

In 1989, Beijing's Tiananmen Square became the focus for demonstrations calling for greater political freedoms. Thousands of people camped for weeks in the square, but on 3 June the military moved in and troops opened fire.

• What were the Tiananmen Square protests about?

The Chinese government says 200 civilians and several dozen security personnel died. Other estimates have ranged from hundreds to as many as 10,000.

Reuters

The university had initially ordered the removal of the statue - called the Pillar of Shame - in October.

"The decision on the aged statue was based on external legal advice and risk assessment for the best interest of the university," it said in a statement on Thursday.

"The university is also very concerned about the potential safety issues resulting from the fragile statue."

The Chinese authorities have previously cited safety or public health concerns as reasons for preventing events such as vigils taking place on anniversaries of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

The first sign the statue was being taken down came late on Wednesday, when university officials fenced off the area with plastic sheeting.

Construction workers worked overnight behind plastic barriers to dismantle the 8m (26ft) copper statue. Security guards blocked reporters from approaching and tried to stop them from filming.

Like an affront to the city's identity

By Grace Tsoi, BBC World Service, Hong Kong

For decades, Hong Kong prided itself on being the "conscience of China" - the only place in Chinese territory that had not forgotten the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

Beijing had allowed the annual candlelight vigil commemorating the bloody incident, which also become part of Hong Kong's collective memory.

But under the national security law, the vigil organiser - the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China - was forced to disband, and many protest leaders were jailed. It is clear that Beijing will no longer tolerate any public display of defiance.

The monument had been standing on campus for more than two decades. Now, even it had to be dismantled and removed - in the dead of night.

There was the sound of cracking and drilling as the statue came down, but no one could see what was happening. To many, the abrupt removal felt like another affront to the city's identity.

The removed statue depicts a column of dozens of torn and twisted bodies with anguished faces, "to remind us of a shameful event which must never recur", according to its sculptor, Jens Galschiot.

The university said it would put the statue, which has been on display at the university's campus for 24 years, into storage.

Galschiot called the removal "really brutal" and that he would consider suing the authorities and demand compensation.

"This is a sculpture about dead people and [to] remember the dead people in Beijing in '89. So when you destroy that in this way then it's like going to a graveyard and destroying all the gravestones," he told the BBC's Newshour programme.

A student at the University of Hong Kong, 22-year-old Billy Kwok, told Reuters news agency the statue's removal was "really sad".

"It's really ironic... I don't think people would expect this [to] happen in the university," he said, adding that the building was supposed to be a place that supported "so-called freedom of expression or freedom of speech".

Why is its removal significant?

"[The statue] was one of the few remaining prominent, public memorials [of the] crackdown... and a reminder of Hong Kong's freer past," Dr Ian Chong, Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore, told the BBC.

"[Its removal] takes away yet another public focal point for commemorating of the massacre... [and] appears to signal that the Hong Kong and Beijing governments will no longer tolerate public displays of remembrance of the events surrounding 4 June."

The statue's removal comes on the heels of a poorly attended Hong Kong parliamentary election that saw pro-Beijing candidates sweep into power, the timing of which Dr Chong termed "symbolic".

Beijing also introduced a strict national security law last year that criminalises secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. Activists say the law is being used to suppress civil society, jail democracy campaigners and curb basic freedoms.

What were the Tiananmen Square protests?

International condemnation ensued after troops and tanks opened fire on protesters.

The incident is considered highly politically sensitive in the mainland and authorities ban even oblique references to the events of 4 June.

In 2020, Hong Kong authorities banned the annual vigil commemorating Tiananmen for the first time in 30 years, citing Covid restrictions - though activists have accused local officials of bowing to pressure from Beijing to muzzle pro-democracy expression.

In October, nine pro-democracy Hong Kong activists were sentenced to between six and 10 months in prison for taking part in the vigil.

Earlier this month, media tycoon Jimmy Lai also received 13 months in prison for participating in the same vigil.

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2021-12-23 09:38:47Z
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China locks down 13m to contain Covid outbreak ahead of Olympics - Financial Times

China has locked down 13m people in the central city of Xi’an, as the country battles to contain increasingly frequent coronavirus outbreaks that threaten its economic recovery in the run-up to the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The Xi’an city government ordered all residents to stay at home and designate one person per household to collect essential supplies once every other day. Non-essential travel outside the city has been banned, China’s official news agency Xinhua reported.

The lockdown is one of the most severe imposed in China since authorities restricted movement in Wuhan in early 2020 at the start of the global pandemic. It comes just months before the Beijing Winter Olympics, a politically sensitive event at which the government has banned visitors from overseas.

Leo Poon, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong, said that Chinese authorities wanted to ensure there was “zero risk” of the virus spreading across the country in the lead up to the Winter Games.

“They want to make sure the whole of China has minimal Covid activities,” he said. “With the presence of Omicron and Delta . . . this is going to be a challenge.”

China reported a total of 73 new local cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, 63 of which were found in Xi’an. The country has so far administered almost 2.7bn doses of Covid-19 vaccines, according to government figures.

China recently contained an outbreak in the eastern province of Zhejiang, and this month introduced restrictions in the port city of Tianjin, which borders Beijing, after it discovered the country’s first case of the Omicron variant.

The Delta variant remains far more common than the new Omicron strain in China.

Local authorities in Xi’an had “actively responded” to the epidemic situation and assured residents that markets for food and essential goods were “operating smoothly”, the city government said on Weibo following reports of panic buying on social media.

China is one of the last countries in the world still pursuing a zero-Covid policy. It has been successful at keeping cases to a minimum since its first outbreak was detected in Wuhan, with the imposition of swift lockdowns limiting total cases to just over 100,000 since the start of the pandemic, according to official figures.

But the emergence of more infectious variants in recent months has meant China has had to lock down more frequently and with greater severity, which has dragged on its economic recovery.

On Thursday, officials responsible for the Winter Olympic Games said that the number of athletes from around the world due to compete in the Games would lead to a “high probability” that Covid cases would occur.

That followed news on Wednesday that players from the National Hockey League in the US would not attend the Games to represent their countries owing to Covid-19 disruptions to the league.

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2021-12-23 06:23:04Z
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Spain to require masks outdoors amid Covid surge - BBC News

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Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced plans for mandatory face-coverings outside in response to a dramatic rise in Covid-19 infections.

The rule was dropped only six months ago, but Spain saw a record 49,823 cases on Tuesday.

The Omicron variant is spreading across Europe fast and the World Health Organization says the region is once again at the epicentre of the pandemic.

In Spain, the variant is believed to account for almost half of infections.

Mr Sánchez told regional leaders the mask measure would be put to ministers and signed into law before Christmas. He also announced an acceleration of the vaccine booster programme with greater involvement from the military.

Spain had a very successful vaccine rollout and during the autumn months it avoided the kind of strict measures imposed by other countries. But the Omicron variant has spread in a matter of days, and the incidence rate has jumped to 695 cases per 100,000 people which is higher than a year ago.

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Parents will be able to celebrate Christmas with their children. Spain has resisted, it has not given up and it is moving forward

Pedro Sánchez
Spanish Prime Minister

Last Christmas some Spanish regions sealed off their borders which limited travel. But, in parliament on Wednesday, the prime minister sought to reassure the public, saying: "Don't worry, families will be able to celebrate."

The WHO's Europe regional director, Hans Kluge, said the Omicron variant was already dominant in the UK, Denmark and Portugal and would likely become the continent's main variant "in a couple of weeks". Another 106,122 cases have been recorded in 24 hours in the UK.

Sweden has reported a 30% jump in Covid cases in the past week, and it has joined a growing number of EU countries requiring a negative test for travellers arriving there. The measure will take effect from 28 December. Finland announced a similar requirement on Tuesday night.

The head of Germany's Covid crisis team, Maj Gen Carsten Breuer said the new government's target of 30 million vaccinations by the end of December was close to being met, with 28 million doses already delivered. "Only giving the booster, only increasing vaccine protection gives us any chance of at least keeping the Omicron wave at bay," he told German media.

France began vaccinating children between the ages of five and 11 on Wednesday, but said boosters would not be offered to 12 to 15-year-olds for now.

Germany is among a number of European countries to introduce restrictions either side of the Christmas break. From 28 December private gatherings will be limited to 10 people and nightclubs will shut.

Austria is to start closing restaurants at 22:00 from Monday 27 December and it has recommended that people celebrate the new year on a small scale. The evening curfew is being used as a signal that it is "no time to celebrate", according to Chief Medical Officer Katharina Reich.

While Portugal has ordered bars and nightclubs to shut from Sunday, in Finland bars and restaurants will have to close at 18:00 from 28 December and have limited seating.

• Covid map: Where are cases the highest?
• How can I tell I have Omicron?
• Do vaccines work against Omicron?

The Netherlands has already brought in tighter restrictions, announcing a strict lockdown on Monday.

Omicron was first identified in southern Africa last month but has now spread around the globe. Data suggests it may be more infectious, but there is no evidence yet that it causes more serious illness.

The variant has been detected in at least 38 of the 53 countries in the WHO's European region - which includes Russia and Turkey - and is dominant in several, the organisation says.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned governments on Wednesday that no country could "boost its way out of the pandemic". Booster programmes would merely prolong the crisis, he said, because they were diverting supply to countries with high vaccine coverage and thus "giving the virus more opportunity to spread and mutate".

He added that WHO projections showed there would be enough doses to vaccinate "the entire global adult population and to give boosters to high-risk populations by the first quarter of 2022".

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2021-12-22 18:37:05Z
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Draghi says Europe lacks means to deter Russia over Ukraine - Financial Times

Italian prime minister Mario Draghi has admitted that Europe has few tools to deter Russia from a military confrontation with Ukraine, as tension mounts over Moscow’s intentions towards Kyiv.

Speaking at an end-of-year press conference in Rome, Draghi drew attention to the EU’s lack of its own military force and also pointed to weaknesses in any sanctions that might be directed at the Kremlin.

“Do we have missiles, ships, cannons, armies? At the moment we don’t and at the moment Nato has different strategic priorities.”

Draghi said economic sanctions would be the only possible means of “deterrence” but Europe was not in a position to give up Russian gas supplies. “It would not be the right moment,” he said.

The EU is already feeling the pinch from a surge in energy prices, partly caused by unusually low supplies of Russian gas ahead of the winter.

Moscow has about 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine, sparking western fears that Russia is planning a possible invasion. Russian president Vladimir Putin has spoken of “serious concern” at Nato’s own deployments and warned of “appropriate” military action if the western military alliance continues to expand toward Russia’s borders

This month Russia published security demands, including a call for Nato to rule out membership for Ukraine and seek Moscow’s permission for deployments in former Soviet countries that are now members.

The US has said some of the demands are unacceptable but plans bilateral talks in January with Moscow.

Draghi said Europe needed to maintain engagement with Putin, who has already talked this week to President Emmanuel Macron of France and to Olaf Scholz, the new German chancellor.

In Wednesday’s press conference, Draghi also hinted his stint as Italy’s prime minister may be coming to an end, saying his administration had hit the targets it committed to with the EU.

“Our work can go on regardless of who is at the helm,” Draghi told the news conference in Rome. “As long as there is a wide convergence between parties as there is now.”

The former European Central Bank president is widely seen as a leading candidate to take over as Italy’s president from Sergio Mattarella, whose seven-year term is due to end early in 2022. Draghi’s statements on Tuesday were the strongest signal he has given so far about his willingness to assume the presidency if lawmakers choose him.

The succession is being closely watched outside Italy because of Draghi’s role at the head of a national unity government that has stabilised the economy and shored up investor confidence.

If he were to move to the presidency, some observers fear a period of renewed political turmoil at a time when Italy is trying to recover from the Covid pandemic, with hundreds of billions of euros of EU grants and loans at stake.

The Italian constitution does not envisage a second term for a sitting president, although this has happened before at the height of the European debt crisis. Mattarella, whose popularity has increased significantly over the course of the past four years, has publicly ruled out the possibility that he will stay on for another term.

“This government has created the conditions for the work to continue, regardless of who is [at the helm],” Draghi told the press conference. “My personal destiny does not matter. I have no particular ambitions, I am a grandfather at the service of public institutions,” he added.

Draghi’s election to the presidency would potentially trigger early elections unless there is agreement on a caretaker government to continue until the expected end of the parliamentary term in 2023. This option appears to be preferred by Draghi.

“It is essential for the [parliamentary term] to continue in order to fight the pandemic, boost growth and implement the EU recovery fund,” said Draghi.

The EU funds depend on Italy hitting reform commitments, which Draghi said were being met this year.

Italy’s president is chosen through a secret parliamentary ballot for which parties usually negotiate nominations, while candidates do not declare themselves.

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2021-12-22 17:35:50Z
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