Bangladesh sees spike in boat sales as residents struggle to stay afloat

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Several boats line a 100-year-old traditional market which is held every Friday in Bangladesh's southern district of Pirojpur. Located along the banks of the Sandhya river in Atghar, Pirojpur, the market caters to the demand of thousands of residents in the region. (AN Photo by Shehab Sumon)
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Updated 23 August 2020
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Bangladesh sees spike in boat sales as residents struggle to stay afloat

  • Incessant rains during monsoon season force many to flock to largest boat market in Pirojpur district
  • Average length of vessel between 7 to 8 feet, while price varies from $20 to $60

DHAKA: For a few hours every Friday, thousands of residents throng to a 100-year-old boat market in Bangladesh’s Pirojpur district, as the monsoon continues to inundate low-lying areas in the country and water levels rise from the incessant rain, forcing many to reimagine conveyance options.

The vessels at the Atghar boat market — the largest in the country and located along the banks of the Sandhya River in the Pirojpur district, nearly 264 km away from the capital Dhaka — serve as the only medium of travel for residents in the southern parts of the country, including in the Pirojpur, Jhalkathi and Barishal districts.

“The boat is part and parcel of our lives. Most of the houses in the low-lying areas go underwater during the rainy season, and boats are the only method of conveyance,” Mohammed Dalil Uddin, 72, told Arab News while scouring the Atghar boat market for a new vessel. 

Bangladesh is a riverine country, surrounded by the Padma, Jamuna, Dhaleswari, Ichhamati and Kaliganga rivers, which become problematic during the monsoon season when floodwaters disrupt life and communication for thousands of villagers.

And while each family buys at least one boat, others visit the market in keeping with tradition.

“I first visited this boat market with my grandfather when I was only 7 years old. Now, it’s become a tradition,” Dalil Uddin said.

Another buyer, Kamran Ahmed, from the Jhalkathi district, said he is in dire need of a new boat as “the existing one has become old and unusable.”

“I need to carry cattle feed from a long distance during monsoon season since the grazing fields in my village went under river water. Besides, I need to use this small boat for harvesting my guava from the orchard,” Ahmed, 59, told Arab News.

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The boat market operates on goodwill; traders cater to the needs of the customers by crafting boats that are long-lasting and reasonably priced.

The average vessel length is between 7 to 8 feet, while the prices vary from $20 to $60, depending on the quality and size of the boats.

“We can provide the boats at a cheaper rate since wood is readily available in this part of the country. Besides, this wood tree has no other use, and we can’t use it for making furniture,” Ramesh Saha, 62, a trader at the boat market, told Arab News.

He added that for a majority of the traders, work involves managing a family business that has been passed down from one generation to another.

“My father used to sell boats in this market. Now I am running the family business, and my son is also assisting me,” Saha said. 

He is one of nearly 100 families from the nearby villages of Muktahar, Chami, Boldia, Inderhaat, Boitha Kata, Dubi and Kathali who specialize in the craft of boatmaking, which takes an average of “one to two days per vessel to make.”

“Sometimes, it takes a little longer, depending on how large the boat is,” Akbar Hossain, 54, a trader, told Arab News, adding that it is vital for these boats to be “very light” as it makes them easy to stay afloat. 

And while the traders usually sell around 100 to 200 boats every Friday, Hossain said the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has impacted these numbers.

“People are not coming out of their homes unless it’s an emergency,” he said. 

The market also attracts several tourists from various parts of the country. 

 “It’s amazing to witness hundreds of boats kept in a row on the river water and streets, waiting to be sold,” Raihan Faruk, a private university student from Dhaka, told Arab News.  

“For me, it’s the experience of a lifetime. Once I return to Dhaka, I will tell my friends to visit this market too,” he added.


Nigeria says jailed 44 for terrorism financing

Updated 6 sec ago
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Nigeria says jailed 44 for terrorism financing

  • Counterterrorism agency says it has now secured a total of 785 convictions involving terrorism-related offenses
  • Nigeria is listed as a “gray list country” by world monitors due to deficiencies in preventing money laundering and terrorism financing

 

KANO, Nigeria: Nigeria on Saturday slapped 44 Boko Haram jihadists with jail terms of up to 30 years for funding terrorist activities, a spokesman for a counterterrorism agency said.
The convicted were among 54 suspects arraigned in four specially-constituted civilian courts set up at a military base in the town of Kainji in central Niger state, Abu Michael, a spokesman for Nigeria’s counterterrorism center said in a statement.
On Wednesday, Nigeria resumed trials of the suspects seven years after it suspended prosecution of over 1,000 people suspected of ties with the jihadist group that has been waging an insurgency since 2009 to establish a caliphate.
“The verdicts delivered from the trials resulted in prison sentences ranging from 10 to 30 years, all to be served with hard labor,” Michael said.
“With the latest convictions, Nigeria has now secured a total of 785 cases involving terrorism financing and other terrorism-related offenses,” said the statement.
The trial of the remaining 10 cases was adjourned to a later date, he said.
Nigeria is listed as a “grey list country” by international monitors alongside South Sudan, South Africa, Monaco and Croatia due to deficiencies in preventing money laundering and terrorism financing.
The Nigerian military’s 16-year campaign to crush the jihadists in the northeast has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes, according to the United Nations.
The violence has also spilt over into neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
In October 2017, Nigeria began mass trials of the Islamist insurgents, more than eight years after the start of the violence.
That phase of the trials, which lasted five months, saw the convictions of 200 jihadist fighters with sentencing ranging from “death penalty and life imprisonment to prison terms of 20 to 70 years,” Michael said.
The offenses for the convictions included attacks on women and children, the destruction of religious sites, the killing of civilians, and the abduction of women and children.
Human rights groups accused the military of arbitrarily arresting thousands of civilians, with many being held for years without access to lawyers or being brought to court.
 


A look at the countries that received Trump’s tariff letters

Updated 13 July 2025
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A look at the countries that received Trump’s tariff letters

  • Nearly every country has faced a minimum 10 percent levy on goods entering the US since April, on top of other levies on specific products like steel and automobiles. And future escalation is still possible

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has sent letters this week outlining higher tariffs countries will face if they don’t make trade deals with the US by Aug. 1.
Some mirror the so-called “reciprocal” rates Trump unveiled against dozens of trading partners in April — the bulk of which were later postponed just hours after taking effect. But many are higher or lower than those previously announced amounts.
So far, Trump has warned the European Union and 24 nations, including major trading partners like South Korea and Japan, that steeper tariffs will be imposed starting Aug. 1.
Nearly all of these letters took the same general tone with the exception of Brazil, Canada, the EU and Mexico, which included more specifics about Trump’s issues with those countries.
Nearly every country has faced a minimum 10 percent levy on goods entering the US since April, on top of other levies on specific products like steel and automobiles. And future escalation is still possible. In his letters, which were posted on Truth Social, Trump warned countries that they would face even higher tariffs if they retaliated by increasing their own import taxes.
Here’s a look at the countries that have gotten tariff letters so far — and where things stand now:
Brazil
Tariff rate: 50 percent starting Aug. 1. Brazil wasn’t threatened with an elevated “reciprocal” rate in April — but, like other countries, has faced Trump’s 10 percent baseline over the last three months.
Key exports to the US: Petroleum, iron products, coffee and fruit juice.
Response: In a forceful response, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Trump’s tariffs would trigger the country’s economic reciprocity law — which allows trade, investment and intellectual property agreements to be suspended against countries that harm Brazil’s competitiveness. He also noted that the US has had a trade surplus of more than $410 billion with Brazil over the past 15 years.
Myanmar
Tariff rate: 40 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 44 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Clothing, leather goods and seafood
Response: Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, the spokesperson for Myanmar’s military government said it will follow up with negotiations.
Laos
Tariff rate: 40 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 48 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Shoes with textile uppers, wood furniture, electronic components and optical fiber
Cambodia
Tariff rate: 36 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 49 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Textiles, clothing, shoes and bicycles
Response: Cambodia’s chief negotiator, Sun Chanthol, said the country successfully got the tariff dropped from the 49 percent Trump announced in April to 36 percent and is ready to hold a new round of negotiations. He appealed to investors, especially factory owners, and the country’s nearly 1 million garment workers not to panic about the tariff rate announced Monday.
Thailand
Tariff rate: 36 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s the same rate that was announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Computer parts, rubber products and gemstones
Response: Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said Thailand will continue to push for tariff negotiations with the United States. Thailand on Sunday submitted a new proposal that includes opening the Thai market for more American agricultural and industrial products and increasing imports of energy and aircraft.
Bangladesh
Tariff rate: 35 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 37 percent announced in April.
Key export to the US: Clothing
Response: Bangladesh’s finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed said Bangladesh hopes to negotiate for a better outcome. There are concerns that additional tariffs would make Bangladesh’s garment exports less competitive with countries like Vietnam and India.
Canada
Tariff rate: 35 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 25 percent imposed earlier this year on goods that don’t comply with a North American trade agreement covering the US, Canada and Mexico. Some of Canada’s top exports to the US are subject to different industry-specific tariffs.
Key exports to the US: Oil and petroleum products, cars and trucks
Response: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on X early Friday that the government will continue to work toward a trade deal by the new Aug. 1 deadline.
Serbia
Tariff rate: 35 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 37 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Software and IT services; car tires
Indonesia
Tariff rate: 32 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s the same rate that was announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Palm oil, cocoa butter and semiconductors
Algeria
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s the same rate that was announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Petroleum, cement and iron products
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 35 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Weapons and ammunition
The European Union
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 20 percent announced in April but less than the 50 percent Trump later threatened.
Key exports to the US: Pharmaceuticals, cars, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments, and wine and spirits.
Iraq
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 39 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Crude oil and petroleum products
Response: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the tariffs would disrupt essential supply chains “to the detriment of businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic.” She said the EU remains ready to continue working toward an agreement but will take necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including countermeasures if required.
Libya
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 31 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Petroleum products
Mexico
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 25 percent imposed earlier this year on goods that don’t comply with the free trade agreement covering the US, Mexico and Canada. Some of Mexico’s top exports to the US are subject to other sector-specific tariffs.
Key exports to the US: Cars, motor vehicle parts and accessories, crude oil, delivery trucks, computers, agricultural products
South Africa
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s the same rate that was announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Platinum, diamonds, vehicles and auto parts
Response: The office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement that the tariff rates announced by Trump mischaracterized the trade relationship with the US, but it would “continue with its diplomatic efforts toward a more balanced and mutually beneficial trade relationship with the United States” after having proposed a trade framework on May 20.
Sri Lanka
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 44 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Clothing and rubber products
Brunei
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 24 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Mineral fuels and machinery equipment
Moldova
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 31 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Fruit juice, wine, clothing and plastic products
Japan
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 24 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Autos, auto parts, electronic
Response: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called the tariff “extremely regrettable” but said he was determined to continue negotiating.
Kazakhstan
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 27 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Oil, uranium, ferroalloys and silver
Malaysia
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 24 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Electronics and electrical products
Response: Malaysia’s government said it will pursue talks with the US A cabinet meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.
South Korea
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s the same rate that was announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Vehicles, machinery and electronics
Response: South Korea’s Trade Ministry said early Tuesday that it will accelerate negotiations with the United States to achieve a deal before the 25 percent tax goes into effect.
Tunisia
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 28 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Animal and vegetable fats, clothing, fruit and nuts
Philippines
Tariff rate: 20 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 17 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Electronics and machinery, clothing and gold

 


North Korean leader Kim reaffirms support for Russia on Ukraine, KCNA says

Updated 13 July 2025
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North Korean leader Kim reaffirms support for Russia on Ukraine, KCNA says

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed Pyongyang’s “unconditional support” for all actions taken by the Russian leadership to fundamentally resolve the Ukraine situation, the North’s state media reported on Sunday.
Kim made the comment during his meeting with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, state news agency KCNA said.


Unhealthy smoke from Canadian wildfires blankets the Upper Midwest when people want to be outside

Updated 13 July 2025
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Unhealthy smoke from Canadian wildfires blankets the Upper Midwest when people want to be outside

BISMARCK, N.D.: Much of the Upper Midwest on Saturday was dealing with swaths of unhealthy air because of drifting smoke from Canadian wildfires, covering the northern region of the US at a time when people want to be enjoying lakes, trails and the great outdoors.
Most of Minnesota and parts of Montana, North Dakota and Wisconsin were ranked “unhealthy” for air quality on a US Environmental Protection Agency map. Part of North Dakota that is home to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and other tourist attractions was ranked “very unhealthy,” some of the worst air quality in the nation.
In Minnesota, “If you have a nice pork loin you can hang from a tree, it’ll turn into ham,” quipped Al Chirpich, owner of the Hideaway Resort near Detroit Lakes, where people come to enjoy tree-lined Island Lake for fishing and other water activities.
Normally there would be boats and jet skis all over, but on Saturday he couldn’t see a boat on the lake, where the smoke impaired visibility and curtailed his camper business. None of his 18 RV sites was occupied. His seven rental cabins drew a handful of customers.
“I suspect when the weather clears, we’ll be swamped again. Fourth of July, I had probably 20 boats here lined up at my docks, and today my boat is the only one,” Chirpich said.
The conditions started Friday, dragging smoke from the Canadian wildfires down to the surface, said National Weather Service Meteorologist Jennifer Ritterling, in Grand Forks. Periods of bad air quality are expected to last through the weekend in the region, she said.
Limiting time outdoors, keeping windows closed and running air purifiers are good ideas for people with lung conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and even healthy people, Ritterling said.
“Our summers up here are fairly short and so everyone wants to get out and enjoy them, and it’s a little frustrating when there’s this smoke in the air,” she said.
Fires in Canada prompt state of emergency for some
All of Manitoba is under a state of emergency because of the wildfires, which have led to 12,600 people evacuating their homes in the province. The fires in the central Canadian province have burned over 3,861 square miles , the most land burned in 30 years of electronic record-keeping.
Under 1,000 people have evacuated their homes in Saskatchewan, where wildfires also continue to burn.
North Rim in Grand Canyon still closed
In Arizona, the North Rim in Grand Canyon National Park is still closed because of a 2.3 square-mile  wildfire and another fire nearby on Bureau of Land Management land that has burned nearly 17 square miles .
More than 200 firefighters and support personnel worked to halt the uncontained fire Saturday as it burned across a high-altitude plateau between the communities of Lonesome, White Sage and Jacob Lake.
In Colorado, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park remains closed because of a 4.4-square-mile  wildfire burning on the South Rim of the park, known for its dramatic, steep cliffs. A few miles from the fire, an evacuation was ordered for the community of Bostwick Park, and a nearby highway also was shut.
The fires in and near both national parks led to evacuations of hundreds of people.
Chirpich, the Minnesota resort owner, said he has plans to go to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park on Thursday and is “a bit pensive about how that’s going to be there.”
“I’m going to leave one smokehouse for another, I guess,” he said.


US ends case against doctor over alleged Covid vaccine scheme

Updated 13 July 2025
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US ends case against doctor over alleged Covid vaccine scheme

WASHINGTON: US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Saturday she had ordered charges to be dropped against a doctor accused of destroying Covid-19 jabs and issuing fake vaccination certificates.
The abrupt halt to proceedings comes just days after the trial commenced, and is the latest boost to the vaccine-skeptic movement from President Donald Trump’s administration.
Michael Kirk Moore, a plastic surgeon in the western state of Utah, was charged by the Department of Justice in 2023 alongside his clinic and three others for “running a scheme” to defraud the government.
He was accused of destroying or disposing of over $28,000 worth of government-provided Covid vaccines and handing out at least 1,937 false vaccine record cards in exchange for payment.
Moore, who faced decades behind bars, was also accused of administering a saline solution to children — at the behest of their parents — so that they would think they had been vaccinated against Covid.
Moore’s trial began this week at a federal court in Salt Lake City.
But on Tuesday, Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Trump’s most vocal hard-right supporters, said she had written to Bondi calling for charges against Moore to be dropped.
“Dr. Moore gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so. He did not deserve the years in prison he was facing. It ends today,” Bondi wrote on X.
Bondi’s decision also notably comes as she faces fire from right-wing activists over her handling of a probe into the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
She thanked Greene and Utah Senator Mike Lee, another hard-right lawmaker, for their advocacy for dropping charges against Moore.
The Covid-19 pandemic sparked fierce political division in the US between those who supported lockdowns and vaccination drives, and those who considered the measures as restrictions on freedom.
Trump, himself vaccinated against Covid-19, has appointed as his Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has initiated an overhaul of American vaccine policy.
Kennedy said Moore “deserves a medal for his courage and commitment to healing,” in an X post in April.
At the end of May, Kennedy announced that federal authorities would no longer recommend Covid-19 jabs for children and pregnant women, prompting accusations from medical groups that he was taking away parents’ ability to opt for vaccinations.
Kennedy has been accused of spreading vaccine misinformation, including about the measles vaccine, even as the US grapples with its worst measles epidemic in 30 years.