Todays E-PAPER (121-12-12)

NEWS
fRIDAY,
A discussion meeting was held in the capital city yesterday marking 25th year of Shadhona
Sangsad.
Photo : TBT
Trump admin defends new refugee
cap of 45,000 in coming year
THE
BANGLADESHTODAY2
SePTeMBeR 29, 2017
Japan PM Abe dissolves lower
house, calls snap election
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dissolved the lower
house of parliament Thursday, paving the way for a snap
election on Oct. 22, reports UNB.
Abe is widely seen as trying to reconsolidate his grip on
power within the ruling Liberal-Democratic Party, so he can
extend the term of his premiership next year. The dissolution
of the more powerful of Japan's two-chamber parliament
comes more than a year before required by law. The ruling
party, though, faces a growing challenge from a new party
launched by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike this week. The Party of
Hope has energized some voters, and is gaining renegade
lawmakers from the main opposition party.
The speaker of the house, Tadamori Oshima, read the
statement of dissolution. Lower house members all stood up
and chanted "banzai" three times in a dissolution ritual, then
rushed out of the assembly hall. Minutes after the
dissolution, Abe made a fiery speech to party members. He
said he is seeking a public mandate on his tougher diplomatic
and defense policies to deal with escalating threats from
North Korea and that his party members would have to relay
his message to gain support from voters during the
campaign. "This election is about how we protect Japan, the
people's lives and peaceful daily life," Abe said. "The election
is about the future of our children." The Cabinet later
approved an Oct. 22 election for the 475-seat lower house.
The other chamber, the upper house, does not dissolve but is
closed until parliament is reconvened after the election.
Analysts say they believe Abe's ruling party will retain a
majority, though some seats may be pulled by Koike's party.
Support ratings for Abe's government had plunged to
below 30 percent in July following repeated parliamentary
questions about allegations that Abe helped his friend obtain
approval to open a veterinary college. Recent media polls
show the support ratings recovering to around 50 percent,
helped by parliament's recess and a Cabinet reshuffle in
August that removed the defense minister and several other
unpopular faces. It's a significant turnaround from July,
when the party suffered a devastating loss in a Tokyo city
assembly election to maverick Koike's new regional party.
The main opposition Democratic Party, which held power in
2009-2012, has lost ground largely due to internal
disagreements, and is now falling apart.
The Trump administration defended
its decision Wednesday to sharply
curtail the number of refugees allowed
into the United States to 45,000 next
year, even as global humanitarian
groups decried the move and called the
number far too low, reports UNB.
The 45,000 cap, to be formally
announced by President Donald
Trump in the coming days, reflects the
maximum the U.S. will admit during
the fiscal year that starts Sunday,
although the actual number allowed
could be far lower. Even if the cap is
ultimately hit, it would reflect the
lowest admissions level for the U.S. in
more than a decade. Lowering the cap
reflects Trump's opposition to
accepting refugees and other
immigrants into the U.S., an approach
that has already driven down refugee
admissions. Former President Barack
Obama had wanted to take in 110,000
in 2017, but the pace slowed
dramatically after Trump took office
and issued an executive order
addressing refugees. The total admitted
in the fiscal year that ends Sunday is
expected to be around 54,000, officials
said. In 2016, the last full year of
Obama's administration, the U.S.
welcomed 84,995 refugees.
Though a broad array of criteria
determines who receives refugee
status, the allotments are broken down
into specific numbers of refugees
admitted from various geographic
regions. The State Department
conveyed those numbers to Congress
on Wednesday, officials said. Africa will
receive the largest allotment of 19,000
refugees, or 42 percent of the total. The
next-highest number goes to the
Middle East and South Asia, which will
be granted 17,500 slots, or 39 percent.
The remaining allotments include
5,000 for East Asia, 2,000 for Europe
and 1,500 for Latin America and the
Caribbean.
Although the totals are far lower than
in the Obama administration, the
percentage granted to each region was
left almost unchanged from the last
year of Obama's term. One key
difference: there will no longer be an
"unallocated" allotment of 14,000
refugees that could come from any
region. Trump's decision has drawn
consternation from aid groups who
have pointed to refugee crises that have
worsened, not improved, including in
Syria, Myanmar and South Sudan.
Several groups have urged Trump to
reconsider and adopt a figure closer to
Obama's goal of 110,000.
"With historically high numbers of
innocent people fleeing violence
worldwide, the United States response
cannot be to welcome a historically low
number of refugees into our country,"
said Bill O'Keefe of Catholic Relief
Services. But Trump administration
officials said the new cap will advance
national security interests and reflect
the United States' capacity to properly
screen and take in refugees. They said
new screening and admittance
requirements for refugees will be
announced later, as a 6-month review,
ordered by Trump near the start of his
presidency, draws to a close.
Bangladesh Gana Oikyo organized a human chain program yesterday protesting the ongoing disappearance-killing
across the country.
Photo : TBT
Chief Whip of Jatiya Sangsad Mahabub Ara Gini was greeted with flowers at Kumari puza in
Gaibandha.
Photo : Rafiqul Islam
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Indonesian official:
More than 120,000
flee Bali volcano
More than 120,000 people have fled the region around the
Mount Agung volcano on the Indonesian tourist island of
Bali, fearing it will soon erupt, an official said Thursday,
reports UNB.
Nyoman Parwata, an official at the disaster mitigation
agency's command post in Bali, said the number of evacuees
has swelled to about 122,500. They are scattered in more
than 500 locations across the island famed for its beaches,
lush green interior and elegant Hindu culture, taking shelter
in temporary camps, sports centers and other public
buildings. The volcano has been at its highest alert level since
Friday, sparking the massive exodus of villagers. Thousands
of cows are also being evacuated. An exclusion zone around
the mountain extends as far as 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from
the crater in places but officials say people farther from the
volcano are leaving too. Agung, which dominates the
landscape in the northeast of the island, last erupted in 1963,
killing more than 1,100 people. It remained active for about a
year. Volcanologists say the recent dramatic escalation in
tremors indicates an eruption is more likely than not, but
they can't say with certainty when it will happen.
"I would definitely be following the advice to stay outside
the exclusion zone," said Heather Handley, an assistant earth
sciences professor at Sydney's Macquarie University. The
increase in tremors suggests an eruption is "imminent," she
said. Its eruptions in 1963 produced deadly clouds of searing
hot ash, gases and rock fragments that traveled down its
slopes at great speed. Lava spread for several kilometers and
people were also killed by lahars - rivers of water and volcanic
debris. The mountain, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) to the
northeast of the tourist hotspot of Kuta, is among more than
120 active volcanoes in Indonesia.
9 Rohingyas
held in Jessore
JESSORE : Police in a drive
arrested nine members of a
Rohingya family from
Manihar Bus Stand area in
the district town here on
Wednesday, reports UNB.
The arrestees were
identified as Tafur Alam, 40,
his wife Murshida Begum,
30, their daughter Yeasmin,
9, their three sons - Riazul
Islam, 7, Saiful Islam, 3, and
nine-month-old boy
Shahidul Islam, their niece
Jannat, 20, and Jannat's
nine-month-old son Hamid.
All of them were residents
of Panigajiri area in
Rakhaine state of Myanmar.
Azmal Huda, officer-incharge
of Sadar Police
Station, said suspecting
movement of some people in
the bus stand area, police
challenged them and after
interrogation police came to
know that they are
Rohingyas. Later, police
arrested them and took to
Kotwali Police Station.
Awareness
on RTI Act
stressed
KHULNA : Speakers at a
discussion yesterday highly
praised the government for
inclusion of the Right to
Information Act (RTI) in the
textbooks of ninth and tenth
grades, hoping that it is
expected to create greater
awareness among the people
about the law, reports BSS.
They said media also can
play a vital role in creating
greater awareness among
the people about the
necessity of the law.
They addressed the
meeting held at the
conference room of the
deputy commissioner,
jointly organized by Khulna
district administration and
Sacheton Nagorik
Committee with Additional
Deputy Commissioner
(general) of Khulna
Zahangir Hossain in the
chair. Professor Zafar Imam,
Javed Iqbal, Anwarul Kadir,
advocate Kudrote Khuda,
Sheikh Abu Hasan.
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