The Bangladesh Today (27-12-2017)

wEdNESdAy 

Dhaka :December 27, 2017; Poush 13, 1424 BS; Rabi-us-Saani 8, 1439 hijri 

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www. tbtlive.com 

Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.16; No.14 ; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00 

INTERNATIONAL 

Singapore journalist 

Lau Hon Meng 

arrives for his court 

Zohr 

>Page 7 

DNCC by-polls 

Feb 24 and 25 

SSC exams to be 

rescheduled 

DHAKA : The Secondary School 

Certificate (SSC) and its equivalent 

examinations of Dhaka Board of 

February 24 and 25 will be rescheduled 

to March due to the by-polls of 

Dhaka North City Corporation 

(DNCC), reports UNB. 

Acting secretary of Election 

Commission (EC) Helal Uddin 

Ahmed confirmed the matter, after 

attending a meeting with chairmen 

of Dhaka Education Board, 

Madrasah Education Board and 

Technical Education Board at the 

secretariat this afternoon. 

SSC and its equivalent examinations 

of 2018 were scheduled to 

begin on February 2 and continue 

until February 26. 

Meanwhile, the by-polls to the 

mayoral post of DNCC will be held 

on last week of February, said EC 

acting Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed 

on Sunday. 

Besides, the elections for the 

councilor post in the 36 new wards 

-18 of the DNCC and 18 of the 

Dhaka South City Corporation 

(DSCC)-will be held on the same 

day during the end-February. 

Helal said there are no legal complications 

for holding the by-polls. 

Election schedule will be fixed by 

mid-January, said the official. 

The DNCC mayoral post fell 

vacant with the death of Annisul 

Huq on November 30 last. 

Sacked Shariatpur 

BCL leader held 

over 'raping' 6 

women 

SHARIATPUR : Police on Tuesday 

arrested expelled Bangladesh 

Chhatra League (BCL) leader Arif 

Hawladar for allegedly raping six 

women, taking video clips of the 

nefarious acts and releasing those 

on the internet, reports UNB. 

Thunder Khairul Hasan, senior 

assistant superintendent of police 

(Gosairhat circle), said a team of 

police arrested Arif from Saikha 

Bridge area of Gosairhat upazila 

around 4:30pm. 

Arif, general secretary of 

Narayanpur union unit BCL in 

Bhedarganj upazila, allegedly raped 

the six women, including housewives 

and college girls, on several 

occasions and captured those in his 

mobile phone. 

Later, he released the video clips 

on the internet. After the matter 

came to light, BCL expelled Arif 

from the organisation on November 

10 last. One of the victims filed a 

case with Bhedarganj Police Station 

on November 11. 

According the case statement, 

Arif raped the housewife on March 1 

last and took video footage of that. 

Later, he violated the housewife 

on several more occasions threatening 

to release the scenes on the 

internet. Arif also raped five more 

women on the same way, Khairul 

Hasan added. 

05:20 AM 

12:02 PM 

03:43 PM 

05:23 PM 

06:45 PM 

6:39 5:20 

NBR respects tax-card 

holders, tax-paying 

organizations 

DHAKA : National Board of Revenue 

(NBR) wants to spread a message 

among the countrymen that there is 

nothing to be afraid to come under tax 

net because the taxpayers are honored 

as respected citizen of the country, said 

NBR chairman Md Nojibur Rahman. 

"We want to inform the taxpayers that 

they are the respected citizens of the 

society . . . the NBR will respect you and 

your organizations . . . there is nothing 

to be scared," he told a programme yesterday. 

Tax Zone-5 organised the programme 

to honor the tax card holders for fiscal 

year 2016-17 (FY17) at its Segunbagicha 

office. 

Congratulating the tax card holders, 

Nojibur Rahman said the NBR is honoring 

the tax card holders as part of its 

move to build a revenue friendly culture 

in the country. Taxpayers are contributing 

to the national development by paying 

tax, he added. 

Declaring Economic Reporters 

Forum (ERF), an organization of the 

ART & CuLTuRE 

Anushka Sharma, 

Virat Kohli wedding 

reception in Mumbai 

>Page 8 

economic reporters, as the best partner 

of the NBR for the year 2017, he 

said the NBR has good relations with 

business establishments and the mass 

media has been playing an important 

role in this regard. 

Dr Habibur Rahman received the 

honor in favour of long-time taxpayer 

individual Haji Saidullah Miah while 

Mahfuz Anam of Media World Limited, 

Tofail Hossain of East West Media 

Group Limited, Mahua Mahbub Khan 

of Bey Development Limited, SA 

Chowdhury of Space Zero Limited, 

Towfiqul Islam Chowdhury of ASHA 

and Sirajul Islam of Bureau Bangladesh 

received the honor on behalf of their 

respective organizations for fiscal year 

FY17 under Tax Zone-5. 

Commissioner of Tax Zone-5 

Shahin Akter gave the welcome 

speech while NBR members Abdur 

Razzak and Habibur Rahman and 

director general of Central Intelligence 

Cell Bebal Hossain were present at the 

programme. 

Brexit: German minister 

sees model for Turkey 

and Ukraine 

A "smart" Brexit deal could serve as a 

model for the EU's future relations with 

other non-EU states, German Foreign 

Minister Sigmar Gabriel says, reports 

BBC. 

Turkey and Ukraine were two states 

that could benefit from the template, he 

told Germany's Funke media group. He 

did not see either joining the EU any 

time soon, so alternative forms of closer 

co-operation were needed. 

The UK's future relationship with the 

EU, which it is due to leave on 29 March 

2019, is still being negotiated. The two 

sides agreed this month on the three 

"divorce" issues that took up the first 

phase of negotiations: how much the UK 

owes the EU, what happens to the 

Northern Ireland border and what happens 

to UK citizens living elsewhere in 

the EU and EU citizens living in the UK. 

In June 2016, the UK voted in a referendum 

to leave the EU after more than 

four decades of membership. 

What did Sigmar Gabriel say? 

"If we can reach a smart agreement 

with Great Britain that outlines its 

relations with Europe after Brexit, 

then that could serve as a model for 

other countries," he said. He foresaw a 

"new, closer form of customs union" 

with Turkey, provided the situation in 

that country changed. 

That would appear to conflict with 

the UK's aim to leave the EU's customs 

union as well as its single market. 

Germany is concerned at Turkey's human 

rights record under President Recep Tayyip 

Erdogan, particularly the recent arrest of 

several German-Turkish nationals. 

"It's a good sign that several detained 

Germans have been released," Mr 

Gabriel said, but he added there was 

still great concern over imprisoned 

journalist Deniz Yucel. "The Turks 

know how important his fate is for us," 

he said. 

What EU agreements exist with 

Turkey and Ukraine? 

Under a specific customs union 

agreed in 1995, goods may travel 

between the two areas without customs 

restrictions although it excludes unprocessed 

agricultural products. 

Talks on accession, however, have 

not moved since 2005. 

Judges' conduct 

rules won't affect 

Judiciary: Anisul 

DHAKA : Law Minister Anisul Huq 

on Tuesday said the freedom of the 

Judiciary will not be affected by the 

rules which have been issued determining 

discipline and conduct of 

lower court judges, reports UNB. 

The minister came up with the 

remark while addressing as the chief 

guest at the inaugural ceremony of 

19th training course for the government 

prosecutors and public prosecutors 

at the Judicial Administration 

Training Institute. 

According to the section 29 (2) of 

the discipline and conduct rules, if 

any disagreement is arisen between 

the President and the Supreme Court 

over any issue and matter is not 

solved, then Supreme Court's suggestion 

will be granted finally, said 

Anisul. 

Popular Band singer Shafin Ahmed will contest in the by-polls to the 

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayoral post. Chairman of 

newly formed Nationalist Democratic Movement (NDM), Bobby 

Hajjaj, on Tuesday announced singer Shafin's name as candidate at a 

press conference at Jatiya Press Club. 

Photo : TBT 

SPORT 

Southampton's Shane Long 

in action with Tottenham's 

Davinson Sanchez 

>Page 9 

Innovative agricultural methods are contributing in simultaneous improvement of the 

quality and productivity of crops. 

Photo : Star Mail 

Talks with pry 

teachers on pay 

scale soon: Minister 

DHAKA : The government will sit with 

the assistant teachers of government primary 

schools soon over the demand to 

upgrade their pay scale, said Primary and 

Mass Education Minister Mostafizur 

Rahman on Tuesday, reports UNB. 

"We've sought a list of teachers' representatives 

to initiate the talks," he said 

while talking to UNB. 

He, however, could not specify the 

date for the discussion, only saying, 

"We'll sit very soon." 

Earlier on Monday evening, the teachers, 

who had been on an indefinite hunger 

strike since Saturday demanding a payscale 

upgrade, ended their strike upon 

assurance from the minister to meet their 

demand. Bangladesh Primary Teachers' 

Grand Alliance organised the strike 

where eight different organisations of 

assistant primary teachers took part. 

The agitated teachers said it was discriminatory 

and humiliating that they 

were paid under the 14th grade whereas 

a headmaster gets salary under the 

11th grade. They demanded that their 

salary be upgraded to the 12th grade. 

Nearly 47 teachers among some 

1,000 ones fell in sick during the three 

days of hunger strike. 

Singer Shafin 

to vie for 

mayor post 

DHAKA : Popular Band singer Shafin 

Ahmed will contest in the by-polls to the 

Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) 

mayoral post, reports UNB. 

Chairman of newly formed Nationalist 

Democratic Movement, Bobby Hajjaj, on 

Tuesday announced singer Shafin's name 

as candidate at a press conference at 

Jatiya Press Club. 

Sharing Shafin's candidature, Boby 

Hajjaj in his facebook page wrote, "We 

hope to see our dreams for Dhaka city 

realized. Shafin Ahmed shall be a great 

representative of the people." 

Shafin has been going through some 

difficulties with his band members. 

Members of popular musical band - 

MILES - Hamin Ahmed, Manam Ahmed, 

Syed Ziaur Rahman Turjo and Syed Iqbal 

Asif Jewel in an official Facebook message 

said yesterday that MILES is compelled 

to have Shafin Ahmed discharged 

from the band with immediate effect 

under the current circumstances. 

Former president of Bangladesh 

Garments Manufacturers and Exports 

Association Md Atiqul Islam is likely to 

get ruling party ticket while Bangladesh 

Nationalist Party (BNP) is likely to nominate 

Tabith Awal. 

Former mayor Annisul Huq, who 

passed away recently, had bagged 

460,000 votes and his nearest contestant 

Tabith Awal got 325,000 votes in the last 

DNCC election that BNP boycotted when 

the polls were halfway through. 

BD's 1st RMG factory 

in prison opens today 

NARAYANGANJ : Country's first-ever 

mini-garment factory, set up in a jail to 

facilitate income-generating activities, 

for prisoners will be opened here on 

today (Wednesday), reports UNB. 

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan 

will inaugurate the mini-garment factory 

at the district jail. 

The milestone initiative will facilitate 

the prisoners to earn money employing 

their labour while serving jail term and 

thus learn skills. 

Some 300-400 prisoners to be trained 

by Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers 

and Exporters Association (BKMEA) 

will be able to work in the mini-garment 

factory in two shifts, said Narayanganj 

Jail Superintendent Subhas Kumar 

Ghosh. 

The earnings of the prisoners will be 

credited to their respective accounts. 

They can send the money to their families 

or withdraw the entire amount 

together while leaving the jail, he said. 

Earlier on May 30 last, work on the 

garment factory was inaugurated by 

Deputy Commissioner Rabbi Miah. 

While opening a display and selling 

centre for the jail products at the jail 

gate, he also laid the foundation stone of 

a training and rehabilitation centre 

inside the jail. 

The garment factory was built on 

5,000 square feet of area with the help of 

the district administration and the 

Department of Social Services. A total of 

57 machines, including sewing and 

embroidery ones imported from 

abroad, were installed at the factory, 

said Subhas. 

There is a plan to import the fabrics to 

be produced in the garment factory as 

well as other handicrafts abroad, he 

said. 

The jail authorities have also taken 

some other initiatives to create incomegenerating 

activities for the prisoners 

and rehabilitate them. 

As part of the initiative, six looms have 

already been installed inside the jail 

where 12 prisoners are working for producing 

Jamdani fabrics while 20-25 are 

producing bed sheets. 

DC Rabbi Miah in a recent programme 

said the mini-garment factory 

will be a milestone as the prisoners will 

get a means to better pass their time and 

earn at the same time. 

"Although various handicraft projects 

were taken at different jails, setting up of 

a garment factory to transform the prisoners 

into a workforce is the first in the 

country's history," he said. 

Alongside their earnings, the prisoners 

will be able to start a new business 

after their jail life using their acquired 

skill and experience, the DC said. 

DNCC cancels 

license of 

6 coaching centers 

DHAKA : Dhaka North City 

Corporation (DNCC) yesterday canceled 

licenses of six coaching centers for 

not removing illegal and unauthorized 

signboards, posters and festoons. 

The six coaching centers are UCC, 

Uniaid, Icon, Icon Plus, Omega and 

Paragon in the city's Farmgate area, 

said a DNCC official. 

The licenses of the coaching centers 

were canceled for violating the directives 

of the city corporation and defying 

warnings issued by mobile courts under 

the Graffiti Writing and Poster Sticking 

Control Act, the official added. 

Probe report finalized 

against 11 Khulna war 

crimes accused 

DHAKA : Probe agency of the 

International Crimes Tribunal 

(ICT) yesterday finalized its 

report on investigation in the 

crimes against humanity case 

against 11 accused from 

Dumuria, Khulna, reports UNB. 

The accused are Sheikh Abdur 

Rahim, 68, Shamsur Rahman, 

82, Omar Ali Fakir, 70, Jahan Ali 

Biswas, 67, Md Akkas Sarder, 68, 

Najer Ali Fakir, 65, Md Shajahan 

Sarder, 75, Abdul Karim Sheikh, 

65, Abu Bakkar Sarder, 67, Md 

Rawshan Gazi, 72, and Md 

Sohrab Hossain Sarder, 62. 

"We have brought six charges of 

crimes against humanity including 

genocide, murder and arson 

against them in the 730-page 

report. 

We will hand the report over to 

the prosecution," said probe 

agency coordinator Md Abdul 

Hannan Khan. The investigation 

agency boss said out of the 11 

accused, all but Omar and Akkas 

are behind bars now.

NEWS 

WEDNESDAY, 

THE 

BANGLADESHTODAY2 

DECEMBER 27, 2017 

Professor Dr. Yousuf M Islam, Vice Chancellor, Daffodil International University handing welcoming Md. 

Sabur Khan, Chairman, Daffodil International University (DIU) & Daffodil Family with floral wreath at 

the reception program accorded to him in honor of receiving honorary doctorate. Photo : Courtesy 

BEZA eyes 2 lakh employments, 

US $ 2 billion economic activities 

in three tourism parks 

DHAKA : Bangladesh Economic 

Zones Authority (BEZA) is setting up 

three tourism parks at Cox's Bazar 

district with a target to create two 

lakh employments. 

"We are planning to set up three 

tourism parks to welcome tourists 

from across the world in the country. 

Every year, the parks are likely to 

create opportunities for additional 

two billion dollar economic 

activities," BEZA Executive 

Chairman Paban Chowdhury told 

BSS. 

The three tourism parks are 

Sabrang Tourism Park, Naf Tourism 

Park (Jaliardwip) and Sonadia Eco 

Tourism Park. Through the 

development of tourism parks, 

Paban Chowdhury said, BEZA thinks 

that Bangladesh will improve its 

travel and tourism competiveness 

ranking to double digit from the 

existing 127 position, as per the 

Travel and Tourism Competiveness 

index 2015 ranking. 

He said land and road 

development and bridge 

construction works are going in a 

Rights activists at a conference said 

that child trafficking goes on 

unabated in the country mainly due 

to culture of impunity as most of 

those engaged in the crime could 

not be punished. 

Big criminals, responsible for the 

trafficking, could not be arrested 

while small criminals though 

arrested later came out on bail 

taking advantage of loopholes of 

laws, they said, a press release said. 

There are provisions of severe 

punishment stipulated in 'The 

Human Trafficking Deterrence and 

Suppression Act-2012' and 

'National Plan of Action (2015- 

2017)' for committing the crime, 

but these could not be properly 

enforced, which encouraged the 

offenders to carry on their 

activities, they added. 

They came up with the remarks 

while addressing the 'annual 

national conference of PCTSCN 

2017' at CIRDAP auditorium at 

Topkhana Road in the capital 

yesterday. 

They said: "We must come out of 

such culture of impunity. We all the 

stakeholders have to be united and 

quicker pace to implement the three 

tourism parks in the area. The 

development work is likely to be 

completed in 2018, he added. 

Paban Chowdhury said Sabrang 

Tourism Park will be the first 

exclusive tourism park in the Cox's 

Bazar district encompassing an area 

of 1027 acres. 

"It is an amazing hill and sea beach 

territory, multifaceted diverse and 

admirably beautiful. The purest air, 

lofty hill, sea and lagoon create 

perfect conditions for the 

development of all types of tourism 

and entertainment," he added. 

He said "different kinds of 

industries, including hotel complex, 

eco-tourism, recreational tourism, 

business tourism, sports and 

extreme ride, water tourism, 

education and health tourism, can be 

set up in the park". 

The park is well located with 

exclusive beach front and it takes 

half an hour from Sea cruise to St 

Martin-a coral island. The park is 

only eight kilometers away from 

Teknaf land port and 2 hours drive 

take necessary initiatives at every 

level of the cases filed in 

connection with the trafficking". 

Terming the trafficking as a crime 

against humanity, they mentioned 

that girl children are mostly victims 

of the crime. 

"The government is obliged to 

take actions as it ratified some 

international documents for 

combating the crime. Our 

constitution also stipulated for 

protecting human rights of all the 

people of Bangladesh". 

They called for raising awareness 

among people about the trafficking 

and also providing necessary 

supports to the children, rescued 

from the trafficking. They warned 

that the country would not be able 

to achieve its desired development 

without addressing the issue. 

Organized by Nari Maitree, Kazi 

Reazul Hoque, Chairman of 

National Human Rights 

Commission, attended the 

programme as the chief guest. 

Mohammad Zafrul Hassan, 

Senior District Judge and Director 

of National Legal Aid Services 

Organization, Dr. Abul Hossain, 

Project Director 

of Multi- 

Sectoral 

Programme on 

to Cox's Bazar Airport. 

The Naf Tourism Park (Jaliardwip) 

is an amazing island in the middle of 

the Naf River and it lies in the 

Southern part of Bangladesh. This 

park is an island of 291 acres of land. 

The lofty hill and river have created a 

perfect condition for the island to be 

a world-class tourist destination. 

The island is 450 kilometers away 

from capital Dhaka and 185 

kilometers from Chittagong city. But 

it is only 60 kilometers from Cox's 

Bazar airport. 

The facilities will include five star 

hotel, hanging bridge, 9.5 kilometers 

of cable car network, floating jetty, 

children's park, an eco-cottage, 

oceanarium and water-restaurants. 

The park is expected to create 

direct and indirect jobs for 20,000 

people. 

There is a plan to invest around 

Taka 2500 crore for the overall 

development of this park, said Paban 

Chowdhury. 

He said BEZA is in consultation 

with different stakeholders to set up 

Sonadia Eco Tourism Park. 

Child trafficking goes on due 

to culture of impunity' 

Girl children mostly victims of it 

Career OppOrtunity 

Knit Asia Limited is a 100% Export Oriented Garments Industries is 

expanding its Operation into the field of intimate wear/lingerie. In 

order to be a world class Garments Industries, Knit Asia is looking for 

suitable dynamic candidates who can fill the following position. 

1. Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) : 01 (One) post. 

Job Description : Should be able to determine and establish technical 

procedures and quality standard at both national and international 

levels. For international marketing. 

academic Qualification : Graduation from any University/Diploma. 

Education may be considered only for the experienced candidate. 

experience : Candidate should have minimum 5 years experience in 

the garments sector. 

Interested candidates are requested to apply with complete CV within 

15 days from the date of publication of this advertisement to the 

following address: Manager Administration 

Knit aSia LiMiteD 

House No. 'Tower 117', 117/A, Tejgaon, Industrial Area, Dhaka 

IPT: +8809612111177-92, Tel : 88-02-8878062-63 

WWW.knitasia.com 

Violence Against Women, Binoy 

Krishna Mallick, Executive 

Director of Rights Jessore, 

Mahmudul Kabir, Country Director 

of TDH Netherlands Bangladesh, 

among others, spoke. 

A.K.M Masud Ali, Executive 

Director of INCIDIN Bangladesh, 

presented the keynote paper at the 

programme, which was presided 

over by Shaheen Akter Dolly, 

Executive Director of Nari 

Maitree. 

Big criminals, responsible for the 

trafficking, could not be arrested 

while small criminals though 

arrested later came out on bail 

taking advantage of loopholes of 

laws, they said, a press release said. 

There are provisions of severe 

punishment stipulated in 'The 

Human Trafficking Deterrence and 

Suppression Act-2012' and 

'National Plan of Action (2015- 

2017)' for committing the crime, 

but these could not be properly 

enforced, which encouraged the 

offenders to carry on their 

activities, they added. 

They came up with the remarks 

while addressing the 'annual 

national conference of PCTSCN 

2017' at CIRDAP auditorium at 

Topkhana Road in the capital 

yesterday. 

Rangamati SP decries 

lack of public voice 

against crimes 

RANGAMATI : The Police 

Superintendent of the 

district, Sayed Tariqul 

Hasan, on Tuesday said that 

the local people here are not 

enough sincere and active 

against the incidents of 

violence in the area, reports 

UNB. 

Talking to reporters at 

district police super's office 

the SP alleged "No one 

sought justice by filling cases 

over some stray incidents of 

murder, abduction and 

attack. Even the family 

members of the victims are 

keeping mum. People are 

not raising their voice 

against criminal activities 

making the tackling of 

violence in the hills all the 

more difficult." 

"As general people have 

failed to file cases police had 

to file cases on their behalf. 

Already six accused in 

Jurachhari Awami League 

leader Arbindu murder case 

and 13 accused in the cases 

over attack on two Awami 

League leaders in 

Bilaichhari and Rangamati 

were arrested" he said. 

Local people have to 

provide their assistance to 

the law enforcers to prevent 

the violent acts from the Hill 

Track region, he added. 

8 BNP-Jamaat 

men held with 

cocktails in 

Satkhira 

SATKHIRA : Police here on 

Tuesday arrested 8 members 

of BNP-Jamaat along 

with 4 cocktail bombs from a 

house in Kamal Nagar area 

in the district, reports UNB. 

Acting on a tip-off, police 

arrested the eight in a drive 

while they were conducting 

a secret meeting, said Maruf 

Ahmed, officer-in-charge of 

Sadar Police Station. 

Police also recovered 4 

cocktails from the spot. 

A case was filed with Sadar 

Police Station in this regard. 

Next polls under 

current parliament, 

says Tofail 

BHOLA : Commerce 

Minister Tofail Ahmed on 

Tuesday said next national 

election will be held under 

the existing parliament, 

reports UNB. 

He said the constitution 

gives this parliament's 

validity up until January 29, 

2019 and the election will be 

held without dissolving it. 

Canada revokes Venezuelan 

diplomat's credentials 

Toronto: Canada is moving to expel a 

Venezuelan diplomat from the country 

and strip his credentials in retaliation 

after his Canadian counterpart was 

kicked out of the South American nation, 

reports UNB. 

The latest developments come after 

months of sanctions and criticism by 

Canada against Venezuela, which two 

days ago declared Canada's charge 

d'affaires persona non grata. They 

stripped him of his diplomatic credentials 

and barred him from returning to the 

country. 

Officials from Canada and the United 

States have been increasing critical of 

President Nicolas Maduro's government 

for consolidating power and isolating the 

country's opposition parties ahead of next 

year's presidential elections. 

Venezuelan national constituent 

assembly president Delcy Rodriguez 

accused Canadian diplomat Craig 

Kowalik of meddling in the country's 

politics and tweeting "rude and vulgar" 

comments about the nation. 

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister 

Chrystia Freeland said Monday that 

Venezuela's ambassador to Canada, who 

had already been withdrawn by his 

government to protest Canadian 

sanctions, was no longer welcome in the 

country in response. 

She also declared the Venezuelan 

charge d'affaires persona non grata. 

"Canadians will not stand by as the 

government of Venezuela robs its people 

of their fundamental democratic and 

Russian officials bar Navalny 

from running for president 

Moscow: Russian election officials on 

Monday formally barred Russian 

opposition leader Alexei Navalny from 

running for president, prompting calls 

from him for a boycott of next year's 

vote, reports UNB. 

The Central Election Commission 

decided unanimously that the anticorruption 

crusader isn't eligible to run. 

Navalny is implicitly barred from 

running for office because of a conviction 

in a fraud case which has been viewed as 

political retribution. He could have run if 

he was given a special dispensation or if 

his conviction was cancelled. 

Incumbent Vladimir Putin is set to 

easily win a fourth term in office in the 

March 18 election, with his approval 

ratings topping 80 percent. 

Over the past year, Navalny has 

mounted a grassroots campaign which 

reached out to the most remote corners 

of Putin's heartland. 

Navalny, 41 is the most serious 

challenger that Putin has faced in all his 

years in power, and the court cases 

against him have been widely seen as a 

tool to keep him from running for office. 

In a pre-recorded video message that 

was released minutes after the Election 

Commission handed down the decision, 

Navalny called on his supporters to 

boycott the vote. 

"The procedure that we're invited to 

take part is not an election," he said. 

"Only Putin and the candidates he has 

human rights, and denies them access to 

basic humanitarian assistance," Freeland 

said in a statement released on Christmas 

Day. 

"We will continue to work with our 

partners in the region ... to apply pressure 

on the anti-democratic Maduro regime 

and restore the rights of the Venezuelan 

people." 

Venezuela drew international 

condemnation on Wednesday when its 

pro-government constitutional assembly 

effectively stripped three of the country's 

most influential opposition parties of the 

right to participate in next year's 

presidential election. 

It followed a threat by Maduro to 

punish the opposition groups for 

boycotting recent mayoral elections, 

protesting what they considered an 

unfair, rigged system run by a 

dictatorship. 

Canada has already imposed sanctions 

against 40 key members of Maduro's 

regime since September. 

Freeland said the officials had been 

implicated in "corruption and gross 

human rights abuses." 

Economic sanctions are also being 

carried out by the Lima Group, a body 

made up of Canada and 11 other Latin 

American countries. 

Freeland called Venezuela's decision to 

expel the Canadian diplomat a typical 

move by the Maduro regime, saying that 

efforts to restore democracy in the 

country have been consistently 

undermined. 

hand-picked are taking part in it." 

"Going to the polls right now is to vote 

for lies and corruption." 

Central Election Commission chief Ella 

Pamfilova told Navalny ahead of its vote 

to bar him that "maybe we would be 

interested if you were running," but said 

the conviction doesn't allow the 

commission to put him on the ballot. 

Speaking before the vote, Navalny told 

the commission that their decision to bar 

him would be a vote "not against me, but 

against 16,000 people who have 

nominated me, against 200,000 

volunteers who have been canvassing for 

me." 

While Putin is all but certain to win an 

easy victory, the Kremlin wants his 

performance to be as strong as possible 

and has been concerned by growing 

voter apathy. 

Navalny's call for a boycott could hurt 

the Kremlin's hopes for boosting 

turnout. 

The involvement of Ksenia Sobchak, a 

36-year-old star TV host, could raise 

public interest in the race. While 

Sobchak has denied colluding with the 

Kremlin, she could attract some of 

Navalny's supporters and help boost 

attendance. 

Sobchak criticized Navalny's call for 

boycotting the vote, saying Monday that 

the "election is the only way to change 

something, and boycotting them is 

inefficient and harmful." 

Bogra Deputy Commissioner Noor-e-Alam Siddique handing over cheque donated by Bangladesh 

Journalist Welfare Trust. 

Photo : Star Mail 

AvjvnZvAvjvi wb‡`©wkZ Cgvbx diR mvjvZz mvjvg I Cgv‡bi cÖvY ZvwR‡g †imvjv‡Zi wei“‡× nvUnvRvixi †ndvR‡Z 

Invex †bZvi RNb¨ Kzdix a„óZvi cÖwZev‡` HwZnvwmK jvjw`Nx gq`v‡bi m¤§y‡L wek¦ mybœx Av‡›`vj‡bi we‡vf

Law Minister Anisul Huq addressing the inaugural programme a seminar titled '19 special Training 

Course for Government Pleaders (GP) and Public Prosecution (PP). 

Photo : PID 

Chinese 

delegation 

calls on 

DU VC 

DHAKA : A five-member 

delegation of Zhongyang 

University in China yesterday 

called on Dhaka University 

(DU) Vice-Chancellor (VC) 

Professor 

Md 

Akhtaruzzaman at his office 

here. 

The delegation members 

are Zhong of Zhongyang 

University Computer Science 

School Dean Prof Liu 

Weiguang Economics and 

Management School Dean 

Prof Zhao Zhiquan, Foreign 

Language School Dean Prof 

Guo Wanqun, Educational 

Co-operation and Exchange 

Deputy Director Gong 

Hailong and Party Committee 

Secretary Prof Cui Shi, said a 

DU press release here. 

During the meeting, they 

exchanged views on issues of 

bilateral interests of the two 

universities, particularly on 

joint educational and 

technological programmes. 

They discussed the 

possibilities of exchanging 

teachers, students and 

researchers between the two 

universities, the release 

added. 

Citi ready to help BD 

companies tap Belt and Road 

network potentials 

DHAKA : Managing Director and Head of Corporate 

Banking Asia Pacific Gerald Keefe has said Citi, with the 

largest network of any global bank, has the local 

expertise and global relationships to help Bangladesh 

companies explore opportunities along the Belt and 

Road network, reports UNB. 

"The country (Bangladesh) is one of our fastest 

growing markets in Asia and we are confident to further 

support economic progress and growth by connecting 

Bangladesh and its leading companies across our 

network," he said. 

Keefe, who was recently in Bangladesh, made the 

remarks in a statement on Tuesday. During his visit, he 

met key clients of the bank and reviewed Citi's potential 

for further growth in Bangladesh. 

Citi, which does business in over 160 countries, has a 

strong presence in the country, said the global bank. 

Citi is also an active bank across the Belt and Road 

Initiative, banking clients in 58 markets across the Belt 

and Road, more than any other bank, it said. 

Keefe has held a wide range of senior roles across Citi's 

institutional businesses and assumed the role of Head of 

Asia Pacific Corporate Banking on June 1, 2016. 

Keefe, who was recently in Bangladesh, made the 

remarks in a statement on Tuesday. 

During his visit, he met key clients of the bank and 

reviewed Citi's potential for further growth in 

Bangladesh. 

Citi, which does business in over 160 countries, has a 

strong presence in the country, said the global bank. 

Citi is also an active bank across the Belt and Road 

Initiative, banking clients in 58 markets across the Belt 

and Road, more than any other bank, it said. 

DU publishes 

home economics 

college admission 

test results 

DHAKA : The admission 

test results of Home 

Economics colleges 

affiliated to Biological 

Sciences Faculty of Dhaka 

University (DU) were 

published yesterday, reports 

BSS. 

DU Vice-Chancellor 

Professor Akhtaruzzaman 

formally announced the 

results at the central online 

admission test office on the 

campus for admission into 

first year honors courses 

under academic session 

2017-18, said a DU press 

release here. 

A total 5,274 aspirants 

among 5,869 secured the 

pass mark against 2,475 

seats in the colleges, the 

release added. 

The results of the 

admission test are available 

on the university website 

admission.eis.du.ac.bd. 

The admission seekers 

can also know their results 

through sending SMS to 

16321 from any telecom 

operator following the 

format DU GOC, according 

to the release. 

JU imposes ban on 

entry of visitors 

for six days 

JU : The authorities of 

Jahangirnagar University 

imposed ban on the entry of 

visitors on the campus for 

six days, reports UNB. 

JU Registrar Abu Bakr 

Siddique confirmed this to 

UNB on Monday night. 

3 day long 

workshop 

begins at 

BUET 

A 3 day long workshop 

(26-28 December, 2017) 

titled '2nd IEEE 

International Conference 

on Telecommunications 

and Photonics (ICTP 

2017)'has begun yesterday 

at BUET Council Bhaban 

Department of Electrical 

and 

Electronic 

Engineering (EEE), BUET 

organized the conference, a 

press release said. 

Prof. Dr. Saiful Islam, 

Vice-Chancellor, BUET, 

addressed the inaugural 

session as Chief Patron 

while Prof. Abdul 

Mannan, Chairman, 

University Grants 

Commission 

of 

Bangladesh addressed the 

function as Chief Guest. 

At the conference, 

approximately 25 

foreigners, speakers from 

around 10 countries of the 

world took part. Teachers, 

students and researchers 

from different universities 

of the country will also 

present their research 

papers. About 60 papers 

will be presented in that 

conference. 

The Banquet dinner 

ceremony will be held 

today at the conference 

and closing ceremony on 

Thursday in the ECE 

Building. Among others, 

Prof. Dr. Satya Prasad 

Majumder, Director, 

Directorate of the 

Students' Welfare, 

Dr.Kazi Deen Mohammad 

Khosru Professor and 

Head of the Department of 

EEE, BUET were present 

on the occasion. 

THE 

BANGLADESHTODAY 

UNITING PEOPLE EVERYDAY 

3 

WEDnESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2017 

Speakers for flawless 

household database to 

eradicate poverty 

DHAKA : Speakers at a function 

yesterday laid emphasis on preparing a 

flawless National Household Database 

(NHD) to identify economic status of the 

people aiming to eliminate poverty. 

The government has set a target of 

collecting data from 3.5 crore 

households of the country for preparing 

NHD to find out the number of poor 

people to bring them under social safetynet 

programme, they told the inaugural 

function of Training of Trainers (ToT) at 

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) 

here. 

The National Household Database 

Project under the BBS has organised the 

training programme in cooperation with 

Thengamara Mohila Sabuj Sangha 

(TMSS). 

Additional Secretary (Development) of 

Statistics and Informatics Division 

Bikash Kishore Das, Additional 

secretary (Information Management) 

Mahmuda Akhtar, Director of 

Information and Communication 

Technology (ICT) of TMSS Nigar 

Sultana and Project Director of NHD 

Programme Md Shafiul Alam, among 

others, addressed the function with BBS 

Director General Md Amir Hossain in 

the chair. 

Shafiul said the second phase of NHD 

would begin from January 14 and it will 

continue till February 2 to collect data 

from households in 25 districts of three 

divisions - Dhaka, Chittagong and 

Mymensingh. 

"All districts of Dhaka and Chittagong 

and Netrokona district under 

Mymensingh division will be covered to 

collect data from all households," he 

added. 

"We are using Proxy Mean Test- 

Formula (PMTF) to assess economic 

status of every household in 

Bangladesh," Shafiul added. 

Bikash said, "NHD, an online 

database, will be prepared based on 

economic status of every household to 

bring the target group under the social 

safety-net programme which will 

remove all sorts of irregularities." 

The NHD project was officially 

launched in 2013 and it will be 

completed by December, 2018, the 

project sources said. Under the project, 

data will be collected from 3.5 crore 

households across the country in three 

phases, they added. 

BBS DG Amir said, "As the country has 

no household database, we cannot 

assess economic condition at family 

level, which is hampering the poverty 

reduction efforts of the government. I 

believe that the NHD will remove 

overlapping practices of social safety-net 

programmes." 

Referring to the latest BBS data 

revealed in October, 2016, its officials 

said percentage of extreme poor in the 

country is 12.9 while overall rate of poor 

people is 18.5. 

Nigar Sultana said, "We have 

completed first phase of NHD project 

successfully with valuable cooperation of 

local administration. Without the 

assistance of local administration, we 

would not be able to prepare a perfect 

household database." 

After preparing of NHD, real 

beneficiaries will be included in the 

social safety-net programme, she said 

adding NHD will significantly help to 

achieve Sustainable Development Goal 

(SDG) through successful 

implementation of social safety-net 

programme. 

Additional Secretary (Development) of 

Statistics and Informatics Division 

Bikash Kishore Das, Additional 

secretary (Information Management) 

Mahmuda Akhtar, Director of 

Information and Communication 

Technology (ICT) of TMSS Nigar 

Sultana and Project Director of NHD 

Programme Md Shafiul Alam, among 

others, addressed the function with BBS 

Director General Md Amir Hossain in 

the chair. 

Shafiul said the second phase of NHD 

would begin from January 14 and it will 

continue till February 2 to collect data 

from households in 25 districts of three 

divisions - Dhaka, Chittagong and 

Mymensingh. "All districts of Dhaka 

and Chittagong and Netrokona district 

under Mymensingh division will be 

covered to collect data from all 

households," he added. 

"We are using Proxy Mean Test- 

Formula (PMTF) to assess economic 

status of every household in 

Bangladesh," Shafiul added. 

Bikash said, "NHD, an online 

database, will be prepared based on 

economic status of every household to 

bring the target group under the social 

safety-net programme which will 

remove all sorts of irregularities." 

The NHD project was officially 

launched in 2013 and it will be 

completed by December, 2018, the 

project sources said. Under the project, 

data will be collected from 3.5 crore 

households across the country in three 

phases, they added. 

Guests at the inaugural ceremony of the conference. 

Photo : Courtesy. 

GD-1576/17 (6x4) 

GD-1573/17 (9x4)

WeDNeSDaY, DeCeMBeR 27, 2017 

4 

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam 

Telephone: +8802-9104683-84, Fax: 9127103 

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com 

Wednesday, December 27, 2017 

Prospects of 

medicinal herbs 

and plants 

It is significant that in a country of over 160 

million people, only about 20 per cent of 

this number in Bangladesh are in the habit 

of visiting allopathic doctors for treatment. A 

major part of the rest in the population opt for 

herbal treatment of which the unanniand 

ayurvedic systems are the favourite. Of course 

the homeopathic treatment is also a favourite 

in Bangladesh and this system also depends a 

great deal on medicines derived from 

medicinal plants and herbs. 

The Chinese herbal system of treatment is 

also fast gaining ground among some sections 

of people. Cost is a factor why so many people 

in the country are habituated to these 

alternative systems. Herbal treatment in some 

cases are considered to be relatively cheaper. 

But the popularity also stems from the 

effectiveness of the treatment in most cases 

and their relative safety. Herbal medicines are 

known to create least or no side effects on 

patients. 

Contrary to popular belief that the unani any 

ayurvedic systems have not been scientifically 

developed such as testing out the properties 

of their medicines for side effects, companies 

like Hamdard are producing and marketing 

products well tested for side effects or other 

unwanted consequences. The drugs produced 

by Hamdard-- which is a giant among herbal 

medicine producers-- are no less safe than 

mainstream producer of conventional 

allopathic medicines . However, other 

companies in the ayurvedic sphere are 

probably not doing such a good job as 

Hamdard and they should be in line with this 

main producer of herbal medicines. 

Furthermore, quacks also produce and 

practice herbal treatment without regulation 

in Bangladesh. This is a matter of serious 

concern and needs to be regulated. Besides, 

the ones who wish to study the herbal systems 

of medicines should be allowed to do so only 

in properly organised campuses for the 

purpose. The government should extend 

funds and other forms of support to them for 

research and for maintaining and developing 

a streamlined and scientific set-up to study 

these forms of medicines as is done under the 

mainstream allopathic one. 

The growing of medicinal plants and herbs 

can be also lucrative business. Bangladesh 

presently spends about Taka 500 million for 

the import of herbs or herbal extracts to 

make medicines from the same. This is 

regrettable as the entire amount can be saved 

if planting of medicinal plants and herbs are 

popularised here. Not only that, there are 

immense prospects of exporting medicinal 

plants, herbs and herbal extracts from 

Bangladesh provided the planting of the 

medicinal plants and herbs, processing them, 

preserving them and standardising them for 

export, can all be developed in a proper 

manner. 

One study found out that there is very good 

opportunity for planting medicinal plants and 

herbs in the fallow lands of the tea estates, on 

hill sides at Chittagong and Sylhet. Even 

farmers can profitably do such planting in 

small strips of lands in their homesteads in the 

rural areas everywhere in the country. The 

cultivation of such medicinal herbs and plants 

can be a source of employment and income at 

the grass roots level while also earning 

substantial foreign currencies for the country. 

Presently, the annual average size of the 

export market for herbal products as raw 

materials is some $ 62 billion. The market 

size is projected to expand to some 5 trillion 

dollars by 2050. Thus, there should be every 

incentive for businesses in Bangladesh to take 

up the growing of medicinal plants and herbs 

enthusiastically. 

IT seems to have become a national 

sport to blame judges for all that 

goes wrong in Pakistan. From 

prosecutorial misconduct, negligent 

inquiries by investigating agencies and 

loopholes in the law itself, to executive 

collusion, Pakistani judges are, 

unfortunately, held responsible for 

anything and everything that is found to 

be wrong with the system. 

In pointing fingers, it is forgotten that 

the judges are only one cog in the larger 

wheel of the judiciary. The larger 

system is made up of a plethora of 

stakeholders, including the legislature 

that is making the laws, the executive 

which is supposed to implement them, 

and, of course, the lawyers themselves. 

At each level, there are shocking failures 

leading to overall paralysis. 

The federal legislature, for example, 

is infamous for passing laws which 

discriminate against minority groups 

and strip them of their rights to 

practise their own faith, whatever it 

may be. They have also passed laws 

allowing persons disqualified from 

contesting elections to head major 

political parties, and have codified laws 

that have been criticised for allowing 

murderers to get off by paying the 

victims' families. The provincial 

legislatures have been found to pass 

laws reinstating politically aligned 

individuals in employment - 

individuals who had previously been 

removed on charges of misconduct. 

The judges, even if disapproving of 

such laws, would be bound by the same. 

Although it is true that they retain the 

power to judicially review laws, such 

Acockpit window fell from a 

United States Marine CH-53 

helicopter shortly after taking off 

from Futenma Air Base on the 

Japanese island of Okinawa last week. 

The window landed in a schoolyard. 

Thankfully, it did not hit any children. 

Such incidents are unfortunate, but 

happen inevitably in the course of 

aviation operations, both civilian and 

military. On Okinawa, a hotbed of 

cultural clashes between US servicemen 

and local civilians, this kind of reality is 

often overlooked. 

Although the latest accident was 

attributed to a maintenance error, there 

have been other Marine helicopter 

incidents there caused by mechanical 

problems. Perhaps related, there have 

been reports in recent years that the US 

Marine air arm does not have enough 

money or time to conduct thorough 

aircraft maintenance. 

It has also been alleged that pilots do 

not get adequate flight time to ensure 

proficiency. The Marines have been at 

war overseas since 2001 and face tight 

budgets despite the US military 

spending an astronomical US$600 

billion on defense. Culturally, they are 

not inclined to say "no," so in order to 

meet mission requirements they keep 

flying, and are hard pressed to take 

aircraft out of service when complex 

maintenance is required. 

Imagine driving your car constantly 

while making sure it has enough oil, 

brake fluid, gasoline and correct tire 

pressure, but you are too busy to take 

the car in for regular overhauls. The car 

will run, but it will wear out sooner 

powers have their limits, and can't be 

used to transport the judges from the 

realm of interpretation to that of 

lawmaking. 

Investigative agencies like the FIA 

and NAB and even the police are no 

better. Their incompetence has been 

testified to by the Supreme Court itself. 

Whether it has been the investigative 

abilities shown in the Benazir Bhutto 

killing case, NAB's apparent penchant 

for preferring plea bargains in order to 

obtain lucrative pay days, or the 

procurement of false confessions, these 

agencies have been guilty of letting 

down the prosecution, whether through 

complicity or ineptness. No wonder the 

judges often have to acquit parties on 

account of insufficient evidence. 

Further, the police and other lawenforcement 

agencies also have a 

responsibility to ensure compliance 

with the court's orders. When a judge 

passes an order, the state must ensure it 

is implemented. Being an organ 

rather than later. Eventually, it starts 

having more problems, more often. It 

becomes dangerous. If Marine Corps 

aviation is in this state, someone needs 

to take responsibility. Perhaps, we are 

seeing evidence of the truism that there 

are things for which lieutenants are held 

accountable but generals are not. 

Still, let us look beyond this one 

incident. Why is Futenma Air Station 

still operating? The Japanese 

government promised almost 20 years 

ago to build a replacement in a less 

crowded part of the Japanese island. 

It has repeated this promise 

constantly over the years. One suspects 

US officials had to resist asking: "Were 

you lying then, or are you lying now?" 

And the US side's handling of the 

Okinawa situation has been incoherent 

at times. Among other things, they 

could have demanded Japan keeps its 

word. After all, Americans are prepared 

to die for them, while only asking in 

return that Japan keeps its promises. 

BaSIl NaBI MalIK 

GRaNT NeWSHaM 

without any enforcement wing, the 

judiciary relies solely on the executive 

for upholding its verdicts. If not 

implemented, the sanctity of such 

orders, the judiciary's prestige, rule of 

law, and respect for institutional space 

diminish over time, leaving violators 

emboldened and victims frustrated. 

Unfortunately, that is exactly what 

happens. On any given day, judges pass 

orders against the land mafia, 

delinquent builders, individuals 

violating court orders and other 

deviants. However, the lack of lawenforcement 

support renders such 

verdicts ineffective, or their delayed 

implementation serves to frustrate the 

very object of the orders. 

In addition, the larger system is fed by 

lawyers, who not only represent their 

clients, but are also paradoxically court 

officers. They are responsible for 

providing assistance to the courts in 

reaching the correct legal position in a 

given case and upholding a decision. 

Also, the Americans have settled for 

what is just a long heliport, while there 

were other options that were better and 

could have been built faster. 

Admittedly, it was not always easy for 

American officials as Japanese 

negotiators are often as stubborn as the 

North Koreans. 

Moving on, one wonders why a school 

is so close to an airfield? Old photos 

show that Futenma Air Base was built 

in the middle of nowhere. Surely, the 

Japanese government should have 

banned civilians from constructing 

buildings so close to Futenma? 

After all, if you build houses and 

schools near an airfield anywhere in the 

world there will be problems. That is the 

government's fault, although the people 

who actually built near an air force base 

are also to blame. 

Lawyers call this "contributory 

negligence." In plain language, this 

means that the person who gets hurt 

shares some of the blame. But this is 

They are supposed to do this by giving 

well-researched legal arguments to the 

judges, inculcating and advising clients 

to abide by the law, and by not 

subverting any decision which may 

have been passed against them or their 

client. 

However, the reality is different. In 

Pakistan, the lawyers' community 

consists of many types of individuals, 

including those who openly assist in 

subverting the rule of law. They may do 

this by helping their clients flout the 

law, resorting to misrepresentation 

before the court to procure benefits for 

their clients, assisting their clients in 

fleeing the courtroom on rejection of 

bail, or using intimidatory tactics to 

obtain favourable verdicts. If nothing 

else, they may advise their clients to 

disregard court orders, telling them that 

any such violation can be atoned for by 

a mere apology to the court. 

In a nutshell, solely blaming judges 

for the current state of our judiciary is 

unfair to say the least. In order for the 

judiciary to become more robust and 

authoritative, each stakeholder will 

have to work in tandem with, and in 

support of, the judges in question. 

Without such synchronisation and 

unity, like all else in Pakistan, the judges 

will likely be banished to the annals of 

history as just another group of lone 

rangers who had been trudging along in 

the purported pursuit of an effective 

and just system that is responsive to the 

masses. 

Source : Dawn 

uS military accidents on Okinawa open old wounds 

Last week, soon after the accused in 

the allegedly Rs1.76 trillion worth 

2G spectrum case, Kanimozhi and 

A. Raja, were acquitted to the apparent 

embarrassment of India's ruling 

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who had 

pinned the scandal on the lapels of the 

Congress government, a special CBI 

court found Lalu Prasad Yadav, a serious 

thorn in the BJP's flesh and a 

heavyweight politician from Bihar, guilty 

in the fodder scam following which he 

was taken to a jail in Ranchi. The exact 

punishment is to be announced on 

January 3. 

The fodder scam was a corruption 

scandal that involved the embezzlement 

of about Rs9.4 billion - approximately 

Rs34 billion in 2016, or $520 million - 

from the Bihar government treasury. 

The cow which has played a central 

role in Indian politics since the 1857 

Sepoy Mutiny, had a stellar part in this 

tragicomedy too. The scam's lid was 

blown open in 1996. But the process of 

law, as ever, has been slow. As is often the 

case, a lot in the Indian judiciary depends 

on the preferences of the government in 

power. 

The essential nature of the plot was to 

invent millions of cattle - fictitious cows - 

and have the government issue fodder, 

medicine and farm implements, which 

found their way to the black market. The 

chief minister of the state then was Lalu 

Prasad Yadav. Along with him, 

bureaucrats, other politicians and Bihar's 

ubiquitous mafia were involved in the 

The larger system 

The federal legislature, for example, is infamous for 

passing laws which discriminate against minority 

groups and strip them of their rights to practise their 

own faith, whatever it may be. They have also passed 

laws allowing persons disqualified from contesting 

elections to head major political parties, and have 

codified laws that have been criticised for allowing 

murderers to get off by paying the victims' families. The 

provincial legislatures have been found to pass laws. 

The Marines have been at war overseas since 

2001 and face tight budgets despite the uS 

military spending an astronomical uS$600 

billion on defense. Culturally, they are not 

inclined to say "no," so in order to meet mission 

requirements they keep flying, and are hard 

pressed to take aircraft out of service when 

complex maintenance is required. 

operation. Over 50 cases were filed 

eventually. The one that has tripped up 

Yadav on December 23 involved 

embezzling some Rs8.9 million from the 

Deoghar Treasury between 1991 and 

1994. 

It might be mentioned here that India 

has a tradition of inventing figures and 

issuing invoices for what is not there. A 

couple of years ago, it was found that a 

bunch of crooks in power had invented 

thousands of students and issued funds 

for their welfare and diverted the money 

to fatten their accounts. 

The 2G scandal too involved top 

politicians, bureaucrats and corporate 

executives. The charge was that they had 

undervalued the telecom spectrum bids 

so as to favour select companies. The BJP 

had unleashed an aggressive campaign 

in 2014 general elections, and cornered a 

seemingly guilty, defenceless Congress 

Party, and emerged on top of the heap. 

It is not clear if the fodder scam 

judgement has been timed to balance 

the blow struck by the 2G verdict. 

What's more to the point is that there is 

likely to be political fallout for both the 

BJP and the Congress party, with the 

differing legal fates of DMK (both Raja 

and Kanimozhi are members of 

parliament representing the Tamil 

Nadu political party led by 

Karunanidhi), and Rashtriya Janata Dal 

led by Yadav. 

Indian politics is swept by 

undercurrents. The DMK has so far been 

playing fast and loose with the Congress. 

That Congress is not in power at the 

Centre has added to its bargaining 

powers. Recently, the Indian Prime 

Minister Narendra Modi had paid a visit 

to a bedridden Karunanidhi. It is of 

course not clear if that visit has anything 

seldom noted in a narrative where 

"Okinawans are the victims". 

Following the accident, a Marine 

colonel visited the school and 

apologized. This is better than nothing, 

but what happens "between accidents" 

matters more. And the Marines are not 

building a cushion of support on 

Okinawa, so every accident or incident 

is treated like a national calamity. 

Predictably, Japanese authorities are 

now pressuring the Marines to suspend 

flights over schools and other public 

facilities. Itsunori Onodera, the Tokyo's 

Defense Minster, complained he has 

not received sufficient explanation of 

what the Americans will do to ensure no 

future accidents occur. 

his is the typical Japanese response 

after every aviation or other mishap on 

Okinawa. It suggests that the 

Americans are careless, and do not give 

two hoots about anyone's safety. This is 

not true. It is also ironic as Japan's own 

Self Defense Force has not exactly got a 

spotless aviation safety record. 

Recently, an Air Self Defense Force F4 

Phantom caught fire and was destroyed 

on the runway at Hyakuri Airbase. The 

crew were lucky to escape. In August, a 

Japanese Navy helicopter crashed at 

Iwakuni Air Base. And another crashed 

around Aomori with three fatalities. 

Instead, related parties should 

remember that American, and 

Japanese, military aircraft are engaged 

in inherently risky, but necessary, 

activities to defend Japan from real 

enemies. 

Source : Asia Times 

Crime and punishment in India is bewildering 

C. P. SuReNDRaN 

It is not clear if the fodder scam judgement 

has been timed to balance the blow struck by 

the 2G verdict. What's more to the point is that 

there is likely to be political fallout for both the 

BJP and the Congress party, with the differing 

legal fates of DMK (both Raja and Kanimozhi 

are members of parliament representing the 

Tamil Nadu political party led by Karunanidhi), 

and Rashtriya Janata Dal led by Yadav. 

to do with the acquittal - Kanimozhi is 

Karunanidhi's daughter. But the chances 

are that the DMK might now be more 

favourably disposed towards an alliance, 

sufficiently distanced from the present, 

with the BJP. 

At the same time, with a tainted Yadav 

in prison, the Congress loses a crafty and 

powerful partner in Bihar. 

The larger question in these scams is 

the sinking trust quotient in public 

discourse. The billion-rupee fodder scam 

has, in Yadav's case, dwindled to less 

than 10 million. The sentence can't prove 

to be too heavy. In any case, Yadav will go 

for appeal in a higher court. 

Miles of newsprint and infinite 

cyberspace have been spent on these 

scandals. Now they seem negligible or 

indeed non-existent. What were all those 

noises about? The public must be 

excused if it feels a bit foolish. 

If a survey is now taken on the 

trustworthiness of the great democratic 

institutions of India, it might come up 

with surprisingly disappointing results. 

But then, a cynic might well ask: why 

trust the surveys? After all, who is to say 

who funds the surveying agency? 

Nevertheless, here's hoping 2018 will 

bring cheer to India, and justice for all. 

Meanwhile, reports said, Yadav was not 

very happy with the tea served at the 

prison. 

Source : Gulf News

ENVIRONMENT 

THE 


WedneSdAy, deceMBer 27, 2017 

5 

eu may receive 1m migrants 

due to climate change 

e-waste is currently disposed of in landfills or incinerated. 

Photo: Panos 

nanotech to treat e-waste 

FionA hArVey 

Climate change will drive a huge increase in the 

number of migrants seeking asylum in Europe 

if current trends continue, according to a new 

study. The number of migrants attempting to 

settle in Europe each year will triple by the end 

of the century based on current climate trends 

alone, independent of other political and 

economic factors, according to the research. 

Even if efforts to curb global warming are 

successful, the number of applications for 

asylum could rise by a quarter, the authors 

predict. 

Wolfram Schlenker, professor at the school of 

international and public affairs at Columbia 

University in New York, and lead author of the 

study, said: "Europe will see increasing 

numbers of desperate people fleeing their home 

countries." 

Bob Ward, policy and communications 

director at the Grantham Research Institute on 

Climate Change and the Environment, at the 

London School of Economics and Political 

Science, who was not involved with the report, 

told the Guardian the results should be taken 

seriously by policymakers, though current 

forecasting models frequently fail to take such 

factors into account. 

He said: "This study shows how Europe will 

be impacted by one of the most serious impacts 

of climate change. Hundreds of millions, 

perhaps billions, of people will be exposed to 

coastal sea level rise and shifts in extreme 

weather that will cause mass migrations away 

from the most vulnerable locations. We know 

from human history that such migrations often 

lead to conflict and war, with devastating 

consequences. The huge potential costs of 

migration-related conflict are usually omitted 

from economic models of climate change 

impacts in the future." 

Climate change is predicted to result in more 

droughts, floods, heatwaves, and other extreme 

weather, as well as more intense storms and 

rising sea levels. These effects are likely to 

render agriculture more difficult, if not 

impossible, across swathes of the globe, 

including sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia. 

These effects will also be felt in Europe, but its 

lower base temperatures, relative prosperity 

and advanced infrastructure mean the damage 

could be contained, and make it an attractive 

destination for migrants. Migration, or 

attempted migration, to Europe has increased 

markedly in the last decade, with leading causes 

including the war in Syria, turmoil in north 

Africa and the middle East, and a burgeoning 

young population with few economic prospects 

in many regions of Africa and the middle East. 

The new study, published on Thursday in the 

journal Science, was initiated and largely 

funded by the EU's Joint Research Centre, with 

contribution from the US Department of 

Energy, and led by scientists at Columbia 

University in New York. 

MAdhukArA PuTTy 

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are best 

recycled by pulverising them into nanosized 

particles to easily recover valuable 

constituents such as polymers, oxides and 

metals, say Indian researchers. The new 

method, described in a study published in 

Materials Today in March, is scalable and 

environment-friendly, said researchers 

from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), 

Bangalore, and the Rice University in 

Houston, US. 

In the study, the researchers followed the 

principle that ultra-low temperatures make 

materials brittle and are easy to pulverise 

and separate. They placed a PCB in a 

rotating cylinder with temperatures 

brought down to minus 119 degrees Celsius 

before bombarding it with steel balls to 

shatter it into nanoparticles which were 

then dispersed in water. The nanoparticles 

could be put to various uses, the 

researchers said. They could be added to 

polymer composites strengthening them, 

used in 3D printing or in the making of 

polymer powder-based paints. Metallic 

nanoparticles can be reused after 

purification by well-known methods. 

"With some preliminary sorting, the 

method can handle most PCBs, says 

Kamanio Chattopadhyay, research guide, 

professor at IISc and an author of the study. 

Although the technology is still in the 

laboratory stage, the research team is now 

working with an industry to demonstrate its 

scalability and effectiveness. 

Scaling up the process depends on factors 

such as the existence of an efficient supply 

chain of waste as well as viable business 

models "including the availability of capital, 

expected return and the policy 

environment," says Chattopadhyay. 

Others are less optimistic. "Physical 

crushing requires a lot of energy, especially 

when dealing with complex circuit boards 

with a variety of components. Smelting 

circuit boards is more economical and 

feasible," says R. Parthasarathi, managing 

director of E-Parisara, one of India's 

leading e-waste recycling companies. 

Villagers walks on a dried river bed in Bangladesh. 

Photo: Barcro 

Supermarkets and drinks firms 

should pay for lastic recycling 

Tree need regular thinning to produce high quality timber. 

Burning waste wood in 

power stations 

Tony JuniPer 

Last week, a group of respected 

scientists wrote to the Guardian to 

argue that using wood to generate 

electricity in place of coal is not a 

solution to climate change. Their 

critique pointed to a "carbon debt" 

arising from the years between using 

a tree for fuel and new one growing. 

They gave the impression that forests 

are being cleared wholesale to be 

shovelled into power stations. Reality 

on the ground is, however, somewhat 

different. 

I found this out when earlier this 

year I went to the USA as an advisor 

to Drax, a power company in the UK 

that is seeking to accelerate the phase 

out of coal by using a biomass 

instead. On my travels I had many 

vivid reminders as to how forests are 

more than collections of individual 

trees. In the case of the US South, 

from where much of the wood being 

used in the UK comes from, I saw 

vast expanses of production 

woodlands being harvested for a 

range of products. 

I learned that the demand for wood 

has over recent decades been the 

main reason why the quantity of 

wood those forests hold has about 

doubled. Those managed ecosystems 

are taking carbon out of the 

atmosphere, while supplying various 

industries including, lumber, paper 

and bioenergy. I saw how, at the level 

of the landscape, there is no carbon 

debt. 

And it is important to know which 

wood is being made into wood pellets 

to generate electricity here. Much of 

the wood produced by these forests is 

low grade thinnings taken out as part 

of the process of growing higher 

grade lumber. These, along with 

branches and sawmill waste, are the 

principle sources of materials being 

made into wood pellets to displace 

coal. 

Of course it might be argued that 

solar and wind are better, but when 

it's dark or calm these intermittent 

renewable sources need to be 

complemented with sources that 

can be turned up and down at a 

moment's notice. Hydropower and 

tidal sources can do this but in the 

UK context have limited potential. 

Nuclear is another low carbon 

alternative but is inflexible and if 

anything is an alternative to wind 

and solar, rather than a 

Photo: Alamy 

complement to them. A decade ago 

when I was campaigning for the 

new laws that eventually became 

the UK Climate Change Act, I 

pressed for the urgent slashing of 

greenhouse gas emissions. Since 

then we've made good progress on 

renewables deployment, helping to 

bring about the UK's first day 

without coal power since we've had 

electricity - a landmark reached in 

April this year. 

Such progress is possible not just 

because of ambitious determination 

but also because campaigners have 

been pragmatic. We showed 

ministers that it was not just 

necessary to slash emissions, but 

also doable. That is why some of us 

called for conversion of the UK's 

biggest power station, Drax, from 

coal to biomass. 

There are many questions about 

biomass (and indeed all energy 

choices), but in the case of biomass 

I fear that some advocates have 

gone from questions to opposition 

rather too quickly. I stand by the 

policy I backed a decade ago and 

would encourage a discussion that 

seeks to make biomass as a good as 

it can be, rather than to stop it. 

SAndrA LAViLLe 

Supermarkets, retailers and drinks 

companies should be forced to pay 

significantly more towards the recycling 

of the plastic packaging they sell, an 

influential committee of MPs has said. 

Members of the environmental audit 

committee called for a societal change in 

the UK to reduce the 7.7bn plastic water 

bottles used each year, and embed a 

culture of carrying reusable containers 

which are refilled at public water 

fountains and restaurants, cafes, sports 

centres and fast food outlets. British 

consumers use 13bn plastic bottles a 

year, but only 7.5bn are recyled. MPs 

said the introduction of a plastic bottle 

deposit return scheme (DRS) was key to 

reducing plastic waste in the UK, as part 

of a series of measures to reduce littering 

and increase recycling rates. 

Michael Gove, the environment 

secretary, has called for evidence on a 

plastic bottle deposit scheme, and it is 

expected to be part of measures he 

announces in the new year. Major 

retailers have yet to support such a 

scheme, but Iceland and the Co-op 

recently announced their backing for a 

DRS. The report published on Friday 

underlines the need for government 

intervention to tackle plastic waste in the 

UK and calls for higher charges on 

companies to contribute to clearing up 

the waste they create. Mary Creagh, 

chair of the environmental audit 

committee, said: "Urgent action is 

needed to protect our environment from 

the devastating effects of marine plastic 

pollution, which if it continues to rise at 

current rates, will outweigh fish by 2050. 

"Plastic bottles make up a third of all 

plastic pollution in the sea and are a 

growing litter problem on UK beaches. 

We need action at individual, council, 

regional and national levels to turn back 

the plastic tide." In the report MPs called 

for the "polluter pays" principle to be 

applied to companies to increase their 

contribution to recycling plastic waste. 

Companies in the UK that produce the 

waste, including supermarkets and 

beverage firms, pay one of the lowest 

contributions towards its recycling of 

any country in Europe under the 

Producer Responsibility Obligations. 

Instead taxpayers pay 90% of recycling 

costs. 

"We took account of the polluter pays 

principle; that those who produce 

pollution should bear the cost of 

managing it," MPs said. "The Producer 

Responsibility Obligations do not make 

producers financially responsible for the 

packaging they are putting on the 

market. "The committee is calling on the 

government to adopt a producer 

responsibility compliance fee structure 

that rewards design for recyclability and 

raises charges on packaging that is 

difficult to recycle." MPs are also 

demanding the government makes it 

law that plastic bottles have to contain a 

minimum of 50% recycled plastic by 

2023 at the latest. The UK's recycling 

rate has plateaued in the last five years, 

and in the UK 15 million plastic bottles 

are littered, sent to landfill or incinerated 

every day. Deposit return schemes 

operate in several European countries, 

as well as parts of Australia and the US. 

MPs heard evidence that a deposit 

return scheme could help remove 

700,000 plastic bottles from being 

littered each day, offering a financial 

incentive for the public to return them 

rather than throw them away. 

"Fewer than half of councils provide 

on street recycling bins," the report said. 

"The UK needs an effective system to 

capture all plastic bottles not just those 

disposed of in household waste … we 

therefore recommend the government 

introduce a well designed DRS 

providing an economic incentive for 

consumers to recycle plastic bottles." 

Samantha Harding, litter programme 

director at the Campaign to Protect 

Rural England said: "This is a 

significant and unequivocal 

recommendation by the cross-party 

EAC - that the analysis of the evidence it 

received has shown England does need 

a deposit return system to save us from 

the plastic choking our countryside and 

coasts." 

The report said the money raised 

should be reinvested in plastic 

reprocessing facilities in the UK to 

reduce the amount of plastic exported 

each year - about 320,000 tonnes. 

"Given the recent Chinese ban on mixed 

plastic waste from the UK, this 

investment is both urgent to avoid a 

huge increase in landfill, and will save 

money and create jobs." 

Plastic bottles and other rubbish floating in Leith docks in edinburgh. 

Photo: Will rose

NATIONAL 

WEDNESDAy, 

THE 

BANGLADESHTODAY6 


Eastland Insurance Company Ltd. hands over Insurance claim through a cheque of compensation 

for conflagration affected at King Jute Mill. Managing director of Kalukhali King Jute Mills 

Advocate Mohammad Abdur Razzak Khan receives cheque from Rajbari branch chief, 

Mohammad Masudur Rahman yesterday in the district. Photo: Mohammad Monirujjaman. 

Training on ETP 

operation and 

maintenance 

held at JU 

JU COrrESPONdENT: 

A workshop, titled 

'Training on ETP Operation 

and Maintenance', was held 

on the Jahangirnagar 

University (JU) campus 

yesterday (Tuesday). 

JU Environmental Science 

dept. organized the 

workshop at its water 

refining center. 

At 10 am, Vice Chancellor 

of the university Prof dr. 

Farzana Islam as the chief 

guest, inaugurated the 

workshop. 

While inaugurating dr. 

Farzana said, 'Environment 

is deeply concerned with 

development. The youth 

should come forward to 

develop the environment'. 

Presided over by Prof dr. 

Amir Hossain Bhuiyan, 

chairman of the dept., Prof 

AbdusSattar of Islamic 

University (IU) addressed 

the workshop while Prof dr. 

Md. Khabir Uddin delivered 

welcome speech. 

Students of the 

Environmental Science 

department took part in the 

workshop. 

4 militant 

suspects 

held in 

Rajshahi 

rAJSHAHI: Members of 

rapid Action Battalion 

(rAB-5) arrested four 

militant suspects on charge 

of their involvement in 

subversive activities from 

Jamira village under Puthiya 

upazila in the district last 

night, reports BSS. 

The arrested persons were 

identified as rubel alias 

Masud, 34, Abdur rahim, 

29, Mijanur rahman alias 

Meja, 27, and Mukul 

Hossain, 32. 

Commanding Officer of 

rAB-5 Lt Col Mahabub 

Alam revealed this at a press 

conference at his office here 

this noon. 

On a tip-off, a rAB team 

conducted a sudden raid at 

Jamira and Bhuapara areas 

and arrested them. The team 

also seized 24 jihadi books 

from their possessions. 

A case was recorded with 

Puthiya Police Station and 

the arrested persons along 

the seized books were 

handed over to police. 

Khaleda should take 

part next polls: Tofail 

BHOLA: Awami League 

advisory Council member and 

Commerce Minister Tofail 

Ahmed today said BNP 

chairperson Begum Khaleda 

Zia should take part in the 

next general election, reports 

BSS. 

"Khaleda Zia will cause 

more damage to herself and 

her party if she tries to stage 

demonstration. She should 

join the next polls," he said 

this after attending an 

extension meeting of Bhola 

district Awami League here. 

The commerce minister said 

Begum Khaleda Zia failed in 

her cause in spite of carrying 

out arson attacks that killed 

innocent children, hurled 

petrol bombs on vehicles, 

houses and killed policemen 

in the name of demonstration 

in 2013. 

She burned down 500 

schools in 2014 and killed four 

presiding officers in her bid to 

foil the general elections, he 

said. Tofail Ahmed said 

Khaleda Zia killed people by 

torching and hurling petrol 

bombs during 93 days antigovernment 

movement in 

2015. 

He added, "She (Khaleda) 

committed that she will not 

return home without ousting 

Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina, but Sheikh Hasina is 

rightly running the country, 

while Khaleda Zia got defeated 

Newborn dies in Manikganj 

over wrong treatment 

MANIKGANJ : A newborn baby has died at a private clinic 

in Balirtek area of Sadar upazila allegedly for wrong 

treatment, reports UNB. 

Victim family members alleged that Maksuda, wife of 

Mishuk rana, a resident of Bhararia village, was admitted to 

'Ekota Clinic' around 10 pm on Sunday night as she felt 

labour pain. 

Later, she gave birth to a baby girl through a caesarian 

section. However, during the operation, the doctors cut a 

portion of the head of the baby girl, claimed the family 

members. Later, the baby died on the way to dhaka as her 

condition was deteriorating on Monday morning. 

The family members spotted the deep injury mark on the 

baby's head along with stitch while bathing the body. 

They claimed that the baby died from excessive bleeding. 

After the operation, doctors used cotton and towels to hide 

the injury mark, claimed the victim, adding that her baby 

died for the negligence of the doctor. 

Md Habibullah, officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station, 

said on information, they recovered the body for an autopsy. 

Contacted, physician Nazmul Hasan, who conducted the 

operation, admitted the head injury of the newborn during 

operation but he claimed that the baby might have died 

from cold disease as her condition was not good after 

delivery. 

CHITTAGONG: 

Authorities today entrusted 

police's specialized Bureau 

of Investigation (PBI) to 

track down a group of 

dacoits who raped four 

women here nearly two 

weeks ago raiding an 

expatriate's house, reports 

BSS. 

"We have now taken it's 

charge," PBI's head in 

Chittagong Additional Police 

Superintendent ohammad 

Moin Uddin told newsmen 

as the case was being 

investigated by ordinary 

police. 

Officials familiar with the 

process said three suspects 

were arrested earlier while 

manhunt was underway to 

and surrendered herself 

before the court and returned 

home." 

The next general elections 

would be held as par 

constitutional procedure, he 

said, adding elections in every 

democracy across the world 

are held under ruling party. 

The election commission 

would conduct the next polls 

under the present 

government, Tofail added. 

Among others, local 

lawmaker Ali Azam Mukul, 

district Awami league 

secretary and chairman of zila 

parisad Abdul Momin Tulu, 

pourasava mayor M 

Moniruzzaman and others 

were present. 

Two-taka 

notes seized 

at Benapole 

BENAPOLE : Members of 

the Border Guard 

Bangladesh (BGB) seized 

new notes of Bangladeshi 

two-taka worth 84,000 

from Benapole Checkpost 

on Tuesday morning 

during smuggling to India, 

reports UNB. 

Lt Col Ariful Haque, 

commanding officer of 

BGB-49 battalion, said 

that tipped-off, a team of 

BGB conducted a drive 

around 7am and recovered 

the taka. 

However, no one was 

arrested. 

A case was filed. 

The notes were being 

smuggled across the 

border to sell to drug 

addicts to turn those into 

two-dollar notes by 

printing. 

Authorities order PBI 

engagement for rape 

probe in Chittagong 

track all the culprits down 

but PBI engagement was 

ordered for intensifying the 

process. 

They said State Minister 

for Land Saifuzzaman 

Chowdhury, who was 

elected to parliament from a 

Chittagong constituency, 

also kept an eye on the 

progress of the investigation. 

Bangladesh Information and Human Rights Foundation forms human chain protesting raping 

4 of a family in Chittagong yesterday. Photo: Doli Korim 

Broccoli farming gains popularity 

in Rajshahi region 

rAJSHAHI: Farming of 

broccoli, a non-conventional 

winter vegetable, has been gaining 

popularity in the region by dint of 

its lucrative market price and 

gradually growing demands, 

reports BSS. 

Paulina Marmu, a farmer of 

Jamtara village under Godagari 

Upazila, said many farmers are 

cultivating the seasonal cash crop 

in the area as they are getting 

better market price than many 

other crops. 

dr Shakhawat Hossain, Senior 

Scientific Officer of Bangladesh 

Agriculture research Institute, 

said farmers are showing their 

interest in cultivating Broccoli for 

the last couple of years due to 

better output and market price. 

He said there is a bright prospect 

of broccoli farming commercially 

in the country's northwest region. 

dr Hossain said the prolonged 

cold weather being experienced in 

the region for the last couple of 

years which is suitable for 

20000 pieces yaba 

seized in Bogra 

BOGrA: detective Branch 

of police held three people of a 

family with 20000 pieces of 

yaba tablets from Kahaloo 

Upazila of the district last 

night, reports BSS. 

Police Super of Bogra Md 

Asaduzzaman said at a press 

briefing this noon at his office. 

The detainees are Shahidul 

Islam, 27, his brother Kamrul 

Hassan, 19 and Shahidul's 

wife Mukta Begum, 22. 

Asaduzzaman said on 

information dB police 

conducted a raid at 

Maheshpur village at about 10 

pm last night and held the 

three people with the yaba 

tablets. They used to bring 

yaba from Cox Bazar and sell 

in Bogra, the SP added. 

cultivation of Broccoli that is 

locally known as green 

cauliflower. 

Almost similar to the 

cauliflower and its green leaves 

enriched with protein and 

vitamin C can be consumed 

directly. The price of broccoli in 

the markets is three to four times 

more than cauliflower. 

Broccoli is gradually becoming 

popular among the urban people 

and the Chinese restaurants 

together with the grand hotels are 

using broccoli for making soup 

and other delicious foods creating 

demand for the vegetable. 

dev dulal dhali, deputy 

director of department of 

Agriculture Extension (dAE), told 

BSS that the crop was unfamiliar 

to the farmers and consumers of 

the rural areas. 

He said various agricultural 

extension and research 

organizations have taken 

initiatives to make farming of the 

crop popular among the growers 

LGRD minister calls for 

maintaining religious 

peace and harmony 

FArIdPUr: LGrd and 

Co operative minister 

engineer Khandaker 

Mosharraf Hossain on 

Monday called upon all to 

maintain religious 

harmony and peace in the 

society, reports BSS. 

The minister said this 

while exchanging views 

with members of the 

Christian community at 

Faridpur Baptist Church 

on the occasion of 

Christmas day, the 

biggest religious festival 

of the Christian 

community, yesterday. 

The minister visited the 

three churches including 

Faridpur Baptist 

Church,Maran Atha AG 

Church 

and 

roghunondanpur Church 

in the district. 

He also exchanged 

greetings with the 

Christian Community 

leaders and common 

people during the visit. 

deputy director of 

Local Govt Abu Nayeem 

Mohammad Abudus 

Sabur, Superintendent of 

Police ( in charge) Jamal 

Pasha, Secretary of 

Faridpur Baptist Church, 

Alfred Sajal das,LGrd 

Minister's son Masrur 

rahman Mitul and local 

AL leaders accompanied 

the minister. 

Advocacy Meeting and Press briefing held at Sirajganj deputy commissioner's office at marking 

Family Welfare Service and Publication Week yesterday in Sirajganj. Photo: Badrul Alam 

JU bans 

visitors till 

Dec 30 

JU COrrESPONdENT: 

The authorities of 

Jahangirnagar University 

(JU) slammed ban on the 

entry of visitors to the 

campus till december 30. 

A press release signed 

by Abu Bakr Siddique, the 

registrar of the university, 

confirmed the matter 

yesterday. 

From dec 26 to 30, the 

entry of the outsiders with 

view to making study 

tour, shooting and 

visiting, will remain 

shutting down, said the 

release. 

Centering the upcoming 

senate election, scheduled 

to be held on dec 30, the 

ban was put in place. 

The movement of 

rickshaws, from the new 

Arts building to the main 

entrance, will remain 

prohibited from 8am on 

the day of elections. 

Persons with disabilities are 

integral part of society: Speakers 

GAIBANdHA: Speakers at 

a function here on Monday 

said the persons with 

disabilities are the integral 

part and asset of the society, 

not burden, reports BSS. 

"The persons with 

disabilities can make huge 

contribution to the society by 

flourishing their latent talent, 

if they are given care and 

educated properly", they 

said. They made the 

comments while addressing 

a discussion meeting 

organized by Protibandhi 

Seba Sangstha of Palashbri 

upazila here on the premises 

of Palashbari SMB High 

School yesterday. 

The function was arranged 

aimed at increasing the 

mental improvement of the 

persons with disabilities and 

creating awareness among 

the common people about 

sympathy towards them. 

deputy Commissioner 

(dC) Gautam Chandra Pal 

addressed the function as the 

chief guest and Palashbari 

upazila nirbahi officer 

Mohammad Tofazzal 

Hossain was present at the 

event as the special guest. 

With former MP Tofazzal 

Hossain Sarker in the chair, 

the meeting was also 

addressed, among others, by 

assistant commissioner 

(Land) Arif Hossain, district 

disability affairs officer Akter 

Hossain, officer in charge of 

Palashbari thana Mahmudul 

Alam, upazila social services 

officer Ariful Islam. 

Nobody has any hand 

about the persons with 

disabilities but there is some 

negative perception about 

the disability and autism, 

they said. 

Putting emphasis on 

coming out of negative 

perception about disability 

and autism, they said 

disability or autism is not a 

disease; rather it is a diversity 

of creation. 

dC Gautam Chandra Pal 

level. dAE has also grown the crop 

in projection plots aimed at 

encouraging the farmers to boost 

its production commercially. 

He added the vegetable could 

easily be cultivated in the normal 

farming field as it is more 

tolerable to high-temperature 

than cauliflower and cabbage. 

Nutritive value of the crop was 

more than any other winter 

vegetable including cabbage and 

cauliflower. 

ATM rafiqul Islam, Project 

director (Agriculture) of Barind 

Multipurpose development 

Authority, said importance 

should be given to encourage the 

farmers through providing them 

with necessary financial support 

and inputs. 

The farming method was almost 

similar to the cabbage and 

cauliflower. At least 40,000 to 

50,000 plants could be produced 

from per hectare in 65-70 days, he 

said. 

in his speeches said many 

world famous personalities 

including Albert Einstein, 

darwin, Newton, WB Yeats 

and Stephen Hawking were 

autism by born but autism or 

disability could not create 

any obstacle to flourishing 

their talents. 

The government, led by 

Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina, had already enacted 

'disabled Persons rights and 

Protection Act in 2013' for 

the welfare of the persons 

with disabilities side by side 

with taking beneficial 

activities for them, the dC 

also said. 

Later, the dC handed over 

the blankets to the poor 

persons with disabilities on 

behalf of the organization to 

mitigate their sufferings 

caused by cold wave. 

A large number of people 

including guardians, local 

elite, public representatives 

and journalists attended the 

function.

INTERNATIONAL 

THE 


WEDNESDAy, DECEMBER 27, 2017 

7 

Singapore journalist Lau Hon Meng arrives for his court hearing in Zabuthiri court at Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Photo: Internet 

Myanmar police to free 

journalists working for 

Turkish broadcaster 

Myanmar police said on Tuesday they 

would drop pending charges against 

two journalists working for Turkey's 

state broadcaster, their interpreter 

and driver, who was jailed in 

November for violating an aircraft law 

by filming with a drone, reports 

Reuters. 

Cameraman Lau Hon Meng from 

Singapore, reporter Mok Choy Lin 

from Malaysia, Aung Naing Soe - a 

local journalist who was interpreting 

for the pair - and driver Hla Tin were 

detained by police on Oct. 27 near 

Myanmar's parliament building in the 

capital Naypyitaw. 

They are currently each serving a 

two-month prison sentence under a 

colonial-era aircraft law, but all four 

still face further charges for importing 

the drone. The two foreign nationals 

have also been charged with an 

immigration offence. 

Police Lieutenant Tun Tun Win and 

an immigration officer - the 

complainants - appeared in a 

Naypyitaw courtroom on Tuesday and 

asked that the court drop the charges. 

Cameraman Lau Hon Meng from 

Singapore, reporter Mok Choy Lin 

from Malaysia, Aung Naing Soe - a 

local journalist who was interpreting 

for the pair - and driver Hla Tin were 

detained by police on Oct. 27 near 

Myanmar's parliament building in the 

capital Naypyitaw. 

They are currently each serving a 

two-month prison sentence under a 

colonial-era aircraft law, but all four 

still face further charges for importing 

the drone. The two foreign nationals 

have also been charged with an 

immigration offence. 

Police Lieutenant Tun Tun Win and 

an immigration officer - the 

complainants - appeared in a 

Naypyitaw courtroom on Tuesday and 

asked that the court drop the charges. 

Tun Tun Win told Reuters higher 

police officials had ordered the case 

dropped because the four did not 

mean to endanger national security by 

flying the drone. 

Additionally, he said, the decision 

was intended "to forward the 

relationship between countries", 

referring to the two journalists' home 

countries, Singapore and Malaysia. 

A law officer - the government's 

prosecutor in the case - was expected 

to tell the court the charges were 

formally dropped in another hearing 

set for Thursday, defense lawyer Khin 

Maung Zaw told Reuters. 

"The higher authorities already 

instructed to terminate with good 

intention, but the procedure can only 

be accomplished on that day 

(Thursday)," the lawyer said. 

The four are set to complete their 

sentences under the aircraft act on 

Jan. 9, but may be released earlier for 

good behavior, he added. 

The case had raised concerns over 

freedom of the press in Myanmar, 

where a civilian government led by 

Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi took 

power last year but the military retains 

control of security matters, including 

the police. 

Two Reuters journalists were 

arrested on Dec. 12 after they went to 

meet police officers for dinner on the 

outskirts of Myanmar's largest city 

Yangon. Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe 

Oo, 27, have now been in detention for 

two weeks with no access to visitors or 

to a lawyer. 

They had covered the crisis in 

western Rakhine state that has driven 

655,000 stateless Rohingya Muslims 

across the border to Bangladesh since 

August. 

The reporters are being investigated 

under the colonial-era Official Secrets 

Act. 

In break with tradition, Trump 

doesn't host a state dinner 

Washington: President Donald 

Trump couldn't stop talking about 

the red carpets, military parades and 

fancy dinners that were lavished 

upon him during state visits on his 

recent tour of Asia. "Magnificent," he 

declared at one point on the trip, 

reports UNB. 

But Trump has yet to reciprocate, 

making him the first president in 

almost a century to close his first 

year in office without welcoming a 

visiting counterpart to the U.S. with 

similar trappings. 

Trump spoke dismissively of state 

dinners as a candidate, when he 

panned President Barack Obama's 

decision to welcome Chinese 

President Xi Jinping with a 2015 

state visit. Such visits are an 

important diplomatic tool that 

includes a showy arrival ceremony 

and an elaborate dinner at the White 

House. 

"I would not be throwing (Xi) a 

dinner," Trump said at the time. "I 

would get him a McDonald's 

hamburger and say we've got to get 

down to work." 

Last month it was Xi's turn to 

literally roll out the red carpet. The 

Chinese leader poured on the 

pageantry as he welcomed Trump to 

Beijing on what was billed as a "state 

visit, plus." Trump also made state 

visits to South Korea and Vietnam. 

White House press secretary Sarah 

Huckabee Sanders said there is no 

"singular reason" why Trump hasn't 

extended a state visit invitation yet, 

but added that the administration 

hopes to schedule a visit early in 

2018. Sanders gave no hints about 

which of Trump's foreign 

counterparts are being considered 

for the diplomatic honor. 

A state visit typically is offered as a 

sign of friendship and to showcase 

strategic ties between countries that 

are important to each other, said 

Anita McBride, a veteran of three 

Republican administrations who last 

served as chief of staff to first lady 

Laura Bush. 

"The White House is the world 

stage to elevate that," she said. 

"These occasions really go a long way 

to solidify and strengthen 

relationships." 

Trump speaks often about his 

relationships with many of his 

foreign counterparts, including Xi. 

Trump and the Chinese leader met 

at Trump's Florida estate in April, 

and Trump treated Xi to a full dinner 

- not the aforementioned burger - 

and what Trump described as "the 

most beautiful piece of chocolate 

cake." 

"President Xi was enjoying it," the 

president reported. 

Trump has also met at the White 

House, sometimes over lunch as well 

as abroad, with many of his foreign 

counterparts. He recently put the 

figure at more than 100. 

But nothing compares to a state 

visit. 

The White House portion of the 

visit begins with an elaborate arrival 

ceremony on the South Lawn, 

including the pomp of a military 

honor guard, a troop review and 

leader statements. The leaders meet 

privately in the Oval Office before 

they hold a joint news conference in 

the East Room or the Rose Garden. 

The evening ends with the foreign 

leader as the guest of honor at a 

lavish state dinner attended by 

hundreds, including members of 

Congress, business leaders, 

celebrities, political donors and 

others. 

The visiting leader also has lunch 

at the State Department, and 

sometimes will address a joint 

meeting of Congress. 

Such visits are reserved for when 

the U.S. wants to put on its "best 

face" for a particular leader and ally, 

said Peter Selfridge, who served as a 

liaison between the White House 

and visiting foreign dignitaries as 

U.S. chief of protocol from 2014 to 

January 2017. 

"It's a really important arrow in a 

president's quiver when it comes to 

the diplomatic nicety side of his 

work," Selfridge said. 

And not just for American 

presidents. Knowing Trump enjoys 

flattery, Xi pulled out all the stops to 

impress him on that November stop 

in Beijing. 

The visit opened with an arrival 

ceremony considered lavish even by 

Chinese standards, with Trump and 

his wife, Melania greeted at the 

airport by Chinese and American 

dignitaries standing at attention, a 

band playing military music and 

scores of flag-waving children 

chanting "welcome." 

Trump was then whisked away for 

a private tour of the Forbidden City 

that included dinner. The meal was a 

first for a visiting foreign leader at 

Beijing's historic imperial palace 

since the founding of modern China. 

Trump also raved about an outdoor 

opera performance. 

The following morning brought 

another welcome ceremony at the 

Great Hall of the People featuring a 

military parade that Trump said was 

"magnificent." He said "the world 

was watching" and claimed to have 

received telephone calls about it 

from around the world. "Nothing 

you can see is so beautiful," Trump 

said. 

Xi also honored Trump at a state 

banquet that included video 

highlights from the Chinese leader's 

visit to Florida, along with clips from 

Trump's trip and the screening of a 

video of Trump's granddaughter, 

Arabella, singing in Chinese. 

McBride said Trump's decision to 

Trump predicts 

GOP and Dems 

will agree on 

health care plan 

Palm Beach : President 

Donald Trump is predicting 

that Democrats and 

Republicans will "eventually 

come together "on a new 

health care plan for the 

country, reports UNB. 

Sending a Twitter post early 

Tuesday from his Florida 

resort, Trump said "the very 

unfair and unpopular 

Individual Mandate has been 

terminated as part of our Tax 

Cut Bill, which essentially 

Repeals (over time) 

Obamacare." 

Much of former President 

Barack Obama's Affordable 

Care Act remains intact, 

however, and the sign-up 

period for the various options 

was carried out as normal this 

year. 

Majority Republicans 

sought repeatedly to repeal 

the 2010 law during this 

year's congressional session, 

but couldn't get it through the 

Senate. 

Obama and his wife, 

Melania, and their son, 

Barron, spent Christmas at 

his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm 

Beach, Florida. 

not extend a state visit invitation 

could be partly because his first year 

was a chaotic one, dominated by 

staff upheaval and lengthy 

negotiations with Congress over 

health care and tax legislation. 

Separately, the first lady, who is 

responsible for planning a state 

dinner down to the smallest detail, 

didn't officially relocate to the White 

House until June. A state visit is also 

a massive undertaking and Trump 

has been running the government 

with a bare-bones staff. 

But Trump's first state visitor will 

matter. "The other world leaders will 

pay attention to that," McBride said. 

Not since Calvin Coolidge in the 

1920s has a president ended his first 

year in office without hosting a 

foreign leader for a state visit, 

according to the White House 

Historical Association. 

Coolidge assumed office in 1923 

after the sudden death of President 

Warren G. Harding, and was elected 

to a full term in 1924. Coolidge didn't 

hold a state dinner until October 

1926 for Queen Marie of Romania, 

according to the White House 

association. 

Every president since Coolidge has 

hosted at least one state visit their 

first year. 

Lyndon Johnson held 12 in 1964, 

his first full year in office after 

President John F. Kennedy's 

assassination in 1963. Barack 

Obama, Trump's immediate 

predecessor, held just one in 2009 - 

and it was famously crashed by a 

celebrity-seeking couple. 

Earlier this year, Trump was the 

special guest of President Emmanuel 

Macron at France's Bastille Day 

parade. Trump has also accepted an 

invitation from Queen Elizabeth II 

for a state visit. Sanders said she 

expects those details will be 

announced soon. 

Syria rebels, opposition reject Russia-proposed talks 

Beirut: Syrian rebel fighters and opposition groups on Tuesday 

rejected Russia's proposed peace talks, accusing Moscow of 

failing to pressure its ally, President Bashar Assad, to end the 

conflict, reports UNB. 

In a series of statements, 40 rebel groups, including some of 

Syria's most prominent, as well as political opposition umbrella 

groups, said the talks expected next month are an attempt to 

"circumvent" the U.N.-led process, which has made virtually no 

progress since it began in 2014. 

The rebel groups said Moscow has asked them to give up their 

demand for Assad to step down. 

"We reject this, and we affirm that Russia is an aggressor that 

has committed war crimes against Syrians," the statement 

signed by 40 rebel groups said. "Russia has not contributed with 

a single move to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people and it 

has not pressured the regime it claims it guarantees to move an 

inch toward any real path toward a resolution." 

The rebel groups, including Ahrar al-Sham, Army of Islam, 

and a number of Free Syrian Army groups, said they are 

committed to the U.N.-led Geneva process, and called on the 

international community to end the bloodshed, now in its 

seventh year. Political opposition groups and governing bodies in 

rebel-held areas have also rejected Russia's proposed talks. 

The talks are scheduled for Jan. 29-30 in Sochi, and were 

announced after talks among Russia and Iran, which back the 

government, and Turkey, which supports the opposition. 

Syria's government said it would attend the talks. Assad told 

reporters recently that the Sochi talks have a clear agenda of 

discussing new elections and possibly amending the 

constitution. 

The fate of Assad has been the main point of contention in all 

previous rounds of talks. The opposition has long called for a 

transitional period in which Assad would have no role, 

something the government refuses to even consider. 

The Sochi talks would open up a fourth track of talks between 

parties to the complex conflict. The U.N.'s own Geneva program 

has been supplemented by "technical" talks in Astana brokered 

by Russia, Iran and Turkey. 

Russia periodically opens a third track through Cairo. Egypt 

has provided a base for Syrian reformists seen as acceptable to 

the Damascus government. 

Highlighting its close ties to the Syrian government, Russia on 

Tuesday moved ahead with plans to lease a naval base in Syria 

for an additional 49 years. 

The upper chamber of the Russian parliament voted to extend 

Russia's lease of the Mediterranean base at Tartus, the last step 

before President Vladimir Putin's expected signature. 

Russia's air campaign in Syria, which began in September 

2015, helped turn the tide of the civil war in favor of Assad. 

Earlier this month, Putin announced a partial pullout of troops 

from Syria, but Russia is determined to maintain its military 

presence there. 

Pakistan army says 

Indian fire kills 3 

soldiers in Kashmir 

Islamabad: Three Pakistani soldiers have been killed by Indian 

fire across the Line of Control in the disputed Kashmir region, 

Pakistani officials said Tuesday, reports UNB. 

A military statement said the "unprovoked cease-fire violation" 

took place Monday in Rawalakot in the Pakistan-controlled part 

of Kashmir. It came two days after India's army said four of its 

soldiers had been killed by Pakistani fire along the de facto border 

between the South Asian rivals. 

In the latest shooting, the Indian military said that its soldiers 

targeted Pakistani posts after the Pakistani side had targeted 

their positions. The Indian troops did not suffer any casualties, 

officials said. 

The incident happened hours after the wife and mother of an 

imprisoned Indian naval officer who faces the death penalty in 

Pakistan for espionage and sabotage were allowed to meet with 

him in Islamabad. The situation remained tense in some of the 

Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir, with residents fleeing to 

safer places in the region. 

After Saturday's shooting, the Indian military had said in a 

statement that the soldiers' killings "will not go in vain." India 

said that Pakistani soldiers had violated the 2003 cease-fire 

accord by targeting Indian forward posts in the Rajouri sector. 

Pakistan's army and the foreign ministry did not respond to 

the Indian claims. India and Pakistan have a long history of bitter 

relations over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir, which is 

claimed by both in its entirety. Both countries have repeatedly 

accused the other of initiating border skirmishes that led to the 

deaths of soldiers and civilians. 

They have fought two of their three wars over the region since 

they gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947. 

British navy escorts Russian 

warship near UK waters 

London: British officials say the Royal 

Navy has escorted a Russian warship 

through the North Sea near U.K. waters, 

reports UNB. 

Officials said Tuesday the Russian ship 

was also shadowed by a navy helicopter as 

it transited near Britain. 

The HMS St. Albans with 190 sailors on 

board was used to escort the Russian 

Admiral Gorshkov frigate through what 

British officials called "areas of national 

Egypt wants 

World Bank to 

help on Ethiopia 

dam impasse 

Addis Ababa - Egypt said 

Tuesday the World Bank 

should be brought in to 

resolve tensions with 

Ethiopia over a massive dam 

on the Nile River that Egypt 

says threatens its water 

security, reports UNB. 

Foreign Minister Sameh 

Shoukry spoke in Addis 

Ababa after a 10-month 

impasse over technical 

negotiations for the dam, 

which will be Africa's biggest 

hydro-electric plant. The 

talks also involve Sudan. 

"Egypt has recognized the 

importance of economic 

development to Ethiopia . 

but science should be the 

determining factor on how 

we manage this important 

issue," Shoukry said. 

He called the World Bank 

"neutral and decisive" and 

said it could facilitate 

negotiations "devoid of 

political interpretation and 

manipulation." 

Ethiopia maintains that 

the Grand Renaissance 

Dam's construction will not 

reduce Egypt's share of the 

river. It insists the dam is 

needed for development, 

pointing out that 60 million 

citizens don't have access to 

electricity. 

Foreign Minister 

Workneh Gebeyehu said 

Ethiopia will consider 

Egypt's new proposal and 

that "this dam is not going to 

cause any significant harm." 

The project is now 63 

percent complete. 

Tuesday meeting comes as 

Ethiopia's leader is expected 

to visit Egypt next month to 

address lawmakers. 

While Ethiopia has said 

the dam is a "matter of life or 

death" for its people, Egypt 

has said water is a "matter of 

life or death" for his country. 

Coal mine 

collapse 

kills 5 in 

Afghanistan 

Kabul : An Afghan official 

says at least five coal miners 

have been killed in a tunnel 

collapse, reports UNB. 

Mohammad Ali Hassani, 

the district chief in Dar-i- 

Suf, in the northern 

Samangan province, said 

another four miners were 

rescued when the 800- 

meter (yard) tunnel 

collapsed Tuesday. He says 

another miner is missing. 

He said the mine, like 

many in rural Afghanistan, 

was dug with little regard for 

safety, and that those 

working in it were poor 

laborers with no other way 

to make a living. 

interest" on Christmas Day. 

The navy says there has been a recent 

surge in Russian vessels traveling near 

U.K. waters. Officials say that on 

Christmas Eve, a navy vessel was used to 

escort a Russian intelligence-gathering 

ship through the North Sea and English 

Channel. Defense Secretary Gavin William 

said Britain wouldn't tolerate aggression. 

British officials warn that Russian ships 

may cut undersea internet cables. 

A British ship escorted a Russian vessel as it passed near UK territorial waters over 

Christmas, Britain's defense ministry said on Tuesday, adding that Russian naval 

activity near Britain had increased in the holiday period. 

Photo: Internet

ART & CULTURE 

wedNeSdAY, 

deCeMBeR 27, 2017 

8 

Anushka Sharma, Virat Kohli 

wedding reception in Mumbai 

Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma and 

cricketer Virat Kohli, who tied the knot 

on December 11 in a private ceremony 

in Italy, will host their second wedding 

reception in Mumbai on Tuesday and 

details of the grand bash are already 

out! Times of India. 

What: This will be the second 

wedding reception held by the celeb 

couple, fondly called Virushka by their 

fans. They earlier organised a reception 

in Delhi on December 21 where Prime 

Minister Narendra Modi was also in 

attendance. 

When: The party is scheduled to 

begin at 8:30pm. The Delhi reception, 

too, began around the same time last 

Thursday. 

Where: According to the press invite, 

the reception will be held at The St 

Regis in Lower Parel, Mumbai. As per 

an India Today report, the spacious 

Astor Ballroom in the hotel, with a 

seating capacity of 300 guests, will be 

the venue of the reception. 

Invite: In accordance with the 

personal and eco-friendly theme of 

their wedding ceremonies, Virat and 

Anushka sent across environment 

friendly invites with small plants on the 

cards! Kunal Kohli decided to share the 

joy with the public and tweeted a 

picture of the invite. 

Guest list: With the venue being 

Mumbai, all Bollywood bigwigs are 

expected to show up at the bash. 

Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan, 

Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, 

among several others are expected to 

attend. Anushka's PK co-star, Aamir 

Khan, however, may miss the party as 

he is shooting for Thugs of Hindostan. 

Cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer 

Khan, Virendra Sehwag, along with 

BCCI officials may also attend the bash, 

media reports suggested. 

Salman Khan to the rescue 

Tiger Zinda Hai crosses 

Rs 150cr mark in 4 days, 

revives box office 

Salman Khan, truly, is a 

saviour. In his latest outing 

Tiger Zinda Hai, he destroys 

ISIS (or whatever the director 

has named the organisation 

in the film) and makes 

friends out of India and 

Pakistan. Off screen, the film 

has come as the good news 

trade sorely needed. As you 

read this, the film also 

starring Katrina Kaif has 

easily breached the Rs 150 

crore mark and is on its way 

to smash more records. 

Critics may tell you what the 

film lacks but the audience is 

heading to the film theatres, 

with tubs of popcorns in their 

hands. 

Disappointing star show at 

the box office 

While Ajay Devgn's 

Golmaal Again is currently 

the top grosser of the year 

with Rs 205 crore in its kitty, 

Varun Dhawan-starrer 

remake of Salman Khan's 

1997 hit, Judwaa, stands at 

the second position with Rs 

138 crore box office 

collection. 

Varun's Badrinath Ki 

Dulhaniya, which started this 

year on a positive note at the 

ticket windows, only made 

around Rs 114 crore at the 

ticket windows. 

Tiger Zinda Hai comes as a 

blessing for trade 

Ali Abbas Zafar's sequel to 

the 2012 hit, Ek Tha Tiger, 

Tiger Zinda Hai came as the 

good news trade sorely 

needed. The film has crossed 

the Rs 150-crore-mark within 

four days of the release. After 

a smashing opening 

collection of Rs 34.10 crore, 

the film roared past the Rs 

100 crore-mark over the first 

weekend and made Rs 114.93 

crore in three days. 

Thanks to an extended 

weekend and Bhai's fan 

following, the film will roar 

towards greater landmarks at 

the box office and it has 

another week to go before the 

year ends. Moreover, there 

are no major Hindi releases 

before January 26, which will 

see a grand clash between 

Akshay Kumar's ambitious 

project Padman and his close 

friend Neeraj Pandey's 

Aiyaary. 

Saif Ali Khan's Kaalakaandi 

and Anurag Kashyap's 

Mukkabaaz will release a 

week before the Republic Day 

but that still gives another 

window of 15 days for 

Salman's latest outing to 

score. 

Heather 

Menzies- 

Urich 

dies 

Children film festival 

begins today 

DHAKA : The four-day "Bangladesh Children's Film 

Festival-2017" will begin today at 64 districts 

simultaneously across the country. 

Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor will 

inaugurate the festival at National Chitrashala Auditorium 

arranged by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA), said a 

press release. 

BSA Chairman Mustafa Monowar, film organizer 

Munira Morshed Munni and Assistant Prof of Mass 

Communication and Journalism Department of Dhaka 

University Sabrina Sultana Chowdhury will present the 

programme. BSA Director General Liyakat Ali Lucky 

will preside over it. 

A seven-member jury committee will judge a total of 40 

films. Marking the festival, workshop titled 'Film 

Understand' to be held on December 29 and 30 and a 

seminar would be held on December 29 at 4 pm at National 

Chitrashala Auditorium, the release added. 

Gal Gadot shares her 

most heartwarming 

moment of 2017 

Justice League actor Gal Gadot said the happiest moment of 

her life was when the embargo for her movie Wonder 

Woman was lifted. She is also set to receive the #SeeHer 

Award at Critics Choice Award 2017. 

To many, Gal Gadot gave one of the most precious 

moments to comic book fans this year by taking probably 

the most iconic superheroes of all time to the big screen. 

Gal Gadot, who played Wonder Woman/Diana Prince in 

this year’s blockbuster movie Wonder Woman, has revealed 

the most heartwarming moment she experienced this year, 

which was more endearing to her than any on-screen or onset 

moment. 

According to Entertainment Weekly, the 32-year-old actor 

revealed that she experienced the most happiest moment of 

her life when the embargo for her movie was lifted. 

She said, “It was a Thursday evening and I knew they were 

lifting the embargo for the reviews at 9 p.m. It was my first 

time going through such a thing. Usually, I’m not in the loop 

on when the studio is lifting the embargo. So I put my sixyear-old 

daughter to bed and I said, ‘You need to fall asleep, 

I need to do some work tonight.’ And of course that night 

she was very much awake. I said, ‘Okay. I’m going to bring 

my computer and sit next to you until you fall asleep.'” 

Prior to Wonder Woman, Gadot had debuted in ‘Batman 

v Superman: Dawn of Justice’. While she felt as though she 

and director Patty Jenkins were crafting something 

“special” while working together, she was largely 

unprepared for what came next. 

Heather Menzies-Urich, who played Louisa 

Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, has died 

aged 68. Her death was announced by the 

estate of the musical's creators, Rodgers & 

Hammerstein, on Monday. 

She was diagnosed with brain cancer four 

weeks ago and died on Christmas Eve, news 

site TMZ quoted her son Ryan as saying. 

"She was an actress, a ballerina and loved 

living her life to the fullest," he told TMZ, 

reports BBC 

Born Heather Menzies in Toronto, she 

was 15 when the musical film was released 

in 1965. It went on to win 10 Oscars, 

including best picture. She played the 

mischievous third Von Trapp child Louisa, 

but her later television and film 

appearances did not hit the same heights. 

At 23, she posed nude for Playboy 

magazine under the headline The Tender 

Trapp, a decision she said horrified her 

Presbyterian parents, who were originally 

from Scotland. 

She married film producer Robert Urich 

in 1975, but he died in 2002. Among those 

to pay tribute were Kym Karath, who played 

Gretl in the film. 

H o R o S C o p e 

ARIeS 

(March 21 - April 20): 

The things you fear the most are the 

things from which you have least to 

fear. You may be annoyed with 

yourself today for previously getting worked up 

about issues that were really of no importance but 

it's no big deal. Time to move on. 

TAURUS 

(April 21 - May 21): 

You need to trust people more than you 

have done of late. In recent weeks you 

have insisted on taking all the major 

decisions yourself and things have not worked out as 

well as you expected. Next time get a second opinion 

from your friends. 

GeMINI 

(May 22 - June 21): 

The more you have lacked in ambition 

in recent months the more you will 

want to make up for it now. But don't 

just throw yourself at the first opportunity that 

comes along: wait for the one that motivates and 

inspires you the most. 

CANCeR 

(June 22 - July 23): 

You have been rather tunnel-visioned 

of late but now you are beginning to 

realize that you need to open up to 

more diverse viewpoints. Today's sun-Mercury 

union will help you to review your beliefs and 

opinions and adjust them to fit reality. 

Leo 

(July 24 - Aug. 23): 

Mercury in the wealth area of your 

chart will make it easier to come to 

grips with a financial or business 

matter that has been keeping you awake at night. 

Once you recognize what the true problem is you 

will find ways to deal with it. 

VIRGo 

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): 

Life is not a zero-sum game: other 

people don't have to lose so you can 

win. Your task today is to find creative 

ways to further your own material ambitions while 

helping others get what they need as well. Cooperation 

is essential. 

LIBRA 

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): 

Whatever approach you decide on today 

you must stick with it. You have chopped 

and changed so many times in recent 

months that you are not sure which direction you are 

following or even which way is up. Time to get 

serious, and organized, again. 

SCoRpIo 

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22): 

Because you have been in such mental 

turmoil of late it may seem as if 

nothing will ever make sense again, 

but if you focus your mind on essentials the answer 

will come to you at some stage today. The fog is 

already beginning to clear. 

SAGITTARIUS 

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): 

You may have to give up something 

that means a lot to you today but deep 

down you know you have no choice in 

the matter. The simple fact is your life is too 

cluttered and you need to get back to essentials 

again. It won't be too hard. 

CApRICoRN 

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): 

Keep your eyes and ears open over the 

next 24 hours because a golden 

opportunity is heading your way and 

you won't want to miss it. What you begin today 

could pay off in a big way, maybe as early as the full 

moon on the 12th. 

AQUARIUS 

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19): 

You must stay mentally positive today 

because there is a lot at stake. Some 

say you are too diffident to make it to 

the top but if you have the courage to reach out and 

take what is offered it could change your life in 

some pretty big ways. 

pISCeS 

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20): 

Stop selling yourself short and start 

believing that you have what it takes to 

make your mark on the world. Today's 

sun-Mercury union in your sign will do wonders 

for your confidence. If you can imagine it you can 

do it - so do it.

SPORTS WEDNESDAY, 


9 

Ashes: Moeen Ali's form for England a real issue, says Michael Vaughan. 

NEWCASTLE, United Kingdom: Pep 

Guardiola will put squad rotation 

ahead of rewriting the European 

football history books when runaway 

Premier League leaders Manchester 

City visit Newcastle on Wednesday, 

reports BSS. 

Guardiola's side crushed 

Bournemouth on Saturday to make it 

17 successive league victories, two 

short of the current record for the top 

five European leagues, set by Bayern 

Munich during the current City 

manager's reign with the Germany 

club. 

But as City continue to battle for 

silverware in four competitions, and 

negotiate the gruelling fixture schedule 

over the Christmas period, Guardiola 

is more interested in making sure his 

stars keep up their intense style of play 

than in setting new records. 

"Fatigue, I don't think it will be a 

problem. It may happen but we've a 

good enough squad," Guardiola said. 

"Gabriel (Jesus) didn't play against 

Bournemouth - he played 120 minutes 

against Leicester (in the League Cup) 

and he's the best fighter in the high 

pressing I've ever seen in my life. He 

helps us a lot with our intensity. 

"Danilo, Bernardo, (Ilkay) 

Gundogan all helped us against 

Bournemouth. We have Yaya (Toure). 

"Last game, (Oleksandr) Zinchenko 

was man of the match and he was not 

in the squad against Bournemouth. 

"Of course we will rotate in this 

period. We have a game every four 

days. Everyone that has played in the 

past is going to play in the future." 

Nevertheless, the fixture list has 

been relatively kind to City in terms of 

quality of opposition over Christmas 

and New Year, with the Newcastle 

game followed by a visit to Crystal 

Palace and home meeting with 

Watford - all clubs struggling for form. 

There is the real prospect that by the 

time City visit Liverpool in mid- 

January, they will have broken the 

record and have 20 straight league 

victories - not that Guardiola is 

motivated by the prospect. 

"All it means is we've won a lot of 

games. Since August we have won a lot 

of games and that's why we are happy, 

"he said. 

"Our lives are better when we win, 

it's simple like that. But I'm not going 

to sleep thinking about if I am going to 

break a record from my time at Bayern 

Munich. It's nothing special. 

"It's about Newcastle. I could not see 

them over the last few days of this 

Christmas time. "So now I'll sit down 

with my staff with our laptops, try to 

discover what they do and keep our 

pace and intensity with and without 

the ball." - Confidence boost - 

Guardiola expects Vincent Kompany 

to retain his place against Newcastle 

Photo: BBC. 

History can wait as Guardiola 

plans Christmas rotation 

Warner dominates as 

Australia capitalise on 

toss win in Ashes Test 

MELBOURNE: David Warner plundered England's bowling 

on a flat pitch to put Australia in a commanding position on 

the opening day of the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne on 

Tuesday, reports BSS. 

Warner capitalised on Australia winning the toss and had 

his first century of the series in sight after an ominous 

opening session. 

Australia have already reclaimed the Ashes after taking an 

unassailable three-nil lead in the five-Test series and are 

chasing a 5-0 whitewash over the beleaguered tourists. 

At lunch, Warner was on 83 from 93 balls with Cameron 

Bancroft providing the anchor role of the opening 

partnership on 19 with Australia 102 without loss. 

The Australian openers set up a platform with a steady 

opening hour, scoring 37 runs before breaking the shackles 

in the hour before lunch. 

Warner scored an unbeaten 87 in the second innings of the 

first Brisbane Test and was poised to surpass that in batfriendly 

conditions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

It was the first toss captain Joe Root has lost in the series 

and a potentially bad one to lose on a straw-coloured pitch 

under cloudless skies with a hard day in the field in the offing 

for England. 

Stuart Broad went wicket-less in his first seven-over spell 

and had the unflattering figures of 0-197 from 61 overs since 

he last took a wicket, on day two of the second Adelaide Test. 

Debutant Tom Curran came into the attack in the 20th 

over and bowled with gusto but without any cut through. 

after the injury-prone defender made a 

successful return from his latest lay-off 

in the Bournemouth victory. 

And, of his fringe players, Gundogan, 

Bernardo and Jesus are the most likely 

to start at St James' Park. 

Meanwhile, Rafael Benitez has urged 

Newcastle to build on their dramatic 3- 

2 victory at West Ham, a first win for 

more than two months which lifted his 

side out of the relegation zone. 

Newcastle are two points clear of the 

bottom three as they look to improve 

on a woeful home record against City, 

who are unbeaten in their last 10 visits 

to Tyneside. 

"We have been on a bad run but we 

have kept working hard and 

maintained belief," Benitez said. 

"The victory has given us a big boost 

in confidence, and it will be good if we 

can now back that up result against 

Manchester City." 

Benitez, who was forced to make 

changes against the Hammers due to 

illness and injury, hopes to have more 

options available against City. 

Serbian international forward 

Aleksandar Mitrovic is again a doubt 

with a back problem, but midfielder 

Jonjo Shelvey is set to return after 

serving a two-match suspension. 

"We will assess the players over the 

next couple of days and pick a side to 

go out and give their all against City," 

Benitez said. 

Adelaide move to fourth 

spot, Sydney lead A-League 

SYDNEY: Adelaide United climbed to fourth spot in 

Australia's A-League following their 1-0 win over Central 

Coast Mariners in Adelaide on Tuesday, reports BSS. 

The Reds' winner came from a 14th minute Ryan Kitto goal 

-- his fifth of the season -- when he prodded home a cross 

from Ryan Strain. Brazilian striker Bobo claimed a hat-trick 

for competition leaders Sydney FC to dispatch bottom-ofthe-table 

Wellington 4-1 in New Zealand. 

Sydney FC's win, their sixth in succession since losing to 

Central Coast in early November, came against a Phoenix 

side under pressure after losing assistant coach Rado Vidosic 

and his striker son Dario. 

Defending champions Sydney brutally punished errors by 

the home side, scoring twice inside the first half-hour, and 

lead the Newcastle Jets by five points after 12 rounds. 

The Jets continued to surprise with a smashing 4-0 win 

over crisis-hit club Western Sydney Wanderers. 

Inspired by attacking midfielder Dimi Petratos, the Jets 

put the Wanderers to the sword with one of the best offensive 

displays of the season. A moment of madness by goalkeeper 

Dean Bouzanis allowed Melbourne Victory to snatch a lastgasp 

1-0 win in the Melbourne derby. 

Third-placed Melbourne City looked set to take a point 

from the festive match until Bouzanis' clumsy trip on Mark 

Milligan led to the spot kick which Socceroo Milligan 

converted in the 96th minute. 

Two goals in two minutes helped sixth-placed Perth to a 

come-from-behind 2-1 win in Brisbane. 

The Roar were leading 1-0 late in the second half and 

searching for the buffer goal, until Perth's Irish striker Andy 

Keogh and Spanish playmaker Diego Castro combined to 

inflict the sixth loss on the Roar in 12 games. 

Southampton's Shane Long in action with Tottenham's Davinson Sanchez. Photograph: Eddie 

Keogh/Reuters. 

Photo: BBC. 

Lambs abroad? Buoyant 

India target maiden win 

in South Africa 

NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli's India 

head for a gruelling tour of South 

Africa on Wednesday looking for a 

record-breaking tenth straight Test 

series triumph, but they will have to 

overcome a reputation for being bad 

travelers, reports BSS. 

India, who beat New Zealand, 

England and Australia in a powerful 

home season to consolidate their 

number one Test ranking, celebrated 

their last major away victory in 

2008-2009 when they beat the Kiwis 

1-0 in a three-Test series. 

"Looking forward to the South 

Africa tour, it's going to be a 

different challenge," said Rohit 

Sharma, who captained the Indian 

limited-overs side in Kohli's recent 

absence. 

"But I want to reiterate about our 

home season, it's never easy to beat 

anyone. We were challenged at 

different times and we came back." 

Overseas success against 

weakened West Indies and Sri 

Lanka sides in the past two years, 

and India's invincibility at home, 

has led pundits to back Kohli's side 

to put up a strong challenge to South 

Africa, who are second in the Test 

rankings and have never lost to 

India at home. 

India will play three Tests, six oneday 

internationals and three 

Twenty20 matches during the twomonth 

tour. The series begins with 

the first Test in Cape Town on 

January 5. 

"They had a very good 2017. They 

have to carry on with the good work 

overseas also, away from Asia. At 

any given time you cannot sit on 

your past laurels," former captain 

Bishan Singh Bedi told AFP. 

"To prove it to yourself, not to the 

world, that you are worthy of the 

number one position. It's not easy to 

get there but even more difficult to 

stay there," the ex-spinner added. 

Apart from hosts Australia losing 

to South Africa 2-1 in 2016-2017, 

and visiting England beating the 

Proteas in 2015-2016, the top Testplaying 

nations have enjoyed 

hegemony on home turf. 

The Indians, once labelled "tigers 

at home and lambs abroad" in Test 

cricket, have a chance of breaking 

new ground in South Africa's den. 

"Most teams are doing well at 

home and struggling overseas. So 

this is an opportunity for India to 

move away from the pack," veteran 

sports journalist Ayaz Memon told 

AFP. 

"South Africa lost badly to India 

when they came here in 2015. India 

may have won the odd Test but they 

have never won a series in South 

Africa and Australia," he added. 

India are pinning their hopes on 

the pace quartet of Mohammed 

Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant 

Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to 

make an impact on fast-paced South 

African tracks. 

The fast bowlers played a 

significant role during India's 1-0 

win over Sri Lanka as they equalled 

Australia's record of nine Test series 

victories between 2005-2008. 

Promising fast bowler Jasprit 

Bumrah, who awaits his Test debut, 

and Hardik Pandya also add to 

India's pace brigade to match 

Tony Pulis: Middlesbrough appoint ex-West Brom boss as manager. 

LONDON: Having once 

attempted -- 

unsuccessfully -- to get 

Lazio to furnish Paul 

Gascoigne with his own 

trout farm, Mel Stein 

knows more than most 

about the quirks and 

curiosities of footballers' 

contracts, reports BSS. 

Lazio were unable to 

meet Gascoigne's 

demands following his 

1992 move from 

Tottenham Hotspur, 

explaining simply that 

there were "no trout in 

Rome", and made amends 

to the keen fisherman with 

a bonus payment. 

As Gascoigne's 

representative, Stein 

negotiated the contract 

and 25 years on he told 

AFP the deals that tie 

players to clubs have 

acquired such levels of 

complexity they can be 

considered "an art form". 

"There's a lot more 

intellectualism in them," 

Stein said during an 

interview at his London 

office. 

"There's a lot to think 

outside the box about -- 

for example, if you're 

doing a contract in a 

World Cup year. 

"The other thing is to 

claw back the player's 

commercial (value) and 

the merchandising. Can 

you try to divide the 

contract up so you get 

some payment for image 

rights?" 

He adds: "It's all about 

bonuses. Do you think 

your player's going to be 

an international? Then 

you get more money per 

cap. 

"Obviously there's 

promotion bonuses, salary 

rising after a certain 

number of appearances, 

salary doubling or tripling 

on promotion, depending 

on which league you're 

going to. 

"You try and avoid a 

drop clause, though most 

clubs insist on it -- a 25 

percent deduction on your 

salary if the club goes 

down. 

"But you try and balance 

that by saying, 'If you go 

down, we want an exit 

clause. And let's agree a 

fee for that.'" 

Stein, whose other 

former clients include 

Alan Shearer and Chris 

Waddle, says reports of 

teenage players on eyewatering 

salaries at 

Premier League clubs are 

misleading. 

But he worries top 

English clubs are 

damaging budding young 

footballers by stockpiling 

them and denying them 

chances to play. 

"Bigger clubs acquire 

talented youngsters from 

the academies of smaller 

clubs -- for the relevant 

compensation -- and 

simply stockpile them," 

Stein said. 

"The kids get little 

chance 

against 

competition from 

expensive signings coming 

into the club or already at 

the club and are either 

loaned out or rejected 

altogether. 

"Their career path is 

never the same and in 

some instances it ruins 

their lives." 

- 'Really hard industry' - 

The client roster at 

Stein's Stone Mountain 

Management agency 

features Burnley duo Ben 

Mee and Jonathan Walters 

and West Bromwich 

Albion defender Gareth 

McAuley -- sturdy pros 

worlds away from the 

madcap Gascoigne. 

Stein likens representing 

Gascoigne to "acting for 

the Beatles" and although 

the troubled 'Gazza' 

abruptly terminated their 

partnership 15 years ago, 

he retains warm 

memories. 

"My two sons used to tell 

me: 'You love Gazza more 

than you love us,'" Stein 

recalls. 

"He was such a nice boy: 

really polite, very 

intelligent, a very good 

chess player, very good at 

Proteas' attack of Vernon 

Philander, Kagiso Rabada and Dale 

Steyn. 

But the 71-year-old Bedi said the 

Indian team "shouldn't get carried 

away" after recent praise of its 

pacemen. 

"Very happy situation that Indians, 

given an opportunity, now will be 

able to retaliate with their pace 

department," he said. 

But "good bowling, whether it's 

fast or spin, is getting the opposition 

out twice", he warned. 

"Not so much of verbal bouncers or 

any sort of intimidation and even if 

you do it, first do your job of getting 

wickets," said Bedi, who is known for 

his forthright views. 

On the batting front, vice-captain 

Ajinkya Rahane's form also seems to 

be of concern for a team whose 

batting is led by the prolific Kohli. 

Rahane, who averaged over 65 in 

India's last South Africa tour in 

2013-2014 when they lost the twomatch 

series 1-0, has managed just 

17 runs in his last five innings. 

Coach Ravi Shastri said it was just 

a matter of time before the top-order 

batsman gets his act together. 

"It's not that they are shattered 

mentally. It's just about spending 

some time at the crease, get your feet 

moving the way it should be and you 

will be on your way," Shastri told 

CNN News18 TV Channel. 

"I think it will be Indian batting 

versus the South African batting. 

Both teams have good bowling 

attacks. I think our bowlers will do a 

very good job but it's how our 

batsmen stand up," he said. 

Photo: BBC. 

Stein traces contracts from 

trout farm to ‘art form’ 

cards -- not stupid, the 

way people label him. 

"But unfortunately he 

had one terrible, terrible 

weakness, which was 

alcohol. And it's destroyed 

him. I would be nobody in 

the world of sport today if 

I'd not met Gazza." 

As a former chairman of 

Britain's Association of 

Football Agents, Stein is 

also eager to press home 

that super agents like 

Jorge Mendes and Mino 

Raiola are the exception 

rather than the rule. 

"The 

more 

representative (example) 

is the guy who has two or 

three players in the lower 

divisions and is struggling 

to make a living," says the 

72-year-old Newcastle 

United fan. 

"They're much more the 

norm than the big megaagents. 

This is a really 

hard industry in which to 

make money. 

"Because it's hard to find 

players, it's hard to keep 

them, it's hard to place 

them (with clubs) and it's 

harder to keep them and 

their families happy. 

"Sometimes I think we're 

like double-glazing 

salesmen. You're knocking 

at 30 doors to sell your 

double-glazing and you 

can end the day with 

nothing. Sometimes the 

31st person buys."

ECONOMY & BUSINESS WEDNESDAY, 

THE 


10 


Mercantile Bank Ltd inaugurated its 127th Branch at Manikgonj recently. A.K.M. Shaheed Reza, 

Chairman of the Bank inaugurated the Branch by cutting ribbon as Chief Guest. S M Abdul Mannan, 

former Director and honorable shareholder of the bank spoke on the occasion as special guest. Mati 

Ul Hasan, Additional Managing Director of the Bank delivered his welcome speech. Adv. Golam 

Mohiuddin, Freedom Fighter and President, Manikgonj District Awami League & Chairman, 

Manikgonj Zila Parisad; Tosaddek Hossain Titu, Director, FBCCI; Golam Sarowar Shanu, President, 

Manikgonj Press Club; Jahangir Alam, Secretary, Manigonj Mini Bus Owners Association and 

Mohammad Billal Hossain, Freedom fighter spoke on the occasion among others. Bikash Kumar 

Biswas, Head of Manikgonj Branch gave his vote of thanks. Senior Executives of the Bank, invited 

guests and journalists of Print and Electronic Media were present on the occasion. Photo: Courtesy 

National Bank Ltd opened its 197th & 198th branch at Shakhipur & Golar Bazar in Shariatpur, on Tuesday. 

The Chairman of the bank, a valiant freedom fighter, Zainul Haque Sikder & Director of the bank and 

Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors Parveen Haque Sikder formally inaugurated 

the branches by cutting ribbon. Independent Director of the bank, A K M Enamul Hoque 

Shameem, Managing Director of the bank, Additional Managing Director, Deputy Managing Director & 

Head of Treasury, Deputy Managing Director & Head of HRD, SAVP & Regional Head of NBL, Shariatpur 

Region, Sankar Kumar Paul, Manager of both Shakhipur & Golar Bazar Branches Md. Rogibul Islam & 

Mohiuddin Khan, other officers of the bank, President of Golar Bazar Trade Association Lokman Hossain 

Palowan, some freedom fighters, distinguished business personnel of Shariatpur, social workers and 

people from different professions were present in the program. 

Photo: Courtesy 

US hails UN budget 

cuts as ‘step in right 

direction’ 

UNITED NATIONS: 

The United States on 

Sunday applauded a 

$285-million-cut in the 

UN core budget, saying 

it was "a big step in right 

direction" , reports BSS. 

The General Assembly 

adopted a budget of 

$5.396 billion for 2018- 

2019, slightly below the 

$5.4 billion that UN 

S e c r e t a r y - G e n e r a l 

Antonio Guterres had 

sought. 

The United States is by 

far the largest 

contributor to the UN 

budget, providing for 22 

percent of the core 

budget. 

US Ambassador Nikki 

Haley said in a 

statement that 

"inefficiency and 

overspending" at the 

world body were "well 

known." 

Haley said the budget 

negotiations had 

generated several 

"successes" with 

financial cutbacks and a 

reduction of the UN's 

"bloated management 

and support functions." 

"We will no longer let 

the generosity of the 

American people be 

taken advantage of or 

remain unchecked," she 

said. 

"This historic 

reduction in spending-in 

addition to many other 

moves toward a more 

efficient and accountable 

UN-is a big step in the 

right direction." 

"While we are pleased 

with the results of this 

year's budget 

negotiations, you can be 

sure we'll continue to 

look at ways to increase 

the UN's efficiency while 

protecting our interests," 

she added. 

The UN's operating 

budget is separate from 

its peacekeeping budget, 

which was cut by $600 

million this year under 

pressure from the 

administration of US 

President Donald 

Trump. 

The push for deeper 

cuts comes as Guterres is 

trying to build support 

for his plans for reform 

of the UN bureaucracy. 

Guterres' budget 

proposal was $200 

million below the 2016- 

2017 biennial budget. 

During a meeting held 

on the sidelines of the 

annual General 

Assembly debate 

in September, Trump 

said the United Nations 

had failed to reach its 

"full 

potential due to 

bureaucracy and 

mismanagement." 

"We are not seeing the 

results in line with this 

investment," he said. 

Last week, Trump 

threatened to cut 

funding to countries that 

supported a UN 

resolution rejecting his 

decision to recognize 

Jerusalem as Israel's 

capital. 

Singapore's 

CPI rises 

0.6 pct in 

November 

SINGAPORE : 

Singapore's Consumer 

Price Index (CPI) rose 0.6 

percent in November, 0.2 

percentage points higher 

than that in October, said 

Ministry of Trade and 

Industry and Monetary 

Authority of Singapore 

(MAS) in a joint release on 


The inflation increase 

was mainly due to higher 

private road transport and 

accommodation inflation. 

Meanwhile, Singapore's 

MAS Core Inflation, which 

excludes the costs of 

accommodation and 

private road transport, was 

unchanged from the 

previous month at 1.5 

percent, as a slower pace of 

increase in the prices of 

retail items offset higher 

services inflation. 

In a breakdown, 

Singapore's food inflation 

was unchanged from the 

previous 

month at 1.5 percent in 

November, private road 

transport inflation rose to 

4.1 percent from 2.2 

percent. 

Standard Bank Ltd inaugurates Foreign Currency Exchange Booth at Departure Lounge, Hazrat Shahjalal 

International Airport. Chairman of the bank Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed formally inaugurated the 

Foreign Currency Exchange Booth as the Chief Guest on 26 December 2017. Vice Chairman Mohammed 

Abdul Aziz, Immediate Past Vice Chairman S. A. M. Hossain and Managing Director & CEO Mamun-Ur- 

Rashid were present on the occasion. 

Photo: Courtesy 

Malaysian 

stock market 

closes lower 

KUALA LUMPUR: The 

Malaysian stock market 

ended lower here on 


The Kuala Lumpur 

Composite Index (KLCI) 

was at 1,759.99, down 0.25 

points or 0.01 percent, and 

the Emas was at 12,657.08, 

down 4.67 points or 0.13 

percent. There were 387 

gainers, 489 losers and 374 

counters traded unchanged. 

Turnover increase to 2.07 

billion shares valued at 1.60 

billion ringgit Malaysia 

(392.16 million U.S. 

dollars), compared with 1.64 

billion shares valued at 1.55 

billion ringgit Malaysia 

(380.84 million U.S. 

dollars) on last Friday. 

China treasury bond 

futures open higher 

Tuesday 

BEIJING: China's fiveyear 

treasury bond futures 

opened higher on Tuesday, 

with the contract for 

settlement in March 2018 

opening 0.01 percent higher 

at 96.57 yuan (about 14.8 

U.S. dollars) , reports BSS. 

The contract for 

settlement in June 2018 had 

no trading at opening. 

The contracts are 

agreements to buy or sell 

treasury bonds at a 

predetermined price and set 

date. They allow investors to 

bet on and profit from the 

movements in the value of 

the bonds. 

Dutch-Bangla Bank has opened its 

175th Branch at New Market, Dhaka 

(Golden Gate Shopping Center, 1st & 

2nd Floor, 28, Mirpur Road, Dhaka- 

1205) yesterday, a press release said. 

Abul Kashem Md. Shirin, 

Managing Director & CEO of the 

Bank formally inaugurated the New 

Market Branch. A Milad Mahfil on the 

occasion was held seeking blessings of 

the Almighty Allah for successful 

operation of the Branch, prosperity of 

the business community, depositors 

Japan jobless rate 

lowest since 1993 

TOKYO: Japan's 

unemployment rate in 

November dipped to its 

lowest level since November 

1993, official data showed 

Tuesday, offering another 

sign that the world's thirdlargest 

economy is on track to 

recovery even if the pace is 

slow, reports BSS. 

Figures released by the 

government showed 

unemployment stood at 2.7 

percent last month while the 

jobs-to-applicants ratio 

improved slighty, up 0.01 

percent from the previous 

month to 1.56 in Novemberthe 

highest level in almost 44 

years. 

The latest data come as 

Japan has notched up seven 

straight quarters of economic 

growth-the longest positive 

run for 16 years-with the 

upcoming 2020 Olympic 

Games giving the economy a 

shot in the arm. 

"Japan's economy is 

expected to keep expanding 

through the first half of next 

year," Masaki Kuwahara, 

senior economist at Nomura 

Securities, told AFP. 

Confidence among Japan's 

biggest manufacturers is also 

at an 11-year high, a key 

central bank survey showed 

earlier this month, as the 

world's number-three 

economy picks up pace. 

However, consumer 

spending has remained weak 

and deflation continues to 

stalk the economy. 

Tokyo stocks close lower 

on profit-taking 

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks 

fell Tuesday on late profittaking, 

with investors 

keeping to the sidelines as 

major global markets 

remained closed for the 

Christmas holidays, 

reports BSS. 

"As trading has gotten 

thinner with a lack of fresh 

trading factors, investors 

appear (to be) cashing in 

on their recent gains," said 

Hikaru Sato, senior 

technical analyst at Daiwa 

Securities. 

"Sluggish trading is 

expected to continue for 

now as the market is in 

holiday mode," Sato told 

AFP. 

The benchmark Nikkei 

225 lost 0.20 percent, or 

46.49 points, to close at 

Japan has battled deflation 

for many years and the central 

bank's ultra-loose monetary 

policy appears to be having 

limited impact. 

Other data showed Tuesday 

that Japan's consumer prices 

rose for the 11th straight 

month in November, but 

inflation was still far from the 

Bank of Japan's (BoJ) twopercent 

inflation target seen 

as crucial to revive the world's 

third-largest economy. 

The core inflation rate was a 

0.9 percent rise year-on-year 

in November, according to 

data published by the internal 

affairs ministry, far below the 

two-percent target set by the 

BoJ. 

Market consensus was a 0.8 

percent rise, according to data 

compiled by Bloomberg 

News. 

When the volatile prices for 

fresh food and energy were 

stripped out, prices rose by 

even less -- 0.3 percent, the 

ministry said. 

November household 

spending-seen as key for 

exiting deflation- expanded 

1.7 percent from the same 

month a year earlier-much 

stronger than market 

consensus of a 0.5 percent 

rise. 

Household spending had 

remained flat in October after 

falling by 0.3 percent in 

September and rising by 0.6 

percent in August. 

Strong household spending 

in November "may be a 

and stakeholders of the Bank. 

Dutch-Bangla Bank provides a wide 

range of Banking products and 

financial services including Digital 

Banking services to its retail and 

corporate customers through various 

channels like on-line branches, 

ATMs, Fast Tracks, Rocket, Agent 

Banking, POS terminals, e- 

Commerce gateway, Internet 

Banking, VIP Banking and various 

mobile apps. 

Abul Kashem Md. Shirin in his 

22,892.69 while the 

broader Topix index was 

down 0.27 percent, or 4.92 

points, at 1,827.01. 

"It is difficult to see a 

clear direction in the 

market as foreign investors 

are absent from trade with 

transaction volumes low," 

Okasan Online Securities 

said in a commentary. 

Investors are awaiting 

the release Thursday of 

minutes from the Bank of 

Japan's policy meeting last 

week, it said. 

The dollar changed 

hands at 113.29 yen, 

almost unchanged from 

113.25 yen in Tokyo late 

Monday. 

Some blue-chip shares 

were lower, with Nintendo 

losing 1.60 percent at 

reaction to the weak October 

figure that had reflected" bad 

weather at the time, 

Kuwahara said. 

"But as shown in the low 

unemployment rate and the 

number of jobs expanding, 

the labour market conditions 

are favourable and household 

income keeps gradually 

rising," he said. 

But he warned strong 

inflation without sufficient 

rise in wages "hurts domestic 

demand, having negative 

impact on the economy". 

Prime Minister Shinzo 

Abe's government has pressed 

the country's major 

companies to raise their 

employees' salaries in an 

annual wage negotiations, 

often dubbed as the 

"government-made labour 

offensive". 

Japan's weak inflation 

stands in sharp contrast to 

other major economies whose 

central bankers are looking to 

wind up their easing policies. 

The US Federal Reserve last 

week announced a widely 

expected quarter point rate 

hike, and US policymakers 

have forecast another three 

rate hikes in 2018. 

Meanwhile, the European 

Central Bank has announced 

it would halve its massive 

bond purchases from January 

as the eurozone recovery 

gathers pace, allowing the 

Frankfurt institution to begin 

winding down its crisis-era 

stimulus measures. 

Dutch-Bangla Bank has opened its 

175th Branch at New Market, Dhaka 

Chinese court auctions 

skyscraper for $84 million 

BEIJING : A Chinese court 

is auctioning a skyscraper on 

the country's largest e- 

commerce website-with a 

sky-high starting price of 553 

million yuan ($84.2 million) , 

reports BSS. 

The 39-floor building in 

Taiyuan, northern Shanxi 

province, along with the land 

on which it sits, goes on the 

block January 2 on Taobao, 

Alibaba's e-commerce 

platform. 

Construction on the 

skyscraper began in 2006. 

Standing 156 metres high and 

with over 76,000 square 

metres of floor space, it was 

originally designed to be a 

hotel, state media Xinhua 

reported Monday. 

But the project was 

suspended due to lack of 

funding after major 

construction work was 

completed in 2010, according 

to a statement by the Shanxi 

Provincial Higher People's 

Court, Xinhua said. 

address expressed gratitude and 

thanks to all valued clients and well 

wishers of the Bank for their 

continuous support and cooperation 

and also for keeping trust upon 

DBBL. He called upon local people 

and business community to avail the 

innovative products and channels of 

the Bank by maintaining an Account 

with DBBL. 

Local dignitaries, businessmen, 

industrialists and other invited guests 

attended the inaugural ceremony. 

41,680 yen and Canon 

trading down 0.47 percent 

at 4,398 yen. 

Mitsubishi UFJ 

Financial was down 0.45 

percent at 836 yen while its 

rival Sumitomo Mitsui 

Financial slipped 0.67 

percent to 4,884 yen. 

Chinese stocks ended 

higher on Tuesday, led by 

heavyweight banking and 

gas-related shares. 

The benchmark 

Shanghai Composite Index 

advanced 0.78 percent, or 

25.66 points, to close at 

3,306.12. 

The Shenzhen 

Composite Index, which 

tracks stocks on China's 

second exchange, climbed 

0.43 percent, or 8.13 

points, to 1,892.02.

MISCELLANEOUS WEdNESdAY, 

Venezuela's opposition reinvents 

itself with soup kitchens 

Caracas : Miguel Castillo hurried up 

a narrow, dusty street in a poor 

neighborhood in Venezuela's capital 

city carrying a boy who clung to him 

as if his life depended on it, reports 

UNB. 

Castillo, a member of the country's 

tattered opposition movement, 

brought the 6-year-old named 

Tomas to a dining hall filled with 

nearly a hundred skinny children 

sitting at tables and scooping 

spoonfuls of beef and rice soup into 

their mouths. Tomas, who was 

running a fever and needed food, 

required help reaching the 

opposition-run soup kitchen 

because of a disability that left him 

unable to walk. 

"I never imagined that my country 

would come to be like this," Castillo 

said on a recent day. "This is my way 

of doing something." 

For Venezuela's opposition, this is 

a new kind of politics - one that has 

it providing free meals and medical 

checkups in an attempt to connect 

with the poor. The outreach is aimed 

at helping change the negative 

perception many Venezuelans have 

of an opposition that has been 

unable to influence change as 

President Nicolas Maduro further 

consolidates power. 

Members of the Justice First party 

launched a soup kitchen which has 

so far provided 4,000 meals to poor 

youth in Caracas, while leaders of 

the Popular Will party say they're 

pushing to provide 40,000 each 

week in neighborhoods across 

Venezuela. The food is provided 

with the help of local businesses and 

Venezuelans living abroad. The 

doctors among the opposition 

parties' ranks are giving free medical 

care to children and the elderly. 

Inflation in Venezuela is projected 

to surpass 2,000 percent this year, 

and the economy is estimated to 

have shrunk by 12 percent. 

Shortages of food, medicine and 

basic goods have become dire amid 

moves by Maduro to crack down on 

dissent. 

"Our politics are in crisis, and our 

politicians are in crisis," said 

Henrique Capriles, a former 

presidential contender and governor 

who organized the soup kitchen 

visited by Castillo. 

Many members of the opposition 

now see their quest for political 

relevance as closely tied to their 

efforts to help everyday Venezuelans 

china sentences 'Vulgar butcher' 

activist to 8 years prison 

Beijing: A Chinese court on 

Tuesday sentenced a prominent 

activist known as the Ultra Vulgar 

Butcher to eight years in prison for 

subversion, reports UNB. 

The Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate 

People's Court found activist Wu 

Gan guilty of subverting state 

power and handed down his 

sentence. Wu will appeal the 

sentence, his lawyer Ge Yongxi told 

the Associated Press. 

In court, Wu struck an irreverent 

note in his remarks following the 

sentence, saying he was "grateful to 

the party for granting me this lofty 

honor," according to Ge, who was in 

court. 

"I will remain true to our original 

aspiration, roll up my sleeves and 

make an extra effort," Wu said, 

playing on well-known phrases 

Chinese President Xi Jinping often 

uses to exhort Communist Party 

officials to improve their work. 

GD-1578/17 (5x4) 

in what opposition politician and 

physician Winston Flores calls "a 

policy of solutions." 

On a recent day, Flores provided 

free medical checkups at a 

makeshift neighborhood camp, 

using his cellphone as a flashlight to 

examine an elderly woman's throat. 

"There are some who walk around 

like zombies looking for food and 

looking for medicines," he said, 

adding that the opposition's latest 

outreach is another way of doing 

politics. 

The growing focus on the poor 

sounds familiar to many who have 

seen similar policies implemented 

by the socialist leaders that the 

opposition has been struggling for 

years to unseat from power. 

During his 14 years in office, the 

late President Hugo Chavez 

launched numerous programs 

aimed at providing free medical care 

and social services to Venezuela's 

neediest, while Maduro regularly 

touts initiatives to provide 

subsidized food and housing. 

Capriles denies that outreach 

efforts resemble the same populism 

pushed by Maduro, and says that he 

is simply continuing the policies he 

implemented as governor of the 

central state of Miranda from 2008 

to 2017. 

"I am not the 'disconnected 

politician,'" he said. "I never have 

been one, and I have never been 

isolated from the reality of the 

people I serve." 

But the opposition has found that 

making fiery speeches has been 

inefficient on its own to foster 

support among the Venezuelan 

electorate. 

Opposition parties suffered 

bruising defeats in this year's 

gubernatorial and mayoral 

elections, leaving members divided 

over how to move forward ahead of 

next year's presidential race. 

They have yet to rally behind a 

candidate to challenge Maduro, who 

is expected to seek a second six-year 

term. 

Even so, some political analysts 

are skeptical the latest goodwill 

strategy is enough to change the 

status quo. 

John Magdaleno, director of local 

consultancy POLITY, praised the 

initiatives as well-intended but said 

they fall short of overcoming a 

deeper crisis. 

"Until the opposition's political 

Wu was among the first activists 

and lawyers caught up in an intense 

crackdown by authorities that 

began in 2015. His case was heard 

in court in August after a detention 

of more than two years. 

Wu had become known for 

attention-grabbing campaigns. In 

one, he posed for online portraits 

brandishing knives that he said he 

would use to "slaughter the pigs" 

among local officials who'd done 

wrong. 

He also worked as an 

administrative assistant at the 

Beijing Fengrui Law Firm, which 

had worked on sensitive cases and 

became the focus of the authorities' 

crackdown that began in July 2015. 

Hundreds of lawyers, activists and 

others were detained in a 

coordinated nationwide sweep that 

sent a chill through China's activist 

community. Many were later 

released. 

leadership can agree, the chances 

that we will begin a transition to 

democracy are minimal," 

Magdaleno said. 

Flores, the opposition politician 

and physician, said politicians are 

trying to pull people out of their 

"catatonic state" and urge them to 

reclaim their rights. 

"There are solutions for building a 

better country," he said. "All these 

grains of sand add up and help 

alleviate this misery, this need for 

food, for medicine, and give 

support." 

The growing focus on the poor 

sounds familiar to many who have 

seen similar policies implemented 

by the socialist leaders that the 

opposition has been struggling for 

years to unseat from power. 

During his 14 years in office, the 

late President Hugo Chavez 

launched numerous programs 

aimed at providing free medical care 

and social services to Venezuela's 

neediest, while Maduro regularly 

touts initiatives to provide 

subsidized food and housing. 

Capriles denies that outreach 

efforts resemble the same populism 

pushed by Maduro, and says that he 

is simply continuing the policies he 

implemented as governor of the 

central state of Miranda from 2008 

to 2017. 

"I am not the 'disconnected 

politician,'" he said. "I never have 

been one, and I have never been 

isolated from the reality of the 

people I serve." 

But the opposition has found that 

making fiery speeches has been 

inefficient on its own to foster 

support among the Venezuelan 

electorate. 

Opposition parties suffered 

bruising defeats in this year's 

gubernatorial and mayoral 

elections, leaving members divided 

over how to move forward ahead of 

next year's presidential race. 

Castillo, a member of the country's 

tattered opposition movement, 

brought the 6-year-old named 

Tomas to a dining hall filled with 

nearly a hundred skinny children 

sitting at tables and scooping 

spoonfuls of beef and rice soup into 

their mouths. Tomas, who was 

running a fever and needed food, 

required help reaching the 

opposition-run soup kitchen 

because of a disability that left him 

unable to walk. 

Vaguely defined subversion 

charges are frequently leveled 

against human rights activists and 

perceived political foes of China's 

ruling Communist Party. 

Wu had been detained two 

months earlier, in May 2015, after 

travelling to the southeastern city of 

Nanchang to put pressure on a 

judge. Defense lawyers had been 

denied access to files in a case in 

which four men were serving prison 

time for a double murder despite a 

later confession from a fifth man. 

Wu had said on social media that he 

planned to hold a mock funeral for 

the judge, and was arrested after 

unfurling a banner that insulted 

him. 

Human rights groups have said 

that the authorities are persecuting 

Wu and that it is ironic that his 

fight for justice for the four men - 

who were exonerated last year - had 

cost him his own freedom. 

Tunisia tries to 

defuse tension 

with UAE amid 

airline spat 

Tunis: Tunisia tried to 

smooth out emerging 

tensions with the United 

Arab Emirates on Monday 

after Emirates airline 

barred Tunisian women 

from boarding its flights 

and the North African 

country responded by 

suspending the Dubaibased 

carrier's operations 

in the air and on the 

ground, reports UNB. 

The spokeswoman for the 

Tunisian presidency 

dismissed any notion of a 

"diplomatic crisis" between 

the two countries, 

expressing Tunisia's 

"understanding" of a 

decision made by the UAE's 

government to "protect its 

territory and its airlines." 

After the Emirates' 

decision caused an outcry 

in Tunisia, the presidential 

spokeswoman had to speak 

publicly on a radio station 

to explain that the ban 

targeting Tunisian women 

followed alleged serious 

threats of attacks. 

The spokeswoman, 

Saïda Garrach, said 

the UAE's authorities 

explained that they made 

the decision following 

"serious security 

information" about alleged 

plans for attacks by 

Tunisian women, or women 

with Tunisian passports, 

from "tense hotbeds" in 

Syria and Iraq. 

UAE Minister of State for 

Foreign Affairs Anwar 

Gargash tweeted that the 

ban was temporary and due 

to security reasons. 

In a later written 

statement, Tunisian 

President Beji Caid Essebsi 

"called for overcoming 

these problems as soon as 

possible to preserve the 

relations of brotherhood 

and cooperation between 

the two peoples of Tunisia 

and UAE." 

But Caid Essebsi said 

Tunisia will maintain the 

suspension of all flights by 

Emirates to and from Tunis 

until the UAE's government 

reconsiders its ban. He 

stressed the need to 

preserve the dignity of all 

Tunisian citizens in the 

country and abroad and to 

protect the rights of 

Tunisian women in all 

circumstances. Tunisia 

summoned UAE's 

ambassador on Friday 

following Emirates' ban. 

Speaking on Shems FM 

radio, Garrach, the 

Tunisian presidential 

spokeswoman, said the 

UAE decided on the 

targeted ban "swiftly, 

without notifying the 

Tunisian authorities and 

even their own ambassador 

in Tunis," given the 

"seriousness" of the 

information they held. 

While "understanding" the 

Emirati move, she said the 

way the UAE proceeded 

was "unacceptable" and 

required a "quick reaction" 

from Tunis. 

In an apparent attempt to 

ease Tunisians' discontent, 

Gargash, the Emirati 

minister of state, tweeted 

that the UAE values 

Tunisian women and their 

"exemplary 

empowerment." 

The barring of Tunisian 

women has caused anger 

among rights groups and 

political parties in Tunisia. 

In a joint statement, three 

rights groups described the 

UAE's move as "a violation 

of the basic rights of 

Tunisian women and 

agreements on the free 

movement of people." 

A small protest was held 

outside the UAE Embassy 

in Tunis in the afternoon. 

Protesters called the 

decision "discriminatory" 

and "a humiliation to 

Tunisian women." 

Since Friday, several 

Tunisian women have been 

barred from boarding 

Emirates flights in Tunis, 

Abu Dhabi and Beirut. 

The barring of Tunisian 

women has caused anger 

among rights groups and 

political parties in Tunisia. 

In a joint statement, three 

rights groups described the 

UAE's move as "a violation 

of the basic rights of 

Tunisian women and 

agreements on the free 

movement of people." 

Tokyo: North Korea's envoy in charge of 

U.S. affairs at the United Nations 

demanded Washington provide evidence to 

back up its claim Pyongyang was behind 

the Wannacry ransomware attack, an 

allegation has said was a "baseless 

provocation" being used to generate 

tensions, reports UNB. 

Pak Song Il told The Associated Press in a 

telephone interview from New York late 

Monday that Pyongyang sees the allegation 

as an effort to create an "extremely 

confrontational atmosphere." 

"If they are so sure, show us the 

evidence," he said. 

The WannaCry ransomware attack 

infected hundreds of thousands of 

computers worldwide and crippled parts of 

Britain's National Health Service in May. 

U.S. Homeland security adviser Tom 

Bossert wrote in a Wall Street Journal oped 

published last week that the U.S. 

THE 


11 

dEcEmbEr 27, 2017 

North Korea UN 

ambassador demands US 

prove ransomware claim 

GD-1579/17 (8x3) 

GD-1577/17 (7x3) 

administration had determined North 

Korea was behind the WannaCry attack. He 

said its finding of responsibility is based on 

evidence that has been confirmed by other 

governments and private companies, 

including the United Kingdom and 

Microsoft. 

He wrote that North Korea would be held 

accountable. 

North Korea's state-run media quickly 

condemned the accusation, saying 

Pyongyang would never tolerate such 

"reckless" claims. It called Bossert's claim a 

"grave political provocation" and vowed to 

retaliate. 

Officials in Washington and Seoul have 

accused the North of launching a series of 

cyberattacks in recent years, including the 

hack on Sony Pictures Entertainment over 

the movie "The Interview," a black comedy 

about a plot to assassinate North Korean 

leader Kim Jong Un.

UNITING PEOPLE EVERYDAY 

WEDNESDay, DhaKa, DECEMBEr 27, 2017, POuSh 13, 1424 BS, raBI-uS-SaaNI 8, 1439 hIjrI 

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia concluded the defence argument for Tuesday. 

graft case against Khaleda 

Defence argument 

ends for Tuesday 

DHAKA : the lawyer of 

BnP Chairperson Khaleda 

Zia concluded the defence 

argument for tuesday in 

the Zia Orphanage trust 

graft case, reports UnB. 

Khaleda Zia's defence 

lawyer Advocate Abdur 

rezzak Khan placed the 

closing arguments before 

the Dhaka special Court-5 

in Bakshibazar since morning. 

Judge 

Md 

Akhtaruzzaman of the 

makeshift court adjourned 

the argument hearing for 

yesterday and ordered to 

place rest of the argument 

on wednesday. 

During the argument 

Abdur rezzak Khan said 

"Khaleda Zia's reputation 

and respect is connected 

with this case. ACC has 

failed to prove any of the 

allegations brought against 

her." 

earlier on December 21, 

the court fixed December 

26, 27 and 28 for placing 

the defence arguments in 

the graft cases against 

Khaleda Zia. 

Photo: Star Mail 

Keep new generation at 

focal point of national 

endeavours: President 

DHAKA : President Abdul 

Hamid on tuesday said 

Bangladesh should keep the 

new generation at the focal 

point in all of its endeavours to 

be taken for the development 

of the nation, reports UnB. 

"the development and 

progress of a nation depend on 

the education of the young 

generation. so, the new generation 

should be at the focal 

point of all of our efforts," he 

said. 

the President was addressing 

the 4th convocation of 

Bangladesh University of 

Professionals (BUP) at Mirpur 

Cantonment in the city in the 

afternoon. 

the President said 

Bangladesh is a country of 

huge potentials but it needs 

skilled and competent human 

resources to unlock that. 

noting that Bangladesh still 

could not utilise its resources 

and capacity to large extent, he 

said adding, "If we can build 

the country's huge population 

as educated and skilled one, 

it'll be a blessing for us." 

Abdul Hamid, also the 

Chancellor of the university, 

said science education will 

have to be given importance 

alongside humanities and 

business studies in the country's 

primary and upper stage 

of education. 

"the 21st century has 

thrown various challenges to 

us in the national and international 

arenas... so we've no 

alternative to building our 

young generation skilled with 

knowledge of science and 

information technology for 

surviving in the global competition," 

he said. 

the President urged the 

fresh graduates to nurture the 

Liberation war spirit in their 

professional life being imbued 

The Christmas 

Tree Worm 

InterestIng news 

scientifically that are called spirobranchus 

giganteus, but they are better 

known by their colloquial name — 

Christmas tree worm. the worm is so 

called not because they feed on fig trees 

but because they look like them. 

the spirobranchus giganteus live in the 

ocean and sports two magnificent spirals 

of plumes that protrude from its tube-like 

body and which look like tiny Christmas 

trees. these plumes are composed of hairlike 

appendages called radioles that radiate 

from the worm’s central spine, and 

help the animal to grab food, which typically 

consists of microscopic plants, or 

phytoplankton, floating in the water. the 

plumes are also used for respiration. 

Measuring less than 4 cm in height, they 

come in many colors including orange, yellow, 

blue, and white and, are easily spotted 

due to their shape, beauty, and color. 

the Christmas tree worm doesn’t like to 

move about much. Once they find a good 

place on a live calcareous coral, they burrow 

a hole and live their for the rest of their 

lives, occasionally emerging from their 

home to catch passing plankton with their 

fully extended plumes. they are very sensitive 

to disturbances and will rapidly 

retract into their burrows at the slightest 

touch or passing shadow. 

with patriotism. 

noting that Father of nation 

Bangabandhu sheikh Mujibur 

rahman had dreamt of building 

Bangladesh a happy, prosperous 

and self-dignified 

country, he hoped that the 

new graduates will contribute 

towards materialising his 

dream. 

Abdul Hamid also urged the 

authorities concerned to create 

scopes so that the graduates 

can utilise their talents 

and potentials. 

About offering education by 

the BPU, President Hamid 

hoped that the university will 

remain active in providing 

technology-based education 

with the demand of time. 

Later, the President inaugurated 

the Bangabandhu Chair 

at the university, aimed at conducting 

research on the life 

and works of Bangabandhu 

sheikh Mujibur rahman. 

Ctg. cops' mishandling 

prompt PBI to take 

over rape case 

CHIttAgOng : the case 

filed over the rapes of four 

women during robbery in a 

house under Karnaphuli 

police station in the district 

was shifted to Police Bureau of 

Investigation (PBI) on 

tuesday. 

Karnaphuli police handed 

over all the probe documents 

of the case to PBI yesterday 

morning, said Chittagong 

Additional superintendent of 

Police Mainuddin, reports 

UnB. 

shifting of the case to PBI 

takes place after the 

Chittagong police authority's 

admission on Monday that 

they had some failures in taking 

prompt action over the 

rapes of four women. 

earlier on December 12, a 

gang of robbers allegedly 

raped four women after committing 

robbery in a house at 

Karnafuli in the port city. 

On December 13, police sent 

victims' family members to 

Patia Police station when they 

went to Karnafuli Police 

station to file a case, and Patia 

police again sent them back to 

Karnafuli police. there was no 

mention of the rape incident 

in the first complain registered 

with the police station. 

After seven days, with the 

interference of state Minister 

for Land saifuzzaman 

Chowdhury, police finally took 

the case and arrested three 

persons-Md suman alias 

Babu, 23, of shah Mirpur village, 

Md Ismail Faruki, 25 of 

shikalbaha village of Patia 

upazila and Bappi, 23, in this 

connection. 

ECNEC approves 16 rural 

development projects 

DHAKA : the executive Committee 

of the national economic Council 

(eCneC) yesterday approved three 

projects to accelerate the pace of the 

rural infrastructure development in the 

country's three divisions with an estimated 

cost of taka 8,148.82 crore to 

bring dynamism in farm and non-farm 

activities and thus create employment 

opportunities, reports Bss. 

the approval came from the 12th 

eCneC meeting of the current fiscal 

year held at the neC Conference room 

in the capital's sher-e-Bangla nagar 

area with eCneC Chairperson and 

Prime Minister sheikh Hasina in the 

chair. 

Briefing reporters after the meeting, 

Planning Minister AHM Mustafa 

Kamal said a total of 16 projects were 

approved yesterday. Of the approved 

Bringing migrant workers 

under insurance coverage 

Policy to at 

final stage 

DHAKA : expatriates' welfare 

and overseas employment 

minister nurul Islam Bsc yesterday 

said formulation of a 

policy is now at final stage to 

bring migrant workers under 

mandatory insurance coverage 

to protect them from 

unexpected risks at home and 

abroad, reports Bss. 

"It is one of the main commitments 

of the government 

to introduce insurance for 

ensuring a safe and sustainable 

system for migrant workers 

and is now at the final 

stage," said the minister while 

speaking at a participatory 

workshop of the stakeholders 

on bringing the migrant workers 

under mandatory insurance 

coverage here. 

Though all entries of Mogbazar-Mouchak flyover opened on 26 October in this year aiming to reduce 

traffic congestion in the capital city, the above picture depicting another view. Photo : Star Mail 

Emergency move to import 

220,000 mt fertiliser 

Suspension in gas supply prompts BCIC to go for import 

DHAKA : the government has moved 

to import some 220,000 metric tonnes 

of fertiliser on an emergency basis, aiming 

to avert any possible crisis in agricultural 

input supply in the country. 

the state-owned BCIC (Bangladesh 

Chemical Industries Corporation) had 

to initiate the move because of the energy 

ministry's decision to suspend gas 

supply to state-owned fertliser factories, 

officials at the Industries Ministry said, 

reports UnB. 

As per the decision, the BCIC has 

already invited an international tender 

and selected two bidders to supply 

100,000 metric tonnes of bagged granular 

fertiliser. 

Of the bulk fertiliser, some 75,000 mt 

tonnes of fertiliser will be imported 

through Chittagong port while the 

remaining 25,000 through Mongla port 

for facilitating the smooth distribution 

of the agro-input throughout the country. 

According to an Industry Ministry 

document, obtained by UnB, the decision 

to suspend gas supply to fertliser 

16 projects, 15 are new while one is a 

revised project. 

He said once these rural infrastructures 

development projects are implemented, 

the farm and non-farm activities 

in those areas will get a boost, marketing 

of farm products will be facilitated 

and the overall poverty trend in the 

areas will reduce. 

the Planning Minister said the 

'Mymensingh region rural 

Infrastructure Development Project' 

will be implemented by June, 2022 at 

an estimated cost of taka 3,183.56 

crore from the state exchequer. 

the Mymensingh region project will 

cover 60 upazilas of Mymensingh, 

tangail, Jamalpur, sherpur, 

Kishoreganj and netrakona districts. 

Kamal said the 'rangpur Division 

rural Infrastructure Development 

factories was communicated in a coordination 

meeting on gas supply on 

november 7 last. 

the meeting was attended by the 

energy secretary, agriculture secretary 

and other top officials of the Industries 

Ministry and BCIC. 

Presiding over the meeting, state- 

Minister for Power and energy nasrul 

Hamid conveyed the government decision 

to suspend gas supply to Jamuna 

Fertliser Factories from January next 

and other factories any time. 

After the meeting, the Industries 

Ministry discussed the issue with the 

Agriculture Ministry and Prime 

Minister's Office and received the 

instruction to immediately move for the 

import of 220,000 mt of fertiliser on an 

emergency basis. 

"Because, the peak season for fertiliser 

will start from January and continue till 

March. so, the move was initiated as 

part of the government's strategy to 

build a buffer stock to avert any crisis," 

said a senior official at the BCIC. 

they said the government set a 

Project-2nd phase' will be implemented 

by June, 2022 at an estimated cost 

of taka 2,884.86 crore also to be borne 

from the state exchequer. 

the rangpur Division project will 

cover some 58 upazilas of Panchagarh, 

thakurgaon, Dinajpur, nilphamari, 

rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and 

gaibandha districts. 

the other project titled, 'rajshahi 

Division (except sirajganj district) 

rural Infrastructure Development' will 

be implemented by June, 2022 at an 

estimated cost of tk 2,080.40 crore of 

which the entire fund will come from 

the goB portion. 

the rajshahi Division project will 

cover some 58 upazilas of Pabna, 

rajshahi, natore, naogaon, 

Chapainawabganj, Bogra and 

Joypurhat districts. 

Law enforcers ready 

for 31st Dec: Kamal 

DHAKA : Home Minister Asaduzzaman 

Khan Kamal yesterday said members of the 

law enforcement agencies are ready to 

ensure security of the english new Year celebration 

on 31st December midnight. 

"the law enforcement agencies are ready 

to face any untoward situation at the night," 

he told newsmen while inaugurating Dhaka 

Metropolitan shooting Club as the chief 

guest at Police Convention Hall in the city, 

reports Bss. 

Considering the security ground, he said, 

no open-air function would be allowed after 

6pm on that night. earlier, a meeting was 

also held to this end and issued a circular, he 

added. 

Inspector general of Police (IgP) AKM 

shahidul Hoque, Additional IgP 

(Administration and Operation) Mokhlesur 

rahman, Additional IgP of special Branch 

(sB) Dr M Javed Patwari, President of 

Bangladesh sporting sports Federation and 

secretary of energy and Mineral resources 

Division of Power, energy and Mineral 

resources Ministry nazimuddin 

Chowdhury and secretary general of 

Bangladesh Olympic Association shahed 

reza were present as special guests on the 

occasion. 

President of Dhaka Metropolitan shooting 

Club and Additional IgP (Armed Police 

Battalion) M siddiqur rahman presided 

over the meeting. 

Kamal said members of the law enforcement 

agencies would conduct operations 

against illegal drug trading at that night. 

Besides, law enforcers with uniform would 

remain alert so that none can create anarchy 

in Dhaka University and gulshan areas, he 

said. 

Plain clothes police, the home minister 

said, would be on patrol at the night. 

demand for fertiliser at 2.5 million 

tonnes for the fiscal year 2017-18 and 

stock reserve at 800,000 mt. Of this, 

1.04 million was targeted to be produced 

locally through state-owned factories 

and the remaining amount was targeted 

to import from different countries, 

including saudi Arabia, Qatar and the 

UAe. 

But the decision to suspend gas supply 

to local factories came as big blow which 

prompted the BCIC to move for the 

urgent import of fertiliser to tackle any 

possible crisis, said the official. 

He, however, informed that the BCIC 

floated international tender (quotation) 

to import a total of 220,000 mt of fertiliser. 

But the decision was made for the 

import of 100,000 mt of fertiliser in this 

phase because of big price gap between 

that of the bidders and the government's 

estimated cost. 

the government estimated the cost of 

per metric tonne of urea fertiliser at 

$291.25 for Chittagongport and 

$306.68 for Mongla port. But the bidders 

have offered a much higher rate. 

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam, Advisory Editor: Advocate Molla Mohammad Abu Kawser, Managing, Editor: Tapash Ray Sarker, News Editor : Saiful Islam, printed at Sonali Printing Press, 2/1/A, Arambagh 167, Inner Circular Road, Eden Complex, Motijheel, Dhaka. 

Editorial and News Office: K.K Bhaban (Level-04) 69/K, Green Road, Panthapath, Dhaka-1205. Tel : +8802-9611884-85, Cell : 01832166882; Email: Editor : editor@thebangladeshtoday.com, Advertisement: ads@thebangladeshtoday.com, News: newsbangla@thebangladeshtoday.com, contact@thebangladeshtoday.com, website: www.thebangladeshtoday.com

The Bangladesh Today (27-12-2017)

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?