The Bangladesh Today (21-01-2018)2

mOnday 

Dhaka : January 22, 2018; Magh 9, 1424 BS; Jamadi-ul-awal 4, 1439 hijri 

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www. tbtlive.com 

Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.16; No.36; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00 

InTeRnaTIOnal 

Turkey says border 

town hit by rockets 

from Syria; 1 wounded 

>Page 7 

aRT & CulTuRe 

Alan Carr gets 

married to long-term 

boyfriend in LA 

>Page 8 

SPORT 

Jos Buttler century 

leads tourists 

to series win 

>Page 9 

CHT people to enjoy 

land ownership:PM 

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasinaon Sundayassured the inhabitants 

of the Chittagong Hill Tracts 

(CHT) that they will be able to enjoy the 

ownership of land there, as people in 

other regions of the country do, reports 

UNB. 

"The land ownership won't be determined 

by British-era laws," she said. 

The Prime Minister said this while 

inaugurating the 4000th Para Kendra 

(Village Centre) in at Mitingachhari in 

Kaptai upazila of Rangamati district 

through a videoconference. 

CHT Affairs Ministry and Unicef 

jointly organised the programme at Pan 

Pacific Sonargaon Hotel. 

Sheikh Hasina said the government 

wants to develop the whole country in a 

balanced way as the government gives 

importance to the upliftment of people's 

socioeconomic status. 

"This is not possible to develop the 

country keeping one region neglected, 

we're giving a special attention to the 

development of the neglected areas of the 

country... the overall development of the 

CHT area is our responsibility," she said. 

Recalling the signing of the CHT 

Peace Treaty during her 1996-2001 

80 pc honest people hate 

BNP: Quader 

Zohr 

05:26 AM 

12:13 PM 

04:00 PM 

05:41 PM 

06:55 PM 

6:42 5:37 

term, the Prime Minister said a major 

part of that agreement has already been 

implemented and the rest of it will surely 

be implemented. 

Regarding land disputes, she said her 

government has formed the Land 

Commission and if the Commission can 

sit regularly the problem will be solved. 

Hasina laid emphasis on adopting 

modern methods in cultivation. "We 

want to establish food-processing 

industries here. This will create jobs and 

bring foreign currencies through 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurates the 4000th Para Kendra 

(Village Centre) in at Mitingachhari in Kaptai upazila of Rangamati 

district through a videoconference. 

Photo : Star Mail 

export." 

She asked the people of the CHT 

region to maintain peace in the region 

as this is a perquisite to development. 

Chaired by State Minister for CHT 

Affairs MinisterBir Bahadur Ushwe Sing, 

the inaugural ceremony was addressed, 

among others, by PM'sInternational 

Affairs Adviser Dr. Gowher Rizvi, chairman 

of the Parliamentary Standing 

Committee on CHT Affairs Ministry 

RAMObaidul Muktadir Chowdhuryand 

Unicef Representative in Bangladesh 

Edouard Beigbeder. 

CHT Affairs secretary Naba Bikram 

Kishore Tripura delivered the welcome 

speech. 

DHAKA : Reacting to BNP leaders' 

claim that their party will get 80 percent 

vote if the next election is held in a credible 

manner, Awami League general 

secretary Obaidul Quader on Sunday 

said 80 percent conscious and honest 

people of the country hate BNP, reports 

UNB. 

The ruling party leader came up with 

the remark while talking to journalists 

at the Secretariat in the morning. 

"BNP leaders are engaged in a competition 

of making anti-government statements 

to appease their high-ups," 

Quader said. 

Mentioning that BNP leaders Mirza 

Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Barrister 

Moudud Ahmed made two different 

demands over the formation of pollstime 

supportive government, he said, 

"The BNP leaders themselves are not 

clear about their demands. They (BNP 

leaders) should decide what they actually 

want." 

Asked whether Awami League will 

sit in a dialogue with BNP over the 

upcoming parliamentary polls, 

Quader said there is no need to 

arrange dialogue. 

Replying to another query over the 

formation of polls-time supportive government, 

he said they will form the 

polls-time government following other 

democratic countries of the world. 

"During the last election, we had 

invited BNP to be part of the polls-time 

government at that time. They didn't 

take part. We're waiting for their 

response this time, too," he added. 

Mentioning that BNP has its democratic 

right to participate in the election, 

the ruling party leader said, "No democratic 

government invites political parties 

to take part in the election. It's their 

democratic right. Why should we invite 

them?" 

Terming the BNP's allegation that if 

BNP vies in the election, Awami League 

will foil it as 'mischief', Quader said AL 

does not want to participate in any election 

without competitors. 

1,27,198 

Bangladeshis to 

perform Hajj this 

year: Minister 

DHAKA : A total of 1,27,198 people will 

perform Hajj from Bangladesh this 

year, said Religious Affairs Minister 

Principal Motiur Rahman on Sunday, 

reports UNB. 

Of them 7,198 pilgrims will perform 

hajj under government management 

while the rest under private management. 

Bangladesh Biman and Saudi 

Arabian Airlines will carry 50 percent of 

hajj pilgrims respectively, said the minister. 

The minister came up with the information 

at a press briefing at the secretariat. 

A deal in this regard was signed 

between the governments of Saudi 

Arabia and Bangladesh at Al 

Mukarram in Makkah city of Saudi 

Arabia, he said. 

Motiur Rahman was present there on 

behalf of the Bangladesh government 

and Dr. Mohammad Saleh Bin Taher 

Bentan, Saudi Omrah and Hajj affairs 

minister, on behalf of Saudi Arabia. 

He also requested the private hajj 

agencies to be more careful and dutiful 

to hajj pilgrims. 

The minister also warned that any 

type of irregularities and fraudulance 

by private hajj agencies would not be 

tolerated. 

Motiur Rahman said that the ministry 

also has taken steps to prevent disorder 

in Biman's hajj flight. 

Replying to query the minister also 

said that investigation is being carried 

out against the irregularities of private 

hajj agencies. 

MP Mustafa 

Lutfullah's son 

found dead at 

MP Hostel 

SATKHIRA : Anik Aziz, son of 

Satkhira-1 MP Advocate Mustafa 

Lutfullah, has reportedly committed 

suicide at the MP Hostel adjacent to 

Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban in the capital, 

reports UNB. 

Police recovered the hanging body of 

Anik, 26, an MSc student of Daffodil 

International University in Dhaka and 

the only son of the Workers Party MP, 

around 8am on Sunday. 

Jahangir Hossian, personal secretary 

to Mustafa Lutfullah, said he along with 

the MP reached the NAM flat from 

Satkhira around 6:00am where Anik 

Aziz and his sister Srishti were staying. 

Finding no response from Anik, his 

room was unlocked with the spare key 

and found him hanging from the ceiling 

fan. 

On information, police recovered the 

body and sent it to Suhrawardy Medical 

College Hospital for autopsy around 

8:45am. Anik's body will be taken to 

Satkhira on completion of the autopsy, 

sources said. 

Muslim devotees return home after ending munajat of Biswa Ijtema riding on boat. Photo : Star Mail 

Diplomats for safe, voluntary 

Rohingya return 

DHAKA : Bangladesh will sign a document 

with the UNHCR, the UN refugee 

agency, to carry forward the repatriation 

process as the international community 

reiterated its call for 'safe, voluntary and 

dignified' return of Rohingyas from 

Bangladesh to Myanmar to make their 

return sustainable, reports UNB. 

"They (UNHCR) gave a draft memorandum 

of understanding (MoU). We're working 

on it and we will sign it once finalized," 

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali told 

reporters after briefing diplomats at state 

guesthouse Padma on Sunday evening. 

Myanmar, however, does not want 

UNHCR's involvement right now but want 

the involvement of the International 

Committee of the Red Cross. 

The Foreign Minister said Myanmar 

agreed to involve the UNHCR when necessary 

but not now. 

In order to ensure that the return is voluntary, 

Bangladesh has incorporated provisions 

for involvement of UNHCR and 

other relevant international organizations 

in the entire return process, he added. 

Minister Ali briefed the Western and 

non-Muslim countries' diplomats and 

diplomats from Muslim majority countries 

separately. Foreign Secretary M 

Shahidul Haque also attended the briefing. 

When his attention was drawn over 

diplomats' call for voluntary repatriation, 

Minister Ali said Bangladesh also favours 

"voluntary" return and this was mentioned 

in the three documents so far 

signed with Myanmar over Rohingya 

repatriation. 

The Foreign Minister said Myanmar 

involved China, Japan and India for the 

development of Rakhine State and he is 

likely to visit Rakhine State to see the 

progress. He mentioned that Bangladesh 

tried to create space for international 

actors in every phase of the return, resettlement 

and reintegration. 

In this regard he referred to the initiatives 

of India, China and Japan in developing 

resettlement facilities in the 

Rakhine State and encouraged the international 

community to offer similar helps 

to Myanmar. 

Asked whether the repatriation will 

begin on Tuesday as reported by 

Myanmar media, Minister Ali said, "I 

won't tell any date. But you see process 

has already started." Asked whether 

Rohingyas are willing to go back, he said, 

"We can't send them forcibly." 

Minister Ali said Bangladesh said continuous 

support from the international 

community to successfully repatriate the 

Rohingyas. Earlier, diplomats stationed in 

Dhaka on Sunday laid emphasis on 'safe, 

voluntary and dignified' return of 

Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar 

to make their return sustainable. 

British High Commissioner Alison 

Blake said the return should be "safe, voluntary 

and dignified" so that it becomes 

sustainable. 

"We are with your government," US 

Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bernicat 

also laid emphasis on safe return of 

Rohingyas. Sharing her experience, she 

said Rohingyas are not willing to go back 

to their homes and that is the key challenge 

and emphasized on development in 

the Rakhine Sate so that Rohingyas feel 

safe to return. 

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali told briefed the diplomats at the state guesthouse Padma on Sunday. 


Ijtema ends 

seeking 

world peace 

GAZIPUR : The second phase of Biswa 

Ijtema concluded on Sunday with the 

Akheri Munajat on the bank of the 

Turag River at Tongi, on the outskirts of 

the capital, reports UNB. 

Several lakhs of Muslim devotees, 

both from home and abroad, converged 

on the congregation venue and attended 

the concluding prayers seeking 

world peace, divine forgiveness, blessings 

for the Muslim Ummah. 

Hafez Mohammad Zubayer, the 

Imam of Kakrail Mosque in Dhaka, 

conducted the 27-minute Akheri 

Munajat which began around 10:18am. 

He recited the final prayers in Bangla 

like the first phase of Biswa Ijtema held 

on January 12-14. President Md Abdul 

Hamid joined the Akheri Munajat (concluding 

prayers) of the second phase of 

the three-day Bishwa Ijtema from his 

official residence Bangabhaban. 

Pro-AL panel sweeps 

DU registered 

graduate polls 

DHAKA : Awami League-backed panel 

Ganatantrik Oikya Parishad won the 

elections of registered graduate representatives 

of the Dhaka University 

(DU) senate bagging 24 posts out of 25 

on Sunday, reports UNB. 

On the other hand Bangladesh 

Nationalist Party (BNP) backed 

Jatiyatabadi Parishad bagged only one 

post by former DU Prof-VC Prof AFM 

Yususf Haider. Election Commissioner 

and Pro-VC (Education) of DU Prof 

Nasreen Ahmad, announced the results 

about 5 Pm at Nabab Nawab Ali 

Chowdhury Senate Bhaban. 

The elected registered graduates from 

the Pro-AL panel are- Rupali Bank 

Managing Director Ataur Rahman 

Prodhan (12,967), DU Teachers' 

Association President Prof ASM Maksud 

Kamal (12,046)¸ freedom fighter M 

Farid Uddin (11,968), Journalists Union 

(BFJU) President Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul 

(11,924), DU syndicate member SM 

Bahlul Majnun Chunnu (11, 596), GOP 

president Md. Abdus Samad (11,568), DU 

sociology Prof Zinat Huda (11,557), 

Jogonnath Hall provost Prof Asim Sarker 

(11,335), BSMMU Prof M Iqbal Arslan 

(11,220), DU Social Science faculty dean 

Prof Sadeka Halim (11,167), World 

Teachers' Federation President Mahfuza 

Khanam (11,120), DU English dept. Prof 

Tajin Aziz Chowdhury (11,085), DU prof 

Emran Kabir Chowdhury (11,033), freedom 

fighter AHM Enamul Hoque 

(10,942), Krishi Bank GM Liakot Hossain 

(10,838), Sonali Bank Bangabandhu 

Parishad president Md Alauddin 

(10,786), DU prof Sayed Humayun 

Akhter (10,739), DU senate member 

Ramendra Majumder (10,681), Janota 

Bank AGM ABM Badruddoza (10,672), 

NBR global bank Chairman Nizam 

Chowdhury (10,528), DU Science faculty 

dean Prof Abdul Aziz (10,512), Md Abul 

Bari (10,452), Ranojid Kumar Shaha 

(9,967) and ABM Nasir Uddin (9,818).

NEWS 

MoNDAY, 

2 

JANUARY 22, 2018 

5th anniversary of BGB's Northern 

Region Raising Day observed 

RANGPUR : The fifth anniversary of the 

Raising Day of the Northwestern Region of 

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) was 

celebrated at its regional headquarters in the 

city. 

The two-day programme began with a 

milad mahfil on Saturday morning, said a 

press release. 

Later, Region Commander of NWR of BGB 

Brigadier General Nahidul Islam Khan 

hoisted the national flag in front of the office. 

On the second day, the authorities of NWR 

of BGB hosted a luncheon in the afternoon 

for high ranking military officials, sector 

commanders, officials, junior officials and 

soldiers of other ranks of BGB and local 

journalists. 

Rangpur Area Commander and General 

Officer Commanding (GOC) of 66 Infantry 

Division Major General Md Masud 

Razzaque attended the luncheon and took 

part in the cake-cutting ceremony as the 

chief guest. 

Deputy Region Commander of BGB 

Colonel Md Mahbubur Rahman, 

Thakurgaon Sector Commander Colonel Md 

Liaqat Ali, Dinajpur Sector Commander 

Colonel Md Anisul Haque and Principal of 

Rangpur Cantonment Public School and 

College Colonel Md Nurul Huda were 

present. 

Major General Masud Razzaque, in his 

speech, congratulated the region 

commander, sector commanders, 

commanding officers, officials, soldiers and 

all other members of NWR Region of BGB 

on the auspicious day. 

At the end, a charity volleyball match was 

arranged on the training ground of the NWR 

of BGB this afternoon. 

560 model mosques, Islamic 

cultural centres to be set up 

every pazila 

SANGSAD BHABAN : The government has 

undertaken a project to construct 560 model 

mosques and Islamic cultural centres across 

the country, aiming to develop and spread the 

Islamic values and culture. 

"The project has been approved by the 

government," Religious Minister Principal 

Matiur Rahman told this in the Jatiya Sangsad, 

while replying to a question from treasury 

bench member M Ayen Uddin of Rajshahi-3 

yesterday. 

He assured that the model mosque and 

Islamic cultural centre would be constructed 

under the project at Poba and Mohonpur. 

Replying to another question from another 

treasury bench member M Faridul Haque 

Khan, the minister said the government has a 

plan to set up two libraries at every mosque 

having no library at every upazila under 

Mosque Library Expansion and Enhancement 

Project (Second Phase). 

"We have already set up library at every 

mosque having no library at every upazila 

under a Mosque Library Expansion and 

Enhancement Project (First Phase) from July 

2012-13 to June 2017," he informed the House. 

Responding to another question from a 

treasury bench member Shamsul Hoque 

Chowdhury, the minister said the government 

has allocated Taka 2,00,000 for 

renovating/repairing of mosque and Taka 

40,000 for temple at every constituency of the 

elected parliament member, while Taka 

1,00,000 and Taka 20,000 for every reserved 

seat lawmaker to renovate/repair of mosque 

and temple respectively. 

'2 robbers' 

killed in 

B'baria 

'gunfight' 

BRAHMANBARIA : Two 

suspected robbers were killed 

and six policemen were 

injured in an alleged gunfight 

between bandits and police at 

Shahbazpur in Sarail upazila 

on early Sunday, reports 

UNB. 

The deceased were 

identified as Abul Bashar, 26, 

son of Aktar Hossain, hailing 

from Habiganj district, and 

Enta Dakat alias Wahab, 32, a 

resident of Brahmanbaria 

Sadar upazila. 

Police arrested Bashar and 

Wahab on Friday night, said 

officer-in-charge of Sarail 

Police Station Mafizul Islam. 

Based on their information, 

police along with the arrestees 

went to Shahbazpur to 

recover gold and cash, robbed 

by the gang of bandits, on 

early Sunday, said the OC. 

However, sensing the 

presence of police, other 

members of the robber gang 

opened fire towards the law 

enforcers, forcing them to 

retaliate that triggered the 

gunfight. 

Bashar and Wahab caught 

in the line of fire during the 

shootout and Bashar died on 

the spot while Wahab 

sustained bullet injuries, OC 

Mafizul added. 

Later, police took Wahab to 

hospital where doctors 

declared him dead. 

Six police personnel, 

including assistant 

superintendent of police 

(Sarail Circle), received 

injuries during the gun battle. 

Police also recovered a pipe 

gun, two cartridges, two 

machetes and two spears 

from the spot. 

Concluding ceremony and prize distribution ceremony of three-day long science-tech fair was held 

at Khanajpur of Joypurhat yesterday. 

Photo : Masrakul Alam 

France called for 

UN Security 

Council meeting 

over Syria: FM 

THESSALONIKI : 

Thousands of people are 

expected to take to the streets 

of northern Greece's biggest 

city Thessaloniki on Sunday 

as hardliners seek to block any 

deal in the long-running 

name dispute between Athens 

and Skopje that contains the 

term Macedonia, reports BSS. 

Athens argues that the 

name Macedonia suggests 

that Skopje has territorial 

claims to the northern Greek 

region of the same name, of 

which Thessaloniki is the 

capital. 

Hardline clerics, far-right 

leaders and Greek diaspora 

groups have called for rallies, 

and Greek media reports say 

30,000 people are expected to 

demonstrate in Thessaloniki 

alone, with more than 400 

buses bringing people in from 

across the country. "The 

mobilisation of the people has 

exceeded all expectations, " 

Irini Leonardou, a member of 

the rally's organising 

committee, told AFP. 

Greece and Macedonia 

returned to the United 

Nations last week hoping to 

reach a compromise that 

could end the 27-year dispute 

over the former Yugoslav 

republic's name. 

Scientists find new cellulose for 

producing future renewable 

fuels, antibiotic drugs 

SAN FRANCISCO : A 

group of scientists with U.S. 

Stanford University have 

discovered a new type of 

cellulose in bacteria that 

could be used as a source for 

renewable fuels and 

antibiotic drugs in the 

future, reports BSS. 

A study by the Stanford 

researchers, whose findings 

were carried in the latest 

version of the journal 

Science, said the new 

modified cellulose, called 

pEtN, was extracted from 

one of the best studied 

bacteria -- E. coli, which is a 

large group of bacteria that 

can cause diarrhea, urinary 

tract infections, respiratory 

illness, pneumonia and 

other illnesses. 

Lynette Cegelski, an 

assistant professor of 

chemistry at Stanford and 

senior author of the 

research, discovered that the 

new cellulose had properties 

that were thought to be 

made to improve other 

sources of cellulose such as 

switchgrass or poplar for 

producing ethanol for fuels. 

While the new cellulose 

does not create crystals and 

is more soluble in water, 

scientists believe that it is 

more easily converted into 

glucose, the starting 

material for producing 

ethanol, at a lower cost. 

Generally speaking, 

ethanol is made from the 

sugary kernels of corn, and 

its production competes 

with corn as a food source. 

Unlike the conventional 

way of production, cellulosebased 

ethanol is extracted 

from the entire plant, rather 

than just the kernels, and it 

does not compete with a 

food source. 

The new properties of the 

modified cellulose made it 

possible to defeat traditional 

cellulose in terms of 

environmental benefits and 

higher economic efficiency. 

On the medical front, the 

modified cellulose, which 

nurtures and surrounds 

bacterial colonies making up 

some infections, could be 

used to treat those infections 

if experiments on mice 

prove positively that the 

production of those bacteria 

is inhibitable. 

Cegelski and her team 

have examined not only the 

structure of the new 

cellulose but also the genes 

and molecules contributing 

to its birth. 

They have observed that 

the new cellulose can be 

modified by the enzymes 

during the process of its 

production. 

Cegelski said she hopes 

that plant biologists may 

help introduce genes for 

making the modified 

cellulose from bacteria into 

plants, which can in turn 

produce more cellulose after 

they are grown on a large 

scale. 

If there is a large amount 

of cellulose available, the 

new form of cellulose could 

be used in many more 

applications such as in the 

biomedical, material or basic 

chemical fields, according to 

the study. 

Annual General Meeting of Rangpur Metropoliton Chamber of Commerce and Industries was held 

yesterday. 

Photo : Azam Parvez 

JU Chemistry dept 

honors five retired 

professors 

SAVAR : The Chemistry Department of 

Jahangirnagar University (JU) yesterday 

honored its five retired professors for their 

outstanding contribution for the department 

and university, reports BSS. 

The honored retired teachers are - former 

JU Vice Chancellor Professor Jashim Uddin 

Ahmed, Professor Kazi Ali Azam, Professor 

Md. Abul Hashem, Professor Mohammad 

Abdul Hai and Professor Md. Rabiul Islam. 

The retired professors were honored on 

behalf of the Chemistry department at a 

function held at the gallery room of the 

department. 

Speakers at the function discussed the 

contributions of the retired professors for the 

NEW DELHI : India's 

President on Sunday sacked 

20 lawmakers from the state 

assembly in New Delhi after 

they were revealed to be 

holding jobs in government 

despite laws forbidding the 

practice, reports BSS. 

The purge reduces by 

nearly a third the number of 

state assembly seats held by 

Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi 

Party (AAP), which still 

maintains a majority. It 

attacked the sackings as 

"unconstitutional". 

The Election Commission 

had recommended on 

Friday that the legislators be 

disqualified for drawing 

salaries for government jobs 

outside their elected duties. 

Politicians are barred in 

most states from accepting 

paid work in public office 

while earning a living as 

sitting members. Those 

appointed as ministers are 

exempt from the rules. 

The practise of "holding 

offices of profit" has been 

legalised in some Indian 

states but not in the capital 

Delhi. 

President Ramnath 

Kovind -- who was 

nominated last year by 

Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi's Bharatiya Janata 

Party for the post -- upheld 

the commission's 

recommendation and 

dismissed the lawmakers. 

The AAP -- who won 67 of 

Delhi's 70 seats in 2015, 

against just three for the BJP 

-- described the move as 

politically motivated. 

The president's order was 

"unconstitutional and 

dangerous for democracy", 

tweeted AAP senior official 

Ashutosh, who goes by one 

name. 

The AAP says the 20 

legislators were acting as 

parliamentary secretaries 

assisting Delhi government 

ministers in running their 

offices, but were not 

Chemistry department. The teachers were 

also praised for their outstanding 

contribution on research in the field of 

Chemistry. 

Former JU VC and the teacher of the 

department Professor Shariff Enamul Kabir 

said, 'The honored teachers have played 

pioneering role in establishing the 

department.' 

Presided over by Chairman of the 

Department Professor Sheikh Md. Manzurul 

Karim, Professor Elias Mollah, Professor 

Nurul Abser, Professor Mahbub Kabir and 

Vice President of Chemistry Student Union 

Saiful Islam, addressed the function, among 

others. 

Delhi lawmakers sacked 

for allegedly taking 

illegal benefits 

receiving any salary for the 

work. 

The party -- whose name 

translates as Common 

Man's Party -- roared to 

power in Delhi on the back 

of its activist-turnedpolitician 

leader Arvind 

Kejriwal, who railed against 

corruption in politics. 

His opponents have called 

for his resignation in the 

wake of the mass 

disqualification of 

legislators. The party has 

suggested it could take legal 

action to retain its seats. 

The AAP has been rocked 

by controversy and 

infighting since sailing to 

victory in the Delhi polls. 

Three of Kejriwal's 

ministers have been fired. 

His law minister was sacked 

after it was revealed he paid 

for his degree, and another 

of his ministers was 

dismissed after being 

arrested for an alleged sex 

tape. 

Greek hardliners 

plan mass protest 

over Macedonia 

name row 

THESSALONIKI : 

Thousands of people are 

expected to take to the streets 

of northern Greece's biggest 

city Thessaloniki on Sunday 

as hardliners seek to block any 

deal in the long-running 

name dispute between Athens 

and Skopje that contains the 

term Macedonia, reports BSS. 

Athens argues that the 

name Macedonia suggests 

that Skopje has territorial 

claims to the northern Greek 

region of the same name, of 

which Thessaloniki is the 

capital. 

Hardline clerics, far-right 

leaders and Greek diaspora 

groups have called for rallies, 

and Greek media reports say 

30,000 people are expected to 

demonstrate in Thessaloniki 

alone, with more than 400 

buses bringing people in from 

across the country. 

"The mobilisation of the 

people has exceeded all 

expectations, " Irini 

Leonardou, a member of the 

rally's organising committee, 

told AFP. 

Cretans in traditional 

costumes who had travelled 

from their southern island 

with their horses, as well as 

people from northern Greece 

wearing costumes from the 

Macedonian wars era a 

century ago, were already 

gathered at the White Tower 

on the Thessaloniki waterfront 

ahead of the protest's planned 

start at 1200 GMT. 

Greece and Macedonia 

returned to the United 

Nations last week hoping to 

reach a compromise that 

could end the 27-year dispute 

over the former Yugoslav 

republic's name. Greece's 

objections to the use of the 

name Macedonia since the 

Balkan 

country's 

independence in 1991 have 

hampered the tiny nation's 

bid to join the European 

Union and NATO. 

"We demand that the term 

Macedonia isn't included in 

the name to which they will 

agree on. This is not 

negotiable," said Leonardou, a 

59-year-old writer from 

Thessaloniki, warning that if 

the Greek government does 

otherwise "there will be an 

answer from the Greek 

people". 

Closing all community clinics, Health Care Providers of Gaibandha district staged demo for nationalization. 

Photo : Star Mail

METRO 

3 

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018 

Software to say goodbye 

to tax hassles 

DHAKA : Often taxpayers 

complained of selective scrutiny of their 

tax files. They have a perception that 

their tax files are intentionally targeted 

for auditing just to harass them, reports 

UNB. 

People working in the government's 

taxation department must have their 

views and explanations. National 

Board of Revenue (NBR), however, 

now plans to put to rest this contention 

once for all. The plan is to install 

software, which will replace current 

manual way of random tax file selection 

for audit purpose. Aim is to remove the 

harassments, if there any. 

"Once it's done, the selection of the 

income tax file of the taxpayers will be 

done by the software," a senior official 

of the NBR told UNB. 

Referring to allegations made by the 

taxpayers now, he hoped, "After the 

installation of the software, this sort of 

allegations will not be brought against 

us." Taxpayers are allowed to submit 

their income tax returns under the 

universal self-assessment system 

where the tax officials have nothing to 

do except accepting the returns. 

A press conference was held at the VIP lounge of national press club yesterday protesting false and 

fabricated case to a expatriate. 

Photo : TBT 

DHAKA : Discouraging uses of burnt 

bricks, Housing and Public Works Minister 

Engr Mosharraf Hossainon Sundaystressed 

on using sand cement blocks in construction 

works to protect the environment, reports 

UNB. 

The minister came up with the call during 

a press conference held at Dhaka Reporters' 

Union (DRU) auditorium. 

Burnt brick production causes loss of top 

soil, which results in decreasing the fertility 

of land, he said adding that using sand 

cement blocks can protect country's paddy 

land. Sand cement blocks are more cost 

efficient than bricks, he said. 

When asked about illegal possession of 

lands by land robbers, the minister said, as it 

is the duty of law enforcers to protect the 

government land, they themselves might be 

at fault for this situation. 

But after that if any tax official 

suspects of any anomalies in the 

submitted returns, the official can 

scrutinize the particular file/s and go 

for examining the same. 

Once the tax official is convinced that 

there is a scope to get extra revenue 

from a particular taxpayer, he/she can 

summon the taxpayer concerned and 

demand for extra revenue after 

showing the anomalies in the tax 

return. In case the taxpayer denies 

paying the amount, then it is placed in 

the tax tribunal for adjudication. 

But there is complain that often the 

system to audit the files after three 

years are not followed by the taxmen. 

The business leaders for a long time 

were demanding to bring transparency 

in the selection of audit files. 

"We have taken the move to prepare 

the software to show honor to that 

demand," the NBR official said. 

"Audit software is part of an initiative 

so that the taxpayers will not be 

harassed," he said. 

He also said that this sort of move will 

boost the taxpayers' confidence on the 

revenue collection authority of the 

Use brick-alternate, save top 

soil: Housing Minister 

Mentioning the unplanned 

commercialization, illegal possession of 

lands in Dhaka city, Mosharrof Hossain 

blamed that there might be something fishy 

inside of the Rajdhani Unnayan 

Kartripakkha (Rajuk). 

However the government lands possessed 

by land robbers are being identified and high 

raised buildings are being constructed so 

that country's people can get apartments at 

affordable cost, said the minister adding that 

10,000 apartments are being built over slum 

areas to provide at least 50,000 slum 

dwellers with low- cost residences. 

While addressing the success of his 

ministry over the last five years, he said, 

honest governance is a must for a country's 

development. "Whatever political party is in 

power, it has to be honest to its duty and has 

to be corruption free", he added. 

government. "This will ultimately help 

us to get more taxes from taxpayers," 

he said. 

Currently the income tax wing is 

contributing 37 percent of the total 

revenue collection of the NBR. "Target 

has been fixed to enhance the 

percentage of the collection up to 50 

percent of the total collection by the 

fiscal 2020-21," the NBR official said. 

The official said that the NBR is 

under pressure to realize the revenue 

target that was fixed in the current 

fiscal budget. As per the budget, the 

NBR has to collect Tk. 86,867 crore 

from income tax and corporate tax. 

The revenue target for the NBR for 

the current fiscal year (2017-18) was set 

at Tk. 248,190 crore while that of non- 

NBR tax revenue collection at Tk. 8,662 

crore and the target of non-tax revenue 

collection set at Tk. 31,179 crore. 

Of the total revenue target of NBR, 

Tk. 91,344 crore will come from VAT 

while Tk. 86,867 crore from income tax 

and corporate tax, Tk. 30,153 crore 

from import and export duty and Tk. 

38,212 crore will be generated from 

supplementary duty. 

Traitors hindered 

country's 

development: 

Land Minister 

DHAKA : Land Minister 

Shamsur Rahman Sharif 

yesterday said a few traitors 

including Golam Azam, 

Ziaur Rahman and 

Khandaker Mostak 

hindered the development 

of Bangladesh capturing 

state power through 

conspiracy, reports BSS. 

The minister said the 

present government under 

the dynamic leadership of 

Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina is trying to recoup 

the loss undertaking 

different types of 

development schemes, said 

a press release. 

Dr. Mehtab Khanam, country's renowned psychologist and professor, Department of Counseling 

Psychology of Dhaka University conducting A Psychological Session titled 'Who is in Charge? You or 

Your Emotions?' held at Daffodil International University. 

Photo : Courtesy 

Village Police 

ask for pay 

hike 

DHAKA : Bangladesh 

Village Police Employees 

Union has threatened to 

go on a demonstration to 

realise their demand for 

pay hike, reports UNB. 

Some 46,870 members 

of the force have long 

been asking for their 

salaries and allowances in 

equivalence to Class-IV 

employees of the 

government. 

At a press meet held at 

Nirmal Sen Auditorium of 

Topkhana Road on 

Sunday, Bangladesh 

Village Police Employees 

Union announced that 

they would stage 

demonstration form 

February 1 to February 28 

to press home their 

demand. 

The Union's Secretary 

General, M A Naser said 

yet after doing daylong 

duties throughout the 

month, Village Police 

members currently draw 

a poor amount of Tk. 

3,000 as salary. 

He also government has 

long been reluctant in 

paying any heed to their 

demand. 

Acting President of the 

Union, Nazrul Islam said, 

from January 1-15 Village 

Police members formed 

human chains in 

respective Upazila 

Parishad and submitted 

memorandum containing 

their demand to Prime 

Minister through Upazila 

Nirbahi Officer. 

He said, however, there 

has been no word of 

assurance from the 

authority concerned as of 

yesterday. 

From February 1 to 15 

Village Police members 

will form human chain 

and again submit 

memorandum to PM at 

respective District 

Commissioner's Office 

and if their demand is not 

met by February 28, they 

will gather in front of 

National Press Club and 

announce stringent 

movement programme. 

Speaking at a 

programme of the Union 

in early 2015, State 

Minister for LGRD and 

Cooperatives Md Mosiur 

Rahman Ranga had said 

the government would 

take effective steps to 

increase salaries and 

allowances of village 

police for improving their 

living standard in an 

effort to enhance their 

involvement in rural 

security. 

Bangladesh seeks duty, 

quota free access to 

Russia for RMG 

DHAKA : Commerce 

Minister Tofail Ahmed 

yesterday requested Russia 

to provide duty and quota 

free access to Bangladesh for 

readymade garments 

(RMG). 

"Export would be boosted 

if Russia provides duty and 

quota free access to 

Bangladeshi RMG," he 

added, reports BSS. 

The commerce minister 

made the request to the 

Russian Deputy Minister for 

Agriculture Affairs Levin 

Sergey Lvovich during a 

meeting at his ministry 

office, said a press release. 

Levin is leading a sevenmember 

delegation of 

Russia. 

Mentioning Russia is a big 

potential market for 

Bangladesh, Tofail said 

Russia has been offering duty 

and quota free access to 

DENIM ASIA LIMITED is one of fast growing 100% foreign 

export oriented readymade Garments industry. Manufacturing 

companies (with in house washing facilities, specialized in gents 

ladies and children's casual pants, shorts, trousers, skirts & jackets 

etc.) in Bangladesh. AS part of expansion of its present set up, the 

following vacant positions will be filled up immediately: 

Sl. Position Qualification Experience 

01. 

02. 

CAREER OPPORTUNITY 

General Manager Operation 

Factory Technician Manager Graduation 

Bangladesh for 71 items but 

RMG, the country's main 

export item, is not getting 

this facility. 

The Russian deputy 

minister assured the 

commerce minister to 

consider the issue. 

Tofail Ahmed said Russia 

wants to become the host of 

"World Expo" in 2025 and 

the country has sought 

Bangladesh's support in this 

regard. Apart from Russia, 

France, Japan and 

Azerbaijan are also 

interested to host the expo. 

The member countries will 

select the host through vote. 

Commerce secretary 

Shubhashish Bose, 

additional secretary Munsi 

Safiul Huq, WTO cell 

director general Munir 

Chowdhury and additional 

secretary (export-2) Tapan 

Kanti Ghosh were present. 

Minimum 5 (Five) 

Years Experience 

Salary & other benefits : Negotiable. Candidates willing to take 

challenges and meet the above requirement are encouraged to apply 

along with updated resume and 2 copies of passport size photograph 

within 15 (Fifteen) days of advertisement to the managing Director 

DENIM ASIA LIMITED, Tower 177,117/A, Dhaka-1208, Gpo Box 

No. 931, Bangladesh. Tel: + 88028878062-63, IPT: +8809612111177-92, 

FX: +880-2-8878064. Email: allabj@Dhaka.net 

Dhaka North City Corporation in collaboration with WaterAid Bangladesh inaugurated another 

modern public toilet at Gulshan 2 in Dhaka, funded by the H&M Foundation. The toilet was inaugurated 

by Osman Gani, Panel Mayor, Dhaka North City Corporation. 

Photo : Courtesy 

GD-103/18 (8 x 4)

EDITORIAL mOndAY, 

JAnuArY 22, 2018 

4 

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam 

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

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com 

monday, January 22, 2018 

enhancing the 

competitiveness 

The last survey of the Japan External 

Trade Organisation (JETRO) has found 

out good things about Bangladesh. 

JTETRO identified Bangladesh as the 

cheapest place for doing business in Asia. This 

rating was possible on the basis of comparative 

evaluation of wage rate, social security burden, 

utility charges, etc. However, this recognition 

as the lowest cost investment decision ought 

not to breed any self satisfaction among the 

policy planners. For a short term advantage 

acquired mainly from hiring workers cheaply, 

is no guarantee of its continuing in the 

medium and the longer terms. 

Already, buyers of Bangladeshi products are 

stressing on issues such as better wages for 

the workers here as well as other benefits. 

Importing of products from Bangladesh is 

getting increasingly tagged to compliance 

with the demands of the buyers. The basic 

wage level in the country's principal industry, 

the readymade garments (RMG) industry, 

has already gone up and is likely to go up 

further. The other sectors are also under 

pressure to raise wages. Thus, it is doubtful 

that competitiveness based on paying low 

wages to workers will last long. 

It is important to search for other durable 

ways and means of enhancing the 

competitiveness on a sustainable basis. This 

will require making good progress in other 

very important areas such as infrastructures. 

It was good to see the incumbent 

government engaged in work to upgrade and 

turn really efficient one infrastructure which 

is pivotal for the economy, the Chittagong 

port that handles the greater part of the 

country's external trade. The positive 

improvements noted so far in the functioning 

of this port in recent years, go to show that 

with real resolve and dedicated work, a 

government can certainly change operations 

of important infrastructures for the better. 

Now, the good work done at this key port 

needs to be buttressed by building an 

expressway and establishing inland container 

depots (ICDs) along the way between Dhaka 

and Chittagong for the faster movement and 

handling of commercial cargoes in both 

directions. Similar attention should be paid 

to upgrade the functioning of the railways, 

the air terminals and waterways. There is a 

great need to boost investments in 

infrastructures related to diverse sectors. 

Government should increase its own 

investments in infrastructures and facilitate 

private sector participation in infrastructure 

building, operation and maintenance. 

Investors, both local and foreign ones, are 

likely to invest more in Bangladesh on seeing 

first class infrastructures depending on 

which they would be able to run their 

enterprises cost-efficiently. Thus, 

infrastructure building should be seen as 

very important for improving the 

competitiveness of the economy in the 

longer run. 

Government should also consider its 

maintaining of a policy framework over the 

long haul that would be seen as investmentfriendly. 

Fiscal and monetary measures 

applied on long term basis can be either 

inducement for investment, or, the same may 

be interpreted as hostile towards investors. 

If government policies change frequently and 

are seen as unfavourable by the investors, 

then the same do not create confidence 

among them and tend to be disincentives . 

Thus, the creation of a longer term 

conducive environment for investments 

crucially calls for the creation of it through 

appropriate policies on the part of the 

government. 

Investors consider the corporate tax they 

have to pay in Bangladesh as specially heavy. 

A further reduction in the tax, therefore, 

may be considered along with responding to 

the suggestion of continuing with tax holiday 

facility for many industries long into the 

future. A declaration to this effect is likely to 

motivate many potential entrepreneurs to 

invest in industries without hesitation. 

Addiction to drugs: Where are we heading? 

Drug Habit: Where have we 

been?" Where are we? The 

country has become addicted to 

liquor. People are being exposed to the 

oppression of drug dealers and drug 

addicts. Police should be helpless. On 

January 6, the Inspector General of 

Police (IGP) said that he could not 

eliminate the drug and militants. 

Despite being role model of Zero 

Tolerance against the drug and militant 

suppression of AKM Shahidul Haque in 

his five years in office, we are also 

concerned about this helplessness. Due 

to the increase supply of various drugs, 

the helpless people have nowhere been 

a 'Nagrik Committee' against the drug. 

As a chief negotiator, I was present in 

the rally of a 'Nagarik Committee' of the 

Barab area of Rupganj, next to the 

capital city of 6 January. We were 

listening to discussion of the rally 

speakers. Rupganj OC Ismail Hossain 

handed over the stick to the President 

of the elimination drug committee. 

Going there, I was able to understand 

how helpless people are to the drug 

businessman and the rest of the people. 

The people of the area formed the 

Nagarik Committee by not reducing 

drug dealers. Rupganj OC was forced to 

hand over the stick to them in the 

committee meeting. I said in my 

speech. OC did not do well. It is not 

right to take up the law. Humans are 

helpless What to do I also told the 

Nagarik Committee two more things to 

be ready with the staff. Dough, another 

mugur At the meeting organized at 

Barab Gorostan Road, I said - "There 

are graves beside the graveyard road 

ready. Mudra, sticks and sticks and the 

smell of amity, the drug traders will 

hardly die if they die and die. "My 

statement is not nice. I cannot say it as 

people. Drugs are so much trouble here 

that we are being forced to say such 

unbelief. The question is where we are? 

Is the drug addicts in the country so 

strong that we will lose them. Playing 

patriotic songs in the air at the end of 

the ceremony. "We do not believe in 

defeat, we just do not know how to live 

in weakness". I said drug dealers are not 

many in numbers, we are not even 

stronger than us. We'll defeat why. I 

said, one of the robot Sophia today is 

the world's maternal uncle. Countries 

like Saudi Arabia gave citizenship to the 

human-made robot. These robots made 

the Creator with more than 80 lakhs of 

intelligence than the intellectuals of 

Sophia. We'll defeat why. I said, in every 

Few people outside Germany are 

familiar with the caricature of 

themselves that many Germans 

hold in their minds. Far from the 

aggressive bully of 20th-century war 

propaganda, the perfectionist 

engineer of Madison Avenue car 

advertisements, or the rule-following 

know-it-all of the silver screen, the 

German many picture today is a 

sleepy-headed character clad in 

nightgown and cap. 

Sometimes clutching a candle, this 

German cuts a naive, forlorn figure, 

bewildered by the surrounding 

world. 

This figure is not new. On the 

contrary, referred to as "Der 

deutsche Michel" or "the German 

Michel," it was popularized in the 

19th century as a character whose 

limited perspective causes him to 

shun great ideas, eschew change, and 

aspire only to a decent, quiet, and 

comfortable life. 

But Michel has now made a 

comeback. And who can blame him? 

Germany now boasts a booming 

economy, near full employment, 

rising wages, and content unions. 

The financial crisis is long forgotten, 

public budgets are under control, 

and the 2015 influx of migrants has 

been relatively well managed. 

What bad news there is - industrial 

scandals (like that at Volkswagen), 

airline bankruptcies, endlessly 

delayed infrastructure projects - 

does little to dampen the general 

sense of safety and well-being 

enjoyed by Germany's Michels. The 

only real threat, it seems, is the world 

outside Germany's borders. 

In this sense, last autumn's election 

campaign was perfectly suited to 

Germany's Michels. "A land where 

we live well and happily," the 

campaign slogan of Chancellor 

Angela Merkel's Christian 

Democratic Union (CDU), resonated 

with them, as did the rather 

provincial and mostly empty 

messages of rival parties. With the 

exception of the right-wing populist 

Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), 

the parties displayed a rote civility 

and drowsy acceptance of consensus 

that pacified the electorate. 

After the election, the real 

politicking began, but even then, 

pains were taken to obscure those 

activities from Germany's Michels. 

Indeed, though party officials had 

been in place for some time, they 

area of Rupganj, against the drug, the 

Nagarika Committee against Terror. 

Make a model of people of Rupganj in 

the drug removal. The noise in the 

country is against the drug. During the 

speech, I understood. There are many 

good people in society. Everyone wants 

to build society well. The problem is a 

little bit. Political problem the drug 

businessmen, the terrorists are in the 

political shelter. Leaders are in favor. So 

they are strong. Many of the speakers 

said that these drug laborers painted 

the area with pictures of big leaders. 

Some people walk with the police. Here 

is Povabar. Why would it be? Drug 

merchants, murderers will post a 

picture with your (leaders) posters and 

you will not be silent. Why police will 

build relationships with drug dealers? I 

came here to know more about the fact 

that Pianka murdered a schoolgirl 

(because he was in political favor) was 

not getting the police. Mayor Hasina 

Gazi (Rupganj Thana Women's 

League), the mayor of Tarab 

Municipality, said on the stage, the 

murderer must catch him. I told OC, 

this is the age of technology. There is no 

chance for anyone to stay out of sight. 

Let us talk to you; you will arrest those 

women activists within 24 hours by 

ignoring the political bloodshed. He 

took 3 days. I believe in 3 days enough 

time for the police. If there is sincerity, 

if Pangarkar's murderer does not have 

political widespread, he will be 

arrested. What I said so far has 

happened around the drug. The 

number of drug addicts is increasing in 

the country due to various governmentinitiatives, 

administrative trends and 

numerous cases and harassment. Drug 

trading is increasing and the 

competition is growing. Starting from 

every border area of the country, sitting 

waited until the votes were cast 

before putting their cards on the 

table, and even then did so behind 

closed doors. Even the leaks from 

these closed-door coalition talks 

were so well managed that they 

created the illusion that the 

Sondierungsgespräche - that is, the 

preparatory talks among party 

officials - were politically rather 

harmless. 

The truth is that the various party 

platforms, meant to inform the 

electorate and provide a basis for 

coalition talks, reveal a shocking lack 

of imagination and a paucity of new 

ideas 

But Germany's political class, like 

its ordinary Michels, is in denial. The 

soporific federal elections, the 

breakdown of coalition talks among 

the CDU, its Bavarian sister party the 

Christian Social Union (CSU), the 

Greens, and the Free Democrats 

(FDP), and the timid dance between 

the CDU and the Social Democratic 

Party (SPD) since then, all point to a 

serious deficit in German politics. 

The truth is that the various party 

platforms, meant to inform the 

electorate and provide a basis for 

coalition talks, reveal a shocking lack 

of imagination and a paucity of new 

ideas. Second-order issues are 

presented as red lines, with largely 

technical questions - for example, 

about refugee-family reunions, a new 

health-insurance scheme no one 

asked for (Bürgerversicherung), or 

the role of the federal government in 

funding education - taking center 

stage. 

Considering the state of Europe 

and the world - and the hopes many 

outsiders are pinning on German 

leadership - these issues seem rather 

marginal. But the real problem is 

that they are distracting from larger 

mir ABdul Alim 

We do not believe in defeat, we just do not know how to live 

in weakness". i said drug dealers are not many in numbers, 

we are not even stronger than us. We'll defeat why. i said, 

one of the robot Sophia today is the world's maternal uncle. 

Countries like Saudi Arabia gave citizenship to the humanmade 

robot. these robots made the Creator with more than 

80 lakhs of intelligence than the intellectuals of Sophia. We'll 

defeat why. i said, in every area of rupganj, against the drug, 

the nagarika Committee against terror. 

in the capital of the city is open hats and 

local markets. It is not hidden, but it is 

selling publicly, Yaba, Phensedyl, all 

kinds of narcotics including cannabis. 

According to separate statistics from 

the Department of Narcotics Control 

and Police, under the supervision of the 

influential 200 godfather, there is a 

strong network of drug-related trade in 

the country, with the addition of 1, 

65,000 wholesale and retailers. 

Members of this group were able to 

keep everything under control by giving 

money to the passengers. Occasionally 

somewhere the administrative 

operation is conducted but it cannot 

interfere with the drug network. 

Rather, more than five hundred 

members of the police and thousands of 

different political leaders-workers have 

been found involved in drug traderelated. 

Such information has revealed 

the country's strong daily. One horror is 

the fact that between 2020 and 20 

million people will be addicted to 

intoxication experts are involved in 

drug addicts. According to him, every 

year only the cost of addiction will 

exceed 60 thousand crore rupees. The 

concerned people urged everyone to 

play a role in building a NSS-free 

society by creating family and social 

awareness from the moment. In this 

regard, emphasis was laid on 

conducting police force drives 

simultaneously across the country. 

Actually there is no alternative. There 

will be voices against the drug right 

now. The people of the country will 

have to work from this side. The 

government will have to be more 

stringent in terms of thinking. Do not 

talk about failure. We must be 

successful in the drug removal. Why the 

drug is not controlled from the country? 

I will say, who are controlling the drug? 

issues relating to, say, the euro, 

security and defense, migration, 

infrastructure, and taxation. 

Lacking any forward-looking 

political visions, German politics has 

degenerated to tactical plays being 

carried out by established players. 

The CDU, in a War of the Roses with 

the CSU, can live neither with or 

without Merkel, while the SPD is 

unsure of itself and fears further 

political decline. None of this bodes 

well for a country whose parliament 

has already been diminished, after 

these three parties, during their eight 

years forming a coalition 

government, marginalized the 

opposition and failed to build up new 

leadership cadres.Coalition 

agreements in Germany have always 

been elaborate documents of a quasicontractual 

nature. But there is a 

growing tendency to plan out four 

years of governing, with leaders then 

using legislative periods not to 

debate laws, but rather to enact 

previously agreed policies. 

Moreover, no major reform has 

been successfully implemented in 

Germany since the 2000s, when 

chancellor Gerhard Schröder 

pushed through labor-market 

reforms. No forward-looking 

reforms of the caliber of Schröder's 

Agenda 2010 were even attempted 

under Merkel in more than a 

decade.The CDU/CSU and the SPD 

are now pursuing a grand coalition 

that would keep Germany roughly 

on the same path it has taken during 

the last eight years. The 28-page 

agreement that will allow formal 

coalition talks to proceed is overly 

detailed, technocratic and 

unambitious, and lacks vision.It is 

thus unsurprising that, though 

CDU/CSU and SPD negotiators have 

touted the deal as a breakthrough, 

There are no positive results in the state 

and social sectors, but there are no 

positive results for preventing drug 

trafficking, business and user crises. 

Drug not only curses a person or a 

family, but also brings terrible 

consequences to the nation. Apart from 

spreading many lethal diseases, the law 

and order situation has also worsened. 

With the help of country's law 

enforcement agencies, the complaint of 

Border Security Force (BDR) with the 

intrusion of drugs inside the country, 

along with the bikini of the country, and 

the border crossing border. Open Secret 

in the country, the subject of narcotics 

in the country's underprivileged. 

Although detained in police 

procurement at different times and 

detention of those involved in the 

detention, it is not heard that the 

'Godfather' in the footsteps of the drug 

trade has been detained or exemplary 

punishment has been arranged. It is 

true that the drug has become one of 

the major symptoms of social 

insecurity. In the central prison, there is 

a drug radiation. And there is a large 

part of its meaning in the prison guards. 

The rest of the prisoners and drug 

dealers took part in Bhagbatowara. 

What could be the worrisome events of 

the prison drug trade if it is safe? The 

whole nation wants to defend itself 

from violent violence. Due to the lawful 

implementation of the law, there have 

been so many problems with the drug 

today. Increased anxiety. In the 1980, 

the spread of narcotics in Bangladesh 

began to find different information. 

During this time, the drug was sold 

through hiding and stealing. It appears 

that the sale of drugs is no longer secret 

It is true that the horrific aggression of 

drugs is not limited to the citymetropolis 

only, until now, drugs 

available to rural village are now 

available. Drugs are available only after 

reaching hands. However, some people 

are caught in the face of drug 

trafficking, but the main hostels are out 

of touch. The people of the 

administration who are involved in 

drug trade, the evidence of the spread of 

drug over time. Under the scenes, the 

invention of the invisible superfine 

cycle can not be stopped by the spread 

of the drug. We believe that the 

government must show strictness in law 

enforcement matters concerning 

everyone involved in drug abuse. The 

strict implementation of the law can be 

helpful in preventing the menace of drugs. 

While Germany slept, the world moved on 

Helmut AnHeier 

the truth is that the various party platforms, meant to 

inform the electorate and provide a basis for coalition talks, 

reveal a shocking lack of imagination and a paucity of new 

ideas. Second-order issues are presented as red lines, with 

largely technical questions - for example, about refugeefamily 

reunions, a new health-insurance scheme no one 

asked for (Bürgerversicherung), or the role of the federal 

government in funding education - taking center stage. 

many, especially in the SPD, are 

unhappy with the outcome, with 

some calling for renegotiation. The 

SPD now faces a choice: At its 

special party congress this weekend, 

its leaders must decide whether to 

join yet another grand-coalition 

government that promises more of 

the same, or move into opposition, 

probably triggering new elections. 

But there is another option, which 

many have ignored: a CDU-led 

minority government, with Merkel 

as chancellor. Freed of stifling 

coalition agreements with a 

reluctant SPD or a coldly calculating 

FDP, Merkel could choose her 

cabinet based on competence and 

vision, rather than party politics. 

She could even appoint ministers 

from other parties. 

Most important, Merkel could 

finally tackle the important issues 

that have fallen by the wayside in 

recent years, to which the current 

coalition agreement pays only lip 

service. This means cooperating 

with French President Emmanuel 

Macron to move the European 

project forward; modernizing 

Germany's public administration 

system; preparing the labor force for 

digitization; and tackling 

immigration issues. 

Parliament is integral to success 

on any of these fronts. Mainstream 

parties must embrace the kind of 

open and constructive debate that 

nurtured parliamentary democracy 

in the Federal Republic's early years, 

rather than remaining focused on 

political tactics. 

Michel may prefer the modest 

policy initiatives and 

incrementalism that have 

characterized 

Merkel's 

chancellorships. But a minority 

government forced to muster 

coalitions of the willing to address 

the critical issues confronting 

Germany and Europe could escape 

the constraints of Michel's 

expectations, freeing German 

politics from party tacticians and 

enabling real and much-needed 

reform. 

In other words, the modicum of 

political insecurity Germany faces 

today may well be just what the 

country needs to give rise to new 

ideas and voices, and a better future. 

Source : Asia Times

LAW & PUBLIC MONDAy, 

JANuARy 22, 2018 

5 

This week Your Legal Adviser is 

A.B.M Shahjahan Akanda (Masum) 

Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh. 

He is the Head of the chamber of a renowned law firm, 

namely, 'Law for Nations', which has expertise mainly in 

banking law, tax law, commercial law, corporate law, family 

law, employment and labor law, land law,constitutional law, 

criminal law and in conducting litigations before courts of 

different hierarchies. He can be reached at - cell:01711459590, 

E-mail: law.abm@gmail.com. 

QueRy : 

Dear Sir, 

AssalamuWalaikum, 

I am a Bangladeshi, now living in USA. I am 

married since 2005; still we don't have any 

child. We did a lot of treatment, but no result. 

Now we have decided to adopt a child from 

Bangladesh. Would you please inform me 

about the legal formalities we have to 

maintain now and to avoid the future crisis? 

Regards, 

Nowshin Chowdhury 

USA. 

OPiNiON : 

Thanks for your query. Child Adoption is a 

process whereby a person assumes the 

parenting of another, usually a child, from 

that person's biological or legal parent or 

parents, and, in so doing, permanently 

transfers all rights and responsibilities, along 

with filiation, from the biological parent or 

parents.Actually like other countries, there is 

no independent central government 

adoption authority in Bangladesh. The 

Family Court has the sole jurisdiction over 

such family matters. 

To adopt a child from Bangladesh, firstly 

you need to contact with a lawyer who has the 

expertise in the family matters and who may 

initiate guardianship proceedings. 

Secondly, by the supervision of your lawyer 

or by your own, have to find an orphan or any 

parents who is interested to give their child to 

any childless couple. 

Then thirdly, an Irrevocable release/ 

undertaking, of the sole or surviving 

biological parent (if any) of the child or by the 

orphanage authority from whom you 

adopted the child before a Notary Public, 1st 

Class Magistrate in Bangladesh in 

Bangladesh, has to be executed. 

Fourthly, it is necessary to obtain custody of 

the child from the court. Family Courts are 

located in all districts of Bangladesh and 

generally must be contacted in person. The 

Family Court reviews the character and 

capacity of the proposed guardian to care for 

the child.And therefore, may give the 

permission of guardianship of the child. 

After obtaining the permission regarding 

the custody of the child from the court, the 

fifth step is to obtain the no objection 

certificate from the Ministry of Foreign 

affairs, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 

Then you have to apply for child's passport 

and must enclose the birth certificate of the 

child with the passport application. Lastly, 

after getting the passport of the child from 

the passport office, you will be required to 

apply for the child's immigrant visa. 

Remember one thing, you are going to be the 

legal guardian and parents of an innocent 

child so must take care of the child. 

Book Corner 

Book on Nari O Shishu Nirjatan 

Daman Ain, 2000 with Special Laws; 

By- Dr. Habibur Rahman, Md. Ibrahim 

Sarker; 

Edited by- Khairul Islam Taj; Publisher- 

University Publications Limited; 

Latest Edition- January, 2017; 

Number of Page- 964; 

Price- 575 Tk. 

Total Act- 31 having translated provisions 

in Bengali & English. 

Violence against women and children is a 

very common scenario in our country. 

Rape, murder, trafficking, torture 

(psychologically and physically) are the 

words only applicable to the women and 

children. Because, society thinks they are 

the most vulnerable to attack. Nari O 

ShishuNirjatan Daman Ain, 2000 is a time 

befitting legal instrument for the better 

protection of women and children. This 

Legislation is of special nature but its wider 

use and application in legal institutions 

recognize it as a significant legal 

development in Bangladesh. Made a 

commendable work on this by using 

relevant case references mostly from 

various mainstream Law Reports of 

Bangladesh. 

The book has been revised with latest 

information where relevant. The previous 

edition contained 18 Acts related to 

offences against woman and child. This 

edition has added 13 more Acts including 

CEDAW convention. Most of the Acts in the 

book comprise both English and Bengali 

provisions. One special thing of the book is, 

every Act's title is written with year of 

amendment too. This book incorporates 

more than 1000 proper footnotes. 

So far, the book deserves credits of being 

a useful textbook and stands as a latest 

candidate in the legal arena. This book will 

be of great utility for law students, lawyers, 

judges, teachers and other enthusiastic 

learners. 

Women's Property Right in Muslim Law 

Few days ago we faced 

international women's day when we 

talked about several women's 

rights. Like women's freedom of 

expression, freedom of movement, 

women's power, freedom of choice 

etc. Before talking about those 

rights we have to ensure women's 

economical independence. FOr 

economical independence women 

can get job, can do business etc but 

for doing those things women need 

to have such amount of property 

which every man already getting. 

That is inheritance from family. 

Most of our families avoid and 

ignore our women to hold their 

inheritance property. I think, 

women should fight for this first, 

then others freedom will come 

automatically. Let's know how 

much women can get inheritance 

from their family according to 

Muslim Law. 

Wife : If husband of any wife 

have died with leaving his property, 

the wife will get some of them as 

inheritence. There is some 

condition. If there is no child then 

wife will get one forth of the whole 

property. But when there are any 

child then she will get one eighth of 

such entire property of her 

husband. If the deceased person 

have multi wife then such one forth 

or one eighth property will be 

distributed between then(wives). 

Like there is no child but wives are 

double, then wives are entitled for 

one forth but each wife will get one 

eighth. 

Mother : Mothers are also entitle 

for property of her deceased child. 

When deceased person have child 

or his son has child or he has two or 

more sibling then his mother will 

get one sixth of whole property. But 

when deceased person have no 

child or no child of his son or 

sibling not more then one, then 

mother will get one third of the 

entire property. 

Again, when deceased person's 

father and husband/wife are alive 

then after giving spouse, mother 

will get one third of rest property. 

For example, deceased person's 

father and his/her spouse are alive 

then at first such spouse will get 

property first then mother will get 

one third of rest property. Need to 

understand, not one third of whole 

property, one third of rest property 

which will be rest after giving 

spouse. 

Grandmother: Grandmother also 

a sharer as inheritance of deceased 

person. Paternal grandmother 

(mother of father) will get one sixth 

of deceased person's property. But 

there is a condition. Mother of 

deceased person must be die. 

Another interesting condition is if 

father of deceased person is alive, 

he must get some portion of his 

death child's property. So if father 

is alive then paternal grandmother 

will not get any property. One sixth 

property will go to maternal 

grandmother (mother of mother). 

Daughter : Daughter are entitle 

for property of their died father. If 

there is no son and daughter is 

single then she will get half of the 

whole property. But when son is 

absent but daughters are multi then 

daughters are entitle for two third 

of entire property. Two third will be 

distributed between all the 

daughters. 

But when daughter and son both 

are present, then daughter will get 

half of she brother like daughter: 

son=1:2 

Daughter of son : 

Granddaughter can get property 

from her grandparents if deceased 

person has no son, no daughter and 

no grandson. In that situtaion she 

will get half of the property if she is 

alone. But when granddaughters 

are more than one, then they will 

two third of the property and will be 

distributed between them equally. 

exception : If deceased person 

has only one daughter, then 

granddaughter will get one sixth of 

the whole property. 

Sister : When deceased person 

has no son, no daughter, no 

grandson, no granddaughter, no 

brother, no father then sister will 

get half of her brothers property. If 

sisters are more then one then they 

will get two third of the property 

and that will be distributed between 

them equally. 

Step sister: Setp sisers are two 

kinds. One is father is same but 

mother different, another is mother 

is same but father different. 

Let's see when father is same 

mother different. When deceased 

person have no son, no daughter, 

no grandson, no granddaughter, no 

brother, no sister, no step 

brother(mothers are different), no 

father, then step sister will get half 

of the property if she is alone. But 

when step sisters are more than 

one, they will get two third of the 

property and that will be 

distributed between them equally. 

exception: When sister is alone, 

then step sister will get one sixth of 

the entire property. 

Now step sister when mother is 

same fathers are different. This step 

sister will get one sixth of the 

deceased person's property. But 

condition is deceased person have 

no ancestors from his or her father 

and no incoming generation from 

his or her child. 

When in our country all the 

women will get their inheritance 

property properly, then our women 

will be independent and our 

country will be economically 

independent. I wanna say, if you 

give me a economically 

independent mother, I will give you 

a independent nation. 

Chowdhury Tanbir Ahamed 

Siddique 

Legal Researcher 

Email: 

tanbir921535513@gmail.com 

Mobile: 01921 53 55 13

NATIONAL 

6 

MONDAY, JANuARY 22, 2018 

Growers eye good potato 

yield in Rajshahi region 

The largest human rights protection body of South Asia, SARRAC Human Rights Foundation 

arranged "International Human Rights Conference" under supervision of central committee with 

Mahabubul Alam, adviser of the organization and president of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce 

and Industries and at World Trade Centre in Chittagong yesterday. 

Photo: SM Akash 

Farmers can reap more profits 

cultivating LBR potato: Experts 

RANGPUR: Agriculture 

experts at a farmers' field 

day on Saturday afternoon 

said the farmers could reap 

more profits through 

expanded cultivation of Late 

Blight Resistant (LBR) 

variety potatoes, reports 

BSS. 

The regional agriculture 

research centre of 

Bangladesh Agriculture 

Research Institute (BARI) 

organised the event on its 

Burirhat office premises 

here to demonstrate 

cultivation of LBR variety 

'Carolus' and 'Alouette' 

potatoes. 

The main objective of 

arranging the programme 

was to disseminate results 

achieved from three-year 

long research activities 

aimed at innovating and 

selecting late blight disease 

resistant potatoes and 

popularising those among 

farmers for cultivation. 

The field day programme 

was followed by a discussion 

on the under- research LBR 

variety potatoes. 

Chief Scientific Officer of 

Burirhat Agriculture 

Research Centre Md Rais 

Uddin Chowdhury presided 

over the event participated 

by farmers, officials, 

researchers, scientists and 

experts of different 

agriculture related 

organisations. 

Former Executive 

Chairman of Bangladesh 

Agriculture Research 

Council Agriculturist Dr Md 

Jalal Uddin attended the 

occasion to observe the 

growing LBR variety 


potatoes as the chief guest. 

Potato researcher and 

Principal Scientific Officer at 

Additional Police Super Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman speaking as a chief guest at meeting of 

Kalapra Community Policing Forum at Kalapara under Patuakhali yesterday. Photo: Goutam Halder 

BNP doing ill politics over 

election-time government: Inu 

KUSHTIA: Information 

Minister Hasanul Haq Inu 

here today said BNP is 

doing ill politics over the 

election-time supportive 

government, reports BSS. 

"BNP is misleading the 

nation over the electiontime 

government. They 

could not come up with an 

outline about the electiontime 

government as the 

party is beset with 

confusions," he told a 

view-exchange meeting at 

Kushtia Circuit House this 

morning while 

exchanging views with his 

party men. 

BNP has failed to come 

up with a clear framework 

on the type of the 

government under which 

the polls would be held. 

They are repeating their 

past mistakes, he added. 

Regarding Dhaka North 

City Corporation polls, Inu 

said the government is not 

afraid of giving elections. 

The election of local bodies 

would be held in time as 

Burirhat Regional 

Agriculture Research Centre 

Dr Ashish Kumar Saha and 

Regional 

Farm 

Broadcasting Officer of 

Agriculture Information 

Service Abu Sayem 

addressed as special guests. 

Dr Saha said late blight 

disease reduces potato 

production by 30 percent 

annually as the main barrier 

to potato cultivation and the 

farmers are being compelled 

to indiscriminate use of the 

costly pesticides and 

insecticides for producing 

the crop. 

"The produced potatoes 

are becoming poisonous to 

per constitution. 

District Joint General 

Secretary of Jatiya 

Samajtantrik Dal Zillur 

cause harms to human 

health and research is being 

conducted continuously to 

innovate more effective LBR 

variety potatoes those will 

require no pesticides and 

increase potato production," 

he said. 

He said the farmers are 

producing 6 tonnes of 

potato per hectare 

cultivating traditional 

varieties and up to 12 tonnes 

using quality seed with 

better managements while 

the LBR varieties of 


produce 35 tonnes potato 

per hectare. 

"If the 'Carolus' and 

'Alouette' LBR varieties of 

potatoes are released for 

expanded cultivation, the 

nation will not need to 

import pesticides worth 

Taka 500-crore annually 

side by side with saving 

huge foreign exchange as 

well as environment," 

Ashish said. 

The chief guest stressed 

releasing 'Carolus' and 

'Alouette' LBR varieties of 

potatoes having better 

shape, size, colour and taste 

to increase potato 

production at reduced costs. 

Rahman and president of 

Mirpur Upazila JSD 

Ahmed Ali were present, 

among others. 

Two held with 

drug, firearms, in 

C'nawabganj 

CHAPAINAWABGANJ: Members of Rapid Action 

Battalion (RAB) arrested two persons with 2,440 pieces of 

banned Yaba tablet, two pistols, four magazines and six 

rounds of bullet in two separate drives on Saturday afternoon 

and night, report BSS. 

RAB sources said the arrested persons are Md. Swapon Ali, 

38, son of late Momin Uddin of Ajaipur Dakkhinpara area in 

the town and Md. Hakim, 26, son of Md. Belal Uddin of 

Kansat Bahalabari village under Shibganj upazila in the 

district. 

Acting on a tip off, an operation team of the force from 

Chapainawabganj camp raided the Land Office area in the 

town around 4-30pm and arrested Swapon with 2,440 

pieces of Yaba tablet. 

Later, another team of the force conducted a drive in 

Dhobra Bazar area under Shibganj upazila around 8 pm and 

arrested the alleged arms peddler Hakim with the firearms 

and ammunition. 

One killed, 

50 injured 

in Habiganj 

clash 

HABIGANJ: One youth was 

killed and 50 others were 

injured in a clash between two 

rival groups at Kashipur 

village in Sadar upazila 

yesterday morning, reports 

BSS. 

The deceased was identified 

as Swapon Miah, 25, son of 

Surat Ali, a resident of the 

same village. 

Officer-in-Charge of Sadar 

Model police station Yasinul 

Haque said there had been a 

long-standing dispute 

between Sultan Miah and 

Salamat Miah over a disputed 

land. 

During the clash, Swapon 

died on the spot, while 50 

other persons sustained 

injuries. 

Of the injured, 25 were 

admitted to the Zila Sadar 

Hospital and another one was 

sent to Sylhet Osmani Medical 

College Hospital in critical 

condition. 

Others injured were sent to 

different clinics and hospitals. 

Being informed, police 

rushed to the spot and 

brought the situation under 

control, the OC said. 

Police arrested three 

persons in this connection. 

Malek urges 

medical students 

to acquire apt 

knowledge 

Manikganj: State Minister 

for Health and Family 

Welfare Zahid Malek, MP 

today said students of medical 

colleges should build 

themselves as the worthy 

citizens acquiring proper 

knowledge for providing 

healthcare services to 

country's people in 

professional life, reports BSS. 

The state minister said the 

government ensured all 

possible facilities for the 

students to build themselves 

properly. 

He said, "Students should 

read attentively to acquire 

knowledge which will be 

applicable in their practical 

life as well as services." 

Malek said this when he was 

speaking as the chief guest in 

the ceremonial reception of 

4th batch students of 

Manikganj Colonel Malek 

Medical College here. 

The meeting was presided 

over by Prof Dr Md 

Aktaruzzaman, principal of 

the college. 

RAJSHAHI: Farmers and others 

concerned are hopeful about a good 

potato yield in the region in the current 

season as overall climatic condition 

remains favorable for the farming since 

its initial stage, reports BSS. 

With the hope of making profit like 

the previous season, the farmers in the 

have cultivated potato on more lands 

than the target fixed by the Department 

of Agriculture Extension (DAE) 

everywhere in eight districts under the 

division. 

Golam Rasul, a farmer of Darusha 

village under Paba Upazila, said both 

acreage and yield were boosted up in 

the wake of a favorable climatic 

condition and availability of standard 

seed in the region. 

This season, he along with his sons 

cultivated potato on around 150 bighas 

of land. He said, "We are very much 

optimistic about our outcomes as the 

weather was absolutely supportive". 

Rasul further said there is a need of 

enhancing the number of cold storages 

for betterment of the potato growers. 

Potato farming has now been expanded 

to the dried lands in the vast Barind 

tract with massive promotion of 

commercial farming as a result of 

irrigation facilities promoted by the 

Barind Multipurpose Development 

Authorities (BMDA). Mozur-E-Mawla, 

Upazila Agriculture Officer, said the 

farmers are expecting a better yield as 

there was no major natural calamity 

that can damage its outputs. 

However, the cold wave that 

sweeping the region for the last couple 

of days has made the potato growers 

apprehensive about their farming. 

Most of the growers' harvested better 

yields of potato in last three to four 

years and they also obtained expected 

sale proceeds in the harvesting stage. 

"I had sold out an 85-kg potato bag at 

Taka 800 to 850 in previous season, 

said Ziarul Haque, a farmer of Baya 

village. 

Mustafizur Rahman, additional 

director of DAE, said the officials, 

experts and other organisations 

concerned have been providing 

necessary suggestions to the farmers to 

face the cold situation so that the 

growing potato fields are not affected 

by late blight disease. 

Currently, early variety potato has 

appeared in the local markets in plenty 

with more or less better prices 

benefiting the growers in the region, 

markets sources said. 

Many of the farmers said potato 

farming could become more profitable 

if adequate preservation facilities were 

ensured and potato-based agroindustries 

are set up besides enhancing 

exports. 

At the concluding ceremony of IMMM, BCSIR Science and Industrial Technology Fair, Joypurhat 

Zilla Parisad Chairman, Mohammad Arifur Rahman also chief guest of the programme hands in 

crest and prize money among winners yesterday in Joupurhat the district. Photo: Masrakul Alam 

Schoolboy 

knifed to 

death in 

Khulna 

KHULNA: A seventhgrader 

student of Khulna 

Public School and College was 

stabbed to death in Boyra 

Bazar area under Khalishpur 

police station in the city the 

day before yesterday night, 

reports BSS. 

Fahmid Tanvir Razin, 13, 

hailed from Hitampur village 

under Paikgachha upazila in 

the district, was the son of 

Zahangir Alam, a retired 

employee of Mongla port. 

Razin's mother Rehena 

Begum is a teacher at Police 

Lines School. 

Deputy 

Police 

Commissioner (north) of 

KMP Zahangir Hossain told 

BSS that a group of youths 

stabbed Razin when he was 

enjoying a cultural function of 

his school around 9:30 pm. 

He was then rushed to 

Khulna Medical College 

Hospital where on-duty 

doctor declared him dead. 

He might have been killed 

over previous enmity, he said, 

adding that police already 

started drive to nab killers. 

A case was filed with 

Khalishpur police station in 

this connection. 

Sheikh Hasina has 

made the impossible 

possible: Nuruzzaman 

RANGPUR: State Minister 

for Social Welfare 

Nuruzzaman Ahmed today 

said Bangabandhu's 

daughter Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina has made 

many impossible things 

possible overcoming all 

barriers for the country and 

its people, reports BSS. 

"Khaleda Zia looted 

resources of the country and 

siphoned off money abroad 

during the last BNP-Jamaat 

regime and they would not 

be given such chance again," 

Nuruzzaman said while 

distributing relief goods 

among flood-hit people at a 

function held at Aditmari 

Upazila Parishad hall room 

in Lalmonirhat district as the 

chief guest. 

The State Minister said 

there are many rich nations 

in the world, but none of 

them took the challenge of 

giving shelter to the fleeing 

Rohingya people. 

"It is Sheikh Hasina, 

daughter of Father of the 

Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh 

Mujibur Rahman, who gave 

shelter to 10-lakh Rohingyas 

on humanitarian ground 

instead of becoming upset 

like the whole world," he 

said. 

On the occasion, the State 

Minister distributed two 

bundles of corrugated iron 

sheets, one trunk, two 

dishes, one mosquito net, 

two blankets, one handdriven 

hacksaw, two pillows 

and one bed sheet among 

each of the 400 floodaffected 

people of two unions 

under Aditmari upazila. 

With Aditmari Upazila 

Nirbahi Officer Md 

Asaduzzaman in the chair, 

Aditmari Upazila Chairman 

Aiyub Ali, freedom fighter 

Abdul 

Hamid, 

Mohishkhoncha union 

Chairman Mosaddek 

Hossain Chowdhury, among 

others, addressed. 

14 students of CPI detained 

with local weapons 

CHITTAGONG: Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP), in 

separate drives, detained 14 students of Chittagong 

Polytechnic Institute (CPI) from different places adjacent to 

the institution the day before yesterday night. 

Bayazid Thana Police arrested 12 students of CPI and 

recovered eight Ramdao and seven falchions after searching 

their rooms in Muzaffarnagar area under Bayazid Bostami 

thana, said Abul Kalam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Bayazid 

thana. 

In another drive, Khulshi Thana Police also nabbed two 

students in this connection from Tulatali area near to the 

CPI, Sheikh Mohammed Nasir Uddin, OC of Khulshi thana, 

said. 

Bangladesh Crop Protection Association distributes blankets among cold hit people in Taraganj 

upazila under Rangpur district. 

Photo: Biplob Hossain

INTERNATIONAL 

7 

MONdAy, jANUARy 22, 2018 

People stand in front of a building which was hit by rockets fired from Syria, in the Turkish border 

town of Kilis, Turkey, on Sunday. 

(Reuters : Photo) 

Turkey says border town hit by 

rockets from Syria; 1 wounded 

A Turkish official says suspected 

Syrian Kurdish fighters have fired 

rockets from across the border, 

slightly wounding one person, 

reports UNB. 

Gov. Mehmet Tekinarslan says 

four rockets struck the town of Kilis 

early Sunday, hitting two houses and 

an office. He says Turkish artillery 

returned fire. The attack came as 

dozens of Turkish jets pounded the 

Protesters, 

police clash 

at roadblocks 

in Honduras 

Clashes have broken out in 

Honduras as demonstrators 

protesting President Juan 

Orlando Hernandez's reelection 

blocked roads in 

several locations and police 

moved into to break up the 

barricades, reports UNB. 

Police say four officers 

were injured Saturday, one 

seriously. At least seven 

demonstrators were 

detained. 

Former President Manuel 

Zelaya has supported 

protests on behalf of presidential 

candidate Salvador 

Nasralla, who claims there 

was fraud in counts of the 

November vote. 

Hernandez was awarded 

the electoral win last month 

despite the disputed vote tally. 

The opposition plans to 

continue protesting through 

his swearing-in Jan. 27. 

Commercial 

rocket from 

New Zealand 

deploys small 

satellites 

A rocket launched from New 

Zealand on Sunday successfully 

reached orbit carrying 

small commercial satellites, 

reports UNB. 

California-based company 

Rocket Lab said its Electron 

rocket, which carries only a 

small payload of about 150 

kilograms (331 pounds), 

successfully deployed an 

earth imaging and two other 

satellites for weather and 

ship tracking after blastoff 

from the Mahia Peninsula 

on North Island's east coast. 

Company CEO and 

founder Peter Beck, a New 

Zealander, said the launch 

marks the beginning of a 

new era in commercial 

access to space. He said that 

deploying customer payloads 

on a second test flight 

"is almost unprecedented." 

The company last May 

reached space with its first 

test launch, only to abort the 

mission due to a communication 

glitch. It has official 

approval to conduct three 

test launches and sees an 

emerging market in delivering 

small devices, some as 

big as a smartphone, into 

orbit. 

The satellites would be 

used for everything from 

monitoring crops to providing 

internet service. 

Kurdish-run enclave of Afrin in 

northern Syria. 

Afrin is controlled by a Syrian Kurdish 

militia that Turkey views as part 

of the Kurdish insurgency in its 

southeast. The militia forms the 

backbone of the Syrian Democratic 

Forces, the main U.S. ally against the 

Islamic State group in Syria. The 

state-run Anadolu Agency says 

Turkey-backed Syrian forces have 

penetrated the enclave and are 

advancing. 

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim 

says a Turkish ground offensive 

could begin Sunday. The state-run 

Anadolu Agency says Turkey-backed 

Syrian forces have penetrated the 

enclave and are advancing. Prime 

Minister Binali Yildirim says a Turkish 

ground offensive could begin 

Sunday. 

Pope wrapping up 

contentious, restive 

trip to Latin America 

Pope Francis is wrapping up the most contested, 

violent trip of his papacy Sunday with 

a series of meetings with Peruvian church 

leaders and a final Mass at an air base in 

Peru's capital, reports UNB. 

The Mass is expected to draw hundreds of 

thousands of Peruvian faithful before his 

departure to Rome - a potentially stark contrast 

to the pontiff's sendoff from Chile, 

where his final homily drew thousands less 

than anticipated and thin crowds lined the 

streets to wave goodbye. 

"Hopefully early tomorrow, myself and all 

of Peru will get a chance to see him up close," 

said Nicolas Astete, one of more than 3,000 

people who gathered Saturday night outside 

the Apostolic Nunciature in Lima, hoping to 

see a glimpse of the pope before he retired for 

the evening. 

"Come here!" the crowds cried as Francis 

made his way to the papal embassy. 

Despite the thunderous welcome the pontiff 

has received throughout his trip to Peru, 

the uproar over the Catholic Church's handling 

of a clerical sex abuse scandal in Chile 

and Francis' own remarks on the case have 

continued to cast a shadow over the visit. All 

ears will be tuned in Sunday to any final 

words Francis might share on a crisis he had 

hoped to help mend in a visit to usually 

friendly Latin American turf. 

During his seven-day trip Chile and Peru 

Francis personally apologized to survivors of 

priests who sexually abused them, traveled 

deep into the Amazon to meet with indigenous 

leaders, decried the scourge of corruption 

and violence against women in Latin 

America and urged the Chilean government 

and radical Mapuche factions to peacefully 

resolve one of the region's longest-running 

disputes. 

But the pope also attracted unprecedented 

rejection: At least a dozen churches across 

Chile were set aflame and riot police shot 

tear gas and arrested protesters who tried 

marching in on Mass in Santiago. 

Francis stirred outrage when he accused 

victims of Chile's most notorious pedophile 

priest of slander. The 81-year-old Argentine 

said that until he sees proof that Bishop Juan 

Barros was complicit in covering up any 

crimes, accusations of complicity by the victims 

of against Barros are "all calumny." 

That remark prompted even Francis' top 

adviser on clerical abuse to issue a stunning 

criticism of the pontiff, calling his words a 

"source of great pain for survivors of sexual 

abuse." 

The rebuke Saturday came as Francis was 

consoling Peruvians in a coastal northern 

city hard hit by El Nino floods that left more 

than 150 dead nationwide last year. During 

Francis' three days in Peru he has also tackled 

heavy social issues, calling on corporations 

to stop exploitative drilling in the Amazon, 

for governments to recognize indigenous 

people and for greater transparency in 

politics. 

Francis will conclude his trip by visiting 

some of Lima's holiest sites. 

Opposition: Venezuelan officials 

bury 2 killed in clash 

Two people killed alongside a rebel police 

officer in a violent shootout with Venezuelan 

security forces have been buried by government 

officials despite protests from relatives, 

an opposition lawmaker said Saturday, 

reports UNB. 

The body of former officer Oscar Perez and 

four others remained in government control 

as family members pushed to take custody of 

the corpses and conduct their own investigation, 

politician Delsa Solorzano said. 

All seven died Monday fighting against 

police and soldiers in a small mountain 

community outside of Caracas, ending a 

manhunt for Perez that began after he led a 

helicopter attack on government buildings 

in June and called for an uprising against 

the government of President Nicolas 

Maduro. 

At the morgue where his body was being 

held, dozens of protesters, some wearing 

masks on their faces and throwing stones at 

national guardsmen, shouted "Oscar Perez 

lives" and demanded that officials give 

Perez's corpse to his relatives. National 

guard officers fired rubber bullets to disperse 

them. A former police officer, action-movie 

star and pilot, Perez leaped into the spotlight 

when he stole a helicopter and used it to lob 

grenades and fire at two government buildings 

in Caracas last year. Nobody was killed 

in the attack, but Perez, 36, had been one of 

Venezuela's most wanted fugitives ever 

since, periodically posting videos on Instagram 

calling upon Venezuelans to take to the 

streets. 

Security forces tracked down Perez and his 

renegade band and engaged in the shootout. 

With blood running across his face, Perez 

posted videos on Instagram, shouting over a 

spray of gunfire that his band wished to surrender. 

But security forces appeared to be 

intent on killing him and six others, including 

a woman. 

"I want to ask Venezuela not to lose heart - 

fight, take to the streets," he said in a video. 

"It is time for us to be free, and only you have 

the power now." Officials blamed the "terrorist 

cell" for prompting the violence that also 

left two police officers dead. 

Perez's death certificate obtained by relatives 

says he died from a gunshot wound to 

the head, said Solorzano, a member of the 

opposition-controlled national assembly, 

which has launched its own investigation. 

The clash has drawn criticism from international 

human rights group such as 

Amnesty International, which condemned 

Perez's death as an unlawful execution. 

Jose Miguel Vivanco of New York-based 

Human Rights Watch said Venezuelan officials 

wish to cover up what happened. 

French president 

warns that UK 

can’t keep full 

access to EU 

French President 

Emmanuel Macron has suggested 

that Britain is likely to 

negotiate a unique relationship 

with the European 

Union before it leaves the 

bloc next year, while stressing 

that any agreement must 

be consistent with EU rules, 

reports UNB. 

In remarks released Saturday, 

Macron told the BBC's 

Andrew Marr television program 

that Britain cannot 

maintain its full access to the 

EU's single market if it doesn't 

accept the bloc's founding 

principles, including the free 

movement of people and the 

jurisdiction of EU courts. 

"This special way should 

be consistent with the 

preservation of the single 

market and our collective 

interests," he said. "And you 

should understand that you 

cannot, by definition, have 

the full access to the single 

market if you don't tick the 

box." 

That means Britain must 

continue to contribute to the 

EU budget and accept the 

four freedoms guaranteed 

by the bloc - free movement 

of people, goods, services 

and capital - if it wants to 

maintain full access to the 

single market, Macron said. 

The full interview will be 

broadcast Sunday. 

The comments undermine 

the position of some Brexit 

supporters who want to 

regain control of the U.K.'s 

borders and shun the oversight 

of European courts 

while retaining access to the 

single market. 

It will also dash the hopes 

of some in Britain who 

thought Macron might be 

more flexible than German 

Chancellor Angela Merkel in 

negotiating a deal. Macron's 

influence within the EU is on 

the rise as Merkel's position 

weakens following an election 

in September that eroded 

her power base. Merkel 

has still not been able to cobble 

together a coalition government 

even after months 

of talks with other political 

parties. 

Macron's comments echo 

those he made during a 

meeting Thursday in which 

he and British Prime Minister 

Theresa May pledged 

closer cooperation on 

defense and border security 

after Britain leaves the EU in 

March 2019. 

Blaze at firecracker factory 

outside Indian capital kills 17 

A massive fire broke out at a firecracker factory on the 

northern outskirts of the Indian capital on Saturday, 

killing at least 17 workers, a fire official said, reports UNB. 

A dozen fire engines took three hours to douse the fire in 

the Bawana industrial area of New Delhi. 

Seventeen bodies were recovered and one injured worker 

hospitalized, fire official K.C. Gupta said. A search operation 

was continuing for any more workers trapped in the 

two-story structure gutted by the blaze. 

The cause of the fire was not immediately known. 

There are fatal accidents nearly every year in India as 

Not all South Koreans 

are happy about unified 

hockey team 

South Koreans seem generally happy they'll 

see the North Koreans at their Olympics, but 

aren't as pleased about sharing a team with 

them, reports UNB. 

The agreement between the war-separated 

rivals to field a unified women's ice hockey 

team at February's Winter Olympics has triggered 

a debate in South Korea, where there's 

no longer strong public clamor for reunification 

or for using sports to make political statements. 

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who 

views the Pyeongchang Games as an opportunity 

to improve relations following a year of 

tension over North Korea's nuclear weapons 

program, said the unified team would provide 

a "historically grand moment" once it 

appears on ice. 

Other reconciliatory gestures the Koreas 

have agreed to for the Olympics include a 

joint march under a blue-and-white "unification" 

flag during the Feb. 9 opening ceremony 

and a pair of performances by a visiting 

North Korean art troupe. The joint march 

and the unified hockey team were approved 

Saturday by the International Olympic Committee, 

which allowed 22 North Korean athletes 

to take part in the games in exceptional 

entries given to the North. 

Not all South Koreans are in the mood. 

There are apparently few objections to the 

North Korean presence at the Olympics itself, 

which likely ensures that the country holds off 

any significant weapons test or other aggressive 

acts that would risk disrupting the 

games. 

Many South Koreans believe their government 

went too far by pushing athletes into a 

"political show" that will likely become meaningless 

once the lull in tensions breaks down 

after the Olympics. 

Kim Hye-jin, a 39-year-old music instructor, 

said that South Korea was repeating an 

"outdated approach" in using sports diplomacy. 

She said that the previous unified 

teams and joint marches between the rivals 

never paved the way for sustained, meaningful 

engagement. 

"We are always repeating meaningless 

things and North Korea isn't a country that 

will change easily," she said. 

Plus, she said, a unified team takes away 

opportunities from South Korean athletes 

who have been working hard to prepare for 

the Olympics. 

Heo Doo-won, a 40-year-old schoolteacher, 

didn't care for the reconciliatory gestures 

at all. "Why are we doing this?" he 

asked. "We are clearly two different countries 

and it's better if things stay that way. I don't 

want a unified team or a unification flag. Why 

can't we just let the North Koreans march 

under their own flag?" While the liberal 

Moon remains a popular president nine 

months into his term, the controversy over 

the hockey team factored in his approval rating 

dipping below 70 percent for the first time 

in four months, according to a Gallup Korea 

report on Friday. Many people sympathize 

with the South Korean athletes who would 

likely be sacrificing opportunities for the 

North's players, who are considered less 

skilled and experienced. The IOC approved 

an expanded roster of 35 instead of 22 for the 

joint team, but only the normal number will 

be allowed to suit up for each game and three 

of them must be North Korean. 

The South Korean team's Canadian coach, 

Sarah Murray, has expressed concerns over 

chemistry. "Adding somebody so close to the 

Olympics is a little bit dangerous just for team 

chemistry because the girls have been together 

for so long," she said last week. 

Choi Hyuk, a 40-year-old office worker, 

blamed the government for failing to properly 

communicate with the players and for 

excessively politicizing sports. 

Choi pointed to the comments of Prime 

Minister Lee Nak-yon, who was forced to 

apologize after saying that the South Korean 

women's hockey team was out of "medal 

range" anyway while defending the government's 

decision to create the unified team. 

"South Korea's elite sports have always 

been based on nationalism," Choi said, referring 

to a decades-long system that rewards 

Olympic medal winners with lifelong cash 

payments and exemption from military 

duties that are mandatory for most able-bodied 

men. 

"Isn't it funny that the same country is now 

asking athletes to cut back on their playing 

time and embrace changes that would make 

them less likely to win?" 

The reconciliation mood between the Koreas 

began after North Korean leader Kim Jong 

Un said in a New Year's speech that he was 

willing to send a delegation to the Olympics. 

Some experts view Kim's overture as an 

attempt to weaken U.S.-led international 

sanctions against the North and buy time to 

further advance his nuclear weapons program. 

Last year, North Korea carried out its 

sixth and biggest nuclear test and test-fired 

three intercontinental ballistic missiles. It has 

shown no willingness to give up its ambitions. 

Still, many experts think Moon's government 

made the right move in jumping at the opportunity 

to resume contact with North Korea 

after nearly two years of diplomatic stalemate 

and animosity. 

In an annual policy report on Friday, South 

Korea's Unification Ministry said it aims to 

use the Olympics as an opportunity to reestablish 

regular dialogue with North Korea. 

The resumption of inter-Korean talks is crucial 

for the policies of Moon, who wants Seoul 

in the driver's seat in international efforts to 

deal with the North Korean nuclear threat. 

The Koreas sent joint teams to major international 

sporting events twice in 1991, and had 

their athletes march together in the opening 

and closing ceremonies of several sporting 

events in the 2000s, including the 2000 Sydney 

Summer Olympics. 

While the previous moves had little diplomatic 

impact, similar gestures would carry 

more meaning in an Olympics held on South 

Korean soil and amid higher stakes in regional 

security, said Yongchul Chung, a sports 

education professor at Seoul's Sogang University. 

people work in makeshift factories in the absence of 

proper safety standards. 

In June of last year, 23 workers were killed when a blast 

occurred while they were producing firecrackers in Kheri 

village in the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. The 

explosion triggered a blaze that engulfed the factory before 

firefighters put it out. India has a huge demand for firecrackers, 

which are used in religious festivals and weddings. 

Factories start producing firecrackers months 

before the nation's biggest Hindu festivals when people set 

them off in celebration. 

A massive fire broke out at a firecracker factory on the northern outskirts of the Indian capital on 

Saturday, killing at least 17 workers, a fire official said. 

Photo : AP

ART & CULTURE MoNDAY, 

JANUArY 22, 2018 

8 

Chicago West: Kim 

Kardashian West and 

Kanye West name 

daughter 

Alan Carr gets married to 

long-term boyfriend in LA 

Comedian and TV presenter Alan Carr has got married 

to his long-term boyfriend Paul Drayton in Los Angeles, 

reports BBC. 

The 41-year-old's publicist confirmed the couple had 

tied the knot at a "small, private ceremony" last week. 

The host of Channel 4's Chatty Man had been in a 

relationship with party planner Drayton for about 10 

years. His publicist said they were "planning a big 

celebration with all their family and friends" in the UK 

this summer, adding "they are both extremely happy". 

Carr posted a picture of the couple on the beach while 

on their honeymoon in Mexico, joking about the amount 

of food he had eaten. 

He wrote on Instagram: "After 10 days of tacos and 

tequila this sadly is the only thing that fits me. Diet starts 

manana!" 

Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West have named 

their new-born daughter, delivered by surrogate on 

Monday, Chicago west, reports BBC. 

Kardashian West said that not carrying the child 

herself was "so hard", but that the couple had an 

instant connection with her. 

West was raised in the US city Chicago. 

Kardashian West carried and gave birth to her older 

children but was advised against getting pregnant 

again because of possible medical complications. 

Her daughter North is now four years old and her 

son Saint is two. 

But she suffered from pre-eclampsia and placenta 

accreta on those occasions. 

Pre-eclampsia is a condition that usually occurs in 

the second half of pregnancy and can cause serious 

complications including seizures and death if not 

monitored and treated. 

Placenta accreta is when the placenta attaches itself 

too deeply into the wall of the uterus and remains 

attached after childbirth. 

Kardashian West, a reality TV star, said in a post on 

her app that "doctors said that it wasn't safe for my, 

or the baby's, health to carry my own". 

The 37-year-old said she and her rapper husband 

decided to use a "gestational carrier", meaning the 

baby is "biologically mine and Kanye's". 

She wrote: "Having a gestational carrier is definitely 

different, but anyone who says or thinks it's the easy 

way out is completely wrong. 

"People assume it's better because you don't have to 

deal with the physical changes, pain or complications 

with delivery, but for me it was so hard to not carry 

my own child, especially after I carried North and 

Saint." 

Kardashian West's surrogate was discussed on her 

reality show Keeping up with the Kardashians, but 

her identity was not revealed. 

Breaking Bad: Top 10 moments from 

one of the greatest TV shows ever 

It is hard to believe that Vince Gilligan creation 

Breaking Bad was first broadcast on AMC 10 

years ago. It feels as though it is just last year, 

the whole world was collectively freaking out on 

the latest depravity Bryan Cranston's Walter 

White had cooked up. Breaking Bad was about 

an overqualified high-school chemistry teacher 

called Walter White who is diagnosed with lung 

cancer, reports Hindustan Times. 

In response, Walter White breaks bad, which 

basically means that he turns to crime, 

specifically cooking up and selling meth, a 

strong and addictive drug. He is assisted by his 

former student Jesse Pinkman, played by the 

marvellous Aaron Paul. 

The crime-drama, that is now considered as 

one of the greatest things to grace the medium, 

was slow-paced, at least at first, but was never 

short on drama and epic moments that inspired 

numerous memes and discussions. Even its 

spinoff, Better Call Saul, is a better TV show 

than most of the current stuff. Here are the top 

ten moments from the show that enthralled, 

delighted, thrilled and even horrified millions of 

viewers around the world. There is no 

particular order. 

It is hard to believe that Vince Gilligan 

creation Breaking Bad was first broadcast on 

AMC 10 years ago. It feels as though it is just last 

year, the whole world was collectively freaking 

out on the latest depravity Bryan Cranston's 

Walter White had cooked up. Breaking Bad was 

about an overqualified high-school chemistry 

teacher called Walter White who is diagnosed 

with inoperable lung cancer. In response, 

Walter White breaks bad, which basically 

means that he turns to crime, specifically 

cooking up and selling meth, a strong and 

addictive drug to care for his family after his 

death. He is assisted by his former student 

Jesse Pinkman, played by the marvellous 

Aaron Paul. 

The crime-drama, that is now considered as 

one of the greatest things to grace the small 

screen, was slow-paced, at least at first, but was 

never short on drama and epic moments that 

inspired numerous memes and discussions. 

Even its spinoff, Better Call Saul, is a better TV 

show than most of the current stuff. Here are 

the top ten moments from the show that 

enthralled, delighted, thrilled and even 

horrified millions of viewers around the world. 

There is no particular order. 

H o rosCope 

ArIes (March 21 - April 

20): You must play by the 

rules this weekend, even if 

you genuinely believe you 

can get away with cutting 

corners. What happens early next week 

won't be pleasant if people in positions 

of power discover you have made 

choices they disapprove of. 

TAUrUs (April 21 - May 

21): If there is something 

you have wanted to do for 

ages but never had the 

nerve to go ahead with then 

make it happen this weekend. Fear is 

an emotion that has held you back far 

too many times, so get over it and 

follow your desires. 

LIBrA (sept. 24 - oct. 

23): You may not be overly 

emotional by nature but you 

have your moments and you 

will certainly feel deeply 

about something over the next 48 hours. 

The good news is this is the perfect time 

to let others know how much you care 

for them. Do it! 

sCorpIo (oct. 24 - Nov. 

22): Life seems to be 

moving at a faster pace every 

day, and yes it is enjoyable, 

but there is a danger that in 

your eagerness to get ahead you might 

overlook some small but incredibly 

important detail. Slow down - before 

something slows you down! 

Janhvi Kapoor and 

Ishaan Khatter’s 

Dhadak to release 

on July 20 

Shashank Khaitan's movie 

Dhadak starring star kids 

Ishaan Khatter and Janhvi 

Kapoor will now release on 

July 20. The movie was earlier 

scheduled to release on July 6. 

However, its date has now 

been moved to July 20. The 

reason for the postponed 

release is not clear yet.Dhadak 

is a remake of the Marathi 

blockbuster Sairat, which 

starred newcomers Rinku 

Rajguru and Akash Thosar. 

The original was produced and 

directed by Nagraj Manjule. 

Director Shashank Khaitan 

had earlier said in an interview 

with Indianexpress.com about 

the movie, "The basic premise 

is of differences in caste, 

honour killing and what it 

means to survive in that world 

and I feel that is the conflict 

that is alive all across India, 

you will hear stories like that. 

So in that sense, the basic 

premise (of Dhadak and 

Sairat) is same. But there are 

variations." 

GeMINI (May 22 - June 

21): Your good points will 

be on display this weekend, 

but with the sun moving 

through the area of your 

chart that governs your wealth you must 

make sure that one of your good points - 

your generosity - does not cause 

problems. Don't give too much away. 

CANCer (June 22 - July 

23): You need to work more 

closely with other people and 

you need to realize that while 

your opinions may differ on 

a range of issues it need not spoil your 

relationship. It is one of the wonders of 

life that opposites often work well 

together. 

Leo (July 24 - Aug. 23): 

Try not to get carried away 

with ideas of your own 

brilliance over the next 48 

hours, because later on you 

may realize that you have missed 

something that is of great importance. 

Your ego can be your biggest friend - 

and your biggest enemy. 

VIrGo (Aug. 24 - sept. 

23): The sun in Capricorn at 

this time of year does 

wonders for your confidence 

and you certainly believe 

that all things are possible. However, 

other influences warn you should limit 

your activities this weekend to areas 

where you know what you are doing. 

sAGITTArIUs (Nov. 23 

- Dec. 21): If you are too 

free and easy with your 

money this weekend you 

could regret it later in the 

month, so think before you buy. Yes, of 

course, there are more important things 

in life than cash but it's still a crime to 

squander your resources. 

CAprICorN (Dec. 22 - 

Jan. 20): You need a 

challenge that will bring out 

the best in you and what 

happens over the next few 

days will test you in ways you had not 

expected. You cannot help but succeed, 

so long as you have learned from recent 

mistakes. So, have you? 

AQUArIUs (Jan. 21 - 

Feb. 19): It may seem to 

friends and relatives that 

you are aiming too high but 

you know that the higher 

you aim the more likely it is that you will 

realize your dreams. Believe in yourself 

and make impossible things happen. If 

anyone can do it, you can. 

pIsCes (Feb. 20 - Mar. 

20): What happens over the 

course of the weekend will 

open your eyes to new 

possibilities. The sun in 

Capricorn at this time of year is 

especially helpful for group activities, so 

get involved in team projects. You'll be 

on the winning team, of course!

SPORTS 

9 

MONDAy, JANUARy 22, 2018 

Australia v England: Jos Buttler century leads tourists to series win. 

Suarez Navarro rallies into 

Open quarter-finals 

MELBOURNE: Spain's Carla Suarez 

Navarro blitzed into the Australian 

Open quarter-finals with a stunning 4- 

6, 6-4, 8-6 win over Anett Kontaveit 

Sunday, reports BSS. 

The Estonian 32nd seed blew a set 

and 4-1 lead with two breaks to allow 

the 39th-ranked Spaniard back into 

the match. 

She also stumbled when serving for 

the match at 5-4 in the third, as the 

experienced Suarez Navarro reached 

her third Australian Open last eight 

after 2hr 15min. 

"Was tough today. She started really 

well," said the Spaniard who has also 

reached the quarter-finals twice at 

Roland Garros and also at the US 

Open, but never progressed further. 

"I always have to fight to the end," 

she added. "I just tried to play my 

game and stay really focused. I just 

run and run. That's it." 

Oozing confidence after despatching 

French Open champion Jelena 

Ostapenko in the third round, 

Kontaveit was on the front foot from 

the off. Suarez Navarro was ranked in 

the top 10 less than two years ago but 

has been on a downward slide and had 

no answer to the pace of Kontaveit's 

early ground strokes. 

The 22-year-old made the decisive 

break in the fifth game and secured a 

5-3 lead with the standout shot of the 

first set, a superb running forehand 

pass that flew around the net post to 

bring the Rod Laver Arena crowd to 

their feet. 

Kontaviet served out after 42 

minutes and in the second, a bulletlike 

backhand gave her a second break 

of serve to 4-1 up with one foot in the 

quarter-final. 

But 29-year-old Suarez Navarro, 

whose first Grand Slam quarter-final 

at Melbourne Park was nine years ago, 

drew on her experience and began to 

play a patient game, extending the 

rallies. 

Nerves set in for Kontaveit as she 

neared her first Slam quarter-final 

and a forehand which had powered 15 

winners in the first set alone faltered. 

When she double-faulted on break 

point, Suarez Navarro had a lifeline at 

Photo: BBC. 

Klopp wants Liverpool to do more 

than preserve unbeaten run 

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool manager 

Jurgen Klopp has insisted he has not 

given a second thought to his team's 18- 

match unbeaten run ahead of their trip 

to Swansea City on Monday, reports 

BSS. 

Klopp's side have been in imperious 

form recently, and ended Premier 

League leaders Manchester City's 

hopes of going through the season 

without losing following a thrilling 4-3 

win at Anfield last time out. 

The Reds also eased to a 5-0 

thrashing of Swansea on Boxing Day, 

however Klopp has told his players to 

forget about the statistics and focus on 

the task in hand ahead of the league 

match in south Wales. 

"If nobody told me how often we 

didn't lose, I'd have no idea about it," he 

said. "That's all the past and I'm not 

really interested. You can look back on 

a season after the season, not during. 

It's not important." The German 

Cilic brings 

up 100 as he 

makes Open 

quarters 

MELBOURNE: Croatia's Marin 

Cilic won his 100th Grand Slam 

match as he mastered Spain's 

Pablo Carreno Busta in four sets 

to reach the quarter-finals of the 

Australian Open on Sunday, 

reports BSS. 

The former US Open 

champion won the big points in 

putting away the 10th seed 6-7 

(2/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/0), 7-6 (7/3) in 

3hr 27min on Margaret Court 

Arena. He will face world 

number one Rafael Nadal in the 

quarters on Tuesday. 

Nadal leads 5-1 in their 

matches. "I'm enjoying how I'm 

playing. Playing well. I did good 

in the off-season and those 

things are paying off on the 

court," Cilic said. 

"It gives me good confidence, 

good excitement on the court, 

when you are winning the 

matches, it just pushes you a 

little bit more, knowing that you 

believe in the things that are 

working. 

added: "We feel in a good moment. I 

see the boys training every day and it 

looks good, that's the truth, that's why 

we can play like we played so far. 

"But we have to do it again. As a 

Liverpool player you cannot perform 

one week and then two weeks not-we 

need to deliver consistently, every day 

and each game. 

"It's only the next game and I can't 

imagine any easy games in the Premier 

League. And Swansea is for sure not an 

easy game. 

"They are bottom of the table but they 

are in a good way. What you have seen 

since the new manager has come in is a 

big improvement." 

Klopp revealed that Loris Karius will 

continue in goal ahead of Simon 

Mignolet and the German will get the 

opportunity to establish himself in the 

position. "Of course Loris has to 

deliver, he knows that, but now he is 

the No.1," Klopp explained. 

"We changed a lot of positions 

through the year and only with the 

goalkeeper it looks like we have to stick 

to our opinion for 20 years if we've 

made a decision one time! So I changed 

not my opinion, but I changed the 

situation now, that's all." 

Liverpool expect to have winger 

Mohamed Salah and centre-backs 

Ragnar Klavan and Dejan Lovren 

available after the trio suffered a bout of 

illness. 

Record signing Virgil van Dijk has 

resumed training having missed the 

win over Manchester City with a 

hamstring problem. 

Swansea manager Carlos Carvalhal 

claims the match at the Liberty 

Stadium will be a meeting of "David 

versus Goliath". Carvalhal's side are 

bottom of the Premier League but there 

has been in a slight upturn in form with 

just one defeat in five games since the 

Portuguese took charge. 

Wenger hopes end of Sanchez 

saga will lift Arsenal 

LONDON: Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal 

are ready to go on a sustained winning streak 

after finally blocking out the distractions of a 

turbulent transfer window, reports BSS. 

Arsenal ended a five-match winless run by 

thrashing Crystal Palace 4-1 at the Emirates 

Stadium on Saturday. 

Four goals in the first 22 minutes tore 

Palace to shreds as Nacho Monreal, Alex 

Iwobi, Laurent Koscielny and Alexandre 

Lacazette got on the scoresheet. 

The Gunners' dynamic display was a welltimed 

rebuttal to the critics who claimed the 

imminent sale of Alexis Sanchez to 

Manchester United would ruin their already 

troubled season. 

Wenger expects Chile forward Sanchez to 

join United in the next 48 hours, with 

Henrikh Mkhitaryan ready to move in the 

opposite direction to Arsenal from Old 

Trafford. 

The Arsenal manager hopes those deals, 

which follow the sale of Theo Walcott to 

Everton, will allow his players to focus on 

their performances rather than being 

distracted by the transfer sagas. 

"What is very difficult is for the first time in 

January we were losing one of our big 

players," Wenger said. "This period creates a 

strange feeling in the dressing room. That is 

why this transfer period in the middle of the 

season is difficult." 

Wenger revealed Sanchez was absent from 

the Arsenal squad on Saturday as he headed 

to Manchester to seal a deal which has been 

in the making since United out-bid 

Manchester City for the former Barcelona 

star. 

"I didn't take him because there is a 

question of him moving to Manchester 

United and you cannot drive up north and as 

well play football," Wenger said. 

"I expect it to happen maybe, but I cannot 

announce it because in the next 48 hours it 

will be decided one way or the other." 

Wenger refused to comment on Borussia 

Dortmund's claim that Arsenal have made a 

bid for their striker Pierre-Emerick 

Aubameyang. 

The 28-year-old was left out of the squad 

that drew against Hertha Berlin on Friday, 

which has stoked transfer speculation. 

Aubameyang was the Bundesliga's top 

goalscorer last season as he finished the 

campaign with 31 goals and has hit 13 in 15 

games so far this year. 

4-2. The Spaniard easily held for 4-3 

and levelled the set as Kontaveit went 

wide with another misdirected 

forehand. 

The momentum shift was completed 

when Suarez Navarro held again and 

Kontaveit had to serve to save the set 

at 4-5, having been 4-1 up. 

Anxiety took over the young 

Estonian. A double fault and another 

forehand error helped Suarez Navarro 

create two set points. 

Kontaviet regathered to save those 

but, when a second double fault 

brought up a third, Suarez Navarro's 

stunning comeback sent the match 

went to a decider. 

A ripping winner crosscourt brought 

up a break for Kontaveit to lead 5-4 

but as in the second stanza nerves 

prevented her getting over the finish 

line and Suarez Navarro broke back. 

At 6-7 Kontaveit's capitulation was 

complete when she conceded match 

point on her serve, the Spaniard 

taking her chance when the Estonian 

went long. 

Women to get 

equal prize 

money at Tour 

Down Under 

ADELAIDE, Australia: 

Women will receive the 

same prize money as men 

from this year's Tour Down 

Under, the South Australian 

government said Sunday in 

what it believes is a world 

first for a stage race, reports 

BSS. 

The Women's Tour Down 

Under is held the week 

before the men's event and 

this year was elevated to a 

UCI 2.1 classification, one 

level below Women's World 

Tour status. 

The men's TDU, in its final 

stage Sunday, is the opening 

race on the men's UCI World 

Tour calendar and is a state 

government-owned event. 

"We're going to be 

backpaying the... winners of 

last week's Santos Tour 

Down Under so that they 

receive the same paychecks 

as the men will for the race 

that concludes today," South 

Australia state's Tourism 

Minister Leon Bignell told 

reporters. 

"We'll be the first stage 

race in the world to offer 

parity between men's races 

and women's races." 

Bignell said the prize pool 

across all classifications for 

the women's race would be 

more than Aus$100,000 

(US$79,900), compared 

with the initial pool of 

Aus$15,000. 

"The broken bones don't 

hurt any less because you are 

a woman. You have to do 

just as much work as the 

men to become a top rider, 

so we think it's high time in 

2018 that women get paid 

the same as the men do," he 

added. 

Bignell said he spoke to 

UCI chief David Lappartient 

earlier Sunday, who 

welcomed the move. 

"He's hopeful that other 

races around the world will 

follow suit," Bignell said. 

Australian Amanda Spratt 

(Mitchelton-SCOTT) was 

the overall winner of this 

year's women TDU last 

week. 

Djokovic’s 

meditates to 

‘lose fear and 

stress’ 

MELBOURNE: Novak 

Djokovic says meditating 

has helped him overcome 

fear and stress that comes 

with playing elite tennis, 

reports BSS. 

The 12-time Grand Slam 

champion, 30, says he often 

turned to the practice during 

his long spell out of the game 

last year with elbow trouble. 

The Serb former world 

No.1 is playing in his first 

tournament since 

Wimbledon in July and he 

has a brand new support 

team, headed by eight-time 

Grand Slam champion 

Andre Agassi as coach. 

Djokovic said after 

reaching the fourth round of 

the year's opening Grand 

Slam on Saturday that he 

now meditates on a daily 

basis. 

Buttler serves up series 

success for England 

against Australia 

SYDNEY: A scintillating century from Jos 

Buttlerbrought England a 16-run win and a 

one-day international series victoryagainst 

Australia in Sydney on Sunday, reports BSS. 

The hosts, set 303 to win by England after 

winning the toss and electingto bowl, were 

always struggling in their chase and 

eventually managed only286 for six. 

The result gave England an unbeatable 3-0 

lead in the five-match ODIseries, a 

remarkable turnaround after Australia had 

trounced the tourists 4-0in the Ashes Tests. 

Australia's hopes largely rested with Steve 

Smith (45) and Mitchell Marsh(55), but both 

were dismissed at a crucial stage of the chase, 

with Smithfalling to a contentious low-down 

catch by Buttler off the bowling of 

MarkWood (2-46). 

Marcus Stoinis made a late attempt to lift 

Australia with a punishing 56,but England 

managed to hold on despite losing pacemen 

Liam Plunkett to a leginjury early in the 

Australian innings. 

Buttler, 27, was the only batsman from 

either team really to get to gripswith a 

slightly slow pitch, and his late surge enabled 

England to reach atotal which had seemed 

out of their reach until the final few overs. 

Several English batsmen failed to 

capitalise on promising starts, butButtler 

notched his fifth one-day international 

century from the last ball ofthe innings as 

England helped themselves to 38 off the final 

two overs. 

James McCarthy suffers double leg break in Everton draw with West Brom. 

Photo: BBC. 

DHAKA, Jan 21, 2018 (BSS)- World no. 

one all-rounder rounder Shakib AlHasan 

booked his place in the IPL auctions as a 

'Marquee' player list with abase price of RS 

2 Crore which is the base price for the all 16 

elite playersin the Marquee Players' list. 

The star all-rounder Shakib was placed 

alongside the likes of England's 

BenStokes, Joe Root and India's 

Ravichandran Ashwin in the muchawaited 

IPLAuction that will be held on 

January 27 and 28 at Bengaluru. 

The ace all-rounder Shakib now in 

prolific form in the ongoing trinationseries, 

picking up player-of-match 

awards in both the games so far. He 

alsoachieved his personal landmark of 

10,000 runs in all three formats 

combinedwhen he scored 67 against Sri 

Lanka of Bangladesh's second match in 

theseries. 

Earlier, on Saturday, the IPL announced 

the final auction pool, havingtrimmed the 

original 1122 list by half. The auction pool 

has been split intodifferent sets based on 

Australian Open: Grigor Dimitrov beats Nick Kyrgios to reach quarter-finals. 

Buttler himself took 28 runs from the last 

11 balls he faced. He faced 83balls, hitting six 

fours and four sixes, in a dashing innings 

that gatheredmomentum in the last 10 overs. 

Just as England appeared to be struggling 

against a full-strengthAustralian attack, 

Buttler found a willing ally in Chris Woakes 

late in theinnings, the seamer making 53 

from 36 balls in a match-winning 

partnership of113 in 11.5 overs. 

Australia recalled pacemen Pat Cummins 

and Josh Hazlewood for the match,the first 

time in the one-day series that the trio of 

Cummins, Hazlewood andMitchell Starc, 

who spearheaded the Ashes win, had been 

reunited. 

The tactic appeared to be working until 

Buttler and Woakes came togetherand 

turned the match on its head. The English 

were aided by sloppy Australianfielding, with 

four missed catches and two botched runout 

attempts. 

The easiest of the catches to go to grass was 

a howler by Cameron White,who failed to get 

a hand to a skied chance from Moeen Ali 

when he was on one. 

Marsh was the unlucky bowler, but had his 

revenge a few minutes later whenhe bowled 

Ali for six, continuing the all-rounder's 

wretched tour. 

Smith dropped Eoin Morgan (41) on 18 off 

spinner Adam Zampa, while Starcgot his 

fingers to a tough caught-and-bowled 

chance. 

Star all-rounder Shakib in 

Marquee’ player list for IPL 

the area of expertise of the player. The 

auction willbegin with the two sets of 

marquee players going up for bidding, 

sourcecricket website. 

The players will go under the auction in 

two sets with Stokes, MitchellStarc, Chris 

Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Yuvraj Singh, R 

Ashwin, Gautam Gambhir,Shikhar 

Dhawan and Glenn Maxwell in the first set 

while Shakib, AjinkyaRahane, Harbhajan 

Singh, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo and 

Kane Williamsonwill be in the second set. 

The auction will begin with marquee 

players' list followed by cappedplayers -- in 

the order of batsmen, all-rounders, 

wicketkeepers, fast bowlersand spinners. 

Ashwin has been placed at the top of the 

list of Marquee players whileShakib is 11th 

on the list. 

Bowling sensation Mustafizur Rahman 

is the second highest place asBangladeshi 

players as he is in 56th in the full list which 

included all 578players while Bangladeshi 

southpaw opener Tamim Iqbal is 193rd in 

the 578-player list. 

Photo: BBC.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS 

MoNDAy, 

PRAN national pickle 

winners awarded 

The gala awards ceremony of 

18thPRAN National Pickle 

Competition-2017 was held on Friday 

night at Bangabandhu International 

Conference Center, a press release 

said. 

A total of 3,692 participants across 

the country took part at the 

competition with 8,308 pickles 

prepared by them. 

Pickle of SharifaAkterPanna of 

Sunamganj was judged as the 'Pickle 

of the year'. She received Tk 2 lakh as 

prize money. 

Meanwhile, a total of 12 women in 

four categories - sweet, sour, hot and 

mixed - won the awards while another 

35 were given complimentary awards. 

Rabeya Aktar Shanta of Comilla, 

Hasnat Jahan Shimu of Sylhet and 

Monowara Haque of Dhaka won first, 

second and third prizes respectively in 

sour category while Ushan of 

Narayanganj, Rajia Khanam and 

Khadeja Hossain of Dhaka got first, 


sweet category. 

Irtifa Moumi of Barisal, Dilruba 

Kakon of Dhaka and Kumkum Hajera 

of Sylhetwon first, second and third 

prizes in hot category while Afroja 

Begum of Narayanganj, 

TaslimaSharkar of Nilphamari and 

Asma Begum of Dhaka won first, 


mixed category. 

Winners of 1st places were awarded 

with Tk 50,000 each, winners of 2nd 

places with a washing machine each 

and winners of 3rd places with a 

microwave oven each. A ten-member 

panel judged the winners of the 

competition. 

Renowned singer Rezwana 

Chowdhury Bannya handed over the 

awards as chief guest while Ahsan 

Khan Chowdhury, CEO of PRAN-RFL 

Group, EleashMridah, Managing 

Director of PRAN Group, Uzma 

Chowdhury, Director (Corporate 

Finance) of PRAN-RFL Group, 

Shahidul Alam Sachchu, Deputy 

General Manager of Channel I and 

participants of pickle competition, 

among others, were present at the 

function. 

The award giving ceremony was 

followed by a colorful cultural function 

where film actor Ferdous, actress Apu 

Biswas, singer Dolly Shantoni, among 

others, performed.In addition, a daylong 

'Achar Utsab' was held at the 

premises where various pickles and 

food items, to eat with pickles made by 

culinary and chutney specialists, were 

displayed. 

China's trademark 

applications hit 

record high in 2017 

China's trademark 

applications exceeded 5.7 

million last year, up 55.7 

percent year on year, both 

setting record highs. 

Most of the applications 

were made online as China 

has streamlined the 

trademark application 

process, according to the 

Administration for Industry 

and Commerce. 

At the end of 2017, China 

had 14.92 million qualified 

registered trademarks, the 

most of any country 

worldwide. 

Thirty-seven Chinese 

brands made it into the top 

500 global brands last year, 

an increase of 150 percent 

compared with 2013, 

according to the World 

Brand Lab. 

China is also the third 

largest applicant for 

trademark registration in the 

international trademark 

alliance Madrid System with 

4,810 applications in 2017, 

up 59.6 percent year on year, 

which shows the fast pace of 

Chinese firms expanding 

overseas. 

S&P raises rating 

on Greek debt on 

improved outlook 

S&P Global Ratings on 

Friday raised the rating on 

Greek government debt by a 

notch citing the improved 

outlook for the crisis-stricken 

country's finances and 

economic growth. 

The rating on Athens' longterm 

debt was improved to 

"B" from "B-" with a positive 

outlook, which means the 

ratings agency could raise the 

grade further in the next 

year. 

"The upgrade reflects 

Greece's steadily improving 

general government finances 

and its gradually recovering 

economic prospects," S&P 

said in a statement. 

The agency notes the 

government had budget 

surpluses in 2016 and 2017 

and "the economy exited a 

multiyear recession last 

year." 

S&P projects Greece will 

see its economy grow two 

percent this year. 

However, the agency 

cautioned that it could revise 

the outlook "if there are large 

policy shifts that reverse the 

reform process, or if growth 

outcomes are significantly 

weaker than we expect." 

THE 

BANGLADESHTODAY 

10 

JANUARy 22, 2018 

Gold higher over possible 

US government shutdown 

Gold futures on the COMEX division of 

the New York Mercantile Exchange closed 

higher on Friday over risks of a U.S. 

government shutdown. 

The most active gold contract for 

February delivery rose 5.9 dollars, or 0.44 

percent, to close at 1333.10 dollars per 

ounce. 

News from Washington said that White 

House was preparing for a possible 

government shutdown, as the chances of a 

short-term government funding bill passed 

by the Senate seemed dimmed. 

The last U.S. government shutdown 

happened in 2013 and President Donald 

Trump is still trying to negotiate with 

Democrats in a bid to avoid it on the first 

anniversary since taking office. 

The risks of such a government 

shutdown pushed up gold futures, which 

Mauritius was the largest 

source of foreign investment in 

India, followed by the US and 

the UK, according to a census 

by the Reserve Bank. 

Singapore and Japan were 

the next two sources of foreign 

direct investment (FDI), said 

the Census on Foreign 

Liabilities and Assets of Indian 

Direct Investment Companies 

2016-17, released by RBI today. 

Of the 18,667 companies that 

participated in the census, 

17,020 had FDI/overseas 

direct investment in their 

balance sheets in March 2017, 

it said. 

"96 per cent of the 

responding companies were 

unlisted in March 2017 and 

most of them had received only 

inward FDI; unlisted 

companies had higher share of 

FDI equity capital vis- -vis 

listed companies," it said. 

Further, over 80 per cent of 

the 15,169 companies that 

reported inward FDI were 

subsidiaries of foreign 

companies (single foreign 

investor holding over 50 per 

cent of the total equity). 

"Mauritius was the largest 

source of FDI in India (21.8 per 

cent share at market value) 

followed by the USA, the UK, 

Singapore and Japan whereas 

Singapore (19.7 per cent) was 

the major ODI destination, 

followed by the Netherlands, 

Mauritius, and the USA," the 

census said. 

The census yields 

comprehensive information on 

the market value of foreign 

liabilities and assets of Indian 

companies arising on account 

of FDI, ODI and other 

investments. 

"It is important to note that 

changes in outstanding 

asset/liabilities would be 

different from flows recorded 

in the balance of payments 

(BoP) during a year, as the 

former would also include 

valuation changes due to price 

and exchange rate 

had seen a sharp decline in the previous 

session. 

The precious metal was given additional 

support as the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial 

Average fell by 54.49 points, or 0.21 

percent as of 1827 GMT. Analysts note that 

when equities post losses, the precious 

metal usually goes up, as investors are 

looking for a safe haven. 

However, the U.S. dollar index, a gauge 

of the greenback against a basket of other 

major currencies, rose 0.14 percent to 

90.61 as of 1816 GMT, curbing the rise of 

gold. 

As for other precious metals, silver for 

March delivery climbed 8.2 cents, or 0.48 

percent, to settle at 17.036 dollars per 

ounce. Platinum for April rose 12.9 dollars, 

or 1.28 percent, to close at 1,020.10 dollars 

per ounce. 

Mauritius largest 

source of FDI in 

India, says RBI 

movements," the central bank 

said. 

The census data further said 

non-financial FDI companies 

had a much higher share in 

total foreign equity 

participation vis-a-vis financial 

FDI firms. 

"The ratio of market values 

of inward to outward direct 

investment, increased to 4.3 in 

March 2017 from 3.6 a year 

ago; equity participation 

accounted for 94 per cent and 

79 per cent shares in inward 

and outward FDI, 

respectively," it said. 

Myanmar-India private individuals' border 

trade hits over 1.8 mln USD in 9 months 

YANGON: Myanmar's trade with India using private 

Individual Trading Cards (ITCs) via border gates amounted 

to 2.5 billion kyats (1.8 million U.S. dollars) as of December 

in present fiscal year 2017-2018, the official Global New Light 

of Myanmar reported Saturday, reports BSS. 

With the use of ITCs, trade value between Myanmar and 

India through Tamu border point was 1.6 billion kyats (1.2 

million U.S. dollars) during the period. Meanwhile, the 

country's trade with India via Reed border gate amounted to 

797 million kyats (586,029 U.S. dollars) so far. In the present 

FY 2017-2018, the total border trade with ITCs hit 33 billion 

kyats (24 million U.S. dollars) through 12 border points as of 

the first week of January. Since FY 2012-2013, a total of 

1,402 ITCs have been issued so far. At present, the country is 

conducting border trade with neighboring China through 

Muse, Lweje, Kanpikete, Chinshwehaw and Kengtung, with 

Thailand via Tachilek, Myawady, Kawthoung, Myeik, 

Hteekhee, Mawtaung and Maese gates, with Bangladesh via 

Sittwe and Maungtaw and with India through Tamu and 

Reed border gates, respectively. 

A day-long conference of Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) for the Branch Managers of Faridpur division 

was held at BRAC TARC Learning Centre recently. The Managing Director of the bank 

Mohammad Helal Uddin addressing the conference as chief guest. The General Manager of head 

office (operation) Thakur Das Kundu . The GM of Faridpur Md. Nurul Islam presided over the conference. 

Among others, all branch managers along with concerned officials were present on the 

occasion. 

Photo: Courtesy 

Awareness program on 

Prime Health Plan 

Iran's Central Bank to ‘tokenize’ 

online banking transactions 

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) 

planned to "tokenize" the online banking 

transactions, Financial Tribune reported 

on Saturday. 

CBI is focused on creating new models 

of payment involving mobile phones and 

boost the security of existing ones, 

Davoud Mohammad Beigi, head of the 

bank's Payment Systems Department, 

was quoted a saying. 

Micro payment has emerged as one of 

the most problematic areas in the 

Iranian payment system, because almost 

all of it is processed online, which entails 

significant costs, Beigi said. 

"At present, transactions are 

processed easily, but they mostly take 

place online as to safeguard the interests 

and data of customers, new models of 

payment must be put in place for mobile 

phones," he said. 

In light of the high penetration ratio of 

mobile phones as a widely available tool, 

the central bank aims to introduce 

payment based on tokenization in the 

next fiscal year that begins on March 21. 

Tokenization, when applied to data 

security, is the process of substituting a 

sensitive data element with a nonsensitive 

equivalent, referred to as a 

token, that has no extrinsic or 

exploitable meaning or value. 

"In order to expand and popularize 

these instruments, we need to create 

coordination between all beneficiaries 

and devise standards," Beigi added. 

The Iranian central bank will make a 

concerted move towards adopting the 

Europay, MasterCard and Visa 

technology, and making bank cards 

smarter, but according to Beigi, two 

major hurdles impede that goal. 

"The first is that the banking system 

does not yet have the comprehensive 

infrastructure to support these 

payments and secondly the public and 

other beneficiaries must favor them," he 

said. The central bank will also 

announce its regulatory stance on two 

additional modes of financial technology 

firms, a move that will steer the country's 

payment system towards further 

diversification, Beigi said. 

The monetary regulator has 

envisioned an overarching path for 

fintechs and cryptocurrencies entailing 

six regulatory frameworks and guiding 

documents, which will be released by 

March 2019, he said. 

Beigi stressed the necessity of banks 

and fintechs developing new electronic 

wallets that will reduce the need to carry 

bank cards for online and offline 

payments. 

"But that does not mean that bank 

cards are to become obsolete in the near 

future, but that the customers will have 

more choices," he added. 

World markets forge higher 

on rising metal prices 

Global stock markets mostly rose on 

Friday, with miners buoyed by higher 

metal prices, as investors shrugged off a 

looming shutdown of the US 

government. 

Most equities markets rose as 

investors took a shine to advancing 

prices of many metals like gold and 

copper. Star performer Frankfurt rallied 

to stand 1.2-percent higher in early 

afternoon deals, with steelmaker 

Thyssenkrupp jumping 4.2 percent 

higher. Gains in London were held back 

by poor UK retail sales data. 

"A strong start for commodity stocks 

comes amid strengthening copper, iron 

ore, and gold prices," noted IG analyst 

Joshua Mahony. 

"Meanwhile, a disappointing set of 

retail sales figures should be put in the 

context of shifting shopping habits," he 

cautioned. 

Good Health is the greatest and 

priceless blessing of life. Without 

having a good health, life could be 

miserable. To keep this in mind, to 

create awareness among all the 

Executives of Prime Insurance 

Company Ltd an awareness program 

on "Prime Health Plan "was held at 

Company's Head Office on January 17, 

2018. The Presentation was given by 

Sujit Kumar Bhowmik, Assistant 

Managing Director and Head of 

SBMD & Mr. Mohammad Sozon, AVP 

of Prime Insurance Company Ltd. The 

employees of Prime Insurance 

Company are enjoying health 

insurance policy provided by the 

Company. But for more coverage and 

benefit the Management of the 

company has decided to include them 

under the abroad policy "Prime Health 

Plan", a press release said. 

The health plan cautiously 

formulated for Hospitalization i.e. 

sudden sickness, illness & accidental 

coverage but not any pre-existing 

diseases. Its extensive history in 

insurance policy has allowed providing 

this health policy from the year of 2014 

and various corporate office, 

multinational companies and banks 

staffs who are happily enjoying these 

wider coverages of health insurance 

policy. CEO of the Company 

Mohammidi Khanam was also present 

there.

MISCELLANEOUS 

11 

MonDAY, JAnuARY 22, 2018 

Turkish jets bombard Kurdishrun 

city of Afrin in Syria 

Turkish jets bombed the Kurdishcontrolled 

city of Afrin in northern Syria 

on Saturday, as President Recep Tayyip 

Erdogan promised to expand Turkey's 

military border operations against a 

Kurdish group that has been the U.S.'s 

key Syria ally in the war on the Islamic 

State group, reports UNB. 

The raids came on the heels of a week 

of sharp threats by the Turkish 

government, promising to clear the 

Kurdish People's Protection Units, or 

YPG, from Afrin and its surrounding 

countryside, also called Afrin. Turkey's 

military is calling the campaign 

Operation Olive Branch. 

Turkey says the YPG - a group it 

considers a terrorist organization - is an 

extension of an outlawed Kurdish rebel 

group that it is fighting inside its own 

borders, and it has found common cause 

with Syrian opposition groups who view 

the YPG as a counter-revolutionary force 

in Syria's multi-sided civil war. 

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim 

said a ground offensive could begin 

Sunday, but the state run Anadolu News 

Agency reported that Syrian forces backed 

by Ankara had already penetrated the 

Kurdish enclave. They crossed over from 

Turkey but were turned back by the YPG, 

according to Rojhat Roj, a Kurdish 

spokesman. 

Associated Press journalists at the 

Turkish border saw jets bombing 

positions in the direction of Afrin, as a 

convoy of armed pickup trucks and 

buses believed to be carrying Syrian 

opposition fighters traveled along the 

border. Video from Turkey this week 

showed the military moving tanks to the 

frontier. 

Roads out of the Afrin were closed and 

the YPG were not allowing anyone to 

leave the city, but morale was high, 

according to a resident who was reached 

by phone. 

"So far the People's Protection Units 

have not called on the people to 

mobilize," said Ramzi Hamidi. Turkey, 

he said, "will learn a lesson they have not 

learned before." 

Ten civilians were wounded in the 

airstrikes, three seriously, according to 

Roj. Turkey has prepared around 

10,000 Syrian fighters to storm Afrin, 

according Rami Abudrrahman, director 

of the Syrian Observatory for Human 

Rights monitoring group. A rebel 

commander speaking to the AP by 

phone from north Syria said there were 

thousands of fighters positioned in Azaz, 

at the frontier with the Kurdish enclave, 

awaiting orders. 

Another commander said hundreds 

more were stationed in Atmeh, south of 

Afrin. The officials spoke on the 

condition of anonymity because they 

were not authorized to speak to the 

media. 

The Russian Defense Ministry said, 

meanwhile, that it was pulling back 

troops that had been deployed near 

Afrin, two days after Turkey's military 

and intelligence briefs travelled to 

Moscow to discuss the planned 

operation. It said the group of observers 

was being relocated to another area. It 

was not immediately clear how many 

troops were affected by the move. 

The YPG is the driving force behind a 

coalition of north Syrian forces allied with 

the U.S. to battle the Islamic State group. 

With U.S. support, including around 

2,000 embedded forces, the coalition now 

controls close to a quarter of Syrian 

territory, concentrated mostly to the north 

and east of the Euphrates River. 

Turkish leaders were infuriated by an 

announcement by the U.S. military six 

days ago that it was going to create a 

30,000-strong border force with the 

Kurdish fighters to secure northern 

Syria. Days later, Secretary of State Rex 

Tillerson announced that the U.S. would 

maintain a military presence with the 

Kurds for the foreseeable future. 

Tillerson spoke by phone with Russian 

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut 

Cavusoglu, the U.S. State Department 

said. No details about the calls were 

immediately available, but the State 

Department has previously said it's 

urging against escalation. 

Speaking in the city of Kutahya in 

western Turkey, Erdogan announced an 

expansion to Turkish operations in 

Syria, promising to move on the 

Kurdish-controlled town of Manbij and 

its surrounding countryside after 

completing operations in Afrin. The 

operation would force out the Kurdish 

militia from all positions west of the 

Euphrates River. 

In 2016, Turkey trained and equipped 

opposition forces to drive Kurdish 

fighters out of parts of north Syria, 

driving a wedge between two enclaves 

along the Turkish frontier. Turkish 

ground forces, including tanks and 

artillery, crossed into Syria with the 

fighters to establish a zone flanked by 

Afrin and Manbij that now serves as hub 

for Turkish operations inside the wartorn 

country. 

Turkish Prime Minister Binali 

Yildirim said the strikes on Afrin marked 

the start of a campaign to "eliminate the 

PYD and PKK and Daesh elements in 

Afrin," referring to the Kurdish 

Democratic Union Party and the 

Kurdistan Worker's Party respectively, 

and using an Arabic acronym for the 

Islamic State group. 

Tens of thousands 

stage anti-corruption 

protest in Romania 

Tens of thousands of 

Romanians on Saturday 

protested against legislation 

passed by Parliament which 

critics say will make it 

harder to prosecute crime 

and high-level corruption, 

reports UNB. 

Protesters briefly scuffled 

with riot police as they 

massed in Bucharest's 

University Square. Protesters 

shouted: "Thieves, thieves!" 

and "Resign!" and blew 

whistles and waved 

Romanian flags. They then 

marched toward Parliament. 

Protesters of all ages came to 

vent their anger at the leftwing 

government, some 

accompanied by dogs or 

children. Architect Tiberiu 

Calinescu, 30, who was 

carrying his 4-month-old 

daughter, said: "I have come 

here for the future of my 

daughter," adding "I want to 

live in a Romania that is 

civilized and close to 

European" standards. 

Diana Gradinaru, a 45-yearold 

economist, said the new 

legislation could result in 

"terrible thefts" by high-level 

officials, citing legislation that 

meant video and audio 

recordings could no longer be 

used as evidence in prosecutions. 

There were smaller 

protests in the cities of Cluj, 

Timisoara, Constanta, 

Bacau, Sibiu and Iasi. 

Protesters began arriving 

earlier in the capital by train 

from other Romanian cities 

and were greeted by people 

waving Romanian flags. 

Missouri governor: 

'no blackmail,' 'no 

violence' in affair 

In his first interview since acknowledging an 

extramarital affair, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens 

said Saturday that there was "no blackmail" and 

"no threat of violence" by him in what he 

described as a months-long "consensual 

relationship" with his former hairdresser, 

reports UNB. 

Greitens told The Associated Press that he 

has no plans to resign from office as a result of 

the affair, despite calls to step aside from several 

Republican and Democratic state lawmakers. 

"I'm staying. I'm staying," he said twice for 

emphasis, adding about his relationship with 

his wife, staff and supporters: "We're strong." 

Greitens, 43, has remained out of the public 

eye since shortly after delivering his State of the 

State address on Jan. 10. Later that night, St. 

Louis television station KMOV reported that 

Greitens had an extramarital affair in 2015 as 

he was preparing to run for governor. 

The report included an audio recording of a 

conversation between a woman and her thenhusband 

- recorded secretly by the husband - in 

which the woman said Greitens had bound her 

hands and blindfolded her, taken a photo of her 

partially nude and warned her to remain silent 

during an encounter in his St. Louis home. 

Greitens did not directly say "yes" or "no" 

when asked Saturday if he had bound and 

blindfolded and taken a photo of the woman. 

But he firmly denied that he had attempted to 

coerce the woman, or that he or anyone 

associated with him had paid her to be silent. 

"This was a consensual relationship," 

Greitens said. "There was no blackmail, there 

was no violence, there was no threat of violence, 

there was no threat of blackmail, there was no 

threat of using a photograph for blackmail. All 

of those things are false." 

Greitens added: "The mistake that I made 

was that I was engaged in a consensual 

relationship with a woman who was not my 

wife. That is a mistake for which I am very 

sorry." 

The AP has not identified the woman because 

she has not agreed to an interview. 

The governor said he has had no other 

romantic or sexual relationships with anyone 

else while he's been married. 

"I made a mistake with one woman," he said. 

A former Navy SEAL officer, Rhodes Scholar, 

author and founder of a veterans' charity, 

Greitens took his first step into politics by 

opening an exploratory committee for governor 

in February 2015. 

The extramarital relationship started around 

that March and ended that fall, Greitens said 

without being more specific. He officially 

announced he was running for governor in 

September 2015. He told the AP he discussed 

and resolved the affair with his wife that same 

year. 

Greitens emerged the winner in a crowded 

and expensive GOP primary before defeating 

the state's attorney general, Democrat Chris 

Koster, in November 2016 to give Republicans 

control of the governor's mansion for the first 

time in eight years. 

After news of the affair broke this month, an 

attorney for the ex-husband said his client told 

him that Greitens had slapped the woman, and 

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner said she 

was opening a criminal investigation into the 

various claims about Greitens' actions. 

Asked Saturday if he had ever slapped the 

woman, Greitens responded: "Absolutely not." 

He said he hasn't been contacted by the 

circuit attorney's office and that neither he nor 

his attorneys have been contacted by the FBI 

"on this or any other matter." 

Myanmar soldiers jailed for 

killing civilians in rare trial 

A Myanmar military 

tribunal has sentenced six 

soldiers to 10 years in prison 

with hard labor for killing 

three civilians in war-torn 

Kachin state, officials said 

Saturday, in a move 

welcomed by rights groups, 

reports UNB. 

The Kachin state police 

office said the tribunal 

handed down the sentence 

Friday after finding the 

soldiers guilty of killing three 

ethnic Kachin civilians in 

September. The prosecution 

came after an internal 

investigation by the military. 

Min Zaw, a Kachin state 

police officer, said that 

during the hearing the six 

confessed that they were 

responsible for the killings. 

Kachin state is home to an 

ethnic rebel army that has 

been fighting the Myanmar 

military for more than seven 

years. More than 100,000 

GD-102/18 (6 x 3) 

people have fled the fighting 

and live in refugee camps. 

Calls to the military 

information office rang 

unanswered Saturday. 

The three civilians were 

among a group of five 

detained by soldiers last May 

while they were heading 

back to their refugee camp 

after gathering firewood 

near Hka Pra Yang village. 

Two of the men were 

released and returned to the 

camp, while the bodies of the 

other three were found in a 

shallow grave three days later. 

Rights groups said the 

prosecution of the six 

soldiers was rare and the 

first step down a long road to 

ending military impunity. 

Still they raised concerns 

about the trial being held 

behind closed doors. 

"There's a good reason for 

the military to keep these 

trials behind closed doors. It 

makes it a lot easier to cover 

up widespread and 

systematic abuses," said 

David Baulk, Myanmar 

human rights specialist for 

Fortify Rights. 

Myanmar's military has 

been accused of violating 

human rights with impunity 

for decades, including in its 

conflicts with rebel groups. 

Most recently it has been 

accused of abuses during what 

it calls "clearance operations" 

against ethnic Rohingya 

Muslims in Rakhine state. 

More than 650,000 Rohingya 

have left Myanmar for 

Bangladesh, fleeing what the 

United Nations calls ethnic 

cleansing. 

Myanmar's military last 

week made a rare public 

admission of killing 10 

Rohingya Muslims whose 

bodies were found in a mass 

grave in a village in northern 

Rakhine. 

Magnitude 6.3 

earthquake shakes 

northern Chile 

The U.S. Geological Survey 

says a magnitude 6.3 

earthquake has struck 

northern Chile, reports UNB. 

The quake, which was 

deep at 110 kilometers (68 

miles), struck at 10:06 p.m. 

local time Saturday. The 

epicenter in Tarapaca was 

76 kilometers (47 miles) east 

of the city of Putre, and 118 

kilometers (73 miles) 

southeast of the Peruvian 

city of Tacna. 

Local media in Chile said 

there were no immediate 

reports of damage and that 

the navy's oceanographic 

service had discarded the 

possibility of a tsunami. 

An earthquake with a 

similar strength shook 

Tarapaca last October. 

Grant management 

training for youths 

stressed 

RAJSHAHI: Speakers at a 

workshop have said the 

youths, both boys and girls, 

need training on financial 

management relating to local 

govt institution activities for 

grooming up their latent 

knowledge on the issues. 

They viewed designed and 

specific planning is very 

important for any strong 

financial management 

which is essential for 

successful implementation 

of the planning. 

To this end, the youths 

should come forward and 

work together for ensuring 

the optimization of the 

system of local government 

with people participation. 

The observation came at the 

daylong training workshop for 

youths titled "Training on 

Grant Management" held at 

Mohanpur Upzilla Parishad 

conference hall in the district 

on Saturday. 

The Hunger Project 

Bangladesh organized the 

training in association with 

PRODIGY programme and 

British Council focusing on 

the importance of Grant 

management, citizenship, 

governance and local 

governance and good 

governance sector. PRODIGY 

programme intends to build 

the capacity of young people 

to ensure good governance in 

local government activities 

and they can lead people 

participation. It also works to 

promote civic participation 

and advocate the principles of 

integrity. 

Dbœq‡bi MYZš¿ 

†kL nvwmbvi g~jgš¿

Netherlandish 

Proverbs 

INTeResTING NeWs 

Hanging at the Gemäldegalerie art 

museum in Berlin, Germany, is an unusual 

painting. Measuring 64 inches by 46 

inches, this 16th century oil-on-oak-panel 

painting is populated by a swarm of miniature 

men, women, children and animals 

performing a range of extraordinary and 

bizarre acts—two men defecating out of a 

window, a man biting into a wooden pillar, 

another man banging his head against a 

wall, a man burying a calf, a man attempting 

to scoop up spilled porridge, and a 

woman tying into a bundle what appears 

to be the devil. 

This odd artwork was made by Pieter 

Bruegel the elder, who was one of the 

most significant Dutch artist of the 

Renaissance. Titled Netherlandish 

Proverbs, the painting is actually a literal 

illustration of more than one hundred 

Dutch language proverbs and idioms. The 

painting was original called, “The Blue 

UNITING PEOPLE EVERYDAY 

MONDAy, DHAkA, JANUARy 22, 2018, MAgH 9, 1424 BS, JAMADI-UL-AwAL 4, 1439 HIJRI 

Sri Lanka beat Zimbabwe by five-wicket in the 4th ODI of the triangular series at Sher-e-Bangla 

National Cricket Stadium at Mirpur yesterday. 


Tri-series: Lankans stay afloat with 

5 wkt win against Zimbabwe 

DHAKA : sri Lanka notched up a 

five-wicket victory withThisara 

Perera's all-round performanceagainst 

zimbabwe and kept afloat their hope 

for a berth in the final of the sevenmatch 

Tri-nation series, reports UNB. 

sri Lanka chased down a target of 

199 runs, scoring 202 for 5 in 44.5 

overs, where opener Kusal Perera 

played top-scoring innings of 49 off 57 

balls, including four boundaries and 

one six, in the 4th match of the meet at 

sher-e-Bangla National Cricket 

stadium in Mirpur on sunday. 

Man of the match Thisara Perera 

(39* off 26b; 1x4; 3x6) fired a six in the 

last ball of the match off Tendai 

Chatara to draw the winning line and 

shared an unbeaten partnership of 57* 

off 10.1 overs with the stand in captain 

Dinesh Chandimal (38* off 71b; 2x4) 

in the 6th wicket stand for a clean finishing, 

which has changed the league 

scenario making the next two matches,against 

host Bangladesh,as mustwin 

for the final berth for both the visiting 

sides. 

sri Lanka faced first jolt on 33/1 in 

9.1 overs as Upul Tharanga (17 off 34b; 

2x4) was bowled out by Tendai 

Chatara. Kusal Perera continued with 

Kusal Mendis for a partnership innings 

of 70 off 12.4 overs in the 2nd wicket 

stand, which ended on 103/2 in 21.5 

overs as Kusal Perera was caught by 

substitute fielder R Murray off Blessing 

Muzarabani who found the next two 

wickets-Kusal Mendis (36 off 44b; 4x4) 

and Niroshan Dickwella-keeping the 

opponents on 110/3 in 24 and 117/4 in 

25.3 overs respectively. Muzarabani 

conceded 52 runs to get his three-for in 

10 overs while Kyle Jarvis and Tendai 

Chatara took one wicket each for 34 

and 40 runs respectively. Batting first 

after winning the toss, zimbabweans 

were all out for 198 in 44 overs where 

Brendon Taylor hit a half century of 58 

off 80 balls, including six boundaries. 

Taylor, caught by Upul Tharanga off 

Cloak” or “The Folly of the World”, indicating 

that Bruegel intended not just to 

illustrate proverbs, but rather to illustrate 

the universal stupidity of man. Many of 

the proverbs featured focus on the absurdity 

of human behavior. other more serious 

ones illustrate the dangers of folly, 

which leads to sin. 

Proverbs were very popular in Bruegel's 

time and before, and Dutch and Flemish 

authors of the era used them generously in 

their works. In year 1500, more than fifty 

years before Netherlandish Proverbs, the 

Dutch humanist Desiderius erasmus published 

a volume called Adagia, where he 

compiled more than eight hundred Greek 

and Latin proverbs. eight years later, he 

had expanded the collection to more than 

three thousand proverbs. The work continued 

to expand, and by the time eramus 

died in 1536, his collection had grown to 

over four thousand entries. erasmus' collection 

of proverbs remains one of the 

most monumental ever assembled. 

all-rounder Thisara Perera on 171/7 in 

37.4 overs, shared a partnership of 66 

off 12.2 overs with Malcolm Waller in 

the 5th wicket stand. 

The only notable partnership 

innings in the 5th stand was ended on 

139/5 in 29 overs, starting after the 

dismissal of sikandar Raza on from 

73/4 in 16.4 overs, as Waller (24 off 

35b; 2x4) was caught behind by 

Niroshan Dickwella off Lakshan 

sandakan. 

zimbabwe started the innings with 

good note as their opening pair 

between Hamilton Masakadza and 

solomon Mire contributed 44 off 10 

overs. But they lost their wickets in a 

gradual interval before Taylor-Waller 

stand in the 5th. 

Nuwan Pradeep did a great job for 

Lankans bowling out three 

zimbabwean wickets-Kyle Jarvis, 

skipper Graeme Cremer (34 off 42b; 

3x4) and Blessing Muzarabani-within 

a span of 7 off 15 balls. 

Half of unpaid wages 

of jute workers to be 

cleared: Minister 

He urges striking workers to return to work 

DHAKA : The half of the 

unpaid wages of protesting 

jute mill workers who are now 

on strike will be cleared by the 

next week, state Minister for 

Textile and Jute Mirza Azam 

has said, reports UNB. 

"Half of the unpaid wages 

will be paid now while the rest 

gradually," he told UNB 

recently. 

Mirza Azam urged the 

workers to end their protest 

and return to their factories, 

warning that their wages of 

the days they are wasting in 

protest will be deducted. 

Almost 26,718 workers of 

eight Khulna-Jessore region's 

state-owned jute mills have 

been on strike since 

December 28 last year to 

realise their 11-point demand, 

including their due wages. 

According to official 

sources, the workers, including 

650 in Crescent Jute Mill, 

2,000 in eastern Jute Mill 

and 1,500 in Alim Jute Mill 

owe over Tk 40.68 crore in 

arrears. Their protest and the 

subsequent strike were 

reportedly orchestrated by the 

jute mills' collective bargaining 

agents (CBAs) and non- 

CBA union leaders. 

executive convener of the 

CBA and Non-CBA Council 

sohrab Hossain told UNB 

that although the Pay 

Commission has been in 

effect since 2015, the workers' 

wage board has still not be 

realised, resulting in irregular 

Apan Jewellers 

owner Dildar 

gets bail 

DHAKA : The High Court on 

sunday granted bail to Apan 

Jewellers owner Dildar 

Ahmed selim in a money 

laundering case filed by the 

National Board of Revenue 

(NBR). 

A High Court bench comprising 

Justice M enayetur 

Rahim and Justice shahidul 

Karim passed the order after 

hearing a petition filed by 

Dildar seeking bail in the case. 

Now there is no bar to 

Dildar's bail, said his lawyers, 

reports UNB. 

Deputy attorney general 

Yusuf Mahmud Morshed represented 

the state while 

Advocate AM Amin Uddin 

and Barrister Mehedi Hasan 

Chowdhury appeared for the 

accused. 

on January 8, the supreme 

Court upheld a High Court 

verdict that granted bail to 

three Apan Jewellerss owners, 

dismissing three leave-toappeal 

petitions filed by the 

government challenging the 

bail orders. 

The two other owners of 

Apan Jewellers are-Gulzar 

Ahmed and Azad Ahmed. 

on December 14, the High 

Court granted bail to three 

owners of Apan Jewellers in 

three money laundering cases. 

on November 22 last, the 

HC issued five separate rules 

in five money laundering cases 

filed against them. 

on August 12, Customs 

Intelligence and Investigation 

Directorate (CIID) filed five 

cases against the three owners 

of Apan Jewellers after 15 

maunds of illegal gold and 

some diamond jewellery were 

recovered from its branches. 

Five CIID assistant revenue 

officers filed the cases with 

Gulshan Police station, 

Dhanmondi Police station, 

Ramna Police station and 

Uttara Police station following 

the directives of the National 

Board of Revenue (NBR). 

wage payments by the mill 

owners. 

According to sources at 

Bangladesh Jute Mills 

Corporation (BJMC), the jute 

mills, now in strike, usually 

produce 225 tonnes of jute 

goods a day. 

The mills currently contain 

21,474 tonnes of jute, waiting 

to be distributed in the market, 

worth Tk 215 crore. 

BJMC was established 

under Article 10 of 

Bangladesh Industrial 

enterprises (Nationalization) 

order 1972 (Po 27 of 1972) 

with the aim and objective of 

controlling, supervising and 

coordinating the activities of 

jute millsnationalisedand 

placed under it. 

As thelargest manufacturerin 

the jute sector, the 

BJMC produces mainlyhessian 

cloths, different types 

ofhessian bags,sacking cloth, 

sacking bags, yarn, geojute,blanket,jute 

canvasand 

carpet backing cloth (CBC) 

made from jute, the longestnatural 

fibrein the world. 

At present, the BJMC is thebiggest 

employerin the industrial 

sector of the country. It 

providesdirect employmentto 

about70,000 workersand5,500 

officers and staff 

supporting the livelihood of 

around6.0 million farm families. 

More than50 million peopleare 

directly or indirectlyinvolved 

withjute and the jute 

industry. 

Dhaka to urge UAE 

to recruit more 

Bangladeshi workers 

DHAKA : Bangladesh is 

likely to call on UAe to recruit 

more workers in their 4th 

Joint Commission meeting 

due to be held in Abu Dhabi 

February 5-6 with the main 

focus on boosting the bilateral 

relations of the two countries. 

"The 4th Joint Commission 

meeting between Bangladesh 

and UAe will be held on 

February 5-6 this year in Abu 

Dhabi after a recess of over 

eight years," an economic 

Relations Division (eRD) official 

told Bss. 

The official said state 

Minister for Finance and 

Planning MA Mannan will 

lead the Bangladesh delegation 

at the Joint Commission 

meeting while UAe state 

Minister for Foreign Affairs is 

likely to lead the UAe delegation. 

The eRD official said the 

Joint Commission meeting 

will mainly aim at boosting 

the bilateral ties between the 

two countries besides discussing 

how to send 

Education 

Minister's 

PO 'goes 

missing' 

DHAKA : Motaleb 

Hossain, personal officer 

(Po) of education Minister 

Nurul Islam Nahid, has 

reportedly gone missing 

from the capital, reports 

UNB. 

Motaleb left his residence 

in Green Road area around 

4pm and his mobile phone 

was found switched off since 

then, said Arfazur Rahman, 

senior information officer of 

the ministry. 

Motaleb's brother filed a 

general diary with 

Hazaribagh Police station in 

this regard. 

According to the GD, 

Motaleb left home for going 

to Basila area to look after 

the work of his under-construction 

multi-storied 

building on saturday and did 

not return home at night, 

said officer-in-Charge of 

Hazaribagh police station 

Meer Alimuzzaman. 

Bangladeshi workers in a 

large scale to the gulf country. 

Talking to Bss, state for 

Finance and Planning MA 

Mannan said the meeting 

would focus on ways to further 

strengthen the relations 

between the two countries in 

various fields. 

"We'll discuss with UAe 

how to send more 

Bangladeshi workers to the 

UAe market alongside boosting 

bilateral trade and commerce 

and wooing more UAe 

investment in Bangladesh," 

he added. 

A significant number of 

Bangladeshis have been 

working in the UAe and they 

are contributing immensely to 

the economies of both the 

countries. Bangladeshi workforce, 

both skilled and semiskilled, 

is employed in a variety 

of areas, in electromechanical, 

hospitality sector, 

construction sector, and 

driving and municipal services. 

Teachers observe 

strike in 37,000 

schools, colleges 

DHAKA : Classes in the 

MPo-listed (monthly payment 

order) academic institutions 

across the country were suspended 

yesterday due to a strike 

called by agitating teachers asking 

for nationalisations of their 

schools and colleges, reports 

UNB. 

There are 37,000 MPo-listed 

schools and colleges in the 

country where teachers get a 

part of their salaries from public 

coffer. 

These institutions observed 

the strike on sunday in solidarity 

with several hundred teachers 

and employees of non-government 

educational institutions 

staging a hunger strike for 

seventh straight day yesterday 

in front of National Press Club. 

They are on a fast unto death 

programme, asking for nationalization 

of all MPo-listed educational 

institutions. 

The teachers and employees 

went on the hunger strike under 

the banner of "Beshorkari 

sikkha Jatiyakoron Liaison 

Forum," a platform of six organisations 

of teachers and 

employees all over the country, 

from January 15. 

Newly elected RpCC mayor 

accorded reception 

AzAM PARvez, RANGPUR CoRResPoNDeNT 

The officials and employees of Rangpur 

City Corporation (RpCC) accorded warm 

reception to its newly elected Mayor 

Mostafizur Rahman Mostafa at a ceremony 

held on the City Bhaban premises yesterday 

evening. 

Newly elected Mayor of Rangpur 

Mostafizur Rahman Mostafa attended the 

ceremony as the chief guest with Chief 

executive officer of RpCC Akhter Hossain 

Azad in the chair. 

secretary of RpCC Abu saleh Md Musa 

Jongi delivered inaugural speech welcoming 

the newly elected Mayor, 33 newly elected 

City Councilors form 33 general wards and 11 

newly elected Female City Councilors from 11 

reserved wards of the city. 

officials and employees of RpCC greeted 

the newly elected Mayor and City Councilors 

with floral wreaths on the occasion. 

General secretary of city unit of Jatiya Party 

(JP) sM Yasser and Joint Convener of district 

JP Abdur Razzaque addressed the function. 

Newly elected City Councilors Tauhidul 

Islam, Mokhlesur Rahman Taru, shree 

Haradhan Chandra Roy, Monwarul Islam 

Lebu, Fazle elahi Fulu, zakaria Alam, Joynal 

Abedin, Rabiul Abedin Ratan, sirajul Islam, 

Hasna Banu and Ferdousi Begum, 

superintending engineer of RpCC Amdad 

Hossain, its Urban Planners Nazrul Islam 

and Abdur Rahim Bablu, also spoke. 

A 5-storey building on RND road in Lalbagh area 

in the capital tilted on Sunday morning. 


HC for evicting illegal structures 

on Rupnagar Canal banks 

DHAKA The High Court (HC) yesterday 

ordered the authorities concerned to evict 

illegal structures erected along both the 

banks of Rupnagar Canal in the city. 

The court also ordered to keep a walkway 

for the city dwellers along the canal, keeping 

its main map intact. 

"A High Court division bench comprising 

Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice 

Mohammad Ullah passed the order, asking 

the authorities concerned to submit a report 

on execution of today's order by February 

25," Deputy Attorney General Tapas Kumar 

Biswas told newsmen. 

Dhaka district administration on 

November 21, 2017, submitted a report on 

Rupnagar Canal, saying in spite of being 

freed of illegal occupation, the capital's 

canals are getting occupied repeatedly. 

The report also suggested dredging the 

canals, planting trees and constructing walkways 

along the banks. 

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

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