13-03-2018

TueSday 

Dhaka : March 13, 2018; Falgun 29, 1424 BS; Jamadi-us-Sani 24, 1439 hijri 

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www. tbtbangla.com 

Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.16; No.81; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00 

InTeRnaTIOnal 

Germany's Merkel: 

time for new govt 

to get to work 

>Page 7 

aRT & culTuRe 

Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety 

is 2018's second highest 

grosser after Padmaavat 

>Page 8 

SPORT 

Harry Kane injury 

concern for Tottenham 

Hotspur & England 

>Page 9 

US-Bangla aircraft crashes 

in Kathmandu; 50 killed 

It carrying 67 passengers including 32 BD nationals 

DHAKA : At least 50 people died as an aircraft 

of US-Bangla Airlines from Dhaka to 

Kathmandu crashed at Tribhuvan 

International Airport in the capital of the 

Himalayan country on Monday, said officials. 

Many injured were rushed to nearby 

hospitals, officials added, reports UNB. 

The death toll remained unclear amid 

the chaos of the crash and the rush of badly 

injured victims to nearby hospitals. Brig. 

Gen. Gokul Bhandari, the Nepal army 

spokesman, said 50 people had died and 

the fate of the others was unknown, 

reports AP. 

But a police official, speaking on condition 

of anonymity because he was not 

authorized to talk to the media, said at 

least 38 people had died, 23 had been 

injured and 10 were unaccounted for. 

The official said 10 people remained 

unaccounted for in Monday's crash. 

Earlier, Md Kamrul Islam, General 

Manager (GM), Marketing Support and 

PR of US-Bangla Airlines, confirmed UNB 

about the accident. 

The flight was carrying 67 passengers - 

32 from Bangladesh, 33 from Nepal and 

one each from China and the Maldives, 

according to airlines sources. There were 

four crewmembers on board, but did not 

provide their nationalities. 

Nepal's Tourism Ministry Joint 

Secretary Suresh Acharya said 17 injured 

passengers have been rescued and sent to 

different hospitals for treatment, reports 

Kathmandu Post. 

The aircraft reportedly left Dhaka at 

12:30pm which was scheduled to arrive at 

2:15 pm. The plane can reportedly carry 78 

passengers and firefighters were at the 

scene trying to extinguish a fire, BBC 

reported quoting local news site My 

Republica. 

The plane, a twin-propeller Bombardier 

Dash 8 flying from Bangladesh, swerved 

repeatedly before it crashed, landing near 

Khaleda finally gets interim 

bail for four months 

DHAKA : The High Court (HC) finally 

granted a four-month interim bail to 

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in Zia 

Orphanage Trust graft case, reports 

UNB. 

The HC bench of Justice M Enayetur 

Rahim and Justice Shahidul Karim 

passed the order after a hearing on a bail 

petition in the case. 

The HC also asked the authorities 

concerned of the HC for preparing the 

paperbook (documents related to the 

case) of the case within four months for 

hearing the appeal she filed against her 

conviction in the case. 

Meanwhile, Attorney General 

Mahbubey Alam said, "We'll go to the 

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court 

Zohr 

05:02 AM 

12:15 PM 

04:24 PM 

06:07 PM 

07:20 PM 

6:15 6:04 

the runway. 

A passenger plane from Bangladesh 

crashed and burst into flames as it landed 

Monday at the Kathmandu airport in 

Nepal, killing at least a dozen people, officials 

and witnesses said. 

The twin propeller plane, a Bombardier 

Dash 8, can carry about 70 passengers, 

though it was not immediately clear how 

many people were on board. At least 12 

bodies have been recovered, according to 

an AP journalist who arrived at the scene 

soon after the crash and saw the US- 

Bangla Airlines plane broken into several 

large pieces, with dozens of firefighters 

and rescue workers clustered around the 

wreckage. 

An airline official said some injured passengers 

had been taken away by ambulance. 

The plane from US-Bangla, a 

Bangladeshi airline, went off the runway 

while landing and crashed on the east side 

of Tribhuvan International Airport's runway, 

the Kathmandu Post reported. 

An airport spokesperson told the paper 

that many casualties were feared. 

The plane was identified in local 

media as S2-AGU, a Bombardier Dash 8 

Q400, but this has not been officially 

confirmed yet. The flight landed at TIA 

airport, also known as Kathmandu 

International Airport, at 14:20 local 

time (08:35 GMT), according to flight 

tracking website. Photos and video posted 

on social media showed smoke rising 

from an airport runway. 

Director General of Civil Aviation 

Authority of Nepal (Caan) Sanjiv Gautam 

said that the plane was out of control when 

it attempted to land on the runway. 

"The aircraft was permitted to land from 

the Southern tip of the runway flying over 

Koteshwor but it landed from the 

Northern side," Gautam told Kathmandu 

Post suspecting the aircraft might have 

sustained some technical glitches. "We are 

for filing a petition against the HC order. 

Already, we've started our work in this 

regard." 

Khaleda's counsel Kaisar Kamal said, 

"Now, there's no legal bar to Khaleda Zia's 

release following the HC order and we 

hope the documents related to the case 

order will reach the jail on Tuesday." 

On Sunday, the High Court deferred 

until today (Monday) the passing of its 

order on Khaleda's bail petition in the 

case in which she was sentenced to five 

years' imprisonment. 

The HC was scheduled to pass an 

order on her petition on Sunday but 

deferred it as the documents relating to 

the lower court verdict in the graft case 

did not reach the department concerned 

of the HC in time. 

However, the documents later 

reached the department concerned of 

the High Court on Sunday. 

On February 22, BNP Chairperson 

Khaleda Zia filed the petition with the 

High Court seeking bail in the Zia 

Orphanage Trust graft case. Barrister 

NowshadJamir and Barrister Kaiser 

Kamal, on behalf of the BNP chief, submitted 

the 880-page bail petition showing 

31 grounds for granting her bail. 

On February 25, Khaleda Zia failed to 

secure bail in the case as the High Court 

says it will pass an order on her bail petition 

upon receiving all the documents relating 

to the judgment from the lower court. 

Earlier, the HC asked the lower court 

to submit all the relevant documents 

within 15 days. 

On February 8, the Dhaka Special 

Court-5 convicted the former Prime 

Minister and BNP chairperson and sentenced 

her to five years' imprisonment 

in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case. 

She was then sent to old central jail at 

Nazimuddin Road in the city. 

yet to ascertain the reason behind the 

unusual landing," he added. 

According to TIA spokesperson Prem 

Nath Thakur, the 76-seater Bombardier 

Dash 8 aircraft caught fire after it careened 

off the runway during landing and crashed 

onto a football ground near TIA. 

State Minister for Foreign Affairs M 

Shahriar Alam said officials from 

Bangladesh Mission are already on the 

spot and hospital. 

Bangladesh Mission in Nepal opened a 

hotline - Md. Al alamul Emam (Consular 

+9779810100401) and Asit Baran Sarker 

(+9779861467422). 

When contacted, Bangladesh's 

Ambassador to Nepal Mashfee Binte 

Shams told UNB that she is in a meeting 

with Nepalese Prime Minister Khadga 

Prasad Oli. It is expected that the meeting 

was meant for expediting rescue process 

and speedy treatment of those who are 

rescued. 

An AP journalist who arrived at the 

scene soon after the crash saw the US- 

Bangla Airlines twin-propeller plane broken 

into several large pieces, with dozens 

of firefighters and rescue workers clustered 

around the wreckage in a grassy field 

near the runway. Hundreds of people 

stood on a nearby hill, staring down at 

what remained of the Bombardier Dash 8. 

The plane swerved repeatedly as it prepared 

to land in Kathmandu, said Amanda 

Summers, an American working in Nepal. 

The crowded city sits in a valley in the 

Himalayan foothills. 

"It was flying so low I thought it was 

going to run into the mountains," said 

Summers, who watched the crash from 

the terrace of her home office, not far from 

the airport. "All of a sudden there was a 

blast and then another blast." 

Fire crews put out the flames quickly, 

perhaps within a minute, she said, though 

for a time clouds of thick, dark smoke rose 

into the sky above the city. 

Hand over 

Concord building 

to orphanage: SC 

DHAKA : The Appellate Division 

of the Supreme Court on Monday 

upheld the High Court order that 

asked Concord Group to hand 

over its 18-storey tower in 

Azimpur of Dhaka to Sir 

Salimullah Muslim Orphanage, 

reports UNB. 

A three-member Appellate 

Division bench, led by Chief 

Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, 

passed the order. 

Attorney General Mahbubey 

Alam stood for the state, advocate 

Manzill Murshid for petitioner 

and Advocate W Moshiuzzaman 

and Barrister Anik R Haque for 

the orphanage. 

Earlier on September 17, 2015, 

the High Court (HC) declared illegal 

the 18-storey tower constructed 

by Concord Group on a piece of 

land belonging to Sir Salimullah 

Muslim Orphanage in the capital's 

Azimpur area and directed the 

Concord Group authorities to 

handover the possession of the 

building and other establishments 

built on the orphanage's land to 

the orphanage within 30 days. 

The HC declared the deeds and 

power of attorney of the president 

and secretary of Concord Group 

regarding the land dated July 22, 

2013 and April 13, 2014 cancelled, 

as the deeds and power of attorney 

have become void ab initio 

(dead from birth). 

After the HC order, the Concord 

Group filed petition with the SC 

against the order. 

In 1909, Sir Salimullah built the 

orphanage in Azimpur area. 

Later, the government leased 

some land to the orphanage 

authorities for expansion. 

Wreckage of an airplane is pictured as rescue workers operate at Kathmandu airport, Nepal 

March 12, 2018. 

Photo: Reuters 

Agonising wait for plane 

crash victims' list 

DHAKA : Three of a same family 

are among the passengers who 

travelled to Khatmandu with US- 

Bangla Airlines flight from Dhaka 

that crashed at Tribhuvan 

International Airport in the capital 

of the Himalayan country on 

Monday, reports UNB. 

It is not known yet what happened 

to them. The family members 

are desperately looking for an 

update as the officials are yet to 

come up with victims' list. 

FH Priok, his wife and daughter 

were traveling to Kathmandu. 

"We are trying to get the 

update," Baqui Billah Milon, a 

family friend of Priok told UNB. 

"Ready to fly to Kathmandu from 

Hazrat Shahjalal International 

Airport ...Pls keep us in your 

prayers," Annie Priok, wife of FH 

Priok wrote on Facebook wall tagging 

her husband before departure. 

That was the last update they 

posted on Facebook. 

At least 50 people died as an aircraft 

of US-Bangla Airlines from 

Dhaka to Kathmandu crashed at 

Tribhuvan International Airport 

in the capital of the Himalayan 

country on Monday, said officials. 

SINGAPORE : Bangladesh and 

Singapore on Monday signed two 

Memorandums of Understanding 

(MoUs) for collaboration over 

Public Private Partnership (PPP) 

and air services, reports UNB. 

The instruments were signed following 

an official meeting between 

prime ministers of the two countries 

at Istana, the official residence and 

office of the President of Singapore, 

and also the working office of the 

Prime Minister of Singapore. 

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina and Singapore 

Prime Minister Lee Hsien 

witnessed the signing 

ceremony. 

The two deals are an 

MoU on Public Private 

Partnership signed 

between International 

Enterprise Singapore and 

the Public Private 

Partnership Authority of 

the Prime Minister's 

Office of Bangladesh and 

C o n f i d e n t i a l 

Memorandum of 

Understandings (MoUs) 

to expand the air services. 

Secretary of Ministry 

of Civil Aviation and 

Many injured were rushed to 

nearby hospitals, officials added. 

The death toll remained unclear 

amid the chaos of the crash and 

the rush of badly injured victims 

to nearby hospitals. Brig. Gen. 

Gokul Bhandari, the Nepal army 

spokesman, said 50 people had 

died and the fate of the others was 

unknown, reports AP. 

But a police official, speaking on 

condition of anonymity because 

he was not authorized to talk to 

the media, said at least 38 people 

had died, 23 had been injured and 

10 were unaccounted for. 

The official said 10 people 

remained unaccounted for in 

Monday's crash. 

Earlier, Md Kamrul Islam, 

General Manager (GM), 

Marketing Support and PR of US- 

Bangla Airlines, confirmed UNB 

about the accident. 

The flight was carrying 67 passengers 

- 32 from Bangladesh, 33 

from Nepal and one each from 

China and the Maldives, according 

to airlines sources. 

There were four crewmembers 

on board, but did not provide their 

nationalities. 

Bangladesh, Singapore 

sign two MoUs 

Tourism SM Ghulam Farooque and 

Permanent Secretary of Ministry 

of Transport Loh Ngai Seng signed 

the MoU on cooperation in the 

areas of air services. 

CEO of Private Public 

Partnership Authority (PPPA) 

Syed Afsor H Uddin and Assistant 

CEO of International Enterprise of 

Singapore Tan Soon Kim singed 

another MoU between 

International Enterprise and 

PPPA on cooperation on Public 

Private Partnership. 

13 medical students 

of Nepal among 

plane crash victims 

SYLHET : Thirteen Nepalese students 

of Jalalabad Ragib-Rabeya Medical 

College and Hospital in Sylhet were 

among the victims of the US-Bangla 

aircraft that crashed at Tribhuvan 

International Airport in the capital of 

the Himalayan country on Monday, 

reports UNB. 

The Nepali medical students were 

going to their homeland on a two-month 

vacation on completion of their MBBS 

final examination, Fazlur Rahman, 

assistant director of Jalalabad Ragib- 

Rabeya Medical College and Hospital 

told UNB. 

"Medical Collage consultants of 

Nepal have sent us a list of 13 students 

but what actually happened to them 

after the crash is yet to be confirmed," 

said Fazlur Rahman. 

The 19th batch students of the medical 

college are Sanjay Poudel, Sanjaya 

Maharjan, Neega Maharjan, Anjila 

Shrestha, Purnima Lohani, Shweta Thapa, 

Meeli Maharjan, Saruna Shrestha, Algina 

Baral , Charu Baral, Samira Byanjankar, 

Ashna Shakya, Princy Dhami. 

Verdict on 4 Noakhali 

'Razakars' today 

DHAKA : The International Crimes 

Tribunal (ICT) will deliver its judgment 

tomorrow (Tuesday) on the trial of four 

men for their alleged involvement in 

crimes against humanity committed 

during the 1971 Liberation War in 

Sudharampur upazila of Noakhali 

district, reports UNB. 

A three-member ICT bench led by 

Justice Md Shahinur Islam on 

Monday fixed the date, said prosecutor 

Jahid Imam. 

The four accused are Amir Ahmed 

alias Amir Ali, Abul Kalam alias AKM 

Mansur, Md Joynul Abedin and Abdul 

Kuddus. Of them, Abul Kalam alias 

AKM Mansur has been on the run. 

Earlier on February 6, the tribunal 

concluded the hearing of arguments 

from both sides on the trial of four men 

for their alleged involvement in crimes 

against humanity conducted during the 

Liberation War in 1971 in Noakhali's 

Sudharampur upazila and kept the verdict 

pending for any day.

NEWS 

TUESDAY, 

MArCh 13, 2018 

2 

Freedom Fighters Jamalganj upazila formed a human chain protesting nepotism and corruption and 

in recruiting Judicial Magistrate court. 

Photo : Star Mail 

Plane flying from UAE 

to Turkey crashes in 

Iran, killing 11 

TEHRAN : A Turkish 

private jet flying a group of 

young women from the 

United Arab Emirates to 

Istanbul crashed Sunday in 

heavy rain in a 

mountainous region of 

Iran, killing all 11 people on 

board, authorities said, 

reports UNB. 

Days earlier, the doomed 

aircraft carried a 

bachelorette party bound 

for Dubai, although it was 

not clear who was on the 

plane when it crashed. 

Iranian state television 

quoted a spokesman for the 

country's emergency 

management organization 

as saying the plane hit a 

mountain near Shahr-e 

Kord and burst into flames. 

Shahr-e Kord is some 370 

kilometers (230 miles) 

south of the capital, Tehran. 

The spokesman, Mojtaba 

Khaledi, later told a website 

associated with state TV 

that local villagers had 

reached the site in the 

Zagros Mountains and 

found only badly burned 

bodies and no survivors. He 

said DNA tests would be 

needed to identify the dead. 

Villagers said they saw 

flames coming from the 

plane's engine before the 

crash, according to a report 

by Iran's state-run judiciary 

news agency Mizan. 

The plane took off late 

Sunday afternoon and 

climbed to a cruising 

altitude of just over 35,000 

feet. A little over an hour 

later, it rapidly gained 

altitude and then dropped 

drastically within minutes, 

according 

to 

FlightRadar24, a flighttracking 

website. 

we`ÿ r/Rb-1033(2)/12/3/18 

GD-392/18 (5 x 3) 

The flight took off from 

Sharjah International 

Airport, according to the 

General Civil Aviation 

Authority in the UAE. A 

private company that 

handles public relations for 

the Sharjah airfield, the 

home of low-cost airline Air 

Arabia, declined to 

comment. Sharjah is a 

neighboring emirate of 

Dubai. 

Turkey's private Dogan 

News Agency identified the 

plane as a Bombardier 

CL604, tail number TC- 

TRB. Turkey's Transport 

Ministry said the aircraft 

belonged to a company 

named Basaran Holding, 

which The Associated Press 

could not immediately 

reach. 

Basaran Investment 

Holding is active in the 

food, finance, energy, 

construction, tourism and 

travel industries, according 

to the company's website. 

Mina Basaran, the 28- 

year-old daughter of 

Basaran's chairman who is 

part of the company's board 

of managers and is in line to 

run the business, recently 

posted photographs on 

Instagram of what 

appeared to be her 

bachelorette party in Dubai. 

Among 

those 

photographs was an image 

of the plane posted three 

days ago. In it, Basaran 

posed on the tarmac 

carrying flowers, wearing a 

denim jacket reading "Mrs. 

Bride" and the hashtag 

"#bettertogether." In 

another picture, she holds 

heart-shaped balloons 

inside the plane. 

A day ago, Basaran posted 

a picture with seven smiling 

friends from a Dubai resort. 

The last videos posted to 

her account showed her 

enjoying a concert by the 

British pop star Rita Ora at 

a popular Dubai nightclub. 

Iranian emergency 

management officials said 

all the passengers were 

young women, according to 

state television IRNA. 

Sunday's crash comes less 

than a month after an 

Iranian ATR-72, a twinengine 

turboprop used for 

short regional flights, 

crashed in southern Iran, 

killing all 65 people aboard. 

3-day Science 

Fair ends in 

Manikganj 

MANIKGANJ: A three-day 

Science Fair held on the 

Play Ground of Manikganj 

Government High School 

concluded yesterday, 

reports BSS. 

The 

district 

administration arranged 

the fair on the occasion of 

39th National Science and 

Technology Week -2018 

with an aim to making the 

students interested in 

innovation of new 

technology. 

A concluding ceremony 

was held with Deputy 

Commissioner (DC) Md. 

Nazmus Sadat Salim in the 

chair. 

The function was 

addressed among others 

by Abdul Matin, Deputy 

Director, 

Local 

Government, Babul Mia, 

ADC (Gen), Md. Muttahim 

Billah, Senior Assistant 

Superintendent of Police 

(ASP), Professor 

Akheruzzaman, Head of 

the Department of 

Chemistry, Government 

Debendra College and Md. 

Faruque Hossain, 

Principal, National 

Technical Institution 

(NPI). 

The students of school 

and colleges including 

some science clubs of the 

district set up around 100 

stalls in the fair displaying 

their innovative items. 

Man 'kills' 

cousin over 

trivial matter 

RAJSHAHI : A man was 

killed allegedly by his cousin 

at Baghata village in Poba 

upazila over a trivial matter 

on Monday morning, 

reports UNB. 

The deceased was 

identified as Siddiqur 

Rahman, 55, of the village. 

Quoting locals, police said 

there had been altercation 

between Siddiqur and his 

cousin Abdur Razzak as a 

duck of the latter was 

crushed under the wheels of 

former's rickshaw van 

around 9am. 

As a sequel to the conflict, 

Razzak hit his cousin with a 

stick on his head, leaving 

him dead on the spot, said 

Parimal Kumar Chakrabarti, 

officer-in-charge of Poba 

Police Station. 

On information, police 

detained father and brother 

of Razzak. 

However, Razzak went 

into hiding soon after the 

incident. 

Faridpur road 

crash kills 2 

motorcyclists 

FARIDPUR : Two 

motorcyclists were killed 

and another was injured as 

their vehicle hit a roadside 

tree at Lohartek village in 

Charbhadrasan upazila on 

Sunday night, reports UNB. 

The deceased were 

identified as Masud Munshi, 

son of Rashid Munshi and 

Mehedi Hasan Mithu, son of 

Wahab Sheikh while the 

injured is Arshed Bepari, 

son of Kalam Bepari. 

Azad Khan, chairman of 

Charbhadrasan union 

parishad, said Masud and 

Mithu along with Arshed 

went to Faridpur Police 

Lines to know their written 

results of constable 

recruitment test 

The accident took place as 

the rider lost control over the 

wheels around 10:30pm and 

hit the tree while they were 

returning from Faridpur 

Police Lines, leaving them 

critically injured. 

Later, they were rushed to 

Faridpur Medical College 

and Hospital where doctors 

declared the duo dead. 

Ctg Jamaat leader's 

bodyguard arrested 

CHITTAGONG : Police 

arrested bodyguard cum 

personal secretary of 

Shamsul Islam, former MP 

and leader of Satkania unit 

of Jamaat-e-Islami early 

Monday, reports UNB. 

Tipped-off, a team of police 

conducted a drive in 

Hashmat's shop area in the 

upazila around 12:30am and 

picked up Md Masum, 30, 

who was warranted in 10 

sabotage cases, said Rafiqul 

Hossain, officer-in-charge of 

Satkania Police Station. 

Masum was accused in 12 

cases filed over attack on police 

and sabotages before and after 

the 10th National Election, the 

police official added. 

Youth found 

dead in Dinajpur 

DINAJPUR : Police 

recovered a slaughtered 

body of a young man from 

Hili in Hakimpur upazila on 

Sunday night, reports UNB. 

The deceased was 

identified as Mithun, 27, son 

of Shahadat Hossain, a 

resident of Chandipur 

village. 

Locals spotted the body 

around 8pm and informed 

police. 

China's Xi Jinping gets expanded 

mandate, may rule for life 

BEIJING : Xi Jinping, already China's most 

powerful leader in more than a generation, 

received a vastly expanded mandate as 

lawmakers Sunday abolished presidential 

term limits that had been in place for more 

than 35 years and wrote his political 

philosophy into the country's constitution, 

reports UNB. 

In one swift vote, the rubber-stamp 

legislature opened up the possibility of Xi 

being president for life, returning China to the 

one-man-rule system that prevailed during 

the era of Mao Zedong and the emperors who 

preceded him. 

The package of constitutional amendments 

passed the nearly 3,000-member National 

People's Congress almost unanimously, with 

just two opposing votes and three 

abstentions. The vote further underscored 

the total domination of Chinese politics by the 

64-year-old Xi, who is simultaneously the 

head of state, leader of the ruling Communist 

Party and commander of the 1 millionmember 

armed forces. 

The move upends a system enacted by 

former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1982 

to prevent a return to the bloody excesses of a 

Almost 80% road of Gopalganj municipality becomes unfit for movement as development works 

going on. 

Photo : Star Mail 

GD-393/18 (10 x 4) 

lifelong dictatorship typified by Mao's chaotic 

1966-1976 Cultural Revolution. 

"This marks the biggest regression in 

China's legal system since the reform and 

opening-up era of the 1980s," said Zhang 

Lifan, an independent Beijing-based political 

commentator. 

"I'm afraid that this will all be written into 

our history in the future," Zhang said. 

The change is widely seen as the 

culmination of Xi's efforts since being 

appointed leader of the party in 2012 to 

concentrate power in his own hands and defy 

norms of collective leadership practiced over 

the past two decades. Xi has appointed 

himself to head bodies that oversee national 

security, finance, economic reform and other 

major initiatives, effectively sidelining the 

Communist Party's No. 2 figure, Premier Li 

Keqiang. 

In addition to scrapping the limitation that 

presidents can serve only two consecutive 

terms, the amendments also inserted Xi's 

personal political philosophy into the 

preamble of the constitution, along with 

phrasing that emphasizes the party's 

leadership. 

200 houses 

brought under 

power network 

in Joypurhat 

JOYPURHAT: A total of 200 

houses of two villages under 

Panchbibi upazila of the district 

have been brought under rural 

electrification network by 

Panchbibi Palli Bidyut Samity 

(PPBS) on Monday, reports BSS. 

President of the district 

Awami League Advocate 

Shamsul Alam Dudu, MP, 

inaugurated the electrification 

programme at a simple 

function held at Chelobelo- 

Baran Adarsa village as chief 

guest. Deputy General 

Manager (in-charge) of PPBS 

Alamgir Hossain, director of 

PPBS Khalilur Rahman and 

upazila Awami Leader Masuda 

Begum were present, among 

others. 

PPBS brought an area of six 

kilometres under rural 

electrification network 

spending Taka about 60 lakh.

METRO 

TUESDAY, MARCh 13, 2018 

3 

2 ‘robbers’ killed in 

N’ganj ‘gunfight’ 

DHAKA : Two suspected robbers, including a ring leader of a 

robber gang, were killed in a reported gunfight with 

members of Rapid Action Battalion in Alirtek area of Fatulla 

upazila in Narayanganj district early Monday, reports UNB. 

The deceased were identified as Zillur, a ringleader of 

notorious gang 'Zillur Bahini' and Jony. 

A team of Rab-11 arrested Zillur two days back, said a Rab 

source. 

After gleaning information from him, a team of Rab led by 

Major Ashiq, deputy commanding officer, conducted a drive 

in the area around 3:40am. 

Sensing the presence of Rab, the robbers opened fire on 

them, prompting them to retaliate, triggering the gunfight. 

After the gunfight, they recovered the two bodies from the 

spot. The elite force also recovered a foreign pistol, a bullet, a 

cartridge, five-rounds of bullets of shotgun. 

Civic memorial meet on Ferdousi 

Priyabhashini on Tuesday 

DHAKA : A civic memorial meeting on noted sculptor and 

freedom fighter Ferdousi Priyabhashini will be held at the 

Central Shaheed Minar at 4.30 pm on Tuesday, reports UNB. 

The freedom fighter passed away at a city hospital on 

March 6 (Tuesday) noon at 71 struggling with diseases. 

Sammilita Sangskritik Jote will organize the memorial 

meeting while poet, writers, artists and different 

professionals will discuss her life and works. 

President of Sammilita Sangskritik Jote Golam Kuddus 

will preside over the programme with its general secretary 

Hasan Arif delivering the welcome speech. 

Ferdousi Priyabhashini, who has been suffering from 

multiple complications including kidney ailment, diabetes, 

high blood pressure, orthopaedics and heart disease, and 

undergoing treatment at Labaid Hospital, breathed her last 

around 12:45 pm on March 6. 

She left behind her three sons, two daughters and a host of 

relatives and admirers to mourn the death. 

In November last year, Priyabhashini fell over on the floor 

in her Gulshan residence and got hurt at her heel. A bone of 

the heel was replaced after that incident. 

Her body was taken to Central Shaheed Minar on March 8 

where people from all walks of life paid their last tribute. Her 

namaz-e-janaza was held at Dhaka University's central 

mosque. She was buried at Mirpur Martyred Intellectuals 

Graveyard on that day beside the Jahanara Imam. 

Her daughters- Fuleshwari Prionandini, Rotneshwari 

Priyadarshini and two sons- Karu Titas and Kazi Shaker 

Turjo were present at tribute paying ceremony. 

Priyabhashini was born on February 19, 1947, in Khulna. 

She married Ahsanullah Ahmed in 1972. 

The government awarded her Independence Day Award in 

2010. Her biography book 'Nindito Nandan' was published 

in Ekushey Book Fair in 2014. 

Dr. Gowher Rizvi, Advisor to Prime Minister on International Relation Affairs distributing certificates 

at the concluding program of Exercise Shanti Doot-4. 

Photo : ISPR 

Bangladesh Mahila Parishad formed a human chain in front of National Press Club yesterday 

protesting continuous repression on women. 

Photo : TBT 

DU to hold ‘7 March 

Day’ every year 

DHAKA : The Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Dhaka 

University (DU) yesterday announced that 

the university will observe '7 March Day' 

every year with due respect marking the 

historic 7th March speech of Father of the 

Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur 

Rahman, reports BSS 

"Bangabandhu's historic 7th March speech 

not only inspired the nation but will also 

motivate the deprived and neglected people 

throughout the world to establish their rights 

and justice...So, DU will observe the day every 

year with honour," he said. 

VC Dr Akhtaruzzaman came up with the 

announcement at a programme on "Historic 

speech of 7th March: Importance and 

Significance" at DU. 

The authority arranged the discussion at 

the Teacher-Student Center (TSC) 

auditorium on the campus marking the 

inclusion of the speech in the Memory of the 

World International Register, a list of the 

world's important documentary heritage by 

Dbœq‡bi MYZš¿ 

†kL nvwmbvi g~jgš¿ 

the United Nations Educational, Scientific 

and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). 

This recognition has taken the country's 

status to a new stature in the global context. 

Akhtaruzzaman said Bangabandhu's 18- 

minute-long speech was a spontaneous and 

unwritten where he staged his protests 

against the repression and exploitations of 

the Pakistani rulers. 

"Bangabandhu gave this speech during a 

very critical situation. There is no second such 

speech in the history of the world," he added. 

Urging the students to hold the spirit of the 

historic speech, Akhtaruzzaman said the 

speech must be included in the textbooks. 

DU treasurer Professor Dr Md Kamal 

Uddin, Dhaka University Teacher's 

Association (DUTA) President Prof ASM 

Maksud Kamal, its general secretary Prof 

Shibli Rubaiyat Ul Islam and Dhaka 

University Alumni Association President A K 

Azad, among others, addressed at the 

programme. 

Kamal makes 

surprise visit to 

Dhaka airport 

DHAKA : Civil Aviation and 

Tourism Minister AKM 

Shahjahan Kamal made a 

surprise visit to Hazrat 

Shahjalal International 

Airport on Sunday night, 

reports UNB. 

The minister visited the 

airport at 9pm and talked to 

passengers about the 

services of the airport. 

He also inspected 

activities and services of the 

employees, said a press 

release. 

During the visit, the 

passengers of Singaporebound 

US-Bangla Airlines 

complained the minister 

about the delay in giving 

boarding pass to passengers. 

Later, being asked, the 

airport officials informed the 

minister that manpower 

crisis is the reason behind 

the delay and they pledged 

that the incident will not 

happen again. 

However, the passengers 

expressed their satisfaction 

over minister's surprise visit. 

10 Jamaat 

men held in 

Rajshahi 

RAJSHAHI : Police 

arrested 10 leaders and 

activists of Bangladesh 

J a m a a t - e - I s l a m i 

Bangladesh from a secret 

meeting in a building at 

Barnali intersection of city 

on Monday morning, 

reports UNB. 

Professor Mujibur 

Rahman, acting ameer of 

central committee and 

Siddique Hossain of 

Rajshahi Jamaat unit 

secretary were among the 

arrestees. Witnesses said 

that being tipped-off a 

number of police cordoned 

off the five-storey building 

around 9am and arrested 

them. However, police did 

not make any comment 

immediately. 

GD-387/18 (5 x 3) 

President returns 

home from India 

DHAKA : President Md Abdul Hamid returned on 

Sundayafternoon wrapping up his 5-day visit to India. 

A commercial flight of Indian Jet airways carrying 

President Hamid landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal 

International airport at around 4:47 pm, reports UNB. 

Agricultural Minister Matia Chowdhury, Social Welfare 

Minister Rashed Khan Menon, Dean of Diplomatic Corps , 

Cabinet Secretary, Chiefs of three services, Principal 

Secretary to PM, IGP, Secretary (Bilateral),MOFA, Acting 

High Commissioner of India, and concerned high civil and 

military officials received the President at the VVIP Lounge 

of the airport. During the visit, the President attended the 

International Solar Allaince (ISA) Founding Conference 

2018 in New Delhi, jointly hosted by India and France. He 

also paid a courtesy call on Indian Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi on the sidelines of the conference at Rashtrapati 

Bhabanon Saturday. 

He also visited his memorable places in Assam and 

Meghalaya, two Indian states. During 1971 Liberation War, 

he was the sub-sector commander of the Bangladesh 

Liberation Force (Mujib Bahini). 

Minor girl, youth 

found dead in Gazipur 

GAZIPUR : A minor girl and a youth were found dead at 

different places in Kaliakoir and Sreepur upazilas in the district 

on Monday morning, reports UNB. 

Identities of the deceased could not be known yet. 

Locals informed police noticing a body of a young man tied 

with a tree inside the forest in Bhulua West Para in Kaliakoir 

upazila in the morning, said Sohel Rana, Sub Inspector of 

Kaliakoir police station. The youth might have been strangled to 

death, he added. Besides, a seven-year old girl was found dead 

in Nanduan Sangun area in Sreepur upazila, said 

Asaduzzaman, officer in charge of Sreepur Model Police Station. 

On information, police recovered the bodies and sent those to Shaheed 

Tajuddin Ahmad medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. 

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GD-388/18 (7 x 4) 

GD-394/18 (6 x 4)

EDITORIAL 

TUesdaY, 

MaRCH 13, 2018 

4 

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam 

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

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com 

Tuesday, March 13, 2017 

For an effective 

Rohingya policy 

When it comes to assessing Bangladesh's policy responses to 

Myanmar--specially those related to the Rohingya issue--do 

we see a useful and productive approach ? As it appears, 

Bangladesh seems to be caught between the devil and deep blue sea in 

facing up to the Rohingya crisis when this needs to be not the case if 

policy options are well thought out, selected and executed with enough 

honest resolve. 

Even before the present phase of the Rohingya crisis some 5,00,000 

Rohingyas or more have been living in Bangladesh. In recent weeks 

some 3,00,000 more have come to Bangladesh fleeing genocide 

perpetrated by Myanmarese security forces and Bhuddist extremists. 

Reportedly, some 5,00,000 more Hohingyas are gathering across the 

borders to come to Bangladesh as Myanmar's barbarism reaches a 

peak. 

The world may not have acted with greater activism on the Rohingya 

issue. But there is notably near total consensus of views in the global 

context that the sheer inhumanity or too truculent behavior the rank 

and file of the Rohingya civilian population have been facing for long 

at the hands of the genocide backers in Myanmar , they deserve to be 

loathed and resisted. 

The United Nations (UN) as a whole and its relevant agencies have 

been extremely loud in their denunciation of the continuing pogrom 

against Rohingyas. The European Union (EU) countries have been 

candid in their condemnation of the persecution of Rohingyas. The US 

administration has repeatedly denounced the Myanmar government 

for flagrant violation of the human rights of the Rohingyas.Regionally, 

the leaders of two most important countries--Indonesia and Malaysia, 

plus Turkey--have criticized the nonchalant attitude of the Myanmar 

authorities and vowed to help the Rohingyas any way they can. In sum, 

there exists an 'universal unity of views' on the urgency of arm twisting 

the Myanmar government to treat the Rohingyas humanely and solve 

the Rohingya problem on the basis of legality and fairness for good. 

Thus, Bangladesh should have no qualms in taking a decision 

decisively on what it should do. In other words it should make up its 

mind to substantially help the Rohingyas who are in great peril. 

Furthermore, it should feel strong and upright in feeling that such a 

stand on its part would have the overwhelming support of the 

international community as the right one or just one. 

The total population of Bangladesh is over 160 million and only 

about 1 million more would be temporarily added to this number if the 

entire Rohingya community is allowed to take refuge in Bangladesh in 

the short run. In other words, Bangladesh is unlikely to be 

overwhelmed by such a small number of people coming to it in the 

short term to be saved from sheer risk to their lives. 

Bangladesh can feed, shelter and take care of this relatively small 

number of people for a period of time. It would also not be doing this 

all by its own. It can count on the UN agencies and other international 

donors in this effort. From saving the Rohingyas it will not only meet 

shiningly its international obligation of receiving deserving refugees, it 

would also satisfy the psychological, moral and religious needs of 

standing beside fellow humans in their moments of too great 

distresses. EU countries and other countries and organizations have 

implored Bangladesh to throw open borders to receive Rohingya 

refugees. 

There are recentexamples of other countries taking in refugees in 

great number who accepted the same as their moral duty and also 

under international covenants. A large number of Syrian refugees have 

been taken in by different European Union (EU) countries such as 

Germany, France,UK, Italy, Austria, Greece and Sweden. Middle 

eastern countries namely Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt have 

done the same.Bangladesh is not yet a party to the 1951 Refugee 

Convention or the UNHCR Statute. However, Bangladesh has ratified 

a number of major international human rights instruments. Among 

them the significant ones are the Universal Declaration of Human 

Rights (UDHR), Four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their two 

Additional Protocols of 1977, International Covenant on Civil and 

Political Rights (ICCPR), International Covenant on Economic, Social 

and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), Convention on the Rights of the Child 

(CRC), Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination 

Against Women (CEDAW), Convention Against Torture (CAT),etc. 

Myanmar has so far made a joke of repatriating the Rohingyas. But 

every time we seem to be persuaded by their pretensions. They never 

had or will have a genuine policy of taking back the Rohingyas in 

substantial number but they have a set unwavering and dedicated 

plan of genocide and expulsion against the entire Rohingya 

population. We are possibly living in a fool's paradise if we believe 

otherwise and think that at some stage the Myanmar authorities can 

be talked into doing what is right and just. If they had any good 

intentions then they would not have taken away long ago the 

inalienable rights of Rohingyas to be Myanmar's citizens, deprived of 

voting and other rights in their own countries. In fact, the Rohingyas 

today are the only stateless people on earth deprived of basic human 

rights. 

We must have a policy vis-à-vis Mynmar that would truly work. 

Banking on the universal groundswell of sympathy for the persecuted 

Rohingyas, we must use this leverage appropriately to mobilize 

formidable international pressure on the Myanmar government to 

commit to a sustainable solution of the Rohingya problem. The 

solution must include giving of full political and civil rights to the 

Rohingya people or the vital citizenship to them. Intense international 

pressure and persuasion without let upstand a good chance of 

sustainable creation ofconditions in Myanmar ultimately that would 

build up the confidence of Rohingyas to go on living in that country 

and to return to it from Bangladesh . In fact, sustainable activities of the 

Myanmar government to achieving this end is the key to solving the 

Rohingya problem in the long run. 

Bangladesh should also go all out diplomatically to get international 

sanctions applied against Myanmar if it decides not to agree to such a 

course. Bangladesh must also employ all its diplomatic mite to have the 

issue of the persecution of Rohingyasraised in the UN Security Council 

and the passing of a resolution in that body urging the Myanmarese 

authorities to immediately normalize conditions inside Maynmar 

failing in which would lead to punitive international sanctions against 

it. 

It is high time for Bangladesh to give up its present ineffectual policy 

of discussing the Rohingya issue in bilateral forums with Myanmar not 

committing to any tangible programme of taking back the Rohingyas 

in large number and, more importantly, Myanmar government not 

proving through actual deedsthat it remains engaged sincerely to stop 

for good the carnage against the Rohingyas. 

Experts have recommended strongly that Bangladesh should 

immediately concert all its activities diplomatically and otherwise to 

have a safe zone established within the Rakhine state where the 

present displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh can safely return under 

UN auspices, protection and guidance. Bangladesh must concentrate 

its efforts in all out fashion to this end. 

Furthermore, Bangladesh also needs to keep all options in place 

specially the military one. If everything fails, then we must be prepared 

to intervene in Rakhine military to stop the Rohingya exodus and 

create conditions for the resettlement of the Rohingya people there on 

a sustainable basis. 

Industry bigwigs contemplate oil's great balancing act 

EvERY February in London, the Energy 

Institute hosts International Petroleum 

Week, or IP Week, giving the biggest 

names in the oil industry a chance to gather 

and discuss the future and current state of the 

oil market. 

The conference offers important insights 

into the way the oil market moves and how oil 

traders think, with the major companies 

holding receptions for traders, analysts, 

customers and the media, many on the 

sidelines of the forum itself. 

This year's IP Week, from Feb. 20-22, may 

not have had the big themes of previous years 

- when the oil market is stable, the trading 

community has less to worry about. 

Uncertainty in the market is what makes 

traders seek greater answers. 

The Organization of the Petroleum 

Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, 

which have been cutting daily oil production 

by almost 1.8 million barrels since January 

last year, have succeeded in bringing stability 

back to the market. 

Therefore, all the unknowns are becoming 

known this year, and that is not good news for 

speculators and traders in the paper market of 

crude oil. Even the developments in shale oil 

production in North America are less 

worrying this year than previously, thanks to 

robust demand. 

With only one OPEC minister, the UAE's 

Suhail Al-Mazrouei, and almost none of the 

shale oil producers, discussions at this year's 

IP Week were nothing out of the ordinary. 

Many ministers were tied up with other 

commitments, and even the secretary-general 

THE Financial Action Task Force debacle 

is the latest illustration of the 

consequences of obligations (the 1267 

listing of the Lashkar-e-Taiba [LeT]) hastily 

accepted under external pressure, which are 

difficult to implement. 

Once threatened with being put back on 

FATF's grey list Islamabad acted in panic. 

Pakistan's diplomats succeeded, in closed 

meetings, to avert the listing. But this was 

reversed in a strong American reaction to 

Pakistan's premature tweet of triumph. Now, 

Pakistan faces more extensive demands and 

the prospect of being put on the FATF's black 

list. Hopefully, we will not combine 

incompetence with ingratitude by blaming our 

friends for the debacle. 

The public reversal in Paris was executed by 

the US as part of its campaign to coerce 

Pakistan to act against the Afghan Taliban and 

pro-Kashmiri groups and accept unilateral 

restraints on Pakistan's nuclear and missile 

programmes. Without a clear plan, Pakistan 

can fall into the trap of making piecemeal 

concessions. 

Pakistan's ability to negotiate an acceptable 

outcome with the US will depend on: one, 

clearly identifying its objectives, priorities and 

red lines; two, convincing Washington that it 

will reject US demands if these cross 

Pakistan's red lines ; and, three, generating 

support for its positions from China, Russia, 

Turkey, Iran and other regional powers. 

On Afghanistan, Pakistan appears to have 

persuaded the Afghan Taliban to offer talks to 

the US. The US has countered by asking the 

Taliban to talk to the Kabul government 

(which the Taliban consider an American 

puppet). President Ghani has offered to talk 

with the Taliban and to recognise them as a 

legitimate negotiating party. This offer is 

unlikely to get the Taliban on board. 

Pakistan, together with other regional 

states, needs to build on these developments 

Great-power competition is the 

pressing topic for the foreign policy 

community these days. The idea that 

the world is once again seeing sharp, 

undisguised rivalry between the major 

powers - the United States, China and 

Russia - has been a staple of the 

administration of US President Donald 

Trump's recent National Security Strategy, 

National Defence Strategy and Nuclear 

Posture Review. 

Less often explained, yet equally essential 

to understand, is why great-power 

competition has returned, why it is so 

important, and why the US is struggling to 

craft an effective response. These issues are 

all the more urgent now that China's 

President, Xi Jinping, seems to be setting 

himself up to rule for life - and gearing up 

for an intensified struggle with Washington 

at the same time. 

Great-power rivalry is often viewed as 

something new. Yet, it only seems new 

because it is so old. Throughout recorded 

history, the strongest nations in the 

international system have clashed for 

influence, power, and dominance. 

Sometimes, those struggles have taken 

the form of Cold War, such as the US- 

Soviet competition. Sometimes they have 

resulted in hot wars, from the 

Peloponnesian War between Athens and 

Sparta to the world wars of the 20th 

century. But in a world where there is no 

supreme authority to ensure peace and 

resolve disputes, and where the penalties 

for failing to defend oneself adequately 

can be catastrophic, competition between 

powerful states is the norm. 

The years after the Cold War, then, were 

the exception. The Soviet collapse left the 

US without a major rival. Japan and the 

of OPEC, Mohammed Barkindo, whose name 

was among the proposed speakers, was 

unable to attend because he was at another 

function in his home country Nigeria. But that 

doesn't mean there were not any serious 

points raised during the event or in the 

corridors of the Intercontinental Park Lane 

hotel. 

Some participants, including officials from 

vitol, the world's largest oil-trading company, 

suggested the oil market was close to 

rebalancing or, indeed, may have rebalanced 

as inventories went back to their seasonal 

normal levels. 

The UAE's Al-Mazrouei, who is also OPEC's 

president this year, tried to send many positive 

messages about the future of the cooperation 

between his organization and other 

to revive the peace talks, perhaps in the 

Quadrilateral (Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, 

the US) Coordination Mechanism or another 

format. But as Pakistan propels the talks, it 

cannot be asked simultaneously to kill or 

capture Taliban leaders. The US should also 

take reciprocal action to eliminate the 

Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan's safe havens in 

Afghanistan and terminate Indian-sponsored 

terrorism in Balochistan and Fata from 

Afghan territory. With regard to the pro- 

Kashmiri groups, Pakis tan, having accepted 

the UNSC listing of the LeT and Jaish-e- 

Mohammad, is obliged to fulfil its obligations 

under UNSC Resolution 1267. It will need to 

find other legitimate ways to support Indiaheld 

Kashmir's freedom struggle. 

In response to the US pressure, Pakistan can 

express its willingness to help in reducing 

militant violence in IHC if India's security 

forces end their massive human rights 

violations there. Pakistan should also expect 

the US to arrest India's current belligerence 

and threats, including the daily ceasefire 

violations along the Line of Control. This can 

Wael MaHdI 

MUnIR aKRaM 

producers, such as Russia, but he was less 

than precise on when the market will 

rebalance. 

A day before the launch of the IP Week 

conference, the leading oil-pricing agency 

Platts held its London oil forum in the Hilton 

Park Lane hotel next door. Platts made some 

announcements on pricing of crude during 

the event that will increase transparency in the 

market. 

Many ministers were tied up with other 

commitments, and even the secretary-general 

of OPeC, Mohammed Barkindo, whose name 

was among the proposed speakers, was unable 

to attend because he was at another function 

in his home country nigeria. But that doesn't 

mean there were not any serious points raised 

during the event or in the corridors of the 

Intercontinental Park lane hotel. 

The agency announced that it has begun 

publishing all cargo-loading date information 

for the five existing benchmark grades. Platts 

also said that from March 26 it will assess the 

value of 11 crudes on a delivered basis to North 

Asia. 

Stabilizing oil prices may have made a 

London summit of the industry's biggest 

Planning and patience 

lead to a disastrous war that could escalate to 

the nuclear level. 

While working for an agreement on US nonproliferation 

objectives, Pakistan will have to 

resist demands for unilateral restraint on 

Pakistan's nuclear and missile programmes. 

As an alternative, Pakistan should propose a 

set of measures for reciprocal arms control 

On afghanistan, Pakistan appears to have 

persuaded the afghan Taliban to offer talks 

to the Us. The Us has countered by asking 

the Taliban to talk to the Kabul government 

(which the Taliban consider an american 

puppet). President Ghani has offered to 

talk with the Taliban and to recognise them 

as a legitimate negotiating party. This offer 

is unlikely to get the Taliban on board. 

major nations of Western Europe were 

close allies; Russia and China were too weak 

to pose much of a challenge. The world was 

granted a holiday from the intense 

geopolitical struggles of earlier generations. 

Having reconstituted its military power, 

Russia has been reasserting its dominance 

along its Central Asian and Eastern 

European peripheries, challenging Nato 

and undermining the European Union, and 

projecting its military power deep into the 

Middle East - all in addition to seeking to 

weaken and divide the US through 

information warfare and other means. 

Riding an economic and military rise 

unprecedented in modern history, China 

has been seeking to re-establish its former 

mastery in the Asia-Pacific and perhaps 

eventually compete with the US on a 

global scale as well. All this is normal 

enough. It is the warp and woof of greatpower 

rivalry. Yet it has uniquely 

dangerous implications for the US and 

the international system it leads. 

Hal BRands 

and disarmament between Pakistan and India 

and invite the US to help in securing India's 

agreement to such mutual restraint. 

However, Pakistan should be in no hurry to 

conclude agreements with the US if they are 

inconsistent with Pakistan's vital interests. 

Pakistan can afford to exercise strategic 

patience for several reasons. 

One, as US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis 

has stated, henceforth, the US security priority 

will be competition with China and Russia, 

rather than terrorism. Also, the Trump 

administration's multidirectional belligerence 

is likely to lead to new confrontations (with 

North Korea, Iran, Russia and China). 

Afghanistan may become a sideshow. A 

consensus may emerge in Washington that 

As relations between the major powers 

become more rivalrous, it becomes harder 

to achieve cooperation on matters that 

require multilateral action. Since 2011, for 

instance, US-Russian rivalry has 

continually frustrated international efforts 

to bring the Syrian civil war to an end. As 

Russia and China assert their influence, 

they are also increasingly contesting the 

global rules of road - freedom of navigation 

in the South China Sea, the illegitimacy of 

altering borders by force - that have 

Great-power rivalry is often viewed as something new. 

Yet, it only seems new because it is so old. Throughout 

recorded history, the strongest nations in the 

international system have clashed for influence, power, 

and dominance. sometimes, those struggles have taken 

the form of Cold War, such as the Us-soviet 

competition. sometimes they have resulted in hot wars, 

from the Peloponnesian War between athens and 

sparta to the world wars of the 20th century. 

underpinned international peace and 

prosperity for generations. 

Likewise, the return of great-power 

rivalry raises the possibility that a hostile 

power may come to exert dominant 

influence in one of the key regions of the 

world - a nightmare of US strategists 

reaching back roughly a century. Finally, 

this competition is a potential pathway to 

the most cataclysmic phenomenon that can 

afflict the international environment: War 

between the major powers. 

hitters a quieter affair than usual. But on the 

sidelines, serious questions about the future 

were still being asked What was more 

important, however, is the discussion Platts' 

people led on the future of Brent as a 

benchmark. 

Brent blend is the benchmark for pricing 

half the world's crude oil, and its future is 

important to all traders and producers. At 

present, Brent is based on five British and 

Norwegian North Sea crudes - Brent itself, 

Forties, Oseberg, Ekofisk and Troll, or BFOE 

as they are known. They pump about 1 million 

barrels per day, almost 1 percent of world 

supply. The problem with Brent blend is that 

the volumes are in decline due to the mature 

oil fields from which the five crudes that make 

up the blend originate. The steady decline in 

crude supply from the North Sea has led to 

concern that output could become too low 

and, hence, could be accumulated by only a 

few players, making the benchmark 

vulnerable to manipulation. 

Last year during the Platts conference, the 

company announced that a new crude, Troll, 

would be added to the Brent family. Troll was 

added earlier this year. Although it is also a 

better-quality crude, Troll does not have a 

quality premium, but Platts said it is looking at 

adding one. This year the news is that oil from 

the new giant field Johan Sverdrup oilfield 

would be suitable for its North Sea basket, 

making it potentially a sixth crude 

underpinning the Brent benchmark that 

prices most of the world's oil. 

Source: Arab News 

Afghanistan is a strategic liability and should 

be abandoned. 

Two, Washington's domestic dynamics may 

propel a change in US policy on Afghanistan 

and South Asia and other issues. Trump could 

be impeached. The Democrats may gain 

control of the Congress in the upcoming 

midterm elections. Trump may decide to 

cooperate with rather than confront China 

(and downgrade the alliance with India). In 

most of these scenarios, American and Indian 

hostility towards Pakistan is likely to diminish. 

Three, over the longer term, America's 

ability to exert military and economic pressure 

on Pakistan and other states will diminish. 

America is politically and socially divided. Its 

internal wounds will take time to heal after the 

Trump era. China, on the other hand, will 

enjoy policy consistency under Xi Jinping's 

extended leadership. It also has economic 

momentum, growing at seven per cent 

annually. By 2040, China will account for over 

20pc of global GDP; the US for 13pc; India for 

7pc. When economically integrated with the 

65 countries covered by the Belt and Road 

Initiative, China's influence and impact on the 

global economy, and thus on global politics, 

will significantly surpass that of the US, whose 

main instrument of influence is an expensive 

military. For most of the world's nations, the 

choice between an open and affluent China 

and a closed, mean and militarist America will 

be a no-brainer. 

Pakistan, with China as a strategic partner, 

can expect to be on the right side of history. 

Despite its present weaknesses, Islamabad 

need not concede to the US or India on any of 

its core national security objectives: 

independence from Indian hegemony; 

credible nuclear and conventional deterrence; 

a fair solution for Jammu and Kashmir; a 

friendly Afghanistan. 

Source: Dawn 

Great-power games have begun all over again 

These dangers are not as far-fetched as 

they may seem. In East Asia, China has used 

maritime coercion to sprint towards a 

position of dominance in the South China 

and East China Seas, while also shifting the 

regional military balance through a twodecade 

build-up meant to keep the US from 

projecting power into the Western Pacific. 

Russia has demonstrated that it will use 

force to keep states like Georgia and 

Ukraine from tilting too far towards the 

West, and Moscow's military build-up has 

given it a pronounced local advantage on 

Nato's exposed eastern flank. 

To be fair, the Trump administration has 

performed two valuable services. First, it 

has simply talked about the problem more 

candidly than its predecessor, which often 

went to extraordinary lengths to downplay 

growing great-power tensions - first with 

Russia, and then with China. If the first step 

to recovery is admitting that you have a 

problem, then the first step towards 

winning a great-power competition is 

admitting that you're in one. 

Second, the Trump team deserves credit 

for increasing military spending to meet the 

sharpening challenges Russia and China 

pose. The combination of the recent 

National Defence Strategy, which clearly 

prioritises capabilities aimed at Russia and 

China, and the significantly heightened 

defence spending produced by the 

bipartisan budget deal concluded last 

month, will be helpful in starting to prepare 

the US military for a potential conflict with 

major state competitors after nearly two 

decades of focus on counterinsurgency and 

counterterrorism. 

Source: Gulf News

DEVELOPMENT 

TueSDAy, MARCH 13, 2018 

5 

Kenyan innovation 

takes plastic bags 

out of forestry 

Verenardo Meeme 

Plastic bags are known for their environmental 

impact. They slowly release toxic 

chemicals once in the soil, for instance, 

and find their way into the guts of animals 

that often choke and die as a result. 

Kenya banned the use of plastic bags in 

2017. And thanks to a 43-year old 

Kenyan, Teddy Kinyanjui, an innovative 

afforestation and reforestation method 

for developing seedlings without using 

plastic bags is in place. 

A resident of Nairobi and founder of 

Cookswell Jikos Limited, Kinyanjui has 

invented small, portable seed balls to 

grow and easily disperse seedlings. He is 

working in partnership with Kenya 

Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), 

which certifies seeds. This photo gallery 

shows Kinyanjui's ingenuity in using the 

seed balls instead of the usual plastic 

bags. 

When tree seedlings are grown in plastic 

bags in a nursery, he explains, the 

roots get squeezed and this limits their 

ability to grow fast. The seed ball method 

enables roots to adapt easily, with less 

disturbance. 

Kinyanjui says he has engineered a 

method of coating each seed with charcoal 

dust, and corn or cassava starch, to 

bind each ball so the seeds are protected 

from prey, pests and diseases. He says he 

has the capacity to make one tonne of the 

seed balls per day. So far, since the project's 

initiation in 2016, about one million 

seeds of different species of certified 

indigenous trees have been dispersed 

throughout Kenya through partnerships 

with locals and with a germination rate 

of 60 per cent. 

"People use charcoal every day, necessitating 

for more trees. Climate change 

has also caused community conflicts, 

especially among pastoralists in Northern 

Kenya who fight over pasture for 

their animals," says Kinyajui. "Good 

environmental management is, therefore, 

crucial for peace among these communities." 

He hopes to partner with like-minded 

organizations and youth who herd livestock 

with slings to disperse more seeds 

in arid lands. "We would also like people 

to see the value of this simple technology 

as a contributing factor in combating 

and adapting to effects of climate 

change, as this is the cheapest way to 

encourage tree planting, especially in 

arid and semi-arid areas," adds Kinyanjui. 

African universities are lacking balanced and inclusive education. 

Photo: Internet 

Science academies should influence 

education in Africa 

Ochieng' Ogodo 

African science academies 

largely provide evidence-based 

scientific advice for policymaking, 

but need to influence educational 

systems to produce science 

and entrepreneurship-oriented 

graduates, a conference 

has heard. The regional conference 

on balanced and inclusive 

education (BIE) aimed to offer 

suggestions for addressing Sustainable 

Development Goal 

(SDG) 4, which encourages 

inclusive and quality education. 

The meeting, which was hosted 

in Lagos on 25-26 July by the 

Nigerian Academy of Science in 

collaboration with Switzerlandbased 

nongovernmental organization 

Education Relief Foundation, 

was attended by 30 senior 

decision-makers in Africa, 

Latin America, Asia and 

Europe. 

According to the conference, 

science academies are the highest 

scientific institutions of a 

given country, and using them 

to influence educators to promote 

indigenous knowledge, 

innovation and entrepreneurship 

in training students could 

aid sustainable development. 

African science academies 

largely provide evidence-based 

scientific advice for policymaking, 

but need to influence educational 

systems to produce science 

and entrepreneurship-oriented 

graduates, a conference 

has heard. 

The regional conference on 

balanced and inclusive education 

(BIE) aimed to offer suggestions 

for addressing Sustainable 

Development Goal (SDG) 4, 

which encourages inclusive and 

quality education. The meeting, 

which was hosted in Lagos on 

25-26 July by the Nigerian 

Academy of Science in collaboration 

with Switzerland-based 

nongovernmental organisation 

Education Relief Foundation, 

was attended by 30 senior decision-makers 

in Africa, Latin 

America, Asia and Europe. 

According to the conference, 

science academies are the highest 

scientific institutions of a 

given country, and using them 

to influence educators to promote 

indigenous knowledge, 

innovation and entrepreneurship 

in training students could 

aid sustainable development. 

Dry soil showing the impacts of climate change in the arid 

lands of northern Kenya. 

Photo: Ally Carter 

Are we failing the 

world's youth? 

Abhik Sen and Rafiullah Kakar 

One in four people alive today is a young person 

aged 15 to 29: that's nearly 1.8 billion in 

total, of whom close to 90% live in developing 

countries. Demographically speaking, the next 

couple of decades are a unique window of 

opportunity. With the exception of Africa, the 

world is ageing, which means the proportion of 

young people in the global population will never 

again be so high. 

The "youth bulge" - broadly defined as a peak 

in young people's share in a country's population 

- could be a blessing for many countries, 

provided governments and others do what is 

necessary to ensure young people become 

healthy, educated and productive citizens. But 

where should they be looking to find the data 

that will help them develop more evidencebased 

policies and programmes? Credible data 

on young people is rather difficult to come by. 

Data split by gender is even harder to find. 

A youth development index (YDI) developed 

by the Commonwealth Secretariat seeks to 

address this anomaly. The index, which aggregates 

data on 18 indicators related to the 

health, education, employment and political 

participation levels of young people, provides a 

snapshot of the multi-dimensional nature of 

youth development in 183 countries. 

Like all composite indices, the index has its 

shortcomings. But crunching the data it throws 

up offers a lot of food for thought, particularly 

for policymakers. Overall, the prospects for a 

majority of young people in the world are 

bleak. Three in four of them are failing to get 

the start in life they deserve. 

The inequality in opportunities and outcomes 

for young people across countries is 

huge. For instance, the youth mortality rate is 

on average five times higher in the lowestranked 

countries of the index in comparison 

with countries where young people have the 

best shot at living a decent life. Equally shocking 

is the gap in secondary education enrolment 

rates for the highest and lowest ranked 

countries. In some respects, however, the best 

and worst-performing countries are similar: 

unemployment, drug abuse and mental disorder 

rates among young people are equally worrying 

in both. 

It is the poor quality of healthcare and education 

in so many countries, and a socio-economic 

horizon blighted by poverty, unemployment, 

violence, inequality or lawlessness, that 

are usually to blame. For girls and young 

women, the future looks particularly precarious. 

Only 40% of countries have achieved something 

close to gender parity in secondary education 

enrolment rates. In tertiary education, 

that figure drops to 4%. Young females are on 

average twice as likely as young males to be out 

of education, employment or training. 

Laura Phillips 

Integrating sustainable practices 

into a company's operations can 

improve business performance, 

spur technological innovation, 

inspire brand loyalty, and boost 

employee engagement. That is our 

experience at Walmart, where 

investments in sustainability and 

efficiency in our own operations - 

and those made by our suppliers - 

have enabled us to save money, 

while striving to support jobs and 

help reduce impact on the environment. 

Our mission is to save our customers 

money so they can live better. 

We strive to achieve this in 

part by focusing on our operational 

efficiencies, energy expenses, 

waste reduction and cost-effective 

procurement of renewable 

energy. We believe that our focus 

on sustainability is right for our 

customers, for our associates, and 

for our bottom line. 

Walmart has now installed 

more than 1.5m LED (light emitting 

diode) fixtures across more 

than 6,000 of our stores, parking 

lots, distribution centres and corporate 

offices in 10 countries. This 

has reduced Walmart's lighting 

energy consumption and reduced 

our lighting costs by hundreds of 

millions of dollars over the past 

decade. 

Our work to reduce emissions 

and increase efficiency has also 

helped us to lower some of our 

other operational expenses. A few 

years ago, we announced that we 

had exceeded our goal of doubling 

the efficiency of our trucking fleet 

by 2015. This was made possible 

by our associates' efforts to 

improve techniques for loading, 

routing and driving, as well as 

through collaboration with equipment 

and system manufacturers 

on new technologies. With these 

new efficiencies, we achieved savings 

of nearly $1bn and avoided 

emissions of almost 650,000 metric 

tonnes of carbon dioxide in 

2015 compared to 2005. 

By the end of 2015 we had 

upgraded 5,919 rooftop heating 

and cooling units - the highest 

Walmart's Project Gigaton is designed to encourage suppliers to pursue a suite of sustainability 

strategies. 

Photo: Charlie Riedel 

How sustainable business practices 

help the bottom line 

number of such high-efficiency 

installations in the US - with estimated 

savings of 50m kilowatt 

hours and 35m pounds of carbon 

dioxide equivalent. The US 

department of energy says this is 

worth as much as $5m a year. 

We are sharing our experiences 

and asking our suppliers to look at 

whether they may realise similar 

benefits in their businesses. We 

have launched an ambitious new 

initiative, Project Gigaton, 

designed to encourage suppliers 

to reduce emissions by one gigaton 

(one billion tonnes) - equivalent 

to taking more than 211m 

passenger vehicles off US roads 

for a year - by 2030. 

The project encourages suppliers 

to pursue a suite of sustainability 

strategies, ranging from 

procuring new renewable energy 

sources to avoiding deforestation 

and reducing food waste. 

Unilever, for example, committed 

to plant 15m acres of climatesmart 

cover crops which help to 

reduce soil erosion, and increase 

soil fertility and water drainage. 

The move will also help to address 

climate change: the aim is to cut 

10m tonnes of carbon dioxide 

emissions by 2030. 

We have collaborated with 

NGOs, like World Wildlife Fund 

and Environmental Defense 

Fund, to create an emissions 

reduction toolkit to help suppliers 

make and pursue their Project 

Gigaton commitments. This provides 

resource materials for 

progammes and highlights the 

business case for suppliers considering 

signing on to the project. 

Walmart understands that 

embracing and incorporating climate 

solutions can foster growth 

and cut costs at the same time. It is 

vital that businesses continue to 

innovate and contribute to 

advancing sustainability. We must 

remain active in telling sustainability 

success stories to suppliers, 

customers and investors. By 

demonstrating how sustainability 

investments can cut costs, we aim 

to strengthen businesses, our 

economy and, most importantly, 

the planet - and its global commons 

- on which we all depend. 

One in four people in the world today is aged 15-29. 

Photo: Khaled Desouki

NATIONAL 

TUeSDAY, MARCH 13, 2018 

6 

Whip of Jatiya Sangasad speaker, Mohammad Shahab Uddin, MP hands crest to former general secretary 

of Upazila Krira Sangstha and America expatriate Badar Uddin in Barlekha upazila under 

Moulvibazar district. 

Photo: Abdur Rob 

Man killed in 

Jamalpur 

JAMALpUR, March 12, 

2018 (BSS) - A man was 

killed during a village 

arbitration in Dikpait union 

under Jamalpur sadar 

upazila yesterday morning, 

reports BSS. 

The victim was identified 

as Babar Ali Babu, 35 son of 

late Azafar Ali at Shahapur 

village. 

According to police, an 

arbitration was arranged to 

settle the dispute between 

Kajem Uddin and 

Moyejuddin of the village 

centering a dispute over 

road adjacent to their 

houses. During the 

arbitration, both groups 

locked in an altercation. At 

one stage, Nazrul Islam, 28, 

a supporter Moyejuddin, hit 

on his head with a wood 

leaving Babar Ali injured 

critically. He died on way to 

Jamalpur General Hospital. 

A case was registered with 

Jamalpur sadar police 

station. 

One held with 

arms, ammo in 

C'nawabganj 

CHApAINAWABGANJ: 

Rapid Action Battalion 

(RAB)-5 during a drive 

arrested an alleged arms 

peddler with two pistols, 

four magazines and 10 

bullets from Chamabazar 

area under Shibganj upazila 

of Chapainawabganj district 

on Monday afternoon, 

reports BSS. 

The arrested person was 

identified as Md. Aktarul 

Islam Mohor, 35, son of Md. 

Monirul Islam of 

Lachmanpur Tappu village 

under Shibganj upazila of 

the district. 

RAB said on secret 

information an operation 

team of RAB from 

Chapainawabganj camp 

raided the aforesaid area at 

around 2:30 pm and 

arrested Aktarul with the 

arms and ammunition. 

Later, the arrested person 

was handed over to Shibganj 

thana police. 

RANGpUR: Language movement hero 

and freedom fighter Shah Md Abdur 

Razzaque was laid to eternal rest with full 

state honours at the family graveyard in 

his native village Chalunia under 

pirgachha upazila here this afternoon, 

reports BSS. 

Razzaque, also a former Lawmaker of 

Awami League (AL) and a Headmaster of 

Afanullah High School, died of old-age 

complications at his Mahiganj residence 

this morning at the age of 90. 

He was a former president of Rangpur 

district unit of AL and elected as a 

Member of the Legislative Assembly in 

1970 and Member of the parliament from 

Rangpur-4 (Kawnia-pirgachha) 

constituency in 1973 and 1986. 

He was a close associate of Father of the 

Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur 

Rahman and took part in the War of 

Liberation in 1971. 

Razzaque left behind three sons, one 

daughter, a host of relatives and 

admirers, fellow Freedom Fighters and 

politicians and well-wishers to mourn his 

death. 

A pall of gloom descended among the 

Rajshahi realizes Tk 

388.15-cr income tax 

till February last 

RAJSHAHI: Rajshahi 

zone has realized income 

taxes of Taka 388.15 crore in 

the first eight months of the 

current 2017-18 fiscal year 

up by Taka 100.54 crore 

than corresponding months 

of the previous fiscal, reports 

BSS. 

Number of taxpayers has 

also been stood to 2,12,829 

during this financial year 

from 1.90,183 of the 

previous one in the zone 

consisting with the districts 

of Rajshahi, Naogaon, 

Natore, Chapainawabgonj 

and pabna. 

"Target has been set to 

realize taxes of Taka 832 

crore in the current fiscal 

and we are trying to attain 

the target by end of the 

fiscal," said Dr Khandakar 

Ferdous 

Alam,commissioner texas, 

while talking to BSS at his 

office here Sunday. 

RAJSHAHI: Speakers at a 

discussion here said all the 

government and nongovernment 

organisations 

should work together for 

providing necessary 

information of reproductive 

health to the adolescents for 

their healthy life, reports 

BSS. 

They mentioned that 

proper knowledge and 

education on reproductive 

health could help 

adolescents boost their level 

of confidence in carrying out 

safe life. 

They came up with the 

He said the number of 

taxpayers is increasing 

gradually adding that the 

growth rate is significant. To 

expand the tax network, 

various motivational 

campaigns like spot 

assessment, survey and 

rewards for the taxpayers 

have been introduced. 

Three income-tax camps 

were arranged at Santahar, 

Chanchkoir and Chatmohar 

to disseminate ideas and 

aspects of paying income 

taxes among rural people. 

Some 369 new taxpayers 

were identified and taxes of 

Taka 43.63 lakh were 

realized through the camps. 

every working day, large 

numbers of taxpayers are 

coming to the help desk 

opened at the 

Commissionerate's office 

premises directly to know 

how they will pay taxes. 

"We got significant 

observation at the closing 

session of a two-day Social 

and Behavior Change 

Communication (SBCC) 

Family planning Fair-2018 

in the city yesterday 

afternoon. 

Department of Family 

planning (DFp) and District 

Administration jointly 

organized the fair at Green 

plaza of Rajshahi City 

Corporation for reaching the 

message of planned family 

to the public in general. 

Local unit Awami League 

leaders Shahin Akhter 

Rainy and Dablu Sarker 

leaders and activists of all political 

parties, freedom fighters, educationists, 

professionals, socio-cultural activists and 

local elite following the death of the 

greedless politician. 

The first Namaj-e-Janaza of Razzaque 

was held on the Mahiganj Glass Factory 

ground at 11 am and the second Janaza 

was held at Mahiganj Jam-e-Mosque 

ground this noon. 

Later, the body was taken to the public 

Library ground in front of Central 

Shaheed Minar at 1 pm where his third 

Janaza was held with participations of 

thousands of common people, officials, 

Freedom Fighters, political leaders, 

educationists, students and socio-cultural 

and professional activists. 

Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangshad, 

political parties, socio-cultural, 

professional and many other 

organisations placed wreaths on his 

coffin that covered with national flag. 

Besides, Divisional Commissioner Kazi 

Hasan Ahmed, City Mayor Mostafizar 

Rahman Mostafa, Additional Deputy 

Commissioner (General) Rabiul Islam, 

Zila parishad Chairman Advocate 

response from the taxpayers 

in the tax fairs," Dr Ferdous 

Alam said adding that main 

thrust of the fair was to 

inspire the taxpayers in 

paying more income tax 

spontaneously coupled with 

generating more taxpayers. 

Income taxes of over Taka 

12 crore were collected in the 

last year's week-long tax fair. 

Around 49,356 taxpayers 

including 921 new ones 

received services and 1.08 

lakh returns were 

submitted. The fair helps 

lessening the panic and 

anxiety among the public in 

general about the tax 

payment and return 

submission. 

Dr Ferdous said the zone 

has fixed target to identify 

18,200 new taxpayers in the 

current fiscal. priority is 

being given on supervising 

tax curtail on origin and 

recovery of unpaid taxes. 

Providing information 

of reproductive health 

to adolescents stressed 

addressed the session as 

guest speakers with DFp 

Divisional Director Moloy 

Kumar Roy in the chair. 

In her welcome speech, 

deputy director of DFp Dr 

Nasim Akhter gave an 

overview of the district level 

family planning activities 

and achievements so far, 

highlighting the aims of the 

fair. 

The guests also 

distributed prizes among 

the winners of different 

competitions arranged for 

the students on family 

planning issues. 

Razzaque laid to eternal rest 

with full state honours 

Chhafia Khanom, Freedom Fighters, 

leaders of AL and its associate bodies, 

among others, placed wreaths on his 

coffin to pay their last respect. 

In the afternoon, the body was taken to 

pirgachha JN High School ground near 

his native village Chalunia where a smart 

contingent of police forces gave a guard of 

honour and bugle played the last post 

before his fourth Janaza held there after 

Asr prayers. 

Later, the body of Razzaque was laid to 

eternal rest at their family graveyard with 

full state honours at 5:20 pm. 

Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Begum Rokeya 

University professor Dr Nazmul Ahsan 

Kalimullah, Divisional Commissioner 

Kazi Hasan Ahmed, Mayor of Rangpur 

Mostafizar Rahman Mostafa, District 

Muktijoddha Commander Mosaddek 

Hossain Bablu, Deputy Commissioner 

enamul Habib, Acting president of 

district AL Mamtaz Uddin Ahmed, its 

General Secretary Advocate Rezaul 

Karim Raju, city AL president Shafiur 

Rahman Shafi and leaders of different 

organisations expressed deep shock at 

the death of Razzaque. 

3 get life term in 

C'nawabganj 

CHApAINAWABGANJ: A 

court here today sentenced 

three persons to life term 

imprisonment for keeping 

drugs in Shibganj upazila of 

the district in 2013, reports 

BSS. 

The court also fined them 

Taka 10,000 each, in default 

to suffer three months more 

in jail. 

Additional District and 

Session Judge M Ziaur 

Rahman gave this verdict in 

presence of the accused 

persons. 

The convicted persons are 

Sahedul alias Mohobul, 25, 

son of M Quddus Ali, M 

Zentu, 30, son of Moslem Ali 

and Yasin Ali, 24, son of M 

Rahman Ali, residents of 

Shialmara village under 

Shahbajpur union of Shibganj 

upazila. 

According to the 

prosecution, a team of the 

district Narcotics Control 

Department arrested the trio 

with 85 bottles of phensidyl 

from a gate of the panama 

port Link Limited at 

Sonamasjid Land port on 

August 3, 2013 and handed 

them over to the police of 

Shibganj Thana. 

Later sub-inspector of the 

department Mahbubur 

Rahman filed a case against 

them under Narcotics Control 

Act.After investigation, 

inspector of the same 

department Lutfar Rahman 

submitted charge sheet 

against the trio to the court on 

october 25 of the same year. 

Bangladesh becomes 

role model for women 

empowerment: Dalia 

RANGpUR: Bangladesh 

has become a role model for 

development of women and 

their empowerment 

following adoption of 

various positive and 

visionary programmes by 

the present government 

during the past nine years, 

reports BSS. 

"Laudable development 

has taken place in every 

sector improving life 

standard of the common 

people following successful 

implementation of the 

programmes," said Member 

of the parliament (Mp) from 

reserved constituency 

Advocate Hosne Ara Lutfa 

Dalia. 

The lawmaker was 

addressing a women rally 

held at Chandanpat High 

School ground under Sadar 

upazila on Sunday afternoon 

as the chief guest. 

The District Information 

office organised the rally to 

inform the people about 

successes of the government 

and future development 

plans, prime Minister's 10 

special initiatives, 

preventing militancy, 

terrorism and drug abuse. 

With Senior District 

Information officer 

Humayun Kobir in the chair, 

Sadar Upazila Chairman 

Nasima Zaman Boby, 

Chandanpat Union 

Chairman Aminur Rahman, 

Chairman of the School 

Governing Body Mubarak 

Ali and Headmaster of 

Chandanpat High School 

Rafikul Islam addressed the 

rally as special guests. 

Moderated by educationist 

professor Md Shah Alam, 

over 500 secondary level 

female students, their 

mothers and women 

community leaders 

participated in the rally. 

Humayun Kobir discussed 

about tremendous successes 

achieved by the present 

government in education, 

health, 

women 

development, agriculture, 

poverty alleviation, 

digitisation, power 

generation and other sectors 

and future development 

plans. 

He narrated about 

progress of implementation 

of the ten special initiatives 

of the prime Minister and 

successes achieved in 

preventing child marriage, 

ensuring health services, 

sanitation, breast feeding 

and vaccination of babies 

and hygiene of adolescents. 

Nasima Zaman Boby 

discussed about positive 

results of revitalization of 

community clinics, rural 

infrastructural development, 

distribution of cost-free 

books and education 

assistance which are 

contributing a lot to the 

progress of children and 

women. 

The chief guest narrated 

about negative impacts of 

drug abuse, terrorism and 

militancy, gender 

discrimination, child 

marriage and other social 

curses and called upon the 

young generations and 

youths for keeping away 

from these menaces. 

She called for further 

strengthening hands of 

prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina to maintain the pace 

of development for more 

progress of the women and 

their equal participation in 

building a middle income 

nation by 2021 and 

developed country by 2041. 

Jhalakathi Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Hamidul Haques speaking at Milad Mahfil at Govt. 

Harchandra Girls School premises yesterday in the district. 

Photo: Manik Roy 

BCG seizes 25.50 

lakh pieces yaba 

in last 2.5 months 

TBT RepoRT: 

Bangladesh Coast Guard 

(BCG) has seized 25.50 lakh 

pieces contraband yaba 

tablets in two and half months 

from on January 1 to March 

12 driving separate areas 

including St. Martin, Teknaf 

and Shahpori Dwip, read a 

press release yesterday. 

The force also will keep the 

drives on to control narcotics 

and prevent smuggling, said 

Director General of BCG Rear 

Admiral A M M M Aurangzeb 

Chowdhury adding that they 

had zero tolerance motto to 

against these. 

He underscored, we need to 

raise mass awareness and 

social resistance against these 

crimes. We are pledged to 

build a drug free society. 

The force also has been 

patrolling coastal and marine 

areas round the clock, the 

press release added. 

30 shops gutted 

in Chandpur 

CHANDpUR: At least 30 

shops were gutted as a fire 

broke out in palbazar area of 

the district town this morning, 

reports BSS. 

Fire brigade sources said 

the fire originated from an 

electric short circuit of an electric 

line at about 6 am and 

soon engulfed the adjacent 

area. 

Being informed two units of 

fire fighters rushed to the spot 

and extinguished the blaze at 

about 8 am, said senior officer 

of Chandpur Fire Station. 

Call to promote 

mechanized agriculture 

to boost production 

RAJSHAHI: Speakers at a 

discussion here called for 

promoting mechanized 

agriculture to boost crop 

production for meeting the 

gradual demand in the wake 

of increasing population, 

reports BSS. 

They observed that 

cropping intensity can be 

increased to 250 percent 

even 400 percent from the 

existing 200 percent 

through reducing the 

existing time gap between 

the two crops after the best 

uses of modern technologies 

of agriculture. 

To this end, they urged all 

the officials and others 

concerned including the 

scientists and farmers to put 

their level best efforts and 

work together as the present 

government is very much 

positive towards the field. 

The observation came at 

the district level agriculture 

technology extension 

coordination committee 

meeting here yesterday. 

Deputy Director office of 

Department of Agriculture 

extension (DAe) organized 

the meeting at its 

conference hall. 

officials concerned from 

DAe, Barind Multipurpose 

Development Authority 

(BMDA), Bangladesh 

Agriculture Research 

Institute (BARI), 

Bangladesh Rice Research 

Institute (BRRI), Soil 

Resource Development 

Institution (SRDI) and 

Bangladesh Agriculture 

Development Corporation 

(BADC) attended the 

function. 

Chairman of BMDA Dr 

Akram Hossain Chowdhury 

addressed the meeting as 

the chief guest with Deputy 

Director of DAe Deb Dulal 

Dhali in the chair. 

Regional Director of Seed 

Certification Agency Sirajul 

Islam, Deputy Manager 

(Agriculture) of BMDA 

Rafiqul Islam, principal 

Scientific officers of BARI 

Dr Alim Uddin and Dr Ilias 

Hossain and Senior 

Scientific officer Dr 

Shakhawat Hossain also 

spoke. 

Speakers said bringing 

agriculture under 

mechanization is of essence 

for boosting production. 

They said the present 

government has attained 

remarkable success in 

agriculture sector and urged 

the officials concerned to 

put their collective efforts to 

uphold the government 

success in this sector in the 

days to come. 

10 Jamaat leaders including 

central ameer held in Rajshahi 

RAJSHAHI: police arrested 10 front-ranking leaders of 

Jamaat-e Islami including its central ameer from 

Hatemkhan area under Boalia police Station in the city 

yesterday morning, reports BSS. 

on a tip-off, a police team cordoned a five-storey building 

around 9 am where the arrestees were holding a secret 

meeting, said Ifte Khayer Alam, Senior Assistant 

Commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan police. 

Central Jamaat ameer Mujibor Rahman is among the 

arrestees, he added. 

other arrestees are: city ameer Dr Abul Hashem, secretary 

Siddique Hossain, east ameer Rajaur Rahman, west ameer 

Abdul Maleque, Chapainawabganj district ameer Abujar 

Gifary, rokon Rafiqul Islam and Mujibur Rahman, executive 

member Moinul Hossain and worker Toyab Ali. 

Legal action will be taken against them after interrogation, 

the police officer added.

INTERNATIONAL 

TUESdAY, MARCH 13, 2018 

7 

This photo provided by Tasnim News Agency, shows rescue team members carrying the body of a 

passenger from a Turkish private jet that crashed on Sunday in the Zagros Mountains outside of the 

city of Shahr-e Kord, some 230 miles (370 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, Monday, 

March 12, 2018. Investigators on Monday found the "black box" from the Turkish private jet that 

crashed on its way from the United Arab Emirates to Istanbul, killing all 11 people on board. 

(Morteza Salehi/Tasnim News Agency via AP) 

Germany's Merkel: 

time for new 

government to 

get to work 

BERLIN : Chancellor 

Angela Merkel says "it's 

finally time to start work" as 

Germany's new government 

prepares to take office nearly 

six months after the country's 

election, reports UNB. 

Merkel's Christian Democratic 

Union, its Bavariaonly 

sister party the Christian 

Social Union, and the 

center-left Social Democrats 

were to sign their coalition 

agreement Monday. Parliament 

is due to elect Merkel 

for her fourth term as chancellor 

on Wednesday, a 

record 171 days after Germans 

voted. 

The new "grand coalition" 

of Germany's biggest parties 

emerged after Merkel's 

attempt to forge an alliance 

with two smaller parties collapsed. 

The Social Democrats 

agreed to join the government 

only after lengthy 

internal wrangling. 

Putin says he approved 

plan to shoot down 

plane in 2014 

MOSCOW : Russian 

President Vladimir Putin 

has said in a new documentary 

that he approved 

of a plan to shoot down a 

hijacked passenger jet 

four years ago, reports 

UNB. 

A Ukrainian man tried to 

hijack a Turkey-bound flight 

and demanded that it go to 

Sochi as the Winter 

Olympics were about to 

start there in February 2014. 

The Sochi Games were 

Putin's pet project designed 

to showcase Russia. 

The plane's pilot instead 

tricked the man, who was 

drunk and falsely claimed 

he had a bomb, and landed 

in Istanbul. Officials 

credited the pilot and 

crew for convincing the 

45-year-old-man that 

they were following his 

wishes. 

Putin said in a two-hour 

documentary about him 

that aired on state television 

late Sunday that the 

chief of domestic intelligence 

agency FSB had 

briefed him on the phone 

and said they were prepared 

to shoot down the 

plane with 110 passengers 

onboard. 

"I asked: 'what are you 

suggesting?' and the 

answer was the one I 

expected: shoot it down in 

line with the contingency 

plans for such situations," 

Putin said, quoting his 

conversation with FSB 

chief Alexander Bortnikov. 

"I said: 'act according 

to the plan.'" 

Putin recalled he was on 

a bus with other dignitaries 

traveling to the 

opening ceremony of the 

Sochi Games and he didn't 

tell anyone what the 

call was about. 

Minutes later, the FSB 

chief called Putin to say it 

was a false alarm and that 

the plane was due to land 

safely in Turkey. 

Asked about what he felt 

after receiving the call, 

Putin said: "I'd better not 

talk about it." The flight, 

operated by Turkish 

budget carrier Pegasus 

Airlines, was traveling 

from the Ukrainian city of 

Kharkiv to Istanbul. 

The Ukrainian man, 

Artem Kozlov, was later 

convicted in Turkey and 

sentenced to 9.5 years in 

prison in 2016. 

Iran recovers black box from 

Turkish plane crash killing 11 

TEHRAN : Investigators on Monday 

found the "black box" from a Turkish 

private jet that crashed in an Iranian 

mountain range on its way from the 

United Arab Emirates to Istanbul, 

killing all 11 people on board - likely 

including a Turkish bride-to-be and her 

bachelorette party, reports UNB. 

Authorities have so far recovered 10 

bodies from the crash site in the Zagros 

Mountains outside of the city of Shahre 

Kord, some 370 kilometers (230 

miles) south of Iran's capital, Tehran, 

according to a report by the state-run 

IRNA news agency. 

Heavy rains and wind in the mountain 

range since the crash Sunday made 

it impossible for helicopters to land in 

the area, though officials hoped to bring 

the bodies down from the mountain 

later in the day, IRNA said. 

Families of the victims arrived Monday 

in Shahr-e Kord, accompanied by 

Turkish diplomats, IRNA reported. 

The flight took off Sunday from Sharjah 

International Airport in the UAE, 

home to the low-cost carrier Air Arabia. 

A little over an hour into the flight, the 

aircraft rapidly gained altitude and 

then dropped drastically within minutes, 

according to FlightRadar24, a 

NEW YORK : All five passengers 

aboard a helicopter that crashed into 

New York City's East River were confirmed 

dead early Monday morning by 

a NYPD spokesman, reports UNB. 

The pilot was able to escape the Sunday 

night crash after the aircraft flipped 

upside down in the water, officials said. 

He was rescued by a tugboat. 

The helicopter, a private charter 

hired for a photo shoot, went down 

near Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence. 

Video taken by a bystander and posted 

on Twitter shows the red helicopter 

land hard in the water and then capsize, 

its rotors slapping at the water. 

The passengers were recovered by 

police and fire department divers, who 

had to remove them from tight harnesses 

while they were upside down, 

flight-tracking website. 

It remains unclear what caused the 

crash, though a witness told state television 

the Bombardier CL604 was on 

fire before it hit the mountain. 

Finding the aircraft's "black box" will 

help investigators trying to piece 

together what happened. That equipment, 

typically painted in a bright color 

to allow searchers to easily find it, 

records cockpit conversations and 

radio transmissions, as well as other 

data from a flight. 

Sharjah civil aviation authorities said 

in a statement late Sunday night that 

the plane's eight passengers were six 

Turks and two Spaniards. Three others 

were the flight crew. 

"The plane did not apply for maintenance 

procedures while on the ground 

of the airport," their statement said. 

Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper and 

other media reports said the plane's 

three crew members - two pilots and 

one flight attendant - were all women 

as well. 

The flight likely carried Mina 

Basaran, the 28-year-old daughter of 

the chairman of Basaran Investment 

Holding, and her friends who had celebrated 

her bachelorette party in nearby 

Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said. 

"It took awhile for the divers to get 

these people out. They worked very 

quickly as fast as they could," Nigro 

said. "It was a great tragedy that we had 

here." 

Witnesses on a waterfront esplanade 

near where the aircraft went down said 

the helicopter was flying noisily, then 

suddenly dropped into the water and 

quickly submerged. But the pilot 

appeared on the surface, holding onto a 

flotation device as a tugboat and then 

police boats approached. 

"It's cold water. It was sinking really 

fast," Mary Lee, 66, told the New York 

Post. "By the time we got out here, we 

couldn't see it. It was underwater." 

Celia Skyvaril, 23, told the Daily 

News that she could see a person on 

what looked like a yellow raft or float 

Dubai. Turkey's Transport Ministry 

said the aircraft belonged to Basaran 

Investment Holding, which The Associated 

Press has not been able to reach 

since the crash. 

Basaran recently posted photographs 

on the photo-sharing app Instagram of 

what appeared to be her bachelorette 

party, which included eight women. 

Iranian authorities previously said the 

flight's passengers were all young 

women. 

Among those photographs was an 

image of the plane posted three days 

ago. In it, Basaran posed on the tarmac 

carrying flowers, wearing a denim jacket 

reading "Mrs. Bride" and the hashtag 

"#bettertogether." In another picture, 

she holds heart-shaped balloons inside 

the plane. 

On Saturday, Basaran posted a picture 

with seven smiling friends from a 

Dubai resort. The last videos posted to 

her account showed her enjoying a concert 

by the British pop star Rita Ora at a 

popular Dubai nightclub. 

Sunday's crash came less than a 

month after an Iranian ATR-72, a twinengine 

turboprop used for short regional 

flights, crashed in southern Iran, 

killing all 65 people onboard. 

5 killed in helicopter crash into 

New York City's East River 

screaming and yelling for help. 

News footage showed one victim 

being loaded into an ambulance while 

emergency workers gave him chest 

compressions. 

A bystander, Susan Larkin, told The 

Associated Press that she went down to 

see rescue boats in the river and a 

police helicopter circling overhead, 

hovering low over the water. 

"You could clearly see they were 

searching," she said. 

A Federal Aviation Administration 

spokeswoman said the Eurocopter 

AS350 went down just after 7 p.m. The 

aircraft was owned by Liberty Helicopters, 

a company that offers both private 

charters and sightseeing tours popular 

with tourists. A phone message left 

with the company was not immediately 

returned. 

The pilot made a mayday call for engine failure before he crashed the helicopter he was piloting into 

the East River, where all five passengers were killed. 

Photo : AP 

Chancellor Angela Merkel says "it's finally time to start work" as Germany's new government prepares 

to take office nearly six months after the country's election. 

Photo : AP 

Indian troops 

kill 3 rebels in 

Kashmir, 

triggering 

protests 

SRINAGAR : A gunbattle 

between Indian troops and 

rebels Monday killed three 

insurgents in disputed Kashmir 

and triggered more anti- 

India protests and clashes, 

officials said, reports UNB. 

The fighting began before 

dawn after government 

forces raided a cluster of 

homes in a village in southern 

Anantnag district on a 

tip that rebels were hiding 

there and came under fire 

from them, police said. 

Troops retaliated and in 

the brief fighting three militants 

were killed, said Altaf 

Khan, a local police officer. 

As news of the killings 

spread, protests and clashes 

against Indian rule broke 

out in several parts of the 

region. There were no 

immediate reports of 

injuries. 

Officials ordered schools 

closed Monday and clamped 

a curfew on some parts of 

Kashmir's main city of Srinagar, 

the center of protests 

and clashes against Indian 

rule. 

Most shops and businesses 

in Srinagar and some other 

Kashmiri towns closed 

impromptu to protest the 

killings. Authorities 

deployed more paramilitary 

soldiers and police in riot 

gear to patrol streets in the 

densely militarized region. 

While one suspected militant 

had yet to be identified, 

the other two slain were 

local rebels who were engineering 

students before joining 

the militancy, police 

said. 

Thousands attended burial 

ceremonies for the two 

identified slain rebels, 

shouting slogans in favor of 

the militants and demanding 

an end to Indian rule 

over the region. 

Japan govt altered 

documents in scandal 

linked to Abe's wife 

TOKYO : Japan's 

Finance Ministry 

acknowledged Monday 

that it doctored documents 

in a widening scandal 

linked to Prime Minister 

Shinzo Abe's wife that 

has rattled his government 

and caused its support 

ratings to slide, 

reports UNB. 

Abe quickly apologized 

Monday on behalf of ministry 

officials but did not 

mention his wife or her 

suspected role in the scandal. 

"People are looking critically 

at the developments, 

and I take it seriously," he 

said, promising to pursue 

a thorough investigation 

into what caused the problem. 

The altered documents 

relate to the 2016 sale of 

state land to school operator 

Moritomo Gakuen in 

Osaka at one-seventh of 

the appraised value with 

the alleged involvement of 

first lady Akie Abe, who 

supported the school's 

ultra-nationalistic education 

policy. 

An investigation by the 

ministry showed there had 

been contacts from Akie 

Abe and several conservative 

lawmakers over the 

school plan, but it was not 

clear whether they violated 

any law. It said one 

document originally noted 

that the school operator 

was involved with a powerful 

pro-Abe political lobby, 

Nippon Kaigi, of which 

Abe was vice chairman, 

but that comment was later 

deleted. 

The scandal, which surfaced 

a year ago, has smoldered 

despite a major 

election victory by Abe in 

July as opposition lawmakers 

continued to scrutinize 

the case. It erupted 

again in recent weeks after 

a major newspaper reported 

that it found evidence 

the ministry had altered 

records after the scandal 

broke. 

Finance Minister Taro 

Aso said the investigation 

found 14 altered documents. 

The changes were 

made from February to 

April last year at the 

instruction of the Financial 

Bureau, the ministry 

department in charge of 

state property transactions, 

mostly at its regional 

unit in Osaka, Aso said. 

He said the documents 

were falsified to match 

explanations that an official 

in charge of the land 

deal, Nobuhisa Sagawa, 

provided to parliament in 

response to opposition 

lawmakers' questions. 

Sagawa later was promoted 

to National Tax 

Agency chief in what critics 

alleged was a reward 

for stonewalling the questioning. 

He resigned last 

Friday to take responsibility 

for his replies, and 

another official linked to 

the scandal reportedly 

killed himself. Sagawa also 

acknowledged destroying 

documents. Aso denied 

there had been any political 

pressure, but declined 

to disclose where the 

instructions came from 

and who was responsible. 

Abe said Aso will not 

step down. 

In a parliamentary hearing 

Monday, Finance Ministry 

officials confirmed 

that a reference to Akie 

Abe having recommended 

the land deal was deleted 

from a document after the 

scandal surfaced. 

Yasunori Kagoike, then 

head of Moritomo 

Gakuen, purchased the 

land to build an elementary 

school where Abe's 

wife briefly served as honorary 

principal. The Abes 

are known to have supported 

the school's nationalistic 

philosophy of education. 

A phrase calling the land 

deal "exceptional," as well 

as the names of several 

other influential lawmakers 

who were implicated 

but have denied involvement, 

were also deleted, 

the ministry said. 

Opposition lawmakers 

allege political pressure 

was involved in the land 

sale, but Abe has repeatedly 

denied any wrongdoing. 

Opposition leaders 

demanded that Abe's wife 

and Sagawa testify and 

threatened to boycott parliamentary 

sessions if they 

did not. Yukio Edano, 

leader of the Constitutional 

Democratic Party of 

Japan, said the document 

doctoring by the ministry 

"shakes the foundation of 

Japan's democracy." 

The conservative Yomiuri 

newspaper and public 

broadcaster NHK both 

reported declines in support 

ratings for Abe's Cabinet 

in polls released Monday. 

Outside parliament 

Monday, dozens of protesters 

demanded the 

Cabinet's resignation.

ART & CULTURE 

TUeSDAy, 

MArCH 12, 2018 

8 

egypt filmmakers defy taboos 

of conservative society 

Filmmakers in Egypt are defying a largely conservative 

society with television series and movies that deal with 

modern relationships between men and women and the 

empowerment of the young. 

In its heyday between the 1950s and the 1970s, 

Egypt had one of the largest and most dynamic movie 

industries in the world. 

The golden age of Egyptian cinema starred fiery, 

determined women and love scenes that rivalled 

those of Western movies at the time. 

"Things started to change in the 1980s" as social 

freedoms regressed and society grew more 

puritanical, leading Arab film critic Tarek El Shenawi 

told AFP. Under the growing influence of the Muslim 

Brotherhood group and Arab Gulf countries, 

conservatism expanded steadily in Egyptian society 

during the time. 

Braving criticism from conservatives, young 

directors are now becoming more daring in their 

work. Such productions often stir controversy, but 

they still attract millions of viewers online. 

In the film "Balash Tebosni" (Kiss Me Not), young 

director Ahmed Amer makes fun of the taboo on 

passionate kisses in contemporary Egyptian cinema. 

"Comedy makes the people a bit more open to the 

theme," Amer told AFP. 

In the "adults only" movie, Amer tries to shoot a 

kissing scene but the actress refuses to comply, 

stressing that she wants to become a more devout 

Muslim. 

The "film within a film" satirises the dogged 

resistance of his starlet in what has become an 

increasingly puritanical society. Yasmin Raeis, who 

plays the actress, said she remembers how such 

scenes used to be "totally normal" in Egyptian movies 

she watched as a child. 

"Then as I got older, suddenly people started saying 

that this shouldn't happen" in movies anymore, she 

said. Raeis said she could not understand the taboo on 

kissing when audiences stream to watch thrillers and 

action movies packed with scenes of violence. 

"That's what's strange. We should be condemning 

violence, not romance," she said. 

The idea for Balash Tebosni originated in a short 

film which Amer had tried but failed to complete in 

real life because the leading actress was disgusted by 

the idea of an onscreen kiss. 

Family comedies have also become a hit. 

Watched by millions on YouTube, "Sabaa Gar" 

(Seventh Neighbour), a series which airs on the private 

CBC Entertainment channel, has faced a storm of 

accusations that it corrupts Egypt's youth. 

A single woman living alone and seeing men out of 

wedlock, or another who smokes in secret, Sabaa Gar 

shows the young demanding control over their own 

lives. This contrasts with the stricter social norms that 

the older generation still holds on to and highlights the 

generation gap in Egyptian society. 

Irrfan Khan is fine now, please 

don't speculate: Shoojit Sircar 

Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar has requested fans and 

media not to speculate about Irrfan Khan's 

health, adding the actor is "fine now" and will 

issue another statement soon. 

Shoojit, who worked with the actor in his last 

directorial Piku, said Irrfan is extremely close 

to him. "I think Irrfan has already issued a 

press statement and asked not to speculate 

(about his health). 

He is the only actor who is actually called a 

Hollywood star in our country, who has worked 

with the top of the line directors. I've met him two 

three times, he is going to issue a statement again. 

All your questions will be answered. 

He is a wonderful human being, I am very close 

to him. Please don't worry. He is fine now, and he 

will issue a statement again. But please, I fold my 

hands, don't speculate," the director added. 

Shoojit and Irrfan pose with Deepika Padukone 

and Amitabh Bachchan on the sets of Piku. 

In a Twitter post, Irrfan had said he was suffering 

from "a rare disease." The actor said he and his 

family were jolted by the knowledge of his illness. 

"Sometimes you wake up with a jolt with life 

shaking you up. 

The last fifteen days, my life has been a suspense 

story. Little had I known that my search for rare 

stories would make me find a rare disease. I have 

never given up and have always fought for my 

choices and always will. 

My family and friends are with me and we are 

working it out the best way possible. In trying times, 

please don't speculate as I will myself share with you 

my story within a week - ten days, when the further 

investigations come with a conclusive diagnosis. Till 

then, wish the best for me," he tweeted. 

Netflix's best romantic comedy ends 

with an unforgettable, 5-star season 

The sadness is still setting in, but Netflix's Love 

deserves a voice more passionate than mine, a 

voice that can do justice to its raw insight, to its 

poetic heartbreak, and to its unforgettable joys. 

I've made two attempts to evoke what this show 

represents - both feel equally ineffective - and I 

can't help but feel it deserves better. It'll 

probably take dozens of shots before something 

worthwhile pours out - unexpectedly, 

inelegantly - but this is our final goodbye. This is 

when we let it all out, all the secret feelings and 

all the jealousy and all the fears. 

Love is ending. By the time you read this, it 

would have already ended. Believe me, it has 

been years since a finale has left a void as large 

as the one left by this show. We can take solace 

in the certainty that it'll live on forever, for new 

generations to discover. Because even when 

Netlifx evolves into a tiny chip, planted into the 

brains of our descendants on a space colony 

somewhere, the story captured in the three 

seasons of Love will still resonate. These are 

truths that will never disappear. 

And in all these years, very few shows have 

arrived at the truth quite as honestly as Love. 

In telling the story of Mickey and Gus, it has 

disguised itself as a romantic comedy, an indie 

drama, and a devastating tragedy. But what it 

really is, is what it really is - a TV show about 

two people meeting and falling in love and 

discovering each other for who they really are. 

Sometimes, what they learn isn't ideal; they lie, 

they cheat, they're selfish, conniving and 

they're meaner than they'd like to think they 

are. But so are you and I. Like us, they're 

flawed, both of them. 

Sir Ken Dodd: Comedy 

legend dies, aged 90 

Sir Ken Dodd, creator of the Diddy Men and 

one of the most popular comedians of his time, 

has died aged 90. 

The Liverpool legend had recently been 

released from hospital after six weeks of 

treatment for a chest infection. 

On Friday, he had married Anne Jones, his 

partner of 40 years, at their house, the same one 

he grew up in, in the Liverpool suburb of Knotty 

Ash. Lady Anne described him as "a most lifeenhancing, 

brilliant, creative comedian". 

Speaking outside their home, she said Sir Ken 

"just wanted to make people happy". 

She added: "I have lost a most wonderful 

husband. He lived to perfect his art and 

entertain his live and adoring audiences. 

"I've been overwhelmed by the love and 

affection which I've already received from dear 

friends and the public." 

Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety is 2018's 2nd 

highest grosser after padmaavat 

Filmmaker Luv Ranjan's Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, which opened to mixed reviews on February 23, 

has become the second highest grosser of the year, surpassing the collection of Akshay Kumar's 

PadMan with a total of Rs 82.1 crore in the third week of its release. 

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted the figures late Sunday. "#SonuKeTituKiSweety is now the 

SECOND HIGHEST GROSSER of 2018, after #Padmaavat... Crosses #PadMan [approx ? 81 cr]… 

[Week 3] Fri 2.27 cr, Sat 4.12 cr. Total: ? 82.10 cr. India biz... SUPER-HIT... #SKTKS," he wrote. 

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat remains the top-grosser with Rs 286.24 crore domestic 

collection. After facing widespread protests alleging distortion of history from fringe groups, the film 

finally hit theatres on January 26. Starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor in 

lead roles, Padmaavat also faced a delay at the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). 

Karan Johar is missing the 

paparazzi and Bollywood 

stars can't stop laughing 

Filmmaker Karan Johar recently 

returned from London after 

spending an entire week in there 

and when he landed in Mumbai, 

"the worse thing happened," the 

director said. There were no 

shutterbugs waiting to click him! 

The filmmaker took to Twitter to 

express his disappointment. He 

tweeted, "Was about to land! Wore 

a new jacket! Product in hair! Big 

sun glasses were put on! New bag 

pack positioned for capture! And 

then....the worse thing 

happened!!!!! The paps Were NOT 

there!!!!! Shattered! Will now 

repeat this look and pray!" 

Bollywood stars Rajkummar Rao, 

Parineeti Chopra, Ileana D'Cruz 

and several others who KJo too 

well, could not stop laughing out 

loud at the tweet. On the work 

front, Karan Johar was recently 

seen in the box office dud, 

Welcome to New York. His 

production house, Dharma 

Productions, has an interesting 

line up of films including Janhvi 

Kapoor's debut film Dhadak and 

Akshay Kumar's Kesari. 

H o r o S C o p e 

ArIeS 

(March 21 - April 20): If others go out of 

their way to pick holes in your 

arguments today just ignore them. 

Having said that, it could be there is 

something you have overlooked and at least one 

kind person will try to warn you, so don't be too 

eager to be rude. 

TAUrUS 

(April 21 - May 21): Your main task 

today is to resist the temptation to look 

at the world as if everything that 

happens is a disaster or a tragedy. Focus 

only on good news today - there is still plenty of it if 

you care to look. It's about attitude, not events. 

GeMINI 

(May 22 - June 21): Check the small 

print carefully before putting pen to 

paper today because you could have 

been misled into thinking that you 

have got the best of a deal when, in fact, others will 

profit a lot more than you do. Details are always 

important. 

CANCer 

(June 22 - July 23): The more others 

want you to do something you don't 

think is in your best interests the more 

you must resist. Your arguments for 

giving it a miss may not sound convincing but what 

matters is that you stick to your guns. They can't 

force you. 

Leo 

(July 24 - Aug. 23): Cosmic activity in 

your fellow fire sign of Aries has filled 

your head with no end of big ideas but 

not all of them are practical, so don't get 

carried away. You are under no obligation to hurry, 

so bide your time and think things through. 

VIrGo 

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): Someone who 

usually has only nice things to say 

about you will go right the other way 

and say something hurtful today, but 

you must not let it get to you. Sometimes you can 

be too sensitive for your own good. Don't take 

yourself so seriously. 

LIBrA 

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): You have 

nothing to prove and lots to gain and 

everything to look forward to. That is 

the message of the stars today and 

even if you don't quite believe it what happens 

over the next few days will bring a smile to your 

face. It's about time! 

SCorpIo 

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22): If someone you 

don't know very well tells you what a 

great guy you are it's a sure sign they are 

after something. That something is 

most likely to be your money, so act cool and don't 

give them a thing, no matter how nicely they ask. 

SAGITTArIUS 

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): Your current run 

of good fortune is sure to come to an 

end eventually but there is no reason 

to suppose it will be any time soon. 

The planets indicate there are plenty of good 

things still to look forward to, the first of which 

will arrive today. 

CAprICorN 

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): For some strange 

reason you can see enemies in every 

direction at the moment but most if 

not all of them exist only in your 

imagination, so get a grip on yourself and get 

things done. Your only real enemy is your lack of 

self-belief. 

AQUArIUS 

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19): You tend to believe in 

yourself to such a degree that you think 

nothing is beyond you, and that's good, 

but even an Aquarius has limits and you 

may need to remind yourself what those limits are. A 

little bit of realism will go a long way. 

pISCeS 

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20): Yes, you should 

let other people have the last word. 

Yes, you should let other people lead 

the way. You may not entirely 

approve of what they say, still less of what they 

do, but so long as you don't get the blame why 

should you worry?

SPORTS 

TuESDAY, MARCH 13, 2018 

9 

Dinesh Chandimal handed two-match over-rate ban. 

Scotland make 

changes for Italy 

Six Nations clash 

EDINBURGH: Scotland 

coach Gregor Townsend on 

Monday named a revised 

squad for their final Six 

Nations clash against Italy as 

they chase their third win of 

the tournament, reports 

BSS. 

Scott Cummings, Matt 

Fagerson, Matt Scott, Adam 

Hastings and Richie Vernon 

are all added to the group, 

while Tommy Seymour is 

retained despite missing 

Saturday's defeat in Dublin 

with a back problem and 

Alex Dunbar is among those 

to miss out. 

The Glasgow trio of 

Cummings, Fagerson and 

Hastings are yet to make 

their Scotland debuts but 

have previously been 

involved in Townsend's 

squads and could feature in 

Rome on Saturday. 

Scotland, one of four sides 

with two wins and two 

defeats after home victories 

against France and England, 

are currently fifth in the 

table after their 28-8 defeat 

away to Ireland. 

Squad: 

Backs (18): Nick Grigg 

(Glasgow), Chris Harris 

(Newcastle), Adam Hastings 

(Glasgow), Stuart Hogg (Glasgow), 

George Horne (Glasgow), Pete 

Horne (Glasgow), Ruaridh 

Jackson (Glasgow), Huw Jones 

(Glasgow), Lee Jones (Glasgow), 

Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh), Greig 

Laidlaw (Clermont Auvergne), 

Sean Maitland (Saracens), Byron 

McGuigan (Sale), Ali Price 

(Glasgow), Finn Russell (Glasgow), 

Matt Scott (Gloucester), Tommy 

Seymour (Glasgow), Richie 

Vernon (Glasgow) 

Forwards (20): John Barclay 

capt (Scarlets), Simon Berghan 

(Edinburgh), Jamie Bhatti 

(Glasgow),Fraser Brown 

(Glasgow), Scott Cummings 

(Glasgow), David Denton 

(Worcester), Zander Fagerson 

(Glasgow), Matt Fagerson 

(Glasgow), Grant Gilchrist 

(Edinburgh), Jonny Gray 

(Glasgow), Richie Gray 

(Toulouse), Luke Hamilton 

(Leicester), Scott Lawson 

(Newcastle), Darryl Marfo 

(Edinburgh), Stuart McInally 

(Edinburgh), Willem Nel 

(Edinburgh), Gordon Reid 

(London Irish), Tim Swinson 

(Glasgow), Hamish Watson 

(Edinburgh), Ryan Wilson 

(Glasgow). 

Harry Kane injury concern for Tottenham Hotspur & England. 

Photo: Internet 

Russia recall Cheryshev 

and Selikhov for Brazil, 

France friendlies 

MOSCOW: Russia coach Stanislav 

Cherchesov has recalled Villarreal 

midfielder Denis Cheryshev and Spartak 

Moscow goalkeeper Alexander Selikhov 

for World Cup warm-up matches against 

Brazil and France later this month, 

reports BSS. 

The World Cup hosts will take on fivetime 

world champions Brazil at Moscow's 

renovated Luzhniki Stadium on March 23, 

while the friendly with the 1998 World Cup 

winners France will take place in St 

Petersburg four days later. 

Russia have recently lost Spartak fullback 

Georgy Dzhikiya and CSKA Moscow 

defender Viktor Vasin to serious cruciate 

knee ligament injuries, while Mario 

Fernandes of CSKA has a hip injury. As a 

result, Cherchesov has recalled Andrei 

Semenov of Akhmat Grozny and Lokomotiv 

Moscow winger Vladislav Ignatiev. 

Meanwhile, former Real Madrid player 

Cheryshev, who has recovered completely 

from a string of injuries, will get the chance 

to win his first cap since 2015 and 10th 

overall. Spartak 'keeper Selikhov is called 

up for the first time. Cherchesov has also 

called up two players with experience of the 

German Bundesliga-Fenerbahce defender 

Roman Neustadter and Konstantin Rausch, 

who joined Dynamo Moscow in the last 

winter transfer window. 

However, Neustadter is a doubt after 

suffering a neck injury. Zenit striker 

Alexander Kokorin and Krasnodar forward 

Fedor Smolov, the top scorer in the Russian 

league in the last two seasons and leading 

the way again this season, will spearhead 

Russia's attack. 

Squad. Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (CSKA 

Moscow), Vladimir Gabulov (Club Brugge/ 

BEL), Andrei Lunev (Zenit St Petersburg), 

Alexander Selikhov (Spartak Moscow). 

Defenders: Vladimir Granat, Fedor 

Kudryashov (both Rubin Kazan), Yury 

Zhirkov, Igor Smilnikov, Vladislav 

Ignatiev (Lokomotiv Moscow), Dmitry 

Kombarov, Ilya Kutepov (both Spartak 

Moscow), Roman Neustadter 

(Fenerbahce/TUR), Konstantin Rausch 

(Dynamo Moscow), Andrei Semenov 

(Akhmat Grozny). 

Midfielders: Denis Glushakov, Roman 

Zobnin, Alexander Samedov (all Spartak 

Moscow), Alexander Golovin, Alan Dzagoev 

(both CSKA Moscow), Alexander Erokhin, 

Daler Kuzyayev (both Zenit St Petersburg), 

Anton Miranchuk, Alexei Miranchuk (both 

Lokomotiv Moscow), Denis Cheryshev 

(Villareal/ESP), Anton Shvets (Akhmat 

Grozny) 

Forwards: Anton Zabolotny, Alexander 

Kokorin (both Zenit St Petersburg), Fedor 

Smolov (Krasnodar). 

Pappu leads Rupganj's victory 

in premier cricket 

DHAKA: Opener Salahuddin Pappu blasted 

95-ball off 125-run as Legends of Rupganj 

notched a 26-run victory over Kalabagan 

Krira Chakra in the ninth round of Dhaka 

Premier Division Cricket League (DPDCL) 

held on Monday, reports BSS. 

Pappu smashed 12 boundaries and eight 

over boundaries as Rupganj amassed a 

massive total of 314 for 5 from their allotted 

50 overs, after they were forced to bat first by 

Kalabagan at Bangladesh Krira Shiksha 

Protishthan (BKSP) ground in Savar. 

Pappu also involved 150-run second 

wicket stand with Mohammad Niam (45) 

after Rupganj lost their opener Abdul Mazid 

(20) early. 

Later, skipper Naeem Islam made a quick 

fire unbeaten 53-ball off 61-run to take the 

team's total past over 300 runs landmark. 

Taibur Rahman and Abul Hasan shared 

two Rupganj's wickets giving away 19 and 49 

runs respectively. 

Chasing a massive winning target of 315- 

runs set by Rupganj, Kalabagan fell short as 

they were all out for 288 in 49.5 overs despite 

a fighting knocks came from Shreevats 

Goswami (75) and Mohammad Ashraful 

(64). 

Abul Hasan (34), Mahmudul Hasan (30) 

and Faruque Hossain (29) got a good start 

but all they failed to take Kalabagan at home 

in the face of tight bowling attacks by the 

Rupganj's bowlers. 

Asif Hasan and Parvez Rasool were the 

pick of Rupganj bowlers as the duo captured 

three Kalabagan wickets each conceding 43 

and 50 runs respectively. They were well 

supported by Mohammad Shahid who took 

two wickets for 62 runs. 

Salahuddin Pappu of Rupganj was named 

the player of the match for his impressive 

batting performance. 

Photo: BBC 

Youth Games 

Archery concludes 

with Rajshahi's 

domination 

DHAKA: Rajshahi Division 

emerged top in the 

inaugural Youth Games 

Archery event on the final 

phase closing day held on 

Monday at Ahasan Ullah 

Master Stadium in Gazipur, 

reports BSS. 

Rajshahi secured a total of 

five medals including three 

gold and two silver while 

Chittagong Division placed 

behind the Rajshahi 

Division with three medals 

including one gold, one 

silver and one bronze. 

Dhaka Division placed in 

third position with two 

medals including one gold 

and one silver while 

Rangpur Division stood at 

fourth position with one 

silver medal. 

Khulna Division placed at 

bottom at the table securing 

four bronze medals. 

Bangladesh Youth Games 

steering committee's member 

secretary and Bangladesh 

Olympic Association's Dy 

Secretary General Ashikur 

Rahman Miku was present 

as the chief guest on the 

closing day and distributed 

the prizes. 

Shafiul secures 

Agrani's win 

in DPDCL 

DHAKA: Agrani Bank 

Cricket Club managed an 

exciting three-wicket victory 

over Brothers Union Club in 

the ninth round of Dhaka 

Premier Division Cricket 

League (DPDCL) held on 

Monday, reports BSS. 

Asked to bat first by Agrani 

Bank, Brothers Union Club, 

rode on their opener Mizanur 

Rahman's polish 102-run, 

scored a challenging total of 289 

for 6 from their stipulated 50 

overs at Khan Shaheb Oslman 

Ali Stadium in Fatullah. 

The right handed 26-year 

batsman Mizanur hit nine 

boundaries and three over 

boundaries during his 120- 

ball stay on the crease and he 

shared a huge 200-run 

opening stand with Junaid 

Siddique who composed 92- 

run off 103-ball before fell 

victim of nervous 90. 

Despite a perfect start by the 

two Brothers' openers, the 

remaining batsmen of the team 

failed to capitalize the 

opportunity as they able to added 

only 89 runs in the scoreboard 

from the last 14.1 overs. 

Federer takes care of business, 

Djokovic crashes out 

INDIAN WELLS, United States: World 

number one Roger Federer finished off 

Federeico Delbonis in a rain-disrupted 

match on Sunday to reach the third round at 

Indian Wells as five-time champion Novak 

Djokovic was toppled, reports BSS. 

Federer returned to stadium court on 

Sunday afternoon and needed an hour to 

finish off his second round victory 6-3, 7-6 

(8/6). 

"It's been a long time since I have been 

interrupted at night and have to come back 

the next day," Federer said. " 

His title defence got off to a soggy start 

Saturday night when play was suspended 

because of rain showers with Federer up a set 

and tied 2-2 in the second. 

The clouds rolled in just before the start of 

their match on Saturday and after a short 

delay to start the first set they managed to 

play until the skies blackened and the heavy 

rains came in the second. After another 90- 

minute delay organizers suspended play for 

the night. 

Federer is making his 17th appearance in 

the California desert and is assured of 

remaining world number one if he makes it 

to the semi-finals. He extended his 2018 win 

streak to 13 matches and has only dropped 

three sets from 34 played this year. 

Federer hit five aces and won 74 percent of 

his first serve points in the match which took 

a total of one hour and 41 minutes over the 

two days. Federer started quickly 

hammering a backhand winner to take the 

lone break of the first set and he would deny 

a pair of break chances when serving for the 

opener at 5-3. In the tiebreaker, Federer took 

a 5-2 lead but Delbonis battled back to win a 

long rally and tie it 5-5. 

Federer won the final three points to take 

the match by forcing Delbonis to dump all 

three of those shots into the net. Federer will 

face 25th-seed Filip Krajinovic in the third 

round. 

Federer and 10th seed Djokovic both came 

into the tournament seeking to become the 

first six-time winner of the event. 

But Djokovic fell at the first hurdle with a 

shock loss to Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel. 

Daniel sent an out-of-sorts Djokovic 

tumbling with a hard-fought 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 

6-1 victory. It was another snag in the return 

for the world number 13 Djokovic who 

admitted he lacked composure while playing 

in just his second event of 2018 and first 

since having surgery. 

"For me it felt like first match I ever played on 

the tour. Very weird," Djokovic said. "I mean, I 

just completely lost rhythm, everything. 

"Just struggled also a little bit with the 

health the last couple of weeks." 

The Serb is making a cautious return to the 

ATP Tour after stopping his 2017 season 

following Wimbledon, due to a right elbow 

injury. He lost to Chung Hyeon in the 

Australian Open fourth round in January 

before undergoing the surgery. 

Djokovic scrambled to win the second set 

on Sunday but the rust from the layoff was 

evident as he made 62 unforced errors 

compared to 29 for Daniel. 

Djokovic had four aces but served poorly 

overall making four double faults and 

winning just 65 percent of his first-serve 

points. Federer said he understands well 

how even a champion like Djokovic could be 

struggling to find his game so soon after 

having surgery. 

"To me, it's not that surprising," Federer 

said. "When you go away from the game for 

over a two-month period it starts feeling a 

little bit that way. 

"When you do come back from injury or 

when you haven't played in a long time, it 

just takes extra effort. "It is still early stages 

for Novak coming back and the first one after 

surgery. He's only going to get better from 

here." 

Daniel, who is ranked 109th in the 

world, advanced to the third round where 

he will face Gael Monfils of France who 

outlasted American John Isner 6-7 (5/7), 

7-6 (7/3), 7-5. 

South Africa v Australia: Hosts win second Test to level series. Photo: BBC 

Mendy must bide his time 

after injury: Guardiola 

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Pep 

Guardiola says he will not rush Benjamin 

Mendy back for Manchester City after six 

months on the sidelines following knee surgery 

however keen he is to play, reports BSS. 

The French left-back, who made a big 

impression in the early weeks of the season 

after joining City from Monaco, has said he 

hopes to return to action next month. 

But Guardiola wants to err on the side of 

caution and feels he may have to hold the 23- 

year-old back for his own good. "The most 

important thing after six months is to be 

careful," said Guardiola. "He believes, 'I am 

strong, I will come back soon, I will play like I 

did before the injury.' That is not happening. 

"Even if he believes he is strong he is not 

strong enough. After six months, he has to be 

careful." 

The City boss said Mendy, who ruptured the 

anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in 

September, was back in full training and could 

help out the team for short periods, following 

the approach taken with Ilkay Gundogan, who 

also suffered a serious knee injury, in 

December 2016. 

The German was eased back into action at 

the start of this season but it was not until a 

year after the injury that he began to start 

games regularly again. 

"We cannot forget Gundogan played in the 

past month a lot of games-I think all the games, 

90 minutes, except the last one," said 

Guardiola. "But before that, he played one 

game, rested for two, one game, rested for two, 

because after six months, the next step is 

muscular injuries. You have to try to avoid that. 

"Maybe he (Mendy) can go to the World Cup 

and come back next season stronger." 

City head to Stoke on Monday looking to 

claim the first of the four remaining wins they 

need to secure the Premier League title. 

Anisimova speaks out against guns 

INDIAN WELLS, United States: Rising 

tennis star Amanda Anisimova has added 

her voice to the growing chorus of young 

people in America who are demanding a 

crackdown on gun owners following the 

latest school shooting rampage that killed 17 

people, reports BSS. 

The 16-year-old American said the 

shooting struck close to home for her 

because she has a friend that attends the 

high school in Parkland, Florida, that came 

under attack by a lone gunman last month. 

Anisimova, who is the youngest player in 

the tournament, scored one of the biggest 

upsets of the WTA Tour event on Sunday by 

beating former two-time Wimbledon champ 

Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-4. 

Anisimova, who was born in New Jersey 

but moved to Miami when she was three 

years old, thinks firearms should be 

outlawed. 

"I think that guns should be banned," she 

told reporters at the southern California 

tournament. 

"That's what my opinion is. I posted that 

on Twitter. But you should have stricter laws 

on that for sure." 

On Friday, Florida introduced a law that 

paves the way for some school staff to carry 

firearms, but Anisimova doesn't think it is a 

good idea to have high school teachers 

packing. 

"I don't think teachers should be having 

guns in school because I don't think that's a 

good idea," she said. 

Asked how her friend is coping with the 

grief process, Anisimova said, "She was fine, 

but, you know, she was there, and so it's 

definitely something that she has to keep 

going through. 

Rabada gets 

South Africa 

close to win 

PORT ELIZABETH, South 

Africa: Kagiso Rabada 

shrugged aside a possible 

ban hanging over him to 

bowl South Africa to the 

brink of a series-levelling 

victory in the second Test 

against Australia at St 

George's on Monday, 

reports BSS. 

The fast bowler, who could 

miss the remaining two 

Tests for his reaction to 

dismissing Australian 

captain Steve Smith, took six 

for 54 as Australia were 

bowled out for 239 in their 

second innings on the fourth 

day. 

Set to make 101 to win, 

South Africa were 22 for one 

at lunch. 

Rabada took the first three 

of the five Australian wickets 

that fell for the addition of 59 

runs on Monday. He had 

match figures of 11 for 150 -- 

the fourth time in his 28- 

Test career that he had ten 

or more wickets in a match. 

There was a shadow 

hanging over the 22-yearold 

fast bowler, however. He 

attended a disciplinary 

meeting convened by match 

referee Jeff Crowe on 

Sunday after being charged 

with a level two offence 

following an incident in 

which his shoulder made 

contact with Smith on the 

first day. 

The verdict was expected 

to be announced after the 

match. If found guilty 

Rabada will face a two-Test 

ban because of previous 

offences on his record.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS 

TUESDAy, 

THE 

BANGLADESHTODAY 

MARCH 13, 2018 

10 

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited Dhaka East Zone organized a client get together on the occasion of 

Cash Waqf Campaign at Islami Bank Tower, Dhaka on Monday, 12 March 2018. Md. Mahbub ul Alam, 

Managing Director and CEO of the Bank attended the program as Chief Guest while Mohammad Ali, 

Deputy Managing Director was present as Special Guest. Dr. M. Kamal Uddin Jasim, Senior Vice 

President & Head of Dhaka East Zone Presided over the function. 

Photo: Courtesy 

Malaysian banks' solid 

performance to continue 

in 2018: Moody's 

Moody's Investors Service 

said Monday that its six 

rated Malaysian banks that 

showed a solid performance 

last year, may see additional 

improvement in some areas 

this year. 

Moody's vice president 

and senior analyst Simon 

Chen said in a statement that 

the asset quality and 

profitability of the six banks 

generally improved in 2017, 

while their capitalization and 

funding remained adequate. 

"We expect loan demand 

to recover further in 2018, 

strengthening profitability, 

but also tightening funding 

conditions," he said, adding 

that profit growth among 

banks with weaker deposit 

franchises could be limited 

by higher funding costs. 

The six banks are Malayan 

Banking Bhd, CIMB Group, 

Public Bank, RHB Bank, 

Hong Leong Bank and 

AmBank Malaysia, 

according to the statement. 

Moody's also noted that 

asset quality will benefit 

from 

stronger 

macroeconomic conditions 

in 2018, both domestically 

and regionally, while those 

European stock 

markets rise at open 

Europe's main stock markets rose at the start of trading on 

Monday following strong gains in Asia. 

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed 0.4 percent 

to 7,249.69 points compared with Friday's close. 

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 advanced 0.9 percent 

to 12,453.30 points and the Paris CAC 40 grew 0.5 percent to 

5,298.22. 

Hong Kong stocks 

extend winning streak 

on US jobs data 

Hong Kong stocks soared almost two percent on Monday, 

building on a rally at the end of last week, after the release of 

forecast-beating US jobs data. 

The Hang Seng Index jumped 1.93 percent, or 598.12 

points, to end at 31,594.33. 

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.59 

percent, or 19.53 points, to 3,326.70 and the Shenzhen 

Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second 

exchange, rallied 1.24 percent, or 23.46 points, to 1,908.84. 

Mohammad Mamdudur Rashid 

joined as Additional Managing 

Director of UCB 

Mohammad Mamdudur Rashid joined United 

Commercial Bank Ltd as the Additional Managing 

Director from 01 March 2017, a press release said. 

Rashid has been in the financial services industry for 

over 25 years out of which 

22 years have been in 

banking, a career that 

began in 1995 with 

Citibank-Bangladesh. In 

his banking career that 

covers multiple cultures 

across Bangladesh, India 

and Australia, Rashid 

managed a number of 

functional areas covering 

Business, Risk, Finance, 

Operations, Compliance, 

Credit Administration, HR and General Services. 

In his immediate past banking role, Rashid has been 

the Additional Managing Director and Head of 

Wholesale Banking of BRAC Bank Limited, where he 

joined in December 2009. He also held various other 

senior roles at BRAC Bank including those of Chief 

Financial Officer and strategic leadership for SME 

business. In his 15 years career in Citibank, he was the 

Head of Strategic Planning for Citibank-Australia and 

New Zealand for its institutional banking business. He 

also held numerous other senior management positions 

of Citibank including that of Chief Operating Officer of 

Citibank-Bangladesh during 2001-2005. He also held 

the position of Group CFO for BRAC and BRAC 

International. 

Rashid had been extensively trained both home and 

abroad on technical and leadership skills. His 

glamorous educational background covers his MBA 

from the institute of Business Administration (IBA), 

University of Dhaka as Vice Chancellor's Gold medalist 

and his MA in International Economics and Finance as 

a Fulbright Scholar from Brandeis University of 

Massachusetts, USA. In his multifaceted career, 

Rashid has also been a Lecturer of Finance at IBA, a 

Merchant Mariner and has won the President's Gold 

Medal of Marine Academy in 1985. 

banks with exposure to the 

oil and gas sector should see 

their asset quality stabilize 

on stronger oil prices. 

The impaired loan ratios of 

most banks remained stable 

in 2017, despite the fact that 

banks with sizable 

operations in other parts of 

Southeast Asia recorded 

higher gross impaired loan 

ratios because of asset 

quality issues among 

commodity related 

corporate borrowers, it said. 

According to Moody's, 

most banks posted improved 

profitability in 2017, driven 

by steady revenue growth, 

stable net interest margins 

and a moderation in credit 

costs. 

"These favorable 

conditions should continue 

into 2018, and ongoing 

digital transformation efforts 

will support stronger growth 

in revenue and cost 

efficiencies," it said. 

It also believed their loan 

growth will also rebound in 

2018, supported by higher 

demand for corporate loans 

and stable consumer 

lending, and this 

development, plus stable net 

interest margins, will 

support bank profits. 

"Funding profiles remain 

resilient, as loan to deposit 

ratios fell slightly for most 

banks in 2017 because of 

sluggish loan growth, but are 

likely to rise in 2018 when 

loan growth recovers," it 

said. 

Singaporean retail 

sales decline 8.4 

pct year-on-year 

in January 

Singapore's retail sales 

went down 8.4 percent yearon-year 

in the first month of 

2018, comparing to a recalculated 

6.3-percent rise 

last December, the 

Department of Statistics of 

Singapore said on Monday. 

The retail sales dropped 

5.4 percent month-onmonth 

on a seasonally 

adjusted basis in January, 

comparing to a 0.6-percent 

month-on-month growth in 

the previous month. 

The authority attributed 

January's month-on-month 

decrease to the large decline 

in motor vehicle sales. 

Excluding motor vehicles, 

retail sales declined by a 

smaller 1.5 percent monthon-month, 

it said. 

According to the 

department, the total retail 

sales value in January was 

estimated at 3.9 billion 

Singapore dollars (about 

2.97 billion U.S. dollars). The 

estimated proportion of 

online retail sales to total 

retail sales is around 4.1 

percent. 

Meanwhile, the sales of 

food and beverage services 

decreased 4 percent monthon-month 

and 13.2 percent 

year-on-year in January. The 

year-on-year decrease was 

attributed to the influence of 

the Chinese New Year, which 

brought higher sales in 

January 2017 when the 

festival fell that year. The 

sales value was estimated at 

667 million Singapore 

dollars (about 507.51 million 

U.S. dollars). 

Tokyo shares gain for 

third straight session 

Tokyo shares climbed Monday for a third straight session 

as global investors cheered healthy US jobs data, while the 

impact of a cronyism scandal dogging Japan's premier 

appeared limited. 

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.65 percent, or 

354.83 points, to close at 21,824.03, while the broader Topix 

index advanced 1.51 percent, or 25.82 points, to 1,741.30. 

"The US jobs data boosted market sentiment," Toshikazu 

Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities, told AFP. 

Okasan Online Securities also said in a note to clients: "The 

Tokyo bourse this week is likely to try rebounding. The US 

jobs data came out 'just right.'" 

The closely watched monthly US payrolls data on Friday 

revealed moderating wage growth compared with the 

January report, easing concerns that the Federal Reserve will 

speed its pace of interest rate hikes. 

Global investors also eyed US President Donald Trump's 

tariffs plans, which could spark a trade war. 

But Washington is promising some exemptions, including 

for Mexico and Canada, making the tariffs less severe than 

initially feared. 

Still, Trump has exchanged sharp words with European 

officials over the issue. 

The market is also enjoying easing geopolitical tension, 

with Trump agreeing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong 

Un by the end of May. 

"We cannot say there is no concern over issues related to 

(US metal) trade and the talks between the US and North 

Korea. But we still believe a rebound is likely," Okasan Online 

said. 

The market largely ignored a cronyism scandal in Japan as 

Finance Minister Taro Aso admitted official documents had 

been altered but said he did not intend to step down. 

"Investors are concerned about the scandal but the impact 

is so far limited as it is unlikely to lead to Abe's resignation," 

broker Horiuchi said. 

Abe's government has faced mounting pressure in recent 

days over the 2016 sale of state-owned land to one of his 

supporters at a price well below market value. 

The dollar edged down to 106.64 yen, from 106.78 yen in 

New York Friday but is still up from the 105 yen levels seen 

last week. 

Toyota jumped 2.45 percent to 6,958 yen, while Panasonic 

rose 2.72 percent to 1,679.5 yen, but Sony lost 1.74 percent to 

5,299 yen. 

Asian markets build on global 

rally after US jobs report 

Asian markets on Monday extended 

last week's rally as a solid US jobs report 

boosted optimism in the world's top 

economy, fuelling a record close on Wall 

Street. 

With sentiment still strong following 

Donald Trump's decision to meet North 

Korean leader Kim Jong Un in an 

unprecedented summit to discuss its 

nuclear programme, equities were on 

the up. 

The upbeat developments helped 

temper worries about Trump's 

announcement of steel and aluminium 

tariffs that sparked a sell-off earlier this 

month on worries about a trade war. 

All three main indexes in New York 

rose almost two percent on Friday with 

the Nasdaq chalking up a fresh record, 

erasing all the losses suffered through a 

tumultuous February. 

Those gains extended into Asia, with 

Tokyo ending 1.7 percent higher, while 

Hong Kong climbed 1.6 percent, 

The BSE Sensex surged 

over 300 points in early 

trade and the Nifty 

reclaimed the 10,300-level 

on fresh capital inflows by 

foreign funds ahead of key 

IIP and inflation data to be 

released after market hours 

today. 

Asian markets too were 

trading in the green on 

strong cues from Wall Street 

after a better-than-expected 

US jobs report on Friday. 

The 30-share Sensex 

rallied 301.55 points, or 0.90 

per cent, to 33,608.69 in 

opening trade. The index 

had lost 44.43 points in the 

previous session on Friday. 

All the sectoral indices, led 

Shanghai finished 0.6 percent higher 

and Seoul put on one percent. 

Sydney rose 0.6 percent, helped by 

news Australia had won an exemption 

from Trump's tariffs, Singapore piled on 

1.6 percent and Taipei added more than 

one percent. 

There were also healthy gains in 

Wellington, Manila and Jakarta. 

Investors were cheered by US Labor 

Department data that showed 

employers added a forecast-busting 

313,000 jobs in February. 

The closely-watched monthly report 

also revealed moderating wage growth 

compared with the January report, 

mitigating concerns the Federal Reserve 

will speed its pace of interest rate hikes. 

Markets were sent spiralling down 

after the January jobs data, which 

showed wage growth surging and fanned 

concerns the Fed would likely have to 

ramp up its pace and number of rate 

hikes. 

Sensex rallies 301 pts ahead 

of IIP, inflation data 

by IT, Teck, oil & gas, FMCG 

and realty sectors, were 

trading in the green with 

gains up to 1.24 per cent. 

The broader NSE Nifty 

rose 96.10 points, or 0.93 

per cent, to 10,322.95. 

Major gainers were ITC, 

Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, 

Infosys, Wipro, Adani Ports, 

Bharti Airtel, HDFC, RIL, 

IndusInd Bank, M&M and 

L&T, rising up to 2.74. 

Meanwhile, SBI dropped 

nearly 1 per cent to Rs 

250.80. Brokers said fresh 

buying by investors and 

foreign funds amid a firm 

trend in other Asian bourses 

improved market sentiment. 

The rupee too appreciated 

against the US dollar in 

opening trade. 

On a net basis, foreign 

portfolio investors (FPIs) 

bought shares worth Rs 

550.36 crore while domestic 

institutional investors (DIIs) 

sold shares worth Rs 65.00 

crore on Friday, provisional 

data showed. 

In the Asian region, Hong 

Kong's Hang Seng was up 

1.68 per cent and Shanghai 

Composite Index rose 0.75 

per cent, while Japan Nikkei 

edged higher by 1.72 per cent 

in early trade. 

Meanwhile, the US Dow 

Jones Industrial Average 

ended 1.77 per cent higher 

on Friday. 

Between poverty and slow 

growth, Russia's economic 

future uncertain 

Outside a metro station in 

Saint-Petersburg, 70-yearold 

Irina Semyonova is 

selling homemade tomatoand-aubergine 

preserves as a 

way to supplement her 

pension which she says is 

just not enough to live on. 

After paying her bills and 

buying medicine, she says 

only 4,000 rubles ($70/57 

euros) are left out of her 

monthly pension of 12,000 

rubles. 

"Can one live on 4,000 

rubles, especially in an 

expensive city like Saint- 

Petersburg?" 

Her lifeline is a country 

house outside the former 

imperial capital where she 

grows vegetables in her 

garden. 

"I go there in the summer, 

I have a vegetable plot and I 

sell what I grow, which helps 

me survive," she said. 

Vladimir Putin, who is set 

to win a fourth historic term 

in March 18 polls, oversaw a 

period of economic growth 

during his first two 

mandates (2000-2008) that 

boosted personal incomes in 

the wake of the financial 

instability of the 1990s when 

many Russians lost their 

savings. 

But his third stint in the 

Kremlin, which began in 

2012 after four years serving 

as prime minister, saw a 

decline in ordinary people's 

quality of life. 

Russia has seen 

purchasing power decrease 

continuously for the past 

four years after the economy 

was hit with international 

sanctions punishing Moscow 

for its annexation of Crimea 

in 2014 followed by a fall in 

global oil prices in 2016. 

The country's poverty rate, 

which had fallen from 29 

percent in 2000 to 10.7 

percent in 2012, inched back 

up to 13.5 percent in 2016, 

according to the most recent 

annual official figures. 

In November, the World 

Bank released a report in 

which it said less than half of 

the population, 46.3 percent, 

was secure from sinking into 

poverty-citing a figure which 

was 10 percent lower than in 

2014. 

The situation is 

particularly dire in provincial 

Russia, where ordinary 

people subsist on extremely 

low salaries and young 

families often have to be 

helped by retirees' meagre 

pensions. "The prices are 

crazy," said Vyacheslav, a 

retired mechanic living in 

Maloyaroslavets, a town in 

the Kaluga region southwest 

of Moscow. 

"I cannot afford anything." 

Tatyana Kuznetsova, 47, 

who lives in a nearby village 

of Ilyinskoye, says she 

already knows her pension 

will be less than 100 euros 

when she retires in several 

years, despite "breaking her 

back" at work since 

childhood. 

Employed at a fish 

processing plant, she will 

never save enough to replace 

her sputtering old car, she 

said bitterly. 

According to a study by 

Credit Suisse bank, the 

richest 10 percent of 

Russians control 77 percent 

of the wealth, placing the 

country on the same level of 

inequality as the United 

States in a ranking of 

developed countries. 

"The best of both worlds for equity 

markets, with the economy in full swing 

but nary a sign of wage inflation," said 

Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific 

trade at OANDA. 

"It doesn't get much better than that 

for investors and at least for now has 

dampened the inflationary fears that 

weighed on investor sentiment in 

February. When coupled with an easing 

in trade rhetoric and positive news from 

the Korean Peninsula, risk sentiment is 

powering higher." 

The jobs figures and Trump-Kim 

summit helped oil prices surge on Friday 

but the commodity was unable to 

maintain early momentum in Asia. 

While the mood is generally upbeat at 

the start of the week, AxiTrader analyst 

Greg McKenna warned tensions could 

come back easily. "President Trump 

directly tweeted against the EU on tariffs 

over the weekend (and) China is still 

girding for a trade battle," he added. 

Rupee rises 23 

paise against dollar 

in opening trade 

The rupee strengthened by 

23 paise to 64.94 against the 

US dollar at the interbank 

forex market today on fresh 

selling of the greenback by 

exporters and banks amid 

foreign capital inflows. 

Dealers said dollar's 

weakness against a basket of 

currencies despite strong US 

jobs report data and early 

gains in domestic equity 

markets supported the 

rupee. 

On Friday, the rupee had 

lost 3 paise to end at 65.17 

against the US dollar. 

Meanwhile, the 

benchmark BSE Sensex rose 

by 301.55 points, or 0.90 per 

cent, to 33,608.69 in 

opening trade today. 

28th meeting of the Board of Directors of SBL Capital Management Limited held on 11 March 2018. 

Chairman Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed presided over the meeting. The meeting was attended by the 

Directors of the Board S. A. M. Hossain, Mohammed Abdul Aziz, Kazi Sanaul Hoq, Mamun-Ur- 

Rashid, S. S. Nizamuddin Ahmed, Tazmeem Mostafa Chowdhury, Sheikh Omar Faruque, Md. 

Shahedul Alam, Additional Managing Director Md. Tariqul Azam and Deputy Managing Director of 

SBL Md. Motaleb Hossain. 

Photo: Courtesy 

Chinese yuan 

strengthens 

to 6.3333 

against USD 

Monday 

The central parity rate of 

the Chinese currency 

renminbi, or the yuan, 

strengthened 118 basis points 

to 6.3333 against the U.S. 

dollar Monday, according to 

the China Foreign Exchange 

Trade System. 

In China's spot foreign 

exchange market, the yuan is 

allowed to rise or fall by 2 

percent from the central 

parity rate each trading day. 

The central parity rate of the 

yuan against the U.S. dollar is 

based on a weighted average 

of prices offered by market 

makers before the opening of 

the interbank market each 

business day. Market 

exchange rates in China- 

March 12 BEIJING, March 12 

(Xinhua) -- The following are 

the central parity rates of the 

Chinese currency renminbi, 

or the yuan, against 24 major 

currencies announced on 

Monday by the China Foreign 

Exchange Trade System: 

The central parity rate of the 

yuan against the Hong Kong 

dollar is based on the central 

parity rate of the yuan against 

the U.S. dollar and the 

exchange rate of the Hong 

Kong dollar against the U.S. 

dollar at 9 a.m. in 

international foreign 

exchange markets on the 

same business day.

MISCELLANEOUS 

11 

TuEsDAY, MArCh 13, 2018 

Air Asia Co founder and Executive Chairman Datuk Kamaruddin Marunnen announced the increasing 

flights from Dhaka on Monday at Banani in the capital. 

Photo: TBT 

Trump backs off call for raising 

minimum age to buy gun 

WASHINGTON : The White House on 

Sunday pledged to help states pay for 

firearms training for teachers and 

reiterated its call to improve the 

background check system as part of a 

new plan to prevent school shootings, 

reports UNB. 

But in a move sure to please the gun 

lobby, the plan does not include a push 

to increase the minimum age for 

purchasing assault weapons to 21, which 

President Donald Trump had repeatedly 

championed. 

Instead, a new federal commission on 

school safety will examine the age issue, 

as well as a long list of others topics, as 

part of a longer-term look at school 

safety and violence. 

The plan forgoes an endorsement of 

comprehensive background checks for 

gun purchases, which the president, at 

times, seemed to embrace. 

In a call with reporters Sunday 

evening, administration officials 

described the plan as a fulfillment of 

Trump's call for action in the wake of the 

school shooting in Parkland, Florida, last 

month that left 17 dead. 

"Today we are announcing 

meaningful actions, steps that can be 

taken right away to help protect 

students," said Education Secretary 

Betsy DeVos, who will chair the 

commission. 

DeVos said that "far too often, the 

focus" after such tragedies "has been 

only on the most contentious fights, the 

things that have divided people and sent 

them into their entrenched corners." She 

described the plan as "pragmatic." 

The plan was immediately panned by 

gun control advocates, including the 

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun 

Violence. "Americans expecting real 

leadership to prevent gun violence will 

be disappointed and troubled by 

President Trump's dangerous retreat 

from his promise," said Avery Gardiner, 

the group's co-president. 

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., called the plan 

"weak on security and an insult to the 

victims of gun violence." In a statement, 

he added, "When it comes to keeping 

our families safe, it's clear that President 

Trump and Congressional Republicans 

are all talk and no action." 

The plan is less ambitious than the 

changes Trump advocated in a series of 

listening sessions in the weeks after the 

massacre. 



GD-391/18 (6 x 4) 

Iqvmv-RtZt-121/2018 

GD-389/18 (18 x 4) GD-390/18 (6 x 4)

UNITING PEOPLE EVERYDAY 

TuESdAY, dHAKA, MARCH 13, 2018, FALguN 29, 1424 BS, JAMAdI-uS-SANI 24, 1439 HIJRI 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attend the bilateral talk with the Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hasina Loong at 

Istana, official residence of Singapore President and office of the country's Prime Minister. Photo: Star mail 

Khaleda now 

shown arrested in 

Comilla arson case 

COMILLA : Showing BNP 

Chairperson Khaleda Zia 

arrested in a case filed over 

the 2015 arson attack on a 

bus in Chouddagram upazila 

that left eight people dead, a 

court here on Monday asked 

police to produce her before 

it on March 28 next, reports 

UNB. 

The court passed the order 

following a petition filed by 

officer-in-charge of Gulshan 

Police Station Abu Bakr 

Siddique, said Subrata 

Banarjee, inspector of 

Comilla court police. 

Earlier on February 25 last, 

a court here ordered police to 

execute the warrant for the 

arrest of the BNP chief and 

48 other BNP leaders and 

activists by April 24 in the 

case. As the warrant for the 

arrest of Khaleda was sent to 

Gulshan Police Station in the 

capital, its OC filed a petition 

with the court seeking its 

order to show her arrested in 

the case. 

Accepting the charge-sheet 

against 69 BNP leaders and 

activists, Additional Chief 

Judicial Magistrate Joynab 

Begum on January 2 last 

issued the arrest warrant for 

the BNP chief and others as 

they did not appear before it 

on the day. 

The 4-Ton Steel Ball That Produces 

Artificial Earthquakes 

INTERESTING NEWS 

In the wooded hillside of Hainberg, 

near Göttingen, Germany, stands an 

old seismological station. The Wiechert 

Earthquake Station was built in 1902 by 

the noted German physicist and geophysicist, 

Emil Wiechert, to carry out 

research in the emerging field of geophysics. 

Wiechert built several seismographs 

there to record tremors. These 

instruments have been recording data 

uninterruptedly since then, becoming 

the world’s oldest, still functioning seismograph. 

Emil Wiechert was interested in 

learning about the structure of the 

earth. A few years prior, he had published 

the first verifiable model of the 

PM seeks Singapore's help 

in solving Rohingya crisis 

SINGAPORE : Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasinaon Mondayurged Singaporeto request 

Myanmar for resolving the Rohingya crisis 

quickly as it is a big problem and burden for 

Bangladesh, reports UNB. 

She made the call during her meeting with 

President of Singapore Halimah Yacob and the 

official meeting with her Singaporean counterpart 

Lee Hsien Loong at Istana. Foreign 

Secretary Md Shahidul Haque briefed 

reporters after the meetings. "The Prime 

Minister said it's a big problem for us. It's a burden 

which needs to be resolved," he said. 

Since Singapore and Myanmar are the chair 

and member of Asean respectively, Sheikh 

Hasina told them that Singapore can pursue 

the Myanmar government that the stability 

and development of that region depend on the 

repatriation of Rohingyas. 

Noting that Bangladesh has already signed a 

bilateral agreement over the repatriation of 

Rohingyas, Hasina said the implementation of 

agreement is being delayed for many reasons. 

"The Prime Minister told Singapore to 

request Myanmar in this regard and the 

Singaporean side responded very sympathetically," 

Shahidul said. 

Hasina said Bangladesh continues to shelter 

more than one million Rohingyas. Of them, 

some seven lakh Rohingyas have recently 

taken shelter in Bangladesh fleeing persecution 

in Rakhine state in Myanmar. 

The Singaporean President highly praised 

Hasina for her leadership role, particularly in 

women emancipation and gender issue. 

The Foreign Secretary said it has become 

Earth's interior as a series of shells. He 

argued that since the density of the 

Earth's surface rocks was different from 

the mean density of the Earth, the earth 

must be made of different layers of 

rocks of different densities. He concluded, 

correctly, that the earth has a heavy 

iron core. 

Ludger Mintrop was an able student 

of Wiechert, and one of the founders of 

modern geophysics. In 1908, Mintrop 

devised a method to produce earthquakes 

artificially and use the data 

recorded by seismographs to determine 

the geological structure underneath the 

surface. Mintrop built a steel scaffolding, 

14 meters tall, from which a 4-ton 

steel ball was dropped into the bedrock 

of shell limestone. 

clear through the discussion between the 

Prime Minister and the Singaporean President 

that the main basis of Singapore-Bangladesh 

relation is economic collaboration-trade, business 

and investment. 

Three issues-Rohingya, Business sector 

including seaport, and easy movement seafarer 

in Singapore- got priority in the discussions at 

the two meetings, Shahidul said. 

At both the two meetings, Hasina said seafarers 

are now facing problem for movement in 

Singapore and urged the Singapore government 

to solve it. In response, both the 

Singaporean President and its Prime Minister 

agreed that they will consider it. 

Hasina showed Bangladesh's interest in getting 

Singaporean investment in food processing 

and fish processing, energy and energyrelated 

sectors. When she requested Singapore 

to invest in special economic zones in 

Bangladesh, her Singaporean counterpart 

Hsien Loong showed keen interest in this 

regard. Noting that Bangladesh is keen to 

develop deep seaport and make it operational, 

the Prime Minister sought Singapore's assistance 

in this regard. 

Bangladesh also sought Singapore's support 

in favour of Bangladesh's initiative to be 

'Sectoral Dialogue Partner' of Asean. But 

Singapore said there is embargo now over it 

and they will extend the support when the 

embargo goes. 

About bilateral trade, Bangladesh said there 

is a trade imbalance against Bangladesh, and 

the business community of Singapore should 

invest heavily in Bangladesh to address it. 

BNP to hold 

fresh rally 

March 19 

DHAKA : Having failed to 

get permission to hold its 

today's (Monday's) scheduled 

rally in the capital, BNP 

now announced to hold similar 

programme at 

Suhrawardy Udyan on 

March 19, reports UNB. 

BNP secretary general 

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir 

came up with the announcement 

at a press conference at 

the party's Nayapaltan central 

office. 

"Though we had all the 

necessary preparations for 

today's rally, police denied us 

permission for staging the 

rally on security grounds. 

But we want to avoid any 

types of conflicts and confrontation 

and want to exercise 

opposition's democratic 

rights of holding rallies and 

meetings in a peaceful manner," 

he said. 

Fakhrul further said, 

"We're trying to tackle everything 

with patience. That's 

why we've taken a different 

decision instead of announcing 

any protest progrmme. 

BNP will hold this rally at the 

Suhrawardy Udyan on 

March 19." The BNP leader 

hoped that good sense will 

prevail upon the government 

to allow the party to hold the 

rally on March 19. 

On March 2, BNP 

announced to hold a rally at 

Suhrawardy Udyan today, 

demanding the release of its 

chairperson Begum Khaleda 

Zia from jail. 

Khaleda's bail 

proves judiciary 

independent, says 

Law Minister 

DHAKA : In an instant reaction 

over Khaleda's bail order, 

Law Minister Anisul Huq on 

Monday said the order of the 

High Court has proved that 

the government doesn't interfere 

in the judicial procedure, 

reports UNB. 

"The BNP leaders in separate 

programmes alleged that 

we are interfering in judicial 

activities and that's why 

Khaleda Zia did not get bail. 

But today's order proved that 

judiciary is independent and 

the government has no 

involvement in it," said Anisul 

while talking to reporters at 

the secretariat. 

Earlier in the day the High 

Court granted a four-month 

bail to BNP Chairperson 

Khaleda Zia in Zia Orphanage 

Trust graft case. 

Asking what could be the 

next steps, Anisul said "I have 

no idea about the number of 

cases filed against the BNP 

Chairperson. 

Spread Bangabandhu’s 

7th March speech 

worldwide: Envoy 

DHAKA : Bangladesh Ambassador to 

South Korea Abida Islam has laid emphasis 

on understanding the leadership of Father of 

the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur 

Rahman and his historic speech of 7th 

March and urged all to spread it worldwide, 

reports UNB 

"It is our responsibility to understand the 

leadership of Bangabandhu," she said while 

addressing a programme in Seoul on 

Sunday. 

During the Liberation War in 1971, the 

Ambassador said, the 7th March speech of 

Bangabandhu united the entire Bangalee 

nation and encouraged the freedom fighters. 

At Bangabandhu's call, the envoy said, 30 

lakh people made supreme sacrifice to free 

their motherland, which is rare in the world 

history. She also said Unesco has not only 

recognised the Historic Speech as a part of 

Bengali heritage, but also as a valuable asset 

of the entire humanity. 

A cultural performance followed the discussion 

session with the attendance about 

150 people. The programme finally ended 

with a dinner with sumptuous traditional 

Bangladeshi dishes. 

The Embassy in Bangladesh in Seoul 

observed the historic 7th March in South 

Korea on March 7 with the presence of the 

officials of the Embassy. 

On that day, the messages from the 

President and the Prime Minister were read 

out and the officials of the Embassy discussed 

on the significance of the historic day. 

The Embassy arranged a detailed programme 

on Sunday to ensure the maximum 

participation of expatriate Bangladeshis as 

7th March was a working day in Korea, said 

the Embassy on Monday. The programme 

commenced with the singing of the national 

anthem. Then verses from Holy Quran, 

Geeta, Tripitok and Bible were recited. 

Thereafter, the messages from the 

President and the Prime Minister were read 

out to the audience. A documentary titled 

'How we achieved our independence' was 

also shown during the programme. 

During the discussion session on the significance 

of the day, the discussants paid rich 

tributes to the Father of the Nation 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 

Several thousand shanties 

gutted in Mirpur slum fire 

DHAKA : Several thousand shanties 

were gutted in a devastating fire that 

broke out at a slum in Mirpur in the 

capital early Monday, reports UNB. 

The fire originated on the south side 

of the slum around 4 am and soon 

engulfed the adjacent shanties, said 

Mamun Mahmud, an assistant director 

at Dhaka Fire Service. 

On information, 21 units of firefighters 

rushed to the spot and brought the 

blaze under control around 7:22am 

after three and half hours of frantic 

efforts, said Mahfuzur Rahman, duty 

officer of the Fire Service and Civil 

Defense control room. Mamun 

Mahmud said narrow roads, lack of 

sources of water and roads blocked 

with parked rickshaw-vans and huge 

crowd made it difficult for the firefighters 

to put out the fire. Fire service officials 

are yet to ascertain what caused 

the fire. Locals said there are 8,000 

shanties in the Elias Mollah Slum at 

Mirpur-12 where 25,000 people were 

living. Dadan Fakir, officer-in-charge 

of Pallabi Police Station, said more 

than 2,000 shanties were burnt to 

ashes in the fire. Two people, who sustained 

burns and other injuries, were 

rescued and sent to Dhaka Medical 

College Hospital (DMCH), Mamun 

added. 

A three-member probe body, headed 

by Debashish Barman, deputy director 

of Dhaka division fire service, has been 

formed to look into the matter, he 

added. Contacted, Bachchu Miah, incharge 

of the DMCH police outpost, 

said a woman who suffered injuries in 

the fire was brought to the hospital and 

later released after primary treatment. 

A horrible fire breaks out at Mirpur 12 no Mollah Slum area burned at least 7 thousands House on Sunday 

night. Twenty three units of Fire serves had been controlled the fire within 4 hours. Photo: Star mail 

Incidents in Rakhine bear hallmarks 

of genocide: Yanghee Lee 

She calls for accountability over violence in Rakhine 

DHAKA : UN Special Rapporteur on 

the situation of human rights in 

Myanmar Yanghee Lee on Monday said 

the incidents in Rakhine State bear the 

hallmarks of genocide and called for 

accountability in the strongest terms, 

reports UNB. 

Lee, who was informed late last year 

that her access to the country was 

denied, also expressed serious concern 

that the "repressive practices of previous 

military governments were returning as 

the norm once more" in Myanmar, 

describing the situation faced by civil 

society across the country as "increasingly 

perilous". 

Delivering her report to the Council in 

Geneva, she told the Human Rights 

Council that to date accountability for 

the crimes committed in Rakhine following 

August 25, 2017, and October 9, 

2016, was elusive, adding that this must 

now be the focus of the international 

community's efforts to bring a long-lasting 

peace, stability and democratisation 

to Myanmar. 

"This must be aimed at the individuals 

who gave the orders and carried out violations 

against individuals and entire 

ethnic and religious groups," said Lee. 

"The government leadership who did 

nothing to intervene, stop, or condemn 

these acts must also be held accountable." 

Lee called for a thorough, impartial 

and credible investigation to be conducted 

without delay and perpetrators to be 

held responsible for the alleged crimes 

that were committed in Rakhine since 

October 9, 2016 and August 25, 2017, 

and for the violations that continue 

today, according to a message UNB 

received here from Geneva. 

She called for the establishment of a 

UN structure, based in Cox's Bazar in 

Bangladesh, for three years to investigate, 

document, collect, consolidate, 

map, and analyse evidence of human 

rights violations and abuses. 

The Special Rapporteur added the 

investigative body should maintain and 

prepare evidence in a master database 

to support and facilitate impartial, fair 

and independent international criminal 

proceedings in national or international 

courts or tribunals in accordance 

with international criminal law standards. 

Additionally, Lee called for a comprehensive 

review of actions by the United 

Nations system in the lead-up to and 

after the reported attacks of October 9, 

2016 and August 25, 2017 regarding the 

implementation of its humanitarian and 

protection mandates and within the 

Human Rights Up Front framework. 

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

13-03-2018

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