25-03-2018

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NATIONAL SUnDAY, MARCH 25, 2018 6 Civil Surgeon office of Jamalpur brought out a procession in the district yesterday marking World Tuberculosis Day-2018. Photo : Star Mail Concerted efforts to achieve SDGs stressed RAJSHAHI : Integrated and concerted efforts of all field level officials and others concerned has become indispensible to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This view was expressed at a seminar titled "Role and Responsibilities of all Agricultural Entities for Achieving the SDGs at the Grassroots level in Barind Areas" in the city on Friday. Barind Multipurpose Development Authorities (BMDA) organised the seminar in its conference hall to mark the celebration of achieving criteria for graduation from LDCs by Bangladesh. More than 60 officials including scientists and researchers from various government entities like BMDA, BARI, BRRI, BINA, DAE, BADC and SRDI working in 125 upazilas under Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions joined the seminar. Prof Dr Shamsul Alam, Member, General Economic Division of Planning Commission, addressed the meeting as chief guest with BMDA Chairman Dr Akram Hossain Chowdhury in the chair. BMDA Executive Director Abdur Rashid, Superintending Engineers Dr Abul Kashem and Shamsul Huda, BARI Principal Scientific Officer Dr Ilias Hossain, Senior Scientific Officer Dr Shakhawat Hossain and SRDI Senior Scientific Officer Dr Nurul Islam also spoke. In the seminar, various issues relating to formulating policy and planning for exploration and the best uses of the existing potentialities in Barind were discussed elaborately. The speakers put forward a set of recommendations on how to explore the existing potentialities for improving living and livelihood condition of people. Astami Snan to be celebrated today in Jamalpur JAMALPUR : The Hindu community will celebrate holy 'Astami Snan' (dip in old Brahmaputra) in a religious fervor in the district today. Astomi Snan, Mela O Puja Utjapon Committee' officials said Hindu devotees from various parts of the country are coming in the district to observe the religious festival. All preparations have been completed to perform the religious rites in a peaceful atmosphere. The dip in the old Brahmaputra will begin at 5 am today. After dip, devotees will worship at 'Doyamoyee' temple in the town. Preparations afoot to celebrate Independence Day in Rangpur RANGPUR : The common people are ready to celebrate the great Independence and National Day-2018 through various colourful programmes amid huge festivity on Monday next. The celebration this year bears special significance following achieving the criteria of graduation of the country to a developing nation from the LDC status. The district administration, Rangpur City Corporation, government departments, Awami League (AL) and its associate bodies, other political parties, socio-cultural, professional and business bodies and educational institutions have completed preparations to celebrate the day. The celebration will begin through heralding 31 gun salutes on Police Lines ground and placing of wreaths at 'Swadhinota Smritistambha Arjan' and 'Shaheed Muktijoddha Smritistambha' (Monument of Martyred Freedom Fighters) here at zero hours on the day. City Mayor Mostafizar Rahman Mostafa, Divisional Commissioner Kazi Hasan Ahmed, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) for Rangpur Range Khondker Golam Faruk, Deputy Commissioner Enamul Habib and Police Super Mizanur Rahman will place wreaths. Leaders of AL and its associate bodies, Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangshad, BNP, Jatiya Party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Gano Forum, Ganatantry Party, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal, Workers Party and other organisations will place wreaths at those places subsequently. Later, heads of government departments and educational institutions, representatives of sociocultural, volunteer and professional organisations, NGOs and common people from all walks in life will place wreaths there. The daylong programmes also include hoisting of the national flag atop all government, semi-government, private and public buildings, educational institutions and other establishments. The main streets and roadside islands will be decorated with the national flag, posters and miniatures and the government, semi-government and private buildings will be illuminated in the divisional city. Rendering of the national anthem at Rangpur Stadium followed by hoisting of the national flag and march pasts of the Freedom Fighters, police, Ansar- VDP, scouts, girls in scout, fire service and civil defense personnel, jail guards, BNCC, students, children will be organised there. Shooting, drawing competitions for children on the War of Liberation, charity football matches, sports competitions, screening of documentary films on the War of Liberation, cultural functions and prize distribution ceremonies will be organised at different venues. The freedom fighters, family members of martyred freedom fighters and their relatives will be accorded receptions and special discussion on the War of Liberation and independence for women will be arranged in the afternoon. Special prayers will be offered at all mosques, temples, pagodas and churches and improved diets will be served to the inmates of all hospitals, jails, vagabond centers, Shishu Paribar and orphanages. Rangpur Kendra of Bangladesh Betar will air special programmes and local dailies, weeklies, monthlies and online newspapers will publish special supplements glorifying importance and dignity of the day. The district administration will arrange the main discussion to be followed by prize distribution ceremony on the Central Shaheed Minar premises at night. Divisional Commissioner Kazi Hasan Ahmed will address the main discussion as the chief guest with Deputy Commissioner Enamul Habib in the chair. Padma river devouring croplands of Andharmanik village of Harirampur union under Manikganj district. Photo : Star Mail Science fair was held at Baliapukur Bidyaniketon of Rajshahi yesterday. Ctg witnesses first genocide on March 31, 1971 CHITTAGONG : The Chittagong people first witnessed the grisly genocide on March 31 in 1971 in city's Maddhyam Nath Para, a small hamlet of low caste Hindu community. The blood hungry butchers belonging to the Bihari community led by one Shawkat killed 79 Bangalees with axes, spades, knives and other lethal weapons within a span of few hours on that day, reports BSS. Among the martyrs, 40 were members of the then East Pakistan Rifles (EPR) and 39 were inhabitants of the locality, said relatives of the victims. Pijush Nath, Son of Martyr Anil Bihari Nath, said the EPR members of Halishahar camp, led by the then Major Rafique put up strong resistance against the occupied Pakistan army on the black night of March 25 in 1971 when Bengalee civilians of south Halishahar cooperated with them, that infuriated the Pakistani occupation forces. On March 29, Pakistan army advanced on the EPR camp in south Kattali in the city. Pakistani forces on the following day cordoned off the Gohona channel on the north of the city and the adjacent areas of the EPR camp on the southern parts of the city. The EPR jawans first made a strong resistance against Pakistan army with limited stock of arms and ammunition. But at one stage, they fall back because of scarcity of arms and ammunitions as at least 40 of EPR jawans took shelters in different houses of Maddhyam Nath Para. Later the Pakistani collaborators started genocide at noon on March 31. After the frantic search in all the houses, they murdered the young Bengalees one after another and later also torched their houses that still haunt the horrific and traumatic incident of carnage in the minds of survivors. One of the witnesses of the horrific incident was Khuki Devi, the younger sister of martyr Dulal Nath, who was then a student of Chittagong Commerce College. She said in the morning of the fateful day, a group of 10-12 EPR jawans took shelter in their house. "My father and brothers provided them with clothes and food. After changing clothes and taking food they left our house," she said, adding "at noon, a group of Biharis raided on our house with sharp weapons and searched for the EPR jawans," she said. "Seeing my two brothers inside the house, the butchers instantly hacked them to death with axes. My mother, Nirubala got fainted watching the dreadful scene. They also killed my father and grandfather," she added. Devi said the killers dragged out the bodies of her brothers and threw those on my senseless mother and said - "take bath with your sons blood." "The body of my mother was getting wet with the bloods of her sons," she said in a choked voice, who was able to hide herself under a couch but she sustained burn injuries in her left leg and arm as the blood thirsty monsters set the house on fire. Presently, this unmarried middle aged women, who was a class eight student during the liberation war is passing her days in great misery. Mrinal Nath, another son of Nirubala , who survived the killing, said, "I don't want any grants or sympathy for my slain grandfather, father and two elder brothers, I just demand the government to give proper punishment to the accomplice of butchers". Photo : Star Mail Udichi holds Sattayen Sen Ganosangeet Festival in Faridpur FARIDPUR : Bangladesh Udichi Shilpi Gosthi, a leading cultural organisation of the country, held its 9th Sattayen Sen Ganosangeet Competition and National Ganasangeet Festival-2018 at Shilpakala Academy auditorium here yesterday, reports BSS. Divisional (Dhaka South) committee of Bangladesh Udichi Shilpi Gosthi arranged the event with association of Udichi's Faridpur chapter. Prof Abdul Motaleb, convener of the divisional (Dhaka-South) committee and also the president of Faridpur district Udichi Sangshad, inaugurated the festival as the chief guest. At the opening session, Motaleb said the Sattayen Sen Ganosangeet Festival will help the new generation realise the ideal of Sen as well as build a stronger secular cultural group in the country. It will also pave the way to fight against all social menaces including corruption and militancy, he said. Central Udichi member Aniket Acharya, Udichi's Faridpur unit secretary Chowdhury Hafizur Rahman and its Madaripur unit president Nazmul Islam, among others, spoke at the function. Call to bring undetected TBpatients under treatment RAJSHAHI : Speakers at a post-rally discussion yesterday called for taking a concerted effort to bring all the undetected tuberculosis patients under proper treatment for building a TB free society. They said "TB can be prevented if it is early detected and proper and timely treatment begins." Offices of Divisional Director of Health and Civil Surgeon, Chest Disease Hospital and Rajshahi City Corporation jointly organized the discussion held at Luxmipur crossing here to mark the World Tuberculosis Day-2018, reports BSS. "Wanted: Leaders for a TB-Free World, You can make history. End TB " was the main theme of the day. Damien Foundation, Tilottoma, Population Services and Training Center (PSTC), BRAC, FPAB, NATAB and Ashakta Punarbashan Sangstha (APOSH) supported it. Assistant Director (Disease Control) of Divisional Directorate of Health Dr Ismat Ara, Superintendent of Chest Disease Hospital Dr Amir Hossain, Civil Surgeon Dr Enamul Haque, Project Director of Damien Foundation Arif Iftikhar Mannan and its Monitoring and Evaluation Officer Toslim Uddin and Divisional TB Expert Dr Saiful Islam spoke on the occasion. Dr Ara said the existing challenges of Multi Drug Resistance (MDR) tuberculosis should be faced collectively as its consequences are very dangerous. She said there is no alternative but take concerted efforts to check the contagious disease as it usually spreads out through breathing of the affected patients. She underscored the need for conducting massive awareness and searching programmes to detect the TB patients in the slum and char areas of the district without further delay. It is no more a deadly disease and it is fully cured if the affected patients take proper treatment, he said. Earlier, a rally was brought out, parading some of the city streets aiming at creating awareness about the disease and its social and family burden. 38 shops gutted in Ctg fire CHITTAGONG : At least 38 shops were gutted in a fire in a market at Nayabazar under Patenga Police Station in the port city on early Saturday, reports UNB. Witlessness said the fire broke from an electric short-circuit in a shop around 4:45am and soon spread to the adjacent shops. On information, four firefighting units from EPZ and Port Fire Service & Civil Defense rushed in and doused the flame after one and a half hours of frantic efforts, said Prahalad Kumar Singh, Assistant Director of Agrabad Fire Service and Civil Defense. Parliament Member Fazle Hossain Badsha addressing a freshers' reception of a degree college in Rajshahi yesterday. Photo : Star Mail
INTERNATIONAL SUnDAy, MARCH 25, 2018 7 Stranded whales lie on the beach at Hamelin Bay in Australia on Friday. Australian volunteers save 5 of over 150 stranded whales Volunteers in western Australia have managed to rescue only five of 150 short-finned pilot whales that became stranded on a beach, reports UNB. The surviving whales, up to 5 ½ meters (16.4 feet) long, have been moved to deeper waters, but Parks and Wildlife Service Incident Controller Jeremy Chick warned Saturday that whales often return to dry land after mass stranding events. He's asking the public at Hamelin Bay, south of Several European Union countries said Friday they may follow Britain in expelling Russian diplomats, as EU Council chief Donald Tusk predicted member states would introduce more measures against Moscow for the poisoning of an ex-spy in England, reports UNB. At a summit in Brussels, the 28 EU leaders agreed with Britain that it is "highly likely" Russia is responsible for the March 4 attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia. They remain unconscious in critical condition after being exposed to a military-grade nerve agent. The EU has recalled its ambassador from Moscow for consultations over an incident it called "a grave challenge to our shared security." French President Emmanuel Macron said the nerve-agent attack was an attack on Europe's sovereignty that required a "coordinated and determined response." Tusk called the bloc's response "unprecedented," and said "more steps are expected at a national level" starting Monday. "I am especially pleased that despite tough Brexit negotiations, the EU has demonstrated unanimous and unequivocal unity with the UK in the face of this attack," Tusk said at a Brussels news conference. He said it was too soon to say whether the bloc as a whole would take more action. The strong solidarity from the EU - which Britain is due to leave next year - is a victory for British Prime Minister Theresa May's efforts to muster international condemnation of a chemical weapons attack on British soil. Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both said the evidence presented by May at the EU summit was persuasive - comments echoed by Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite Britain and Russia have expelled 23 of each other's diplomats since the attack, which has sparked an east-west diplomatic crisis reminiscent of the Cold War. Britain says the expelled Russians, who left London earlier this week, were undeclared intelligence agents. Several minibuses left the British embassy in Moscow on Friday, Perth, to keep an eye in case they spot a stranded whale. A sixth whale was freed into shallow waters overnight but it beached again and had to be euthanized. Authorities said they will continue to sweep the surrounding beaches by air and sea on Saturday. Rescue efforts were hampered by dead whales in the water, rocky terrain and rough seas. reportedly carrying the expelled U.K. diplomats. Rather than pressing the EU for new economic sanctions on Moscow, May is seeking to erode Russia's extensive spy network by removing intelligence agents operating under diplomatic cover. Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said the Baltic nation might follow Britain's lead and expel Russian diplomats who are judged to be spies next week, in coordination with other EU countries. Neighboring Lithuania has said it also is considering expulsions. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said it was "probable" that his country would also kick out Russian diplomats, noting that discussions were still ongoing. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Ireland would conduct a security assessment of Russian diplomats with a view to possibly expelling those who are not legitimate. Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said his country would also consider "whether we should take unilateral steps." The leaders of France and Germany declined to say whether they also planned expulsions, but said more action was needed against Russia. Merkel, appearing alongside Macron at a news conference, said the two nations would consult with others and give more details "when the coordination is complete." Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Artyom Kozhin said Friday that Russia had not been approached by other countries about potential expulsions. The EU leaders' statements came after a summit dinner where May shared information about why Britain is convinced Moscow was behind the attack, including the type of poison used - a Sovietdeveloped nerve agent known as Novichok - and intelligence that Russia has produced it within the past decade. Moscow insists it was not behind Photo : Internet The carcasses were removed from the beach and authorities took DNA samples in an attempt to collect clues about why whales strand. In 2009, more than 80 whales and dolphins died on a beach in Hamelin Bay. The biggest mass stranding of whales in Western Australia happened in 1996 in Dunsborough. That year, 320 long-finned pilot whales beached themselves. EU nations to take more action against Russia over spy the attack and has accused Britain of fomenting anti-Russian hysteria. Konstantin Kosachev, a leading Russian lawmaker, accused the EU nations of blaming Russia to distract attention from their own troubles, and said they were putting solidarity above "not only stability in Europe, but facts and common sense." Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Friday that Britain was trying to delude the public with anti-Russian "labels and cliches" to hide its lack of proof. Speaking to the Tass news agency, he dismissed Britain claims as "jabber." May said Britain had been sharing intelligence with its allies since the incident. "What is crucial is that there was recognition around the table last night about the threat that Russia poses," May said. "I think it is clear that Russia is challenging the values we share as Europeans, and it is right that we are standing together in defense of those values." Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, centre, is flanked by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, before their trilateral meeting at the European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium, Thursday March 22, 2018. Theresa May won the backing of 27 other European Union leaders on Thursday in blaming Russia for the poisoning of a former spy on English soil. (Francois Lenoir/Pool via AP/Manila Bulletin) Trump signs $1.3 trillion budget after threatening veto President Donald Trump grudgingly signed a $1.3 trillion federal spending measure Friday and averted a midnight government shutdown - but only after undercutting his own negotiators and setting off a mini-panic with a last-minute veto threat. The episode further eroded the already damaged credibility of both the president and a White House staff that had assured the nation he was onboard, reports UNB. Trump said he was "very disappointed" in the package, in part because it did not fully pay for his planned border wall with Mexico and did not extend protection from deportation to some 700,000 "Dreamer" immigrants due to lose coverage under a program the president himself has moved to eliminate. But Trump praised the bill's provisions to increase military spending and said he had "no choice but to fund our military." "My highest duty is to keep America safe," he said. The bill signing came a few hours after Trump created his latest round of lastminute drama by tweeting that he was "considering" a veto. With Congress already on recess, and a government shutdown looming, he said that young immigrants now protected in the U.S. under Barack Obama's Delayed Action for Childhood Arrivals program "have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded." Trump's veto threat put him at odds with top members of his administration and Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, who had said publicly that Trump supported the bill. Advisers inside and outside the White House said they never expected Trump to go through with his threat and believed he was likely just blowing off steam. Finally, in made-for-TV scheduling, Trump took to Twitter again to announce he'd be holding a news conference to talk about the bill. The drama was short-lived: An aide told reporters the signing was on. And it was a monologue by Trump, not a news conference. He answered two questions called out to him as he left the room. Asked why he'd made the threat, Trump said he'd "looked very seriously at the veto," but "because of the incredible gains that we've been able to make for the military that overrode any of our thinking." He warned Congress, "I will never sign another bill like this again." The giant spending bill, though, expires Sept. 30, and another funding measure will be needed. To boost the party-in-power's ability to muscle its agenda through Congress, he called for an overhaul of Senate rules to allow for simple-majority votes on all bills and appealed to Congress for line-item veto power to kill specific spending items he disagrees with. The Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that a congressionally passed line-item veto was unconstitutional. The will-he, won't-he episode came hours after the Senate's early morning passage of the huge spending package aimed at keeping the government open past Friday midnight. Trump backed the bill only reluctantly, and Republican lawmakers and aides acknowledged the deal involved trade-offs for Democratic votes that were needed despite the GOP majority lock on Congress. The president had been especially frustrated in recent days by media coverage of the bill and by conservative Republican lawmakers, some of whom had been calling to harangue him and making their cases loudly on cable news shows he is known to watch. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., chairman of the House Freedom Caucus and a friend of the president, said in a tweet that the group would "fully support" a veto, adding that Congress should pass a short-term budget resolution while Trump and congressional leaders "negotiate a better deal for the forgotten men and women of America." President Donald Trump. File Photo Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., also egged Trump on to a veto. "Please do, Mr. President," he tweeted. "I am just down the street and will bring you a pen. The spending levels without any offsets are grotesque, throwing all of our children under the bus. Totally irresponsible." Trump's decision to ultimately sign the bill came after a call from Speaker Ryan. At around 9:30 a.m. Friday, Ryan encouraged the president to sign the bill, according to a person familiar with the communication, and discussed all the wins it delivered, especially for the military. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation. It was the second time Ryan had been forced to intervene this week. On Wednesday, the speaker made a surprise trip to the White House, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell joining in by phone, to try to keep Trump in accord. A White House official that day denied that Trump was considering vetoing the package, and Ryan emerged from the huddle saying Trump would support the bill. Trump order would ban most transgender troops from serving President Donald Trump released an order Friday night banning most transgender troops from serving in the military except under "limited circumstances," following up on his calls last year to ban transgender individuals from serving, reports UNB. The White House said retaining troops with a history or diagnosis of "gender dysphoria" - those who may require substantial medical treatment - "presents considerable risk to military effectiveness and lethality." Trump surprised the Pentagon's leadership in a 2017 tweet when he declared he would reverse an Obama-era plan to allow transgender individuals to serve openly. His push for the ban has been blocked by several legal challenges, and four federal courts have ruled against the ban. The Pentagon responded by allowing those serving to stay in the military, and began allowing transgender individuals to enlist beginning Jan. 1. "This new policy will enable the military to apply wellestablished mental and physical health standards - including those regarding the use of medical drugs - equally to all individuals who want to join and fight for the best military force the world has ever seen," White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday. The new policy was promptly assailed by congressional Democrats and civil rights groups. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi tweeted, "No one with the strength & bravery to serve in the U.S. military should be turned away because of who they are. This hateful ban is purpose-built to humiliate our brave transgender members of the military who serve with honor & dignity." The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT civil rights organization, accused the Trump administration of pushing "anti-transgender prejudices onto the military." "There is simply no way to spin it, the Trump-Pence Administration is going all in on its discriminatory, unconstitutional and despicable ban on transgender troops," said HRC President Chad Griffin. Joshua Block, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union LGBT & HIV Project, said the policy "effectively coerces transgender people who wish to serve into choosing between their humanity and their country, and makes it clear that transgender service members are not welcome." Trump received recommendations from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in February for dealing with transgender individuals serving in the military. The White House said Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen agreed with the policy. Earlier Friday, Maj. David Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman, said the announcement of a new policy would have no immediate practical effect on the military because the Pentagon is obliged to continue to recruit and retain transgender people in accordance with current law. The issue has become mired in a complicated string of political statements, court decisions and policy reviews since Trump first stunned his administration with his tweets last July. It's unclear how much impact the court decisions will have on Trump's decision. Activist groups had worried the administration could enact such strict enlistment and health care restrictions that it would become all but impossible for transgender troops to join or continue serving. Under guidelines presented in December, the Pentagon could disqualify potential recruits with gender dysphoria, those with a history of medical treatments associated with gender transition and those who underwent reconstruction. Such recruits could be allowed in if a medical provider certified they've been clinically stable in the preferred sex for 18 months and are free of significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas. Transgender individuals receiving hormone therapy must be stable on their medication for 18 months. The requirements make it challenging for a transgender recruit to pass.
Page 1 and 2: SUNDAY DHAKA : March 25, 2018; Chat
Page 3 and 4: METRO SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018 3 Spea
Page 5: SCIENCE & TECH SUnDAy, mArCH 25, 20
Page 9 and 10: SPORTS SUNDAy, MARCH 25, 2018 9 Jes
Page 11 and 12: MISCELLANEOUS SunDAY, MArCH 25, 201

25-03-2018

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