15-01-2019

tuesDaY 

DhaKa: January 15, 2019; Magh 2, 1425 BS; Jamadi-ul awal 8,1440 hijri 

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www. tbtbangla.com 

Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.16; No.339; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00 

international 

Pompeo: Trump threat 

to Turkey shows US 

commitment to Kurds 

>Page 7 

art & culture 

Vicky Kaushal film 

earns Rs 35.73 crore 

>Page 8 

sport 

'Monstrous' Messi scores 

400th La Liga goal, sends 

Barca five points clear 

>Page 9 

Three bank officials held 

for embezzling Tk 12.85cr 

CHATTOGRAM : Three officials of 

Pubali Bank were arrested in connection 

with emblazing Taka 12.85 crore in 

Chattogram. 

Mohammad Manjurul Islam, deputy 

general manager of Pubali Bank 

Chattogram region, handed over them 

to Chawlkbazar thana police. 

The detainees were identified as 

Pubali Bank Chawkbazar branch manager 

Enamul Karim Chowdhury, 45, 

Junior Officer Ekramul Reza Rezvi, 31, 

and officer (computer) Chandon Dey, 

32. Later, Manjurul Islam filed a case 

accusing seven people, including the 

detained trio, for misappropriating Tk 

12 crore 85 lakh and 50,000. 

JaPa not going to be questionable 

opposition: GM Quader 

DHAKA : Jatiya Party cochairman GM 

Quader on Monday said their party will 

not be a questionable opposition as 

they will earn people's confidence 

through their vibrant role in parliament, 

reports UNB. 

"Jatiya Party will gain people's confidence 

through playing the due role of 

the opposition party in parliament," he 

said. 

GM Quader, also the deputy opposition 

leader in parliament, came up with 

the remarks while Rajshahi city unit 

Jatiya Party leaders met him at party 

chairman's Banani office. 

The Jatiya Party leaders greeted GM 

Quader with a bouquet as he was made 

the deputy opposition leader. 

He said they will work for strengthening 

their party further before the next 

general election. 

"Jatiya Party has a good prospect of 

becoming a very strong party in 

Bangladesh politics in the days to 

come." 

GM Quader said many popular and 

established politicians will join their 

party in the future due to the current 

political context. "Jatiya Party will 

remain as a strong party with people's 

affection though many political parties 

will gradually be eliminated." 

Rajshahi city unit Jatiya Party general 

secretary Mostafa Rahman Dalim, 

vice presidents Lutfur Rahman, Nazrul 

Islam and Enamul Haque were, among 

others, present. 

RMG workers reject 

revised wage structure, 

stage demo at Savar 

SAVAR : Five garment workers were 

injured in a clash with police as they 

staged demonstrations here on 

Monday rejecting the revised wage 

structure, reports UNB. 

Several thousand workers started 

demonstration on Dhaka-Tangail highway 

in Narsinghopur area of Ashulia 

from 9:00am and tried to put up a barricade. 

Later, a chase and counterchase 

took place between the RMG 

workers and police. 

Several factories were declared shut 

for Monday following the agitation. 

In the wake of widespread protests by 

RMG workers for the last few days over 

the disparity in their new wage structure, 

the government on Sunday 

revised their wages. 

They are continuing their protests as 

their basic salary was not raised as per 

their expectation, said the workers. 

Zohr 

05:26 AM 

12:00 PM 

03:56 PM 

05:36 PM 

06:55 PM 

6:43 5:33 

Polls schedules for JS 

reserved seats on 

Feb 17 : EC Secy 

DHAKA : The Election Commission (EC) 

will announce election schedules on 

February 17 for 50 reserved seats of the 

11th parliament exclusively for women, 

reports UNB. 

EC Secretary Helaluddin on Monday 

disclosed it while briefing reporters after a 

meeting of the Election Commission at 

Nirbachan Bhaban in the city. 

"The polls schedules for the reserved 

seats will be announced on February 17," 

he said. He said the meeting also decided 

to start the 5th countrywide upazila election 

in the first week of March and use 

electronic voting machines (EVMs) in all 

sadar upazila parishads. 

The schedule for the 5th countrywide 

upazila will be announced in the first 

week of February, said the EC Secretary 

adding that the upazila elections will be 

held in phases. 

Ahead of the election to the reserved 

seats, Awami League is going to start selling 

nomination forms among aspirants 

on Tuesday (Jan 15). 

The aspirants will have to collect the 

nomination forms from the AL president's 

Dhanmondi political office in the 

city from Tuesday 10:00 am, said an AL 

media release on Saturday. 

According to the proportional representation 

in Parliament, Awami League 

will get women MPs from 43 reserved 

Over 2 crore children to be fed 

vitamin 'A' capsules on Jan 19 

DHAKA : The national vitamin A plus 

campaign will be held across the country 

on January 19 (Saturday) to feed vitamin 

'A' plus capsules to over 2 crore children 

aged between six to 59 months. 

Under the campaign, children aged 

between six and 11 months will be given 

blue colored vitamin 'A' capsule while 

children aged between 12 and 59 months 

will be given red colored high-power capsules 

on that day, said an official hand 

out. The campaign will begin at 8am and 

continue till 4pm on that day across the 

country, it said. 

Institute of Public Health Nutrition 

under the Health and Family Welfare 

Ministry has been conducting the campaign 

to feed vitamin 'A' capsules to children 

at national level since 1974. 

The coverage of feeding Vitamin 'A' 

plus capsules, which is crucial to prevent 

childhood blindness and reduces child 

mortality, has increased significantly 

standing at 99 percent in 2017 because of 

the campaign. 

In accordance with latest survey, at 

seats, Jatiya Party from 4 seats, BNP from 

one, and other parties and the coalition of 

independent MPs will get the remaining 

two seats. Out of the 300 parliamentary 

constituencies across the country, Awami 

League won elections in 257, while Jatiya 

Party in 22, BNP in six, Workers' Party in 

three, Gano Forum, Jasod and 

Bikalpadhara in two seats each, Tarikat 

Federation and JP in one seat each in the 

recent 11th general election. 

Besides, independent candidates were 

elected in three constituencies in the polls 

held on December 30 last. 

The remaining one constituency will go 

to polls on January 27, as the election was 

postponed there earlier following the 

death of a candidate. 

The Election Commission has a legal 

obligation to arrange the polls to the 50 

reserved seats within 90 days after the 

gazette of general election result is published. 

The directly-elected members of 

parliament are the voters of the election. 

If the number of nominated candidates 

by a political party is equal to its reserved 

seats, the contenders will be declared 

elected unopposed immediately after the 

last date for withdrawal of candidacy. 

However, eight MPs-elect of Jatiya 

Oikyafront-six from BNP and two from 

Gano Forum-have not taken oath of office 

as MPs. 

present, the rate of nyctalopia, a disease 

caused by deficiency of vitamin A, is 0.04 

percent in the country as it attained the 

target of Millennium Development Goals 

(MDGs) of reducing the rate of nyctalopia 

below one percent to prevent blindness 

caused by deficiency of nutrition. Besides, 

vitamin A increases immunity of children 

and reduces the risk of child mortality. 

Our Chattogram correspondent 

reports, the first round of National 

Vitamin 'A' Plus Campaign will begin in 

the city and district on January 19 with a 

target of administering vitamin A capsules 

to around 13 lakh babies. 

Civil surgeon Dr Mohammad Azizur 

Rahman Siddique disclosed it yesterday 

to the journalists at his office at the southeastern 

coast city. 

Over 500 supervisors including ward 

Commissioners of CCC will oversee the 

campaign. Civil surgeon office will 

administer the capsule in 15 upazilas of 

the district and CCC will also administer 

vitamin 'A' Plus capsules to the children 

in the city. 

Agitated garment workers vandalized vehicles and blocked Dhaka-Aricha highway. 

Starting with the iconic kite flying in the afternoon, the festival 'Shakrain', marking the end of Bangla 

month Poush, keeps getting brighter as night descends. 

Photo : Star Mail 

Repair roads before 

monsoon: Quader 

DHAKA : Road Transport and Bridges 

Minister Obaidul Quader on Monday 

asked the authorities concerned to complete 

the renovation works on roads 

maintaining quality before the monsoon 

sets in, reports UNB. 

He came up with the directive while 

speaking at a meeting with the chiefs of 

organisations under his ministry, ongoing 

projects and zones of the Roads and 

Highways Division (RHD) at the 

Secretariat. 

Mentioning that drives to remove all 

kitchen markets and floating shops over 

and along roads and highways across the 

country are underway, the minister 

underscored the need for making it a success. 

"Later, steps will be taken to dismantle 

illegal establishments beside the 

roads and highways," he said. 

He also asked the RHD to keep both 

sides of roads free from garbage in 

municipality areas. 

Quader also issued a directive to complete 

works on bailey bridges in hilly 

areas within the stipulated time to 

improve the communications system 

there to facilitate the movement of 

tourists. He said work on the country's 

first border road has started and the 

Cox's Bazar-Teknaf marine drive will be 

widened by 32 feet. 

The minister directed the authorities 

concerned to install streetlights, set up 

waiting rooms at different points and 

introduce a special bus service on the 

marine drive for tourists. 

He said work on the four-lane Elenga- 

Rangpur highway involving Tk 12,000 

crore will begin in February while work 

on the four-lane Joydebpur-Elenga highway 

is almost complete and it will be 

opened to traffic in June next. 


JOF to join talks with 

PM if election-centric 

agenda fixed:Fakhrul 

SYLHET : BNP secretary general Mirza 

Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday said 

Jatiya Oikyafront will join the proposed 

talks with Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina if election-centric agenda is 

fixed, reports UNB. 

"We don't know what will be the 

agenda of the talks. Our only agenda is 

to have the election revoked. Jatiya 

Oikyafront will consider joining the dialogue 

if election-centric agenda is 

fixed," he said while talking to reporters 

after offering fateha at the shrine of 

Hazrat Shahjalal ®. 

Fakhrul, also the spokesman of 

Oikyafront, said the December-30 election 

must be annulled and the current 'incompetent' 

Election Commission will 

have to be reconstituted to hold a fresh 

national election under a non-party neutral 

government. 

"The government will have to be 

formed through holding a credible election 

under an impartial government and 

Election Commission," he said. 

The BNP leader said the fresh initiative 

for dialogue will not be fruitful like the 

one held before the 11th parliamentary 

election if their demand for holding a 

fresh national election under a non-party 

government is not accepted. 

Replying to a question, Fakhrul said 

Oikyafront remains intact and there is no 

conflict among its partners. 

On Sunday, Awami League General 

Secretary Obaidul Quader said Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina will hold fresh 

dialogues with the political parties that 

joined talks at Ganobhaban before the 

Newsmen's Wage Board Award to be 

declared in specified period : Mahmud 

DHAKA : Information Minister Dr Hasan 

Mahmud yesterday assured newsmen 

that the new Wage Board Award for 

newspaper and news agency journalists 

and employees would be announced 

within specified period. 

"From right today I will begin work to 

get the gazette on the 9th Wage Board 

Award," the minister said while exchanging 

views with leaders of BFUJ, 

Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists 

and Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) at 

National Press Club yesterday morning. 

Mahmud, also the ruling Awami 

League's publicity and publication secretary, 

said he has also discussed the journalists' 

housing issue with officials concerned. 

"I hope that all the problems of 

journalists and media will be solved 

soon," he said. 

December-30 election. 

Jatiya Oikyafront convener Dr Kamal 

Hossain appreciated the Prime Minister's 

decision to hold fresh talks with political 

parties, saying it is a positive step. 

Talking to UNB, he also said they will 

take a positive decision about joining the 

dialogue with Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina after discussions with their 

alliance partners. 

Fakhrul together with Jatiya 

Samajtantrik Dal (JSD-Rob) president 

ASM Abdur Rob, Krishak Sramik Janata 

League president Abdul Kader Siddiqui, 

Gono Forum executive president Subrata 

Chowdhury and general secretary 

Mostafa Mohsin Montu reached Sylhet 

by air around 11:45am. 

From the airport, they went to the 

shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal ®. 

They also offered fateha at the shrines 

Shah Paran ® before going to violencehit 

Balaganj upazila where a Jatiyatabadi 

Chhatra Dal (JCD) leader was gunned 

down by criminals on December 30, the 

voting day. 

The Oikyafront leaders are scheduled 

to offer fateha at the grave of slain 

Balaganj JCD general secretary Sayem 

Ahmed Sohel, and meet his bereaved 

family members to console them. 

The Oikyafront leaders will also visit 

some election violence-hit areas in the 

upazila before returning to Dhaka. 

JCD leader Sayem Ahmed was shot to 

death during a clash over occupying 

Azizpur Government Primary School 

polling centre in Balaganj upazila on 

December 30. 

Mahmud said he began his works from 

the very first day in office for the betterment 

of journalists as well as the media as 

"my top priorities are to work for the welfare 

of newsmen and freedom of media". 

The minister said Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina's government was always 

friendly to journalists and even those who 

wrote and spoke against Awami League 

got all kinds of assistance from her. 

"She helped as well the cultural personalities 

who are against the government," 

Mahmud said. 

The minister's comments came as he 

visited the Press Club for his maiden 

interaction with leaders of the journalists 

unions and the National Press Club since 

he assumed office on January 8, a day 

after the new council of ministers were 

sworn in.

NEWS 

TuesDAY, 

JAnuArY 15, 2019 

2 

Managing Director of Ananda TV Hasan Taufique Abbas congratulated new Information Minister Dr Hasan 

Mahmud with flowers at the secretariat office recently. 

Photo: TBT 

Vitamin-A Plus 

campaign to be held 

on 19th January 

The National Vitamin-A Plus campaign will be held 

across the country on January 19, to feed vitamin-A 

Plus capsules over 2 crore children aged between 

six months to 59 months. The campaign will be held 

from 8am till 4pm on the day both at permanent 

and temporary centres across the country. Vitamin- 

A is crucial to prevent childhood blindness and 

reduces child mortality, says a press release. 

Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Malek 

MP will inaugurate the National Vitamin-A Plus 

campaign as the chief guest at Dhaka Shishu 

Hospital auditorium on 19th January at 10am. 

Among others, State Minister for Health and 

Family Welfare Md Murad Hasan MP, parliament 

member Professor Dr. Md Abdul Aziz and Medical 

Education and Family Welfare Division Secretary 

GM Saleh Uddin will be present as special guests at 

the occasion. Health Services Division Secretary 

Md Asadul Islam will chair the occasion. 

Vigilance teams at the central and regional levels 

will coordinate the overall activities of the 

campaign. 

Ananda TV's Managing 

Director congratulates new 

cabinet members 

Miron Ahmed: Political party 

leaders, media officials and 

journalists' organizations are 

still greeting and congratulating 

the new cabinet members since 

taking up responsibilities after 

the eleventh parliamentary 

elections. As a part of this, 

Managing Director of Ananda 

TV Hasan Taufique Abbas 

greeted and congratulated 

different ministers at the 

secretariat office. 

Hasan Taufique Abbas 

congratulated and paid a 

courtesy call on Home Minister 

Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and 

Information Minister Dr Hasan 

Mahmud at the secretariat office 

on Sunday. At the occasion 

Ananda TV's Manager 

(Administration) Mohammad 

Saiful Islam and Manager of 

Department of Marketing SB 

Bulbul along with other officials 

were also present at the 

occasion. At the occasion Hasan 

Taufique Abbas praised Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina's 

government's various 

development activities. 

It is to be noted that Ananda 

TV began its journey on 11 

March 2018 with the slogan. 

Since then Ananda TV have 

been praised and appreciated by 

the audience through its various 

different programmes. Ananda 

TV is moving forward with a 

bunch of creative and intelligent 

journalists of the country. 

Ananda TV has its own building, 

studio and latest equipments. 

The audience believes that 

Ananda TV will go ahead by 

facing the new challenges. 

Dbœq‡bi MYZš¿ 

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Class-X girl 

'gang-raped' in 

Thakurgaon 

THAKURGAON : A Class-X 

girl has reportedly been 

gang-raped by four young 

men at Rajagaon in Sadar 

upazila, reports UNB. 

The victim's father filed a 

case with Ruhia Police 

Station on Sunday over the 

incident that took place on 

Friday night. Police arrested 

one of the rapists. 

According to the case 

statement, a local youth 

used to harass the girl on her 

way to and from school as 

well as over mobile phone. 

On Friday night, the youth 

tactfully called her out of the 

house. However, he along 

with his three other 

associates raped the girl in 

turns. 

Officer-in-charge of the 

police station Pradip Kumar 

Barman said medical test on 

the victim was conducted at 

Sadar Hospital on Sunday 

night. 

He also said they were not 

disclosing the names of the 

accused for the sake of 

investigation. 

8th death 

anniversary of 

journalist eqbal 

rezvi today 

Today is the eighth death 

anniversary of renowned 

journalist Sayed Eqbal 

Rezvi, former Associate 

Editor of The Good 

Morning. He died at the 

Central Hospital, Dhaka 

on (15th January, 2011) 

this day, says a press 

release. 

He was a permanent 

member of the Jatiya 

Press Club and senior 

member of DUJ and 

BFUJ. 

In his long journalism 

career of 50 years he 

worked in The Unity, 

ENA, The New Nation, 

The Daily News, UNB, 

The Morning Sun , The 

Bangladesh Today , The 

Bangladesh Observer and 

The Financial Express. 

He joined the profession 

in 1960 and wrote 

reporting items for 

English and Urdu dailies 

published from Patna, 

India. 

A Milad Mahfil followed 

by Quran Khatam will be 

arranged on the occasion 

at the deceased's 

Narayanganj residence. 

All the relatives, friends, 

colleagues and wellwishers 

of the deceased 

are requested to attend the 

Milad Mahfil and pray for 

the salvation of the 

departed soul. 

4-day Int'l Plastic Fair 

begins in city Thursday 

DHAKA : A four-day International Plastic 

Fair (IPF) will begin in the city on January 17 

(Thursday), reports UNB. 

Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers & 

Exporters Association (BPGMEA) in 

association with its co-organiser Yorkers 

Trade & Marketing Co. Ltd is organising the 

14th edition of the expo at the International 

Convention City, Bashundhara to showcase 

the local and international plastic products. 

Industries Minister Nurul Mazid Mahmud 

Humayun will inaugurate the expo, said 

BPGMEA President Jashim Uddin while 

speaking at a press conference at the 

organisation's headquarters in the city on 

Monday. 

He said a good number of companies from 

19 countries across the world will participate 

in the fair. 

Jashim Uddin said in the last two decades, 

plastic industry has become an important 

industrial sector in Bangladesh. 

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The growth of the plastic industry has a 

multiplying effect on numerous important 

sectors of the economy while the government 

has also given priority to this sector. 

"IPF, the only and most professional 

exhibition, is now one of the biggest events 

among the South East Asian nations," he 

said, adding that the expo helps increase 

plastic sector investment, market size and 

exports nationally and globally. 

It also increases plastic use, the BPGMEA 

President said. "We hope in the near future, 

this sector will contribute much to the 

national exchequer through its outstanding 

performances." 

He claimed that the 13th edition of the 

International Plastic Fair was extremely 

successful as it attracted huge local and 

foreign visitors. "We hope the IPF 2019 will 

play a good role in promoting our export and 

be able to obtain many spot orders along with 

the local sales," he said. 

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METRO 

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2019 

3 

On behalf of the Southeast University (SEU) family, a delegation led by M. Kamaluddin 

Chowdhury, Representative Member, Board of Trustees, SEU Trust congratulated and greeted 

Dr. Dipu Moni, MP, the newly appointed Education Minister and Barrister Mohibul Hasan 

Chowdhury Nowfel, MP, Deputy Education Minister of Bangladesh Government with flowers on 

13 January 2018. The team was comprised of Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. ANM Meshquat Uddin, 

Registrar Maj Gen Kazi Fakhruddin Ahmed (Retd), BCPR Director Mohammad Imtiaj and Deputy 

Secretary of BoT Mohammad Tarik Al Jalil. 

Photo : Courtesy 

Greetings continue to pour 

in for PM Sheikh Hasina 

DHAKA : More heads of state and 

government including Brunei Sultan, 

Afghan president and Estonian prime 

minister have extended their warmest 

congratulations to Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina on her reappointment 

as the Bangladesh prime minister for 

the fourth time. 

"I am pleased to send my warmest 

congratulations to you on your 

reappointment as Prime Minister of 

Bangladesh," Brunei Sultan Haji 

Hassanal Bolkiah said in a 

congratulatory message to Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina. 

He continued: "I wish you much 

success for your new term and look 

forward to continuing our work 

together to strengthen our muchvalued 

and long-standing relations for 

the benefit of our two countries and 

people." 

Fire at AB Bank 

in Chattogram 

CHATTOGRAM : A fire 

broke out at a branch of 

Arab Bangladesh Bank (AB 

Bank) in GEC area of the 

port city on Monday 

morning, reports UNB. 

The fire broke out in a 

store room of the bank from 

electric short circuit around 

11am, said Md Jasim Uddin, 

deputy assistant director of 

Chattogram fire service and 

civil defense. 

However, the fire was 

brought under control 

immediately. 

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The Brunei Sultan wished continued 

good health and happiness of the 

prime minister, and for the progress 

and prosperity of the people of 

Bangladesh. 

Afghan President Mohammad 

Ashraf Ghani in his message to Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina said: 

"Excellency, allow me to extend, on 

behalf of the people of Afghanistan and 

myself, sincere greetings to your 

Excellency, on the assumption of the 

post of Prime Minister. 

"Choosing of your Excellency one 

more time by people of Bangladesh 

through the election is a prove of your 

efforts and success in development 

plans of the country," he said. 

Ashraf Ghani said Afghanistan and 

Bangladesh enjoy close relationship 

and presence of both countries in 

international and regional arena and 

efforts to defend each other's interest 

prove deep friendship between the two 

countries. 

He said the government of 

Afghanistan expresses its 

preparedness for further deepening 

the existing close ties with Bangladesh. 

The Afghan president wished the 

prime minister a good health and 

further success, and for the friendly 

people of Bangladesh progress and 

prosperity. 

Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas 

in his message sent to Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina said: "I am confident 

that the friendly relations between 

Estonia and Bangladesh, based on 

mutual understanding and respect, 

will continue to develop successfully in 

the years ahead." "I take this 

opportunity to wish you a successful 

tenure of office," he said. 

17 Shaheed minars, 7 

mausoleums to be built in Ctg 

CHATTOGRAM : Chattogram district 

council (zila parishad) has taken up projects 

to built 17 shaheed minars and 7 

independence mausoleum (memorial) in 

Chattogram aimed at creating awareness 

among the young generation about 

Language Movement and historic Liberation 

War of Bangladesh, reports BSS. 

These mausoleums and shaheed minars 

will be built at Govt primary schools located 

in different upazilas of the district. Besides, 

Chattogram District Council (CDC) will 

preserve the mass grave yard of the freedom 

fighters. On the other hand, Moitree 

Memorials will be built beside the grave of 

allied forces, who were killed during the 

liberation war. Under this project, Zila 

parishad will develop libraries and social 

organizations situated in the upazilas. 

CDC sources said around 17 shaheed 

minars and 7 mausoleums will be built in 12 

upazilas of the district with an estimated cost 

of Taka 12.50 crore from the revenue budget. 

Chairman of District council Abdus Salam 

told BSS that the budget for the works 

formulated in November was sent to the 

concerned ministry for approval. He hoped 

that it would be approved within this month. 

He said, adding this project was taken by 

CDC to preserve the memories of language 

movement, liberation war, conservation of 

mass graves of valiant freedom fighters and 

martyred. 

Salam said the main aim of the project is to 

apprise the new generation about the 

country's history of independence. 

According to project profile, two shaheed 

minars will be built in Banskhali upazila, five 

in Satkania, one in Sitakunda, one in 

Hathazari, one in Fatikchari, one each at 

Raozan and Rangunia, one each at Boalkhali 

and Anowara upazila. 

2 'robbers' 

killed in 

Shariatpur 

gunfight 

SHARIATPUR : Two 

suspected robbers were 

killed in a reported gunfight 

with police in Dehobhog 

area of Sadar upazila early 

Monday, reports UNB. 

The deceased were 

identified as Russel and 

Jahangir. 

Police said on information 

that a gang of robbers was 

taking preparation for 

committing robbery, a team 

of police conducted a drive 

in the area. 

Sensing the presence of 

police, the robbers opened 

fire on police, prompting 

them to fire back, triggering 

the gunfight, leaving the duo 

injured with bullet. 

The injured were taken to 

Sadar Upazila health 

complex where doctors 

declared them dead. 

Three policemen were also 

injured in the district. 

Health Ministry 

official suspended 

on graft allegation 

DHAKA : An official of the 

Health Ministry has been 

suspended over allegation of 

amassing wealth illegally, 

reports UNB. 

The suspended official is 

Md Abzal Hossain, accounts 

officer of Directorate 

General of Health Services 

(Medical Education). 

Recently two national 

dailies (Bangladesh Pratidin 

and ProthomAlo) published 

report on Abzal mentioning 

that though he is a fourth 

grade government 

employee, he has five houses 

at Uattara, several plots and 

a house abroad which is 

inconsistent with his 

income, said a letter issued 

by the Health Ministry on 

January 13. 

Besides, the ministry also 

asked authorities concerned 

to carry out departmental 

investigation into the 

allegations brought against 

him. 

Khulna journalist 

Hedait's bail 

extended 

KHULNA : A court here on 

Monday extended the bail of 

journalist Hedait Hossain 

Mollah till January 29 in a 

case filed under the Digital 

Security Act, reports UNB. 

Hedait, the district 

correspondent of Bangla 

Tribune, was accused of 

using 'false' information in a 

report on the election results 

of Khunla-1 constituency. 

Khulna District and 

Sessions Judge Mashiur 

Rahman Chowdhury 

accepted Hedait's bail 

extension petition and fixed 

January 29 for hearing a 

petition seeking permanent 

bail for the journalist. 

Upazila Nirbahi Officer 

and Assistant Returning 

Officer Debashish 

Chowdhury filed a case at 

Batiaghata Police Station on 

December 31 against Hedait 

and Rashedul Islam, Khulna 

Bureau Chief of Dainik 

Manabzamin and newlyelected 

vice-president of 

Khulna Press Club. 

The case statement 

claimed false and fabricated 

information was used in 

Bangla Tribune and 

Manabzamin's reports titled 

'22,419 more than total votes 

cast in Khulna-1'. 

Police arrested Hedait, 

also the city editor of Dainik 

Probaho, on January 1. The 

next day, the court put him 

on remand. The District and 

Sessions Judge's Court on 

January 3 granted the 

journalist bail until January 

14. 

Industries minister 

announces 'zero 

tolerance' against 

corruption 

DHAKA : New Industries 

Minister Nurul Majid 

Mahmud Humayun on 

Monday said he would not 

tolerate corruption in his 

ministry, reports UNB. 

"We have to fulfill the 

promises we made before 

the election. The people's 

expectations must be 

answered by working with 

honesty and sincerity," he 

said at a views exchanege 

meeting with heads of 

departments and agencies 

under the ministry. 

Majid reminded the 

officials that they were 

tasked with serving the 

people. "If you keep this in 

mind, then every task will 

become easy," he said. 

State Minister Kamal 

Ahmed Majumder said the 

mninistry had an important 

role to play in the 

development of the country 

by helping the industries 

flourish and creating 

employment. 

Police arrested Hedait, 

also the city editor of Dainik 

Probaho, on January 1. The 

next day, the court put him 

on remand. The District and 

Sessions Judge's Court on 

January 3 granted the 

journalist bail until 

January. 

Zahid urges health officials to serve 

patients shunning corruption 

DHAKA : Health and Family Welfare 

Minister Zahid Maleque yesterday urged 

health officials to serve their patients 

shunning corruption and nepotism. 

"As per the direction of Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina, the government is working 

relentlessly to develop the healthcare 

services avoiding corruption and nepotism. 

You all should follow this. We will give 

priority to strengthen monitoring system to 

develop the healthcare facilities across the 

country," he said. 

Zahid Maleque came up with the 

observations while addressing a viewexchange 

meeting with doctors, nurses and 

other officials and staffs of Shaheed 

Suhrawardy Medical College (SSMC) in the 

capital. 

The minister also gave directives to the 

doctors and nurses to remain alert so that no 

patient faces any adversity after coming to 

any hospitals. 

"You all have to keep one thing in mind 

that people come to hospitals, go to doctors, 

only when they are at risk. You have to 

ensure healthcare services to them with 

smile on your faces," he added. 

Later, the minister visited National 

Institute of Kidney Diseases & Urology 

(NIKDU) and National Institute of 

Traumatology & Orthopaedic Rehabilitation 

(NITOR) and visited different words of the 

hospitals and talked to the patients and 

inquired about their health. 

During the visit, the minister was apprised 

of health services being provided to the 

DMP starts traffic 

awareness campaign 

afresh today 

DHAKA : Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) is set to begin a 

campaign afresh to make the city dwellers aware to abide by 

the traffic rules and regulations for bringing discipline in 

traffic management system. The DMP has taken up a 

specific work plan to make success the 17-day awareness 

campaign that starts from January 15 and ends on January 

31. As part of some measures of bringing discipline in traffic 

management system, the DMP has decided to distribute 

leaflets, placards, festoons, and guide books among the city 

dwellers alongside with holding different awareness 

programmes involving honorable people of the society. 

It has also decided to involve members from rover scouts, 

Red Crescent, girls guide and BNCC in this endavour while 

traffic police and volunteers will be engaged in maintaining 

traffic discipline during period of resuming classes and their 

breaks up of the schools and colleges beside main road. 

The DMP will conduct special drive and mobile courts 

operation to take legal action for violating traffic rules such as 

using hydraulic horn, hotter, and beckon light, driving 

vehicle on wrong side and for stopping buses without bus 

stands. Check posts will be set up at 29 strategic points in the 

DMP area to bring discipline in the traffic system. 

Passersby will be encouraged to use 30 foot over bridges 

and keep the doors of buses shut till the next bus stand. 

Signals will be controlled with remote control at 

intersections from Shaheed Jahangir. 

AviwcAviwW bs-4654 ZvwiL : 10/01/19Bs 

GD-75/19 (4 x 3) 

GD-76/19 (4 x 3) 

patients at the hospital. 

While addressing doctors at NITOR, the 

health minister asked them to maintain a 

clean image like their white apron. He also 

emphasized on maintaining cleanliness at 

health facilities. 

"We have to fulfill all the commitments 

made in the election manifesto regarding the 

healthcare," Zahid Maleque further said. 

State Minister for Health Md Murad 

Hasan and Director General of Directorate 

General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Dr 

Abul Kalam Azad were present on the 

occasion, among others. 

Zahid Maleque came up with the 

observations while addressing a viewexchange 

meeting with doctors, nurses and 

other officials and staffs of Shaheed 

Suhrawardy Medical College (SSMC) in the 

capital. 

The minister also gave directives to the 

doctors and nurses to remain alert so that no 

patient faces any adversity after coming to 

any hospitals. 

"You all have to keep one thing in mind 

that people come to hospitals, go to doctors, 

only when they are at risk. You have to 

ensure healthcare services to them with 

smile on your faces," he added. 

Later, the minister visited National 

Institute of Kidney Diseases & Urology 

(NIKDU) and National Institute of 

Traumatology & Orthopaedic Rehabilitation 

(NITOR) and visited different words of the 

hospitals and talked to the patients and 

inquired about their health. 

Cargo plane crash 

in Iran kills 15, 

leaves 1 survivor 

A decades-old Iranian Boeing 

707 military cargo plane 

reportedly carrying meat 

from Kyrgyzstan crashed on 

Monday while trying to land 

west of Iran's capital, killing 15 

people on board and leaving a 

sole survivor, authorities said. 

The crash of the jetliner 

marked just the latest aviation 

disaster for Iran, which hoped 

to replace its aging fleet under 

terms of the 2015 nuclear deal 

with world powers. 

But instead, President 

Donald Trump's withdrawal 

from the accord in May 

scuttled billions of dollars in 

planned sales by Airbus and 

Boeing Co. to the Islamic 

Republic, only increasing the 

danger for passengers in Iran 

planes. The aircraft, which 

bore the paint scheme of the 

Iranian air force's Saha 

civilian airline, was making 

emergency landing around 

8:30 a.m. Monday at Fath 

Airport.

EDITORIAL 

TUeSDAY, 

JAnUArY 15, 2019 

4 

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam 

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

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com 

Tuesday, January 15, 2019 

Welcome treaty with 

the netherlands 

B 

angladesh 

signed a memorandum of understanding 

with the Netherlands recently. The news was 

headlined in this paper. Called the Bangladesh Delta 

plan 2100, it envisages the establishment of cooperation 

with the Dutch in all respects of water management from 

50-100 years. One would only wish for the best for this plan 

and for it to continue because Bangladesh stands to be 

benefited immensely from it. 

Information-- indicating the future of Bangladesh most 

of the time -- appear to be short of hope. It is generally 

made out that the future of the country is rather hopeless. 

Far too many people are already seen living in this tiny 

country in the physical sense. Thus, anxiety is expressed 

about the living space for this population which would 

become even greater in the future not to mention finding 

the means of sustenance for the growing number. 

But Malthus and all other prophets of doom have been 

proved wrong in the context of Bangladesh. Bangladesh's 

population nearly doubled in the last three decades. 

However, so did its food production. Agricultural 

production has been more than keeping pace with 

population growth. 

Thus, Bangladesh has not become a failed state like 

Sudan or Somalia. It is still a land of hope for its 

hardworking and resilient people. If only its political 

leadership improved in their sincerity to truly lead the 

country in the desired path, then, as most Bangladesh 

watchers say, this country could achieve a much higher 

level of economic progress by now. 

As for the other formidable worry - land shortage - there 

is good news waiting for this country. Although there has 

been a long standing projection about a part of 

Bangladesh's coastal areas sinking into the sea in the near 

future from the greenhouse syndrome, regularly received 

satellite imageries and other tangible supporting evidences 

suggest that Bangladesh is rather about to receive the gift 

of a huge land mass from its adjoining sea. 

The size of this land mass, eventually, could be as big 

as the present size of Bangladesh or even bigger. But it 

will depend considerably on what the Bangladeshis 

themselves do-- like the people of the Netherland did -- 

for lands to rise from the sea and for the same to be 

joined to the mainland. 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 

is no doubt the most authoritative forum as regards 

worldwide climate change and its consequences. But only 

last year, IPCC had to eat its own words and confess that 

some of its projections were flawed such as the imminent 

disappearance of the Himalayan glaciers that could most 

dramatically raise sea levels in the South Asian region. 

Scientific data also indicate that nothing can be absolutely 

said, yet, about the extent of sea level rise or the height of 

its occurrences in different parts of the world. 

Thus, it may eventually become quite possible for 

Bangladesh to gain in elevation or new lands in its coastal 

area in the likelihood of deposition of silt in its coastal 

areas being faster or greater than the anticipated sea level 

rise in this region. 

Unfortunately, nothing has been noted so far in the 

country's annual development plans (ADPs) to the effect 

that the government is paying attention to this issue. No 

allocations have been made over the years to build dams 

and other structures to put a pace on the process of 

accretion of coastal lands. Let us hope that the agreement 

signed with the Netherlands will reverse this trend. 

Already, substantial territories have surfaced in the 

coastal areas of Bangladesh. Some of these places have 

completely surfaced and have human habitations on them 

while others remain submerged during tides to emerge 

with the ebbing of the tide. The latter types of accreted 

lands are likely to gain in elevation to be permanently 

joined to the mainland. Indeed, a part of present day 

Bangladesh including the districts of Faridpur, Barisal, 

Noakhali, Patuakhali, etc., were formed in this manner 

over time. 

Lands have already emerged from the sea in the coastal 

areas and more lands from the sea will hopefully rise in the 

future. But the natural process is a long one. It can be 

hastened and the technology for it is not so prohibitive or 

complex either. For Bangladesh, it involves only 

quickening the process of accretion by establishing 

structures like cross dams to speed up the rate of 

deposition of silt in areas that have accreted or nearly 

accreted. 

The country is likely to get a generous response from the 

international community in matters of fund availability 

and technical supports if it can show that it is really keen 

to accrete more lands and has put the endeavour under a 

systematic policy framework. 

Netherlands is one country which has the most 

experience in getting lands out of the sea. It had a situation 

worse than Bangladesh in the sense that much of it was so 

low lying and below the sea level that even high tides and 

storms in the sea led to its severe flooding and continuing 

inundation. Today, the Dutch have not only solved these 

problems through sophisticated engineering works, they 

have permanently reclaimed vast stretches of lands from 

the sea and are keeping them dry for various uses within 

secure barriers or sea walls. 

Bangladesh can certainly gain from engaging the 

Netherlands in doing similar work for it. If we can play the 

Netherland card well, then in the near future we can also 

expect to sustainably get huge lands from the sea. Not only 

in land reclamation, the Dutch help will prove to be 

invaluable in all fields of water management such as 

fighting flood, river training, etc. 

Dubai hopes to future-proof economy through university-linked free zones 

What exactly is higher education 

for? It's a question that few 

pause to consider in an age when 

education up to university level is not only 

regarded virtually as mandatory, but has 

also become a significant source of 

income for many economies. 

It is also a question that, indirectly, is 

raised by the publication of a charter by 

the government in Dubai that sets out 

nine pledges designed to improve the 

quality of life for future generations. 

Some of these pledges, touching on 

issues ranging from health-care, 

investment and economic goals to selfsufficiency 

in water, food and energy, are 

natural extensions of the forwardthinking 

philosophy that has seen Dubai 

propelled from sleepy backwater to 

vibrant global entrepôt in under a 

lifetime. But as exciting as some of these 

plans are, it is in the proposed 

development of economic free zones 

attached to universities that Dubai's 

ongoing commitment to future-proofing 

its citizens is most intriguingly evident. 

Article 6 of the nine-point charter 

recognizes a potential flaw in the 

burgeoning of the education sector, and 

sets out to correct it. "The end goal," it 

states, should not be "only graduating 

students but also coming up with 

companies." 

In other words, it's all very well to 

educate citizens to the highest level, but if 

there are no jobs for graduates, all that 

has been achieved is the creation of a 

highly educated class of unemployed, 

with all that that portends for social 

disruption. It's all very well to educate 

citizens to the highest level, but if there 

are no jobs for graduates, all that has been 

President Emmanuel Macron will 

launch this week a three-month 

"great national debate" on the future 

of France after prolonged 'yellow vest' 

anti-government demonstrations 

protests. The demonstrations have badly 

weakened Macron and one of the key 

political questions in 2019 is whether he 

can recover some of his former sky-high 

popularity. 

The answer matters not just to France, 

but also Europe and the world at large, 

given that Macron has emerged as 

perhaps the most authoritative defender 

of the liberal international order in his 

short period in office. Indeed, the French 

president alongside his United States 

counterpart Donald Trump currently 

embody more than any other democratic 

leaders the present 'battle' in international 

relations between an apparently rising 

populist tide and the centre ground, which 

will continue to play out in 2019. 

Macron's victory in 2017 against 

Trump's preferred far-right National 

Front candidate Marine Le Pen was so 

striking as it defied the march of populism 

in numerous countries that had seen 

parties of the centre ground sometimes 

taking a political battering. Macron's win 

then appeared to represent at least a 

partial turnaround in fortunes - in Europe 

at least - for centre ground politics. 

From the perspective of French 

domestic politics, a critical question for 

Macron in 2019 will be whether the yellow 

vest protests have extinguished his 

programme of economic reforms. These 

achieved is the creation of a highly 

educated class of unemployed, with all 

that that portends for social disruption 

Starting next year, Dubai intends to 

create economic free zones alongside 

private and national universities "to 

support students in education, research 

and finance while setting up their 

businesses." This, in other words, will be 

education with a tightly defined and 

facilitated purpose. Dubai's initiative is 

one of many in a United Arab Emirates 

striving energetically to transform itself 

into a post-oil knowledge economy in 

which skilled citizens, rather than 

imported talent, will play an increasingly 

central role. Within days, the 

announcement was followed by a study 

from the UAE Ministry of Education, 

based on the experience of 13,000 

graduates, identifying which degrees 

were most in demand in the jobs market 

among those who graduated in 2017. 

The message to the nation's schools was 

clear: Steer pupils into subjects that will 

benefit the development and economic 

well-being of the nation. There is a note of 

JonATHAn GornAll 

caution to be sounded. Not everyone 

wants to be an engineer or a contract 

lawyer when he or she grows up, and 

individual hopes and dreams must not be 

trampled in the rush to fulfill the national 

destiny. The UAE should take care to 

ensure that the society it is so deliberately 

shaping is a balanced one, in which 

citizens' lives are enriched as much by art 

and culture as they are by economic 

success. That said, there can be no 

arguing with the fact that financial 

stability is the basic foundation stone that 

Dubai's initiative is one of many in a United Arab 

emirates striving energetically to transform itself into a 

post-oil knowledge economy in which skilled citizens, 

rather than imported talent, will play an increasingly 

central role. Within days, the announcement was 

followed by a study from the UAe Ministry of education, 

based on the experience of 13,000 graduates, identifying 

which degrees were most in demand in the jobs market 

among those who graduated in 2017. 

changes were thrown into doubt after the 

president announced in December that he 

has backtracked on a fuel tax hike and 

gave billions of pounds in aid to try to end 

the several weeks of protests. 

In his New Year address, Macron 

asserted that the reforms will continue, 

and insisted that his government "can do 

better" at improving the lives of citizens 

across the nation. Yet, many yellow vest 

protesters are calling for him to leave 

office. The anger was underlined in a poll 

released last week showing that 75 per 

cent of the population are unhappy with 

the way Macron is running the country. 

The survey, for franceinfo and the Figaro 

newspaper, compares bleakly for Macron 

to one from April 2018 when 'only' 59 per 

cent of those surveyed were unhappy with 

the government, and that the top priority 

for the French populace is finding ways to 

boost consumer purchasing power. The 

poll underlines the volatility of the political 

mood in France which, ironically, helped 

propel Macron's meteoric rise into power 

AnDreW HAMMonD 

must be in place if the UAE is to leave oil 

behind and successfully face the 

challenges of the future as a knowledgebased 

economy. And Dubai's plan to 

revitalize its education sector as an engine 

of growth is a bold step in that direction. 

The ambitious scheme is a radical 

development of a successful model 

already in action in individual universities 

around the world, but which has never 

before been applied to an entire national 

education system. Proof of concept can be 

found at the University of Cambridge, 

which in 2006 formed Cambridge 

in 2017. It was this similar antiestablishment 

political sentiment that put 

the country into uncharted territory by 

ensuring Macron's En Marche! party - 

which was only founded in April 2016 - 

could not just win the presidency, but also 

handsomely win the legislative ballots 

with one of the biggest majorities since 

former president Charles de Gaulle's 1968 

landslide victory. In this continuing 

volatile context, the outlook is highly 

From the perspective of French domestic politics, a 

critical question for Macron in 2019 will be whether 

the yellow vest protests have extinguished his 

programme of economic reforms. These changes 

were thrown into doubt after the president 

announced in December that he has backtracked on 

a fuel tax hike and gave billions of pounds in aid to try 

to end the several weeks of protests. 

uncertain for the remainder of Macron's 

presidency. Although a majority of voters 

decided to favour hope (Macron) over 

anger (Le Pen) in 2017, the tide could 

potentially now turn decisively against 

him if he fails to address the antiestablishment 

anger fuelled by economic 

pain, which has seen the country suffer 

years of double-digit unemployment and 

also low growth which pre-date his 

presidency. Part of the challenge here for 

Macron, the youngest president in the sixdecade-long 

French Fifth Republic, has 

been the very high initial expectations 

Enterprise "to help?staff and students 

commercialize their expertise and ideas," 

which it does by offering help to staff and 

students in business creation, 

consultancy and intellectual property 

management. 

Last financial year alone Cambridge 

Enterprise supported 1,714 researchers, 

filed 276 patents, generated 349 

consultancy contracts, invested £5.2 

million (US$6.7 million) in spin-off 

companies and won £13 million in seed 

funding for university clients. 

Dubai doubtless also has an eye on the 

success story that is Stanford University 

in the US state of California. It blazed a 

trail with the construction of Stanford 

Research Park, which became a hotbed of 

research and development that spawned 

an entrepreneurial culture, generated 

income for the university and kickstarted 

Silicon Valley. 

Not that Dubai requires much 

instruction in entrepreneurship. Lacking 

oil wealth, from the outset it was obliged 

to build its own fortune, business venture 

by business venture. Today, 90% of 

Dubai's income is from commercial 

activities, many linked to the shipping, 

aviation and tourism sectors it developed 

in the face of much contemporary 

skepticism, and which today are worldleading 

enterprises. As Dubai has clearly 

recognized, a country that equips its 

graduates to think and act like 

entrepreneurs is a country that is 

investing in its future in the most practical 

way. It's an example that other economies 

in the region, also facing the inevitable 

end of oil, would do well to follow. 

Source : Asia times 

Why fate of Macron matters to the world 

China's President Xi Jinping speaks 

during an event to commemorate the 

40th anniversary of the Message to 

Compatriots in Taiwan at the Great Hall of 

the People in Beijing on January 2, 2019. 

(AFP) 

The unfolding geopolitical contest between 

China and the US has been described by 

many as a new Cold War. If it ever becomes 

a hot one, the flashpoint could be Taiwan, 

owing in large part to Chinese policy toward 

the island. 

China's government suspended diplomatic 

contact with Taiwan in June 2016 because 

the pro-independence Democratic 

Progressive Party (DPP), which had just 

returned to power, refused to recognize the 

so-called 1992 Consensus, the political basis 

for the "One China" principle. Since then, 

however, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen 

has pursued a moderate policy, 

disappointing hardline DPP supporters. 

That is not good enough for China, which 

has continued to tighten the screws on 

Taiwan. For example, it persuaded five other 

countries to follow it in severing diplomatic 

ties, reducing the number of countries that 

maintain formal relations with the island to 

just 17. China has also taken steps to stifle 

tourism from the mainland: Whereas nearly 

4.2 million mainland Chinese tourists visited 

Taiwan in 2015, when the pro-Beijing 

Kuomintang government was in power, the 

total fell to just 2.7 million in 2017. 

Taiwan's government has not blinked. But, 

last November, the DPP did suffer 

devastating losses in local elections, largely 

because of anemic economic growth - an 

outcome that drove the politically weakened 

Tsai to resign as party leader. 

For China, this seemed like the ideal 

moment to turn up the heat. So, on Jan. 2, 

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a 

major speech on Taiwan, in which he made it 

clear that China remains determined to seek 

reunification. 

Xi dismissed the argument that China's 

autocratic political system is fundamentally 

incompatible with Taiwan's boisterous 

democracy, insisting that the "one country, 

two systems" formula, first applied to Hong 

Kong when it reverted from British to 

Chinese rule in 1997, would be sufficient to 

protect Taiwan's interests and autonomy. 

The formula is, however, now unraveling in 

Hong Kong, where freedoms have been 

eroding during Xi's tenure. 

Nor did Xi indicate that he would offer 

concessions to entice Taiwan back to the 

negotiating table. On the contrary, despite 

declaring that "Chinese will not fight 

Chinese," he refused to renounce the use of 

force to prevent Taiwan from seeking formal 

independence. China must, in his words, 

"reserve the option to take any necessary 

measure," though he claims that the threat is 

aimed at "external forces and at an extremely 

small number of 'Taiwan independence' 

separatists." 

Although Xi's tough stance toward Taiwan 

may end up reinvigorating flagging support 

for Tsai and the DPP, there is no reason to 

think that he will abandon it any time soon. 

Again, Taiwan's government was unfazed. 

Tsai responded with a defiant speech of her 

own, in which she flatly rejected both the 

One China principle and the "one country, 

two systems" formula, and called for the 

international community to support 

Taiwan's de facto independence. 

Although Xi's tough stance toward Taiwan 

may end up reinvigorating flagging support 

for Tsai and the DPP, there is no reason to 

surrounding his presidency. Here he will 

be acutely aware how early optimism 

during the last two presidencies of Nicolas 

Sarkozy and Francois Hollande fizzled out 

with both ultimately becoming unpopular 

one-term heads of state. Indeed, Hollande 

- who became the least popular president 

since records began - decided not to even 

seek re-election, the first incumbent not to 

try for a second term in the Fifth Republic. 

The stakes in play are so high because, 

given voter discontent with the traditional 

political duopoly of centre-right 

Republicans and centre-left Socialists, if 

Macron fails with his political 

programme, the primary beneficiaries of 

popular discontent with him may well be 

extreme anti-establishment figures, 

especially the leader of the far-right 

National Front Le Pen. Although she was 

comprehensively beaten by Macron in 

2017, she nonetheless secured more than 

40 per cent of the vote and is young 

enough to run potentially in several more 

presidential elections. 

To regain the political initiative in this 

context, and become a powerful 

contender for a second term of office, 

Macron needs to rebuild public 

confidence in his policy agenda. During 

his election campaign, he showed that 

politicians of the centre ground often 

benefit from having an optimistic, 

forward-looking vision for tackling 

complex, long-term policy challenges like 

tackling stagnant living standards. 

Source : Gulf news 

China's perilous Taiwan policy causing friction with US 

Minxin Pei 

That is not good enough for China, which has continued to tighten 

the screws on Taiwan. For example, it persuaded five other countries 

to follow it in severing diplomatic ties, reducing the number of 

countries that maintain formal relations with the island to just 17. 

China has also taken steps to stifle tourism from the mainland: 

Whereas nearly 4.2 million mainland Chinese tourists visited 

Taiwan in 2015, when the pro-Beijing Kuomintang government was 

in power, the total fell to just 2.7 million in 2017. 

think that he will abandon it any time soon. 

But nor is there reason to think that China's 

policy will stop backfiring. While inflicting 

economic pain and diplomatic humiliation 

on Taiwan may produce some short-term 

psychological satisfaction for China, the 

island will adjust over time, and Chinese 

actions will yield decreasing returns. 

For example, after China cut the number 

of mainland visitors, Taiwan turned its 

attention to attracting tourists from other 

countries. Despite the decline in visitors 

from the mainland, 11 million tourists - a 

new record - visited the island in 2018. To 

reduce its economic dependence on the 

mainland, Taiwan has also been aggressively 

diversifying its overseas markets. 

Moreover, although China's economy is far 

larger, Taiwan has some important sources 

of leverage. For example, restricting its 

electronics industry - which forms a vital link 

between China and global information 

technology supply chains - from doing 

business with the mainland would 

significantly accelerate the exodus of exportoriented 

manufacturers from China spurred 

by rising US import tariffs. 

Perhaps the most dangerous consequence 

of China's Taiwan policy is that it raises 

further tensions with the US. As the ultimate 

protector of Taiwan's de facto independence, 

the US has already taken steps to convey the 

message that it will not just sit by and watch 

China bully the island into submission. 

Source: Arab News

DEVELOPMENT TUESDAy, 

JANUARy 15, 2019 

5 

Africa’s hydropower future 

Development Desk 

Rapid population growth 

looks set to further strain 

energy services, with some 

estimating that the 

continent's population will 

surpass four billion by the 

end of the century. 

Access to electricity is both 

limited and uneven. 

Africa's major hydropower projects. 

Economic powerhouses such 

as Egypt have almost total 

electricity coverage, but it 

remains scarce in countries 

such as Chad and Liberia, as 

well as South Sudan, where 

only 1.5 per cent of people 

have access to such energy. 

Similarly, step outside the 

continent's cities and the 

picture is also bleak: the 

electrification rate for rural 

settlements is just 27.8 per 

cent. 

In the face of rampant 

energy poverty, African 

governments are increasingly 

turning to renewable sources 

to spur development and 

improve lives and livelihoods. 

And a cornerstone of this 

move towards renewables is 

hydropower. 

From its source in the 

African Great Lakes to its 

delta in Egypt, the Nile 

travels for almost 7,000 

kilometres through habitats 

including mountains, tropical 

forests, desert, savannahs 

and wetlands, many of which 

are rich in biodiversity. Its 

drainage basin covers about a 

tenth of Africa's land area and 

is shared by 11 countries. 

For thousands of years, 

Photo: Wikipedia 

people living beside the river 

have depended on it. 

Agriculture has developed in 

harmony with rainfall 

patterns, and people have 

built small dams to harness 

the river's water for crop 

irrigation. More recently, 

governments have started 

using the river to produce 

electricity. 

But despite its length, the 

Nile carries relatively little 

water because it often flows 

through arid areas where 

there is little rainfall or water 

flowing through the ground. 

The river's biodiversity is also 

vulnerable to climate change: 

rising temperatures are 

altering the Nile's seasonal 

cycles, making droughts 

more likely as well as 

increasing evaporation from 

its lakes. 

When planning a large 

hydroelectric dam on a major 

river such as the Nile, 

environmental factors such 

as these need to be 

considered, despite the risk 

that this will impede work or 

boost upfront costs. 

Researchers should study 

how a region's water cycle 

integrates with biodiversity 

and local people's lives, and 

factor their findings into the 

proposed design. 

Producing environmental 

assessments that adhere to 

international standards can 

help lessen some of the 

disputes associated with dam 

projects, such as those 

relating to alterations to 

water flow. Assessments have 

been carried out for the 

Grand 

Ethiopian 

Renaissance Dam (GERD), a 

huge hydropower plant being 

built on the Blue Nile, one of 

the river's two main 

tributaries. But critics say the 

assessments lack detail and 

fail to meet international 

standards. 

Accelerationsism or Degrowth: 

where the world should move 

ahead 

Fatima Arkin 

As part of Not the Anarchist Bookfair in London, 

Corporate Watch along with Uneven Earth and Plan 

CLondon organised a discussion on technology, 

ecology and future worlds. The event, named Techno 

Fantasies and Eco Realities, was attended by about 

20 people and included some wide ranging and at 

times lively discussion around the role of technology 

and ecology in future worlds. In particular it focused 

on how we can free our imaginations from the grip of 

capitalist realism (the idea that capitalism is the only 

option for organising society), picturing possible 

future worlds and the role that technology will play in 

them, while keeping our imagined worlds grounded 

in social and ecological realities. For example, not 

forgetting that we are living on a planet with limited 

natural resources or that we have to consider how to 

make these imagined futures real. 

Although initially a tongue in cheek provocation, 

Fully Automated Luxury Communism (FALC) has 

morphed into a serious proposition of how 

technology and automation could be used to 

provide for everyone's needs and free people from 

the drudgery of wage labour. Bastani's piece 

attempts to counter some of the ecological 

critiques of the idea, arguing that FALC can be 

green. Instead of trying to halt the progress of 

technological development, and reduce energy 

consumption, Aaron argues that we should ride 

the technological horse to move beyond scarcity, 

proposing a kind of accelerationism where 

technology is rapidly advanced in order to bring 

about radical social change. 

In "Accelerationism.. and Degrowth? The Left's 

Strange Bedfellows", Aaron Vansintjan looks at 

accelerationist ideas like FALC and compares them 

to 'degrowth', evaluating the similarities and 

differences between the two frameworks. Degrowth 

is a movement that has emerged from 

environmentalism and alternative economics and is 

focused on theorising and creating non-growth based 

economies and societies. 

The key differences centre around 

accelerationism's focus on reappropriating 

technology to achieve a resource-unlimited society, 

versus degrowth's aim of limiting the development of 

certain forms of technology and staying within 

resource constraints. Degrowth also seeks to slow the 

metabolism of society, whereas accelerationism aims 

to increase the pace of social change. Ultimately, 

while supportive of accelerationism's inspiring 

vision, Vansinjtan finds it seriously lacking in dealing 

with ecological critiques. 

Rut Elliot Blomqvist examines three different 

visions of possible future worlds and the role that 

technology plays in them. 'Pulling the Magic Lever' is 

a reference to how technology is used to answer social 

or ecological problems without explaining how it will 

do so: you simply 'pull the magic lever' of technology 

and hey presto, it's all solved. It's a running theme in 

all three of the imagined futures Blomqvist chooses to 

analyse. The first is in The World We Made, a novel 

by environmentalist Jonathon Porrit, then The 

Venus Project, a technology based political 

proposition, and finally Fully Automated Luxury 

Communism. In their analysis, Blomqvist uses a 

World Systems Theory approach to evaluate the 

ideas, critiquing the story of modernisation by 

framing it around colonialism. 

Students of a Rwanda's school participating in a class with digital blackboard. 

Photo: Panos 

A promise of tech in development 

Anita Makri 

When I arrived at the Bellagio Center in 

early November as a visiting journalist 

at the Rockefeller Foundation's 

thematic residency on science for 

development, the plan was to talk about 

how technology can be put to better use 

for development. 

It didn't all go to plan. We certainly 

had lively and stimulating 

conversations, and we did talk about the 

role of technology, just not in the way 

that I expected. Let me explain. The 

Center regularly hosts academics, 

scientists and artists from around the 

world to foster inter-disciplinary 

discussions on pressing international 

issues. For this residency, the selection 

brought together an eclectic group 

working in different roles across issues 

such as human rights, water 

management, climate change, food 

security, engineering and university 

education. 

Every Wednesday evening at Bellagio 

our conversations focused on a different 

theme, which was also explored 

through interviews and online debates 

on the SciDev.Net website. In each of 

those conversations, as it turned out, we 

would brush over the nitty-gritty of how 

technology can help to very quickly get 

to the wider social, political and 

economic baggage that comes with 

technological tools. Take climate 

change and energy, our first week's 

topic. The evening began with questions 

focused on small-scale, off-grid systems 

that can help lift people out of poverty 

and - if deployed widely - contribute to 

mitigation, particularly in India where a 

large population and rising energy 

demands could undermine global 

mitigation targets. Did the room agree 

that small-scale energy technologies 

had a role to play, I wondered, and what 

would it take to adopt them at scale? 

As the discussion evolved, off-grid 

systems remained beyond reach. Much 

of the focus was on the right regulation 

and financial incentives to make 

distributed energy generation viable - 

issues that do also matter for systems 

like small solar. Investment from 

multilateral institutions favours big 

projects, we heard. And there was talk 

about nuclear power as a part of the 

future energy mix in the global South. 

The grid was very present in the 

room. The bigger picture here, I 

thought, is that centralised energy 

systems are part of a status quo - large 

and entrenched, and difficult to shift. 

And this raises the question, which 

development thinkers have tackled in 

recent years, of how best to make 

change happen. By the end of the 

second week, which focused on food 

and agriculture, there was a clear 

message that technology is never 

neutral or necessarily a route to 

progress: it can be beneficial, and yet 

can carry unintended consequences. 

For many people in the room, it was also 

clear that this doesn't happen in a 

vacuum - that the choice of what 

technological tools to push or adopt 

often comes attached to power and begs 

questions over who controls them, and 

who stands to gain or lose. 

While mobile phones give farmers 

access to crucial information about 

weather forecasts or crop prices, for 

example, tools that promise high 

productivity - such as specialised seeds 

or high-tech irrigation - can make 

farmers dependent on agri-systems 

outside their control. The 

environmental fallout of using fertilisers 

to boost productivity during the Green 

Revolution was also part of that 

discussion. 

The dual use of technology echoed 

through the rest of the residency. In the 

discussion over the promise of big data, 

concerns over privacy and the transfer 

of data ownership to corporations - or 

indeed authoritarian governments - 

loomed large. By the time we came to 

look at the topic of health systems and 

the growing appeal of 'digital health', 

there was no getting away from 

questioning assumptions that 

technology is a sure bet to a better life. 

An agreement for capacity development and creating employment 

The credit is from the World Bank's International Development Association(IDA), and has a 30-year 

term. 

Photo: Internet 

What role does technology play in our ecologically sustainable future, and how do we get 

there. 


Development Desk 

The government of Bangladesh signed a 

$250 million development policy 

operation to support the country's 

reform efforts to create large-scale, 

better-paid and inclusive jobs. The 

Programmatic Jobs Development Policy 

Credit-the first of a series of three 

planned operations-will help 

Bangladesh build a stronger policy and 

institutional framework to create faster 

and more inclusive jobs for citizens, 

including women, youth, overseas 

migrants and the vulnerable members of 

the population. 

The program takes a comprehensive 

approach to overcome the binding 

constraints to job creation. It aims to 

help leverage Bangladesh's comparative 

advantage in manufacturing sector 

while stimulating investment, making 

doing business easier, and modernizing 

customs and trade facilitation. To ensure 

workers' protection, it will also help 

implement amendments to the labor law 

and reform the pensions program. 

In recent years, the pace of job creation 

has slowed, especially for women and 

youth. They are often engaged in low 

quality informal jobs with weak 

protection for workers. Further, 

Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable 

countries to climate change. 

The program will support reforms to 

help Bangladesh create jobs sustainably 

by adapting to the rapidly changing 

environment as well as managing the 

risks related to climate change. 

"The Seventh Five Year Plan, Vision 

2021 and the electoral pledge, 

"Bangladesh on the March to 

Prosperity," have identified creating 

quality and inclusive jobs as a priority 

for the country," said Monowar 

Ahmed, Secretary, Economic 

Relations Division, Government of 

Bangladesh. "The program will help 

the government's ongoing initiatives to 

create labour intensive quality jobs 

while laying the foundation for a more 

resilient economy and stronger social 

protection." 

With 36 percent of females in the 

labor force versus around 82 percent 

of males, women face more challenges 

in accessing quality jobs. The 

agreement was signed by Monowar 

Ahmed and Qimiao Fan on behalf of 

the government of Bangladesh and the 

World Bank, respectively. The World 

Bank was among the first 

development partners to support 

Bangladesh following its 

independence. Since then the World 

Bank has committed more than $30 

billion, mostly in grants and interestfree 

credits to Bangladesh. Bangladesh 

currently has the largest IDA program 

totaling $12.4 billion. 

Accelerationsism or Degrowth: Where 

the world should move ahead 

As part of Not the Anarchist Bookfair 

in London, Corporate Watch along with 

Uneven Earth and Plan CLondon 

organised a discussion on technology, 

ecology and future worlds. The event, 

named Techno Fantasies and Eco 

Realities, was attended by about 20 

people and included some wide ranging 

and at times lively discussion around the 

role of technology and ecology in future 

worlds. In particular it focused on how 

we can free our imaginations from the 

grip of capitalist realism (the idea that 

capitalism is the only option for 

organising society), picturing possible 

future worlds and the role that 

technology will play in them, while 

keeping our imagined worlds grounded 

in social and ecological realities. For 

example, not forgetting that we are living 

on a planet with limited natural 

resources or that we have to consider 

how to make these imagined futures 

real.

NATIONAL 

TuESDAY, JANuARY 15, 2019 

6 

Press briefing on Vitamin-A Plus 

campaign held in Kishoreganj 

SHAH MD. SARWAR JAHAN, KISHoREGANJ CoRRESPoNDENT: 

A press briefing on National Vitamin-A Plus campaign was 

held at the conference room of Kishoreganj 250 Bed General 

Hospital on Monday. 

Civil Surgeon Dr. Md. Habibur Rahman presided over the 

meeting while Deputy Commissioner Md. Sarowar Murshed 

Chowhdury was present as the chief guest at the occasion. It 

was addressed among others by Deputy Civil Surgeon Dr. 

Md. Mujibur Rahman, District Education officer Md. 

Mustafizur Rahman, District Primary Education officer 

Mohammad Sazzad Hossain, Deputy Director of 

Kishoreganj 250 Bed General Hospital Dr. Sultana Razia, 

BMA General Secratory Dr. Abdul Wahab Badal and Deputy 

Director (Health) Tapan Kumar Datta. 

During the campaign a total number of 4 lakh 99 thousand 

children aged between six months to 59 months would be 

administered Vitamin-A plus capsule. 

National Vitamin 'A' plus 

campaign covers 94,268 

babies in Narail 

NARAIL: National vitamin 'A' plus campaign (Second Round) 

will be implemented in three upazilas of Narail district on 

January 19 (Saturday), reports BSS. 

A total of 94,268 children of 6 months to 59 months age group 

will be feed vitamin A plus capsule in Sadar, Lohagora and Kalia 

upazilas of the district. 

A meeting was held in this regard at conference room of Civil 

surgeon today (Monday) to make the programme a success. 

Civil surgeon Dr Asaduzzaman Munshi Toni presided over the 

meeting while deputy Commissioner (DC) Anjuman Ara was 

present as chief guest. The Civil Surgeon stressed on the 

importance of providing Vitamin A Plus Capsule to every under 

five baby to prevent various diseases for healthier growth. 

He emphasis on providing Vitamin A Plus Capsule to every 

under- five baby to increase their disease resistant capacity for 

further reducing infant mortality rate and preventing night 

blindness. 

A press briefing on National Vitamin-A Plus campaign 2019 was held at the conference room of 

Kishoreganj 250 Bed General Hospital on Monday. 

Photo: Shah Md. Sarwar Jahan 

Habiganj DC makes surprise 

inspection at Kalenga School 

Mamun Chowdhury, Habiganj 

Correspondent: Deputy Commissioner 

of Habiganj Mahmudul Kabir Murad 

made a surprise inspection at Kalenga 

Government Primary School of 

Chunarughat upazila. He visited the 

school on January 12. The Deputy 

Commissioner asked the authorities to 

take necessary measures against three 

teachers for being absent 

During the inspection, headmaster of 

the school, Wazedur Rahman Khan 

informed the Deputy Commissioner 

that the number of students in the 

school is about 290. Number of 

teachers including him is 5. Meanwhile, 

a female teacher is teaching there 

without a contract. on Saturday, the 

other three teachers (Shah Alam, 

Wazifa and Aman Ullah) did not attend 

school. After checking the registrar copy 

Deputy Commissioner Mahmudul 

Kabir found out that the female teacher 

is absent for last three days. 

The Deputy Commissioner expressed 

concern over the situation. In addition, 

he directed the District Primary 

Education officer to take necessary 

measures against the three teachers for 

being absent. 

Deputy Commissioner Mahmudul 

Kabir Murad said that the present 

government has taken massive steps for 

the development of primary education. 

If the teacher is absent in the school, 

how will the children study? It cannot 

be tolerated. Tough steps to be taken for 

this and none will be spared. 

Later, he visited the nearby 

Chamaltali Chowdhury Shamsunnahar 

Chowdhury Government Primary 

School. There he also saw irregularities 

of teachers coming to school in time. 

During the inspection DRRo Md 

Nazrul Islam, UNo of Chunarughat 

Moin Uddin Iqbal and PIo Monir 

Hossain was also present at the 

occasion. 

Deputy Commissioner of Habiganj Mahmudul Kabir Murad made a surprise inspection at Kalenga 

Government Primary School of Chunarughat upazila of the district recently. 

Photo: Mamun Chowdhury 

Rangpur Deputy Commissioner Enamul Habib as the chief guest inaugurated the work of re-excavation 

of the Bamondighi pond of Ekorchali union in Taraganj upazila on Monday. Photo: Biplob Hossain 

On behalf of ethnic minority group students and guardians, crests were provided among the guests 

during Education convention 2019 in Kamalganj upazila on Monday. Photo: Pintu Debnath 

Education convention with ethnic minority 

group students and guardians held 

PINTU DEBNATH, KAMALGANJ CoRRESPoNDENT: 

Education convention 2019 was held 

in Kamalganj upazila of Moulvibazar 

with ethnic minority group students 

and guardians on Monday. 

Indigenous Manipuri Cultural and 

Education Development organization 

organized the program at the Baligaon 

Government Primary School premises 

of Kamalganj Sadar Union. Vice 

Chancellor of Sylhet Shahjalal 

DINAJPUR: Law enforcers, in 

special drives arrested 23 persons 

including seven drug traders from 

different areas of the district in 12- 

hour ending at 8am last morning, 

reports BSS. 

Law enforcers also seized 65 pieces 

of Yaba tablets and 109 bottles of 

Phensidyl during the drives. 

Police said they were picked up 

from different areas of the district on 

different charges. 

During the drives, Dinajpur Sadar 

police arrested four persons 

including two drug traders along 

with 65 pieces of Yaba tablets, 

Birganj Thana police arrested two 

persons, Bochaganj Thana police 

arrested one person, Parbatipur 

Thana police arrested two persons, 

Nawabganj Thana police arrested 

two persons, Ghoraghat Thana 

police arrested three persons 

University of Science and Technology 

Professor Dr. Farid Uddin Ahmed was 

present as the chief guest at the 

occasion. 

President of Greater Sylhet Adivasi 

Forum Pidishon Pradhan chaired the 

occasion while Indian Assistant High 

Commissioner in Bangladesh L 

Krishna Murti Kamlganj was present as 

the special guest at the occasion. 

Among others, Upazila Parishad 

Chairman Professor Md. Rafiqur 

23 held in Dinajpur 

special drives 

including two drug traders, 

Birampur Thana Police arrested one 

person, Biral Thana police arrested 

two persons, Hakimpur Thana 

police arrested one person and 

Kaharole Thana police arrested two 

persons. 

Several cases, including charges of 

subversive activities, are pending 

with different police stations against 

the arrested persons, the sources 

added. 

Meanwhile, members of Border 

Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in a drive 

detained three drug traders along 

with 109 bottles of Phensidyl around 

7am from Hili Railway Station in 

Hakimpur upazila of the district. 

Later, the detained persons were 

handed over to the Hakimpur Thana 

police, BGB said. 

The arrested persons were sent to 

jail. 

Rahman, Upazila Nirbahi officer 

Ashekul Haque, Manipuri Social 

Welfare Association's Central President 

Pratap Singh, Upazila Secondary 

Education officer Samsun Nahar 

Parvin, Manipuri Social Welfare 

Association's Central Vice President 

Swapan Kumar Singh, Department and 

Publicity Secretary Susil Singh and 

Manipuri Community leader Milon 

Singh Jyoti were also present at the 

occasion. 

Orientation workshop on 

'awareness of development 

of children and women' 

held 

SHAHRIAR MILToN, SHERPUR CoRRESPoNDENT: 

An orientation workshop on 'awareness 

of development of children and women' 

organized by the Department of Mass 

Communication under Ministry of 

Information was held in Nalitabari 

upazila of Sherpur on Monday. 

Nalitabari Upazila Nirbahi officer Md. 

Arifur Rahman inaugurated the 

workshop. District Information officer 

Tahlima Jannat, Assistant Information 

officer Ibrahim Molla Suman and Dr. 

Zahid Hasan spoke on the occasion. 

Among others, Assistant 

Commissioner (Land) Lubna Sharmin, 

Municipal Mayor Abu Bakr Siddique, 

Upazila Awami League president Ziaul 

Hossain, secretary Fazlur Rahman Fazlu, 

district information office broadcaster 

Abdul Mannan and several government 

primary headmaster, chairman and 

media workers were also present at the 

occasion. 

Re-excavation 

of Bamondighi 

pond 

inaugurated 

in Taraganj 

BIPLoB HoSSAIN, TARAGANJ 

CoRRESPoNDENT: 

Re-excavation work of 

Bamondighi pond of 

Ekorchali union in 

Taraganj upazila under the 

"Increase in fish 

production through water 

improvement" project of 

Fisheries Department was 

held on Monday. 

Rangpur Deputy 

Commissioner Enamul 

Habib inaugurated the 

work of re-excavation of 

the Bamondighi pond as 

the chief guest. Among 

others, Upazila Parishad 

Chairman Anisur Rahman 

Liton, UNo Aminul Islam, 

President of Atiur Rahman 

of Atiur Rahman, Fisheries 

officer Lutfunnahar along 

with District and Upazila 

officials were also present 

at the occasion. 

Poem festival entertains 

Rangpur people 

RANGPUR: A winter 

poem festival-2019 

entertained a large 

number of common 

people of all ages at 

Shilpokola Academy 

auditorium in the city on 

Sunday night, reports 

BSS. 

'The Anjolika Sahittya 

Potra', a popular weekly 

literary magazine, 

organised the festival 

participated by noted 

writers, poets and lyricists 

belonging to different 

generations, educationists, 

literary and socio-cultural 

personalities. 

Editor of 'The Anjolika 

Sahittya Potra' poet 

Dilruba Shahadat 

presided over the festival 

where recitation of poems, 

self-composed poems and 

lyrics dedicated to the 

winter season entertained 

the audience. 

Noted writers and poets 

Mohfel Haque, Abu Jafar 

Abdullah, literary 

organiser and lyricist 

AKM Shahidur Rahman 

and educationist 

Professor Shariful Amin 

Kochi addressed the 

festival as guests of 

honour. 

Writers and poets 

Shahjahan Mandal, 

Reazul Nabi, Basher Ibne 

Jahur, Tasmin Afroz, 

Lutfar Rahman Shaju, 

Mahbubul Alam Sarker, 

SM Sathi Begum, Dr 

Nasima Akhter, Dr 

Ferdous Rahman, 

Mizanur Rahman, Selina 

Sattar Shelly, Mamtazur 

Rahman Babu and Golam 

Mostafa recited selfcomposed 

poems. 

Recitation of poems by 

poet-lyricists Abdul 

Hakim Khosru, Shahida 

Milky, Hasnine Rabbi, 

Joseph Akhter, Nahid 

Afroz Liza, Rumana 

Begum, Mossarraf 

Hossain, Kamrul Hasan, 

Rabiul Islam Lazu, Bazlur 

Rashid, Sumaiya Tasnim, 

Zannatul Ferdous, 

Sumona Mahfuz 

Chowdhury and Eshita 

Ahmed Esha entertained 

the audience a lot. 

Besides, Ziaul Alma 

Faruki, Sharif Ahmad, 

Mouli Islam, Nasrine Naz, 

Zobayer Ali Jewell, 

Soilendra Nath Barma, 

Zakia Sultana, Pervin 

Sultana, Lutfar Rahman, 

Shahnaz Pervin, Matiar 

Rahman Afrin and Ayesha 

Siddika recited selfcomposed 

poems, rhymes 

and lyrics. 

Poet Dilruba Shahadat 

called for nurturing all 

rich components of 

Bengali literature, culture 

and heritage to revive the 

lost social values for 

building a peaceful and 

prosperous Bangladesh 

free from drug, 

corruption, militancy and 

terrorism. 

An orientation workshop on 'awareness of development of children and women' was held in 

Nalitabari upazila of Sherpur on Monday. 

Photo: Shahriar Milton

INTERNATIONAL TUeSDAy, 

3 

JANUARy 15, 2019 

Romania: Ruling 

party member quits 

over president Nazi jibe 

Romania's ruling Social 

Democratic Party says an 

adviser to a regional leader 

who published a manipulated 

image of the country's 

president dressed in Nazi 

uniform has quit over the 

matter. 

The party's Vrancea county 

branch said Constantin 

Guguianu resigned his post 

and from the party on Monday, 

days after he posted a 

fake photo on social media 

of President Klaus Iohannis 

wearing a Nazi helmet 

emblazoned with a swastika. 

The party distanced itself 

from his action in a statement, 

saying it firmly condemned 

"this kind of behavior." The 

Elie Wiesel National Institute 

for Holocaust Study also criticized 

the smear, saying it 

could encourage similar 

"gaffes." Guguianu later deleted 

the post. 

In recent months, several 

senior Social Democrats 

including two ministers 

have made jibes about 

Iohannis, an ethnic German, 

linking him to the Nazis. 

Pakistan's ex-PM 

Sharif to remain in 

prison despite ruling 

Pakistan's former Prime 

Minister Nawaz Sharif is to 

remain in prison despite a 

ruling by the country's 

Supreme Court that upheld 

a lower court's decision that 

freed him on bail. 

Sharif and his family have 

been embroiled in several trials 

and an array of corruption 

charges following his ouster 

from office in July 2017. 

The top court on Monday 

ruled against the prosecution, 

which had sought to 

overturn a verdict from September 

that suspended 

Sharif's 10-year sentence 

over the purchase of luxury 

apartments in London. 

Following that suspension, 

Sharif was released on 

bail four months ago but 

was again sent to prison 

when another court convicted 

him in December and 

sentenced him to seven 

years on graft charges. 

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that President Donald Trump's threat to devastate NATO ally Turkey's economy 

if it attacks U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in Syria underscores America's commitment to its partners. 


Pompeo: Trump threat to Turkey 

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo 

said Monday that President Donald 

Trump's threat to devastate 

NATO ally Turkey's economy if it 

attacks U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters 

in Syria underscores America's commitment 

to its partners. 

Pompeo said he had yet to speak 

with Turkish officials or Trump about 

the president's tweeted threat and 

that he assumed Trump was referring 

to the imposition of sanctions should 

Turkey take military action against 

the Kurds in Syria, U.S. allies in the 

fight against the Islamic State group. 

On Sunday, Trump tweeted that the 

U.S. will "attack again from existing 

nearby base if it (IS) reforms. Will 

devastate Turkey economically if they 

hit Kurds." 

Trump's decision to leave Syria, 

which he initially said would be rapid 

but later slowed down, shocked U.S. 

allies and angered the Syrian Kurds. 

Pompeo said the U.S. message on 

the Kurds has been straightforward 

and unchanged since Trump made 

the decision to withdraw U.S. troops 

from Syria last month. 

"The administration has been very 

consistent with respect to our 

requirement that the Turks not go 

China says it exchanged data 

with NASA on far side landing 

shows US commitment to Kurds 

China exchanged data with 

NASA on its recent mission to 

land a Chinese spacecraft on 

the far side of the moon, the 

Chinese space agency said 

Monday, in what was reportedly 

the first such collaboration 

since an American law banned 

joint space projects with China 

that do not have prior congressional 

approval. 

The space agency's deputy 

director, Wu Yanhua, said 

NASA shared information 

about its lunar orbiter satellite 

in hopes of monitoring the 

landing of the Chang'e 4 spacecraft, 

which made China the 

first country to land on the far 

side of the moon earlier this 

month. 

China in turn shared the 

time and coordinates of 

Chang'e 4's scheduled landing, 

Wu told reporters during a 

briefing on the lunar mission. 

He added that while NASA's 

satellite did not catch the precise 

moment of landing, it took 

photographs of the area afterward. 

The state-run China Daily 

said that was the first such 

form of cooperation since the 

2011 U.S. law was enacted. 

NASA has not published any 

statements on the collaboration 

and could not immediately 

be reached for comment. 

The lunar mission by Chang'e 4 

and its rover, Jade Rabbit 2, 

was a triumph for China's 

growing space program, which 

has been rapidly catching up 

with those of Russia and the 

U.S. President Xi Jinping has 

placed space exploration 

among the country's national 

development priorities and the 

far side mission offered a 

chance for China to do something 

not done before by any 

other country. 

The far side of the moon - the 

side which faces away from 

Earth - posed a challenge for 

after the Kurds in ways that are inappropriate," 

Pompeo said. "If they are 

terrorists, we're all about taking 

down extremists wherever we find 

them. I think the president's comments 

this morning are consistent 

with that." 

Asked specifically about what 

Trump meant by devastating 

Turkey's economy, Pompeo replied: 

"We apply sanctions in many places 

around the world. I assume he's 

speaking about those kinds of things 

but you would have to ask him." 

Trump's tweet drew a sharp 

response from Ankara and the Turkish 

lira lost some 0.84 percent of its 

value against the dollar on Monday 

following the U.S. president's threat. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 

spokesman responded to Trump on 

Twitter by saying that Turkey "fights 

against terrorists, not Kurds" as a 

people. "Terrorists can't be your partners 

& allies," the spokesman, 

Ibrahim Kalin, said. 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut 

Cavusoglu also rebuked Trump, saying 

that strategic partners do not 

speak to each other through social 

media and stressing that Turkey is 

"not afraid of any threat. You cannot 

scientists because it is beyond 

radio signals' reach. China set 

up a relay satellite in May to 

receive communication from 

Chang'e 4. 

"In the past, we were always 

rushing to catch up to the 

advanced global standards"in 

space, said Wu Weiren, the 

chief designer of China's lunar 

exploration project. 

"There were many things to 

catch up on, and fewer things 

in which we could surpass others," 

he said. "With the probe 

of the far side of the moon this 

time, Chinese people have 

done very well." 

Officials at the briefing 

declined to give specific figures 

on the costs of the space program. 

Wu Yanhua said the 

Chang'e 4 was originally built as 

a "backup product" for Chang'e 

3. He said the spending needed 

to refit it for its new objective 

was akin to repairing a short 

section of subway line. 

China exchanged data with NASA on its recent mission to land a Chinese spacecraft on the far side of 

the moon, the Chinese space agency said Monday. 

Photo : Internet 

Fujian to push 

for cross-Strait 

cooperation 

projects 

Fujian Province will push for 

cross-Strait cooperation 

projects between the mainland 

and Taiwan this year, 

including supplying water, 

electricity and gas to Kinmen 

and Matsu. 

Tang Dengjie, governor of 

the mainland coastal 

province of Fujian, made the 

remark here Monday when 

delivering the government 

work report to the annual 

session of the provincial 

people's congress. 

In early August, Fujian 

started to supply water to 

Kinmen, a small island close 

to the mainland. 

Tang said Fujian would 

also promote bridge construction 

to link the mainland 

with the small islands. 

1 killed, 9 wounded 

in war-left artillery 

shell explosion in 

eastern Cambodia 

A war-left 105mm artillery 

shell exploded on Monday, 

killing one man and injuring 

nine others in eastern Cambodia's 

Tboung Khmum 

province, local authorities said. 

The unexploded artillery 

shell, weighing about 20 kg, 

went off when a fisherman 

poured boiling lead into it, 

said Mung Raya, deputy 

police chief of Tboung 

Khmum district, where the 

blast occurred. "It exploded 

and its shrapnel killed a 36- 

year-old man and injured 

nine others," he told Xinhua, 

adding that the fisherman 

got wounded on his legs. 

According to Raya, the 

explosion occurred because 

the fisherman was trying to 

convert the artillery shell 

into a fishing-aided tool. 

achieve anything with economic 

threats." 

"We would do whatever is necessary 

to eliminate threat to our security," 

Cavusoglu added. 

Pompeo said Trump's call for a 20- 

mile safe zone between Turkish 

forces and the Kurds was consistent 

with what the U.S. is trying to achieve 

in talks with the Turks. But, he said it 

remained it work in progress. 

"We want to make sure that the 

folks who fought with us to take down 

the caliphate and ISIS have security 

and also that terrorists ... (in) Syria 

aren't able to attack Turkey, those are 

our twin aims," he told reporters in 

Riyadh after talks with Saudi officials. 

"If we can get a space, call it a buffer 

zone ... if we can get the space and the 

security arrangements right, this will 

be a good thing for everyone in the 

region," Pompeo added. 

For his part, Cavusoglu welcomed 

Trump's proposal for a 20-mile safe 

zone, saying Turkey had long advocated 

such a zone in northern Syria. 

"They bandied this idea after they 

saw Turkey's determination," Cavusoglu 

said during a news conference. 

"We are not against it." 

British Prime Minister Theresa May is trying 

to win support for her European Union 

divorce deal by promising that her government 

won't try to water down environmental 

standards and workers' rights after Brexit. 

The commitment is an attempt to gain 

backing from opposition Labour Party 

lawmakers, who suspect the government 

plans to reduce the protections after 

Britain leaves the EU. 

May's deal has drawn opposition from 

both pro-EU and pro-Brexit lawmakers, 

and is facing likely defeat in Parliament on 

Tuesday. 

The prime minister used a speech Monday 

to argue that the only alternatives to 

her deal were leaving the EU in March 

without an agreement, or reversing voters' 

decision to leave the bloc. 

May said that a no-deal Brexit would 

hurt the British economy and "put the 

future of our Union at risk," while failing to 

leave the EU would be "a subversion of the 

democratic process." 

A top European Parliament leader is urging 

British lawmakers to "behave responsibly" 

and approve the UK's divorce deal with 

the European Union. 

Manfred Weber said Monday that "we ask, 

we invite our British colleagues to behave 

Police fire tear gas in Zimbabwe's 

capital at fuel protests 

Zimbabwean police on Monday fired tear 

gas in suburbs of the capital an attempt to disperse 

angry demonstrators who burned tires 

and threw stones to protest fuel price hikes. 

Protesters were undeterred, blocking some 

roads in Harare after the government's weekend 

decision to more than double the price of 

gasoline. Children in school uniform joined the 

protests as Zimbabwe is in its worst economic 

crisis in a decade. Police also fired tear gas at 

dozens of protesters in downtown Bulawayo, 

Zimbabwe's second-largest city, witnesses 

said. The city is a center of opposition to the 

government. 

Many people in the streets directed their 

anger at President Emmerson Mnangagwa, 

who took power after longtime leader Robert 

Mugabe was forced to resign in November 

2017 but has not delivered on promises to 

revive the economy. 

"Mnangagwa has failed, he must go," one 

protester shouted. Others chanted opposition 

slogans and sang songs denouncing Mnangagwa, 

a former confidant of Mugabe who was 

elected as president in an election last year that 

Russian, Japanese foreign ministers 

discuss disputed islands 

The top diplomats of 

Russia and Japan held 

talks Monday about disputed 

islands in the Pacific as 

Moscow sought to temper 

Japanese expectations of 

an imminent deal. 

Russian Foreign Minister 

Sergey Lavrov opened the 

negotiations with Japanese 

counterpart Taro Kono by 

warning Tokyo against 

engaging in "unilateral 

rhetoric" regarding the territorial 

dispute - a stern 

statement signaling tough 

talks when the Japanese 

leader visits Moscow later 

this month. 

The Soviet Union took 

the four southernmost 

Kuril Islands during the 

final days of World War II. 

Japan asserts territorial 

rights to the islands, which 

it calls the Northern Territories, 

and the dispute has 

kept both countries from 

signing a peace treaty. 

Russian President 

Vladimir Putin and Japanese 

Prime Minister Shinzo 

Abe agreed in November to 

accelerate negotiations 

based on a 1956 Soviet proposal 

to return two of the 

islands to Japan. 

Abe, who is set to visit 

Moscow later this month, 

has recently voiced hope 

that this year will mark a 

breakthrough in talks and 

spoke about an imminent 

change of the islands' status 

- remarks that drew an 

angry response from 

Moscow. 

The Russian Foreign 

Ministry last week summoned 

the Japanese 

ambassador to protest 

recent statements from 

Tokyo, saying they represented 

an apparent 

attempt to "artificially 

incite the atmosphere 

regarding the peace treaty 

problem and try to enforce 

its own scenario of settling 

the issue." 

responsibly and vote for this agreement." 

A vote in the U.K. Parliament is expected 

Tuesday. Many British lawmakers object to 

the agreement between Brussels and Prime 

Minister Theresa May, raising fears that 

Britain may leave the EU on March 29 without 

a deal in place. 

Weber, a German conservative who heads 

the biggest group in the European Parliament, 

said lawmakers in London should 

accept the "extended hand" of their colleagues 

on the continent. 

He said the European Parliament will 

approve the agreement. 

Weber also slammed the far-right Alternative 

for Germany party's threat to quit the 

EU, saying this could cause "a situation like in 

London today: economic instability and 

political chaos." 

The British government has published a 

letter from European Union leaders that it 

hopes will ease U.K. lawmakers' worries over 

the Brexit agreement between Britain and 

the bloc. The letter to Prime Minister Theresa 

May from European Council President 

Donald Tusk and European Commission 

President Jean-Claude Juncker offers an 

assurance that the most contentious part of 

the deal - the "backstop" insurance policy to 

maintain an open border between Northern 

the opposition said was rigged. 

Most businesses in the center of Harare were 

closed. Some briefly opened but had closed by 

midday, asking workers to return home. 

Many had to walk because they could not 

afford prices charged by the few public transport 

vehicles on the road. Some schools also 

closed and asked pupils to go home. 

Police deployed in large numbers. The Zimbabwe 

Congress of Trade Unions, the country's 

biggest labor federation, has called for a 

three-day strike this week. 

Most clashes occurred in Harare's Mabvuku 

and Epworth suburbs, where residents barricaded 

roads and prevented public transport 

vehicles from operating. Some people threw 

stones at cars. Government spokesman Nick 

Mangwana said the opposition, civic groups 

and some foreign organizations are trying to 

use the fuel shortages and price increases to 

topple the government. 

The main opposition MDC party, some 

non-governmental groups and prominent 

activist Evan Mawarire said they support the 

shutdown. 

Lavrov struck a similar 

chord as he sat down for 

talks with Kono on Monday, 

noting that the peace 

treaty talks must be conducted 

"in a professional 

way without attempts to 

distort agreements reached 

on each specific stage and 

without building up polarizing 

unilateral rhetoric in 

the public domain." 

"Once again, I would like 

to ask our Japanese colleagues 

to strictly follow 

agreements by our leaders, 

both regarding the format 

of talks and, naturally, the 

substance of work on peace 

treaty," Lavrov said. 

He also pointed at the 

U.N. Charter to reaffirm 

Moscow's claim on the 

islands. 

Kono emphasized that 

the two countries need to 

solve the territorial problem 

to set stage for expanding 

their economic and 

other ties. 

Russia's top diplomat on Monday threw cold water on Tokyo's hopes for a quick return of disputed islands in the Pacific, warning 

Japan that it must recognize them as part of Russia's territory as a starting point for talks. 


May says Brexit won't see workers' rights cut 

Ireland and EU member Ireland - is intended 

as a temporary measure and "would only 

be in place for as long as strictly necessary." 

But the letter also reiterates the bloc's 

refusal to renegotiate the divorce deal. The 

two men say "we are not in a position to agree 

to anything that changes or is inconsistent 

with the Withdrawal Agreement." 

U.K. lawmakers are due to vote Tuesday on 

the Brexit deal, and it looks likely they will 

reject it. 

British Prime Minister Theresa May plans 

to tell lawmakers she has received further 

assurances about her Brexit deal from the 

European Union, in a last-ditch attempt to 

win support for the unpopular agreement. 

May is due to make a statement in the 

House of Commons Monday afternoon, a 

day before lawmakers are due to vote on her 

EU divorce deal. May argues that defeating 

the deal could open the way for EU-backing 

legislators to block Brexit, with "catastrophic" 

results for Britons' faith in democracy. 

A handful of previously opposed legislators 

got behind the agreement in the last few days, 

but they remain outnumbered by those 

determined to vote against it. Defeat would 

throw Brexit plans into disarray, weeks 

before the U.K. is due to leave the bloc on 

March 29.

ART & CULTURE 

TUeSDAY, 

jANUARY 15, 2019 

8 

Uri box office collection Day 3 

Vicky Kaushal film earns 

Rs 35.73 crore 

The Nutcracker and 

the Four Realms 

A young girl is transported into a magical world of 

gingerbread soldiers and an army of mice. 

Release Date: 

Director: 

Writers: 

Stars: 

Taglines: 

Genres: 

Also known as: 

Runtime: 

Country: 

Language: 

Production: 

02 November 2018 (USA) 

Lasse Hallström, Joe Johnston 

Ashleigh Powell 

Mackenzie Foy, Keira Knightley, 

Morgan Freeman 

In 2018, the legend you know has a 

dark side 

Adventure, Family, Fantasy 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms 

99 minutes 

USA 

English 

The Mark Gordon Company, Walt 

Disney Pictures 

Storyline : All Clara wants is a key - a one-of-a-kind key that will 

unlock a box that holds a priceless gift from her late mother. A golden 

thread, presented to her at godfather Drosselmeyer's annual holiday 

party, leads her to the coveted key-which promptly disappears into a 

strange and mysterious parallel world. It's there that Clara encounters a 

soldier named Phillip, a gang of mice and the regents who preside over 

three Realms: Land of Snowflakes, Land of Flowers, and Land of 

Sweets. Clara and Phillip must brave the ominous Fourth Realm, home 

to the tyrant Mother Ginger, to retrieve Clara's key and hopefully return 

harmony to the unstable world. |Source: IMDb] 

Uri box office collection Day 3: Vicky Kaushal film is easily beating the competition. 

Uri box office collection 

Day 3: After just three 

days, this Vicky Kaushal 

starrer has minted Rs 

35.73 crore. On its third 

day, it grossed Rs 15.10 

crore. 

Vicky Kaushal’s military 

drama Uri: The Surgical 

Strike is doing well at the 

box office. After just three 

days, it has minted Rs 

35.73 crore. It opened at 

Rs 8.20 crore and earned 

Rs 12.43 crore on the 

second day. On its third 

day, it grossed Rs 15.10 

crore. 

Based on the retaliatory 

attacks on terror launch 

pads across the Line of 

Control, Uri: The Surgical 

Strike is directed by Aditya 

Dhar. It also stars Paresh 

Rawal, Mohit Raina and 

H O ROScOpe 

ARIeS 

(March 21 - April 20): 

Everything should be going great 

for your career, Aries. It may all 

seem too good to be true, but rest assured that 

it's real. Events could involve a job change, 

promotion, raise, or the opportunity to strike 

out on your own. Don't kid yourself. 

TAURUS 

(April 21 - May 21): Discussions 

with those close to you could lead 

to the discovery of new concepts, 

perhaps from foreign cultures. 

You will want to learn more about them, 

Taurus, as will your friends. You might even 

decide to plan a trip to a place where you could 

expand your knowledge of this new interest. 

GeMINI 

(May 22 - June 21): Emotions that 

run very deep should bring you a 

lot of satisfaction today, Gemini. 

Relationships of all kinds could 

also be especially promising. A romantic 

relationship may be consummated, revitalized, 

or moved to the next level of commitment. 

cANceR 

(June 22 - July 23): Relations 

with neighbors, siblings, or 

other relatives could get a shot 

in the arm now, Cancer. For 

some, your recent business successes cause 

them to get on the bandwagon. For others, 

your personal growth could increase their 

admiration of you. 

LeO 

(July 24 - Aug. 23): Success in your 

work continues to bring good 

fortune your way. Today you might 

get reassurance that this isn't a 

flash in the pan. You're likely to be financially 

secure for a long time. You're probably feeling 

strong and robust, full of energy and stamina, and 

ready to take on just about any challenge. 

VIRGO 

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): As you continue to 

enjoy success and good fortune, your 

self-confidence grows, Virgo, and so 

you're likely to attract new relationships 

with fascinating people in exciting fields who share your 

vision and interests. These could be business 

associations, close friendships, new romantic partners. 

Yami Gautam. 

Trade analyst Taran 

Adarsh tweeted third day’s 

figures. He wrote, 

“#UriTheSurgicalStrike 

emerges the FIRST HIT of 

2019… Indeed, 2019 has 

started with high josh… 

Sets the BO on ..... on Day 

3… Packs a solid total in its 

opening weekend… Fri 

8.20 cr, Sat 12.43 cr, Sun 

15.10 cr. Total: ... 35.73 cr. 

India biz. #Uri #Hows The 

Josh.” 

Earlier, trade analyst 

Girish Johar had talked 

about Vicky Kaushal being 

the film’s USP, “Definitely 

people are looking forward 

to seeing Kaushal as a 

military officer after he 

delivered 

good 

performances last year. He 

is one of the USPs of Uri.” 

Uri has received mixed 

reviews. The Indian 

Express film critic 

Shubhra Gupta gave it 2 

stars and wrote, “Uri: The 

Surgical Strike is slickly 

made, and on the whole 

keeps you watching 

despite some clunky 

passages.” 

She added, “It’s always 

good to have movies in 

which the soldiers look real, 

and the conflict is taken 

seriously, even if the action 

is buoyed by such dialogues 

as ‘unhe Kashmir chaihye, 

humein unka sar’. If that’s 

not jingoism, I don’t know 

what is. The Pakistani bigwigs 

are shown as a bunch 

of not exactly incompetents, 

but incapable of matching 

up to the Indians.” 

-Internet 

LIBRA 

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): Today your 

sensitivity joins forces with 

practicality. Intuitive insights could 

come to you today, and you might express your 

new ideas to others, Libra. Don't be surprised if 

they accept them. Your unconscious mind is on a 

far more practical track than you may assume. 

ScORpIO 

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) : Today shows the 

promise of being a very busy yet 

fulfilling day, Scorpio. Enterprises 

involving corporations, churches, or 

other groups in your community are likely to benefit 

from your participation. You combine intuition with 

practicality in everything you do. You're especially 

communicative and good at dealing with others. Don't 

be surprised if public recognition comes your way. 

SAGITTARIUS 

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21) : - Your financial 

success over the past several weeks 

may seem too good to be true, 

Sagittarius. It might make yet 

another leap forward. This should make you 

happy. It also could bring up your insecurity over 

whether or not this cycle will continue. 

cApRIcORN 

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): You're flying 

high at this point, Capricorn, 

enjoying the success you've achieved 

over the past several weeks. Today 

you could accomplish yet another goal, adding to 

your feeling of accomplishment. You might plan a 

vacation or perhaps return to college. 

AQUARIUS 

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19): Today you might 

have insights as to how to advance your 

career. These could come your way 

through dreams, sudden revelations, or 

perhaps visions. Don't hesitate to put them into action 

simply because of the unorthodox way they come to you, 

Aquarius. Some of the most progressive and successful 

ideas have come because the inventor had a vivid dream. 

pISceS 

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : All your relationships 

should be especially warm and 

supportive now, Pisces. This is a great day 

to form a business, personal, or romantic 

partnership. Business partnerships made now should be 

successful, while committed romantic bonds entered into 

today could well last for a long time. 

On and off the endless 

treadmill of fitness trends 

Face-o-Metrics, taught at Alexander’s department stores. 

In 1969, The Times declared that exercise 

studios, particularly those run by a certain 

Russian émigré, had become as modish as 

restaurants. Women who were attuned to 

aspirational signifiers like the right hairdresser 

or, as the article said, "that little jewel of a 

manicurist". 

Penelope Green 

Do you remember Face-o-Metrics? How 

about FloMotion? Or kitchen calisthenics? Me 

neither. But The New York Times recorded 

these and many, many other modern fitness 

fads, an exhausting - and often poignant - 

chronicle of pain, gain and some very peculiar 

practices. Taken as a whole, the paper's 

coverage of the last half-century of exercise 

recalls the old joke, Samuel Johnson by way of 

Oscar Wilde, about second marriages: a 

triumph of hope over experience. 

In the mid-1960s, companies like Shell Oil 

offered their female employees a program of 

self-improvement: five weeks' worth of 

exercise, posture, etiquette and fashion titled 

Personality Workshop Inc. It was so successful 

with "the girls," as they were called - otherwise 

known as secretaries - that their male 

managers signed up as well, to learn how to 

count calories, breathe properly by blowing up 

balloons and fling towels about to stay trim. 

In 1966, Face-o-Metrics were taught at 

Alexander's department stores. (It was an era 

when department stores were still gathering 

places, vibrant agoras for more than just 

shopping.) These facial workouts were 

invented by one Jessica Krane, the "prophet of 

the basic woo and the ostrich," as the paper 

described her. The basic woo, the article went 

on to say, is the shape your mouth makes "as if 

one were uttering a very intense woo" - go on, 

try it - and its practice, with variations, 

promised to erase lines around the mouth. The 

ostrich, designed to banish double chins and 

jowls, required leaning your head back as far as 

possible. 

Another exercise was to obscure your age, if 

you were a woman older than 25. The article 

portrayed Krane's own face as being wrinkle 

free, though it pointed out, rather nastily, that 

she did look as if she were over 25. 

In 1969, The Times declared that exercise 

studios, particularly those run by a certain 

Russian émigré, had become as modish as 

restaurants. Women who were attuned to 

aspirational signifiers like the right hairdresser 

or, as the article said, "that little jewel of a 

manicurist" - these included a copywriter from 

Cosmopolitan, a filmmaker's assistant and the 

wife of a television personality - were drawn to 

places like Alex & Walter on West 57th Street, 

where they might hang from rings like circus 

performers or real gymnasts. 

More populist was an establishment that 

cannily operated across the street from Macy's, 

where fashion collided with reality on a daily 

basis. The trauma of the dressing-room mirror 

greatly benefited the Health Spa, as it was 

blandly named, which saw as many as 400 

clients a day. "Hot pants, especially, have 

gotten us a lot of clients," its proprietor said. 

Operating under the principle that "all women 

are sisters under their leotards," the place was 

a favorite of switchboard operators, flight 

attendants, bookkeepers and, notably, Phyllis 

Chesler, the second-wave feminist author and 

psychologist, who offered, as the reporter 

wrote, "the women liberationist point of view." 

"Physical health is important to women," 

Chesler said. "And they don't get the same 

opportunities that men do to exercise their 

bodies." Speaking of hot pants, The Times 

reviewed a curious piece of apparel in 1971, an 

inflatable "reducing" garment named for the 

popular short shorts. Shrinkage, not fitness, 

seemed to be the goal; the contraption was 

tested by a 32-year-old woman and a 16-yearold 

girl, both of whom were identified as 

overweight in a jaw-dropping expression of 

rigid beauty standards that would surely have 

inflamed Chesler. 

"The teenager is about 30 pounds 

overweight according to insurance industry 

statistics," the article said flatly, adding that she 

was "extremely athletic, and has won several 

swimming and diving trophies." 

Neither tester lost inches, but their legs were 

Working out is one of the most common New Year resolutions. 

sore from the routine, which was grueling by any 

standards. Also, the Hot Pants leaked, making 

them potentially more toxic than their 

messaging. One can only imagine what 

poisonous cocktail was in the garment's 

"thermal packs," which contained "a chemicallyimpregnated 

sponge that produces heat." 

In 1973, two years before it went out of 

business forever, Arnold Constable, a carriage 

trade establishment on 40th Street and Fifth 

Avenue, offered working women lunchtime 

exercise classes. (Open since 1825, it was once 

the city's oldest specialty store, and a favorite of 

Eleanor Roosevelt's.) 

One teacher performed her version of yoga 

and calisthenics in the windows, hoping to lure 

passers-by into her classes. The female reporter 

who had written so trenchantly about 

aspirational exercise also covered the Arnold 

Constable window act, in an article that 

included this unsisterly sentence: "Women 

shoppers, including one 200-pounder, looked 

on in envy." Oh to have been a participant in 

kitchen calisthenics, taught by Suzy Prudden, a 

co-author of I Can Exercise Anywhere, 

published in 1981. Couples wielding salad 

spinners whirled furiously to "Flight of the 

Bumblebee," among other classical favorites 

that had been set to a disco beat. 

"When you've finished making the salad, 

you'll be very tense," Prudden was quoted as 

saying, "so that means it's time for the shakethe-salad-dressing 

exercise." When the movie 

Flashdance landed in 1983, with a sweaty 

flourish of leg warmers and scissored-up 

sweatshirts, its "calisthenic pornography," as 

Janet Maslin put it in her review, was more 

than just filmmaker Adrian Lyne's fantasy. To 

remind: Jennifer Beals (and her uncredited 

body double, a French dancer named Marine 

Jahan) played a welder who also worked as an 

exotic dancer, and dated her older boss. 

Young women had already begun to sport leg 

warmers as a fashion statement, though not, as 

their forebears did, to signal an allegiance to the 

ballet barre, but to prove membership in a new 

tribe of aerobics fanatics. Led by instructors 

who had become celebrities by virtue of their 

ability to bark exhortations that could be heard 

over the chorus of "It's Raining Men," they 

imagined that contorting to Pat Benatar would 

be a transformative experience. 

-IndianExpress

SPORTS 

TUESDAy, 

JAnUARy 15, 2019 

9 

Lionel Messi scored his 400th La Liga goal on Sunday, a total his coach Ernesto Valverde called 

"monstrous - his numbers are stratospheric, incredible. He is from another galaxy." Photo: AP 

‘Monstrous’ Messi scores 400th La Liga 

goal, sends Barca five points clear 

Sports Desk: Lionel Messi scored his 

400th La Liga goal on Sunday, a total 

his coach Ernesto Valverde called 

"monstrous", as Barcelona terrorised 

Eibar to reclaim their five-point cushion 

at the top of the table, reports BSS. 

Messi drove the ball into the bottom 

corner after being teed up by Luis 

Suarez, who added two goals to his own 

tally either side of the Argentinian 

marking another historic record at the 

Camp Nou. 

"It's monstrous," said Valverde, after 

the 3-0 victory. "It's easy to say but you 

have to score them one after the other, 

it's a long-term job. 

"His numbers are stratospheric, 

incredible. He is from another galaxy." 

Victory saw Valverde's side restore 

their advantage over Atletico Madrid, 

who had briefly cut the gap to two 

points after beating Levante earlier in 

the day. 

"There is a lot of time left," Valverde 

said. "It is a good cushion but nothing is 

done yet." Real Madrid won too, beating 

Real Betis, to ensure Spain's big 

three all prevailed in the same round 

for only the fourth time this season. 

Real remain 10 points adrift of 

Barcelona. 

Messi, meanwhile, extends his own 

hefty lead as the division's all-time top 

scorer, which currently stands at 89 

goals, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo. 

Ronaldo, now at Juventus in Italy, 

owns a better goals-to-game ratio, with 

his 311 strikes coming in 292 matches. 

Messi's quadruple century arrived in 

his 435th. In fact, it was one of Messi's 

quieter nights in terms of performance 

and in another team it might have been 

Suarez or Philippe Coutinho picking up 

the plaudits. 

Suarez assisted Messi, applied a 

classy finish and was on the end of a 

scintillating team move for Barca's first. 

Coutinho was the provider for that 

one and delivered a sparkling display to 

appease those doubting his future at 

the club. 

The Brazilian has endured a spell out 

of Valverde's preferred starting line-up 

but he converted a penalty against Levante 

in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, 

and was arguably man of the 

match here. 

He alone supplied three passes in the 

build-up to Suarez's opener. Arthur 

Melo started it, playing a one-two with 

Coutinho and then into the feet of Sergio 

Busquets. Busquets pinged the ball 

left to Coutinho, who twice exchanged 

with Suarez before the Uruguayan, off 

balance, found the far corner. 

Messi's moment came in the 53rd 

minute and it was Suarez who started 

it, stealing back possession after a 

heavy touch from Anaitz Arbilla. He 

bounced it off Coutinho and found 

Messi, who touched and rifled in. 

Barca were enjoying themselves as 

Coutinho flicked the ball over one 

opponent's head and Suarez did the 

same through another's legs. The third 

goal was simple, however, Sergi Roberto 

taking a quick throw and freeing the 

scuttling Suarez. With the goalkeeper 

out, he looked up and chipped the ball 

into the net. 

The pressure had been cranked up a 

notch after Antoine Griezmann's second-half 

penalty earned Atletico a 1-0 

victory over Levante. 

Griezmann has now scored all of 

Atletico's last six goals and his latest 

one proved the difference in a cagey 

contest at the Wanda Metropolitano. 

"We all pull the cart in difficult 

moments," Griezmann said. "I cannot 

do anything without my team-mates." 

The pressure has been on Real 

Madrid all season but they battled to a 

2-1 win over Betis for their first league 

victory of 2019. 

Luka Modric sent a thunderous shot 

into the top corner but Betis were in the 

ascendancy after Sergio Canales poked 

in a second-half equaliser. 

Marcelo had been dropped by Santiago 

Solari, Karim Benzema taken off 

with a dislocated finger and Isco 

remained on the bench, watching three 

youngsters sent on ahead of him. 

Ceballos, who left Betis for Madrid two 

years ago, was one of them. 

With a free-kick on the edge of the 

area and goalkeeper Pau Lopez leaving 

his left-hand corner open, Ceballos 

duly sent a dipping shot into the gap to 

snatch a dramatic win. "It was an emotional 

moment for him," Solari said. "A 

former player doing damage, football 

creates this kind of magic." 

Real Madrid beat Real Betis 2-1 despite 

having just 26 per cent of the ball 

Sports Desk: Substitute Dani Ceballos scored from a free kick 

in the final minutes to save Real Madrid from another setback 

in the Spanish league title race on Sunday, reports AP. 

Ceballos sent his strike through a gap in the defensive wall 

to claim the winning goal in a 2-1 victory at Real Betis. 

The Spanish giants had just 26 per cent of possession in the 

victory, as Betis racked up a whopping 713 passes to their 

254. 

Ceballos, who joined Madrid from Betis before the start of 

last season, went on in the 74th minute to jeers from Betis 

fans and with Madrid on the defensive. But when Casemiro 

earned a foul just outside the box, Ceballos stepped up to 

score the goal that will take some pressure off beleaguered 

Madrid coach Santiago Solari. 

"I had a lot of confidence and was eager to show what I can 

do," Ceballos said. "These three points are golden." Madrid, 

which hadn't won in its two previous league games, moved 

past Alaves into fourth place, level on points with thirdplaced 

Sevilla, with both teams 10 points behind leader 

Barcelona. 

Ballon d'Or winner Luka Modric put Madrid in front in the 

13th with a shot from the top of the area. 

But Madrid's injury problems were compounded when 

Karim Benzema left the match at halftime after appearing to 

hurt his right hand. 

Betis got the equalizer in the 67th when former Madrid 

midfielder Sergio Canales received a throughball from Giovani 

Lo Celso, fended off Nacho Fernandez and poked the 

ball under goalkeeper Keylor Navas. 

Madrid was already without Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos, Marco 

Asensio, Mariano Diaz and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois 

due to injury, while Lucas Vazquez was suspended. 

Solari, however, still left Spain midfielder Francisco "Isco" 

Alarcon on his bench, even after Benzema went down. 

Instead he replaced Benzema with Cristo Gonzalez, a player 

from Madrid's reserve team. 

Solari, who coached Madrid's reserve team until he was 

promoted to replace Julen Lopetegui in October, said that he 

didn't have anything "personal" against Isco, or Marcelo, 

whom he also left on the bench. 

"Everyone can play, we are all part of a group. I have said 

so from day one," Solari said. "We can incorporate players 

from the reserve squad, just like is happening. Each player is 

important." 

Ballon d'Or winner Luka Modric celebrates after scoring a goal against Real Betis. 

Photo: AP 

Bizarre seven-ball 

over dismissal in 

Big Bash League 

Sports Desk: Perth 

Scorchers opener Michael 

Klinger was bizarrely given 

out on the seventh ball of an 

over in Australia's Twenty20 

Big Bash League with umpires 

failing to realise their mistake, 

reports BSS. 

The veteran's controversial 

dismissal for two came in their 

game against the Sydney Sixers 

on Sunday evening when 

the umpires lost count of how 

many balls had been bowled. 

It overshadowed the 

Scorchers' seven-wicket win 

and a quick-fire unbeaten 87 

from Cameron Bancroft as 

he starts to find form again 

on his return from a ninemonth 

ban for ball-tampering. 

Scorchers coach Adam 

Voges said the controversy 

was "not ideal". "Obviously 

it's the umpires' jobs to count 

the number of balls in an 

over," he said. Cricket Australia 

said the incident would 

be "followed up". "It appears 

there was a miscount of balls 

in the over, and a seventh 

ball was allowed by the 

umpires," a spokesperson 

said on their website. 

All round South Africa 

sweep series 3-0 

Sports Desk: Duanne Olivier, Kagiso 

Rabada and Vernon Philander ran through 

the heart of Pakistan's lower/middle order 

as the trio powered South Africa to a comfortable 

107-run victory in the third and 

final Test at the Wanderers. In pursuit of a 

daunting target of 381, the visitors could 

muster just 273. With this win, the home 

side also completed a clean-sweep, reports 

Cricbuzz. 

When the day began, Pakistan's thinktank 

would have hoped for two of their 

mainstays, Babar Azam (21) and Asad 

Shafiq (65), to raise their game. However, 

Olivier troubled Babar by extracting variable 

bounce. The promising pacer who, 

through the course of the series, has bowled 

with a fair amount of venom, soon dismissed 

Babar with a brute of a short delivery 

that 'kicked' after pitching to take the 

glove on its way to the 'keeper. To make 

matters worse for Babar, Olivier's short 

delivery followed the batsman all the way. 

Olivier then castled Sarfraz Ahmed off 

the very next delivery. Vernon Philander, 

renowned for extracting subtle movement 

off the pitch, followed it up by dismissing 

the fulcrum of Pakistani's batting unit, 

Shafiq. With South Africa's pacers banging 

it short, Faheem Ashraf employed the pull 

to crack a few fours before flashing at a 

delivery outside off, only to be caught by 

Aiden Makram at gully. 

Hasan Ali, who came out to bat at the fall 

of Mohammad Amir's wicket, unleashed a 

flurry of strokes before he was dislodged by 

Rabada. Shadab Khan (47*) showcased 

glimpses of his batting skills with eyecatching 

horizontal-bat shots but Pakistan's 

innings ended in a rather comical 

fashion when Mohammad Abbas was run 

out. 

After slipping to a 0-2 series defeat in Sri 

Lanka, South Africa would be buoyed by 

their clinical show. Olivier was certainly the 

star performer for the hosts, finishing with 

24 scalps at an astonishing average of 

under 15. Quinton de Kock (129 in the second 

innings) and Markram (90 in the first 

innings) also played their parts in helping 

South Africa win the final Test. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan have a lot of soulsearching 

to do. The visiting side's batsmen 

were found wanting against well-directed 

bumpers and that was perhaps the key reason 

behind their miserable show in the Test 

series. The pacers bowled with skill and 

heart, but struggled to match their South 

African counterparts in terms of hitting the 

deck hard. 

South Africa 262 (Aiden Markram 90; 

Faheem Ashraf 3-57) and 303 (Quinton de 

Kock 129, Hashim Amla 71; Shadab Kahn 

3-41) beat Pakistan 185 (Sarfraz Ahmed 50; 

Duanne Olivier 5-51) and 273 (Asad Shafiq 

65; Duanne Olivier 3-74) by 107 runs. 

The Proteas pacers ripped through Pakistan's batting to thump them in the dead-rubber. Photo: AP 

Fabregas smooth in debut as Monaco 

battle to Marseille draw 

Sports Desk: Cesc Fabregas got 

off to a positive start in his debut 

for struggling Ligue 1 side Monaco 

after his side gained a hard-fought 

1-1 draw with Marseille at a tumultuous 

Stade Velodrome on Sunday, 

reports BSS. 

Fabregas, who joined the Principality 

club from Chelsea on Friday, 

struck a composed figured in 

the midfield as Thierry Henry's 

side recovered from a shaky start 

to earn a point thanks to Youri 

Tielemans' leveller six minutes 

before the break. 

The World Cup winner almost 

laid on a winner for Tielemans in 

added time with a trademark 

clipped pass but the Belgium 

international hesitated on the ball 

and ended up shooting a presentable 

opportunity to snatch a rare 

victory well wide. 

Fabregas' arrival on the 

Mediterranean coast on Friday 

was the third in January after veteran 

defender Naldo and France 

under-21 left-back Fode Ballo- 

Toure, who both acquitted themselves 

well on Sunday. 

The draw was a good result for a 

team without a fit striker and not 

enough available players to even 

fill the substitutes' bench. 

They remain in the relegation 

zone despite the positive performance 

and are four points from 

safety after winning just twice in 

10 league games since Henry's 

arrival in October. 

However they have been slightly 

helped in the quest for survival by 

Paris Saint-Germain battering 

fourth-from-bottom Amiens 3-0 

on Saturday and Caen in 16th losing 

3-1 at home to Lille. 

Hosts Marseille began the 

match amid protests from fans 

about their own poor form which 

sees them down in ninth, 22 

points behind runaway leaders 

PSG. Rudi Garcia's side are winless 

in eight in all competitions 

and as well as being well back in 

the league are out of all three cups 

after being humiliated 2-0 by 

fourth-tier Andrezieux in the 

French Cup last week. 

They were eliminated from the 

League Cup last month by Strasbourg 

and finished an embarrassing 

Europa League group stage 

with just one point. 

Fans head up a banner that read 

"owners, coach, players… all culpable" 

and barely celebrated 

Maxime Lopez's 13th minute 

opener, which squeezed under a 

poor effort to save the shot from 

Diego Benaglio. 

The World Cup winner almost 

laid on a winner for Tielemans in 

added time with a trademark 

clipped pass but the Belgium 

international hesitated on the ball 

and ended up shooting a presentable 

opportunity to snatch a rare 

victory well wide. 

Fabregas' arrival on the 

Mediterranean coast on Friday 

was the third in January after veteran 

defender Naldo and France 

under-21 left-back Fode Ballo- 

Toure, who both acquitted themselves 

well on Sunday. 

Midway through the second half 

they shouted "ole" when Monaco 

kept possession and whistled their 

own players when they won the 

ball back. 

When Thuavin netted what he 

thought was the winner 20 minutes 

from the end he remonstrated 

with supporters behind 

the goal who refused to cheer, 

drawing loud boos that were 

only beaten in volume when referee 

Mikael Lesage ruled the 

goal out for a foul from Lucas 

Ocampos on Benaglio. 

Earlier on Sunday Montpellier 

slipped further back from 

the Champions League places 

with a 1-1 draw at third-frombottom 

Dijon, while Strasbourg 

continued their claim for 

a European place with a 2-1 

win at Toulouse. 

Emotional Wozniacki 

launches Australian 

Open defence 

Sports Desk: Caroline Wozniacki fought back 

tears after launching her Australian Open 

defence with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 win over Alison 

Van Uytvanck of Belgium on Monday, 

reports BSS. 

The third seed won her maiden Slam at Melbourne 

Park last year but has since been diagnosed 

with rheumatoid arthritis, a debilitating 

auto-immune disease that has threatened to 

derail her career. 

The Dane, who is bidding to become the first 

woman to defend the title since Victoria Azarenka 

in 2013, showed no outward sign of the illness 

as she eased past world number 52 Van Uytvanck 

in straight sets. 

But her emotions came bubbling to the surface 

after the win as she reflected on returning to the 

venue where she made her career breakthrough 

after more than a decade of trying. 

"It's such a special feeling, I love playing back 

here," she said. 

"Last year I had some special memories and 

just to be able to be back out here on Rod Laver 

Arena is something extremely special and emotional."Now 

I'm going to start crying and I never 

cry."The 31-year-old has proved she can still 

compete despite he illness by winning in Beijing 

in October but her Melbourne campaign will test 

whether she can still cope with the gruelling twoweek 

slog of a Grand Slam. 

Wozniacki appeared to move freely despite 

energy-sapping conditions, engaging in long rallies 

with her dogged opponent who she 

described before the match as "tricky". 

Van Uytvanck is already a proven giant killer, 

eliminating last year's defending Wimbledon 

champion Garbine Muguruza in the second 

round in England. 

Wozniacki was taking no chances, stepping up 

own aggression and attacking the net. 

The Dane struggled to find her range with 

some returns and came close to going down a 

break in the opening game before serving her 

way out of trouble. The turning point came when 

Van Uytvanck defended three break points in 

the sixth game but conceded a fourth with a double 

fault.Wozniacki seized the opening and never 

looked back, serving out the set after 48 minutes 

as Van Uytvanck undermined her own 

cause with 18 double faults. 

The title holder raced through the second set, 

showing some nerves as she squandered two 

match points but finally sealing the victory on 

the third.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS 

BANGLADESHTODAY 10 

THE 

TUeSDAy, JANUARy 15, 2019 

Chougachha Association-Dhaka has provided blankets to the cold affected people of 

Chougachha Upazila, Jessore. Chougachha Association always comes forward to help distressed 

people. In this regard, Mrs. Sabina Rahman Khan, Adviser of Chougachha Association- 

Dhaka has taken this initiative to distribute 900 pcs. blankets among the cold affected people of 

Chougachha Upazila, Jessore on 12 January, 2019. Among others, General Secretary of 

Chougachha Association, UNO and Officer in Charge, Police of Chougachha Thana were also 

present at the event. 

Photo: Courtesy 

China-North Korea 

trade battered by 

UN sanctions 

China's trade with North 

Korea plummeted last year, 

data showed Monday, as 

harsh UN sanctions batter 

the nuclear-armed country's 

economy. 

Beijing is a key ally of the 

isolated state and its main 

source of trade and aid - but 

in 2017 it backed United 

Nations measures to punish 

Pyongyang over its nuclear 

and ballistic missile 

activities. 

The sanctions on trade in 

North Korea's most valuable 

commodities sent bilateral 

trade plunging 52.4 percent 

last year compared to 2017. 

China's imports from its 

neighbour dropped 88 

percent in 2018 year-onyear 

to 1.42 billion yuan 

($210 million), while its 

exports slumped 33.3 

percent to 14.7 billion yuan 

($2.18 billion), according to 

customs administration 

spokesman Li Kuiwen. 

"For trade between China 

and North Korea, we are 

strictly implementing the 

resolutions of the (UN) 

Security Council," Li told 

reporters. The trade 

sanctions seek to cut off the 

North's access to hard 

currency by banning its 

main exports - coal and 

other mineral resources, 

fisheries and textile 

products. 

They have pummelled the 

country's economy, which 

contracted 3.5 percent in 

2017 - its worst showing in 

two decades - South Korea's 

central bank said last year. 

The North's mining 

industry slumped 11 percent 

in 2017, the Bank of Korea 

said, after growing 8.4 

percent in 2016. 

Manufacturing output also 

fell 6.9 percent that year - 

down from 4.8 percent 

growth - while agriculture 

and fisheries slipped 1.3 

percent, after also 

expanding in 2016. 

China and Russia have 

both said the UN should 

consider relaxing sanctions 

on Pyongyang, while 

Washington is demanding 

the North give up its nuclear 

arsenal before any relief 

from sanctions is granted. 

Last week North Korean 

strongman Kim Jong Un 

made his fourth visit to 

China, with Chinese 

President Xi Jinping 

backing him in the 

deadlocked nuclear talks 

with the US while insisting 

the two sides should meet 

"halfway". 

China will tackle 

US trade dispute 

in 2019 

China will work to 

straighten out trade frictions 

with the US this year, the 

country's commerce 

minister told state media, 

following talks with US 

negotiators this week. 

A large US delegation 

ended a three-day visit to 

Beijing Wednesday in the 

first face to face trade talks 

since President Donald 

Trump and Chinese leader 

Xi Jinping in December 

pledged a three-month truce 

in the escalating tariff spat. 

China said the talks had 

"laid the foundation" to 

resolve mutual concerns on 

trade. 

"We will properly handle 

the China-US economic and 

trade frictions" this year, 

commerce minister Zhong 

Shan said, according to a 

Saturday report by state 

media outlet Xinhua. 

Zhong said Beijing will 

also promote outside 

investment, work to pass a 

foreign investment law and 

improve its dispute 

resolution system, Xinhua 

reported. 

Jordan PM hopeful 

for growth after 

controversial 

reforms 

Jordan's prime minister has 

voiced hope that his country 

will turn to a growth path, 

after he briefed the 

International Monetary Fund 

on fiscal reforms that have 

sparked protests at home. 

Prime Minister Omar al- 

Razzaz, a Harvard-educated 

economist who took office last 

year, said he spoke to IMF 

Managing Director Christine 

Lagarde on next steps. 

"Now that our fiscal health 

is in order, we want to 

promote growth," Razzaz told 

reporters in Washington late 

Thursday after his meeting. 

He said he also met in 

Washington with the US 

Chamber of Commerce to 

draw greater business interest 

and was organizing a Jordan 

investment conference to take 

place in London in late 

February. 

Tax reforms were approved 

by lawmakers in November 

but Lagarde said that Jordan 

"still faces challenging 

economic and social 

conditions." 

"The Prime Minister 

informed me about the 

extensive national dialogue 

that led to the adoption of a 

new income tax law, which is 

a welcome step in the right 

direction," she said. 

Asian markets in 

retreat after 

week-long rally 

Hong Kong led a sell-off 

across Asian markets 

Monday as profit-takers 

moved in following a six-day 

rally, while traders look ahead 

to the release of corporate 

earnings. 

With few catalysts to drive 

buying, equities were ripe for 

selling after last week's healthy 

gains, with the US 

government shutdown - now 

in its fourth week and showing 

no sign of ending soon - 

instilling a sense of unease. 

Also on the agenda is 

Tuesday's key Brexit vote, 

with British Prime Minister 

Theresa May making an 11th 

hour appeal to MPs to pass 

her agreement with the EU, 

which is expected to be voted 

down by a wide margin. 

In early trade Hong Kong 

shed more than one percent 

after chalking up gains of 

more than six percent over 

the previous six trading days, 

while Shanghai eased 0.2 

percent and Sydney lost 0.1 

percent. 

Singapore slipped 0.5 

percent with Taipei 0.4 

percent lower, Manila down 

0.9 percent and Jakarta 

losing 0.3 percent. 

Tokyo was closed for a 

holiday. The losses follow a 

negative lead from Wall 

Street, where all three main 

indexes fell Friday, ending a 

healthy week that had been 

boosted by optimism China 

and the US are edging 

towards a trade deal, while 

the Federal Reserve indicated 

it could pause its interest rate 

hikes. 

Trifecta Consultants analyst 

Sukrit Vijayakar said the 

"optimism surrounding the 

US-China trade talks faded", 

pointing out that while 

statements from both sides 

were positive, they were 

vague and "lacked concrete 

details". Data Monday 

showed China's trade surplus 

with the US - a major source 

of anger for President Donald 

Trump - widened 17.2 percent 

last year. 

There are growing concerns 

that the partial government 

shutdown of the US 

government, which has seen 

hundreds of thousands of 

federal workers go unpaid, 

could also impact the world's 

number one economy. 

With Democrats refusing to 

give in to Trump's demands 

for cash to pay for a Mexican 

border wall, there is no end in 

sight in the row, which 

Standard & Poor's estimates 

has already cost the US more 

than $3 billion. 

Stephen Innes, head of 

Asia-Pacific trade at OANDA 

said that could see markets 

"pay increased attention to 

this issue as those numbers 

are not small potatoes". 

Dealers are now looking at 

the business reporting 

season, which starts in 

earnest this week, with some 

fears of weak results as the 

global economy shows signs 

of slowing. 

The tech sector will be 

closely scrutinised after Apple 

earlier this month lowered its 

revenue forecasts for the key 

December quarter, while rival 

Samsung flagged a near 30 

percent drop in operating 

profit. 

LIC's market share falls 

below 70 pc 

Detroit auto show, and industry, 

prepare for transition 

The auto industry gathered Sunday in 

Detroit, on the eve of the last winter 

edition of North America's premiere 

auto show, as carmakers grapple with a 

contracting market and uncertainty in 

the year ahead. 

Concerns over the health of the global 

economy and a US-China trade war 

loomed over the North American 

International Auto Show, as it prepared 

to open Monday with the first five days 

dedicated to the media and industry 

insiders. The show opens to the general 

public on January 19. 

While a number of major 

announcements were expected - 

including an anticipated strategic 

alliance between Ford and Volkswagen 

- there will be fewer automakers and 

new car unveilings, making it more 

subdued. 

"This is a transition year for the 

Detroit show," said analyst Michelle 

Krebs of Autotrader. "It's kind of 

emblematic of where the industry is. 

We're in a transition in the industry." 

GM kicked off the string of new car 

unveilings by debuting its new Cadillac 

XT6 - a mid-size crossover in line with 

similar SUVs from competing luxury 

car makers. 

GM aimed squarely at Tesla in 

releasing concept photos for a future 

Cadillac electric SUV. The company 

said the luxury brand would be the first 

to employ an upcoming electric vehicle 

platform, the time frame for which was 

not specified. 

"Cadillac, being a leader in 

technology and innovation, it's very 

important that as we take it to the next 

level, we lead with Cadillac," GM CEO 

Mary Barra told reporters. 

After a 10-year boom, analysts expect 

North American auto sales to contract 

in 2019, as consumers face pressures 

and carmakers grapple with multiple 

uncertainties. 

Rising interest rates and car prices 

have squeezed car buyers, and fewer of 

them are able to afford increasingly 

pricey, technology-heavy cars. 

Kelley Blue Book predicted the 

average new-car price was up about 

three percent in 2018 to more than 

$36,000. 

Meanwhile, tariffs on imported steel 

and aluminum products and a 

potentially intensifying trade dispute 

between the Donald Trump 

administration and Beijing has 

automakers spooked, analysts said. 

"Tariffs already had an impact in 2018," 

said Cox Automotive chief analyst 

Jonathan Smoke, adding that 47 

percent of the vehicles sold in the US in 

2018 were imported. 

"We believe about two percent of 

today's prices are because of the tariffs 

that were already implemented." 

The US is considering additional 

tariffs of 25 percent. Should it 

announce such a move by the February 

17 deadline, it could have a substantial 

impact on the industry and stock 

markets, Smoke said. 

"We believe that they are likely to 

move forward with some form of that 

tariff, because it becomes then a lever 

for them to force… further 

negotiations." 

Should tariffs raise car prices further, 

analysts said it could substantially 

depress the new car market. 

Consumers would flock to relatively 

cheaper used cars, which are in ample 

supply. 

The auto dealers association which 

organizes the show also was 

contending with the uncertainty of the 

show's very relevance. Almost all 

German carmakers abandoned the 

show this year, as more and more 

important announcements are made at 

other gatherings. 

Next year, the Detroit show will move 

from January, when it has been held for 

some 40 years, to June. 

Doug North, the chairman of the 

2020 show told AFP that the aim is to 

provide a more interactive experience 

for the nearly one million attendees 

who come to Detroit for the event. 

"Warmer weather, ride and drives, 

hill-climbs maybe, all sorts of kind of 

exhibitions, dynamic opportunities for 

people to be in and out of the cars, ride 

in them, for the manufacturers to show 

what they couldn't previously do 

inside," North said. 

Among the few notable unveilings 

this year will be from Ford, which is 

expected to display a redesigned 

Explorer SUV and a more powerful 

version of 

its iconic Mustang sports car under 

the name Shelby GT500. 

SUVs and trucks will once again be 

the highlight, indicative of US 

consumers' drift away from sedans and 

small cars. Trucks and SUVs made up a 

majority of new purchases in the US 

last year. 

"The SUVs have become cars with 

SUV bodies sitting on top of them," said 

Karl Brauer of Kelly Blue Book. 

Detroit's big three automakers have 

been ending production of almost all of 

their sedans and small cars, 

succumbing to the pressure of falling 

demand. 

To hedge against the threat of a global 

economic downturn, GM has 

announced plans to close underutilized 

US plants that made smaller, less 

profitable vehicles. 

Ford planned similar cost-cutting 

moves in Europe. 

State-owned Life Insurance 

Corporation's (LIC) market share fell 

below 70 per cent in the financial year 

ended March 2018 as private insurers 

get more aggressive. 

The market share of private insurers 

increased to 30.64 per cent in 2017-18, 

from 28.19 per cent in 2016-17. 

"On the basis of total premium 

income, the market shares of LIC 

decreased from 71.81 per cent in 2016- 

17 to 69.36 per cent in 2017-18," said 

the annual report of the Insurance 

Regulatory and Development 

Authority of India (Irdai). 

Further, the market share of private 

insurers in new business premium also 

saw an increase during 2017-18 over 

the previous year. 

In the case of renewal premium, LIC 

had a share at 69.35 per cent (down 

from 72.31 per cent in the previous 

year). This compares with 30.65 per 

cent (27.69 per cent in the previous 

year) share of private insurers. 

During 2017-18, life insurers issued 

281.97 lakh new individual policies, out 

of which LIC issued 213.38 lakh 

policies or 75.7 per cent of the total new 

policies issued and the private life 

insurers issued 68.59 lakh policies 

(24.3 per cent). 

"While the private sector achieved a 

growth of 8.47 per cent in the number 

of new policies issued against the 

previous year, LIC achieved a growth of 

5.99 per cent," the report said. 

At the end of March 2018, there are 

68 insurers operating in India, of which 

24 are life insurers, 27 are general 

insurers, 6 are standalone health 

insurers exclusively doing health 

insurance business and 11 are reinsurers 

including foreign reinsurer 

branches and Lloyd's India. 

Of the total insurers currently in 

operation, eight are in the public sector 

and the remaining are in the private 

sector. 

In life insurance business, India is 

ranked 10th among the 88 countries, 

for which data is published by Swiss Re. 

The country's share in global life 

insurance market was 2.76 per cent 

during 2017. However, during 2017, life 

insurance premium in India increased 

8 per cent (inflation adjusted) when 

global life insurance premium rose by 

0.5 per cent. 

LIC's market share falls below 70 pc 

State-owned Life Insurance 

Corporation's (LIC) market share fell 

below 70 per cent in the financial year 

ended March 2018 as private insurers 

get more aggressive. 

The market share of private insurers 

increased to 30.64 per cent in 2017-18, 

from 28.19 per cent in 2016-17. 

"On the basis of total premium 

income, the market shares of LIC 

decreased from 71.81 per cent in 2016- 

17 to 69.36 per cent in 2017-18," said 

the annual report of the Insurance 

Regulatory and Development 

Authority of India (Irdai). 

Further, the market share of private 

insurers in new business premium also 

saw an increase during 2017-18 over 

the previous year. 

In the case of renewal premium, LIC 

had a share at 69.35 per cent (down 

from 72.31 per cent in the previous 

year). This compares with 30.65 per 

cent (27.69 per cent in the previous 

year) share of private insurers. 

During 2017-18, life insurers issued 

281.97 lakh new individual policies, out 

of which LIC issued 213.38 lakh 

policies or 75.7 per cent of the total new 

policies issued and the private life 

insurers issued 68.59 lakh policies 

(24.3 per cent). 

"While the private sector achieved a 

growth of 8.47 per cent in the number 

of new policies issued against the 

previous year, LIC achieved a growth of 

5.99 per cent," the report said. 

At the end of March 2018, there are 

68 insurers operating in India, of which 

24 are life insurers, 27 are general 

insurers, 6 are standalone health 

insurers exclusively doing health 

insurance business and 11 are reinsurers 

including foreign reinsurer 

branches and Lloyd's India. 

Of the total insurers currently in 

operation, eight are in the public sector 

and the remaining are in the private 

sector. 

In life insurance business, India is 

ranked 10th among the 88 countries, 

for which data is published by Swiss Re. 

The country's share in global life 

insurance market was 2.76 per cent 

during 2017. 

However, during 2017, life insurance 

premium in India increased 8 per cent 

(inflation adjusted) when global life 

insurance premium rose by 0.5 per 

cent.

MISCELLANEOUS 

TueSDAY, JAnuArY 15, 2019 

11 

On the occasion of 85th Founding Anniversary of narsingdi Govt. Girls' High School, 1st reunion was held 

on Saturday 12th January 2019 at school premises in narsingdi. 2006 SSC- exam batch students of 

narsingdi Govt. Girls High School is seen in the picture. 

Photo: Courtesy 

Cargo plane crash in Iran kills 

15, leaves 1 survivor 

A decades-old Iranian Boeing 707 

military cargo plane reportedly carrying 

meat from Kyrgyzstan crashed on 

Monday while trying to land west of 

Iran's capital, killing 15 people on board 

and leaving a sole survivor, authorities 

said. 

The crash of the jetliner marked just 

the latest aviation disaster for Iran, 

which hoped to replace its aging fleet 

under terms of the 2015 nuclear deal 

with world powers. 

But instead, President Donald 

Trump's withdrawal from the accord in 

May scuttled billions of dollars in 

planned sales by Airbus and Boeing Co. 

to the Islamic Republic, only increasing 

the danger for passengers in Iran 

planes. 

The aircraft, which bore the paint 

scheme of the Iranian air force's Saha 

civilian airline, was making emergency 

landing around 8:30 a.m. Monday at 

Fath Airport, an airfield controlled by 

Iran's powerful paramilitary 

Revolutionary Guard. The plane 

skidded off the runway, crashed 

through a perimeter fence and into a 

residential neighborhood. 

Iranian state television aired images 

of smoke-charred homes and the 

fuselage of the aircraft lying on the 

ground in the neighborhood. Nearby 

was one of its land gear, torn away. 

Small fires burned around it. 

The plane was meant to land at the 

nearby Payam International Airport, 

about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of 

Tehran, the Iranian capital. 

Authorities did not immediately offer 

a reason for the crew's decision to land 

instead at Fath Airport. That airport is 

some 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) 

southwest of Payam. Its runway is some 

1,100-meters (3,600-feet) long, 

compared to Payam's 3,600 meters 

(11,800 feet). In November, a 

commercial airline reportedly mistook 

Fath for Payam, but was able to abort its 

landing. 

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency 

later quoted an anonymous aviation 

official saying Monday's doomed flight 

likewise mistook Fath for Payam. 

Pirhossein Koulivand, the head of the 

country's emergency medical services, 

said that of the 16 people on board the 

plane, only the flight engineer was 

known to have survived. IRNA reported 

all 15 bodies of the crew who died had 

been recovered by Monday afternoon. 

Iran's air force said in a statement 

that the fate of the crew, including their 

possible "martyrdom," is under 

investigation. It wasn't immediately 

clear who owns the plane, though Gen. 

Shahin Taghikhani, an army 

spokesman, told state TV that the plane 

and its crew were Iranian. 

Iranians often use the word 

"martyrdom" for those who die in war 

or national service. 

The plane reportedly was carrying a 

cargo of meat from Bishkek, 

Kyrgyzstan's capital, to Iran. Since 

2016, Iran has been importing meat 

from Kyrgyzstan, usually via Saha. It 

imported 150 tons in 2016 and 350 tons 

in 2017. 

Saha Airlines operated one of the 

world's last commercial flights of the 

Boeing 707, which was first 

manufactured in 1958 and helped usher 

in the jet age. The four-engine, narrowbody 

aircraft were built until 1979. 

Maintenance information regarding 

the Boeing 707 that crashed Monday 

was not immediately available. 

However, Iran has struggled obtaining 

parts for its aging fleet of airlines, nearly 

all purchased during the time of the 

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and 

before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. 

China leads in 

space exploration, 

says scientist 

China is the global leader in 

space exploration, a Cuban 

geophysicist and science 

popularizer has said. 

The landing of the 

Chang'e-4 probe on the far 

side of the moon on Jan. 3 is 

an important milestone in 

the exploration of the 

Earth's natural satellite, 

Bruno Henriquez told 

Xinhua in an interview. 

"It is something very 

significant, because it is the 

first time that there is a soft 

landing on the far side of the 

moon, which can be 

explored in site and not from 

the lunar orbit," he said. 

Russian, U.S., Japanese 

and Indian spacecrafts had 

explored that part of the 

moon from the lunar orbit, 

but none have landed there 

before. 

Henriquez also praised the 

fact that the Chinese probe 

landed on the moon's Von 

Karman crater in the South 

Pole-Aitken basin, and 

China's excellent 

deployment of the Yutu 

remote-controlled vehicle. 

"The Chinese are today on 

top in terms of outer space 

exploration, not only in 

launching spacecraft, but 

also in their approach to the 

space program and 

everything they have 

developed on land to 

support it," Henriquez said. 

The science fiction writer 

and former researcher at 

Cuba's Institute of 

Geophysics and Astronomy 

believes that Western 

mainstream media remains 

an outdated narrative that 

claims China lags behind the 

United States in space. 

"They have accomplished 

many things, such as the 

first 

quantum 

communication satellites. 

They have the largest radio 

telescope on earth of the 

spherical reflector type, very 

similar to the one at Arecibo 

(Observatory) in Puerto 

Rico," he said. 

China's scientific 

achievements have 

motivated Henriquez to 

create a collection of popular 

science books about 

everything related to space 

exploration, including the 

development of rocketry, the 

number of manned space 

flights, China's taikonauts 

and new uses for satellites. 

15 killed in cargo 

plane crash in 

northern Iran 

At least 15 people were killed 

on Monday in a Boeing 707 

plane crash near Iran's 

northern city of Karaj, the 

Iranian Student News 

Agency (ISNA) reported. 

Among the 15 killed, 14 

men and one woman on 

board, 10 could be identified 

and five others need further 

genetic examinations, 

Hamid Davood Abadi, head 

of Forensic Medicine Center 

of Alborz Province, told 

ISNA. 

The cargo plane with 16 on 

board crashed in a 

residential area, 45 km west 

of the capital Tehran, ISNA 

quoted Pir Hossein 

Kolivand, head of 

Emergency Center of Iran, 

as saying. 

The plane had planned to 

land in Karaj's Payam 

Airport but chose to land in 

the Fath airport for some 

unknown reason, Naser 

Charkhsaz, chief of Iran's 

Red Crescent Society, told 

ISNA. 

After landing in the wrong 

airport, the plane got out of 

control and slid out of the 

runway, hitting an empty 

residential building and 

catching fire. 

The plane, flying from 

Kyrgyzstan's capital 

Bishkek, was carrying a 

cargo of meat to Iran, 

according to an 

announcement by the 

Public Relations of the 

Iranian Army. 

According to the latest 

reports, the plane belonged 

to Iran's army. 

The plane, flying from 

Kyrgyzstan's capital 

Bishkek, was carrying a 

cargo of meat to Iran, 

according to an 

announcement by the 

Public Relations of the 

GD-74/19 (9 x 4) GD-78/19 (7 x 3) 

Iranian Army. 

Yemen, Iran, Khashoggi murder 

top Pompeo's talks in Saudi 

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held 

talks in Saudi Arabia Monday on a range of 

Mideast crises, topped by the conflicts in 

Syria and Yemen, threats from Iran and the 

Saudi response to the killing of Washington 

Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi last year. 

Pompeo met with Saudi King Salman and 

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on 

the latest stop of his Middle East tour that 

has so far been dominated by questions and 

concerns about the withdrawal of U.S. troops 

from Syria. The State Department said 

Monday that Pompeo would cancel his 

planned final stop in Kuwait on Tuesday due 

a death in his family. He will still travel to 

Oman later Monday. 

In Riyadh, the Saudi-led fight against 

Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen, where the 

situation has been deemed the world's worst 

humanitarian crisis, will be a major agenda 

item, as well as holding perpetrators 

accountable for Khashoggi's slaying. 

Pompeo told the crown prince that his 

Middle East journey, which has taken him to 

Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain and the United 

Arab Emirates, had been "good" so far. 

"I want to talk to you about a couple of 

places we've been. We think we learned a lot 

along the way that will be important going 

forward," he said. 

The prince replied that the Saudis would 

"try to add more positivity, as much as we 

can." 

Speaking with senior Saudi officials on his 

arrival in Riyadh late Sunday, Pompeo 

stressed the importance of supporting a 

political solution to end Yemen's civil war 

and "the need for continued regional efforts 

to stand against the Iranian regime's malign 

activity and to advance peace, prosperity, 

and security," the State Department said. 

The department said Pompeo also made 

clear the importance of a credible 

investigation into Khashoggi's killing at the 

Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in October. 

Pompeo "emphasized the importance of 

Saudi Arabia continuing its investigation 

into the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in order 

to ascertain facts, assess information, and 

hold those responsible accountable." 

The relationship between Riyadh and 

Washington remains tense following 

Khashoggi's brutal slaying and 

dismemberment at the consulate. Members 

of Prince Mohammed's entourage have been 

implicated in the killing and U.S. lawmakers 

have demanded America pull back its 

support of the Saudi-led war in Yemen. 

"We will continue to have a conversation 

with the crown prince and the Saudis about 

ensuring that the accountability is full and 

complete with respect to the unacceptable 

murder of Jamal Khashoggi," Pompeo told 

reporters in Qatar on Sunday before heading 

to Riyadh. "We'll continue to talk about that 

and make sure we have all the facts so that 

they are held accountable certainly by the 

Saudis, but by the United States as well, 

where appropriate." 

The ongoing dispute between Qatar and 

four of America's other close Arab partners 

will also feature in Pompeo's talks as it 

continues to be a major hindrance in a U.S.- 

led effort to unite the Gulf Arab states, Egypt 

and Jordan in a military alliance to counter 

Iran. Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the 

United Arab Emirates began a boycott of 

Qatar in June 2017, alleging Qatar funds 

extremist groups and has too-cozy ties to 

Iran. 

Palestinians, Israeli police scuffle 

at Jerusalem holy site 

Scuffles broke out at the Dome of the Rock 

in Jerusalem's Old City on Monday after 

guards at the mosque refused to allow an 

Israeli policeman to enter for a routine 

security check because he was wearing a 

Jewish skullcap known as a kippah. 

Firas Dibs, a spokesman for the Islamic 

authority that oversees the site, says dozens 

of worshippers scuffled with police after the 

guards closed the doors to the mosque and 

barricaded themselves inside. He says the 

director of the mosque was lightly 

wounded. 

Israeli police could not immediately be 

reached for comment. 

The gold-domed mosque is part of the Al- 

Aqsa mosque complex, which Muslims 

consider their third holiest site after Mecca 

and Medina. It is the holiest site for Jews, 

who refer to it as the Temple Mount 

because it was the location of the biblical 

temples. 

The holy site is at the core of the Israeli- 

Palestinian conflict, and past clashes there 

have sparked widespread violence. 

Dibs said the police carry out routine 

security checks every morning, and that the 

policeman was only prevented from 

entering because he was wearing a kippah. 

The Palestinians have long feared that 

Israel plans to take over the site so it can 

rebuild the temple, allegations denied by 

Iqvmv-Rt Zt- 20/19 

the Israeli government, which says it has no 

plans to change the status quo. 

Earlier on Monday, the Gaza Health 

Ministry said a 14-year-old Palestinian who 

was shot by Israeli forces during mass 

protests along the perimeter fence over the 

weekend died of his wounds. 

The ministry said Abdelraouf Salhah was 

shot in the head during the protest on 

Friday. A 43-year-old female activist was 

also killed, and two dozen Palestinians were 

wounded. 

Hamas has been orchestrating weekly 

mass protests along the perimeter fence 

since last March to protest an Israeli and 

Egyptian blockade imposed on Gaza when 

the Islamic militant group seized power in 

2007. At least 187 Palestinians have been 

killed since the protests began, including 35 

who were 18 or younger, and thousands of 

Palestinians have been wounded. An Israeli 

soldier was also killed. 

Israel says it's protecting its border from 

infiltrators who could carry out attacks. 

Qatar has long denied funding extremists, 

but Doha shares a massive offshore natural 

gas field with Tehran that gives its citizens 

the highest per-capita income in the world. 

It restored diplomatic relations with Iran 

after the crisis erupted, marking a setback 

for Saudi Arabia, which views the Shiite 

power Iran as its main regional rival.

UNITING PEOPLE EVERYDAY 

TUESDAy, DHAkA, JANUARy 15, 2019, MAgH 2, 1425 BS, JAMADIUL AwAL 8, 1440 HIJRI 

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir talking to reporters after offering munajat at Hazrat Shahjalal Mazar 

in Sylhet. 


Social dialogue key 

to fixing minimum 

wages: ILO 

INTERESTING NEWS 

This mouth-watering chunk of stewed 

pork belly with a gratuitous layer of fat 

and glistening sheen is actually a piece of 

rock—jasper to be exact—that was cleverly 

carved and dyed to resemble a succulent 

piece of meat by an anonymous 

Qing dynasty artist in the 19th-century. 

Known as the “meat-shaped stone,” the 

just two-inch-tall sculpture has been the 

most prized possession of the National 

Palace Museum in Taiwan for the past 

two hundred years. 

What makes this piece of art so special 

is that the rock naturally looks like a 

piece of pork belly, with its layers formed 

by the accumulation of different impurities. 

The craftsman who made this took 

the rich natural resources of the stone 

and carved it with great precision, even 

rendering the pores, the wrinkles and 

dimples on the skin. The stone was then 

stained giving it a luscious, fleshy 

appearance. 

DHAKA : The International Labour 

Organisation (ILO) Country Office in 

Bangladesh has said it is encouraged by the 

Bangladesh government's decision to 

revisit the minimum wages for readymade 

garment workers through an agreement 

reached by a special tripartite committee 

set to examine and resolve the issue, 

reports UNB. 

"We acknowledge the genuine efforts of 

all parties, led by the Ministry of Labour 

and Employment, to work towards setting 

minimum wages at an appropriate level 

and reach a consensus. Through this tripartite 

process of dialogue confidence is 

being built and we call upon all parties to 

help the industry resume its activity," says 

Tuomo Poutiainen ILO Country Director 

for Bangladesh on Monday. 

As a pillar of decent work, social dialogue 

plays a key role in social and economic stability 

and equity, said the ILO adding that 

it creates a framework for peaceful and 

orderly procedures addressing the concerns 

of workers and employers. 

The ILO said it stands ready to accompany 

its tripartite constituents in Bangladesh 

and the ready-made garment industry in 

reviewing the wage-setting system to 

ensure predictability for business and promoting 

sound industrial relations through 

social dialogue and collective bargaining. 

"We believe that establishing a strong 

wage policy for the country and regular evidence-based 

adjustments through full consultation 

with all social partners would 

contribute to inclusive growth, boost 

industry competitiveness and strengthen 

social protection for workers, as well as 

decent work and productive employment 

for millions of Bangladeshis," says Tuomo 

Poutiainen. 

Meat-Shaped Stone 

And Jadeite Cabbage 

The dish rendered in stone is the 

famous Dongpo pork, or braised pork 

belly, invented by the 11th-century 

Chinese poet and artist, Su Dongpo. 

Legend has it that Su Dongpo was once 

making stewed pork when he was interrupted 

by an old friend who came visiting 

and challenged him to a game of 

Chinese chess. While playing Su totally 

forgot the stew, which in the meantime 

had become extremely thick-cooked, 

thus accidentally inventing the recipe. 

Dongpo pork is now a delicacy in China. 

In fact, China has a gazillion pork dishes. 

They are the largest producer and consumer 

of pork in the world, accounting 

for more than half of global pork consumption. 

Pork is so important in 

Chinese cuisines that the government 

keeps hundreds of thousands of tons of 

frozen pork in “strategic reserve” to be 

released in market during lean period or 

during holidays, the same way some 

nations have strategic oil reserves. 

Legal actions 

against illegal 

buildings: 

Minister 

DHAKA : The capital's development 

authority has been directed to 

prevent the construction of 

unplanned buildings, Housing and 

Public Works Minister SM Rejaul 

Karim said on Monday, reports 

UNB. 

"We will take strict legal actions 

against illegally constructed buildings," 

he said, replying to a question 

at a review meeting on 'Urban 

Resilience Project' of Rajuk on 

earthquake. 

Risky and uninhabitable buildings 

are being identified. "Once the process 

is complete, we will move ahead 

[with demolition]," he said. 

The buildings' owners will first be 

asked to tear them down. "If they do 

not comply, we will move to dismantle 

the structures following legal 

procedures," the minister added. 

"Every building must be [constructed] 

in line with Rajuk's plan. 

Any building outside the plan will 

face action," he said. "Rajuk will 

have to strengthen its monitoring 

system in this regard." 

2 suspended 

Viqarunnisa 

teachers 

secure bail 

DHAKA : A court here on 

Monday granted bail to suspended 

acting principal of 

Viqarunnisa Noon School and 

College Naznin Ferdous and 

another teacher in a case filed 

over the suicide incident of a 

ninth grader, reports UNB. 

Dhaka Metropolitan 

Magistrate Rajesh Chowdhury 

granted the bail to Naznin 

Ferdous and JeenatAra, suspended 

morning shift-incharge, 

until submission of 

police report. 

The two teachers, who 

remained absconding, surrendered 

before the court in the 

morning and sought bail. 

Earlier in December, the 

court granted bail to Hasna 

Hena, another accused teacher 

of Viqarunnisa Noon School 

and College, in the case. 

Aritree Adhikari, a class-IX 

student of the school, reportedly 

committed suicide at 

their Shantinagar residence in 

the city on December 3 after 

allegedly being rebuked by 

teachers for using mobile 

phone during examination. 

Following the incident, the 

victim's father Dilip Adhikari 

filed a case against three 

teachers of the school. 

It sparked a wave of outrage 

inside and outside the school 

and students demonstrated at 

the campus for three days 

demanding justice over the 

incident. 

Later, the governing body of 

the school suspended its three 

teachers-acting Principal 

Nazneen Ferdous, morning 

shift in-charge of Bailey Road 

branch Jeenat Akhter and 

Aritree's class teacher Hasna 

Hena-over the suicide case. 

Deal for Payra 

capital 

dredging inked 

DHAKA : The Payra Port 

Authority and Payra Dredging 

Company Limited yesterday 

inked an agreement for ensuring 

capital-maintenance 

dredging of Rabnabad 

Channel in the Payra Port 

under Public Private 

Partnership (PPP) initiative. 

Chairman of Payra Port 

Authority Commodore 

Jahangir Alam and Belgiumbased 

Jan De Nul Company's 

Chairman David Jonckheere 

signed the deal on behalf of 

their respective sides. 

Payra Dredging Company 

Limited will implement the 

project under the supervision 

of Belgium-based Jan De Nul 

Company at a cost of Taka 

8,643 crore as the government 

declared Payra port a fast 

track project. 

Secretary to the Shipping 

Ministry Md Abdus Samad 

and Chief Coordinator for 

Sustainable Development 

Goals (SDG) Affairs in the 

Prime Minister's Office Md. 

Abul Kalam Azad witnessed 

the signing ceremony at the 

Shipping Ministry here. 

According to the contract, 

the government considered 

that capital dredging is necessary 

to create facility for 

anchoring more vessels to the 

Payra port aimed at easing 

movement of goods-laden vessels. 

Under the project, 40000 

deadweight tonnage of bulk 

carrier with 10.5 meter draft 

will be able to move in the 

channel along with turning 

basin design and capital 

dredging including 12 years 

maintenance facility. 

A stall of DITF has been decorated with homely mood. 

RAJSHAHI : Rajshahi University 

(RU) has adopted a 50-year mega 

plan for transforming it into a digital 

one through expanding the fields of 

ICT-based academic and research 

works. 

Under the plan, Bangabandhu 

Square, university archive, international 

relation centre, media centre 

and mural of four national leaders will 

be installed in the campus premises. 

RU administration revealed this in a 

view-sharing meeting on "Rajshahi 

University Website and other Digital 

Services" at Shaheed Tajuddin 

Ahmed Senate Building today. 

All institute directors, department 

chairmen, faculty deans, hall provosts 

and others concerned were present at 

the meeting. 

Vice-chancellor Prof Abdus Sobhan 

and Pro-VC Prof Ananda Kumar 

Shaha addressed the meeting as chief 

and special guests respectively with 

New cabinet sits 

in its maiden 

meeting on Jan 21 

DHAKA : The maiden meeting of the new cabinet will be 

held on January 21, reports UNB. 

Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told UNB on 

Monday that the cabinet meeting will be held at the Prime 

Minister's Office at 10am on the day. 

The cabinet meeting is usually held on every Monday but it 

can be arranged any day if the Prime Minister wishes, said 

sources at the Cabinet Division. On January 7, a 47-member 

cabinet, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, took oath following 

Awami League's massive victory in the 11th national 

election. Apart from the Prime Minister, there are 24 ministers, 

19 state ministers and three deputy ministers in the new 

cabinet. 

Mirza Abbas, wife get 

bail in graft case 

DHAKA : The High Court on Monday granted an eightweek 

anticipatory bail to BNP Standing Committee Member 

Mirza Abbas and his wife Afroza Abbas in a corruption case, 

reports UNB. 

The couple has been accused of amassing illegal wealth 

worth Tk 20.76 crore. They appeared before the bench of 

Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice SM Kuddus Zaman in 

morning and sought bail. Advocate Zainul Abedin represented 

them in court. Anti-Corruption Commission Assistant 

Director Mohammad Salauddin filed the case against the 

BNP leader and his wife on January 7 this year at 

Shahjahanpur Police Station. 

BNP's re-election demand 

is not realistic: Tofail 

BHOLA : Awami League Advisory Council Member and 

former Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday said the 

demand of BNP for re-election is not practical and it will 

never happen in Bangladesh. He said this while visiting gutted 

shops at Junction Bazar in Bhola Sadar upazila yesterday. 

"The BNP was born in an unusual situation as it grew up 

through military dictatorship. Such party cannot survive in 

the field of politics," he said. 

Mentioning that BNP should come to the parliament, he 

said they will do mistake again if they do not come to the parliament. 

He also expressed hope that the connstruction work of 

'Bhola-Barishal Bridge' will start soon. 

Pro-VC Prof Chowdhury Jakaria in 

the chair. 

During his keynote presentation, 

Prof Khademul Islam Mollah, 

Director of ICT Centre, gave an 

overview of present situation of RU 

website, present service delivery and 

future plan to meet up the gradually 

increasing demands. 

Treasurer Prof Mustafizur Rahman, 

Registrar Prof Abdul Bari, Student 

Adviser Prof Laila Arjuman Babu and 

Proctor Prof Lutfor Rahman also 

spoke. 

Prof Abdus Sobhan told the meeting 

that the 50-year plan has been adopted 

for overall development of the university's 

education and infrastructure. 

This is the biggest ever development 

plan in the university's history after 

the country's independence. 

At present, implementation work of 

Taka 364 crore given by Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2016 is 

Upazila polls 

from first week 

of March: EC 

DHAKA : The fifth upazila 

parishad elections will be held 

division-wise in phases from 

the first week of March, 

Election Commission 

Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed 

said. 

"Decision has been taken to 

hold the fifth upazila parishad 

elections division-wise in 

phases from the first week of 

March. Hopefully we can 

announce the detailed polls 

schedule in the first week of 

February," he told a press 

briefing after the 42nd commission's 

meeting at the 

Nirbachan Bhaban here. 

Ahmed said electronic voting 

machines (EVMs) will be 

used in district Sadar upazilas 

across the country. 

The EC secretary said the 

elections will be held in four 

phases and there will be 

another phase of elections to 

those upazila parishads whose 

tenure will expire later. 

Biman to keep 

safety hand 

locks in flights 

DHAKA : Biman 

Bangladesh Airlines will keep 

hand lock ties in its flights to 

prevent untoward incidents by 

unruly passengers, the national 

flag carrier said on Monday. 

"We are doing it for the safety 

of passengers and the 

flights," Shakil Meraj, Biman's 

general manager of public 

relations, told UNB. 

"Any passenger, attempting 

to create chaos, will be instantly 

neutralised using the hand 

lock tie," he said. 


Rajshahi University adopts 

50-year mega plan 

progressing. Work of Taka 125 crore 

has been started and work of the rest 

allocated money will start very soon. 

Of those, construction works of a 

20-storied academic building, two 

ten-storied residential buildings and a 

dormitory are expected to be completed 

by next March/April. 

A 10-storey administrative building 

will also be set up to accelerate the 

university's academic and administrative 

activities. RU will construct the 

two new modern ten-storied dormitories 

for the students' to remove the 

existing accommodation crises. 

One of the dormitories for female 

students will be named 'Sheikh 

Hasina Hall' while the other as 'AHM 

Kamaruzzaman Hall' for male students. 

Prof Abdus Sobhan said as part of 

the mega plan all the future development 

activities in the university will be 

undertaken in a planned manner. 

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, Cell : 01832166882; Email: Editor : editor@thebangladeshtoday.com, Advertisement: ads@thebangladeshtoday.com, News: newsbangla@thebangladeshtoday.com, contact@thebangladeshtoday.com, website: www.thebangladeshtoday.com

15-01-2019

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