17-01-2019

UNITING PEOPLE EVERYDAY
THURSDAy, DHAKA, JANUARy 17, 2019, MAgH 4, 1425 BS, JAMADIUL AWAL 10, 1440 HIJRI
It's Oikyafront's version, Hasan
about TIB's election report
CHAttOgRAM : Dismissing the
report of transparency
International Bangladesh (tIB) that
found irregularities in 47 out of 50
constituencies during the national
election as 'questionable and controversial',
Information Minister Dr
Hasan Mahmud on Wednesday said
it is similar to Jatiya Oikyafront's
version, reports UNB.
"the version of Jatiya Oikyafront
and the tIB report are the same. tIB
has published such fabricated report
to create an opportunity for the
defeated force to talk against the
election," he said while speaking at a
press briefing at his Dewanji
Pukurpar residence in the city in the
afternoon.
the minister also said there are
some organisations that always
work to tarnish the country's image
and tIB is one of them. "Earlier,
they (tIB) found corruption in the
Padma Bridge project in their report
but failed to prove it. they should
apologise to the nation for publishing
the wrong report," he said.
Hasan also came down hard on the
anti-graft watchdog for not covering
the 'nomination trade' of BNP in its
report.
the tIB on tuesday said election
irregularities took place in 47 out of
50 constituencies it surveyed during
the last national election. the constituencies
were selected randomly,
it said.
It reported the casting of fraudulent
votes at one or more centres of
41 constituencies and ballot stuffing
in 33 constituencies.
the anti-graft watchdog said
polling stations were occupied in 30
constituencies and polling agents
obstructed in 29 constituencies.
Voters were forced to vote for a particular
symbol in 26 constituencies
while opposition leaders and
activists were beaten up in 11 constituencies.
It recommended appointing honest
and neutral people as the chief
election commissioner and election
commissioners.
the tIB also suggested investigating
allegations of violence and
breach of electoral code of conduct
and taking effective steps based on
the findings.
Ahead of the victory rally of Awami League on 19th January, the preparatory work is being
continued at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka.
Photo : Star Mail
Now Quader asks Fakhrul to
quit BNP accepting failures
DHAKA :Awami League general secretary
Obaidul Quader on Wednesday said
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul
Islam Alamgir should resign from his
party shouldering the responsibility for
the failures both in the movement and
the election, reports UNB.
"As a secretary general he couldn't
carry out a movement for 10 minutes
over the last 10 years while his party
couldn't get even 10 seats in the election.
BNP has failed both in the movement
and the election. He (Fakhrul)
should resign taking the responsibility
for the failures if he has the minimum
sense of shame," he said.
A day after Fakhrul asked him to apologise
publicly for committing the offence
of "vote rigging" in the 11th parliamentary
election, Quader hit back at his BNP
counterpart while talking to reporters at
Awami League's Bangabandhu Avenue
central office after an extended meeting
of Dhaka south city unit Jubo League.
Quader, also the Road transport and
Bridges Minister, said those who turned
down people's outstanding victory
should apologise to the nation.
He also said Fakhrul is now behaving
like a 'reckless driver', and urged all to
remain alert about him to avert any
accident.
On tuesday, Fakhrul said Awami
League is now unable to handle such a
major 'rigging' in the election. "Ask Mr
Quader (AL general secretary) to go to a
stadium and apologise to the nation for
resorting to blatant lies and deceiving
people."
Mentioning that the December-30
national election was transparent and
excellent one, Quader questioned
whether any agent of the candidates of
BNP and Jatiya Oikyafront raised any
objection about the transparency of the
election on the voting day.
7He also trashed the report of
transparency International Bangladesh
(tIB) on various election irregularities,
including stamping ballot papers the
night before the polls, terming those fictitious
ones.
"tIB has now come up with the fairytale
after so many days of the election.
We know why they've cooked up so many
imaginary and unbelievable stories. the
country's people will give a reply to it,"
the minister added.
Kola Superdeep Borehole
INtEREstINg NEWs
It’s hard to imagine that under this
small metal cap lies the world’s deepest
borehole. Now surrounded by ruins, the
Kola superdeep Borehole was a scientific
project undertaken by the soviet Union in
the 1970s to better understand the Earth’s
crust.
the crust is the earth’s outermost layer.
It is a thin shell in comparison to the
earth’s dimension—about 30 to 50 kilometers
thick and is made of light rocks
such as granite and basalt. the crust
floats above the Earth’s mantle, the semisolid
mass of molten rocks that make up
the bulk of the planet. Underneath the
mantle is believed to lie a solid core of
iron.
the first attempt to drill through the
crust was undertaken by the United
states in the early 1960s. It was an ambitious
attempt because the objective was
not to simply drill into the crust but to
drill all the way through it and into the
mantle. In the process, geologists hoped
to gain valuable insight into the earth's
age, makeup, and internal processes, as
well as to provide answers to the mystery
of continental drift, which at the time was
still controversial.
In the spring of 1961, five holes were
drilled off the coast of guadalupe Island,
Mexico, under Project Mohole, which was
described by one historian as “the earth
sciences' answer to the space program.” It
was chosen to drill through the sea floor
because the earth’s crust was thinner
under the oceans. the hole reached only
183 meters before the government pulled
funding and the project was abandoned
in 1966.
BTRC against
less than 7-day
mobile internet
packages
DHAKA : Mobile phone
operators will not be allowed
to offer internet packages
with less than seven-day
validity from January 27,
said the Bangladesh
telecommunication Regulatory
Commission (BtRC) on
Wednesday, reports UNB.
the telecom regulator will
send letters to mobile phone
operators soon in this
regard, BtRC's acting
Chairman Jahurul Haque
told a views-exchange meeting
with 'telecom Reporters
Network Bangladesh' members
at its office.
"Ensuring quality mobile
network and data service is
our big challenge this year,"
he said.
BtRC received 2,947 complaints
about mobile phone
services last year and disposed
of 2,838 of them, the
acting BtRC boss said.
BtRC Commissioner Rezaul
Kader said mobile phone
operators would be ranked
based on their service qualities.
"Customers can choose
operators after checking the
ranking," he said.
"We want to start 5g services
in 2020. We're working
on it," said BtRC
Commissioner (spectrum)
Aminul Haque.
Gatco case
Boil develops on
Khaleda's leg;
she skips hearing
DHAKA : Although she was
facing a production warrant,
the jail authorities could not
produce BNP Chairperson
Khaleda Zia before a court
on Wednesday in the gatco
corruption case as she got a
boil on one of her legs,
reports UNB.
Dhaka special Judge
Court-3 was scheduled to
hear the charge-framing in
the case yesterday.
However, Anti-Corruption
Commission lawyer
Mosharraf Hossain Kajal
told the court that the BNP
chief could not be produced
as an abscess developed on
her legs.
He also prayed to the court
to continue the hearing in
the absence of Khaleda Zia.
However, the BNP chairperson's
counsel Masud
Ahmed Parvez said they
want to hear the chargeframing
in her presence.
Later, Judge Abu syed
Diljar Hossain fixed January
24 for the hearing.
On January 10, the court
issued the warrant for producing
Khaleda who has
been in jail since February 8
last year, before it in the case.
Xulhaz-Tanoy murder case: Key
accused put on 3-day remand
DHAKA : A court here on
Wednesday put on a threeday
remand the prime
accused in LgBt magazine
editor Xulhaz Mannan and
his friend Mahbubtanoy
murder case, reports UNB.
the prime accused is
Asadullah alias Fakhrul
alias Faisal Zakir alias sadik,
an important member of
military wing of banned militant
outfit 'Ansar Al Islam'.
He was arrested from tongi
in gazipur district on
tuesday.
Dhaka Metropolitan
Magistrate Md Mamunur
Rashid passed the order when
investigation officer of the
case Monirul Islam, inspector
of Counter terrorism and
transnational Crime (CttC),
Woman candidates collecting form for reserved seats of 11th National Parliamentary Election, on
2nd day.
Photo: Star Mail
Want to highlight Bangladesh's
heritage, culture: Priota
DHAKA : Priota Iftekhar,
the winner of 'Miss Culture
Worldwide-2018', says her
goal is to inform the world
about the culture and heritage
of Bangladesh,
reports UNB.
"I'm elated at such an
achievement on the Victory
Day," she told a media
briefing, her first since the
competition in Zimbabwe
in December last year.
It was Bangladesh's first
win in the competition.
Priota shared her experiences
at a press conference
arranged by surecell
Medical at Jatiya Press
unit sought a 10-day remand
to interrogate the accused.
tipped off, a team of
Counter terrorism and
transnational Crime (CttC)
unit of Dhaka Metropolitan
Police (DMP) conducted a
drive in the area and arrested
Asadullah, said DMP Deputy
Commissioner (Media)
Masudur Rahman.
Briefing reporters at DMP
Media center on
Wednesday, Additional
Commissioner of the DMP
and also the chief of the
CttC Monirul Islam said
during investigation, it was
revealed that 13 people were
involved in the killings.
Arrested Asadullah is one of
them. He took part in the
killing mission directly, the
Club on Wednesday.
"My main goal was to
highlight Bangladesh and
its culture. And I did it,"
she said. "the feeling of
hoisting the national flag at
an international event cannot
be described in words."
"I dressed as a female
freedom fighter in the final
stage of the competition to
represent my country,"
Priota said. she suffered a
leg injury before the competition
but took part
ignoring the doctor's warning.
"I never thought that I
would be the champion. I
CttC chief added.
He said that Asadullah
was also directly involved in
snatching firearms from
police in the city's North
Badda in 2016.
"so far, four suspected
killers have been arrested in
this connection. Of them,
two killer group members
are-Asadullah and Arafat
while other two members
are from intelligence group.
Xulhaz Mannan, editor of
LgBt magazine Roopbaan,
and his friend
Mahbubtanoy, an activist of
theatre group Loknatya Dal,
were hacked to death by
some unidentified miscreants
at an apartment in the
capital's Kalabagan area on
25 April, 2016.
thought at best I would
reach top three," she
added.
Priota established 'Flag
girl' in 2008 to help
women travellers at home
and abroad. It currently
has over 200 members.
she was also a recipient
of Joy Bangla Youth
Award-2018.
Priota, also the ambassador
of Bangladesh
tourism Corporation,
starred in a telefilm titled
"Impossible five" back in
2013 and later in sri
Lankan film "Pani
Makuluwo" in 2017.
Hearing on chargeframing,
Khaleda's
bail plea deferred
CUMILLA : A court here
Wednesday deferred the
hearing on charge framing
and bail petition of BNP
Chairperson Khaleda Zia in a
case over the killing of eight
people in an arson attack on
a bus in 2015.
Cumilla additional district
and sessions judge Md Ali
Akbar passed the order after
hearing of a time petition
filed by the prosecution, said
Khaleda's counselKaimul
Haque Rinku, reports UNB.
However, the court did not
fix any date for next hearing.
Eight people were killed
and at least 20 others injured
in a petrol bomb attack on a
bus at Jogmohanpur in
Chouddagram upazila on
February 3, 2015 during the
BNP-led alliance's movement.
KOICA President
due Jan 20 to
discuss dev,
Rohingya issue
DHAKA : President of Korea
International Cooperation
Agency (KOICA)Lee Mikyungarrives
here on
January 20 on a four-day
visit to discuss development
cooperation between
Bangladesh and south Korea
through KOICA and visit
Rohingya camps in Cox's
Bazar, reports UNB.
she will lead a six-member
high-level delegation, said an
official on Wednesday.
It will be the first-ever
visit of KOICA's President
in Bangladesh after starting
its programme here since
1993.
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