29-01-2019

tuesDaY
DhaKa : January 29, 2019; Magh 16, 1425 BS; Jamadi-ul awal 22,1440 hijri
www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www. tbtbangla.com
Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.17; No.05; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00
international
Presidential
standoff may worsen
Venezuelans' misery
>Page 7
art & culture
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa
winner trophy
taken by Ishita
>Page 8
sport
Comilla Victorians
beat Khulna Titans
by 80 runs
>Page 9
Corruption endangers
foundation of democracy,
social justice, rule of law: HC
Govt trying to control
media, alleges BNP
DHAKA : BNP on Monday alleged that
the government is trying to control the
media to stop its criticisms and gag the
voice of its opponents, reports UNB.
"The media are being monitored and
regulated regularly by a dark shadow
after the national election so that no can
say anything against the government,"
said BNP senior joint secretary general
Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.
He came up with the remarks while
speaking at a press conference at BNP's
Nayapaltan central office.
The BNP leader said one-party rule
has now reached such a level in the
country where people have no right to
raise their voice. "People must be subjected
to harassment and repression by
police if they express any dissenting
opinion. People now will have to praise
only an individual and a party. Or else,
they may face imprisonment or serious
punishments."
He alleged that the country's law and
order situation deteriorated seriously
after the election as the incidents of
rape, abduction, killing, enforced disappearance
and robbery are on the rise.
Rizvi alleged that law enforcers now
have got busy with political activities
instead of suppressing the offenders
after 'ensuring' Awami League's victory
through 'vote robbery', causing the slide
in law and order.
Referring to media reports, he said
killing, abduction and repression on
women and children marked a sharp
Zohr
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DHAKA : The High Court has
observed that corruption, including
financial crimes, today not only poses
a grave danger to the concept of good
governance, but also threatens the
very foundation of democracy, social
justice and the rule of law, reports
UNB.
"It's beyond controversy that where
corruption begins, all rights end.
Corruption devalues human rights,
chokes development and undermines
justice, liberty, equality and fraternity
which are the core values of our constitution,"
the High Court said.
The court came up with the observations
in the full text of its verdict doubling
the jail sentence of BNP
Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Zia
Orphanage Trust graft case to 10 years
from five years.
"Thus, the duty of the court is to work
in such a manner to strengthen the fight
against corruption. Therefore, there's no
scope to take a lenient view in awarding
punishment to an accused against
whom charge has been proved considering
his/her social and/or political position,"
the court said.
Earlier in the day, the HC released
the full text of its verdict doubling the
jail term of the BNP chief in the corruption
case.
The text of the 177-page judgment
was published on the Supreme Court
website after two judges concerned
signed the verdict.
On October 30 last, the HC bench of
Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice
Md Mostafizur Rahman extended the
BNP chief's jail term. The bench also
upheld 10-year jail term of two other
convicts - Kazi Solimul Haque Kamal
and Sarfuddin Ahmed.
On February 8 last year, a special
court here convicted former prime
minister and BNP chairperson
Khaleda Zia and sentenced her to five
years' imprisonment in the muchtalked-about
Zia Orphanage Trust
graft case.
Five other accused in the case,
including her son and BNP senior
vice-chairman Tarique Rahman, were
sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment
each. The court also fined the five
accused Tk 2.10 crore each.
The Anti-Corruption Commission
(ACC) filed the case against Khaleda
and others with Ramna Police Station
on July 3, 2008 accusing them of misappropriating
Tk 2.1 crore in donations
meant for a trust set up in her
husband's name.
rise over the last few days.
The BNP leaders said though the law
enforcers are supposed to ensure public
security, they themselves have now
become the cause of fear for people.
"Some law enforcers were arrested yesterday
(Sunday) for their involvement
in various offences like killing and
rape."
Rizvi said law enforcers have got desperate
as the government used them to
carry out unfair acts during the voting.
"People are getting deeply worried since
law enforcers are engaging in criminal
acts. Law is now controlled by the government."
He also said the government is restoring
to various tricks and plots to prolong
BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's
stay in jail by delaying her bail in different
cases.
The BNP leader demanded the government
take immediate steps to
release Khaled and other leaders and
activists of the party who were arrested
in different 'false' cases.
Operate mobile
court to stop air
pollution : HC
DHAKA : The High Court on Monday
ordered the Department of
Environment (DoE) to conduct mobile
court drives twice a week to take legal
action against those responsible for air
pollution in the capital, reports UNB.
The bench of Justice FRM Nazmul
Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader
issued the order after hearing a writ
petition.
The court also asked the authorities
concerned to take steps to surround areas
undergoing development and repair
works within the next 15 days to prevent
the spread of dust. It ordered to spray
water in 'dusk-prone' areas twice a day.
The mayors of the two city corporations,
executive officers and the DoE
director general have been asked to submit
a report within the next two weeks on
implementation of the court order.
The court also issued a rule asking the
government to explain as to why the 'inactiveness'
of the local administration
to prevent air pollution should not be
declared illegal and why the authorities
concerned should not be directed to
take effective measures to prevent air
pollution in the city.
Eleven people, including the environment
secretary, the DoE director general,
the mayors and executive officers of
Dhaka city corporations have been
asked to respond within two weeks.
Human Rights and Peace for
Bangladesh filed the writ petition with
the HC on Sunday attaching the news
and reports on air pollution in capital
Dhaka.
Gono Forum
MPs ready to
join JS, party
yet to decide
DHAKA : Though the party's two elected
MPs are expected to be given a positive
signal to take oath, Gono Forum
senior leaders said their party is still
firm on its stance not to join the 11th
parliament, reports UNB.
Talking to UNB, Gono Forum's two
MPs-elect-Sultan Mohammad Mansur
(Moulvibazar-2) and Mokabbir Khan
(Sylhet-2) -- said they think their party
will take a positive decision about joining
parliament showing respect to people's
mandate given in favour of them.
However, Gono Forum executive
president Subrata Chowdhury said
their party and Jatiya Oikyafront are
still firm to their position not to send
their MPs to parliament.
He said their party may talk about the
issue and take the final decision once Dr
Kamal Hossain returns home from
abroad.
He said Dr Kamal Hossain was supposed
to return home early Monday,
but it was deferred for some unavoidable
reasons. "Sir (Kamal) may come
back home one or two days later."
More than hundred job aspirants staged demo for 48 hours from Monday morning in front of Health Department at
Mohakhali in the capital.
Photo: Star Mail
Mother wailing after hearing the death news of two of her off-springs at South
Keraniganj on Monday.
Photo : Star Mail
PM hosts tea party for diplomats,
heads of missions
DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina on Monday hosted a tea party at
Ganobhaban in honour of foreign diplomats,
heads of different missions and
representatives of international organisations,
reports UNB.
She hosted the tea party for them at
the South Lawn of Ganobhaban, the
official residence of the prime minister.
The prime minister arrived at the
venue at 4:10 pm, exchanged pleasantries
with the ambassadors, high
commissioners and charge d' affaires of
48 countries as well as the heads of missions
and representatives of international
organisations in Bangladesh and
enquired about their wellbeing.
The diplomats earlier greeted the
prime minister presenting her bouquets
separately. Ambassadors, high commissioners
and charge d' affaires of different
countries, including the USA, the
UK, Canada, China, Russia, Japan,
India, Saudi Arabia, Germany, the
UAE, Sweden, Italy, Vatican City, joined
the tea party.
The heads of different foreign missions
and international bodies like the United
Nations, IMF, World Bank, UNDP,
UNHCR, WHO, WFP, ILO, IOM,
UNICEF also attended the event.
Senior Awami League leaders Amir
Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed and Dr SA
Malek, AL General Secretary and Road
Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul
Quader, Foreign Minister AK Abdul
Momen, PM's advisers HT Imam, Dr
Moshiur Rahman, Maj Gen (retd)
Tarique Ahmed Siddiq and Salman F
Rahman, State Minister for Power,
Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul
Hamid Bipu, former minister Engineer
Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain, MP,
were, among others, present.
Besides, PM's daughter Saima Wazed
Hossain and Sheikh Rehana's son
Radwan Mujib Siddiq Bobby, PM's
Principal Secretary Md Nojibur
Rahman, Military Secretary Major
General Mia Mohammad Zainul
Abedin, PMO Secretary Sajjadul
Hassan and Press Secretary Ihsanul
Karim were present.
The lawn was tastefully decorated
with kure ghar, mat, mora and earthen
pots and while patriotic songs were
played on the occasion.
The guests were entertained with traditional
foods and cakes of Bangladesh,
including chatpati, fuchka, muri, moa,
naru, kadma, murali and bhapa, chitai,
patisapta and puli pitha, zilapi, kebab
and nan ruti.
50 pc seaborne cargoes in foreign trade
must be carried by BSC vessels
DHAKA : The Cabinet has approved
in principle the draft of the
Bangladesh Flag Vessels (Protection)
Bill 2019 with a provision stating that
at least 50 percent instead of the existing
40 percent of the seaborne cargoes
relating to Bangladesh's foreign
trade must be carried by BSC flag vessels,
reports UNB.
The approval came at the Cabinet
meeting held with Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina in the chair at her office
on Monday.
"As per Article 3 of the draft bill, at
least 50 percent of the seaborne cargoes
relating to the country's foreign trade
will have to be carried by vessels of
Bangladesh Shipping Corporation
(BSC)," said Cabinet Secretary
Mohammad Shafiul Alam while briefing
reporters at the Secretariat.
He said the draft law was placed in
the Cabinet as the existing Bangladesh
Flag Vessels (Protection) Ordinance
1982 was promulgated during military
JaPa picks
Mustain Billah for
Kishoreganj-1 by-polls
DHAKA : Main opposition Jatiya Party
on Monday picked Mustain Billah to
contest the by-election to Kishoreganj-1
seat with its ticket, reports UNB.
Billah, senior vice president of Jatiya
Matshyajibi Party, will contest the byelection
with Jatiya Party's election
symbol 'Plough', said a press release.
Jatiya Party secretary general
Moshiur Rahman Ranga signed the
party nomination paper of Billah nominating
him as the party candidate.
Meanwhile, singer Shafin Ahmed collected
Jatiya Party's nomination form
to contest the Dhaka North City
Corporation (DNCC) mayoral by-election.
Earlier, businessman Hasibul Islam
joy also bought Jatiya Party's nomination
form to vie for the DNCC mayoral
post with the party ticket.
Besides, 29 aspirants for councillor
posts of the DNCC by-polls also bought
Jatiya Party's nomination forms.
The by-elections to the vacant DNCC
mayoral post and Kishoreganj-1 constituency
will be held on February 28.
Besides, the by-polls to councillor
posts of 36 new wards--18 in DNCC
and 18 in Dhaka South City
Corporation (DSCC)--will be held on
the same day.
According to DNCC election schedule,
the last date for the submission of
nomination is January 30 while the
scrutiny will be held on February 2 and
the last date for the withdrawal of nomination
is February 9.
In Kishoreganj-1 by-election, the last
date for the submission of nomination
papers is January 31, while the scrutiny
on February 3 and the deadline for the
withdrawal of nomination papers is
February 10.
regime, which was declared annulled by
the Supreme Court.
He said the bill was drafted in Bangla
though the existing ordinance is in
English.
As per the existing ordinance, at least
40 percent of the sea-borne cargoes
relating to foreign trade of Bangladesh
shall be carried by Bangladesh flag vessels,
he said.
The articles 6 and 7 of the ordinance
were abolished in the draft law.
According to the article 8 of the draft
bill, if any vessel carries goods violating
the provision of the proposed law, the
maximum Tk five lakh will be fined. But
there is no provision of pecuniary punishment
in the existing ordinance, he
said.
The Cabinet also gave the final
approval to the draft of Bangladesh EPZ
Labour Bill 2019 for making the
Bangladesh EPZ Labour Ordinance
2019 promulgated on January 15 last,
into the law as it is, he said.

NEWS
TuESDAY,
JAnuARY 29, 2019
2
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in a drive arrested a young man from Shekherkhil area in
Banshkhali upazila on Sunday for posting anti-state remarks on his Facebook.
Photo : Star Mail
French president in Egypt to
boost ties, raise human rights
French President Emmanuel Macron
aims to speak out stronger than in the
past about human rights issues while
in Egypt, where France seeks to
reinforce strategic ties with a country
he considers a key regional partner, he
told reporters on Sunday, reports
UNB.
Heading a large delegation on a
three-day trip to the Arab world's most
populous country, Macron said he
wants to "pursue a truthful dialogue on
topics of public freedoms and human
rights," an area he feels Egypt has not
progressed enough on since he raised it
with officials earlier in his mandate.
France, which considers itself the
birthplace of human rights, has come
under pressure by advocates to raise
the issue with general-turned-
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, whose
human rights record has been widely
condemned and is seen as worsening.
Macron said that too many people who
present no threat to the country were
being jailed.
"It is on this area of what is
happening in Egypt that I will continue
to focus things. I will do it more openly
during this trip," he said, adding that
he considered it in the interest of el-
Sissi and Egypt to respect human
rights.
Macron said he felt the current
crackdown on opposition in Egypt,
begun after el-Sissi overthrew his
elected but divisive Islamist
predecessor in 2013, had become
worse than under the country's
longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak,
who was overthrown in the 2011 Arab
Spring uprising.
"I think what is happening here
sooner or later threatens the stability of
Egypt. That's to say, I think that the
policies as they are being done are
perceived by intellectuals, the Egyptian
civil society, as being even stronger
than (under) the Mubarak regime," he
said.
Macron said he would raise specific
names to el-Sissi in a confidential
discussion. Aside from heightened
public emphasis on human rights, he
did not mention raising any new
specific levers to try and incentivize el-
Sissi.
Rights groups and activists have
urged France and other Western
powers to halt weapons sales to Egypt,
a major purchaser, until it shows
improvement on the way it treats its
own citizenry. But Macron dismissed
using such pressure, saying it was
important to respect Egypt's
sovereignty and not cut it off because
that could drive it further into the arms
of the West's authoritarian rivals,
Russia and China, which el-Sissi has
courted. Asked specifically if human
rights issues could affect specific arms
sales-such as one under discussion for
additional Rafale advanced fighter jets
to Egypt, -- Macron said such matters
were separate.
Bangladeshi
found dead near
Chuadanga
border
CHUADANGA : A
Bangladeshi youth was
found dead inside Indian
territory near Nastipur
border in Damurhuda
upazila on Monday
morning, reports UNB.
The deceased was
identified as Omidul Islam,
33, son of Abdul Malek of
Nastipur village.
Union Parishad chairman
Golam Jakaria, local Union
Parishad Chairman, said
that farmers spotted body at
Bijoynagar in Indian side,
100 yards off Bangladesh
border, in the morning and
informed Border Guard of
Bangladesh(BGB).
Later, Indian Police of
Krishnanagar thana took
away the body, he said.
On information, members
of BGB visited the spot and
held a meeting with Indian
Border Security Force(BSF)
around 11:30am to bring
back the body, said LT Com
Imam Hasan, commanding
officer of BGB-6 battalion.
Sukumar Biswas, officerin-charge
of Damurhuda
model police station, said
that Omidul was accused in
several drug and smuggling
cases. He might have killed
by rivals over smuggling
related dispute.
Victim's father said
Omidul went out of house
on Sunday evening after
receiving a phone call and
did not return home at
night.
The injured was taken to a
local hospital. On
information, police
recovered the bodies and
sent those to Sir Salimullah
Medical College and
Hospital morgue for
autopsy.
Later, Indian Police of
Krishnanagar thana took
away the body, he said.
JCD leader held
in Rajshahi
RAJSHAHI : Police arrested
a local leader of Jatiyatabadi
Chhatra Dal from Bachhur
intersection in the city on
Sunday evening on sabotage
charge, reports UNB.
The arrestee is Rafiqul
Islam Rabi, general
secretary of JCD Rajshahi
unit.
Aman Ullah, officer-incharge
of Boalia Police
Station, said that a team of
police arrested Rabi from
the area around 7:30 pm as
he was a warranted accused
in two sabotage cases.
Man 'kills self'
in Sylhet
SYLHET : A man allegedly
committed suicide by
hanging himself at his house
at Alapur village in Balaganj
upazila on Sunday, reports
UNB.
The deceased was
identified as Chad Mia
Ranu, 45, son of late
Sekandar Ali.
Quoting family members,
Sadikur Rahman, subinspector
of Balaganj Police
Station, said that Chad Mia
hanged himself from the
beam of his room around
2:30 pm with a scarf.
Grameenphone registers 3.4
pc growth in 2018 revenue
DHAKA : Grameenphone Ltd. registered a
3.4 percent annual growth after reporting a
total of tk 132.8 billion as revenue in 2018,
reports UNB.
Data revenue grew by 21 percent along
with voice revenue growth of 6.6 percent in
2018. During the 4th quarter, total revenue
grew by 7.7 percent.
Grameenphone Ltd. acquired 7.4 million
new subscribers in 2018, registering 11.3
percent growth. The company also added 5.9
million internet subscribers; 51 percent of
total subscribers of Grameenphone Ltd. are
using internet services.
"In 2018, we delivered a strong business
performance driven by excellent execution in
the market. We launched 4G in Bangladesh
in February and faced many challenges this
year with a tough competitive environment
and regulatory directives. We witnessed
healthy growth in voice and data revenue"
said Michael Patrick Foley, CEO of
Grameenphone Ltd.
"Grameenphone Ltd. completed 2018 with
a strong performance with efficiency and
profitability. We recorded a healthy growth
in subscriber base and corresponding usage.
Throughout the year there was aggressive
competition affecting data pricing, along
with the implementation of unified tariff for
voice", said Karl Erik Broten, CFO of
Grameenphone Ltd.
He added "With the growth potential of the
Italian lawmakers boarded a migrant rescue
ship within eyeshot of the island of Sicily on
Sunday to inspect conditions for 47 men and
boys nine days after they were rescued in the
Mediterranean Sea, reports UNB.
The ship operated by German humanitarian
group Sea-Watch picked up the migrants on
Jan. 19 in waters off Libya. It was allowed to
shelter Italy's territorial waters due to
threatening weather Thursday, but the
government refuses to let aid groups disembark
in Italian ports.
Opposition lawmakers who inspected the
Sea-Watch 3 said the migrants were suffering
mentally after months or years of detention in
Libya while waiting for the chance to attempt
the dangerous sea crossing to Europe.
For many, having to stay on the rescue ship
"is a form of continuation of imprisonment"
they experienced in Libya, Riccardo Magi, a
lawmaker with the tiny More Europe party,
said.
The Italian news agency ANSA quoted
Syracuse prosecutor Fabio Scavone as saying
the captain requested psychological assistance
for the passengers. Another lawmaker, Stefania
Prestigiacomo of the center-right Forza Italia
party, said the migrants were exhausted. She
noted the boat had only one toilet.
"OK, we're all in agreement that Europe
should do more in taking in migrants" rescued
at sea, "but let them off" this boat,
market and our focus on operational
efficiency, simplification, and driving value
for our customers, we are optimistic in
delivering profitable growth going forward."
The Board of Directors of Grameenphone
Ltd. have recommended 28 BDT per share
for the full year 2018 dividend based on the
decision taken at the Board Meeting held on
27 January 2019.
With this, the total cash dividend stands at
155% of paid up capital which represents
108% of Profit After Tax for the year 2018
(including 125% interim cash dividend).
The Shareholders as of the record date of
17 February 2019 will be entitled for this final
dividend, which is subject to the
Shareholders' approval at the 22nd AGM to
be held on 23 April 2019.
"There are many regulatory initiatives of
significance currently in discussion phase for
implementation during 2019. Some
initiatives of note are the anticipated
regulations on SMP (significant market
power), Tower Sharing Licensing and
Quality of Service.
We would like to reiterate our
commitment towards meaningful
consultations between industry and
government that can enrich the industry
service propositions further, which in-effect
will facilitate the current economic growth
momentum of the country," said Michael
Patrick Foley, CEO of Grameenphone Ltd.
Italy lawmakers say ship's
migrants suffering mentally
we`ÿ r/Rb-735(2)/28/1/19
GD-161/19 (4 x 3)
Prestigiacomo told reporters.
Matteo Salvini, leader of Italy's far-right
League party, adopted a policy after Italy's
current government took office last year of
refusing to let aid group ships put the people
they rescue on Italian soil.
Salvini contends the rescue groups benefit
human smugglers that charge migrants to cross
the Mediterranean in unseaworthy vessels.
He has threatened to send police officers onto
the Sea-Watch 3 to investigate if the German
aid group was in cahoots with traffickers and
said other European countries should let the
ship dock.
Following Italy's rejection of private rescue
boats and a similar refusal by Malta, Sea-Watch
3 is the only humanitarian aid vessel working to
rescue migrants in the central Mediterranean.
While anchored about a mile from the eastern
Sicilian port town of Syracuse, the vessel has
been unable to be on the lookout for other
endangered migrants near Libya.
Italian coast guard brought donated socks,
shoes and food Sunday to the 47 boys and men
rescued earlier.
The number of migrants reaching Italian
ports via the central Mediterranean smuggling
route dropped sharply last year. During the
previous few years, some 600,000 rescued
migrants were brought to Italian ports by the
Italian coast guard or navy, other European
military ships or cargo vessels.
GD-162/19 (10 x 4) GD-160/19 (4 x 4)

METRO
TUeSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019
3
Newly appointed Navy chief Vice Admiral Abu Mozaffar Mohiuddin Mohammad Aurangzeb
Chowdhury paid homage by placing wreaths at the grave of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Tungipara on Monday.
Photo: ISPR
Longtime San Francisco Giants
owner Peter Magowan dies
Peter Magowan, the lifelong Giants fan
who formed the ownership group that
kept the team in San Francisco with a
sparkling waterfront ballpark, died
Sunday after a battle with cancer. He
was 76, reports UNB.
Magowan was a fan ever since going
to games at the Polo Grounds in New
York and then played a critical role in
the team's success over the last quartercentury.
"During a tenuous period for the franchise,
Peter stepped up and led the
group that purchased the Giants and
kept them in San Francisco," commissioner
Rob Manfred said. "With
groundbreaking vision, he then guided
the effort that resulted in a ballpark that
became a landmark for the city. In his
16 seasons of leadership, Peter oversaw
a winning, civic-minded ballclub that
represented the spirit of San Francisco.
The foundation created under his direction
helped make the Giants the model
club they remain today."
Magowan helped form the ownership
group that bought the franchise for
$100 million from Bob Lurie in December
1992 to keep the team from moving
to Tampa Bay. One of his first moves
was signing Barry Bonds to a six-year,
$43.5 million free agent deal even
before he formally completed the purchase
of the team.
With the game's greatest slugger in
place, the Giants went on to have great
success and Magowan put together a
plan to build a privately funded ballpark
on the water in downtown San Francisco.
That park, the first in years built
without direct public funding, opened
in 2000 and became one of the jewels of
2 'drug traders'
killed in Cox's
Bazar 'gunfight'
COX'S BAZAR : Two
suspected drug traders were
killed in a 'gunfight' between
two groups of drug traders at
Minabazar in Teknaf upazila
early Monday, reports UNB.
The deceased were
identified as Delwar Hossain
Rubel, 25, son of Farid Alam,
and Mohammad Rafiq, 30,
son of Safar Ali.
Pradip Kumar Das, officerin-charge
of Teknaf Model
Police Station, said that on
information that two groups
of drug traders were
exchanging gunfire a team of
police went to the spot.
Sensing the presence of
police, the drug traders fled
the scene.
Later, police rescued two
bullet-injured youths from
the spot and recovered 4000
Yaba tablets , two LGs and
six round bullets.
The injured were taken to
Upazila Health Complex
where doctors declared them
dead, said the OC adding
that Rafiq and Delwar were
listed drug traders.
Pradip Kumar Das, officerin-charge
of Teknaf Model
Police Station, said that on
information that two groups
of drug traders were
exchanging gunfire a team of
police went to the spot.
Later, police rescued two
bullet-injured youths from
the spot and recovered 4000
Yaba tablets , two LGs and
six round bullets.
the game.
Magowan stepped down following the
2008 season but had put in place the
management team that helped bring
San Francisco its first World Series title
in 2010, followed by championships in
2012 and '14.
"Peter's mark on the Giants and the
San Francisco community can be felt
throughout the ballpark, in which he
was intimately involved in the design
and planning and throughout the daily
operations of the organization," Giants
president and CEO Larry Baer said. "He
set forth a Giants vision to create a winning
culture and to serve our fans and
the community. Over the past 25 years,
we have followed through on his vision
and his impact on our community will
be felt for decades to come."
Magowan moved to California in
1958, the same year the Giants relocated
from New York to San Francisco. He
had a successful business, working 37
years for Safeway Inc., including serving
as chairman and CEO from 1980-93
before stepping down after taking over
the Giants.
The Giants made the playoffs four
times in Magowan's 16-year tenure running
the Giants, including a trip to the
World Series in 2002 before losing in
seven games to the Angels.
Bonds also went on to set the singleseason
and career homer records during
his tenure with the Giants, hitting 73
homers in 2001 and 762 in his career.
"I'm extremely saddened by the passing
of Peter Magowan," Bonds said in a
tweet . "I will never forget our first call
about the possibility of me coming
home to play. He saved baseball for San
Another week, more
UK jockeying over
who controls Brexit
British Prime Minister Theresa May faces another bruising
week in Parliament as lawmakers plan to challenge her
minority Conservative government for control of Brexit
policy, reports UNB.
Amendments designed to change the course of Britain's
planned March 29 departure from the European Union
escalated the political jockeying. Several would delay the exit
or make a Brexit without a divorce deal with the EU
impossible.
The final lineup to be considered in the House of Commons
is not expected to be announced until Tuesday, hours before
the next Brexit debate and voting begins.
Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon said her
party would support postponing Brexit day.
Sturgeon said the possibility of a second U.K. referendum
on leaving the EU was not gaining traction in Parliament
because of opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn's
ambiguous position.
Voters supported Britain's withdrawal from the EU during
a June 2016 referendum. Brexit opponents and others who
have qualms about the process now underway have
suggested holding another vote.
"It's incumbent on Labour to make its position on this
clear," she said. "If it does, so then I do think there would
possibly be a majority in the House of Commons."
May's Brexit divorce plan was soundly rejected by
lawmakers two weeks ago. She is scrambling to gain more
backing for the plan agreed with the EU, but some legislators
are determined to force the government to slow the process
and take "no-deal" off the table.
The drama in Parliament has galvanized the partisan
British press.
The Sunday Times used its lead editorial to say it opposed
a "no-deal" departure that would do unneeded harm to
Britain, but also opposed the amendments that would block
the "no-deal" route.
It argued the threat of Brexit taking place without
agreement on issues that affect people and businesses
throughout Europe was Britain's only bargaining chip in
getting the EU to soften the withdrawal terms and make
May's deal acceptable to lawmakers.
Francisco and will be greatly missed."
Magowan did significant work in the
community, making the Giants the first
professional sports team to dedicate an
annual game to the fight against
AIDS/HIV with the creation of "Until
There's A Cure Day" in 1994. He also
formed the Junior Giants program that
provided free leagues for kids to play
and learn baseball.
Magowan also revered the rich history
of the franchise he started following
as a child, signing Hall of Famer Willie
Mays to a lifetime contract and bringing
back Hall of Famers Willie McCovey
and Orlando Cepeda to the organization
to serve as special advisers. In 2008, he
established the Giants Wall of Fame,
which serves as a tribute to the organization's
greatest players of the San
Francisco era.
Magowan will be added to the Wall of
Fame on Feb. 9.
Magowan was a fan ever since going
to games at the Polo Grounds in New
York and then played a critical role in
the team's success over the last quartercentury.
"During a tenuous period for the franchise,
Peter stepped up and led the
group that purchased the Giants and
kept them in San Francisco," commissioner
Rob Manfred said. "With
groundbreaking vision, he then guided
the effort that resulted in a ballpark that
became a landmark for the city. In his
16 seasons of leadership, Peter oversaw
a winning, civic-minded ballclub that
represented the spirit of San Francisco.
The foundation created under his direction
helped make the Giants the model
club they remain today."
Madrasa student
found dead in
Satkhira
SATKHIRA : Police
recovered the body of a
madrasa student from a
pond in Hazarpara area of
Patkelghata upazila on
Monday morning, reports
UNB.
The deceased was
identified as Ismail Hossain,
12, son of Shahbuddin, a
resident of Enayetpur village
in Kholishkhali union and a
student of Hazrapara
Hafizia Madrasa.
Rezaul Islam Reza, officerin-charge
of Patkelghata
Police Station, said that
locals found the body
floating in the pond of the
madrasa in the morning and
informed police.
Youth held in
Chattogram
over FB post
CHATTOGRAM : Members
of Rapid Action Battalion
(Rab) in a drive arrested a
young man from Shekherkhil
area in Banshkhali upazila on
Sunday for posting anti-state
remarks on his Facebook.
The arrestee is Md Jahidul
Islam, 20, son of Md Ishhak
of the area. On information, a
team of Rab conducted the
drive around 5:20 pm and
arrested Jahidul along with
his mobile phone, said a Rab
press release.
New navy chief
Aurangzeb Chowdhury
pays tribute at
Bangabandhu's grave
Newly appointed Navy chief
Vice Admiral Abu Mozaffar
Mohiuddin Mohammad
Aurangzeb Chowdhury on
Monday paid homage by
placing wreaths at the burial
of Father of the Nation
Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman in
Tungipara, Gopalganj, an
ISPR press release said.
Later, President of
Bangladesh Navy Family
Welfare Association
(BNFWA) Begum Afroza
Aurangzeb also paid homage
by placing a wreath at the
burial of Father of the
Nation Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
They also took part in a
special munajat which was
offered seeking eternal
peace of the departed soul of
Bangabandhu.
During the visit at
Tungipara, The Navy chief
visited the ancestral house of
Bangabandhu, museum and
library of the Father of the
Nation and signed the book
of inspection. Besides, he
also provided 91 books on
'Bangabandhu' and
'Liberation War' in the local
library. At that time,
regional commander of
Khulna Naval Area,
chairman of BNFW Khulna
branch and higher officials
of Khulna were also present.
Nasim, Rafiqual made
president and secretary
of Labour Court Bar
Association
Advocate Mohammad
Nasim and Advocate
Mohammad Rafiqual Islam
Khan (Alom) have been
elected president and
general secretary
respectively of Dhaka
Labour Court Bar
Association, a press release
said.
Advocate Masud Hossain
and Advocate Belayet
Hossain were elected vice
presidents.
Election to the 15-member
association was held at
Labour Bhaban at Rajuk
Avenue in the capital
recently.
Lawyers from judge court
and the High Court, who are
listed as members of the Bar
Association, cast their
ballots from 9am to 1:30pm.
Besides, seven executive
members were elected in the
election.
Some 109 voters out of
total 130 exercised their
franchise in the election.
Election only to the posts
of general secretary and two
vice presidents was held,
while president and others
were elected uncontested.
The committee will
perform its duties for one
year term.
Lawyers from judge court
and the High Court, who are
listed as members of the Bar
Association, cast their
ballots from 9am to
1:30pm.
GD-163/19 (5 x 4)
DIU celebrates 17th
Founding Anniv
Two-day long 17th Founding Anniversary of
Daffodil International University (DIU) was
observed with gala events with great
enthusiasm and in a colorful manner &
festive mood at Ashulia Permanent Campus.
To mark the Founding Anniversary, a
weeklong Inter department sports
competition, Math Olympiad, Inter
University Cultural competition, IT Quiz,
Project Showcasing and exhibition have
been arranged. The 2 day long programs
included Bus Rally, Pitha Utshab, Blood
Donation Program, Discussion, Picnic, Tree
Plantation, Games & Sports, Fun Events &
Raffle Draw and gala musical soiree by the
participation of the students. Dr. Jonathan
Ortman, President, Global
Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) was
present as the chief guest and delivered his
speech as the Founding Anniversary
Speaker at the program.
Dr. Md. Sabur Khan, Honorable
Chairman, Board of Trustees, Daffodil
International University and Chairman,
Daffodil Family presided over the ceremony.
The function was addressed by Prof. Dr.
Yousuf M Islam, ViceC`hancellor, Pro Vice
Chancellor Prof. Dr. SM Mahbubul Haque
Majumder, Mr. Hamidul Haque Khan,
Treasurer, Prof. Dr. Masum Iqbal, Dean,
Faculty of Business & Entrepreneurship,
DHAKA : President of
Incheon Support Centre for
Foreign Workers Kim Jae Eup
has assured Bangladeshi
workers in South Korea to
resolve their difficulties, if
any, by engaging with them
intensely through counseling
and other methods.
He also encouraged them to
learn different skills, offered
by the centre free of charge, to
adapt to this country, reports
UNB.
Kim Jae was addressing a
seminar titled 'Seminar for
Bangladeshi EPS Workers on
Do's and Don'ts while staying
in Korea' jointly organised by
the Embassy of Bangladesh in
Seoul and Incheon Support
Centre for Foreign Workers in
the Incheon Metropolitan City
of the Republic of Korea
recently, said the Embassy on
Monday.
Bangladesh Ambassador to
South Korea Abida Islam,
first secretary (Labour)
Mokima
Begum,
Representative of HRD Korea
Kim Hyeon Saeng and Team
Director of HRD Korea Yun A
Sun were present during the
seminar.
Before the start of the
seminar, 73 Bangladesh EPS
(Employment Permit
System) workers filled out the
job application forms
provided by HRD Korea,
which will facilitate their
employment in Korean
companies based in
Bangladesh upon their return
on completion of their tenure
here.
Ambassador Abida Islam
thanked the Incheon Support
Centre for their support and
hoped to profoundly engage
with HRD Korea in organising
such events in the future, said
the Bangladesh Embassy on
Monday.
Dr. Md. Sabur Khan,
Honorable Chairman, Board
of Trustees, Daffodil
International University and
Chairman, Daffodil Family
presided over the ceremony.
The function was addressed
by Prof. Dr. Yousuf M Islam,
ViceC`hancellor, Pro Vice
Chancellor Prof. Dr. SM
Mahbubul Haque Majumder,
Mr. Hamidul Haque Khan,
Treasurer, Prof. Dr. Masum
Iqbal, Dean, Faculty of
Business & Entrepreneurship,
Prof. M Shamsul Alam, Dean,
Faculty of Engineering, Prof.
AMM Hamidur Rahman,
Dean, Faculty of Humanities
& Social Science, Prof. Dr.
Prof. M Shamsul Alam, Dean, Faculty of
Engineering, Prof. AMM Hamidur Rahman,
Dean, Faculty of Humanities & Social
Science, Prof. Dr. Ahmed Ismail Mostafa,
Dean, Faculty of Allied Health Science, Prof.
Dr. Eng. AKM Fazlul Haque, Registrar and
Prof. Dr. Mostafa Kamal, Convener of 17th
Founding Anniversary & Dean, Permanent
Campus. While addressing as the chief
guest Dr. Jonathan Ortmans said that
Bangladesh is now a country of young
population. One third population of total
population is young in Bangladesh right
now. And I am feeling the strength of this
young people after coming to Daffodil
International University.
Dr. Md. Sabur Khan said to his
presidential speech that there is alternative
to enhance your skill for your career. So
students should develop skill accordingly
his/her student life. Daffodil International
University is doing a lot for developing
student's skill. As example he said the Art of
living, Employability 360 degree, One
student One Laptop ect. He said that
Daffodil International University distributed
more than 34 thousand laptop among the
students with free of cost. Student can use
this laptop for developing their career. He
said to the student, be an entrepreneur by
using this laptop.
Seminar on do's, don'ts for
Bangladeshi workers in
Korea held
Ahmed Ismail Mostafa, Dean,
Faculty of Allied Health
Science, Prof. Dr. Eng. AKM
Fazlul Haque, Registrar and
Prof. Dr. Mostafa Kamal,
Convener of 17th Founding
Anniversary & Dean,
Permanent Campus. While
addressing as the chief guest
Dr. Jonathan Ortmans said
that Bangladesh is now a
country of young population.
One third population of total
population is young in
Bangladesh right now. And I
am feeling the strength of this
young people after coming to
Daffodil International
University.

EDITORIAL
TUESDAY,
JANUARY 29, 2019
4
Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam
Telephone: +8802-9104683-84, Fax: 9127103
e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
No wisdom in
restricting private
cars
The media reportedsometime ago that
government is bent on restricting the use of
private cars in response to frequent
allegations as if the private vehicles are the main
source of traffic congestion in Dhaka city. Only
cars that would carry at least four to five persons
would be allowed to move on the roads. Besides,
the driving of privately owned cars in certain areas
would be completely prohibited.
The suggestion is that these restrictive practices
would keep a large number of private motor
vehicles off the roads allowing greater spaces for
other forms of vehicular traffic easing, thus, the
traffic jams. Private cars considering the few in
number who travel in them are not serving the
purpose of mass movement of the greatest
number of commuters but occupy
disproportionately bigger spaces.
The apparent persuasive logic of the above can be
quite contradicted by the realities that exist. First
of all, it can be objectively said that private cars
are not the main source of traffic jams. These
vehicles are relatively faster in movement and
rather help in easing traffic snarls that is not
possible by the far slower moving and manually
operated rickshaws, paddled vans, etc. Besides, if
private cars carry a small number of people, then
the awkward rickshaws transport a far smaller
number, only two at a time. As it is, the causes of
jams are many and varied but at the head of the
list is bad or ineffective traffic policing.
Plans are announced by the traffic police
department such as using intensely the automatic
signaling lights only to mock their own plans by
continuing with manual signaling holding traffic
at a standstill unreasonably for a long time and
helping the creation of jams. They do not ensure
the stopping of buses at proper bus stops which
also is a major reason for jams. Unauthorised and
careless parking of vehicles on the roads reduce
road spaces for vehicular movement to which the
policemen turn a blind eye most of the time.
Hawkers displaying their merchandise on roads
also gobble up spaces. Parking lots are not used
as well as they should be. Traffic police also seem
to be unconcerned by this phenomenon.
There are many other factors also that should
explain--generally-- why the jams occur all the
time. Ignoring them and focusing only on the
issue of private cars is not a realistic one. It is
rather to be considered as a highly discriminatory
one by private car owners. Enforcing the
restrictions on private cars leaving the other
factors for jams unaddressed, will likely not have
any positive impact on the traffic scene. Instead
more problems will be created than what is
intended to be solved.
The number of registered private cars in use in
Dhaka is less than 200,000. A great deal of
personal investments as well as banks' financing
have gone into most of them. The amounts would
be under a threat if the restrictions are applied. A
large number of people have found employment as
drivers, as repairing workshop owners and
mechanics, sellers of car parts, etc. The livelihood
of these people would be pushed into peril not to
mention the great stress and sheer unhappiness
for the owners and the family members of the
owners of private cars. Creating so much troubles
and anguishes to press ahead with enforcement
for realizing a single objective while not treating
the other major sources of the problem--
practically considered as more serious -- clearly
cannot be considered as useful policy.
Government must not be seen as travelling
backward in time. A view of Dhaka city with few or
no cars on its roads will not be any good for its
image problem. Nor will the same development be
well received by a large number of its most
resourceful, capable and sensitive residents. The
solution to a headache involves not cutting off the
head but in treating the ache by the best possible
means for a comprehensive cure. And let not this
fact be lost on the policy makers either that
importing of some hundreds of buses to make up
for the void to be created from the disappearance
of private cars from the roads of Dhaka , will
hardly fill up this deliberately created gap in
transportation capacities .
harsh realities hamper establishment of an African FTA
If the African Union (AU) is to be
believed, this is the year that the
African Continental Free Trade Area
(AfCFTA) really starts to take shape.
Forty-nine member states have signed up
to the deal, and 15 of them have already
ratified it - including South Africa, the
continent's second-largest economy.
Only seven more ratifications are
required before the agreement, finalized
at the AU's extraordinary summit in
Kigali, Rwanda, last year, becomes legally
binding. But businesses planning around
the deal must be warned: It will only be
several years later, once all the
outstanding issues have been negotiated,
that tariffs and trade barriers may
actually drop. And that is in the best-case
scenario.
The numbers surrounding the
proposed continental free-trade area are
staggering. Once in effect, it will be the
largest trade deal since the establishment
of the World Trade Organization,
encompassing 55 countries, 1.2 billion
people and a combined gross domestic
product of US$2.5 trillion. The AU's
figures suggest that it could boost intra-
African trade by a stunning 52%.
According to Paul Kagame, president of
Rwanda and the current AU chairman,
the deal would rank "among the most
historic achievements of the African
Union."
The AU's trade commissioner, Albert
Muchenga, has expressed his confidence
that the necessary ratifications will be
obtained before the next AU summit, in
Addis Ababa on February 10-11.
"We are welcoming the concrete
beginning of the journey to create one
African market," Muchenga said last year
at the Kigali summit. "We are saying
goodbye to the era of small, isolated and
The recent signing of the Treaty of
Aachen invites us to reflect on how
the Franco-German partnership's
role in Europe has evolved since the two
countries first adopted a bilateral
friendship pact, the Elysee Treaty, in
1963.
At the heart of the Treaty of Aachen is a
plan to form a European Defense Union.
This is not a new idea. Similar proposals
were discussed as far back as 1950, when
the US was being drawn into the Korean
War. The US called for West Germany to
be brought into the fold of a new
European Defense Community. But, in
1954, the formation of a defense union -
under the Pleven Plan and the Treaty of
Paris - was rejected by the French
Parliament, which feared becoming too
dependent on the US.
Still, during the negotiations over the
Elysee Treaty less than a decade later,
French President Charles de Gaulle saw
an opportunity to push for more Western
European independence from the US.
Hence, the original text of the treaty made
no mention of France or Germany's
relationship to the US, the UK, NATO or
any other important international
agreements. But this omission did not go
unnoticed. Bowing to pressure from
President John F. Kennedy, the German
Bundestag added a preamble calling on
France and Germany to cooperate closely
with the US and the UK.
This new language frustrated De
Gaulle's plans for establishing a Western
European counterweight to the US, and
ultimately led to discord between France
and Germany. According to De Gaulle's
confidant Alain Peyrefitte, the French
president complained that the Germans
were "behaving like pigs. They fully
fragmented small markets.
"We are clearly signaling that Africa is
not for isolationism or nationalism. Our
message to ourselves and to the rest of the
world is that we pool our independence
and sovereignty to create a higher value of
inter-dependency anchored on creating
one African market."
But despite all the impressive numbers
and the fine rhetoric, there is still a long
way to go before the AfCFTA approaches
the implementation stage, and major
hurdles must be overcome before Africa's
free-trade dream approaches reality.
The most obvious weak point is
whether Nigeria intends to participate.
President Muhammadu Buhari was
planning to sign the deal, but withdrew at
the last minute after pressure from trade
unions (so last-minute, in fact, that his
convoy was already on the way to the
airport, en route to the Kigali summit,
before suddenly turning back).
Buhari said he needed more time to
hold consultations, and has subsequently
tweeted: "We will not agree to anything
that will undermine local manufacturers
and entrepreneurs, or that may lead to
#Nigeria becoming a dumping ground
SImoN ALLISoN
for finished goods. #AfCFTA." There is
unlikely to be any further clarity on
Nigeria's position before the presidential
election in mid-February. Buhari's main
opponent, Atiku Abubakar, has indicated
that he plans to sign the free-trade deal
should he be elected.
If he wins, however, he will also have to
do battle with the reluctant trade unions -
and there is no guarantee that this is a
battle he would win. The absence of the
continent's largest economy and most
The numbers surrounding the proposed continental free-trade area
are staggering. once in effect, it will be the largest trade deal since the
establishment of the World Trade organization, encompassing 55
countries, 1.2 billion people and a combined gross domestic product
of US$2.5 trillion. The AU's figures suggest that it could boost intra-
African trade by a stunning 52%. According to Paul Kagame,
president of Rwanda and the current AU chairman, the deal would
rank "among the most historic achievements of the African Union."
subject themselves to US power. They
betray the spirit of the Franco-German
Treaty. And they betray Europe." Later,
De Gaulle would describe Germany's
behavior during this episode as his
"biggest disappointment."
The concept of European "strategic
autonomy" was an essential component
of Gaullism. Today, it features heavily in
debates about European integration, and
it is central to French President
Emmanuel Macron's own vision for EU
reform. France's goal today is the same as
it was back in the 1960s, when it first
acquired nuclear weapons: To free
Germany and the EU from America's
overwhelming influence.
In the intervening decades, the seeds of
Gaullist mistrust toward the Germans
have been covered up by celebrating the
Elysee Treaty. That pact had achieved the
seemingly unattainable: Friendship with
the "Erbfeind" - the hereditary enemy -
just a few years after the two countries
had engaged in the most savage war
mankind has ever known.
As a follow-up to the Elysee Treaty, the
Treaty of Aachen can be touted as a
symbol of Franco-German friendship.
SIGmAR GAbRIEL
populous country would doubtless
compromise the trade deal's
effectiveness.
The other major obstacle is likely to
prove even more contentious. In order to
facilitate the signing of the deal, the AU
agreed to postpone decisions on
particularly divisive areas such as the
protocols on competition policy,
intellectual-property rights and rules of
origin. In other words, the really tough
negotiations around the technical details
of the deal are still to come.
Tove van Lennep of the Helen
Suzman Foundation, a South Africa
think-tank, outlines just how much
work remains outstanding: "Ministers
But Germans should not overlook the fact
that both agreements enshrine a political
strategy that is at odds with its own
longstanding approach of balancing the
friendship with France alongside strong
relations with the US and the UK.
In a world of geopolitical carnivores, we
Europeans are the last vegetarians.
This is not to suggest that the two
Franco-German friendship agreements
are worthless. But by putting too much
store in the idealistic notion that "we can
do it, together," France and Germany
could find that they have achieved a
Pyrrhic victory for the European project.
After all, there is reason to worry about
how the new agreement will be perceived
in other European capitals. Any Pole,
Italian, Greek, Swiss or Spanish citizen
who reads the text might find it strange
that the two European poster children of
multilateralism would sign a bilateral
deal, excluding everyone else. What
happened to the principle of sovereignty
and equality among all EU member
states? Moreover, France and Germany
view the world differently. Whereas
integration into the Western liberal order
of trade must now submit schedules of
tariff concessions and specific
commitments on trade in services to
the Assembly at the 32nd AU summit
in Addis Ababa [in February]. These
schedules require the liberalization of
90% of products by each state, as well
as a list of sensitive products that are to
be temporarily exempted.
"For trade in services, scheduling will
call for a deep review of the regulatory
framework of the identified sectors, in
view of preparing, sub-sector by subsector,
mode by mode, the initial market
access offers [that] will then be subject to
negotiations.
"The second phase will establish the
rules for continental investment,
intellectual property and competition
policy, the latter critical for restraining
monopolies in larger economies. The
deadline for this phase is January 2020."
Given that there are at least 49
countries involved in these upcoming
negotiations, that deadline seems
ambitious, to say the least.
The AfCFTA is a compelling idea, and
one that has captured the imagination of
African leaders - as evidenced by their
widespread agreement to the concept.
But to obtain that agreement, the AU has
so far avoided the really difficult
conversations around the nitty-gritty of
the deal. These conversations have the
potential to derail the trade deal, and are
almost guaranteed to drag on for far
longer than the 12 months that have been
allocated.
For now, then, businesses are advised
not to bank on the implementation of a
continental free-trade area any time soon.
Source: Asia times
EU needs more than just Franco-German friendship
When I covered the war in Bosnia
I got to know Nermin Tulic, a
prominent Sarajevo actor. He
had his legs blown off by a Serbian shell
on June 10, 1992.
He raged. He begged me not to look at
his stumps. He wondered how he had
ever taken his wife, who was half-Serb, in
his arms. He told me how he had wanted
to die as he lay in the hospital and, on the
floor below, his wife gave birth to their
second daughter. Only his father's words
gave him the will to live: "A child needs
his father even if he just sits in the corner."
I am a European patriot because I
witnessed how nationalism could turn a
cosmopolitan European city into the
place where Tulic lost his legs.
Nationalism, self-pitying and aggressive,
seeks to change the present in the name
of an illusory past in order to create a
future vague in all respects except its
glory. Pregnant with violence,
manipulating fear, it is an exercise in
mass delusion. I hate it with all my being.
As Francois Mitterrand, the former
French president, observed in 1995,
prejudices must be conquered because
the alternative is nationalism - and
This new language frustrated De Gaulle's plans for establishing a
Western European counterweight to the US, and ultimately led to
discord between France and Germany. According to De Gaulle's
confidant Alain Peyrefitte, the French president complained that the
Germans were "behaving like pigs. They fully subject themselves to
US power. They betray the spirit of the Franco-German Treaty. And
they betray Europe." Later, De Gaulle would describe Germany's
behavior during this episode as his "biggest disappointment."
European unity is a peace magnet
"nationalism is war." Almost a quartercentury
later, nationalism advances.
From Hungary to France, from Poland to
Britain, nationalists pour scorn on the
European Union and seek its unravelling.
I am a European patriot because I read
the war diary of my uncle Bert Cohen of
the 6th South African Armoured
Division, 19th Field Ambulance. He
reached Italy's Monte Cassino on July 21,
1944. His diary entry: "Poor Cassino,
horror, wreck and desolation
unbelievable, roads smashed and pitted,
mines, booby traps and graves
everywhere. Huge shell holes, craters
filled with stagnant slime, smashed
RoGER CohEN
buildings, hardly outlines remaining, a
silent sight of ghosts and shadows.
Pictures should be taken of this
monument to mankind's worst moments
and circulated through every
schoolroom." That was Europe not so
very long ago. In recent years Muslim
refugees from the Bosnian town of
Srebrenica, women and children, their
I am a European patriot because I witnessed how
nationalism could turn a cosmopolitan European city into
the place where Tulic lost his legs. Nationalism, self-pitying
and aggressive, seeks to change the present in the name of an
illusory past in order to create a future vague in all respects
except its glory. Pregnant with violence, manipulating fear, it
is an exercise in mass delusion. I hate it with all my being.
menfolk executed by Serb nationalists,
clamouring for help from United Nations
forces in 1995. I am a European patriot
because I have lived in Germany and seen
how the idea of Europe provided
salvation to postwar Germans; because I
have lived in Italy and seen how the
is enshrined in the German constitution,
French foreign policy is guided by the
country's national interests at any given
time. The Treaty of Aachen, like its
precursor, obscures these different
outlooks with a fog of good intentions.
The Elysee Treaty symbolized the end
of enmity between Germany and France.
But, with the Treaty of Aachen, the two
countries have gone beyond that. Their
stated intention now is to prevent the
internal splintering of the EU.
To be sure, there are deepening
divisions over matters of finance and
economic policymaking between north
and south (and also between France and
Germany). Western member states are
worried about the rule of law in eastern
member states, and those in the
northwest want to tackle corruption,
organized crime and weak governance in
the southeast. Yet it is precisely on these
EU-wide challenges that the Treaty of
Aachen lacks specificity.
Though the European project no doubt
depends on France and Germany, this
does not mean that they alone can
preserve it. Without an approach that is
more sensitive to their European
partners, the two countries risk giving the
impression that mere obedience to the
Franco-German axis is all that is expected
or required.
But France and Germany have distinct
interests. While Germany would fully
support a reversal of Brexit in order to
preserve the EU's internal balance,
France might see in Britain's withdrawal
an opportunity to increase its own relative
political, economic and military clout
within the bloc.
Source : Arab news
European Union anchored the country in
the West when the communist
temptation was strong; because I have
lived in Belgium and seen what
painstaking steps Nato and the European
Union took to forge a Europe that is
whole and free; because I have lived in
France and seen how Europe gave the
French a new avenue for expressing their
universal message of human dignity;
because I have lived in Britain and seen
how Europe broadened the post-imperial
British psyche and, more recently, to
what impasse little-England insularity
leads; because I have lived in the Balkans
and chronicled a European war that took
100,000 lives. I am a European patriot
and an American patriot. I am not from
one place but several. The bond that
binds the West is freedom - the cry of
revolutions on both sides of the Atlantic.
There is no contradiction in my
patriotisms. Patriotism is to nationalism
as dignity is to barbarism. As nationalism
equals war, so contempt for the law
brings savagery.
Source : Gulf news

DEVELOPMENT
TUESDAy,
JANUARy 29, 2019
5
Exposure to air pollution reduces factory worker output.
Photo: Justin Jin
Air pollution kills worker productivity
Claudia Caruana
Exposure to air pollution over several
weeks is not just unhealthy but can also
reduce employee productivity, says an
independent study conducted in China
by economists from the National
University of Singapore (NUS).
China and India have the largest
numbers of people exposed to a 'double
burden' of outdoor and household
pollution, according to the State of
Global Air report released in 2018 by
the US-based Health Effects Institute.
In 2016, 416 million in China and 560
million people in India were estimated
to be exposed to indoor pollution, the
report said.
Haoming Liu, researcher at NUS and
an author of the study, published in
January in American Economic
Journal: Applied Economics, says
China was selected for the study
because it is the second largest
economy in the world and has broad,
day-to-day variation in air pollution
levels.
"Levels of particle pollution in parts
of India often exceed those in north
China, and the same can be said of
urban areas elsewhere in Asia at
several points of the year. (So) our
findings for China should translate to
other regions in the developing
world," Haoming says. The NUS
researchers spent more than a year
gathering information from two
textile mills, one in Henan and the
other in Jiangsu, where workers were
paid according to each piece of fabric
they made. Daily records of
productivity for specific workers on
particular shifts were examined as
also concentration of particulate
matter they were exposed to over
time.
The researchers found that daily
fluctuations in pollution did not
immediately affect the productivity of
workers but when measured for
prolonged exposures of up to 30 days,
a definite drop in output was seen.
Alberto Salvo, faculty at NUS and an
author of the study, says the aim of
the study was to broaden the
understanding of air pollution. "We
typically think that firms benefit from
lax pollution regulations, by saving
on emission control equipment and
the like. Here, we document an
adverse effect on the productivity of
their work force." Salvo adds:
"Pollution regulations are often
considered taxing by managers,
perceived to hurt their business
interests, and they often lobby
policymakers against these controls.
We point out that cleaner air can
improve the quality of a firm's work
force, a key input to production."
"More broadly, our research looks
beyond the mortality impact of air
pollution on vulnerable members of the
population, such as the elderly and
infants," says Salvo. "In our setting, an
otherwise healthy worker being less
productive on the job is a potentially
widespread manifestation of the
morbidity effect of exposure to air
pollution."
Lawrence White, an economics
professor at the Leonard N. Stern
School of Business, New York
University, calls this work "another
sophisticated, well-researched article in
a long line of research that stretches
back over five decades, showing the
adverse consequences of ambient air
pollution - in this case fine
particulates."
White notes that much of this category
of research "has focused on the adverse
health consequences. This shows that
there are also short-run (though not
immediate) adverse consequences for
factory output/production that seem to
be linked to the effects of the air pollution
on the employees at the two textiles firms
in China that are studied." Although the
adverse effects are modest (at one per
cent), they are statistically significant,
says White.
Smallholders’ global food production
underestimated
Farmer irrigating vegetables in Mali.
Munyaradzi Makoni
The share of farmland
cultivated by smallholder
farms may be much larger
than previously thought,
suggesting that their
contribution to global food
production could be
underestimated, a
crowdsourcing study
reveals. Previously,
smallholder farms - which
manage fields less than two
hectors in size - were
thought to occupy between
12 and 24 per cent of global
agricultural land. But the
findings of a study
published in Global Change
Biology show that
smallholder farms cover up
to 40 per cent of global
farmland.
"We found that in Africa
and Asia smallholder farms
Photo: Tingju Zhu
occupy up to 78 per cent
and 72 per cent of total
agricultural area
respectively," says
Myroslava Lesiv, a coauthor
of the study and a
mathematician in
ecosystems services and
management at the
International Institute for
Applied Systems Analysis,
Austria.
Lesiv tells SciDev.Net that
in Latin America, the
highest coverage of
smallholder farms reaches
up to 70 per cent in
Ecuador and 80 per cent in
Peru. Researchers
conducted a data collection
campaign in June 2017 to
gage the size of fields
around the globe. The
campaign lasted four
weeks, with participants
visually interpreting highresolution
satellite imagery
from Google Maps and Bing
using the Geo?Wiki
application.
Lesiv says the team
introduced field measuring
tools to improve the
accuracy of the data
collected, making it
possible to estimate the
percentage of different field
sizes at a global and
continental scale, as well as
nationally. The researchers
collected around 130,000
unique samples from the
entire world. According to
Lesiv, scientists can use the
data to make
recommendations to
policymakers on food
security, food systems and
nutrition diversity.
"We have filled the gaps
in available information on
global field size distribution
by covering countries where
no statistical surveys were
carried out and no mapping
has been done with the help
of remote sensing," she
explains.
African countries such as
Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria and
Tanzania along with China,
India and Indonesia, tend
to have many small
agricultural fields, the study
found. "Such a large share
of a smallholder farms in
these countries indicates
that there are many people
living in poverty and have
low nutritional diversity,"
Lesiv says.
But Joseph Glauber,
senior research fellow at
US-based International
Food Policy Research
Institute, says it would also
be interesting to see what
percentage smallholder
farmers contribute to global
food production. "The
structural issue does not
surprise me given the large
land mass in Asia and
Africa where many of the
small holders are located,"
he says.
The study presents an
interesting methodology for
estimating and mapping
agricultural field size
globally, says Jean-Philippe
Audinet, lead technical
specialist at the
International Fund for
Agricultural Development.
"However, we are not
convinced by the
comparison with other
estimates of prevalence of
smallholder farms based on
the FAO world census of
agriculture,'' Audinet
explains. "The figure of 40
per cent of area of all fields
being small fields may be
true, but we would suggest
caution in interpreting the
results of this study as the
discovery of a new
continent of smallholder
farms."
Racing to save the Amazon
Rodrigo de Oliveira Andrade
Brazil's new government,
led by President Jair
Bolsonaro, has quickly
taken steps to loosen
environmental law
enforcement. Now a review
paper shows that the
deforestation that could
result may have terrible
consequences for the
Amazon rainforest,
including dramatic
biodiversity loss, intensified
dry seasons, droughts, all
ultimately leading to a "state
of collapse".
Scientists worldwide say
Bolsonaro's stance on
science and the
environment is worrying.
He promotes development
at all costs and has
threatened to follow US
President Donald Trump
and pull Brazil out of the
2015 Paris agreement.
During the election
campaign, he made no
secret of his desire to open
indigenous lands to mining,
farming and dam building,
even though about 13 per
cent of Brazilian territory is
recognised as indigenous
lands and protected by law.
Now a review by the
climatologist José Marengo,
from the National Centre for
Monitoring and Early
Warning of Natural
Disasters, and his
colleagues draws together a
broad set of data on the
Amazon climate to analyse,
among other things, the
probable effects of largescale
deforestation.
Marengo says that studies
recently begun to suggest
that Amazon deforestation
could reach a tipping point
beyond which the
ecosystem could collapse.
"The combined effects of
drought and deforestation,
along with fire, might
amplify impacts and
potentially cause the
collapse of the rainforest
ecosystem," he says. About
19 per cent of the Brazilian
rainforest that existed in
1970 has already been cut
down. One study from 2018
suggested the tipping point
could be as low as 25 per
cent deforestation. "If this
tipping point is crossed, part
of forest might be converted
into a savannah," says
Marengo. "It would
potentially have large-scale
impacts on climate,
biodiversity, and the people
living there."
Extreme climatic events,
such as droughts, floods,
changes in the rainy and dry
seasons, and forest fires
could also increase, he says.
Scientists already
consider the Amazon
rainforest to be at great risk
of deforestation because of
expanding land use for
agriculture, which is also
one of the main driving
forces for climate change in
the region.
Deforestation rates could
now further be amplified if
President Bolsonaro
implements his antienvironment
agenda, which
among other things would
allow remote parts of the
Amazon to lose their legal
protection and become
open for use by
agribusiness.
Luiz Antonio Martinelli,
an ecologist at the
University of Sao Paulo,
says Marengo's work is
robust and gathers a
considerable number of
studies that help to better
understand how the
Amazon rainforest might
respond to environment
pressures triggered by the
new government's agenda.
Researchers have already
observed the lengthening of
the dry season over the
southern Amazon, which
may influence the risk of fire
and rainfall regime over the
Caribbean and northern
South America. This would
be especially harmful for the
Amazon rainforest, since
the impacts of deforestation
are greater under drought
conditions because fires set
for forest clearance might
get out of control. "Efforts to
preserve the Amazon
rainforest and keep its
ecosystems running require
a great amount of financial
resources and international
cooperation," says
Marengo.
But Bolsonaro's actions
have already been
controversial on the global
stage. On 12 December,
during a Facebook-Live
session, he announced
Brazil could not afford to
meet some of the
requirements in the 2015
Paris Agreement, and that
he was willing to withdraw
from it if they were not
changed - although he has
since backpedalled on the
threat. And less than a
month after winning the
country's presidential
election, he has also
declined to host the UN
Convention on Climate
Change in 2019 "due to
budget restrictions".
The decision was a blow to
global efforts to mitigate
global warming because
Brazil used to be a key
player in such efforts. By
refusing to host the UN
meeting, the country has
sent an important signal.
"Bolsonaro's government is
being quite irresponsible by
taking forward an antienvironmental
agenda
when we already have a
substantial mass of
scientific evidence
indicating that it might
destroy Amazon rainforest,"
says Martinelli.
He says environmental
issues are being ignored as
Brazil struggles to escape
from its worst ever
recession, which has left
almost 13 million people
unemployed. He says the
"government ought to be
concerned about economic
If deforestation increases by just a little, a tipping could be reached.
Photo: Serfor
issues without letting
environmental conservation
[take] second place".
Martinelli expects that
research will raise
awareness of the risks facing
the Amazon in other
countries and nongovernmental
organisations
that can add pressure on the
Brazilian government to
change course.
Google commits to buy solar power in Asia
Development Desk
Google has signed a long-term contract to buy 10MW of solar
power generated from 40,000 solar panels in Tainan, a city
in southern Taiwan, in its first ever Power Purchase
Agreement (PPA) in Asia.
The electricity Google has purchased from the solar farm
will be wheeled to the same grid to help power Google's data
center in Changhua County, and the solar project will be built
on commercial fishing ponds and coexist with local ecology.
It makes both environmental and economic sense - for
business executives, companies can benefit from a long-term
The initiative may inspire other corporate house to follow.
fixed electricity cost to avoid market volatility; and corporate
demand for renewable electricity can drive investment in
renewable energy and energy transition both domestically
and internationally.
"The fact that Google is purchasing 10MW is a good start
for the company and also demonstrates the potential for
other corporates to utilise renewable energy in Taiwan. We
need to see more companies step up and demand renewable
energy for their operations in Taiwan and elsewhere in East
Asia. Expanding the use of renewable energy by business
sectors is a multi-win for business, investment, local
communities and the environment."
Photo: Collected

NATIONAL
TUeSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019
6
Vice-chancellor of Noakhali Science and Technology University Professor Dr M Wahiduzzaman
addressed a press conference and a view exchange meeting marking the second convocation of Noakhali
Science and Technology University (NSTU) at his office room on Monday. Photo: Manik Bhuiyan
Press conference and view exchange
meeting held in NSTU
Annual sports
Competition
held in Sreepur
M R JINNAH, SREEPUR CORRESPONDENT:
Annual sports competition, cultural program and prize
distribution ceremony was held at Hat Dariapur
Shammiloni Secondary School and Shacilapur Govt.
Primary School playground in Sreepur Upazila under
Magura district on Sunday .
The ceremony was presided by Hat Dariapur
Shammiloni Secondary School Managing Committee
president Kazi Shariful Islam Forhad while Magura-1
constituency (Magura Sadar- Sreepur) newly elected MP
Adv. Saifuzzman Shikhor was present as the chief guest.
Among others, Magura zila Parishad chairman and
General Secretary of Magura district Awami League
Ponkoj Kumar Kundu, Officer-in-charge of Sreepur
Thana Md Mahabubur Rahman, Sreepur Upazila Awami
League President(In charge) Md. Abul Kalam Azad,
Secondary education officer Shorif Md. Mortoza Ahashan
and Sreepur Sadar Union Parishad Chairman Md Moshiar
Rahman were present as special guests.
Headmaster of Hat Dariapur Shammiloni Secondary
School Kazi Emam Hossain arranged the occasion.
Teacher, Student and staffs attended the function.
Thousands of people enjoyed the cultural show.
Muktijoddha Sangshad
distributes blankets
in Gaibandha
GAIBANDHA: Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangshad (BMS),
Sadar upazila command, distributed 2,000 pieces of
blankets to the poor and the distressed men of Sadar upazila,
reports BSS.
According to sources the cold wave coming from the
Himalayas was sweeping over the northern districts
including Gaibandha creating untold sufferings to the poor.
To mitigate their sufferings the freedom fighters (FFs) of
BMS, Sadar upazila command stood beside the poor and the
distressed with positive attitude and distributed 2,000 pieces
of blankets to the cold victims of the upazila till January 27.
Of them, some 1,850 pieces of blankets were purchased by
the solvent FFs and the rest 150 pieces were provided by the
Sadar upazila administration led by UNO Uttam Kumar Roy.
On Sunday blankets were distributed to the people of
Goghat village and its surrounding areas on the premises of
Kamarjani Merchants' High School of the upazila at the
arrangement of the Muktijoddha Sangshad.
Head teacher of the school Faruqul Islam presided over the
ceremony while Commander of Sadar upazila Muktijoddha
Sangshad Ali Akbar Miah and deputy commander Khaybar
Ali Mondal addressed the function among others.
Later, blankets were distributed to 250 poor and distressed
people including aged women of the areas.
MANIK BHUIyAN, NOAKHALI CORRESPONDENT:
A press conference and a view
exchange meeting marking the
second convocation of Noakhali
Science and Technology University
(NSTU) was held at the VC's office
room on Monday.
Vice-chancellor of Noakhali
Science and Technology University
Professor Dr M Wahiduzzaman
spoke with journalists of Noakhali
district about how the convocation
can be done nicely. During the
time, he said that the Bangladesh
President and Chancellor of the
University Md Abdul Hamid will
be present as the chief guest in the
convocation scheduled to be held
on February 24.
Among others, At the program,
NSTU Treasurer Professor Dr.
Mohammad Faruq Uddin, Dean of
Social Science and Humanities
Department Professor Dr. Syed
Atiqul Islam, Registrar Professor.
Mominul Haque, president of the
teacher association Dr. Gazi Md.
Mohsin, Proctor Dr. SM Nazrul
Islam, convener of publication and
publicity committee Dr. MD
Masud Rahman, President of
Officers Association. Md. Mokhlesuz-zaman,
teachers of different
departments, journalists of print
and electronic media of Noakhali
district and NSTU campus
journalists were also present at the
occasion.
Extensive works are being done
for the arrival of President Abdul
Hamid at NSTU campus. Marking
the occasion 1 core committee and
21 sub-committees have been
formed to manage the convocation,
money, reception, publication and
publicity, discipline and security,
vehicles, illumination, creation and
distribution of certificates,
entertainment, cultural, souvenir
and medal, beauty enhancement,
making gown, procession
management and seats
arrangement.
Magura Zila Parishad chairman and General Secretary of Magura district Awami League
Ponkoj Kumar Kundu addressed an inauguration event of annual sports of Hat Dariapur
Shammiloni Secondary School and Govt. Primary School in Sreepur upazila under Magura district
on Sunday.
Photo: M.R. Jinnah
Former Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Information Md. Abul Hossain as the chief guest addressed a training
on Right to Information Act, 2009 in Raninagar upazila of Naogaon on Monday. Photo: Saiful Islam
Training on 'Right to Information
Act' held in Raninagar
SAIFUL ISLAM, RANINAGAR CORRESPONDENT:
Training on Right to Information Act, 2009 was held in
Raninagar upazila of Naogaon on Monday. Upazila Administration
organised the training at Upazila Parishad hall room.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md. Al Mamun chaired the occasion
while former Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Information Md.
Abul Hossain was present as the chief guest at the occasion.
Among others, Chairman of Upazila Parishad SM Al-Faruque
James, Assistant Commissioner (Land) Tuktuk Talukder,
Upazila Election Officer Md Ruhul Amin, Sher-e Bangla
Government College Principal Md Mofakkhar Hossain Khan
and Acting Principal of Mohila Honors College Chandan Kumar
Mahanta were also present at the occasion.
All the officials of the Upazila Parishad, secretaries, teachers
of school, college and madrasah and journalists of the Union
Parishad took part at the training.
Rally on traffic awareness
held in Daulatdia
AKTERUzzAMAN MRIDHA, GOALANDA CORRESPONDENT:
In order to increase traffic awareness, a rally was held in
Daulatdia Ghat area of Goalanda upazila on Monday
afternoon. Rajbari district police organised the rally
marking the Police Service Week.
Superintendent of Police of Rajbari Asma Siddika Mili
took part in the rally as the chief guest.Among others,
Rajbari Additional Superintendent of Police Fazlur
Rahman, Traffic Inspector Abul Hossain, DI-1 Mirza Abul
Kalam Azad, DB OC Kamal Hossain and Goalanda Ghat
Thana OC (Investigation) Aminul Islam were also present
at the occasion. Apart from a large number of police,
leaders and workers of different labor organizations took
part in the rally.
The rally was brought out from Daulatdia police box
which paraded the main streets of the town.
Kishoreganj Police Super Mashrukur Rahman Khaled BPM on Sunday chaired a meeting marking Police
Service Week while Kishoreganj Zila Parished Chariman Adv. Md. Zillur Rahman and Mayor of Kishroeganj
Municipality Md. Parvez Miah were present as special guests.
Photo: Shah Md. Sarwar Jahan
Police Service Week beings in Kishoreganj
SHAH MD. SARWAR JAHAN, KISHOREGANJ CORRESPONDENT:
Police Service Week was observed
in Kishoreganj with a call for cooperation
of police and public for
improvement of the standard of
police service on Sunday.
Kishoreganj District Police organised
the occasion. Marking the day a rally
and a discussion meeting was held at
Kishoreganj town.
Police Super Mashrukur Rahman
Khaled BPM chaired the meeting
while Kishoreganj zila Parished
Chariman Adv. Md. zillur Rahman
and Mayor Kishroeganj Municipality
Md. Parvez Miah were present as
special guests. While addressing the
meeting Police Super said that crime
would be eradicate from society
through introduction of community
policing. People police cordial
relationship would grow through this
system.
Earlier, a colourful procession was
brought out which paraded the main
streets of the town. Among others,
Additional Police Super Nazmul
Islam Sopan, Additional Police Super
(Crime) Safiqul Islam, Sadar Circle
Additional Police Super Masud
Anower, Hossainpur Circle
Additional Police Super Alfatul Islam,
Karimganj Cricle Additional Police
Super Anirban Chowhdury and
Journalist Saiful Haque Mollah Dulu
were also present at the occasion.
After meeting leaflets and handbills
were distributed. This programme
will continue till 2nd February 2019.
Rajshahi clinches
top position in
vegetable
production
RAJSHAHI: Rajshahi
district has clinched the top
position in vegetable
production throughout the
country in last 2017-18
fiscal, reports BSS.
Shamsul Haque, Deputy
Director of Department of
Agriculture Extension
(DAE), here told BSS that
Ministry of Agriculture has
selected Rajshahi as the top
vegetable producing district
on the basis of per hectare
vegetable production
quantity in last fiscal.
Basically, he said the
district has been adjudged as
the best vegetable producing
district by dint of its
increasing acreage and perhectare
production.
Agriculturist Shamsul
Haque says Sathkhira
district captured the second
position while the third
position goes to Madaripur
and Cox's Bazar jointly.
He said the positionwinning
districts were given
awards in a colourful
function at Krishibeed
Institution auditorium in
Dhaka on Saturday.
Superintendent of Police of Rajbari Asma Siddika Mili took part in a traffic
awareness rally held in Daulatdia Ghat area of Goalanda upazila marking
the Police Service Week on Monday. Photo: Akteruzzaman Mridha
Coastal women show resilience to climate change
BHOLA: Water, water and water everywhere
when you look around. But, about 60,000
people have been living in a small and isolated
island - Char Jahir Uddin - in the Bay of Bengal
with high risk of extreme climate events,
reports BSS.
It is really a difficult task to go to the hard-toreach
area since an engine-run boat is the only
means of going there. One and half hour is
needed to go to Char Jahir Uddin by the
engine-run boat from Tazumuddin Upazila of
Bhola district. Only one boat shuttles from
Char Jahir Uddin to Tazumuddin Ghat in a day
while the rest of the time the Char people
remain isolated from the mainland amid the
risk of cyclone and tidal surge.
Like many others, once Razia Begum was at
plight when she along her eight-member family
came to Char Jahir Uddin about 19 years back,
losing her home and all belongings at
Tazumuddin Upazila to riverbank erosion.
"When we came to the Char, we had nothing
to start a new life. We collected hogla pata
(elephant grass) from the char and made
different types of mats and sold those to
fishermen. That time, we never thought of
eating meals three times in a day. I thought
how we would pass the days," said Raiza, a
mother of six children. As her day-labourer
husband often failed to manage a work in the
highly vulnerable island, she said, they had to
strive every day apart from facing natural
disasters like cyclone and storm surge.
But, the fortune of her family was changed
after they were brought under the 'Fish-Fruit-
Forest (FFF) model of the Integrating
community-based adaptation into
Afforestation and Reforestation Programme
jointly introduced by UNDP Bangladesh and
the Bangladesh Forest Department.

INTERNATIONAL TUESdAY,
JAnUARY 29, 2019
7
The U.S. recognition of opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim president is being
touted by the Trump administration as the only way to restore the country's democracy. But as
Elizabeth Pineda was stocking up on staples Sunday at a sidewalk market near a Caracas slum, she
was bracing for things to get a lot worse, not better.
Photo : AP
Presidential standoff may worsen
Venezuelans’ misery
The U.S. recognition of opposition
leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's
interim president is being touted by the
Trump administration as the only way
to restore the country's democracy. But
as Elizabeth Pineda was stocking up on
staples Sunday at a sidewalk market
near a Caracas slum, she was bracing
for things to get a lot worse, not better,
reports UNB.
A retired secretary, Pineda survives on
a monthly pension of just 18,000 bolivars,
or about $6. She supplements her
income working as an astrologer, and
although the stars have been telling her
Venezuelans are on the road to ridding
themselves of socialist President Nicolas
Maduro, she doesn't expect him to
go quickly or quietly.
"The government is going to strangle us
even more with their bad decisions and
shamelessness," Pineda said while
sharing a bowl of beef soup with two
friends, none of whom can afford the
$1.50 meal on their own.
Economists agree that the longer the
standoff between the U.S.-backed
Guaido and Maduro drags on, the more
regular Venezuelans are likely to suffer.
Maduro, who so far appears to have the
backing of the decisive military, has
dug in, accusing the U.S. of orchestrating
a coup by encouraging Guaido to
declare himself interim president and
then leading a chorus of nations that
immediately recognized his rule.
The high-risk and seldom-used strategy
of recognizing an alternative government
that doesn't already have de facto
power is tantamount to blocking
Maduro's access to Venezuela's allimportant
oil revenue, with enormous
legal and financial entanglements.
Directives sent Friday to the U.S. Federal
Reserve will make it very hard for
Maduro to access Venezuela's overseas
assets and earnings, including those
from Houston-based Citgo, a subsidiary
of state-owned oil giant PDVSA
and the major source of revenue for the
bankrupt government. Also at risk is
$1.2 billion in gold reserves - 15 percent
of Venezuela's foreign currency
reserves - stored in the vaults of the
Bank of England.
If the Trump administration's confrontational
approach is adopted by the
European Union, some of whose members
have threatened to recognize Guaido
if Maduro doesn't announce new
elections in eight days, it could bring oil
production to a standstill, heaping
more hardships on the 29 million
Venezuelans already struggling with
China signs MOUs with
6 countries on anti-graft
cooperation in 2018
China signed memorandums of understanding
(MOUs) with six countries, including
Thailand, Argentina and Belarus, on antigraft
cooperation in 2018, said an office in
charge of fugitive repatriation and asset
recovery under China's Central Anti-Corruption
Coordination Group, reports UNB.
According to the office, China launched
consultations on anti-graft cooperation last
year with more than 50 countries, including
the United States, New Zealand and Canada.
The office also noted the signing of five
extradition treaties, four judicial assistance
treaties and four financial information
exchange agreements in 2018.
China has been pushing forward anti-graft
cooperation with other countries and regions
over the past year, with a string of corruption
fugitives brought back from overseas.
In December 2018, a MOU on anti-graft
law enforcement cooperation was signed
between China and Australia, the first document
on such cooperation signed between
China and a western country since the
National Supervisory Commission was inaugurated
in March 2018.
In June last year, China released information
on 50 fugitives suspected of duty-related
or economic crimes, with six returned to China
as of Jan. 15.
A manhunt coded "Sky Net," focusing
mainly on corruption fugitives and illegal
asset recovery overseas, brought 1,335 fugitives
back in 2018, among whom 17 were
extradited and 66 were repatriated to China,
and recovered more than 10.5 billion yuan
(about 1.56 billion U.S. dollars) of illegal
gains since 2014.
hyperinflation, widespread food shortages
and anemic economic activity.
"If Maduro stays in power, Venezuela
could suffer a humanitarian catastrophe,"
said Francisco Rodriguez, chief
economist of New York-based Torino
Capital.
Rodriguez said the outlook is similar to
what happened to Libya in 2011, after
the Obama administration froze the
government's assets in retaliation for
Moammar Gadhafi's crackdown on
protesters during the Arab Spring. In
response, oil output in the North
African country dropped more than 70
percent.
But unlike that asset freeze and the one
imposed on Iraq after Saddam Hussein's
invasion of Kuwait, which were
done in concert with the international
community, Maduro still has important
backers, most notably China and
Russia, which would serve as a likely
veto of any international sanctions at
the U.N. Security Council.
If he's not getting paid, Maduro will
surely divert the roughly 500,000 barrels
per day of oil currently being sold to
Gulf Coast refineries in the U.S. to more
friendly markets, like creditors Russia
or China, as well as India, Malaysia and
Thailand.
Australia: China has
caused anxiety in
disputed waters
Australian defense minister
Christopher Pyne has urged
China to resolve tensions in
the South China Sea in
accordance with international
law, and not make
countries take sides given its
rivalry with the U.S, reports
UNB.
Pyne said Tuesday that the
artificial islands Beijing has
been building in the disputed
waters has "increased
anxiety" and "not increased
regional confidence in China's
strategic intentions."
He added that Australia
was open to taking part in
multilateral activities in the
area to demonstrate that
they are international
waters. Pyne was speaking at
a forum in Singapore after
visiting Beijing, where met
his Chinese counterpart to
discuss matters including
the detention of Chinese-
Australian writer Yang
Hengjun.
The United States is helping Saudi Arabia commit "war crimes" in Yemen, according to US Congressman
Ro Khanna.
Photo : AP
Man wanted in
slaying of 4 in Georgia
arrested in Indiana
Federal authorities have
arrested a man wanted in
the slayings of four people
and injuring of a man in a
pair of shootings in Georgia,
reports UNB.
The Georgia Bureau of
Investigation said 27-yearold
Daylon Delon Gamble
was arrested Sunday in Indiana
by the U.S. Marshal's
Service. Gamble, who was
wanted on four charges of
murder in the shootings
Thursday night in Rockmart,
about 45 miles (72
kilometers) northwest of
Atlanta, was taken into custody
without incident,
according to GBI news
release posted on their Facebook
page .
No additional information
was available.
Authorities said 48-yearold
Helen Rose Mitchell and
19-year-old Jaequnn Davis
died at one home, and 24-
year-old Arkeyla Perry and
26-year-old Dadrian Cummings
died at another home.
The GBI says 24-year-old
Peerless Brown was injured
at the home where Mitchell
and Davis were killed.
Iraqis amid Mosul’s silent ruins
fear the loss of a dialect
For centuries, residents of Mosul have spoken
a unique form of Arabic enriched by the
Iraqi city's long history as a crossroads of civilization,
a singsong dialect that many now
fear will die out after years of war and displacement,
reports UNB.
Much of Mosul's Old City, where speakers of
the dialect are concentrated, was completely
destroyed in the war against the Islamic
State group. Thousands of residents were
killed in months of heavy fighting, and tens
of thousands fled, taking with them the city's
local patois and memories of its more cosmopolitan
past.
Now many residents, known as Maslawis,
fear that their dialect, like much of the city
itself, may disappear.
"About 90 percent of those who fled the Old
City speak the Mosul dialect," Shahd Walid,
26, said in the courtyard of a stone home
near the ruins of the al-Nuri Mosque, an
850-year-old landmark that was destroyed
by the militants as they made their final
stand in the summer of 2017. "Future generations
won't know Maslawi and will speak in
other dialects instead."
She is one of a dwindling number of young
people who still speak the dialect consistently,
even though she grew up in the eastern
part of Mosul, which escaped the worst devastation.
She recalls speaking it with her
grandfather and his friends, who lived in the
Old City.
Written Arabic is the same from Morocco to
the Persian Gulf, but local dialects vary widely
from country to country, and sometimes
even from one town to the next. The differences
can extend far beyond pronunciation,
to basic vocabulary and verb forms. Some
dialects differ so much that native speakers
resort to English or French to communicate
with one another.
The Maslawi dialect borrows words from
Turkish, Persian and Kurdish, reflecting
the tumultuous history of Mosul and the
surrounding plains of Ninevah. It includes
the classical "q" sound, pronounced like
the English "k" but emanating from deep
in the throat. Instead of rolling the "r"
sound, Maslawis pronounce it as "gh,"
similar to Hebrew or French.
In the Mosul dialect, an arched gateway is
a "qantagha," a minaret is a "mnagha," a
narrow ally is an "awji" and a soccer ball is
a "tappi" - words that would seem strange
even to someone from Baghdad.
Iraqis from elsewhere in the country have
long mocked the dialect as sounding
effeminate. Walid says young men in
Mosul often switch to another dialect
when outsiders pass by so they won't be
teased.
The dialect's decline stretches back
decades, through the conflicts that preceded
the Islamic State group takeover in
2014, according to Abdulkareem Yaseen
Ahmed, an Iraqi scholar at Newcastle University
who studies the dialect.
In the early 20th century, Mosul and the
surrounding area was home to Arabs,
Kurds, Assyrians, Turkmen and others,
with Muslims, Christians, Jews and other
minorities living side-by-side and speaking
Maslawi Arabic.
For centuries, residents of Mosul have spoken a unique form of Arabic enriched by the Iraqi city's
long history as a crossroads of civilization, a singsong dialect that many now fear will die out after
years of war and displacement.
Photo : AP
Trump warns Europeans not to
try to evade Iran sanctions
The Trump administration is closely
eyeing efforts in Europe to set up an
alternative money payment channel to
ease doing business with Iran and
avoid running afoul of sanctions the
U.S. has levied on the Islamic republic,
reports UNB.
The White House is putting the Europeans
on notice, saying that if they try
to do an end-run around U.S. sanctions
on Iran, they will be subject to stiff fines
and penalties. Unfazed, the European
Union is marching forward with the
plan, which, if implemented, could further
strain trans-Atlantic relations.
A spokeswoman for EU foreign policy
chief Federica Mogherini said preparations
for the alternative system were
"at an advanced stage."
"I hope that we can announce the
launch very soon," Maja Kocijancic told
reporters late last week in Brussels.
Getting out ahead of a possible
announcement, a senior administration
official told The Associated Press
on Friday that the U.S. will fully enforce
its sanctions and hold individuals and
entities accountable for undermining
them. The official spoke on condition of
anonymity to discuss the issue.
"The choice is whether to do business
with Iran or the United States," Sen.
Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told the AP. "I
hope our European allies choose wisely."
The U.S. joined China, France, Germany,
Russia and Britain in signing a
pact with Iran in 2015 that offered to lift
economic sanctions in exchange for
Tehran's pledge to rein in its nuclear
weapons program.
President Donald Trump called it a
"horrible, one-sided deal." He pulled
out of the pact last year and restored
punishing U.S. sanctions on Iran.
Tehran, which denies wanting nuclear
weapons, continues to abide by the
agreement, and the remaining five
nations in the pact are trying to keep it
intact.
Restoring the sanctions regime is
part of the Trump administration's
"maximum pressure campaign" on the
Iranians to force them to radically alter
their policies on developing ballistic
missiles, supporting regional militant
groups and violating human rights.
The U.S. has many concerns about
the alternative payment system,
according to an outside Trump administration
adviser. The adviser spoke on
condition of anonymity to discuss the
key U.S. worries.
Long-term, the U.S. worries that the
alternative money payment system
could become successful enough to
compete with the international bank
transfer system known as SWIFT. The
fear is that it could eventually supplant
SWIFT as the leading global institution
for financial institutions to send and
receive information about banking
transactions.
Secondly, the U.S. is concerned that
other countries might try to route
transactions through the European system
just to circumvent U.S. sanctions,
the adviser said. Thirdly, while the
Europeans have signaled that the alternative
money transfer system would be
used only for humanitarian transactions,
the U.S. is suspicious that it could
be used for non-humanitarian transactions
to evade U.S. sanctions, the adviser
said.
Thousands of fish die in 3rd mass
death in Australian river
Hundreds of thousands of fish died on Monday in the third mass death in recent
weeks on a stretch of a major Australian river that local officials blamed on drought
but critics said at least partly stemmed from water mismanagement, reports UNB.
The latest deaths began overnight in the Darling River near the township of
Menindee in western New South Wales state. That's the same area where hundreds
of thousands of fish were found floating dead in early January and shortly before
Christmas.
Hot weather is suspected of causing algae to bloom, then cooler overnight temperatures
caused the algae to die, which starved the water of oxygen.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian blamed the poor water quality on
an extended drought that is gripping most of the state.
Minister for Regional Water Niall Blair said his department knew weather conditions
were "terrible" and had deployed two solar-powered aerators in the
Menindee region. The government bought 16 aerators to deploy in waterways
around the state after the last mass fish death on Jan. 6-7.
"Unfortunately, there's nothing that anyone has been able to point to - no scientist,
no locals, no one has been able to point to anything else that could prevent
something like this other than freshwater coming into the system and we just don't
have that," Blair told reporters.
Menindee Regional Tourist Association president Rob Gregory, who operates
river cruises, said governments had allowed farmers to take too much water from
the river to irrigate over the last four years.
"Now we've got no reserve to flush the system and we've seen depleted oxygen
due to blue-green algal bloom and this is the end result," Gregory said.
"This is probably the last fish kill we'll have because there's nothing left to kill,"
he added.
The Murray-Darling Basin is Australia's main river system. It winds across four
states and produces a third of the nation's food.

ART & CULTURE
TUeSdAY,
JANUARY 29, 2019
8
Sa Re Ga
Ma Pa
winner
trophy
taken by
IShITA
Ishita Vishwakarma was declared the winner
of this season of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2018
on Sunday night. Fans are congratulating
the winner on social media. Ishita took
home the trophy along with Rs. 5 lakhs prize
money and a car. Tanmay Chaturvedi is
declared the first runner up followed by
Sonu Gill in the third position. The grand
finale of the season was high on entertainment
and performances.
She has had a lot of proud moments on the
show. Sara Ali Khan loved her performance
so much that she called her mother, Amrita
Singh, on her phone so she can listen to Ishita
sing live. The young singer has also accomplished
a lot in her life apart from her musical
journey. She has fought to empower women
in Jabalpur against child marriage. She was
even crowned as the queen by Kangana
Ranaut herself when Aditya spoke of her
accomplishments at the grand finale. In fact,
the young singer was also appreciated by
Shah Rukh Khan in one of the episodes.
The youngest contestant in the 27th season
of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Ishita was the most
consistent participant. Hailing from
Madhya Pradesh, Ishita comes from a family
of singers. She was also a contestant of Sa
Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champs 6. Interestingly,
Ishita's mother had also participated against
her in this season. While her mother could
not go ahead in the competition, Ishita managed
to win the title.
The judges for this season were Wajid
Khan, Shekhar Ravjiani and Richa Sharma.
Richa replaced Sona Mohapatra after the
latter left owing to prior commitments. On
air from October, Aditya Narayan hosted
the reality show.
-Indian Express
Sea of Shadows
The vaquita, the world's smallest
whale, is near extinction as its
habitat is destroyed by Mexican
cartels and Chinese mafia, who
harvest the swim bladder of the
totoaba fish, the "cocaine of the
sea."
Genre
Directed By
Cast
Runtime
Studio
: Documentary
: Richard Ladkani
: Carlos Loret de
Mola, Cynthia
Smith, Andrea
Crosta
: 105 minutes
: Terra Mater
Factual Studios
STORYlINe :
Sea of Shadows is a feature documentary
thriller that follows undercover investigators,
environmentalists, journalists,
and the Mexican Navy on their desperate
last-minute effort to rescue the
Earth's smallest whale-the Vaquitafrom
extinction. A looming disaster in
one of the most spectacular environments
on Earth sparks a rescue mission
unlike any other in Sea of Shadows, a
riveting new documentary with the
intensity of a Hollywood thriller. When
Mexican drug cartels and Chinese traffickers
join forces to poach the rare
totoaba fish in the Sea of Cortez, their
deadly methods threaten to destroy virtually
all marine life in the region,
including the elusive and mysterious
whale species known as the vaquita porpoise.
But a team of brilliant scientists,
high-tech conservationists, investigative
journalists and courageous undercover
agents put their lives on the line to save
the last remaining vaquita and bring the
vicious international crime syndicate to
justice.
-IMDb
YouTuber
James Charles
gridlocks
A photograph from the set of the biopic has been
released where producer Sandip Ssingh, director
Omung Kumar B and Vivek can be seen holding
the clapperboard at the set here. The shooting
has started on Monday at Ahmedabad.
Vivek will essay the role of Modi in the film,
which also stars Boman Irani and Darshan
Kumaar. The biopic will trace Modi's journey
from a tea-seller to assuming the office of the
Vivek Oberoi starts
shooting for 'PM
Narendra Modi'
biopic
Prime Minister of India.
With the film's poster launched in 23 languages
earlier this month, 'PM Narendra Modi',
which has a tagline 'Desh Bhakti Hi Meri Shakti
Hai', will be shot extensively in Gujarat and
across locations within the country.
The film is being co-produced by Ssingh and
Suresh Oberoi.
-Times Of India
Birmingham was brought to a standstill
on Saturday, with motorists abandoning
cars and the city gridlocked for hours after
thousands of teenagers flooded the city
centre to see a 19-year-old YouTuber
make a 30-second public appearance at a
cosmetics store.
Many shoppers were forced to cancel
their trips, while parts of the bus network
ground to a halt and road traffic was at a
standstill, as fans hoped to catch a
glimpse of James Charles, who is known
for his online makeup guides.
The American was in town to open a
shop for Morphe Cosmetics, with rows of
police and security guards struggling to
hold back thousands of people, mainly
teenage girls, who had been gathering at
the Bullring shopping centre since early in
the morning. The sheer mass of people and
cars heading into the city centre caused
havoc, with the BBC reporting that some
drivers abandoned their vehicles overnight
after giving up hope of getting out.
The teenager from upstate New York
has earned more than 10 million followers
on both Instagram and YouTube for his
makeup videos, with brands queuing up
to sign lucrative endorsement deals.
Charles, who was making his first visit to
the UK, stepped outside the Birmingham
shop for a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony
at 4pm before heading back inside for a
private meet-and-greet session with 250
competition winners. He later claimed
about 8,000 fans were in the shopping
centre itself, which had to shut down its
escalators for safety reasons and employ
extra security staff.
The incident shows how event organisers
can be unprepared for sudden influxes
of people attracted by YouTubers, who
Birmingham
can have far bigger followings than TV
and film stars and yet have a substantially
lower profile in traditional media outlets.
A West Midlands police spokesperson
said they had coordinated their response
to Charles's appearance in Birmingham in
advance and "no additional officers were
requested, no incidents were reported,
and no arrests were made".
One woman who drove for two hours
from Sheffield to the event with her
daughter and her daughter's friend told
Birmingham Live that it was over very
quickly: "We arrived last night so that
they could get a good view. But there are
so many kids here you can barely see a
thing; he's very clever only doing one
event and attracting this kind of crowd. I
think this is what they call hysteria."
-The Guardian
h O ROSCOPe
ARIeS
(March 21 - April 20) : Today is
useful for seeing a plan or friendship
with greater clarity, although
there can be some confusion leading up to
this. Friends have something important to
contribute or say right now, and the full
details of a plan may be born.
TAURUS
(April 21 - May 21) : There can be some
confusing preamble to all of this now,
but it's worth the head trip! Verbalizing
your thoughts on paper, device, or orally can be
particularly useful, serving to bring plans to life
and helping you make a decision or understand
things more fully.
GeMINI
(May 22 - June 21) : Illumination or at
least increased mental clarity are in store
now, and this gives you a brand new perspective
on your life. Conversations, news, and
thoughts are significant now, helping you clear up
recent misconceptions, confusion, or uncertainty.
CANCeR
(June 22 - July 23) : There is a nice,
creative focus on your intimate or
financial life today, dear Cancer, and
these energies are both logical and innovative. A
connection between your intimacy and career
sectors supports building exciting strategies for
your work.
lIBRA
(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23) : It's possible
that you may not want to hear what
someone has to say to you, especially
over coming days, but the celestial backdrop
suggests they could have a point. And
although it can be difficult to accept that this
person may be right.
SCORPIO
(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) : You're in particularly good
shape for making small but substantial
advancements related to your home or
working life today, dear Scorpio. You have a couple of
helpful influences with you now that lead to more clarity
and decisiveness, and also turn your attention to
new and innovative approaches and methods.
SAGITTARIUS
(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): This can be a mentally busy
day, dear Sagittarius, a potentially illuminating
time. After some mental wavering, things are
coming together. It's a good idea to pay extra attention to
details, news, and ideas presented now and this week with the
Sun, Mercury joining forces in your communications sector.
CAPRICORN
(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20) : While the day can
begin on a confused or fumbling note
socially, dear Capricorn, it's likely to shape up in
bright, illuminating ways. Recent ups and downs or
mental wavering can now turn into solid, happy
decisions. This is especially the case regarding
money matters.
Black Panther wins top SAG
award ahead of Oscars
Black Panther has triumphed at the Screen
Actors Guild Awards, picking up the ceremony's
top prize for best film cast.
A superhero box-office smash featuring a
predominantly black cast, the Marvel film
has been hailed as a turning point in cinema
and could make history if it repeats the
win at the Oscars next month.
In a powerful acceptance speech alongside
co-stars including Michael B Jordan,
Lupita Nyong'o and Danai Gurira,
Chadwick Boseman told how "all of us up
here know what it's like to be told there is
not a place for you to be featured even
though you are young, gifted and black". He
also spoke about the film's effect on the
industry, saying the cast knew they had
"something special that we wanted to give
the world".
Black Panther beat BlacKkKlansman,
Crazy Rich Asians, Bohemian Rhapsody
and A Star Is Born to win the prize at the
SAG ceremony, which is seen as a possible
indicator of how the Academy Awards
could pan out. Following on from wins at
the Golden Globes earlier this month,
Bohemian Rhapsody star Rami Malek, and
Glenn Close, who stars in The Wife, were
named best film actor and actress, while
Mahershala Ali won the best supporting
actor gong for Green Book.
Emily Blunt was the surprise winner of
the best supporting actress award, for horror
film A Quiet Place, over The Favourite
stars Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz, as
well as Margot Robbie, for Mary Queen Of
Scots, and Amy Adams, for Vice. However,
fellow British stars Olivia Colman and
Christian Bale, who were both honoured at
the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice
Awards, missed out on awards this time
round.
In other notable disappointments, A Star
Is Born, Bradley Cooper's directorial debut
in which he stars opposite Lady Gaga, was
also left empty-handed, despite leading the
nominations with four nods.
The SAG Awards also feature TV categories,
which were dominated by The
Marvellous Mrs Maisel - picking up the
prizes for best comedy actress (Rachel
Brosnahan) and comedy actor (Tony
Shalhoub), as well as for comedy cast
ensemble.
The best TV drama actress award was
awarded to Sandra Oh, for Killing Eve,
while Jason Bateman received the best TV
drama actor statuette for his performance
in Ozark.
This Is Us was awarded the prize for best
ensemble in a TV drama.
Black Panther also picked up the award
for best stunt ensemble, while Tom Hanks
presented the lifetime achievement award
to M*A*S*H star Alan Alda.
-Sky News
leO
(July 24 - Aug. 23) : Your partnership
and adventure sectors connect pleasantly
today, dear Leo, and you could
find yourself in agreement with a special someone
over a key matter. Sharing a vision or a unique
experience can strengthen a bond. Also today,
Mercury and the Sun align in the sign opposite
yours.
VIRGO
(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23) : You are in a beautiful
position to learn something handy for
improving your work, services, business,
or even your health, dear Virgo. You may have been
wavering on a matter, trying hard to make sense of
it, and now you're clearer about it, or at least you
know where you stand on an issue.
AQUARIUS
(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) : Today's influences
are particularly strong for you, dear
Aquarius, moving things forward
quite pleasantly. For one, the Sun and Mercury
align in your sign, and for another, your ruler,
Uranus, connects harmoniously with commitment-ready
Vesta. Your words are heard loud
and clear now.
PISCeS
(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : A lot is going on under
the hood today, dear Pisces, and it can be
highly enlightening! The Sun and Mercury align in
your soul sector, and this can prompt you to verbalize,
analyze, or sort out a private matter or a lingering
problem. Even writing something out and seeing it in
words can give it new life and energy.

SPORTS
TUESDAy,
JANUAry 29, 2019
9
Evin Lewis smashed an unbeaten 109 in 49 balls against Khulna Titans during Bangladesh Premier
League 2018-19 match in Chattogram on Monday.
Photo: BCB
BPL 2019:
Comilla Victorians beat
Khulna Titans by 80 runs
Sports Desk: Opener Evin Lewis's brilliant, unbeaten
49-ball 109 and a hat-trick by Whab Riaz helped Comilla
Victorians post 237-run total - the second-highest
total in the history of Bangladesh Premier League - and
win the game by 80 runs against Khulna Titans at the
Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram on
Monday. Earlier, Lewis, the left-handed batsman,
struck 109 off 49 balls with five fours and 10 massive
sixes. Along the way, he completed his ton in 47 balls
with five fours and nine sixes.
Comilla's 237 for five is now the second highest total
in BPL history. Three days ago, Rangpur Riders had hit
239 - the highest score in the history of the most prestigious
domestic cricket league of Bangladesh. Khulna
won the toss and decided to bowl first.Comilla had a solid
start to their innings with Tamim Iqbal and Lewis.
Tamim fell for 25 off 29 balls with three fours and one
six. Comilla lost the wicket of Anamul Haque Bijoy in
the next ball. Both wickets were taken by Mahmudullah
Riyad. Lewis and Imrul Kayes added 97 runs to the
board. Kayes fell prey to Shariful Islam. The captain of
the Victorians posted 39 off 21 with four fours and two
sixes, coming to bat at number four. Shahid Afridi disappointed
the fans scoring one off two balls. In the sixth
wicket stand, Lewis and Shamsur Rahman added 59
runs. While Lewis remained unbeaten for 109, Shamsur
was for not out at 28 off 15 balls.
While Mahmudullah and Carlos Brathwaite took two
wickets for Khulna, Shariful Islam bagged the other
wicket. The match was just a formality for the Titans as
they lost nine of 11 matches they have played so far and
was eliminated from the race of playoffs. On the other
hand, the match was important for the Victorians as
they are yet to cement their place in the last four of the
tournament. Comilla Victorians played nine matches
and won six of them and secured 12 points.
Nadal takes positives
out of Australian
Open thrashing
Sports Desk: Rafael Nadal
said he took a lot of positives
out of the Australian Open
on his return from injury,
despite being thrashed in the
final Sunday by Novak
Djokovic, reports BSS.
The Spanish second seed
had played an outstanding
level of tennis at the tournament
without dropping a set
until he met his arch-rival on
Rod Laver Arena.
And he had no answer to
the world number one's
booming groundstrokes and
precision serve to limp out of
Melbourne Park 6-3, 6-2, 6-
3. Nadal said he still wasn't
at his best after his injuryplagued
2018.
"Was unbelievable the way
that he played, no doubt
about that. But at the same
time it is true that probably
physically I was not able (to
compete at that level)," said
Nadal. "Five months without
competing, having that big
challenge in front of me, I
needed something else. That
something else probably
today, I don't have it yet.
"That's my feeling, to compete
at this super high level."
Despite the rout, Nadal
said he was content with
being able to reach the final
given the injury problems
that prevented him playing
any matches after the US
Open until he got to Melbourne.
"I have been going
through tough moments in
the last year. (I have played)
only nine events and since
the US Open I was not able
to play until the first round
here," he said.
Messi on target again as Barca
overcome Girona
Sports Desk: The game that the Spanish
league had wanted to play in the United
States still featured a traditional attraction of
the competition - Lionel Messi scoring a
goal, reports UNB.
Messi coolly put the result beyond doubt in
a 2-0 victory for Barcelona at 10-man Girona
on Sunday, helping the defending champions
to keep their five-point league lead with
an eighth straight win.
The Argentine's goal came with Girona
threatening to equalize despite losing
defender Bernardo Espinosa to a second yellow
card shortly after halftime.
But a gaping hole appeared at the back
when Luis Suarez played Jordi Alba clear.
The left back quickly spied Messi arriving at
the top of the box unmarked, and Messi did
the rest by floating his shot over Yassine
Bounou to crush the hosts' comeback hopes
in the 69th minute.
"They caused us more trouble with 10 men
than with 11. It was an evenly contested
match," Alba said. "It was decided in the
details, and by our talent up front. Leo never
misses."
It was Messi's 10th goal in a seven-game
scoring streak in the league. He leads the
competition with 19 goals in 21 rounds.
The Spanish league had originally tried to
play the match near Miami in an effort to
promote and expand the top-tier brand, but
the plan fell through when the Spanish federation
withheld its necessary approval.
Instead of traveling 7,500 kilometers (4,600
miles) to Florida, Barcelona went 100 kilometers
(60 miles) up the Mediterranean
coast to Girona's Montilivi Stadium.
Right back Nelson Semedo gave Barcelona
the ninth-minute lead when a loose ball fell
to him in the area.
But Girona stifled Barcelona's attack and
threatened to equalize on several occasions
through striker Cristhian Stuani.
Stuani's best chance came late in the first
half when Marc-Andre ter Stegen got low to
block his shot. Teammate Pere Pons came
close to finishing off the rebound, only for
Gerard Pique to clear his shot from the line.
Barcelona leads Atletico Madrid by five
points, with Real Madrid trailing by 10.
Karim Benzema put on a master class for
strikers in a 4-2 win for 10-man Madrid at
Espanyol.
Benzema struck four minutes into the
game and added Madrid's third. He also
threw in several smart passes for his teammates
that went close to producing more
goals.
"This just confirms what he has been doing
all season long and for most of his career,"
coach Santiago Solari said about Benzema,
who has 15 goals in all competitions this
campaign.
Madrid finished the match without both
starting centerbacks. Sergio Ramos, who
scored Madrid's second goal, picked up a
knock that led to his substitution at halftime,
while Raphael Varane saw a direct red for
fouling Pablo Piatti with only the goalkeeper
to beat.
Gareth Bale completed the scoring for
Madrid. Espanyol got goals from Leo Baptistao
in the first half and a late strike by Roberto
Rosales.
Athletic Bilbao continued its rebound
under coach Gaizka Garitano by beating Real
Betis 1-0 for a fourth victory during a sevengame
unbeaten run.
Iker Muniain scored the only goal in the
21st when the midfielder used a deft onetouch
control to open an angle and slot home
a left-footed strike.
Betis pinned Bilbao into its area for most of
the second half, but the Basque club held on
even after losing Oscar de Marcos to a direct
red card for a studs-first tackle into the back
of Sidnei's leg with seven minutes remaining.
Celta Vigo is clearly missing striker Iago
Aspas. Since it lost the Spanish international
to a right-leg muscle
injury in a loss at Barcelona, Celta has gone
on to lose four more games.
After squandering the lead in a 2-1 loss
against Valladolid, it was left in 17th place
and the brink of the relegation zone.
Also, Real Sociedad was held 0-0 at home
by last-placed Huesca.
Dominant India clinch the series
3-0 against New Zealand
Sports Desk: Another disciplined
bowling effort along with a powerful batting
display and a familiar result. It was
like following the script to the T as an allround
performance helped India bid
Virat Kohli - heading off for some rest -
farewell with a seven-wicket victory to
clinch the series in the third ODI in
Mount Maunganui on Monday (January
28), reports Cricbuzz.
As many as four Indian bowlers picked
up at least two wickets to keep New
Zealand to 243 despite a fighting 93 by
Ross Taylor. A 113-run partnership
between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli
dominated the run chase before Ambati
Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik provided the
finishing touches.
Contrary to the start New Zealand had,
the Indian openers hit the straps straightaway,
especially Shikhar Dhawan who
was dealing in boundaries. Doug
Bracewell was at the receiving end as he
was struck for three fours in an over by
Dhawan and conceded two more boundaries
in his next over. Strong punches,
authoritative drives or the clip off the legs,
they were all on display as Dhawan
played the role of an aggressor while
Rohit was happy to take the back seat.
Dhawan's stay was cut short by Trent
Boult who got the left-hander to edge one
to first slip. The dismissal didn't really
have any bearing on India's tried and
tested formula - that of Rohit and Kohli
getting together and guiding the team
forward. Cutting off any risks, they went
about it with a measured approach after
the powerplay, which meant that the
boundaries dried up a bit. But their focus
was on denying New Zealand quick wickets
and the they made up for the quiet
period easily as their partnership progressed
with both Rohit and Kohli finding
the ropes regularly, even clearing the
fence off Lockie Ferguson, to bring up a
100-run stand off 105 deliveries, their
16th century partnership in ODIs and
their ninth in a chase.
It was functioning like a smooth-running
engine until a certain Indian agenda of
needing to accelerate in the middle overs
- not particularly a requirement in this
game - took over and led to two quick
wickets. Rohit was out stumped off
Mitchell Santner while Kohli failed in his
bid to hit a Boult delivery over cover,
which left the middle order the job of
having to see India through. Ambati
Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik served India
well in this endeavour, remaining
unbeaten through to the finish. They
added 77 runs for the fourth wicket as
India sealed the deal in the 44th over to
take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the fivematch
series.
Earlier, in what has been a template for
India in ODIs this year, the pace bowlers
again delivered early strikes followed by a
spin stranglehold after New Zealand opted
to bat. Ambitious drives caused the
downfall of Colin Munro and Martin
Guptill as India picked up two wickets
inside the powerplay for the sixth time in
as many games in 2019. India made two
changes for this game, bringing back
Hardik Pandya for Vijay Shankar and
including Karthik for MS Dhoni who was
nursing a sore hamstring. That Pandya's
utility is key for India's World Cup preparations
was evident both with the ball and
on the field.
Having kept Williamson and Taylor in
check with some tight bowling, the allrounder
had a huge role to play in the
New Zealand skipper's dismissal. Looking
to force the pace against Yuzvendra
Chahal after some quiet overs,
Williamson flicked the ball in the air
towards midwicket where Pandya took a
splendid diving catch. The Indian
bowlers excelled in the game of patience,
managing to tie New Zealand down at
different intervals. Only five fours and a
six were scored during the first powerplay
while the hosts went through a dry
spell of more than 11 overs without a
boundary after the 12th, only managing a
four when Ambati Rayudu misfielded.
Both Taylor and Latham were up to the
task in the wait and watch game, milking
the singles and not attempting anything
risky. Both registered half-centuries and
were involved in their fifth century stand
but the scoring rate was under five during
their partnership. The pressure to up the
ante resulted in the dismissal of Latham,
giving Chahal his second wicket. Pandya
then struck twice, followed by the dismissal
of Taylor as New Zealand's batting
order caved, losing their last seven wickets
for only 65 runs to be bowled out for
the third time in as many innings without
facing their full quota of overs.
Brief scores: New Zealand 243 in 49
overs (Ross Taylor 93, Tom Latham 51;
Mohammed Shami 3-41, Hardik Pandya
2-45) lost to India 245/3 in 43 overs
(Rohit Sharma 62, Virat Kohli 60; Trent
Boult 2-40) by 7 wickets.
India pitched in with yet another all-round display in the third ODI at Mount Maunganui against New
Zealand on Monday to seal the 5-match series 3-0, with two games still left in the bag. Photo: AP
Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi controls the ball during the Spanish league football
match between Girona.
Photo: AP
Holder first West Indies all-rounder
since Sobers to top ICC rankings
Sports Desk: Jason Holder has
become the first West Indian since
cricket great Garfield Sobers to be
named as the world's leading allrounder
following his superb display
against England in Barbados, reports
BSS.
West Indies captain Holder struck a
commanding 202 not out and also took
two useful first-innings wickets on his
Kensington Oval home ground in
Bridgetown, Barbados to help his side
complete a crushing 381-run win over
England in the first Test.
Victory, secured with more than a
day to spare, put the West Indies 1-0
up in a three-Test series.
The towering Holder's man-of-thematch
display saw him go ahead of
Bangladesh's Shakib-al-Hasan and
India's Ravindra Jadeja in the International
Cricket Council's all-rounder
rankings, with England's Ben Stokes
still in fourth place.
Although the rankings, which aim to
take into account the quality of the
opposition as well as a player's raw figures,
did not exist when Sobers was
still playing, they have since been
applied retrospectively to generations
of former cricketers.
Under that system Sobers - widely
considered to be the best player cricket
has known - last topped the rankings in
1974, the year of his retirement.
Sobers made a cap presentation just
before the first Test started, with the
82-year-old witnessing the impressive
display of Holder, a fellow Bajan.
Meanwhile West Indies chief executive
Johnny Grave criticised what he
said was a lack of respect shown to his
side by former England captains Geoffrey
Boycott and Andrew Flintoff.
Boycott, in a pre-series newspaper
column, labelled the West Indies as
"very ordinary, very average cricketers"
while Flintoff, like Holder a
pace-bowling all-rounder, tweeted his
disbelief at the Caribbean skipper's
double century.
Grave, an Englishman who made his
reputation in cricket administration
with Surrey and the Professional Cricketers'
Association, was decidedly unimpressed.
"Former players have said some stuff
I think is unwarranted and borderline
disrespectful," Grave told BBC Radio's
Test Match Special.
"I saw Andrew Flintoff say he can't
believe Jason Holder got a double hundred,
yet I think Jason Holder is a fantastic
cricketer and has been performing
so fantastically over the last 18
months - a brilliant captain.
"Criticism of our players and suggestions
that they're not world-class is
unfair. It doesn't seem to happen when
England play other opposition. I think
it's unwarranted and not true.
"I'm hoping everyone gets to see that
in the next few weeks of this series."
Pakistan bowlers
force series decider
after Sarfraz ban
Sports Desk: Pakistan
shrugged off a four-match
suspension imposed on captain
Sarfraz Ahmed with a
crushing eight-wicket win
over South Africa in the
fourth one-day international
at the Wanderers Stadium
on Sunday, reports BSS.
The result levelled the fivematch
series at 2-2. The
deciding match will be in
Cape Town on Wednesday.
Pakistan's bowlers set up
the win, bowling out South
Africa for 164. Imam-ul-Haq
made 71 before playing a
loose shot when the scores
were level as Pakistan
cruised to victory with 18.3
overs to spare.
Stand-in captain Shoaib
Malik said at the after-match
presentation that Pakistan
only found out after they
arrived at the ground that
Sarfraz had been banned
under the International
Cricket Council's antiracism
code for remarks
aimed at South African allrounder
Andile Phehlukwayo
during the second
match in Durban on Tuesday.
The ban had still not been
announced by the ICC when
Malik walked out for the
toss.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS
BANGLADESHTODAY 10
THE
TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019
Annual Sales Conference 2019’ of Opsonin
Pharma Limited has been held
The "Annual Sales Conference 2019"
of Opsonin Pharma limited, one of the
leading pharmaceutical companies of
Bangladesh was held on 28th January,
2019 at the International Conference
City Bashundhara (ICCB), Dhaka.
Opsonin Pharma Ltd. has achieved the
significant growth in several
consecutive years among the
pharmaceutical companies of
Bangladesh and it is maintaining the
substantial progress in 2018. As per
IMS (3rd Quarter, 2018) currently
Opsonin Pharma Ltd. is holding one of
the top position in terms of sales
volume in the pharma market of
Bangladesh. Opsonin Pharma Ltd. is
exporting the medicine in different
countries along with meeting the
current local demand. All the field
level officials of the organization
attended the conferences. Among
others, Chairman Capt. Abdus Sabur
Khan (Retd.), Managing Director
Abdur Rouf Khan, Deputy Managing
Director Abdur Rakib Khan, General
Manager (Sales & Marketing) Abdul
Momen Talukder, Sales Managers
Md. Mahmudul Haq & Debojite
Chandra Bhowmick, Deputy
Managers (Product Management
Department) Md. Maksudul Huq, Taz
Md. Aga Menon & other high officials
were present on the occasion. General
Manager (Sales & Marketing) Abdul
Momen Talukder discussed Pharma
Market Scenerio, Marketing
Philosophy & Vision of Opsonin
Pharma Ltd
France tells firms to look
beyond Brexit Britain
The French government on Friday
urged companies to start planning in
earnest for Britain to crash out of the
European Union without a divorce
deal, advising them to seek out new
potential business partners.
In a 28-page advice booklet, the
government said firms using British
suppliers or sub-contractors should
already be looking for alternatives.
And companies in specialist sectors
operating under EU rules, such as
pharmaceutical firms, were told they
should consider moving their British
operations back onto the European
continent. Europe Minister Nathalie
Loiseau told reporters that French
companies should be operating under
the British wartime adage to "keep
calm and carry on".
"Let's not panic, but let's prepare for
different scenarios," she said.
France, like other EU countries, is
bracing for a potentially calamitous
British exit on March 29 after the
parliament in London resoundingly
rejected a deal negotiated by Prime
Minister Theresa May.
Junior Finance Minister Agnes
Pannier-Runacher said France was
"hoping for the best but planning for
The talks were
announced by the
EU's top trade
official, Cecilia
Malmstrom, on the
sidelines of the World
Economic Forum in Davos,
and are to include the US
and China, the world's
biggest economies.
The launch of the
negotiations at the World
Trade Organization is a rare
win for international
cooperation, with Beijing
and Washington locked in a
trade war and repeated
threats to multilateralism by
US President Donald
Trump.
Trump has specifically
blasted the WTO for
slighting US trade interests
to the benefit of China.
Malmstrom in a tweet
hailed a "historical morning
in Davos" that showed that
the WTO "can take on
challenges of the 21st
century."
"Electronic commerce is a
reality in most corners of the
world, so we owe it to our
citizens and companies to
provide a predictable,
effective and safe online
environment for trade,"
Malmstrom said.
The talks will formally
begin in March and will seek
to achieve a internationallyagreed
framework "to make
it easier and safer to buy, sell
and do business online", the
statement said.
the worst".
In the event of a so-called "no deal",
Britain would be treated as a thirdparty
country with no existing trade
agreement with the EU.
As one of Britain's closest
neighbours, France has been taking
such a prospect seriously, activating a
"no deal" plan that unlocks up to 50
million euros ($57 million) for
bolstering security at ports and
airports.
It has begun recruiting an additional
740 customs officials and veterinary
inspectors, while passing legislation
that allows for emergency decrees in
the event of a "no deal".
With just 63 days to go until Britain's
scheduled exit, Pannier-Runacher
warned that a no deal would fling
France "into an unprecedented
situation with a major trading partner".
The advice warns French companies
with staff in Britain to work out how it
will affect matters such as social
security contributions, and to possibly
revert to using temporary workers.
Firms should consider transferring
financial services contracts to EU
countries, and withdrawing
confidential data held within Britain.
US, China resume
high-stakes poker
in trade talks
With a month left in their
truce, senior US and Chinese
officials will meet in
Washington this week,
hoping to move toward a
bargain to end their
unprecedented trade war.
Beijing's trade envoy,
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He,
will lead a 30-person
delegation at the invitation of
US Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin and Trade
Representative Robert
Lighthizer, who is heading up
the American effort.
At a meeting in Argentina
last month, US President
Donald Trump and his
Chinese counterpart Xi
Jinping agreed to bury the
hatchet provisionally -with
Trump delaying a sharp
increase on US duties for
$200 billion in Chinese
goods until March 1.
Washington has made its
demands clear: China must
agree to far-reaching
"structural" reforms in its
trade practices, curbing
massive state intervention in
markets and the alleged theft
of American technological
know-how, including
through hacking and the
forced transfer of intellectual
property.
Trump also wants to cut the
soaring US trade deficit with
China, which in 2017 hit a
record $375 billion, not
including trade in services.
Since last year, the world's
two largest economies have
exchanged tit-for-tat tariffs
on more than $360 billion in
two-way trade, with the
largest amount, more than
$250 billion, imposed by
Washington.
The American president's
protectionist moves have
begun to weigh on the
Chinese economy, which last
year posted its slowest
economic growth in nearly
three decades, causing
Trump to claim he has the
upper hand in the talks.
Commerce Secretary
Wilbur Ross said Thursday
Washington and Beijing
remained "miles and miles"
from the finish line in their
talks, cautioning against
putting too much hope for a
final resolution at this week's
talks.
"I think next week's
negotiations will be critical in
determining whether the
Chinese are willing to talk
about any of the structural
And French companies working
alongside British partners on EUfunded
projects should now be looking
elsewhere, the advice says.
Loiseau said that while France would
seek a post-Brexit relationship with
Britain that was "close and mutually
beneficial", it would inevitably be a
relationship that has been
"downgraded".
"There is no relationship more
simple, more profitable, more complete
-between businesses, between citizens -
than being a member of the European
Union," she said.
French officials are planning to hold
around 30 meetings around the
country to help local businesses deal
with the Brexit fallout.
Some 30,000 French companies
currently export to Britain - tariff-free
as part of the EU's customs union.
These exports make up around three
percent of France's annual output.
75 countries launch WTO e-
commerce talks
Ministers from 75 countries launched
talks towards drawing up global e-
commerce rules amid growing calls for
technology to be more closely regulated
internationally.
issues the United States is
concerned about," Edward
Alden, a trade expert at the
Council on Foreign Relations,
told AFP.
Early this month, Chinese
officials signaled they were
open to reducing
the trade imbalance but
there has been scant sign of
movement on Washington's
tougher demands.
A deal could be especially
hard to reach should Beijing
prove unwilling to cede any
ground on the state subsidies
at the heart of Xi's vision for
industrial pre-eminence.
"It will be very difficult to
reach an agreement unless
the Chinese are willing to
address some of those
issues," said Alden.
The Chinese are likely to
reject any US demand seen as
an obstacle to the "Made in
China 2025" strategic plan,
according to Alden.
Launched in 2015, the plan
aimed to achieve Chinese
dominance in cutting-edge
technologies likely critical to
the future success of
developed economies,
including robotics, artificial
intelligence, aerospace and
electric autos.
German business
morale worsens
as slowdown
fears grow
German business
confidence fell to a nearly
three-year low in January, a
closely-watched survey said
Friday, in the latest sign of
waning momentum in
Europe's top economy.
The Munich-based Ifo
institute's monthly
barometer slipped to 99.1
points from 101.0 in
December, to hit its lowest
level since February 2016.
The decline was worse
than analysts surveyed by
Factset had predicted and
underscored mounting
concern about a global
economic slowdown.
"Disquiet is growing
among German businesses,"
Ifo chief Clemens Fuest said
in a statement.
The survey of some 9,000
firms found that companies
were less satisfied with their
current situation than last
month.
They were also notably
more worried about the
future, with business
expectations turning
"pessimistic for the first time
since December 2012".
The Ifo reading was the
latest in a slew of
disappointing indicators for
Europe's
export
powerhouse, suggesting that
the weakness seen late last
year has dragged into 2019.
The German economy
suffered in the fourth
quarter of 2018 from one-off
factors like low water in the
Rhine river that slowed
shipping and new emissions
tests that hindered the car
industry.
External risks like Brexit,
stuttering Chinese growth
and US-led trade tensions
are also weighing on the
minds of company bosses.
From slowing growth
to climate panic: hot
topics at Davos 2019
The World Economic
Forum wrapped up on
Friday, closing out a week of
panels, parties and sub-zero
temperatures with more
serious talk dominated by
climate change and gloom
over slowing growth.
"I am here to say our
house is on fire." - Greta
Thunberg, a 16-year-old
Swedish teenager whose
advocacy against global
warming has inspired global
youth. She shocked her
audience of the business
elite in an uncompromising
speech on Friday.
"Climate change is
running faster than we are. I
believe we are losing the
race." - UN chief Antonio
Guterres sounds the alarm
on global warming at a
Davos forum where the
business elite faced
criticisms of doing too little
against the planetary crisis.
"I think people are
beginning to realise that
there is no business on a
dead planet." - Christina
Figueres, founder of the
n o n - g o v e r n m e n t a l
organisation Global
Optimism.
"She will be focused on
matters here." - The
spokeswoman for British
Prime Minister Theresa
May, announcing the
embattled leader was
missing the forum in order
to address the Brexit turmoil
rumbling in London.
"What a great headline:
Kerry replaces Pompeo." -
Former US secretary of state
John Kerry draws a big
laugh after a panel
moderator thanks him for
replacing the current office
holder, the right-wing Mike
Pompeo, at the last minute
due to the government
shutdown in Washington.
"New winds are blowing
across the world." - US
Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo, addressing the
Davos audience by video
from Washington,
celebrating a wave of
populist "disruption" across
the globe.
"The bottom line is that
after two years of solid
expansion, the world
economy is growing more
slowly than expected, and
risks are rising." - IMF chief
Christine Lagarde draws a
gloomy picture of the world
economy on the opening day
of the forum.
"The number is 6.6
percent. I think this is a
pretty significant number.
Not low at all." - Chinese
Vice President Wang Qishan
shrugs off alarm from the
world markets about the
state of economic growth in
China.
"When institutions like the
World Economic Forum fail
to stand up and speak out,
they become complicit." -
Amnesty International chief
Kumi Naidoo sends a harsh
message to Davos for
allowing a large Saudi
presence without devoting
time to the murder of
journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
"It's not pessimistic…. It's
just a feeling that it won't be
so great this year. It is almost
dull. I don't understand it.
I'm still trying to sort it out."
- Harvard professor
Kenneth Rogoff, a Davos
regular, says the early days
of the forum lacked the same
oomph of previous years.
"At Davos, you don't have
to kiss the golden calf. I don't
do that." - EU Economics
Affairs Commissioner Pierre
Moscovici pushes back on
talk that attending the forum
is to celebrate the rich and
powerful.
"Brazil recognises Mr Juan
Guaido as Venezuela's
interim president." -
Brazilian President Jair
Bolsonaro tweets from
Davos that his country no
longer recognises Nicolas
Maduro as Venezuela's
leader. Canadian Foreign
Minister Chrystia Freeland,
also at the forum, expresses
her country's "full support"
for Guaido.
"Venezuela has a very long
road ahead, Venezuela has
to be rebuilt, relaunched,
rethought, remade." -
Moises Na m, a
Venezuelan writer and
journalist who was also a
minister under the
presidency of Carlos Andres
Perez.
"I'd like to say it's a
personal treat for me to be
sitting here asking you
questions. Normally I have
to endure people asking me
questions." -
Britain's Prince William
cracks an opening joke as he
begins an interview with Sir
David Attenborough, the
celebrated TV naturalist.
"Capitalism is not
immoral, it's amoral." - U2
frontman Bono, a Davos
regular, providing his usual
dose of rock-n-roll rebellion
to the forum's jet set at a
panel with Rwandan
President Paul Kagame and
The 307th Board Meeting of Standard Bank Ltd. was held on 28 January 2019 at SBL Board Room,
Head Office, Dhaka. Chairman of the Board of Directors Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed presided over the
meeting. It was attended by Vice Chairman Mohammed Shamsul Alam, Directors Kamal Mostafa
Chowdhury, Ferozur Rahman, S. A. M. Hossain, Mohammed Abdul Aziz, Md. Zahedul Hoque,
Ferdous Ali Khan, Mohd. Yousuf Chowdhury, S. S. Nizamuddin Ahmed, Najmul Huq Chaudhury and
Md. Nazmus Salehin. Managing Director and CEO of the Bank Mamun-Ur-Rashid, Additional
Managing Director Md. Tariqul Azam and Deputy Managing Director Md. Motaleb Hossain were
present at the meeting.
Photo: Courtesy
Asian markets mixed as traders
prepare for crucial week
Asian markets were mixed Monday as
investors look ahead to a week chockfull
of crucial events, including highlevel
trade talks between China and the
United States.
Hopes that a deal can be struck
between the world's top two economies
have helped fuel a rally this month in
global equities, which had been
hammered in December.
While there have been conflicting
reports on the likelihood of an
agreement to end the trade war, analysts
say it is in the interests of both sides to
reach a deal, with China's economy
stuttering and President Donald Trump
gearing up for his re-election campaign.
"Although coming to an agreement is
still tricky, both sides have little
incentive to escalate tensions," said Tai
Hui, chief market strategist for Asia-
Pacific at JP Morgan Asset
Management.
"Markets will at least expect an
extension of the truce in tariff increases
beyond early March, while more
difficult issues are still being worked on
by both sides."
As well as the Wednesday-Thursday
meeting in Washington, dealers also
have in their sights the Federal
Reserve's latest policy meeting, where
the central bank's statement will be
pored over for an idea about its interest
rate plans.
Also coming up is the release of US
jobs and economic growth data, Chinese
manufacturing activity results, another
vote on Prime Minister Theresa May's
Brexit deal and a number of big-name
earnings, including from Apple,
Samsung, Facebook and Alibaba.
After starting the day on a positive
note regional markets went south as
investors contemplate what the week
has in store, while China released
another batch of disappointing data
showing profits at the country's
industrial firms fell in December.
Shanghai ended down 0.2 percent
while Hong Kong was flat and Tokyo
dropped 0.6 percent. Singapore skidded
0.1 percent, while Seoul was marginally
lower and Mumbai dropped 0.9
percent.
However, Manila rose 0.3 percent,
Taipei put on 0.4 percent and there were
also gains in Wellington and Bangkok.
In early trade London dipped 0.2
percent, Paris shed 0.5 percent and
Frankfurt lost 0.3 percent.
Wall Street provided a positive lead
after another batch of upbeat
earnings reports, though observers
said there was little major reaction to
news that Trump had agreed to reopen
the government after public
services started to buckle in the longestever
shutdown.
However, the deal that will see
800,000 workers finally get paid will
only last a week and did nothing to
resolve the row over the president's
demand for billions of dollars to pay for
a Mexican border wall.
"While Democrats appeared to have
won this battle, the government is only
opened until February 15th, and this
band-aid will have trouble leading to a
permanent solution as both sides are
nowhere near a bending on (their)
positions," said OANDA market analyst
Edward Moya.
The pound dipped but was holding up
against the dollar ahead of Tuesday's
vote on May's revised Brexit deal, with
many believing that even if it is kicked
out by MPs, Britain will still not leave
the European Union without an
agreement.
There is a growing sense that May will
seek a delay in the country's leaving date
to give her more time to reach a deal.
"The pound has made some decent
gains over the past few weeks on the
basis that a 'no deal' Brexit seems a
much more distant prospect," Michael
Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC
Markets, said in a note.

MISCELLANEOUS
TueSDAY, JAnuArY 29, 2019
11
Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sayeed Khokon as the chief guest laid the foundation stone
of the modern Mayor Mohammad Hanif multipurpose complex in Siddique Bazar area of Old
Dhaka on Monday.
Photo: TBT
Duterte to see site of fatal bombings,
Abu Sayyaf suspected
President Rodrigo Duterte and his top
security officials planned on Monday to
visit a Catholic cathedral in the
southern Philippines where suspected
Islamic militants set off bombs that
killed at least 20 people and wounded
more than 100, reports UNB.
The first blast sent people, some of
them wounded, fleeing out the church's
main door. Army troops and police
were rushing inside when the second
bomb exploded a minute later. The
explosions scattered wooden pews
inside the main hall, blasted out
window glass panels and hurled human
remains and debris across a town
square fronting the Cathedral of Our
Lady of Mount Carmel, witnesses said.
The attack occurred in the Sulu
provincial capital on Jolo island, where
Abu Sayyaf militants have carried out
years of bombings, kidnappings and
beheadings and have aligned
themselves with the Islamic State
group.
Duterte was to meet with some of the
survivors and hold a security meeting
GD-158/19 (3 x 3)
GD-159/19 (6 x 3)
with military and police officials on
Monday. Police have put forces around
the country on heightened alert to
prevent similar attacks.
"We will pursue to the ends of the
earth the ruthless perpetrators behind
this dastardly crime until every killer is
brought to justice and put behind bars.
The law will give them no mercy," the
president's office said earlier.
The bombings came nearly a week
after minority Muslims in the
predominantly Roman Catholic nation
endorsed a new autonomous region in
the southern Philippines in hopes of
ending nearly five decades of a
separatist rebellion that has left
150,000 people dead. Although most
Muslim areas approved the autonomy
deal, voters in Sulu province, where
Jolo is located, rejected it. The province
is home to a rival rebel faction that's
opposed to the deal as well as smaller
militant cells that are not part of any
peace process.
A top Philippine government official
told The Associated Press that an Abu
Dbœq‡bi MYZš¿
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Sayyaf commander, Hatib Sawadjaan,
is one of the main suspects. At least four
of Sawadjaan's men were filmed by
security cameras near the bombed
area, said the official, who spoke on
condition of anonymity to discuss the
investigation.
Sawadjaan is based in the jungles of
Patikul town, near Jolo, and has been
blamed for kidnappings for ransom
and beheadings of hostages, including
two Canadian men, in recent years.
Sawadjaan's faction has aired ransomdemanding
videos that used Islamic
State-styled black flags as backdrops.
The SITE Intelligence monitoring
group said an IS communique claimed
the attack was carried out by two of its
suicide bombers who wore explosive
belts, one detonating inside the church
and the other in the parking lot. The
claim could not be independently
verified.
"We will pursue to the ends of the
earth the ruthless perpetrators behind
this dastardly crime until every killer is
brought to justice and put behind bars.
The law will give them no
mercy," the president's office
said earlier.
Construction work of
Mayor Hanif
multipurpose complex
inaugurated
Dhaka South City
Corporation Mayor Sayeed
Khokon on Monday laid the
foundation stone of the
modern Mayor Mohammad
Hanif multipurpose
complex at Ward no. 34 in
Siddique Bazar area, says a
press release.
At the occasion, local ward
councilor Haji Mir Samir,
Dhaka city Awami League
south unit GS Shah Alam
Murad, the DNCC engineers
and local Awami League
leaders were also present.
Speaking on the occasion,
Mayor Mohammad Sayeed
Khokan said that Sardar
Community Center and
Shaista Khan Kalyan Kendra
of Old Dhaka will be turned
into a modern community
like this. Besides, the old
community centers will be
modernized existing at the
cost of Taka 248 crore. He
further said that Old Dhaka
has already been changed
due to various development
activities. Once these
ongoing development works
are done, the city dwellers
will see a modified new
Dhaka.
The modern Mayor Hanif
multipurpose complex is
being built at a cost of about
61 crore taka on DSC's own
land. The complex will
consist of modern
community hall rooms,
health care centers,
councilor offices, libraries,
separate gymnasiums for
men and women, indoor
games, cafeteria, parking
and elevators. The first
phase of the project will cost
around Tk 23.5 taka.
It is to be noted that mayor
Mohammad Hanif was first
elected mayor of undivided
Dhaka City Corporation and
president of Dhaka city
Awami League. During his
time he was highly praised
by the city dwellers through
the adoption and
implementation of many
developmental activities.
Mayor Mohammad Hanif
suffered splinter injuries
while shielding AL President
Sheikh Hasina during the
August 21 grenade attack on
an AL rally on Bangabandhu
Avenue in 2004. He died of
a cardiac arrest at a city
hospital in 2006.
South Sudan boosts peace,
unity efforts through
annual sports gala
South Sudan said the ongoing sports gala at the fourth
national unity day (NUD) will help rally the country toward
peace and unity, ending the conflicts exacerbated by the fiveyear
civil war, reports UNB.
Vice President James Wani Igga said the sports marathon
event supported by donors and the United Nations Mission
in South Sudan (UNMISS) will help cement peace and unity
among the 64 ethnic groups in the country.
"As we talk of the need to vigorously enhance unity and
peace for our people and country today, we in the (ruling)
Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) shall work
tirelessly toward achieving continuous adherence to the
agreed cessation of hostilities and permanent cease-fire in
our revitalized peace agreement," he told a huge crowd on
Sunday at the Juba national stadium.
The sports teams participating have been drawn from the
former 10 regions of the East African country prior to
outbreak of conflict.
David Shearer, special representative of the Secretary
General and head of UNMISS said he was hopeful of the
unity day having positive impact on implementation of the
revitalized peace agreement.
"There is something to celebrate this unity day because just
a few months ago there was a peace agreement that was
signed and the progress has been good. I want to
acknowledge and thank the government of South Sudan for
creating the space and the environment that opposition
leaders have felt safe enough to come into South Sudan and
talk and to negotiate things," he said.
He commended the opposition's courage to come into
South Sudan to build and talk about peace.
"As I travel around the country I see the same sort of peace
agreements going on at the local level. Right across the
country I have counted 16 different peace agreements, peace
rallies, peace meetings that have occurred from the north,
south to the west and east," he added.
Shearer said that many displaced people are increasingly
demanding to return home citing positive peace progress.
"In Protection of Civilians sites (PoC) what we are seeing is
people telling us we want to return to our homes before the
onset of the rainy season," said Shearer.
He added that he hopes next year's unity day will have a
firm peace agreement and a new government to move
forward South Sudan.
South Sudan descended into civil war in late 2013, and the
conflict has created one of the fastest growing refugee crises
in the world.
The UN estimates that about 4 million South Sudanese
have been displaced internally and externally.
In September last year, South Sudan's conflicting parties
signed a final peace deal in the Ethiopian capital Addis
Ababa.
Japan PM vows to step up China
ties but bolster defense
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
pledged Monday he will further expand his
country's already improving ties with China
but said Japan still needs to bolster its
defense capability as far as space amid
concern about Chinese military activity and
uncertainty over North Korea's
denuclearization, reports UNB.
In a policy speech to Parliament, Abe
omitted references to South Korea, which he
had routinely mentioned as Japan's most
important neighbor, as Tokyo tries to
distance itself amid escalating spats over
history and alleged incidents between the
two defense forces.
Abe said Japan-China relations have
returned to "normal" since he visited Beijing
in October and he now wants to further
promote their cooperation in trade and other
areas.
"Japan-China relations have fully returned
to a normal orbit," Abe said. "I will elevate it
to a next level by deepening exchanges in
every area in all levels."
Apparently drawn closer amid shared
trade friction with the U.S., the two Asian
rivals have improved their ties since a low in
2012 during a dispute over east China Sea
islands controlled by Japan but claimed by
China.
Yet, Japan still needs to expand defense
capability, especially in space and
cyberspace, Abe said. Japan has repeatedly
said China's growing military presence
threatens regional security and its recent
rapid advancement in space technology is an
additional concern. Japanese officials have
also said North Korea remains a missile and
nuclear threat since it has not taken concrete
steps except for a vague promise it made at
the June summit with the U.S.
Japan, under pressure from President
Donald Trump's demand for more American
imports, is to start trade talks with
Washington later this year. Japan has
already increased purchases of expensive
U.S. missile defense systems and other arms.
Maintaining good ties with China is one of
most important diplomatic goals for Abe, but
analysts said it may be affected by how things
work out between the United States and
China.
"Even if Prime Minister Abe wants to
further improve Japan-China relations, it
cvwb-599/2018-2019
GD-157/19 (11 x 3)
would be influenced by U.S.-China
relations," said Harukata Takenaka,
international politics professor at National
Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. "It
would be difficult for Japan to make a
decision by itself."
Abe did not mention South Korea as the
key U.S. allies and close economic partners
are currently locked in disputes over military
issues and wartime history. Japan's Defense
Ministry is reportedly considering not
participating in a multinational defense
exercise planned in South Korea this spring.
Abe said he seeks to achieve unresolved
postwar legacies during his leadership -
settling island disputes and signing peace
treaty with Russia and normalizing relations
with North Korea, while cooperating with
other countries toward achieving the North's
nuclear and missile program abandonment.
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 the countries from signing a peace
treaty. Abe has held dozens of meetings with
Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent
years in a bid to solve the dispute, and they
agreed in November to accelerate
negotiations based on a 1956 Soviet proposal
to return two of the islands to Japan. Their
talks this month in Moscow produced little
progress.
The parliament's ordinary session lasts for
150 days until late June. Abe, who took office
in December 2012 and is serving his third
term, seeks to lead his party to win
parliamentary elections in July and
strengthen his grip on power until 2021 or
possibly beyond.
Apparently drawn closer amid shared
trade friction with the U.S., the two Asian
rivals have improved their ties since a low in
2012 during a dispute over east China Sea
islands controlled by Japan but claimed by
China.
Yet, Japan still needs to expand defense
capability, especially in space and
cyberspace, Abe said. Japan has repeatedly
said China's growing military presence
threatens regional security and its recent
rapid advancement in space technology is an
additional concern.

UNITING PEOPLE EVERYDAY
TueSDAy, DHAKA, JANuARy 29, 2019, MAgH 16, 1425 BS, JAMADiuL AWAL 22, 1440 HiJRi
President unveils
book on 1971
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the cabinet meeting at her office on Monday in Dhaka.
Photo: Start Mail
16-km Kamalapur-N'ganj
underground train
by 2030
DHAKA : The government
has undertaken a plan to
construct 16-km underground
Mass Rapid Transit
(MRT) Line-4 on
Kamalapur-Narayanganj
route by 2030.
"We will take an initiative
to construct underground
MRT Line-4 route under the
existing Dhaka-Narayanganj
railway track by 2030," Road
Transport and Highways
Division Additional
Secretary Mohammed
Belayet Hossain told BSS
today.
Hossain said the work for
fixing associate organisations
is underway to conduct
pre-feasibility study of the
MRT Line-4 as part of the
expansion of the planned
metro rail network for a
coordinated modern public
transport management system
in Dhaka metropolis and
its surrounding areas.
The work of the project will
begin as soon as the availability
of fund, he said.
According to a source of
Road Transport and Bridges
Ministry, the Dhaka Mass
Rapid Transit Company
Limited (DMTCL) is advancing
with the plan to create a
combined metro rail network
with Dhaka
Metropolitan City and its
surrounding areas for better
traffic management.
INTERESTING NEWS
Since 2013, Canadian sculptor Timothy
Schmalz has been placing a particular
sculpture depicting a homeless man
sleeping on a bench in cities across the
globe. The life-size bronze statue appears
to be anonymous with his face and hands
hidden under a blanket, but the gaping
wounds on his feet reveal that the person
is actually Jesus.
Surprisingly, the statue has appeared in
front of many churches that have shown
extraordinary tolerance for the controversial
sculpture. When it was installed at St.
Alban's Episcopal Church in the middle of
an upscale neighborhood in Davidson,
North Carolina, one woman called the
police and the another wrote a letter of
complaint to the editor of a local newspaper.
Many felt that it was an insult to the
11th parliament goes
into maiden session
Wednesday
DHAKA : The maiden
session of the 11th parliament
will begin on
Wednesday (January 30),
within 31 days of the
national election held on
December 30 with participation
of all the registered
political parties,
reports UNB.
President Abdul Hamid
convened the session on
January 9 exercising his
power bestowed upon
him by article 72 (1) of the
Constitution.
It will also be the first
session of the New Year,
which will start at 3pm on
the day.
The five-year tenure of
the 10th parliament
expired on Monday
(January 28) as its first
sitting was held on
January 29, 2014 after
the 10th general election
held on January 5, 2014.
Awami League won an
absolute majority bagging
258 seats in the recent
election.
Jatiya Party secured 22
seats and will act as the
main opposition in parliament.
The party has
already announced that
its chairman HM Ershad
will be the opposition
leader in parliament
while his brother and
party cochairman GM
Quader deputy opposition
leader.
Though BNP and its
alliance partners joined
the election, the party
bagged only six seats
while its alliance partner
Gano Forum two seats.
However, the Jatiya
Oikyafront MPs still did
not take the oath of office.
On January 7, Awami
League President Sheikh
Hasina along with her 46
cabinet members took
oath following her party'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.
Of the 47-member cabinet,
27 are new faces who
The Homeless Jesus
Sculpture
son of God. Some churches have even
refused to have the sculpture installed in
front of their institution.
Timothy Schmalz, a Christian himself,
says the inspiration for the sculpture
came from an actual homeless person he
once saw on a bench in Toronto.
He named the statue Matthew 25, in
reference to a quote from that gospel —
”Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one
of the least of these brothers and sisters of
mine, you did for me.”
Rev. David Buck of St. Alban's
Episcopal Church in Davidson feels that
the sculpture gives authenticity to their
church. “This is a relatively affluent
church,” he says, “and we need to be
reminded ourselves that our faith
expresses itself in active concern for the
marginalized of society.”
are picked in a bid to
infuse dynamism into the
cabinet activities to
implement the election
manifesto the ruling
party placed before the
nation.
Unlike the previous
government, no one out
of Awami League was
inducted in the cabinet.
At the beginning of the
session, Speaker and
Deputy Speaker of the
House are supposed to be
elected and they will be
sworn in by the President.
During her election
campaign in Rangpur,
Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina hinted at reelecting
current Speaker Dr
Shirin Sharmin
Chaudhury.
However, it is still not
clear who is going to be
elected as the Deputy
Speaker of the House.
As per the convention,
the President will first
address the session and
the MPs will address on
his speech all over the
session.
BCC attains
international
test maturity
certification
DHAKA : Bangladesh
Computer Council (BCC)
has attained Test Maturity
Model Integration (TMMi)
level-3 certification from
the international TMMi
Foundation for increasing
capacity to test software
quality as the first government
organization from
south Asia.
BCC Executive Director
Parthapratim Deb said,
"The test maturity certification
provided by the TMMi
Foundation is recognition
to Bangladesh's enhancing
capacity to test quality of
software," said a press
release.
He also said that as part
of exploratory program,
BCC set up a State-of-the-
Art Software Quality
Testing and Certification
Center (SQTC) unit to facilitate
the testing of all software/applications/mobile
apps developed and procured
by the government
entity for e-Governance
service delivery.
He hoped that the ability
will help ensure smooth
and uninterrupted journey
towards building of Digital
Bangladesh as enshrined in
the vision 2021.
DHAKA : President M
Abdul Hamid yesterday
said the nation and particularly
the new generation
demand extensive and
quality studies on 1971 as
he unveiled a new book on
the Liberation War from
the military perspective,
reports UNB.
"There are many publications
on the freedom struggle
and the Liberation War
but only few of them are
based on extensive
2 pedestrians killed as truck ploughs
through Dhaka footpath
Another killed on 300-feet road
DHAKA :Two pedestrians were killed as a goods-laden
truck ploughed into a footpath on airport road in front of
Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport early Monday, reports
UNB.
The deceased are Dalim, 20 and Mobarak, 30. Sridam
Chandra Roy, sub-inspector of Airport Police Station, said the
truck ploughed into a footpath after its driver lost control over
the steering and hit the two pedestrians, leaving them dead
on the spot.
Police seized the vehicle and arrested the driver and the
helper. Meanwhile, Bulbul Hossain, 22, son of Rajab Ali, hailing
from Mowgapara village in Ishwarganj upazila in
Mymensingh district, was killed and two others-Sagor, 22
and Kamrul, 22,- were injured in a road crash on 300-feet
road in Khilket area.
Md Shahjahan Kabir, assistant sub-inspector of Khilkhet
Police Station, said that on information about an accident, a
team of police rushed to the spot and found the three young
men critically injured inside a damaged CNG-run auto-rickshaw.
research," he said launching
the "1971: Resistance,
Resilience
and
Redemption" at the Darbar
hall of Bangabhaban.
The president called the
book, authored by his
military secretary Major
General Md Sarwar
Hossain, "an important
research work" saying it
cross-sectioned many
things of the Liberation
War, from beginning to
its end.
He urged prudent writers,
researchers, journalists and
intellectuals to supplement
such publications through
their own research works to
record the country's indepth
and real history.
"This (their initiatives) will
help the present and future
generations to know the
real history of the country . .
. they would be imbued
with the spirit of the
Liberation War," he said.
The president said many
publications are based
alone on a particular area,
force and operation incidents
as well the extensive
more researches were
needed as "the Liberation
War took place at different
parts of the country leaving
many memories and historical
elements".
He said the number of
freedom fighters and witnesses
of the 1971 episode
were dwindling gradually
and it may so happen that
none of them will remain
alive after 10 or 20 years".
"But their contributions
to the Liberation War, their
heroism and glories will
remain eternal," he said.
President Hamid also
asked all concerned to preserve
historical elements
and evidence of freedom
struggle carefully to keep
the history in its right track
as "deliberate attempts"
were witnessed in the past
to distort the history.
"The anti-liberation
forces want to exhaust
every chance . . . they have
constantly been trying to
distort the history of the
Liberation War and freedom
struggle at different
times," he said.
The president, however,
said the conspirators succeeded
temporarily but
eventually backtracked "as
the history follows its own
course".
"The quarters which distort
the actual history will
ultimately be thrown to the
dustbin," he said.
National Professor Dr
Anisuzzaman, Former
Dhaka University Vice-
Chancellor Emiretus Prof
Dr AK Azad Chowdhury,
Prof Syed Manzoorul
Islam, Prof Dr Muhammad
Zafor Iqbal and writer of
the book Sarwar Hossain
also spoke on the occasion.
A human chain was formed in front of National Press Club on Monday demanding justice
for killing 2 years old child 'Ayesha'.
Photo: Star Mail
Largest human waste treatment plant
opening in Cox's Bazar Rohingya camp
DHAKA : The largest
human waste treatment
plant will be opened at a
Rohingya camp in Cox's
Bazar on Tuesday, reports
UNB.
Oxfam and UNHCR have
jointly installed the industrial-scale
plant, funded by the
UN Refugee Agency, which
can process the waste of
150,000 people- equivalent
to the population of
Nawabganj.
State Minister for Disaster
Management and Relief Dr
MD Enamur Rahman will
inaugurate the site officially
on Tuesday, said a press
release of UNHCR issued on
Monday.
Being able to treat large
volumes of faecal waste on
site, rather than having to
transport it elsewhere, is a
big step forward in how to
safely and sustainably dispose
of such waste in emergencies,
the release said.
Last year, over 2 lakh cases
of acute diarrhoea were
reported in the Rohingya
camps as well as respiratory
infections and skin diseases
like scabies -all related to
poor sanitation and hygiene.
Over the last seven months,
Oxfam and UNHCR engineers
alongside Rohingya
have built the massive system
which has been specially
designed for the steep, hilly
terrain and to have the
cheapest possible operation
and maintenance costs.
A suitable site was provided
by the Bangladesh government
and the project was
delivered in collaboration
with the Refugee Relief and
R e p a t r i a t i o n
Commissioner's Office in
Cox's Bazar.
Oxfam water and sanitation
engineer Salahuddin
Ahmmed said: "Safe sanitation
is vital to prevent outbreaks
of disease but disposing
safely of human waste in
the world's biggest refugee
camp is a major challenge.
This ecological plant will
help keep refugees healthy
by treating 40 cubic meters
of waste a day - a huge
amount. The initial investment
is well worth it because
the plant is cheap and easy to
run and could last for 20
years - benefitting local communities
when this emergency
is over. We expect to
replicate this model in future
crises."
The new, ecological plant,
made up of treatment ponds
and wetlands, is safe for people
and the environment. It
has multiple treatment
stages to prevent contamination
of local water sources
and a high-density polyethylene
liner and covered anaerobic
unit to stop unpleasant
odours escaping.
UNHCR's Representative
in Bangladesh, Steve Corliss,
said, "The broad objective of
dealing with waste management
in the camps and in the
host communities is to sustain
and protect public
health by minimizing faecal
disease transmission"
Close to a million
Rohingya living in
Bangladesh still need food,
water, shelter and other
essential aid to survive.
Oxfam and UNHCR are calling
for more aid and
resources to improve conditions
beyond the basics and
keep people safe.
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.
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