11-02-2019

MonDaY 

DhAKA : February 11, 2019; Magh 29, 1425 BS; Jamadi-us Sanni 5,1440 hijri 

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www. tbtbangla.com 

Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.17; No.18; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00 

international 

Anti-India protests 

erupt in Kashmir 

after 5 rebels killed 

>Page 7 

art & culture 

Brad Pitt joins ex-wife 

Jennifer Aniston's 

Birthday Party 

>Page 8 

sport 

Mashrafe confident of 

Bangladesh's chances 

despite Shakib's absence 

>Page 9 

HR action must lead 

to real changes in 

Bangladesh: UN 

DHAKA : UN Resident Coordinator Mia 

Seppo on Sunday said human rights action 

must lead to real, tangible changes in the 

lives of people in Bangladesh, reports UNB. 

"If we all work on it jointly in partnership, 

it can be done. Because that's what human 

rights for all is all about: progress through 

action, impact and change," she said. 

As trusted partners of the government of 

Bangladesh, Mia Seppo said, UN agencies 

remain committed to working with all stakeholders 

in society who contribute to good 

faith to effective human rights action at global, 

regional, national and local levels. 

She made the remarks while addressing 

a seminar titled 'Bangladesh and Human 

Rights' at Inter-Continental Hotel in the 

city. Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen 

spoke as the chief in the inaugural session 

of the seminar. 

Mia Seppo said the United Nations in 

Bangladesh will always welcome renewed 

public commitment to respect for human 

rights at seminars such as these. 

She said without anticipating the outcome 

of the event they also look forward to 

Hasina saved face of global leaders from 

disgrace sheltering Rohingyas : FM 

DHAKA : Foreign Minister Dr AK 

Abdul Momen on Sunday said Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina has saved the 

face of the global leaders from 

"ignominy and disgrace" by sheltering 

the persecuted people of Rakhine 

province of Myanmar, reports UNB. 

"If she wouldn't have given them shelter, 

it would end up with the gravest and worst 

genocide of the century since WWII," he 

said urging the world leaders to show genuine 

commitment to human rights values 

by sending them back to their place of origin 

with safety and dignity. 

Terming Bangladesh a big example of 

valuing human rights by sheltering 

Rohingyas, he said allowing Rohingyas 

to go back to their place of origin in 

Myanmar with freedom of movement 

and other basic human rights would be 

the be the best way of showing respect 

to human rights. 

The Foreign Minister was addressing 

the inaugural session of a seminar titled 

'Bangladesh and Human Rights' at 

Inter-Continental Hotel in the city. 

United Nations Resident Coordinator 

Zohr 

05:19 AM 

12:16 PM 

04:15 PM 

05:55 PM 

07:10 PM 

6:34 5:52 

supporting concrete action by all partners 

in this country. 

"We'll support continuing engagement in 

areas where there's a commendable track 

record, and new leadership by Bangladesh 

on critical human rights issues. This may 

include national action by the recently-constituted 

Government, and international 

action, as a recently-elected member of the 

Human Rights Council," said Seppo. 

She said the new government has clearly 

committed itself to 

preventing any 

attempts to violate 

human rights, 

which is in line 

with its obligations 

under the human 

rights treaties. 

"There's also a 

s u p p o r t e d 

Universal Periodic 

Review (UPR) reco 

m m e n d a t i o n 

relating to investigations 

into 

alleged extrajudicial 

executions, 

disappearances, arbitrary arrests and torture 

or ill-treatment," said the UN Resident 

Coordinator. Mia Seppo said any impunity 

must be overcome, and any such serious 

human rights violations prevented. 

The seminar ended on a promising note 

- a commitment to an action plan on UPR 

and treaty body follow up, Mia Seppo 

tweeted saying, "We welcome this commitment 

and stand ready to support." 

In the closing session, Foreign Secretary 

M Shahidul Haque reflected on state 

behaviour and geopolitics in a posthuman 

rights and post-fact world, another 

tweet reads. 

in Bangladesh Mia Seppo, among others, 

spoke. Members of the diplomatic 

core and civil society were also present. 

Foreign Minister Dr Momen said 

there are nearly 1.2 million Rohingyas or 

'displaced residents' of Rakhine 

province being sheltered in Bangladesh 

now. 

"They need to be repatriated with 

safely and security at the earliest. Their 

exodus was created by Myanmar and it 

is their responsibility to solve it," he 

said. These Rohingyas, Dr Momen said, 

are stateless people, they lived in 

Myanmar for centuries and Myanmar 

itself, a State - is failing to fulfill its obligations 

and responsibilities towards its 

own people. 

Help girls realise 

their dreams : 

UN chief 

DHAKA : UN Secretary-General 

Antonio Guterres has said the world 

must do more to change the workplace 

culture so that the girls who 

dream of being scientists, engineers 

and mathematicians can enjoy fulfilling 

careers in these fields, reports 

UNB. 

"Let's ensure that every girl, everywhere, 

has the opportunity to realise 

her dreams, grow into her power and 

contribute to a sustainable future for 

all," he said in a message marking the 

International Day of Women and Girls 

in Science that falls on February 11. 

The UN chief said skills in science, 

technology, engineering and math 

drive innovation and are critical to 

achieving the Sustainable 

Development Goals (SDGs). 

"Women and girls are vital in all 

these areas. Yet they remain woefully 

under-represented." 

He said gender stereotypes, a lack 

of visible role models and unsupportive 

or even hostile policies and environments 

can keep them from pursuing 

these careers. 

Guterres said the world cannot 

afford to miss out on the contributions 

of half its population. "We need 

concerted efforts to overcome these 

obstacles." 

He said the world must tackle misconceptions 

about girls' abilities and 

must promote access to learning 

opportunities for women and girls, 

particularly in rural areas. 

Woman hacked 

dead in city 

DHAKA : A woman was killed and 

another injured in an attack by miscreants 

at their house in the city's 

Jatrabari area on Sunday evening, 

reports UNB. 

The victim was identified as 

Salma, 35, while the injured as 

Rabeya, 35. They used to live in a 

flat on the 3rd floor of the house at 

Kutubkhali. 

Officer-in-charge of Jatrabari 

Police Station Wazed Ali said some 

miscreants stormed the house 

around 6:30pm. 

The assailants attacked the two 

women with sharp weapons and 

chopped them indiscriminately, he 

said, adding that Salma died on the 

spot while Rabeya suffered injuries 

in the attack. 

The OC said they recovered the 

bloodstained body and sent it to Sir 

Salimullah Medical Collegeand 

Mitford Hospital for autopsy. They 

also took the injured to hospital. 

The reason behind the attack was 

not clear, he said, adding that they 

were investigating the matter. 

Meanwhile, a senior police officer 

wishing anonymity said the victims 

used to live together at the flat. 

"We're investigation whether any 

militant group is behind the attack." 

Returning Officer Abul Kasem distributed symbol among the candidates of Dhaka City North and South 

City Corporation by-election. 

Photo: Star Mail 

On Sunday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave the speech while she visited LGRD and 

Co-operative Ministry. 


Work out master plan to protect 

cultivable lands: PM 

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina on Sunday asked the 

Ministry of Local Government, 

Rural Development (LGRD) and 

Cooperatives to work out a master 

plan for every upazila for protecting 

cultivable lands and checking 

the unplanned construction of 

buildings,roads and houses on 

croplands, reports UNB. 

"We need to design a master 

plan for every upazila setting aside 

places for fields, schools and colleges, 

small industrial estates and 

cultivable lands. If we can do it 

properly, people will accept (follow) 

it. I think we need to do such 

works," she said while visiting the 

ministry at the Secretariat in the 

city. 

"If we go ahead formulating 

master plans for grassroots levels 

as well, we'll be able to gain faster 

development," said the Prime 

Minister. 

She directed the officials of the 

LGRD and Cooperatives Ministry 

to perform their duties properly so 

that Bangladesh can go far gaining 

further success in poverty alleviation. 

"Our country will march forward 

quicker when we'll get rid of 

poverty." 

Mentioning that Bangladesh is 

a very densely populated country, 

Sheikh Hasina said it is a big 

challenge to fulfill all the 

demands of so many people living 

in a small area. "But, we'll 

have to do that." 

She said Bangladesh has now 

graduated to a developing country 

from the group of least developed 

countries as her government has 

been able to unleash many development 

works in the last 10 years 

after coming to power in 2009. 

"Now, it's our job to build 

Bangladesh as a developed country 

keeping it (graduation) up," 

she said. 

"To achieve this goal, all our 

plans will have to be taken focusing 

on fulfillment of basic needs of 

the grassroots people and 

improvement of their living standard. 

If we can do this, the entire 

country will be developed gradually," 

Sheikh Hasina added. 

Describing the LGRD and 

Cooperatives Ministry as the most 

important ministry to accomplish 

the goals, she said it receives the 

highest allocation from the national 

budget. 

Alongside ensuring safe drinking 

water, sanitation and development 

of rural roads for the rural 

people, the ministry has also many 

tasks, including ensuring drainage 

and waste management and 

checking environment pollution 

in the urban areas, the Prime 

Minister said. 

She asked the ministry officials 

to complete jobs quickly in a 

planned and proper way for the 

development of the country. "The 

jobs should be done in planned 

ways." 

WB to continue support to 

Bangladesh, says Qimiao Fan 

Hasina said the government is 

considering giving responsibility 

to district authorities gradually to 

prepare their own budget focusing 

on local expectations and 

demands, which would be reflected 

in the national budget so that 

every penny of the public money is 

utilised in the development of the 

people. 

Noting that her government is 

giving much importance to 

strengthening local government, 

the Prime Minister said the government's 

future plan is to decentralise 

the government gradually 

to strengthen the local government 

bodies further so that those 

can keep larger contributions to 

the development in their own 

areas. 

She said the 'one house, one 

firm' project had been initiated so 

that every fallow land comes 

under cultivation and rural people 

sell their produces under a cooperatives 

system to help them find a 

source of income. 

LGRD and Cooperatives 

Minister Md Tajul Islam delivered 

the welcome speech, while State 

Minister for LGRD and 

Cooperatives 

Swapan 

Bhattacharya, PM's Principal 

Secretary Md Nojibur Rahman, 

Local Government Division 

Senior Secretary SM Ghulam 

Farooque and other high officials 

of the ministry and the Prime 

Minister's Office were present. 

DHAKA : Outgoing Country Director of 

the World Bank for Bangladesh, Bhutan 

and Nepal Qimiao Fan on Sunday said the 

global lending agency will continue to 

cooperate with Bangladesh for the country's 

economic development, reports 

UNB. 

He said this when he made his farewell 

call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at 

her Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban office in the 

city. PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim 

briefed reporters after the meeting. 

Qimiao Fan said Bangladesh has 

made tremendous progress in the last 

one decade focusing on its development 

in the human development indexes. 

"The World Bank will continue to cooperate 

with Bangladesh for its economic 

development," Ihsanul Karim quoted 

him as saying. 

Although Bangladesh is a densely populated 

country, it has embarked on a very 

good economic and social progress, the 

World Bank country director said, praising 

the country for its success in poverty 

alleviation. The Rohingya issue also came 

up for discussion at the meeting. 

The Prime Minister said her government 

is trying its best to develop the country. 

"The development of Bangladesh was 

neglected by the military rulers," she 

added. Mentioning her government's 

commitment to ensure basic needs of the 

people, she said the government is materialising 

the dreams of Father of the Nation 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman 

and working to fulfill the basic needs of the 

people. Describing government's plan to 

develop the country in its totality, Sheikh 

Hasina said, "We want to improve the lot 

of common men." 

She mentioned that Bangladesh has 

attained self-sufficiency in food. 

Noting that Bangladesh has graduated 

to a developing country from the group of 

least developed countries, she said the aim 

of Bangladesh is now to be a developed 

country.

NEWS 

MONRDAY, 

FeBRUARY 11, 2019 

2 

Saraswati Puja has been celebrated at Jagannath Hall of Dhaka University on Sunday amid much 

enthusiasm, festivity and religious fervour. Oceanography Department took part in the Puja for the 

first time under the supervision of chairman of the department Jobaer Alam. In the picture, 

Chairman of the department Jobaer Alam, Asstt. Professor Mir Shariful Islam and other members 

of Puja arranging committee strike a pose before mandop. 

Photo : TBT 

Bangladesh to achieve SDGs by 2030: Tipu Munshi 

RANGPUR : Commerce Minsiter Tipu 

Munshi yesterday said Bangladesh will 

become successful in achieving the 

sustainable development goals (SDGs) 

utilising strength of the youths by 2030 

next. 

"For this, everyone should be 

awakened for proper implementation of 

the SDGs at local levels," he said while 

addressing a workshop styled 

'Implementation of Sustainable 

Development Goals (SDGs) at Local 

Levels' as the chief guest. 

The divisional commissioner's office 

with assistance of the Governance 

Innovation Unit (GIU) of the Prime 

Minister's Office (PMO) organised the 

workshop with the slogan of "Strength of 

youth, prosperity of Bangladesh" at 

Parjatan Motel in the town. 

Chief Coordinator (SDG Affairs) at the 

PMO Md Abul Kalam Azad participated 

in the workshop as the main discussant. 

Divisional Commissioner Muhammad 

Joynul Bari presided over the workshop 

moderated by Chairman of Bangladesh 

Investment Development Authority 

(BIDA) Kazi Md Aminul Islam. 

Senior Secretary (General Economics 

Division) to the Planning Commission Dr 

Speech-impaired 

girl 'raped' in 

Satkhira 

SATKHIRA : A speechimpaired 

girl was reportedly 

raped by the driver of 

Shyamnagar Upazila 

Nirbahi officer in the 

government quarter 

premises in upazila 

headquarters on Saturday, 

reports UNB. 

Police arrested driver 

Abdul Gaffar, 57, son of 

Gahar Gain, resident of 

Badoghata village, after the 

victim's mother filed a rape 

case with Shyamnagar 

Police Station. 

The victim, a student of 

Shyamnagar Government 

Moshin Degree College, 

used to live along with her 

mother at Abdul Gaffar's 

house in Badoghata village 

as tenants. 

Shamsul Alam, Secretary to the Ministry 

of Fisheries and Livestock Md Raisul 

Alam Mandal spoke as special guests. 

Deputy Director of the GIU at the PMO 

Mohammad Ali Newaz Rasel delivered 

keynote presentation on planning of the 

government for development at local 

levels in the workshop. The Minister said 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is still 

working 12-14 hours a day at the age of 

72. 

"Sheikh Hasina has not disallowed 

sleeping for herself or for her family 

members. But, she has done it for the 

country. We also have to wake up in the 

same manner like the Prime Minister," he 

said. Regarding the government's 

commitment for implementation of the 

2030 agenda declared by the United 

Nations, Tipu Munshi said, the workshop 

has been arranged to achieve the goals 

and types of development juncture of 

Bangladesh. 

"We have to take Bangladesh forward 

utilising strength of the youths 

maintaining the development 

momentum with 169 countries in the 

world. The government is committed to 

implement the SDGs and its election 

manifesto," Tipu said. 

Saraswati Puja celebrated 

in Rangpur division 

RANGPUR: The Sanaton community 

celebrated the Saraswati Puja on Sunday 

through daylong programmes amid huge 

enthusiasm and due religious fervour in all 

eight districts of the division, reports BSS. 

A number of Puja mandaps, mandirs and 

educational institutions were colourfully 

decorated and hundreds of devotees 

thronged there today to seek blessings of the 

'Devi Saraswati', the goddess of knowledge. 

The devotees, especially students of 

different schools, colleges and universities, 

attired in colourful dresses, offered special 

prayers and observed fasting as per religious 

ritual to seek knowledge from the goddess 

Saraswati. In Rangpur city, images of 

goddess Saraswati, symbolising a graceful 

woman, was erected at different Puja 

mandaps, mandirs, educational institutions 

and makeshift places for worships. 

The Saraswati Puja was celebrated at 

Dhaka North City Corporation 

Office of the Executive Engineer 

Engineering Department , Electrical Circle 

Gulshan Center Point, level-9, Plot-23-26, 

Road-90, Gulshan-2, Dhaka. 

e-Tender Notice 

Memo No. 46.10.0000.037.07.76.19 

Abdul Kalam Azad said Bangladesh has 

increased its per capita income by four 

times and generation of electricity by six 

times raising per head average annual 

income from US$625 to US$1,800 in last 

10 years. 

"Bangladesh will be transformed into a 

middle-income country with strength of 

the youth by 2021 next," Azad predicted. 

Kazi Aminul Islam said the per capita 

annual income must be increased to 

US$18,000 from current annual per 

capita income of US$1,800 in next 23 

years to transform Bangladesh into a 

developed country by 2041. 

"To attain this goal, the work-oriented 

and life-oriented innovative powers of the 

youths should be properly utilised 

ensuring a congenial atmosphere in the 

country free from militant, terrorism and 

corruption," Chairman of BIDA added. 

The Deputy Commissioners, 

Additional Deputy Commissioners, 

Upazila Nirbahi Officers, Upazila 

Chairmen, Municipality Mayors, heads of 

different government departments, 

young entrepreneurs, civil society 

members, professionals and business 

community leaders from all eight districts 

in Rangpur division participated. 

Dharmoshava Ashram, Laksmi Narayan Zeu 

Shiva Mandir, Rothbari Sarak Sree Sree 

Poresh Mandir, Begum Rokeya University, 

Rangpur Medical College, Begum Rokeya 

Government College, Technical School, 

Carmichael College, Lions School and 

College, Samaj Kallyan Biddya Bithi, Koilash 

Ranjan High School, Afan Ullah High School, 

Mahiganj College, Government Teachers' 

Training College, Zila School, Dental College 

and other educational institutions. 

The biggest celebrations were held at 

Rangpur Carmichael College where 

thousands of students belonging to the 

Sanaton community thronged since the 

morning. The Saraswati Puja was also 

celebrated at Guptapara, Mahiganj, Mulatol, 

Paulpara, Lalbag, Modern Mour, Tazhat, 

Boiragipara, Machuapara, Kallyanpara, 

Shalban, Burima Mandir, Polytechnic 

Institute and other places in the city. 

Date-10/02/2019 

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Under Zone-2 Mirpur DNCC. 

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Dbœq‡bi MYZš¿ 

†kL nvwmbvi g~jgš¿ 

(Engr. Md. Rafiqul Islam) 

Executive Engineer 

Electrical Circle 

Dhaka North City Corporation. 

Phone : 02-9852822 

e-mail : pe_elec@dncc.gov.bd 

3 students killed 

in Gazipur road 

crash 

GAZIPUR : Three students 

of a college were killed as a 

bus rammed a motorcycle 

riding by them at Etahata 

area in the city on Sunday 

morning, reports UNB. 

The deceased were 

identified as Rajababu, Jony 

and Mahfuz, class-XII 

students of Shahjahan Ali 

College in Kaliakoir upazila. 

Muktar Hossain, officerin-charge 

of Bason Police 

Station, said that the 

accident took place around 

10 am when a bus of 'Palash 

Paribahan' hit the 

motorcycle in front of 

Kashem Textile Mills, 

leaving two of them dead on 

the spot and one injured. 

The injured was taken to a 

local hospital where doctors 

declared him dead. 

Police seized the bus and 

arrested its driver, said the 

OC. 

India to open 

Farakka for hilsa 

in monsoon 

DHAKA : India has 

redesigned a navigation lock 

at Farakka barrage over the 

Ganges to ensure smooth 

and safe migration of the 

hilsa during the threemonth 

spawning season. 

It will ensure hilsas' 

journey up to Allahabad 

down the Ganges from this 

monsoon after a gap of over 

40 years, reports the Times 

of India, reports UNB. 

The lock had for long 

stalled the movement of 

hilsa from salty waters of 

downstream Bangladesh to 

sweeter water in the 

upstream, particularly 

during the spawning season. 

Bangladesh's national fish 

Hilsa gets recognition of 

geographical indication (GI) 

product of the country. 

Inland Waterway 

Authority of India Vicechairman 

Pravir Pandey 

said that the gates of the 

barrage will remain open for 

only eight metres and 

between 1:00am and 

5:00am each day, the 

preferred time when hilsa 

seeks passage. 

This provision has been 

made in consultation with 

ICARCentral Inland 

Fisheries Research Institute, 

Central Water Commission 

and Farraka Barrage Project 

Authority," Inland 

Waterway Authority of India 

(IWAI), he said. 

75 held in Khulna 

KHULNA : District and 

Khulna Metropolitan Police 

(KMP) arrested 75 people in 

separate drives conducted 

from Saturday morning to 

Sunday morning, reports 

UNB. 

Md Anisur Rahman, 

additional superintendent of 

district police, said that 

police conducted drives in 

nine upazilas of the district 

and arrested 44 accused 

including five in drug related 

cases. Police also recovered 

74 gram hemp. 

Sheikh Moniruzzaman 

Mithu, additional deputy 

commissioner of KMP, said 

that police, in regular drives 

conducted in areas under 

eight Police stations, also 

arrested 31 accused 

including 13 in those of 

drugs. 

They also recovered 122 

Yaba tablets, 20gram hemp 

and two litre liquor. 

DMP arrests 56 drug 

addicts, dealers 

DHAKA : Dhaka 

Metropolitan Police (DMP) 

in separate drives has 

detained 56 drug addicts 

and dealers in the capital. 

Teams of different police 

stations and detective 

branch (DB) conducted the 

drives from 6am Saturday 

till 6am yesterday in the 

capital. 

Police also recovered 1,195 

yaba tablets, 334 grams of 

heroin, 5.810 kilograms of 

ganja, four bottles of 

phensedyl, 192 cans of beer 

and 50 sedative injections 

from their possessions. 

Saraswati Puja 

celebrated with festivity, 

religious fervour 

DHAKA : Saraswati Puja, worshiping the 

goddess of knowledge, wisdom and culture 

and one of the main religious festivals of the 

Hindu community, was celebrated across 

the country on Sunday amid much 

enthusiasm, festivity and religious fervour, 

reports UNB. 

The Puja is celebrated every year on the 

fifth day of the bright fortnight of the month 

of Magh, as Goddess Saraswati was born on 

this day. The day is called 'Vasant Panchami'. 

As Saraswati is considered as the Goddess 

of wisdom and knowledge, Hindu devotees, 

especially students, celebrate the Puja in 

different educational institutions and 

temples. 

In the capital, Saraswati puja was arranged 

at different places, including Jagannath Hall 

on the Dhaka University campus and 

Ramkrishna Mission. 

Home Minster Asaduzzaman Khan visited 

Puja mandaps at Rajdhani High School and 

Bangladesh Kirishibid Institute at 

Khamarbai in the city. 

LALMONIRHAT : At least 30 

people including three 

policemen sustained injuries 

during a clash between two 

factions of Awami League in 

Aditmari 

upazila 

headquarters on Sunday 

centering the nomination of 

upcoming upazila elections, 

reports UNB. 

Just after the Awami 

League central committee 

nominated the party's 

Upazila unit general secretary 

Rafiqul Alam for contesting 

the upazila elections, the 

supporters of AL leader Imrul 

Kayes Faruk, who also sought 

nomination, gathered in from 

of the party office in the 

morning, said locals. 

When, the supporters of 

Rafiqul brought out a rally, 

Faruk's supporters swooped 

on them triggering a clash 

between the groups. 

Speaking on the occasion, Home Minster 

Asaduzzaman Khan said that the people of 

Bangladesh believe in non-communal spirit 

and celebrate all festivals of the people of all 

religions. 

"Hindu, Buddhist, Christians and Muslim 

people of Bangladesh believes in separate 

religions but they all are Bangaliand Bangali 

people celebrate all festivals with pleasure", 

he said. 

Meanwhile, like previous years, Jagannath 

University central Puja Udjapan Committee 

organised Saraswati Puja on the campus. 

A total of 37 Puja Mandaps were decorated 

on the campus this year. 

Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Dr Md 

Akhtaruzzaman visited different Puja 

Mandaps on the campus and exchanged 

greetings with teachers and students. 

Besides, in the capital, Saraswati puja was 

also arranged at different places, including 

Siddheswari temple, Shakhari Bazar, Tanti 

Bazar, Banani, Dhaka College, Eden Girls 

College, Buet, Ramna Kali Mandir. 

30 hurt in Lalmonirhat 

AL factional clash 

A chase and counter chase 

took place between the 

groups, witnesses said. 

On information, police 

rushed there and brought the 

situation under control by 

firing several rounds of 

rubber bullets. 

Three policemen were also 

sustained injured during the 

clash, said Masud Rana, 

officer-in-charge of Aditmari 

Police Station. 

A human chain was formed in front of National Press Club yesterday to end the 

misunderstanding between BIWTA and local people in connection of evicting 

illegal settlements from the both bank of Buriganga river. Photo : Courtesy 

Youth stabbed to 

death in Jashore 

JASHORE : A young man was stabbed to death by his rivals 

in the district town's Jorapukur area on Saturday evening. 

Police identified the victim as Mamun, 25, son of Abdur 

Rauf of Ghop Nawapara. Two others - Arif, 25, and Shefali 

Begum, 50 - were also injured in the incident. Witness said 

one Bappa and his girlfriend went to Kazipara when some 

local youths, led by Sagor, Faisal, and Hridoy, detained them. 

Bappa called his friend Mamun and several others. An 

altercation broke out when the latter reached the spot. 

They started to beat Sagor and stabbed his mother Shefali 

when she tried to save him around 7pm. In retaliation, 

members of Sagor's gang stabbed Mamun and Arif. 

GD-241/19 (5 x 3) 

Saraswati Puja celebrated 

amid festivity in Ctg 

CHATTOGRAM: Members 

of the Hindu community on 

Saturday celebrated their 

Saraswati (the goddess of 

learning) Puja in the city by 

offering worships to the 

Debi seeking her blessings 

for knowledge and wisdom. 

Other programmes included 

drawing competition for 

children, blood donation, 

prayers, prize distribution 

and cultural function. 


†kL nvwmbvi g~jgš¿

METRO 

MONRDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019 

3 

Professor Abdul Mannan, Chairman, University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC) handing 

over the best Research Award winning department to Professor Dr. Touhid Bhuiyan, Head, 

Department of Software Engineering (SWE). Dr. Md. Sabur Khan, Chairman, Board of Trustees and 

Professor Dr. S M Mahbub Ul Haque Majumder, Acting Vice Chancellor of the university were also 

present in the program. 

Photo : Courtesy 

Armenian PM congratulates Hasina 

DHAKA : Armenian Prime Minister 

Nikol Pashinyan has congratulated 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on her 

re-appointment as the Prime Minister 

of Bangladesh, reports UNB. 

In his message, the Armenian Prime 

Minister has also expressed conviction 

that the existing relations between 

Bangladesh and Armenia based on 

goodwill, mutual trust and friendship 

will continue to expand and strengthen 

benefiting the two peoples, said the 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday. 

In separate message, Armenian 

Foreign Minister Zohrab 

Mnatsakanyan has congratulated 

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen 

on his appointment as the Foreign 

Minister of Bangladesh. 

In his message, the Armenian 

Foreign Minister has also expressed 

conviction that Bangladesh and 

Armenia have untapped potential to 

Ghorashal-Palash 

Urea Fertilizer Factory 

Construction to start 

in July 

NARSINGDI : The main 

construction work of the 

country's largest Ghorashal- 

Palash Urea Fertilizer 

Factory will start in July this 

year. Industries Minister 

Nurul Majid Mahmud 

Humayun yesterday said 

this while visiting the 

Ghorashal-Palash Fertilizer 

Project at Palash upazila 

under Narsingdi District, 

said a press release. 

The minister witnessed 

that the necessary 

preparations for stating the 

construction work are going 

on in full swing. 

"The energy saving and 

environment friendly 

factory will increase the 

production of food," he 

added. "The factory will 

increase production of 

fertilizer as well as food 

production," he added. 

further deepen and strengthen the 

existing friendly relations. 

He has expressed his interest to work 

together to deepen relations between 

the two countries in that direction. 

Meanwhile, Macedonian Foreign 

Minister Nikola Dimitrov has 

congratulated Foreign Minister Dr 

Momen on his appointment as the 

Foreign Minister of Bangladesh. 

The Macedonian Foreign Minister 

has expressed conviction that the 

friendly relations between Bangladesh 

and Macedonia will continue to 

advance and be further expanded in 

the future, both bilaterally and 

multilaterally. 

In his message, the Armenian Prime 

Minister has also expressed conviction 

that the existing relations between 

Bangladesh and Armenia based on 

goodwill, mutual trust and friendship 

will continue to expand and strengthen 

Jabbar invites more 

US investment 

DHAKA : Posts, Telecommunications and Information 

Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar yesterday urged the 

investors of United States (US) to come up with more 

investment to the information and communication 

technology and other sectors in Bangladesh availing the 

investment friendly atmosphere. 

The minister made the call while a US delegation led by its 

acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of South and 

Central Asia Thomas L Vajda met him at his secretariat 

office. US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller was 

present. 

Highlighting the development activities taken by the Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina towards the journey of building 

Digital Bangladesh, Jabbar said now Bangladesh has 

established its position among the countries which lead 

fourth industrial revolution. 

Expecting more US cooperation, the minister told the 

delegation that foreign investors could get the benefit of 

different facilities being offered by the government for 

investment. Thomas L Vajda said he witnesses a big success 

of Bangladesh in different sectors within a short time which 

is an outcome of successful planning. Being a development 

partner, the US is delighted to witness the ongoing progress 

of Bangladesh and the country would move ahead further, he 

noted. 

The minister made the call while a US delegation led by its 

acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of South and 

Central Asia Thomas L Vajda met him at his secretariat office. 

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller was present. 

benefiting the two peoples, said the 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday. 

In separate message, Armenian 

Foreign Minister Zohrab 

Mnatsakanyan has congratulated 

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen 

on his appointment as the Foreign 

Minister of Bangladesh. 

In his message, the Armenian 

Foreign Minister has also expressed 

conviction that Bangladesh and 

Armenia have untapped potential to 

further deepen and strengthen the 

existing friendly relations. 

He has expressed his interest to 

work together to deepen relations 

between the two countries in that 

direction. 

Meanwhile, Macedonian Foreign 

Minister Nikola Dimitrov has 

congratulated Foreign Minister Dr 

Momen on his appointment as the 

Foreign Minister of Bangladesh. 

Over 100 shanties 

gutted in 

Chattogram fire 

CHATTOGRAM : Over 100 

shanties were gutted in a 

devastating fire at three slums 

in Rail gate area of the port 

city on Saturday night, reports 

UNB. 

Three firefighting units from 

Chandanpur, Agrabad and 

Bayzid Station doused the fire 

at 12:30 am after several hours 

of frantic efforts, said Jashim 

Uddin, Deputy Assistant 

Director of Chattogram Fire 

Service and Civil Defense. 

The fire originated from an 

electric short circuit at 

Jashim's colony around 9:45 

pm and soon spread to two 

adjacent slums in the area, he 

said. The fire burned down 47 

shanties at Jashim's colony, 

40 shanties at Ali Akbar 

Colony while 27 others at 

Rahim Colony. 

The loss incurred by the fire 

was estimated at around TK 

25 lakhs, Fire Service sources 

said. 

Indian Air 

chief in 

city 

DHAKA : Indian Air chief 

Marshal Birender Singh 

Dhanoa arrived here on 

Sunday evening on a fiveday 

visit at the invitation of 

his Bangladesh counterpart 

Marshal Masihuzzaman 

Serniabat, reports UNB. 

The IAF chief is 

accompanied by his spouse, 

Kamalpreet Dhanoa, and a 

two-member delegation. 

During his visit, he will pay 

a courtesy call on Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina and 

meet the senior military 

leadership. 

The Indian Air chief will 

also be visiting major 

Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) 

air bases. 

His visit is expected to 

further strengthen the 

existing close and fraternal 

ties between the Armed 

Forces of the two countries, 

said the Indian High 

Commission in Dhaka. 

Motorcycle 

showroom 

catches fire 

in city 

DHAKA : A fire broke out in 

a motorcycle showroom in 

the city's Bangsal area on 

Sunday afternoon, reports 

UNB. 

The fire broke out in a 

showroom at Makimpur in 

the area around 2:35pm 

said, Dana Mia, an operator 

of Fire Service Control 

Room. 

On information, five 

firefighting units rushed to 

the spot and managed to 

douse the flame around 3:42 

pm, he said. 

The extent of loss caused 

by the fire could not be 

estimated immediately. The 

extent of loss caused by the 

fire could not be estimated 

immediately. 

Poet Al Mahmud at ICU 

DHAKA : Prominent poet Al Mahmud was 

admitted to Ibn Sina Hospital in the city's 

Dhanmondi area on Saturday night, 

reports UNB. 

Al Mahmud has been kept at the 

Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after being 

hospitalized under the supervision of Dr 

Abdul Hye due to illness, said Abid Azam, 

the poet's family friend and his assistant. 

He has been suffering from multiple oldage 

complications since long, he said. 

Mir Abdus Shukur Al Mahmud, best 

known as Al Mahmud, is a Bangladeshi 

poet, novelist, and short-story writer. 

He is considered one of the greatest 

Bengali poets to have emerged in the 20th 

century. His work in Bengali poetry is 

dominated by his frequent use of regional 

dialects. In the 1950s he was among those 

Bengali poets who were outspoken in their 

writing on such subjects as the events of 

the Bengali Language Movement, 

nationalism, political and economic 

repression, and the struggle against the 

West Pakistani government. 

He was born in Morail Village of 

Brahmanbaria District in Bangladesh. His 

DNCC mayoral aspirants 

get election symbols 

DHAKA : The Election Commission yesterday allocated 

symbols among the five mayoral candidates of Dhaka North 

City Corporation (DNCC) by-polls slated for February 28. 

Awami League mayoral aspirant Atiqul Islam got 'Boat' 

symbol while Shafin Ahmed of Jatiya Party was allocated 

"Plough" symbol. Besides, independent candidate Abdur 

Rahim got 'Table Clock' symbol while National People's 

Party's Anisur Rahman 'Mango' and Progressive Democratic 

Party's Shahin Khan 'Tiger'. 

Election symbols were also distributed among the 

councilor and reserved women councilor candidates 

contesting in the newly inducted 36 wards of Dhaka south 

and north city corporations. DNCC Election Returning 

Officer Abul Kashem allocated the symbols among the 

aspirants under his jurisdiction while RO concerned to the 

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) election distributed 

symbols among aspirants of DSCC. 

With the allocation of symbols, aspirants can start their 

electioneering officially from yesterday. They will be able to 

continue their campaign till 12 am on February 26. Abul 

Kashem requested all the candidates to follow the electoral 

code of conduct during their campaign. 

Besides, independent candidate Abdur Rahim got 'Table 

Clock' symbol while National People's Party's Anisur 

Rahman 'Mango' and Progressive Democratic Party's Shahin 

Khan 'Tiger'. Election symbols were also distributed among 

the councilor and reserved women councilor candidates 

contesting in the newly inducted 36 wards of Dhaka south 

and north city corporations. 

childhood and secondary education days 

were spent in this village which is located 

adjacent to Brahmanbaria town. 

Mahmud started his career as a 

journalist and obtained widespread 

recognition after Lok Lokantor was 

published in 1963. 

Al Mahmud was honoured with Ekushey 

Padak, Bangla Academy Award, and Kabi 

Jasim Uddin Award in recognition of his 

contribution to bengali literature. 

In the 1950s he was among those Bengali 

poets who were outspoken in their writing 

on such subjects as the events of the 

Bengali Language Movement, nationalism, 

political and economic repression, and the 

struggle against the West Pakistani 

government. 

He was born in Morail Village of 

Brahmanbaria District in Bangladesh. His 

childhood and secondary education days 

were spent in this village which is located 

adjacent to Brahmanbaria town. 

Mahmud started his career as a 

journalist and obtained widespread 

recognition after Lok Lokantor was 

published in 1963. 

Muhammad 

Dilwar Bakht joins 

as ACC secretary 

DHAKA : Newly appointed 

secretary of the Anti- 

Corruption Commission 

(ACC) Muhammad Dilwar 

Bakht joined his office 

yesterday replacing Dr 

Shamsul Arefin. 

Earlier, he served as the 

Planning Commission 

Member in charge of the 

Socio Economic 

Infrastructure Division, a 

press release said here. 

After joining the ACC, he 

met with the senior 

officials of the commission 

at a view-exchange 

meeting, it added. 

At the meeting, he 

sought cooperation from 

all ACC officials and asked 

them to work sincerely 

and honestly to make this 

anti-graft body more 

functional and effective as 

the people of the country 

want corruption-free 

society. 

GD-235/19 (6 x 4) 

GD-236/19 (6 x 4) 

GD-234/19 (4 x 4)

EDITORIAL 

monDAy, 

FEBrUAry 11, 2019 

4 

Europe faces unpalatable choice on migrants 

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam 

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

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com 

Monday, February 11, 2019 

Energy conservation 

Bangladeshis are in the habit of blaming the 

government always for the failure to supply 

more energy to them. But little do they realize or 

like to realize that they hold in their own hands a great 

deal of powers to improve energy supply on a 

sustainable basis. 

Thus, in millions of homes across the country and in 

the capital city sights are too common in middle and 

upper class families where domestic aids or even 

housewives are seen keeping their gas burners flaming 

long past the cooking time or after all needs for 

keeping the burners switched on have ended. 

This habit is more pronounced in shanty dwellings 

with gas connections. There the system is several gas 

burners serving a number of families on a sort of 

community sharing basis. The gas burners are not put 

out there and keep on burning gas throughout the day 

and the night. None in the shanties would think of 

lighting an extra match stick to rekindle a burner after 

it has been put out. 

They think of saving the cost of a matchstick when, 

ironically, they think nothing of many millions of 

Taka worth of a natural resource-- which is too 

precious for the national economy-- they are helping 

to waste on a daily basis from their most uncaring 

mentality . But think about how it would be if these 

people had really cared. In that event, the situation 

from lack of gas pressure which makes many 

housewives miserable in preparing their daily meals, 

such conditions could ease with gas pressure rising 

from an end to misuse of gas. 

The authorities could seek to prevent the misuse by 

implementing prepaid meter system for gas use, 

everywhere, and making it mandatory to use such a 

gas burner which is turned on only when there is 

something on it and turned off when it is removed 

from the burner. This burner was invented by a college 

student and displayed in a science fair about 10 years 

ago. Unfortunately, no government has tried to 

popularize the use of such burners. 

In Bangladesh, some 5,700 industries consume 

nearly 1020 mcf of gas per day. Out of the 

consumption, 95 per cent are fed by their boilers. A 

government survey during the last caretaker 

government found that gas-fed boilers in different 

industries under Titas Gas Transmission and 

Distribution Company Ltd. franchise areas consume 

20 to 30 per cent extra gas due to their inefficiency and 

wrong operation. 

The study said that the thermal efficiency of gas-run 

boilers in different industrial units was 62-72 per cent, 

which could be raised to 80-85 per cent through 

upgrading. If even one per cent efficiency of the 

industrial boilers can be raised, 95 million cubic feet 

(mcf) of gas will be saved per month which would 

contribute very substantially in reducing the current 

deficit in the availability of gas in relation to demand. 

The low pressure of gas continues to be a major 

problem for both industrial and household users. The 

low pressure has been hampering production in many 

types of gas based industries; specially the quality of 

their output is suffering due to this. Housewives 

remain in dire straits in many places from not being 

able to cook properly from the low pressure. 

But all of these things could be a thing of the past if 

there was no dilly dallying with plans made long ago to 

set up three pipeline compressor stations on the gas 

distribution lines. The installation of the compressor 

stations after cleaning the lines, will likely fully 

overcome the problems associated with low pressure 

of gas and pave the way for its efficient utilization. But 

this vital project has been stagnating very regrettably 

without a push given to it as a high priority one. 

Like the gas, power is similarly misused. In hundreds 

of thousands of homes in Dhaka city, the residents of 

such homes are found most insensitive about turning 

off electrical switches after power needs have been 

met. High power lights, fans and electrical appliances 

remain switched on notwithstanding that some of 

these can be kept switched off when users leave homes 

for outside activities or there are no needs to keep 

them in such turned on positions. 

In many cases, these customers of power do not care 

about the consumption costs because they have 

underhand deals with meter readers or others so that 

they receive bills stating limited consumption despite 

their actually consuming a much higher amount than 

what are stated in the bills. 

They may not care but the sufferers for their lack of 

care are millions of others who get poorly supplied 

with power as a result of their carefree consumption. 

Not only private individuals, government itself can be 

grossly irresponsible for such misuse. In different 

parts of Dhaka, street lights remain turned on at high 

noon. This awful spectacle was focused in cable 

television that showed how the electrical lights were 

fully turned on in the area in and around the Jatiya 

Sangshad in the day time. 

For the 47 migrants who were 

stranded on a rescue ship off the 

coast of Italy for 10 days, the long 

ordeal is over. But for the government 

of Italy, which provoked the row by 

refusing to allow a rescue ship to dock, 

and for the European Union, still 

struggling to find a common migration 

policy, the row is just the latest salvo in 

a long-running battle of wills. 

The latest migration row began in late 

January, when Sea-Watch 3, a ship 

belonging to a German nongovernmental 

organization, rescued the 

migrants in the sea north of Libya and 

attempted to dock in Italy. Italian 

authorities refused, arguing that the 

ship, flying a Dutch flag, ought to dock 

in the Netherlands. The Netherlands 

refused, citing EU regulations. 

After the ship languished in the 

waters outside Italy for more than a 

week, the NGO first tried to sue the 

Italian government, before a 

compromise was cobbled together that 

allowed the ship to dock in Italy, with 

the migrants dispersed to six other EU 

nations. 

The NGO called the delay "a hostage 

situation," but Italy's hardline deputy 

prime minister, Matteo Salvini, 

appeared determined to make an 

example of the case. He subsequently 

claimed victory. 

But the Sea Watch saga is only the 

latest salvo in a longer war. Behind the 

spat over one ship lies a much wider 

debate, revolving around one question: 

Who should make the European 

Union's migration policy? A tussle 

between national governments and the 

institutions of the union is forcing 

migrants into life-threatening 

situations and fraying the political 

bonds of the European Union itself. 

Europe's migration policy is a mess. 

Migrants must claim asylum in the first 

EU country they reach, which means 

In 2017 Netflix showed a series of 

sports documentaries examining 

the devotion and obsession of 

sports fans and how they viewed 

their sporting passion as a religion, 

coining the term "sportuality." 

The series studied fans of various 

sports in different parts of the US 

looking at the devotion their teams 

invoked. 

There are similar stories across the 

world and the use of the phrase 

"sport as a religion" can doubtless be 

found in many languages. Since 

watching the fascinating series, I 

have wondered how an episode 

conducted in Saudi Arabia would 

turn out and on which sport it would 

be focused? 

I have often thought about the 

relationship between religion and 

sport. Throughout the Kingdom 

religion has always been a huge 

motivating factor for athletes. 

When I started collecting data for 

my PhD, religion was one of the 

crucial elements to study and I 

wanted to understand if it played a 

role in increasing participation in 

sport among the young. Sport fans 

and researchers continue to debate 

the similarities between religion and 

sport and how one affects the other. 

But there is little doubt that there are 

links between the two. 

countries on the European Union's 

southern and eastern front are 

disproportionately affected. Not all of 

the thousands who arrive are asylum 

seekers, but economic migrants seeking 

a better life. Some EU countries, feeling 

overwhelmed, have sought to draw a 

sharp distinction between the two and 

refuse as many economic migrants as 

possible. Complicating the situation are 

the various routes that migrants have 

used to cross into Europe. Since 2016, 

when Turkey struck a deal with the EU 

to halt migrants crossing its territory, 

the numbers taking the so-called 

"Balkans route" into Europe has 

dwindled. 

Now the boats mainly cross from 

countries on the southern 

Mediterranean coast, particularly 

Libya, still divided between rival 

governments, and head to Italy, Spain 

or Greece. Last year around 140,000 

migrants arrived in Europe, the 

overwhelming majority to just those 

three countries. That is an enormous 

change from the 1 million who arrived 

at the height of the refugee crisis in 

2015, but still a crisis that requires 

significant resources. The future of 

these desperate people is dependent on 

a very public political spat within the 

EU. The future of these desperate 

FAISAL AL yAFAI 

people is dependent on a very public 

political spat within the EU. At the root 

of the spat is Salvini himself: populist, 

uncompromising, convinced that 

national governments should make 

migration policy to suit themselves 

alone, and willing to pick multiple fights 

with both the European Union and 

national governments directly, in 

particular France. Salvini's central 

complaint is uncontested: Italy does 

bear a disproportionate amount of the 

burden of the current wave of 

migration. But other EU countries are 

unfairly burdened as well. Yet rather 

than work through the institutions of 

Europe's migration policy is a mess. migrants must claim 

asylum in the first EU country they reach, which means 

countries on the European Union's southern and eastern front 

are disproportionately affected. not all of the thousands who 

arrive are asylum seekers, but economic migrants seeking a 

better life. Some EU countries, feeling overwhelmed, have 

sought to draw a sharp distinction between the two and refuse 

as many economic migrants as possible. 

Daniel Wann, a leading sport 

psychologist at Murray State 

University, said in 2012: "The 

similarities between sports fandom 

and organized religion are striking. 

Consider the vocabulary associated 

with both: faith, devotion, worship, 

ritual, dedication, sacrifice, 

commitment, spirit, prayer, 

suffering, festival, and celebration." 

There are indeed sports which are, 

for some, inextricably linked to 

religion - just think of martial arts 

and its relationship with east Asian 

faiths and philosophies such as 

Taoism, Buddhism and 

Confucianism. 

On the whole, both religion and 

sport tend to bring people together, 

and whatever your views on either 

that is something we can all 

Dr. rAzAn BAKEr 

the EU, he and the other parties of his 

right-wing coalition have picked 

multiple public fights, not only over 

migration but over the country's 

budget, as well as speaking ill of fellow 

founding EU members, such as France. 

Paris was incensed when a senior 

Italian politician said the country had 

never stopped "colonizing" African 

states and used its economic power to 

"impoverish Africa and make these 

people leave, because Africans should 

be in Africa, not at the bottom of the 

Mediterranean." 

By making themselves the most highprofile 

critics of the EU's policy, Italy's 

coalition and Salvini himself have in 

celebrate. 

I have often thought about the 

relationship between religion and 

sport. Throughout the Kingdom 

religion has always been a huge 

motivating factor for athletes. 

Father Melchor José Sanchez de 

Toca y Alameda, under-secretary of 

the Pontifical Council for Culture, 

recently said: "Faith and sports are 

two worlds that don't communicate 

that often," before adding that the 

two have a lot to learn from each 

other, "sport can help the Church a 

lot." 

He believes sport can be a powerful 

educational instrument in helping to 

develop and strengthen human 

values and teamwork. 

From the Islamic viewpoint, too, 

promoting sporting values 

fact become stumbling blocks for 

migration reform, because, even if the 

EU wished to reform rapidly, it 

currently faces an unpalatable choice. 

The only way to reform Europe's 

asylum and migration policy is to make 

other member states, those not on the 

eastern or southern border, take more 

migrants. But national governments are 

reluctant, seeing how divisive an issue 

immigration still is across the 

continent. 

Such reform would also hand the 

populist government of Salvini a clear 

victory - and given that Salvini has said 

the EU "ruined our country" and "made 

Italy poor," there is little appetite for 

that, to say nothing of how such a 

victory may empower far-right parties 

elsewhere. 

But even if there is no wish to save 

Salvini, that doesn't mean that the 

constant bickering between the Italian 

government and European leaders has 

had no effect. Along with the UK's 

impending exit from the bloc, the stillunresolved 

Greek crisis and the rise of 

far-right and anti-immigration parties 

across the continent, such public 

arguing exacerbates a feeling of division 

between member states, fraying the 

union. It contributes to a sense that 

there are not really EU-wide rules, but 

rules set by national governments.] 

Reform is certainly necessary but the 

bloc has been too slow to make 

significant change. Instead, it has taken 

refuge in piecemeal decisions: Germany 

allowing in a million refugees between 

2014 and 2015; the 2016 deal with 

Turkey; and multiple smaller deals with 

sub-Saharan African governments to 

limit migrants reaching the 

Mediterranean. 

Source : Asia times 

Sport and religion can be forces for good together 

For years I've fumed silently at 

loud phone conversations on 

buses. I have planned horrible 

eviscerations, shopped online for 

signal jammers, and made jokes to 

my companion about there being 

nobody on the other end of the 

phone. I've tormented myself, 

reading the same sentence in my 

book over and over - most of the 

time not distracted by the noise 

itself, but by my frustrated rage. 

Then one day, not long ago, the 

penny dropped. A woman on the 

top deck of the bus was yelling into 

her phone. Her boss was an idiot 

and she'd had it out with him, she 

explained to her friend. "I told him 

that it wasn't on and he didn't know 

where to put himself," she said. "I 

just looked at him and he backed 

right off." 

I walked up to her [woman on 

phone] seat, smiled at her and said: 

"Excuse me, would you mind 

keeping it down a bit?" The effect 

was instant and extraordinary. "Oh, 

yes, I'm sorry," she said. 

On the other side of the aisle, I 

went through my normal routine of 

rewriting the story in my head. 

When I started collecting data for my PhD, religion 

was one of the crucial elements to study and I 

wanted to understand if it played a role in 

increasing participation in sport among the young. 

Sport fans and researchers continue to debate the 

similarities between religion and sport and how one 

affects the other. But there is little doubt that there 

are links between the two. 

"You mean he told you to do unpaid 

overtime and you said: 'Ooh, thank 

you - how much?'" I grumbled 

silently. I sent a couple of death 

rays into the back of her head. They 

had no effect, as usual. The woman 

was settled, oblivious. The 

conversation was clearly going to 

last a long time, and even if I moved 

to the back of the bus it would still 

be audible. I was in hell, and I 

didn't have any automatic weapons 

or an iPod on me. And then the fog 

cleared. 

I walked up to her seat, smiled at 

her and said: "Excuse me, would 

you mind keeping it down a bit?" 

The effect was instant and 

extraordinary. "Oh, yes, I'm sorry," 

she said, with a placatory 

answering smile. She lowered her 

KAy HoLmES 

voice markedly, and drew the 

conversation to a close soon after. 

And there is the next problem. I 

got what I wanted, but I felt guilty 

that I'd ruined her day. I still feel 

that now. Last week I was in a 

coffee shop, reading. The young 

man next to me was talking on the 

phone; not loudly, he wasn't 

bothering me. When his call ended 

he turned his phone sideways and 

started watching a video with the 

sound loudly broadcasting. This is 

where I drew my line in the 

demerara. 

"Excuse me," I said. He turned 

slowly to look at me. "Would you 

mind wearing headphones, please? 

It's rather loud." He grunted and 

turned the sound off. I read my 

book and he sat looking into space. 

strengthens one's character to help 

you become a better and stronger 

Muslim. The Netflix programs also 

reminded me of my observations and 

interviews in Saudi Arabia while 

studying for my PhD - both positive 

and negative. 

Firstly, in the past extremely 

religious and conservative parents 

used religion to prevent their 

daughters from participating in sport 

due to misconceptions - their 

reasoning was, females must not get 

into a male field or area. Secondly, 

on a more positive note, images of 

athletes praying before a match, or 

thanking God after a victory, or 

indeed women wearing their head 

scarves and competing, illustrated 

that sport and religion were far from 

incompatible. 

Times are changing in the Kingdom 

and, with it, attitudes toward sport. 

More children - of both genders - are 

being encouraged to get out and be 

active in the sporting arena. In time 

they will find their athletic passion 

and something to devote their time 

toward, and in so doing perhaps 

enhance their faith of both the 

sporting and religious kind. 

Source: Arab news 

Don’t be scared to challenge antisocial phone users 

And there is the next problem. I got what I wanted, but I felt guilty 

that I'd ruined her day. I still feel that now. Last week I was in a coffee 

shop, reading. The young man next to me was talking on the phone; 

not loudly, he wasn't bothering me. When his call ended he turned his 

phone sideways and started watching a video with the sound loudly 

broadcasting. This is where I drew my line in the demerara. 

Shortly afterwards he left, and I felt 

guilty again. 

But most of the time it works 

wonderfully. Smiling at people 

really helps, though this perhaps 

isn't something you should try with 

gangs of lairy blokes, or late at 

night. And if someone's having a 

quick chat or struggling with 

technology, again it's best left 

alone. Loud music - or sodcasting - 

is also beyond my remit. 

The revelation has been that a lot 

of the people shouting on public 

transport aren't doing it to ruin 

things for everyone else. Sometimes 

they just don't know they're making 

such a racket - or possibly they 

don't think anyone cares - and a 

gentle reminder of our mutual 

humanity makes for a much more 

harmonious bus ride than seething 

resentment and isolating 

obliviousness. It's scary to do 

sometimes, but it also feels much 

more human and connecting. It's 

the secret power of telling off. 

Source : Gulf news

LAW & PUBLIC MONDAY, 

FEBRUARY 11, 2019 

5 

QUERY : 

Dear Sir 

Assalamu Walaikum, 

I am Sakib Khan, performing as Headmaster of 

Mikushis High School since 2009. I applied after 

being informed by the advertisement, published in 

a local news paper and accordingly I, successfully 

fulfilled the entire requirement as per 

requirements and was selected by the authority in 

that post. After that I have been performing my 

duties very sincerely and with full satisfaction of 

the school authority. Suddenly I came to know that 

I have been suspended by the School Managing 

Committee without giving me any prior show cause 

notice. Now I want to know that how can I get legal 

remedies by which I can join the post of 

Headmaster as soon as possible? Please inform me 

in details. 

Regards, 

Sakib Khan 

Munsigonj. 

Intellectual Property ordinarily 

includes patent, design, trademark and 

copyright. Due to the technological 

growth and globalization, Intellectual 

Property (IP) has acquired 

an int’l character. This book is 

particularly addressed to the students, 

This week Your Legal Adviser is 

Md. Humayun Kabir 

Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh. 

He is the Head of the chamber of a renowned law firm, named 

as "HUMYUN & ASSOCIATES", which has expertise mainly 

in commercial law, family law, land law, constitutional law, 

criminal law and civil law and in conducting litigations before 

courts of different hierarchies. He can be reached at - cell: 

C 

01711589768, E-mail: humayun.associates@gmail.com. 

LEgAL OPINION : 

Thank you for your query, I am informing you 

that the Managing Committee of the said School 

has no right to suspend you. The way they 

followed to suspend you from the post is 

completely illegal; they must have to issue a 

notice of show cause before taking any such 

decision. As you were performing you duty very 

sincerely it has been appeared that they took 

such an unlawful decision with malafide 

intention. 

In such situation you are adviced to engage an 

advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, 

immediately show him the letter of suspension 

order by which your advocate would send a 

demand justice notice on behalf of you, to all the 

concerned authority to withdraw the suspension 

order against you in shortest possible time. 

In case after receiving the justice demand 

notice, the authority concerned did not withdraw 

the order of suspension, you are advised to file a 

Writ Petition before the Hon'ble High Court 

Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. 

A Handbook on Laws of Intellectual Property; 

By- Sayeed Raas Maswod & Khairul Islam Taj; 

Publisher- University Publications Limited; 

Latest Edition- May, 2016; 

Number of Page- 532; 

Total Chapter- 8. 

although it may be a useful one for 

others connected with intellectual 

property. The IP law is linked with 

several disciplines including science 

and commerce in a broader sense. 

This book can never be an exhaustive 

one for studying Intellectual Property; 

rather it may guide those who want to 

learn IP. This book is comprehensible 

and enriched with necessary stuffs 

suitable for law students and 

researchers. 

Among the new insertions, The 

Trademarks Act, 2009 with 

amendment in 2015 has been inserted 

discarding the Trademark Ordinance, 

2008. Plus, Copyright Act with 

amendment in 2005 has taken place. 

Additionally, number of members of 

international IP organization has been 

carefully updated. Of late, computer 

software, graphical works and other 

artistic works related to computer and 

computer generated system are also 

protected under the Copyright 

Regime. Geographical Indication is 

relatively an innovative idea signifying 

the geographical heritage and sign of a 

particular geography. 

The long awaited GI Act, 2013 has 

been included with relevant 

commentaries. The appendix annexed 

to it will perhaps cover all the major 

national and international laws 

related to IP in Bangladesh. List of 

latest cases have added new 

dimension. After all, the book has 

attracted new generation readers. 

Money-spinning Coaching business: Whether 

passing Education Act would be sufficient 

oaching is a lucrative business 

model in Bangladesh. 

Education Household Survey 

2014 has found that a little over 

29% of total education expenditure 

goes into coaching or house tutors, 

which is highest share among the 

money spent for education cost. 

According to the survey, which was 

released by Bangladesh Bureau of 

Statistics in September 2015, 

students from urban areas are 

spending higher for coaching and 

private tuition at 33% while it is 

26% for rural students. 

Despite the fact that government 

policy-2012 and draft Education Act 

2016 proposed a ban on all coaching 

centres and private tuition, many 

students and parents alleged that a 

section of teachers invite students 

to join coaching run by them for 

after school. The students who 

refuse the offer begin to receive 

lower grades and unfair treatment 

in the classroom. 

The High Court on Thursday, 

February 7, 2018 declared a 

government policy-2012 valid, 

barring teachers of both government 

and private educational institutions 

from getting involved in coaching 

business. The HC bench of Justice 

Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice 

Razik-Al-Jalil passed the verdict 

after the final hearing on five writ 

petitions filed between 2011 and 

2018. Following the court order, no 

teacher can directly be involved with 

any coaching centre operating 

commercially. 

Indications of Draft Education 

Act 2016 

The Draft Education Act has 

finalized in line with the 

recommendations of the National 

Education Policy-2012 after 

consulting with the primary and 

mass education ministry and 

madrasa education board, banning 

private tuition, coaching, and all 

kinds of note-guides, practice and 

supportive books. Anyone 

providing private tuition or 

coaching, or being involved in these 

activities will face punishment. 

All kinds of coaching centres will 

be banned after the act is passed. 

Running any kind of coaching 

centre or tuition will be punishable 

offence. If anyone commits this 

crime, he/she will have to face a fine 

of up to Tk 200,000 and jail term 

for six months or both. 

No teacher can offer private 

tuition to students. If the teacher 

Md. Mamonor Rashid 

belongs to a government institution, 

he/she will have to face disciplinary 

action. If the teacher is of a private 

institution, he/she will be 

terminated. Teachers, however, can 

provide services at their residence 

to a maximum of 10 students 

belonging to other institutions or 

take additional classes per day upon 

receiving prior permission from 

their respective heads of the 

institutions. 

To establish and operate English 

medium schools, registration from 

the education board is a must. The 

governing bodies of the schools 

having English version will fix the 

students' monthly tuition and other 

fees considering their expenses and 

get it approved by the education 

board. Anyone defying this 

provision will be fined highest Tk 

five lakh or jailed for one year jail or 

both. 

The draft also says the students 

will not be subjected to any form of 

mental and physical punishment at 

the educational institutions. People 

breaching this provision will be 

fined Tk 10,000 or awarded three 

months' imprisonment or both. 

About higher education, the draft 

act said no foreign university will 

open branches or operate study 

centres in Bangladesh without the 

approval of the authorities 

concerned. Violation of this 

provision will mean jail term for five 

years or a fine of Tk 10 lakh or both. 

The draft act slaps a ban on 

printing, publishing, packaging, 

and marketing note-guide books. 

Publishing these books will be 

regarded as a punishable crime and 

the violators will face a fine of Tk 

500,000 or a one year jail or both. 

The act said the government will 

form a "regulatory commission" to 

monitor the irregularities and 

logically fix the tuition and other 

fees of the students of higher 

educational institutes. Every 

institution should preserve its 

detailed description and publish it 

on its website. 

Moreover, whether the draft 

Education Act likely to bring relief 

to children forced to rush for tution 

classes as their parents dream of 

their outdoing their peers. 

According to present market 

situation it feels that only jail and 

fine cannot stop private tuitions and 

coaching. In my opinion, social 

awareness is needed, and students, 

teachers and guardians must 

change their mentality that private 

coaching can provide the best 

results. Education monitoring 

committees has to be formed 

strongly at the metropolitan, 

district and upazila levels to ensure 

that students are taught properly in 

classes and departmental 

monitoring and actions has to be 

taken against teachers who take 

coaching classes ignoring the 

government guideline. Teachers 

should be dismissed and their MPO 

facilities have to be cancelled 

immediately in case of violation of 

the guideline. 

Writer : Advocate & 

Legal Researcher at 

CM&A LCP. He is a 

Young Professional 

Member of ICCA 

(Netherlands), LCIA 

(London) & SIAC 

(Singapore). 

Few days ago we faced international 

women's day when we talked about 

several women's rights. Like 

women's freedom of expression, freedom 

of movement, women's power, freedom of 

choice etc. Before talking about those 

rights we have to ensure women's 

economical independence. FOr 

economical independence women can get 

job, can do business etc but for doing 

those things women need to have such 

amount of property which every man 

already getting. That is inheritance from 

family. Most of our families avoid and 

ignore our women to hold their 

inheritance property. I think, women 

should fight for this first, then others 

freedom will come automatically. Let's 

know how much women can get 

inheritance from their family according to 

Muslim Law. 

Wife: If husband of any wife have died 

with leaving his property, the wife will get 

some of them as inheritence. There is 

some condition. If there is no child then 

wife will get one forth of the whole 

property. But when there are any child 

then she will get one eighth of such entire 

property of her husband. 

If the deceased person have multi wife 

then such one forth or one eighth property 

will be distributed between then(wives). 

Like there is no child but wives are double, 

then wives are entitled for one forth but 

each wife will get one eighth. 

Mother: Mothers are also entitle for 

property of her deceased child. When 

deceased person have child or his son has 

child or he has two or more sibling then 

his mother will get one sixth of whole 

property. But when deceased person have 

no child or no child of his son or sibling 

not more then one, then mother will get 

one third of the entire property. 

Again, when deceased person's father 

and husband/wife are alive then after 

giving spouse, mother will get one third of 

rest property. For example, deceased 

person's father and his/her spouse are 

alive then at first such spouse will get 

property first then mother will get one 

third of rest property. Need to 

Women's Property Right in Muslim Law 

understand, not one third of whole 

property, one third of rest property which 

will be rest after giving spouse. 

Grandmother: Grandmother also a 

sharer as inheritance of deceased person. 

Paternal grandmother (mother of father) 

will get one sixth of deceased person's 

property. But there is a condition. Mother 

of deceased person must be die. 

Another interesting condition is if father 

of deceased person is alive, he must get 

Chowdhury Tanbir Ahamed Siddique 

some portion of his death child's property. 

So if father is alive then paternal 

grandmother will not get any property. 

One sixth property will go to maternal 

grandmother (mother of mother). 

Daughter: Daughter are entitle for 

property of their died father. If there is no 

son and daughter is single then she will 

get half of the whole property. But when 

son is absent but daughters are multi then 

daughters are entitle for two third of 

entire property. Two third will be 

distributed between all the daughters. 

But when daughter and son both are 

present, then daughter will get half of she 

brother like daughter:son=1:2 

Daughter of son: Granddaughter can get 

property from her grandparents if 

deceased person has no son, no daughter 

and no grandson. In that situtaion she will 

get half of the property if she is alone. But 

when granddaughters are more than one, 

then they will two third of the property 

and will be distributed between them 

equally. 

Exception: If deceased person has only 

one daughter, then granddaughter will get 

one sixth of the whole property. 

Sister: When deceased person has no 

son, no daughter, no grandson, no 

granddaughter, no brother, no father then 

sister will get half of her brothers 

property. If sisters are more then one then 

they will get two third of the property and 

that will be distributed between them 

equally. 

Step sister: Setp sisers are two kinds. 

One is father is same but mother different, 

another is mother is same but father 

different. 

Let's see when father is same mother 

different. When deceased person have no 

son, no daughter, no grandson, no 

granddaughter, no brother, no sister, no 

step brother(mothers are different), no 

father, then step sister will get half of the 

property if she is alone. But when step 

sisters are more than one, they will get two 

third of the property and that will be 

distributed between them equally. 

Exception: When sister is alone, then 

step sister will get one sixth of the entire 

property. 

Now step sister when mother is same 

fathers are different. This step sister will 

get one sixth of the deceased person's 

property. But condition is deceased 

person have no ancestors from his or her 

father and no incoming generation from 

his or her child. 

When in our country all the women will 

get their inheritance property properly, 

then our women will be independent and 

our country will be economically 

independent. I wanna say, if you give me a 

economically independent mother, I will 

give you a independent nation. 

Writer : Legal Researcher 

Email: tanbir921535513 @gmail.com 

Mobile: 01921 53 55 13

NATIONAL 

MoNDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019 

6 

Magura district and session judge and chairman of Legal Aid, Magura district committee Sheikh 

Mofizur Rahman as the chief guest addressed a workshop on legal aid in Magura on Saturday. 

Photo: Rokibul Hoque Dipu 

Workshop on legal 

aid held in Magura 

roKibul Hoque dipu, maGura Correspondent: 

a workshop on legal aid was held in magura on saturday 

afternoon with the slogan 'case expenditure of the destitute, 

bears sheikh Hasina's government. legal aid, magura 

district committee arranged the workshop at beroil palita 

union council office premises. 

magura district and session judge and chairman of legal 

aid, magura district committee sheikh mofizur rahman was 

the chief guest in the workshop with beroil palita union 

council chairman mohabbat ali in the chair. the chief guest 

said that sheikh Hasina's government believes every citizen 

has the right to get justice. For this those who do not afford 

to bear case expenditure, government is contemplating to 

stand by them. 

among others magura district council chairman pankaj 

Kundu, magura press club general secretary shamim Khan, 

magura district lawyers association president eskander 

azam bablu and general secretary shazzadur rahman 

shangram and magura additional police super ahsan Habib 

spoke in the workshop . 

Young Tigers School Cricket 

Competition inagurated 

in Gaibandha 

raFiqul islam, GaibandHa Correspondent: 

prime bank Youth tigers national school Cricket 

Competition of Gaibandha region has started at the local 

shah abdul Hamid stadium in Gaibandha on sunday. the 

competition is managed by bangladesh Cricket board and 

Gaibandha district sports association organized it. 

the competition was inaugurated by senior Vice-president 

of district sports association and cricket sub-council 

president, district police super engineer abdul mannan 

mia. a discussion was also held before the inauguration of 

the competition. at the discussion, General secretary of 

district sports association and municipal mayor adv. shah 

masood Jahangir Kabir milon, sadar police station officer 

in-charge Khan mohammad shahriar, rakibul islam riton, 

Wahid murad limon and masudul Haque masud spoke at 

the occasion. 

a total of 8 teams will participate in this competition. 

islamia High school and nH modern High school team took 

part in the inaugural match. 

Nabiganj municipality continues its campaign 

to resolve traffic congestion 

motiur raHman munna, nabiGanJ Correspondent: 

nabiganj municipality continues its 

regular campaign to resolve traffic 

congestion of the city. mayor of 

nabiganj municipality alhaj sabir 

ahmad Chowdhury led the day long 

drive on saturday morning. 

He inspected the city and distributed 

leaflets among travelers, drivers and 

pedestrians for the purpose to raise 

awareness. meanwhile, he warned the 

concerned people not to cross the CnG 

stand dhopa bari bridge of rudagram 

road. later, illegal installations were 

evicted after conducting drives at 

Hospital road, modhya bazar road, 

osmani road of nabiganj. meanwhile, 

Gazi shahnawaz mohammad milad 

mp from Habiganj-1 constituency took 

part in the ongoing operation to 

eradicate traffic congestion and illegal 

installations. social organization 

'relation to people' and 'ek tara' 

distributed awareness leaflets 

throughout the day. 

during the time, panel mayor-1 atm 

salam, councilor Kabir mia, nabiganj 

Journalists Forum General secretary 

motiur rahman munna, journalist 

salil baran das, abdur rabb Hukkani, 

sony Chowdhury, reserved councilor 

mst rokeya begum shukesh Chakra, 

prithibis Chakraborty, eleman ahmed 

Chowdhury and saraj mia were also 

present in the campaign. 

Gaibandha Police Super Engineer Abdul Mannan Mia as the chief guest inaugurated the Prime Bank 

Youth Tigers National School Cricket Competition of Gaibandha region at Shah Abdul Hamid 

Stadium in Gaibandha on Sunday. 

Photo: Rafiqul Islam 

Narail Police Super Jasim 

Uddin accorded reception 

Humaun Kabir, narail Correspondent: 

narail police superintendent 

mohammad Jasim uddin has been 

accorded reception for receiving 

president police medal (ppm) award for 

the second time. the police 

superintendent was accorded a 

reception from the district police on 

sunday (February 10) at around 11 am. 

during the time, promoted police 

super Jahidul islam ppm, additional 

superintendent of police (sadar) 

sharfuddin, assistant superintendent of 

police Jalal uddin along with police 

officials from different levels of the 

district were also present. besides, 

superintendent of police mohammad 

Jasim uddin ppm was accorded with 

salute. 

it is to be noted that prime minister 

sheikh Hasina handed over the 

president police medal (ppm) award to 

narail police superintendent 

mohammad Jasim uddin on the 4th of 

February at the police Week in 

rajarbagh. earlier, he also received this 

award from prime minister sheikh 

Hasina on January 23, 2017 at 

rajarbagh. 

Mayor of Nabiganj Municipality Alhaj Sabir Ahmad Chowdhury on Saturday led a day long drive to resolve 

traffic congestion of the city. 

Photo: Motiur Rahman Munna 

Annual sports competition held in Pabna 

Collectorate Public School and College 

abdul Hamid KHan, pabna Correspondent: 

the annual sports competition of 

pabna Collectorate public school and 

College was held through widespread 

enthusiasm on sunday. in the 

morning, pabna deputy Commissioner 

mohammad Jasim uddin and 

principal of the organization shibjeet 

Kumar nag officially hoisted the 

national flag and sports flag, 

respectively at pabna shahid amin 

uddin stadium. 

later, pabna deputy Commissioner 

md Jasim uddin inaugurated the 

sports competition by flying balloons 

as the chief guest. during the time, 

additional deputy Commissioner 

(education) md. shahed parvez, 

professor (retd) shah newaz salam 

and the bangladesh today's 'pabna 

district representative' abdul Hamid 

Khan were also present in the meeting. 

deputy Commissioner md Jasim 

uddin in his speech said that the 

importance of sports besides education 

for students is immense. sport can play 

a big role in the formation of a good 

nation. He said to the guardians that 

you have to fulfill your responsibilities 

so that your children can become a 

good citizen by participating in sports 

as well as in education. build them in 

such a way so that they form a beautiful 

future of the country. From now on 

their moral education and patriotism in 

their mind will have to be awakened. 

at the beginning of the tournament, 

players took oaths and ran with the 

sports torch round the field. later, the 

deputy commissioner mohammad 

Jasim uddin delivered the prizes 

among the winners. 

Narail Police Superintendent Mohammad Jasim Uddin has been accorded reception on 

Sunday in the district for receiving President Police Medal (PPM) award for the second 

time. 

Photo: Humaun Kabir 

Pabna Deputy Commissioner Md Jasim Uddin as the chief guest inaugurated the annual sports 

competition of Pabna Collectorate Public School and College Shahid Amin Uddin Stadium in Pabna 

on Sunday. 

Photo: Abdul Hamid Khan 

Around 40 mega projects being 

implemented in Rajshahi Division 

raJsHaHi: more than 40 mega 

projects are being implemented 

involving over tk 1,25,250 crore in 

almost all eight districts under rajshahi 

division, reports bss. 

of these, rooppur nuclear power 

plant (rnpp) is being built on 990 acres 

of land at ishwardi in pabna district with 

an estimated cost of over tk 1,13,092.92 

crore. 

Zakir Hossain, additional 

Commissioner (development and iCt) 

of rajshahi division, said the rnpp is 

being implemented by the russian 

rosatom state atomic energy 

Corporation. each construction stage of 

the plant is closely being supervised both 

by the international atomic energy 

agency (iaea) and the bangladesh 

atomic energy regulatory authority 

(baera). 

the construction of bangabandhu 

silicon City (hi-tech park) is progressing 

fast at a cost of tk 281.91 crore on 31.63 

acres of land in rajshahi city. upon its 

successful completion by June 2019, the 

park will create employment for more 

than 14,000 youths. 

bangabandhu sheikh mujibur 

rahman novo theatre is being 

constructed on 2.30 acres of land in 

rajshahi metropolis at a cost of around 

tk 222 crore. the project is scheduled to 

end by June 2020. 

a 200-bed rajshahi shishu Hospital is 

being constructed on 2.44 acres of land 

in rajshahi city with an investment of tk 

32 crore. rajshahi medical university 

will be established on 85.80 acres of land 

with an estimated cost of tk 1,500 crore 

(first phase by June 2022). 

around forty percent work of a project 

titled "power distribution management 

development project in rajshahi Zone" 

was completed by last december. power 

development board is implementing the 

project with an estimated cost of around 

tk 915 crore. 

department of roads and Highways 

has been implementing seven projects 

costing around tk 2,136.37 crore. on 

average, 16 percent work on the projects 

was completed. 

northwest Zone of bangladesh Water 

development board is implementing 

eight mega schemes with estimated cost 

of tk 2,260.14 crore.eight projects of 

department of agriculture extension 

(dae) are being implemented at a total 

cost of around tk 2,946.62 crore. six 

other projects of department of public 

Health engineering (dpHe) are being 

executed with involvement of tk 35.96 

crore. 

the West Zone of bangladesh railway 

has been implementing four projects 

with an estimated cost of around tk 

1,829.76 crore. upon successful 

implementation, the projects will 

contribute a lot to improving living and 

livelihood condition of the public in 

general, expected Zakir Hossain.

INTERNATIONAL MONDAY, 

FEBRUARY 11, 2019 

7 

Police say government forces have killed two rebels during a gunbattle in the outskirts of disputed 

Kashmir's main city, sparking violent anti-India protests by residents. 

Photo : AP 

Anti-India protests erupt in 

Kashmir after 5 rebels killed 

13 killed in highway 

accidents amid China 

travel rush 

Accidents on icy highways in 

central China left at least 13 

dead and dozens injured this 

weekend as millions of families 

were heading home 

from the Lunar New Year 

holiday, reports UNB. 

Five were killed shortly 

after 5 a.m. on Sunday in a 

23-car pileup near the city of 

Anqing in Anhui province. 

A second accident followed 

three hours later near 

the provincial capital of 

Hefei after a minibus collided 

with a passenger vehicle. 

On Saturday night, two 

pileups involving at least 100 

vehicles killed two and 

injured 50, 10 seriously, in 

Guizhou province. 

Police said investigations 

were underway. Both 

Guizhou and Anhui have 

been hit by snow and freezing 

rain, leaving highways 

dangerously slick. 

Photos of the Anhui accident 

that left five dead posted 

by online news website 

The Paper showed smashed 

vehicles squeezed up against 

each along a mountainous 

section of highway. 

Despite those incidents, 

this year's three-week travel 

rush has seen relatively few 

deadly accidents compared 

to previous years, possibly as 

a result of tighter vehicle 

inspections to reduce the 

number of overloaded or 

poorly maintained vehicles. 

5 killed in China in 

Lunar New Year 

fireworks accident 

Authorities say five people 

have been killed in southern 

China after an explosion at 

an illegal fireworks stand, 

reports UNB. 

Reports Sunday say the 

operator of the stand in the 

southern region of Guangxi 

has been formally arrested 

on the criminal charge of 

causing an accident through 

the use of dangerous articles. 

Those killed in Tuesday's 

accident included three children 

and two adults. 

Prosecutors say the stand's 

operator, identified only by 

his surname, Zhang, was 

negligent in storing the fireworks 

in a pile outside his 

grocery, leaving them prone 

to being easily ignited by a 

spark or stray cigarette. 

China has cracked down 

heavily on the production 

and sale of fireworks, formerly 

a major part of celebrations 

for the Lunar New 

Year, which this year fell last 

week. 

Five rebels were killed in fighting with government forces in 

disputed Kashmir on Sunday, the Indian army said, triggering 

anti-India clashes in which at least 10 civilians were 

injured, reports UNB. 

The fighting began after Indian government forces cordoned 

off a village in the Himalayan region's southern Kulgam 

area following a tip that militants were hiding there, said 

Col. Rajesh Kalia, a spokesman for the Indian military in 

Kashmir. The searches led to an exchange of gunfire in which 

five militants were killed, he said. 

The fighting sparked protests and clashes as hundreds of 

residents tried to march to the site of the battle in solidarity 

with militants. The protesters were chanting pro-rebel slogans 

and demanding end of an Indian rule over the region. 

Government forces fired shotgun pellets and tear gas at the 

protesters, who threw stones and snowballs at them. At least 

10 civilians were injured and were taken to hospitals, medics 

and local residents said. 

India and Pakistan each claim the divided territory of 

Kashmir in its entirety. Rebels have been fighting Indian control 

since 1989 and civilian street protests are common. 

Most Kashmiris support the rebel position that the territory 

be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent 

country. 

Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and 

the ensuing Indian crackdown. 

South Korea, US sign cost-sharing 

deal for American troops 

South Korea and the United 

States struck a new deal 

Sunday that increases 

Seoul's contribution for the 

cost of the American military 

presence on its soil, overcoming 

previous failed 

negotiations that caused 

worries about their decadeslong 

alliance, reports UNB. 

South Korea last year provided 

about $830 million, 

covering roughly 40 percent 

of the cost of the deployment 

of 28,500 U.S. soldiers 

whose presence is meant to 

deter aggression from North 

Korea. President Donald 

Trump has pushed for South 

Korea to pay more. 

On Sunday, chief negotiators 

from the two countries 

signed a new cost-sharing 

plan, which requires South 

Korea to pay about 1.04 trillion 

won ($924 million) in 

2019, Seoul's Foreign Ministry 

said in a statement. 

The statement said the two 

countries reaffirmed the 

need for a "stable" U.S. military 

deployment amid the 

Death toll at Istanbul building 

collapse reaches 21 

Turkey's interior minister says the death toll 

from a collapsed apartment building in Istanbul 

has risen to 21, reports UNB. 

Minister Suleyman Soylu spoke late Saturday, 

saying those who made "mistakes" would 

be held accountable. The eight-story building 

in the city's Kartal district collapsed on 

Wednesday. 

Rescue workers remain at the site and it is 

unclear how many more people are missing. 

"rapidly changing situation 

on the Korean Peninsula." 

The ministry said the U.S. 

assured South Korea that it 

is committed to the alliance 

and has no plans to adjust 

the number of its troops in 

South Korea. 

South Korea began paying 

for the U.S. military deployment 

in the early 1990s, 

after rebuilding its economy 

from the devastation of the 

1950-1953 Korean War. The 

big U.S. military presence in 

South Korea is a symbol of 

the countries' alliance, 

forged in blood during the 

war, but also a source of 

long-running anti-American 

sentiments. 

About 20 anti-U.S. 

activists rallied near the Foreign 

Ministry building in 

Seoul on Sunday, chanting 

slogans like "No more money 

for U.S. troops." No violence 

was reported. 

"The United States government 

realizes that Korea 

does a lot for our alliance 

and peace and stability in 

the region," chief U.S. negotiator 

Timothy Betts said 

Sunday in Seoul. "We are 

very pleased our consultations 

resulted in agreement 

that will strengthen transparency 

and deepen our 

cooperation and the 

alliance." 

The deal, which involves 

the spending of South Korean 

taxpayer money, requires 

parliamentary approval in 

South Korea, but not in the 

United States, according to 

Seoul's Foreign Ministry. 

The allies had failed to 

reach a new cost-sharing 

plan during some 10 rounds 

of talks. A five-year 2014 

deal that covered South 

Korea's payment last year 

expired at the end of 2018. 

Some conservatives in 

South Korea voiced concerns 

over a weakening 

alliance with the United 

States at the same time as 

negotiations with North 

Korea to deprive it of its 

nuclear weapons hit a stalemate. 

The collapsed building had 14 apartments, 43 

registered residents and three businesses. 

Thirteen people pulled from the rubble have 

been hospitalized and seven remain in intensive 

care. Chief Doctor Recep Demirhan says 

that two are in very serious condition, according 

to Turkey's official Anadolu news agency. 

Officials have said the top two floors of the 

building were built illegally using low quality 

construction materials. 

Rescuers work at the site of the collapsed building in the Kartal district of 

Istanbul, Turkey. 

Photo : Internet 

Afghan lawmaker 

says airstrikes kill 

21 civilians 

An Afghan lawmaker says 

airstrikes in the southern 

Helmand province have 

killed 21 civilians, including 

women and children, 

reports UNB. 

Mohammad 

Hashim 

Alkozai, a senator from Helmand, 

said Sunday that 13 

civilians were killed in one 

strike and eight in another. 

Both airstrikes were carried 

out late Friday in the Sangin 

district, where heavy fighting 

is underway between 

NATO-backed Afghan forces 

and the Taliban. 

Alkozai says at least five 

other people were wounded 

in the airstrikes. 

Omer Zwak, the provincial 

governor's spokesman, says 

insurgents fired on Afghan 

forces from a civilian area. 

He confirmed that airstrikes 

had killed civilians but could 

not provide further information. 

He says an investigation 

has been launched. 

South Korea, US sign 

new cost-sharing deal 

for US troops 

South Korea and the United 

States struck a new deal 

Sunday on how much Seoul 

should pay for the U.S. military 

presence on its soil, 

official said, after previous 

rounds of failed negotiations 

caused worries about 

their decades-long alliance, 

reports UNB. 

Last year, South Korea 

provided about $830 million, 

roughly 40 percent of 

the cost of the deployment 

of 28,500 U.S. soldiers 

whose presence is meant to 

deter aggression from 

North Korea. President 

Donald Trump has said 

South Korea should pay 

more. 

The allies had failed to 

reach a new cost-sharing 

plan during some 10 rounds 

of talks. On Sunday, Seoul's 

Foreign Ministry said the 

countries signed a new deal. 

A five-year 2014 deal that 

covered South Korea's payment 

last year had expired 

at the end of 2018. 

Some conservatives in 

South Korea voiced concerns 

over a weakening 

alliance with the United 

States amid a stalemate in 

negotiations with North 

Korea to deprive it of its 

nuclear weapons. They said 

Trump might use the failed 

military cost-sharing negotiations 

as an excuse to pull 

back some of U.S. troops in 

South Korea, as a bargaining 

chip in talks with North 

Korean leader Kim Jong 

Un. 

Trump told CBS' "Face 

the Nation" last Sunday 

that he has no plans to 

withdraw troops from 

South Korea. 

Trump announced last 

week that he will sit down 

with Kim for a second summit 

in Hanoi, Vietnam in 

late February. 

As Algerian leader ails, 

would-be challengers 

eye election 

A record number of people want to run for 

president of Algeria in the country's April 

election, amid growing uncertainty about 

whether incumbent Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 

infirm since a 2013 stroke, is fit for yet another 

term after two decades in charge of this 

gas-rich North African nation, reports UNB. 

In the two weeks since the electoral 

process was launched, 186 people have 

requested the documents needed to declare 

their candidacy. That's more than double the 

number of potential candidates at this stage 

in the last presidential election, in 2014. 

Most will never get the signatures necessary 

to formally get on the April 18 ballot. But 

the range of candidates suggests wide frustration 

with the status quo. 

Bouteflika, 82, is all but certain to 

announce soon that he plans to seek a fifth 

five-year term. Yet his fitness for office was 

already a question in the 2014 election, coming 

a year after a stroke left him speaking and 

moving with difficulty and largely in a wheelchair. 

He has only been seen in public a few times 

a year throughout his entire fourth term - yet 

many Algerians would likely vote for Bouteflika 

again, for fear of the instability that his 

departure could unleash. 

Algeria's Western allies also worry about a 

political earthquake in Africa's largest country 

by land mass, home to 42 million people 

and an al-Qaida affiliate that has targeted 

foreigners in the past. 

Among Bouteflika's top challengers are 

former Prime Minister Ali Benflis, the runner-up 

in 2014 and today's main opposition 

candidate; influential retired Gen. Ali 

Ghediri; and the leader of a moderate 

Islamist party, Abderazak Makri. 

The heads of several small political parties 

from across the spectrum are also hoping to 

run - along with many Algerians who don't 

have the slightest links to politics. 

Would-be candidate Salah Kemmach 

wants to run because he was born the day 

that former President Houari Boumediene 

died in 1978. 

"For me, it's a sign of destiny" he says in a 

video getting attention on social media. "I 

decided to take my responsibility to continue 

(Boumediene's) project, abandoned by those 

who succeeded him." 

Another candidate, a former street cleaner 

from the western city of Oran, says he wants 

to be president "to eat steak." 

While some dismiss the wannabe presidents 

as nothing more than carnival jesters, 

political science professor Mohamed Laggab 

of Algiers University says the huge number 

of potential candidates is a sign of degradation 

in Algerian politics. 

In this Feb. 5, 2019, photo, a man walks past a poster asking citizen to register 

to vote in Algiers. More than 180 people want to run for president of Algeria in 

the April election, amid growing uncertainty about whether President 

Abdelaziz Bouteflika, infirm following a stroke, is fit for yet another term after 

20 years in charge of this gas-rich North African nation. Photo : Ap 

A member of African soccer's ruling executive 

committee warned of a situation "spiraling 

out of control" if sharp internal criticism of 

the organization's president, who is also a 

FIFA vice president, isn't dealt with, reports 

UNB. 

Isha Johansen of Sierra Leone wrote to her 

Confederation of African Football executive 

committee colleagues on Saturday to request 

an urgent meeting after two leaked letters 

from another executive committee member 

accused CAF president Ahmad of violating 

financial procedures and adopting a dictatorial 

style at the African soccer body. 

Johansen wrote "we are sitting on what I 

believe strongly has the potential of spiraling 

out of control" in a letter addressed to Ahmad 

and the rest of the executive committee and 

obtained by The Associated Press. 

She also questioned the lack of response 

from the executive committee to the nowpublic 

criticism of Ahmad, calling it a "deafening 

silence." 

"Am I the only one feeling that there is a 

storm behind this calm?" Johansen wrote. 

Johansen's plea for action - and for the 

executive committee to come together - came 

after two letters over the last week from fellow 

executive Musa Bility of Liberia, in which he 

resigned from two of his other committee 

positions within CAF and criticized president 

Ahmad for taking the organization in the 

"wrong direction." 

On Friday, Bility was the first to call for an 

urgent executive committee meeting to investigate 

what he called Ahmad's "violations" of 

CAF's financial and other procedures. 

One of Bility's concerns was the recent 

announcement of a major sponsorship deal 

CAF agreed with sports betting company 

1xBet, and which he said happened without 

the approval of the executive committee. 

US ambassador 

Arrests of Canadians in China 

unacceptable 

The U.S. ambassador to Canada said 

Saturday her country is "deeply concerned" 

about China's "unlawful" 

detention of two Canadians, reports 

UNB. 

Ambassador Kelly Craft said in a 

statement to The Associated Press the 

arrests of ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig 

and entrepreneur Michael Spavor are 

"unacceptable" and urged China to end 

the arbitrary detentions. It is her first 

public comments on the cases. 

China detained the two Canadians on 

Dec. 10 in an apparent attempt to pressure 

Canada to release Chinese executive 

Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested 

Dec. 1 at the request of U.S. authorities. 

Meng is the chief financial officer of 

the Chinese tech giant Huawei and the 

daughter of its founder. 

The U.S. wants her extradited to face 

charges that she committed fraud by 

misleading banks about Huawei's business 

dealings in Iran. 

Craft said the U.S. Department of 

Justice's criminal case against Meng is 

African soccer official wants 

meeting over leaked letters 

based solely on the evidence and the 

law. "The United States appreciates 

Canada's steadfast commitment to the 

rule of law," she said. 

Craft made no mention of China's 

planned execution of a third Canadian. 

China re-sentenced a convicted Canadian 

drug smuggler to death after the 

Meng arrest as part of an apparent 

campaign of intimidation and retribution 

against Canada. 

Some analysts have said the U.S. 

response to China's arrests of the two 

Canadians has been muted. President 

Donald Trump himself has not commented 

on the Canadians. But U.S. 

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has, 

saying China ought to release them. 

White House spokeswoman Sarah 

Sanders and the State Department 

have also issued statements of support. 

"We urge China to end all forms of 

arbitrary and unlawful detentions and 

to respect the protections and freedoms 

of all individuals in accordance with 

China's international commitments," 

Craft said. 

Robert Bothwell, a professor at the 

University of Toronto, called Craft's 

statement "tepid." 

"It doesn't bespeak ringing support," 

Bothwell said. 

Beijing threatened grave consequences 

for America's neighbor and 

ally after Meng was arrested at Vancouver's 

airport. 

Canada has embarked on a campaign 

with allies to win the release of Kovrig 

and Spavor and many countries have 

issued statements in support. 

The two were detained on vague allegations 

of "engaging in activities that 

endanger the national security" of China. 

They remain locked up without 

access to lawyers. 

Meng is out on bail in Canada and living 

in one of her two Vancouver mansions 

awaiting extradition proceedings. 

Despite the escalating frictions resulting 

from the detentions, trade talks 

between Beijing and the Trump administration 

remain ongoing.

ART & CULTURE 

MoNDAy, 

feBrUAry 11, 2019 

8 

Brad Pitt joins ex-wife Jennifer 

Aniston's Birthday Party 

Transcendence 

A scientist's drive for artificial intelligence, 

takes on dangerous implications 

when his consciousness is 

uploaded into one such program. 

Genre : Drama, Science 

Fiction & Fantasy 

Directed By : Wally Pfister 

Written By : Jack Paglen 

Cast : Johnny Depp, 

Rebecca Hall, 

Morgan Freeman 

In Theaters : Apr 18, 2014 wide 

On Disc/ : Jul 22, 2014 

Streaming 

Box Office : $23,014,504 

Runtime : 119 minutes 

Studio : Warner Bros. 

Pictures 

SToryliNe : 

Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is the 

foremost researcher in the field of 

Artificial Intelligence, working to create 

a sentient machine that combines the 

collective intelligence of everything ever 

known with the full range of human 

emotions. His highly controversial 

experiments have made him famous, 

but they have also made him the prime 

target of anti-technology extremists who 

will do whatever it takes to stop him. 

However, in their attempt to destroy 

Will, they inadvertently become the catalyst 

for him to succeed-to be a participant 

in his own transcendence. For his 

wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and best 

friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany), both 

fellow researchers, the question is not if 

they can...but if they should. Their worst 

fears are realized as Will's thirst for knowledge evolves into a seemingly 

omnipresent quest for power, to what end is unknown. The only thing that is 

becoming terrifyingly clear is there may be no way to stop him. 

-IMDb 

Nithya Menen joins Abhishek Bachchan 

for Amazon Prime's Breathe Season 2 

Pitt was spotted outside the actress' 50th birthday 

party at the Sunset Tower Hotel in Los 

Angeles on Saturday, PEOPLE confirm. Pitt, 

55, made a casual entrance at the hotel, where 

his ex-wife, who turns 50 on Monday, held her 

big bash. The actor arrived at the hotspot with 

his long hair slicked back underneath a cap, 

photos show. A source tells that there were 

guests included Pitt's ex Gwyneth Paltrow, 

plus Aniston's ex John Mayer and his ex Katy 

Perry, who was joined by boyfriend Orlando 

Bloom. George and Amal Clooney, Reese 

Witherspoon, Ellen DeGeneres, Kate Hudson, 

Demi Moore and Jennifer Meyer also attended, 

the source says. 

Following the news of Aniston and ex-husband 

Justin Theroux's split in February 2018, a source 

with knowledge of Pitt and Aniston's relationship 

told PEOPLE the stars - who were married 

from 2000 to 2005 - had "been over each other 

for longer than they were ever together." While 

Aniston and Pitt had remained friendly over the 

years, the source said the two weren't especially 

close. "They aren't in regular contact, beyond an 

occasional text back and forth to wish each other 

the best when there's been a new project or big 

event," the insider said at the time. 

Pitt and ex Angelina Jolie called it quits in 

September 2016 after two years of marriage and 

12 years together. Nearly a year and a half later, 

Aniston split from Justin Theroux in February 

2018 after two and a half years of marriage and 

seven years as a couple. Opening up about her 

personal life in the January 2019 issue of Elle, 

Aniston shared that even though her relationships 

with Pitt and Theroux didn't last, knowing 

when to end a relationship has its own value. 

"I don't feel a void. I really don't," the Dumplin' 

star told Elle. "My marriages, they've been very 

successful, in [my] personal opinion. And when 

they came to an end, it was a choice that was 

made because we chose to be happy, and sometimes 

happiness doesn't exist within that 

arrangement anymore." 

Aniston went on to share that despite the fixation 

people have about her marital status, she's 

never placed a high priority on tying the knot. "I 

also was never a kid who sat around and 

dreamed about a wedding, you know? Those 

were never my fantasies. When I was first 

popped the question, it was so foreign to me," she 

told Elle, adding that her priorities were "always 

about finding a home that felt safe." 

-People 

Malayalam actor and singer Nithya Menen 

has been roped in to star in the second season 

of Amazon Prime's psychological thriller 

series Breathe. Menen joins Abhishek 

Bachchan, who will also debut in the second 

season. Nithya Menen said in a statement, 

"Breathe is the first original digital series I'm 

doing. I look forward to this a lot, because 

this medium is a perfect space for me and 

I've been enjoying myself with this. Breathe 

offers me such a large canvas to exhibit 

myself and my work, and it's immensely satisfying 

for the artiste in me." She added, 

"The show is being made with high standards 

and I am absolutely enjoying that". 

The show's director, Mayank Sharma, 

shared, "I am thrilled that Nithya has joined 

the cast of Breathe season two. I have always 

been a great admirer of her work, especially 

since I watched Ok Kanmani. I had always 

imagined her to portray this part. On behalf 

of the Breathe team, I welcome her on 

board." Mayank is also co-writing the second 

season of the show with Bhavani Iyer, 

Miley Cyrus and Shawn 

Vikram Tuli, and Arshad Syed. 

Breathe's Season 1 starred R Madhavan, 

Amit Sadh, Sapna Pabbi, among others. It 

explored the lives of ordinary men faced 

with extraordinary circumstances. The show 

is produced by Vikram Malhotra under his 

banner Abundantia Entertainment. 

-Indian Express 

H o roSCoPe 

ArieS 

(March 21 - April 20) : Mars and 

Uranus are heading towards alignment 

in your sign for the final time 

before Uranus leaves Aries for good, and 

change is in the air! This is an electric, dynamic 

energy. You may be at your most impulsive 

now, and it's important not to be reactive. 

TAUrUS 

(April 21 - May 21) : Energy vibes 

well with an approaching alignment 

of Mars and Uranus--a dynamic 

influence that's the final such meetup in your 

privacy sector before Uranus enters your sign 

in March. This week is powerful for making 

changes that release. 

GeMiNi 

(May 22 - June 21) : Your words are 

also more impactful, and it makes 

sense to spend a little more time than 

usual crafting what you want to say and present to 

the world. Circumstances may be such that you 

have more decision-making responsibility now. 

CANCer 

(June 22 - July 23) : This positive emotional 

orientation is useful with the 

week's star aspect--an alignment 

between Mars and Uranus--excites and stimulates 

the need to make change. Aim to make changes 

that ultimately empower you, and be sure to recognize 

the difference between being impulsive. 

leo 

(July 24 - Aug. 23) : Today and tomorrow, 

there could be sudden changes of 

schedule, new opportunities, and strong 

desires and whims that throw you into a unique situation 

or a different frame of mind. The desire to 

put a long-standing problem behind you may be 

part of this as Mars and Uranus head towards an 

alignment for the final time in your spirit sector. 

VirGo 

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23) : You seek intellectual 

companionship, or it figures strongly during 

this period. It can be a wonderful time 

for a collaboration of sorts. Today, a Mercury-Saturn 

influence can work for and against you, or a bit of 

both, depending on how it plays out. There can be a 

real focus on flaws that can lead to useful edits. 

liBrA 

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23) : You'll be giving a lot 

more thought to your work, services, 

health, and routines at this time, and you 

might come up with improved systems and methods 

in the process. Today, a Mercury-Saturn minor challenge 

suggests that it's probably better to focus on editing 

and fixing problems than pushing the envelope. 

SCorPio 

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) : This day brings 

general ease with communications, 

facility with words, and natural 

ability to get your ideas or message across. 

You can be a little more creative or playful 

with your words, and bolder when it comes to 

sharing your views. 

SAGiTTAriUS 

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): It can be a time for 

evaluating your inner feelings, values, 

and connections, or of assessing and 

negotiating in your domestic life. You may have a 

stronger sense of others' moods or needs. 

However, this is not the most talkative phase. 

CAPriCorN 

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20) : Today, though, it 

can be somewhat challenging to integrate 

your needs for mental stimulation with 

attention to your responsibilities, but not 

impossible, either. A Mercury-Saturn challenge 

is useful for identifying flaws so they can 

be edited and fixed. 

AQUAriUS 

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) : Consider that this 

week is also about revving up and 

making changes that are long overdue. 

There can be a sudden interest in new projects, 

ideas, and lines of study, and exciting or surprising 

events can surround communications, personal 

interests, or relatives and friends. New 

avenues for expressing yourself can open up. 

PiSCeS 

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : Be courageous and 

bold, but avoid taking unnecessary risks. 

Desires can come on very suddenly but are likely 

arising from a long-standing issue. Today is excellent 

for trying to get in touch with what needs to 

change or with what's in your heart. Centering yourself 

before making changes. 

Mendes duet performance 

on Dolly Parton song 

While some fans were speculating 

that the two singersongwriters 

might collaborate 

at the 2019 Grammy 

Awards, it turns out that they 

were planning an even more 

special duet: a tribute to 

Dolly Parton at the Musi 

Cares Person of the Year 

Gala. The event, which took 

place on Friday February 8 at 

the Los Angeles Convention 

Center, honored Dolly, who 

is also Miley's godmother. 

Miley and Shawn joined a 

star-studded roster of other 

musicians, including Katy 

Perry, Kacey Musgraves, 

Willie Nelson, and Brandi 

Carlile. For their part, Miley 

and Shawn teamed up with 

Mark Ronson on a rendition 

of "Islands in the Stream," 

the hit song originally 

released by Dolly Parton and 

Kenny Rogers in 1983. 

Both Miley and Shawn took 

to social media to commemorate 

their collaboration, with 

plenty of BTS moments from 

their collaboration. In a 

speech at the end of the 

event, Miley talked about 

Dolly's impact on her, noting 

that her godmother taught 

her to "never judge a book by 

its cover, or by its huge boobs 

and big hair." 

Here's hoping that this is 

just the beginning of Shawn 

and Miley's working relationship 

- and that many more 

collaborations are in store in 

the future. 

When it comes to collaborations 

with other musical 

artists, Miley Cyrus and 

Shawn Mendes have made a 

habit of dreaming up and creating 

some seriously memorable 

music. 

-Teen Vogue 

Bollywood star Mahesh 

Anand's decomposing 

dead body found 

The body of noted yesteryear Bollywood actor, Mahesh 

Anand, 57, was found in his Andheri flat in Mumbai on 

Saturday morning, police said. Living alone for many years 

and virtually jobless, he is suspected to have died at least 

two days ago, and the decomposed body has been sent for 

autopsy to the Cooper Hospital to ascertain the time and 

cause of death. 

A popular actor in the late 1980s and 1990s, known for his 

tall and tough body frame, he was usually seen as the main 

henchman of the villains in several films, but was facing 

huge financial constraints for many years. 

Anand acted with top actors such as Amitabh Bachchan, 

Govinda, Sanjay Dutt, in major films like Ganga Jamuna 

Saraswati and Shahenshah (1988), Majboor (1989), 

Thanedaar (1990), Betaaj Badshah (1994), Coolie No 1 

(1995), Vijeta (1996), Lal Badshah, Aaya Toofan (1999), 

Baaghi and Kurukshetra (2000), Pyaar Kiya Nahin Jaata 

(2003). 

After a long gap of over 15 years, he was recently seen in 

Pahlaj Nihalani's Rangeela Rajaa with Govinda, which 

released in January this year. Ahead of its release, Mahesh 

in a Facebook post, had written that he had only six minutes 

of screen time, but was excited to be back at work. 

Reports also suggest that Mahesh was facing some financial 

crisis too. 

In an interview, the actor revealed that he didn't have 

movie offers for 18 years and at that time he used to take 

part in wrestling matches in order to earn bread and butter 

for him. 

The Versova Police have registered a case of accidental 

death and informed Anand's sister who lives in Mumbai, an 

official said. 

-Hindustan Times

SPORTS 

MONDAy, 

FeBRuARy 11, 2019 

9 

Real Madrid wins Madrid derby, 

rises back to 2nd in La Liga 

We all know it will be big challenge in New Zealand but now the challenge is doubled after losing 

Shakib: Mashrafe. 

Photo: BCB 

Mashrafe confident of Bangladesh’s 

chances despite Shakib’s absence 

Sports Desk: Shakib Al Hasan's finger 

injury is a big setback for 

Bangladesh ahead of their series 

against New Zealand but ODI captain 

Mashrafe Mortaza is confident of the 

team's chances despite the absence of 

the all-rounder, reflecting on his team's 

performance in the Asia Cup where 

they had coped without the services of 

the left-hander for the second half of 

the tournament. 

Shakib was ruled out of the ODI 

series in New Zealand after sustaining a 

fracture to his left ring finger during a 

Bangladesh Premier League game. 

Shakib had earlier returned home midway 

from the Asia Cup after a longstanding 

finger injury flared up and 

forced him to get operated immediately. 

Bangladesh made it to the final of 

the tournament despite the unavailability 

of Shakib, as well as Tamim 

Iqbal, which Mortaza believes should 

serve as an inspiration for the team 

during the New Zealand series. 

"We don't need to mention the 

importance of Shakib because every 

time we went on to play without him we 

had a difficult experience," said Mortaza, 

who was part of the second batch 

of the Bangladesh ODI team to depart 

for New Zealand on Sunday (February 

10). "We all know it will be big challenge 

in New Zealand but now the challenge 

is doubled after losing him. We 

have to play with our available 

resources because we played with the 

same kind of challenge in Asia Cup. 

"We have to play with a positive 

frame of mind in order overcome the 

challenge. It is true that the balance is 

disrupted with his absence because 

by losing him we incur losses in two 

places. We need to be mentally prepared 

to take up responsibility of filling 

his gap," Mortaza added. 

Ahead of the series, Bangladesh 

head coach Steve Rhodes spoke highly 

of Bangladesh's performance in 

ODIs in 2018 and had insisted that 

they have a good chance of achieving 

success in the upcoming series 

despite having failed to win against 

New Zealand in New Zealand. Mortaza 

echoed those sentiments, 

although he added that Shakib's 

absence would make it slightly difficult 

for the visitors. 

"It is certainly possible to win the 

ODI series, it is not true that we cannot 

win it. But now (considering 

Shakib's absence) it has turned out to 

Bangladesh begin New 

Zealand tour with a loss 

Sports Desk: Visiting Bangladesh failed to 

start the tour on a positive note as they lost 

the lone practice game against New Zealand 

XI on Sunday at Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln, 

reports UNB. 

Mehidy Hasan Miraz led the 

Bangladesh team while Jeet Raval was the 

captain of New Zeland XI. 

New Zealand XI won the toss and decided 

to bowl first. Bangladesh amassed 247 

runs in 46.1 over losing all the wickets. 

New Zealand XI chased it down in 48.1 

overs with the help of right-hand 25-yearold 

batsman Andrew Fletcher's 92 and 

Jeet Raval's 52. 

The tourists lost the first four wickets in 

only 31 runs. Liton Das and Mominul 

Haque opened the innings for the Tigers 

but failed to impress as they accumulated 

only 11 runs. 

Mominul was the first man of 

Bangladesh to fall as skied a short delivery 

off Andrew Hazeldine. Dale Phillips 

sprinted from his position at third slip 

and took a wonderful catch to remove 

Mominul (6 off 10). 

In the next over, Liton poked to slip to 

lose his wicket for three off 10 deliveries. 

He fell prey to Ian McPeake. Soumya 

Sarkar and Mohammad Mithun fell scoring 

one each facing nine and five deliveries 

respectively. Both of them were hunted 

by short balls off Hazeldine and 

McPeake. However, in the fifth wicket 

partnership, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah 

Riyad added 108 runs. 

Mushfiqur fell for 62 off 61 deliveries 

with eight fours to his name while Mahmdullah 

scored 72 off 88 with 10 fours. 

Besides Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah, 

Sabbir Rahman was the only man to offer 

some batting resistance for the Tigers as 

he struck 40 off 41 balls with six fours to 

his name. Nayeem Hasan, the right-arm 

off spinner, hit 17 off 23 balls while 

Mustafizur Rahman added 12 off 14 to the 

board. 27-year-old right-arm pacer Ian 

McPeake bagged four wickets for the New 

Zealand XI while Hazeldine and Rachin 

Ravindra took two wickets each for them. 

While replying, Fletcher ad Raval made 

114 in the first wicket stand and propelled 

the New Zealand XI to a win. 

Mustafizur, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and 

Mahmudullah took two wickets each for 

the Tigers but their efforts were not 

enough to avoid an embarrassing loss for 

them. Bangladesh will start the threematch 

ODI series against New Zealand on 

February 13. Right after the ODI series, 

both of the teams will lock horn in a 

three-match Test series as well. 

Southampton vow to ban 

fans over Sala 'aeroplane' 

mockery 

Sports Desk: Southampton have promised 

to ban supporters involved in mocking the 

death of Emiliano Sala by making aeroplane 

gestures during their match at home to 

Cardiff City on Saturday, reports BSS. 

The Premier League fixture was Cardiff's 

first since the Argentinian striker's body was 

formally identified by an English coroner on 

Thursday, a day after it was recovered from 

underwater wreckage in the Channel. 

However, after the game video on social 

media appeared to show two men in the 

home section of St Mary's Stadium seemingly 

making aeroplane gestures in the direction 

of the away supporters. 

Southampton confirmed both fans had 

been spoken to by police and intended to 

take "an extremely firm stance" over the incident. 

"Southampton Football Club can confirm 

that two fans were detained and had 

their details taken by police during our 

match against Cardiff City on Saturday," said 

a statement from the club. "The club will 

continue to work with Hampshire Police to 

identify any individuals deemed to have 

made indecent gestures towards Cardiff supporters. 

"Such behaviour has no place in our 

game and will not be tolerated at St Mary's. 

"The club will be taking an extremely firm 

stance against anyone involved and intends 

to ban those supporters identified," the statement 

added. The plane carrying Sala from 

the French city of Nantes to Cardiff, his new 

club, disappeared near the British island of 

Guernsey on January 21. 

be difficult but possible. To make that 

happen we need to have the belief 

and mental strength as well as we 

need to execute our plans properly, 

and if that is the case it is possible." 

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh ODI 

skipper was expecting flat tracks for 

the 50-over games and mentioned 

that the form of his batsmen augurs 

well for the side. However, he did 

warn the bowlers to brace for a tough 

challenge on batsmen-friendly pitches. 

"I think the wicket where we played 

the BPL semifinal and final will be 

quite similar to the ones we are going 

to have in New Zealand because we 

are expecting flat tracks in that part of 

the world," Mortaza said. "Considering 

that it is relieving that our batsmen 

got some runs because it will 

give them confidence. On the same 

note it will be extremely challenging 

for the bowlers so we need to perform 

in all three departments to earn success 

over the hosts." 

The three-match ODI series gets 

underway from February 13, followed 

by a three-Test series. Bangladesh 

lost their practice game against New 

Zealand XI by two wickets. 

Australia can win 

World Cup with 

Smith and Warner: 

Ponting 

Sports Desk: Australia can 

successfully defend its 

World Cup title in England 

this year with Steve Smith 

and David Warner back in 

the fray, newly-appointed 

assistant coach Ricky 

Ponting said Sunday, 

reports BSS. 

His upbeat assessment 

comes despite the misfiring 

team losing its two most 

recent ODI series at home, 

to India and South Africa. 

"Absolutely, I actually do," 

said Ponting when asked in 

Melbourne if Australia could 

win the World Cup. "India 

and England are probably 

the two standout teams right 

now but if you add Warner 

and Smith back into that 

lineup, I think that team 

looks as strong as any. 

"Conditions in England 

will suit our style of play," 

added Ponting, who was 

appointed on Friday as 

assistant to coach Justin 

Langer for the World Cup, 

focusing on the batting 

group. The former national 

captain is hugely experienced 

in the one-day game, 

playing at five World Cups 

and winning at three. "I 

think I have a pretty good 

grasp on what it takes for 

tournaments like that," he 

said. 

"Hopefully I can have an 

impact right from the start. 

The feedback from the boys 

has been positive." 

Ponting, a close ally of 

Langer, will start after Australia's 

upcoming one-day 

tours against India and Pakistan. 

Smith and Warner are 

available for selection again 

from March 29, when their 

one-year bans for ball-tampering 

expire. Cameron 

Bancroft, who was suspended 

for nine months, is 

already back playing. 

Sports Desk: Real 

Madrid is making it clear 

it's still in the fight for the 

Spanish league title, 

reports UNB. 

With a convincing victory 

in the Madrid derby on Saturday, 

Real Madrid 

returned to second place in 

the Spanish league for the 

first time since September 

and moved within five 

points of leader Barcelona, 

which has a difficult away 

match against Athletic Bilbao 

on Sunday. 

"We reached our goal, 

which was to regain second 

place and move closer to 

the lead," Madrid captain 

Sergio Ramos said. "The 

league isn't over yet. There 

are many points still up for 

grabs. We will keep fighting 

until the end and we will 

keep trying to make things 

difficult for Barcelona." 

In a derby marked by 

video review, Real Madrid 

defeated Atletico Madrid 3- 

1 at Wanda Metropolitano 

Stadium with an overhead 

kick by Casemiro, a penalty 

kick converted by Ramos, 

and a second-half goal by 

Gareth Bale. 

"You need to play a complete 

match to win here, 

and we did that," manager 

Santiago Solari said. 

Antoine Griezmann 

scored for Atletico, which 

lost at home for the first 

time this season. Diego 

Simeone's team stayed six 

points off the lead. 

Griezmann's goal was initially 

disallowed for offside 

but the VAR reversed the 

call. Video review also had 

to be used to confirm the 

penalty that led to Ramos' 

goal just before halftime, 

and to verify another offside 

call that disallowed a 

second-half equalizer by 

former Real Madrid forward 

Alvaro Morata. It was 

New Zealand beat India by 

4 runs to clinch series 

Sports Desk: Colin Munro's blazing halfcentury 

and Tim Southee's last over to 

defend 15 runs helped New Zealand seal 

the T20I series 2-1 with a four-run victory 

in the decider at Seddon Park. The 

defeat also meant India faced their first 

series loss on their long tour of Southern 

Hemisphere, reports AP. 

After being put in, Munro's 40-ball 72 

and Tim Seifert's 43 off 25) set the platform 

for a daunting total. While India 

dismissed Munro and Kane Williamson 

in back-to-back overs, New Zealand had 

by then motored to 150 in 14.4 overs. Colin 

de Grandhomme ensured the hosts 

didn't lose the momentum with a strokefilled 

16-ball 30, with Daryl Mitchell and 

Ross Taylor applying the finishing touches. 

Chasing 213, India lost Shikhar 

Dhawan in the first over itself, but Rohit 

Sharma and Vijay Shankar put the chase 

on track by adding 75 off 46 balls for the 

second wicket. Vijay played some sublime 

shots, including back-to-back sixes 

off Ish Sodhi, but once again failed to 

convert a start into something substantial 

and fell for 28-ball 43. 

Rishabh Pant kept the hopes alive for a 

while, but in the space of 19 balls, India 

slipped from 121 for 2 to 145 for 6. With 

68 needed from 28 balls, Dinesh Karthik 

also used when Morata 

wanted a penalty call - not 

awarded - later in the 

game. 

Atletico, coming off its 

first league loss since the 

third round, played a man 

down from the 80th 

minute after midfielder 

Thomas Partey was sent off 

for a second yellow card. 

The city rivals drew their 

last four league matchups, 

and Real Madrid's last win 

against Atletico was nearly 

two years ago in the Champions 

League semifinals. 

Casemiro opened the 

scoring with an overhead 

kick after Atletico's defense 

could not fully clear a corner 

kick.Griezmann equalized 

less than 10 minutes 

later by sending a shot 

underneath goalkeeper 

Thibaut Courtois. It took a 

while for the video review 

to reverse the offside call 

that initially disallowed the 

goal, keeping a record 

crowd of more than 67,752 

at the Metropolitano from 

being able to celebrate. 

Vinicius Junior made a 

great run down the left side 

and was brought down 

from behind by Jose Maria 

Gimenez just inside the 

area. Ramos converted the 

42nd-minute penalty. 

Madrid sealed its fifth 

straight league win with 

Bale's low shot from a pass 

by Luka Modric in the 74th. 

Bale, who replaced Vinicius 

Junior earlier in the second 

half, appeared to provoke 

the Atletico crowd during 

his celebration near the 

sideline. Courtois, who 

used to play for Atletico, 

was loudly jeered from the 

start. Atletico fans threw 

stuffed rats toward the 

goalkeeper from behind 

one of the goals. Ten-man 

Getafe defeated Celta Vigo 

3-1 at home to lift the 

and Krunal Pandya brought the equation 

down to 16 required from the last over, 

but Tim Southee kept his cool and conceded 

just 11. 

Munro and Seifert provided New 

Zealand with a blazing start of 80 in just 

7.4 overs. Munro showed his intentions 

from the first ball he faced, by smashing 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar over long-on for a 

six. Seifert, at the other end, continued 

his good form and smashed Khaleel 

Ahmed for two fours and a six in the 

fourth over. 

Seeing the onslaught, Rohit brought 

Krunal into the attack in the sixth over 

but the Man of the Match of the last game 

was taken for 20 in his first over, including 

two sixes and a four, as New Zealand 

looted 66 from Powerplay. 

The stand was broken when Seifert was 

ruled out stumped by Chris Brown, the 

third umpire, in yet another questionable 

decision in this series. Kuldeep Yadav 

drew the batsman forward and beat the 

outside edge with a tossed up googly. MS 

Dhoni whipped the bails off and replays 

showed Seifert might have had some part 

of his back foot behind the line before the 

bails came off. However, the third 

umpire thought differently and didn't 

take much time to rule the batsman out. 

That, however, didn't impact Munro 

southern Madrid club into 

fifth place, one point 

behind Sevilla. 

Getafe conceded two 

minutes into the match but 

rebounded despite playing 

a man down from the 37th 

because of a red card to forward 

Maxi Gomez. All 

three Getafe goals came 

after the red card. 

Celta stayed 16th in the 

20-team standings. 

Espanyol defeated Rayo 

Vallecano 2-1 at home with 

a winner by Sergi Darder 

five minutes into stoppage 

time, ending a four-game 

winless streak in the 

league. 

The result kept Rayo in 

the relegation zone, one 

Madrid sealed its fifth straight league win with Bale's low shot from a pass 

by Luka Modric in the 74th minute against Atletico Madrid. Photo: AP 

point from safety. Girona, 

the first team outside the 

relegation zone, had its 

winless streak extended to 

13 matches in all competitions 

after losing at home 

to last-placed Huesca 2-0. 

much. While Kuldeep troubled both 

him and Williamson with his 

wrong'uns, runs kept flowing from the 

other end. Munro hit another six and 

four off Krunal in the 11th over of the 

innings to take the side past 100. India 

weren't helped by their sloppy fielding 

either. In one Hardik Pandya over, 

Khaleel dropped Munro, Vijay fumbled 

to concede a boundary, and as if to add 

insult to injury, Munro smashed the 

next ball for a six. Munro eventually fell 

to Kuldeep, going for his sixth six of the 

innings, but by then New Zealand were 

all set for a massive total. 

Rohit and Vijay had taken India to 81 

for 2 in 8.3 overs but they were still 

behind the required rate. Pant, who had 

scored an unbeaten 40 in the last game, 

carried on from where he had left. The 

first three legitimate deliveries he faced 

were tonked for a four and two sixes. 

Three balls later he smashed Sodhi for 

another six and walloped to 23 off just six 

balls, taking India to 108 for 2 at the 

halfway mark. 

This took the pressure off Rohit, but 

with Pant managing just five runs off the 

next five balls, frustration started creeping 

in. Eventually, Pant ended up hitting 

a full toss from debutant Blair Tickner 

straight to Williamson at midwicket. 

Mitchell Santner of New Zealand celebrates the wicket of Vijay Shankar of India on Sunday. 

Photo: AP

ECONOMY & BUSINESS 

10 

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019 

Russian-Spanish trade turnover drops three-fold 

in the wake of sanctions ambassador 

Recently a"Business Development Meeting"for Dhaka & nearby Dhaka Based Branches of 

Modhumoti Bank Limited was held at Head office premises. Md. Shafiul Azam, Managing Director 

& CEO of Modhumoti Bank Limited inaugurated the program where the management has given the 

strategic guidelines to the Branches in order to achieve the Half Yearly target of the Bank. Moreover 

the KPI's of the Banks were thoroughly discussed in the meeting. Kazi Ahsan Khalil, Deputy 

Managing Director, Md. Shaheen Howlader, SEVP &Head of SME & Retail Banking Division, 

Shahnawaj Chowdhury, Head of Operations,Divisional Heads, Branch Managers and high officials 

of the Bank were present on the meeting. 

Photo: Courtesy 

S Africa's tough choice: Land redistribution 

or mining investment? 

South Africa's government faces a 

toughbalancing act as it tries to attract 

foreign investors into the key mining 

sector while also pledging to seize land 

without 

paying 

compensation.President Cyril 

Ramaphosa, who is pushing 

"expropriation 

without 

compensation" land reform, last week 

tried to quell investor fears when 

hespoke at an annual conference of 

international mining industry 

executives in 

Cape Town."The measure we are 

proposing will apply… within a clearly 

defined set 

of circumstances," Ramaphosa told 

delegates. "Understandably, concern 

has been raised about the proposal… 

as we seek to address what we have 

termed the original sin committed 

against black SouthAfricans during 

colonial and apartheid days. 

" Forced land redistribution has 

become a central policy for the ruling 

ANC ahead of elections in May as the 

party tries to win back poorer black 

voters 

who still suffer harsh racial 

inequalities 25 years after the end of 

apartheid rule. The Minerals Council, 

which represents mining companies 

in South Africa, gave a cautious 

welcome to Ramaphosa's words, but 

said radical land reform posed the risk 

of scaring off investors. "The mining 

industry recognises the need for 

progress on the land issue in South 

Africa," Charmane Russell, 

spokeswoman for the Minerals 

Council, told 

AFP. "It is hoping that any policy 

change is carried out in a manner that 

is not negative for investor 

confidence." Last year, rating agency 

Moody's said in a research note that 

"uncertainty over how (land reform) 

will be achieved continues to limit 

near-term investment." 

The party of Nelson Mandela has 

vowed to change the constitution to 

allow land to be taken - largely from 

minority white owners - without 

payment. However it is also seeking to 

revive the sluggish economy by 

attracting foreign investment to 

increase the mining sector's 

contribution to gross 

domestic product from seven 

percent up to ten percent. Mining 

gold, diamonds, chrome, platinum 

and other minerals has long been a 

major source of wealth for South 

Africa, and the sector - though is one 

of the largest employers in a country 

where more than a quarter of the 

population are jobless. The battle 

between local communities and 

mining companies looking to make 

long-term investments has been laid 

bare by an ongoing tussle between the 

mines ministry and the community of 

Xolobeni in the Eastern Cape 

province. Last year the courts ruled 

that the ministry had to obtain 

consent from the Xolobeni 

community, as the holder of rights on 

land, before granting a mining licence 

to Australian-owned Transworld 

Energy and Mineral Resources. The 

ruling was seen as a major victory for 

local communities - but a blow to 

mining confidence. 

Just 'hot air'? -In his state-of-thenation 

address on Friday, Ramaphosa 

said reform would 

start with state-owned land in urban 

areas being released for housing. That 

reinforced the belief among some 

analysts that seizure of farms or 

mining land is not on the cards. "It 

won't happen," Amaka Anku, head of 

the Eurasia group's Africa 

practise, told AFP. "They are saying 

it due to the political pressure they are 

facing because (the EFF opposition 

party) is gaining traction by saying 

'expropriate our land'.There is no real 

intention. 

The trade turnover between Russia 

and Spain has dropped three-fold after 

the European Union imposed 

restrictive measures against Russia, 

Russian Ambassador to Spain Yuri 

Korchagin told reporters, reports BSS. 

"Prior to 2014, our trade turnover 

reached ?11 bln," the diplomat said. 

"According to the data provided by the 

Spanish customs service, it was 

approaching ?15 bln. After the EU 

imposed its anti-Russian restrictions 

the trade turnover dropped nearly 

three-fold." 

"Nevertheless, we have seen an 

increase in the trade turnover over the 

past two years," Korchagin went on to 

say. "In 2018, it grew 6% to reach ?5.6 

bln, but this is incomparable with the 

Netherlands reports dozens 

Brexit-related company 

moves from UK 

More than 40 companies last year moved, or said they 

would move, their operations from Britain to the 

Netherlands in response to Brexit uncertainties, Dutch 

authorities reported on Saturday. 

The combined moves of 42 companies will translate into 

the shift of just under 2,000 jobs and of 291 million euros 

($330 million) in investments, the Dutch agency for foreign 

investment said in a statement. 

Most of the companies are British, but some are from Asia 

or the US. 

The Dutch government welcomed the figures, with 

Economy Minister Eric Wiebes saying that "due to the 

growing international uncertainty surrounding Brexit and 

changing global trade policies, the importance of a good 

Dutch business climate for all of us is continually increasing". 

The list includes Japanese investment bank Norinchukin, 

media company TVT Media, financial services providers 

MarketAxess and Azimo, and maritime insurer UK P&I, the 

agency said. 

Some of the companies were also looking at moving some 

operations elsewhere in the European Union, including 

Germany, France and Ireland, it said. 

previous figures." "Last year, the 

implementation of the major project to 

supply Russian LNG to Spain began," 

the diplomat stressed. "I believe this 

likewise contributes to the growth of 

the trade turnover to some extent." 

According to the ambassador, 

relations between the two countries 

began 500 years ago. "The first fullfledged 

Russian embassy arrived in 

Spain 350 years ago. Throughout the 

centuries, our contacts and dialogue 

have been marked by intensity, mutual 

respect and interest in each other 

regardless of what government was in 

power in Spain," Korchagin stressed. 

He added that the new government 

led by the Spanish Socialist Workers' 

Party, which came to power last June, 

"immediately showed interest in 

maintaining and even intensifying 

bilateral relations." "A phone call 

initiated by Madrid between Spanish 

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has 

been held," the ambassador said. 

"During the conversation, both parties 

reaffirmed their commitment to 

cultivating bilateral ties," he said. 

"This year, some Spanish ministers 

received invitations to attend 

international forums scheduled to be 

held in Russia," the diplomat pointed 

out. "In addition to that, we are 

planning a series of consultations at the 

deputy foreign ministers' level, which 

will be held in Moscow and Madrid 

alternately," Korchagin added. 

IMF chief warns of high 

Arab public debt 

Public debt has rapidly increased in many Arab countries 

since the 2008 global financial crisis, due to persistently high 

budget deficits, the International Monetary Fund warned 

Saturday. 

"Unfortunately, the region has yet to fully recover from the 

global financial crisis and other big economic dislocations 

over the past decade," IMF Managing Director Christine 

Lagarde said. 

"Among oil importers, (economic) growth has picked up, 

but it is still below pre-crisis levels," she told the Arab Fiscal 

Forum in Dubai. 

Lagarde said public debt among Arab oil importing nations 

had increased from 64 percent to 85 percent of Gross 

Domestic Product in the decade since 2008. 

Nearly half of these countries now have public debt of over 

90 percent of GDP, she said. 

Public debt among oil exporters - including the six-nation 

Gulf Cooperation Council - rose from 13 percent of GDP to 33 

percent of GDP, accelerated by the crash in oil prices around 

five years ago, Lagarde said. "The oil exporters have not fully 

recovered from the dramatic oil price shock of 2014," she 

said. "Modest growth continues, but the outlook is highly 

uncertain." 

Saudi investments to aid 

cash-strapped Pakistan 

A record investment 

package being prepared by 

Saudi Arabia for Pakistan will 

likely provide welcome relief 

for its cash-strapped Muslim 

ally, while also addressing 

regional geopolitical 

challenges, analysts say, 

reports BSS. 

At the heart of the 

investment is a reported $10 

billion refinery and oil 

complex in the strategic 

Gwadar Port on the Arabian 

Sea, the ultimate destination 

for the massive multi-billion 

dollar China Pakistan 

Economic Corridor, which lies 

not far from the Indo-Iranian 

port of Chabahar. 

Two Saudi sources have 

confirmed to AFP that heir 

apparent to the Gulf 

kingdom's throne, Crown 

Prince Mohammed bin 

Salman, will visit Islamabad 

shortly, without giving a date. 

And a number of major 

investment deals are expected 

to be signed during a visit, 

officials from both countries 

have told AFP. 

Riyadh and Islamabad, 

decades-old allies, have been 

involved for months in talks to 

hammer out details of the 

deals in time for the highprofile 

visit. 

"The outcome of the talks so 

far has been very positive and 

this is going to be one of the 

biggest-ever Saudi 

investments in Pakistan," a 

Pakistani senior finance 

ministry official told AFP. 

"We hope that an 

agreement to this effect will be 

signed during the upcoming 

visit of the Saudi crown prince 

to Pakistan," said the official, 

requesting anonymity. 

The Wall Street Journal 

reported last month that both 

Saudi Arabia and the United 

Arab Emirates, Islamabad's 

biggest trading partner in the 

Middle East, have offered 

Pakistani Prime Minister 

Imran Khan some $30 billion 

in investment and loans. 

Riyadh investments are 

expected to provide a lifeline 

for Pakistan's 

slumping economy which 

was downgraded in early 

February by S&P ratings 

agency from a B to a B-, Saudi 

economist Fadhl al-Bouenain 

said."Saudi investment to 

Pakistan comes within an 

economic aid package aimed 

at relieving the stress of 

external debt and a shortage 

of foreign currency, besides 

boosting the sluggish 

economy," Bouenain told 

AFP. 

The OPEC heavyweight also 

aims to achieve strategic and 

commercial goals with 

investments in infrastructure 

and refinery projects, he said. 

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf 

partner, the UAE, have 

already deposited $3 billion 

each in Pakistan's central 

bank to help resolve a balance 

of payments crisis and shore 

up its declining rupee. 

They have also reportedly 

deferred some $6 billion in oil 

imports payments as 

Islamabad has so far failed to 

secure fresh loans from the 

International Monetary Fund. 

Khan has already visited 

Riyadh twice since taking 

office in July and in October 

attended a prestigious 

investment conference widely 

boycotted by other political 

and economic figures after the 

murder of journalist Jamal 

Khashoggi. 

Khan also visited Saudi 

rivals Qatar and Turkey, as 

well as China seeking 

investments. 

"One of the goals for Saudi 

Arabia 

expanding 

investments in refining 

worldwide is to secure market 

share and sustainable exports 

in the face of international 

competition," Bouenain said. 

Saudi Energy Minister 

Khalid al-Falih visited 

Gwadar in January and 

inspected the site for the 

proposed oil refinery at the 

deep sea port, just 70 

kilometres (45 miles) away 

from its Iranian competitor, 

Chabahar. 

He was quoted by local 

media as saying the kingdom 

was studying plans to 

construct a $10 billion 

refinery and petrochemicals 

complex in Gwadar. 

Like most oil suppliers, the 

world's top crude exporter has 

been investing heavily in 

refinery and petrochemicals 

projects across the globe to 

securelong-term buyers of its 

oil.A pipeline from Gwadar to 

China would cut the supply 

time from the current 40 days 

to just seven, experts say. 

Developed as part of China's 

Belt and Road Initiative with 

investments worth some $60 

billion, Gwadar is being billed 

as a regional industrial hub of 

the future, easily accessible for 

Central Asia, Afghanistan, the 

Middle East and Africa. 

Tanti League Dhaka City (North) on Sunday organized a view exchange meeting with Awami 

League candidate for Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayoral by-polls Atiqul Islam at 

Banani Kacha Bazar in Dhaka. At the meeting, Veteran actor Akbar Hossain Pathan Farooque 

(MP) was present as the chief guest while among others, Tanti League central committee president 

Engineer Md Showkat Ali, general secretary Khogendra Chandra Devnath, Vice-President 

Principal Jahangir Biswas and joint general secretary Md Nesar Uddin were present as the special 

guest. Tanti League Dhaka City (North) President with Hamid Ahmed chaired the meeting. 


A day long workshop of Bangladesh Commerce Bank Limited on "Classified loan recovery, Quick disposal 

of Artha Rin Mamla & other cases, Deposit Collection & Ensure profit" was held on Saturday, 

9th February 2019 at its training institute. Managing Director & CEO of the bank Md. Abdul 

Khaleque Khan has presided over the workshop. Chairman of the bank Dr. Engr. Rashid Ahmed 

Chowdhury has inaugurated the program as Chief Guest. Deputy Managing Director of the bank 

Kazi Md. Rezaul Karim was present as special guest. Among others, Principal of the Training 

Institute Md. Mobarak Hossain, all the Divisional Heads, Branch Managers & officers of the respective 

branches were also present on the workshop. 


In a rare success story, Zimbabwe's 

only commuter train is packed 

Chugging through townships, maize 

fields and scrubland as the sun rises, 

Zimbabwe's only commuter train is 

cheap and reliable - two qualities that 

its passengers cherish in a downwardsspiralling 

economy, reports BSS. 

Each morning sleepy travellers walk 

to the tracks and clamber aboard before 

the train leaves the Cowdray Park 

settlement at 6:00 am on its 20- 

kilometre (12-mile) journey into 

Bulawayo, the country's second city. 

The hugely popular service was only 

revived in November after being 

suspended for 13 years as the rail 

network collapsed under President 

Robert Mugabe, who ruled for nearly 

four decades until ousted in 2017. 

At Cowdray Park, there is no 

platform, and no station except for a 

makeshift ticket office made out of an 

old carriage sitting in a field. 

En route, the train stops several times 

in the open to pick up more passengers 

who stream in from surrounding 

homes, climbing up the steps and 

squeezing into 14 packed carriages. 

Soon after 7:00 am, it pulls into 

Bulawayo's grand but dilapidated 

station and disgorges about 2,000 

workers, uniformed school children 

and other travellers into the city centre, 

ready for the day ahead. 

"The prices for kombis (minibuses) 

went up to two dollars, and that's just 

too expensive," said Sipeka 

Mushoma, 61, a heavy vehicle driver at 

a Bulawayo 

steel manufacturer, who managed to 

grab a precious early seat. 

"The train is 50 cents. My children 

have to get the kombi to go to school, 

but this saves me a lot of money to buy 

vegetables and bread. Zimbabweans 

are hurting badly, some of us are really 

starving now." 

The government last month 

announced that fuel prices would more 

than double - triggering violent 

protests, a security crackdown and 

further pressure on minibuses to hike 

prices. 

Bulawayo once had two commuter 

train lines carrying workers in from 

either side of the city, while the capital 

Harare had three lines - all of them 

dubbed "Freedom Trains" as they 

allowed passengers to avoid higher 

road costs. 

The services were scrapped around 

2006, and the Cowdray Park line is the 

only one to be re-launched in a $2.5- 

million project funded by the stateowned 

National Railways of Zimbabwe 

(NRZ). 

Mugabe's successor President 

Emmerson Mnangagwa has backed 

railway investment as part of his plans 

to turn around the economy. 

But the outcome of the commuter 

train is a rare success in his efforts, 

which have struggled to produce 

concrete results. 

"The president and new government 

are very supportive of the railways," 

said Nyasha Maravanyika, the railways' 

press relations chief, adding that talks 

were under way for an international 

consortium to fund a full-scale relaunch 

of the whole rail network. 

"We had to re-furbish old carriages to 

get this service going, and it has been a 

huge success," Maravanyika told AFP. 

"The old commuter trains were 

suspended as the coaches and the 

signalling became more and more rundown." 

"People know that when they are on 

the train, they are on their way to 

work," he added. 

"It is an answer to their transport 

blues. We are here to attract 

commuters as kombi fares rise - that's 

our job." 

Maravanyika says just $10 million 

would put the other four commuter 

lines back in operation. 

"We hope to re-open the other 

Bulawayo line next and, despite all the 

challenges, revive Zimbabwe's 

railways," he said. "They were the 

heartbeat of the southern African rail 

network." 

Zimbabwe's rail network - which 

includes the dramatic line across the 

Victoria Falls into Zambia - was built 

under British colonial rule, and at its 

peak in the 1990s had 600 locomotives 

and 3,000 passenger carriages. 

Today it has less than 100 

locomotives and a few hundred 

carriages, running a threadbare 

schedule between major cities, and a 

much-reduced freight service carrying 

sugar, chrome and quarried stone. 

The main line between Harare and 

Bulawayo - opened in 1907 - was once 

electrified, but vandalism stripped it of 

its copper cables, signalling system and 

track motors.

MISCELLANEOUS 

MoNRDAY, FeBRUARY 11, 2019 

11 

Anti-tobacco organizations organized a press conference at Jatiya Press Club on Sunday slamming 

Bangla film 'Debi' for showing smoking sceneries. 

Photo : TBT 

Iran's Islamic Revolution 

inspired, divided militants 

Inspired in part by Iran's Islamic 

Revolution, a young Egyptian army 

lieutenant emptied his machine gun 

into President Anwar Sadat in 1981, 

killing a leader who made peace with 

Israel and offered the shah a refuge 

after his overthrow, reports UNB. 

The assassination carried out by 

Khalid al-Islambouli and others from 

a Sunni Islamic extremist group 

showed the power of Iran's Shiite-led 

revolution across the religious divides 

of the Muslim world. 

Islamists initially saw Iran's 

revolution as the start of an effort to 

push out the strongman Arab 

nationalism that had taken hold 

across the Middle East. 

But those divisions now feel 

inflamed by the sectarian bloodshed 

that followed the U.S. invasion of Iraq 

in 2003, Syria's long civil war and the 

regional rivalry between Iran and 

Saudi Arabia. 

It may seem as though the Middle 

East has always been divided 

between Sunni Islam, which 

represents about 85 percent of the 

world's more than 1.8 billion 

Muslims, and Shiite Islam. But that 

divide, stemming from a 

disagreement centuries ago over who 

should succeed the Prophet 

Muhammad, owes much to the 

political rivalry between Saudi Arabia 

and Iran after 1979. 

Long before the Islamic Revolution, 

Islamists had wanted to wed 

governments to their faith. One of the 

most prominent was the Muslim 

Brotherhood, a Sunni group founded 

in 1928 in Egypt that spread across 

the Arab world. Another was the 

Iranian Shiite Islamist group 

"Devotees of Islam," who 

assassinated pro-Western Prime 

Minister Ali Razmara in 1951. 

The aftermath of World War II 

instead saw the rise of pan-Arab 

nationalists, chief among them 

Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser. Military 

strongmen took power, pushing for 

rapid modernization that shunted 

religion aside. 

The nationalists "see themselves 

often as critical of religion because 

religion is 'backward.' It's what's been 

holding the Arab world back," said 

Daniel Byman, a senior fellow at the 

Brookings Institution and a professor 

at Georgetown University. "That's 

kind of the dominant divide, and 

Islamists of all stripes are pushing 

back against this." 

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who 

returned to Iran from exile after the 

departure of Shah Mohammad Reza 

Pahlavi, made a point to keep Shiite 

ideas out of speeches. 

The assassination carried out by 

Khalid al-Islambouli and others from 

a Sunni Islamic extremist group 

showed the power of Iran's Shiite-led 

revolution across the religious divides 

of the Muslim world. 


†kL nvwmbvi g~jgš¿ 

Israeli historian 

lauds Finland 

for report on 

WWII killings 

A senior Israeli Holocaust 

historian is praising Finnish 

authorities for publishing a 

report concluding that 

Finnish troops likely 

participated in the mass 

murder of Jews during 

World War II, reports UNB. 

Efraim Zuroff, of the 

Simon Wiesenthal Center, 

on Sunday lauded the 

determination of the 

National Archives of Finland 

to release its findings even if 

it was "painful and 

uncomfortable" for Finland. 

He called it an "example of 

unique and exemplary civic 

courage." 

The report concluded 

Finnish volunteers in Nazi 

forces took part in the 

massacre of thousands. 

Finland's actions contrast 

with those of eastern 

European nations engaged 

in a wave of World War IIera 

revisionism. Those 

countries have sought to 

diminish their culpability in 

the Holocaust while making 

heroes out of anti-Soviet 

nationalists involved in the 

mass killing of Jews. 

US energy secretary 

surprises at World 

Government 

Summit 

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick 

Perry has made a surprise 

visit to the World Government 

Summit in Dubai, 

reports UNB. 

Perry took the stage 

Sunday to announce a 

robotics competition would 

be held later this year in the 

United Arab Emirates. 

Perry is a former Texas 

governor who twice 

launched unsuccessful 

presidential campaigns. 

The annual World 

Government Summit in 

Dubai draws leaders from 

across the globe. 

International Monetary 

Fund chief Christine 

Lagarde and Lebanese 

Prime Minister Saad al- 

Hariri are both expected to 

later address the summit. 

Mongolia to hold 

ice festival to attract 

foreign tourists 

Mongolia will hold an annual 

ice festival called "The 

Blue Pearl 2019" on March 

2-4 at Khuvsgul Lake, local 

media reported on Saturday, 

citing the Governor's Office 

of Khuvsgul Aimag, reports 

UNB. 

Aiming to develop winter 

tourism and attract more 

foreign tourists to Mongolia, 

the three-day event includes 

a folk music concert, 

shamanic ritual ceremony, 

shooting game on ice, sled 

dog racing, tug of war 

competitions on ice, horse 

sledding race and ice 

skating. 

According to the 

Mongolia's Environment 

and Tourism Ministry, the 

influx of foreign visitors to 

the country has been 

growing from year to year. 

The Mongolian government 

has set a goal of hosting 1 

million foreign tourists and 

earning 1 billion U.S. dollars 

from tourism in 2020. 

Lessons for Brexit from Norway's 

hard border with Sweden 

With fresh snow crunching under their boots 

and a handful of papers to be checked and 

stamped, truck drivers from Latvia, Sweden 

and Poland make their way across Norway's 

Orje customs station to a small office where 

their goods will be cleared out of the 

European Union and into Norway, reports 

UNB. 

While many border posts in Europe have 

vanished,, Norway's hard border with the 

European Union is clearly visible, with 

cameras, license-plate recognition systems 

and barriers directing traffic to customs 

officers. Norway's membership in the 

European Economic Area (EEA) grants it 

access to the EU's vast common market and 

most goods are exempt from paying duties. 

Still, everything entering the country must 

be declared and cleared through customs. 

Technological solutions being tested in 

Norway to digitalize customs procedures for 

cargo have been seized on by some in Britain 

as a way to overcome border-related 

problems that threaten to scuttle a divorce 

deal with the EU. But the realities of this 

northern border also show the difficulties 

that persist. 

A divorce deal between Britain and the EU 

has stumbled over how to guarantee an open 

border between the United Kingdom's 

Northern Ireland and EU member state 

Ireland after Britain leaves the bloc on 

March 29. 

The Irish border area was a flashpoint 

during decades of conflict in Northern 

Ireland that cost 3,700 lives. The free flow of 

people and goods across the near-invisible 

Irish border now underpins both the local 

economy and Northern Ireland's peace 

process. 

The EU's proposed solution is for Britain to 

remain in a customs union with the bloc, 

eliminating the need for checks until another 

solution is found. But pro-Brexit British 

politicians say that would stop the U.K. from 

forging new trade deals around the world. 

Technology may or may not be the answer, 

depending on who you talk to. 

"Everyone agrees that we have to avoid a 

hard border in Northern Ireland, and ... 

technology will play a big part in doing so," 

said Northern Ireland Minister John 

Penrose. 

But EU deputy Brexit negotiator Sabine 

Weyand said on Twitter: "Can technology 

solve the Irish border problem? Short 

answer: not in the next few years." 

The Customs office at Orje, on the road 

connecting the capitals of Oslo and 

Stockholm, has been testing a new digital 

clearance system to speed goods through 

customs by enabling exporters to submit 

information online up to two hours before a 

truck reaches the border. 

At her desk in Orje, Chief Customs officer 

Nina Bullock was handling traditional paper 

border clearance forms when her computer 

informed her of an incoming truck that used 

the Express Clearance system. 

"We know the truck number, we know the 

driver, we know what kinds of goods, we 

know everything," she told The Associated 

Press. "It will pass by the two cameras and go 

on. It's doesn't need to come into the office." 

Schumer announces fentanyl 

sanctions bill before China talks 

The Senate's top Democrat is introducing 

legislation to "hold China accountable" and 

sanction laboratories and other traffickers who 

export fentanyl to the United States, reports 

UNB. 

The bill, which will be introduced by Sen. 

Charles Schumer, of New York later this week, 

is likely to add to growing tension between the 

U.S. and China, days before Treasury Secretary 

Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade 

Representative Robert Lighthizer will lead 

high-level trade talks in China. 

In December, China agreed to label fentanyl, 

the deadly synthetic opioid responsible for 

tens of thousands of American drug deaths 

annually, as a controlled substance. 

Schumer's legislation - known as the 

Fentanyl Sanctions Act - would direct U.S. 

officials to publicly identify foreign opioid 

traffickers, would deny the traffickers visas in 

the U.S. and would prohibit them from doing 

business using American banks. 

cvwb-639/2018-2019 

GD-238/19 (5 x 3) 

The bill aims to "hold accountable" fentanyl 

manufacturers in China and other countries 

that illegally drugs to the U.S., Schumer said. It 

could also be used to target transnational 

gangs and cartels involved in fentanyl 

trafficking, as well as banks that help those 

organizations, he said. 

"For years, Chinese laboratories have been 

cooking-up formulas of death and freely 

exporting lethal fentanyl across New York, and 

to many other places across America, where it 

is killing tens-of-thousands of people_and it 

has to stop," Schumer said in a statement to 

The Associated Press. 

The legislation would also require the U.S. to 

create a commission to oversee synthetic 

opioid trafficking, which would monitor efforts 

to combat fentanyl trafficking from China and 

Mexico and issue reports on its findings. It also 

provides additional funding for law 

enforcement agencies that are trying to 

combat synthetic opioid trafficking. 

Iqvmv-RtZt-69/19 

GD-239/19 (10 x 4) GD-237/19 (4 x 4)

UNITING PEOPLE EVERYDAY 

MONDAy, DHAKA, FEBrUAry 11, 2019, MAGH 29, 1425 BS, JAMADI-US SANNI 5, 1440 HIJrI 

Indian Air 

chief in city 

DHAKA : Indian Air chief 

Marshal Birender Singh 

Dhanoa arrived here on 

Sunday evening on a five-day 

visit at the invitation of his 

Bangladesh counterpart 

Marshal Masihuzzaman 

Serniabat. 

The IAF chief is accompanied 

by his spouse, 

Kamalpreet Dhanoa, and a 

two-member delegation. 

During his visit, he will pay 

a courtesy call on Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina and 

meet the senior military 

leadership. 

The Indian Air chief will 

also be visiting major 

Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) 

air bases. 

EC allocates electoral symbol 

to DNCC mayoral aspirants 

DHAKA : The Election Commission on 

Sunday allocated symbols among the candidates 

vying for the posts of mayor for the bypolls 

to Dhaka North City Corporation 

(DNCC), reports UNB. 

Atiqul Islam of Awami League got 'Boat' 

symbol, Jatiya Party mayoral aspirant Shafin 

Ahmed was allocated "Plough" symbol. 

Besides Independent candidate Abdur 

Rahim got 'Table Clock', National People's 

Party's Anisur Rahman got 'Mango' and 

Progressive Democratic Party's Shahin Khan 

got 'Tiger' symbol. 

With the allocation of symbols, aspirants 

can start their electioneering officially from 

on Sunday, DNCC Election Returning 

Officer Abul Kashem said while distributing 

the election symbol in the morning. 

According to the election schedule, they 

will be able to continue their campaign till 12 

am on February 26. 

He requested all the candidates to follow 

the electoral code of conduct during their 

campaign. 

The Election Commission on January 22 

announced the schedules for by-polls to the 

DNCC mayoral post, and its councillor posts 

in 18 new wards as well as the councillor 

posts of Dhaka South City Corporation in its 

18 new wards fixing February 28 for the balloting. 

The DNCC mayoral post fell vacant with 

the death of Annisul Huq on November 30 

last year. 

Additional Class Teachers under the project of SEQAEP organized hunger strike program on Sunday 

in front of National Press Club. 


Govt to take steps to 

improve standard of 

education: Minister 

DHAKA : Education 

Minister Dipu Monion 

Sunday said that the government 

will take all necessary 

measures to improve the 

standard of education in the 

country, reports UNB. 

"I will do whatever necessary 

to improve the education 

system. Another issue is 

standard of education which 

I'm giving the utmost priority 

and have taken it as a challenge 

to enhance its quality", 

she said. 

The minister came up with 

the remarks while speaking 

as the chief guest at a programme 

organised by 

Bangladesh Education 

Reporters Forum at National 

Academy for Educational 

Management (Naem) auditorium 

in New Market area. 

"No corruption will be tolerated 

in the education sector. 

All departments concerned 

were given warning 

in this regard. Besides, measures 

will be taken to remove 

all kinds of mismanagement," 

she said. 

Bangladesh needs another push to 

eliminate leprosy: WHO envoy 

DHAKA : Though 

Bangladesh has already 

achieved the leprosy elimination 

target, WHO 

Goodwill Ambassador Yohei 

Sasakawa thinks the country 

needs a further push with an 

all-out comprehensive 

approach to totally eliminate 

the world's oldest disease 

from here. 

He said WHO and Nippon 

Foundation, a Japan-based 

non-profit private foundation, 

are going to help 

Bangladesh take an effective 

action programme to bring 

the leprosy situation to a zero 

level, reports UNB. 

In an interview with UNB 

at the WHO office here, 

Sasakawa, who arrived here 

on a three-day visit on 

Sunday morning, said 

Bangladesh can include the 

leprosy issue in school education 

programme as creating 

awareness among people 

about the disease and 

removing the stigma and discrimination 

towards the 

affected people are crucial to 

achieve the best results in the 

work of eliminating leprosy. 

According to WHO statistics, 

3,000 to 4,000 new leprosy 

cases were detected 

every year from 2011-2017 in 

Bangladesh, while the disabilities 

among the detected 

cases are 7-11 percent. 

"Leprosy is a very unique 

disease in comparison to 

other kind of diseases that 

exist. When it comes to leprosy, 

I use the analogy of a 

motorcycle. I see the front 

wheel and the rear wheel of a 

motorcycle as figuratively 

depicting medical care and 

the human rights issue of 

leprosy. Unless the two 

wheels move together, the 

solution to the leprosy problem 

will not be fully 

addressed," the WHO 

Goodwill Ambassador said. 

Sasakawa, who has been 

carrying out a fight against 

leprosy across the globe for 

more than 40 years, said 

Bangladesh and many other 

countries have achieved the 

elimination goal-having less 

than 1 case per 10,000 population-defined 

by the WHO. 

"This is the milestone set 

by the WHO. So achieving 

this milestone doesn't necessarily 

mean that everything 

is over. Because in some 

cases leprosy has an incubation 

period of three to seven 

years and sometime 10 years 

depending on the person," 

he said. The WHO Goodwill 

Ambassador for leprosy 

elimination said once a 

country achieves the elimination 

goal this country considers 

that to be achieving a 

success meaning that from 

that point on the various 

activities trend to remain 

stagnant. 

"But, I think, there needs 

to have a further push in this 

kind of measures. We need 

to boost these measures 

from one more time so that 

we can actively start tackling 

the problem of leprosy once 

again," he observed. 

Dhaka, Kolkata civic bodies sign 

MoU for waste management 

DHAKA : The Dhaka South City 

Corporation (DSCC) on Friday 

signed a memorandum of understanding 

(MoU) with Kolkata 

Municipal Corporation (KMC) to 

exchange the best practices of the 

two cities, reports UNB. 

This agreement will enable the 

two civic bodies exchange technologies 

to providing better services to 

residents of Dhaka and Kolkata. 

DSCC Mayor Sayeed Khokon, 

along with a delegation from 

Bangladesh, visited the KMC headquarters 

and held a meeting with 

Mayor Firhad Hakim, reports the 

Tomes of India. 

Khokon told reporters he was 

particularly interested in Kolkata's 

waste disposal system as he found 

the city much cleaner than earlier. 

"I was really impressed to see how 

clean Kolkata has become. Going 

back to Dhaka, I will send a team, 

who will interact with their Kolkata 

counterparts on this," he said. 

"Collaboration of Dhaka and 

Kolkata is essential for having a 

sustained relationship of friendship. 

More such visits will follow 

from both the sides," the DSCC 

Mayor said. 

The Kolkata Mayor said the KMC 

would also send its officials to 

Dhaka to learn about the modernization 

plan for Dhaka. "We have 

signed an MoU. We are keen on 

exchanging our technical expertise 

with the Dhaka civic officials," 

Hakim said. 

According to sources in KMC, the 

areas that have been identified for 

collaboration include solid waste 

management, healthcare, education, 

traffic management etc. 

The World’s Longest 

Portico 

INTERESTING NEWS 

Atop a forested hill, some 300 meters 

above the city of Bologna, stands the 

Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca, a 

12th century Roman Catholic church. You 

can drive all the way up to the hill, but you 

can also walk through a specially constructed 

corridor. This covered monumental 

roofed arcade consists of 666 

arches and stretches for 3.8 km making it 

the longest portico in the world. 

The Portico di San Luca was built 

between the 17th and 18th centuries so 

that the sanctuary's icon could be carried 

up the hill during an annual procession 

without it getting wet in the rain. Legend 

has it that around the 15th century there 

was an extended period of wet season that 

was ruining crops. When the icon from 

San Luca was brought down from the hill 

to the city, the rain stopped miraculously. 

Since then, every year on the occasion of 

the Feast of the Ascension, a procession 

has been taking place carrying the treasured 

Byzantine icon of the Madonna 

from the Basilica to Bologna’s Cathedral 

of San Pietro. With time, the path from 

the sanctuary to the city center was paved, 

and then covered with a portico to protect 

the procession and the icon from the rain 

that often accompanied the procession. 

Khaleda's health 

condition 

deteriorates: BNP 

DHAKA : BNP on Sunday 

alleged that its Chairperson 

Khaleda Zia's health condition 

has deteriorated as the 

government is not ensuring 

proper treatment to her in 

jail. 

"Though Khaleda Zia's 

health condition continues to 

deteriorate, she is not given 

treatment, reports UNB. 

She's suffering from serious 

pains in her eyes while 

she's unable to walk with her 

swollen legs. Her previous 

illness has turned acute 

now," said BNP senior joint 

secretary general Ruhul 

Kabir Rizvi. 

Speaking at a press conference 

at BNP's Nayapaltan 

central office, he further said, 

"Amid such a physical illness, 

she is being produced 

frequently before the court 

set up in a small room inside 

the jail, showing inhuman 

attitude. In fact, Khaleda Zia 

has been subjected to repression 

and harassment in the 

name of producing her 

before the court." 

The BNP leader alleged 

that government is trying to 

annihilate Khaleda gradually 

by depriving her of treatment. 

He urged the Prime 

Minister to release Khaleda 

Zia from jail as what he said 

her desire to keep Khaleda 

Zia away from the national 

election has already fulfilled. 

Gas crisis has been continuing in the capital city for last few days. Due to that crisis the housewife using 

oven. The photo was taken on Sunday at Tantibazar. 

Photo: Star mail 

Demand for release of Khaleda Zia 

spites judiciary: Hasan Mahmud 

CHATTOGRAM : Information Minister Dr 

Hasan Mahmud said that BNP's demand for 

releasing Khaleda Zia was tantamount to 

spitting the rule of law. 

Referring to the demand of BNP leader 

Rizvi Ahmed, the minister said that the 

Prime Minister was not in a position to 

release Begum Zia. 

"Releasing a convict is a matter of the 

courts, "he added. 

Dr Hasan Mahmud said this, while inaugurating 

a 19-day long Combined Ekushey 

Book Fair, 2019 at MA Aziz Stadium gymnasium. 

Referring to the press conference of Rizvi 

Ahmed the minister said Khaleda Zia had 

been sought by the law for long and she was 

found well dressed wearing a sun glass and 

in good physical condition while appearing 

in court. 

Regarding the digital revolution the information 

minister said the Internet had 

opened a wide vista for all including through 

the social media. "Currently, Bangladesh 

has around 8 crore Internet users which was 

8 lakh in 2008," he quoted figures. 

Referring to the 21st August (2004) 

grenade attack, Dr Hasan said then Prime 

Minister Khaleda Zia wanted to kill Prime 

Minster Sheikh Hasina through the grisly 

assault. Khaleda failed to kill Hasina but succeeded 

in killing 24 leaders and activists of 

Awami League including Women Affairs' 

Secretary Ivy Rahman. 

"It was shocking for the whole nation to 

hear the counter narrative of then 

government in parliament. It said Sheikh 

Hasina had carried the grenades in her vanity 

bag and caused the incident," the minister 

said. 

Dr Hasan Mahmud said then parliament 

did not even adopt any obituary resolution 

on the assassination of Shah ASM Kibria and 

Ahsanullah Master, who were both legislators. 

"BNP's movement on the plea of releasing 

Begum Zia from jail was weak and they 

lacked in cordiality and coordination," the 

minister said. 

Presiding over the inaugural function of 

the fair, Chattogram City Mayor AJM Nasir 

said the book fair this time was in line with 

Dhaka Ekushey book fair which had a number 

of new dimensions. 

CCC officials Shamsudoha, Sumon Barua, 

Councilors Nazmul Hoque Duke, 

Mohiuddin Shah Alam Nipu and Jamal 

Uddin were present, among others, at the 

inaugural function. 

A total of 101 publishers including 51 from 

Dhaka have set up their stalls in the book 

fair. 

3.37 lakh posts in govt 

offices remain vacant: 

State Minister 

SANGSAD BHABAN : 

Noting that there are some 

3.37 lakh vacant posts in different 

government offices, 

State Minister for Public 

Administration Farhad 

Hossain on Sunday told 

Parliament that government 

has taken various measures to 

fill up the vacant posts. 

"At present 3,36,746 posts 

remain vacant in the government 

offices," he said while 

replying to a starred question 

from treasury bench lawmaker 

Shamsul HaqueTuku 

(Pabna-5). 

The state minister said 

Bangladesh Public Service 

Commission (BPSC) has recommended 

the government to 

appoint 1,289 candidates who 

qualified the 37th BCS examination. 

Besides, a process is on to fill 

up 8,719 vacant posts in different 

cadres through 38th, 39th 

and 40th BCS examinations. 

Of these, 2,024 vacant posts 

will be filled up through 38th 

BCS exam, while 4,792 vacant 

posts through 39th BCS exam 

and 1,903 vacant posts 

through 40th BCS exam. 

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam, Advisory Editor: Advocate Molla Mohammad Abu Kawser, Managing, Editor: Tapash Ray Sarker, News Editor : Saiful Islam, printed at Sonali Printing Press, 2/1/A, Arambagh 167, Inner Circular Road, Eden Complex, Motijheel, Dhaka. 

Editorial and News Office: K.K Bhaban (Level-04) 69/K, Green Road, Panthapath, Dhaka-1205. Tel : +8802-9611884, Cell : 01832166882; Email: Editor : editor@thebangladeshtoday.com, Advertisement: ads@thebangladeshtoday.com, News: newsbangla@thebangladeshtoday.com, contact@thebangladeshtoday.com, website: www.thebangladeshtoday.com

11-02-2019

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