28-02-2019

thursDaY 

DhAkA: February 28, 2019; Falgun 16, 1425 BS; Jamadi-us Sanni 22,1440 hijri 

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www. tbtbangla.com 

Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.17; No.34; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00 

international 

Nigeria's president 

is re-elected, but 

challenger rejects it 

>Page 7 

HC seeks explanation 

over illegal establishments 

at Hatirjheel 

DHAKA : The High Court on Wednesday 

issued a rule asking the authorities concerned 

to explain why directives would 

not be given to remove all the establishments, 

including restaurants, beyond the 

layout plan of Hatirjheel-Begunbari project, 

reports UNB. 

At the same time, the rule also asked 

why directives would not be given to the 

respondents to take steps so that no more 

establishments beyond the layout plan 

could be established there in future. 

The HC bench of Justice Moinul Islam 

Chowdhury and Justice Md Ashraful 

Kalam issued the rule after hearing of a 

supplementary petition filed by Human 

Rights and Peace for Bangladesh 

(HRPB). 

Chairman of Rajuk (Rajdhani Unnayan 

Kartripakkha), director of Hatirjheel- 

Begunbari project and five others concerned 

were asked to respond to the rule 

within two weeks. 

Earlier on September 10, the High 

Court directed the authorities concerned 

to remove all the establishments beyond 

the layout plan of Hatirjheel-Begunbari 

project within seven days after hearing of 

a writ filed by HRPB. 

The HC also issued a rule asking the 

authorities concerned to explain why 

directives would not be given to stop construction 

of structures beyond the layout 

plan of the project and protect the project 

as per the design. Later, authorities of several 

establishments, built beyond the layout 

plan, filed an appeal with Supreme 

Court seeking stay of the HC order. 

On October 14 last, the SC passed status 

quo on the order and also ordered disposing 

of the rule issued by the HC within 

two months. 

HRPB lawyer Manzil Murshid said that 

the supplementary petition was filed 

seeking directives to bulldoze the illegal 

establishments. Now, after hearing the 

HC issued the rule. 

Khaleda seeks HC 

bail in Cumilla 

arson case 

DHAKA : BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia 

filed an appeal with the High Court seeking 

bail for her in a case filed over the 

killing of eight people in an arson attack 

on a bus in 2015 in Cumilla. 

On behalf of Khaleda Zia, her lawyer 

Kaisar Kamal filed the petition with the 

concerned bench of the HC on 

Wednesday, reports UNB. 

The petition will move forward the 

bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and 

Justice SM Mozibur Rahman for the 

hearing, said the lawyer. 

Earlier on February 4, Cumilla 

Additional District and Session Judge 

Mohammad Ali Akbar rejected the bail 

petition of Khaleda Zia in the case. 

On January 23, the High Court asked 

the lower court concerned to dispose of 

the petition filed seeking bail for BNP 

chairperson Khaleda Zia within February 

4. The hearing on the bail petition in the 

case has been deferred four times so far 

due to various reasons. 

On January 16, a court deferred the 

hearing on charge framing and bail petition 

of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in 

the case. Eight people were killed and at 

least 20 others injured in a petrol bomb 

attack on a bus at Jogmohanpur in 

Chouddagramupazila on February 3, 

2015 during the BNP-led alliance's movement. 

art & culture 

Beyoncé and JAY-Z 

'Bow Down' to 

Meghan Markle 

>Page 8 

Govt to provide financial 

assistance to surrendered 

drug traders: PM 

SANGSAD BHABAN : Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said the 

government will provide financial assistance 

to the drug traders who have surrendered 

so that they can do other business 

and earn their livelihoods, reports 

UNB. 

The Prime Minister said this while 

responding to a supplementary question 

from ruling party MP elected from 

Chittagong Mahfuzur Rahman. 

Sheikh Hasina said the drug traders 

surrendered to police out of their guiltiness 

and self-awareness. 

"Among the surrendered drug traders 

who are addicts being given treatment, 

and we're giving assistance to their families," 

she said. 

The Prime Minister said the government 

has taken a zero tolerance policy to 

contain drugs in the country and the 

ongoing drive of police against the menace 

will continue. She mentioned that 

the drug traders have been able to realize 

drug trading or carrying is a crime. 

In 2018, Hasina said, the law enforcement 

agencies lodged 1,19,878 cases in 

their anti-drug drives where some 

1,61,323 persons were accused. 

During 2009-2018, the government 

has distributed 35,85,796 leaflets, 

1,83,148 stickers, 10,17,171 posters, published 

1,02,802 bulletins and held 

64,436 discussion meetings across the 

country, the Prime Minister mentioned. 

DHAKA : BNP senior leader Dr Abdul 

Moyeen Khan on Wednesday said a 

pragmatic movement needs to be 

launched to ensure the fall of the current 

government, reports UNB. 

"The way the ruling party is running 

the country, no one is safe here now and 

no one has the right of freedom of 

expression. The government issues 

threats and files false cases if anyone 

raises voice against it," he said. 

Speaking at a discussion, the BNP 

leader further said, "A peaceful democratic 

process is the only way to oust 

this regime and get rid of the current 

situation. We must wage a movement 

with realistic plans." 

Nagorik Odhikar Andolon Forum 

arranged the programme at Dhaka 

Reporters' Unity (DRU). 

Dr Moyeen, a BNP standing committee 

member, said several thousand people 

sacrificed their lives for democracy 

Replying to another supplementary 

question from Jatiya party MP elected 

from Dhaka Kazi Firoz Rashid, Hasina 

said she does politics for the people of 

the country, not for herself. 

"So, I try to know which will be better 

for people or not. And I try to solve the 

problems. People elected me through 

their votes. So, I took it as my duty." 

Regarding the manual trafficking system 

instead of auto traffic signaling one, 

she said she has directed the people 

involved in the signaling system not to 

stop plying of vehicles on any particular 

road for a long time. 

In this connection, she said, the government 

is going to introduce digital 

trafficking system to reduce the woes of 

common people. 

Replying to another Jatiya Party MP 

Mujibu lHuq Chunnu, Hasina said the 

main reason behind the traffic congestion 

in the country is violation of traffic 

rules. 

"If everybody obeys traffic rules then 

there might not be such traffic jams," 

she said. 

Responding to a question from the 

ruling party MP election from 

Chittagong, the Prime Minister said the 

government has implemented so many 

projects in Dhaka to reduce traffic jams. 

"Many projects are underway. On completion 

of these projects, Dhaka city will 

be free from traffic jams," she said. 

Pragmatic movement necessary 

to oust govt: Dr Moyeen 

over the last 10 years under the rule of 

the current 'autocratic' government. 

He said their party chairperson 

Khaleda Zia has also been sent to jail in 

a 'political' case as she tried to restore 

democracy in the country. 

The BNP leader said a fresh movement 

by Jatiya Oikyafront will be initiated 

to free Khaleda Zia from jail and 

ensure a fair election in the country. "I 

would like to urge all the leaders and 

activists of BNP and Oikyafront to have 

patience... we'll surely achieve the victory." 

Nagorik Oikya convener Mahmudur 

Rahman Manna said it will not be possible 

to get Khaleda freed from jail without 

a strong movement. 

Describing the current government 

as cruel a heartless one, he said no one 

should expect good attitude from it. "I 

think there's no alternative to waging a 

movement to realise our demands." 

sport 

Mahmudullah backs 

youngsters to grab 

opportunities against NZ 

>Page 9 

Indian soldiers near the remains of an Indian aircraft after it crashed on Wednesday. 

Philippines offers 

citizenship for 

Rohingyas 

DHAKA : Philippines President 

Rodrigo Duterte has offered Filipino citizenship 

to the Rohingyas as he reiterated 

his willingness to accept them in his 

country, reports UNB. 

"I'm willing to accept Rohingyas," 

GMA News quoted him as saying in his 

speech before a convention of the 

League of Municipalities of the 

Philippines at the Manila Hotel. 

In April last year, Duterte said the 

Philippines was willing to provide sanctuary 

for Rohingya fleeing what he 

called "genocide" in Myanmar, a 

remark that prompted a Myanmar government 

spokesman to respond that the 

President had no restraint and knew 

nothing about their country. 

The President then issued a public 

apology to Myanmar's de facto leader 

Aung San Suu Kyi for saying genocide 

was taking place in her country and clarified 

that he was hitting out at European 

countries which had accused Myanmar 

of human rights violations, but did little 

to help the Rohingya, according to the 

online portal of a major commercial 

broadcast company of the Philippines. 

Hundreds of thousands of people, 

mostly Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority 

group, have fled Myanmar into 

Bangladesh in groups since August 2017 

when Rohingya militant attacks on security 

forces sparked a military crackdown.The 

UN and several Western countries 

have accused Myanmar of ethnic 

cleansing, which Myanmar denies. 

Former presidential spokesperson 

Harry Roque said last year that the 

Philippines had facilities that could 

accommodate refugees, citing a processing 

center in Bataan. 

NEW DELHI - Pakistan's military said 

Wednesday that it shot down two 

Indian fighter jets that had entered 

Pakistani airspace, capturing a pilot, in 

an escalation of hostilities just a day 

after Indian fighter jets crossed the disputed 

Kashmir region to launch an 

airstrike within Pakistan. 

India's government confirmed later 

Wednesday that one of its MiG-21 fighter 

jets had been "lost" as it thwarted an 

attempt by Pakistan's air force to strike 

an unspecified target inside India. In the 

engagement, a Pakistani aircraft was 

shot down by an Indian fighter jet, New 

Delhi claimed. 

"We have unfortunately lost one MiG- 

21. The pilot is missing in action. 

Pakistan has claimed that he is in their 

custody. We are ascertaining the facts," 

Raveesh Kumar said at a news conference 

in New Delhi, the chief spokesman 

for India's Ministry of External Affairs. 

Mr. Kumar declined to take any questions 

and did not respond to claims by 

Pakistan's military that it had shot down 

a second Indian jet. The spokesman did 

not comment on Pakistan's initial 

claims that it held two Indian pilots; 

Pakistan's military later changed the 

claim to say it was just one. 

Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistan's military 

said it had conducted its first 

airstrike against unspecified Indian targets, 

though it said no Pakistani aircraft 

crossed the border. And the military 

rejected India's claim that a Pakistani 

fighter jet had been shot down. 

There are fears that tensions between 

the nuclear-armed neighbors could 

escalate after Prime Minister Imran 

Khan of Pakistan promised on Tuesday 

to retaliate for an incursion by Indian 

jets hours before. Those airstrikes were 

the first time since 1971 that the Indian 

Air Force had crossed the Line of 

Control, the de facto border between the 

Indian- and Pakistani-held areas of 

Kashmir, to strike inside Pakistan. 

Pakistan's chief military spokesman, 

Photo : Collected 

Pakistani military says it shot down 

2 Indian fighters, capturing pilot 

Major General Asif Ghafoor, said in a 

news conference on Wednesday afternoon 

that Pakistan's air force had struck 

six targets inside India, without crossing 

into the country's airspace. It was 

unclear what was struck; Major General 

Ghafoor described the strikes as being 

in an open area to make sure there was 

"no human loss or collateral damage." 

The Indian Air Force responded by 

entering into Pakistan's airspace, he 

added, and two warplanes were shot 

down. 

By Wednesday afternoon, the Indian 

government shut down the airspace 

over parts of the country's north that 

host military facilities, including 

Jammu, Srinagar, Amritsar, Leh and 

Dehradun, according to Rakesh 

Asthana, the director General of the 

Bureau of Civil Aviation and Security. 

Pakistan also shut down large parts of 

its airspace, including major airports, 

according to a notice issued by the country's 

Civil Aviation Authority. 

In the Indian-controlled parts of 

Kashmir, volunteers painted large red 

crosses on the roofs of hospitals in an 

effort to keep them from being accidentally 

struck by airstrikes or artillery. 

Troop movements were reported 

within both countries, including a tank 

column that temporarily shut down a 

highway in the western Indian state of 

Rajasthan, hundreds of miles south of 

Kashmir near the border with southern 

Pakistan. 

In a televised speech, Mr. Khan said, 

"We waited, and today we took action," 

shooting down two Indian aircraft after 

being "forced to retaliate" for the Indian 

airstrikes on Tuesday. But he asserted 

he had no desire for war. 

"I am talking to India: We need to use 

wisdom and sagacity. All big wars have 

been due to miscalculation. No one 

knew how the war would end," he said. 

"My question to India is that given the 

weapons we have, can we afford miscalculation?" 

HC turns down Tufan's bail 

plea over Bogura rape 

05:08 AM 

Zohr 

12:15 PM 

04:22 PM 

06:04 PM 

07:18 PM 

6:21 6:01 

About 25 to 30 thousand guest birds were killed by the recent rough weather at Naragati thana of Narail district. The 

photo was taken on Wednesday. 

Photo: Star Mail 

DHAKA : The High Court on Wednesday 

denied bail petition of expelled Sramik 

League leader Tufan Sarkar of Bogura in 

a case over the torture of a schoolgirl and 

her mother after the rape of the girl. 

An HC-bench of Justice Obaidul 

Hassan and Justice S M Kuddus Jaman 

rejected the bail petition. 

The HC also ordered disposing of the 

case within six months, reports UNB. 

According to the case filed on July 28 in 

2017, Tufan took the girl to his house at 

Badurtala in the district town promising 

to arrange her admission into a local college 

and raped her there on July 17 last. 

When Tufan's wife Asha and her elder 

sister Rumki came to know about the 

incident, they along with some associates 

picked up the girl and her mother from 

their house. 

They allegedly beat the girl and her 

mother with sticks and got cut down the 

hair of their heads. At one stage, the 

offenders got their heads shaved done by 

a barber. Later, two cases were filed in this 

connection. 

On October 10, Police pressed charges 

against 13 people including Tufan, his 

wife Tasmin Rahman alias Asa Sarkar, 

Bogra municipality councilor Marzia 

Hasan Rumki, Lovely Rahman Rumi, 

Munna, Atiqur Rahman Atiq, Ali Ajam 

Depu, Emarat Alam Khan Jitu Miah, 

Samiul Haque Shimul, Mehedi Hasan 

Rupom, Jaminur Rahman Runu, Jibon 

Robidas Jatin and Anjuara Begum.

NEWS 

THUrSDAY, 

FebrUArY 28, 2019 

2 

A view of Southeast University Literacy Award Giving Ceremony 2017. 

Photo : Courtesy 

'Drug trader' killed in Dhaka 'gunfight' 

DHAKA : A suspected drug trader was killed 

in an alleged gunfight with police in Paltan 

on early Wednesday, reports UNB. 

The deceased was identified as Kamal 

Hossain, 35. Police said they sent a team to 

the area around 1am after being tipped off 

that a group of 'drug traders' had gathered at 

GD-347/19 (10 x 3) 

Mahanagar Nattyamancha area. As soon as 

police reached the spot, the 'drug traders' 

opened fire, triggering a skirmish, a source at 

Paltan Police Station said. Later, police 

found Kamal with bullet wounds and took 

him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital 

where doctors pronounced him dead. 

Dbœq‡bi MYZš¿ 

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Southeast University 

Literature Award 

In order to inspire literature and cultural studies and to 

recognize the contribution of literary workers and their 

creative talent in Bangla literature, Southeast University 

(SEU) has started awarding in the name of 'Southeast 

University Literature Award' since 2017. On the occasion of 

Literature Award, an unostentatious event was organized at 

the Universities Permanent Campus on 11 February 2018, a 

press realease said. 

Following the previous trail, 'Southeast University Literary 

Award 2018' is going to be held on 9 March 2019 at National 

Art gallery Auditorium, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy of 

the capital. Prof. Dr. ANM Meshquat Uddin, Vice Chancellor 

of Southeast University will preside over the program. Mr. M. 

A. Manan MP, Hon'ble Minister, Ministery of Planning, 

Govt. of the People's Republic of Bangladesh will grace the 

session as Chief Guest. Mr. K M Khalid MP, Hon'ble State 

Minister, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Govt. of the People's 

Republic of Bangladesh will be present as Special Guest. Mr. 

Md. Rezaul Karim, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Southeast 

University Trust will be the Guest of Honor. This year the 

award will be given to Eminent Novelist Selina Hossain and 

Distinguished Essayist Abul Momen for their special 

contribution in the field of literature. Professor Abdullah Abu 

Sayeed, founder and chairman of Bishwa Sahitya Kendra 

and Emeritus Professor Dr. Serajul Islam Choudhury will be 

awarded lifetime achievement gold medal. It is to be 

mentioned that this year a competition on seven branches of 

Bangla literature will be held with the participation of 

students from selected 50 colleges across the country and the 

winners will also be rewarded on the day. 

This award is given in various branches of literature, 

especially in the fields of research, essay, poetry, drama, 

novel, short story, translation literature and children's 

literature. The awardee person is selected according to the 

jury board decision and policies made by Southeast 

University Where National Professor Dr. Anisuzzaman, and 

former Director General of Bangla Academy Professor 

Shamsuzzaman Khan are members of the jury. 

Fb pledges to follow 

bangladesh culture, 

legal framework 

DHAKA : Facebook authorities have pledged to follow the 

legal framework and culture of Bangladesh in publishing 

contents, reports UNB. 

They came up with the promise during a meeting with Tele 

Communication and ICT Minister Mostafa Jabbar at Mobile 

World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona of Spain on Tuesday. 

The minister urged the FB authorities to take steps to 

ensure the safe use of Facebook in Bangladesh following the 

regulations of Bangladesh on issues of pornography, 

question-paper leakage, propaganda and security issues. 

Reminding the country's law, traditional culture, values, 

rules and regulations, the minister urged to authorities to 

maintain the FB contents and other issues following 

Bangladesh's law. Facebook Global Policy Solution vicepresident 

Richard Allan and South Asian Head of Policy 

Ashwani Rana attended the meeting on behalf of the social 

media networking company. 

The FB authorities highlighted their global standard in 

publishing contents and said the process of removing 

pornography from their system is underway and it will 

continue in the future. 

Mostafa Jabbar laid emphasis on opening Facebook office 

in Bangladesh for solving any content-related problem 

quickly. The minister also requested them for correct 

translation and implementation of Bangla Language in 

Facebook. If Facebook needs any help in achieving this 

capability, the government will provide all sorts of 

cooperation, he said. Richard Allan informed the minister 

that his proposals, including the one of Bangla Language 

issue, will be considered with due importance. 

Hall shortage at Comilla University 

hits female students hard 

COMILLA UNIVERSITY : Female students of Comilla 

University demand its authorities provide them with 

accommodation on the campus as renting private houses are 

costing them a lot in addition to having a negative impact on 

their studies, reports UNB. 

Only one - Nawab Foyzunnesa Chowdhurany Hall - out of 

the four residential halls at 

the university is for the 

female students. Hall 

Provost Assistant Professor 

Zillur Rahman said almost 

300 students stayed there. 

Mustafa Jabbar applauds 

Huawei's role in country 

DHAKA : Posts, Telecommunications and 

Information Technology MinisterMustafa 

Jabbar on Wednesday applauded the role 

of Huawei in network infrastructure in the 

country. 

The minister came up with the remarks 

after visiting the Mobile World Congress 

(MWC) at Barcelona of Spain, reports 

UNB. 

He visited the Huawei stall along with 

James Wu, the president of Huawei 

Southeast Asia and the CEO of Huawei 

Technologies (Bangladesh) Limited, Zhang 

Zhengjun. 

During his visit, Mustafa Jabbar said "I 

have visited Huawei's stall.They have lots of 

advanced technologies and in MWC this 

company has already come up with lots of 

their advanced solutions. It is inspiring and 

it is good that Huawei plays an important 

part of the total networking infrastructure 

of Bangladesh also." 

James Wu, the president of Huawei 

GD-340/19 (10 x 3) 

Southeast Asia said, "At Huawei, we believe 

in innovation which mainly focuses on 

customer needs. For customer's 

satisfaction and to make their life more 

digital, we are always working to provide 

powerful technology and innovative 

computing experience, telecom networks, 

IT solutions, smart devices, and cloud 

services." 

"With uninterrupted network, powerful 

devices and seamless cloud computing 

experience, we wish to build the future of 

Bangladesh", he said. 

MWC 2019 started on February 25 and 

will conclude February 28 in Barcelona of 

Spain. Huawei showcases its products and 

solutions at booth 1H50 in Fira Gran Via 

Hall 1, booth 3I30 in Hall 3, the Innovation 

City zone in Hall 4, booth 7C21 and 7C31 in 

Hall 7. By now, Huawei has come up with 

their several new technologies such as an 

innovative rural network solution, 

RuralStar Lite. 

GD-336/19 (6 x 4) GD-348/19 (5 x 4)

METRO 

ThurSDAY, FeBruArY 28, 2019 

3 

Biman aircraft that faced hijacking 

bid to resume flights: Secy 

DHAKA : The aircraft of Biman Bangladesh Airlines which 

faced 'hijacking bid' will resume flight within the next 8-10 

days, said Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Md. Mohibul 

Haque on Wednesday. 

There have been minor damages in the Boeing 737-800 

aircraft, including two bullet marks and a small damage in its 

switch board, said the secretary, reports UNB. 

The damages caused to it will be repaired and the aircraft 

will be added to the fleet as soon as possible, he said. 

The aircraft made an emergency landing at Chattogram 

airport on Sunday after 'hijacker' Polash allegedly attempted 

to hijack it. Later, he was killed in an eight-minute operation 

by the members of army para commando unit. 

The aircraft made an emergency landing at Chattogram 

airport on Sunday after 'hijacker' Polash allegedly attempted 

to hijack it. 

Tele Communication and ICT Minister Mostafa Jabbar speaks at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in 

Barcelona of Spain on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. 

Photo: Courtesy 

Krishak Dal's convening committee 

formed after 21 yrs 

DHAKA : After nearly 21 years, BNP has constituted a 153- 

member new convening committee of its associate body 

Jatiyatabadi Krishak Dal dissolving the current one, reports 

UNB. 

Party vice chairman Shamsuzzaman Dudu has been made 

convener of the new committee while agronomist Hasan 

Zafir Tuhin its member secretary, said a party press release 

on Wednesday. 

The convening committee has been asked to form a fullfledged 

one within three months through holding a council. 

On May 16, 1998, the pervious committee of Krishak Dal 

was formed making late Mahbubul Alam Tara and 

Shamsuzzaman Dudu its president and general secretary 

respectively. 

As Tara joined Awami League, Mojibur Rahman made the 

president of it. After the death of Mojibur Rahman, Mirza 

Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was appointed the president of 

Krishak Dal. 

After its debacle in the 11th parliamentary election, BNP 

started reorgainsing its associate bodies and grassroots to 

stage a comeback in politics. 

Earlier, the party formed the convening committees of 

Doctors' Association of Bangladesh (DAB) and 

Agriculturalists' Association of Bangladesh (AAB) and 

Jatiyatabadi Matshajibi Dal. 

On December 30, 1980, BNP founder late Ziaur Rahman 

established the Krishak Dal to ensure the rights and welfare 

of farmers. 

After its debacle in the 11th parliamentary election, BNP 

started reorgainsing its associate bodies and grassroots to 

stage a comeback in politics. 

Bride stabs husband 

on wedding night 

CHANDPUR : A husband was stabbed allegedly by his wife 

on their wedding night at Lautoli village in Faridganj upazila 

Monday night, reports UNB. 

Now the injured husband Delwar Hossain, 26, is 

undergoing treatment at Comilla Medical College Hospital. 

The girl might have a love affair with another boy and that is 

way he stabbed her husband, locals said. Delwar Hossain, 

son of late Harun-or-Rashid married Shyamoli Akhter, 20, 

daughter of Firoz Alam of Charmandari village in the upazila 

on Monday. On wedding night around 2am, family members 

heard the screaming from the couple room and found Delwar 

injured with bloody condition. 

Later he rushed to local hospital for primary treatment, 

from where he was taken to Comilla Medical College 

Hospital, they added. On information, police visited the spot 

but no group complaint in this connection, said Md Harunor-Rashid, 

officer-in-charge of Faridganj Police Station. 

Minor boy crushed under falling 

wall in Kamrangirchar 

DHAKA : A minor boy was killed when a boundary wall fall 

on him at Nabinagar in the City's Kamrangirchar area on 

Tuesday, reports UNB. 

Tauhidul Islam, 7, son of Hasnatul Hossain Rubel, hailing 

from Daudpur village in Dirai upazila of Sunamganj district, 

used to live in Kamrangirchar with his family, sustained 

injuries in the area in the afternoon, said Bachchu Mia, 

Inspector of Dhaka Medical College Hospital police camp. 

Iqvmv-RtZt-99/19 

GD-344/19 (7 x 4) 

GD-337/19 (10 x 4) GD-339/19 (10 x 4)

EDITORIAL 

THUrsDAY, 

febrUArY 28, 2019 

4 

eU, Arab league in fragile show of unity 

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam 

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

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com 

Thursday, february 28, 2019 

Take proactive steps 

against water logging 

One may recall in the eighties and even in 

the nineties that Dhaka city used to 

acquire an almost flood like appearance 

even after heavy rains for about an hour or so. 

At that time, accumulated rain waters in places 

such as Mouchak, Malibag and other heavily 

populated places of the city remained stagnant 

for days that made commuting through them a 

very difficult exercise. Pedestrians and ones in 

rickshaws faced worse experiences. 

But thanks to a previous Awami League led 

government, conditions turned significantly 

better as that government sincerely worked to 

improve the city's drainage conditions. The 

lasting effects of works undertaken at that time 

seemed to be providing benefits to the city's 

residents. However, it seems that drainage may 

again become a big problem for the city and 

urgent attention needs to be given to this issue. 

This was manifest last week when some 

showers were noted in the city last week---after 

a pause of several months--- which created 

some water logging in some thoroughfares in 

the city. This phenomenon was seen also 

towards the end of the last rainy season. It was 

widely recommended at that time that the 

government should waste no time and utilize 

the opportunity presented by the coming winter 

or dry season to embark on a crash programme 

to improve drainage conditions in the city. It 

was predicted that in the absence of such a 

crash programme, Dhaka could face 

catastrophic water logging in the next rainy 

season. It appears that this prediction could 

well be fulfilled as last week's rains clearly 

highlighted that hardly worthwhile steps were 

taken during the last six months especially with 

an eye to substantially improve drainage 

conditions in the city as preparation for the full 

fledged onslaught of the rainy season. 

Internationally received short and mid term 

weather forecasts for Bangladesh and South 

Asia is not a favourable one. Heavy rains are 

projected in the monsoon period for South 

Asia and Bangladesh might have to bear a 

brunt of it. Thus, people in Dhaka city have 

reasons to be worried about their daily 

transportation related and other ordeals in the 

coming rainy season. 

As it is, the waters in the rivers in and 

around Dhaka are now at a safe level. But the 

water levels in the rivers are likely to rise if 

heavy rains fall on the city in line with the 

weather forecasts or more flood waters appear 

from upstreams. In that case without an 

efficient and workable drainage system in place 

, a worst city flood is portended this year. 

Thus, the authorities need to take timely 

actions to spare the city's residents from the 

great distresses caused by worse water logging 

or city floods. Box culverts that drain rain and 

sewer waters in many parts of the city remain in 

clogged conditions from all kinds of waste 

matters and rubbish which get dumped in 

them. Manhole covers are to be found missing 

in many areas that similarly facilitate solid 

wastes to get inside the sewer lines to create 

blocking effects. 

The manhole covers need to be refitted 

immediately and the maintenance of 

manholes should be ensured along with the 

thorough cleaning of them. The entire lengths 

of the surface drains and storm sewers should 

be immediately flushed clean . Sufficient 

number of pumps should be installed in 

different parts of the city for the pumping out of 

rain and flood waters. These preparations need 

to be taken on high priority basis. 

There existed some 43 natural canals and 

hundreds of large and small ponds and 

marshlands or wetlands in and around Dhaka 

even in the early seventies that worked as a very 

effective natural drainage system. All out efforts 

must be launched to recover these natural 

draining grounds from their unauthorized 

occupiers under a crash programme. 

Opening the first EU-Arab League 

summit last weekend in Sharm El 

Sheikh, Egyptian President Abdel 

Fattah el-Sisi told leaders of more than 40 

countries that "what brings together the two 

regions, Arab and European, exceeds 

immeasurably what divides them." On that, 

certainly, he is right. There are immense 

shared tensions: protests just this week on 

the streets of France and Sudan; fears in 

both blocs about the extent of Russian and 

Chinese influence; and tensions between 

key states, as France this month recalled its 

ambassador to Italy, and the Qatar dispute 

continues. 

Yet what has brought them together at 

this moment is something far larger, 

something that perhaps is best described as 

a faltering sense of collective destiny. 

Neither the European Union nor the Arab 

League really knows where it is going. There 

are hard questions for both and not only can 

the leaders of the regions not agree on the 

answers, they can't even agree where to find 

them. 

For the EU, these days - indeed these 

years - are exercises in damage limitation. 

When the United Kingdom first voted to 

leave the union in 2016, there was, in some 

quarters, a sense of invigoration, a belief 

that the immense challenges that the EU 

faced over its legitimacy could be solved by 

renewed integration. The year after the 

vote, European Commission head Jean- 

Claude Juncker - who was in Sharm El 

Sheikh this week - urged the EU to move 

Whether we are traveling for 

business or pleasure, our 

hotel or other 

accommodation is a crucial element in 

any trip, and the hospitality sector is an 

integral part of the economy, in Saudi 

Arabia and elsewhere. 

The General Authority for Tourism 

and National Heritage works hard to 

educate consumers about their rights, 

in the belief that its laws and 

regulations are the basis for 

sustainable development and 

prosperity in the industry. 

Essentially, the law regulates the 

relationship between hospitality 

operators and their guests. The most 

important factor is ensuring the safety 

of guests and their belongings. On that 

subject, you should note that any 

warning by a hotel that it is not 

responsible for loss or damage to a 

guest's property has no force in law. 

Once a booking is confirmed, the 

hotel is obliged to provide 

accommodation. If it is unavailable 

they must provide an alternative at the 

same cost, even if it is to a higher 

standard. If a property has to close, or 

an emergency situation arises that 

presents a danger to guests, the hotel is 

faster to greater integration. "Let's set sail 

and catch the wind," he declared. 

That did not happen; the wind died down 

and inertia set in. The UK leaving, 

combined with the election of US President 

Donald Trump, who has no great love for 

the institutions of the EU, plus a resurgent 

Russia, has created a sense of drift. 

Migration remains hugely divisive in every 

single EU state. Nationalism and far-right 

political parties are rising. The idea of evercloser 

union is a fantasy, for now. The EU is 

just barely holding it together. 

For the Arab world, too, there are deep 

divisions. The wars in Syria, Yemen and 

Libya. Tensions with Iran and Israel. The 

Saudi-led boycott of Qatar. 

The Arab League shows these divisions 

starkly. Lacking a heavyweight "center of 

gravity," the League tends to take the path 

of least resistance. Its most notable recent 

political stance was expelling Syria - and 

this week it appeared to be preparing to 

fAisAl Al YAfAi 

allow Damascus back. 

That is a problem because problems in 

the region tend to be resolved piecemeal. 

There's no coherent bloc, no identifiable 

center, in the way that, for example, 

Germany and France have worked hard to 

maintain unity at the heart of the EU. 

The final 17-point summit declaration on 

Tuesday was long on warm words of a 'rich 

history of cultural exchange' but short on 

new policies. If the summit leaders were 

Despite Donald Tusk, the head of the european Council, 

saying at the summit, "there are objective reasons why we 

have to be closer; our neighborhood is something real," there 

is in fact no sense among the europeans of a cohesive middle 

east sharing common interests with the eU. The idea of one 

region hasn't taken root in european capitals. 

again obliged to supply alternative 

accommodation to a similar or higher 

standard. 

Note, also, that if you wish your 

luggage to be carried to and from your 

room, the hotel is required to do so; it 

is not an optional service. 

The law is to a large extent guestfriendly, 

and makes considerable 

demands on hotel operators. They are 

obliged to clearly list all the services 

they provide in detail, and may not 

require a minimum stay. All safety 

procedures in the property must be 

regularly tested. 

The privacy of guests is protected. 

Their identity and personal 

information may not be shared in any 

vague, that is because neither side really 

believes the other side can deliver, or trusts 

them all that much 

The piecemeal approach continues on the 

European side. Europe's focus on the region 

flits: focusing on Egypt, Libya and Turkey 

because of the migration crisis; then on the 

Gulf because of Iran; then on Syria because 

of the war. 

Despite Donald Tusk, the head of the 

European Council, saying at the summit, 

"there are objective reasons why we have to 

DimAH TAlAl AlsHArif 

way. The hotel has the right only to see 

a guest's passport or other means of 

identity, and may not retain either the 

original or a copy. 

The only trade-off for these rights is 

that guests are obliged to respect the 

property and its equipment, to adhere 

to arrival and departure dates, and to 

refrain from smoking in the property's 

public spaces. 

The law considers the booking 

document signed by the guest and the 

hotel to be a legal contract. It should 

contain the classification of the room 

and its characteristics, the guest's 

information, the number of nights and 

the method of payment. The guest may 

also cancel the reservation in writing, 

be closer; our neighborhood is something 

real," there is in fact no sense among the 

Europeans of a cohesive Middle East 

sharing common interests with the EU. The 

idea of one region hasn't taken root in 

European capitals. 

If neither side is quite sure where, as a 

group, they are going, they are also 

uncertain with whom they should be allied. 

The final 17-point summit declaration on 

Tuesday was long on warm words of a "rich 

history of cultural exchange" but short on 

new policies. If the summit leaders were 

vague, that is because neither side really 

believes the other side can deliver, or trusts 

them all that much. 

The Arabs are well aware that the 

Europeans are divided, and that the US, for 

all the capriciousness of the current 

president, is much more cohesive. 

The Europeans, too, are wary of the 

Middle East, where just three neighboring 

countries (Iraq, Syria and Israel) can have 

such different allegiances. 

It should be no surprise that the most 

significant political agreements of recent 

years with the three most populous Middle 

Eastern countries (Egypt, Turkey and Iran) 

have all centered on the relatively discrete 

and verifiable issues of migration and 

nuclear proliferation. The trust required for 

more widespread agreements - on free 

trade, for example, or of intelligence 

material - doesn't exist yet. 

Source : Asia times 

Check out your rights when you check in to a hotel 

Adistinguishing feature of today's 

politics is that they seem to turn 

as much on struggles over 

representations as over material 

resources or tangible political power. 

For many people who are active in 

politics, especially on the left, a primary 

issue is how and by whom members of 

marginalised groups are depicted in 

film, television, social media and art. It 

strikes me that there is exponentially 

more public discussion of such matters 

than, for example, education policy. 

Awards shows like the Oscars have 

become central battlegrounds in the 

representation wars, partly because 

they have relatively large audiences and 

symbolise "mainstream" culture: To 

win a Grammy or an Oscar signals a 

certain sort of cultural currency. The 

shows thus get read as capsules of the 

entire culture, and every aspect of their 

presentation gets evaluated 

demographically - from nominees and 

winners, presenters and performers, 

speeches and the audience in the 

auditorium, right down to Katy Perry's 

shoes. 

By these standards, the big awards 

shows are, fitfully, coming into 

conformity. The Grammys have 

survived, though not without 

controversy, and managed to find an 

acceptable host this time around (Alicia 

Keys) and a reasonable balance of 

demographic groups and concomitant 

styles. The Oscars evidently still have 

some way to go. The sheer weight of 

group representation falling on the host 

and the likelihood that no comedian has 

a fully defensible Twitter feed seem to 

have been enough to scare everyone off. 

It is often taken as obvious that the 

effects of representations are profound 

- and in some sense, they are. There is 

no doubt that the experience for 

individuals of seeing performers like 

Sidney Poitier or Ellen DeGeneres 

wildly exceed the limits imposed on 

The General Authority for Tourism and National Heritage works hard 

to educate consumers about their rights, in the belief that its laws and 

regulations are the basis for sustainable development and prosperity 

in the industry. The privacy of guests is protected. Their identity and 

personal information may not be shared in any way. The hotel has the 

right only to see a guest's passport or other means of identity. 

their identity groups did in fact change 

lives, primarily by enhancing selfesteem, 

or by making viewers believe 

that it was possible to live lives they 

hadn't previously imagined. 

Good reasons to be sceptical 

But there are also good reasons to be 

sceptical of the real impact of such 

success stories, which can be depicted 

in ads and flaunted at awards 

ceremonies in part to quell anger at 

systemic unfairness still in place. Such 

depictions may be employed to 

generate more profit for the same 

commercial empires that engaged in 

the oppression in the first place. 

It is probably in the best interest of the 

goal of achieving a fairer, less 

discriminatory future to keep in mind 

that whatever the Grammys or Oscars 

looks like in the long run will have little 

actual impact on social justice. Perhaps, 

over all, the emphasis on what sort of 

person is on television has been a 

distraction from much more urgent 

matters. 

Imagine an America that gets the 

awards shows exactly right but in 

which, for example, mass incarceration 

or the internment of asylum seekers 

just ticks right along, or in which 

income inequality grows or residential 

segregation remains unchanged. It's 

easy if you try: That's liable to be the 

CrisPiN sArTwell 

reality of 2020. And 2030. 

Racial and gender hierarchies are 

structural and material. They have to do 

with differential access to power and 

resources, along with the daily privilege 

that attends them. These could 

continue even in the face of a 

representationally perfect movie 

industry, I'm afraid, and I expect that 

we will prove that by experiment. 

The 'social realism' experiment 

Rarely, I think, does history teach 

clear lessons that can be 

straightforwardly applied to present 

circumstances. But history has actually 

shown that representations do not 

create reality. The Soviet Union 

imposed a single style in the visual arts 

and enforced it for decades. Known as 

"socialist realism," it relentlessly 

depicted strong, dignified workers, 

their shining eyes gazing upon a 

transformed future. To a large extent, 

the Soviet Communist Party achieved 

and enforced a monopoly on all media 

to portray the world as the party wished 

it to be, or at least as it wished other 

people to think it was. That didn't make 

the forced collectivisation of 

agriculture, in which millions of these 

same workers were displaced, 

dispossessed, starved and executed, 

hurt any less. 

Stalin annexed thousands of 

totally or partially, at least 24 hours 

before arrival. Payment may be made 

each day or at the end of the stay. 

There has been much discussion 

about women, whether Saudi nationals 

or expatriates, being prevented from 

booking hotels without a male 

guardian. In fact, the law explicitly 

states that women may be 

accommodated without the presence of 

a guardian. 

Inspection committees play an 

important role in ensuring the quality 

of accommodation and the conduct of 

all parties, including guests. A special 

committee examines any irregularities 

and issues a fine where appropriate. 

This can be challenged with an appeal 

to the chairman of the General 

Authority for Tourism and Heritage, 

and if necessary by a further appeal to 

the Board of Grievances. 

The strict enforcement of these rules 

and regulations by all parties 

contributes to attracting investments 

that raise the value and quality of the 

hospitality sector in line with the 

Kingdom's development strategies and 

aspirations. 

Source : Arab news 

The Oscars and the illusion of perfect representation 

Awards shows like the Oscars have become central battlegrounds in the 

representation wars, partly because they have relatively large audiences 

and symbolise "mainstream" culture: To win a Grammy or an Oscar 

signals a certain sort of cultural currency. The shows thus get read as 

capsules of the entire culture, and every aspect of their presentation 

gets evaluated demographically - from nominees and winners, 

presenters and performers, speeches and the audience in the 

auditorium, right down to Katy Perry's shoes. 

filmmakers, novelists, painters, 

dancers, musicians and architects to his 

project of embodying a more just and 

equal world, and sent those who 

wouldn't help to the gulag. That made, 

for example, his ethnic cleansing of 

Chechnya hard for people elsewhere to 

know about, much less criticise. But it 

definitely did not make it not happen. 

Many other sorts of regimes, from 

theocracies to military juntas, have 

tried similar approaches. The 

contribution of all that activity to 

producing the envisioned world has 

been considerably less than zero. It 

makes the brutal reality a bit harder to 

see, without ameliorating it in the 

slightest. 

Now, Stalin is not an awards show. 

But as everyone knows, images can 

falsify as well as depict reality; they can 

mislead as well as inspire. On the other 

hand, to say that Black Panther is a 

falsification of reality is to say 

something that is obvious and 

ridiculous: It is a superhero fantasy 

rendered by CGI, after all. It can't 

magically transform any of us, much 

less all of us, though it could provide a 

diverting entertainment and raise some 

interesting questions, maybe primarily 

about the history of movies. 

To a very large extent, American 

media have portrayed a kind of racial 

paradise since the 1960s. Only a few 

extreme racists continue to use the 

direct slurs, and no one does so on 

television. Sesame Street and more or 

less every other children's programme 

have taught uplifting racial lessons for 

decades. White people came to believe 

by this means that we were not racists, 

because we did not produce or approve 

the prohibited representations. 

Meanwhile, the racism ticked right on 

at a structural level, but it became 

harder to identify and attribute. 

Source : Gulf news

HEALTH THURSDAY, 

Diagnosing diabetes 

through a flashing of light 

FEbRUARY 28, 2019 

5 

Clare Wilson 

Shining a light onto the skin 

could become a new test to 

see if people are in the 

earliest stages of diabetes 

and heart disease. The 

approach may offer a way of 

screening people for these 

health conditions that's 

quicker and easier than 

current methods that 

include blood tests, and 

assessing risk factors such as 

people's weight and family 

history. 

The method works 

because glucose in blood 

and other bodily fluids can 

randomly stick to many 

There's a quick new way to check for diabetes. 

different protein molecules 

in skin and other tissues. 

"It's like glue," says Bruce 

Wolffenbuttel of the 

University of Groningen in 

the Netherlands. 

These "glycated" proteins, 

known as advanced 

glycation end products, or 

AGEs, make for stiffer 

tissues, including blood 

vessel walls, which 

Photo: Piotr Rulka 

contributes to high blood 

pressure. The accumulation 

of AGEs in our tissues 

happens naturally as we age 

but is accelerated in people 

with diabetes, or those who 

are in the earliest stages of 

the condition but haven't yet 

been diagnosed. 

AGE levels can be 

measured within skin, 

because they reflect 

fluorescent light differently 

to non-glycated proteins. A 

small handheld device called 

an AGE reader has been 

developed by a Dutch firm 

called Diagnoptics; it shines 

a fluorescent light onto the 

skin and detects what 

bounces back. 

Wolffenbuttel's team 

made AGE testing part of a 

large 30-year study in the 

Netherlands looking at 

health and disease in 

ageing. This part of the 

study looked at about 

70,000 participants who 

were free of diabetes and 

heart disease at the outset 

and had AGE testing. 

Four years later, those 

with a high AGE value at 

the start had a higher risk 

of developing either 

diabetes or heart disease. 

This suggests the test could 

be used in population 

screening for these 

conditions, says 

Wolffenbuttel, perhaps in 

non-medical settings like 

supermarkets. 

However sceptics of 

screening say no such tests 

should be introduced without 

large trials showing they do 

more good than harm. There 

might be risks of the 

screening misdiagnosing 

diabetes in healthy people, 

which could see people 

wrongly encouraged to take 

medications that can have 

unpleasant side effects. 

What begins in the appendix might end up in the brain. 

Photo: SCIEPRO 

Parkinson’s disease: From 

appendix to the brain 

Health Desk 

Parkinson's disease may start in the 

appendix, not the brain. People are less 

likely to get the condition if they had 

their appendix out decades previously. 

And a toxic compound found in the 

brains of people with this disease has 

now been spotted in the appendix. 

Parkinson's, a degenerative condition 

involving tremors and stiffness, has 

long been thought to stem from the 

death of brain cells, caused by build up 

of a protein called synuclein that 

normally plays a role in nerve 

signalling. 

In people with Parkinson's, synuclein 

is found in clumps that kill off nerve 

cells in parts of the brain controlling 

movement. When synuclein starts to 

aggregate in one place, the clumping 

spreads along nerves in a chain 

reaction. Evidence has been growing 

that this process may begin in nerves of 

the gut. For instance, if clumped 

synuclein is injected into the gut of 

mice, the toxic aggregates spread to 

their brains. 

Some previous studies have singled 

out the appendix as a key player in the 

onset of Parkinson's. But research 

exploring whether having your 

appendix out protects against 

Parkinson's has given contradictory 

results. The operation seems to be 

linked with a short-term slightly 

increased risk of the condition, but a 

lower risk over the longer term. 

So Viviane Labrie of the Van Andel 

Research Institute in Michigan, tackled 

the question with the largest and 

longest study to date, looking at the 

healthcare records of 1.6 million 

Swedish people over 52 years. Those 

who'd had their appendix out as young 

adults had nearly a 20 per cent lower 

chance of developing Parkinson's in 

later life. 

Labrie's team also looked at 48 

appendixes taken from people with and 

without Parkinson's and found that in 

nearly all there was clumped synuclein 

in the organ's nerve fibres. This "could 

act as a seed for the disease in the 

brain," says Labrie. But it's still 

unknown why this only happens in 

some people. 

Our genes determine 

whether to prefer tea 

or coffee 

Alice Klein 

Whether you prefer 

drinking tea or coffee may 

come down to your genes. 

Tea and coffee contain bitter 

components that contribute 

to their pleasant taste. Both 

drinks contain bitter-tasting 

caffeine, while coffee 

contains another bitter 

molecule called quinine, 

which is also found in tonic 

water. 

Previous research has 

found that people taste 

bitter flavours like caffeine, 

quinine and an artificial 

substance 

called 

propylthiouracil differently 

according to the types of 

taste receptor genes they 

have. To find out if this 

variation influences 

preference for tea or coffee, 

Daniel Hwang at the 

University of Queensland in 

Australia and his colleagues 

studied the relationship 

between taste receptor 

genes and tea and coffee 

consumption in over 

430,000 men and women 

aged 37 to 73 in the UK. 

The participants with 

gene variants that made 

them taste caffeine more 

strongly were 20 per cent 

more likely than the average 

person to be heavy coffee 

drinkers, meaning they 

drank more than 4 cups per 

day. 

At the same time, these 

caffeine "super-tasters" 

were less likely to drink tea, 

says Hwang. This may be 

because people who are 

better at detecting caffeine 

are more prone to becoming 

addicted to its stimulant 

effects, and coffee contains 

more caffeine than tea. "But 

future studies are needed to 

investigate this," says 

Hwang. 

In contrast, participants 

with gene variants that 

made them more sensitive 

to the tastes of quinine and 

propylthiouracil were 4 and 

9 per cent more likely than 

the average person to be 

heavy tea drinkers 

respectively, meaning they 

drank more than 5 cups per 

day. They were also less 

likely to drink coffee. 

It's unclear why this is the 

case, but it may be because 

super-tasters of quinine and 

propylthiouracil - which are 

both more bitter than 

caffeine - are more sensitive 

to bitter tastes overall. As a 

result, they may find the 

intense bitterness of coffee 

overwhelming and prefer 

the gentler bitterness of tea, 

Hwang says. 

Your hot beverage preferences may be affected by your genes. 

Photo: Dimitri Otis 

A mindfulness class at an English school in the UK. 

Mindfulness lessons help students 

boost productivity 

Rob Walker 

English Martyrs Catholic primary 

school in Litherland is a stone's 

throw from one of Merseyside's 

most notorious areas for gangs and 

gun crime, and most children at the 

school have been affected by the 

violence. 

It is an unlikely place, perhaps, to 

find a thriving mindfulness teaching 

programme. But English Martyrs is 

one of a growing number of schools 

in deprived parts of Britain that are 

embracing meditation techniques to 

help vulnerable children cope. 

"We see a lot of pressure put on 

children's shoulders due to family 

circumstances, parents losing their 

jobs, financial stress, anxiety about 

crime, fear about homelessness," 

said headteacher Lewis Dinsdale. 

"Children internalise things, but 

what mindfulness has done is 

bring a number of quieter children 

to the surface - children who we'd 

never have known were going 

through such anxiety and stress at 

home. They haven't wanted to 

speak to their mum and dad about 

it but it's coming out in these 

sessions." 

One nine-year-old-boy confided 

that "petal breathing" - where the 

children open and close their fingers 

in time with their breath - helped 

him to forget about "all the scary 

stuff". "If I concentrate on my 

breathing, the worrying thoughts 

just go 'pop' and disappear," he said. 

Nationally, the Mindfulness in 

Schools Project said it had trained 

nearly 2,000 teachers this year, a 

jump of 40% on last year, and much 

of that growth came from schools 

with higher than average 

proportions of vulnerable children. 

But for cash-strapped schools, it's 

not cheap. Dinsdale said that he had 

to find £2,500 to train one member 

of staff. "As a head teacher you're 

always looking at the bottom line, 

and that's a lot of money," he said. 

The investment had paid off, he 

said, not just helping with children's 

mental health but improving their 

academic performance too. He 

described how some children used 

to have panic attacks when sitting 

Sats. One girl had been physically 

sick on her test paper. He was critical 

of Ofsted inspectors for not being 

more tuned in to the benefits of 

mindfulness. "It's frustrating 

because it isn't a box that they have 

to tick," he said. 

Dinsdale has been so convinced by 

the positive effect that the school has 

now introduced mindfulness 

workshops for parents too. "Some 

mums and dads are at breaking 

point and they're taking it out on the 

children. They don't know who to 

turn to," he said. The Raise the 

Photo: Collected 

Youth Foundation in Bolton, a 

non-profit independent school, 

teaches children who have been 

excluded from the education system. 

Many of them have suffered abuse, 

lived on the streets and been in and 

out of foster care. "We are their last 

hope," said Jason Steele, the school's 

founder. 

He said that the school brought 

mindfulness into the curriculum two 

years ago, though at the time he was 

far from convinced that it would 

have any significant effect. "I 

thought they'd be playing up," he 

said. "But what's surprised me is that 

all of them have taken something 

from it, some more than others." 

Steele said children at his school 

were probably among the most 

difficult young people to care for 

because they were used to pushing 

people away. Mindfulness, though, 

had built their self-esteem and was 

now a hugely positive force in their 

lives. 

"It's helping them to engage with 

the present rather than worrying 

about the future or blaming the past 

for everything," he said. Many of the 

teenagers have missed years of 

schooling; most have never sat 

exams before. He said that before 

mindfulness became part of the 

curriculum, they would do 

everything they could to avoid taking 

tests.

NATIONAL 

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2019 

6 

Vice-Chancellor of Barishal University Professor Dr SM Imamul Haque inaugurated the newly 

constructed Hindu religious temple at the university on Wednesday. 


Hindu religious temple inaugurated 

in Barishal University 

Vice-Chancellor of Barishal University Professor Dr SM 

Imamul Haque inaugurated the newly constructed Hindu 

religious temple at Barishal University on Wednesday. A the 

occasion, Deans, Registrar, Proctors, Provosts, Departmental 

Chairmen, Directors, Office Heads, Students, Officers and 

Employees of various faculties were also present, a press 

release said. 

After the inauguration ceremony, Vice Chancellor said that 

Upazila poll 

campaign gets 

momentum in 

Narsingdi 

NARSINGDI: Upazila poll 

campaign is getting 

momentum in Narsingdi 

district, reports BSS. 

A total of 16 candidates for 

upazila chairman post, 25 

male candidates for male 

vice chairman and 17 female 

candidates for female vice 

chairman post have 

submitted their nomination 

paper to upazila returning 

officers in the ensuing 

upazila election in Narsingdi 

district. 

In Narsingdi Sadar upazila 

3 candidates for chairman 

post, 3 candidates for male 

vice chairman post and 2 

women for female vice 

chairman post submitted 

their nomination paper. 

Among the three 

chairman candidates Aftab 

Uddin Bhuiyan got 

nomination, on the other 

hand Shofar Ali Bhuiyan 

and Anowar Hossain are 

contesting as independent 

candidates. 

In Polash upazilla one for 

chairman post, one for male 

vice chairman and one for 

female vice chairman post 

are contesting. The only 

chairman candidate is AL 

nominated and incumbent 

chairman Sayed Javed 

Hossain. In Shibpur upazilla 

3 candidates for chairman 






The three Chairman 

candidates are AL 

nominated Harun-or- 

Rashid president of Shibpur 

upazilla Awami League. The 

two other candidetes are 

incumbent chairman Ariful 

Islam Mirdha and Toffazal 

Hossain (VP tofazzal). 

In Monohardi upazilla 3 

candidates for chairman 






The three chairman 

candidates are AL 

nominated and incumbent 

chairman Saiful Islam Biru, 

independent candidate 

Habibur Raham Rongu and 


Nazmul Hoque. 

In Belabo upazilla 2 

candidates for chairman 





their nomination paper. The 

two Chairman candidates 

are AL nominated Shamser 

Zaman Riton and 


Rana Chowdhury. 

Bangladesh is a nation based state and there is no religious 

minority in this state. The minorities are those who are living 

in Bangladesh and cannot speak in Bengali and cannot 

properly pronounce Bangla language properly. Bangladesh is 

a non-communal state. No other citizens around the world 

have this beautiful relation among each other like 

Bangladesh. So there is no room for anyone to live in 

Bangladesh as a minority. 

Farewell programme for CBA 

leader held in Kishoreganj 

Shah Md. Sarwar Jahan, Kishoreganj Correspondent: A farewell, discussion meeting and gift 

distribution programme for retired CBA leader was held in BADC CBA auditorium in 

Kishoreganj Sadar on Tuesday. 

Acting CBA President Md. Touhid Ahmed charied the occasion while Former Accountant 

Freedom Fighter Md. Abdul Mannan conducted the programme. 

Bangladesh Awami League Kishoreganj District Labour Affiars Secretary and Sramik 

League President ABM Sirajul Islam was the chief guest while among others, Joint Director 

(Fertilizer) Firoz Ahmed, Superintendent Engineer BADC (Irrigation) Pankaj Karmaker, 

Deputy Director (Seed) Md. Humayun Kabir, Executive Engineer (Micro Irrigation) Md. 

Mosaraf Hossain Bhuiyan, CBA Vice-President Md. Basir Uddin, Md. Nasirul Islam, General 

Secretary Kamruzzaman Biddut and Office Secretary Shah Abu Rasel were also present and 

spoke on the occasion. 

A farewell, discussion meeting and gift distribution programme for retired 

CBA leader was held in Kishoreganj Sadar on Tuesday. 

Photo: Shah Md. Sarwar Jahan 

A human chain was formed at Kanurampur Bazar of Nandail Upazila on 

Mymensingh- Kishoregonj highway on Wednesday morning, protesting 

against the killer of Moazzempur Union Awami league President Morshed 

Ali and demanded to arrest the culprits immediately and cancel bail of 

arrestee. Protesters handed over a memorandum to the Home Minister 

through OC (Investigation) Mr. Ruhul Kuddus Khan of Nandail Model 

Thana. It is to be Nnoted that Morshed Ali on was killed by some miscreants 

when he was going to his home 1st February. Photo: Arabinda Paul 

Mizanur Rahman Chakdar 

Mizanur Rahman 

again elected president 

of Habiganj PBS Board 

of Directors 

Mamun Chowdhury, 

Habiganj Correspondent: 

The 35th Annual Member 

meeting of Habiganj Palli 

Bidyut Samity was held on 

23 February. After the 

meeting the election of 

Habiganj Palli Bidyut 

Samity Board of Directors 

was held in the presence of 

all the directors. 

In the election, Mizanur 

Rahman Chakdar was 

elected as the President, 

Nowrujul Islam Chowdhury 

elected as the Vice- 

President, Mst Shumi 

Begum elected as the 

Secretary and Musa Mia was 

elected as the Treasurer. 

It is to be noted that due to 

honest work, Mizanur 

Rahman Chakdar was 

elected president of Board of 

Directors for the second 

time. 

According to sources, 

since taking responsibility 

Mizanur Rahman Chakdar 

is working unselfishly for the 

welfare of the grassroots 

electricity customers and 

that's why the customers are 

benefited. 

He said that I am here to 

provide service. He 

conveyed his gratitude to 

everyone for electing him as 

the president for the second 

time. I would like to work 

with Samity and society for 

the benefit of everyone. For 

this, he seeks blessings of all. 

32 held in 

Dinajpur 

special drive 

DINAJPUR: Law 

enforcers, in special drives 

arrested 32 persons 

including 13 drug traders 

from different areas of the 

district in 12-hour ending at 

8am last morning, reports 

BSS. 

Law enforcers also seized 

100 bottles of Phensidyl 

and 3,500 pieces of Yaba 

tablets during the drives. 

Police said they were 

picked up from different 

areas of the district on 

different charges. 

During the drives, 

Dinajpur Sadar police 

arrested 11 persons 

including eight drug traders 

along with 500 pieces of 

Yaba tablets and 100 

bottles of Phensidyl, 

Birganj Thana police 

arrested two persons, 

Birampur Thana police 


Phulbari Thana police 

arrested three persons, 

Parbatipur Thana police 

arrested four persons, 

Ghoraghat Thana police 


Kaharole Thana police 

arrested two persons and 

Nawabganj Thana police 

arrested one person. 

Several cases, including 

charges of subversive 

activities, are pending with 

different police stations 

against the arrested 

persons, the sources added. 

Meanwhile, members of 

Border Guard Bangladesh 

(BGB) in a drive detained 

five drug traders along with 

3,000 pieces of Yaba tablets 

around 6am from Hili 

Railway Station in 

Hakimpur upazila of the 

district. 

Later, the detained 

persons were handed over 

to the Hakimpur Thana 

police, BGB said. 

The arrested persons 

were sent to jail. 

KCC holds meeting to resolve 

waterlogging and make city clean 

Titash Chakbraborthy, Khulna Correspondent: A coordination meeting between 

NGOs working in Khulna Metropolitan area and Conservancy Division of KCC was held in 

Shaheed Altaf Auditorium in Khulna on Wednesday to resolve waterlogging and make the 

city clean and beautiful during rainy season. The meeting was presided over by Khulna City 

Corporation Mayor Talukder Abdul Khalek. 

At the meeting it was decided to identify waterlogging issues in the monsoon season, 

providing plastic bins in the business institutions and office-court, providing notice to house 

owners 2 months before stopping connection of the septic tank in drain and distributing 

awareness leaflets to develop cleanliness in the city. 

KCC mayor in his speech emphasized the need for working in coordination with the KCC 

Conservancy Division and the NGOs. The mayor said that the responsible officers and 

employees employed in this work should be more devoted. There will be no excuse for 

building a clean city, and if anyone is involved in any wrongdoing, then he warned that strict 

measures will be taken against them. 

At the meeting KCC Chief Revenue Officer Md. Abdur Rahman, Chief Waste Department 

Officer Engineer Md. Abdul Aziz, Dr MA Ali, Assistant Conservation Officer of KCC 

Nurunnahar Ani, Md. Abdur Rakib, Md. Ziaur Rahman and Director Niamul Karim were 

among others also present at the occasion. 

Khulna City Corporation Mayor Talukder Abdul Khalek on Wednesday 

chaired a coordination meeting to resolve waterlogging and make the city 

clean and beautiful during monsoon season in Khulna. 

Photo: Titash Chakraborthy 

Vocational training for 

employments of ethnic 

youths stressed 

RANGPUR: Officials at an orientation 

meeting have stressed on providing 

vocational training to ethnic youths on 

different trades to turn them into skilled 

workforce for their employments both at 

home and abroad, reports BSS. 

The district administration jointly with 

Rangpur Technical Training Centre (TTC), 

Practical Action Bangladesh and RDRS 

Bangladesh organised the meeting at 

conference room of Rangpur TTC on 

Tuesday afternoon, a press release said 

yesterday. 

Deputy Commissioner Enamul Habib 

addressed the meeting as the chief guest with 

Principal of Rangpur TTC Engineer Md. 

Lutfar Rahman in the chair. Pirganj Upazila 

Nirbahi Officer TMA Momin, Divisional 

Manager of Practical Acting Bangladesh 

Mohammad Nehal Azmat Mohi, its 

Education Specialist Rafikul Islam and Vicepresident 

of NNMC Partho Bose were 

present as special guests. 

Fifty male and female youths of the ethnic 

minority communities of Kadirabad union in 

Pirganj upazila of Rangpur attended the 

orientation meeting. Earlier, the Deputy 

Commissioner with ethnic youths visited 

activities of Rangpur TTC where technical 

and vocational training courses are being on 

22 technical and vocational courses under 

eight trades to produce skilled human 

workforce. 

Engineer Rahman said around 18,000 

youths were admitted at Rangpur TTC that 

has produced 16,000 skilled youth human 

workforces on 22 technical and vocational 

courses under eight trades and some 2,000 

youths are currently undergoing training. 

"About 12,000 of the trained youths have 

been employed at local and foreign 

industries, factories, offices and enterprises 

and around 6,650 of them, including over 

2,400 female youths, are working abroad in 

seventeen countries," he said. 

"On completion of courses at Rangpur 

TTC, many local employing industries, 

factories and organisations are directly 

appointing the trained workforce and 

overseas employment recruiting agencies 

appointing them in foreign countries," 

Rahman added. 

The Deputy Commissioner said the 

government is working relentlessly to ensure 

inclusive development of people, including 

backward ethnic communities, on way to 

attain the sustainable development goals by 

2030. 

"After completing training on different 

technical and vocational courses as per their 

own choice at Rangpur TTC, the ethnic 

youths would get jobs both at home and 

abroad to change their fortune and 

contribute to national progress," he said. 

Five clinics fined 

Tk 57,000 in Jaldhaka 

Hafizur Rahman, Jaldhaka Correspondent: Mobile court on Tuesday fined five clinics due to 

various irregularities in the Jaldhaka. Executive Magistrate Md Shujaudollah led the mobile 

court in the municipal city. 

In the operation Day-Night clinic was fined Tk 40,000, Sotota clinic was fined Tk 5,000, 

Square clinic was fined Tk 5,000, Alamin clinic was fined Tk 5,000 and Jaldhaka general 

hospital was fined Tk 2,000 due to various irregularities. During the operation, Magistrate 

Dr. Mahabub Hasan, Zohra Sultana Jothi, Rab-13 SP Nazmus Shakib and Upazila Health and 

Family Planning Officer Dr.ZA Siddiki were among others also present. 

A mobile court led by Executive Magistrate Md Shujaudollah fined five 

clinics due to various irregularities in Jaldhaka on Tuesday. 

Photo: Hafizur Rahman

INTERNATIONAL THURSdAy, 

FEBRUARy 28, 2019 

7 

Nigeria's president was declared the clear winner of a second term in Africa's largest democracy early 

Wednesday, after a campaign in which he urged voters to give him another chance to tackle gaping corruption, 

widespread insecurity and an economy limping back from a rare recession. 

Photo : AP 

Nigeria's president is re-elected, 

but challenger rejects it 

Nigeria's president was declared the 

clear winner of a second term in 

Africa's largest democracy early 

Wednesday, after a campaign in which 

he urged voters to give him another 

chance to tackle gaping corruption, 

widespread insecurity and an economy 

limping back from a rare recession, 

reports UNB. 

While many frustrated Nigerians had 

said they wanted to give someone new 

a try, President Muhammadu Buhari , a 

former military dictator, profited from 

his upright reputation in an oil-rich 

nation weary of politicians enriching 

themselves instead of the people. 

Top opposition candidate Atiku 

Abubakar, a billionaire former vice 

president who made sweeping campaign 

promises to "make Nigeria work 

again," quickly rejected the result of 

what he called a "sham election" and 

said he would challenge it in court. 

Speaking shortly after the announcement 

of the official results and as many 

Nigerians awakened to the morning 

prayer, Buhari told colleagues that he 

was "deeply humbled" by the win. He 

also said he regretted the loss of dozens 

of lives in election-related violence. 

"I will like to make a special appeal to 

my supporters not to gloat or humiliate 

the opposition. Victory is enough 

reward for your efforts," Buhari said. 

He pledged that in his second term, 

his administration "will intensify its 

efforts in security, restructuring the 

economy and fighting corruption. ... 

We will strive to strengthen our unity 

LEGO set for China 

expansion over solid 

growth outlook 

Danish toy giant LEGO is 

looking for a bigger presence 

in China to reach out to and 

educate more kids by building 

on the robust growth of 

the emerging market, 

reports UNB. 

"China is a strategic 

growth market, and we will 

continue to expand our local 

presence both online and 

offline," said LEGO Group 

CEO Niels Christiansen. 

The Chinese market registered 

strong double-digit 

revenue growth in 2018 as 

the firm expanded business 

in more cities and on e-commerce, 

digital and physical 

platforms, according to the 

group's financial performance 

report released 

Wednesday. 

After a difficult year in 

2017, the group saw its 2018 

growth back on track. Global 

consumer sales grew three 

percent year on year, while 

revenue and operating profit 

both expanded four percent 

to reach 36.4 billion Danish 

Krones (about 550 billion 

U.S. dollars) and 10.8 billion 

Danish Krones respectively. 

The Denmark-headquartered 

family business 

opened its first Beijing flagship 

retail outlet last Friday 

in downtown Wangfujing 

with customers queuing up 

for hours, marking "the 

most successful opening in 

Lego store's history," 

according to Christiansen. 

LEGO has seen steady 

growth in the Chinese market 

since it entered the country 

over two decades ago. It 

opened its first retail flagship 

outlet in Asia in Shanghai 

in 2016 and another in 

2018. 

India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. 

and inclusiveness so that no section or 

group will feel left behind or left out." 

In a statement shared by aides, 

Abubakar said he would have conceded 

"within seconds" if the vote had been 

free and fair, but instead he alleged 

"manifest and premeditated malpractices" 

in many of Nigeria's 36 states. 

He asserted that voting was suppressed 

in his strongholds in the south 

and that states where an extremist 

insurgency continues generated "much 

higher voter turnouts" than in peaceful 

ones. He objected to the deployment of 

the military in some areas. 

Court challenges are nothing new in 

Nigeria, where Buhari himself doggedly 

fought his past election losses for 

months, in vain. The president's colleagues 

had made clear they expected a 

challenge to this vote. 

"There's no opposition that will roll 

over and play dead. Anybody that lost 

an election will always complain," 

Hameed Ali, the ruling party agent 

attending the vote declaration, told 

reporters. 

Buhari's supporters began dancing in 

the streets of the capital, Abuja, on 

Tuesday night as vote counting 

stretched his lead from the weekend 

election to nearly 4 million votes over 

Abubakar. 

Buhari received 15.1 million votes, or 

55 percent, the electoral commission 

said in making its official declaration. 

Abubakar received 11.2 million, or 41 

percent. The average national turnout 

was 35.6 percent, continuing a downward 

trend. 

Buhari's party on Tuesday rejected 

Abubakar's earlier allegations of 

manipulation of the results. It called on 

Abubakar, who hasn't made a public 

appearance since Saturday's election, 

to accept his loss gracefully and concede. 

"Let this nation move forward," 

campaign spokesman Babatunde 

Fashola said. 

The election, once described as too 

close to call, suffered from a surprise 

weeklong postponement and significant 

delays in the opening of polling 

stations. While election observers 

called the process generally peaceful, at 

least 53 people were killed in an attack 

claimed by the Islamic State West 

Africa Province extremist group and 

other violence, analysis unit SBM Intelligence 

said. 

A former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, 

John Campbell, has said the troubled 

election gives the candidates grounds 

to go to the courts. 

Many Nigerians have prayed for 

peace during the unexpectedly drawnout 

election process. Some spoke 

approvingly of the 2015 vote, when 

President Goodluck Jonathan took the 

unprecedented step of conceding to 

Buhari before official results were 

announced. It was the first defeat of an 

incumbent president by the opposition 

in the country's history. 

Now Nigerians, who have been 

praised for their patience and resilience 

in this bumpy vote, are settling in for a 

court battle. 

India not looking for escalation 

with Pakistan 

India says it does not wish to see a further 

escalation of the situation with Pakistan and 

will continue to act with responsibility and 

restraint, reports UNB. 

This shortly after Pakistani police said 

mortar shells fired by Indian troops from 

across the frontier in the Himalayan region 

of Kashmir killed six civilians on Wednesday. 

India's External Affairs Minister Sushma 

Swaraj says the limited objective of Tuesday's 

pre-emptive strike inside Pakistan was 

to act decisively against the terrorist Jaish-e- 

Mohammad group to prevent another attack 

in India. 

Swaraj spoke at the 16th Meeting of the 

foreign ministers of Russia, India and China 

in Wuzhen, China. Pakistan-based Jaish-e- 

Mohammad group claimed responsibility for 

a suicide attack on a convoy of India's paramilitary 

forces in the Indian portion of Kashmir 

on Feb. 14 that killed 40 troops. 

Pakistan said there were no casualties in 

India's airstrike near the town of Balakot on 

Tuesday. 

Pakistani police say mortar shells fired by 

Indian troops from across the frontier in the 

Himalayan region of Kashmir struck homes, 

killing six civilians and wounding several 

others amid increasing tensions between the 

two South Asian nuclear rivals. 

Local police official Mohammad Altaf says 

six people, including children, were killed 

Wednesday in Kotli village in Pakistan's part 

of Kashmir, which is split between Pakistan 

and India and claimed by both in its entirety. 

Pakistani and Indian troops deployed in 

Kashmir often trade fire. 

The latest civilian casualties came a day 

after tensions escalated sharply following a 

pre-dawn airstrike by India that New Delhi 

said targeted a terrorist training camp in 

northwest Pakistan. 

Pakistan says Indian warplanes dropped 

bombs near the town of Balakot but there 

were no casualties. 

Photo: Collected 

Russia presses 

case for greater 

control over its 

internet 

The Kremlin spokesman 

says reports that the U.S. 

military carried out a cyberattack 

in Russia ahead of the 

U.S. midterm elections 

proves that the country 

needs to create its own, selfcontrolled 

segment of the 

internet, reports UNB. 

Russia's parliament this 

month passed the first reading 

of a bill that proposes all 

internet traffic be routed 

through servers in Russia. 

Opponents fear the measure 

would lead to widespread 

censorship. 

Dmitry Peskov was reacting 

on Wednesday to a 

recent report in The Washington 

Post that quoted 

unnamed U.S. officials as 

saying that the U.S. military 

remotely blocked internet 

access to a Russian "troll factory" 

ahead of the 2018 

midterm elections. 

Several of the troll farm's 

employees have been indicted 

in the United States. 

Macron, Merkel 

to hold talks on 

Brexit and other 

EU issues 

German Chancellor Angela 

Merkel is heading to Paris to 

meet with French President 

Emmanuel Macron to discuss 

Brexit, relations with 

the United States and other 

European issues, reports 

UNB. 

Wednesday's meeting 

comes one day after British 

Prime Minister Theresa May 

said Parliament would get 

the chance to vote to delay 

Britain's scheduled March 

29 departure from the European 

Union. Such a delay 

would require other EU 

members' approval. 

Merkel and Macron will 

also evoke the French-German 

defense partnership, 

according to the French 

president's office. 

The leaders in January 

signed a pact renewing their 

countries' decades-long 

friendship. They pledged to 

increase cooperation in the 

areas of foreign and defense 

policy, fighting crime and 

terrorism, international 

development and research. 

Helicopter with 

Nepal tourism 

minister, 5 others 

crashes 

A helicopter with six people 

on board including Nepal's 

tourism minister crashed in 

bad weather Wednesday in 

the country's mountainous 

region, officials said, reports 

UNB. 

Government administrator 

Gita Kamari Rai said the 

helicopter went down on a 

mountain and rescuers were 

making their way there on 

foot. Some villagers had 

reached the crash site, but 

the condition of those 

aboard was not immediately 

clear. 

Rai, who is based at Taplejung 

District in the northeastern 

region of Nepal, said 

it was snowing and raining 

at the time of the crash. 

Tourism Minister 

Rabindra Adhikari and civil 

aviation officials were 

among the passengers. 

Adhikari, 49, became the 

tourism minister in March 

2018 after the Nepal Communist 

Party won parliamentary 

elections. 

The rescue coordination 

office at the Kathmandu airport 

said a rescue helicopter 

had been sent to the area but 

weather was making 

approach to the crash site, 

about 400 kilometers (250 

miles) east of Kathmandu, 

difficult. 

Iran’s president rejects resignation 

of his foreign minister 

Iran's president rejected the resignation of 

his foreign minister on Wednesday, throwing 

his full support behind the diplomat who 

negotiated the country's nuclear deal with 

world powers as both men face growing 

pressure from hard-liners as the accord 

unravels under American pressure, reports 

UNB. 

President Hassan Rouhani earlier gave a 

speech praising Mohammad Javad Zarif 

after the foreign minister's sudden resignation 

shocked the Islamic Republic late on 

Monday night. His rejection of the resignation, 

reported by the state-run IRNA news 

agency, continued that praise. 

"Since I consider you in the front line of 

resistance against broad pressures by the 

U.S., I consider acceptance of your resignation 

against the expedience of the country 

and I do not agree with it," Rouhani reportedly 

told Zarif. 

Zarif responded the same way he offered 

his shock resignation: Via Instagram. 

"I hope that the Foreign Ministry, with 

coordination of all and supervision of the 

supreme leader and the president, will be 

able to carry out its responsibilities rigorously 

in the framework of constitution, law and 

general policies of the system," Zarif wrote in 

a caption overlaid on a waving Iranian flag. 

He later was shown on state television at an 

event with visiting Armenian Prime Minister 

Nikol Pashinyan, signaling his return to 

work. 

It remains unclear what sparked Zarif's 

resignation. However, it came after Zarif was 

not present for a meeting with Syrian President 

Bashar Assad on Monday. Assad was 

warmly received by Supreme Leader Ayatollah 

Ali Khamenei as well as Gen. Qassem 

Soleimani, the commander of an elite unit of 

the Revolutionary Guard. 

The Guard's website later quoted 

Soleimani as offering his support to the foreign 

minister. 

"Definitely, Zarif is in charge of foreign policy 

of the Islamic Republic of Iran and he has 

been always supported by top officials 

including the supreme leader," Soleimani 

reportedly said. 

Analysts say Rouhani faces growing political 

pressure from hard-liners within the government 

as the nuclear deal unravels. Iranian 

presidents typically see their popularity 

erode during their second four-year term, 

but analysts say Rouhani is particularly vulnerable 

because of the economic crisis assailing 

the rial, which has hurt ordinary Iranians 

and emboldened critics to openly call for his 

ouster. 

Iran's president rejected the resignation of his foreign minister on 

Wednesday, throwing his full support behind the diplomat who negotiated 

the country's nuclear deal with world powers as both men face growing 

pressure from hard-liners as the accord unravels under American 

pressure. 

Photo : AP 

China drafts rules on biotech 

after gene-editing scandal 

China has unveiled draft regulations on gene 

editing and other potentially risky biomedical 

technologies after a Chinese scientist's 

claim of helping to create gene-edited babies 

roiled the global science community, reports 

UNB. 

Under the proposed measures released 

Tuesday, technology involving gene editing, 

gene transfer and gene regulation would be 

categorized as "high-risk" and managed by 

the health department of the State Council, 

China's Cabinet. 

The measures follow assertions in November 

from scientist He Jiankui that he altered 

the DNA of twin girls born that month using 

a powerful new tool. The technology, called 

CRISPR-cas9, makes it possible to operate 

GD-338/19 (6 x 3) 

on DNA to supply a needed gene or disable 

one that's causing problems. 

The revelation that it may have been used 

to conceive children elicited widespread outcry 

over the procedure's ethical implications. 

Researchers said He's actions exposed the 

twins to unknown health risks, possibly 

including a higher susceptibility to viral illnesses. 

Gene editing for reproductive purposes 

is effectively banned in the U.S. and 

most of Europe. In China, ministerial guidelines 

prohibit research on embryos that "violates 

ethical or moral principles." Ethical 

guidelines published in 2003 say that gene 

editing is permitted for research, but that the 

experimental embryo cannot be nurtured for 

more than 14 days. 

Òwkÿv wb‡q Moe †`k 

†kL nvwmbvi evsjv‡`kÓ

ART & CULTURE 

tHUrSDAY, 

feBrUArY 28, 2019 

8 

Black Panther 

T'Challa, heir to the hidden but 

advanced kingdom of Wakanda, 

must step forward to lead his people 

into a new future and must confront a 

challenger from his country's past. 

Beyoncé and JAY-Z 

'Bow Down' to 

Genre : Action & Adventure, 

Drama, Science Fiction 

& Fantasy 

Directed By : Ryan Coogler 

Written By : Joe Robert Cole, Ryan 

Coogler 

Stars : Chadwick Boseman, 

Michael B. Jordan, 

Lupita Nyong'o 

In Theaters : Feb 16, 2018 wide 

On Disc/ : May 15, 2018 

Streaming 

Box Office : $501,105,037 

Runtime : 135 minutes 

Studio : Marvel Studios 

StorYline : 

After the events of Captain America: Civil War, Prince T'Challa 

returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African 

nation of Wakanda to serve as his country's new king. However, 

T'Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne from factions 

within his own country. When two foes conspire to destroy Wakanda, 

the hero known as Black Panther must team up with C.I.A. agent 

Everett K. Ross and members of the Dora Milaje, Wakandan special 

forces, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war. 

-IMDb 

Meghan Markle 

Beyoncé and JAY-Z were 

honored at the 2019 Brit 

Awards, taking home the 

prize for Best International 

Group. Although they didn't 

attend the ceremony at the 

O2 in London, the couple 

accepted their trophy via 

video message - with a surprise 

nod to none other 

than the Duchess of Sussex. 

In their acceptance 

speech, Beyoncé and JAY- 

Z recreate their music 

video for "APES-," in which 

they pose in front of 

Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona 

Lisa." However, in the 

world-famous painting's 

place is a portrait of 

Meghan donning a 

sparkling crown and pearl 

necklaces. "Thank you so 

much to the Brit awards for 

this incredible honor," 

Beyoncé says to the camera. 

"You guys have always 

been so supportive. 

Everything is love. Thank 

you." The rapper then 

replies, "You're welcome," 

and the duo turn to look at 

the portrait. 

The pop star then gave a 

short explanation of their 

reason for including the 

Meghan photo - and 

offered her congratulations 

on her royal mom-to-be 

status! "In honor of Black 

History Month, we bow 

down to one of our 

Melanated Monas," she 

wrote. "Congrats on your 

pregnancy! We wish you so 

much joy." 

The illustration, by artist 

Tim O'Brien, previously 

appeared on the cover of 

the alumnae magazine for 

Meghan's sorority, Kappa 

Kappa Gamma - but the 

artist appeared to be surprised 

to see his work in 

the acceptance speech. 

"Interesting to see my 

painting of Megan Markel 

behind @Beyonce and JZ 

for their Brit award. 

Congratulations to them 

both," he tweeted. 

Meghan, who is in New 

York City to celebrate her 

baby shower with some of 

her closest friends, has 

spoken in the past about 

the importance of acknowledging 

her biracial background. 

"While my mixed 

heritage may have created 

a grey area surrounding 

my self-identification, 

keeping me with a foot on 

both sides of the fence, I 

have come to embrace 

that," she wrote for Elle in 

2015. "To say who I am, to 

share where I'm from, to 

voice my pride in being a 

strong, confident mixedrace 

woman. That when 

asked to choose my ethnicity 

in a questionnaire as in 

my seventh grade class, or 

these days to check 'Other,' 

I simply say: Sorry, world, 

this is not Lost and I am 

not one of The Others. I am 

enough exactly as I am." 

-People.com 

Gwyneth Paltrow files 

countersuit in skiing case 

Gwyneth Paltrow is fighting back against a 

man who is accusing her of crashing into 

him and causing him serious injuries while 

skiing on a Utah mountain in 2016. Paltrow 

filed a countersuit on Wednesday against 

Terry Sanderson and in the documents 

obtained by CNN, the actress and GOOP 

founder claims that he skied into her. 

Paltrow "was enjoying skiing with her 

family on vacation in Utah, when Plaintiff 

-- who was uphill from Ms. Paltrow -- 

plowed into her back. She sustained a full 

'body blow.' Ms. Paltrow was angry with 

Plaintiff, and said so. Plaintiff apologized. 

She was shaken and upset, and quit skiing 

for the day even though it was still morning," 

the claim states. 

Sanderson filed a suit against Paltrow in 

January seeking $3.1 million dollars in 

damages. He claims that Paltrow "skied 

out of control," knocking him down, causing 

him serious injuries, including "a brain 

injury, four broken ribs and other serious 

injuries." But despite Sanderson stating 

that Paltrow then skied away, abandoning 

him on the side of the mountain, Paltrow's 

countersuit states that a Deer Valley 

Resort employee was present during the 

incident and determined that Sanderson 

had "taken [Paltrow] out from behind." 

Paltrow's ski instructor, Eric 

Christiansen, the resort and two unnamed 

resort employees are also listed as defendants 

in Sanderson's suit. A representative 

for Deer Valley told CNN they "will not 

comment on any pending legal matters of 

the resort or our guests." CNN has reached 

out to Christiansen and attorneys for 

Sanderson for comment. 

-CNN 

Chris Hemsworth to play Hulk 

Hogan in big-screen biopic 

H o roScoPe 

ArieS 

(March 21 - April 20) : A Venus-Pluto 

alignment can point to the chance to get 

over a hump or past an obstacle related 

to your long-term goals. You may get the opportunity 

to prove your commitment, or you could gain 

some recognition for your work or deeds. It's a fine 

day for professional influence or for feeling strong. 

tAUrUS 

(April 21 - May 21) : You may be feeling competitive, 

although this can even be with yourself 

-- you want to beat your own personal 

best! Your magnetic powers of attraction are strong, and 

you may suddenly have the courage to make a move 

you've wanted to make for some time. Connecting with a 

partner can be intense and exciting today. 

GeMini 

(May 22 - June 21) : Today suggests you 

might make some meaningful connections, 

whether this happens in person or 

on a mental level. You have a strong desire to know 

that your future is relatively secure and that achieving 

your goals will satisfy you in the long run. Information 

can be in the offing that supports your finances. 

cAncer 

(June 22 - July 23) : Tying up loose 

ends may be necessary before you feel 

right and confident about moving 

ahead. Also today, a Mercury aspect supports 

communicating in warm, positive ways. There can 

be news or information circulating about courses 

and opportunities that are likely to benefit you. 

leo 

(July 24 - Aug. 23) : The potential for 

breaking new ground regarding a 

work or health matter is strong. You 

might instead discover and pursue a true passion 

and the energy and love you put into whatever 

you're doing shows in the final product. Research 

efforts are rewarding, and you can genuinely 

enjoy getting to the bottom of a matter. 

VirGo 

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23) : As the day 

advances, you're likely to make your 

own luck. You might gain clarity 

through a conversation or a chance meeting with 

a friend. You may very well stumble upon some 

information that supports the development of a 

friendship or a feeling of belonging. 

liBrA 

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23) : If your relationships 

are felt to be satisfying, you can 

feel on top of the world, but if they're 

missing the mark, you can be deeply affected. 

Embrace an attitude of out with the old and in 

with the new on both material and emotional 

or spiritual levels for best results today. 

ScorPio 

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) : Work on emotional 

self-control today, but keep yourself 

busy. You are persuasive, and 

others want to get to know you. People are 

drawn to you magnetically as Venus and Pluto 

come together, and since this alignment occurs 

in your communications sector. 

SAGittAriUS 

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21) : New insights into money 

matters or business affairs can emerge. You 

may be getting over a hump related to money 

and time. You may get the opportunity to make full use or 

display of a resource or talent. You're more willing to seek 

and face the truth, and this helps you get to a place where 

you're ready to make vital and meaningful changes. 

cAPricorn 

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20) : Ideas are easy to 

come by, and for some of you, a useful 

connection may be made now 

that helps you put ideas into action. You may 

learn something exciting or valuable about a 

friendship or cherished project, so be sure to 

open up the lines of communication. 

AQUAriUS 

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) :It's a good time to do 

so, too, as reaching out to someone 

even just for information can leave you 

feeling delighted you did. You might come to an 

understanding of what is most valuable to you, and 

this can benefit both your personal interactions 

and business affairs. Information coming in related 

to finances or health can be most illuminating. 

PiSceS 

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : It's a good time for 

seeking out more understanding in a 

relationship, too, particularly with a 

friend. Connections may be made to people or information 

that helps you get in touch with your creative 

muse. This can also be a significant time for new 

information about a creative project or relationship. 

Chris Hemsworth is to take 

on the role of Hulk Hogan 

in a new biopic. According 

to the Hollywood Reporter, 

the as-yet-untitled film will 

come from Todd Phillips, 

director of The Hangover 

trilogy and the forthcoming 

DC Comics prequel 

Joker, starring Joaquin 

Phoenix. 

Hemsworth, who will 

next reprise his role of 

Thor in Avengers: 

Endgame, will play the 

wrestler during his early 

years and according to 

sources, the film won't 

address his later controversies 

outside of the ring, 

including his legal battle 

with Gawker. 

The script will come from 

Scott Silver, whose credits 

include 8 Mile, The Fighter 

and Phillips' foray into the 

Batman universe. 

Reportedly a deal is close to 

being made with Netflix to 

obtain rights to the film, 

with Hemsworth and 

Bradley Cooper also on 

Akshay Kumar's brave "Kesari" 

trailer is out 

Kesari trailer: Akshay Kumar film celebrates 

the valour of Indian soldiers in 

the famous Battle of Saragarhi. Akshay 

Kumar's Kesari trailer celebrates the 

bravery and valour of a handful of Sikh 

soldiers as they took on 10,000 

Afghans in the Battle of Saragarhi. 

However, it is not just the Pathans that 

Akshay is fighting against in the trailer 

that establishes kesari (saffron) as the 

colour of "valour and sacrifice" but the 

British as well. 

Kesari trailer begins with Akshay's 

Havildar Isher Singh talking about a 

board as producers. 

Hogan, born Terry Gene 

Bollea, will also act as a consultant 

on the film and an 

executive producer. His 

career started in the late 70s 

in the Florida fighting circuit 

and by the end of the 80s, he 

was a worldwide star as part 

of WWF, now WWE. 

When Hogan was interviewed 

in 2013, he 

expressed interest in 

Hemsworth playing him. 

"We need a serious, serious 

actor that knows what he's 

doing," he said. "You know 

who I thought would be 

good? That guy that did that 

action movie Thor." 

Phillips' last film as director 

was 2016's War Dogs but 

as producer, he has a credit 

on A Star is Born alongside 

Cooper, a longtime collaborator. 

Joker is set for release 

later this year, starring 

Phoenix as the infamous villain 

in what's been referred 

to as a darker, lower-budget 

character study. 

-The Guardian 

British officer calling India the land of 

cowards. As the events of the trailer 

establishes, it is anything but. The trailer 

is impressive with rustic war scenes, 

an unseen technique of sword fighting 

and catchy dialogues as the Sikh soldiers 

wearing saffron turbans go on to 

face the enemy in the battlefield. 

The trailer also shares a glimpse of the 

female lead Parineeti Chopra, who looks 

helpless but filled with pride as Akshay 

heads into battle. Kesari is based on the 

battle of Saragarhi fought between the 

British Indian army's Sikh Regiment 

and Afghan tribesmen in September 

1897. The British Indian contingent 

comprising 21 Sikh soldiers were 

attacked by around 10,000 Afghans and 

decided to fight to death, which is considered 

by some as one of history's 

greatest last-stands. Akshay plays the 

turban-clad Havildar Ishar Singh who 

leads the small group of soldiers to fight 

a war with not just their meagre 

weapons but their valour. The film has 

been directed by Anurag Singh, who last 

directed Diljit Dosanjh in Punjabi film, 

Punjab 1984. Kesari will release on Holi 

on March 21 this year. 

-Hindustan Times

SPORTS 

THURSDAy, 

FeBRUARy 28, 2019 

9 

Mahmudullah is hoping that the youngsters will make their opportunities count. 

Photo: AP 

Mahmudullah backs youngsters to grab 

opportunities against New Zealand 

Raptors maul 

sorry Celtics 

Sports Desk: Pascal 

Siakam and Kawhi Leonard 

led the way as the Toronto 

Raptors kept up the pressure 

on Eastern Conference leaders 

Milwaukee on Tuesday 

with a 118-95 rout of the 

Boston Celtics, reports BSS. 

Cameroonian ace Siakam 

scored 25 points while 

Leonard added 21 to help 

Toronto improve to 45-17 in 

the East, leaving them two 

games back from the Bucks. 

Serge Ibaka added 14 

points for the Raptors, while 

Norman Powell chipped in 

with 11 from the bench. 

But it was another disappointing 

night for the 

Celtics, who slid to their 

third straight defeat as 

Toronto contained their 

offense. Boston star Kyrie 

Irving was held to seven 

points during a frustrating 

outing at Toronto's Scotiabank 

Arena. 

Marcus Morris led the 

scoring for Boston with 17 

points while Jayson Tatum 

added 11. 

Celtics coach Brad Stevens 

blamed the defeat on his 

side's defensive lapses as 

well as an inability to generate 

offense. 

"It was the same old same 

old," Stevens said. "Obviously 

we struggled to score in 

stretches. But I thought we 

were all over the place defensively 

tonight. "And when I 

say all over the place, we 

were really taking a lot of 

short cuts defensively. You 

can't do that against any 

team, and certainly tonight 

they exposed us, and played 

great. "I thought we were 

just outplayed every which 

way." 

The Celtics are in fifth spot 

in the standings with 37 wins 

and 24 losses. 

The visitors had led 34-30 

early in the second quarter, 

but were soon overwhelmed 

by a blizzard of Raptors scoring.The 

hosts drained 18 

unanswered points in the 

second period to take a firm 

grip on the contest with a 14- 

point lead. 

Sports Desk: Mahmudullah, who will 

be leading an inexperienced 

Bangladesh side against New Zealand 

in the first Test, is hoping that the 

youngsters will make their opportunities 

count, reports Cricbuzz. 

With Shakib Al Hasan out due to a 

finger injury and Mushfiqur Rahim 

ruled out of the opening Test due to 

wrist trouble, Mahmudullah says it is 

an opportunity for the youngsters to 

showcase their talent and ability at the 

highest level. 

"He [Mushfiqur] is getting better. But 

perhaps we are not getting him in the 

first match," said Mahmudullah. 

"Along with Mushfiqur, Shakib Al 

Hasan also has been an integral part of 

our team. It is really tough to set our 

best combination without them. I hope 

who are getting chances to replace 

them will perform well and grab those 

chances." 

In pace-friendly conditions, the onus 

will be on the fast bowlers to lead 

Bangladesh's charge. However, with 

Mustafizur being the most experienced 

pacer in the side, gives enough indication 

of the rawness in the unit. Abu 

Jayed has played only three Tests and 

Khaled Ahmed has featured in one, 

while Ebadat Hossain is yet to make his 

Test debut. 

However, Mahmudullah has pinned 

his hopes on the youngsters and said, 

"Rahi [Abu Jayed] is our premier fast 

bowler. He has played some matches 

and performed well too. We have Ebadat 

Hossain, a new talent, who can 

bowl at a great pace. And we also have 

Mustafizur. Everyone has ideas about 

his capabilities. Now our main focus is 

to execute our plan in the middle." 

He is also is hoping Mustafizur Rahman 

will lead the young pace attack as 

the visitors aim to give a tough competition 

to New Zealand in the five-dayers. 

"Everyone knows the class of 

Mustafizur, and to be honest, 27 wickets 

in 12 Tests does not reflect his capabilities," 

Mahmudullah told reporters 

ahead of the opening Test against New 

Zealand on Wednesday. "He is eager to 

perform and we are looking forward to 

it." 

Bangladesh, who are yet to win a Test 

against New Zealand, will play a threematch 

Test series against them, beginning 

in Hamilton from February 28. 

However, Mahmudullah said that they 

are not taking into account their past 

overseas performance, which has been 

dull compared to their better showings 

at home in recent years. 

"How we are performing in overseas 

conditions is always a challenge for us. 

Everyone doubts whether we can win 

an overseas Test or not," he said. "But I 

can assure you, as a captain and on 

players' behalf, we are not thinking on 

that line. We will take inspiration from 

the recent past and motivate ourselves. 

We want to play according to our 

strengths, the way they [New Zealand] 

are performing. 

"We know how the conditions are, 

and we also have ideas about their 

bowlers. But how we are going to execute 

our plans depends on us. We know 

the conditions won't be favourable and 

there will be swing all around. We need 

to be mentally strong to perform in 

such conditions." 

BBL experience was ‘eye 

opening’ - Root 

Sports Desk: Joe Root's desire to play 

more T20 cricket and develop his game in 

the shortest format is well-documented yet 

his international commitments have allowed 

precious little time for that over the past two 

years. It is the reason why he went and 

played in the Big Bash for Sydney Thunder 

late last year between England's tours of Sri 

Lanka and West Indies and the reason why 

he put himself up for the IPL auction in 

2018, albeit without getting a deal. It is an 

inch he is desperate to scratch, reports 

Cricbuzz. 

It was interesting, then, that he was named 

in England's squad for the three match T20I 

series against West Indies which follows the 

current five-match ODI rubber. The likes of 

Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali, who 

was withdrawn from the T20 squad today, 

have been rested for that series but Root has 

not. Partly, that is because England's Test 

captain is not playing in this year's IPL, 

unlike the three players mentioned, but it is 

also a reminder that Root still wants to crack 

the shortest format and still wants to play 

more of it. "Why did I not want to miss the 

T20 games? Because I love playing cricket 

for England, simple as that," Root said. "And 

I've not had much opportunity to play T20 

cricket in the last couple of years. I don't 

want to miss out on opportunities to play 

when I'm fit and I feel I'm in a good place to 

help the side to win and be part of a squad 

that has a very exciting couple of years ahead 

of it." The obvious worry is that Root, who 

will be such a pivotal player in this summer's 

World Cup and Ashes series, needs a rest 

wherever he can get it. This winter may not 

have been as draining as the last one in Australia 

and New Zealand, but England need 

their best batsman fresh and energised for 

what lies ahead. Management of players is 

always more of an art than a science, however, 

and Root is confident that in this case, 

there is enough downtime ahead for him to 

refresh mentally and physically even after 

the T20I series. 

"After that three-match [T20I] series we 

have a good chunk of time at home," he said. 

"I'm sure I'll spend some time with Yorkshire, 

which will be nice as well. I'm very 

aware of when those gaps will be in the next 

year or so. I feel this is a good opportunity to 

play." Despite his lack of T20 gametime of 

late, and a poor spell with the Thunder which 

yielded a highest score of just 26, Root's T20 

record remains strong. He also believes his 

time in Australia was not wasted and that he 

moved his game on, even if the runs did not 

come to prove it. "It was a new adventure," 

he said. "I've not played any franchise cricket 

before, so it was very eye-opening and I 

learned a lot about my own game. And when 

you have your family with you, it does make 

life a lot easier. 

"It's easy to come away from a tournament 

not having scored many runs and not saying 

I got something out of it. But genuinely I feel 

like there was a big development in that side 

of my game. More than anything, we're looking 

at breaking the score down and how best 

to approach it. And how best to approach it 

with who you bat with at any given time. If 

that can transfer over into 50-over cricket. 

Despite not having a great outing, Root learnt a lot from his maiden BBL 

outing as per his own admission. 

Photo: AP 

US invites 

South America 

teams to new 

2020 event 

Sports Desk : The United 

States Soccer Federation 

wants to launch a new international 

tournament next 

year featuring 10 sides from 

South America and the 

strongest teams from the 

CONCACAF region, reports 

BSS. 

The New York Times said 

in a report later confirmed 

by CONCACAF on Tuesday 

that USSF president Carlos 

Cordeiro had sent a letter to 

the 10 federations that make 

up CONMEBOL offering to 

stage the new tournament. 

The event, which strongly 

resembles the successful 

2016 Copa America Centenario 

held throughout the 

United States, would be held 

at the same time as the 2020 

European Championship. 

The proposed event would 

guarantee nearly $200 million 

to be shared amongst 

the invited teams and their 

ruling bodies, according to 

the Times. 

It follows discussions held 

over the past year between 

officials from CONMEBOL 

and CONCACAF about a 

possible new tournament. 

The winners of the tournament 

would earn more than 

$11 million. 

CONCACAF, the governing 

body responsible for 

football in North America, 

Central America and the 

Caribbean, welcomed the 

US proposal, saying the 

event would complement its 

own regional championship, 

the Gold Cup. 

"We view this opportunity 

positively as it is not intended 

to replace or substitute 

any future editions of the 

CONCACAF Gold Cup and it 

complements our vision to 

continue providing opportunities 

for our Member Associations 

to play competitive 

football at the highest level," 

the body said in a statement. 

The US proposal will be 

discussed next week in Miami, 

ahead of a meeting of 

FIFA's Council on March 15. 

The 2016 Copa America 

Centenario was staged at 

venues across the United 

States to mark the 100th 

anniversary of the South 

American footballing showpiece. 

The event featured 10 

members of South America 

and six teams from the 

CONCACAF region. 

The success of that tournament, 

which saw Chile beat 

Argentina in the final on 

penalties, served as a precursor 

to the successful North 

American bid for the 2026 

World Cup. 

The proposed 2020 tournament 

would feature a 

group stage and a knockout 

round to decide a winner. 

The Times report noted, 

however, that it remained to 

be seen how the US-backed 

proposal would be greeted 

by CONMEBOL. 

The South American federation 

is staging a Copa 

America in Brazil this year, 

but has planned to switch 

the tournament to the same 

schedule as the European 

Championship from 2020. 

No host nation has yet been 

allocated for the 2020. 

Manchester City: 

FA investigates ‘banned 

£200,000 Jadon Sancho 

payment’ 

Sports Desk: The Football Association is 

investigating claims that Manchester City 

made a banned payment of £200,000 to 

Jadon Sancho's agent when the England 

winger was 14 years old, reports BBC. 

The allegations were made in documents 

published by Der Spiegel. 

It is alleged City paid Emeka Obasi when 

they signed Sancho, now at Borussia Dortmund, 

from Watford in March 2015. 

Young players cannot be represented by an 

agent until the year they turn 16. 

A City statement read: "The attempt to 

damage the club's reputation is organised 

and clear. 

"We will not be providing any comment on 

out of context materials purported to have 

been hacked or stolen from City Football 

Group and Manchester City personnel and 

associated people." 

London-born Sancho, 18, joined City as a 

14-year-old, when the Premier League 

champions paid £66,000 in compensation 

to Watford. 

FA rules state that clubs are not permitted 

to offer financial inducements to a player 

under 16. 

Der Spiegel - which has published a series 

of revelations in recent months, including 

allegations City deceived Uefa over financial 

fair play (FFP) rules - claims the club wrote a 

letter to Sancho's father which outlined how 

much they were willing to pay the player 

once he turned professional. 

The German magazine also says a City 

lawyer was "alarmed" that the letter could be 

deemed as a financial offer and therefore 

breaking the rules about offering inducements. 

Der Spiegel alleges City paid £200,000 to 

Obasi as part of a scouting contract to find 

players in central and South America. It 

claims the payment was in fact in relation to 

Sancho's transfer from Watford. 

Sancho never made a first-team appearance 

for City before moving to German side 

Dortmund for £8m in August 2017. 

He has been one of the star players for the 

Bundesliga leaders this season, with the club 

describing him as "one of the most exciting 

players in Europe" when they announced he 

had signed a new long-term contract in 

October. 

In April 2017, Liverpool were fined 

£100,000 by the Premier League and handed 

a two-year ban on signing academy players 

from other clubs for offering inducements 

to a 12-year-old academy player at 

Stoke City. 

FA to investigate Manchester City's deal to sign Jadon Sancho aged 14. 

Photo: AP 

Bangabandhu Inter-University 

sports Champs to begin on Mar 18 

Sports Desk: Inspired by the ideals of the 

greatest Bengali of all time and Father of the 

Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, 

the inaugural campaign of the "Bangabandhu 

Inter-University sports Champs- 

2019" is expected to begin on March 18 in the 

city, reports BSS. 

The championship will be organised with 

the theme "Let's build a Bangladesh in cognition 

of Bangabandhu" in participation with 

all public and private universities across the 

country, said a press release today. 

On the occasion of this event, in presence 

of the president of Bangabandhu Inter-University 

Champs 2019 advisory committee, 

the logo and website of "Bangabandhu Inter- 

University Sports Champs-2019" were formally 

unveiled today (Wednesday) at the 

conference room of National Sports Council. 

Besides, a discussion (including the Torch 

Relay) regarding the competition was also 

held. State Minister for Youth and Sports 

Zahid Ahsan Russel, Convener of the advisory 

committee Nahim Razzaq, MP, its member 

secretary and Secretary of the Ministry of 

Youth Muhammad Abdullah, Chief Operating 

Officer of Polar Ice-cream Shah Masud 

Imam, officials of different federations and 

sports related personnel were present, 

among others, in the logo unveiling ceremony. 

Starting with a grand opening ceremony at 

the country's premier venue Bangabandhu 

National Stadium, almost 3,500 students 

from 70 universities are expected to participate 

in the inaugural campaign consisting of 

10 major events (Football, Cricket, Swimming, 

Athletics, Table Tennis, Basketball, 

Volleyball, Handball, Cycling and Badminton). 

The event will continue for a whole month 

at the universities across the country. 

The top three winners of each event will be 

awarded gold, silver and bronze medals 

respectively while the highest gold medal 

winners male and female participants will be 

awarded a "Best University Athlete- Male" 

and "Best University Athlete- Female" trophies 

respectively. 

Besides, the highest Gold medal winning 

university will be awarded the "Bangabandhu 

Inter-University Sports Champs 2019 - 

Champions". The organisers will arrange 

"Torch Relay" and "Trophy Tour" with the all 

participant universities before the mega 

event. 

Fun in Acapulco as Nadal 

eases into second round 

Sports Desk: Rafael Nadal powered 

into the second rounds at the 

Mexican Open here Tuesday, breezing 

past Germany's Mischa Zverev in 

straight sets to advance to a meeting 

with Australia's Nick Kyrgios, 

reports BSS. 

World number two Nadal, playing 

in his first event since being 

thrashed by Novak Djokovic in last 

month's Australian Open final, was 

always in control during a 6-3, 6-3 

victory. 

The 17-time Grand Slam champion 

completed victory in 1hr 20min 

at Acapulco's Princess Mundo 

Imperial venue, defeating his 76th 

ranked opponent with ease. 

The tournament top seed seized 

the advantage in the opening set, 

scoring a break to go 3-1 ahead with 

a delicate lob that left Zverev floundering. 

With Nadal's superior variety 

proving too much for Zverev, the 

Spaniard quickly wrapped up the 

opening set for a 1-0 lead. 

The second set went with serve 

until the seventh game, when a 

wild forehand from Zverev sailed 

wide to give Nadal the break for a 

4-3 lead. Zverev's hung his head 

following the miscue, seemingly 

realising there was no way back. 

Nadal then held for a 5-3 lead 

and wrapped up victory in the 

ninth game, moving to match point 

when Zverev could only plop a 

return tamely into the net. 

Nadal then produced a sublime 

backhand winner down the line to 

seal a deserved win. 

Elsewhere Tuesday, Zverev's 

younger brother Alex had little difficulty 

in advancing to the second 

round, defeating Australia's Alexei 

Popyrin 6-3, 6-3. 

Second seed Zverev's service game 

overwhelmed Popyrin, with the German 

hammering down 13 aces en 

route to victory. 

Australia's Kyrgios meanwhile was 

made to work hard for victory in his 

win over Italy's Andreas Seppi, battling 

into the second round with a 6- 

3, 7-5 win. 

The second set went with serve 

until the seventh game, when a 

wild forehand from Zverev sailed 

wide to give Nadal the break for a 

4-3 lead. Zverev's hung his head 

following the miscue, seemingly 

realising there was no way back. 

Third seed John Isner of the 

United States also had a testing 

opening game, needing three sets 

to subdue France's Adrian Mannarino 

6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS 

10 

THURSDAy, FEBRUARy 28, 2019 

Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Prime Insurance Company Ltd Md. Zakiullah Shahid, 

Managing Director & CEO Mohammodi Khanam and Vice-Chairperson Saheda Pervin Trisha are 

seen among others in the two-day Long Branch Conference of Prime Insurance Company Ltd held at 

its Head office in Dhaka. 


Prime Holds 

Branch Conference 

An ISO certified Insurance 

Company of Bangladesh 

Prime Insurance Company 

Limited has hold its two day 

annual Branch Conference 

consecutively on 25th and 

26th February, 2019 with 

the objectives of analyzing 

business performance of the 

year Jan-December 2018, 

addressing the issues for the 

improvementof business 

efficiency and productivity 

and measurable objectives 

to fill up the branch target of 

2019 at its Head office in 

Dhaka, a press release said. 

The Managing Director 

and CEO of Prime Insurance 

Company Limited 

Mohammodi Khanam said 

in the conference that the 

last year was a challenging 

year for us. She appreciated 

the team for hard work and 

add that amid challenges 

our team performed well. 

The Managing Director also 

added that there are some 

measurable targets for the year 

2019 and hope that we will be 

able to reach the targets. 

The Honorable Chairperson 

of the Board of Directors of 

Prime Insurance Company 

Limited Mr. Md. Zakiullah 

Shahid graced on the 

occasion. 

City Bank American Express® 

Chittagong Open 2018 to begin 

on 6thMarch 2019 

The 3rd City Bank American 

Express® Chittagong Open 

2019, an International Golf 

Tournament, will be held at 

Bhatiary Golf & Country Club 

(BGCC), from 6thto 9th March, 

2019. The tournament is jointly 

sanctioned by Professional Golf 

Tour India (PGTI) and 

Bangladesh Professional Golf 

Association (BPGA). This is for 

the 3rdtime that an 

International golf tournament 

is being organized by RIZ 

EVENTS at BGCC.There will be 

a total of 126 professional 

golfers from home and abroad 

participating in this 

tournament. PGTI will have 78 

Golfers and BPGA will have 48 

Golfers. The Country 

represented in this tournament 

are USA, India,Sri Lanka, and 

Bangladesh for the total prize 

money of BDT 47,40,000, a 

press release said. 

The title sponsor of the 

tournament is City Bank and 

itsDeputy Managing Director 

and Head of Wholesale 

Banking & Micro Finance 

Sheikh Mohammad 

Maroof,said, "City Bank has 

been promoting professional 

golf in Bangladesh for almost a 

decade now and we will 

continue to support in 

developing young talents in this 

elegant sport of nerve, energy 

and craftsmanship." 

Lt Col Khandaker Abdul 

Wahed (Retd) the President of 

BPGA said "We are very happy 

that BGCC is hosting the 3rd 

professional golf tournament 

which is co-sanctioned between 

PGTI & BPGA. We will extend 

all of our support to make this 

professional golf tournament a 

huge success." 

Rizwan Bin Farouq, 

Chairman, Riz Events said 

"This is the seventh title 

sponsor that City Bank 

American Express has done. 

BSRM & Elite Paint has 

continued again in being the 

two co-sponsors of this 

professional golf tournament. 

Our partners for this 

tournament is again Ispanhani 

& Avenue Hotel & Suites. 

Without their support we 

would have not been able to 

execute this professional golf 

tournament. We thank BPGA & 

PGTI for co-sanctioning the 

tournament. 

The Co-sponsorsof the 

tournament are BSRM& Elite 

Paints. The other partners of 

the tournament are Ispahani, 

Polar Ice Cream, &The Avenue 

Hotel & Suites. 

Dubai sees 

slight tourism 

rise in 2018 

Dubai welcomed a record 

15.92 million tourists in 

2018, the tourism 

authority said Sunday, but 

the rise was marginal due 

to drops in visitors from 

the Gulf, India and Britain, 

reports BSS. 

The number of 

international visitors last 

year grew by just 0.8 

percent, far below the five 

percent and six percent 

rises in 2016 and 2017 

respectively, Dubai 

Tourism said. 

But the emirate remains 

"focused on ensuring that 

(it) becomes the number 

one most visited city in the 

world", said Dubai 

Tourism chief Saeed al- 

Marri in a statement. 

Declines in the numbers 

of Gulf tourists, mainly 

from Oman and Qatar, and 

among Indian and British 

visitors were balanced out 

by upticks in the number of 

Chinese and Russians. 

The drop in Gulf visitors 

comes after the United 

Arab Emirates along with 

three other Arab countries 

in June 2017. 

Rupee gains 16 

paise against US 

dollar in early trade 

The rupee firmed 14 paise 

to 70.98 against the dollar 

in opening trade Monday 

after the greenback came 

under pressure against 

some currencies amid 

foreign fund inflows and a 

higher opening of domestic 

equity markets, reports 

BSS. 

Forex dealers said 

weakness in the dollar 

against some other 

currencies overseas as 

expectations of a trade deal 

between the US and China, 

and foreign capital inflows 

in the domestic equity 

markets supported the 

rupee. 

At the interbank forex 

market, the rupee opened 

with strength at 71 and 

advanced further to quote 

16 paise higher at 70.98 

against the dollar. 

According to provisional 

exchange data, foreign 

portfolio investors (FPIs) 

bought shares worth a net 

of Rs 6,311.01 crore on net 

basis on Friday. 

On Friday, the rupee had 

gained 10 paise to end at 

71.14 against the US dollar. 

Meanwhile, the 

benchmark BSE Sensex 

rose 140.29 points, or 0.38 

per cent, to 36,011.77 in 

opening session Monday. 

Xiaomi launches Redmi Go in 

Bangladesh starting Tk 6,999 

Xiaomi, global technology 

leader, debuted its first 

AndroidTM Go smartphone, 

Redmi Go, in Bangladesh. 

Packed with useful software 

and efficient hardware, 

Redmi Go will be available at 

Tk 6,999, a press release said. 

The AndroidTM Go 

program was launched by 

Google in 2017, with 

affordable smartphones 

running on a highly efficient 

version of Android. Out of the 

box, Redmi Go runs the 

Android 8.1 Oreo (Go 

edition) operating system, 

featuring reimagined Google 

apps that have been 

ewkDK/Rbms‡hvM-20/2019 

Zvs 27/02/2019 

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optimized to reduce storage 

and data use. 

"Xiaomi has received such 

a warm welcome in 

Bangladesh since its entry 

last year, and we are really 

grateful to all Mi fans for their 

support." said Sanket 

Agarwal, Head - Overseas 

Expansion, Indian subcontinent, 

Xiaomi India. 

"With Redmi Go making its 

debut here, we hope that even 

more users here will be able 

to enjoy an amazing 

smartphone experience at an 

amazing price. This is part of 

our commitment to make 

innovation available to 

everyone." 

Redmi Go features a 5.0- 

inch 720p HD display, the 

Qualcomm® Snapdragon 

425 SoC, and a 3000mAh 

battery. On the back it sports 

a 8MP main camera 

supported by an LED 

flashlight. On the front, 

Redmi Go has a 5MP camera 

for selfies. It comes with two 

SIM card slots and has a 

dedicated microSD slot that 

supports up to 128GB 

microSD cards. In terms of 

network connectivity, Redmi 

Go supports 2G, 3G and 4G 

along with being VoLTE 

ready. 

S(19)(56) 

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Roche to buy US 

gene therapy group 

Spark for $4.3 bn 

Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Roche said Monday it 

reached a deal worth $4.3 billion (3.7 billion euros) to 

buy US group Spark Therapeutics, which specialises in 

the development of gene therapy drugs. 

Roche said the deal was approved by the boards of both 

companies, offering $114.50 a share, a premium to 122 

percent to Spark's closing price on Friday. 

Founded in 2013, Spark Therapeutics specialises in 

gene therapies, a new and growing segment of medicine, 

for genetic diseases such as blindness, haemophilia, and 

neurodegenerative diseases. 

Its biggest treatment under study is SPK-8011, a 

haemophilia therapy, on which phase 3 clinical trials, the 

most advanced stage of trials, are scheduled to begin this 

year. 

Luxturna, its treatment for a hereditary retinal 

disorder that can cause blindness, was the first gene 

therapy to be approved by the US health authorities in 

2017, Roche said. 

The treatment was also approved last year by the 

European Union. "As the only biotechnology company 

that has successfully commercialised a gene therapy for 

a genetic disease in the US, we have built unmatched 

competencies in the discovery, development and delivery 

of genetic medicines," Spark Therapeutics CEO Jeffrey 

D. Marrazzo was quoted as saying in the Roche 

statement. 

"But the needs of patients and families living with 

genetic diseases are immediate and their needs vast. 

"With its worldwide reach and extensive resources, 

Roche will help us accelerate the development of more 

gene therapies for more patients for more diseases and 

further expedite our vision of a world where no life is 

limited by genetic disease," added Marrazzo. 

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MISCELLANEOUS 

THUrSDAY, FeBrUArY 28, 2019 

11 

Vice-Chancellor of Barishal University Professor Dr SM Imamul Haque as the chief guest distributed 

prizes among the winners of Inter Department Badminton, Table Tennis, Carrom and Volleyball 

Tournament-2019 at the university on Wednesday. Barishal University Treasurer Dr. AKM Mahbub 

Hasan was present as the special guest at the occasion. 


Australian Cardinal Pell to spend 

his first night in prison 

The most senior Catholic cleric ever 

convicted of child sex abuse will face 

his first night in prison Wednesday 

while he waits two weeks to learn his 

sentence for molesting two choirboys 

in a Melbourne cathedral two decades 

ago, reports UNB. 

Victorian state County Court Chief 

Judge Peter Kidd revoked Cardinal 

George Pell's bail at the end of a 

sentencing hearing. Kidd said he 

would deliver his sentence on March 

13. 

The 77-year-old Pell, who could face 

five decades in prison, showed no 

expression as he walked from the 

dock with a cane escorted by three 

court security officers and a prison 

guard. 

A jury unanimously convicted Pell 

in December of abusing the two 13- 

year-olds in a rear room of St. 

Patrick's Cathedral in 1996 weeks 

after becoming archbishop of 

Australia's second-largest city. But 

unusually, Pell wasn't taken into 

custody immediately because he had 

surgery scheduled to have both knees 

replaced. 

Pell faced an abusive crowd 

Wednesday as he entered court half 

an hour before his sentencing hearing 

was scheduled. 

"I hope you burn in hell!" one man 

shouted while pushing against a 

cluster of police officers trying to 

shield the cardinal as he walked into 

the courthouse. "You're a pedophile! 

You're a criminal! You're a monster!" 

Kidd continued Pell's bail until his 

sentencing hearing, but warned Pell 

that it did not indicate he would avoid 

a custodial sentence. 

The court had until Tuesday 

forbidden publication of any details 

about the trial because Pell had faced 

a second trial in April on charges that 

he indecently assaulted two boys aged 

9 or 10 and 11 or 12 as a young priest 

in the late 1970s in a public pool in his 

hometown of Ballarat. 

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UNITING PEOPLE EVERYDAY 

ThURSDAy, DhAKA, FEBRUARy 28, 2019, FALgUN 16, 1425 BS, JAMADi-US SANNi 22, 1440 hiJRi 

UN envoy for political solution 

to Rohingya crisis 

Staffers carrying polling equipments at centers for today's poll. 

Parliament 

passes EPZ 

Labour Bill 

sAngsAD BHABAn : 

Bangladesh export 

Processing Zone (ePZ) 

Labour Bill-2019 was 

passed by parliament on 

wednesday, aiming to 

make it friendlier for 

ePZ workers, reports 

UnB. 

Liberation war Affairs 

Minister AKM 

Mozammel Huq, who is 

in-charge of Prime 

Minister's Office in parliament, 

moved the bill 

in the House and it was 

passed by voice vote. 

Placing the bill, the 

minister said the proposed 

law will ensure 

fixation of minimum 

wage, recruitment, 

owner-labour relation, 

salary payment, accidental 

compensation, 

healthcare and security. 

As per the bill, the ePZ 

workers will be allowed 

to form association to 

place their demands. 

DHAKA : the residents of 

Dhaka north City 

Corporation (DnCC) are 

set to cast their votes on 

thursday to elect their new 

mayor, reports UnB. 

Five candidates are fighting 

for the mayor's office 

but Awami League's pick 

Atiqul Islam, a former 

president of BgMeA, is 

leading the race. 

the other candidates are 

Jatiya Party's shafin 

Ahmed, national People's 

Party's Anisur rahman 

Dewan, Progressive 

Democratic Party's shahin 

Khan and independent 

Abdur rahim. 

the mayoral post fell 

vacant after former mayor 

Annisul Huq passed away 

on november 30, 2017. 

the last mayoral election 

held on April 28, 2015 

saw a high-octane campaign 

by both Awami 

League's Annisul and 

BnP's tabith Awal unlike 

this by-election. 

A total of 2,345,374 voters 

are expected to exercise 

their franchise this 

time. But many of them 

said there was not much 

excitement ahead of the 

balloting. 

Apart from the DnCC 

mayoral by-polls, 36 new 

wards - 18 each in DnCC 

and DsCC - will also go to 

polls on thursday. Besides, 

elections to the posts of 

female councillors of six 

reserve seats each in two 

city corporations will be 

held on thursday. 

On tuesday, the election 

Commission imposed a 

ban on plying of motorcycles 

and motorised vehicles. 

restrictions on 

motorbikes came into 

effect on tuesday midnight 

and that for motorised 


DNCC goes to mayoral 

by-polls today 

The Churches of Chiloé Island 

InterestIng news 

Off the coast of Chile, a group of about 

thirty islands belonging to the Chiloé 

Archipelago make up a fiercely independent 

community with its own distinct 

identity visible in the islanders’ folklore, 

mythology, cuisine and unique architecture. 

so proud the islanders are of their 

culture that they strongly protested when 

the government offered to connect the 

remote islands to the mainland with what 

would have been Latin America's longest 

bridge, fearing that tourism would forever 

erode the uniqueness of their community, 

and pollute their land and water. But 

sometimes contact with the outside world 

is a good thing, as evident from the magnificent 

churches that stand on the 

archipelago's biggest island Chiloé. 

they are a fusion of european and 

indigenous architecture. 

the archipelago was first discovered by 

the spaniards in the mid-16th century. At 

the turn of the 17th century, the Jesuits 

arrived and as they made religious tours 

around the archipelago, started erecting 

wooden churches with the help of local 

craftsman. 

the “cross-cultural dialogue and interaction” 

between these builders from different 

geographic and cultural background 

resulted in unique structures that 

aren’t found anywhere else in the 

Americas. 

there once stood as many as 150 wooden 

churches on the Chiloé archipelago. 

today, less than seventy survive, out of 

which sixteen have been designated 

world Heritage sites by the UnesCO. 

vehicles will be effective 

from wednesday midnight. 

Vehicles of emergency 

services will remain out of 

the ban purview. the 

restrictions will be lifted on 

thursday midnight. 

the curtain fell on electioneering 

on tuesday 

midnight, 36 hours before 

the voting. eC sources said 

309 candidates are contesting 

the elections for 36 

councillor posts while 70 

female aspirants are vying 

for 12 reserve seats. 

A public holiday has been 

declared in electoral areas 

for thursday. 

Amar Ekushey Book 

Fair ends today 

DHAKA : the month-long 

Amar ekushey Book Fair, a 

yearly event for book lovers and 

publishers, will come to an end 

today, reports UnB. 

state Minister for Cultural 

Affairs K M Khalid will be present 

as the chief guest while 

president of Bangla Academy 

emeritus Professor 

Anisuzzaman will preside over 

the concluding ceremony. 

Director of the Academy and 

member secretary of the Amar 

ekushey Book Fair 2019 Jalal 

Ahmed will present the report 

of the fair while Director 

general of the Academy 

Habibullah siraji will deliver 

the welcome speech. 

A total of 4284 books have hit 

the fair till 26th day already 

well surpassing two year's Boi 

Mela release of 4134 and 3646 

books respectively. 

Display and sale of books 

apart, the book fair had daily 

discussion events on various 

themes and personalities at 4 

pm at the main stage of the 

Academy premises. 

At the closing ceremony, 

the Bangla Academy will 

hand over awards to the winners 

of its "gunijon sahitya 

Puroskar" chosen from 

among the publishing houses 

participating at the Amar 

ekushey Book Fair. 

'Kothaprokash' will receive 

the "Chittaranjan saha smriti 

Puroskar 2019," while "Munier 

Chowdhury smriti Puraskar 

2019" will be given for the publication 

of aesthetically rich and 

standard content in books published 

in 2018. 

the award will be received by 

Prothoma publication for 

Bidrohi ronoklanto by golam 

Murshid, Journey Books publication 

for Monorothe shilper 

Pathe by Moinuddin Khaled 

and Chandrabati Academy for 

Muthor Vetor rod by Maruful 

Islam. 

15mm rain recorded 

in Dhaka 

DHAKA : rain on wednesday 

morning caught the residents 

of the capital unawares, reports 

UnB. 

People struggled to reach their 

destinations in the rain that led to 

water stagnation and traffic congestion 

in parts of the city. Office 

and school goers suffered the most. 

Fifteen millimeters of rainfall 

was recorded between 6am and 

9am, said ruhul Kuddus, a 

meteorologist of Bangladesh 

Meteorological Department. 

the rain may continue till 

thursday, he said. 

In its tuesday's forecast, the 

Met office said a westerly low 

lies over gangetic west Bengal 

and adjoining southwestern 

part of Bangladesh extending 

its trough to north Bay. 

It predicted rain or thunder 

showers, accompanied by temporary 

gusty or squally wind, in 

parts of rajshahi, rangpur, 

Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, 

Barishal, Chattogram and 

sylhet divisions with moderately 

heavy to heavy falls at places 

and hails at isolated places. 

DHAKA : Un secretary general's 

Humanitarian envoy Dr Ahmed Al 

Meraikhi on wednesday laid emphasis 

on working together to find a political 

solution to rohingya crisis saying 

humanitarian aid or action is not the 

only solution, reports UnB. 

"I think it's very important to have a 

political solution...we have to work 

together," he told reporters at a press 

conference in a city hotel insisting 

humanitarian aid or actions can only 

mitigate the sufferings of the people. 

Unicef executive Director Henrietta 

Fore also spoke at the press conference 

that was arranged following their twoday 

joint mission to Cox's Bazar on 

February 25-26. 

Unicef Bangladesh is appealing for 

$152 million in 2019 to provide 

685,000 rohingyas and host community 

residents with critical support. As of 

February, they are 29 percent funded 

against their appeal. 

Acknowledging the absence of 

required conditions for rohingya repatriation, 

Fore said it is very important 

for the United nations to have a stance 

that there is a safe and dignified return 

for rohingyas to their place of origin in 

rakhine state of Myanmar. 

"we're working publicly and privately 

in all the agencies in the United nations 

to try to make this (conducive environment 

for the return of rohingyas) happen," 

she said responding to a question. 

Half a million rohingya children are 

stateless in Cox's Bazar area, increasingly 

anxious about their futures, and vulnerable 

to frustration and despair, according 

to Unicef. the massive humanitarian 

efforts led by the government of 

Bangladesh with international support 

have saved countless children's lives. 

Unicef said there is no viable solution 

in sight for these rohingya children, who 

live in the world's largest and most congested 

refugee settlement. the vast 

majority were forced to flee for their lives 

from Myanmar into Bangladesh in 

August 2017. 

In Myanmar, the majority have no 

Due to heavy rainfall, water logging created in Dhaka. 

DHAKA :traffic movement on 

rajlaxmi-Azampur road in Uttara 

remained suspended for four hours 

on wednesday as the residents of 

Dakshinkhan area blocked the road 

demanding justice for a minor boy 

who was found dead in a water tank 

of a house in the area on tuesday, 

reports UnB. 

Locals alleged that when rifat, 7, 

went to a house in the area for playing 

on tuesday afternoon its owner 

Ajit Bosak beat him up severely, 

legal identity or citizenship. In 

Bangladesh, children are not being registered 

at birth, they lack a legal identity, 

and they lack a refugee status. Until 

conditions in Myanmar lead to those 

eligible returning home, rohingya children 

remain status-less minority. 

this excludes these children from 

learning a formal education curriculum 

and they are desperately in need of marketable 

skills. 

"the obligation we've as a global society 

is immense: to give children and young 

people the world has defined as 'stateless', 

the education and skills they need to build 

decent lives for themselves," said Unicef 

executive Director Fore. 

the results of a survey completed in 

December 2018 of 180,000 rohingya 

children ages 4-14 now enrolled in 

"Learning Centers" across the Cox's 

Bazar area, show the extent of the need 

for education. 

More than 90 percent were shown to 

have learning competencies at the preprimary 

to grades 1-2 level. 

Ecnec okays Tk 3,322cr Barapukuria- 

Kaliakoir 400KV Line Project 

DHAKA : the executive 

Committee of the national 

economic Council (ecnec) 

on wednesday approved a 

total of 13 projects, including 

a mega one to set up 

tk 3322 crore double-circuit 

400 KV transmission 

lines to extend the power 

transmission infrastructures 

in the northern 

region, aiming to import 

power from India, Bhutan 

and nepal in the future, 

reports UnB. 

the approval came from 

the weekly ecnec meeting 

held at the neC Conference 

room in the city with ecnec 

chairperson and Prime 

Minister sheikh Hasina in 

the chair. 

"A total of 13 projects 

were approved involving 

an overall estimated cost 

of tk 12,459.79 crore," 

said Planning Minister 

MA Mannan while briefing 

reporters after the 

ecnec meeting. 

Of the total projected 

cost, tk 9,481.77 crore will 

come from the national 

exchequer, while tk 

154.45 crore from the own 

funds of the organisations 

concerned and the 

remaining tk 2,823.58 

crore as project assistance, 

he said. 

Of the projects, 10 are 

new while three others are 

revised ones. 

About the Barapukuria- 

Kaliakoir 400KV Line 

Project, the minister said 

the Power grid Company 

of Bangladesh Limited 

leaving him dead and then dumped 

his body in a water tank. 

Being informed by people, police 

recovered the body. 

Officer-in-charge of Dakkhinhan 

Police station tapan Kumar saha 

said a case was filed accusing the 

house owner and his wife with the 

police station on tuesday night over 

the boy's death. 

the accused couple went into hiding 

after the incident, he said adding 

that action will be taken after proper 

(PgCB) under the Power 

Division will implement 

the project by June, 2022. 

Once the transmission 

line project is implemented, 

it will be possible to 

import power from Indian 

1600 Mw Power plant and 

subsequently to transmit 

the power to sylhet, 

Chattogram and other 

parts of the country from 

Kaliakoir, he said. 

Of the total project cost, 

tk 1,424.26 crore will 

come from the state 

exchequer, while tk 

153.44 crore from the 

organization's own fund 

and the remaining tk 

1744.62 crore as project 

assistance under the 

Indian $2 billion Line of 

Credit. 


Uttara road blocked over child's death 

investigation. 

Meanwhile, traffic Inspector of 

House Building area Asad said the 

protesters started staging demonstrations 

at 11 am demanding death 

penalty of the house owner. 

Later, they blocked the road 

around 12:30 pm, triggering huge 

gridlock in the area and causing sufferings 

to the commuters. 

traffic movement on the road 

resumed around 4:20 pm when 

police dispersed the protesters. 

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

28-02-2019

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