02-03-2019

saturDay 

Dhaka: March 2, 2019; Falgun 18, 1425 BS; Jamadi-us Sanni 24,1440 hijri 

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www. tbtbangla.com 

Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.17; No.36; 8 Pages~Tk.8.00 

international 

SpaceX debuts new 

crew capsule in crucial 

test flight 

>Page 3 

science & tech 

Thoughts on 

digital 

minimalism 

>Page 5 

economy & business 

Kids Run 2019 organized 

by 'The Great 

Bangladesh Run ' held 

>Page 6 

Bangladesh: We'll become unable 

to take new Myanmar refugees 

UNITED NATIONS : Bangladesh's foreign 

secretary said Thursday his country 

will need to stop accepting more refugees 

from Myanmar and accused its government 

of being "obstructionist" about 

bringing back more than 1 million 

Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence, 

reports UNB. 

Myanmar, meanwhile, continued to 

insist it is taking steps toward their return. 

Its ambassador appealed for patience 

from the U.N. Security Council, but several 

members complained about what they 

saw as lagging progress nearly a year after 

a council delegation traveled to see the 

crisis firsthand. 

After a renewed flare-up in violence in 

Myanmar's northern Rakhine State, new 

refugees are still crossing the border to 

Bangladesh, Foreign Secretary Shahidul 

Haque said. 

"As far as repatriation is concerned, the 

situation has gone far from bad to worse," 

he told the council, adding that his country 

"would no longer be in a position to 

accommodate more people from 

Myanmar." 

He didn't say when that might occur. 

More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled 

to Bangladesh since August 2017, when 

BNP's condition to 

worsen in future 

for boycotting 

election; Quader 

DHAKA : Awami League General 

Secretary and Road Transport and 

Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday 

said that the condition of BNP 

will further worsen in the next general 

election as they are boycotting elections 

one after another. 

"The way BNP is boycotting elections 

one after another, it looks like their condition 

will further worsen in the next 

general election," he said. 

The Awami League General Secretary 

was addressing a press conference at 

the party's Dhanmondi office. Central 

leaders of Awami League were present. 

Mentioning that the BNP participates 

in any election as per their convenience, 

Quader said, "Earlier, they took part in 

four city corporation elections and 

became victorious……….sidetracking 

the election is not at all the democratic 

way. Although BNP is not taking part in 

the election, but their leaders and workers 

are taking part," 

Answering to a question over the low 

voter turnout at the just concluded 

Dhaka North City Corporation election 

held yesterday, Quader said, "The polls 

day was a holiday and many voters 

went to their village homes. Besides, a 

big political party did not take part in 

the election and it was a rain-marred 

day. The city corporation election was 

also a by-election and on the whole, the 

polls day witnessed low turnout". 

Referring to the Dhaka City 

Corporation Election held back in 2001 

where Sadeque Hossain Khoka was 

elected mayor with only 10 percent 

votes, Quader said this election was far 

better than that election as the voters' 

turnout was much higher this time. 

Zohr 

05:08AM 

01:15 PM 

04:22 PM 

06:04 PM 

07:18 PM 

6:21 6:01 

Rohingya militants attacked Myanmar 

security forces in Rakhine, triggering a 

massive military retaliation that U.N. 

investigators have called genocide. The 

exodus came after hundreds of thousands 

of other Rohingya escaped previous bouts 

of violence and persecution. 

Most people in Buddhist-majority 

Myanmar don't accept the Rohingya 

Muslims as a native ethnic group. They 

are, instead, viewed as illegal immigrants 

from Bangladesh, though generations of 

Rohingya have lived in Myanmar. 

Nearly all have been denied citizenship 

since 1982 and lack access to education 

and hospitals. 

The U.N. General Assembly approved a 

resolution in December strongly condemning 

"gross human rights violations 

and abuses" committed against 

Myanmar's Rohingya. 

Myanmar's government denies claims 

of genocide and ethnic cleansing. The 

country rejects the U.N. investigators' 

work and the General Assembly resolution 

as biased. 

Myanmar has made agreements with 

Bangladesh and U.N. agencies to repatriate 

the Rohingya, but it hasn't happened. 

A plan for refugees to begin returning 

DHAKA : The month-long Amar 

Ekushey Grantha Mela, which 

brought together a diverse mix of the 

country's well-known writers, as well 

as up-and-coming authors, thinkers, 

and entertainers on one stage, will 

come to an end today following 

extension of two-days. 

The month-long Amar Ekushey 

Book Fair, an annual event arranged 

throughout February for bookworms, 

publishers and writers, is drawing to 

a close on Saturday despite all formalities 

were done on Thursday, the 

last day of February. 

On February 1, Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the 

month-long fair that is arranged by 

Bangla Academy on the premises of 

the academy and its adjoining 

Suhrawardy Udyan. 

Some 770 stalls of 499 publishing 

houses and other institutions are taking 

part in the fair whose theme of 

this years' is "from 52 to 71, from 71 

to 19-new era". 

On Thursday, Bangla Academy 

Chairman Professor Emeritus 

Anisuzzaman chaired the formal 

closing ceremony which was attended 

by State Minister for Cultural 

Affairs KM Khalid as the chief guest. 

Academy's director and Amar 

Ekushey Book Fair member secretary 

last November was scrapped because officials 

couldn't find anyone willing to go. 

Myanmar had said it was ready to receive 

them, but U.N. officials, human rights 

activists and others had called for waiting 

until the refugees' safety in Myanmar 

could be assured. 

The Bangladeshi foreign secretary said 

Thursday his country had "tried everything" 

with Myanmar but met with "hollow 

promises and various obstructionist 

approaches." 

He urged the Security Council to visit 

the Rohingya refugee camps again and set 

up "safe zones" for people of all backgrounds 

in conflict-torn parts of 

Myanmar. 

Myanmar's U.N. ambassador said his 

country was taking steps to facilitate the 

Rohingya's return. The envoy, Hau Do 

Suan, pointed to three dozen small-scale 

community projects planned "as soon as 

the security condition permits" and to a 

recent investment fair meant to generate 

development in Rakhine. 

"We seek your understanding of the 

practicality and possibilities on the 

ground," Hau told the council, adding 

that building trust in Rakhine "takes time 

and patience, as well as courage." 

Curtain falls on month-long 

Ekushey book fair today 

Jalal Ahmed presented the report of 

the fair while Bangla Academy director 

general Habibullah Siraji delivered 

the welcome speech. 

Jalal Ahmed said the academy has 

sold books worth Taka 2.15 crore. 

According to stall owners, the total 

book sale this year was 10 percent 

higher than the previous year. 

A total of 4685 new books have hit 

the fair till the 28th day on Thursday, 

which has already surpassed last previous 

two year's release of 4134 and 

3646 books respectively. 

Bangla Academy has handed over 

the 'Kabi Jasimuddin Award-2019' to 

poet Nirmalendu Goon who is an 

Ekushey Padak winning litterateur. 

Besides, Chittaranjan Saha Smriti 

Puroskar 2019 was given to publishing 

house Katha Prakash for publishing 

maximum numbers of quality 

books in 2018. 

Prothoma 

Prakashani, 

Journeyman Books and Chandrabati 

Academy jointly won Munier 

Chowdhury Smriti Puraskar 2019 for 

publishing 'Bidrohi Ranaklanto', a 

biography of national poet Kazi 

Nazrul Islam, written by Golam 

Murshid, 'Monorathe Shilper Pothe' 

by Moinuddin Khaled and 'Muthor 

Bhetor Rod' by Maruful Islam respectively. 

Erratic climate affects livelihoods 

in lower Teesta basin: Study 

DHAKA : During the dry season 

from winter through summer 

(November-May), cold, fog, 

droughts, and heat stress gravely 

affect the agriculture and common 

people's livelihoods in lower Teesta 

River basin, says a new study, 

reports BSS. 

The study reveals that the communities 

of Teesta basin in 

Bangladesh use traditional, indigenous 

knowledge and adopt new 

technologies to adapt to the 

adverse effects of erratic climatic 

behaviours, but the current adaptation 

practices are not adequate for 

building resilience of the communities 

and the impacted sectors in the 

lower Teesta basin. 

The study titled 'Climate Change 

Adaptation Strategies and Practices 

in the Lower Teesta Basin in 

Bangladesh' says the communities 

need further support from the government 

to protect them from 

floods and riverbank erosion. 

The HI-AWARE consortium, led 

by the International Centre for 

Integrated Mountain Development 

(ICIMOD), conducted the study, 

while the study report was published 

in December last. 

This study aims to deepen the 

understanding about local climate 

change trends, adaptation 

approaches and strategies of the 

government, NGOs, and other 

actors, and emerging adaptation 

practices in key impacted sectors in 

the lower Teesta basin in 

Bangladesh. 

Due to char appearing on Jamuna River in Sirajganj, people suffer much for their smooth movement from 

one place to another. 

Photo: Star Mail 

Toxic black smoke emitting from the steel and re-rolling mill of Shyampur under Dhaka South City 

Corporation polluting air heavily. The photo was taken from Jurain rail gate area on Friday. Photo: Star Mail 

The other consortium members 

are the Bangladesh Centre for 

Advanced Studies (BCAS), The 

Energy and Resources Institute 

(TERI), the Climate Change, 

Alternative Energy, and Water 

Resources Institute of the Pakistan 

Agricultural Research Council 

(CAEWRI-PARC) and Wageningen 

Environmental Research (Alterra). 

According to the study, the people 

living in the Teesta River basin 

must be able to cope with the 

impacts of climate change, such as 

frequent floods, droughts, and 

riverbank erosion as farmers here 

mainly depend on agriculture, then 

fisheries and livestock for their 

livelihoods. 

The study found that the government 

of Bangladesh and NGOs 

have taken adaptation actions in 

the agricultural, fisheries, livestock, 

housing, energy, and water 

resources sectors to minimise vulnerabilities 

in people's lives and 

livelihoods by understanding current 

vulnerability and resilience in 

different sectors, identifying 

knowledge gaps and needs among 

practitioners, and enhancing stakeholder 

perception of climatic 

change and adaptation. 

"In addition, the practitioners 

from the government and NGOs at 

the national and local levels need to 

take appropriate decisions in developing 

an engagement plan, encouraging 

networking amongst themselves, 

and evaluating and learning 

in the context of climate change," 

the study says. 

According to the research, some 

of these adaptation options may 

require appropriate modifications 

to upscale these efforts and take 

them to other ecosystems and conditions. 

Effective adaptation would 

require the integration of indigenous 

knowledge with modern 

knowledge and technologies, local 

competence, innovation, resources 

allocation for the poor and the 

involvement of the local community 

through the local government. 

The study stresses the need for 

working jointly by the government, 

NGOs, and civil society and designing 

appropriate and innovative 

adaptation measures, strategies, 

and practices to cope with climate 

change impacts and reduce vulnerability. 

The Teesta River basin, regarded 

as one of the important food baskets 

of the country, has been experiencing 

varied changes in climate 

variability like temperature rise, 

heat stress, low and erratic rainfall, 

and prolonged droughts, falling 

groundwater levels, and climatic 

extremes such as frequent and devastating 

floods, riverbank erosion, 

and thunderstorms. 

These climate changes and other 

stressors are hurting sectors such 

as agriculture, water, sanitation 

and health, fisheries, food security, 

regional infrastructure, housing, 

and the livelihoods of the common 

people. 

Observing Voter Day is 

a mockery: Mosharrof 

DHAKA : BNP leader Khandaker 

Mosharraf Hossain on Friday said 

observing the national voter day after 

robbing the people of their voting 

rights is a mockery with the nation, 

reports UNB. 

"The people's voting rightswere 

snatched through the December 30 

national election and yesterday's 

(Thursday) by-election to Dhaka 

North City Corporation Mayor post," 

he said. 

Mosharraf, a BNP standing committee 

member, made the remarks after 

placing wreath at party founder Ziaur 

Rahman's grave marking the 

Jatiyatabadi Matshyajibi Dal's 40th 

founding anniversary. 

He said the people did not go to vote 

in the by-election. "They went to 

polling stations where the councilor 

election was held," he said, adding that 

it was "surprising the Awami League 

candidategot over eight lakh votes". 

He accused the government of ballot 

stuffing, saying the voters protested 

against "vote robbery by the ruling 

party and administration in the 

national election" by not showing up. 

"People have lost their confidence in 

the government and the election commission. 

That's why they didn't cast 

their votes," he said. 

The BNP leader said it is now a big 

challenge for their party to restore 

democracy and give people their voting 

rightsback. 

"We are reorganising our party and 

associate bodies. We believe the BNP 

will make a comeback and restore 

democracy and people's voting rights," 

he said.

NEWS 

SATURDAY, 

MARCH 2, 2019 

2 

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal JSD organized a discussion meeting marking National Flag Hoisting Day. 

Photo : TBT 

French militant linked to Paris 

attack killed in Syria 

The U.S.-led coalition against the 

Islamic State group said Thursday that 

a prominent French militant who is one 

of Europe's most wanted members of 

the extremist group has been killed in 

an airstrike in Syria, reports UNB. 

The coalition tweeted that a strike 

killed Fabien Clain, who is linked to the 

2015 attacks on Paris, in the Syrian 

village of Baghouz on the banks of the 

Euphrates River where the militant 

group is making its last stand. 

Coalition spokesman Col. Sean Ryan 

said the airstrike occurred on Feb. 20, 

but gave no further details. French 

authorities did not immediately 

comment on the announcement, but 

said last week they were working on 

verifying reports that Clain had been 

killed. 

The day after the Nov. 13, 2015 

attacks on Paris, Clain's voice 

announced in a recording that the 

Islamic State group claimed 

responsibility for the onslaught. The 

attacks killed 130 people at the 

Bataclan concert hall, cafes and the 

national stadium. Clain was believed to 

have been in Syria since 2015. Officials 

suspect that a number of French 

extremists remain holed up in 

Baghouz. 

From a self-proclaimed caliphate that 

once stretched over large areas of Syria 

and Iraq, the Islamic State group has 

been reduced to a tiny speck of land in 

the village of Baghouz, where a few 

hundred IS militants are holed up with 

family members and other civilians 

who are among the group's most 

France, Germany to 

have dual Security 

Council presidency 

in March, April 

France and Germany will 

present on Friday the 

program for their "twinned 

presidency" of the UN 

Security Council in March 

and April, Stephane 

Dujarric, spokesman for 

UN Secretary-General 

Antonio Guterres, said on 

Thursday, reports UNB. 

However, they 

emphasized, "It is not a copresidency." 

France is 

expected to chair the UN 

Security Council in March, 

while Germany will take 

over the presidency in 

April. The two countries 

have decided to coordinate 

their efforts by jointly 

preparing the Council's 

work plans for these two 

months. 

The arrangement will 

allow the two countries "to 

focus on top priorities and 

main values of our two 

countries and of the 

European Union," said the 

website of the French 

mission to the United 

Nations. 

France said the program 

of work would focus on 

protection of humanitarian 

personnel and respect for 

international humanitarian 

law, conflict resolution and 

commitment to peace, 

defense of women's rights 

and a strengthened 

participation of women in 

peace processes. 

"It is not a co-presidency: 

each country will assume its 

presidency's prerogatives 

during its term in 

accordance with the rules 

and practices of the 

Security Council," France 

said. 

determined supporters, many of whom 

traveled to Syria from all over the 

world. SDF officials have denied there 

were negotiations with the militants, 

some of whom had asked for an exit. 

SDF commanders on Thursday said 

they have freed 24 of their fighters held 

by IS, and uncovered a mass grave near 

Baghouz. 

Adnan Afrin, a spokesman for the 

Syrian Democratic Forces, said the 

grave unearthed a few days ago outside 

Baghouz contains the remains of men 

and women but said the number of 

bodies and their identities remain 

unclear. "An investigation is still 

underway to determine their 

nationality and the manner of killing," 

said Afrin, adding they were looking 

into reports that they may be Yazidis or 

IS fighters. A video posted by Kurdishrun 

Furat FM TV on Wednesday 

showed several bodies dug out from a 

pit - mostly women and children. 

A station executive, Salah Youssef, 

said those in the mass grave appear to 

have been shot in the head. He said 

authorities are investigating whether 

the bodies are those of women and 

children who had refused to stay under 

IS rule and were shot as they tried to 

escape, or belonged to IS fighters who 

were killed fighting the SDF. Youssef 

said there are reports of more than one 

mass grave. 

From a self-proclaimed caliphate that 

once stretched over large areas of Syria 

and Iraq, the Islamic State group has 

been reduced to a tiny speck of land in 

the village of Baghouz, where a few 

YouTube said Thursday it will turn off 

comments on nearly all videos featuring kids 

- potentially affecting millions of posts on the 

site - after reports last week that pedophiles 

were leaving inappropriate comments on 

innocuous videos of children, reports UNB. 

The change comes as YouTube grapples 

with moderating content across its platform 

as concerns about hate speech, violence and 

conspiracy theories continue to plague it. 

It will take YouTube several months to 

disable comments on all videos featuring 

minors, the company said. It already started 

the process last week when it turned off 

comments from tens of millions of videos. 

Advertisers including Nestle, AT&T and 

Fortnite-maker Epic Games pulled ads from 

YouTube last week after the inappropriate 

comments about children were unearthed by 

a popular YouTuber and media reports. At 

least one company, Nestle, was satisfied with 

YouTube's response and reinstated ads late 

last week. 

A small number of channels which have 

videos featuring kids will be allowed to keep 

comments turned on. But they must be 

known to YouTube and must actively 

monitor the comments beyond the standard 

monitoring tools YouTube provides. 

Turning off comments on such a large 

number of videos seems an "extreme 

reaction," said eMarketer analyst Paul 

Verna. But the issue involves the safety of 

children, so it makes sense YouTube would 

want to act quickly, he said. 

Comments aren't the main focus of the 

video-publishing site, but turning them off 

will likely diminish the experience for many 

users and video creators, he said. 

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki 

acknowledged the concerns Thursday, 

tweeting, "Nothing is more important to us 

than ensuring the safety of young people on 

the platform." The company said it has also 

released an updated version of its automated 

moderating system that it expects will 

identify and delete two times as many 

inappropriate comments. 

YouTube, like Facebook, Twitter and other 

sites that allow user publishing, have faced 

increasing calls to monitor what appears on 

their sites and get rid of unsuitable content. 

hundred IS militants are holed up with 

family members and other civilians 

who are among the group's most 

determined supporters, many of whom 

traveled to Syria from all over the 

world. 

SDF officials have denied there were 

negotiations with the militants, some of 

whom had asked for an exit. 

SDF commanders on Thursday said 

they have freed 24 of their fighters held 

by IS, and uncovered a mass grave near 

Baghouz. 

Adnan Afrin, a spokesman for the 

Syrian Democratic Forces, said the 

grave unearthed a few days ago outside 

Baghouz contains the remains of men 

and women but said the number of 

bodies and their identities remain 

unclear. 

"An investigation is still underway to 

determine their nationality and the 

manner of killing," said Afrin, adding 

they were looking into reports that they 

may be Yazidis or IS fighters. 

A video posted by Kurdish-run Furat 

FM TV on Wednesday showed several 

bodies dug out from a pit - mostly 

women and children. 

A station executive, Salah Youssef, 

said those in the mass grave appear to 

have been shot in the head. He said 

authorities are investigating whether 

the bodies are those of women and 

children who had refused to stay under 

IS rule and were shot as they tried to 

escape, or belonged to IS fighters who 

were killed fighting the SDF. Youssef 

said there are reports of more than one 

mass grave. 

YouTube suspends 

comments on videos of kids 

The companies all say they have taken action 

to protect users. But issues keep popping up. 

Concerns about YouTube comments 

weren't even a top priority for advertisers 

and viewers a couple weeks ago, Verna said. 

"It just makes you wonder, what's the next 

thing that going to happen?" 

It will take YouTube several months to 

disable comments on all videos featuring 

minors, the company said. It already started 

the process last week when it turned off 

comments from tens of millions of videos. 

Advertisers including Nestle, AT&T and 

Fortnite-maker Epic Games pulled ads from 

YouTube last week after the inappropriate 

comments about children were unearthed by 

a popular YouTuber and media reports. At 

least one company, Nestle, was satisfied with 

YouTube's response and reinstated ads late 

last week. 

A small number of channels which have 

videos featuring kids will be allowed to keep 

comments turned on. But they must be 

known to YouTube and must actively 

monitor the comments beyond the standard 

monitoring tools YouTube provides. 

Turning off comments on such a large 

number of videos seems an "extreme 

reaction," said eMarketer analyst Paul 

Verna. But the issue involves the safety of 

children, so it makes sense YouTube would 

want to act quickly, he said. 

Comments aren't the main focus of the 

video-publishing site, but turning them off 

will likely diminish the experience for many 

users and video creators, he said. 

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki 

acknowledged the concerns Thursday, 

tweeting, "Nothing is more important to us 

than ensuring the safety of young people on 

the platform." 

The company said it has also released an 

updated version of its automated 

moderating system that it expects will 

identify and delete two times as many 

inappropriate comments. 

YouTube, like Facebook, Twitter and other 

sites that allow user publishing, have faced 

increasing calls to monitor what appears on 

their sites and get rid of unsuitable content. 

The companies all say they have taken action 

to protect users. But issues keep popping up. 

Pakistan ready to 

hand over Indian 

pilot amid more 

shelling 

Pakistan is preparing to 

hand over a captured Indian 

pilot as shelling continued 

for a third night across the 

disputed Kashmir border 

even as the two nucleararmed 

neighbors seek to 

defuse the most serious 

confrontation in two 

decades, reports UNB. 

Tens of thousands of 

Indian and Pakistani 

soldiers face off against each 

other along the disputed 

Himalayan border known as 

the Line of Control in one of 

the world most volatile 

regions. 

Tensions have been 

running high since Indian 

aircraft crossed into 

Pakistan on Tuesday. 

Pakistan retaliated, shooting 

down two Indian aircraft 

and capturing a pilot. 

World leaders have 

scrambled to head off an allout 

war on the Asian 

subcontinent. 

Saudi Arabia's foreign 

minister is expected in 

Islamabad later Friday. 

Mexico defends 

peaceful solution 

for Venezuelan 

issue: FM 

Mexico's position before the 

UN Security Council 

regarding Venezuela will be 

the same as the one it pushes 

via the Montevideo 

Mechanism, Mexican 

Foreign Minister Marcelo 

Ebrard said on Thursday. 

Mexico's position and the 

Montevideo Mechanism 

"are based on the search for 

a peaceful and democratic 

solution, but it's up to the 

Venezuelans and excludes 

the use of force," he said 

during a press conference, 

reports UNB. 

"Whatever is compatible 

with this position, we'll 

support it," the foreign 

minister added. 

The Montevideo 

Mechanism is a four-step 

plan proposed on Feb. 6 by 

Uruguay and Mexico 

advocating a negotiated 

solution to the current 

Venezuelan 

standoff. 

political 

Prisoner 

'commits suicide' 

at Barishal jail 

BARISHAL : A prisoner 

reportedly committed 

suicide by hanging himself 

at Barishal jail on Friday 

morning, , reports UNB. 

The deceased was 

identified as Kabir Shikdar, 

35, son of Dalil Uddin of 

Jamirtola village in 

Bhandaria upazila of 

Pirojpur district. 

Barishal senior jail super 

Prasanto Kumar Banik said 

Kabir came to Barishal jail 

from Bhola jail on October 2, 

2018 and he used to work 

here as a sweeper. 

He was jailed for ten years 

in a theft case. 

In the morning, he was 

found hanging at the kitchen 

of a building in the jail. 

When he was taken to Sher- 

E-Bangla Medical College 

Hospital doctors declared 

him dead. 

He was jailed for ten years 

in a theft case. 

Discussion 

marking Int'l 

Women's Day 

held in city 

DHAKA : A discussion on 

'The Ideals of Hazrat Fatema 

Zahra and the Duties of 

Present Women of the 

World' was held on Friday at 

the auditorium 71 of Daffodil 

International University, 

reports UNB. 

On the occasion of the 

birthday of Hazrat Fatema 

Zahra and International 

Women's Day, Iran Cultural 

Centre, Dhaka and Zahra 

Association jointly 

organised the event. 

Report says Trump demanded 

top-secret clearance for Kushner 

President Donald Trump last year ordered 

officials to grant top-secret security clearance 

to his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared 

Kushner, according to a report published 

Thursday by The New York Times. 

Kushner was granted the high-level 

clearance last May after a lengthy 

background check, reports UNB. 

The Times, citing anonymous sources, said 

Trump demanded Kushner's clearance 

despite the concerns of intelligence officials, 

then-Chief of Staff John Kelly and then- 

White House counsel Don McGahn. 

The newspaper said Kelly wrote in an 

internal memo that he had been "ordered" to 

give top-secret clearance to Kushner. 

McGahn wrote a memo in which he advised 

against such clearance. 

Peter Mirijanian, a spokesman for 

Kushner lawyer Abbe Lowell, responded 

Thursday to the Times story with a 

statement, saying: "In 2018, White House 

and security clearance officials affirmed that 

Mr. Kushner's security clearance was 

handled in the regular process with no 

pressure from anyone. That was conveyed to 

the media at the time, and new stories, if 

accurate, do not change what was affirmed at 

the time." 

White House Press Secretary Sarah 

Sanders declined to comment on the Times 

story. Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of 

the House Committee on Oversight and 

Reform, said Thursday that the Times report 

The U.S. and North Korea offered 

contradictory accounts Thursday of why the 

summit between Donald Trump and Kim 

Jong Un broke down, though both pointed to 

punishing American sanctions as a sticking 

point in the high-stakes nuclear negotiation, 

reports UNB. 

President Trump, who returned to the 

White House Thursday night, said before 

leaving Hanoi that the talks collapsed 

because North Korea's leader insisted that all 

the sanctions the U.S. has imposed on 

Pyongyang be lifted without the North firmly 

committing to eliminate its nuclear arsenal. 

But North Korea challenged that account, 

insisting it had asked only for partial 

sanctions relief in exchange for shutting 

down its main nuclear complex. Foreign 

Minister Ri Yong Ho commented on the 

talks during an abruptly scheduled middleof-the-night 

news conference after Trump 

was in the air. 

Ri said the North was also ready to offer in 

writing a permanent halt of the country's 

nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile 

tests and Washington had wasted an 

opportunity that "may not come again." He 

said the North's position won't change even 

if the United States offers to resume another 

round of dialogue. 

Later, a senior U.S. official involved in the 

negotiations offered some clarification, 

saying the North wanted all sanctions, except 

for those involving weapons sales and 

transfers, to be lifted in exchange for the 

"indicates that President Trump may have 

granted access to our country's most 

sensitive classified information to his son-inlaw 

against the advice of career staff_directly 

contradicting the President's public denials 

that he played any role." 

Trump told Times reporters in January 

that he "was never involved" with Kushner's 

security clearance. 

Cummings, D-Md., noted that his 

committee has launched an investigation 

into the security clearance process and 

requested documents and interviews 

relating to Kushner's clearance. 

"To date, the White House has not 

produced a single document or scheduled a 

single interview," Cummings said in a 

statement. "The Committee expects full 

compliance with its requests as soon as 

possible, or it may become necessary to 

consider alternative means to compel 

compliance." 

Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter 

and Kushner's wife, said in February that the 

president did not play a role in granting 

security clearances to her or Kushner. 

Trump told Times reporters in January 

that he "was never involved" with Kushner's 

security clearance. 

Cummings, D-Md., noted that his 

committee has launched an investigation 

into the security clearance process and 

requested documents and interviews 

relating to Kushner's clearance. 

Bomb kills 11 near judge's 

home, hotel in Somali capital 

A powerful explosion killed at least 11 people 

in the Somali capital Thursday, police said. 

An Islamic extremist group claimed that a 

Mogadishu hotel was the intended target, 

but a police officer said militants detonated 

a bomb while trying to assassinate a judge, 

reports UNB. 

The car bomb went off near the residence 

of appeals court chief Judge Abshir Omar, 

and security forces stationed outside the 

judge's house fought off gunmen who tried 

to force their way inside, police officer 

Mohamed Hussein said. 

More than 35 were wounded in the attack, 

said Hussein, who raised the death toll to 11. 

Shortly after the detonation, at least four 

gunmen running on foot opened fire at 

nearby buildings and business, sparking 

clashes with security forces stationed nearby 

and hotel guards, he said. 

Two witnesses said the blast ripped off 

part of the roof of Omar's house. The 

witnesses, shopkeeper Ahmed Mohamed 

and area resident Fatima Nur, reported 

hearing gunfire after the explosion and said 

smoke billowed from the site of the attack. 

Al-Shabab, which is considered the 

deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, 

claimed responsibility for the attack. The al- 

Qaida-linked group said the Maka 

Almukarramah hotel, not the judge's house 

nearby, was the intended target. 

Another witness, Sabir Abdi, said the hotel 

suffered significant damage and several 

people inside were injured. 

Dozens of cars were on fire along Maka 

Almukarramah Road, which is in a busy 

part of Mogadishu where restaurants and 

hotels are located. 

Al-Shabab has targeted the Maka 

Almukarramah hotel multiple times in the 

past, including a March 2015 attack in which 

at least 18 people died. The hotel is 

frequently patronized by government 

officials. 

Many of victims of Thursday's attack 

suffered horrific injuries and local hospitals 

were said to be struggling to cope with 

causalities. 

Some of the wounded lost limbs, said 

Sadiya Yusuf, a nurse at Daru Shifa, one of 

the hospitals treating victims. 

Engineers Institute, Bangladesh organized a press conference at IEB 

Council Hall yesterday marking 59th convention of IEB. Photo : TBT 

US, North Korea offer dueling 

accounts of talks breakdown 

dismantlement of parts of the Yongbyon 

nuclear site. The official was not authorized 

to discuss the negotiations publicly and 

spoke on condition of anonymity. 

Trump, the official said, challenged the 

North Koreans to offer more or "go all in," 

but Kim would not agree. 

Trump made no mention of the 

disagreement as he addressed U.S. troops 

during a stopover at Joint Base Elmendorf- 

Richardson in Alaska, though White House 

spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said he was 

aware of Ri's comments. 

Instead, Trump focused on U.S. military 

might and offered a broad warning to U.S. 

enemies. "America does not seek conflict, 

but if we are forced to defend ourselves we 

will fight and we will win in an overwhelming 

fashion," he declared. 

Earlier on Thursday in Hanoi, Trump had 

told reporters the North had demanded a full 

removal of sanctions in exchange for 

shutting the Yongbyon nuclear facility. 

Trump said that there had been a proposed 

agreement "ready to be signed." However, he 

said after the summit was cut short, 

"Sometimes you have to walk." 

But North Korea challenged that account, 

insisting it had asked only for partial 

sanctions relief in exchange for shutting 

down its main nuclear complex. Foreign 

Minister Ri Yong Ho commented on the 

talks during an abruptly scheduled middleof-the-night 

news conference after Trump 

was in the air.

INTERNATIONAL SATURDAy, 

MARCH 2, 2019 

3 

In this Dec. 18, 2018 photo provided by SpaceX, SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket 

are positioned inside the company's hangar at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space 

Center in Florida, ahead of the Demo-1 unmanned flight test. SpaceX rockets closer to human spaceflight 

with this weekend's debut of a new capsule designed for astronauts. The six-day test flight will 

be real in every regard, beginning with a Florida liftoff Saturday, March 2, 2019, and a docking the 

next day with the International Space Station. But the Dragon capsule won't carry humans, rather a 

test dummy in the same white SpaceX spacesuit that astronauts will wear. 

Photo : AP 

SpaceX debuts new crew 

capsule in crucial test flight 

International Desk : SpaceX closes 

in on human spaceflight with this weekend's 

debut of a new capsule designed 

for astronauts. 

The six-day test flight will be real in every 

regard, beginning with a Florida liftoff 

Saturday and a docking the next day 

with the International Space Station. But 

the Dragon capsule won't carry humans, 

rather a test dummy - named Ripley 

after the tough heroine in the "Alien" 

films - in the same white SpaceX spacesuit 

that astronauts will wear. NASA 

doesn't expect this crucial shakedown 

cruise to go perfectly. But the lessons 

learned should improve safety when two 

NASA astronauts strap into a Dragon as 

early as July. 

"Giant leaps are made by a series of consistent 

smaller steps. This one will be a 

big step!" retired astronaut Scott Kelly, 

NASA's former one-year space station 

resident, tweeted Thursday. 

Boeing is also in the race to end NASA's 

eight-year drought of launching U.S. 

astronauts on U.S. rockets from U.S. soil. 

The space agency is turning to private 

taxi rides to reduce its pricey reliance on 

Russian rockets to get astronauts to and 

from the space station. NASA is providing 

$8 billion for SpaceX and Boeing to 

build and operate these new systems. 

"On a personal level, this is an extremely 

important mission," SpaceX executive 

Hans Koenigsmann told reporters 

Thursday. "And I'm pretty sure it's not 

just me, I think everybody within 

SpaceX feels this and wants to get this 

right." 

Pompeo: US to make sure China 

can’t blockade South China Sea 

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo 

said Friday that the United States is 

committed to ensuring the South China 

Sea remains open to all kinds of navigation 

and that "China does not pose a 

threat" of closing the disputed sea lanes, 

reports UNB. 

Pompeo assured the Philippines during 

his visit to Manila that America will 

come to its defense if its forces, aircraft 

or ships come under armed attack in the 

South China Sea. His comments were 

an attempt to address local concerns 

over the vagueness of the allies' 1951 

Mutual Defense Treaty, which the 

Philippines wants re-examined. "I think 

Syrian peace process 

needs to be owned by 

Syrians: UN envoy 

A real peace process in Syria 

needs to be owned by the 

Syrians, said Geir Pedersen, 

special envoy of UN secretary-general 

Antonio Guterres 

for Syria, reports UNB. 

"A real peace process in 

Syria needs to be owned by 

the Syrians for it to be sustainable, 

while demanding 

compliance with international 

law and stressing a need to 

protect civilians, ensure 

unfettered humanitarian 

access and cease hostilities," 

the envoy said at a UN Security 

Council meeting on the 

political situation in Syria. 

Summarizing his meetings 

in Syria with the government, 

which reaffirmed an 

agreement to sustained dialogue 

based on Resolution 

2254 (2015), he said engagements 

with stakeholders 

have been "frank, practical 

and constructive." "We are 

not starting from scratch," he 

said. "We have 12 living principles 

developed by the Syrians 

in Geneva and affirmed 

in Sochi. We have baskets 

that have formed an agreed 

agenda of intra-Syrian talks 

under United Nations facilitation." 

Outlining several pertinent 

issues going forward, he said 

it was essential that he have 

direct and effective engagement 

with the government of 

Syria and the opposition. 

There is a shared sense that 

battlefield developments 

might be "winding down," he 

said, but "the conflict is far 

from over" and the challenges 

of winning peace are 

staggering in scale and complexity. 

the whole world understands that the 

Trump administration has made a true 

commitment to making sure that these 

seas remain open for the security of the 

countries in the region and the world, 

open to commercial transit," Pompeo 

told a news conference in Manila. 

Washington will back the Philippines 

and other countries in the region "so 

that these incredibly vital economic sea 

lanes are open and China does not pose 

a threat to closing them down," Pompeo 

said. "China's island building and military 

activities in the South China Sea 

threaten your sovereignty, security and, 

therefore, economic livelihood, as well 

U.S. troops to exit Afghanistan 

within 5 years : report 

The United States would withdraw its troops 

from Afghanistan over the next three to five 

years under a new Pentagon plan, U.S. 

media reported on Thursday, reports UNB. 

The plan, which was supposed to help talks 

between the United States and Afghan Taliban, 

also called for cutting by half the 

14,000 U.S. troops currently in Afghanistan 

in coming months, according to a report of 

The New York Times. 

The plan, which has reportedly received 

broad acceptance in Washington and 

North Atlantic Treaty Organization 

(NATO) headquarters in Brussels, stipulates 

that the 8,600 European and other 

international troops stationed in the country 

would focus on training the Afghan 

military, shifting U.S. forces' task to counterterrorism 

operations. 

Pentagon spokesman Kone Faulkner told 

The New York Times that no decisions have 

as that of the U.S.," he added. 

Chinese officials have refuted such 

U.S. assertions in the past, saying Beijing 

will never threaten freedom of navigation 

in the busy waterway. 

The long-seething territorial disputes 

are a key irritant between Washington 

and Beijing, which has turned several 

disputed barren reefs into islands with 

runways and other military facilities. 

Beijing has warned Washington against 

meddling, but the latter has declared 

that the peaceful resolution of the disputes 

and freedom of navigation and 

overflight in the contested areas were in 

the U.S. national interest. 

been made as peace talks continue, and the 

Pentagon "is considering all options of force 

numbers and disposition." 

The fifth round of talks between the U.S. 

delegation and the Taliban representatives 

began in Qatar's capital Doha on Monday. 

U.S. Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation 

Zalmay Khalilzad said on Thursday 

that negotiations with Taliban were 

"productive," and would resume on Saturday 

after internal deliberations. 

The Pentagon has reportedly stepped up 

airstrikes and special raid operations in 

Afghanistan to the highest levels since 2014, 

aiming to give negotiators leverage in peace 

talks with the Taliban. 

There are about 14,000 U.S. troops currently 

deployed in Afghanistan. The death 

toll of U.S. servicemen in Afghanistan has 

surpassed 2,400 since the United States 

invaded the Asian country in 2001. 

A U.S. plan to help end the war in Afghanistan would see all U.S. forces 

leave the war-torn country within five years, according to a report published 

Thursday. 

Photo : AP 

Gap to split 

into 2, with Old 

Navy gaining 

independence 

Gap Inc. is splitting into 

two. The retailer said Thursday 

that it's creating two 

independent publicly traded 

companies - low-priced juggernaut 

Old Navy and a yetto-be 

named company, 

which will consist of the 

iconic Gap brand, Athleta, 

Banana Republic as well as 

the lesser known names 

Athleta, Intermix and Hill 

City, reports UNB. 

The San Francisco-based 

company said the spin-off 

will enable each company to 

focus on flexibility and pare 

down costs. 

The company also said 

that it will be shuttering 230 

Gap brand stores over the 

next two years. A year ago, 

the Gap brand had 725 

stores worldwide. After the 

closures, which also include 

the 68 stores it shuttered 

this year, the chain will be 

down to roughly 427 stores. 

It expects to have more than 

40 percent of Gap's business 

coming from online after 

the restructuring. 

Gap's stock surged 25 percent 

in after-market trading. 

The split up, which followed 

a comprehensive 

board review, comes as Old 

Navy has been thriving, 

while Gap still hasn't been 

able to regain its footing 

despite numerous attempts 

to fix the business. Once the 

go-to place for casual clothing, 

Gap has been mired in a 

sales funk for years, hurt by 

increasing competition 

from the likes of Target and 

Amazon. 

Pakistan skips UAE meeting 

in protest over India 

International Desk : Pakistan's top diplomat 

says he is skipping a meeting of foreign 

ministers from the world's leading Islamic 

organization in the United Arab Emirates to 

protest the host's decision to invite India, a 

non-member. 

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood 

Qureshi's announcement that he won't be 

attending the inaugural session of the 

Organization of Islamic Cooperation in the 

UAE capital of Abu Dhabi amid soaring tensions 

this week with archrival India. 

The escalation between the nuclear-armed 

rivals over the disputed region of Kashmir 

has brought them close to the brink of an allout 

conflict. 

Qureshi told Parliament on Friday he 

decided to stay away from the OIC gathering 

after UAE's Foreign Minister Abdullah bin 

Zayed Al Nahyan refused to withdraw the 

invitation to India's External Affairs Minister 

Sushma Swaraj. 

Qureshi says India is neither a member of 

the 57-nation organization nor has observer 

status. Pakistan's civil aviation authority says 

the country's air space remains closed for all 

domestic and international flights because of 

continuing tensions with neighboring India. 

In a statement, the agency said the government 

decision about the closure of the air 

space will remain effective until 1 p.m. on 

Friday, after which authorities will announce 

whether they are reopening it or keeping the 

airspace closed. 

Islamabad closed its air space on Wednesday 

after saying that Pakistan's military had 

shot down two Indian warplanes and captured 

a pilot, escalating tensions between the 

nuclear-armed rivals. The pilot is expected to 

be handed back to India later in the day, a 

move that could de-escalate the crisis. 

The closing of Pakistan's airspace forced 

may airlines to reshuffle their flights, causing 

problems for passengers. 

Pakistan's top diplomat says he is skipping a meeting of foreign ministers 

from the world's leading Islamic organization in the United Arab Emirates 

to protest the host's decision to invite India, a non-member. Photo : AP 

Attorneys argue over evidence for 

ex-Minneapolis cop’s trial 

A former Minneapolis police officer 

charged in the 2017 shooting death of 

an unarmed Australian woman is 

scheduled to appear in court Friday, as 

attorneys for both sides argue several 

issues in his case, reports UNB. 

Mohamed Noor, 33, is charged with 

second-degree intentional murder, 

third-degree murder and seconddegree 

manslaughter in the July 15, 

2017, shooting death of Justine 

Ruszczyk Damond, a 40-year-old life 

coach and Australian-American who 

had called 911 to report a possible sexual 

assault behind her home. Noor was 

fired from the police force after being 

charged. 

Court documents filed in advance of 

Friday's hearing provide a roadmap for 

issues that are expected to come up. 

Among them, prosecutors want to use 

Noor's refusal to speak to investigators 

as evidence against him, and they want 

to submit evidence from a pre-employment 

psychological evaluation conducted 

in 2015. The defense wants to 

keep such evidence out and wants to 

sever the most serious murder charge 

from the other two counts. 

It's not clear when Judge Kathryn 

Quaintance will rule. 

Noor's trial begins April 1. Court documents 

indicate he will plead not guilty 

and will claim he was defending himself 

and others on the night of the 

shooting. 

Noor has not spoken with investigators. 

His partner that night, Matthew Harrity, 

told investigators he was startled by 

a loud noise right before Damond 

approached the driver's-side window of 

their police SUV. 

According to the criminal complaint, 

Harrity, who was driving, heard a voice 

and a thump and caught a glimpse of a 

person's head and shoulders outside 

his window. He then heard a sound like 

a lightbulb breaking, saw a flash and 

looked to his right to see Noor in the 

passenger seat with his arm extended. 

He looked out his window and saw 

Damond with a gunshot wound. 

Prosecutors say investigators asked to 

arrange for a voluntary interview with 

Noor and that he declined through his 

attorney. Defense attorneys say prosecutors 

aren't allowed to use that against 

Noor in court because he has a constitutional 

right not to make any selfincriminating 

statements. 

But prosecutors argue that they can use 

a defendant's pre-arrest silence if the 

defendant was under no governmentimposed 

compulsion to speak. 

"In sum, the defendant had a choice on 

whether to tell his side of the story during 

a voluntary interview in a non-coercive 

setting," prosecutor Amy Sweasy 

wrote. "His decision not to do so is relevant." 

It's unknown whether Noor, who is 

Somali-American, will testify at his trial. 

Defense attorneys are seeking to 

omit some evidence, including some of 

Noor's past behavior as a police officer. 

They are also asking that, prior to jury 

selection, potential jurors be shown a 

video about unconscious bias, with the 

goal of helping jurors recognize potential 

biases. The state opposes this 

request. 

Democrats eye new inquiries, witnesses 

after Cohen testimony 

After three days of grilling 

Michael Cohen, President 

Donald Trump's former 

lawyer, Democrats are 

quickly using his words as a 

roadmap to open new lines 

of investigation into the 

president's ties to Russia 

and summon additional witnesses, 

reports UNB. 

Cohen completed a third 

day of testimony on Capitol 

Hill Thursday, one day after 

publicly branding his former 

boss a racist and a con man 

who lied about business 

dealings in Russia and 

directed him to conceal 

extramarital relationships. 

He was interviewed behind 

closed doors by the House 

Intelligence Committee for 

more than eight hours. 

As he left the House intelligence 

interview, Cohen 

said he would be returning 

to Capitol Hill on March 6 

for another round of questioning 

with that panel. 

The weeklong gauntlet of 

interviews with Cohen 

launched what is expected to 

be months of investigations 

of Trump and those connected 

to him. Multiple 

Democrat-led House committees 

are pledging to 

investigate not only Trump's 

campaign's ties to Russia, 

which are also the subject of 

special counsel Robert 

Mueller's probe, but presidential 

conflicts of interest, 

possible money laundering 

and other oversight matters 

that Democrats say were 

ignored under GOP control. 

House Intelligence Chairman 

Rep. Adam Schiff called 

the closed-door session with 

Cohen productive and said 

lawmakers were able to 

"drill down in great detail" 

on issues they are investigating. 

Another Democratic 

committee member, California 

Rep. Eric Swalwell, said 

Cohen "has been asked, 

based on a lot of new evidence 

we learned today, to 

bring corroborating materials 

that he believes he has." 

Schiff said the committee 

will hear from Felix Sater, a 

Russia-born executive who 

worked with Cohen on an 

ultimately unsuccessful deal 

to build a Trump Tower in 

Moscow, in an open hearing 

March 14. 

In addition, a committee 

aide said the panel also 

anticipates inviting Trump 

Organization chief financial 

officer Allen Weisselberg to 

testify. Cohen mentioned the 

Trump Organization chief 

financial officer several 

times in his public House 

Oversight testimony, linking 

him to hush money payments 

to porn actress 

Stormy Daniels, who alleged 

she had an affair with Donald 

Trump. Trump denies 

the affair. 

The Oversight Committee 

is also planning on calling 

additional witnesses after 

Cohen's testimony. The 

committee's chairman, 

Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, 

indicated the panel 

could bring in a broad swath 

of people that Cohen mentioned 

in Wednesday's hearing. 

He told reporters that 

his panel is poring over the 

transcript and anyone mentioned 

multiple times has a 

chance of hearing from 

them. 

Based on who was mentioned 

in the hearing, possible 

witnesses could include 

Weisselberg and two of the 

president's children, Donald 

Trump Jr. and Ivanka 

Trump. Daniels was also 

mentioned frequently. 

Cohen, who pleaded guilty 

last year to lying to Congress 

about the Moscow real 

estate project and reports to 

prison in May for a threeyear 

sentence, gave harsh 

testimony about Trump on 

several fronts Wednesday. 

He said Trump knew in 

advance that damaging 

emails about Democrat 

Hillary Clinton would be 

released during the 2016 

campaign - a claim the president 

has denied - and 

accused Trump of lying during 

the 2016 campaign 

about the Moscow deal. 

Cohen also said Trump 

directed him to arrange the 

hush money payment to 

Daniels.

EDITORIAL 

SATurDAy, 

MArCH 2, 2019 

4 

Australia ‘complicit’ in Cambodia dictatorship 

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam 

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

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com 

Saturday, March 2, 2019 

Evaluating spending 

on social safety nets 

Government has been spending 

increasingly greater funds into various 

social safety net programmes for over 

five years in succession. The spending has 

two-fold objectives : to help the bare 

subsistence or consumption needs of the 

poor or the very poor and to help them as 

well to make a living. Government keeps on 

providing direct cash transfer to the poor, 

distributes food at nominal or zero costs , 

runs micro-credit activities to create means 

of livelihood and runs education, health and 

training programmes . 

But the spending on direct dole or cash hand 

outs is seen to be heavier than the programmes 

meant to help the poor to help themselves. And 

every year the size of such safety net 

programmes is seen to be higher than the year 

before. Thus, the spending is some 86.89 

billion taka on these programmes in the last 

fiscal year compared to 73.68 billion taka of 

such spending in the previous fiscal year. Thus, 

progressive higher spending on these 

programmes is noted. 

Spending for the poor can be supported for 

their sheer welfare benefits. But critics have 

been also questioning about the manner of 

such spending and whether the same actually 

contribute to the long term goal of 

'sustainable' poverty alleviation. A discussion 

meeting held sometime ago under the 

auspices of BRAC and the Bangladesh Rice 

Research Foundation discussed these 

aspects. It emerged from the discussion that 

the participants in it were in favour of not 

reducing the various official programmes for 

the poor. But they emphasised on running 

them transparently and efficiently, They 

stressed, more importantly, that the 

programmes must not create a sense of 

assured bail out always for the poor. They 

should be oriented to work their way out 

gradually to depend less and less on these 

programmes. 

The suggestions from the meeting have 

obvious high value. For there is a danger 

that the poor or the very poor will likely 

develop a sort of dependence on the 

government's dole and lose as a result a 

feeling of urgency that they must overcome 

their problems, the sooner the better. As 

mentioned before, the greater part of the 

safety net programmes presently are spent 

on direct dole which only feeds needs of 

spending on essentials such as food by the 

poor or very poor. Finding the system as 

useful, only a bigger and bigger number will 

likely try to be covered by it to be able to 

survive on the plea that there are no jobs or 

earnings. 

But if it keeps on like this , government is 

likely to find itself at a point of time with a 

huge overburden to pay for them at the 

expense of the taxpayers and promoting 

resource denial to other productive sectors in 

pressing need of funds for their 

development. Even in the developed 

countries where there are elaborate social 

welfare programmes developed over many 

years, the outlook there-nowadays-is to keep 

such spending on a leash as people have 

become indolent and habituated to welfare 

than working for their living. 

Clearly, the need in the Bangladesh context, 

is to go for a hard evaluation of the impact of 

the safety net programmes on the poor-so 

far-and to take appropriate measures 

accordingly. Allegations have been made that 

the programmes in many cases are missing 

out the truly deserving ones ; there are many 

political beneficiaries. These angles need to 

be also seriously investigated. The main 

thrust of the programmes ought to be on 

micro credit and related activities to 

gradually self employ the poor so that at one 

point of time they have no need to be utterly 

dependent on dole. 

After a recent warning by exiled 

Cambodian opposition leader Sam 

Rainsy of a "massacre" following 

Prime Minister Hun Sen's threat to use 

the armed forces to decimate the already 

outlawed opposition, coupled with last 

week's failed parliamentary motion by the 

leader of the Australian Greens, Senator 

Richard Di Natale, to sanction Cambodia, 

the time is ripe for a fresh assessment of 

whether Australia's foreign policy is 

complicit in Cambodia's dictatorship. 

Hun Sen's threats of a massacre came 

after a recent Asia Times article focusing 

on his obsession with violence. But if a 

massacre were to occur, it would not be 

the first under Hun Sen's dictatorship. 

Undoubtedly, given the habitual failure 

by the international community to take 

action against Hun Sen, it is highly likely 

he would get away with another one. All 

that he would have to bear is being 

"condemned" by the international 

community. 

In 2010, Cambodia encountered a 

different kind of massacre - a stampede 

resulting from "peace and economic 

development." More than 340 people 

were reportedly killed and some 770 

injured by the stampede on a bridge built 

by Hun Sen's family. Never in the history 

of Cambodia, despite past horrendous 

atrocities during armed conflicts in the 

1970s, were so many people killed en 

masse. 

Yet not a single person was prosecuted 

or otherwise held accountable, as the 

international community has always been 

keen to play along with the government's 

Crown Prince Mohammed bin 

Salman's headline-grabbing tour 

of Pakistan, India and China 

elicited the predictable commentary 

worldwide regarding Saudi Arabia's 

"eastward shift." The reality, however, 

is that the Kingdom and most of the 

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states 

have been shifting eastward geoeconomically 

for at least a decade. 

The Saudi crown prince's visit was 

not, therefore, a sign of a new eastward 

shift. Rather, it might be a sign that the 

eastward shift has entered a new, 

mature phase. Call it the GCC's 

"Eastward Shift 2.0." 

Throughout the first eastward shift, 

over the last few decades, GCC oil 

lubricated Asian growth while 

contributing to regional prosperity. 

Throughout the 1970s, strategic 

relationships were built between South 

Korean and Japanese companies and 

GCC oil producers, while China, India 

and Southeast Asia entered the scene as 

major buyers and trade partners in 

significant ways later, in the 1990s and 

beyond. 

By the time King Abdullah ascended 

the throne in 2005, his first two foreign 

visits as head of state - to China and 

India - made headlines, but should not 

have been surprising. The writing was 

on the wall: The geo-economic future of 

Middle Eastern (or perhaps, more 

accurately, West Asian) oil producers 

diplomatic overtures and cooperation. 

Justice has always eluded the victims. 

Canberra's tolerance of Hun Sen's 

adversarial stance and its ongoing 

provision of academic training to 

members of Cambodia's "armed forces 

for rent" at the Australian Defense 

Academy in Canberra since 2013 support 

the view that its hands are stained with 

Cambodian blood. This is further 

supported by a report by Human Rights 

Watch calling for sanctions against 

Cambodia's "dirty dozen generals" 

involved in serious human rights 

violations committed since the 1970s. 

Further, a program on the Australian 

Broadcasting Corporation network 

carried a video clip with reference to the 

2015 assault of two opposition 

parliamentarians who were savagely 

beaten in front of the Cambodian 

National Assembly "by members of Hun 

Sen's paramilitary bodyguard unit." 

While Canberra is imposing sanctions 

against military generals in Myanmar, 

Hun Sen's crimes in Cambodia and 

activities in Australia's own back yard 

have been met with a habitual silence by 

SAWATHEy Ek 

the federal government. 

Australia's mute response - if that can 

be classified as a "foreign policy" on 

Cambodia - only serves to undermine 

Australia's international standing. Not 

only is the policy of engagement and 

cooperation flawed, but it is seriously 

misguided by the notion that after 30 

years, Hun Sen could be reformed or that 

at least Hun Sen is better than Pol Pot - 

justified by economic prosperity for those 

Canberra's tolerance of Hun Sen's adversarial stance and 

its ongoing provision of academic training to members of 

Cambodia's "armed forces for rent" at the Australian 

Defense Academy in Canberra since 2013 support the view 

that its hands are stained with Cambodian blood. 

will be written in South and East Asia by 

the increasing energy demands of a 

growing middle class. 

GCC Eastward Shift 2.0, however, 

goes beyond crude oil sales. Amid all of 

the headlines about multibillion-dollar 

deals signed across the three countries, 

one announcement stood out as 

different and potentially 

transformative: The Chinese language 

will now be taught as part of the 

curriculum in all Saudi schools. If you 

are looking for signs of Eastward Shift 

2.0, this sweeping directive might be 

the one. Saudi Arabia is not alone. The 

UAE announced last summer that it 

would offer Chinese classes in 100 high 

schools. The University of Bahrain 

launched a Confucius Institute in 2013 

and other GCC states are likely to follow 

suit. Given the dominance of English as 

a second language worldwide and its 

key role in the GCC, one should not 

AFSHIn MolAvI 

who serve the regime. 

As a major leader in the Asia-Pacific 

region, it beggars belief to see the 

Australian government's acceptance of 

the violence committed by Hun Sen's 

regime against critics and impoverished 

landowners. Likewise Australia's policy of 

never showing support for the 

Cambodian opposition, unlike its current 

stance backing the Venezuelan 

opposition, indicates that Australia's 

foreign policy is discriminatory and 

harmful. 

Journalist Richard Bernstein, in his 

recent essay "Cambodia for Rent," 

identified "a historic mistake" with 

reference to Sebastian Strangio, author of 

expect Chinese to replace it anytime 

soon (nor should one expect China to 

eclipse the US as the regional security 

guarantor anytime soon; that will be 

part of Eastward Shift 3.0). 

Chinese will now be taught as part of 

the curriculum in all Saudi schools. If 

you are looking for signs of Eastward 

Shift 2.0, this sweeping directive might 

be the one. But, if you are counting 

influence in decades rather than years, 

a generation of Saudis and Emiratis 

who are comfortable enough in Chinese 

to begin choosing Chinese universities 

for their studies will signal a long-term 

geo-cultural diversification of 

significant proportions. 

The investments signed by Crown 

Prince Mohammed bin Salman also 

reflected this "decades" measurement 

of influence. He signed or endorsed 

major refinery and petrochemical deals 

in every country he visited. 

Cambodia's Hun Sen, made by the United 

Nations in 1993 when it ceded to Hun 

Sen's demand to be a co-prime minister 

after his election loss. His description - 

"the very intelligent and ruthless Hun 

Sen, who controlled the largest armed 

force in the country and much of the 

bureaucracy, which had been installed by 

Vietnam, held effective power" - remains 

unchanged to the present day. 

This "historic mistake" perpetuates as 

countries like Australia continue to 

provide aid to Hun Sen, often comparing 

today's Cambodia with a bygone era 

under the Khmer Rouge. This 

comparison does nothing more than hold 

up Hun Sen as a "less violent" leader than 

Pol Pot. The international community has 

taught Cambodians to accept that Hun 

Sen is at least better than the Khmer 

Rouge. At the same time, Australia and 

the international community continue to 

plow aid aimed at "helping Cambodians" 

move away from the Khmer Rouge era. 

Australia's military cooperation, like 

that of other countries, with Cambodia 

clearly perpetuates that historic 

mistake. Cambodia's armed forces are 

being used as private bodyguards and 

subcontractors by Hun Sen and his 

tycoon/politician allies, frequently 

engaging in illegal land grabbing, while 

"horrific crimes have been inflicted on 

Cambodian citizens in order to facilitate 

the transfer of land and resources to 

well-connected companies." 

Source : Asia times 

Saudi crown prince’s Asia tour heralds Gulf’s ‘Eastward Shift 2.0’ 

Israeli soldiers throw sound 

grenades at a group of people 

including journalists, near a gate 

leading to Hebron's main al-Shuhada 

street, closed by troops earlier in 

February, during an annual 

demonstration in memory of the 1994 

Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, in the 

divided West Bank city of Hebron, on 

February 22, 2019. 

The slaughter began at dawn. The 

perpetrator, a messianic Jew from a 

nearby colony dressed in an Israeli 

Army uniform and carrying a Galil 

assault rifle, entered the Ebrahimi 

Mosque, in the heart of the old city of 

Hebron, where roughly 800 

worshippers knelt in prayer, threw a 

hand grenade into the middle of the 

hall and then opened fire, killing 29 

people (several as young as 12) and 

wounding 125 (several left with 

paralysing wounds). 

Later in the day, as the sun rose and 

Hebronites dealt with the unspeakable, 

the inexplicable, the unbearable, they 

began to tell each other, much in the 

manner of people in a collective trance, 

of reported sightings of sundry angels 

who had come down to carry home the 

souls of the dead, led by Angel Gabriel, 

who was seen administering to the 

wounded with healing messages from 

Heaven. It was the middle of the month 

of Ramadan. 

The reported sightings may have 

been consolation to elderly, 

traumatised folk in the town, but not 

consolation enough to young activists 

throughout the West Bank, who 

immediately took to the streets in mass 

The investments signed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman 

also reflected this "decades" measurement of influence. He signed or 

endorsed major refinery and petrochemical deals in every country 

he visited. Multibillion-dollar deals to build refineries represent longterm 

bets on the future. A typical refinery project might take five to 

seven years to build and will be highly capital intensive. 

protests, which led to clashes with 

Israel's occupation forces, which in 

turn led to a further 26 Palestinians 

killed and 120 injured. The mosque 

massacre took place on February 25, 

1994, exactly 25 years ago on Monday 

this week. 

You cannot write a column 

commemorating this event, on the very 

day it took place a quarter century ago, 

as I find myself doing now, without 

finding yourself reflecting on how, 

though the bloodbath at the Ebrahimi 

Mosque was seemingly the act of a lone 

wolf, the killer in fact was driven by, 

and was the product of, the very deeprooted 

hatred and zones of darkness 

that have defined Zionism's core view 

of Palestinians as putrid vermin to be 

squashed underfoot in order for Israel 

to prevail. And certainly seven decades 

of brutality attest to that. 

Consider the unimpeachable, and by 

now well known, evidence. On the 

night of April 8, 1948, units of the 

Urgun and Stern gangs entered the 

sleepy village of Deir Yassein, on the 

outskirts of occupied Jerusalem, and 

massacred 252 men, women and 

FAWAz TurkI 

children, throwing some of the bodies 

in the village well. Why the wanton 

savagery? Let Menachem Begin, leader 

of the Urgun Gang and later prime 

minister of Israel, tell you how the 

butchery there was in reality part of a 

political strategy. 

"The massacre was not only 

justified," he wrote in his 

autobiography, The Revolt (1977), "but 

there would've been no Israel without 

the victory of Deir Yassein... The Arabs 

began fleeing in panic, shouting Deor 

Yassein". Then consider the bloodletting, 

again employed as strategy, in 

the village of Qibya, in the West Bank, 

on the Green Line between Israel and 

Jordan, then inhabited by many Nakbi 

refugees who often, in their innocence, 

crossed the border to rejoin families 

left behind or to pick fruit from fields 

that had belonged to them before the 

war. On the night of October 14, 1953, 

Israeli troops, led by the notorious 

Ariel Sharon, entered Qibya, in the 

dead of night, where they killed 69 

villagers - men, women and children 

included. Later Sharon gloated: "Qibya 

was to be an example for everyone." In 

Multibillion-dollar deals to build 

refineries represent long-term bets on 

the future. A typical refinery project 

might take five to seven years to build 

and will be highly capital intensive. 

Refinery investments involving stateowned 

enterprises are, therefore, a 

good signal that both sides are engaged 

in strategic thinking. Indeed, an oftheard 

statement throughout the three 

visits stated the importance of 

graduating beyond a "buyer-seller 

relationship" to a more strategic one. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi 

and Crown Prince Mohammed bin 

Salman made this idea crystal clear 

when they announced a "Strategic 

Partnership Council" that will hold a 

summit every two years. "The time has 

come," Modi said, "to convert our 

energy relationship into a strategic 

partnership." 

Long-time visitors to GCC 

commercial hubs and capitals will note 

the increasing numbers of Chinese 

tourists and businessmen in the region. 

In the year 2014, China replaced India 

as Dubai's largest trading partner. 

China is also Saudi Arabia's largest 

trading partner, and the Kingdom will 

likely surpass Russia this year as 

China's top crude supplier - a position it 

held from 2006 to 2016 during 

Eastward Shift 1.0. 

Source : Arab news 

Massacre as Israeli policy and a way of life 

The reported sightings may have been consolation to elderly, traumatised 

folk in the town, but not consolation enough to young activists throughout 

the West Bank, who immediately took to the streets in mass protests, which led 

to clashes with Israel's occupation forces, which in turn led to a further 26 

Palestinians killed and 120 injured. The mosque massacre took place on 

February 25, 1994, exactly 25 years ago on Monday this week. 

short, no border crossings, do you 

hear? 

Then consider the massacre at the 

village of Kafr Qassim, also on the 

Green Line, but this inside Israel, that 

took place in the early evening of 

October 29, 1956, carried out by 

Israel's border police, who killed 48 

villagers returning home from their 

fields, unaware that the authorities had 

allegedly imposed a curfew that day. 

The policemen involved were brought 

to "trial" and sentenced to prison 

terms, only to be later pardoned. But 

wait! The highest ranking official 

prosecuted for the massacre, one 

Issachan Shadim, stated, shortly before 

his death - as reported in a lengthy 

article in the liberal Israel paper 

Ha'aretz in October 11, 2018 - that the 

curfew and the massacre were planned 

as phases within an operation aimed at 

ethnically cleansing "Israeli Arabs" 

[Palestinians in 1948 areas] from the 

village, and that his trial was staged to 

protect Israel's political and military 

elite from taking responsibility 

For other massacres, before, inbetween 

and since, check the history 

books. 

Will we, the native people of 

Palestine, ever forgive? Perhaps, when 

Israelis express remorse and the 

accounts between us and them are 

balanced. Will we ever forget? Never - 

and certainly not on a day like this, 

marking the 25th anniversary of an 

event meant to rub our noses in the 

vomit of Zionist racism. 

Source : Gulf news

SCIENCE & TECH 

SATURDAy, 

MARCH 02, 2019 

5 

The imminent threat of privacy invasion 

The cloud is infinite, a fluffy Sunday-school afterlife for our digital debris. 

Liz Duck-Chong 

Leaving a long-term relationship, you 

find yourself standing on the precipice 

of a life yet unlived; all of a sudden the 

accumulated trinkets and tchotchkes of 

your life together exist only to mock you 

in your unspoken grief. There's no 

better time to get into getting rid of 

stuff. 

After she emptied our house of all 

that she wanted, I emptied it a second 

time, of everything that we had grown 

to want together. I embraced the 

spartan wisdom of Marie Kondo's The 

Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - 

the self-help manual de rigueur for 

people who want to want less. Like a 

barren arctic island basking in my daily 

hour of sunlight, I proudly embraced 

an aesthetic of Scandinavian noir-chic, 

telling anyone within earshot that the 

drab palette and multiple timberveneer 

Arkelstorp side tables were the 

trappings of a new and more mature 

me, a me that was as comfortable 

owning six oversized beige floor lamps 

and playing at underwear origami as I 

was being alone. 

A brutalist of the inner world, Kondo 

imagines a life made better for being 

purposeful in its scantness - a message 

that does not bode well for the abode of 

one married to their clutter, but I latch 

on to her philosophy hook, line and 

sinker. I fold each of my socks, throw 

away projects that sit half finished, and 

appraise the emotional bond I share 

with my cutlery. I begin to feel like 

maybe it's actually working. 

Minimalism feels like a scam until 

you're in on it, and isn't that what 

scams are all about now? 

But for all the physical detritus in our 

orbit, what exists on our computers is 

vaster and more vague; a digital 

footprint compressed deep. There isn't 

a guidebook for emotional digital 

minimalism. No one tells you how to 

hold a file in your hand, to embrace a 

100KB photograph, to evaluate 

whether a 10-year text-message history 

"sparks joy". 

It's been estimated that the trillions of 

electrons that make up the entire 

internet weigh about 50 grams, around 

half the weight of a pack of cards. But 

what about the emotional weight of 

keeping terabytes of photographs you 

took of someone while you loved them? 

What was the feeling of deleting them? 

More than anything, I felt the need to 

find out. We all curate ourselves on the 

internet, whether you're an aspiring 

influencer, KonMari-ing your Twitter 

followers, or demanding the "right to be 

forgotten". But we are increasingly sold 

the unassailable notion that behind the 

scenes no such maintenance is 

required. The cloud is infinite, a fluffy 

Sunday-school afterlife for our digital 

debris. Google promises me more 

space than I could once even fathom, 

Dropbox will allocate me huge tracts of 

land on their digital acreage, and Apple 

pinky-swears that every blurry photo of 

a dog, cloud or my pink, bared arse will 

remain safe forever, as long as I cough 

up to keep their labyrinthine server 

compound spinning. I begin a 

Photo: Mixmike 

Thoughts on digital minimalism 

pilgrimage. Every photo ever taken, 

every file saved - my digital history up 

for appraisal. Years of work and 

pleasure have become a formless 

sweater, taking months to unravel, 

each day finding myself tugging ever 

tighter in the cold. What at the start is a 

careful evaluation, trying to consider 

each file as I had my teaspoons and 

shower gel, grows increasingly fast and 

unfeeling. In one marathon session, 

equipment tests and engagement 

parties alike flick past in seconds, as I 

pick out the smattering of photos 

deemed worthy, before transferring the 

rest into a growing folder of refuse. 

I tell all my friends about this 

journey, and their responses vary 

wildly. Some find my task Sisyphean 

but fascinating. Others do not 

understand, and openly revel in the 

automaticity of the cloud. Not making 

decisions, they say, is how they find the 

time to make other, more important 

decisions. Mostly they tell me that they 

wouldn't have the time, with the kind of 

look that betrays their concern that I 

do. One friend tells me of how once, in 

the days before Facebook, she lost a 

hard drive containing the entire 

photographic history of her and an ex; 

how it felt like a cleaving, a blade 

cutting clean through tender flesh. This 

sort of thing could never happen 

nowadays, she muses, and I think of all 

that data I have no control over. 

Somewhere out there, pinging off a 

distant cloud, is the first time I met you, 

the first time I blurted out, "I love you", 

the first time you saw my tits. 

Eden Gillespie 

If you shop at Westfield, you've 

probably been scanned and recorded 

by dozens of hidden cameras built into 

the centres' digital advertising 

billboards. The semi-camouflaged 

cameras can determine not only your 

age and gender but your mood, cueing 

up tailored advertisements within 

seconds, thanks to facial detection 

technology. 

Westfield's Smartscreen network was 

developed by the French software firm 

Quividi back in 2015. Their discreet 

cameras capture blurry images of 

shoppers and apply statistical analysis 

to identify audience demographics. 

And once the billboards have your 

attention they hit record, sharing your 

reaction with advertisers. Quividi says 

their billboards can distinguish 

shoppers' gender with 90% precision, 

five categories of mood from "very 

happy to very unhappy" and customers' 

age within a five-year bracket. 

Mood is a particularly valuable 

insight for advertisers, revealing 

shoppers' general sentiment towards a 

brand and how they feel in particular 

stores at certain times of the day. 

Unlike gender and age, mood is harder 

to determine, sitting at around 80% 

accuracy. 

There are now more than 1,600 

billboards installed into 41 Westfield 

centres across Australia and New 

Zealand. Scentre Group, Westfield 

Australia's parent company, 

emphasises that all data collected is 

anonymous and that they are using 

facial detection, not facial recognition 

technology (FRT). 

This means generic information such 

as a shopper's age and gender is 

collected rather than the technology 

using photo-matching databases to 

identify who customers are. A 

spokesperson would not confirm 

whether or not Westfield would 

consider using FRT in the future. 

Retail companies are increasingly 

turning to facial detection and facial 

recognition software to attract and 

engage a distracted audience. Quividi's 

host of international clients include 

Telstra, 7-Eleven, Coca-Cola, oOH 

Media and HSBC bank. 

Terry Hartmann, vice president of 

Cognitec Asia Pacific, the company that 

develops "market-leading face 

recognition technologies for customers 

and government agencies around the 

world", says using facial detection 

commercially is no different to 

Facebook's manipulation of users' 

online search history for targeted 

advertising. 

"You're not identifying who that 

person is, you're just identifying the 

characteristics of that person. That's no 

different to Facebook popping up ads 

you might be interested in and social 

media picking up people based on their 

clicking habits or the shopping that 

they've done." While facial detection 

could be considered relatively benign, it 

is a step closer to the more problematic 

FRT. Dr Dong Xu is the chair in 

computer engineering at the University 

of Sydney. He says that under optimum 

lighting and using high-quality photo 

data bases, FRT is more accurate than 

humans at identifying faces and can 

now recognise an individual from 

millions of photographs. 

According to Xu, the technology is 

even more reliable at identifying 

criminals - and presumably other 

people - than using fingerprints. This 

technology is still in its teething stages 

within the Australian retail sector, but 

FRT has significant investment and 

growth potential. International 

companies including Target, 7-Eleven, 

Walmart, Google and Facebook are all 

experimenting with facial recognition. 

The global FRT market is worth 

approximately US$3bn (A$4.1bn) and 

is expected to grow to US$6bn by 2021. 

Target and Walmart say they trialed the 

technology in-store to prevent theft and 

fraud, while 7-Eleven plan to use it to 

"identify loyal customers". Facebook 

has been using facial recognition since 

December 2017 to help users "manage 

their identity online" while Google has 

also been using FRT for some time. 

China is the world's leader in facial 

recognition, with more than 176m 

CCTV cameras. FRT is used for street 

surveillance and policing but also in 

China's "cashless" stores. In these 

stores shoppers can buy products by 

simply scanning their faces, while in 

ATMS and hotels, all it takes is a glance 

to check in and take out money. Alibaba 

and Guess are now experimenting with 

a project called FashionAI. The project 

would fit FRT into changing room 

mirrors, allowing customers to see 

themselves in outfits without actually 

having to put them on. 

Is advancement of technology leading to immortality? 

Adam Gabbatt 

China's first emperor 

ordered his subjects to 

search for the elixir of life in a 

quest for immortality. In 

16th century France, nobles 

would drink gold in a bid to 

extend their lifespans. 

Gilgamesh, the Sumerian 

king at the heart of 

humanity's earliest epic 

poem, found a magic herb, 

but a snake ate it. In 2015, a 

woman on the MTV series 

True Life: I'm Obsessed With 

Staying Young bathed in pig 

blood. 

In 2019, the quest for 

everlasting life is, largely, 

though not always, more 

scientific. Funded by Silicon 

Valley elites, researchers 

believe they are closer than 

ever to tweaking the human 

body so that we can finally 

live forever (or quite a bit 

longer), even as some worry 

about pseudoscience in the 

sector. Scientists and 

entrepreneurs are working 

on a range of techniques, 

from attempting to stop cells 

aging, to the practice of 

injecting young blood into 

old people - a process 

denounced as quackery by 

the Federal Drug 

Administration this week. 

"There's millions of people 

now who won't see death if 

they choose," said James 

Strole, the director of the 

Coalition of Radical Life 

Extension, an organization 

which brings together 

scientists and enthusiasts 

interested in "physical 

immortality". 

At present our bodies are 

built to last - "if you took 

perfect care of your body" - 

125 years, according to 

Strole. The problem is that if 

someone did live to be 125, 

they are unlikely to remain 

spry into their final decades. 

"Who wants to live in some 

decrepit state?" Strole said. 

"We've increased lifespans a 

lot, but we haven't improved 

quality of lifespan." 

That's where what 

enthusiasts called "super 

longevity" comes in. A 

number of billionaires have 

pumped money into 

research that aims to keep 

people fighting fit as they 

age. Google founders Sergey 

Brin and Larry Page have 

pumped millions into Calico, 

a secretive health venture 

which aims to "solve death". 

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos 

and the billionaire Peter 

Thiel are backers of Unity 

Biotechnology, which hopes 

to combat the effects of 

aging. The idea of never 

dying might sound like 

something from science 

fiction, but the experimental 

techniques are far removed 

from a brain in a jar, a body 

in a freezer or a heart wired 

up to a car battery. Sierra 

Sciences is another company 

racing to cheat death. Its 

focus is on treatments that 

can lengthen telomeres - the 

"caps" at the end of each 

strand of DNA. Telomeres 

get shorter each time a cell 

copies itself. Because our 

cells copy themselves 

throughout our lives, the 

telomeres eventually get very 

short, and our cells cannot 

regenerate: we get old. "If 

you can get the telomeres 

back to the normal state they 

were at when you were born, 

that could reduce your 

biological age back to 25," 

Strole said. "You wouldn't be 

reversed back to a baby. You 

stop where maturity begins 

and ends."Among Sierra 

Sciences competitors is 

BioViva, whose CEO, 

Elizabeth Parrish, is so 

committed to the cause that 

she became one of the first 

humans to undergo telomere 

therapy in 2015. Writing in 

2018, she claimed a 

measurement of her 

telomeres showed they had 

"grown younger" by roughly 

30 years since she received 

the treatment - her body was 

reverse-aging. 

Others claim they can 

already prevent aging in 

animals. George Church, a 

Harvard professor and the 

founder of Rejuvenate Bio, 

uses gene therapy to add 

anti-aging instructions to 

DNA. Church says he has 

succeeded in making mice 

Scientists and entrepreneurs are working on a range of techniques, from 

attempting to stop cells aging, to the practice of injecting young blood into 

old people. 

Photo: Alamy 

live twice as long, and the 

secretive company is said to 

be planning imminent 

testing on dogs. The 

discovery by Calico scientists 

in 2018 that naked mole rats 

- which look exactly how they 

sound, except with bigger 

teeth - essentially do not age 

fueled further excitement in 

the quest for immortality. 

According to Science 

magazine the defiance is due 

to "very active DNA repair 

and high levels of 

chaperones, proteins that 

help other proteins fold 

correctly", and the hope is 

that some of the discoveries 

could be applied. 

FRT is now more accurate than humans at identifying faces. 

Photo: Jochen Tack 

How can I set up a small website 

for a local group? 

Jack Schofield 

It's a pity you don't like the 

idea of using Facebook 

because this is generally the 

quickest and easiest way for 

a small group to get online. 

In fact, if an organisation has 

a physical manifestation - a 

school, park or church, 

allotments, a restaurant or 

so on - then it may already 

have a Facebook page. If so, 

you can apply to take it over. 

If that fails, you can start 

your own page and compete 

with it. 

Using Facebook has 

advantages: it's free, you 

don't need to do any 

programming and it's likely 

most of your users will 

already have accounts. 

Facebook pages are also 

easily accessible to 

members' spouses, children 

and relatives who wouldn't 

visit a website. 

Facebook groups are 

different from Facebook 

pages. Facebook groups are 

more like chatrooms, and 

you can keep them private if 

you like. You could use a 

Facebook page for news and 

a private Facebook group to 

publish minutes and debate 

issues, among other things. 

When the web took off 

back in the 1990s, it was like 

the opening of America's 

midwest, and millions of 

people went "digital 

homesteading" on sites such 

as GeoCities. Building 

websites with HTML turned 

out to require more effort, 

and more taste, than most 

people possessed. There 

were lots of good sites but 

most were dire. 

In the early 2000s, 

homesteading was replaced 

by blogging, which didn't 

require any programming 

skills. Templates removed 

the need for design skills, or 

even taste. Although the 

basic diary structure of a 

blog didn't suit every 

purpose, the free WordPress 

software made most things 

possible, for those who were 

willing to make the effort … 

or pay someone to put their 

website together. 

After the blogging boom, 

we saw the rise of the dragand-drop 

website builder, 

which is where we are today. 

Drag-and-drop systems let 

you build websites quickly 

and easily by plonking prewritten 

components onto 

your developing webpage, 

with no programming 

required. 

If you're rejecting 

Facebook, it comes down to 

a choice between WordPress 

and a drag-and-drop 

system. If you think you 

might be willing to give 

WordPress a go, read one of 

the dozens of online guides, 

such as How to Start a 

WordPress Blog the Right 

Way in 7 Easy Steps (2019). 

There's a companion halfhour 

YouTube video. 

There are more than a 

dozen drag-and-drop 

website builders, and they all 

work in pretty much the 

same way with modules you 

just drop into place. They 

make it reasonably easy to 

update your website or 

transform it just by 

switching to a different 

template. 

Many drag-and-drop 

website builders come with 

some sort of hosting 

arrangement and a website 

address, so you don't need to 

take out a domain name in 

advance. Of course, many 

domain name sellers and 

hosting providers use dragand-drop 

website builders to 

attract people to buy domain 

names and sign up for web 

hosting packages. GoDaddy 

is a well-known example. 

Sites built with drag-anddrop 

website builders 

should now be "mobile 

friendly", adapting to work 

on smartphones not just in 

PC web browsers. This is 

something to check. 

But there are some 

drawbacks. The main one 

is that drag-and-drop 

websites can be very hard 

to customise, and you 

mess with template code 

at your peril. Second, not 

every website builder will 

have all the options you 

need, so, without 

expensive customisation, 

it may be impossible to do 

what you want. Third, 

your website may look 

exactly like hundreds of 

other websites, and some 

people will instantly spot 

common templates. This 

might not bother you but 

it looks bad on a 

commercial website. 

Templates and drag-and-drop elements make it quick and easy to build a 

new site without having to do any coding. 

Photo: Masterclasses

ECONOMY & BUSINESS 

6 

SaTURday, MaRch 2, 2019 

Kids Run 2019 organized by 'The 

Great Bangladesh Run ' held 

Kids Run 2019 Powered by 

Bashundhara Diapant was organized by 

' The Great Bangladesh Run (TGBR)' 

yesterday with the slogan 'Active Kids - 

Active Bangladesh' . TGBR organized 

this event with the kids of 2 - 12 years of 

age at Bashundhara this morning. 

More than 100 kids from different 

schools from the country participated in 

the run. Kids participated in the run 

today were awarded medals and 

certificates, a press release said. 

Mohammad Shamsuzzaman Arafat , 

Founder of TGBR chaired the closing 

ceremony while Noted Singer Samina 

Chowdhury was present as the Chief 

Guest. Guinness Book of World Record 

Holder& 16 times Table Tennis 

Champion Zobera Rahman Linu,and 

Chairman of Al Kaderia Limited Firoz 

Alam Sumonand the Deputy Manager 

of Bashundhara Papers Karimul Arafat 

were present as the Special Guests. 

Speakers at the program emphasized 

on the regular physical activity and 

healthy food habit to maintain healthy 

and active lifestyle. They urged the 

honorable guardians to brought up 

their Kids in healthier and active 

lifestyle. 

TGBR is working as a pioneer 

running platform of the country to 

promote running across the country for 

building a Healthy and Active 

Bangladesh. TGBR already has 

organized runs in 6 districts , and 

gradually organizing running events in 

rest of the districts . Apart from that 

TGBR has been organizing annual kids 

run , Global running day run , diabetes 

awareness run and suicide prevention 

awareness run etc. This was the second 

edition of kids run organized by TGBR. 

The event was powered by 

Bashundhara Diapant. 

Diamond World supported the kids 

run while the hospitality partner of the 

event was Al Kaderia Limited . 

Eurozone 

loan growth 

decelerates 

in January 

Lending to the private 

sector in the eurozone 

decelerated in January, ECB 

data showed Wednesday, as 

the withdrawal of a central 

bank stimulus last year begins 

to show its impact, reports 

BSS. 

Borrowing among eurozone 

firms and households grew by 

three percent year-on-year in 

January, according to 

European Central Bank data 

after adjusting for some 

financial transactions. 

In December, the growth 

was at 3.4 percent. 

Growth in loans to 

households held at 3.2 

percent in January, 

unchanged from the previous 

month. 

But that of adjusted loans to 

non-financial companies 

declined to 3.3 percent in 

January from 3.9 percent in 

December. 

The data showing less 

lending flowing to nonfinancial 

companies came 

after the ECB wound down 

mass purchases of 

government and corporate 

bonds, known as "quantitative 

easing". 

Over more than three years 

the Frankfurt institution 

bought more than 2.6 trillion 

euros ($3 trillion) of 

government and corporate 

bonds, aiming to pump cash 

through the financial system 

to stoke growth and inflation. 

European, US stocks 

slide on geopolitical 

tensions 

European and US stock 

markets fell Wednesday with 

sentiment dented by 

heightened geopolitical 

worries, dealers said, reports 

BSS. 

An Asian market rally ran 

out of steam after Pakistan 

said it had shot down two 

Indian jets in its airspace in 

Kashmir, fuelling concerns of 

conflict between the nucleararmed 

rivals. 

London did worse than its 

eurozone peers owing to a 

strong pound, which extended 

gains on receding fears of a 

no-deal Brexit. Wall Street 

was also lower as midday 

approached in New York. 

"Rising geopolitical 

tensions dominates trading, 

sending global equities… 

lower as India clashes with 

Pakistan," said Oanda analyst 

Dean Popplewell. 

Trading floors were shaken 

in Asia by a statement from 

the Pakistan Air Force that it 

had downed two Indian 

planes and arrested one of the 

pilots. New Delhi confirmed 

the loss of one of its planes 

and said it had shot down a 

Pakistani fighter jet. 

While both sides have 

sought to play down the threat 

of war, the rare aerial 

engagement over the divided 

and disputed territory of 

Kashmir significantly raises 

the stakes in a standoff 

sparked by a suicide attack on 

the Indian-controlled side 

earlier this month. 

The developments came a 

day after warplanes struck a 

site in Pakistan that New 

Delhi said was a militant 

training camp, in retaliation 

for a February 14 suicide 

bombing in the disputed 

region that killed 40 Indian 

troops. 

Meanwhile, investors 

remain on tenterhooks over 

US President Donald Trump's 

summit with North Korean 

leader Kim Jong Un. 

And there remains lingering 

uncertainty over the longrunning 

trade dispute 

between Beijing and 

Washington. 

"Equity markets are in the 

red … as geopolitics is playing 

on traders' minds," said CMC 

Markets analyst David 

Madden. 

In addition to the Trump- 

Kim meeting, investors are 

still watching for any 

movement towards resolving 

the US-China trade spat. 

"We heard this week that 

tariffs on Chinese imports 

won't be hiked in March, but 

the trade dispute still needs to 

be finalised, and we are still a 

long way from the end result," 

said Madden. 

On currency markets, hopes 

that Britain will not leave the 

European Union without a 

divorce pact in place provided 

more support to the pound. 

Sterling had already surged 

Tuesday on Prime Minister 

Theresa May's decision to let 

MPs vote on a three-month 

delay to the March 29 Brexit 

deadline if she is unable to 

ram through her own deal. 

The UK retail sector was 

also in the spotlight after 

Marks and Spencer revealed it 

would team up with online 

supermarket Ocado to deliver 

M&S food direct to homes. 

But M&S shares dived after 

the company said it would 

slash its dividend -and raise 

up to o600 million from a 

rights issue to help fund the 

deal. 

Global stocks mostly fall amid 

trade, geopolitical concerns 

Global stocks mostly fell Wednesday amid 

uncertainty over trade and an escalating 

Indian-Pakistan conflict as the British pound 

rallied for a second session, reports BSS. 

An Asian market rally ran out of steam after 

Pakistan said it had shot down two Indian jets 

in its airspace in Kashmir, fueling concerns of 

conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals. 

While both sides have sought to play down 

the threat of war, the rare aerial engagement 

over the divided and disputed territory of 

Kashmir significantly raised the stakes in a 

standoff sparked by a suicide attack on the 

Indian-controlled side earlier this month. 

"Rising geopolitical tensions dominates 

trading, sending global equities… lower as 

India clashes with Pakistan," said Oanda 

analyst Dean Popplewell. 

Markets in Asia finished mixed, while Paris, 

London and Frankfurt all declined. On Wall 

Street, both the Dow and S&P 500 retreated, 

while the Nasdaq edged higher. 

Investors eyed a series of high-profile 

hearings in Washington, including a session 

on trade with US Trade Representative 

Robert Lighthizer, who reported "real 

progress" on talks with China but said 

significant work still needed to be undertaken 

before a final deal is struck. 

President Donald Trump's former attorney 

EU tells Italy to sort out 

its public finances 

The EU on Wednesday 

urged Italy to clean up its 

public finances, telling the 

populist government in Rome 

that urgent work was needed 

given the country's 

"weakening" economic 

prospects, reports BSS. 

Italy watered down key 

measures in its big-spending 

budget late last year under 

pressure from the EU, which 

threatened to impose fines if 

Rome broke its deficit and 

debt-reduction commitments. 

But the European 

Commission, the bloc's 

executive arm, insisted that 

Italy's ruling coalition of the 

anti-establishment Five Star 

Movement (M5S) and the farright 

League party need to do 

more to get Italy's books in 

order. 

"Our message to Italy today 

is also familiar: that it must 

take steps to improve the 

quality of its public finances, 

increase the efficiency of its 

public administration and 

justice system, enhance its 

business environment, and 

strengthen its labour market 

and the financial system," 

Economics Affairs 

Commissioner Pierre 

Moscovici said at the launch 

of a report on the economies 

of EU member states. 

"Moreover, the urgency of 

doing so is all the greater 

given Italy's weakening 

economic outlook." 

The report listed a series of 

major concerns about Italy's 

economy including high levels 

of government debt, nonperforming 

loans and 

unemployment. 

The report warned that 

even with Italy's watereddown 

spending plans, the 

government's debt ratio is 

"not expected to decline in the 

coming years". 

The Italian economy 

contracted in the fourth 

quarter of 2018 because of a 

slowdown in exports, 

plunging the eurozone's thirdlargest 

economy into 

recession and increasing the 

Michael Cohen revealed a litany of charges 

about his former boss in an explosive hearing 

that captivated political observers but did not 

appreciably move stocks. The British pound 

advanced for a second day after British MPs 

overwhelmingly voted to give Prime Minister 

Theresa May more time to work on her EU 

withdrawal deal after she promised they 

could delay Brexit if necessary. 

Any delay must be approved by the other 27 

EU member states and the bloc's leaders have 

agreed to look at any request from Britain. 

But some questioned what it would achieve 

without a breakthrough in London, where 

MPs still cannot agree how to implement the 

2016 Brexit referendum result. 

Oil prices rose after US petroleum 

stockpiles showed a drop in supplies. Among 

individual companies, Air France-KLM 

tumbled over 10 percent after Paris reacted 

bitterly to a move by the Dutch government to 

take a stake in the airline almost equal to that 

held by the French government. 

US health insurers UnitedHealth Group 

and Humana each lost almost five percent, 

and rival Cigna shed 4.0 percent after 

Democratic US Representative Pramila 

Jayapal introduced "Medicare for all" 

legislation targeting insurance industry 

profits. 

government's budgetary 

problems. 

Italy's public debt is a big 

problem, sitting at a huge 2.3 

trillion euros ($2.6 trillion), or 

131 percent of the nation's 

annual economic output - way 

above the 60 percent ceiling 

set by the EU. 

Commission Vice President 

Valdis Dombrovskis said they 

would "remain vigilant and 

closely 

monitor 

developments" in Italy, 

voicing concern about Rome's 

willingness to press on with 

reforms. 

"Broadly speaking, reform 

momentum has stalled and 

there have been some 

reversals of previous reforms 

in the context of 2019 budget, 

notably in pensions reforms," 

Dombrovskis said. 

Earlier this month, Italian 

unions led a protest of 

hundreds of thousands of 

people in Rome to demand 

pro-growth policies, the 

biggest such demonstration in 

four years. 

Women granted 

only three quarters 

of men's legal 

rights: World Bank 

Women around the world 

are granted only three 

quarters of the legal rights 

enjoyed by men, often 

preventing them from getting 

jobs or opening businesses, 

the World Bank found in 

study published Wednesday, 

reports BSS. 

"If women have equal 

opportunities to reach their 

full potential, the world would 

not only be fairer, it would be 

more prosperous as well," 

Kristalina Georgieva, the 

bank's interim president, said 

in a statement. 

While reforms in many 

countries are a step in the 

right direction, "2.7 billion 

women are still legally barred 

from having the same choice 

of jobs as men." 

The study included an index 

measuring gender disparities 

that was derived from data 

collected over a decade from 

187 countries and using eight 

indicators to evaluate the 

balance of rights afforded to 

men and women. 

The report showed progress 

over the past 10 years, with 

the index rising to 75 from 70, 

out of a possible 100, as 131 

countries have agreed to enact 

274 reforms, adopting laws or 

regulations allowing greater 

inclusion of women. 

Among the improvements, 

35 countries have proposed 

laws against sexual 

harassment in the workplace, 

granting protections to an 

additional 2 billion women, 

while 22 nations have 

abolished restrictions that 

kept women out of certain 

industrial sectors. 

Six nations - Belgium, 

Denmark, France, Latvia and 

Sweden - scored a 100, 

"meaning they give women 

and men equal legal rights in 

the measured areas," the 

World Bank said. 

A decade ago, no economy 

had achieved a perfect score. 

On the other hand, too 

many women still face 

discriminatory laws or 

regulations at every stage of 

their professional lives: 56 

nations made no 

improvement over the last 

decade. 

South Asia saw the greatest 

progress, although it still 

achieved a relatively low score 

of 58.36. It was followed by 

Southeast Asia and the 

Pacific, at 70.73 and 64.80, 

respectively. 

Latin-America and the 

Caribbean recorded the 

second highest scores among 

emerging and developing 

economies at 79.09. 

Businesses urged for private sector friendly 

Monetary Policy for better economic growth 

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & 

Industry (DCCI) organized Dialogue 

on "Monetary Policy Statement: 

Implication on Private Sector" at 

DCCI Auditorium on 23 February, 

2019. Governor of Bangladesh Bank 

Fazle Kabir was present as the chief 

guest, a press release said. 

DCCI President Osama Taseer in 

his welcome address said inflation 

rate, interest rate, currency exchange 

rate, broad money and credit growth 

target at the MPS are closely 

associated with private sector 

development. He also said that the 

recent MPS looks cautionary though 

salient features of MPS like 

unchanged Advance Deposit Ratio 

(ADR), unchanged Cash reserve ratio, 

6% repo, 4.75% reverse repo, 16.50% 

private sector credit growth, 10.9% 

public sector credit growth and 

15.90% domestic credit growth 

targets may enrich the private sector 

credit flow and scale up the 

industrialization, employment and 

trade resulting into expected GDP 

growth during this fiscal year. 

Growing non-performing loan 

apparently challenges the banking 

sector stability creating higher cost of 

capital incidence on the private sector 

and limiting credit flow to industries 

and SMEs. The other challenges in 

economy like capital flight, weak 

exchange rate, unstructured capital 

market, slimming FDI inflow and 

unemployment, negative trade 

balance and lack of export 

diversification may hold back the 

desired private sector growth and 

economic mobility, he mentioned. 

Governor of Bangladesh Bank Fazle 

Kabir said as the private sector is the 

engine of economic growth, we 

always focus on increased private 

sector credit growth. We targeted 

private sector credit growth to 16.5% 

which went down 13.3% by December 

2018 due to election time, he said. The 

MPS H2 is aligned with the 

sustainable development goals 

agenda. Regarding higher rate of 

interest on national savings 

certificates, he said that this tool is for 

small investors as a part of social 

safety net as a pension fund for 

private sector undertaken directly by 

the government. Regarding NPL 

control he said Banks should be 

watchful about credit quality and 

monitor the credit taken is being 

utilized properly. Import of capital 

machineries, heavy machineries and 

industrial raw materials increased, so 

we started to inject Dollar into the 

market to keep this foreign exchange 

rate at a tolerable level so it will not 

affect the inflation rate, he informed. 

The NPL is coming down, as of 15th 

November 2018 it is 10.29%, he 

informed. Before MPS 

announcement consultation process 

with the stakeholders will be 

considered, he said. He also said that 

Bangladesh Bank is always been 

supportive to promote our creative 

entrepreneurs speciall of SME and 

MSME sector. 

Senior Vice President of DCCI 

Waqar Ahmad Choudhury presented 

the keynote paper. He highlighted 

that the Monetary Policy (MPS) is 

considered as a catalyst for private 

sector growth. The MPS H2 focused 

on 7.8% GDP growth, keeping 

inflation under 5.6%, encourage bond 

market development, private sector 

credit growth to 16.5% which are 

positive for attracting private sector 

investment. 

He also highlighted some 

challenges for the private sector. He 

said that increase of non-food 

inflation and increase of purchasing 

power may trigger inflation to 6%. 

Public sector credit growth reached 

double digit to 13.30% from negative 

2.50%. This growth trend may shrink 

the space of desired growth of private 

sector credit. Total non-performing 

loan (NPL) is 11.45% of total 

outstanding loan as of September 

2018. Due to lower depreciation of 

taka (0.2%) will increase import 

against export and will raise trade 

deficit. He said if trade deficit 

increases, it will create huge pressure 

on the Balance of Payments. He 

stressed for utilizing capital market to 

reduce pressure on banking system in 

terms of long-term financing. He 

recommended for inflation control, 

single digit SME lending rate, 

reduction of source tax on savings to 

5% for TIN holders and 10% for non- 

TIN holders, updating Foreign 

Exchange Regulation Act 1947, and 

developing effective bond market. He 

said good governance needs to be 

ensured across the Banking sector. In 

order to reduce pressure of trade 

deficit, we need strong monitoring to 

control import of luxurious goods and 

finished products, he said. 

Panel discussants Dr. Mahmood 

Osman Imam, Professor, Department 

of Finance, University of Dhaka said 

due to increased non-performing 

loans good borrowers are suffering. 

Dr. M A Baqui Khalili, Former 

Professor, Department of Finance, 

University of Dhaka said Bangladesh 

Bank should have impact study on 

monetary policy. Former President of 

DCCI MH Rahman said NPL is 

increasing lending rate. He also urged 

for single digit interest rate. Helal 

Ahmed Chowdhury, Super Numerary 

Professor of BIBM emphasized to be 

strict over the willful loan defaulters. 

Minhaz Mannan Imon, Director, DSE 

urged upon the Bangladesh Bank to 

dicsuss with concerned stakeholders 

before compiling MPS. Shakil Rizvi, 

President, Brokers Association of 

Bangladesh said long term financing 

should come from capital market not 

from Bank to reduce NPL. Shahidul 

Islam, CFA, CEO, VIPB Asset 

Management Company Ltd. said that 

the Central Bank should be more 

cautious on determining Repo and 

Reverse Repo. DCCI Director Nuher 

L. Khan said NIDMAA Bond in 

capital market can be a good source of 

long term financing. DCCI Director 

Akber Hakim said that when inflation 

rate is 6% its difficult for banks to 

ensure single digit interest rate. DCCI 

Director Ashraf Ahmed said a viable 

bond market will attract foreign 

capital. Dr. Md. Habibur Rahman, 

General Manager, Bangladesh Bank 

was also present at that time.

MISCELLANEOUS 

SATUrDAY, MArCh 2, 2019 

7 

A human chain was formed at Borotakia of Mirersari upazila of Dhaka-Chattogram highway to build a 

foot over bridge. 

Photo : Star Mail 

Officials say Trump overstated 

Kim's demand on sanctions 

President Donald Trump said he 

walked away from his second 

summit with North Korean leader 

Kim Jong Un because Kim 

demanded the U.S. lift all of its 

sanctions, a claim that North Korea's 

delegation called a rare news 

conference in the middle of the night 

to deny, reports UNB. 

So who's telling the truth? In this 

case, it seems that the North Koreans 

are. And it's a demand they have 

been pushing for weeks in lowerlevel 

talks. 

Trump's much-anticipated 

meeting with Kim, held in the 

Vietnamese capital Wednesday and 

Thursday, ended abruptly and 

without the two leaders signing any 

agreements. Trump spoke with 

reporters soon after the talks broke 

down and said the dispute over 

sanctions was the deal breaker. 

"Basically, they wanted the 

sanctions lifted in their entirety, and 

we couldn't do that," he said. "We 

had to walk away from that." Hours 

later, two senior members of the 

North's delegation told reporters that 

was not what Kim had demanded. 

Sudan, Saudi 

Arabia conclude 

joint naval drills in 

eastern Sudan 

The joint Sudanese-Saudi 

naval drills, dubbed "Al-Fulk 

3," concluded Thursday in 

eastern Sudan, Sudan's 

Ashorooq net reported, 

reports UNB. 

Sudan's Deputy Chief of 

Naval Staff Magdi Sayed 

Omer and representative of 

the Saudi Chief of Naval 

Staff Yahya bin Ali Al-Naimi 

attended the concluding 

ceremony of the joint drills, 

the report said. 

The drills began on 

Sunday at Port-Sudan naval 

base in the Red Sea State 

with the participation of 

marine forces and maritime 

security units. 

The joint exercise aimed to 

enhance joint action, 

upgrade combat capabilities, 

achieve maritime security, 

secure maritime transport 

routes, counter smuggling, 

piracy, human trafficking 

and deter potential threat. 

Singapore says 

it will buy 4 F-35 

jets in fleet 

upgrade 

Singapore plans to buy four 

F-35 fighter jets from the 

U.S. with the option of 

purchasing eight more to 

replace its fleet of F-16s, 

reports UNB. 

Defense Minister Ng Eng 

Hen said Friday that the 

city-state will put in a 

request for the Lockheed 

Martin jets, which would be 

subject to U.S. congressional 

approval. He says the price 

has not been determined. 

Ng notes the cost of the jet 

has been steadily falling due 

to healthy orders from the 

U.S. and other countries, 

with the current unit price 

ranging from $90 million to 

$115 million. Singapore 

plans to retire its older F-16 

fleet soon after 2030. 

They insisted Kim had asked only for 

partial sanctions relief in exchange 

for shutting down the North's main 

nuclear complex. Foreign Minister Ri 

Yong Ho said the North was also 

ready to offer in writing a permanent 

halt of the country's nuclear and 

intercontinental ballistic missile 

tests. Vice Foreign Minister Choe 

Sun Hui said Trump's reaction 

puzzled Kim and added that Kim 

"may have lost his will (to continue) 

North Korea-U.S. dealings." 

The State Department then 

clarified the U.S. position. According 

to a senior official who briefed the 

media on condition he not be named 

because he was not authorized to 

discuss the negotiations publicly, the 

North Koreans "basically asked for 

the lifting of all sanctions." 

But he acknowledged the North's 

demand was only for Washington to 

back the lifting of United Nations 

Security Council sanctions imposed 

since March 2016 and didn't include 

the other resolutions going back a 

decade more. 

What Pyongyang was seeking, he 

said, was the lifting of sanctions that 

UN migration agency urges access 

to education for young migrants 

The UN migration agency chief on 

Thursday called on host countries to ensure 

young migrants have access to education, 

reports UNB. 

International Organization for Migration 

(IOM) Director-General Antonio Vitorino 

said while migration can offer young people 

new opportunities, their ability to exploit 

them depends hugely on their host 

communities and host governments. 

Young migrants are often denied access 

to training opportunities, vocational as well 

as academic, or access to all parts of the 

labor market in the countries of 

destination, he said when addressing the 

International Dialogue on Migration at the 

UN Headquarters. 

"This is particularly problematic for 

those, who have had their education and 

careers disrupted by conflict and instability, 

and who must then recapture years of 

learning within limbo and catch up to their 

generation of peers," he added. 

What is worse, he said, many young 

migrants experienced discrimination in 

their schools or in their communities, 

which reduces their prospects for growth as 

well as their self-esteem. 

"This is a dangerous cycle that we must 

Working natural gas 

storage in the contiguous 

United States was 1,539 

billion cubic feet (about 

43.6 billion cubic meters) as 

of Feb. 22, a net decrease of 

166 billion cubic feet from 

the previous week, the U.S. 

Energy Information 

Administration (EIA) said 

in a report on Thursday. 

At the level of 1,539 

billion cubic feet, the 

natural gas storage 

decreased by 9.1 percent 

from this time last year, or 

21.6 percent below the fiveyear 

average, according to 

EIA's Weekly Natural Gas 

Storage Report, reports 

UNB. 

The contiguous United 

States consists of the 48 

adjoining states of the 

United States, plus the 

District of Columbia, and 

excludes the noncontiguous 

states of Alaska 

and Hawaii, and all offshore 

insular areas. 

Working natural gas is 

defined as the amount of 

natural gas stored 

underground that can be 

withdrawn for use. Working 

natural gas storage capacity 

can be measured in two 

ways: design capacity and 

demonstrated maximum 

working gas capacity. 

According to the Natural 

Gas Monthly report, also 

released by EIA on 

Thursday, the U.S. dry 

natural gas production In 

December 2018, for the 

impede the civilian economy and the 

people's livelihood - as Ri had 

claimed. 

The U.N. Security Council has 

imposed nearly a dozen resolutions 

targeting North Korea, making it one 

of the most heavily sanctioned 

countries in the world. So Kim was 

indeed seeking a lot of relief - 

including the lifting of bans on 

everything from trade in metals, raw 

materials, luxury goods, seafood, coal 

exports, refined petroleum imports, 

raw petroleum imports. But Kim 

wasn't looking for the lifting of 

sanctions on armaments. Those were 

imposed earlier, from 2006, when 

the North conducted its first nuclear 

test. For Pyongyang, that's a key 

difference. 

While it claims that its nuclear 

weapons are needed for self-defense, 

it was offering to at least for the time 

being accept sanctions directly 

related to nuclear weapons and 

missile technology. But the North has 

always considered the imposition of 

sanctions on other areas of trade even 

more nefarious and was singling 

them out as their negotiation point. 

avoid," he stressed, urging governments to 

welcome "those who are in their societies 

regularly" and ensure that they are treated 

equally and with dignity and full respect for 

their human rights. 

According to the International Labor 

Organization, youth unemployment in 

North Africa is expected to exceed 30 

percent in 2019 and that young people in 

this region are more than three times more 

likely to be unemployed than their adult 

counterparts. 

For them, "it is easy to reach for 

migration as a solution," said Vitorino, 

noting the risk they would take "should not 

be taken at the cost of lives, our 

livelihoods." 

He said that broader access to formal 

education can reduce vulnerability and 

increase critical thinking, which helps to 

reduce susceptibility to smugglers, who 

seek to persuade young people to take 

disproportionate and unreasonable risks. 

According to figure from IOM, there are 

currently more young people in the world 

than ever, 1.8 billion, the largest generation 

in history. Of the 258 million international 

migrants, around 11 percent of them were 

below 24 years old in 2017. 

U.S. storage of working natural 

gas decreases last week: EIA 

20th consecutive month, 

increased year to year. The 

preliminary level for dry 

natural gas production in 

December 2018 was 2,746 

billion cubic feet, or 88.6 

billion cubic feet per day. 

This level was 11.5 percent 

higher than the December 

2017 level of 79.5 billion 

cubic feet per day. 

The average daily rate of 

dry natural gas production 

for December 2018 was the 

highest for any month since 

EIA began tracking monthly 

dry natural gas production 

in 1973. 

According to the EIA, the 

strong growth in U.S. 

natural gas production will 

put downward pressure on 

prices in 2019. 

Three family members 

killed, one boy seriously 

injured in California 

highway crash 

Three family members, 

including one man and two 

women, were killed and a 17- 

year-old boy was seriously 

injured in a deadly crash on 

an interstate highway in 

Oakland, Northern California 

early Thursday morning, 

authorities said, reports UNB. 

California Highway Patrol 

(CHP) Spokesman Herman 

Baza told Oakland-based 

KTVU news outlet that the 

victims were family members, 

whose vehicle slammed into a 

big-rig trailer that was 

parking on the shoulder in the 

curve of Interstate Highway 

80 (I-80) in Emeryville, 

Oakland, northeast of San 

Francisco. 

The boy is now being 

treated in a hospital for 

serious conditions, according 

to Baza. The family was 

believed to be traveling 

toward San Francisco. CHP 

said the driver of the trailer 

was not injured and he was 

sleeping in the cabin of the 

truck at the time of the 

accident. 

Baza said several factors 

may have contributed to the 

crash, but wet roads from 

recent stormy weather and 

speed were the most likely 

reasons why the driver of the 

ill-fated vehicle lost control. 

Grounded ship leaks 80 tons of 

oil near Pacific UNESCO site 

An environmental disaster is unfolding in 

the Pacific after a large ship ran aground and 

began leaking oil next to a UNESCO World 

Heritage site in the Solomon Islands, 

Australian officials said Friday. 

Footage taken this week shows little 

progress has been made in stopping the 

Solomon Trader ship from leaking oil since it 

ran aground Feb. 5, according to the 

Australian High Commission in the Solomon 

Islands, reports UNB. 

Australian experts estimate more than 80 

tons of oil has leaked into the sea and 

shoreline in the ecologically delicate area and 

that more than 660 tons of oil remains 

aboard the Hong Kong-flagged ship, which is 

continuing to leak. 

The ship was chartered by the Bintan 

Mining company in the Solomon Islands to 

carry bauxite, which is used in aluminum 

production. Bintan Solomon Islands chief 

executive Fred Tang was not immediately 

available for comment Friday. 

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs 

and Trade said there was a high risk that the 

remaining oil would leak and it was 

"profoundly disappointed" by the slow 

response. It said the Solomon Islands 

government had advised it that the 

responsibility to salvage the ship and 

mitigate the environmental impact lay with 

the companies involved. 

Radio New Zealand reported that the 

ship's owner King Trader Ltd. had sent a 

team to help with the salvage operation while 

Bintan had claimed that as charterer, it had 

no legal responsibility for the ship or liability 

for the accident. 

UNESCO has designated the southern 

third of Rennell Island as a World Heritage 

site. It says the island is the largest raised 

coral atoll in the world and is a "true natural 

laboratory" for scientific study. 

It's also home to about 2,000 people, 

whom the High Commission notes rely on 

the ocean along with the natural resources of 

the island for their livelihoods. 

Both Australia and New Zealand have sent 

experts to help with the monitoring of the oil 

spill and the potential salvage of the ship. 

Australian experts estimate more than 80 

tons of oil has leaked into the sea and 

shoreline in the ecologically delicate area and 

that more than 660 tons of oil remains 

aboard the Hong Kong-flagged ship, which is 

continuing to leak. 

The ship was chartered by the Bintan 

Mining company in the Solomon Islands to 

carry bauxite, which is used in aluminum 

production. 

Bintan Solomon Islands chief executive 

Fred Tang was not immediately available for 

comment Friday. Australia's Department of 

Foreign Affairs and Trade said there was a 

high risk that the remaining oil would leak 

and it was "profoundly disappointed" by the 

slow response. 

It said the Solomon Islands government 

had advised it that the responsibility to 

salvage the ship and mitigate the 

environmental impact lay with the 

companies involved. 

Radio New Zealand reported that the 

ship's owner King Trader Ltd. had sent a 

team to help with the salvage operation while 

Bintan had claimed that as charterer, it had 

no legal responsibility for the ship or liability 

for the accident. 

GD-358/19 (13 x 4)

UNITING PEOPLE EVERYDAY 

SATUrDAy, DHAkA, MArCH 2, 2019, FALgUN 18, 1425 BS, JAMADI-US SANNI 24, 1440 HIJrI 

As part of observing National Voters Day, President Md Abdul Hamid handed over national ID card to 

the new voters at Bangladesh Election Commission Bhaban auditorium in the capital. Photo:' Star Mail 

President for making voters aware 

of their rights, responsibilities 

DHAKA : President 

Abdul Hamid on Friday 

stressed the need for taking 

initiative to make voters 

aware of their rights 

and responsibilities, 

reports UNB. 

"Along with voter enrollment, 

voters should be 

made aware of their rights 

and responsibilities. The 

more the voters will be 

aware, the more the election 

will be fair," President 

said. 

President Hamid said 

while delivering his speech 

as the chief guest at 

"National Voter Day "porgramme 

organised by the 

Bangladesh Election 

Commission at its premises. 

The day was observed for 

the first time in the country 

with the theme "I will be 

voter, I will cast vote." 

President Hamid said, 

"There is no alternative to 

efficient and competent 

leadership for development. 

We have to choose 

appropriate leadership 

from the grassroots to the 

national level. The most 

acceptable method of leadership 

selection is the voting 

system." 

Although holding election 

is the constitutional 

responsibility of the 

Election Commission 

everyone irrespective of 

their party and opinions 

will have to extend cooperation 

to make the election 

fair and acceptable, the 

President said. 

Hamid 

said, 

"Celebration of the 

National Voter Day is very 

important. If day is 

observed properly at the 

grassroots level, it will create 

positive impact on the 

democratic culture of the 

country." 

The President hoped that 

all political parties and 

socio-cultural organizations 

of the country will 

play a key role in this 

regard. 

"Then the political culture 

of peace, harmony, 

sympathy and tolerance 

would be developed 

instead of blame game in 

politics. Democracy and 

development will advance 

to the desired goal," he 

added. 

He said he strongly 

believes that observance of 

the day will play a positive 

role in creating the mentality 

of casting vote among 

the youth. 

He called upon local people's 

representatives, journalists, 

teachers, members 

of civil society, Imams of 

mosques and all dignitaries 

of the society to 

come forward so that people 

could be enlisted in the 

voter list. 

Stressing the need for 

inclusion of expatriates in 

voter list, the President 

said, "Nearly 1 million people 

of Bangladesh live 

abroad. They are playing 

an important role in the 

country's economy by 

sending foreign currency. 

But many of them do not 

have a national ID card. I 

think the Election 

Commission should take 

special initiative so that the 

expatriates could get 

national ID cards." 

Expatriates of 120 countries 

including the United 

States, Indonesia, 

Philippines are exercising 

their franchise and initiatives 

should be taken so 

that the expatriate 

Bangladeshis get the 

chance of exercising franchise," 

he said. 

Law Minister Anisul 

Huq, Chief Election 

Commissioner (CEC) KM 

Nurul Huda delivered 

speech while the other 

commissioners attended 

the event. 

Ekushey Book Fair 

Host: Time for 

Bangla Academy 

to stand down! 

DHAKA : The Amar 

Ekushey Book Fair has 

grown enormously since its 

humble inception in 1972 as 

a small-scale book sale in 

front of Bangla Academy and 

evolved into a massive phenomenon, 

reports UNB. 

Bangla Academy took 

charge of the event in 1978 

and has since been taking 

care of it. With this year's 

edition nearing its end, 

Professor Emeritus Serajul 

Islam Choudhury said it is 

time for a change. 

He pointed out that the fair 

is growing every year and the 

burden of arranging an event 

on such a grand scale is too 

heavy for Bangla Academy. 

"Bangladesh's publisher 

guilds should take the 

responsibility," he told UNB, 

noting that Bangla 

Academy's goal was to help 

the language flourish 

through research works and 

publications. 

"Being occupied with the 

fair's arrangement is diverting 

it from its original goal," 

he said. 

Bangla Academy Director 

General Habibullah Sirajee 

declined to comment, saying: 

"It's up to the Ministry of 

Cultural Affairs to decide." 

Potential sectors under blue economy 

identified, but remain untapped 

DHAKA : Although 26 sectors have been 

identified to exploitthe potentials of blue economy 

in Bangladesh, almost all the sectors 

remained untapped for lack of proper initiatives. 

So far, only a small administrative cell, 

'Blue Economy Cell (BEC)', was created in 

January 2017under the Energy and Mineral 

Resources Division of the Ministry of Power, 

Energy and Mineral Resources, according to 

official sources, reports UNB. 

But the activities of the BEC remained confined 

to holding occasional meetings as the 

administrative body is now inadequately 

equipped with a few officials sent on deputation. 

The 26 sectors identified by the Ministry of 

Foreign Affairs through two workshops at 

national level twice in 2014 and 2017. The sectors 

are shipping, coastal shipping, seaports, 

DHAKA : A domestic flight of Biman 

Bangladesh Airlines made an emergency landing 

at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport 

here on Friday afternoon after a front tyre was 

damaged, reports UNB. Biman General 

Manager (Public Relations) Shakil Meraj said 

soon after it took off from Osmani International 

Airport in Sylhet carrying 61 passengers, the 

pilot of the Dhaka-bound flight noticed that one 

of the front tyres was damaged. 

Controller of Osmani International Airport 

AKM Anisuzzaman Talukder said there was a 

big bang soon after the takeoff of the flight. 

passenger ferry services, inland waterway 

transports, shipbuilding, ship recycling industries, 

fishery, aquaculture, coastal aquaculture 

and mariculture, marine acquaintance products, 

marine biotechnology, oil and gas, sea salt 

production, ocean renewable energy, tidal 

energy, blue energy (osmasis) and biomass, 

aggregate mining (sand, graveetc), marine 

mineral mining, coastal tourism, recreational 

water sports, yachting and marines, cruise 

tourism, coastal protection/artificial 

islands/greening coastal belts, human resource 

development, marine surveillance and marine 

special planning. Bangladesh won 19,467 

square kilometres out of 25,602 sq km disputed 

areas from India in the Bay of Bengal following 

the settlement of maritime dispute 

withIndia on July 8, 2014. 

Damaged tyre forces Biman flight to 

make emergency landing in Dhaka 

Later, a part of a tyre was found on the runway, 

he said, adding that the tyre might have burst. 

The matter was informed to Hazrat Shahjalal 

International Airport through the control 

tower and a special arrangement was in place 

at the airport to face the situation, said an official 

at the security section of the Sylhet airport 

wishing anonymity. 

However, the flight made the emergency 

landing at the Dhaka airport safely around 4:10 

pm, Shakil said. He also said all the passengers 

and the pilot along with his crewmembers disembarked 

from the aircraft unharmed. 

The Camouflaged Military 

Bunkers of Switzerland 

INTERESTING NEWS 

Switzerland is a politically neutral 

country, yet it has a strong military. All 

across the Swiss alps are military installation 

and bunkers carefully hidden so as to 

blend into the surrounding landscape. 

Some of them are camouflaged as huge 

rocks, others as quiet villas or barns that 

could open up in the event of an emergency 

to reveal cannons and heavy 

machine guns that could blow any 

approaching army to smithereens. 

Enormous caverns are dugout on the 

mountain side to function as ad-hoc airbases 

with hangars. Every major bridge, 

tunnel, road and railway has been rigged 

so they could be deliberately collapsed, 

whenever required, to keep enemy armies 

out. Highways can be converted into runways 

by quickly removing the grade separations 

in between the lanes. 

The country has nuclear fallout shelters 

in every home, institutions and hospitals, 

as well as nearly 300,000 bunkers and 

5,100 public shelters that could accommodate 

the entire Swiss population if 

required. Switzerland also has one of the 

largest armies on a per capita basis, with 

200,000 active personnel and 3.6 million 

available for service. Every male citizen 

under 34 years old (under 50 in some 

cases) is a reserve soldier. Soldiers are 

even allowed to take all personally 

assigned weapons to home. If anyone 

were to invade Switzerland, they would 

find a nation armed to the teeth. 

'Alor Ferrywala' 

Polan Sarkar 

passes away 

RAJSHAHI : Ekushey Padak 

winner Polan Sarkar, who distributed 

books for free among 

the people, passed away on 

Friday, reports UNB. 

The 98-year-old had been 

suffering from old-age complications. 

He died at his village home of 

Bausha village in Bagha 

Upazila. "My father was surrounded 

by his family at the 

time of his death," his son 

Haider Ali said. 

Polan Sarkar, who started a 

social movement of reading 

books, was affectionately called 

'Alor Ferrywala', the distributor 

of light. 

He won the Ekushey Padak, 

Bangladesh's second-highest 

civilian award, for his works. 

Chawkbazar fire: 

Another victim 

dies at DMCH 

DHAKA : Another victim of 

the Chawkbazar fire died at 

Dhaka Medical College 

Hospital (DMCH) on early 

Friday, taking the death toll 

from the incident to 70, 

reports UNB. 

Rezaul, 21, died at the burn 

unit around 1am, said DMCH 

police camp in-charge 

Inspector Bachchu Mia. 

Earlier, two victims - 

Sohag, 22, and Anwar 

Hossain, 55 - succumbed to 

their injuries on February 25 

and February 26. 

The above place of Postagola area in Dhaka remains logged by black and odor smelled water. Local 

people are suffering much. The photo was taken on Friday. 

Photo: Star Mail 

Mongla Port sees record ship 

anchoring in February 

KHULNA : Mongla Port, 

the second largest sea port of 

the country, witnessed at 

least 100 foreign ship anchoring 

in February breaking all 

previous records, said an official. 

"The record touched a 

milestone in the monthly 

statistics in last seven 

decades after the establishing 

of the port near the Bay of 

Bengal," he said. The Mongla 

port has been playing a vital 

role in country's economic 

development since 2009 as 

some very important initiatives 

were by the then government, 

said the official. 

Talking to BSS, Public 

Relations Officer of Mongla 

Port Authority (MPA) 

Makhruzzaman said, it 

turned into a losing sea port 

in the years from 2001 to 

2008 because of manifold 

problems. 

In February, 2007-2008 

fiscal year, only seven foreign 

ships anchored at the port. A 

total of nine development 

projects and four ADB programmes 

were implemented 

from 2009 to 2017 involving 

Taka 454.47 crore aiming to 

enhance ability of Mongla 

Port, he said. Currently, at 

least 10 projects are being 

implemented and five projects 

are under the process to 

get approval and four other 

projects are under DPP. The 

official, however, said the 

MPA has already ensured different 

facilities for Mongla 

port users to get speedy and 

quality services. 

The facilities includes capital 

dredging at the Pashur 

River, purchasing different 

42 containers and cargo handling 

machineries and setting 

up modern channel at Pashur 

River to arrive and discharge 

foreign ship round the clock. 

Contacted, Chairman of 

Mongla Port Authority 

Commodore AKM Faruk 

Hasan told BSS that the government 

has taken many initiatives 

to enhance ability of 

Mongla port. Number of foreign 

ship arriving is increasing 

day by day as industrialization 

boosted up centering 

Mongla Port and Rampal 

Power Plant. Investors are 

importing different production 

materials like machineries, 

cement clinkers, car, fertilizers 

and equipment for 

industrialization. 

The MPA has earned a 

profit of Taka 266 crore in 

2016-17 FY while Taka 286 

crore in 2017-18 FY, he said. 

In 2007-08 FY, a total of 

7.5 lac ton cargos were handled 

at the port. It has 

increased to least 97 lac tons 

in 17-18 FY and in the current 

FY, it was targeted at 1.20 lac 

tons, he said adding that 

dredging is progressing at 

Rampal Power Plant area, 

Food Silo area and Outer 

berth in the Pashur River. 

In line with the 'Vision- 

2021' envisaged by the government, 

all the projects are 

being implemented to attract 

foreign companies to operate 

in economic zones as well as 

ensure balanced development 

of every region of the 

country. 

UN chief lauds 

Bangladesh's 

socio-economic 

development 

DHAKA : UN Secretary- 

General Antonio Guterres has 

appreciated Bangladesh's 

socio-economic development 

under the leadership of the 

current government, reports 

UNB. 

He also appreciated the generosity 

shown by Bangladesh 

and Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina by sheltering huge 

Rohingyas on humanitarian 

ground. 

The issues came up for discussion 

when Foreign 

Secretary M Shahidul Haque 

met the UN chief in New York 

on Thursday. 

They discussed various 

issues of mutual interests 

apart from Rohingya issue, 

according to Permanent 

Mission of Bangladesh to the 

United Nations. 

The Foreign Secretary 

thanked the UN Secretary 

General for his efforts towards 

finding a solution to Rohingya 

crisis. 

He informed the UN chief 

about active and productive 

participation of Bangladesh in 

the upcoming high-level conference 

on climate change in 

September next. 

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

02-03-2019

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