18-03-2019

MonDaY 

Dhaka: March 18, 2019; Chaitra 4, 1425 BS; Rajab 9,1440 hijri 

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www. tbtbangla.com 

Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.17; No.50; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00 

international 

Flash floods, slides 

in eastern Indonesia 

kill at least 58 

>Page7 

art & culture 

Deepika-Ranveerin new 

commercial, first project 

as a married couple 

>Page 8 

sport 

None of us could 

sleep properly: 

Mahmudullah 

>Page 9 

Govt working to ensure a better 

future for children, says PM 

TUNGIPARA (GOPALGANJ) : Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said 

her government has been working to 

ensure a bright future for the country's 

children, reports UNB. 

"We'll build Bangladesh as a developed 

and prosperous country so that today's 

children can get a decent life in the coming 

days. We've been working to accomplish 

this goal," she said. 

The Prime Minister said this while 

addressing a Children's Rally and Cultural 

Programme marking the 99th birth 

anniversary of Father of the Nation 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman 

and National Children's Day on 

Bangabandhu Mausoleum Complex 

premises here. 

She said Bangladesh has already 

achieved much progress and will march 

forward. 

"No one will face hunger. No one will 

suffer for lack of medical treatment. 

Everyone will be able to lead a better life. 

This is our goal," she said. 

Highlighting various measures taken by 

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu 

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for the welfare 

of the country's children, Hasina said 

Bangabandhu had made the primary 

education free for students, while made 

the secondary education free for girls. 

With a view to protecting the rights of 

Bangladesh’s 

only female 

Nilgai dies at 

Ramsagar 

National 

Park 

DINAJPUR : Bangladesh's only 

female Nilgai which was rescued from 

Ranisankail upazila of Thakurgaon 

district last year died at Ramsagar 

National Park here on Saturday 

evening, reports UNB. 

Abdus Salam Tuhin, a caretaker of 

the national park, said two endangered 

Nilgais - a female and a malewere 

roaming inside the mini zoo of 

the park on Saturday. Suddenly, the 

female one fell down after being 

dashed with a bar of the fence and 

died on the spot. 

Meanwhile, a three-member probe 

body was formed to unearth the reason 

behind the death of the endangered 

animal, he said. 

On September 4, 2018, locals captured 

the female Nilgai from 

Ranisankail Upazila in Thakurgaon. 

The forest department then rescued 

the animal and brought it to 

Ramsagar. Another Nilgai, rescued 

from Manda upazila in Naogaon district 

was also shifted to the park on 

January 22. 

Nilgai is a species of deer, usually 

large brown or bluish grey, native to 

Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and 

Nepal. 

Nilgai was declared extinct in 

Bangladesh by the International 

Union for Conservation of Nature. 

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04:52 AM 

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children, Bangabandhu enacted the children 

law in 1974, even much before 1989 

when the United Nations took such an 

initiative, she recalled. 

The Ministry of Women and Children 

Affairs and Gopalganj district administration 

jointly organised the rally of schoolchildren 

from different educational institutions 

of Tungipara, the birthplace of 

Bangabandhu. 

The Prime Minister said this is unfortunate 

that the children and youths could 

not know the correct history of the 

Liberation War after the killing of the 

Father of the Nation in 1975 as it was distorted. 

"But, the truth can never be 

hushed up with lies. This has been proved 

today with the disclosure of truth. 

Mentioning that the playing of the historic 

7th March Speech of the Father of 

the Nation was prohibited for long 21 

years after 1975, Hasina said many 

Awami League leaders and activists lost 

their lives and got injured for trying to 

play the record of the speech at that time. 

Now the truth prevails due to their dedication, 

she added. 

The Prime Minister said the United 

Nations Educational, Scientific and 

Cultural Organisation (Unesco) recognised 

Bangabandhu's historic 7th March 

Speech as a world documentary heritage. 

It is the best motivational speech 

2nd phase of 

Upazila Parishad 

polls begin today 

among the speeches delivered in the last 

2500 years,said Sheikh Hasina, the eldest 

daughter of Bangabandhu. 

She said her government formulated 

the National Children Policy in 2011. The 

government has also taken measures to 

protect the children's rights and given 

special attention so that children can get 

the scopes for education, sports, physical 

and cultural exercises, Hasina said. 

This year's theme of the day is 

"Bangabandhur Janmodin Shishur Jibon 

Koro Rangin" (Birthday of Bangabandhu, 

Make the Lives of Children Colourful). 

Chairman of Bangladesh Shishu 

Academy Selina Hossain spoke at the 

event as a special guest with Lamia 

Sikder, a Class-V student of Malika 

Academy, Gopalganj in the chair. 

Arafat Hossain, a Class-IV student of 

SM Government Model Primary School, 

Gopalganj, delivered the welcome speech, 

while Suriya Yeasmin, a Class-X student 

of Keshabpur Pilot School and College, 

Jashore, read out the best letter written to 

Bangabandhu. 

The Prime Minister unveiled the cover 

of a book compiled with letters written to 

Bangabandhu. 

She received a replica of logo of 

Gopalganj district branding from Deputy 

Commissioner of the district Mokhlesur 

Rahman Sarkar. 

DHAKA : The 2nd phase of the 5th 

Upazila Parishad elections will begin in 

the country today with balloting in 116 

upazilas in 16 districts, reports BSS. 

The polling will take place today 

from 8 am to 4 pm without any break. 

"All preparations have been completed 

for holding the elections in a 

peaceful manner. All kinds of directives 

have been given to the officials 

concerned for holding the elections in a 

free, fair and peaceful manner. No 

irregularities will be tolerated during 

this election," Election Commission 

(EC) Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed 

told BSS. 

Besides, general holiday has been 

announced for Monday in the respective 

upazilas on the occasion of the 

election. 

Electioneering ended on Saturday 

midnight while huge enthusiasm was 

noticed among the voters centering 

this poll as the election is being held 

with party symbols. 

Restrictions on vehicular movements 

have been imposed in the electoral 

areas while additional law 

enforcement agencies have been 

deployed for five days, including two 

days before and two days after the election 

along with the voting day. 

On the polling day, 14 members of 

law enforcement agency will be 

deployed in every general polling centre 

while 16 will be deployed in the 

risky polling centers. 

Although the EC declared election 

schedule for 87 upazilas in the first 

phase, polls were held in 80 upazilas. 

About 1,310 aspirants, including 377 

for chairman, 539 for vice-chairman 

and 394 for women vice-chairman 

posts, are contesting in the second 

phase polls. About 1.79 crore voters 

will exercise their franchise today in 

7,039 polling centres in 116 upazilas. 

As per the election schedule, elections 

will be held in 127 upazilas on 

March 24 in the third phase. 

Besides, the fourth and fifth phases 

of the Upazila Parishad elections will 

be held on March 31 and July 18 

respectively. 

On Sunday, newly elected VP Nurul Haq Nur gave his speech at a press conference at Madur Canteen of 

Dhaka University. 

Photo: Star Mail 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and President Md Abdul Hamid paid tribute to Bangabandhu Sheikh 

Mujibur Rahman at Tungipara of Gopalganj district. 

Photo: Star Mail 

AL working to 

celebrate 

Bangabandhu's 

100th birth 

anniversary 

worldwide: Hanif 

DHAKA : Awami League Joint 

General Secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam 

Hanif yesterday said the ruling party 

has already started working to celebrate 

the Bangabandhu's 100th birth 

anniversary on a large scale in the global 

arena in next year. 

"We want to celebrate the 100th birth 

anniversary of Bangabandhu from 

national level to international arena on 

a large scale," he said. 

The AL leader said this after placing 

floral wreaths at the portrait of Father 

of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh 

Mujibur Rahman in front of the 32 

Bangabandhu Bhaban in the city's 

Dhanmondi area. 

Hanif informed that the party has 

already started working to bring in 

world's renowned poets and literature 

writers at the 100th centenary celebration 

function in the country. 

Mentioning that Bangabandhu and 

Bangladesh is a unique entity, he also 

said that Bangabandhu means 

Bangladesh, Bangabandhu means 

independence. 

The AL joint general secretary also 

vowed to work relentlessly along with 

other party leaders and workers under 

the dynamic leadership of Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina to materialize 

the dream of Bangabandhu. 

"This is our pledge on this 100th 

birthday of Bangabandhu," he added. 

President, PM pay 

tributes to 

Bangabandhu at 

Tungipara 

TUNGIPARA : President Abdul 

Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina on Sunday paid rich tributes 

to Father of the Nation 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur 

Rahman on the occasion of the 99th 

anniversary of the great leader, 

reports UNB. 

The President and the Prime 

Minister paid their homage by placing 

wreaths at the mazar (mausoleum) 

of Bangabandhu. 

President Abdul Hamid first laid a 

wreath at the mazar of Bangabandhu 

followed by Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina. 

After placing the wreaths, they 

stood in solemn silence for some 

time as a mark of profound respect to 

the memory of the Father of the 

Nation as the bugle played the last 

post. 

A smartly turned out contingent 

drawn from thecBangladesh Army, 

Navy and Air Force gave a guard of 

honour on the occasion. 

Abdul Hamid and Sheikh Hasina 

offered fateha and joined a munajat 

seeking eternal peace of the departed 

soul of Bangabandhu as well as other 

martyrs of the August 15 carnage. 

Later, the President signed the visitor's 

book kept on the mazar premises. 

Earlier on his arrival at the mazar 

premises, President Abdul Hamid 

was received by Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina, her younger sister 

Sheikh Rehana, AL Presidium 

Member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, 

Abul Hasnat Abdullah, MP and 

Sheikh Helaluddin, MP. 

Flanked by senior leaders of the 

party, Sheikh Hasina, also the 

Awami League president, placed 

another wreath at the mazar of 

Bangabandhu on behalf of AL. 

The Prime Minister flew to 

Tungipara after placing wreaths at 

the portrait of Bangabandhu in front 

of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum 

at Dhanmondi 32. 

The birthday of Bangabandhu is 

being observed across the country as 

the National Children's Day. It is also 

a public holiday. 

Motijheel, Dhanmondi, 

Uttara to have circular 

bus services: DMP chief 

DHAKA : Dhaka Metropolitan Police 

(DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman 

Mia on Sunday said circular bus services 

will be introduced within April next in 

Motijheel, Dhanmondi and Uttara areas 

like Gulshan to ease the city's traffic situation, 

reports UNB. 

He came up with the revelation while 

inaugurating a traffic week, 5th time 

after the Road Safety Movement was 

launched following deaths of two college 

students in the city on July 29 last, near 

the Saarc Fountain in the capital's 

Karwanbazar area. 

The traffic week will continue till 

March 23. 

The DMP chief said he has already 

talked to the mayors of Dhaka North 

City Corporation and Dhaka South City 

Corporation to this end. "With their 

cooperation, bus services will be run by 

six companies. The process has already 

started." 

Mentioning that work on mass rapid 

transit (MRT), bus rapid transit (BRT) 

and elevated expressway is underway 

which will be completed within two 

years, he said the entire traffic scenario 

will be changed once those are opened. 

Asaduzzaman Mia said an awareness 

programme will be carried out extensively 

so that people use footbridges, 

underpasses and zebra crossings to 

reduce the number of accidents. 

He also said the DMP Traffic Division 

is working in coordination with the two 

city corporations, Dhaka Transport 

Coordination Authority (DTCA), 

Bangladesh Road Transport Authority 

(BRTA) and Bangladesh Road 

Transport Corporation (BRTC) to ease 

the traffic situation and bring back discipline 

on roads in the city. 

The DMP commissioner also urged 

the country's people to follow traffic 

rules.

NEWS 

MoNDAY, 

MArCh 18, 2019 

2 

Kendrio Kachi Kachar Mela observed Jatiya Shishu Dibash yesterday. 

RAJSHAHI: Agricultural scientists and 

researchers urged the farmers to 

cultivate wheat by using seeder 

machine to boost yield to meet its 

gradually mounting demand. They said 

the machine developed by Bangladesh 

Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) 

will also help lessening pressure on 

irrigation water for the wheat farming 

side by side with minimizing the 

production cost in the vast Barind tract. 

They revealed this while addressing 

two separate farmers' field day 

meetings on projection of the seeder 

machine at Dhamdhum Badhair and 

Bijoynagar Colonypara villages under 

Tanore and Godagari upazilas 

respectively in the district on Saturday. 

Farm Machinery and Post-harvest 

Process Engineering (FMPE) Division 

and On-Farm Research Division 

(OFRD), Barind centre under BARI 

BNP isolated 

from 

countrymen: 

Nasim 

DHAKA : Awami League 

(AL) Presidium Member 

Mohammed Nasim 

yesterday said that BNP 

has been isolated from 

the people due to their 

own faults, reports BSS. 

"You have been 

estranged from the 

people of the country 

because of your wrong 

decision… your leader 

Khaleda Zia cannot 

speak on behalf of her 

party as she is now in 

jail. You have done so 

many wrong things 

which make BNP deaf," 

he said. 

The senior AL leader 

was speaking at an art 

competition as the chief 

guest on the occasion of 

the 100 birthday of 

Father of the Nation 

Bangabandhu Sheikh 

Mujibur Rahman on 

Dhaka Government 

Deaf School premises in 

the capital. 

Awami League's Relief 

and Social Welfare Sub- 

Committee organized 

the programme. 

Nasim, also the ruling 

14-party alliance 

spokesman, said 

militancy has been 

rooted out from 

Bangladesh under the 

dynamic leadership of 

Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina, adding that now 

the premier is moving 

forward to build a 'Sonar 

Bangla' as dreamt by 

Bangabandhu. 

With AL's relief and 

social welfare subcommittee 

AFM Fakhrul 

Islam Munshi in the 

chair, the programme 

was addressed by AL's 

Relief and Social Welfare 

Secretary Shree Sujit 

Roy Nandi, Dhaka 

Metropolitan South AL 

Joint General Secretary 

Kamal Chowdhury and 

Principal of the school 

Aminul Islam. 

jointly organized the meetings in 

association with Krishi Gobeshona 

Foundation (KGF). More than 160 

farmers both male and females joined 

the programmes. 

Principal Investigator and Chief 

Scientific Officer of FMPE Dr Ayub 

Hossain and its Senior Scientific Officer 

Dr Arshadul Hoque addressed the 

meetings as focal persons while Upazila 

Agriculture Officer Saifullah Ahmmed 

spoke as special guest with Senior 

Scientific Officer of OFRD (Barind 

Centre) Dr Shakhawat Hossain in the 

chair. 

Dr Ayub Hossain opined that there is 

an enormous scope of increasing Rabi 

crop in the region with minimum 

tillage and seeding method using 

residual soil moisture. Thereby, 

pressure on groundwater can be 

reduced considerably if wheat is 

Argentina announces professionalization 

of women's soccer 

Argentina's soccer association announced 

Saturday that the national women's league 

will be granted professional status, marking a 

milestone in a country that is home to Lionel 

Messi and some of the world's greatest 

players but still views soccer as largely a 

men's game, reports BSS. 

At a press conference on the outskirts of the 

capital of Buenos Aires, the association said 

that each of the 16 clubs of the women's top 

division must now have at least eight 

professional contracts with female players. 

The contracts must also mirror those of the 

professional men's league. 

"When we assumed responsibility, we said 

we were going to oversee inclusive soccer that 

is gender equal, and we are demonstrating 

that," said AFA President Claudio Tapia. 

Tapia said that the association will 

contribute 120,000 pesos (about $3,000) per 

month to each club to finance the contracts. 

Up until now, the women's game has been 

played by amateur athletes who have gotten 

little to no money for their work on the field. 

The national team's female players have also 

struggled financially and went on strike in 

2017 after their stipends of about $10 went 

unpaid. 

With Saturday's announcement, 

professional female players will now receive a 

DHAKA :The bilateral 

trade between Bangladesh 

and China, which amounted 

to $12.4 billion in 2017- 

2018, is expected to reach 

$18 billion mark by 2021, 

economists said, reports 

UNB. 

President of Dhaka 

Chamber of Commerce and 

Industry (DCCI) Osama 

Taseer said it when 

Ambassador of China to 

Bangladesh Zhang Zuo 

visited the DCCI auditorium 

in the capital on Saturday. 

According to a press 

release, Taseer said 

Bangladesh's "Look East" 

Policy is essentially 

designed to open up new 

avenues of cooperation with 

China and the ASEAN 

region urging Chinese FDI 

in "RMG product 

diversification" and allied 

transfer of technology. 

He also urged the world's 

second largest economy for 

quick implementation of 

duty free, quota free market 

access to Bangladesh. 

Zhang Zuo said China has 

recently passed the new 

foreign investment law 

which is more open and 

flexible for foreign investors. 

In 2017-18 Chinas's FDI to 

Bangladesh increased and 

China has invested more in 

Bangladesh than any other 

countries. 

China is one of the largest 

partners in mega 

infrastructure projects in 

Bangladesh, said Zao 

adding that about 200 large 

Chinese companies and 200 

Photo : TBT 

Farmers urged to use 

seeder machine in 

wheat cultivation 

cultivated instead of only Boro rice. 

He opined that substantial and 

sustainable expansion of wheat 

farming can mitigate the existing 

water-stress condition in the high 

Barind tract as wheat is environment 

friendly crop. 

Time has come to enhance acreage of 

wheat farming instead of only 

depending on Irri-boro rice in the dried 

area to ensure food security amid the 

adverse impact of climate change. 

It can also prepare seedbed in one 

pass and sow seeds in line and cover 

seeds at the same time. Planting cost of 

wheat, maize and rice is supposed to be 

reduced by 57 to 78 percent compare to 

the conventional method. 

Dr Ayub says minimum tillage of soil 

emits 44 percent less carbon dioxide 

into the atmosphere which is also an 

environment friendly technology. 

monthly minimum salary of about 15,000 

pesos, or $365, which is equivalent to that 

earned by male players in the fourth division 

of Argentine soccer. 

Sergio Marchi, leader of the soccer players' 

union, held up a copy of a contract and said, 

"With this we are generating a legal 

framework and a way to be able to advance 

professionally. This is the base, it is the 

beginning. It is in each of us to develop it." 

The professionalization of the sport gained 

momentum this year when soccer player 

Macarena Sanchez was dismissed by the UAI 

Urquiza team, which is the current league 

champion in Argentina. She then decided to 

launch a legal complaint seeking 

compensation and professional status. 

Female soccer players around the world 

have recently embarked on similar quests. 

Earlier this month, the U.S. women's 

national soccer team sued the U.S. Soccer 

Federation for "institutionalized gender 

discrimination" that includes unequal pay 

with their counterparts on the men's national 

team. 

Tapia said that professional recognition in 

Argentina is just the tip of the iceberg, but 

some advances will largely depend on the 

commitment of clubs and their ability to 

generate sponsorships and television rights. 

Bangladesh- China trade 

to hit $18 billion by 2021 

Chinese SMEs are in 

operation in Bangladesh. 

He also looks 

Bangladesh's vast potentials 

in fields of blue and coastal 

economy. 

The Chinese Ambassador 

invited DCCI members to 

attend the Shanghai Import 

and Export Fair 2019 in 

November. 

DCCI's Senior Vice 

President Waqar Ahmad 

Choudhury, Vice President 

Imran Ahmed, Directors 

Andaleeb Hasan, Alhaj 

Deen Mohammed, Enamul 

Haque Patwary, Hossain A 

Sikder, Engr. Md. Al Amin, 

Mohammad Bashiruddin, 

Nuher L. Khan, Shams 

Mahmud and S.M. Zillur 

Rahman were present 

there. 

Two workers 

killed at rampal 

power plant in 

Bagerhat 

BAGERHAT : Two workers 

were killed as a heavy caging 

pipe fell on them from a 

crane at Rampal Power 

Plant near Sundarbans here 

on Saturday, reports UNB. 

The deceased were 

identified as Asabur, 40, of 

Adabar village in Rampal 

upazila and Nasir Uddin, 24, 

hailing 

from 

Chapainawabgnaj district. 

A heavy caging pine 

suddenly fell on them 

around 8 pm while the duo 

along with other workers 

were doing piling works at 

the plant, leaving both of 

them dead on the spot, said 

Md Lutfar Rahaman, 

officer-in-charge of Rampal 

Police Station. The bodies 

were sent to Khulna Medical 

College Hospital for 

autopsies, he added. 

The contractors have been 

asked to compensate the 

deceased workers' families, 

said Rezaul Karim, deputy 

project director of the plant. 

Man crushed 

under train in 

Thakurgaon 

THAKURGAON : A man 

died after being crushed 

under the wheels of a train 

near Thakurgaon Railway 

Station here on Sunday, 

reports UNB. 

The identity of the 

deceased could not be 

known immediately. 

Akhtarul Islam, station 

master of Thakurgaon 

Railways Station, said the 

incident took place in the 

morning when a Dinajpurbound 

local train hit the 

man, aged around 40 years, 

leaving him dead on the 

spot. Railway Police sent the 

body to a local hospital 

morgue for an autopsy. 

Two killed in 

Joypurhat postpolls 

violence 

JOYPURHAT : At least two 

people were killed and ten 

others injured in a factional 

clash of the ruling Awami 

League centering the 

recently-held Upazila 

Parishad elections at 

Moslemganj Bazar in Kalai 

upazila on Saturday night, 

reports UNB. 

The deceased were 

identified as Aftab Hossain 

of Monnapara village and 

Ratan Hossain of 

Mahissyapara in the upazila. 

The clash ensued between 

the supporters of Minfuzur 

Rahman Milon, chairmanelect 

of Kalai upazila, and 

local union Chairman 

Wazed Ali around 8:00pm, 

leaving Aftab killed on the 

spot and injuring eleven 

others, said Abdul Latif, 

officer-in-charge of Kalai 

Police Station. 

Among the injured, Ratan 

died around 5 am while 

being taken to Bogura 

Shaheed Ziaur Rahman 

Medical College Hospital. 

The rest of the injured 

were undergoing treatment 

at local upazila health 

complex, he added. 

Language 

hero osman 

Gani dies 

CHAPAINAWABGANJ : 

Advocate Osman Gani, a 

language movement veteran 

died at a hospital in Dhaka 

on Saturday night. He was 

89, reports UNB. 

He breathed his last 

around 9:30 pm while 

undergoing treatment at 

BIRDEM hospital. Osman 

Gani, establishing president 

of Chapainawabganj 

Diabetic Association, was 

admitted to the hospital two 

weeks ago as he was 

suffering from old-age 

complications. 

The distinguished lawyer 

left behind his wife, four 

sons, three daughters and a 

host of relatives and 

admirers to mourn his 

death. 

record maize production 

likely in rangpur region 

RANGPUR: An all-time record production of 

maize is likely in Rangpur agriculture region 

where the farmers exceeded its fixed farming 

target by 11.12 percent during this Rabi 

season, reports BSS. 

Officials of the Department of Agriculture 

Extension (DAE) said the farmers are 

showing huge interest in expanding maize 

cultivation after getting repeated bumper 

production with excellent price in recent 

years. 

"Maize cultivation is expanding faster 

contributing to cutting poverty and helping 

the poor in improving livelihoods and 

achieving self-reliance," Horticulture 

Specialist of the DAE at its regional office 

Khondker Md. Mesbahul Islam told BSS 

today. The DAE had fixed a target of 

producing 7.58-lakh tonnes of maize from 

83,192 hectares of land in Rangpur, 

Gaibandha, Kurigram, Nilphamari and 

Lalmonirhat districts of Rangpur agriculture 

region this season. 

"However, the farmers have finally 

cultivated maize on 92,445 hectares of land, 

higher by 9,253 hectares or 11.12 percent 

higher than the fixed farming target of the 

cereal crop having huge demand in local 

market," Islam said. 

Like the farmers in the mainland, the char 

people are also expanding maize farming on 

the sandy char lands in riverine areas after 

getting repeated bumper output with 

excellent profits in recent years changing 

their fortune. 

The attributes that helped Jacinda Ardern 

rise to become New Zealand's leader at age 

37 include her optimistic outlook and bright 

personality. And she became an inspiration 

to working women around the world last 

year when she gave birth to a daughter, 

Neve, reports UNB. 

But the prime minister is now displaying 

other qualities to an anxious nation after a 

gunman on Friday slaughtered 50 people at 

two Christchurch mosques. She's shown a 

determination to change gun laws and a 

deep empathy with the families of the 

victims and the Muslim community. 

On Friday afternoon at a simple table laid 

in a hotel conference room in New 

Plymouth, a city on New Zealand's North 

Island, Ardern told the nation about the 

shootings. Details were sparse, but her 

shaken demeanor, a tremor in her voice, 

made it clear the situation was grave. 

1st death anniversary of 

rebeka Mohiuddin today 

DHAKA :The first death anniversary of Rebeka Mohiuddin, 

one of the organisers of the Liberation War and a woman 

rights activist, will be observed on Tuesday. 

Her death anniversary will be marked with due respect in 

the Shahid Buddhijibi Graveyard in which she was laid to 

eternal rest. A Milad and Doa Mahfil will be held at her own 

residence in Dhanmondi after Asr prayers. 

Besides, a Milad and Doa Mahfil will also be held at her 

village home in Lakarta under the Vederganj Thana of 

Shariatpur District, organised by Mothbaria Mohiuddin 

Ahmed Women's College and Mohiuddin Ahmed Memorial 

Organisation. Rebeka Mohiuddin passed away in Dhaka on 

March 19, 2018. She was the wife of late Awami League 

veteran leader Mohiuddin Ahmed who was the acting 

President and a Presidium member of the party. 

Rebeka had helped the special squad "Crack Platoon" by 

supplying medicines and clothes during the 1971 Liberation 

War. She was also a close associate of poet Sufia Kamal. 

Relatives, friends and well-wishers have been requested to 

join the Milad and Doa Mahfil on Tuesday. 

houses torched, vandalized over 

AL factional clash in Jhenaidah 

JHENAIDAH : A house was torched while several others 

were vandalised in a clash over establishing supremacy 

between two factions of Awami League at Hatgopalpur bazar 

in Sadar upazila on Saturday night, reports UNB. 

Syed Nizamul GoniLitu, chairman ofPadmakorUnion 

Parishad and former chairman of the same Parishad Bikash 

Biswas had been at loggerheads over establishing supremacy 

in the area for long, said Kanak Kumar Das, additional 

superintendent of Jhenaidah police. 

"The char people have cultivated maize on 

about 30,000 hectares of land on the char 

lands of the region where its tender plants are 

growing superbly amid favourable climatic 

conditions now predicting bumper output," 

Islam added. 

Deputy Director of the DAE at its regional 

office Md. Moniruzzaman said the 

government has put emphasis on expanding 

cultivation of the lees irrigation water 

consuming crops like maize that helps the 

poor to cut poverty. 

"The DAE provided seed, fertilisers and 

technical assistance to 1,650 small and 

marginal farmers of Rangpur region for 

expanding cultivation of maize on two bigha 

of lands each to further boosting its 

production this season," he said. 

Talking to BSS today, Agriculturist Dr. Md. 

Abdul Mazid, who got the Independence 

Award 2018 Medal (food security) last year, 

predicted brighter prospect of maize farming 

in the northwestern region of Bangladesh to 

meet growing demand of the cereal crop. 

"Expanded cultivation of the low-irrigation 

water consuming crops, like maize, adopting 

conservation agriculture technologies, such 

as strip tillage, can save ground water, ensure 

food security and improve environment amid 

changing climate," he said. 

He suggested the farmers for expanding 

cultivation of high yielding varieties of maize 

on both mainland and char areas to earn 

more profits for becoming self-reliant by 

cutting poverty. 

After massacre, New Zealand leader 

shows resolve, empathy 

Mass shootings were almost unheard of in 

New Zealand. People wanted reassurance 

and information. 

When she next spoke from Parliament in 

Wellington she was calmer, more resolute. 

She gave details of a mounting death toll 

and of an offender in custody, an Australian 

man who had chosen New Zealand for his 

crime. 

"You may have chosen us," she said. "We 

utterly reject and condemn you." 

When President Donald Trump called 

Ardern to offer his sympathies and ask what 

assistance the U.S. might provide, Ardern 

said she would welcome sympathy and love 

toward Muslim communities. It was a 

rebuke, of sorts, toward the perception of 

Trump as being anti-Islamic. 

On Friday, Ardern flew to Christchurch. 

She donned a simple hijab and met with 

families of those killed and wounded. 

A man died after being crushed under the wheels of a train near Thakurgaon 

railway Station here on Sunday. 

Photo : Courtesy 

Bombing 

aboard train 

kills 3 in 

southwest 

Pakistan 

Police in Pakistan say a 

bomb explosion aboard a 

moving train has killed at 

least three passengers and 

wounded seven others in the 

country's volatile southwest, 

reports UNB. 

Officer Abdullah Jamali 

says the bomb went off in 

one of the cars of a Quettabound 

train early Sunday, 

damaging five cars. He says 

two men and a woman were 

killed, and that women and 

children were among the 

wounded. 

No one claimed 

responsibility, but ethnic 

Baluch separatists have 

attacked trains in the past. 

The southwestern 

Baluchistan province has 

been the scene of a low-level 

separatist insurgency for 

well over a decade. The 

separatists accuse the 

central government of 

unfairly exploiting the 

region's gas and mineral 

wealth.

METRO 

MONDAY, MARCh 18, 2019 

3 

Sangbadik Sramik Karmachari Oikyo Parishad brought out a rally marking 100th birth anniversary of 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 

Photo : TBT 

Journos' rally on Mar 26 

against 'abuse' of laws 

DHAKA : Journalists from 

different print and electronic 

media will hold a rally in the city on 

March 26 to realise their various 

demands like ending the 'abuse' of 

different laws. 

Sangbadik Sramik Karmachari 

Oikya Parishad, a platform of 

journalists, will arrange the 

programme at the Jatiya Press 

Club at 11am on the day, reports 

UNB. 

President of Bangladesh Federal 

Union of Journalists (BFUJ) Molla 

Jalal on Sunday announced the 

programme at a discussion at the 

Jatiya Press Club, marking 

Bangabandhu's 99th birth 

anniversary. 

Talking to UNB about the rally, 

the BFUJ president said, "Now, 

media houses in the country are 

Google 

celebrates 

Children's 

Day with 

a Doodle 

DHAKA : Search engine 

giant Google has created a 

Doodle to celebrate 

National Children's Day 

and the birth anniversary 

of Father of the Nation 


Mujibur Rahman, reports 

UNB. 

The Doodle 'Children's 

Day Bangladesh' is being 

displayed on its 

homepage featuring the 

search giant's logo with 

coloured animations of 

flowers, plants and 

insects on a background 

where children are 

playing, reading and 

enjoying. 

Doodles are a special, 

temporary alteration of 

the company's logo, on 

Google's homepage, that 

honour notable 

personalities. 

The day is being 

celebrated in Bangladesh 

as a tribute to the Father 

of the Nation 


Mujibur Rahman who 

was born on this day in 

1920 in Tungipara of 

Gopalganj. 

Since 2009, the day is 

being celebrating 

throughout Bangladesh 

by engaging youth and 

creating awareness about 

children's right on 17 

March on the birthday of 

the Father of the Nation. 

AL to hold 

discussion 

today 

DHAKA : Awami League 

will hold a discussion 

marking the 100th birthday 

of Father of the Nation 


Mujibur Rahman at 3pm 

today at Bangabandhu 

International Conference 

Centre (BICC). Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina will 

chair the discussion, said an 

AL press release. 

facing various problems due to 

digital security act and some other 

laws while the 9th Wage Board is 

yet to be announced. So, we'll place 

our demands to the government 

from the rally to solve the 

problems." 

He said they will also announce 

some action programmes from the 

rally to realise their demands. 

Earlier speaking at the 

discussion, Molla Jalal said the 

existence of the media industry is 

now at stake as a group of 

journalists are working to make 

their personal gains instead of 

protecting the interests of the 

community. 

Stressing the need for forging a 

unity among the journalists to 

realise their demands, he said, "No 

one can suppress us if we get 

JU student gives birth 

in dormitory, baby dies 

as it's hidden in trunk 

JAHANGIRNAGAR UNIVERSITY 

(SAVAR) : In a shocking incident, a 

newborn baby girl was rescued from a 

locked trunk at a room of Bangamata 

Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall of 

Jahangirnagar University (JU) on 

Saturday night and she died soon after 

being taken to a hospital, reports UNB. 

Hall sources said an inmate of room No 

426 of the dormitory and a third-year 

student of JU Botany department, gave 

birth to the baby around 4pm when three 

of her roommates were outside. Later, 

she kept the baby into the trunk. 

When her roommates came back, they 

found her bleeding and suspected 

something fishy. However, the girl did 

not confess to giving birth, describing the 

reason for bleeding as something else. 

Later, the roommates and other 

inmates took her to the university's 

medical centre where doctors referred 

her to Enam Medical College Hospital. 

By the time, the hall inmates informed 

DHAKA : The Embassy of 

Bangladesh in Tokyo 

celebrated the 99thbirth 

anniversary of Father of the 

Nation Bangabandhu 

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman 

and National Children's Day 

2019 in a befitting manner 

with due festivity, reports 

UNB. 

The programme was 

participated by a large 

number of children, parents 

and representatives of 

Bangladesh community in 

Japan along with the 

mission's officials. 

The programme of the day 

included placing wreaths at 

the portrait of the Father of 

the Nation; reading out the 

messages issued by the 

President, Prime Minister, 

Foreign Minister and State 

Minister for Foreign Affairs; 

quiz competition on 

Bangabandhu and 

Bangladesh; dress-as-youlike 

competition on 

Bangabandhu, Bangladesh 

and Liberation War and 

other contests participated 

by the children. 

At the beginning of the 

programme, Ambassador 

Rabab Fatima together with 

the children paid tributes to 

the Father of Nation by 

placing a wreath at the 

portrait of Bangabandhu. 

This was followed by a 

special prayer seeking 

Jannah for Bangabandhu 

and his family members. 

The ambassador shed light 

on the life and achievement 

of Bangabandhu and 

explained how the birth of 

Bangladesh is intertwined 

with the birth of 

Bangabandhu, said a press 

release. 

united. We'll wage a movement for 

protecting the interests of the 

media industry and the 

journalists. We won't compromise 

to this end." 

He called upon the journalists to 

join the rally and discuss the media 

industry's current problems and 

work out their suitable solutions. 

"As our industry has been facing a 

crisis, we must now get united to 

overcome it." 

BFUJ secretary general Shaban 

Mahmud said, "We've to realise 

our rights through demonstrations 

and movements. So, get ready for 

the rally on March 26," he said. 

President of Dhaka Union of 

Journalists Abu Jafar Surja and 

Joint Secretary General of BFUJ 

Abdul Majid, among others, spoke 

at the programme. 

the matter to the hall administration 

which launched a search on suspicion. 

The existence of the baby came to the 

fore when she started crying from inside 

trunk around 8pm. 

Later, the hall authorities rescued the 

baby after breaking the lock of the trunk 

and took him to the university's medical 

centre where doctors sent the baby to 

Enam Medical College Hospital after 

giving oxygen. 

However, the baby died there around 

10:30pm. 

Hall Provost Prof Dr M Majibur 

Rahman said they formed a fourmember 

probe body, headed by 

residential teacher Labiba Katun Tania, 

to look into the incident. The committee 

was asked to submit its report within 10 

days. 

Meanwhile, a student of JU Marketing 

department, Rony Mollah, claimed him 

as the father of the baby. He said he 

married the girl one year ago. 

Bangabandhu's 99th 

birth anniversary 

celebrated in Tokyo 

Expatriate Bangladesh 

community members also 

took part in the discussion 

to pay their homage to the 

Father of the National and 

to gratefully recall the 

visionary leadership of 

Bangabandhu who led the 

entire nation to the 

Liberation War and created 

an 

independent 

Bangladesh. 

Crests were distributed 

amongst the winners in 

different competitions. 

Chocolates, books and 

graphic novel 'Mujib' were 

also distributed among the 

children. 

A group of children from 

'Sharawlipi Cultural 

Academy', who learn Bangla 

culture and language, led 

the audience to sing the 

national anthem of 

Bangladesh. 

Japan shocked 

at killing of 

Bangladeshis 

in NZ attack 

DHAKA : Japanese 

Ambassador here Hiroyasu 

Izumi on Sunday expressed 

shock at the loss of lives of 

Bangladeshis in the 

atrocious terrorist attack in 

Christchurch, New Zealand, 

reports UNB. 

He also expressed 

sympathy for the family 

members of the victims. 

"Terrorism can't be 

justified for any reason, 

under any circumstance," 

the Japanese Ambassador 

wrote to Foreign Minister Dr 

AK Abdul Momen in a 

message of condolences on 

behalf of the government of 

Japan and its people. 

In close cooperation with 

Bangladesh and the 

international community, 

the envoy said, Japan 

expresses determination to 

stand up against terrorism 

and to overcome this 

difficult time. 

On Saturday, Ambassador 

Izumi verbally conveyed to 

Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina the condolences 

from Japan to Bangladeshi 

victims of the terrorist 

attacks, according to 

Japanese Embassy in 

Dhaka. 

BNP works 

out weeklong 

Independence 

Day prog 

DHAKA : BNP on Sunday 

chalked out a seven-day 

programme, including 

staging a colourful rally in 

the capital, to celebrate the 

Independence Day, reports 

UNB. 

BNP secretary general 

Mirza Fakhrul Islam 

Alamgir announced the 

programmes at the party's 

Nayapaltan central office 

after a joint meeting of the 

leaders of BNP and its 

associate bodies. 

As part of the 

programmes, he said, they 

will bring out an 

Independence Day rally 

from their Nayapaltan 

central office on March 27. 

Besides, he said, their 

party's district, upazila and 

municipality units across the 

country will also take out 

rallies at their convenient 

time. 

Fakhrul said BNP senior 

leaders will place wreaths at 

the National Mausoleum in 

Savar in the morning on 

March 26. Later, they will 

place wreaths at the mazar 

of late BNP founder Ziaur 

Rahman at Sher-e- 

Banglanagar in the capital, 

marking the day. 

He said BNP will hoist 

national and party flags atop 

its offices, including the 

Nayapaltan central one, in 

the morning on the 

occasion. The party office 

will also be illuminated. 

Fakhrul said their party 

will hold a discussion on 

March 25 either at the 

Institution of Engineers, 

Bangladesh or Mohanagar 

Natya Mancha on the 

occasion. 

BNP vice chairmen 

Shamsuzzaman Dudu, 

senior joint secretary 

general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, 

joint secretaries general 

Syed Moazzem Hossain 

Alal, Khairul Kabir Khokon 

and other leaders of the 

party and its associate 

bodies took part in the 

meeting held with Fakhrul 

in the chair. 

Two suffer burn 

injuries in city 

DHAKA : Two people 

sustained burn injuries in a 

fire that broke out at a multistorey 

house in the city's 

Banani area on Sunday, 

reports UNB. 

The injured Sagar, 25, and 

Himel, 19, have been 

admitted to the burn unit of 

Dhaka Medical College 

Hospital (DMCH), said 

Foysalur Rahman, senior 

station officer of Tejgaon 

Fire Service and Civil 

Defense Station. 

Prof Stanford for preserving 

turtles, tortoises in 

Bangladesh 

DHAKA : Dr Craig B Stanford, a 

professor of Biological Science and 

Anthropology at the University of 

Southern California, has laid 

emphasis on educating people in 

Bangladesh about turtles and tortoises 

to avoid their extinction, reports UNB. 

He also encouraged young people to 

become environmentally more aware 

and interested saying their role is 

critical. 

Prof Stanford stressed the urgency 

to save globally endangered species of 

turtles and tortoises, including in 

Bangladesh, and discussed some 

possible cooperative plans. 

He spoke at an interactive session - 

WildHour - held at Cosmos Centre in 

the city on Saturday as key speaker 

discussing the global scenario of 

endangered and near extinct species 

of tortoise and turtle alongside the 

reasons responsible for it. 

The event, titled 'Turtles in Trouble: 

Conservation Priorities in the 21st 

Century', was arranged by Noazesh 

Knowledge Centre (NKC), an 

endeavour of WildTeam where 

around 100 participants, including 

university students, teachers, 

researchers and conservation 

professionals, were present. 

Prof Stanford mentioned that the 

DHAKA : A special programme was 

held at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib 

Medical University (BSMMU) on 

Sunday, marking the 99th birth 

anniversary of Father of the Nation 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur 

Rahman, reports UNB. 

University Fistula Centre, BSMMU 

and Bangladesh Nari Sangbadik Samity 

(BANASAS) in association with Fistula 

Care Plus of Engender Health 

Bangladesh, an international 

development organisation, arranged 

the programme featuring a discussion 

on fistula, exchanging greetings with 

fistula patients and serving special food 

to them at the fistula ward of the 

hospital. 

Prof Dr Tripti Rani Das, chairman of 

BSMMU Obstetrics and Gynaecology 

department, presided over the 

programme, said a BANASAS press 

release. 

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Tripti 

Rani demanded nationalisation of the 

fistula centre and put emphasis on the 

rarest of turtles as well as tortoises 

that need to be preserved are found in 

Asia. "Many of the tortoises and 

turtles which are found in captivity, 

are extinct in the wild," he said. 

Prof Stanford said the success rate of 

saving endangered turtle and tortoise 

species is very low. 

He also pointed out key reasons 

behind the endangerment and 

extinction of tortoise and turtle 

species which are --- loss of habitat, 

serving as food in central Asia and pet 

trading. 

"The financial scale of illegal wildlife 

trading rivals that of drugs trading," 

he added. 

Dr Craig stressed raising awareness 

and dedication of people to save the 

species of turtles and tortoises which 

are endangered and near extinct. 

WildTeam CEO Dr Anwarul Islam 

also spoke at the event highlighting 

the need for such sessions and 

encouraged the participants to learn 

from it. 

Prof Stanford is a renowned 

wildlife expert who has worked in 

countries like Indonesia, Cambodia, 

Thailand, Northern India and more. 

He is the Chair of IUCN 

Tortoise/Freshwater Turtle 

Specialists Group, 2017-2021. 

Discussion on fistula 

held at BSMMU 

GD-463/19 (8 x 3) 

rehabilitation and creating work 

opportunities for of incurable fistula 

patients. 

Obstetrical and Gynaecological 

Society of Bangladesh (OGSB) 

Secretary General Prof Dr Saleha 

Begum Chowdhury, fistula surgeons 

Prof Dr Fahmida Zabin and Dr Sharmin 

Mahmud, Dr Sheuly Chowdhury and 

Prof Dr Begum Nasrin of BSMMU, 

Engender Health Bangladesh Country 

Programme Manager and Global Event 

Manager Dr SK Nazmul Huda, 

BANASAS President Nasima Akter 

Shoma and General Secretary 

Anguman Ara Shilpi, among others, 

spoke on the occasion. 

Speakers recalled the affection of 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman 

for the neglected section of the society. 

They urged all to come forward to the 

treatment and rehabilitation of the 

obstetric fistula patients. 

After the discussion, special food was 

served among the fistula patients of the 

hospital.

EDITORIAL 

MOnDAY, 

MARch 18, 2019 

4 

new Zealand carnage exposes prejudices 

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam 

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

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com 

Monday, March 18, 2019 

Paying tribute to Bangabandhu 

on his 99th birthday 

Soon after the completion of 100 greatest Britons poll 

in 2002, the BBC organized a similar opinion poll to 

find out who is the greatest Bengali personality in 

Bengali nation's history of thousand years. In 2004, 

BBC's Bengali Service conducted the opinion poll with the 

title Greatest Bengali of all time started from February 11 

that continued onto March 22. The poll was participated 

by Bengalis around the world including from Bangladesh, 

India (states of West Bengal, Trpura, Assam ) and 

overseas Bengali communities. 

A total of 140 nominations were from the poll. BBC 

started to announce the top 20 names from 26 March 

declaring one name each day starting from 20th position. 

On the final day of 14 April 2004, which was also the 

Pahela Baishakh (Bengali New Year day), BBC 

announced Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father 

of Bangladesh, as the Greatest Bengali of all time voted by 

Bengalis worldwide. 

Yesterday (Saturday), Bangladesh observed the birth 

anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 

He would have been 99 years old on this day if he lived. 

Tragically his life was cut short prematurely. On15 

August, 1975 he was slain by most heartless killers in the 

small hours along with nearly all members of his family. 

It forms possibly the greatest tragedy epic in the modern 

times of a man so great and honorable being put down by 

a hail of bullets by some misguided ones of his own 

people. 

The killers probably calculated thought that his killing 

would forever bury his legacy. But they were proved 

resoundingly to be very wrong for the party which he led 

triumphantly came back to power in 2009 and in the next 

year tried his killers and hanged five of them. Six others 

are absconding abroad from justice. 

Why the name and fame of Banghabandhu endures so 

popularly is because he was not merely an individual. 

Through his unflinching dedication to his cause, 

matchless patriotism and self sacrifice, he has lived 

through the decades in people's memory as an iconic 

personality. Thus, today, he is romanticised and 

described as a whole splendid revolution himself, an 

upsurge-the essence of epic poetry and history. 

His greatness, the vision and promises thrown forth by 

him, are the source of the inspiration of this Bengali 

nation. 

He was a very great friend of the teeming millions of 

our people. To the nation he is the Father. In the view of 

men and women in other places and other climes, he is 

the founder of sovereign Bangladesh. 

Journalist Cyril Dunn once said of him, "In the 

thousands of years of history of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujib 

is the only leader who has, in terms of blood, race, 

language, culture and birth, been a full-blooded Bengali. 

His physical stature was immense. His voice was redolent 

of thunder. His charisma worked magic on people. The 

courage and charm that flowed from him made him a 

unique superman in these times." Newsweek magazine 

called him the poet of politics. 

Embracing Bangabandhu at the Algiers Non Aligned 

Summit in 1973, Cuba's Fidel Castro noted, "I have not 

seen the Himalayas. But I have seen Sheikh Mujibur 

Rahman. In personality and in courage, this man is the 

Himalayas. I have thus had the experience of witnessing 

the Himalayas." Upon hearing the news of 

Bangabandhu's assassination, former British Prime 

Minister Harold Wilson wrote to a Bengali journalist, 

"This is surely a supreme national tragedy for you. For me 

it is a personal tragedy of immense dimensions." 

The liberal democratic politics of Sher-e-Bangla A. K. 

Fazlul Haque and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy 

contributed to the moulding of Mujib's character. He 

was committed to work for the public interest and the 

national interest with everything he possessed in in his 

body and soul. He distinguished himself soon in his 

political career as the strongest advocate of Bengali 

nationalism. It was this particular passion that led to the 

rise of his ideology based on Bengali nationalism and for 

democracy leading to his brilliantly steering the course for 

the achievement of independent Bangladesh 

At the United Nations, he was the first man to speak of 

his dreams, his people's aspiration, in Bangla. The 

language was, in that swift stroke , recognized by the 

global community. For the first time after Rabindranath 

Tagore's Nobel achievement in 1913, Bangla was put on a 

position of dignity. 

The multifaceted life of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman 

cannot be put together in language or colour. The 

reason is : Mujib was a larger than life titanic figure. It 

is not possible to hold within the confines of this 

column the picture or the extent of his greatness. He 

was the supreme leader in the struggle for our national 

independence . The greatest treasure of the Bengali 

nation is preservation of his legacy. He has conquered 

death. His memory should be an everlasting guide to 

his countrymen. 

It was because of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur 

Rhman that his countrymen today live completely free 

in the air of freedom and enjoy unfettered all the 

opportunities for their self development and progress 

and their collective advancement as a people and 

nation. Bangbandhu's activities of a lifetime bestowed 

these great gifts on his people and the country. Today, 

Bangladesh is recognized as a rising power in the 

family of nations. Various projections by world 

renowned analysts have confidently projected that 

Bangladesh is destined to be a great economic power 

house only a decade from now and also a force for the 

good and welfare of entire mankind. When this 

happens, Bangladeshis will realize how much they owe 

to Bangabandhu for setting them on this glorious path. 

Friday's carnage not only killed 49 

Muslim worshippers at two 

mosques in Christchurch right in 

the heart of predominantly non-Muslim 

New Zealand. The attack came as a 

powerful reminder of how terror can 

just not be associated with any one 

religion. The main attacker - an 

Australian national - and his associates 

appeared to be driven mainly by their 

own perceived values of nationalism. 

In the past two decades since 9/11, 

Muslims around the world have borne 

the brunt of being associated with 

terrorism. Consequently, many have 

faced denial of travel visas to western 

countries, while others who chose to 

migrate to a western country have faced 

prejudice in a variety of places. But as 

country after country chose to build 

barriers against exposure to Islamic 

influence, Friday's carnage has squarely 

ripped apart such prejudices. 

Ultimately, the bottom line 

surrounding any or all of these 

situations has just been one. Behaviour 

ranging from objectionable to outright 

offensive can simply not be associated 

with any one religion. Indeed, the 

history of Islam clearly outlines the 

salvation that the Prophet Mohammad 

(PBUH) brought to Arabia more than 14 

centuries ago. 

Ahead of Friday's carnage in New 

Zealand came a promising sign of 

progress in peace talks in Afghanistan. 

The issue remains framed as a divide 

between the US, a secular country, as 

opposed to the Taliban in Afghanistan, a 

predominantly hardline Islamic 

There are coping strategies for 

dealing with terrorism and the 

feeling it is meant to induce, 

namely terror. One is to tell yourself, it 

won't happen to me. Following the 

massacre of 49 people at prayer in two 

mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, 

many non-Muslims might be saying to 

themselves, if only in a guilty whisper, "I 

am not Muslim, I'll be OK." Another 

strategy is to tell yourself, it won't happen 

here. That's hard, though, for if it can 

happen in a country that has long seen 

itself as a serene haven, distant from a 

turbulent world, then it can surely 

happen anywhere. And still others may 

fall back on that perennial reassurance: 

this was just one deranged individual. 

The trouble is, that last solace is 

becoming impossible to sustain. The 

terrorists of the white supremacist right 

are telling us as loudly and clearly as they 

can that we are dealing here not with a 

handful of sad loners, oddballs or 

psychopaths, though they may be all of 

those things, but a global, if diffuse, 

movement with a core ideology - one that 

draws strength and succour from 

political leaders, including those at the 

very highest level.\ 

The man suspected of the Christchurch 

killings could not have been clearer. He 

literally spelt out his meaning in words 

and slogans daubed over the murder 

weapon itself, to say nothing of his 

supposed manifesto, published online. 

Through the jumble of incoherent 

ramblings, the motifs keep leaping out, 

the nods to those he imagines to be his 

comrades around the world and 

throughout history. He is telling us that 

movement. Yet a careful analysis will 

show that the long-running dispute in 

Afghanistan has been fundamentally 

fuelled by power politics rather than 

religion. 

Almost two decades after the US 

invaded Afghanistan when the Taliban 

government was driven out, 

Afghanistan remains far from a peaceful 

victory. For the US, the Afghan war 

remains the most expensive battle in 

history with an expenditure so far of 

more than $1 trillion (Dh3.67 trillion). 

Ultimately, the Afghan venture has been 

nothing short of a clear disaster for US 

policymakers. Ultimately, a US 

settlement with the Taliban will 

ultimately see American troops vacate 

the central Asian country in return for 

the Taliban to gain a place in 

Afghanistan's future ruling structure. 

New approach required 

Similarly, other conflict zones have 

likewise demonstrated that disputes are 

ultimately settled by the reality of power 

rather than other considerations such as 

ideologies or beliefs. In this background 

following Friday's carnage in New 

FARhAn BOKhARI 

Zealand, the world needs to urgently 

consider a new way of thinking for the 

management of security and conflict 

related issues across the world. As 

commentator after commentator 

pleaded on Friday, associating terrorism 

with the community of the world's 1.3 

billion Muslims is not just unfair. More 

pertinently, it defies the all too visible 

reality which is vital to assess the way 

forward in global affairs. 

At the very least, it is vital for the preeminent 

global body, the United 

Nations, to urgently consider reforms 

including a greater say for Islamic 

countries in the General Assembly and 

Ultimately, the bottom line surrounding any or all of these 

situations has just been one. Behaviour ranging from 

objectionable to outright offensive can simply not be 

associated with any one religion. Indeed, the history of Islam 

clearly outlines the salvation that the Prophet Mohammad 

(PBUh) brought to Arabia more than 14 centuries ago. 

he is no faraway one-off, but one of many 

in Europe and the US who have a 

worldview - and mean to see it 

implemented. 

The title of his 74-page document is 

The Great Replacement. That's the 

doctrine long advanced by the pan- 

European Generation Identity 

movement, which holds that the white, 

Christian population is under threat 

from a deliberate effort to replace it 

through Muslim immigration. It's the 

same idea that echoed around the 

pageant of neo-Nazis and Ku Klux 

Klansmen through Charlottesville, 

Virginia, in 2017 - the one praised by 

Donald Trump as including "some very 

fine people" - where marchers chanted 

"White lives matter", and "Jews will not 

replace us". 

Those men carrying torches in the 

Virginia summer do not believe that the 

US is about to become a majority Jewish 

country: rather they imagine a Jewish 

plot to replace the white population with 

a black, brown or Muslim one. Note how 

the Christchurch suspect referred to 

Muslim immigrants, many of them 

the Security Council. Side by side, 

Islamic countries also need to re-vitalise 

the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation 

(OIC), their main global body to press 

for concrete reforms geared towards 

tackling prejudices against Muslims. 

On the side, Islamic countries must 

also intensify their economic ties to 

increase internal trade and exchange of 

ideas to collaborate increasingly on 

education and scientific endeavours. 

Such ideas however must not work 

JOnAThAn FReeDLAnD 

refugees from some of the world's most 

appalling violence, as "invaders" - the 

same word used to describe Muslims by 

Robert Bowers, who shot dead 11 Jews at 

prayer at the Tree of Life Synagogue in 

Pittsburgh last October. Bowers seems to 

have targeted that specific community 

because it was deeply committed to 

voluntary work resettling refugees, many 

of them Muslims. To Bowers, that looked 

like evidence of "the great replacement" 

in action. 

The Christchurch suspect also pays 

homage to other killers of the far right, 

including Darren Osborne, who attacked 

London's Finsbury Park mosque in 2017, 

killing a worshipper; Dylann Roof, who 

gunned down nine African-Americans 

churchgoers in Charleston; and, 

inevitably, the Norwegian mass 

murderer Anders Breivik. 

There are two key points to make here. 

First, we need to pursue, discuss and 

think about these killers the same way we 

do their violent Islamist counterparts, 

who they resemble so closely. After 9/11, 

we instantly understood every Islamist 

attack as part of a global terrorist 

towards isolating the global community 

of Islamic countries from non-Islamic 

ones. On the contrary, such deeper 

engagement must work side by side with 

deepening relations between Islamic 

countries working as a bloc and other 

countries of the world. 

Friday's carnage in New Zealand was 

not the first of its kind in recent memory 

where a community or group of 

Muslims were targeted violently. In the 

heat of the moment, it would be natural 

for many Muslims to feel outraged. But 

as sanity returns as it must eventually, it 

would be important for members of 

Muslim communities worldwide to reengage 

with non-Muslims with renewed 

vigour. In seeking to either solidify 

existing bridges of friendship or building 

new ones, community members 

including mosque leaders must 

emphasise that violence by a few must 

not colour the way Muslims view wider 

communities across countries where 

they have migrated. Ultimately, it will be 

important to repeatedly emphasise the 

message of peace as communicated by 

the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) in 

revealing the message of Islam. Today, 

more than ever before, it is vital for 

Muslims to return to that message and 

use it as their singular point of 

convergence. 

Following Friday's deeply painful 

occurrence in Christchurch it is essential 

for Muslims to move forward with a 

message of peace to emphasise yet again 

the true spirit of Islam. 

Source : Gulf News 

It’s time we must confront the right’s hate preachers 

Technology was supposed to solve 

some of the world's biggest 

problems. Connect everyone to the 

Internet, it was once assumed, and 

democracy would follow. Collect enough 

data, and all of our questions would be 

answered. Put everything online, and 

algorithms would do the rest. The world 

would practically run itself. 

Instead, we now know that digital 

technology can be used to undermine 

democracy; that it raises more questions 

than it answers; and that a world that runs 

itself seems more like an Orwellian 

nightmare scenario than a noble goal. But 

while technology isn't the solution, it isn't 

really the problem either; our singleminded 

focus on it is. 

Consider the experience of the media 

industry, where the digital revolution has 

wreaked havoc on prevailing business 

models over the past decade. Publishers 

and editors responded by putting all their 

faith in technology: tracking all manner of 

metrics, embracing data journalism, 

hiring video teams, and opening podcast 

studios. 

More recently, media organizations 

have shifted their attention toward 

artificial-intelligence solutions that track 

audience preferences, automatically 

produce desired content and translations, 

alert journalists to breaking news, and 

much more. In the Reuters Institute for 

the Study of Journalism's latest annual 

report on media trends, 78% of 

There are two key points to make here. First, we need to 

pursue, discuss and think about these killers the same way 

we do their violent Islamist counterparts, who they resemble 

so closely. After 9/11, we instantly understood every Islamist 

attack as part of a global terrorist problem; we did not probe 

too deeply into the psychology of each killer, wondering 

when exactly they went off the rails. 

ALexAnDRA BORchARDT 

respondents in a non-representative 

survey of international media leaders said 

they planned to invest more in AI this 

year. But the final frontier in the quest to 

save journalism, many believe, is the 

blockchain - the distributed ledger 

technology that underpins 

cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. That 

remains to be seen: The first attempt to 

leverage the blockchain to free journalists 

from ad-driven business models, by Civil 

Media Company, had a bumpy start. 

There is nothing wrong with using 

technology to solve problems, including 

those created by technology, or to give a 

company a competitive edge. That is what 

The Washington Post, for example, has 

been doing in the six years since Amazon 

chief executive Jeff Bezos purchased it (at 

a time when it was hemorrhaging money 

and shedding jobs). But not even the most 

advanced tech will save the media 

industry, or anybody else, if there is no 

regard for the people using it. And that 

does not mean just audiences. After years 

of chasing the latest tech trends, the media 

industry is increasingly confronting 

burnout among existing management 

and staff, and a shrinking pool of new 

talent. According to the Reuters Institute 

report, some 60% of media leaders are 

concerned about burnout on their teams, 

and 75% now worry about retaining and 

attracting staff. Another report, Lucy 

Kueng's Going Digital. A Roadmap for 

Organizational Transformation, shows 

that middle managers, in particular, have 

been exiting the industry. This should not 

be surprising. Journalists have always 

faced pressure in managing the churn of 

time-sensitive, demanding, and 

constantly changing news situations. But 

in the past, they could at least count on the 

news organizations that employed them 

problem; we did not probe too deeply 

into the psychology of each killer, 

wondering when exactly they went off 

the rails. We weren't, frankly, that 

interested in the state of their mental 

health. We understood them as part of a 

global phenomenon that had to be 

fought hard - with both strength and 

ingenuity. Now we must do the same 

with this murderous form of white 

supremacism, which has brought pain 

and bloodshed to every corner of the 

world. 

We should emulate a second 

understanding derived from the struggle 

against violent [holy war]. Most, 

including those on the political right, 

were quick to accept that not all those 

implicated in that movement were 

themselves involved in violence. The 

guilt of some - we called them hate 

preachers - arose from their 

advancement and legitimation of 

extremist ideas, radicalising young men 

(almost always men) who then took up 

arms. 

If that logic applies to Islamist violence, 

it should also certainly apply to the threat 

from far-right, white supremacist 

terrorism. And who exactly are the hate 

preachers this time? There are 

loudmouth pundits and rabble-rousers 

one could name, but more important are 

those right-wing populist politicians who 

are advancing across the democratic 

world - many of them aiming to make 

great gains in May's elections to the 

European parliament. 

Source : Guardian 

Journalism’s risky tech attraction 

According to the Reuters Institute report, some 60% 

of media leaders are concerned about burnout on their 

teams, and 75% now worry about retaining and 

attracting staff. Another report, Lucy Kueng's Going 

Digital. A Roadmap for Organizational 

Transformation, shows that middle managers, in 

particular, have been exiting the industry. 

to offer stability and consistency. Now, 

they must also navigate relentless, techdriven 

organizational change - often 

poorly explained and hastily introduced. 

The level of uncertainty can drive away 

even the most loyal staff. 

To be sure, change is unavoidable; the 

digital age demands constant adaptation. 

But making needed adjustments without 

destroying morale requires implementing 

a people-oriented approach. This is not a 

straightforward process. For tech 

solutions, managers can attend shiny 

digital conferences, take some sales team's 

advice, sign a contract, and dump the new 

tools on their newsrooms. With people, 

they have to listen carefully, acquire an indepth 

understanding of the problem, and 

then devise their own strategy. 

A good place to start is leadership. In any 

industry, the key responsibilities of an 

organization's leaders include making 

their employees feel secure and 

appreciated. That means paying attention 

to employees' needs and fostering an 

organizational culture that provides them 

with a sense of belonging and purpose. 

A similar approach must be applied to 

audiences. Not even the most accurate 

metrics can provide the needed guidance, 

if nobody understands what they actually 

mean, why they were chosen, or what 

their psychological impact would be (on 

audiences or staff). 

Source : Asia Timnes

LAW & PUBLIC MOnDAy, 

MARch 18, 2019 

5 

QueRy : 

Dear Sir, 

I am a non-resident Bangladeshi, now residing at 

Germany. I am living here since 2001 with my wife & 

two children, now I got the citizenship here. On 2007 I 

bought a piece of land measuring 5.00 decimal at 

Jowar Sahara Mouja, Gulshan, Dhaka, maintaining all 

the legal formalities. Now I want to sell that property 

urgently, but now it is quite difficult for me to go 

Bangladesh for the purpose of sale the property. But I 

heard from some of my friends that I can sell my 

property from abroad also. Please inform me the 

details. 

Regards, 

KabirRaihan 

Germany. 

OPiniOn : 

Thank you for your query. Yes, you can sell your 

property from abroad by executing a foreign power of 

attorney deed.A foreign power of attorney is a 

deed/document whereby a person, living in abroad, 

appoints another person, known as an agent or attorneyin-fact, 

to act on his behalf.A power of attorney deed is a 

written authorization to represent or act on another's 

behalf in private affairs, business, legalmatters or even 

on property matters. 

Firstly, you need to select a person who is residing at 

This week Your Legal Adviser is 

A.B.M Shahjahan Akanda (Masum) 

Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh. 

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

namely, 'Law for Nations', which has expertise mainly in 

banking law, tax law, commercial law, corporate law, family 

law, employment and labor law, land law,constitutional law, 

criminal law and in conducting litigations before courts of 

different hierarchies. He can be reached at - cell:01711459590, 

E-mail: law.abm@gmail.com. 

Bangladesh and who is eligible and interested to receive 

the power of attorney of your schedule property. In such 

cases you can select your parents, siblings etc. as your 

power of attorney receiver or attorney-in-fact. Then you 

have to contact with your lawyer to accomplish the 

whole procedure of the foreign power of attorney. 

Secondly, your lawyer will prepare the foreign power 

of attorney deed and will mail it to you at Germany. Then 

you will have to execute the deed in front of the 

Consulate General of embassy of Bangladesh, Rome, 

Italy and you need to back the deed to your lawyer at 

Bangladesh. 

Thirdly, after receiving, the documents must have to 

submit before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 

Bangladesh, and then they will check the genuineness of 

the executant and after satisfaction will make attestation 

the documents. 

Fourthly, those documents will be required to submit 

before Treasury Office and treasury office will send the 

file to ministry of foreign affairs again for inspection and 

also to concern AC land office for inspecting the 

genuineness of the property. Thereafter, availing the 

inspection report from Ministry and AC Land office, the 

Treasury officer if satisfied will give the permission to 

attach treasury stamp. 

Finally, after obtaining the permission from treasury 

officer, the foreign power of attorney deed must have to 

be registered with the concern Sub Registrar Office. 

After completing the registration process, you can sell 

the property and on behalf of you, the attorney-in-fact 

will execute the sale deed of your schedule land. 

Why the victims of torture 

are not getting justice 

in Bangladesh 

Women’s Property Right 

in Muslim Law 

Few days ago we faced international women's 

day when we talked about several women's 

rights. Like women's freedom of expression, 

freedom of movement, women's power, freedom of 

choice etc. Before talking about those rights we have 

to ensure women's economical independence. FOr 

economical independence women can get job, can 

do business etc but for doing those things women 

need to have such amount of property which every 

man already getting. That is inheritance from 

family. Most of our families avoid and ignore our 

women to hold their inheritance property. I think, 

women should fight for this first, then others 

freedom will come automatically. Let's know how 

much women can get inheritance from their family 

according to Muslim Law. 

wife: If husband of any wife have died with leaving 

his property, the wife will get some of them as 

inheritence. There is some condition. If there is no 

child then wife will get one forth of the whole property. 

But when there are 

any child then she 

will get one eighth 

of such entire 

property of her 

husband. If the 

deceased person 

have multi wife then 

such one forth or 

one eighth property 

will be distributed 

between then 

(wives). Like there 

is no child but wives 

are double, then 

wives are entitled 

for one forth but 

each wife will get 

one eighth. 

Mother: Mothers 

are also entitle for 

property of her 

deceased child. 

when deceased 

person have child or his son has child or he has two or 

more sibling then his mother will get one sixth of 

whole property. But when deceased person have no 

child or no child of his son or sibling not more then 

one, then mother will get one third of the entire 

property. 

Again, when deceased person's father and husband/ 

wife are alive then after giving spouse, mother will get 

one third of rest property. For example, deceased 

person's father and his/her spouse are alive then at 

first such spouse will get property first then mother 

will get one third of rest property. Need to understand, 

not one third of whole property, one third of rest 

property which will be rest after giving spouse. 

Grandmother: Grandmother also a sharer as 

inheritance of deceased person. Paternal 

grandmother (mother of father) will get one sixth of 

deceased person's property. But there is a condition. 

Mother of deceased person must be die. 

Another interesting condition is if father of deceased 

person is alive, he must get some portion of his death 

child's property. So if father is alive then paternal 

grandmother will not get any property. One sixth 

property will go to maternal grandmother (mother of 

mother). 

Daughter: Daughter are entitle for property of their 

died father. If there is no son and daughter is single 

then she will get half of the whole property. But when 

son is absent but daughters are multi then daughters 

are entitle for two third of entire property. Two third 

will be distributed between all the daughters. 

But when daughter and son both are present, then 

daughter will get half of she brother like 

daughter:son=1:2 

Daughter of son: Granddaughter can get property 

from her grandparents if deceased person has no son, 

no daughter and no grandson. In that situtaion she 

will get half of the property if she is alone. But when 

granddaughters are more than one, then they will two 

third of the property and will be distributed between 

them equally. 

exception: If deceased person has only one 

daughter, then granddaughter will get one sixth of the 

whole property. 

Sister: when deceased person has no son, no 

daughter, no 

grandson, no 

granddaughter, no 

brother, no father 

then sister will get 

half of her brothers 

property. If sisters 

are more then one 

then they will get 

two third of the 

property and that 

will be distributed 

between them 

equally. 

Step sister: Setp 

sisers are two 

kinds. One is 

father is same but 

mother different, 

another is mother 

is same but father 

different. 

Let's see when 

father is same 

mother different. when deceased person have no son, 

no daughter, no grandson, no granddaughter, no 

brother, no sister, no step brother(mothers are 

different), no father, then step sister will get half of the 

property if she is alone. But when step sisters are more 

than one, they will get two third of the property and 

that will be distributed between them equally. 

exception: when sister is alone, then step sister will 

get one sixth of the entire property. 

Now step sister when mother is same fathers are 

different. This step sister will get one sixth of the 

deceased person's property. But condition is deceased 

person have no ancestors from his or her father and 

no incoming generation from his or her child. 

when in our country all the women will get their 

inheritance property properly, then our women will be 

independent and our country will be economically 

independent. I wanna say, if you give me a 

economically independent mother, I will give you a 

independent nation. 

Writer : Chowdhury Tanbir Ahamed Siddique 

Legal Researcher 

Email: tanbir921535513@gmail.com 

Mobile: 01921 53 55 13 

IN existing real scenario of Bangladesh, it is so 

difficult to lodge a complaint and prove the 

allegation on torture, perpetrated by law and 

security personnel of the country. Article 35 (5) of 

Constitution of the People Republic of 

Bangladesh strictly prohibits not only torture but 

also all form of cruel behavior, punishment or 

treatment. But section 197 of the Criminal 

Procedure Code (Cr. P.C) of Bangladesh provides 

safeguard to the countries officials who are 

restored to violence in their official capacity when 

demanded by circumstances. 

The obstacle to lodge a complaint against law 

and other security personnel begins from the 

initial stage of filing case. when the victim tries to 

loge a First Information Report (FIR) against the 

law and security personnel with the concerned 

police station, the duty officer denies straight 

away registering the FIR. 

Similarly, when the victims of torture try to 

lodge a complaint with the concerned court, it is 

always denied by the court excusing the 

mandatory section 197 of Criminal Procedure 

Code, which pre-sanctions the government to 

bring allegation against the government servant 

with the court. 

Most of the magistrates of in criminal court 

are bogged down as they are not being up to date 

about the high court rule, order or judgment 

passed on different problems. They do not have 

the knowledge that the high court's ruling 

dismissed the old notion on the old usages of the 

Cr.P.C section 197. 

Most of the practicing lawyers are also not 

appropriately trained or have enough knowledge 

or confidence to lodge a complaint against the 

law and security personnel. They do not know 

that they can lodge case against perpetrators (law 

and security personnel). Although some of the 

lawyer did hear about possibility to lodge 

complaint against the doers, they do not have 

practical experience. 

At the case of Rokeya Begum Vs Shafikur 

Rahman , reported on 2 BCR page no. 04 where 

the High Court Division of Supreme Court has 

issued the following rule: " No sanction under 

section 197 of Criminal Procedure Code is 

necessary for taking cognizance of the offence 

alleged in the case, even if the police officer and 

involved police constable committed the offence 

while setting or purporting to act in the discharge 

of official duty. Protection of section 197 is not 

available to accused police officials as available to 

other public servants." 

Question of compulsory bribing is another 

pre condition from police side which leads the 

case ending up in a fiasco. Again there has been 

witness and complainant intimidation by both 

the law and security personnel and influential 

political leaders. Some of the filing lawyers 

(advocate of the victim) are being influenced by 

the perpetrators. Sometime the filing lawyer 

develops ill connection with the perpetrators. 

The next point of hurdles for providing the 

case against perpetrators is the police himself. 

with the rule of procedure victim usually lodge 

complaints against law and security personnel in 

the court of law, the incumbent Magistrate sent 

this case to police official for investigation and 

asked him to submit the report in the court 

within a stipulated time. 

It is usually seen that the responsible 

investigating officer submits a distorted or 

concocted report to the concerned court. That is 

one of the most important reasons why victims of 

torture are not getting justice in Bangladesh. 

People in Bangladesh ordinary see that 

police are given bribery by the citizens either 

voluntarily or forcefully (except for few) is legal. 

Besides that, we can see that the police are also 

providing bribery to the complainant. Victims 

who want justice through the courts, the accused 

perpetrators find a way to cool down the 

complainant through bribery. 

The perpetrators also try to intimidate the 

complainant to withdraw the case by threatening 

and also implicating with series of false cases. 

Moreover, lengthy, time consuming, complicated, 

expensive court proceeding, difficulties in 

collecting medical evidence, lack of co-operation 

from civil society and elites of the community 

with the lawyer is also creating obstacle to get 

justice of torture victim. 

Recently a new law has been enacted which 

mandates suspension of the accused from service 

during investigation into the charges, regardless 

of whether the suspect is a member of a regular 

law-enforcement agency, the armed forces, or 

any other government office. For deaths in 

custody, the accused can be sentenced to a 

maximum life term in jail and be fined. The law 

also provides for monetary compensation to be 

paid to the victim by the convict. For torture in 

custody, the law warrants five years' rigorous 

imprisonment and a fine. 

The law mandates that investigations into 

cases of torture will have to be completed within 

90 days of registration of a complaint, and the 

trial will have to be completed within 180 days. 

The law also allows the Bangladesh courts to take 

cognisance of a crime based on the complaint a 

person makes to the court, and mandates the 

court to direct a medical examination of the 

complainant. 

But still there is no example to get remedy 

applying this new law due to unconscious of 

general mass and victim of torture even lawyer 

about the act and its proper application. 

Writer : Shahanur Saikot 

young human rights defender & lawyer, 

Justice Makers Fellow, Switzerland 

Email: saikotbihr@gmail.com, Blog: 

www.shahanur.blogspot.com

NATIONAL 

MONDAY, MARCH 18, 2019 

6 

Bangabandhu's 99th birth 

anniversary celebrated in Ctg 

s m aKash, ChattoGram Correspondent: 

the 99th birth anniversary of 

Father of the nation Bangabandhu 

sheikh mujibur rahman and 

national Children day-2019 was 

celebrated on sunday in a befitting 

manner. 

Chattogram City Corporation 

(CCC), district administration, 

different political parties, 

educational institution and sociocultural 

organizations arranged 

detailed programmes marking the 

day. 

the programmes included 

children rally, placing of wreaths at 

the portrait of Bangabandhu, 

cultural function, discussion, essay 

and drawing competitions and 

poetry recitation. 

district administration and 

Bangladesh shishu academy 

arranged a daylong programme at 

local shilpakala academy. 

City mayor aJm nasir uddin 

placed wreaths at the portrait of 


sheikh mujibur rahman in front of 

CCC this morning. 

later, a rally was bought out from 

Chattogram Circuit house that 

ended at shilpakala academy after 

parading different streets. a large 

number of people including 

schoolboys and girls joined it. 

a discussion on the life and works 

of Bangabandhu and children 

gathering was held at shilpakala 

academy this afternoon. 

deputy Commissioner 

mohammad elias hossain presided 

over the function while divisional 

commissioner abdul mannan, 

deputy inspector General of police 

Golam Faruk, Chattogram 

metropolitan police Commissioner 

mahbubur rahman and 

superintendent of Chattogram 

district police nur-e-alam mina 

spoke on the occasion. 

Chattogram city unit of awami 

league (al) organized a rally in 

front of central shaheed minar this 

morning. a large number of 

children from different parts of the 

city wearing colorful dress joined 

the rally in front of shaheed minar. 

Chattogram press Club also 

celebrated the day through various 

programmes 

Vice-Chancellor of Barishal University Professor Dr. S.M. Imamul Huq along with other senior officials 

placed wreaths at the temporary Bangabandhu Memorial Monument at the university in observance of the 

99th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and National 

Children's Day-2019 on Sunday. 

Photo: Courtesy 

BU observes birth anniversary 

of Bangabandhu 

the authority of Barishal university 

(Bu) on sunday observed the 99th 

birth anniversary of Father of the 

nation Bangabandhu sheikh mujibur 

rahman and national Children's day- 

2019 in a befitting manner, a press 

release said. 

as part of the programmes, 

treasurer dr. aKm mahbub hasan, , 

deans, provosts, proctors, 

chairpersons of departments, 

directors of institutes and office heads 

led by Bu Vice-Chancellor (VC) 

professor dr. s.m. imamul huq 

placed wreaths at the temporary 

Bangabandhu memorial monument 

at the university in the morning. 

later the Vice Chancellor along with 

the senior officials of the university 

administration inaugurated the newly 

built "Jibanananda das Conference 

Complex" on the 6th floor of the 

administrative building-2. during the 

time Vice Chancellor's wife monti 

imam haq was also present at the 

occasion. later a children's painting 

competition was held on the occasion 

of Bangabandhu sheikh mujibur 

rahman's birthdays and national 

Children's day in Barishal university. 

the Vice-Chancellor distributed 

honorary crests and prizes among the 

winners and participants in the 

competition. at the competition, more 

than 150 children including children of 

teachers, officers and employees 

working in different educational 

institutions of Barisal and Barisal 

university took part. after the 

competition, the vice-chancellor cut a 

cake along with the children. 

later in a short speech, Vice 

Chancellor paid great respect to 


sheikh mujibur rahman and said, 

Bangabandhu and Bangladesh are 

synonymous. Bangabandhu's name 

comes when we speak of Bangladesh. 

Members of Bangladesh Cast Guard in a drive recovered 5 local 

firearms from Doyani canal area adjacent to the Shibsha Forrest Office 

in Dacope thana of Khulna district on Saturday. Photo: Courtesy 

he is not only the leader of 

Bangladesh, he is also the leader of 

the world. We should be proud of 

him. Bangabandhu's sonar Bangla 

and sheikh hasina's digital 

Bangladesh are composed in the 

same thread. 

therefore, Bangabandhu's 

daughter prime minister sheikh 

hasina is working for the creation of 

golden Bengal in order to make 

Bangabandhu's dream come true. 

and so, we have to work under the 

leadership of prime minister to build 

a happy and prosperous Bangladesh. 

and this is our commitment for 

today. 

meanwhile at 4.30 pm the prize 

distribution of inter-department 

Football tournament 2019 was held. 

the Vice Chancellor was present as the 

chief guest and the treasurer was 

present as the special guest at the 

occasion. 

Coast Guard 

recovers 5 

firearms from 

Sundarbans 

Bangladesh Cast Guard on 

saturday recovered 5 local 

firearms from doyani canal 

area adjacent to the shibsha 

Forrest office in dacope 

thana of Khulna district, said 

a press release. 

Coast Guard sources 

informed that, members of 

the force conducted a drive in 

the area based on a secret 

information and recovered 

the abandoned firearms from 

the place. the recovered 

firearms were handed over at 

dacope police station. 

Bangladesh Coast Guard 

forces will continue its 

operations against piracy, 

robbery, drugs along with law 

and order control and public 

safety of the jurisdiction of 

Bangladesh Coast Guard 

forces. 

Chattogram City Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin placed wreaths at the portrait of Father of the Nation 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in front of CCC in observance of the 99th birth anniversary 

of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and National Children's 

Day-2019 on Sunday. 

Photo: S M Akash 

Bangabandhu's birth anniversary 

celebrated in Islampur 

osman harunee, islampur Correspondent: 

the 99th birth anniversary of Father of 

the nation Bangabandhu sheikh 

mujibur rahman and national 

Children's day-2019 was celebrated in 

islampur upazila of Jamalpur amid 

much enthusiasm and festivity. 

marking the day a colorful rally and a 

discussion meeting was held. upazila 

administration, upazila awami league 

and various educational institutions 

jointly organized the rally. the rally was 

brought out from uapzila parishad 

premises and paraded the main streets of 

the town. later a discussion meeting was 

held batola chattar where newly upazila 

parishad Chairman sm Jamal abdun 

naser Babul, upazila nirbahi officer 

mohammad mizanur rahman, islampur 

upazila awami league General 

secretary abdus salam and islampur 

police station officer in-Charge aslam 

hossain, among others gave speeches. 

the speakers at the occasion urged 

everyone to make their children the best 

citizens of the country following 

Bangabandhu's ideology. 

In observance of the 99th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh 

Mujibur Rahman and National Children's Day-2019 a colorful rally organized was brought out 

in Islampur upazila on Sunday. 

Photo: Osman Harunee 

BGB detains two suspected hundi traders at Benapole 

People from all walks of life to paid homage with bouquet of flowers at the memorial of the 

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Nandail, Mymensingh on 

Bangabandhu's 99th Birth Anniversary and National Children's Day on Sunday. The occasion 

was organized by Upazila Parishad, Nandail, Mymmensingh. Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) 

Mussdeque Mehdi Imam, OC (Officer In Charge) Kamrul Islam Mia Of Nandail Model Thana 

and other officials placed floral wreaths at Bangabnndhu's memorial. Photo: Arabinda Paul 

Jahirul islam ripon, Benapole Correspondent: 

members of Border Guard 

Bangladesh (BGB) arrested two alleged 

hundi traders along with tk.7.5 lakh 

from uttarpara area at putkhali border 

village in Benapole port police station 

on sunday. 

the arrestees were identified as Jakir 

hossain 35 son of arsaf ali and salina 

Khatun 19 wife of ashanur rahman a 

resident of the putkhali village. 

lieutenant Colonel imran ullah 

sarker, commanding officer of BGB-21 

said tipped off, a team of BGB 

members conducted a drive in 

uttarpara area in putkhali border 

village and arrested Jakir hossain and 

salina Khatun along with the hundi 

money. 

later, the arrestees were handed 

over to Benapole port police station 

with the hundi money. a case was filed 

in this connection.

INTERNATIONAL MONdAy, 

MARCH 18, 2019 

7 

In this photo provided by National Search and Rescue Agency, or BASARNAS, the agency's 

personnel and police carry the body of flood victim at Sentani, Papua Province, Indonesia, Sunday, 

March 17, 2019. Flash flood and mudslides triggered by days of torrential downpours tore through 

mountainside villages in Indonesia's easternmost province, killing dozens of people, disaster 

officials said Sunday. 

Photo : AP 

Flash floods, slides in eastern 

Indonesia kill at least 58 

Flash floods and mudslides triggered 

by days of torrential downpours tore 

through mountainside villages in 

Indonesia's easternmost province, 

killing at least 58 people and leaving 

thousands homeless, disaster officials 

said Sunday, reports UNB. 

Rescuers recovered more bodies as 

floodwaters and landslides destroyed 

roads and bridges in several areas of 

Papua province's Jayapura district, 

hampering rescue efforts, said Sutopo 

Purwo Nugroho, the National Disaster 

Mitigation Agency spokesman. 

The dead included three children who 

drowned after the floods began just 

after midnight Saturday. 

France cleans up 

Champs-Elysees 

after yellow vest 

rioting 

Paris cleaned up one of the 

world's most glamorous 

avenues Saturday after 

resurgent rioting by yellow 

vest protesters angry at 

President Emmanuel 

Macron stunned the nation, 

reports UNB. 

Luxury stores, restaurants 

and banks on the Champs- 

Elysees assessed damage 

Sunday after they were ransacked 

or blackened by lifethreatening 

fires. Tourists 

took pictures as shop owners 

tried to repair broken 

windows and city workers 

scrubbed away graffiti, 

much of it targeting 

Macron. 

The renewed violence by a 

movement that had been 

fizzling in recent weeks was 

a wakeup call to a president 

seen as favoring the elite. 

Macron promised a crackdown 

on troublemakers he 

said "want to destroy the 

republic, at the risk of killing 

people." But he also tweeted 

that the rioting showed that 

his government needs to do 

more to address protesters' 

concerns. 

Macron cut short a weekend 

ski trip to meet Saturday 

night with security officials 

at the crisis center 

overseeing the police 

response. 

On the Champs-Elysees, 

an eerie calm replaced the 

hours-long chaos of the day 

before on the street that 

Parisians call "the most 

beautiful avenue in the 

world." 

No police were visible 

Sunday, and traffic rolled 

down cobblestones that had 

been the scene of battles 

between rioters and police 

struggling to contain them. 

In the midst of Saturday's 

violence, firefighters said 

that a mother and her child 

were barely saved from a 

building set ablaze because 

it housed a bank on the 

ground floor. Smoke from 

fires set by protesters mingled 

with clouds of tear gas 

sprayed by police. 

Nugroho said 58 bodies had been 

pulled from the mud and wreckage of 

crumpled homes by Sunday. Another 

74 people were hospitalized, many with 

broken bones and head wounds. 

Nugroho said the number of dead and 

injured will likely increase since many 

affected areas have not been reached. 

"We are overwhelmed by too many 

injuries," said Haerul Lee, the head of 

the Jayapura health office, adding that 

some medical facilities had been hit by 

power outages. "We can't handle it 

alone." 

Papua's provincial administration has 

declared a two-week emergency in 

order to get assistance from the central 

government. Papua military 

spokesman Col. Muhammad Aidi said 

rescuers managed to save two injured 

infants who had been trapped for more 

than six hours. The parents of one of 

the babies were washed away and died. 

Worst hit was Sentani subdistrict, 

where a landslide early Sunday was followed 

minutes later by a river that 

burst its banks, sweeping away residents 

in a fast-moving deluge of water, 

heavy logs and debris, said the local disaster 

mitigation agency head, Martono. 

Martono, who goes by a single name, 

said rescuers have been evacuating 

more than 4,000 to temporary shelters 

as more than 300 houses damaged. 

Taliban kill 22 Afghan 

forces in attack on 

checkpoints 

A overnight Taliban assault on checkpoints 

in northern Afghanistan killed 22 troops, 

after some 100 Afghan forces fled a similar 

assault in the country's west last week and 

tried to cross into neighboring Turkmenistan, 

officials said Sunday, reports 

UNB. 

The two battles mark the latest setbacks for 

the country's battered security forces, who 

come under daily attack by the insurgents 

and have suffered staggering casualties in 

recent years. The attacks have continued 

even as the Taliban have been holding direct 

negotiations with the United States aimed at 

ending the 17-year war. 

Mohammad Tahir Rahmani, head of 

provincial council in the northern Faryab 

province, said the insurgents launched the 

attack late Saturday against checkpoints 

manned by police and pro-government militias, 

setting off a fierce gunbattle that lasted 

into Sunday morning. The army sent in reinforcements, 

who were among those killed. 

He said another 20 Afghan forces were 

wounded in the attack. 

Last week, around 100 Afghan soldiers in 

the western Badghis province fled their posts 

and tried to cross the border during a weeklong 

battle with the Taliban, officials said 

Sunday. 

Mohammad Naser Nazari, a provincial 

council member in Badghis, said the soldiers 

weren't allowed to cross the border and their 

fate remains unknown. The Taliban have 

posted pictures of captured soldiers on social 

media. 

Jamshid Shahabi, the provincial governor's 

spokesman, said 16 soldiers have been 

killed and 20 wounded during the ongoing 

battle in the Bala Murghab district, in which 

the military carried out airstrikes and dispatched 

reinforcements. He said a number 

of soldiers tried to flee, without providing an 

exact figure. 

In this Oct. 31, 2018, photo, Afghan National Army soldiers carry out an 

exercise during a live firing at the Afghan Military Academy in Kabul, 

Afghanistan. Afghan officials say around 100 soldiers fled their posts and tried 

to cross into neighboring Turkmenistan during a weeklong battle with the 

Taliban, in the latest setback for the country's battered security forces. 

Mohammad Naser Nazari, a provincial council member in the western 

Badghis province, said Sunday, March 17, 2019, that the soldiers were not 

allowed to cross the border and their fate remains unknown. Photo : AP 

Ethiopians hold mass 

funeral ceremony for 

crash victims 

Thousands mourned the 

Ethiopian plane crash victims 

on Sunday, accompanying 

17 empty caskets 

draped in the national flag 

through the streets of the 

capital as some victims' relatives 

fainted and fell to the 

ground, reports UNB. 

The service came one day 

after officials began delivering 

bags of earth to family 

members of the 157 victims 

of the crash instead of the 

remains of their loved ones 

because the identification 

process is expected to take 

such a long time. 

Family members confirmed 

they were given a 1 

kilogram (2.2 pound) sack of 

scorched earth taken from 

the crash site. Many relatives 

already have gathered at the 

rural, dusty crash site outside 

Ethiopia's capital. The 

victims Ethiopian Airlines 

Flight 302 came from 35 

countries and included 

many humanitarian workers 

headed to Nairobi. 

Elias Bilew said he had 

worked with one of the victims, 

Sintayehu Shafi, for the 

past eight years. 

"He was such a good person," 

Bilew said. "He doesn't 

deserve this. He was the pillar 

for his whole family." 

As friends and families 

grieved, investigators in 

Paris continued their work 

on the planes' black boxes. 

They had been sent to 

France because the French 

air accident investigation 

agency BEA has extensive 

expertise in analyzing such 

devices. Experts from the 

U.S. National Transportation 

Safety Board and the 

plane's manufacturer Boeing 

are among those 

involved in the investigation. 

The U.S. Federal Aviation 

Administration has said 

satellite-based tracking data 

shows that the movements 

of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 

302 were similar to those of 

Lion Air Flight 610, which 

crashed off Indonesia in 

October, killing 189 people. 

Both involved Boeing 737 

Max 8 planes. 

The planes in both crashes 

flew with erratic altitude 

changes that could indicate 

the pilots struggled to control 

the aircraft. 

Australian premier 

sides with egger against 

egged senator 

Australia's prime minister 

has suggested an anti-Muslim 

senator should be 

charged after he hit a teen 

who cracked a raw egg over 

the legislator's head, reports 

UNB.. 

Sen. Fraser Anning has 

been widely condemned for 

blaming Muslim immigration 

for racist attacks on two 

New Zealand mosque that 

claimed at least 50 lives. 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison 

on Sunday took the 

side of the egger, telling 

reporters: "The full force of 

the law should be applied to 

Sen. Anning." Police allege 

the boy assaulted the senator 

with the egg. The boy's 

name has not been made 

public.Police also said 

Anning "retaliated and 

struck the teen twice." 

4 Jordanians killed in 

New Zealand terrorist 

attacks 

Jordanian Ministry of Foreign 

Affairs said on Saturday 

that the number of Jordanians 

killed in mass shootings 

at two mosques in New 

Zealand rose to four after 

two of the injured succumbed 

to their wounds, 

reports UNB. 

The other five injured people 

are still receiving treatment 

and the ministry dispatched 

a diplomat to follow 

up their conditions, the ministry 

said in a statement, a 

copy of which was obtained 

by Xinhua. 

At least 49 were killed and 

48 others were wounded on 

Friday in the attacks in New 

Zealand's city of 

Christchurch, New Zealand 

Police Commissioner Mike 

Bush said. 

New Zealand prepares 

to bury mosque victims 

as toll hits 50 

Anguished relatives were anxiously waiting 

Sunday for authorities to release the remains 

of those who were killed in massacres at two 

mosques in the New Zealand city of 

Christchurch, while police announced the 

death toll from the racist attacks had risen to 

50,reports UNB. 

Islamic law calls for bodies to be cleansed 

and buried as soon as possible after death, 

usually within 24 hours. But two days after 

the worst terrorist attack in the country's 

modern history, relatives remained unsure 

when they would be able to bury their loved 

ones. 

Police Commissioner Mike Bush said 

police were working with pathologists and 

coroners to release the bodies as soon as they 

could. 

"We have to be absolutely clear on the 

cause of death and confirm their identity 

before that can happen," he said. "But we are 

so aware of the cultural and religious needs. 

So we are doing that as quickly and as sensitively 

as possible." 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said a 

small number of bodies would start being 

released to families Sunday evening, and 

authorities hoped to release all the bodies by 

Wednesday. 

Police said they had released a preliminary 

list of the victims to families, which has 

helped give closure to some relatives who 

were waiting for any news. 

The scale of the tragedy and the task still 

ahead became clear as supporters arrived 

from across the country to help with the burial 

rituals in Christchurch and authorities 

sent in backhoes to dig new graves in a Muslim 

burial area that was newly fenced off and 

blocked from view with white netting. 

The suspect in the shootings, 28-year-old 

white supremacist Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 

appeared in court Saturday amid strict 

security, shackled and wearing all-white 

prison garb, and showed no emotion when 

the judge read him one murder charge and 

said more would likely follow. 

Tarrant, the suspect, had posted a jumbled 

74-page anti-immigrant manifesto online 

before the attacks and apparently used a helmet-mounted 

camera to broadcast live video 

of the slaughter. 

A girl walk to lay flower on a wall at the Botanical Gardents in Chrischurch, 

New Zealand, Sunday. 

Photo : AP 

Grieving families given earth 

from Ethiopian crash site 

Grieving family members of victims of the 

Ethiopian air disaster are being given sacks 

of earth to bury in place of the remains of 

their loved ones, reports UNB. 

Officials have begun delivering bags of 

earth to family members of the 157 victims of 

the crash instead of the remains of their 

loved ones because the identification process 

is going to take such a long time. 

Families are being given a 1-kilogram (2.2- 

pound) sack of scorched earth taken from 

the crash sites, members of two different 

families told The Associated Press. They 

spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid 

any possible government reprisal. An 

Ethiopian government official who spoke on 

condition of anonymity because they were 

not authorized to speak to reporters also 

confirmed the deliveries of soil. 

"The soil came as it became impossible to 

identify bodies and hand over remains to 

family members," one family member said. 

"We will not rest until we are given the real 

body or body parts of our loved ones." 

Forensic DNA work has begun on identifying 

the remains but it may take six months to 

identify the victims, because the body parts 

are in small pieces. However, authorities say 

they will issue death certificates within two 

weeks. The victims of the crash came from 35 

countries. 

A mass memorial service for the dead is 

planned in Addis Ababa to take place Sunday, 

one week after the crash. Muslim families 

have already held prayers for the dead 

and are anxious to have something to bury as 

soon as possible. 

Interpol and Blake Emergency Services, 

hired by Ethiopian Airlines, will work with 

Ethiopian police and health officials to identify 

the bodies, Dagmawit Moges, Ethiopia's 

Minister of Transport said on Saturday. 

"Preparation for the identification process 

has already started and we will make sure 

that the post mortem investigation will start 

as soon as possible," she said. 

The U.S. National Transportation Safety 

Board has sent about 16 members to assist 

the investigation, she said. In Paris, investigators 

started studying the cockpit voice 

recorder of the crashed Ethiopian Airlines jet 

Saturday, grieving family members were given 

sacks of dirt to bury in place of the 

remains of their loved ones. 

Pakistan says 9 nationals 

killed in NZ attack 

Pakistan's foreign ministry 

spokesman says three more 

Pakistanis have been identified 

among those killed in the 

attacks on two mosques in 

New Zealand. That brings 

the number of Pakistanis 

killed to nine, reports UNB. 

Spokesman Mohammad 

Faisal? in his latest tweet 

Sunday said Zeeshan Raza, 

his father Ghulam Hussain 

and mother Karam Bibi are 

now confirmed to have killed 

in the terrorist attack in 

Christchurch. 

Foreign Minister Shah 

Mahmood Qureshi said Saturday 

that six Pakistanis 

were confirmed dead. They 

were identified as Sohail 

Shahid, Syed Jahandad Ali, 

Syed Areeb Ahmed, Mahboob 

Haroon, Naeem Rashid 

and his son Talha Naeem. 

Rashid and Naeem gave 

their lives attempting to 

snatch the attacker's gun. 

New Zealand Prime Minister 

Jacinda Ardern says the 

bodies of the 50 people killed 

in Friday's mosque attacks 

will start being released to 

family members beginning 

Sunday evening. 

Ardern says only a small 

number of bodies will be 

released initially, and that 

authorities hope to release all 

the bodies by Wednesday. 

Islamic law calls for bodies to 

be cleansed and buried as 

soon as possible after death, 

usually within 24 hours. 

Anguished relatives have 

been anxiously waiting for 

authorities to release the 

remains. 

Police Commissioner 

Mike Bush says they are 

working as quickly as they 

can, but authorities have to 

be absolutely clear on the 

causes of death and confirm 

identities before they 

can release bodies. New 

Zealand Prime Minister 

Jacinda Ardern has reiterated 

her promise that there 

will be changes to the country's 

gun laws in the wake of 

a terrorist attack on two 

mosques and said her Cabinet 

will discuss the policy 

details on Monday. 

At a Sunday news conference, 

Arden used some of her 

strongest language yet about 

gun control, saying that laws 

need to change and "they will 

change." New Zealand has 

fewer restrictions on rifles or 

shotguns than many countries, 

while handguns are 

more tightly controlled.

ART & CULTURE 

MonDAy, 

MArcH 18, 2019 

8 

Deepika-ranveerin 

new commercial, 

first project as a 

married couple 

colette 

Colette is pushed by her husband to write 

novels under his name. Upon their 

success, she fights to make her talents 

known, challenging gender norms. 

Genre : Biography, Drama, 

History 

Directed By : Wash Westmoreland 

Written By 

Stars 

: Richard Glatzer, 

Wash Westmoreland 

: Keira Knightley, 

Fiona Shaw, Dominic 

West 

In Theaters : 20 December 2018 

Runtime 

: 1h 51min 

Storyline : 

After marrying successful Parisian writer Henry Gauthier-Villars, known commonly 

as "Willy" (Dominic West), Gabrielle Colette (Keira Knightley) is transplanted from 

her childhood home in rural France to the intellectual and artistic splendor of Paris. 

Soon after, Willy convinces Colette to ghostwrite for him. Colette, in turn, pens a 

semi-autobiographical novel about a witty and brazen country girl named Claudine, 

sparking a bestseller and a cultural sensation. After its success, Colette and Willy 

become the talk of Paris and their adventures inspire additional Claudine novels. 

Colette's fight over creative ownership and gender roles drives her to overcome 

societal constraints, revolutionizing literature, fashion and sexual expression. -IMDb 

DeepikaPadukone and 

Ranveer Singh make a 

formidable power duo in 

Bollywood. While the two 

continue to flourish in 

their respective careers, 

they are coming together 

for a new advertisement, 

their first project together 

after their wedding last 

year.According to a report 

in Mint, the couple will 

star in an ad for an electronics 

brand. They will 

replace Amitabh 

Bachchan, who was previously 

the face of the 

brand. 

Meanwhile, Deepika 

and Ranveer were in 

London last week for the 

inauguration of her wax 

statue at Madame 

Tussauds museum. 

Ranveer on Friday posted 

several photographs of 

himself with Deepika's 

wax statue. In one of the 

pictures, he can be seen 

with Deepika and her wax 

model. 

On getting the wax statue, 

Deepika had earlier 

said: "After I got a call 

from Madame Tussauds, I 

thought 'What is the purpose 

of this, why are we 

doing this, or what is it 

that my fans will remember 

me for, remember my 

figure for, what is it that I 

would like to leave 

behind', and the cause of 

mental health is very 

close to my heart, it is 

something that I am 

H o roScope 

ArieS 

(March 21 - April 20) : Watch for spending 

far too much time on an issue that you're 

imagining might happen as it can cut into 

real life in challenging ways. Besides, chances run high 

that it will blow over. It can be important to avoid jumping 

to conclusions or into commitments. As long as you 

keep things fun and light without huge expectations. 

tAUrUS 

(April 21 - May 21) : A Mercury-Jupiter 

square challenges you to think in bigger 

terms than usual, and this means you're considering 

new ideas and plans. This influence can be useful 

as a mental exercise, but some self-control and common 

sense are necessary to keep things real. Today is 

favorable for connecting with others and ideas. 

GeMini 

(May 22 - June 21) : Consider that your 

understanding of a situation is not yet complete. 

You may not be agreeing with someone 

on your long-term plans, and while this should be 

addressed, try not to put too much weight into it at the 

moment. Today is useful for making contacts along the 

lines of business, money, and resources, however. 

cAncer 

(June 22 - July 23) : There is a tendency to 

blow things out of proportion or to 

overstate you. Communications ruler, 

Mercury, forms a challenging square with extravagant 

Jupiter, pointing to possible misjudgments. Their conflict 

can otherwise stir up some incredible enthusiasm 

and good ideas which shouldn't be discounted. 

leo 

(July 24 - Aug. 23) : You may want to 

make big promises to make someone 

happy, but it's best to keep things real today. Aim 

instead to stretch your imagination and consider new 

possibilities. Someone who's worth your time won't 

need you to go overboard. Besides, the Moon spends 

the day in your sector of rest and privacy, pointing to 

the need to relax and de-stress. 

VirGo 

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23) : It's a time for seeing 

things you missed in the past, but that are 

vital to complete the picture but do keep in mind that 

there is even more to the story. There can be some restlessness 

stirred today, and this can lead you to interesting 

places but could also lead you astray. It may be better 

not to make or rely on promises now. 

extremely passionate 

about. 

"I said that's it, I would 

like for my fans when they 

see my figure I hope it 

reminds them of someone 

who did something for the 

cause of mental illness, 

who worked towards creating 

awareness and destigmatising 

mental illness. 

"I hope that it gives 

people a sense of upliftment 

and a sense of hope. 

I hope that message 

comes through." 

- Hindustan Times 

liBrA 

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23) : A project may need a 

second look, and you could need to 

reassess how much time and energy it 

needs. With work or your health, you could have a 

sense that you have so many things to do that you don't 

know where to begin. Making or relying on promises is 

not wise with Mercury square Jupiter today. 

Scorpio 

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) : Watch for a tendency 

to exaggerate or jump to quick 

conclusions, whether you're doing 

this or someone in your life is making far too 

much of a situation than it deserves. You may 

not have the energy or time to put a plan into 

motion yet, so do your best to be patient. 

SAGittAriUS 

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21) : Due to retrograde 

Mercury forming a square to your ruler, 

Jupiter, making it even more vital than usual 

to consider the practical sides of a situation before you 

throw yourself into it. Mind you, sound energy is with you 

for feeling stronger through family or intimate relationships, 

and it makes sense to focus on these positive. 

cApricorn 

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20) : A partner can be 

encouraging, whether this is a direct 

or indirect influence. While your default may be 

to go it alone, the benefits of a friend, partner, or 

support system are unmistakable today. Mental 

restlessness can challenge you to rethink a matter 

now, but could also lead to mistakes. 

AQUAriUS 

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) : Optimism is fun 

and motivating, but too much can 

lead you to take on more than you can reasonably 

handle--this is something to watch with this 

aspect. It does encourage you to think up possibilities 

that you might not consider on another 

day, so keep your ear to the ground today and 

don't immediately discount hunches. 

piSceS 

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : This influence might 

also generate so much confidence or optimism 

that you take on too many projects that you 

can't complete later when energy and motivation levels 

out. You are ambitious these days, but you need to 

remind yourself of your usual limits. Also today, you 

can feel more confident about a relationship. 

paris Jackson resting at Home 

Following Hospitalization 

Paris had an accident on Sunday morning 

that required medical treatment. Paris 

Jackson is "doing fine" after slamming a 

report that she attempted suicide on 

Saturday, a source tells PEOPLE. 

Earlier Saturday, TMZthis link opens in 

a new tab reported that the 20-year-old 

daughter of the late Michael Jackson was 

placed on a 5150 hold following a hospitalization 

for a suicide attempt. (Police, 

social workers and other mental health 

professionals have the authority to use a 

5150 hold if a person is considered a danger 

to themselves or others or is gravely 

disabled.) 

"At about 7:28 a.m., officers responded 

to the 7200 block of Hillside for an ambulance 

attempt suicide. The victim was 

transported to a local hospital," Tony Im, 

a public information officer with the Los 

Angeles Police Department, told PEOPLE. 

HBO has confirmed that the 

first two episodes of the eighth 

and final season of "Game of 

Thrones" will be slightly shorter 

than the rest. 

The final six episodes of the 

megahit show were originally 

rumored to be 90 minutes long 

each, but it's now clear that only 

the last four episodes will be 

longer than the show's usual 

runtime. The cabler also 

revealed the debut dates for 

each of the last episodes, the 

Hrithik roshan still practices every 

day to control stammering 

Actor Hrithik Roshan revealed how he 

overcame stammering. The actor said he 

faced the issue till 2012 and even now, 

he practices every day to overcome the 

speech impediment. 

"I'd practise every day to overcome the 

speech issue, I still do for an hour at 

least so that I can control the secondary 

actions like twitching and all. The unacceptability 

to stammering was not only 

bothersome in my childhood but prevailed 

till 2012, long after I had become 

a film star," Hrithik Roshan told 

Mumbai Mirror.He added that he still 

talks to himself for an hour so that he 

does not stammer while speaking to 

people. 

On the work front, there is no update 

on Hrithik's upcoming project Super 30 

yet, which will see the actor play a 

Patna-based mathematician Anand 

Kumar, who trains 30 deserving, economically 

backward students for the 

entrance exams of IIT each year with 

commendable success rate. 

The film was to be helmed by 

VikasBahl but after his name cropped 

up in the #MeToo India campaign, the 

maker distanced himself from the project. 

Other than Super 30, Hrithik is 

shooting for a film alongside Tiger 

Shroff. The Siddharth P Malhotra directorial 

is said to be an action drama. On 

first of which premieres on 

April 14. Earlier this month, 

HBOreleased a dramatic trailer 

for the final season, in which 

fans were given a glimpse into 

the epic battles and drama to 

come. Former HBO chief 

Richard Plepler, who stepped 

down from his role in February 

amid the fallout from the 

AT&T-Time Warner merger, 

told Variety that the episodes 

are closer to "six movies" than 

television episodes, and that 

showrunners David Benioff 

and D.B. Weiss had exceeded 

expectations with the final 

product. 

"They knew the bar was high. 

They've exceeded the bar," 

Plepler said. I've watched them 

twice without any CGI and I'm 

in awe. Everybody's in for an 

extraordinary treat of storytelling 

and of magical, magical 

production." 

See below for the debut dates 

and estimated runtimes of each 

episode: 

Season 8, Episode 1 

Debut date: SUNDAY, APRIL 

14 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT) 

Estimated running time: 0:54 


the actor's birthday last year, Rakesh 

Roshan had announced that Krrish 4 

Reps for Paris and the Jackson Estate 

couldn't be reached immediately for comment, 

but Paris slammed TMZ's report via 

twitter. 

Hours earlier, Paris responded to people 

who have shamed her for not publicly 

coming to the defense of her father. The 

daughter of the late pop star explained in 

a tweet on Friday that it was "not her role" 

to defend Michael in the wake of the sexual 

molestation allegations made by Wade 

Robson and James Safechuck in HBO's 

bombshell documentary. 

Paris also commended her cousin Taj 

Jackson, 45, for standing up for her father 

and said that all she was trying to do was 

keep the peace amid the controversy. 

Though a source recently told PEOPLE 

that Paris "hasn't seen" the explosive documentary, 

she has appeared to have a relatively 

laidback perspective on the situation 

since the allegations resurfaced. 

Days after its broadcast premiere, she 

alluded to Leaving Neverland in a series of 

tweets that came in response to reports 

that she was worried about how the film 

and allegations against her father would 

affect her career. While she did not directly 

mention the documentary, she 

appeared to refer to it as "tabloids and 

lies." 

- People 

‘Game of thrones’ 

Final episode lengths, 

Dates revealed 


21 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT) 




28 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT) 



Debut date: SUNDAY, MAY 5 

at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT) 

Estimated running time: 1:18 



at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT) 




at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT) 


-VARIETY 

will head to the theatres on Christmas 

2020. - Indian Express

SPORTS 

MONDAy, 

MARCh 18, 2019 

9 

Mahmudullah said that it had left the team shocked and the players had a sleepless night having 

narrowly escaped from the scene of the attack. 

Photo: AP 

None of us could sleep properly: 

Mahmudullah 

Rooney bags first 

MLS hat trick in 

D.C. romp 

Sports Desk: Former England 

star Wayne Rooney 

scored three goals on Saturday 

night to lead D.C. United 

to a crushing 5-0 victory 

over Real Salt Lake, reports 

BSS. 

Rooney registered his first 

three goals of the new season 

and also his first hat 

trick since signing on with 

Major League Soccer in July 

2018. He now has five multigoal 

games. 

Lucas Rodriguez and Ulises 

Segura also scored for 

host D.C. United, who peppered 

the Salt Lake goal with 

22 shots. 

Goalkeeper Bill Hamid 

made two stops to earn his 

third straight shutout as 

D.C. United is the lone team 

to have not allowed a goal 

this season. 

Rooney scored on a penalty 

kick in the 34th minute 

and then added another 

with a chip shot over the 

goalkeeper in the 41st 

minute. He completed the 

hat trick with a perfectlytimed 

sliding score at the 

65th minute of the second 

half. Elsewhere, Uruguay 

international Nicolas 

Lodeiro set up one goal and 

scored an audacious penalty 

as the Seattle Sounders 

maintained their 100 percent 

start to the season with 

a 4-2 victory at Chicago Fire. 

The Sounders made it 

three wins out of three after 

taking control of the game 

with two unanswered goals 

in the opening 15 minutes at 

Chicago's SeatGeek Stadium. 

Spanish winger Victor 

Rodriguez fired Seattle into 

the lead after eight minutes, 

tucking away a low finish at 

the far post after good work 

down the right by Jordan 

Morris. Lodeiro then created 

Seattle's second, splitting 

open Chicago's defence with 

a sublime pass to Morris. 

The US international striker 

still had plenty to do, but 

adjusted his body position 

brilliantly to steer a finish 

beyond Chicago goalkeeper 

David Ousted to make it 2-0. 

Seattle extended their lead 

early in the second half 

when Rodriguez was bundled 

over in the area on 49 

minutes, allowing Lodeiro to 

step up and chip a Panenka 

penalty in off the underside 

of the bar. 

Sports Desk: "As long as we were in 

the room, the only thing propped up 

in our mind is how lucky we are... it 

had happened in a country like New 

Zealand which was really unexpected," 

Mahmudullah said upon the 

Bangladesh team's arrival at the 

Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport 

on late Saturday (March 16) 

evening, following the shootout in 

Christchurch, which killed 49 people 

and injured several others, reports 

Cricbuzz. 

Bangladesh players, who were 

about to enter one of the attacked 

mosques reached the place only a 

few minutes after fire opened and 

narrowly escaped. The third Test 

was called off and the visiting team 

left the country on Saturday morning. 

The senior batsman, without getting 

into the details of the incident, 

said that it had left the team shocked 

and the players had a sleepless night 

having narrowly escaped from the 

scene of the attack. "I cannot describe 

what is going inside us, what we have 

seen," Mahmudullah said. "The only 

thing I can say is that we are very 

lucky. With all of your prayers, our 

family members' prayers, parents' 

prayers now we could return here 

alive. This incident was very unexpected, 

none had expected this. I 

could not describe that scene. I, personally, 

and all of us in the team could 

not sleep properly." Nazmul Hasan, 

Bangladesh Cricket Board President, 

welcomed the players and the support 

staff at the airport and asked 

them to take some time out from 

cricket and spend with their families. 

"They went through a really hard 

time," Hasan said. "The moment I 

had spoken with them I realised what 

kind of phase they are passing 

(through) mentally and all of them 

look to be tired after 22 hours followed 

by the sleepless night they had 

spent over there. 

"We are happy that they returned 

home safe while we don't have anything 

to tell them apart from asking 

them to go back to their family and 

spend time with them in the manner 

that they feel comfortable."We asked 

them to contact us when everything is 

cooled down. You don't need to think 

about cricket at the moment and just 

concentrate on spending time with 

your family [as that is expected to 

heal their wounds]. If you need any 

help we are there for you." 

Tigers urged to move on from 

Christchurch bloodshed 

Sports Desk: Bangladesh Cricket Board 

(BCB) advised the players to move on from 

the dreadful incident in Christchurch where 

they survived a close shaves, reports BSS. 

The BCB urged the players to stay with 

their family, forgetting all those happened in 

front of them in a bid to get out of the traumatic 

condition. 

The board also wants to keep the cricket 

backseat for the time being and let the players 

decide to when they would return to 

cricket ground. "Apart from Tamim Iqbal 

and Mushfiqur Rahim, all of the players were 

set to play the ongoing Dhaka Premier 

League (DPL) but it was not now mandatory 

for them," said BCB CEO Nizamuddin 

Chowdhury. 

"The president advised them to not to 

think about cricket now and stay with their 

family. As he said that the board will cooperate 

them in bringing back to the normal 

life, we have allowed them to decide when 

they will back to the cricket," Chowdhury 

told BSS here today. 

"At the moment, we don't want them to 

talk to anybody else with the incident what 

happened in Christchurch. They are advised 

to be with their family and their family is 

advised to help them get out of the trauma." 

By the own admission of the players, they 

were in fact three to four minutes from being 

caught up in massacre as they were going to 

perform Jumma prayers in Al Noor Mosque, 

in which the terrorist fired openly, leaving 

several dead. 

In the brutal shootout carried out at two 

different Mosques left at least 49 people 

dead and 47 other injured, prompting New 

Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to 

term it a terrorist attack and one of a darkest 

days of the country. "I cannot describe what 

is going inside us, what we have seen," standin 

skipper Mahmudullah told reporters upon 

arrival. "The only thing I can say is that we 

are very lucky. With all of your prayers 

including our family members' prayers now 

we could return here alive." 

"Actually this incident was much unexpected, 

none had expected this. I could not 

describe that scene. I am personally, and all 

of us in the team could not sleep properly [at 

night]." In the wake of the situation, the 

series concluding third Test for which the 

Tigers were preparing was called off after the 

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and Bangladesh 

Cricket Board (BCB) reached in a consensus. 

Watching the bloodshed in live, the players 

were such traumatic state that they were not 

ready to stay at a single moment in New 

Zealand. The BCB, however, managed to get 

them the first available flight to bring them 

back at home, much to the relief of the players 

and their family. 

They looked visibly shaken when they 

landed in the country, prompting many to 

stress on counseling them in a bid to get out 

of the trauma. Opener Tamim Iqbal also said 

after the incident that they might need counseling. 

Whether they need counseling, will be 

decided later, said Nizamuddin Chowdhury. 

"As I said earlier, they need rest at the 

moment. We don't want to talk with them 

about this matter. And they are also advised 

not to talk with this issue. Whether they need 

any counseling or any other thing, will be 

decided by the board and the team management," 

he said. 

Chowdhury said the board also wants to 

shift the focus towards the ICC Cricket 

World Cup which is an important tournament 

for them, erasing what happened in 

Christchurch. "As the world cup is approaching 

fast, we want to shift our focus on that 

event. From now on, this is the only thing 

that we'll think about. What happened in 

Christchurch is now past for us. Regarding 

the team's security in overseas tour, we'll 

continue to work but at the moment, the 

world cup is our top most priority," he 

concluded. 

BCB urged the players to stay with their family, forgetting all those 

happened in front of them in a bid to get out of the traumatic condition. 

Photo: BCB 

Ronaldo rested 

for Genoa clash 

after Champions 

League heroics 

Sports Desk: 

Cristiano 

Ronaldo will miss Juventus' 

trip to Genoa after firing the 

Serie A side to the Champions 

League quarter-finals, 

coach Massimiliano Allegri 

said on Saturday, reports 

BSS. 

"I'm leaving him at home, 

he had played a lot and he 

needs to rest. Right now it 

would be too risky to play 

him," Allegri told reporters. 

"I don't need to convince 

him. We spoke about it yesterday, 

I explained my point 

regarding the fixtures 

between now and the 

(Champions League) quarter-finals 

and he agreed." 

Juventus will take on Ajax 

next month after Ronaldo 

scored a sensational hattrick 

to overturn a two-goal 

first-leg deficit against 

Atletico midweek and win 3- 

2 on aggregate. 

The Portuguese openly 

taunted the Atletico fans in 

the stands during the postmatch 

celebrations, but Allegri 

said he was not worried 

about UEFA banning his 

star player for the clash with 

the resurgent Dutch side. 

"Everyone celebrated differently 

on Tuesday, there 

were 42,000 fans there and 

we could suspend them all 

(based on how they 

behaved)," he said. 

Italy legend Parisse 

bows out in Rome with 

another bitter defeat 

Sports Desk: Italy rugby 

great Sergio Parisse bid 

farewell to the Stadio 

Olimpico in Rome this 

weekend with another bitter 

disappointment as the 

Azzurri snatched a 25-14 

defeat from the jaws of victory 

against France, reports 

BSS. 

Even in defeat, the 35- 

year-old Parisse was the star 

of the show, setting up Tito 

Tebaldi's second-half try to 

cap a dominant performance 

which earned the skipper 

the Man of the Match 

award. It was the final Six 

Nations game for 138-times 

capped Parisse and fellow 

Italy veterans Leonardo Ghiraldini 

(104) and Alessandro 

Zanni (111). 

But it ended with a 22nd 

consecutive defeat in the 

tournament, a fourth consecutive 

Wooden Spoon for 

a whitewash, and Ghiraldini's 

knee injury. 

With old guard back, 

Real Madrid wins on 

Zidane’s return 

Sports Desk: It was like old times at the 

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Zinedine 

Zidane was back on the bench, and Real 

Madrid was winning again, reports UNB. 

The demanding Madrid crowd could finally 

rejoice on Saturday as Zidane brought the 

old guard back and began his second stint as 

coach with a 2-0 win against relegationthreatened 

Celta Vigo in the Spanish league. 

Francisco "Isco" Alarcon, who had been 

sidelined by former coach Santiago Solari, 

and Gareth Bale, a reserve before Zidane's 

return, scored to help Madrid end its fourgame 

losing streak at home and recover 

some pride. 

Marco Asensio, another player who had 

few chances under Solari, set up Isco's goal 

while goalkeeper Keylor Navas, back in the 

starting lineup, made key saves for Madrid. 

Zidane's revamped starting lineup also 

included Marcelo, another player who had 

succeeded under the French coach but did 

not play often with Solari. 

"Nobody can erase what these players have 

done for this club in the past," Zidane said. 

"I'll count on the entire squad, but we know 

how good Keylor is. I don't even have to talk 

about Marcelo, and it's the same when it 

comes to Isco. They are all very good players. 

They have shown it in the past and I will keep 

counting on them." 

The win moved Madrid within two points 

of second-place Atletico Madrid, which saw 

its title chances take a hit after a 2-0 loss at 

Athletic Bilbao. Barcelona can open a 10- 

point lead over Diego Simeone's team if it 

wins at Real Betis on Sunday. 

Zidane received an ovation from the crowd 

when his name was announced before the 

match, and there was an upbeat atmosphere 

again following demoralizing home losses. 

Madrid lost to Barcelona in the Copa del 

Rey and the Spanish league, and to Ajax in 

the round of 16 in the Champions League - 

results that virtually ended the team's hopes 

of winning a trophy this season. It had also 

lost at home to Girona in the league. "It's a 

new beginning," right back Alvaro Odriozola 

said. "We are all motivated again." 

Isco netted from close range in the 62nd 

minute after Asensio fed Karim Benzema 

inside the area and the French striker set up 

the scorer in front of goal. Isco was cheered 

by the crowd when he was substituted a few 

moments after the goal, his first of the year. 

Bale sealed victory with a shot from inside 

the area in the 77th. 

Zidane led Madrid to nine titles in his first 

stint, including three straight in the Champions 

League, but quit at the end of last season, 

saying the club needed a change.He was 

rehired on Monday to replace Solari, who 

wasn't able to keep the team on track in its 

first season without Cristiano Ronaldo. 

"I always feel at home here," Zidane said. 

"There's a great atmosphere and all I'm 

thinking about is finishing the season on a 

high." Celta, which needed points to have a 

chance of escaping the relegation zone, has 

lost 10 of its last 12 matches in all competitions. 

It is 18th in the 20-team standings 

with 25 points from 28 matches. 

Benzema had a goal disallowed just before 

halftime because of a foul by Bale, while 

Luka Modric's goal in the second half was 

disallowed on video review because Madrid 

defender Raphael Varane was offside. 

Atletico Madrid followed its midweek 

elimination by Juventus in the Champions 

League by losing 2-0 at Athletic Bilbao. 

Inaki Williams put the hosts ahead in the 

73rd and Kenan Kodro netted in the 85th to 

move Athletic up to ninth. 

Atletico's loss came despite a lineup that 

included the attacking trio of Antoine Griezmann, 

Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata. It 

had won five in a row before losing 3-0 to 

Juventus on Tuesday to squander its 2-0 

advantage from the first leg in the round of 

16. "We missed a chance to move closer to 

Barcelona, but it was going to be hard after 

our poor performance in Turin," Simeone 

said. Alaves moved closer to the final Champions 

League spot with a 3-1 win at last-place 

Huesca, moving within a point of fourthplace 

Getafe. 

Spain midfielder Isco was handed his first start in the league since October 

by returning hero Zidane Zidane. 

Photo: AP 

‘Like we never left’ - Smith and Warner 

back in Aussie cricket fold 

Sports Desk: Steve Smith and David 

Warner have been welcomed back into 

the Australian fold with "hugs and cuddles" 

at a team meet-up in Dubai, and 

said it was like they'd never left, reports 

BSS. 

The disgraced pair, whose year-long 

bans for ball-tampering expire this 

month, were invited by coach Justin 

Langer as part of their re-integration 

after the scandal in South Africa that 

rocked the cricketing world. 

Australia are in Dubai as they prepare 

for an upcoming series against Pakistan 

in the United Arab Emirates following 

their upset one-day series win against 

India."It's been awesome. It's like we 

didn't really leave, the boys were very 

accepting of us coming in and with 

open arms," said Warner in audio comments 

supplied to AFP Sunday. 

"A lot of big hugs and cuddles. It's 

been great. 

"It's good to see the spirit they're in 

after a great series win in India and I 

am obviously looking forward to watching 

them play against Pakistan here 

and hopefully they win that series as 

well," he added. 

The "sandpapergate" scandal in Cape 

Town, which also saw opening batsman 

Cameron Bancroft banned for 

nine months, had far-reaching consequences 

for Australian cricket. 

Then-coach Darren Lehmann quit 

and there was a clean-out of top executives 

from Cricket Australia after a 

scathing review said its "arrogant and 

controlling" culture was partly to blame 

for players bending the rules. 

Australian cricket has since undergone 

a host of cultural changes under 

Langer, and Warner and Smith were 

brought up to speed at the meeting on 

how it now worked. "Making sure we're 

in line with team values moving forwards," 

Warner said of the meet-up, 

which also discussed the squad's preparations 

for the upcoming World Cup. 

"Obviously (we've) been out for 12 

months and there has been a big 

change, which is great, and it's about 

excepting that and playing what our 

role should be in the team." 

Smith, who was stripped of the captaincy 

and is barred from being considered 

for any leadership role for a 

further 12 months after his ban ends, 

echoed Warner's comments. 

"It seems like some really good 

energy among the team at the 

moment," he said. "It's great to be 

back around the group, they've been 

really welcoming and almost like 

we've never left." 

While the cheating row initially 

unleashed a torrent of vitriol against 

them, that sentiment has eased significantly 

and they are expected to be 

slotted straight back into the team. 

Smith said the Dubai catch-up went 

through "the values that are instilled in 

the team at the moment and making 

sure we are on the right path looking 

forward to what's coming up; a huge 

World Cup and an Ashes series in England". 

Both players, who are returning from 

elbow injuries, are eligible for the final 

two games of the Pakistan series. But 

selectors decided it would be better to 

ease themselves back at the upcoming 

Indian Premier League. 

Andreescu seeks breakthrough 

win at Indian Wells 

Sports Desk: Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu will try to follow in footsteps 

of world number one Naomi Osaka on Sunday and cap a magical run at Indian 

Wells with a first WTA title, reports BSS. 

Andreescu grabbed a slice of history when she became the first wild card to reach 

the women's final in the California desert with her 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 victory over sixthranked 

Ukrainian Elina Svitolina.It was her ninth win over a top-50 player this 

year and an astonishing 27th match win across all levels for a player who came 

through qualifying to reach her first WTA final at Auckland in January. 

"It's incredible," beamed Andreescu, who recovered from 3-1 down in the third 

set to beat Irina-Camelia Begu in the first round then roared past Dominika 

Cibulkova and Stefanie Voegele in the second and third rounds with the loss of just 

seven games. She then toppled 18th-seeded Wang Qiang before an impressive 6- 

0, 6-1 rout of former world number one Garbine Muguruza in the quarter-finals. 

In Kerber she'll be facing another former world number one, but the German 

hasn't won a title since claiming her third Grand Slam crown at Wimbledon last 

year.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS 10 

MONDAY, MARCH 18, 2019 

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited paid tribute to the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh 

Mujibur Rahman marking his birth anniversary on March 17, 2019, Sunday by placing floral wreath 

on his memorial at 32 No. Road, Dhanmondi. Led by Major General (Retd.) Engineer Abdul Matin, 

Chairman, Risk Management Committee and Mohammed Monirul Moula, Managing Director 

(Current Charge), a floral wreath was placed on behalf of the Bank. Professor Dr. Qazi Shahidul 

Alam, Helal Ahmed Chowdhury, Md. Syful Islam, FCA, FCMA, Md. Joynal Abedin, Syed Abu Asad 

and Md. Quamrul Hasan, Directors, Md. Shamsuzzaman, Additional Managing Director, 

Mohammad Ali, Abu Reza Md. Yeahia and Taher Ahmed Chowdhury, Deputy Managing Directors of 

the Bank along with top executives and officials were present on the occasion. Photo : Courtesy 

Crazy week 

for UK pound, 

a Brexit 

thermometer 

The pound has experienced 

a chaotic week in reaction to 

Brexit's twists and turns, with 

large swings against rival 

currencies a daily occurrence. 

Over the week the pound 

has jumped 1.8 percent 

against the dollar and 1.0 

percent versus the euro to 

trade at around $1.3250 and 

1.1700 euros respectively 

Friday. 

The rally illustrates markets' 

surprising confidence of there 

being an eventual smooth EU 

exit for Britain despite political 

unrest over sealing the 

country's divorce. 

In normal times, the pound 

tends to take its lead from 

changes in central bank 

monetary policy and economic 

indicators, reports BSS. 

But for several months now, 

"Brexit is definitively the 

biggest" trigger for sterling, 

Carlo Alberto De Casa, an 

analyst for ActivTrades, told 

AFP. 

This in turn has made the 

currency a good indicator of 

investor opinion regarding 

Brexit. 

Generally, Brexit 

uncertainty and fears of an 

even greater slowdown to the 

UK economy than at present 

have weighed on the pound - 

with current values lower than 

before the June 2016 

referendum on leaving the EU. 

The pound's rollercoaster 

began late on Monday when 

British Prime Minister 

Theresa May announced 

securing "legally binding" 

guarantees from the EU 

designed to get the Brexit deal 

through the UK parliament 

and avert a chaotic 

withdrawal. 

Almost immediately, the 

pound shot up 1.0 percent 

against the dollar - a large 

movement for currency 

markets. 

S&P upgrades Portugal's debt 

rating, citing budget surpluses 

Global ratings agency S&P on Friday 

upgraded Portugal's sovereign debt, citing the 

country's declining level of indebtedness and 

expectations for "balanced" growth. 

The decision followed September's upgrade 

to Portugal's outlook as the once troubled 

European economy continues its recovery, 

reports BSS. 

In 2014, Portugal exited an international 

bailout program that began at the height of the 

European Union debt crisis. 

S&P raised its rating to the lower-mediumgrade 

"BBB," with a stable outlook, up from 

"BBB-." 

The agency said Portugal should continue to 

run budget surpluses, steadily reducing the 

ratio of debt to GDP, while posting growth of 

between 1.5 percent and 1.7 percent through 

2021. 

Last year's primary budget surplus of almost 

three percent of Gross Domestic Product was 

"one of the highest in the euro area" or among 

OECD members, the agency said in a 

statement. 

Meanwhile, Lisbon's plans to operate at an 

overall surplus by next year, including spending 

on interest costs, are "credible," despite the 

cyclical economic slowdown in Europe, 

according to S&P. 

Portuguese authorities have also made efforts 

to protect the economy from a no-deal Brexit. 

"UK residents make up about one-sixth of 

tourist arrivals in Portugal, meaning a no-deal 

Brexit would at least initially incur a cost," the 

statement said. 

"The government has introduced measures to 

facilitate the arrival of UK nationals in Portugal 

in the event of a no-deal Brexit." 

IDB is first multilateral lender to recognize 

envoy of Venezuela's Guaido 

The Inter-American 

Development Bank on Friday 

officially recognized the 

representative named by 

Venezuela's opposition 

leader Juan Guaido, the first 

multilateral institution to 

take that step. 

Self-proclaimed interim 

president Guaido named 

respected Harvard economist 

Ricardo Hausmann, an 

exiled former Venezuelan 

government minister, to 

represent him at the IDB - the 

primary source of financing 

for development projects in 

Latin America and the 

Caribbean, reports BSS. 

The IDB board of 

governors "today approved a 

resolution recognizing the 

appointment by Mr Juan 

Guaido of Ricardo 

Hausmann as IDB Governor 

for Venezuela… effective 

immediately," a statement 

from the New York-based 

institution read. 

It is the latest sign of 

international support for 

Guaido, the head of 

Venezuela's opposition-ruled 

National Assembly. Guaido 

has already been backed by 

more than 50 countries in his 

bid to unseat President 

Nicolas Maduro, who has 

presided over an economy in 

freefall and a worsening 

humanitarian crisis. 

The United States holds 30 

percent of the voting power 

on the IDB board, against 50 

percent combined for Latin 

American and Caribbean 

members. 

A "sufficient" number of 

governors have already 

approved the nomination," 

even before voting officially 

closed, the bank said. 

Guaido's envoy to the 

United States, Carlos 

Vecchio, celebrated "an 

important step into 

multilateral bodies" and 

uploaded a photo alongside 

Hausmann to Twitter. 

"It is a first step that is 

going to allow us to start work 

on planning and preparation, 

and obviously the real 

effectiveness of any financing 

depends on if Maduro 

actually leaves," Mariano de 

Alba, a Venezuelan lawyer 

and international affairs 

expert, told AFP. But the 

International Monetary 

Fund, which aims to ensure 

stability of the global 

monetary system, has said it 

is awaiting a decision of its 

members before recognizing 

Guaido rather than Maduro. 

Hausmann served as IDB 

chief economist from 1994 to 

2000, and was Venezuela's 

planning minister when the 

government implemented a 

major economic reform 

package, which was the focus 

of a coup attempt in 1992 led 

by Hugo Chavez, who was 

jailed but later elected 

president. 

In order to expand the reach of its painting services, BERGER has introduced its EXPERIENCE 

ZONE in Chattogram. This is the first time that BERGER has provided franchise ship of EXPERI- 

ENCE ZONE to dealers of Chattogram. The inauguration ceremonies took place in M/S Rajib 

Hardware, Chawkbazar, Chattogram and M/S Ethu Hardware, South Halishahor, CEPZ Chattogram 

recently. BERGER has created a center to provide the customers with one-stop painting solution. It 

will cater to all painting related requirements of Chattogram customers through the most modern 

method of painting. Customers can get a touch and feel experience in this experience zone through 

more than hundreds of shade panels of different brands. On this auspicious occasion, Rupali 

Chowdhury, Managing Director, Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited said, "Choosing color combinations 

can be intimidating for many people. Color has the power to change the shape and size of furnishings, 

as well as the shape and size of the room itself. So, we created this center to help our customers 

to choose the best colors for their living space. We always try to seek different ways in which 

we can help our valued customers to make a meaningful decision about their homes and office 

spaces." 

Photo : Courtesy 

Stock markets climb 

on trade talks 

optimism 

Stock markets rose Friday 

after US President Donald 

Trump struck an upbeat 

note on trade talks with 

China, while the pound 

ended a volatile Brexitfuelled 

week on a strong 

note, reports BSS. 

The main European 

markets all closed higher, 

and US stocks were also up 

in the early New York 

afternoon with "reports of 

progress on the US-China 

trade front seeming to buoy 

sentiment", said analysts at 

Charles Schwab brokerage. 

Tokyo's main stocks index 

ended the day higher, too, 

despite the Bank of Japan 

issuing a more downbeat 

assessment of the world's 

third biggest economy, as a 

broader global slowdown 

impacts exports and 

production. 

"Brexit volatility appears 

to have calmed," noted 

Joshua Mahony, senior 

market analyst at IG trading 

group. "Meanwhile, US- 

China trade talk hopes have 

improved." 

While concerns about the 

global growth outlook 

remain, investor confidence 

has been supported by 

ongoing optimism that the 

United States and China will 

eventually hammer out a 

deal to end their longrunning 

trade row. 

Trump on Thursday 

provided fresh cheer by 

telling reporters "we are 

doing very well with China 

talks", adding that "we are 

getting what we have to get". 

He also said "one way or 

the other, we're going to 

know over the next three to 

four weeks". On Friday, 

China approved a foreign 

investment law that will 

abolish the forced transfer of 

technology from foreign 

firms to local joint-venture 

partners, addressing a key 

point of anger in the White 

House. 

"There's still no guarantee 

that these (US-China talks) 

can be concluded, but at 

least we've seen an 

indication that the wait will 

only be another three to four 

weeks," said James Hughes, 

chief market analyst at 

Axitrader. 

"This has the potential to 

fuel risk appetite in the 

interim period." 

On currency markets the 

pound climbed versus the 

dollar and euro after a week 

that saw wild fluctuations 

for the UK unit triggered by 

Brexit twists and turns. 

British Prime Minister 

Theresa May's EU 

withdrawal agreement was 

this week rejected by 

parliament for a second 

time. 

But the divorce deal could 

yet return from the dead 

should hardcore Brexiteers 

fear a delay could produce a 

softer Brexit that what is 

currently on offer. 

"There's still a significant 

amount of tail risk in being 

overly exposed to sterling" 

because of Brexit 

uncertainty, said Michael 

Hewson, chief market 

analyst at CMC Markets UK. 

"Ultimately talk is cheap, 

and markets require 

certainty, something that 

still remains in short 

supply." 

Canadian, Chinese, 

U.S. investors discuss 

new economy, 

innovation in 

Toronto 

More than 500 

participants, including 

investors, entrepreneurs and 

scholars, gathered in Toronto 

on Saturday for a two-day 

summit on innovation and 

the new economy. 

The China-U.S.-Canada 

New Economic Innovation 

Meeting is aimed at bringing 

together the players for 

discussions on the latest 

international industrial and 

innovation trends. 

During the two-day event, a 

number of roundtables will 

be held, reports BSS. 

It is expected to focus on 

the most promising startups 

as well as the different areas 

where startups are growing, 

said Wang Wanli, an investor 

from San Francisco, United 

States. 

Wang said he is looking 

forward to discussions on 

integration of big data 

intelligence and finance. 

The event is hosted jointly 

by the University of Toronto, 

Chinese Business Industry 

Association (CBIA) and the 

North America Developing 

Leaders Entrepreneur 

Association (NADLEA). 

On the occasion of Bangabandhu's birthday & National Children's Day, a huge rally was held at 

Kartikpur, Shariatpur under the leadership of Parveen Haque Sikder, MP. The rally included 4000 

school students and a number of local people. It started from 12 no Hogla Govt. Primary School & 

ended at ZH Sikder University of Science & Technology. Honorable MP & Director of National Bank 

Ltd, Parveen Haque Sikder distributed educational items and snacks to about 4000 school students. 

In her speech she encouraged the students to be more attentive in their studies, lead their lives on the 

ethics set by the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Muzibur Rahman. She expressed her hope 

that by leading their lives this way, these children, may one day be in good positions and lead the 

nation in future. She said that Bangabandhu used to love children vary dearly, he had a great feelings 

for them. That is why his date of birth was declared as National Childre's Day. Photo : Courtesy 

Prime Bank Cricket Tournament-2019 successfully concluded recently at Lalmatia Housing Society 

School & College, Dhaka. Managing Director & CEO of Prime Bank Rahel Ahmed was present as the 

chief guest. Additional Managing Director Habibur Rahman, Deputy Managing Directors - Md. 

Touhidul Alam Khan & M Habibur Rahman Chowdhury and other officials of Prime Bank were also 

present on the occasion. "Pitch Burners" became champion and "Thunderbolt" runners-up in this 

tournament. 

Photo : Courtesy

MISCELLANEOUS 

MoNDAY, MARCh 18, 2019 

11 

A special programme- discussion on Fistula held at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University 

(BSMMU) on Sunday, Mar 17. 

Photo: Courtesy 

Despite its peace, Christchurch 

painfully used to trauma 

Ahmed Tani settled in Christchurch as 

a refugee in 1999. After his escape 

from civil war in Somalia, the New 

Zealand city seemed a place of peace, a 

haven, reports UNB. 

Christchurch was more than just 

physically distant from the bitter strife 

he had previously known. With its 

leafy streets, vibrant gardens and 

green public parks, the Garden City as 

it is known was even visually a world 

away from the desolation of his warscorched 

past. 

A teacher in Somalia, in 

Christchurch he first became a taxi 

driver, a choice made by many 

refugees whose qualifications are often 

not accepted in their new homeland. 

He struggled at first to settle in to a 

place so different from any he had 

known. But bit by bit he accepted 

Christchurch and it accepted him. It 

became home. 

That feeling of peace was shaken for 

the first time at lunchtime Feb. 22, 

Black editor resigns 

from newspaper that 

urged KKK revival 

An African-American 

woman who took over the 

helm of a small-town 

Alabama newspaper that 

recently called for the Ku 

Klux Klan to "ride again" has 

stepped down after a few 

weeks, citing interference 

from the newspaper's 

owner, reports UNB. 

Elecia R. Dexter told The 

New York Times on Friday 

that she stepped down 

because of continuing 

interference from the 

newspaper's owner who had 

published the KKK editorial. 

Dexter said she wanted to 

maintain her "integrity and 

well-being." "I would have 

liked it to turn out a different 

way, but it didn't," Dexter, 

46, told the newspaper. 

"This is a hard one because 

it's sad - so much good could 

have come out of this." 

GD-462/19 (6 x 4) 

2011, when a magnitude 6.3 

earthquake caused many of the 

buildings in Christchurch's city center 

to come crumbling down. People were 

trapped under the rubble and rescuers 

raced to save them in time. In the end, 

185 people would die. 

For years after the quake, 

Christchurch was a city without a 

heart. Many of the buildings that 

formed its center had been destroyed 

or had to be demolished, and even its 

iconic central Anglican cathedral was 

partly collapsed. Schoolchildren who 

lived through the quake manifested 

higher levels of stress and anxiety than 

peers elsewhere in New Zealand. 

Gradually though, Christchurch 

rebuilt, dragging itself up again both 

physically and spiritually. New 

buildings sprang from old and the 

community formed stronger bonds 

that allowed a human resurgence, a 

rebirth. 

But the idyll of Christchurch was 

shattered again on Friday. 

Tani was walking toward the Al Noor 

mosque for afternoon prayers. He was 

only a few hundred yards away when 

he heard the sound of gunfire for the 

first time since he left Somalia two 

decades before. 

A racist gunman, steeped in hatred 

of Muslims and immigrants, had 

opened fire on the house of prayer, the 

first of two shooting rampages that 

would leave 50 dead in New Zealand's 

worst terrorist attack. 

"I was really frightened," Tani said. 

"We were living in Christchurch in 

peace and harmony. This is the first 

time we have had this. We have to 

realize this can happen anywhere." 

For the second time in a decade, 

Christchurch faces the task of 

restoring a shaken sense of faith, of 

community, of security. 

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel 

said everyone would again pull 

together. 

Australian premier 

sides with egger against 

egged senator 

Australia's prime minister on Sunday 

suggested an anti-Muslim senator should be 

charged after he slapped a teen who cracked 

a raw egg over the legislator's head, reports 

UNB. 

Sen. Fraser Anning has been widely 

condemned for blaming Muslim 

immigration for racist attacks on two New 

Zealand mosques that claimed at least 50 

lives. 

Will Connolly, the 17-year-old boy who 

egged Anning, has become an online hero for 

the incident, which was captured on video. 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday 

took Connolly's side, telling reporters: "The 

full force of the law should be applied to Sen. 

Anning." 

Police allege Connolly, who calls himself 

"Egg Boy" online, assaulted the senator with 

the egg. 

Anning "retaliated and struck the teen 

twice" before Connolly was dragged to the 

ground by Anning supporters, a police 

statement said. 

"The incident is being actively investigated 

by Victoria Police in its entirety," the 

statement said, including Anning's actions. 

Anning came under blistering criticism 

over tweets on Friday, including one that 

said, "Does anyone still dispute the link 

between Muslim immigration and 

violence?" 

"The real cause of the bloodshed on New 

Zealand streets today is the immigration 

program which allowed Muslim fanatics to 

migrate to New Zealand in the first place," he 

said in a later statement. 

Anning has now been assigned a federal 

police security detail, a precaution usually 

reserved for the prime minister. 

Nicaraguan 

police break up 

opposition 

protest, detain 

dozens 

Police in Nicaragua detained 

more than 100 people 

Saturday after opponents of 

President Daniel Ortega 

tried to hold a 

demonstration to pressure 

his government to release 

hundreds of protesters held 

in custody since 2018, 

reports UNB. 

Police later said they 

would release the 107 

protesters arrested Saturday 

in the coming hours at the 

request of the Vatican's 

ambassador. 

Nicaragua's government 

banned opposition protests 

in September and police 

broke up Saturday's attempt 

at a demonstration in 

Managua, hitting several 

protesters as they forced 

them into patrol cars. 

The U.S. Embassy in 

Managua expressed concern 

via Twitter about reports of 

police violence and called on 

the Nicaraguan authorities 

to "cease the use of excessive 

force against peaceful 

protesters." 

The Inter-American 

Commission on Human 

Rights called on the Ortega 

government via Twitter to 

give a full tally of those 

wounded and detained in 

the standoff, during which 

police carrying assault rifles 

hauled away protesters. 

More than 300 people 

have died in protests since 

April 2018, while more than 

700 are believed to be in 

government custody and 

over 52,000 have fled the 

country amid civil strife and 

repression. 

On Friday, Nicaragua's 

government said it released 

50 opposition prisoners and 

placed them under a form of 

house arrest. The release 

was an apparent bow to a 

demand by the opposition 

Civic Alliance for freeing 

inmates as a condition for 

resuming political talks 

which had been suspended. 

Rescues, evacuations 

as floodwaters breach 

levees in Midwest 

Authorities were using boats 

and large vehicles on 

Saturday to rescue and 

evacuate residents in parts of 

the Midwest where a recent 

deluge of rainwater and 

snowmelt was sent pouring 

over frozen ground, 

overwhelming creeks and 

rivers, and killing at least one 

person, reports UNB. 

The scramble to move 

people out of harm's way was 

expected to subside going into 

the new week, as rivers and 

creeks in flooded eastern 

Nebraska and western Iowa 

were expected to crest 

Saturday and Sunday. That 

left officials downstream 

looking to prepare for likely 

flooding. 

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson 

had already met with 

emergency management 

team members Friday to 

review and update floodresponse 

plans, and the 

Missouri Highway Patrol was 

preparing additional 

equipment and putting swift 

water rescue personnel on 

standby. The Missouri 

National Guard also 

temporarily relocated the 

139th Airlift Wing's C-130s 

from Rosecrans Air National 

Guard Base in St. Joseph as a 

precaution. 

The National Weather 

Service said the Missouri 

River at St. Joseph reached 

nearly 26 feet on Saturday, 

about a foot below what's 

considered major flooding at 

the northwest Missouri city. 

But it's expected to crest 

Wednesday or Thursday at 

29.3 feet - more than two feet 

above major flooding level. 

Evacuation efforts in 

eastern Nebraska and some 

spots in western Iowa on 

Saturday were hampered by 

reports of levee breaches and 

washouts of bridges and 

roads, including part of 

Nebraska Highway 92, 

leading in and out of 

southwest Omaha. 

Authorities confirmed that a 

bridge on that highway that 

crosses the Elkhorn River had 

been washed out Saturday. 

Military: West Bank shooting 

spree kills 1 Israeli, wounds 2 

A Palestinian killed an Israeli and seriously 

wounded two others in a West Bank 

shooting and stabbing spree Sunday before 

fleeing and setting off a massive manhunt, 

the Israeli military said, reports UNB. 

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said the 

attacker stabbed an Israeli soldier at the 

entrance to the Ariel settlement, southwest 

of the Palestinian city of Nablus, and then 

took his assault rifle. He then opened fire 

toward several passing vehicles, striking 

civilians. Another car slowed to a stop and 

the attacker then boarded it and sped away, 

firing toward soldiers along the way before 

escaping into a nearly Palestinian village. 

Conricus said Israeli troops have 

gathered at the entrance to the village to 

assist in the manhunt. He said it was 

unclear if the assailant acted alone or with 

the assistance of others, and whether he 

belonged to any Palestinian militant group. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 

Netanyahu said the chase was ongoing and 

he was confident Israeli forces would 

apprehend those behind the attack and 

"bring them to justice as we have in all 

previous cases." 

Israel's Magen David Adom rescue 

service said the wounded were a 35-yearold 

man and a 20-year-old who were 

treated on the scene in serious condition 

before being evacuated to a hospital. 

The attack comes after two Palestinians 

were killed by Israeli fire last week in 

separate West Bank incidents, which 

followed a period of relative calm. On 

Thursday, Hamas fired a pair of missiles 

from Gaza toward the Israeli city of Tel 

Aviv in a rare attack into the heart of Israel 

that looked to set the sides into another 

round of escalation. But the launch was 

apparently a technical malfunction and 

after a brief Israeli reprisal calm was 

restored. 

Israel is currently in the midst of an 

election campaign, and Egypt is trying to 

broker a long-term truce between Israel 

and Gaza's Hamas rulers. 

Since 2015, Palestinians have killed over 

50 Israelis in stabbings, shootings and carramming 

attacks in the West Bank. Israeli 

forces have killed more than 260 

Palestinians in that same period. Israel has 

described most of the Palestinians killed as 

attackers, but clashes between protesters 

and soldiers have also turned deadly. 

Afghan troops go missing after 

fleeing battle with Taliban 

Around 100 Afghan soldiers fled their posts 

and tried to cross into neighboring 

Turkmenistan during a weeklong battle with 

the Taliban, officials said Sunday, in the 

latest setback for the country's battered 

security forces. 

Mohammad Naser Nazari, a provincial 

council member in the western Badghis 

province, said the soldiers weren't allowed to 

cross the border and their fate remains 

unknown. The Taliban have posted pictures 

of captured soldiers on social media. 

Jamshid Shahabi, the provincial 

governor's spokesman, said 16 soldiers have 

been killed and 20 wounded during the 

ongoing battle in the Bala Murghab district, 

in which the military carried out airstrikes 

and dispatched reinforcements. He said a 

number of soldiers tried to flee, without 

providing an exact figure. 

Shahabi said more than 40 insurgents 

were killed in the fighting. He said the 

provincial police chief and army commander 

are in the district and instructing the forces 

to root out insurgents and rescue soldiers. 

Officials said the fighting had largely 

subsided by Sunday, with sporadic clashes 

breaking out in remote areas. 

Nazari provided a higher toll, saying 50 

soldiers were killed and around 100 others 

were missing. He said hundreds of local 

residents have gathered in front of the 

governor's office to express their concerns 

about security in the province. 

He said Bala Murghab is almost 

completely controlled by the Taliban, with 

Afghan forces confined to the district 

headquarters. 

The Taliban effectively control half the 

country and carry out daily attacks on 

Afghan security forces, causing staggering 

casualties. The attacks have continued even 

as the Taliban have been holding direct 

negotiations with the United States aimed at 

ending the 17-year war. 

In a separate development on Sunday, an 

Islamic State affiliate claimed the killing of a 

local TV journalist in the eastern Khost 

province. The group did not say why it 

targeted Sultan Mahmoud Khirkhowa, a 

reporter with the local Zhman TV and radio, 

who was killed Friday when two men on a 

motorcycle opened fire on his vehicle. 

Another Afghan reporter was wounded in a 

targeted bombing last week in the southern 

Helmand province. 

President of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) Molla 

Jalal on Sunday announced the programme of holding rally at a discussion 

at the Jatiya Press Club, marking Bangabandhu's 99th birth 

anniversary. 

Photo : TBT

18-03-2019

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