24-03-2019

sunDaY
DhAKA: March 24, 2019; Chaitra 10, 1425 BS; Rajab 15,1440 hijri
www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www. tbtbangla.com
Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.17; No.56; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00
international
Pompeo, NATO chief
talk over phone on
FM meeting plans
>Page7
art & culture
Kangana Ranaut to
play Jayalalithaa
in biopic
>Page 8
sport
Venezuela beats
Argentina 3-1 to spoil
Messi's return
>Page 9
EC plans limited EVM
use 'in 5th UZ polls'
DHAKA : Backtracking from its previous
stance, the Election Commission is going
to use electronic voting machines (EVMs)
on a very small scale in the 5th countrywide
upazila election which will be completed
in five phases, reports UNB.
Though the Commission had a plan to
hold all district sadar upazila polls with
EVMs, the EC has announced to use the
machines in only 10 upazila parishads in
the 3rd and 4th phases of the upazila elections.
The polls to four upazila parishads
in the second phase and six upazila
parishads in the third phase will be completely
with EVMs instead of traditional
ballot papers, said EC Secretary
Helaluddin Ahmed on Saturday. "But the
Commission has yet to take the decision
whether the EVMs will be used in the fifth
and final phases," he told UNB.
The 10 upazilas are Rangpur Sadar,
Gopalganj Sadar, Manikganj Sadar and
Meherpur Sadar of the third phase, and
Cox's Bazar Sadar, Patuakhali Sadar,
Mymensingh Sadar, Bagerhat Sadar,
Munshiganj Sadar and Feni Sadar of the
fourth phase election.
The third and fourth phases of the election
will be held in 117 upazila parishads
on March 24 (Sunday) and 122 upazila
parishads on March 31.
Raushon made deputy
opposition leader in JS
DHAKA : Jatiya Party Chairman HM
Ershad has picked Raushon Ershad, senior
co-chairman of the party, as the
deputy leader of the opposition in parliament,
relieving GM Quader of the post.
"As Chairman of Jatiya Party and
leader of the opposition in the House,
I'm removing GM Quader from the
post of deputy leader... Begum
Raushon Ershad has been nominated
for the post," Ershad informed the
media in a statement, reports UNB.
The development came a day after
the party Chairman relieved his brother
GM Quader of the post of cochairman
of his party, saying that he has failed to
discharge his duties and rather created
divisions within the party.
The decision was taken as per the
party charter, according to a statement
issued by the party. A proposal was also
put to the Speaker of the House to take
necessary steps, the release added.
5 die in separate incidents
in Chattogram
CHATTOGRAM : Five people died in
different incidents here from Friday
night to Saturday morning.
The deceased were identified as Md
Mostak, Abdur Rahim, Abdul Monaf,
Osman Goni and Md Sohel.
Sub-inspector Jahirul Islam, incharge
of Chittaong Medical College
and Hospital(CMCH) police outpost
said Abdul Monaf, 22, who sustained
injuries in a clash with his nephews
over land on Friday afternoon, died at
the hospital at night, reports UNB.
Abdur Rahim, 35, son of Nur Kader
of Pekua upazila in Cox's Bazar district
fell sick at night after taking poison following
a brawl with his wife and died at
the hospital in the morning.
Zohr
04:48 AM
12:15 PM
04:27 PM
06:13 PM
07:27 PM
6:02 6:10
This time the Election Commission will
complete the elections to some 480 upazilas,
out of 492, in five phases. The EC has
already arranged the first two phases of
the elections on March 10 and 18.
In February last, the EC enacted the
Upazila Parishad Election (Electronic
Voting Machine) Rules 2019 to pave the
way for introducing the use of the new
technology in upazila elections.
Just three months before the 11th general
election, the Executive Committee of
the National Economic Council (Ecnec)
approved a Tk 3,825.34 crore project to
procure 1.5 lakh EVMs.
In the December-30 parliamentary
polls, the newly designed EVMs were
used in six constituencies-Dhaka-6 and-
13, Chattogram-9, Rangpur-3, Khulna-2
and Satkhira-out of the country's total
300 seats. On January 14, the EC
Secretary said the EC decided to use the
EVMs in all district sadar upazilas across
the country, but on February 18 he said
the EVMs machines will be used in the
sadar upazilas in the last three phases.
The EC officials said the use of EVMs
may cost Tk 130 crore this time, which
partially contributed to increasing the
total election cost.
The EC has estimated that more than
Tk 750 crore will be spent on arranging
the 5th upazila election, which is the double
of the cost of the 4th upazila polls
arranged in 2014.
Of the estimated cost, the officials said
about Tk 450 crore will be spent on maintaining
law and order, while the remaining
Tk 300 crore will be used to conduct
the election. In 2014, the EC had to spend
some Tk 373 crore to arrange the 4th
upazila election held in six phases.
In 2009, a total of Tk 133 crore was
spent on arranging the 3rd countrywide
upazila election that was held in a single
day. In 2010, the ATM Shamsul Huda-led
EC first used old-featured EVMs on a pilot
basis at a few polling stations in the
Chittagong City Corporation election. The
EVMs were jointly made by Bangladesh
Machine Tools Factory and Buet in 2009
and 2011.
Later, the EVMs were used partially in
different local elections. In January, 2011,
the Cumilla City Corporation election was
held with EVMs in its entirety.
In 2012, the Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmadled
Commission decided not to use EVMs
in the 10th national election due to the
chance of technical errors amid strong
opposition from BNP and some other
political parties.
GPAY registers over 9 m
bill pays in 2018
DHAKA : GPAY, the digital wallet platform
of Grameenphone, has registered
more than 9 million bill pays in the year
2018, reports UNB.
The convenient and accessible solution
is continuing to assist rural households
with convenience and easy access
to bill payment services.
Commenting on the service that has
being operated since 2009, after GP had
received the necessary permissions from
Bangladesh Bank and Bangladesh
Telecom Regulatory Commission, Yasir
Azman, Deputy CEO and CMO of
Grameenphone stated that GPAY provided
"convenient, future proof, digitized
solution to pay different utility bills, buy
train tickets and carry out wallet refills
from bank accounts or GP outlets."
Aligning with 28 nationwide utility concerns,
GPAY has been instrumental in the
government's utility company bill collection
process. In that context, GPAY has
transacted approximately TK 1050 crore
in 2018 in a safe and secure manner, serving
close to one crore households.
Pointing out that the bill payment service
saves valuable time, cost and generates
significant social value for users. Azman
suggested that it also benefited utility
service providers with easy bill collection
and reduced revenue leakage/system loss.
"GPAY has been adapted to citizen's digital
payment needs, and is aligned with the
digital inclusion mandate of the
Bangladesh Government. With further
expansion of the service and greater inclusion
we believe that the lives of people will
be made easier," the GP DCEO added.
To avail GPAY services, customers can
refill their GPAY Wallets from any nearby
MobiCash retail outlet or from selected
GPAY partner bank accounts: all VISA,
Mastercard debit and credit cards, DBBL
Rocket Mobile Banking Account, AB
Bancore banking account, and Islami
Bank mCash account or internet banking.
GPAY subscribers also have the advantage
of refilling their wallets from any
Grameenphone Center.
GPAY has played a key role in reducing
the major predicaments customers face to
recharge their meters after the launch of
prepaid meters. Citizens in all parts of
Bangladesh can easily avail the service
using a GPAY wallet and recharge through
GP's bill pay agent points. "GPAY is a 24/7
solution and opens up wide opportunities
for the government's prepaid ambitions."
Azman concluded.
Police sent more than hundred transports to dumping in last one week.
DUCSU VP Nurul Huq talking to the journalists at the first meeting of newly elected members. Photo : TBT
DMP chief urges
city dwellers to
boycott drug
dealers socially
DHAKA : Terming drug traders 'enemies
of the country, nation and the
society', Dhaka Metropolitan Police
(DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman
Mia on Saturday urged the city
dwellers to boycott them socially,
reports UNB.
"There will be no space for the drug
dealers in the city. We have declared war
against drug like what we did against militancy.
Please help us by standing against
drug," said the DMP boss.
"Police are on your side," the DMP
commissioner said while addressing a
rally against drug, terrorism and militancy
at Matuail Shamsul Haq Khan
School and College. The rally was organized
by Wari division of the DMP.
Urging all to be united against drug
traders, the DMP commissioner further
said the person suffering from cancer
dies only on his own. "And the drugcancer
destroys the society alongside
the person died."
Regular special drives against narcotics
are being continued in the capital.
"Nobody will be spared whoever
he is involved in drug," he said adding
that those who trade drugs to destroy
the society as well as the children will
be wiped out. He sought cooperation
from all of the society, including parents,
to stop drug trading as it is not
possible for police alone to stop it.
Additional Police Commissioner
(crime and ops) Krishna Paday Roy,
Shamsul Huq Khan School and
College's governing body chairman
Mahfuzur Rahman Mollah, its
Principal Dr Mahbubur Rahman
Mollah and local elites were present.
Photo: Star Mail
Bangladesh needs to
find space for wildlife,
says a global expert
DHAKA : Bangladesh, like many other
countries, needs to find space for both
the wildlife and its people keeping in
mind that biodiversity is important for
the world, says a renowned global
wildlife expert.
"Everybody has a role to play," Dr
Craig B Stanford, a professor of
Biological Science and Anthropology
at the University of Southern
California, told UNB in an interview
saying tigers, turtles and fish are
important, and also very important
their protection, reports UNB.
He said there are many dedicated
people and conservationists in
Bangladesh though many people
around the world ask the conservationists
why they do worry about these animals
- turtles and monkeys-when there
are many people who do not have food
to eat. The US professor said he is fully
aware of the issues like big population
density and other problems but biodiversity
is very important to the wellbeing
of the planet.
Highlighting the importance of having
space both for wildlife and people,
he said there are many species and it is
hard to even know which species is the
most important one.
"If we lose them, before we understand,
we've lost important things for
ourselves," he said adding that turtles
are playing an important role in
ecosystem.
Prof Stanford visited Chittagong Zoo
and Hazrat Bayezid Bostami shrine
recently and had a very "productive"
discussion there on how to protect the
turtles.
He talked to khadem (caretaker) of
Bayezid Bostami shrine conveying that
Two students killed in road
crashes in Munshiganj, Gazipur
DHAKA : Two students were killed
and five other people injured in separate
road accidents in Munshiganj
and Gazipur districts on Saturday,
reports UNB.
In Munshiganj, a sixth-grader boy
died after he was run over by a passenger
bus on Dhaka-Mawa Highway in
Medinimandal area of Lauhajang upazila.
The deceased was identified as Antar,
12, son of Md Raza Miah of the same
area. He was a student of Mediniganj
Anwar Ali High School.
A speeding bus hit him while giving
space to another vehicle, killing Antar
on the spot, said Golam Morshed
Talukder, in-charge of Hashara
Highway Police Outpost.
he wants to help protect the turtles.
"The shrine, as khadem told me, is very
dependent on the turtles. If the turtles
disappear, the number of visitors would
go down. We hope that we can develop
some cooperative plans."
Farid Ahsan, a zoology professor of
Chittagong University, who studied this
black soft-shell turtle, in his 1984 survey,
recorded around 320 Bostami turtles
in the shrine pond and the number
has declined in a very significant way
over the past decades.
The black soft-shelled turtle, a freshwater
species, found in Chattogram and
India's Assam State and was declared
'extinct in the wild' in 2002 by the
International Union for Conservation
of Nature.
Pof Stanford mentioned that 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.
Stanford said the success rate of saving
endangered turtle and tortoise
species is very low and 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.
He stressed raising awareness and
dedication of people to preservation of
the species of turtles and tortoises
which are endangered and near extinct.
Asked about wildlife trafficking, the
US professor, who also visited
Bangladesh in 1986 and 1988, said this
is a problem in many countries and
people are of course making money
from that.
Students of the school and locals put
barricades on the road, interrupting
vehicle movement for about two and a
half hours.
In Gazipur, a motorcyclist was killed
and two pillion riders were injured in an
accident involving three vehicles on
Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway in Salna
area in the city.
The deceased was identified as
Jumman Hossain, a college student and
son of Zahangir Alam, hailing from
Baopara area in the city.
The body was sent to Shaheed
Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College
Hospital for autopsy, said Samir
Chandra Sutradhar, officer-in-charge of
Gazipur Metropolitan Police Station.

NEWS
SUNDAY,
MARCH 24, 2019
2
Rab organized a view exchanging meeting at Kara Convention center of Bakshibazar yesterday.
Vivo launches V15 with 32MP
pop-up selfie camera
DHAKA : Smartphone brand Vivo released
its long-awaited V15 model sporting a 32MP
pop-up selfie camera in Bangladesh market,
reports UNB.
The phone comes with a powerful triple
rear camera set-up, stunning Ultra Full-View
6.53 inch display and a conventional
fingerprint scanner on the back. This dual-
SIM phone's screen supports 1080x2340
pixels resolution.
Pre booking of V15 started on March 20 and
will continue until March 26. Vivo is offering a
gift box with pre booking while Grameenphone
users are getting special data offer.
Chinese multinational mobile company
Vivo announced V15 launch at an event at
Radisson Blu hotel in Dhaka last week.
"The V15 is a clear example of our
commitment in bringing immersive
advanced products to consumers of all walks
of life," said Duke, the managing director of
Vivo Bangladesh.
15-Day training for upazila info
service officers begins
DHAKA : A15-day training for upazila
information service officers began in the city
yesterday.
Secretary of Woman and Children Affairs
Ministry Kamrun Nahar inaugurated the
programme, arranged under the 'Tattho Apa
(Info Lady) Project', as the chief guest at the
National Planning and Development
Academy, said a official release.
Speaking on the occasion, she said two
main features of the Prime Minister's '10
Special Initiatives' - Digital Bangladesh
project and establishment of woman
empowerment - will be implemented fully
throughout the country under the 'Tottho
Apa Project'. The secretary also said that
the underprivileged women will get access
to information technology and will be
provided with information technological
support under this project.She asked
GD-505/19 (4 x 3)
Vivo V15 is powered by a 2.1GHz Octa-core
processor and comes with 6GB of RAM and
64 GB ROM. The phone supports an
extended memory of up to 256 GB. It runs on
Android Funtouch OS 9.
It sports a 32 megapixel pop up camera on
the front for selfies. The phone is equipped
with AI photography features including AI
Face Beauty and AI Portrait Framing.
The phone packs a 24MP primary camera,
a second 8MP camera and a third 5MP
camera on the back. The rear camera setup
has autofocus.
The all-new AI Super Night Mode makes
shaky night shots a thing of the past. The
phone allows users to take photos with
stunning clarity and wider perspective.
Other key features of the phone are its
powerful 4,000mAh battery and dualengine
fast charging. The phone will be
available in Glamour Red and Topaz Blue for
Tk 29,990.
women to disregard superstitions and
proceed with confidence, being the half of
the country's population, to contribute in
the development progress with their
capabilities.
Additional director of National Academy
for Planning and Development A A M
Nasihul Kamal presided over the
programme while Jatiyo Mohila Sangstha
chairman Momtaz Begum, executive
director Jahanara Pervin and the 'Tattho
Apa' project director Mina Parveen were
present.
The Tattho Apa (Info Lady) project has
been adapted by the government to provide
access to the internet based information, e-
commerce and primary health service, to a
total of 1 crore woman, by the 1,470 'Tattho
Seba Kormokorta' (information service
officers) in 490 Upazillas of the country.
Man hacked dead by 'son'
in Jashore
JASHORE : An elderly man was hacked to dead allegedly by his son at Galda village in
Monirampur upazila on Friday over money related dispute, reports UNB.
The deceased was identified as Tajul Islam Patwary, 65. Abdur Rahman, sub-inspector of
Monirampur Police Station, said that Tajul's two sons Anwar Hossain and Humayun Kabir,
who work in Malaysia, recently returned home. They sent around 15 lakh to their father from
Malaysia. After returning home when they wanted to know about the total amount of money
from his father he failed to give the right answer, leading to an altercation between them.
After returning from Jummah prayers, Anwar again locked into an altercation with him
around 2:30. At one stage, he hit his father with a sharp weapon, leaving him dead on the
spot. Anwar went into hiding after the incident, said the SI.
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†kL nvwmbvi g~jgš¿
Photo : Star Mail
Case filed over killing
of Bilaichhari upazila
AL president
RANGAMATI : A case has
been filed in connection with
killing of Bilaichhari Upazila
Awami League president
Suresh Kanti Tanchanga,
reports UNB.
Local Jubo League leader
Monir Hossain filed the case
with Bilaichhari police station
on Friday night accusing 20
people including upazila
chairman Shuvo Mangal
Chakma, said officer-incharge
Md Parvej Ali.
Suresh Kanti Tanchanga
was gunned down by some
miscreants in Farua area on
March 19 while he was
returning home after
completing works of upazila
election.
Toddler drown in
Chandpur pond
CHANDPUR : A three-year
old boy drowned in a pond
at Montala village in
Faridganj upazila on
Saturday, reports UNB.
The deceased was
identified as Fahim, son of
Motahar Hossain of the
village. Family sources said
Fahim fell into the water
body unnoticed around 9
am while playing near the
pond.
Later, locals traced the
body floating on the water
and rushed it to Haziganj
Upazila Health Complex
where the doctors declared
him dead.
UP member
found dead in
Habiganj
HABIGANJ : Police
recovered the body of a
union parishad member
from Jatrapasha area in
Baniachong upazila on
Friday night, reports UNB.
The deceased was
identified as Moyna Miah, a
ward no 3 member of no 4
Dakshin-Paschim union
Parishad. His family
members spotted his bloodsustained
body near a pond
adjoining to his house.
On information, police
recovered the body, said
Rashed Mobarak, officer-incharge
of Baniachong Police
Station, adding that the UP
member might have been
killed in a pre-planned way.
There were several injury
marks on his body, said the
OC. Protesting the murder,
local people staged
demonstrations on Saturday
morning.
2 held with 7
gold bars in
Jashore
BENAPOLE : Members of
Border Guard Bangladesh
(BGB) arrested two
suspected gold smugglers
along with seven gold bars at
Koyra village in Sharsha
upazila of the district on
Friday night, reports UNB.
The arrestees are-
Moniruzzaman, son of
Abdul Hamid of Bagadanga
village and Abul Khayer, son
of Abdul Khaleq of Dorki
village in Kolaroa upazila in
Satkhira district.
British Council Satellite
Library inaugurated at
Robi office in Dhaka
DHAKA : The British Council has teamed up
with Robi Axiata Limited to set up a 'British
Council Satellite Library" inside the telecom
operator's corporate office, reports UNB.
The library was inaugurated Saturday at a
ceremony held at the Robi Corporate Office.
The satellite library allows Robi employees
who are members of British Council to enjoy
the books from the library in addition to the
main library and access the rich contents of
British Council's digital library.
Robi's Managing Director and CEO Mahtab
Uddin Ahmed inaugurated the satellite
library in presence of British Council
Bangladesh's Acting Country Director
Andrew Newton.
Robi's Head of Corporate and Regulatory
Affairs, Shahed Alam, Vice President (Media,
Communications and Sustainability) Ekram
Kabir and British Council's Head of Cultural
Centre Tanvir Alim and Cultural Centre
Manager Tahnee Yeasmin were present on
the occasion.
The library houses the latest awardwinning
collections of UK's best titles. In
order to spread these services and to cater
larger number of readers, the British Council
Library and Cultural Centre has brought the
concept of satellite libraries. The Robi Axiata
Limited's satellite library consists of books on
language, fiction, literature and a wonderful
collection for the young readers.
Inaugurating the library Robi's Managing
Domino's Pizza Bangladesh breaks
global sales record
DHAKA : Domino's Pizza
(NYSE: DPZ), the largest
pizza company in the world
based on global retail sales, is
continuing its global growth
momentum with the recent
opening of its first restaurant
in Bangladesh.
Within its first week of
operations, Domino's Pizza
in Bangladesh witnessed a
record number of orders,
which is the highest for the
brand across its network in
85 countries, reports UNB.
US Ambassador in Dhaka
Earl R Miller joined the
celebrations in the city on
Saturday as part of the global
announcement.
Domino's Pizza has
entered Bangladesh through
a joint venture between the
master franchisee Jubilant
FoodWorks Limited (JFL),
one of India's largest food
service company, and the
local operator Golden
Harvest QSR Limited, a part
of Golden Harvest Group.
The brand is operating
under the JV named Jubilant
Golden Harvest Limited.
With the opening of the
restaurant, residents of
Dhaka can now enjoy hot,
freshly-baked pizza in-store
or through take-away.
The first restaurant in
Dhanmondi area features the
new pizza theater design,
refreshing and inviting
interior, stylish seating as
well as a front row seat to
watch all the action of pizzamaking.
Additional locations are
planned for later in the year,
said a press release.
"The
Jubilant
management team, together
with their local operator
Golden Harvest, bring
extensive operational
experience, and we're
fortunate to have them bring
this experience to
Bangladesh," said Joe
Jordan, executive vice
president of Domino's
International.
"Domino's is building
beautiful pizza theaters
across the world, and we're
happy to bring these stores to
Dhaka." he added.
Pratik Pota, CEO and
Whole time Director,
Jubilant FoodWorks Limited
said, "We are delighted to
share that Domino's Pizza
Dhaka has witnessed the
Director and CEO, Mahtab Uddin Ahmed
said, "The best way to grow as a human being
is to read. Wise men of world have time and
again said that books are the most trusted of
all confidants. So, be it for pursuit of
enlightenment or material gains, you can
always trust a good book. Even Robi as an
organization stands to gain immensely from
it as it will help us to strengthen our learning
culture within the organization. I would like
to thank the British Council for its kind
support in this regard."
British Council Bangladesh's Acting
Country Director, Andrew Newton said: "This
is an exciting partnership for us, as Robi is the
first private company to initiate and
accommodate the British Council Satellite
Library."
"Developing reading habit from an early
age has many silent benefits such as
developing patience and wellbeing. We are
really happy that Robi employees and their
children are now able to access the best
collection of books in the world through
British Council physical and digital library,"
he added.
British Council's content rich digital library
was also introduced to the Robi officials at the
programme. The inauguration programme
was attended by Robi employees and their
family members. An exciting storytelling
session was held for the children of Robi
employees at the end of the programme.
Debris of illegal construction being cleaned from the bank of Turag river.
GD-504/19 (4 x 3)
highest pizza orders ever to
be registered by any new
store globally in its first week.
This achievement is a
reflection of the acceptance
of our pizzas, both
international bestsellers as
well as the ones specially
developed for the
Bangladesh market, and our
attractive value for money
pricing.
We look forward to
growing our presence in
Bangladesh and being able to
serve many more consumers
across the country."
Rajeeb Samdani,
Managing Director, Golden
Harvest said, "This is an
Students block
road demanding
compensation
for accident
victim Nipa
BENAPOLE : Students
blocked Benapole-Jashore
highway on Saturday
morning demanding
compensation for
schoolgirl Nipa who lost
her right leg in Thursday's
road accident in Sharsha
upazila.
The school students put
up barricade on the
highway around 9am
boycotting their classes
and they also burned
tyres, reports UNB.
Vehicular movement
came to a halt following
the road blockade.
The students chanted
various slogans- 'We want
safe road', 'We want
compensation for Nipa'.
Nipa, the class VI
student of Burujbagan
Pilot Girl's School, lost her
right leg and another class
VII student Smrity, was
injured critically, as a
pick-up van of Palli-Bidyut
Samity hit a van carrying
the schoolgirls.
Photo : Star Mail
amazing feat that Domino's
Pizza has achieved in
Bangladesh. This record
reflects the love of the
Bangladesh pizza lovers
towards Domino's, we are
humbled to have been an
integral part of it. We aim to
be number 1 in pizza market,
following this wonderful
beginning, our belief has
strengthened to achieve the
same over the period of
time."
Domino's now operates in
more than 85 markets
worldwide, with more than
half of its global retail sales
coming from international
stores.

METRO
SUNDAY, MArCh 24, 2019
3
National Tuberculosis control program organized a press conference at National Press Club on
Saturday.
Photo : Star Mail
Gono Forum to form human chain
in city on Apr 1 seeking safe roads
DHAKA : Dr Kamal Hossain's Gono
Forum will form a human chain
programme in the capital on April 1 to
push for its 14-point demand for
ensuring safe roads and restoration of
discipline in the transport sector,
reports UNB.
The programme which will be held in
front of the Jatiya Press Club is also
meant for registering the party's
protest against the government's move
to hike gas tariffs.
Gono Forum general secretary
Mostafa Mohsin Montu announced
the programme at a press conference
at the Jatiya Press Club.
"We took to the streets demanding
safe roads earlier when students waged
a movement to this end. We're also
going to form a human chain from
3pm to 5pm in front of the Jatiya Press
Club on April 1 with the same demand
in line with the students and youths,"
he said. Through the programme,
Montu said, they will also protest the
fresh proposal for raising gas tariffs.
He urged the people of all walks of
life, including students, to participate
in the programme and make it a
success.
Gono Forum's 14 demands include,
upgrading the transport sector-related
laws and ensuring their proper
enforcement, making the sector free
from political influence, enhancing the
skills of drivers through training, fixing
specific wages and working hours for
drivers, ensuring punishment to those
transport owners and workers
responsible for road accidents,
introducing the new franchising bus
service system, removing unfit vehicles
from the streets, conducting
continuous drives against fake and
unskilled drivers and creating a specific
lane for public transport and
enhancing the quality of their services.
The party also demanded security on
the roads in front of the public and
private hospitals, installing footbridges
and having speed-breakers on roads in
front of educational institutions,
stopping extortion in the transport
sector, creating a fund with the
supervision of a regulatory body for the
victims of the road accidents and
taking suggestions from experts and
giving priority to people's interests in
constructing roads and bridges and
working out transport strategies.
National Youth Leadership
Summit held in Dhaka
DHAKA : The National
Youth Leadership Summit
2019 was held at Institution
of Diploma Engineers in the
city on Friday, reports UNB.
Youth Club of Bangladesh
(YCB) organised the
programme in association
with Manusher Jonno
Foundation where around
250 students from different
educational institutions
took part.
With the theme 'Let's
Build Peaceful Bangladesh',
the programme focused on
how the youth could work
for building peaceful and
progressive Bangladesh
overcoming various
problems in the society as
well as establishing
themselves as leaders.
Manusher Jonno
Foundation executive
director Shaheen Anam
inaugurated the summit
while Supreme Court
lawyer Shah Monjurul
Haque, deputy inspector
general for Anti-terrorism
Unit Khondokar Lutful
Kabir and SMART
Technologies BD director
Muzahid Al Beruni
Suzonwere were present.
YCB president Arefin
Rahman Himel gave the
welcome speech.
Students should be
involved in various social
welfare activities alongside
study to boost their
leadership, said Muzahid Al
Beruni Suzon.
He said that strong
communication skills were
required to be a leader.
The employers at the time
of recruiting employee
prefer individual's
involvement in any kind of
leadership programme out
of politics, said Shah
Monjurul Hoque.
There were two methods
of creating leadership that
include -long time politics
and corporate practice, he
said.
In his speech, khondokar
Lutful Kabir said, 'one
should turn his/her merit
into wisdom to be a leader
and a leader must have to
morality and love for
country.
The main vision of the
Liberation War was to make
the country free from
discrimination but
discriminations did not
come to an end, said
Shaheen Anam. He called
young generation to build
peaceful and progressive
country preventing all kinds
of discrimination.
The day long programme
was characterized with
cultural presentation,
unveiling magazine of YCB,
documentary exhibition,
two phases of community
change maker competitions
and award giving ceremony.
Deputy British High
Commissioner Kanber
Hossein Bor, United Nation
office on drugs and crime
program officer Marina
Yakunina, The Hunger
Project deputy director
Nasima Akter Joly and
Export Promotion Bureau
retired director general
Faridul Hasan attended at
different sessions of the
programme.
Daffodil International
University Chairman Md.
Sabur Khan presided over
closing session of the
programme.
Imarat Nirman Sramik Union Bangladesh formed a human chain in front National Press Club yesterday
protesting the proposal of gas price hiking.
Photo : Star Mail
Sramik Security Forum formed a human chain demanding compensation, rehabilitation and treatment
Chawkbazar fire victims.
Photo : Star Mail
Professor Nuri
remembered
at IU
ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY : A
commemoration meeting was held at
the Islamic University (IU) in Kushtia
on Saturday in memory of Professor
Shahidul Islam Nuri, who died on
December 2 last year, reports UNB.
IU Dawah and Islamic Studies
department organised the event in the
morning.
IU Treasurer Prof M Selim Toha
addressed the programme as the chief
guest while IUTA General Secretary
Prof Alamgir Hossain Bhuiya, IUTA
former general secretary Prof M Wali
Ullah, Prof Muhammad Asan-Ullah,
Prof Gola Maowla, Prof Abdul Kader
were present as the special guests with
the departmental Chairman Prof
Shaheed Muhammad Rezwan in the
chair. "Shahidul Islam Nuri was a
brilliant teacher of the department
whose academic work carried the mark
of propriety and intellectual honesty,"
the treasurer said.
Prof Kamruzzaman of Dawah and
Islamic Studies department conducted
the programme while around 200
students of the department took part.
Later, a dua mahfil was offered for the
salvation of the departed soul of the
teacher.
Eviction drive to be
strengthened to free illegally
occupied riverbank'
DHAKA : Shipping Secretary Md
Abdus Samad yesterday said eviction
drives will be strengthened to free
illegally occupied riverbanks, reports
BSS.
"Alongside planting saplings of
trees, boundary walls will be built on
the riverbank for protection of
further occupation," he told a
discussion at the Jatiya Press Club
here marking the World Water day,
an official release said.
Director General of Department of
Shipping Commodore Syed Ariful
Islam, Director of Institute of water
and Flood Management Prof Sujit
Kumar Bala at Bangladesh
University of Engineering and
Technology (BUET) and former
Director General of Water Resources
Planning Organization (WARPO) M
Enamul Haque, among others,
addressed the discussion.
Samad said the government would
take effective measures to protect
rivers from pollution side by side
riverbank grabbing. He laid
emphasis on better coordination
among organizations concerned for
stopping rampant dumping of
industrial waste in the rivers around
Dhaka city.
Other speakers said capital
dredging should be carried out in all
rivers of the country to revive the
lost waterways by returning
navigability. Many major and small
rivers and their tributaries are
facing serious navigability problem
as all the rivers got silted and there
was no dredging to maintain
navigability, they added.
To maintain the navigability of the
rivers, a massive dredging of the
rivers is required on yearly basis, the
water experts said.
Describing waterways as the most
low cost mode of communication,
they said significant economic
development would take place in the
country, if the authorities could
restore the lost waterways.
48 gold
bars seized
at Dhaka
airport
DHAKA : A team of
Customs Intelligence and
Investigation Directorate
(CIID) recovered 48 gold
bars worth Tk 7.96 lakh
from a garbage basket at
Hazrat Shahjalal
International Airport early
Saturday.
Tipped off, a team of CIID
recovered the gold bars
weighing 15.738kg from
nine packets wrapped with
scotch tape near a
washroom around 1:30am,
said Director General CIID
Dr. Shahidul Islam, reports
UNB.
Momen
mourns
loss of lives
in China
DHAKA : Foreign
Minister Dr AK Abdul
Momen has expressed his
heartfelt condolences for
the loss of valuable lives
during an explosion at
Yancheng in China, reports
UNB.
In a message written to
Wang Yi, State Councillor
and Foreign Minister of
China, Dr Momen said,
"We are deeply saddened
to learn about the tragic
accident, resulting in many
deaths and heavy
casualties."
He conveyed his heartfelt
sympathies to the Chinese
Foreign Minister and the
friendly people of China as
well as to the members of
the bereaved families for
the irreparable loss.
Dr Momen wished quick
recovery of those who were
injured during the
explosion, according to
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
here.
Mentioning China as a
close partner, he gave
assurance to stand by the
government and its people
at this difficult time.
Speakers for hiking
VAT on tobacco
retail products
DHAKA : Anti-tobacco
platforms on Saturday urged
the government to increase
VAT on tobacco retail products
in the next national budget to
curb its usage in Bangladesh,
reports UNB.
They said the government
should also prohibit electronic
cigarette as it is becoming
increasingly popular among the
young people.
Speakers made the call at a
pre-budget press conference -
The Tobacco Tax We Demand -
at Dhaka Reporters Unity.
Mahfuz Kabir, Research
Director of Bangladesh
Institute of International and
Strategic Studies, made some
recommendations.
They include breaking the
four-segment price slabs for
cigarettes into two, abolishing
filter and non-filter variation
for Bidi, eliminating tariff value
system of smoke-free tobacco
products and imposing 15
percent VAT on all tobacco
retail products.
He also recommended
bringing all manufacturers of
smoke-free tobacco products
under Tax net and facilitating
tobacco regulations for
implementation.
"If the proposals are adopted,
it will encourage nearly 3.2
million current adult smokers
to quit (1.3 million cigarettes
smokers and 1.9 million bidi
smokers)," he argued.
"It will reduce the prevalence
of cigarette smoking from 14
percent to 12.5 percent and the
prevalence of bidi smoking
from 5 percent to 3.4 percent,"
he said.
Kabir reasoned that it will
also reduce premature deaths
by 1 million among current
smokers in the long run and
will generate between Tk66.8
billion and Tk 119.80 billion or
0.4 percent of GDP in
additional tax revenue.
Last year, Health Minister
Zahid Malek said various
tobacco related diseases kill at
least 1,61,200 people each year
in the country. In February, a
major new study led by
Bangladesh Cancer Society
estimated costs that smokers
impose on the economy at Tk
30,570 crore ($3.6 billion US) a
year - which is 1.4 percent of
GDP.
Renowned economist Dr
Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad,
Chairman of the Palli Karma
Sahayak Foundation (PKSF)
and the National Anti-Tobacco
Platform, said smokers will cut
down on cigarettes if the prices
are hiked.
He said they have been
pushing for an overhaul of
tobacco taxation system. "The
National Board of Revenue and
other policymakers often agree
with us but the reality does not
reflect their support for us," he
said.
Dr Nasiruddin Ahmed,
former NBR chairman, said
poor people do not care about
health as they have access to
cheap cigarettes.
"Tough action should be
taken against smokers and
awareness should be raised
about health issues," he said.
Professor AAMS Arefin
Siddique, former Dhaka
University vice-chancellor, and
Dr Najnin Ahmed, senior
research fellow of Bangladesh
Institute of Development
Studies, also spoke there.
The press conference was
organised with the support of
Campaign for Tobacco Free
Kids at the initiative of
PROGGA and Anti-Tobacco
Media Alliance, in association
with anti-tobacco organisations
including National Heart
Foundation Bangladesh,
Dhaka Ahsania Mission,
Association for Community
Development, Young Power in
Social Action, Bangladesh
Institute of Theatre Arts,
SUPRO and Tamak Birodhi
Nari Jote.
Bangladesh became
independent due to
Bangabandhu: Jabbar
DHAKA : Posts, Telecommunications and Information
Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar yesterday said
Bangladesh had won independence due to the courageous
leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman.
"Bangladesh had one Bangabandhu and that is why the
country became independent," he said at a discussion
meeting organized by Bangladesh Post office (BPO) to mark
the Independence and National Day as chief guest in the
GPO auditorium here.
Referring to the events leading to the victory in the 1971
liberation war, Jabbar said Bangabandhu had much earlier
asked the people to take preparation for this war. He also
described his experience of preparation for the liberation
struggle during his student life at Dhaka University.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has continued her effort to
build a "Sonar Bangla" dreamed by Bangabandhu through
establishing Digital Bangladesh, he said, adding, "Today,
Bangladesh is now a role model of development."
Posts and Telecommunications Division Secretary Ashoke
Kumar Biswas and BPO Additional Director General S S
Bhadra also spoke at the meeting with BPO Director General
Sushanta Kumar Mandol in the chair.

EDITORIAL
SUNDAy,
MARCH 24, 2019
4
Egypt’s struggle to stop the threats coming across its borders
Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam
Telephone: +8802-9104683-84, Fax: 9127103
e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Need for reviewing
CHT treaty
A
peace
treaty worthy of its name must be based
on reasonable and uniform justice meted out to
all the parties involved in it. A treaty
superimposed on one side without the wholehearted
acceptance of its provisions generally by those
included in the other, always remains vulnerable to
unraveling from its fundamental flaws of not doing
justice proportionately to all the sides in it.
Resentments build up among the deprived party or
parties and sooner or later the same can lead to an
outburst or reaction scuttling the intended objectives
of the treaty.
The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) treaty concluded
by a previous Awami League led government in 1997
for facilitating the paramount position of the tribal
people over this hill region of Bangladesh appears to
be a classic example of such a treaty that leaves the
seeds of discord and dissension dangerously alive.
Ironically, it is called a peace treaty when the
attempts for its enforcement would create anything but
peace in the region for its unfair treatment of one of
the two sides in it--- the Bengali people who form
nearly half of the population of the area but who would
be relegated to the position of worse than even third
class citizens in their own country politically,
economically and administratively from the
implementation of this treaty. But it was reported time
and again that the government is planning to make up
for lost time and getting ready to enforce different
provisions of the treaty that could even lead to
establishment of tribals' land rights in reserved areas
under the government not to speak of that of Bengali
settlers.
Under the terms of the CHT treaty, Bengalis who are
over 90 per cent of the population of Bangladesh
would lose rights to buying and selling lands in the
CHT, not allowed to settle in the CHT or migrate to it,
largely taken out of the governmental administration
of the region and even disenfranchised in the sense
that only a few of them would be allowed to contest for
elective offices while the same would be monopolized
by the tribal population. The full implementation of the
CHT treaty would virtually create another self
governed country like entity for the tribals within
Bangladesh.
Therefore, the government should take a fresh look
at the treaty and go for a dialogue with the tribal
representatives with a view to amending and
improving it. Such treaties are nothing so inviolable
that the same cannot be considered for amendments
and improvements to meet the ends of justice and
fairplay and in the highest interest of the country.
The Chittagong Hill Tracts ( CHT) which comprises
nearly one fifth of Bangladesh physically, is a very
resourceful area . The fulsome implementation of the
treaty would only pave the way for its ultimate
breaking away from Bangladesh to form a separate
country.
Foreign conspiracy is rife in the area. Many foreign
Christian NGOs are operating among the tribals and
instigating them to work for a separate state which they
call Jhoomland. The present government of
Bangladesh must understand these realities and take
preventive measures so as not to take blame for
presiding over the dismemberment of the country.
The tribals are complaining about non
implementation or slow implementation of the peace
deal. But that they never intended to live up to its
provisions was manifest from major sections of their
insurgent Shantibahini not handing over their arms as
well as not giving up their insurgent behaviour. Last
week's bloody shooting down of our law enforcers and
others in the CHT was stark manifestations of this
reality.
It is credibly sensed that the tribal insurgents only
surrendered about 10 per cent of their arms and
ammunitions and that too nearly obsolete ones during
the signing of the treaty. Thus they are in possession of
the greater part of their armoury and only added to
them over the years. Furthermore, taking advantage of
substantial withdrawl of our armed forces from the
CHT as per the treaty's requirements, they have
virtually established their fiefdom in the area
preparing for the establishment of their cherished
Jhoomland. Therefore, it is high time for our
government to wake up to the sordid realities and act
against these designs before it becomes too late. Our
government definitely was not short of sincerity and
best intentions in signing the treaty. But it takes two to
make true peace. Peace cannot succeed as long one side
remains only committed to it superficially.
Clearly, the insurgents who are hardly any better
than bandits in most of their activities, will need to be
dealt with firmly by the security forces. One main
activity of the insurgents seems to be regular extortion
of the Bengali population and keeping them in
perpetual insecurity. Therefore, there can be no
compromise or leniency when they are flouting the
peace treaty they had signed.
Peace must be established for normal life and living
of 'all' people in the CHT. Meanwhile, a lasting political
solution to the region's problems must be sincerely
worked at by all sides. But the tribalsmust realise that
no peace deal will work as they go on demanding more
rights that would make them more equals in
comparison to their Bengali neighbours.
Egyptian Army's armored vehicles
are seen on a highway to nrth Sinai
during a launch of a major assault
against militants in Ismailia in February
2018. (Ministry of Defence/Handout via
REUTERS)
Egypt's four borders are a source of
constant concern for the Cairo
government, as the flaming conditions to
the north, south, east and west have not
abated in recent years, especially with the
outbreak of the so-called "Arab
Spring."The danger of terrorism comes
from all sides, while there are other risks
associated with illegal immigration and
smuggling contraband and drugs, all of
which threaten the state and its stability,
especially as Egypt is engaged in a fierce
war with extremism while also facing
countless economic challenges.
In Gaza, there have been widespread
protests against Hamas, which controls
the Strip. The popular "We Want to Live"
movement in Gaza has called for a
comprehensive strike in response to
Hamas' crackdowns and policies that
have caused deteriorations in the living
and humanitarian conditions.
A vengeful hunger for revolution is
looming in Gaza, while Hamas is trying to
abort it by carrying out a campaign of
arrests of activists, protesters and the
employees of human rights
organizations. Several areas in the Gaza
Strip, including Khan Younis and Deir Al-
Balah, have witnessed demonstrations,
and a young man even set fire to himself
in protest against the deteriorating living
conditions. Gaza's two million residents
This is a tale of two free-trade
agreements. The first, between the
European Union and the countries
of the Gulf Cooperation Council, has
languished unsuccessfully in limbo, being
periodically negotiated for 20 years, with
no resolution in sight. The second,
between Singapore and the GCC,
concluded in 2013, is the first free-trade
agreement signed by the bloc with a
country outside of the Middle East.
After Britain leaves the European
Union - whether it is at the end of the
month or after a short delay - it will need
to decide what kind of country it wants to
be, free of continental constraints.
One model is Singapore, a low-tax, lowregulation
beacon of free trade; this
indeed is the ideal Brexiteer vision, and
the one most likely to come about if the
UK exits without a deal.
But becoming like Singapore is fraught
with uncertainty. It means more than
merely changing the UK's relationship
with the European Union. It will mean
changing the UK's relationship with itself.
The first test of this new vision will
come in the Arab Gulf region.
Britain's exit from the EU is usually
seen as a chance to do things differently.
But in the Gulf region, the best the UK can
do is more of the same. In some ways, an
FTA with the GCC ought to be one of the
UK's easiest. Barriers to trade are already
low: Import tariffs hover around 5%,
although the GCC-Singapore deal made
almost all imports tariff-free, so there is
room for improvement.
The year after the Brexit referendum,
DR. ABDELLATIF EL-MENAwy
complain of poor economic conditions
and social services in the territory, which
has been controlled by Hamas since
2007. The volatile situation, caused by
the policies of Hamas on the one hand
and the suffocating blockade imposed by
the Israeli occupation forces on the other,
is a harbinger of a new crisis for Egypt,
which has recently suffered from an
influx of armed militias through the
tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Sinai.
The Egyptian army has been trying to
clear the Sinai Peninsula from Daesh
terrorists. Among the measures taken by
the army in recent years include the filling
in of tunnels, which were a major
inconvenience to the Egyptian authorities
because they were usually the main
channel for the influx of militants into the
Sinai.
Egypt has succeeded in filling in a large
number of tunnels, the latest of which
was announced by the army this month.
Counterterrorism forces in North Sinai,
in cooperation with military engineers,
discovered and destroyed nine tunnel
openings that were up to 2 meters by 2
meters in size. They led to three main
tunnels on the Gaza border, with depths
of up to 30 meters and lengths of up to 3
km. The tunnels were used by terrorist
elements for infiltration and the
smuggling of arms, ammunition and
explosive materials.
Egypt has always faced threats from
across its borders, probably because it is
an important civilization, or maybe
because it is a central state in the Middle
East whose role transcends its four
borders. Pulling motors, electrical cables,
lighting materials, headsets and fuel were
found inside the tunnels. Two vehicles
were discovered and destroyed, and 40
Gaza's two million residents complain of poor economic conditions and social
services in the territory, which has been controlled by Hamas since 2007. The
volatile situation, caused by the policies of Hamas on the one hand and the
suffocating blockade imposed by the Israeli occupation forces on the other, is a
harbinger of a new crisis for Egypt, which has recently suffered from an influx of
armed militias through the tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Sinai.
the UK's international trade minister
celebrated the fact that British companies
exported more than £30 billion (US$39.4
billion) in goods and services to the GCC
every year, more than exports to China.
Since then trade has grown. The United
Arab Emirates and the UK alone have a
bilateral trade target of £25 billion by
2020, and the other major economies of
the GCC - Saudi Arabia and Qatar - are
keen to expand their imports from and
investments in the UK.
In particular, as GCC countries look to
diversify away from hydrocarbons, many
will seek to expand their education,
health-care and financial-services sectors.
These are all sectors in which British
services are strong, offering considerable
opportunity for further cooperation.
What, on the other side, though, does
the Gulf want from the UK? The short
answer is stability and continuity. At the
moment, most of the trade between the
two is focused on oil and gas and defense
sales. But defense will not be covered by a
free-trade agreement and is usually a
FAISAL AL yAFAI
bombs, as well as materials used in the
manufacture of improvised explosive
devices, were also found.
Egypt's western border with Libya
extends for 1,115 km, which means that it
is difficult to achieve full control over.
Libya has become one of the key focal
points for extremist groups after the fall of
the Qaddafi regime. As a result, a number
of forces there are fighting for power,
including some illegal armed groups.
government-to-government matter, so
from the GCC's perspective, the
continuity of a good political relationship
is key.
The same applies to stability. Sovereign
wealth funds and private citizens are
heavily invested in the UK real-estate
market, so a decline in prices or
fluctuations in the exchange rate can have
an impact. However, those things are
beyond the scope of an FTA. There are
also issues like visa-free access, which the
GCC has already requested.
In fact, what the GCC wants from the
UK isn't entirely more trade - it's less
politics. The GCC wants to trade with the
EU without what it sees as unnecessary
interference in Gulf states' domestic
politics, in particular with regard to
clauses about human rights. There is
mutual suspicion
The sticking points in the EU free-trade
negotiations have been mainly over
politics: The GCC wants to trade with the
EU without what it sees as unnecessary
interference in GCC states' domestic
The Egyptian army's battle on the
western border is difficult, and the armed
forces are constantly announcing the
destruction of terrorist vehicles or
strongholds close to the border. However,
on March 1, Libyan National Army
spokesman Brig. Gen. Ahmed Al-
Mesmari announced full control of the
Libyan border, while the Libyan army, led
by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has
launched an extensive campaign against
terrorist groups.
Col. Miloud Jawad, the undersecretary
general of the Interior Ministry of the
Libyan Interim Government based in
Tobruk, said in January that the ministry
had begun building a wall at its eastern
border crossing with Egypt to help
prevent the infiltration of militants and to
combat smuggling across the border.
However, many security experts in Egypt
have questioned the effectiveness of the
wall in preventing the infiltration of
terrorists.
To the south, Sudan has never been a
secure border because of its mountainous
nature. Smuggling at the Sudanese
border has seen weapons and drugs cross
into Egypt, as well as the infiltration of
dangerous individuals who use Egypt as a
gateway to Israel. Although the western
border has been used more than the
southern border for arms smuggling over
the years, Egyptian border guards'
attempts to thwart smuggling attempts
are continuing.
Source : Arab news
Road to ‘Singapore-on-Thames’ runs through Gulf
Lebanese President Michel Aoun will
be visiting Moscow on March 25-26
for a summit with his Russian
counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
The talks will be multi-faceted, dealing
with a Russian-engineered return of Syrian
refugees from Lebanon, which will be high
on the agenda, along with military
cooperation and economic investment.
A warming of Lebanese-Russian ties is
only natural after all, given Russia's
dominance in neighbouring Syria, a
country that has historically had the upper
hand in Lebanese affairs - even during its
times of weakness. One hundred years ago,
the modern state of Lebanon was carved
out of Greater Syria, and ever since, the fate
of the two countries has been incredibly
intertwined.
One year ago, the Russian Foreign and
Defence Ministries announced an
ambitious project for the repatriation of 2
million Syrian refugees from neighbouring
countries. They were needed to physically
take part in the rebuilding of their destroyed
homes, and to help project Putin's image as
a problem-solver in the region. Putin wants
to take credit for being the person who
solved Syria's refugee problem - starting
from Lebanon, which hosts nearly 1.5
million Syrians.
Their return has been slow, however, due
to fears of arrest by Syrian authorities, and
lack of basic services in their towns and
villages. Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri was
opposed to it one year ago, claiming that
death or arrest awaited them across the
border. President Aoun thought otherwise,
Britain's exit from the EU is usually seen as a chance to do
things differently. But in the Gulf region, the best the UK
can do is more of the same. In some ways, an FTA with the
GCC ought to be one of the UK's easiest. Barriers to trade
are already low: Import tariffs hover around 5%, although
the GCC-Singapore deal made almost all imports tarifffree,
so there is room for improvement.
however, and so did his allies in Hezbollah.
They argued that Hariri wanted them to
stay because they were generating money
for the Lebanese economy, through a
constant cash flow from international
donors and the United Nations.
Additionally, the majority of them were
Sunni Muslims, raising the ire of Hezbollah,
who argued that if they overstayed their
welcome, these refugees would slowly
embed into Lebanese society, tipping the
delicate sectarian balance in favour of the
Sunni community.Hariri has now
seemingly abandoned the project - along
with the portfolio of refugee affairs, which
went to a protege of the president last
January after being in the hands of the
Prime Minister's Future Movement since
2016. The new minister, Saleh Garib, visited
Damascus last month despite Hariri's
insistence that no member of his
government engages with Syria before a
political deal is reached, under UN auspices.
He laid the groundwork for a systematic
return of Syrian refugees, which Aoun
SAMI MOUBAyED
hopes to put into action after his upcoming
meeting with Putin. Last April, Aoun's
former Defence Minister Yaacoub Sarrouf
travelled to Moscow where on the sidelines
of a security council he was expected to sign
a military agreement with the Russians. It
had been proposed by Prime Minister
Dmitry Medvedev in February 2018 at the
urging of President Putin. It called for the
opening of Lebanese airspace, airports and
naval bases for the Russian military, who
are already stationed a stone's throw away
at Hmeimeem in Syria. Putin was also
offering 15 years of interest-free delivery of
Russian arms to Beirut, worth $1.5 billion
(Dh5.51 billion), along with intelligence
sharing, and the training of Lebanese troops
on counter-terrorism. The agreement never
saw the light of day, due to fears among the
US-backed Lebanese political elite, who
feared the wrath of Donald Trump, should
they sign such a document. Hezbollah MP
Nawaf Al Mousawi spoke in its favour in
Parliament, saying: "Why don't we head
towards Russia and China and get arms
politics, in particular with regard to
clauses about human rights. There is
mutual suspicion: The EU is suspicious
that a current lack of political
liberalization also means the GCC doesn't
really want economic liberalization
either, while the Gulf suspects that EU
clauses about human rights are a way to
interfere further in domestic affairs in the
future.
To do a free-trade deal, then, will mean
changing how the UK operates, dropping
more political issues and focusing on pure
trade. That is precisely what the
Brexiteers want, and what the GCC
prefers. But from the perspective of the
UK, it will mean altering the way Britain
has negotiated deals for decades;
changing its offer to countries over the
circumstances of bilateral trade; and,
indeed, changing its relationship with
itself. It remains to be seen whether the
Singapore vision is one that commands
support in the UK.
Singapore's success has been built on a
very specific political and social culture,
one that includes aspects that the British
public might favor (such as low taxes and
minimal regulation), others that the
public definitely won't want (such as low
public spending in a country devoted to
its deep-pocketed National Health
Service), and things that the UK simply
cannot copy even if it wanted to (such as
Singapore's modest population of five
and half million or its broadly cohesive
society).
Source : Asia times
Lebanon’s slow shift into Russia’s orbit
One year ago, the Russian Foreign and Defence Ministries announced
an ambitious project for the repatriation of 2 million Syrian refugees
from neighbouring countries. They were needed to physically take part
in the rebuilding of their destroyed homes, and to help project Putin's
image as a problem-solver in the region. Putin wants to take credit for
being the person who solved Syria's refugee problem - starting from
Lebanon, which hosts nearly 1.5 million Syrians.
from these great countries? Why is the
Lebanese government hesitating in signing
the agreement with Russia? Syria has a
relationship with the Russian Federation,
so why doesn't Lebanon get included
underneath Russian air cover as well?" He
then boomed: "If the Russians want
military bases and airports, why don't they
use Beirut and Riyak (in the Bekka Valley)?"
The presidential summit is boosting
econ-omic relations one month after the
Russian-state owned firm Rosneft was
granted a 20-year year licence to manage
and upgrade an oil storage facility in Tripoli.
Earlier, Russia's Novatek joined France's
Total and Italy's ENI in drilling for oil in the
eastern Mediterranean - an operation
strongly contested by the Israelis who claim
that the drilling would be taking place in a
block claimed by both countries.
Mike Pompeo was recently in Beirut,
expressing US support for Israel on this
matter, and urging Lebanese officialdom to
reconsider. His calls fell on deaf ears,
however, in a country that is shifting slowly,
perhaps even at a snail's pace, into Russia's
orbit. Hezbollah insists on going ahead with
the drilling, and so does Michel Aoun.
Meanwhile, bilateral trade between the
two countries currently exceeds $500
million, while Lebanon imports $900
million worth of Russian goods annually,
mainly oil and hydrocarbons. Aoun has
plenty of reasons to invest.
Source : Gulf news

HEALTH
SUNDAy,
MARCH 24, 2019
5
How to clean your teeth properly
Emine Saner
Air pollution in Krakow, Poland, exceeds European Union limits.
Michael Le Page
Does air pollution really kill nearly
800,000 people in Europe and 9
million worldwide every year? That's
the apparent conclusion of a study
claiming that air pollution causes
800,000 "extra" deaths in Europe each
year, which is double previous
estimates. However, the figures don't
mean that 9 million people dropped
dead solely because of air pollution.
Rather, they are a way of representing
the harm done by air pollution.
The study suggests air pollution is a
bigger killer than smoking, which using
the same method is estimated to cause
7 million extra deaths worldwide each
year. "I think that's the important
message of this study," says lead author
Jos Lelieveld of the Max Planck
Institute for Chemistry in Mainz,
Germany. Air pollution has now joined
the ranks of major risk factors such as
high blood pressure, diabetes and
obesity, he says.
It is important to understand where
these numbers come from. Working
out the damage done by air pollution is
much harder than something like car
accidents, for which we have firm
figures, because it typically aggravates
the effects of common disorders such
as respiratory diseases.
Many teams around the world have
been doing long-running studies that
compare, say, people living in areas
with different levels of particulate
pollution in the air to work out how it
affects the risk of developing
respiratory and cardiovascular
diseases.
The latest results suggest that air
pollution is a far greater contributor to
cardiovascular disease than previously
thought. But telling people their
"hazard ratios" for air pollution - the
standard scientific measure - would
mean nothing to them.
Instead, it is standard practice to
translate risks into more meaningful
measures. Lelieveld's team combined
the latest risk estimates with data on
people's exposure to air pollution in
Europe to work out the number of extra
early deaths in 2015. "790,000 people
died who would have died later if there
was no air pollution," says Lelieveld.
Of course, everyone dies sometime.
Another way to express the same
finding is that those 800,000 people
lost 17 years of life on average, or that
the average person in Europe loses two
years of life because of air pollution.
"These are just different ways of
spreading the total days lost among
Photo: Artur Widak
Air pollution kills 9 million
people a year
different groups," says David
Spiegelhalter of the Winton Centre for
Risk and Evidence Communication in
the UK. "It's a confusing area."
Yet another way to express the risk is
that there are 120 extra deaths per
every 100,000 people per year. Put that
way, it might not sound too bad. But we
don't regard, say, the three people
murdered in Europe per 100,000 per
year as remotely acceptable.
The situation isn't especially bad in
the UK. Air pollution causes 100 excess
deaths in the UK each year, compared
with 140 in Italy, 150 in Germany and
more than 200 in eastern European
countries such as Bulgaria, Croatia,
Romania and Ukraine, according to the
study.
The bigger picture is that air pollution
has been gradually falling over the
decades in Europe because of tighter
controls on vehicle emissions -
although in some places a rise in woodburning
is counteracting this trend.
So air pollution contributed to far
more deaths in the past - we just didn't
know about it. Only now are studies like
this revealing the full impact of air
pollution. Ironically, this is partly
because falling pollution levels mean
we now have better data from less
polluted areas, says Lelieveld.
Detecting
Alzheimer’s
and how to
stop it
Alzheimer's disease has destroyed neurons in the right-hand
brain above.
Photo: Jessica Wilson
Debora MacKenzie
There are many types and causes of
dementia, but Alzheimer's disease is
the most common form, accounting
for between 60 and 70 per cent of all
cases. Common early symptoms of
Alzheimer's include short-term
memory loss, apathy and depressed
mood, but these symptoms are often
just seen as being a part of normal
ageing, making early diagnosis
difficult.
Doctors diagnose Alzheimer's on
the basis of medical examination,
patient history and cognitive tests,
and can use imaging to rule out other
forms of dementia. However, a
definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer's is
only possible after death, when
examination of brain tissue can
reveal whether a person had the
deposits of amyloid and tau proteins
(see main story) that are
characteristic of the condition.
The vast majority of people with
Alzheimer's are diagnosed with the
condition after the age of 65, but
clumps of amyloid protein can begin
to build up in the brain some 15 or
20 years before symptoms appear.
We have long hoped for diagnostic
tests that can determine if someone
has Alzheimer's before death, and
spot the condition before extensive
brain damage has occurred.
It might seem surprising that a
mouth bacterium has been
implicated in Alzheimer's disease
(see main story). But it wouldn't be
the first time an illness has turned
out to have an unexpected infectious
origin.
The iconic case is stomach ulcers,
once thought to be caused by stress
or excess acid, and treated with acidlowering
medications. Then
Australian doctor Barry Marshall
showed that a stomach bacterium
called Helicobacter pylori was
behind them, a feat that won him a
Nobel prize.
Streptococcus bacteria, which
cause tonsillitis and "strep throat",
are suspected of triggering
obsessive-compulsive disorder in
children. The thinking is that the
immune system's attack on the
bacteria cross-reacts with certain
human proteins, causing an
autoimmune attack against the
person's own brain tissue.
Bacteria aren't the only ones
under suspicion. There are
indications that a virus is behind
some cases of obesity. And one
study has found that people with
antibodies to a single-celled brain
parasite called Toxoplasma gondii,
which is spread in cat faeces, are
more likely to develop
schizophrenia. Some people think
up to a third of cases could be
caused by infection with T. gondii.
But not all purported links bear
fruit. Twenty years ago, there was
great excitement when a bacterium
that can cause pneumonia lung
infections was found in the blood
vessel plaques that cause heart
disease. But giving people antibiotics
to kill this bug didn't help reduce
heart attacks.
You need to systematically go round
all the surfaces of your teeth with
fluoride toothpaste, for at least two
minutes, twice a day.
Unfortunately, we live such busy
lives that putting two minutes aside
feels like a lifetime for some people.
Your teeth tend to be a bit softer
just after eating, so wait at least half
an hour. Then brush all along the
gum line with a little scrubbing
action. Don't press too hard, or to be
too light.
It is very important that you
remove the bacteria - the dental
plaque - from your teeth. If you
don't remove that, your gums will
get irritated, then bleed. Some
people think this means they need
to let them heal, but all that
happens is the bacteria stay on your
teeth. If you want to be sure you're
doing it effectively, buy some
plaque-disclosing tablets from the
chemist, which will stain the
bacteria that remain.
There is some evidence that
small-headed electric toothbrushes
tend to be a bit better than manual
brushes - but make sure you still use
them in a systematic way.
Brushing your teeth fights gum
disease; fluoride toothpaste stops
the decay. Spit the toothpaste out
but don't rinse out. Mouthwash by
itself is not going to do the job that
brushing with toothpaste does. If
you do want to use mouthwash,
again spit rather than rinse.
Ask your dentist or hygienist
about flossing. For most people,
good brushing will be enough.
Others may be more susceptible to
gum disease and have to do more,
such as using interdental brushes
(for gaps between teeth) and floss
(where your teeth have tight
contact).
Regular brushing is essential, but don't press too hard or be too light.
Photo: PeopleImages
Crunching the DNA data can
reveal the risk of disease
Adam Vaughan
An analysis of the genetic data of millions
of people can help predict their risk of
developing common diseases and could
help the UK's National Health Service
save lives and money, a firm spun out of
the University of Oxford has claimed.
Genomics plc says it has produced
polygenic risk scores for heart disease,
breast cancer and 14 other diseases by
examining more than 3 million people's
genetic data. Half a million genomes
came from the UK Biobank, while the rest
were from more than 200 other
institutions.
Such scores could help the NHS take
preventative action and target scarce
resources better, says co-founder Peter
Donnelly. For example, women whose
genes indicate they have a higher risk of
breast cancer could be screened earlier
than their 50th birthday, when checks
usually start.
Health secretary Matthew Hancock
said today that polygenic testing
suggested he had a heightened rise of
prostate cancer, and he is due to give a
speech later on increasing the use of such
techniques in the UK. "We must get
predictive testing into the NHS as soon as
we possibly can," Hancock will say. But
can polygenic scores really help the health
service? An analysis of the genetic data of
millions of people can help predict their
risk of developing common diseases and
could help the UK's National Health
Service save lives and money, a firm spun
out of the University of Oxford has
claimed.
Genomics plc says it has produced
polygenic risk scores for heart disease,
breast cancer and 14 other diseases by
examining more than 3 million people's
genetic data. Half a million genomes
came from the UK Biobank, while the rest
were from more than 200 other
institutions.
Such scores could help the NHS take
preventative action and target scarce
resources better, says co-founder Peter
Donnelly. For example, women whose
genes indicate they have a higher risk of
breast cancer could be screened earlier
than their 50th birthday, when checks
usually start.
Health secretary Matthew Hancock
said today that polygenic testing
suggested he had a heightened rise of
prostate cancer, and he is due to give a
speech later on increasing the use of such
techniques in the UK. "We must get
predictive testing into the NHS as soon as
we possibly can," Hancock will say. But
can polygenic scores really help the health
service?
Genetic risk scores could help the NHS agency in the UK.
Other researchers are also sceptical
about the technique's accuracy. "For
most diseases, the best polygenic risk
scores do not perform well enough to be
of practical use," says Doug Speed at
Aarhus University in Denmark. That
view is shared by David Curtis at
University College London. "The utility
of the scores has been exaggerated," he
says.
That leads to another problem: there is
no single, definitive polygenic risk score
for any given disease. The scores that
Genomics plc arrives at, for instance, may
differ from those of another company,
meaning the NHS would have to choose
which one to use.
Polygenic risk scores are currently
also less accurate for anyone whose
ancestry is non-white European
because they are underrepresented in
the genetic databases the scores are
derived from. "I think that's a dealbreaker,"
says Curtis.
Donnelly notes concerns that the scores
don't work well for ethnic minorities, but
says the answer is to gather more data
from those populations and to use new
methods of analysis. He says the
company will take advantage of genetic
studies under way in different ancestry
groups to produce tools that are equally
effective for everyone.
Photo: Kevin Curtis

NATIONAL
SuNDAY, MARCH 24, 2019
6
Chief Judicial Magistrate Mohammad Shahadat Hossain Pramanik chaired a police-magistracy
conference in Sirajganj on Saturday.
Photo: Badrul Alam Dulal
Police-magistracy
conference held
in Sirajganj
BadRuL aLaM duLaL, sIRajgaNj coRRespoNdeNt:
a police-magistracy conference was held at the conference
room of district and sessions judge's court in sirajganj on
saturday.
chief judicial Magistrate Mohammad shahadat Hossain
pramanik presided over the conference. among others,
superintendent of police tutul chakraborty, senior judicial
Magistrate Mohammad Morshed alam, additional district
Magistrate Mohammad tofazzul Hossain, additional
superintendent of police sM tarek Hossain, officers, lawyers,
prisoners, civil surgeon representatives, RMo of sadar hospital,
police officer and sadar police station officer in-charge
Mohammad abu daud along with other In-charge officers were
also present at the occasion.
the program was started through Quran recitation while
senior judicial magistrate Mohammad Habibur Rahman
conducted the important conference.
Narsingdi accident: Students block
highway demanding safer roads
Md saLIM MIa, NaRsINgdI coRRespoNdeNt:
students blocked dhaka-sylhet highway blocked the in
protest against schoolboy Rabbi Mia's who was crushed to
death under a covered van in Belabo upazila in Narsingdi on
thursday. students from different educational institutions of
Belabo upazila participated in the blockade at Baroicha Bus
stand on saturday from 11am to 12:30 pm.
as a result of the blockade, all kinds of traffic movement
were halted on the highway. during this time, students
demanded to take necessary measures to prevent road
accidents including the construction of the roundabout and
Foot overbridge at Baroicha Bus stand on the highway.
after one and half hour of road blockade, Belabo upazila
Nirbahi officer shamima sultana came to the spot. at that
time, the students withdrew the blockade when the
assurance of accepting the demand raised by the students in
road accidents. It is to be noted that on thurday (March
21st), Rabbi Mia, 8th grade student of local Hossain Nagar
High school and one of his classmate were crushed under a
covered van while crossing the highway. In this incident,
Rabbi was killed in the spot while his classmate was badly
injured.
BREC chairman holds view exchange
meeting in Habiganj
Md MaMuN cHowdHuRy, HaBIgaNj coRRespoNdeNt:
Bangladesh energy Regulatory
commission (BRec) chairman
Monowar Islam as the chief guest
held a view exchange meeting with
partners on electricity issues in
Habiganj circuit House on Friday.
Habiganj district administration
organized the occasion.
at the occasion BRec chairman
Monowar Islam said that once there
was no demand for gas. at that time
people used wood as fuel. people did
not use gas even if they were told to
use gas. Now the demand for gas has
increased. I cannot afford to provide
gas as per demand. we are trying to
give gas according to the demand of
the industrial factory. If we cannot
provide gas connections to
industries then the economy will not
be developed. He furthers said that if
wood is used as a lakri in the country
for fuel purposes then forest jungle
will be eroded.
He further said that we do not use
electricity properly. we have to use
electricity in the right way. electricity
will be saved for customers as well as
reducing load shedding, if electricity
is used properly.
Habiganj deputy commissioner
Mahmudul kabir Murad chaired the
occasion while among others,
deputy director of Local
government division Mohammad
shafiul alam, additional deputy
commissioner (Revenue) Nurul
Islam, additional superintendent of
police sM Fazlul Haque, former
chairman of Habiganj Municipality
shahid uddin chowdhury and BtV
district Representative Md. alamgir
khan were also present at the
occasion. additional deputy
commissioner (general) Fazlul
Zahid pavel gave the welcome
speech at the occasion.
Students protest blocking Dhaka-Sylhet highway demanding safer roads after a male school student
lost his life in a road accident in Narsingdi on Thursday.
Photo: Md Salim Mia
Annual general meeting of
'Sustho Jibon' held
annual general meeting of 'sustho
jibon', an organization dedicated to
building healthy society and nation, was
held in dhamrai on Friday. the meeting
was held at sutipara Farmers training
center of the upazila. the members of the
organization rehabilitated a poor woman
named Farida Firoza Begum with fruit
business, a press release said.
Mugs and scales with anti-narcotics
slogan were distributed among the
members of the organization. the
members with mugs and scales in their
hand said 'no' to drugs, terrorism, and
militancy and child marriage. prize
distribution of various types of sports
competition was also held at the occasion.
president of the organization and sdI
ceo shamsul Haque chaired the occasion
while sdI chairman and former pro-Vc
professor of jahangirnagar university dr.
Md. abul Hossain was present as the chief
guest at the occasion. all members of the
organization, including Nitai chandra
saha, Bibhuti Bhushan saha, Nikhil
Ranjan das and chittra Majumdar were
also present at the occasion..
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BREC) chairman Monowar Islam as the chief guest
addressed a view exchange meeting with partners on electricity issues in Habiganj Circuit House on
Friday.
Photo: Mamun Chowdhury
Marking the Independence and National Day, an 'Independence Day Long Run' competition was held in
Naogaon on Saturday District.
Photo: M R Rocky
Annual general meeting of 'Sustho Jibon' was held in Dhamrai on Friday. At the occasion, mugs and scales
with anti-narcotics slogan were distributed among the members of the organization. Photo: Courtesy
Long Run competition
held in Naogaon
M R Rocky, NaogaoN coRRespoNdeNt:
an 'Independence day Long Run'
competition was held in Naogaon on
saturday in observance of the
Independence and National day.
district administration organized the
competition.
the 2-kilometer long run competition
started from the circuit house and ran a
2-kilometer road and ended stadium
grounds of the city.
In the race, hundreds of women and
men take part in the competition.
among the participants, 30 were
awarded with prizes.
Naogaon deputy commissioner
Mizanur Rahman, police super Iqbal
Hossain ppM along with government
officials and employees of different
departments took part in the
competition. the organizers said that
such an event was organized to raise
anti-terrorism awareness among the
new generation.
53 held in Satkhira
special drives
satkHIRa: police, in special drives arrested
53 persons from eight upazilas of the district in
12-hour ending at 8am last morning, reports
Bss.
police also seized 100 grams of ganja during
the drives.
sources with the district police said they
were picked up from different areas of the
district.
during the drives, satkhira sadar police
arrested 15 persons including a drug trader
along with 100 grams of ganja, kalaroa thana
police arrested five persons, tala thana police
arrested six persons, kaliganj thana police
arrested nine persons, shyamnagar thana
police arrested seven persons, assasuni thana
police arrested five persons, patkelghata
thana police arrested four persons and
debhata police arrested two persons.
the arrested people are accused in several
cases, including charges of subversive
activities, filed with different police stations in
the district.
the arrested were sent to jail.
Scientific seminar
held in Noakhali
MaNIk BHuIyaN, NoakHaLI coRRespoNdeNt:
a scientific seminar was
held with the participation
of the sixth batch students of
Noakhali abdul Malek
Medical college Hospital in
Noakhali on Friday night.
director dr. gofal k
Bahadur, dr. shahadat
Hossain and dr. tanzimul
Islam discussed the various
topics regarding medicines
at the seminar.
district civil surgeon dr
Bidhan chandra sengupta
was the chief guest at the
occasion while among
others, general secretary of
BMa Noakhali branch dr
Mahbubur Rahman, BMa
president of Medical college
Hospital prof dr abu Naser
and dr kamal Hossain were
also present at the occasion.
A scientific seminar was held with the participation of the sixth batch students of Noakhali Abdul Malek
Medical College Hospital in Noakhali on Friday night.
Photo: Manik Bhuiyan

INTERNATIONAL SUNDAy,
MARCH 24, 2019
3
Pompeo, NATO chief talk over phone
on FM meeting plans, address
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
has talked with the head of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),
Jens Stoltenberg, over the phone to discuss
plans of an upcoming meeting of
NATO foreign ministers and
Stoltenberg's address to the U.S. Congress,
the U.S. State Department said
on Friday, reports UNB.
According to a statement issued by
State Department deputy spokesperson
Robert Palladino, Pompeo and
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has talked with the head of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg, over the
phone to discuss plans of an upcoming meeting of NATO foreign
ministers and Stoltenberg's address to the U.S. Congress, the U.S. State
Department said on Friday.
Photo : AP
French yellow vest
protests staged amid
enhanced security
The French government
vowed to strengthen security
as yellow vest protesters
stage a 19th round of
demonstrations, following
last week's riots in Paris,
reports UNB.
Authorities banned
protests from the capital's
Champs-Elysees avenue and
central areas of several cities
including Bordeaux,
Toulouse, Marseille and
Nice in the south, and Rouen
in western France.
New Paris police chief
Didier Lallement, who took
charge following last week's
protests, said specific police
units have been created to
react faster to any violence.
Authorities also deployed
soldiers to protect sensitive
sites and allow police forces
to focus on maintaining
order during the protests.
In Paris, yellow vests
issued calls for a gathering
on Trocadero plaza, next to
the Eiffel Tower, and a
demonstration from the
south of the capital to Montmartre
neighborhood.
Indian PM Modi greets
Pakistani PM Imran
Khan on Pakistan
National Day
Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi wrote a letter
to his Pakistani counterpart
Imran Khan, greeting
him on the occasion of Pakistan's
national day, confirmed
an official source in
the Indian external affairs
ministry on Saturday,
reports UNB.
Pakistan's national day is
celebrated every year on
March 23.
"Prime minister sends
customary message on
national days to other heads
of state or government. His
message to Prime Minister
Imran Khan highlighted the
importance of a terror free
Asia," said the official
source.
Imran Khan also tweeted
about receiving message
from Modi. "Received message
from PM Modi: 'I
extend my greetings and
best wishes to the people of
Pakistan on the National
Day of Pakistan. It is time
that people of sub-continent
work together for a democratic,
peaceful, progressive
and prosperous region, in an
atmosphere free of terror
and violence.'"
The letter assumes significance
in the wake of escalating
tension between the two
countries since February.
Stoltenberg "discussed plans for the
meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers to
be held April 3-4 in Washington, D.C.
where Allies will mark the 70th
anniversary of NATO's founding and
take stock of the Alliance's efforts to
address the full range of challenges facing
the Alliance."
"They also discussed the Secretary
General's planned address to a joint
session of the U.S. Congress and the
value of that event in highlighting the
enduring transatlantic bond," the statement
reads.
The relations between Washington
and other NATO partners in Europe
have been challenged by potential U.S.
tariffs on imported cars from Europe,
the United States' plan of withdrawing
troops from Syria, and Washington's
complaint about Europe's alleged lack
of commitment to raising defense
spending, among others.
During her recent tour to Washington,
French Defense Minister Florence
Parly reportedly said on March 18 that
"a question mark has emerged" over
the transatlantic alliance.
Noting Washington's "current atmosphere
of withdrawal: withdrawal from
battlefields, from treaties, from trade
pacts," she said that efforts need to be
made in "building a European autonomy"
as that question remains unanswered.
"What Europeans are worried about
is this: Will the U.S. commitment be
perennial?" Parly asked. "The alliance
should be unconditional, otherwise it is
not an alliance."
Some European leaders, including
French President Emmanuel Macron
and German Chancellor Angela
Merkel, have mentioned the establishment
of "a true European army," which
was criticized by U.S. President Donald
Trump as "very insulting."
Trump said on Tuesday that he might
support Brazil in joining NATO, which
is also expected to become a topic at
this meeting of foreign ministers from
NATO members.
Pakistan showcases military even
as tensions with India ease
Pakistan celebrated its national day on Saturday with a military parade showcasing its missiles,
tanks and aircraft, even as the prime minister and his Indian counterpart exchanged
goodwill messages in a sign of easing tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals, reports
UNB.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered "best wishes" to his counterpart Imran Khan
ahead of Saturday's celebrations. Khan welcomed the statement late Friday and called for a
comprehensive dialogue on all issues, including the disputed Kashmir region. Tensions
between India and Pakistan flared last month after a suicide attack killed 40 Indian paramilitary
soldiers in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. The Indian air force launched an
airstrike inside Pakistan, saying it was targeting militants it blamed for the bombing. Pakistan
retaliated and said it shot down two Indian air force planes. One pilot was captured and later
released. India says it lost only one plane.Pakistan's President Arif Alvi marked the national
day by saying the region needs peace, not war, and that Pakistan wants to live peacefully
with its neighbors. He said Pakistan's war is against hunger, poverty and unemployment.
"Our desire for peace shouldn't be construed as our weakness. Let's end the hatred and sow
the seeds of peace in this region for prosperity of the people," Alvi said.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was the chief guest of the parade, in which
troops marched through the streets of Islamabad and warplanes staged acrobatic flyovers.
Authorities suspended mobile phone services and blocked roads as part of security.
Trump reversing new
sanctions on North Korea
The Latest on the United States sanctions on
North Korea (all times local):
President Donald Trump says he is reversing
his administration's decision to slap new
sanctions on North Korea, ordering them
withdrawn, reports UNB.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders
says Trump "likes Chairman Kim and he
doesn't think these sanctions will be
necessary."
Trump says in a tweet that, "It was
announced today by the U.S. Treasury that
additional large scale Sanctions would be
added to those already existing Sanctions on
North Korea."
But he says, "I have today ordered the withdrawal
of those additional Sanctions!"
The White House did not immediately
respond to questions about which sanctions
Trump was referring to. His administration
on Thursday sanctioned two Chinese
shipping companies suspected of helping
North Korea evade sanctions - the first targeted
actions taken against Pyongyang since
Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong
Un (gihm jung oon) met in Hanoi last
month.
The Trump administration is sanctioning
two Chinese shipping companies suspected
of helping North Korea evade sanctions.
Thursday's punitive action is the first taken
against Pyongyang since nuclear
negotiations with the U.S. in Hanoi last
month ended without agreement.
Trump's national security adviser, John
Bolton, says the maritime industry must do
more to stop North Korea's illicit shipping
practices. He said in a tweet that everyone
should review their own activities to ensure
they are not involved in North Korea's sanctions
evasion.
The White House says the sanctions are
evidence that the U.S. is maintaining its
pressure on North Korea in an effort to coax
Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear weapons
program.
President Donald Trump says he is reversing his administration's decision
to slap new sanctions on North Korea, ordering them withdrawn.
Photo : AP
Pakistan celebrates
National Day with
military parade
Pakistanis are celebrating
their National Day with a
military parade that's showcasing
short- and long-range
missiles, tanks, jets, drones
and other hardware, reports
UNB.
Pakistani President Arif
Alvi marked the occasion
saying that the region needs
peace, not war and Pakistan
wants to live peacefully with
its neighbors. He said Pakistan's
war is against hunger,
poverty and unemployment.
Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahtir Mohamad was the
chief guest of the parade.
Alvi was tp honor selected
Pakistanis and foreigners
with civilian awards later in
the day. Naeem Rashid, who
rendered his life in attempt
to stop the gunman in last
week's New Zealand mosque
attacks, will be honored
posthumously.
UK prime minister
may not seek vote on
Brexit deal this week
British Prime Minister
Theresa May has told
lawmakers she may not seek
passage of her Brexit withdrawal
plan in Parliament
next week, reports UNB.
The embattled leader
wrote to lawmakers Friday
night saying she would bring
the bill back to Parliament
"if it appears that there is
sufficient support."
She also says she would
need the approval of House
Speaker John Bercow to
bring the plan back for a
third time despite his objections.
Lawmakers have twice
rejected the deal. Britain is
scheduled to leave the
European Union on April 12
if no deal is approved.
Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), trained by the US-led
coalition, participate in the graduation ceremony of their first regiment in
al-Kasrah, in the suburb of eastern Syrian city of Deir Ezzor, on May 21,
2018. Photo : AP
US-backed Syrian force declares
victory over Islamic State
U.S.-backed forces in Syria announced Saturday
they have liberated the last area held
by the Islamic State in the eastern Syrian village
of Baghouz, declaring victory over the
extremist group and the end of its selfdeclared
Islamic caliphate, reports UNB.
"Baghouz is free and the military victory
against Daesh has been achieved," tweeted
Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Kurdishled
Syrian Democratic Forces, referring to
the group by its Arabic acronym.
Elimination of the last IS stronghold in
Baghouz marks the end of the militants' selfdeclared
caliphate, which at its height blanketed
large parts of Syria and Iraq. The campaign
to take back the territory by the U.S.
and its partners has spanned five years and
two U.S. presidencies, unleashed more than
100,000 bombs and killed untold numbers
of fighters and civilians.
But the weekend announcement, in a
tweet, was anti-climactic, and on the ground
sporadic gunfire continued. A day earlier,
President Donald Trump declared that
Islamic State militants no longer control any
territory in Syria.
Associated Press journalists in Baghouz on
Saturday reported hearing mortars and gunfire
directed toward a cliff overlooking
Baghouz, where U.S.-led coalition airstrikes
were carried out a day earlier. SDF
spokesman Kino Gabriel told the AP Friday
that there were still IS fighters hiding in
caves near Baghouz and that clearing operations
were still underway.
At its height, the Islamic State group
ruled a third of both Syria and Iraq, holding
millions of people hostage to its harsh
and violent interpretation of Islamic law.
The group carried out large-scale massacres
and documented them with slickly
produced videos circulated online. During
a rampage through Iraq's Sinjar region in
2014, it captured thousands of women and
girls from the Yazidi religious minority and
forced them into sexual slavery. Many
remain missing to this day.
The group also used its caliphate as a
launchpad for attacks around the globe,
including the assaults in Paris in 2015 that
killed more than 130 people.
While it imposed an unforgiving version of
Islamic law through public beheadings and
crucifixions, the group also carried out the
mundane duties of governance in its territories,
including regulating prices at markets
and building infrastructure.
IS no longer controls any territory in Syria
or Iraq, but continues to carry out insurgent
attacks in both countries. It also maintains
affiliates in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula,
Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Washington awaits results after
Mueller wraps Russia probe
Special counsel Robert Mueller closed
his long and contentious Russia investigation
with no new charges, ending the
probe that has cast a dark shadow over
Donald Trump's presidency. The Justice
Department was expected to
release the main findings as soon as
Saturday, reports UNB.
Even with the details still under
wraps, the end Friday of the 22-month
probe without additional indictments
by Mueller was welcome news to some
in Trump's orbit who had feared a final
round of charges could ensnare more
Trump associates, including members
of the president's family.
For now, the report is accessible to
only a handful of Justice Department
officials while Attorney General
William Barr prepared to release the
"principal findings" soon.
The Justice Department said the
report was delivered by a security officer
Friday afternoon to the office of
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein,
and then it went to Barr. Word of
the delivery triggered reactions across
Washington, including Democrats'
Tens of thousands
in southern Africa
need help after
cyclone
A second week has begun of
efforts to find and help tens
of thousands of people after
Cyclone Idai devastated
parts of southern Africa,
reports UNB.
Members of the Indian
and South African militaries
are joining aid groups in flying
over stretches of central
Mozambique looking for
signs of life and people in
need. No one knows how
many people are missing.
More than 600 people are
confirmed dead in Mozambique,
Zimbabwe and
Malawi. Aid workers say
that number is certain to rise
as flood waters recede.
The shattered Mozambican
city of Beira and other
communities are now home
to crowded displacement
camps both organized and
informal.
demands that it be quickly released to
the public and Republicans' contentions
that it ended two years of wasted
time and money.
The next step is up to Barr, who is
charged with writing his own account
of Mueller's findings and sending it to
Congress. In a letter to lawmakers , he
declared he was committed to transparency
and speed. He said he could
provide details as soon as this weekend.
The White House sought to keep
some distance from the report, saying it
had not seen or been briefed on the
document. Trump, surrounded by
advisers and political supporters at his
resort in Florida, stayed uncharacteristically
quiet on Twitter.
With no details released at this point,
it's not known whether Mueller's report
answers the core questions of his investigation:
Did Trump's campaign collude
with the Kremlin to sway the 2016
presidential election in favor of the
celebrity businessman? Also, did
Trump take steps later, including by firing
his FBI director, to obstruct the
probe?
But the delivery of the report does
mean the investigation has concluded
without any public charges of a criminal
conspiracy between the campaign
and Russia, or of obstruction by the
president. A Justice Department official
confirmed that Mueller was not
recommending any further indictments.
That person, who described the document
as "comprehensive," was not
authorized to discuss the probe and
asked for anonymity.
That's good news for a handful of
Trump associates and family members
dogged by speculation of possible
wrongdoing. They include Donald
Trump Jr., who had a role in arranging
a Trump Tower meeting at the height of
the 2016 election campaign with a
Kremlin-linked lawyer, and Trump's
son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who was
interviewed at least twice by Mueller's
prosecutors. It wasn't immediately
clear whether Mueller might have
referred additional investigations to the
Justice Department.
Family of slain boy visits
Christchurch mosque as
it reopens
A Jordanian prince and the family of a slain 3-year-old boy and were among those who visited
a New Zealand mosque Saturday when it reopened for the first time since a terrorist
killed dozens of people there, reports UNB.
Hundreds of people stopped at the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch to lay flowers or pray
after police removed a cordon and those running the mosque decided to reopen.
Inside the mosque, there were few signs of the carnage from eight days earlier. Crews had
replaced windows that worshippers smashed in a desperate attempt to escape when the
attacker mowed them down during Friday prayers. Bullet holes were plastered over and
painted. There wasn't time to replace the carpet, which was pulled out and buried because it
was soaked in blood.
Shagat Khan, the president of the Muslim Association of Canterbury, said they hadn't
planned to open the mosque so soon but when they saw the crowds gathering after the police
cordon was removed they decided to allow people to enter in managed groups "so the mosque
will be alive again."
"Those who lost their families are of course quite emotional," he said. "And those who were
present here during the incident, of course the memories come back. The flashbacks."
The gunman killed a total of 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch on March 15, in the
nation's worst terrorist attack. Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, has been charged with murder
in the attacks and is scheduled to make his next court appearance on April 5.
Abdullahi Ibrahim Diriye, the uncle of the youngest victim of the shooting, 3-year-old
Mucaad Ibrahim, visited the mosque with the boy's father. Diriye said he helped lift the boy's
coffin to a gravesite Friday as Mucaad's mother wept. The coffin was very light with such a
young child inside, he said. "Always he was a happy boy, and he liked every person he met,
not only Muslims," Diriye said.

ART & CULTURE
SUnDAy,
MArcH 24, 2019
8
Kangana ranaut to
play Jayalalithaa
in biopic
Wonder park
Wonder Park tells the story of an
amusement park where the imagination
of a wildly creative girl
named June comes alive.
Genre
: Animation,
Adventure,
Comedy
Writers : Josh
Appelbaum,
André Nemec
Stars : Sofia Mali,
Jennifer Garner,
Ken Hudson
Campbell
Studio : Paramount
Animation
Runtime : 1h 25min
Release Date : 15 March 2019
(USA)
Storyline :
June, an optimistic, imaginative girl, discovers an incredible amusement park
called Wonderland hidden in the woods. The park is full of fantastical rides
and talking, funny animals - only the park is in disarray. June soon discovers
the park came from her imagination and she's the only one who can fix it, so
she bands together with the animals to save this magical place and bring back
the wonder in Wonderland.
-IMDb
Actress Kangana Ranaut, last seen on
screen in Manikarnika, will be playing former
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J
Jayalalithaa in the upcoming multilingual
biopic Thalaivi, its makers have announced.
On the occasion of Kangana's birthday on
Saturday, it was announced through an official
statement that she has been roped in to
play Jayalalithaa.
The film, announced on the occasion of
71st birth anniversary of Jayalalithaa in
February, will be directed by AL Vijay. To be
produced by Vishnu Induri, Thalaivi will
start rolling from April. The biopic will also
reportedly be made in Hindi, which will be
titled Jaya, tweeted trade analyst Taran
Adarsh:
#BigNews: Kangana Ranaut to play
Jayalalithaa... Biopic will be made in two languages.
Titled #Thalaivi in Tamil and #Jaya
in Hindi... Directed by AL Vijay... Written by
KV Vijayendra Prasad [#Baahubali and
#Manikarnika]... Produced by Vishnu
Vardhan Induri and Shaailesh R Singh.
- taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) March 23,
2019
"When producer Vishnu Induri
approached me with an offer to direct this
biopic, I felt a sense of responsibility more
than excitement. This was a story of an
achiever; a story of one woman who fought
for her place in a male-dominated world. It
was meant to be told with honesty. The
stature of this tall leader and her courage
inspired me to say yes as soon as I was
offered this opportunity," Vijay told IANS.
The film has music by GV Prakash Kumar
while Nirav Shah will be in charge of the
camerawork. KV Vijayendra Prasad, who
wrote Baahubali and Manikarnika, has been
brought on board to supervise the writing
process. "It took us around nine months of
research and over 20 drafts to finally lock the
script. We are delighted to have Vijayendra
Prasad sir helping us through the process of
writing. His contribution will be of great
value. This will be a very honest biopic of our
beloved leader," he said.
Interestingly, another Jayalalithaa biopic
titled The Iron Lady is currently in the offing.
This project is gearing up for a 2020 release.
Nithya Menen plays Jayalalithaa in "The
Iron Lady", being directed by A
Priyadarshini. The film will be released in
Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.
Vijay said Thalaivi will be the official biopic
on the life of Jayalalithaa. He revealed that
they have also taken permission from the
former Chief Minister's nephew Deepak. "I
thank Deepak sir for granting us the official
status. We are in the process of finalising the
rest of cast and crew. We start shooting from
April," he added.
-NDTV
H o roScope
ArieS
(March 21 - April 20) : You'll have to sort
through all of this later when you learn more
to the story and gain a more unobstructed
view. This is not the time to rush decisions, and it's a good
idea to avoid communicating something offhand but do
consider that ideas coming to you now have the potential
of being golden given some refinement later on.
tAUrUS
(April 21 - May 21) : While conversations with
friends and lovers can be fun and imaginative
on the one hand, there is a small tendency for
misunderstandings, likely due to wishful thinking that
gets in the way of clarity. Empathy and compassion are in
great supply today, though, and it can feel good to show
your appreciation for someone you care about.
GeMini
(May 22 - June 21) : You get a step closer
to healing, repairing, and possibly
strengthening relationships with others-
-and with yourself. In fact, with Chiron in Aries now
and for many years to come, it's best to work on the
self first. Even the more complex problems in your
relationships can be tackled now with an open.
cAncer
(June 22 - July 23) : You are harboring
insecurities related to taking charge of
your life and responsibilities, these can be magnified
now, but this does get you one step closer to selfunderstanding
and healing. Today is also stellar for
finding novel ways to approach private matters and
feelings, in general, with loved ones.
leo
(July 24 - Aug. 23) : You might intuitively
arrive at an idea or plan that points you
in an exciting new direction. Your words could catch
on and influence many. As you face vulnerabilities,
you may discover new avenues for expressing yourself.
The need to venture outside of the usual routine
is strong, and you are a little more open to experiencing
new things and taking a few personal risks.
VirGo
(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23) : You could resolve a
problem that's a relief to put behind you. You
could also see certain unhealthy attachments for what
they are. Letting go of a bad habit can be empowering.
Romantic relationships can improve with shared activities
or adventures of sorts. Doing something different or
non-routine with someone special can be rewarding now.
liBrA
(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23) : You might also find
yourself in the position to assist or support
others today, helping them find the information
they need, for example, and it can be especially
satisfying today. You're tuning into other levels of conversation
and observation, and you're more inclined to
focus on the benefits and rewards of your work, efforts.
Scorpio
(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) : What you discover
now can improve a relationship
many times over. You are determined
to get over a hump or resolve a problem
and finally put it behind you. You are better able
to focus on the studies, projects, or relationships
that mean the most to you.
SAGittAriUS
(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21) : A project related to
improving your health isn't off the table,
either, with Mars in your work and
health sector picking up a lovely aspect to transformative
Pluto. Frustration about a current situation
can be the motivator behind improvement efforts,
and that can certainly work for you now.
cApricorn
(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20) : If you feel discontent,
it's a great time to think up innovative
solutions and improvements to your life. While you
should watch for self-deceit and incomplete information
today, this can be an imaginative, original time
for you. Writing and speaking can be especially
inspired, and an unusual approach to absorbing.
AQUAriUS
(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) : You may also be dealing
with unexpected transportation
issues, whether local or long distance. This Full Moon
encourages you to pay attention to your need for more
stimulation and connection to the outside world.
There might be a sudden desire (or need) to depart
your usual routine, go on a trip, or do something more
refreshing, meaningful, and life-affirming.
piSceS
(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : While this is a creative
and persuasive influence, it's not particularly
grounding, so that if you're in a more fragile
frame of mind, it might be best to seek out an anchor
through a special someone or a satisfying activity.
Watch for falling victim to a feeling of discouragement
or restlessness.
Zac efron, Amanda Seyfried Join
Animated Scooby-Doo Film
Zac Efron has signed on to
voice Fred Jones while Amanda
Seyfried will voice Daphne
Blake in Warner Bros.' animated
Scooby-Doo feature film
"Scoob." It was revealed earlier
this month that Will Forte had
been set to voice Norville
"Shaggy" Rogers, while Gina
Rodriguez would be voicing
Velma Dinkley. The mysterysolving
teens and their talking
Great Dane Scooby-Doo first
appeared half a century ago on
the animated TV series
"Scooby-Doo: Where Are
You?," which was created by
Hanna-Barbera and first aired
in 1969.
Plot details of the movie
The death of Jon Snow on
"Game of Thrones" was tough
on some viewers, but sounds to
have been even rougher on the
man who played him. Kit
Harington recently talked to
Variety about anxiety he's experienced
in the Snow role, particularly
when his character
was killed off and then resurrected.
"My darkest period was when
the show seemed to become so
much about Jon, when he died
and came back," Harington
said. "I really didn't like the
focus of the whole show coming
onto Jon -- even though it was
invalidating my problem about
being the weak link because
things were about Jon."
Harington's character on the
HBO fantasy series was killed
in the Season 5 finale, but
brought back. (HBO and CNN
share the same parent company).
Viewer reaction to the plot
twist was intense. "When you
become the cliffhanger of a TV
BtS Gets a shout-out on
'the Simpsons'
The new episode also included a reference
to the band's famously passionate
fanbase ARMY. BTS has already made
their way into the world of cartoon characters,
webtoons, web series, and
involve the Scooby-Doo characters
teaming up with other
characters in the Hanna-
Barbera universe to save the
world from the evil Dick
Dastardly.
Tony Cervone is directing
"Scoob." His credits include
"Space Jam," Cartoon Network's
"The Looney Tunes Show," and
"Scooby-Doo! Mystery
Incorporated." Matt Lieberman
("Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief")
wrote the screenplay.
Producers are Chris
Columbus, Pam Coats, and
Allison Abbate. Executive producers
are Chuck Roven,
Richard Suckle, Dan
Povenmire, and Adam Sztykiel.
show, and a TV show probably
at the height of its power, the
focus on you is f-ing terrifying,"
Harington said.
The actor told Variety that
when it was all happening, "It
"Scoob" will open on May 15,
2020. The 2002 "Scooby-Doo"
movie mixed live-action actors
with Scooby himself, who was
computer-generated, as did
"Scooby-Doo: Monsters
Unleashed" two years later. The
first film generated $275 million
worldwide, while the second
earned $180 million.
Efron starred in "Extremely
Wicked, Shockingly Evil and
Vile" and "The Greatest
Showman," and will next be
wasn't a very good time in my
life."
"I felt I had to feel that I was
the most fortunate person in
the world, when actually, I felt
very vulnerable," he said. "I had
movies, so it was only a matter of time
until one of television's biggest shows
took notice.
The band scored a subtle, clever nod
on the recent March 17 episode of The
seen opposite Matthew
McConaughey in "The Beach
Bum." Seyfried starred in
"Mamma Mia! Here We Go
Again" and will next appear in
"The Art of Racing in the Rain"
and "You Should Have Left."
Efron is repped by CAA.
Seyfried is represented by
Innovative Artists and
Relevant. Deadline Hollywood
first reported the news.
-VARIETY
Kit Harington sought therapy after Jon Snow's death
a shaky time in my life around
there -- like I think a lot of people
do in their 20s." Harington
said it led him to seek help.
"That was a time when I started
therapy, and started talking to
people," he said. "I had felt very
unsafe, and I wasn't talking to
anyone. I had to feel very grateful
for what I have, but I felt
incredibly concerned about
whether I could even f-ing act."
Harington likened the experience
to "when you're at a party,
and the party's getting better
and better. Then you reach this
point of the party where you're
like, it's peaked."
"I don't know what I could
find more from this. You realize,
well, there isn't more,"
Harington said. "This is it. And
the 'more' that you can find is
actually in the work rather than
the enjoyment surrounding it."
The eighth and final season of
"Game of Thrones" premieres
April 14.
-CNN
Simpsons titled "E My Sport." In the
scene, Homer, Marge, Lisa and Maggie
find themselves wandering through BTS'
home country of South Korea for a gaming
competition. As the family members
walk down a street, fans noticed signs
written in a combination of Korean and
English that said "BTS here today" as
well as "BTS ARMY recruiting center,"
the latter referencing the group's
famously passionate fanbase.
While the BTS boys didn't make an
actual animated appearance themselves
-- we would have loved to see which era
Matt Groening & Co. would have chosen
to represent the guys with -- when a
band is reportedly worth billions to
Korea's economy, it makes it all the
more sense that an episode based in the
country would include at least one reference
to the supergroup.
Following their announcement to play
Saturday Night Live next month, a
Simpsons reference marks just yet
another mainstream nod for BTS as the
excitement grows for their forthcoming
Map of the Soul: Persona album.
According to Soompi, excited fans
went on social media to highlight the
milestone. One fan uploaded a short clip
of the special scene with the caption:
"190317 'The Simpsons' season 30
episodes 17 @bts_twt." Viewers were
quick to capture the moment, noticing
the signs behind Lisa, with clips quickly
shared among international fans.
-Billboard

SPORTS
SUNDAy,
MARCh 24, 2019
9
Lionel Messi made a disappointing return to Argentina duty after being injured in a 3-1 defeat by
Venezuela.
Photo: AP
Venezuela beats Argentina 3-1
to spoil Messi’s return
Sports Desk: Lionel Messi's international
return didn't do much to help
Argentina regain top form, reports
UNB.
Messi was back on Friday for the first
time since the 2018 World Cup but
couldn't stop his team losing 3-1 to
Venezuela in a friendly.
Salomon Rondon, John Murillo and
Josef Martinez scored for Venezuela at
the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium,
while Lautaro Martinez replied for
Argentina.
Messi hadn't played an international
since the 4-3 loss to France in the round
of 16 at the World Cup in Russia.
"He played a good game" Argentina
coach Lionel Scaloni said. "The chances
we created were thanks to him."
Messi showed his usual deft skills and
his long-range shot in the 38th minute
was headed for the top corner until
Venezuela goalkeeper Wuilker Farinez
Sri Lanka's Malinga to
retire after Twenty20
World Cup
Sports Desk: Sri Lankan
limited overs captain Lasith
Malinga will retire from
international cricket after
next year's Twenty20 World
Cup, he revealed on Friday,
reports BSS.
Malinga said that he
would quit one-day internationals
after the World Cup
in England and Wales this
summer before calling time
on his career following the
Twenty20 tournament,
being played in Australia
over October-November
2020."After the World Cup,
my cricketing career is ending,"
the 35-year-old said
after his side were beaten by
16 runs by South Africa in
the second Twenty20 international
at SuperSport Park.
"I want to play in the T20
World Cup and then end my
career."Malinga dismissed
South African top-scorer
Reeza Hendricks for 65 on
Friday, his 97th T20 international
wicket.
Aray tipped the ball over the crossbar.
Messi helped set up Argentina's 58thminute
goal with a pass to Giovani Lo
Celso, who eventually fed Martinez
inside the area.
Venezuela had opened the scoring in
the fifth minute when Rondon ran on
to a long pass into the penalty area and
sent a right-footed shot beyond goalkeeper
Franco Armani.
Murillo made it 2-0 just before halftime
by curling the ball away from
Armani just inside the far post.
Venezuela's fast counterattacks were
a nightmare for Argentina throughout
and Martinez sealed victory by converting
a 75th-minute penalty.
"It's satisfying to earn a victory
against a team like Argentina,"
Venezuela coach Rafael Dudamel said.
Dudamel surprisingly offered his resignation
after the match. He told a
news conference he was not happy
about the political use of a visit by a
government official before Friday's
game in Madrid, and said his future
would be decided in talks with federation
officials in the coming days.
The last time Argentina played at the
Metropolitano it lost 6-1 to Spain in a
World Cup warmup in 2018.
Argentina will play another friendly
on Tuesday against Morocco in Tangier.
Scaloni said he hadn't decided
whether Messi would play in that game.
Argentina has not won a trophy since
the 1993 Copa America. It lost the last
two finals of the tournament to Chile, in
2015 and 2016. It also lost the 2014
World Cup final to Germany.
The Copa America will be held in
Brazil in June.
Venezuela on Monday plays a
Catalunya team that is expected to
include former Spain players Gerard
Pique and Xavi Hernandez.
Ronaldo draws blank on Portugal
return in Euro qualifier
Sports Desk: Ukraine snuffed out Portugal
on Cristiano Ronaldo's return to international
football, defending stoutly as they held the
European champions to a goalless draw in
their opening Euro 2020 Group B qualifier on
Friday, reports BSS.
Ronaldo was handed the captain's armband
by Portugal coach Fernando Santos for his
comeback nine months since he last played
for his country, in the 2018 World Cup, but
the Juventus attacker couldn't help his side
find a way past Andriy Shevchenko's stubborn
outfit.
The draw was the first time Santos' side
have failed to score at home in 19 matches and
leaves them second in the group behind Luxembourg,
who beat Lithuania 2-1.
"We didn't play as we wanted to. We started
slowly, not pressing the way we wanted," said
Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva.
"The second half we tried to create chances
to go after the game but unfortunately we didn't
score."
William Carvalho had a fine header ruled
out for offside in the 16th minute and Ronaldo,
Pepe and Andre Silva all went close to
opening the scoring, but Ukraine stopper
Andriy Pyatov was on fine form to deny them.
Ronaldo, who was rested for the last six Portugal
games while he settled at new club
Juventus, was one of the few players who
looked like he had any idea of how to break
Ukraine down, but he couldn't inspire his
team to victory.
In the end the away side could have
snatched the three points through Junior
Moraes, only for the debutant to fluff a golden
chance to grab a shock win.
"We fulfilled our gameplan in defence, 100
percent. Not conceding at the home of the
European champions is a great result," said a
satisfied Shevchenko.
"There were some stages in the game where
we didn't do well. But Portugal were reshaping
very well on the pitch and created us lots of
difficulties."
Portugal take on Serbia, who are yet to play
in the five-man group, in Lisbon on Monday,
while Ukraine travel to group leaders Luxembourg.
European champions Portugal were held to a 0-0 draw by Ukraine in their opening Euro 2020 qualifier
on Friday as Cristiano Ronaldo returned for the first time since the World Cup.
Photo: AP
Shinepukur
finally ends
defeat-jinx in
DPL
Sports Desk: Opener Sabbir
Hossain fell for nervous
99 before claiming 3-27 with
cherry to put up a stellar allround
performance which
was instrumental in breaking
the losing-jinx of
Shinepukur Cricket Club,
reports BSS.
Riding on his all-round
performance, Shinepukur
registered their first victory
in the Dhaka Premier
League (DPL), crushing
Uttara Sporting Club by
eight wickets at Khan Shaheb
Osman Ali Stadium in
Fatullah today.
Put into bat first, Uttara
were shot out for 145 in 44.4
overs, a score which
Shinepukur comfortably
overhauled making 149-2 in
just 25.1 overs.
Sabbir struck seven fours
and as many sixes in his 72
ball-99 runs knock that
made the victory a cakewalk.
Ably supported by his
fellow opener Shadman
Islam, he paved the platform
of the facile victory by sharing
117-run for the opening
stand.
Shadman made a patient
38, featuring two fours and
one six before Naimul Islam
(1-47) removed him.
Jahangir Alam (1-24) then
dismissed Sabbir for 99 as
the score was level. Amit
Hasan (6 not out) sent the
ball across the rope for
boundary to complete the
inevitable.
Earlier Sabbir torubled
Uttara Sporting Club with
his gentle medium pace. He
scalped 3-27, which was
complemented by Rakibul
Hasan's 2-18 as they tormented
Uttara right from
the start.
Shadman made a patient
38, featuring two fours and
one six before Naimul Islam
(1-47) removed him.
Uttara's No.7 batsman
Minhajul Abedin was the
highest scorer with 51 not
out. Opener Tanzid Hasan
was the other notable scorer
with 25.
Taskin chooses World Cup
over his prolonged career
Sports Desk: Bangladesh fast bowler
Taskin Ahmed was such obsessed to play the
upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup that he
even was not ready to think about his prolonged
career for the time being, reports
BSS.
Citing to make his presence available in the
Bangladesh's World Cup-bound squad as his
dream, the speedster said the showcase
event is his top priority at the moment as he
is eying to recover from the injury fully.
He sustained an ankle injury during the
Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 in
which he claimed 22 wickets from 12 matches
to be the second highest wicket-taker.
He has been probably the form of his life in
BPL which forced his way back into the
national team as Bangladesh announced a
team for the series against New Zealand during
the halfway through the BPL tournament.
However that unfortunate ankle injury in
the last group match of BPL sidelined him
for a couple of months and ruined his hope
to thrive in New Zealand condition but he is
not ready to give up the hopes of playing
World up.
"To be honest I am giving the World Cup a
top priority. Playing the showcase event is
my dream," Taskin said here today.
"I don't know what will happen tomorrow
when I will wake up in the morning from a
sound sleep. So I am not thinking about that
far (making the career longer). What is my
main priority now is to be fit 100 percent and
make myself available in the World Cup
team."
"I have played the 2015 World Cup. I know
well what it means to play a World Cup.
Whenever I recalled the memory of playing
that World Cup, I became obsessed. There is
another World Cup coming and I request all
to keep me in their prayers."
But to materialize the hope to play the
World Cup, Taskin knows he has to prove his
worth again since he has not been in cricket
for a long time.
Currently he has been in rehab to recover
from the ankle injury fully and eyes to make
a comeback in the super league phase of the
ongoing Dhaka Premier League (DPL).
"My condition is so far so good. I have
started running and the intensity is increasing
day by day. So far I am not feeling any
pain. If the thing is going such smoothly, I
hope I can start bowling very soon."
"There is plan to start bowling in full
rhythm in this month. Both I and physio
want to make a comeback with the super
league phase in DPL. But if everything is
okay, I may comeback earlier than the super
league phase."
Before the World Cup, Bangladesh will
play a tri-nation series in Ireland, which also
involves West Indies and host Ireland.
If Taskin can start bowling during the DPL
and replicate the performance of BPL, there
is no doubt that he will make a comeback in
that series.
Taskin admits, playing International
match after long injury lay-off will be challenging
but he is ready to grab the opportunity
with both hands.
"Everyday is a challenging day for cricket.
The reality is I haven't been in the national
team for almost one year due to various
injuries. But I am motivated enough to play
well," he said. What motivated him actually
was the head coach Steve Rhodes and skipper
Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's attention on him
as they regularly keep their eyes on Taskin's
fitness and injury status.
Taskin Ahmed sustained an ankle injury during the Bangladesh Premier
League (BPL) T20 in which he claimed 22 wickets from 12 matches to be
the second highest wicket-taker.
Photo: BCB
Finch’s century helps fire Australia
to eight-wicket win over Pakistan
Sports Desk: Aaron Finch's fine century
drove Australia to a convincing
eight-wicket win over a new-look Pakistan
in the first one-day international
on Friday, reports BSS.
The Australian skipper scored 116 off
135 balls for his 12th one-day international
century that helped his team
overhaul the 281-run target in 49 overs
on a flat Sharjah stadium pitch.
The win gives Australia the lead in the
five-match series and comes on the
back of their 3-2 series win in India earlier
this month.
"To be able to chase down the target
for the loss of two wickets is nice. It's
nice to keep the momentum with a
fourth win in a row," Finch said.
Finch's match-winning knock overshadowed
Haris Sohail's maiden oneday
hundred (101 not out) which
helped Pakistan to 280-5 in their 50
overs.
"We needed wickets at the top which
did not come our way because Finch
and Marsh handled the chase very
well," stand-in captain Shoaib Malik
said.
"Congrats to Haris for getting a hundred
but we did not push Australia
hard," he added.
The 32-year-old Australia smashed
Malik for a huge six towards deep midwicket
to complete his century - his first
since June last year against England at
Chester-Le-Street - off 120 balls.
Finch, who knocked four sixes and
eight boundaries, added an inningsbuilding
172 runs for the second wicket
with Shaun Marsh who scored an
unbeaten 91 off 102 balls with four
boundaries and two sixes.
With 46 needed Finch became
Mohammad Abbas's maiden wicket
but Peter Handscomb hit 30 not out to
help Marsh cross the line.
Finch and Marsh came together after
opener Usman Khawaja fell for 24 to
medium pacer Faheem Ashraf, the only
other success Pakistan's new-look
bowling attack could achieve.
Pakistan rested six of their key players
including regular skipper Sarfraz
Ahmed in order to keep them fresh for
the World Cup starting in UK from May
30.
But the young and inexperienced
Pakistan led by Malik proved no match
for Australia, who are on a roll after
their win in India earlier this month.
Left-hander Sohail, who reached
1,000 runs in his 27th one-day international
when on 40, anchored Pakistan's
innings, adding 98 for the third wicket
with Umar Akmal who made a 50-ball
48 in his first international match for
two years.
Sohail took a single to complete his
hundred in the last over, finishing with
six boundaries and a six.
Pakistan had handed one-day debuts
to opener Shan Masood and Abbas -
who have played 15 and 14 Tests
respectively.
Masood put on 35 in an opening
stand with Imam-ul-Haq (17) before
off-spinner Nathan Lyon dismissed
Imam in the seventh over, caught and
bowled.
Masood, who hit five boundaries in
his 62-ball 40, was then bowled by
paceman Nathan Coulter-Nile who finished
with 1-38 in his 10 overs.
Umar smashed three sixes in one
Jhye Richardson over but fell one short
of his half century.
Malik fell for 11 and Ashraf and Imad
Wasim scored 28 each.
Wasim hit four boundaries and a six
during his 13-ball unbeaten knock,
helping Pakistan to 55 runs in the last
five overs.
Sunday's second ODI is also being
played in Sharjah, with the third in Abu
Dhabi (March 27) and the last two in
Dubai (March 29 and 31).
France opens Euro 2020 qualifying
with 4-1 win at Moldova
Sports Desk: World Cup winner France started its European Championship
qualifying campaign with a 4-1 victory over Moldova on Friday, reports UNB.
Antoine Griezmann, Raphael Varane and Olivier Giroud scored inside 13 firsthalf
minutes and Kylian Mbappe added the fourth goal late in the second half of
the Group H encounter.
Vladimir Ambros netted a consolation with Moldova's first shot on target in the
89th minute.
The only surprise was that it took France 23 minutes to make the breakthrough.
It was a goal of sublime quality as Griezmann's short pass to Paul Pogba was, in
turn, floated over the defense for the Atletico Madrid striker to run on to and connect
with a left-foot volley from seven yards (meters) for his 27th goal in 68 internationals.
Griezmann was the supplier three minutes later with a corner that Varane met at
the near post with a flicked header. It was again all too easy for the third as Pogba
combined inside the area with Blaise Matuidi, who dinked in a cross which Giroud
touched home with his left foot for his 34th international goal.
It took until the 87th minute for Mbappe to break Moldova's second-half resistance,
slotting home from 12 yards.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS
10
SUnDAy, MARCH 24, 2019
China's new Silk Road gets
bumpy as Xi visits Italy
Prof. Dr. Md. Salim Uddin, FCA, FCMA, Chairman, Executive Committee of Islami Bank
Bangladesh Limited and Chairman of Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation addressing
a Conference on 'Digitization in the Insurance and Bima' organized by Insurance Development and
Regulatory Authority-IDRA as special guest in Chattogram recently.
Photo: Courtesy
Sudan summons Egypt envoy
over Red Sea oil bids
Sudan summoned Egypt's ambassador
to Khartoum on Thursday to protest
Cairo's "illegal" call for oil and gas
exploration bids in the Red Sea area of
Halayeb, claimed by both countries,
reports BSS.
Egypt's control of the Halayeb triangle,
which lies in a mineral-rich border
region, has for decades been a bone of
contention between Cairo and
Khartoum, despite an overall
improvement in ties since an October
summit.
On March 10, Egypt's state-owned
South Valley Egyptian Petroleum
Holding Company invited bids for 10 oil
and gas exploration blocks in what it said
were Egyptian territorial waters in the
Red Sea.
"The foreign ministry summoned the
Egyptian ambassador Hossam Eissa on
Thursday to protest against the tenders
invited by the Egyptian oil ministry for
areas under the sovereignty of Sudan,"
Sudan's foreign ministry said in a
statement.
"Sudan is asking Egypt to stop all
procedures concerning the tenders given
the situation about the Halayeb triangle."
Sudan has regularly protested at
Egypt's administration of Halayeb and
the Shalatin border region near the Red
Sea, saying they are part of its sovereign
territory since shortly after
independence in 1956.
On Wednesday, Sudan had warned
Egypt against its offer of exploration
blocks.
Sudanese minister of state for oil and
gas Saad el-Deen el-Bushra said the
move was "a direct intrusion" onto his
ministry's authority to grant exploration
licenses in the area.
On Thursday, the foreign ministry
summoned the Egyptian ambassador
and urged international companies
working in the area to not to submit bids
for the blocks. "The government of
Sudan can take measures to prevent any
company from operating in this area,"
the ministry warned.
It did however call on Cairo to resolve
the situation "through peaceful means"
to avoid damaging the improving ties
between the two countries.
Relations between Cairo and
Khartoum had turned sour in early 2017,
when Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir
accused Egypt of supporting rebels in
conflict zones, including Darfur in
western Sudan.
Sudan in May 2017 banned the import
of animal and other agricultural products
from its northern neighbour.
But in October, it lifted the ban as ties
improved following talks in Khartoum
between Bashir and his Egyptian
counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Egypt has this year repeatedly called
for stability in Sudan after protests
erupted on December 19 against Bashir's
three-decade rule.
Demonstrations and deadly clashes
erupted after a government decision to
triple the price of bread.
Bashir has remained defiant, imposing
a nationwide state of emergency on
February 22.
Chinese President Xi Jinping kicks off
a whistlestop European tour in Rome on
Friday amid growing Western unease
over Italy joining the ever-expanding
Asian giant's new Silk Road project,
reports BSS.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is to
sign a memorandum of understanding
with Xi on Saturday for Italy to join the
$1 trillion Belt and Road Initiative, the
first G7 member to do so, despite
apparent divisions within the ruling
coalition.
Xi arrived in Rome on Thursday night
and is to meet his Italian counterpart
Sergio Mattarella on Friday during a trip
that will also take in parliament and the
Colosseum.
Around 1,000 extra police have been
deployed around Rome for the state visit
before Xi heads to Palermo, where his
singer wife Peng Liyuan reportedly
wants to see the Teatro Massimo opera
house.
In what some perceived as a snub,
Italy's far-right Deputy Prime Minister
Matteo Salvini said he would not attend
Saturday's state dinner for Xi at
Mattarella's Quirinal Palace.
Salvini has said Italy would be "noone's
colony" and urged caution about
using telecom giant Huawei's next
generation 5G mobile technology, while
coalition partner Luigi Di Maio is keener
for Chinese partnerships.
The United States has warned
European allies that Huawei could use
its 5G technology as a "backdoor" for
spying, while China has lashed out at
"immoral" attacks.
NATO member Italy's plan to join
China's ambitious maritime, rail and
road venture, which critics warn mainly
benefits Chinese firms, has raised
eyebrows among Western allies and
within Italy.
Rome is at risk of becoming "a sort of
Chinese Trojan horse in Europe," said
Mariastella Gelmini of former prime
minister Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia
party.
Debt-ridden Italy is technically in
recession and keen to have more
business with China.
"I think that any new thing needs to go
through a development process,"
China's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
Wang Chao told journalists of the
controversy in Italy.
White House official Garrett Marquis
last week tweeted that there was "no
need" for Italy to endorse "China's
infrastructure vanity project".
Deputy Prime Minister Di Maio of the
anti-establishment Five Star Movement
is to address a China-Italy business
forum on Friday.
Xi's visit comes a week after the
European Union released a 10-point
plan outlining a shift to more assertive
relations with Beijing, warning that
China was a "rival" to the bloc as well as
its biggest trading partner.
Conte is expected to reassure
European partners about the nonbinding
MoU at an EU summit in
Brussels on Thursday and Friday, before
heading back to Rome for the signing.
France on Thursday announced that
President Emmanuel Macron will hold
trade and climate talks on Tuesday with
Xi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel
and European Commission president
Jean-Claude Juncker.
As he arrived for the EU summit in
Brussels, Macron welcomed what he
called Europe's "awakening" to the
challenge posed by China.
But his office struck a more
conciliatory tone in announcing
Tuesday's talks, saying it was an
opportunity to explain Europe's strategy
and seek "points of convergence
between Europe and China".
The meeting comes ahead of a China-
EU summit in Brussels next month, as
the bloc struggles to forge Europe-wide
China policies.
"China has a big advantage by
planning 30 years in advance, while
Western countries plan for the following
year," said Giuliano Noci, China expert
at Milan Polytechnic business school.
"In this sense the Chinese will always
be at an advantage," Noci told AFP.
Supporters of the MoU said that it will
lead to China complying with European
Union standards, and cannot be
compared to debt-inducing deals
Beijing has signed with developing
countries.
The CEO of Italian tyre giant Pirelli,
which is 45-percent Chinese-owned,
said that any agreements must be
"balanced".
"We need to stabilise the rules of the
game, but interests are converging and
we can't lose this opportunity," Marco
Tronchetti told Corriere della Sera.
Despite apparent warming ties, Xi is
not expected to meet Pope Francis.
The Vatican has diplomatic relations
with Taiwan and not Beijing, so the
encounter would be unlikely despite an
agreement on appointing bishops in
China signed last year.
Xi heads to Monaco on Sunday and
then on to France to cap his European
tour.
Shahjalal Islami Bank awarded
Scholarship the brilliant students
Pound up but still
faces pressure after
Brexit delay deal
The pound rose Friday but
was struggling to claw back its
latest losses after the EU gave
Britain a Brexit deadline
extension, while equity
markets mostly rose on a
positive lead from Wall
Street, reports BSS.
At a summit in Brussels,
Prime Minister Theresa May
was given until April 12 to
push her divorce agreement
through a fractious
parliament next week. If she
manages to get it passed, the
exit date will be pushed back
until May 22.
However, a third defeat by
MPs would mean Britain
crashes out on April 12, unless
London agrees to take part in
European elections, a move
the prime minister previously
has ruled out.
The announcement puts
pressure on May to get her
deal through Westminster,
with French President
Emmanuel Macron warning:
"In the case of a negative
British vote then we'd be
heading to a no-deal."
The sterling has come
under pressure owing to the
uncertainty in the past few
days, falling to as low as
$1.3004 Thursday, though it
has recovered slightly and is
still maintaining its position.
However, OANDA senior
market analyst Jeffrey Halley
remained wary.
"The investor community
continues to price the pound
as if a no-deal Brexit is not
possible, looking for excuses
to buy rather than sell," he
said in a note.
"A close look at the text of
the EU announcement
suggests this is not a
guaranteed outcome."
The Bank of England on
Thursday expressed concern
that further "uncertainties"
over a "cliff-edge" no-deal
Brexit "could have a
significant effect on
spending" by businesses.
Equities were mostly up but
dealers were treading warily
as they weighed an indication
from the Federal Reserve that
borrowing costs will not rise
this year with concerns about
the slowing economy and
stuttering China-US trade
talks. Tokyo ended 0.1
percent higher and Shanghai
gained 0.1 percent while
Sydney added 0.5 percent,
Seoul gained 0.1 percent and
Wellington jumped one
percent.
Singapore, Taipei, Manila
and Bangkok were also well
up.
But Hong Kong fell 0.3
percent in the afternoon while
Mumbai and Jakarta were
lower.
The next possible marketmoving
catalyst could be next
week as top US officials head
to Beijing on March 28-29 for
a new round of trade talks,
followed by a trip to
Washington by China's top
negotiator in April.
While there is optimism a
deal will eventually be struck,
Donald Trump caused ripples
when he said Wednesday that
US tariffs on Chinese imports
could remain in place for a
"substantial period",
dampening hopes that an
agreement would see them
lifted soon.
Hun Sen denies Cambodia is Chinese
'colony' as work on $2 bn road begins
Cambodia broke ground Friday on a $2 billion Chinesefunded
expressway - the country's first - as strongman
premier Hun Sen denied his country was in danger of
becoming a colony of Beijing, reports BSS.
Once complete in 2023 the expressway will connect the
capital Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville, a southern resort and
seaport that has become a honeypot for Chinese gamblers
and investors.
The near 200-kilometre (124-mile) road is being
constructed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation and
is a part of China's ambitious Belt and Road project.
"This road will cost around $2 billion… this is a
tremendous project," Hun Sen said during a groundbreaking
ceremony in Kampong Speu province, adding the
expressway is "the first one" in Cambodia.
But he defended the Chinese investment.
Critics say "China is colonialising Cambodia… although
China wishes to control Cambodia, Cambodia will not let it
do so," Hun Sen said.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou, who
attended the ceremony, also brushed off concerns over
Beijing's influence.
"Some groups with ill-will have turned white-to-black,
colouring Chinese investment as a trap," he said through a
translator.
'Strong'
outlook for US
growth: IMF
The International Monetary
Fund on Thursday said the US
economic outlook remained
"strong," a day after the
Federal Reserve trimmed its
median growth forecasts for
the year, reports BSS.
"We believe the outlook for
the US economy is strong with
historically
low
unemployment, high levels of
business and consumer
confidence helped by the
fiscal expansion that's
underway," spokesman Gerry
Rice told reporters.
The Washington-based
crisis lender is due to publish
updated global growth
forecasts on April 9. And Rice
said the IMF would have more
to say on the US economy at
that time, in addition to
reports on trade and tariffs.
Last year, the United States
began a trade war with China,
and the world's two largest
economies have since
exchanged tariffs on more
than $360 billion in two-way
goods trade.
While the sums involved are
comparatively small, the IMF
and many economists warn
the trade war could have
larger ripple effects, denting
the global economy.
On Wednesday, the Federal
Reserve lowered its 2019 US
growth forecast to 2.1 percent,
down from a 2.3 percent
estimate in December, which
was also a downward revision.
However, Fed Chairman
Jerome Powell told reporters
the central bank's outlook was
still "a positive one."
The most recent IMF
forecast for the United States
calls for GDP growth of 2.5
percent. And Rice said the
multilateral institution also
approves of the Fed's current
monetary policy decisions.
The Fed's median estimate
now calls for no interest rate
increases at all this year, after
four increases in 2018, but
this is subject to revision.
Shahjalal Islami Bank Ltd(SJIBL)
awarded scholarship among the brilliant
and poor students of the country. In this
regard a scholarship award giving
ceremony has been organized recently at
Officers Club, Dhaka. The Governor of
Bangladesh Bank Fazle Kabir handed
over the scholarship cheque among the
students as Chief Guest. There are 500
students from different Colleges, Medical
Colleges and Universities received the
Scholarship for their bright result. Among
the 500 Scholarship nominated students
there are 160 male students for SSC and
140 female students for SSC level, 120
male students for HSC and 80 female
students for HSC level. The 500 students
will be given Tk. 4 crore 19 Lac as
Scholarship as monthly basis, a press
release said.
The Chairman of Shahjalal Islami Bank
US trade negotiators
to visit China on
March 28-29: Beijing
US Trade Representative
Robert Lighthizer and
Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin will visit China on
March 28-29 for a fresh round
of talks aimed at resolving the
bruising trade war, the
Chinese commerce ministry
said Thursday, reports BSS.
After their visit, Chinese
Vice Premier Liu He will head
to the United States in April to
continue the negotiations,
ministry spokesman Gao
Feng said at a press briefing.
Washington and Beijing are
battling over the final shape of
a trade deal, with American
officials demanding profound
changes to Chinese industrial
policy. President Donald
Trump warned Wednesday
that US tariffs on Chinese
imports could remain in place
for a "substantial period,"
dampening hopes that an
agreement would see them
lifted soon.
Ltd Akkas Uddin Mollah presided over
the ceremony while The Chairman of
Shahjalal Islami Bank Foundation
Engineer Md. Towhidur Rahman and the
Managing Director of the Bank M.
Shahidul Islam delivered speech.
Among others the Directors Md.
Sanaullah Shahid, Abdul Halim,
Mohiuddin Ahmed, Mohammed Younus,
Fakir Akhtaruzzaman, Managing Director
M. Shahidul Islam, Additional Managing
Director Abdul Aziz, Deputy Managing
Directors M. Akhter Hossain, Mian
Quamrul Hasan Chowdhury and Imtiaz U.
Ahmed, Head Office executives and
scholarship students were present in the
Ceremony.
The Chief Guest Fazle Kabir said, it is a
praiseworthy and notable work that
Shahjalal Islami Bank Ltd. rendering its
activities towards the welfare of mankind
as a part of CSR activities besides the
financial activities of the Bank. It is also
praiseworthy to make an opportunity for
the brilliants to make easy the way of their
higher study.
The Chairman of the Bank Akkas Uddin
Mollah said, contribution of Shahjalal
Islami Bank is noteworthy to the economic
growth of the country and the bank is
rendering lots of social activities as its CSR
activities. The brilliants are contributing to
build up an enrich Nation along with the
national economic growth of the country.
The young brilliant students of our country
are acquiring dignity both in the home and
abroad by dint of their merits.
The Managing Director of the Bank M.
Shahidul Islm indicated in his speech that
Shahjalal Islami Bank Ltd. is working for
the development of the country since its
operation.
Apple's Tim Cook urges
China to continue to
open up its economy
Apple chief executive Tim
Cook on Saturday urged China
to keep opening up its
economy as local rivals bit into
the profits of the US tech giant
caught in the crosshairs of a
trade spat between Beijing
and Washington. "We have
seen China continue to change
and evolve… We encourage
China to continue to open up,"
he said during a speech at the
annual China Development
Forum in Beijing on Saturday,
reports BSS.
"We see that as essential not
only for China to reach its full
potential, but also for the
global economy to thrive."
Apple in January revealed
that it took a hit in the
"Greater China" region, where
revenue plunged almost 27
percent in the most recent
quarter. The dip had been
expected following the
company's revenue warning
in December, where Apple
admitted that iPhone sales
and overall earnings would be
below most forecasts, citing
economic weakness in China
and trade frictions between
Washington and Beijing.
Lower priced local rivals such
as Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo
have also been nibbling at the
California tech giant's market
share in China.
Cook has been a critic of the
US-China trade war that has
spooked global markets. Last
year, he used the China
Development Forum as a
venue to urge leaders of China
and the US to let "calm heads
prevail" and to avoid an
escalation of tariffs. Most of
Apple's flagship products are
assembled in China, leaving
the California tech giant
acutely vulnerable to Trump's
tariffs.
During his speech on
Saturday, Cook called for
partnerships based on
"openness and trust" where
world players can work
together to solve some of the
biggest problems facing the
planet including poverty,
inequality and climate
change.

MISCELLANEOUS
SuNDAY, MArCH 24, 2019
11
New Thai government may be
unstable, short-lived
Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) inaugurated a crush programme to eliminate mosquitoes from
VVIP Terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Saturday.
Photo: Courtesy
Death toll rises to 62
in China chemical
plant blast
A massive explosion at a
chemical plant in eastern
China with a long record of
safety violations has killed
at least 62 people and
injured hundreds of others,
90 of them seriously,
reports UNB.
The death toll appeared
likely to rise still further,
with another 28 people still
listed as missing, the
official Xinhua News
Agency reported Saturday.
Just 26 of those confirmed
dead in Thursday's
explosion have been
identified, it said.
The blast in an industrial
park in the city of
Yancheng, north of
Shanghai, was one of
China's worst industrial
accidents in recent years.
State-run television
showed crushed cars,
blown-out windows and
workers leaving the factory
with bloodied heads.
Schools were closed and
nearly 1,000 residents
were moved to safety as a
precaution against leaks
and additional explosions,
the city government said in
a statement posted to its
microblog.
The blast created a
crater, and more than 900
firefighters were deployed
to extinguish the fire that
burned into the night.
Windows in buildings as
GD-503/19 (6 x 3)
far as 6 kilometers (4
miles) away were blown
out by the force of the blast,
which caused a magnitude
2.2 seismic shock.
The cause of the blast
was under investigation,
and people responsible for
operations at the plant
have been placed "under
control," Xinhua said. It
wasn't clear whether
anyone had been formally
arrested.
Drains and waterways
running through and from
the plant complex have
been blocked to prevent
toxic chemicals from
running into the nearby
Yellow Sea, under orders
from the Ministry of
Ecology and Environment.
The orders covered
sewage and rainwater
outlets while further
assessments of air and
water quality were
ongoing, Xinhua reported.
A resident of the
community
of
Chenjiagang, about 5
kilometers (about 3 miles)
from the plant, said glass
from windows smashed by
the force of the blast
injured neighbors.
"At the time of the
explosion, I was almost
deafened and I was terribly
frightened," said the
woman, who gave only her
surname, Zhi.
Chinese President Xi
Jinping, on a state visit to
Italy, demanded "all-out
efforts" to find and rescue
victims, Xinhua reported.
"Relief work must be well
done to maintain social
stability. Meanwhile,
environmental monitoring
and early warning should
be strengthened to prevent
environmental pollution as
well as secondary
disasters," it quoted Xi as
saying.
Xi said local officials
need to learn the lessons of
a recent series of industrial
accidents to save lives and
property, signaling a likely
crackdown on safety
violations at a time when
many Chinese companies
are being hit by a downturn
in sales that is squeezing
profit margins.
On Xi's orders, State
Councilor Wang Yong led
officials from the State
Council, China's Cabinet
officials to the explosion
site to "guide the rescue
and emergency response
work and visit the injured
people," Xinhua said. The
State Council has been
ordered to oversee the
investigation into the cause
of the explosion, an
indication of the
seriousness with which the
government regards the
incident.
DNCC starts
crush
programme
to eliminate
mosquitoes
Dhaka North City
Corporation (DNCC) on
Saturday started a crush
programme to eliminate
mosquitoes from VVIP
Terminal of Hazrat
Shahjalal International
Airport. The program was
inaugurated by Chief
Executive Officer of DNCC
Abdul Hai.
The crush program will
continue every day except
26th of March and Friday
until the 4th of April.
However, the term of the
crush program may be
extended if necessary, a
press release said.
During the inauguration of
the programme, ward council
councilor Afsar Uddin Khan,
DNCC Secretary Rabindrasree
Barua, Chief Health Officer
Brigadier General Zakir
Hasan, Director General of
Civil Aviation Authority
Mizanur Rahman, Regional
Executive Officer of DNCC
and Selim Fakir were also
present.
'Brace ourselves':
Cyclone death toll
tops 600 in Africa
With the flooding easing in
parts of cyclone-stricken
Mozambique on Friday,
fears are rising that the
waters could yield up many
more bodies. The confirmed
number of people killed in
Mozambique and
neighboring Zimbabwe and
Malawi climbed past 600,
reports UNB.
Eight days after Cyclone
Idai struck southeast Africa's
Indian Ocean coast,
touching off some of the
worst flooding in decades,
the homeless, hungry and
injured slowly made their
way from devastated inland
areas to the port city of
Beira, which was heavily
damaged itself but has
emerged as the nerve center
for rescue efforts.
"Some were wounded.
Some were bleeding," said
Julia Castigo, a Beira
resident who watched them
arrive. "Some had feet white
like flour for being in the
water for so long."
Aid workers are seeing
many children who have
been separated from their
parents in the chaos or
orphaned.
Elhadj As Sy, secretarygeneral
of the International
Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies, said
the relief efforts so far "are
nowhere near the scale and
magnitude of the problem,"
and the humanitarian needs
are likely to grow in the
coming weeks and months.
Helicopters set off into the
rain for another day of efforts
to find people clinging to
rooftops and trees. U.N.
Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres appealed for stepped
up support for victims of Idai
saying the U.N. and its
humanitarian partners are
scaling up the response but
"far greater international
support is needed."
Thailand's election Sunday is likely to
produce a weak unstable government
whether it's a civilian or military-backed
party that cobbles together a coalition,
setting off a new phase of uncertainty in
a country that's a U.S. ally in Southeast
Asia and one of the world's top tourist
destinations, reports UNB.
The election is Thailand's first since its
military seized power from an elected
government in May 2014. It was the
conservative establishment's third major
attempt by either military or legal coup
to eradicate the influence of Thaksin
Shinawatra, a tycoon who made his
fortune in telecommunication and
upended Thailand's politics with a
populist political revolution nearly two
decades ago.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha,
who as army chief led the 2014 coup, is
hoping to stay in power with a hybrid
political system that relies on an
appointed Senate and a 20-year national
strategic plan to limit the power of
political parties not aligned with the
Thailand's exiled former Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra won't
know until Sunday whether people
in his homeland are still fans of his
politics, but he was happy as he
hosted a wedding reception in Hong
Kong for his youngest daughter,
reports UNB.
Though ostensibly a family affair
with a raft of VIP guests, the timing
of Friday ceremony two days ahead
of Thailand's first general election
since a 2014 military coup seemed
to carry an implicit message to
Thaksin's countrymen: Don't forget
me and my political allies when you
go out to vote.
Thai Princess Ubolratana
Mahidol, who made an abortive
attempt last month to be a prime
ministerial candidate for a political
party allied to Thaksin, was a special
guest. Although Thaksin was ousted
by a 2006 military coup, the Pheu
Thai party of his loyalists is expected
to capture the most seats in
Sunday's polls, though forming a
government will prove much more
difficult.
military.
"It will be unstable," said Prajak
Kongkirati, a political science lecturer at
Thammasat University. "Whatever party
wins, Prayuth or Thaksin's side, both
governments will be weak and unstable,"
he said. "The government can collapse
within a year or a year and a half and we
might have a new election quite soon."
Prayuth's five years as junta leader
have been marred by complaints of
human rights violations and growing
economic inequality. Thailand's ties with
the U.S. cooled because of the coup and
Prayuth is seeking greater international
legitimacy with an election meant to
provide the appearance of a return to
democracy.
If the junta had one success, it was
reinforcing its claim to be protector of
Thailand's monarchy, an institution at
the heart of Thai society, following the
death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in
2016 after a reign of seven decades and
the succession of his son Maha
Vajiralongkorn.
Exiled Thai leader father of
the bride ahead of election
GD-502/19 (9 x 4)
Thaksin has not been back to
Thailand since 2008, when he fled
the country to avoid serving a prison
term for a conflict-of-interest
conviction he insists was politically
motivated. Thailand's conservative
establishment hates him because of
his authoritarian tendencies and the
electoral strength he drew from the
country's poor and rural majority
with his populist programs.
Thaksin was not able to attend the
actual marriage ceremony in
Thailand last Sunday of his
youngest daughter, Paetongtarn
Shinawatra, with Pidok Sooksawas,
a pilot at a commercial airline. He
beamed in through a video link,
however, a method he frequently
used to talk to his followers in the
early years of his exile.
Also absent at the nuptials in
Bangkok but present in Hong Kong
was Thaksin's sister, former Prime
Minster Yingluck Shinawatra,
whose government was toppled in
the 2014 coup and who also fled into
exile ahead of an expected prison
sentence.
Critic say the new military-designed
political system is intrinsically unstable
because it is not accepted by all sides and
will be the beginning of a new round of
struggle in Thailand.
The country's prime minister will not
be directly elected by its 51 million
voters. Instead 750 lawmakers - 500
from an elected lower house of
parliament and 250 from a juntaappointed
Senate - will decide by simple
majority. The prime minister does not
have to be a member of parliament.
None of the major political parties is
likely to have enough elected lawmakers
to choose a prime minister and form a
government outright. Chaotic outcomes,
such as a military favored prime
minister chosen with Senate backing
that lacks a majority in the parliament,
are possible.
Sunday's vote is the latest episode in a
sometimes violent political struggle that
pits Thaksin's political machine against a
conservative establishment led by the
ultra-royalist military.
Man arrested
after stabbing
priest in
Montreal
A man was arrested Friday
morning after stabbing a
priest during morning mass
at the Canadian city of
Montreal's famed Saint
Joseph's Oratory, according
to the local Police, reports
UNB.
The mass was being aired
alive by local Sel+Lumiere
TV which airs the religious
ceremony daily, when the
stabbing occurred.
The video showed a man
wearing a dark winter coat
and a light-colored baseball
cap ran to the priest at the
altar, and attacked him with
a big knife. The church's
security agents detained the
man until police arrived. The
suspect was taken into
custody and is being
interviewed by investigators,
said the police.
The priest sustained a
chest injury and is in stable
condition. Montreal Mayor
Valerie Plante said the attack
is a horrible and inexcusable
gesture that has no place in
the city.

SuNDAy, DHAKA, MArCH 24, 2019, CHAiTrA 10, 1425 BS, rAJAB 15, 1440 HiJri
Teachers and employees of non-MPO educational institutions gathered in front of the Jatiya
Press Club for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday demanding enlistment of their institutions
under the Monthly Pay Order (MPO) scheme.
Photo: TBT
Free transport sector from political
influence: Dr Kamal
DHAKA : Gono Forum, led by Dr
Kamal Hossain, on Saturday demanded
that steps be taken to free the transport
sector from political influence and
laws be properly enforced to ensure
safe roads.
The party came up with the demand
at a press conference at the Jatiya Press
Club in Dhaka. The party also placed a
14-point demand to restore discipline
in the transport sector.
"Political influence not only helps
corruption spread but also make people
indifferent to obey law which ultimately
hampers the rule of law. This is applicable
for all sectors, including the transport
one," said Dr Kamal Hossain,
reports UNB.
He said the main reason behind the
prevailing anarchy in the transport sector
is lack of good governance. "It's necessary
to ensure impartial and effective
enforcement of laws to ensure good
governance."
Dr Kamal, also the convener of Jatiya
Oikyafront, said police must enforce
laws so that the goal for which these are
framed can be achieved. "But if the
police are influenced by anybody then
they become weaker, and deviate from
the rule of law."
He observed that road accidents and
traffic chaos are taking place for various
irregularities, indiscriminate plying of
vehicles and lack of enforcement of
laws. "I think road accidents are outcomes
of negligence and irresponsibility
while the tendency of defying laws
among people has become rampant."
The noted lawyer said the government
must identify those responsible
for chaos in the transport sector.
"In the face of outcry after any road
accident, the government is heard to
say they'll take proper steps, but they
don't translate their words into actions.
That's why the casualties and number
of road accidents are gradually growing.
It's a matter of serious concern," he
observed.
Dr Kamal urged people to be vocal
against the mismanagement and indiscipline
in the transport sector.
Later, in a written statement, party
presidium member Amsa Amin said
though the government promised students
of taking effective steps to ensure
safe roads following a movement last
year, it finally did nothing in this
regard.
He alleged that the government is not
sincere about creating a people-friendly
transport system. "The government has
now again pledged to ensure safe road
in the face of recent student movement.
But we can't keep trust in the government's
such promises."
The Gono Forum leader said the
chaos in the transport sector has been
created for various irregularities and
abuse of political power. Under the circumstances,
Amin, on behalf of the
party, presented the 14-point demand
to bring back discipline in the transport
sector and reduce road accidents.
The party's demands include,
upgrading the transport sector-related
laws based on fairness, enhancing the
skills of drivers through training, fixing
specific wages and working hours for
drivers, ensuring punishment to those
transport owners and workers responsible
for road accidents, introducing the
new franchising bus service system,
removing unfit vehicles from the
streets, conducting continuous drives
against fake and unskilled drivers and
creating a specific lane for public transport
and enhancing the quality of their
services.
Non-MPO teachers,
employees
continue
demonstrations
DHAKA : Teachers and
employees of non-MPO educational
institutions gathered
in front of the Jatiya
Press Club for the fourth
consecutive day on Saturday
demanding enlistment of
their institutions under the
Monthly Pay Order (MPO)
scheme, reports UNB.
Under the banner of 'Non-
MPO Educational
Institutions Teachers' and
Employees' Federation',
started their demonstrations
on Wednesday demanding
intervention of the Prime
Minister in resolving the
issue.
Earlier, on June 25 2018,
teachers and employees of
non-MPO educational institutions
started hunger strike
demanding enlistment of
their institutions under the
MPO facility.
On July 11, they called off
their hunger strike after getting
government's assurance
to fulfil the demand.
As their demand remained
unfulfilled in last eight
months, they again started
their programme on
Wednesday.
3rd phase polls to 117 upazila
parihads today
DHAKA : Elections to 117 upazila parishads
will be held today in the third phase of the local
body polls, reports UNB.
Some 1.19 crore (118,87,751) voters will be
able to exercise their voting rights under 9,298
polling stations in the balloting that is set to
begin at 8am and continue till 4pm without
any break.
In the 117 upazilas, some 340 chairman, 584
vice-chairman and 399 woman vice-chairman
candidates are contesting the elections.
Besides, 33 chairman, nine vice-chairman
and 13 woman vice-chairman contestants have
already been elected uncontested in the absence
of any valid candidate to oppose them.
Though the Election Commission earlier announced
the election schedule for 127 upazilas
of 25 districts, the balloting will not be held in
10 upazilas in the third phase on various
grounds.
"Six upazilas where all candidates have already
been elected unopposed don't require
the balloting, while polls to two other upazilas
were postponed following a court order and
the election to the remaining two upazilas
shifted to the fourth phase," said EC Secretary
Helaluddin Ahmed at a pre-election briefing at
the media centre of the Nirbachan Bhaban in
the city on Saturday afternoon.
The election to four upazilas will be held
based on electronic voting machines completely,
he said adding the upazilas are
Meherpur Sadar, Gopalganj Sadar, Manikganj
Sadar and Rangpur Sadar.
He said the election materials including
translucent ballot boxes and ballot papers
have already been handed over to the presiding
officers.
"All the necessary preparations have been
taken to hold the third phase election in a
peaceful manner like the first phase and second
phase elections," EC Secretary Helaluddin
Ahmed said.
The EC has withdrawn three Upazila
Nirbahi Officers and nine officers-in-charge
(OCs) of police stations from the duty of the
third phase polls, he said.
Besides, the Commission served warning
notices to several MPs over violation of the
election code, he added.
A large number of security members, including
police, Rab, BGB and Coast Guard, have
been deployed in the election areas since
Friday. They are slated to remain so till
Tuesday.
Additional BGB members were deployed in
some upazilas amid the risk of irregularities
and deterioration of the law and order in this
phase, Helaluddin said.
Besides, at least one judicial magistrate was
deployed in each upazila and an executive
magistrate for every three union parishads for
five days to punish any violations of the polls
code.
A security team comprising of 14-16 members
drawn from police, Ansar and VDP will
guard each polling station on the day.
The Public Administration announced a
public holiday in the 117 upazilas for Sunday.
The 5th upazila election will be completed in
five phases holding polls to some 480 upazilas
out of the country's 492 ones. The EC has so
far announced the election schedule for the
first four phases.
Why Did Ancient People
Bury Butter in Bogs?
INTERESTING NEWS
Peat bogs are favorite hunting grounds of
archeologists because of the many odd surprises
these marshy wetlands have
revealed from time to time. These wetlands
of decaying plant matter have remarkable
preservation properties. Low in oxygen
and high in tannic acid, bogs are perfect
place to fall into and have your bodies stay
intact for millenniums to come. Ritual sacrifices
by drowning in peat bogs were common
in northwestern Europe. We know
this from the thousands of “bog bodies”
that have been pulled out from bogs across
Europe. A variety of Bronze-age artifacts
and mediaeval manuscripts have also been
recovered by peat-cutters—people who
harvest the peat and use it as fuel for cooking,
throughout the centuries. Another
ubiquitous find are stashes of butter, carefully
wrapped in wooden buckets and barrels
and buried in peats for reasons that are
not entirely clear.
A study conducted in the 1990s to test
the preservation qualities of peat bogs
found that the combination of cold water
temperature and increased acidity produces
a kind of bacteria that can survive
without oxygen. This bacteria in the samples
of meat the researchers buried in peat
bogs made the meat unpalatable to other
bacteria that normally decompose dead
tissue. Laboratory analyses of the meat
retrieved after two years in the bogs were
found to have roughly the same levels of
bacteria and pathogens as meat stored in a
modern freezer.
The meat-preserving ability of bogs were
known to Ice Age hunters ten thousand
years ago. When small groups of hunters
killed a mastodon they preserved the meat
underwater in ponds and bogs for the lean
winter period.
HC revokes sacked
AL leader's bail
over Subarnachar
gang rape
DHAKA : The High Court
on Saturday revoked its
previous order that granted
a one-year interim bail to
sacked Awami League leader
Ruhul Amin in a case
over the gang-rape of a
woman in Subarnachar
upazila of Noakhali after
the December-30 national
election, reports UNB.
The HC bench of Justice
Mamnoon Rahman and
Justice SM Kuddus Zaman
sat on weekly holiday and
passed the order, said
Supreme Court Special officer
Mohammad Saifur
Rahman.
The court also fixed
March 25 for next hearing.
The HC granted bail to
Ruhul Amin on March 18
after hearing a petition filed
by him.
It was alleged that Ruhul
Amin's followers gangraped
the woman at his
behest on the night of the
general election on
December 30. Police later
arrested him.
Ruhul Amin was the
upazila unit publicity affairs
secretary of Awami League
and a former union council
member. Later, he was
expelled from the party.
According to the victim's
husband, a group of hoodlums
stormed their house
in the early hours of
December 31 and tied up all
the family members except
his wife.
Due to high temperature, water crisis seen in the capital. The photo was taken from Bangla Bazar
area of the capital city.
Photo: Star Mail
Quader's condition
improves further:
Physician
DHAKA : Road, Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul
Qauder's health condition improved further after the bypass
surgery, Prof Dr Abu Nasar Rizvi of Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujib Medical University (BSMMU).
His Ando tranquil tube has been removed. Besides, the
sleeping pills also are being reduced, said the BSMMU physician,
reports UNB.
After opening his tube, the Minister talked to him, said Dr.
Rizvi. Obaidul Quader, also General Secretary of Bangladesh
Awami League (AL), underwent a successful bypass surgery
at the hospital on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister A H M Mustafa Kamal visited
the Minister at the Mount Elizabeth hospital in Singapore
on Friday afternoon.
Quader was admitted to BSMMU on March 3 following
breathing complications and tests revealed three blockages in
his coronary arteries. He was flown to Singapore the next day
for treatment at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital.
Students block Dhaka-
Barishal Highway
BARISHAL : Students of Government BM College protested
on Saturday, demanding maximum penalty for the bus
driver involved in Friday's road accident in Barishal which
left seven people dead. One of the victims was an MA student
of the college, reports UNB.
Agitated students blocked the Dhaka-Barishal Highway for
about two hours, halting traffic on the busy road. They
brought out a procession from the campus before putting up
barricades on the highway at Notullabad around 10am.
Police visited the spot and requested the protesters to end
their demonstration, said Nurul Islam, officer-in-charge of
Kotwali Police Station.
The students called off their protests after Barishal City
Mayor Sher Niabat Sadik Abdulla assured them that justice
will be done, the OC added.
New Ducsu leaders
take charge
DHAKA : The elected leaders of Dhaka University Central
Students' Union (Ducsu) took over their respective charges
for one year in its first executive meeting held on Saturday,
reports UNB.
The meeting began around 11:30 am at the hall room on the
1st floor of Ducsu Bhaban presided over by Dhaka University
Vice Chancellor Prof Akhtaruzzaman and ended around 1:30
pm. After 28 years, the Ducsu and hall union elections were
held on March 11. Quota reformist leader Nurul Haq Nur, who
won the Dhaka University Central Students' Union vice-president
post and later called it an 'unfair' election, also assumed
the office. Akhter Hossen, who won the social service affairs
secretary post from Nur's panel, also attended the meeting.
The Ducsu polls were marred by allegations of irregularities.
All panels, except that of Bangladesh Chhatra League,
boycotted the election. The ruling party student front dominated
the polls but lost the posts of VP and social service
affairs secretary.
Bangladesh turned into
a failed state: BNP
DHAKA : BNP on Saturday alleged that Bangladesh has
turned into a failed state as the government sold out itself to
the super powers of the globe, reports UNB.
"This government has been staying in power illegally since
it is not elected with people's vote.
They have already turned Bangladesh into a failed state,
"said BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
Speaking at a token hunger strike programme he further
said this government is working with a motive to build
Bangladesh as a subservient country dependent on others.
"They(govt)have already been sold out to super powers.
They(govt) and their leaders are working as service providers
of the super powers," he said.
BNP Nababganj and Dohar upazila units observed onehour
token hunger strike from 1 pm to 2 pm on the ground
floor of BNP's Nayapaltan central office.
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