04-04-2019

thursDaY 

DHAKA: April 4, 2019; Chaitra 21, 1425 BS; Rajab 26,1440 Hijri 

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www. tbtbangla.com 

Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.17; No.65; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00 

international 

Over 42,000 

displaced by flood in 

Afghanistan: OCHA 

>Page 7 

Bangladesh's economy 

to grow by 8 pc in FY19 

art & culture 

Kalki Koechlin 

likely to join Sacred 

Games Season 2 

>Page 8 

sport 

Messi, Suarez score 

late in 4-4 draw for 

Barca at Villarreal 

>Page 9 

DHAKA : The economy of Bangladesh is 

expected to grow by eight percent in FY19 

and FY20 with robust private consumption 

and public investment while the country 

is likely to be the fastest growing economy 

in Asia and the pacific, said the latest 

outlook of ADB, reports BSS. 

"Bangladesh economy is in a good shape 

and is likely to continue to grow at 8 per 

cent in FY19 and FY20," said ADB Country 

Director Manmohan Parkash while 

launching the Asian Development Outlook 

(ADO) 2019 at its office in the city. ADB 

senior economist Soon Chan Hong made a 

power-point presentation on the ADO's 

Bangladesh country chapter. 

According to the latest provisional figures 

of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 

(BBS), the GDP growth rate in the country 

is going to reach 8.13 percent in the current 

fiscal year. 

The ADB Country Director said on the 

whole 8 percent growth rate is a good 

growth rate that everybody can be proud 

of. "But, at the same time you have a lot of 

challenges to sustain it." 

Mentioning that the economy of 

Bangladesh has had a very good year like 

good crop outlook, good exports and 

remittances, he said, "If you continue to 

build good infrastructures……. then 8 percent 

growth can be moved to even 10 percent 

for sure in the future." 

Parkash said Bangladesh is already a 

role model and probably can be a bigger 

role model. 

Asked whether it is possible to go 

beyond this 8 percent growth rate, he said, 

"In a holistic point of view, 8 percent is a 

very good growth rate and we would like to 

congratulate the government. We now 

Khaleda probably being 

slowly poisoned: BNP 

DHAKA : BNP on Wednesday feared 

that its chairperson Khaleda Zia is 

probably being "slowly poisoned by 

the government" in the name of treatment, 

reports UNB. 

"We fear whether the government 

is slowly poisoning her in the name of 

treatment or any other means. People 

are also questioning how has she fallen 

so sick?" said BNP senior joint secretary 

general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi. 

Speaking at a milad mahfil, he also 

voiced doubt whether the director of 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical 

University (BSMMU) is giving the 

right information about its chairperson's 

health condition as he is saying 

she is not critically ill. 

He said the doctors who visited 

Khaleda in jail revealed that she was 

seriously sick. "After she had been 

brought to PG (BSMMU), its director 

said she was not that much ill without 

conducting any tests or making diagnosis." 

The BNP leader further said, "It 

seems the PG director is only disseminating 

the information he is being 

given by Sheikh Hasina (PM) and the 

government. The doctors are talking 

in the language of Sheikh Hasina to 

push a person towards death only to 

protect their jobs and pots." 

BNP arranged the programme at its 

Zohr 

04:34 AM 

12:10 PM 

04:29 PM 

06:19 PM 

07:35 PM 

5:49 6:16 

suggest that you should build on this 8 percent 

and look at the things that can be 

done to gain 8 percent or higher than 8 

percent," 

The ADB Country Director said for getting 

beyond 8 percent growth, there is a need for 

skills development, infrastructures development, 

investing on to the newer technology, 

investing on diversifying on export baskets, 

consolidating this healthy growth momentum 

for the next 3-5 years, creating a good 

macroeconomic policy environment, sound 

debt management, much easier cost of doing 

business, a good governance framework, 

investment in human capital and inclusive 

development. 

He said that Bangladesh's GDP growth 

rate rose to 7.9 percent in FY18 up from 7.3 

percent in FY17, recording the highest 

GDP growth since 1974. 

Parkash said the country's macroeconomic 

management remains generally 

sound as inflation edged up slightly to 5.8 

percent, but remained in check. 

"Although budget revenue underperformed 

its target, the fiscal deficit was well 

within the budget target……….. export performance 

is expected to excel, and net 

exports are likely to add to growth. On the 

supply side, further expansion in industry 

is expected to be the main driver of growth 

in FY19," 

The latest Asian Development Outlook 

(ADO) 2019 said favorable trade prospects 

are expected to continue despite a weaker 

global growth. Exports and remittances 

are likely to be further strengthened while 

strong public investment is envisaged due 

to continued policy environment and 

expeditious implementation of large infrastructure 

projects. 

Nayapaltan central office, marking 

the holy Shab-e-Meraj. 

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia was 

admitted to the BSMMU on Monday 

shifting her from old Dhaka central 

jail for her proper treatment. 

At a briefing over an hour after her 

admission, BSMMU director Brig 

Gen Dr AK Mahbubul Hoque said 

Khaleda Zia is not suffering from any 

critical diseases. 

Rizvi alleged that the government is 

not ensuring proper treatment to 

Khaleda despite their party's frequent 

demands. 

He questioned as to why Khaleda 

was taken to the hospital in a wheelchair 

if she was not seriously ill. 

He demanded the government 

immediately release their ailing 

chairperson from jail allowing her to 

receive proper treatment at a specialised 

private hospital as per her 

desire. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the different economic zones of the country on Wednesday through Video Conference 

from Ganabhaban. 

Photo: Star Mail 

No price hike during Ramadan : 

PM to business people 

DHAKA: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina 

on Wednesday asked the business community 

not to raise the prices of essentials, 

including sugar and edible oil, during 

the upcoming Ramadan, reports 

UNB. 

She made the call at a function 

arranged marking the inauguration and 

laying the foundation stones of 65 different 

development activities of economic 

zones through videoconferencing from 

Ganobhaban in the city. 

The Prime Minister inaugurated 11 

economic zones (prepared for setting up 

industries) and the commercial manufacturing 

of 16 industrial units, and laid 

the foundation stones of 13 economic 

zones, 20 industrial units and five ongoing 

development projects being implemented 

by Bangladesh Economic Zone 

Authority (BEZA). 

"I would like to request you so that 

there's no crisis of sugar and edible oil in 

the upcoming Ramadan. It's my request 

to you all," she said while exchanging 

views with chairman of Meghna Group 

of Industries Mostafa Kamal. He is also 

the owner of Meghna Industrial 

Economic Zone, Sonargaon. 

The Prime Minister also made the 

same request while exchanging views 

with the owner of Abdul Monem 

Economic Zone, Munshiganj. 

PM's Private Industry and Investment 

Adviser Salman F Rahman was present 

at the function arranged by BEZA. 

Principal Coordinator (SDG Affairs) of 

Prime Minister's Office Md Abul Kalam 

Azad conducted the event while BEZA 

Executive Chairman Paban Chowdhury 

delivered the welcome speech. An 

audio-visual presentation was made on 

the occasion over the activities of economic 

zones. 

Earlier in her introductory speech, the 

Prime Minister stressed the need for 

protecting the arable land not setting up 

industries haphazardly. 

She said the government is setting up 

100 economic zones in the country to fix 

specific areas for industrialization so 

that croplands are not destroyed. 

"We've scarcity of land. We'll have to 

produce food protecting arable lands," 

she said. She said Bangladesh achieved 

huge development in the last one decade 

due to proper plans of the government. 

"The salient feature of the country's 

ongoing development is that the grassroots 

people are enjoying the benefits of 

this development." 

Sheikh Hasina said the government 

has taken measures to explore local markets 

for locally-produced goods by 

increasing the purchasing capacity of the 

people, not only depending on export. 

"You who are running industries can 

definitely see that a market has created in 

the own country as the socio-economic 

condition of the country's people 

improved," she said adding that they can 

catch the markets of neighbouring countries 

as the government is improving connectivity 

with them through BBIN connectivity 

and BCIM economic corridor. 

Reaffirming that the main goal of all 

government activities is to create jobs, 

the Prime Minister said, "No youth will 

remain unemployed. They'll get training. 

We're ensuring training and education 

for them." 

During the views-exchange with 

RAJUK officials conduct drive for the third day to identify the fault of FR tower on Wednesday at Banani. 


stakeholders of Mirsarai Economic 

Zone, the Prime Minister also said she 

will not allow acquiring any cropland for 

setting up economic zone or industries. 

PM's Private Industry and Investment 

Adviser Salman F Rahman was present 

at the function arranged by Bangladesh 

Economic Zone Authority (BEZA). 

The 11 economic zones inaugurated by 

the Prime Minister are Mongla 

Economic Zone in Bagerhat, Meghna 

Economic Zone, Meghna Industrial 

Economic Zone, Aman Economic Zone 

and City Economic Zone in 

Narayanganj, Abdul Monem Economic 

Zone in Munshiganj, Bay Economic 

Zone in Gazipur, Kishoreganj Economic 

Zone in Kishoreganj, East West Special 

Economic Zone in Dhaka, Karnaphuli 

Dry Dock Special Economic Zone in 

Chattogram and Srihatta Economic 

Zone in Moulvibazar. 

The 13 economic zones the foundation 

stones of which were laid are 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Industrial 

Estate (comprised of Mirsarai, 

Sitakunda and Feni economic zones) in 

Chattogram and Feni, Mirsarai 

Economic Zone-2A, BGMEA Garments 

Park (Mirsarai) in Chattogram, Mongla 

Economic Zone-2 in Bagerhat, 

Moheshkhali Economic Zone in Cox's 

Bazar, Jamalpur Economic Zone in 

Jamalpur, Sirajnganj Economic Zone in 

Sirajganj, Akij Economic Zone in 

Mymensingh, Cumilla Economic Zone 

in Cumilla, Bashundhara Special 

Economic Zone (Keraniganj) and Arisha 

Economic Zone in Dhaka, and Standard 

Global Economic Zone and Hosendi 

Economic Zone in Munshiganj. 

4G mobile services 

not available outside 

Dhaka : BTRC 

DHAKA : Country's mobile phone operators 

are yet to ensure 4G services outside 

the capital, according to a report of 

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory 

Commission (BTRC) , reports UNB. 

The telecom regular published on 

Wednesday the report of its comprehensive 

quality of service (GoS) measurement 

through drive tests conducted in 

four divisions to find out the internet 

speed, including 4G, service coverage, call 

setup success rate and call drop rate. 

During the drive tests, it was found that 

minimum download speed of at least 

7mbps could not be ensured by the top 

three mobile operators-Grameenphone, 

Robi and Banglalink-outside Dhaka, the 

report said. 

State-run mobile operator Teletalk 

remained out of the purview of the 

drive tests as it is yet to launch its 4G 

service outside Dhaka. 

The drive tests were conducted 

between January and February in 

Khulna, Rajshahi, Barishal and 

Rangpur. 

Pahela Baishakh 

celebrations must 

end by 6pm: 

Home Minister 

DHAKA : Home Minister 

Asaduzzaman Khan on Wednesday 

said programmes to celebrate Pahela 

Baishakh must end by 6pm and traditional 

masks cannot be used during 

Mongol Shovajatra(procession of 

good wishes) , reports UNB. 

He came up with the remarks while 

talking to reporters after a meeting 

on law and order at the Secretariat. 

The minister said there will be 

mobile court drives to fend off any 

untoward incident and possible act of 

sabotage, including eve-teasing, during 

the Pahela Baishakh celebrations 

on April 14. 

He also said the diplomatic 

enclaves and Dhaka University campus 

will be brought under strict surveillance. 

As his attention was drawn to 

repeated fire incidents, 

Asaduzzaman said special helicopters 

will be procured for Fire Service 

and Civil Defence following Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina's directives. 

"Everything will be done to make it 

stronger and more active." 

Short, long-term 

plans needed for 

water transport 

sector: Chief whip 

DHAKA : Short- and long-term planning 

is a must to prevent encroachment, 

save rivers and ensure passenger 

safety, Chief Whip Noor- E-Alam 

Chowdhury said Wednesday, reports 

UNB. 

"The government is determined to 

save rivers," he told a discussion on 

Naval Safety Week 2019, arranged 

jointly by Water Transport Ministry 

and Water Transport Department at 

CIRDAP Auditorium. 

He urged the stakeholders to work 

in collaboration for solving the 

issues. The chief whip told the ship 

owners to work for passenger safety. 

State Minister for Water Transport 

Khalid Mahmud said that in the last 

10 years, water transport sector has 

seen unprecedented changes. 

"We've launched cruise ship on 

international route despite many limitations 

of government," he added. 

He mentioned that currently there 

are 40 dredgers at the government's 

disposal with 35 more waiting to be 

added. 

Noted writer and columnist Syed 

Abul Maksud said everyone needs to 

work coherently to keep our rivers 

pollution and occupation free. 

"The media can play vital role to 

aware the public," he added. 

The discussion was presided by 

Secretary of Water Transport 

Ministry Md Abdus Samad while former 

BIWTA chairman Dr Reaz 

Hasan Khandoker presented the 

keynote paper.

NEWS 

THUrSDAY, 

APrIl 4, 2019 

2 

Ahsania Mission Cancer and General Hospital inaugurated the stroke and Physiotherapy center yesterday. Photo : TBT 

One gets life 

term in Kushtia 

drug case 

KUSHTIA : A court here 

on Wednesday sentenced a 

man to life imprisonment in 

a drug case. 

The convicted Rubel 

Hossain, son of late Sirajul 

Islam, is a resident of 

Bittipara village in 

Bheramara upazila, reports 

UNB. 

District and Session Judge 

Aryp Kumar Goswami also 

fined him Tk 1 lakh. He will 

have to spend another year 

in jail if he fails to pay the 

fine. 

According to the 

prosecution, a team of Rab- 

12 arrested Rubel from a 

passenger bus in Baro Mile 

area of Daulatpur upazila on 

October 28, 2017. They 

seized 785g heroin from 

him. 

GD-574/19 (4 x 3) 

World sunni movement organised a Eid-e-Meraj conference and Salatu-salam Mahfil at Dhaka Engineer's 

Institute. 

Photo : Courtesy 

CAREER OPPORTUNITY 

J. M. Fabric Limited a Composite Knit RMG 

Manufacturing Unit is expanding its Operation into the field 

of seamless wear/RMG. In order to be a world class manufacturer, 

JM Fabric is looking for suitable dynamic candidates 

who can fill the following position. 

Technical Manager ( IE): 01 (One) Post 

Job Description: Should be able to determine and establish 

technical procedures and quality standard at both national 

and international levels. 

Academic Qualification: Minimum "A" Level / Diploma . 

Experience: Candidate should have minimum 5 years 

experience in the garments sector. 

Interested candidates especially expertise are requested to 

apply with complete CV within 15 days from the date of 

publication of this advertisement to the following address: 

Manager Administration 

J. M. FABRIC LIMITED 

House No. 117/A, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1212 

Tel: 88-02-8878062-63, E-mail: info@jmfabric.com 

JUAA polls on April 5 

JAHANGIRNAGAR UNIVERSITY : A candidate, 

contesting the university's Alumni Association (JUAA) 

election slated for April 5, has raised concerns about the 

activities of the election commission, reports UNB. 

SM Sadat Hossain, fighting for the general secretary's post, 

accused the EC of pressuring him to withdraw from the race. 

"It also tried to illegally cancel my candidacy," he alleged on 

Wednesday afternoon on Wednesday afternoon. "I've lost 

faith in the commission." 

He claimed that the EC illegally gave the presiding officer 

responsibility for preparing ballot papers. "It's illegal," Sadat 

said, placing an eight-point demand, including the use of 

transparent ballot boxes, for a free and fair election. 

Election Commissioner Professor Badiar Rahman said no 

other candidate had raised such allegations. "If anyone 

informs us, then we'll look into it," he said. 

There are 101 posts in JUAA executive committee. Nintynine 

candidates have already been elected unopposed. 

Now, 700 voters will elect general secretary. Abu Bakr 

Siddique, a former Registrar of the university, will fight in the 

election against Sadat. 

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METRO 

THUrsDAY, APrIl 4, 2019 

3 

Anti-ragging rally held at IU 

ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY : The 

students of Islamic University (IU) in 

Kushtia brought out an anti-ragging 

procession on the campus on 

Wednesday, demanding to stop 

ragging incidents on the campus, 

reports UNB. 

Over five hundred students under 

the banner of IU Conscious Students 

wmGGwe/wcAvi-48/2019/146 

ZvwiL : 02-04-2019 wLª: 

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brought out the procession from in 

front of Applied Science and 

Technology Faculty around 11:00am. 

IU syndicate member Professor M 

Mahbubar Rahman, IUTA president 

Professor M Kamal Uddin, its 

secretary Professor M Alamgir 

Hossain Bhuiya, IIER director 

Professor M Maher Ali, IU Student 

Advisor Professor Paresh Chandra 

Barman, Acting Proctor Anisur 

Rahman, Islamic History and Culture 

department chairman Professor 

Anowar Hossain and Tourism and 

Hospitality Management department 

chairman Professor Mahbubul Arefin 

were, among others, joined the 

procession. 

BNP chiefs adviser 

Asaduzzaman dies 

DHAKA : BNP 

chairperson's adviser Kazi 

Asaduzzaman Asad passed 

away on Wednesday. He was 

67. 

Asad, also the founding 

convener of Jatiayatabadi 

Chhatra Dal, breathed his last 

at Holy Family Hospital 

around 9 am, said his wife 

Yeasmin Asad, reports UNB. 

He is survived by his wife, 

two sons, a daughter and host 

of relatives and well-wishers 

to mourn his death. 

Asad, who had long been 

suffering from cancer, was 

admitted to the hospital on 

Tuesday afternoon in a critical 

condition. His first namaz-ejanaza 

will be held in front of 

BNP's Nayapaltan Central 

Office after Zohr prayer 

Wednesday. 

5 sued for embezzling 

Tk 258 crore from 

Agrani Bank 

DHAKA : The Anti- 

Corruption Commission 

(ACC) filed a case against five 

people on Wednesday for 

their alleged involvement in 

the embezzlement of 

Tk258.56 crore from Agrani 

Bank, reports UNB. 

ACC Assistant Director 

Mohammad Neyamul Ahsan 

Gazi filed the case with 

Double Mooring Police 

Station in Chattogram. 

The accused are- Chairman 

of Marrin Vegetables Oil 

Limited Tipu Sultan and 

Managing Director Jahir 

Ahmed; former senior officer 

of the bank's Agrabad branch 

Tripad Chakma, former 

senior principal officer of the 

branch Ramij Uddin, and 

former DGM and branch 

manager Belayet Hossain. 

Huawei announces 

top 10 ICT talents 

from Bangladesh 

Dhaka : huawei, world's 

leading ict solutions 

provider has announced 

10 outstanding ict talents 

from five renowned 

universities of the 

country, reports UNB. 

The names of the 

selected students were 

declared at a programme 

- 'Seeds for the future' 

inaugurated by Posts, 

Telecommunications and 

Information Technology 

Minister Mustafa Jabbar 

at Amari Dhaka Hotel in 

the city. 

Mustafa Jabbar said 

such kind of activities will 

help the young talents to 

have the clear concept 

about ICT advancement 

so that they can 

contribute for the 

country. 

"This kind of 

arrangement must be 

appreciated. Bangladesh 

is now going to become 

completely digital in very 

short time. I want to 

thank Huawei for being 

with us in this journey. 

Hopefully we can get 5G 

within 2021 to 2023. As 

an active partner, we are 

expecting Huawei to help 

us implement the 'Vision 

2021' with their 

technology", he said. 

This year's selected 

students were - Tasfia 

Zahin and Sarkar Snigdho 

Sarathi Das from 

Bangladesh University of 

Engineering & 

Technology (BUET), 

Mayeesha Farzana and 

Koushik Kumar from 

Dhaka University (DU), 

Tasfia Seuti and Minhaz 

Bin Farukee from 

Rajshahi University of 

Engineering and 

Technology (RUET), Atia 

Islam Ankhi and Jahedul 

Islam from Khulna 

University of Engineering 

and Technology (KUET), 

Monisha Dey and Kamrul 

Hasan from Chittagong 

University of Engineering 

and Technology (CUET). 

The students will get a 

two-week long learning 

experience in Beijing and 

Shenzhen by the end of 

this April. 

Li Guangjun, Economic 

and Commercial 

Counselor from the 

Embassy of China in 

Bangladesh was special 

guest of the event where 

Zhang Zhengjun, CEO of 

Huawei Technologies 

(Bangladesh) Ltd. was 

present. 

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Garment workers 

agitate in Ashulia 

SAVAR : Several 

readymade garment factories 

suspended operations for the 

day after workers 

demonstrated to press for 

various demands in Ashulia's 

new Export Processing Zone 

on Wednesday morning, 

reports UNB. 

Worker agitation was first 

reported at a factory. From 

there, they got out and hurled 

brick chips at some other 

factory buildings. Workers 

from those factories also got 

out and joined the protesters. 

This forced several factory 

owners to call off operations 

for the day, said workers. 

"The situation is now under 

control," said Shana 

Shaminur Rahman, director 

of Industrial Police-1. 

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EDITORIAL 

ThURSDAy, 

APRIl 4, 2019 

4 

ADB hails partial bond breather 

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam 

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

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com 

Thursday, April 4, 2019 

RAJUK’s 

irresponsibility 

T 

he 

RajdhaniUnnanyanKatripakha (RAJUK) is 

the official organisation responsible for ensuring 

that all construction within the Dhaka 

metropolitan region is carried out in fully conformity 

with prevailing governmental rules and regulations . 

But it has been singularly negligent in doing this job and 

this is manifest in large scale violation of the building 

code in the city. RAJUK contends that it has had 

insufficient manpower to do its job. But how is it that it 

did not take care of its manpower insufficiency over so 

many years ? RAJUK is now seen suddenly active in 

cracking down on unauthorised structure or ones 

without its proper approval or built without observing 

the building code. This has happened after the last fire 

incident in a Banani tower in Dhaka and discovery that 

its top five floors were built without its approval. 

But this latest activity of RAJUK is but a waste of 

resources in a country that should put a premium on 

conserving resources in view of its resource poor 

conditions. The ones who have constructed structures 

violating the code, knowingly or unknowingly, will now 

suffer loss of resources. RAJUK will also have to expend 

resources in demolishing the structures. Thus, a double 

waste is involved and the same could be prevented if 

RAJUK authorities had been sincere and honest in their 

duties from the outset. 

It is hard to believe that RAJUK failed to enforce 

adherence to the code in the past by maintaining the 

vigilance by its inspectors in a fairly regular basis that 

would lead to a halt in the construction of structures in 

the first place identified for not conforming to the 

building code. It is well known that such constructions 

could continue as the pecuniary interests of RAJUK 

officials were satisfied. Thus, RAJUK and no other, 

must acknowledge its own deficiencies and corruption 

and make a whole new start. From now on, the 

helmsmen of that organisation should be obliged not to 

leave any opportunities for a repeat of their past 

underperformance. 

Newspaper reports were noted sometime ago that 

some private developers were alluring people to buy 

apartments and lands although these have no 

authorisation from RAJUK . The news is a bombshell 

because such properties will remain totally and forever 

insecure for the buyers from being potentially targets 

for demolition. What RAJUK should be doing is 

running frequent publicities in the mass media from 

now on so that the greatest number of people can come 

to know about dealing with these so called real estate 

companies at such high risks. RAJUK should also 

persuade these companies, wherever possible, to satisfy 

its terms and conditions and requirements of 

regulations so that these can be approved as legitimate 

housing schemes at some stage and on this hope 

members of the public can continue to deal with them. 

Otherwise, all would be lost for the hapless buyers of 

such properties. 

According to RAJUK , there are about five thousand 

building structures which have been identified as highly 

risky in Dhaka city. Some of these were built without 

adhering to the national building code or duly getting 

plans approved by RAJUK while others were built with 

plans approved by RAJUK but RAJUK alleges that 

builders deviated from the plans. But the unsafe 

buildings scattered all over the city, specially the ones 

which their owners claim were built with the mandatory 

approved plan of RAJUK, give rise to many questions. 

How can this body which is entrusted with the 

responsibility of ensuring that only plans for the making 

of safe buildings are submitted to it in the first place, 

ever endorse such plans ? Besides, RAJUK's duties do 

not end with the acceptance of plans. It is expected to 

follow-up with proper inspections to ascertain whether 

the plans approved by it are being meticulously 

followed. This would be the main assurance that 

buildings with risky or faulty designs are not erected or 

their constructions can be quickly stopped or not even 

allowed to take-off. The same becoming a practice of 

RAJUK will prevent technically unsound structures to 

come up and conserve RAJUK's resources as well as 

that of the builders if decisions are taken to demolish 

them on grounds of risk after construction. 

The building code is there. But it seems that it has 

more an existence in paper because in many cases it 

continues to be violated. Self-serving RAJUK officials 

are allegedly known for their certifying questionable 

plans when their pecuniary interests are met. Not only 

the same is encouraging urban growth of the wrong 

variety, the lives of people are also being exposed to 

great risks as the case of the latest piling collapse of the 

multi-storied building at Tejgaon shows up so starkly. 

Therefore, it is imperative to shake-up RAJUK at all 

levels to make that organisation a truly dedicated one. 

For this purpose, apart from increasing its professional 

and physical capacities to enable it to do its job 

efficiently , what is of the utmost importance is cleaning 

thoroughly the corruption in its different tiers. Only 

such a deep cleansed RAJUK can be expected to engage 

in its activities with real sincerity. 

The Asian Development Bank's 

March local-bond monitor, 

covering the first quarter through 

mid-February, traced yield decline in 

six of nine East Asian economies as 

"improved investor sentiment" equally 

buoyed equity markets. The region 

outperformed the Morgan Stanley 

Capital International index with an 11% 

gain for the full quarter to beat Europe 

and Latin America. 

All components, led by China, rose in 

the core universe except Malaysia, and 

the three frontier index members were 

also positive, topped by Vietnam's 

almost 15% uptick. The rate fall 

reflected the US Federal Reserve's 

pause, Chinese monetary easing, and 

progress on Washington-Beijing trade 

talks. 

Currencies, particularly the Thai 

baht and Indonesian rupiah, in turn 

firmed against the US dollar, but they 

are not "out of the woods," with 

lingering drags on economic growth 

and private debt. 

Foreign ownership stabilized in the 

last quarter of 2018 and jumped in the 

Philippines, but internal and external 

strains, including the ripple effects of a 

choppy Brexit process in the UK, 

continue to haunt the US$13 trillion 

combined bond market, the ADB 

warned. 

In last year's final quarter, volume 

was up only 2% from the previous one, 

with China's size almost three-quarters 

of the regional total. The government 

and corporate bond shares are twothirds 

and one-third respectively, and 

Thailand is the largest market in the 

Association of Southeast Asian 

Nations. As a fraction of gross domestic 

There were feelings of both relief 

and satisfaction when footage 

was aired of US-backed and 

Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic 

Forces fighters retaking the final 

enclave of the Daesh "caliphate" in 

eastern Syria late last month. The 

five-year nightmare of a widespread, 

distorted version of Islam mixed 

with a style of brutality that became 

the trademark of Daesh has come to 

an end, leaving behind it scorched 

earth in every territory it had 

controlled. But satisfaction, or even 

celebration of Daesh's defeat, should 

not lead to triumphalism and 

complacency. Daesh was, at the end 

of the day, its own worst enemy and, 

while its fighters wrote the death 

warrants of so many people in the 

cruelest manner, by their behavior 

they also wrote their own death 

warrants. 

The defeat of Daesh provides at 

best a hiatus, not a long-term 

solution to the root causes of its 

emergence; there is no guarantee 

that it, or a similar organization, will 

not rise from the ashes. Questions 

regarding how Daesh emerged in the 

first place, and why it enjoyed any 

support at all, are still bewildering. 

Moreover, how was it allowed, within 

a very short space of time, to capture 

and control more than 34,000 

square miles of territory and rule 

over some 8 million people? And 

what could be the attraction of such a 

product, the average approaches 75%, 

with South Korea's the highest at 125% 

as the No 2 overall, with $2 trillion 

outstanding. 

Foreign fund inflows moderated at 

the end of 2018, as ownership in the 

Philippines and Thailand rose several 

points and in Indonesia came to 37.5%. 

The ADB growth forecast this year is 

unchanged near 6%, with healthy 

domestic demand cushioning trade 

expansion at a subdued 4% global clip. 

Hong Kong and South Korea are the 

laggards in the 2-3% range, on regional 

inflation at the same level. However, 

predictions could be upended again by 

sudden emerging-market risk aversion 

that prompts fiscal and monetary 

tightening, the Bank cautions. 

Credit default swap spreads 

narrowed from December to February, 

with the benchmark Volatility Index 

(VIX) down "sharply" with an 

extension of Chinese trade negotiations 

and the US government's budget 

resolution. 

At the margin, the brighter outlook 

also aids "green" bond issuance for 

clean energy projects. In Asia, China 

was the most active with $55 billion 

placed between 2016 and 2018, 

followed by India ($5.5 billion) and 

South Korea ($2.5 billion), according 

to the Climate Bonds Initiative. Over 

the period, 10 emerging economies 

globally floated 30 instruments, and 

almost half were renminbidenominated. 

Most are investmentgrade 

rated and above $200 million, 

and pricing depends on underlying 

bond market depth as they are bought 

both by sustainable and conventional 

investors. 

The ADB growth forecast this year is unchanged near 6%, 

with healthy domestic demand cushioning trade expansion 

at a subdued 4% global clip. hong Kong and South Korea 

are the laggards in the 2-3% range, on regional inflation at 

the same level. however, predictions could be upended 

again by sudden emerging-market risk aversion that 

prompts fiscal and monetary tightening, the Bank cautions. 

gruesome, murderous organization 

for the tens of thousands of people 

from within and beyond the Middle 

East who joined it, including more 

than 3,400 Westerners? 

It would be wrong to treat Daesh as 

just a tragic anecdote that is now 

confined to history. Delving only into 

its extreme puritan, reductionist, 

apocalyptic ideology, as fascinating 

as that may be, while ignoring the 

conditions that created the space and 

the atmosphere for such an 

organization would be an exercise in 

futility. Such an extreme movement 

does not evolve into a theocratic 

quasi-state that manages to sustain 

itself, if only briefly, with frightening 

resilience in the face of much more 

powerful forces, unless there is a 

wider context that enables it. 

It will take a long time to heal the 

wounds inflicted by Daesh's brief and 

brutal reign, but we have an 

opportunity to consider that 

GARy KlEIMAn 

yOSSI MEKElBERG 

China's central bank has clear 

guidelines, and Bank of China and 

China Development Bank are regular 

sponsors. Another study by the United 

Nations Environment Program points 

out that climate-vulnerable developing 

countries face an estimated borrowing 

cost premium of 125 basis points from 

that risk, so asset class development 

should be a priority. The private-sector 

yield demanded is steeper still, as 

economies "pay twice" with physical 

damage and higher debt service. On 

the positive side, project and social 

preparedness investment show good 

unfortunate episode in a holistic, 

context-sensitive way, and so 

address its root causes for the benefit 

of future generation It should come 

as no surprise that the two states in 

which Daesh emerged and 

established itself were Iraq and 

Syria. Both suffered from extremely 

repressive regimes with no respect 

for the most basic of human, civil 

and political rights, and which for 

different reasons collapsed or at least 

lost control of large parts of their 

territories. When big international 

powers contemplate future military 

interventions and the lure of regime 

change as their major objective - and 

let us hope they will not - they should 

consider the link between the 2003 

invasion of Iraq and the emergence 

of Daesh. The US' pursuit of regime 

change while knowing nothing of the 

historical, cultural, political and 

social terrain opened the gates of hell 

for Daesh to emerge. Without the US 

returns, but greater international 

concessional funding is needed to 

create a "virtuous cycle," the report 

suggests. 

Cross-border Asian local-currency 

bond deals totaled $5.5 billion in the 

fourth quarter last year, with the 

biggest a Hong Kong dollar issue by a 

Chinese property company. Names 

from South Korea, Malaysia and 

Singapore each represented around 5% 

of activity, and Laos' government 

managed four Thai baht-denominated 

bonds worth $200 million. The longest 

maturity was 12 years with a 6.5% 

coupon. 

In hard-currency markets, 2018's 

amount was down 15% annually to 

$295 billion, with China's share at 

60%, followed by South Korea's $30 

billion led by the Export-Import Bank. 

Cambodia and Vietnam were on the 

radar with hospitality-firm 

transactions in US dollars amid 

tourism pushes in both places. 

Policy rates stayed intact across the 

nine countries tracked over the review 

period on lower inflation, while the 

yield spread between top-rated 

corporate and government bonds 

dropped in South Korea and increased 

in Malaysia. As regional commercial 

allocation deepens, central banks have 

rolled out local-currency-denominated 

swap facilities. A recent $10 billion 

arrangement between Indonesia and 

Singapore includes repos, and is 

designed for the next time bond 

markets are in peril despite the ADB's 

temporary reassurance. 

Source : Asia times 

The root causes of Daesh’s emergence must be addressed 

The Stand Up to Racism & Facism 

march through London ending in 

Trafalgar Square London 2015 

Theresa May and the Conservative 

party are refusing to take the action 

needed to tackle the growing problem of 

Islamophobia and anti-Muslim 

sentiment among Tory members and 

politicians, and in our wider society. At a 

time when hate crime against all minority 

communities is rising, and when far-right 

extremism is a growing problem, they 

simply must not be allowed to get away 

with it. 

Just over two weeks ago, people around 

the world were left heartbroken and 

scared when 50 innocent people were 

murdered in a terrorist attack in 

Christchurch, New Zealand, for no reason 

other than their faith. 

This horrific attack was motivated by 

Islamophobia and anti-Muslim 

sentiment. But, sadly, these views are no 

longer held by extremists alone. Over 

recent years, they have crept into 

mainstream society and political debate. 

Everyone who cares about protecting our 

diversity and liberal, inclusive societies 

must act immediately to stamp it out. 

There is no denying that here in Britain 

the Conservative party has a particular 

problem with Islamophobia. Just last 

week, 15 suspended Conservative 

councillors were quietly reinstated, 

despite evidence showing they had 

It would be wrong to treat Daesh as just a tragic 

anecdote that is now confined to history. Delving 

only into its extreme puritan, reductionist, 

apocalyptic ideology, as fascinating as that may 

be, while ignoring the conditions that created the 

space and the atmosphere for such an 

organization would be an exercise in futility. 

posted or shared Islamophobic or racist 

material. And, in December, a 

Conservative party complaints panel 

found that Boris Johnson's comparison 

of women wearing burqas to letterboxes 

and bank robbers had been "respectful". 

The impact this has on ordinary British 

Muslims cannot be overstated. It sends a 

message that it is totally acceptable to 

mock women who wear a burqa, and that 

blatantly anti-Muslim racist abuse 

deserves a slap on the wrist at most. It has 

left communities across Britain feeling 

insecure and afraid of what the future 

might hold. 

I have personally been subjected to 

abuse based on my faith by people at all 

levels of the Conservative party. Several 

Conservative members and councillors 

have been suspended or arrested or have 

faced legal action as a result of 

Islamophobic abuse directed at me, and I 

have never received an explanation let 

SADIq KhAn 

alone an apology for the openly 

Islamophobic campaign the party ran 

against me in London in 2016. This didn't 

just involve the Tory mayoral candidate, 

but extended to unacceptable attacks by a 

range of senior ministers - including the 

current prime minister. 

And it hasn't stopped since. Just last 

year, the current Conservative London 

mayoral candidate, Shaun Bailey, shared 

an image online that described me as the 

"mad mullah" of "Londonistan". He faced 

no investigation or action from the 

Conservative party whatsoever, despite 

having previously said that 

accommodating Muslims and Hindus 

"robs Britain of its community" and risks 

turning our country into a "crime-riddled 

cesspool". Similarly, no action was taken 

against the Conservative MP Michael 

Fabricant, when he shared a different vile 

Islamophobic picture of me. 

The impact of incidents such as this 

and its allies' invasion of Iraq and the 

havoc it wreaked there, while 

completely oblivious to its delicate 

religious-tribal social fabric, we 

would probably never have heard of 

Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. This is not to 

say that Iraq and Syria were not in 

need of radical reforms, but that such 

changes should have been locally led, 

not foreign-imposed. 

It was not only its brutality that 

made Daesh an enemy that had to be 

eliminated, but also its pretension of 

carrying out its project in the name 

of Islam, potentially tarnishing an 

entire religion of 1.8 billion 

adherents, who had nothing to do 

with Daesh's most extreme version. 

To supply no adequate response 

would have risked religious wars and 

destabilized other countries. 

Moreover, this fanatical 

organization's use of social media 

might have given it short-term 

sadistic satisfaction and rallied 

support from those who harbor so 

much hatred of the West, but it left 

the countries of its victims - those 

who were so gruesomely beheaded or 

burnt alive - no choice but to use 

their full force to do whatever it took 

to crush it. There are also some 

positives that can be taken from the 

way Daesh was dealt with until it was 

eventually defeated at its last stand 

in Baghuz. 

Source : Arab news 

May’s failure to tackle Tory Islamophobia sends a dangerous message 

This horrific attack was motivated by Islamophobia and 

anti-Muslim sentiment. But, sadly, these views are no longer 

held by extremists alone. Over recent years, they have crept 

into mainstream society and political debate. Everyone who 

cares about protecting our diversity and liberal, inclusive 

societies must act immediately to stamp it out. 

isn't about me - it creates much bigger 

problems. When the party in government 

sees no need to put its own house in order 

it sends the damaging message to wider 

society that Islamophobia and anti- 

Muslim sentiment are acceptable. It also 

sends a destructive message to young 

British Muslims about the abuse and 

racism they could face if they dare to 

pursue a role in politics or in the public 

eye. 

That's why I wrote to Theresa May last 

week to ask her to adopt a new crossparty 

definition of Islamophobia. The 

new definition was produced by the allparty 

parliamentary group (APPG) on 

British Muslims, following a six-month 

consultation with MPs, academics, legal 

experts, Muslim organisations and 

representatives of other faiths. It has 

already been accepted by the Labour 

party, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid 

Cymru, an increasing number of councils 

and me at City Hall. 

The Conservative party has refused to 

adopt the new definition. The prime 

minister, asked directly if she would 

adopt it in the House of Commons, 

pointedly refused to answer the question. 

Instead, she sent the Conservative vicechair, 

James Cleverly, to do TV interviews 

to deny that an agreed definition of 

Islamophobia even exists. 

Source : Gulf news

HEALTH 

TUESDAy, 

APRIL 2, 2019 

5 

Live healthy: shift your 

attention to the real world 

Teenage psychotic experiences linked to high levels of air pollution. 

Adam Vaughan 

We know dirty air is bad for our bodies, 

causing the equivalent of millions of 

deaths worldwide each year, making it 

a bigger killer than smoking. But could 

air pollution be bad for our minds too? 

A study has found psychotic 

experiences, which can involve hearing 

or seeing something that others don't, 

are more common among teenagers in 

the UK's most polluted areas. 

However, the association doesn't 

mean that breathing in air pollution 

leads to psychosis in teenagers, because 

there could be other explanations. The 

study doesn't show causation, says 

Helen Fisher of King's College London, 

one of the study's authors. 

Fisher and her colleagues found that 

30 per cent of a group of 2000 18-yearolds 

reported having at least one 

psychotic experience in their teens - 

other research on young adults has 

reported similar figures. However, 

when the teenagers' addresses were 

mapped against air pollution, those in 

areas with higher pollution were more 

likely to have reported a psychotic 

experience. In areas with the highest 

levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) - 

pollutants produced by diesel cars - 12 

teens reported psychotic experiences 

for every 20 teens who didn't, with the 

number falling to seven for every 20 in 

cleaner areas. 

It isn't known how air pollution could 

be linked to psychotic experiences. One 

speculative mechanism put forward by 

the team is of a cumulative build-up of 

pollutants directly influencing the 

brain. 

Studies have linked air pollution 

with inflammation and degeneration 

in the frontal cortex and the part of the 

brain that gives us our sense of smell, 

the olfactory bulb. Inflammation of 

the brain has been linked to psychosis. 

A simpler explanation could be that 

it is not the dirty air itself, but the 

noise from the cars emitting pollution. 

Noise pollution can increase stress 

and disrupt sleep, two factors 

associated with psychotic experiences. 

"There is no evidence that pollution 

necessarily causes psychosis, or 

whether this is one of many factors or 

acting in isolation," says Sophie Dix at 

mental health charity MQ. But the 

study provides a starting point for a 

possible link between pollution and 

psychosis, she says. 

Photo: Paul McGee 

Could pollution and 

mental health be linked? 

There is an emerging body of 

research looking at possible links 

between air pollution and mental 

health. For example, an association 

has been found between polluted 

areas and Swedish children being 

given medication for psychiatric 

disorders. 

There is a compelling case for 

further investigation into toxic air's 

potential connection to mental health, 

says Stefan Reis at the Centre for 

Ecology and Hydrology in the UK. But 

there is limited evidence so far, says 

Fisher. "It's really preliminary. We 

don't know very much." 

Fortunately, the world doesn't need 

to wait until any link is proven 

between air pollution and mental 

health to act on what we pump into 

the air, because we know so much 

about air pollution's harmful physical 

impacts. Tiny particulate matter can 

penetrate deep into the lungs and 

bloodstream, causing heart and lung 

problems, including infections and 

aggravating asthma. It has also been 

associated with low weight and 

premature babies. "There's a huge 

weight of evidence on the physical 

effects," says Fisher. 

Five ways to get more fibre in 

your diet 

Ellie Shechet 

Author Jenny Odell talks about the 

attention economy and the value of 

being alone with one's thoughts. 

In How to Do Nothing: Resisting 

the Attention Economy, the artist, 

writer and Stanford professor Jenny 

Odell questions "what we currently 

perceive as productive". She wants to 

give readers permission to be a 

human, in a body, in a place. 

Redirecting our attention towards 

our natural surroundings is Odell's 

strategy for resisting a profit-driven 

tech landscape that, in separating 

our bodies and co-opting our 

attention, is possibly torching our 

ability to live meaningful lives, and 

preventing us from noticing. (Odell 

herself uses birdwatching as an 

antidote.) 

Odell acknowledges that 

participating in this system is, for 

most people, not optional, and the 

book is dotted with examples of 

standing against the tide while 

remaining more-or-less in it - artists, 

labor movements, Oakland's last 

old-growth redwood tree. The 

stakes, she argues, are high: "In a 

time that demands action, 

distraction appears to be a life-anddeath 

matter." 

It's this perspective in which time 

is money, and you should have 

something to show for your time - 

either getting work done, or selfimprovement, 

which I would still 

count as work. Anything that 

detracts from that is too expensive, 

from the time-is-money perspective. 

And it ties into this idea that 

everything is a machine, and it just 

needs to be fixed, or made more 

efficient. It's also a very present 

perspective - the bad kind of 

presence, being very wrapped up in 

whatever is happening right now, or 

what everyone is talking about on 

Twitter. 

Years ago at Stanford, I would 

notice that if I was walking to class, 

no matter how stressed I was, birds 

were the one thing that could cut 

through that no matter what. 

Which is pretty amazing. A really 

nice flower, maybe. But birds - 

there's something about them 

that's always surprising. They're so 

unpredictable, and there's 

something about that that gets 

around anything that I might be 

thinking about. 

Yeah. Surprise is a way of being 

reminded that there's something 

outside of you. 

That might be an interesting thing 

to try to do, but it shouldn't be our 

responsibility - we didn't create this 

problem. It's not a solution, but that 

professional need to express oneself 

all the time, to have a take about 

everything, it's not going to go away 

as long as a certain economic reality 

exists and the platform is designed a 

certain way. I don't blame anyone for 

doing that, because you kind of have 

to. The change would have to come 

from the platform. I think interiority 

is really underrated right now. That 

could just be my own bias. I seem to 

spend a lot of time trying to figure 

out ways to get away from other 

people. [Laughs] I think that there is 

a lot to be said for being alone with 

your thoughts for an extended 

period of time. Yesterday I spent all 

day by myself walking around 

thinking about stuff, and then I had 

drinks with a friend and we talked 

about the stuff that I was thinking 

about. But I didn't tweet about it. I 

just don't think that a bunch of 

strangers belong in that thought 

process, and I don't want to apply 

the metrics of success to a budding 

idea. 

It's a really big issue, and it makes 

the politics of land use and urban 

planning even more important than 

they already are. I think that's what's 

helpful about some of the art pieces 

that I mention. Anything that can 

help you practice shifting your 

attention. 

For me, being outside makes that 

very easy, but in situations where I 

didn't have that access, it ended up 

meaning just trying to shift my 

perspective a little bit to where 

things around me start to appear as 

odd as they really are. Because 

everything's weird, I really believe 

that. Accessing that can be hard, but 

I think you can make a small 

decision to just notice things that 

you haven't noticed before. You can 

always do that, no matter where you 

are, even if they're not pretty. When 

you start paying attention to a 

population of a certain type of bird in 

your neighborhood, you will notice 

when it's gone one year. And there's 

a difference between that and 

reading about climate change. 

They're both important, but I think if 

you begin to recognize things that 

live around you as agents in their 

own right - for me, they almost seem 

like people - then the effects on them 

will be felt in a different way, and it 

does feel real. 

It's painful, but one can imagine 

that if more people identified with 

non-human communities around 

them in that way, then climate 

change might be felt and talked 

I think interiority is really underrated right now. 

Photo: RichLegg 

about in a different way. 

Obviously "doing nothing" is not 

activism, but I hope the book helps 

clear the ground for activism. I 

looked at the formal quality of how 

people have organized [in the past] - 

these closed spaces where people 

come together and encounter one 

another in a fuller sense than one 

does online, and then strategizing in 

slightly larger meetings, and larger 

meetings. It wasn't until I came 

across that pattern, as I was 

researching these movements, that I 

realized how much was at stake with 

the attention economy. 

In a way it's destroying the 

frameworks that we have traditionally 

used for organizing, and it's destroying 

the contexts that allowed people to 

encounter ideas in a way that's 

productive. In the Veronica Barassi 

essay that I cite, the activists she 

interviewed complained about the 

effects of social media on time. Like, 

not having the time to have 

conversations about ideas, and that 

anything you say online is immediately 

buried.Activism takes time, and that 

time is getting taken away from us. 

Fibrous ... a lentil and vegetable stew. 

Nicola Davis 

Fibre, or roughage, refers to 

indigestible carbohydrates. A fibrerich 

diet is linked to health benefits 

including a reduced risk of heart 

disease and bowel cancer. While UK 

guidelines say adults should get 30g a 

day, fewer than one in 10 meet this 

goal. Popular low-carb diets may be a 

reason why. Understanding what is in 

your food can help: a typical apple 

contains 2-3g of fibre, a sesame bagel 

about 4g. Jo Greening, a 

spokesperson for the British Dietetic 

Association (BDA), says it is worth 

checking the labels, as different 

brands have different levels of fibre. 

Simple substitutions can boost your 

fibre intake without you radically 

rethinking your diet. By moving to 

bran flakes from rice puffs for 

breakfast, wholemeal rather than 

white bread for a sandwich at 

lunchtime, and brown rice instead of 

white for dinner, you can raise your 

fibre intake by several grams. 

Greening recommends adding a 

handful of raisins or nuts to 

breakfast cereals, seeds to salads, 

and chickpeas or lentils to a stew. 

"Half a can of chickpeas is about 7g 

of fibre - and that can help to reduce 

the amount of meat you are 

adding," she says, adding that 

bulking meals out with vegetables 

helps. "Have baked beans on two 

slices of toast and you are already at 

13g." Keeping the skins on potatoes 

also adds fibre to a meal. 

Photo: Ramon Grosso Dolarea 

Greening says it is better to eat 

fruit as solids rather than turn them 

into drinks, as juicing makes the 

sugar in fruit much more readily 

available. If you can't give up 

slurping, go for a blender. "Juicers 

remove a lot of the fibre, whereas 

blending smoothies keeps the fibre 

in there," says Prof Pete Wilde of the 

Quadram Institute. To keep sugars 

down, he says, it is better to use lowsugar 

fruit or even just vegetables. 

To avoid digestive problems such as 

bloating, gas and diarrhoea, Greening 

says it is important to increase fibre 

gradually, rather than boosting 

consumption suddenly. Consume 

plenty of fluids, too: the BDA 

recommends 8 to 10 cups a day, at 

regular intervals. 

How to cut 

and look 

after your 

your nails 

Nails should be kept fairly 

short. The longer they are, 

the more easily they are 

damaged - especially your 

fingernails, if you work 

with your hands. If they 

are fine, you can use a 

normal clipper; for 

anything thicker - usually 

toenails, but sometimes 

fingernails - you will need 

a heavy-duty version. Use 

Fingernails should be given a curve, while toenails should be cut straight 

across. 

Photo: Getty Images 

a nail file for shaping, or if 

it hurts when you clip your 

nails. You don't need to 

use it in just one direction, 

but do file gently to avoid 

damage. 

Fingernails should be 

given a curve, while 

toenails should be cut 

straight across, to prevent 

ingrowth. You can cut a 

little down the sides of 

your toenails, especially if 

you are prone to ingrowing 

toenails, to take them 

away from the skin. If you 

have persistent problems 

with an ingrowing toenail, 

you will need to see a 

doctor. 

Your nails will be softer 

after a bath or shower, so if 

you have thicker nails it 

may be easier to cut them 

then. With brittle nails, 

however, cutting them 

when they are soft may 

make things worse. 

There is no harm in 

giving your cuticles a 

gentle trim, but don't 

overdo it - they protect 

your nail bed from 

infection by keeping out 

debris. 

You should moisturise 

your hands and feet, 

including your nails and 

cuticles, every day. The 

thicker the cream, the 

better. If you use polish, 

give your nails a break 

from time to time so that 

air and moisturiser can 

reach them and prevent 

discolouration.

NATIONAL 

THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019 

6 

In observance of the month-long "Cleanliness Campaign", Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) brought out a 

colorful rally led by SSC Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury on Wednesday. Photo: Md Saddam Hossain 

SCC starts month-long 

cleanliness campaign 

Md Saddam Hossain, Sylhet Correspondent: Sylhet 

City Corporation (SCC) on Wednesday launched month-long 

"Cleanliness Campaign" in a bid to raise awareness on waste 

management in the city 

Marking the occasion a procession was brought from 

Nagar Bhaban in the morning which paraded the main 

streets of the city. Later the cleanliness drive was inaugurated 

at Hazrat Shahjalal (R) Mazar area. Sylhet City Corporation 

Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury along with different ward 

councilors, the leaders of various social and professional 

organizations participated in the rally. 

During the time, SSC Mayor cleaned the garbage with a 

broom from inside and outised of the Hazrat Shahjalal (R) 

Mazar area. As part of the program, 27 special teams started 

27 held in Dinajpur 

special drives 

DINAJPUR: Law enforcers, 

in special drives arrested 27 

persons including seven 

drug traders, two activists of 

Jamaat-E-Islami and an 

activist of BNP from 

different areas of the district 

in 12-hour ending at 8am 

last morning, reports BSS. 

Law enforcers also seized 

250 bottles of Phensidyl and 

67 pieces of Yaba tablets 

during the drives. 

Police said they were 

picked up from different 

areas of the district on 

different charges. 

During the drives, 

Dinajpur Sadar police 

arrested five persons 

including two drug traders 

along with 67 pieces of Yaba 

tablets and 50 bottles of 

Phensidyl, Birganj Thana 

police arrested two persons, 

Parbatipur Thana police 

arrested three persons 

including an activist of BNP, 

Khansama Thana police 

arrested two persons, 

Kaharole Thana police 

arrested three persons, 

Nawabganj Thana police 

arrested three persons 

including two drug traders, 

Ghoraghat Thana police 

arrested two persons. 

Gopalganj district 

administration frees 

government land 

from grabbers 

S M Nazrul Islam, 

Gopalganj Correspondent: 

Gopalganj district 

administration on 

Wednesday freed 18 percent 

of government land from the 

grabbers. 18 percent of the 

government land was freed 

after breaking the illegal 

house built in Pachuria 

Helipad area of Gopalganj. 

Sheikh Mosharraf 

Hossain, Assistant Officer of 

Gopalganj municipal office, 

said that Pachuria area's 

influential leader, Ali Mia 

occupied 18 percent of the 

government land and built 

illegal houses. Under the 

leadership of Executive 

Magistrate of Gopalganj 

Mahbub Jalil, the houses 

were evicted. 

During this time 

Additional Deputy 

Commissioner (Revenue) 

Mst Shammi Akter, 

Assistant Commissioner of 

Sadar Upazila (Land) 

Mohammad Mahbubul 

Alam and Surveyor 

Mohammad Mosharraf 

Hossain were also present at 

the occasion. 

the campaign at the same time at 27 wards of the city. 

Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury said that the cleanliness 

drive is a month-long campaign. After the drive, mosquito 

control campaign will be launched as mosquito killing 

medicines will not work in dirt and drains full of garbage. 

Mayor Ariful Huq Chowdhury also requested the people 

present in the rally and cleanliness activities to take part in 

the campaign with their own will. 

Sylhet City Corporation's Public Relations Officer Shahab 

Uddin Shihab said that during the month-long operation 

620 workers will participate in cleanliness campaign. Out of 

this, 270 workers will work in 27 wards. There are more than 

100 workers in excess. Besides, more than 250 workers of 

SCC will be working in the month-long cleanliness drive. 

Additional Inspector General of Police Md Mokhlesur Rahman as the chief 

guest inaugurated the sports competition at Habiganj Police Lines recently. 

At the occasion, Habiganj Police Superintendent Mohammad Ullah was 

also present. 

Photo: Md Mamun Chowdhury 

Police must work with honestly 

and devotion: Addl IGP 

Md Mamun Chowdhury, Habiganj 

Correspondent: Additional Inspector 

General of Police Md Mokhlesur Rahman 

urged the police to work with honesty and 

devotion. He said that police have played a 

key role in controlling the law and order 

situation in the country. Police have already 

been able to counter the militants. Police 

have worked sincerely to carry out national 

and local elections peacefully. The full force 

cannot take responsibility for the misdeeds 

of some police personnel. Strict action will be 

taken against the offender. The whole police 

force will be responsible for his crimes. 

He said these as the chief guest at the prize 

giving ceremony of annual police assembly 

and sports competition at Habiganj Police 

Lines on Monday. Additional IGP 

Mokhlesur Rahman also said that police will 

not only work to prevent crime but the police 

will have to contribute to sports, cultural and 

everything else. Sport keeps away from all 

forms of crime as well as the development of 

human mind and humanity. So police must 

motivate ordinary people towards sports. 

Habiganj Police Superintendent 

Mohammad Ullah (BPM-PPM) chaired the 

occasion while Sylhet Range DIG 

Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan (BPM-Bar), 

Sylhet Metropolitan Police Commissioner 

Golam Kibria, Additional DIG Joydeb 

Kumar Bhadra, Sunamganj Police Super 

Barkat Ullah Khan, Moulvibazar 

Superintendent of Police Shah Jalal and 

Habiganj Additional Deputy Commissioner 

(Revenue) Tarique Md. Zakaria were present 

as special guests at the occasion. 

Among others, Habiganj Press Club 

President Harunur Rashid Chowdhury, 

General Secretary Syed Akhalasur Rahman 

Khokon, Additional Superintendent of 

Police SM Fazlul Haque, Additional Police 

Superintendent of Police Bureau of 

Investigation (PBI) Mia Qutubur Rahman 

Chowdhury, Additional Superintendent of 

Police (Habiganj Sadar Circle) Rabiul Islam, 

Bahubal Upazila Chairman Syed Khalilur 

Rahman and former president of Habiganj 

Press Club Mohammad Nahik were also 

present at the occasion. 

At the beginning of the ceremony, a guard 

of honor was given to Additional IGP 

Mokhlesur Rahman on behalf of Habiganj 

District Police. Later the chief guest 

inaugurated the sports competition by flying 

pigeons and balloons. 

Gopalganj district administration freed 18 percent of government land 

from grabbers on Wednesday. 

Photo: S M Nazrul Islam 

RMU to establish 

psychiatry department 

for autistics 

RAJSHAHI: Rajshahi 

Medical University (RMU) 

will establish a full-fledged 

psychiatry department to 

supplement the Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina's 

effort to take the autistic and 

other mentally retarded 

children forward, reports 

BSS. 

The department will be 

transformed into an 

institute and the process of 

doing welfare of the children 

with special needs will be 

easier and meaningful. 

RMU Vice-chancellor Prof 

Masum Habib revealed this 

while addressing a 

discussion on "Use of 

Assistive 

Device 

Technologies, Rights of 

Autistic Children" in 

Rajshahi city on Tuesday as 

chief guest. 

RMU organized the 

meeting at Rajshahi Medical 

College (RMC) auditorium 

in observance of 12th World 

Autism Awareness Day- 

2019. 

Prof Masum Habib said 

Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina and her 

internationally reputed 

daughter Saima Wazed 

Putul are working 

relentlessly to turn the 

autistic and disabled 

children into human 

resources for ensuring their 

welfare and development. 

He asked school teachers 

and all others concerned to 

ensure their timely 

attendance to classes and 

educate the intellectually 

disabled, mentally retarded 

and disabled children with 

love, compassion and 

sincerity to transform them 

into worthy citizens. 

Autistic and mentally 

retarded children could 

flourish their latent talents if 

they are properly cared, 

nurtured and provided with 

necessary opportunities. 

Prof Abdullah Al Mamun 

from Department of 

Psychiatry in RMC, who 

addressed the meeting as 

focal person, said the 

intellectually challenged, 

autistic and physically 

challenged children would 

not be burden of the society 

if they are provided with 

proper education and 

training. "The intellectually 

disabled and autistic 

children could do the same 

as able children can 

contribute to national 

advancement if they are 

provided with proper 

education and training," 

added the psychiatry 

specialist. 

CCC mayor says he did not 

slap NHA engineer 

S M Akash, Chattogram 

Correspondent: Chattogram 

City Corporation Mayor 

AJM Nasir Uddin said that 

he did not slap National 

Housing Authority (NHA) 

engineer and claimed that 

he just rebuked the engineer 

for obstructing the work of 

the city corporation. 

The mayor said this while 

addressing the media at his 

office in Nagar Bhaban in 

Chattogarm on Tuesday. 

The mayor said that while he 

was in a meeting with 6 

NHA engineers at the 

conference room on the 

third floor of Nagar 

Bhabhan in Andarkilla on 

Monday, he had an 

argument with an engineer. 

Later the engineer accused 

and complained that I have 

slapped him. 

CCC mayor AJM Nasir 

Uddin further said that CCC 

executive magistrate evicted 

the illegal establishments on 

the much-talked land and 

now the NHA want to set up 

a makeshift market in the 

disputed land while the city 

corporation wanted to 

construct a road and a drain 

to curb water logging 

problem of the city. 

'If we construct drain and 

road in a curved way it 

would cause water-logging,' 

he said. 

The mayor said that Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina had 

instructed him to set up 

drains in the city so that 

rainwater can pass out 

quickly. 'So, the drain would 

be straight, it would not be 

curved. When the rainwater 

would submerge the drains, 

people would only blame the 

mayor,' he said. 

The NHA members did 

not like my plan and at one 

stage an engineer showed 

offensive behavior towards 

me. I just told him he doesn't 

know how to behave with a 

Chattogram City Corporation Mayor AJM Nasir 

Uddin at a press conference on Tuesday said that 

he did not slap National Housing Authority 

(NHA) engineer and claimed that he just 

rebuked the engineer for obstructing the work of 

the city corporation. 

Photo: S M Akash 

mayor. At that point, others 

took him away," said Nasir. 

Mayor said that he would 

file a complaint to the 

concerned ministry and go 

for administrative action 

against the person 

responsible. 

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in a drive seized a truck 

loaded with Indian sarees and three pieces worth Tk. 1 crore 33 lakh in 

Jashore on Tuesday night. 

Photo: Jahirul Islam Ripon 

BGB seizes Indian sarees, 

clothes in Benapole 

Jahirul Islam Ripon, Benapole Correspondent: Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) 

personnel seized a truck loaded with Indian sarees and three pieces worth Tk. 1 crore 33 lakh 

from Monirampur upazila Bazar area of Jashore district on Tuesday night. But they could not 

arrest any smugglers at the time. 

Lieutenant Colonel Salim Reja, commanding officer, 49 Border Guard Battalion said that 

tipped off the BGB men seized a loaded truck with indian sarees ,three pieces worth Tk. 1 

crore 33 lakh. The smugglers fled the scene after seeing the presence of the BGB. The seized 

goods were deposited to Jashore customs godown. A case was filed in this connection. 

Sanctuary helps protecting fish 

species in Rajshahi 

RAJSHAHI: A sanctuary has started 

contributing a lot towards protecting and 

conserving the small indigenous fish 

species from further degradation in the 

Padma river and its tributaries, reports 

BSS. Shafiul Alam Mukta, a fisherman of 

Pirijpur village under Godagari Upazila, 

along with his boyhood friend Sharat 

Chandra initiated the sanctuary near his 

village in 2014 and attained success 

within couple of years. 

Forty young men of the area also 

extended their hands with him and now, 

within just two years of starting of the 

project in an experimental basis, Mukta 

has now established a large fish sanctuary 

in the river Padma. 

They motivated local fishermen 

abstaining from fishing of any sort of fish 

from that captive water body for eight 

months. With the banning of catching fish 

from the sanctuary for eight months, a 

large number of fish of various local 

species breed there and fishermen of 

adjacent water bodies started to catch 

varieties of endangered and rare species 

of fish from there. 

Talking to BSS here today Mukta said 

fishing at the sanctuary with net is 

prohibited but one can catch fish there by 

using a fishing rod or fishing wheel. 

"So far, 85 native fish species have been 

found at the sanctuary of Mukta," said 

Naimul Haque, Assistant Fisheries officer 

of Godagari upazila. There are also a large 

number of Hilsha fish as well. Moreover 

the fishes which were supposed to be 

extinct from the region for a long time 

were also seen to roam at the sanctuary. 

Shafiu Mukta is now very happy over 

his cage fish farming as it changed his fate 

and made him self-reliant. "I have sold 

30,000 kilograms of fish produced from 

37 cages and got profit Taka three lakh," 

He said. 

Many more youths of the village got 

profit after being farmed of fish in cage in 

the nearby Padma River. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday inaugurated the development activities of Abdul 

Monem Economic Zone which is situated at Gazaria in Munshiganj via video conference from her 

official residence, the Ganabhaban. During the time, PM's Private Industry and Investment Adviser 

Salman F Rahman was present at the function arranged by BEZA. Principal Coordinator (SDG 

Affairs) of Prime Minister's Office Md Abul Kalam Azad conducted the event while BEZA Executive 

Chairman Paban Chowdhury delivered the welcome speech. 

Photo: Courtesy

INTERNATIONAL THURSdAy, 


7 

South Korean fishing boat P-PIONEER is seen at a port in Busan, South Korea, on April 3, 2019. 

Photo : AP 

SKorean ship detained for allegedly 

providing oil to NKorea 

A South Korean ship is being held at a 

domestic port over suspicions that it 

illegally provided oil to heavily sanctioned 

North Korea, Seoul officials said 

Wednesday, reports UNB. 

The revelation comes amid growing 

concerns over wide-ranging efforts by 

North Korea to evade U.N. Security 

Council sanctions over its nuclear 

weapons and missiles program. 

A South Korean coast guard official 

said the 5,160-ton P-PIONEER has 

been prevented from leaving Busan 

port since October over allegations that 

it was used to supply oil to North Korea 

through two ship-to-ship transfers in 

September 2017 in international waters 

in the East China Sea. He said the ship 

transferred diesel, but did not confirm 

how much was supplied. 

Customs authorities have sent the 

case to state prosecutors, who are now 

examining whether to indict the ship's 

captain and management company for 

violating laws governing maritime 

transport and exchanges with North 

Bomb injures at least 

17 people in southern 

Philippine town 

Philippine officials say at 

least 17 people have been 

injured in a bomb explosion 

they believe was either an 

extortion attempt or retaliation 

for battle losses by Muslim 

militants in the south, 

reports UNB. 

Regional army commander 

Maj. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana 

says the bomb went off 

Wednesday outside a restaurant 

in Isulan town. He says 

unidentified people had previously 

tried to extort money 

from the restaurant owner, 

who refused to pay up. The 

attack may also have been 

carried out by Muslim militants 

belonging to the 

Bangsamoro Freedom 

Fighters who have been targeted 

by military offensives. 

Isulan in Sultan Kudarat 

province has been hit by 

bombings by suspected 

Muslim militants despite 

tightened security in a 

region where the government 

and the largest Muslim 

rebel group are implementing 

a new autonomy deal. 

EU launches action 

against Poland over 

justice laws 

The European Union is 

launching action against 

Poland over allegations that 

recent laws introduced by 

the government undermine 

the independence of judges, 

reports UNB. 

The EU's executive commission 

said Wednesday 

that it has sent a letter of formal 

notice - the first step in 

legal action - to Poland and 

wants a reply addressing its 

concerns within two 

months. 

Commission Vice-President 

Frans Timmermans 

says that disciplinary measures 

for judges introduced in 

2017 appear "to systematically 

subject judges to the 

political control of the executive." 

Timmermans says the 

rules have "an obvious, chilling 

effect on the independence 

of judges." 

Korea, he said. 

An official from Seoul's Foreign Ministry 

said it was the first time a South 

Korean ship was detained over allegations 

of violating U.N. sanctions against 

North Korea. South Korea is detaining 

three foreign vessels for illegally providing 

oil to North Korea or transporting 

North Korea-produced coal. 

Both officials spoke on condition of 

anonymity, citing department rules 

preventing them from speaking to the 

press. 

The U.N. Security Council in a report 

last month said North Korea was continuing 

to defy its resolutions through a 

"massive" increase in ship-to-ship 

transfers of petroleum products and 

coal. The report quoted one unnamed 

member state as saying North Korea 

obtained more than the cap of 500,000 

barrels of refined petroleum products 

in 2018, but said another unnamed 

country questioned the figure. 

U.N. sanctions against North Korea 

have strengthened significantly since 

2016 as Pyongyang stepped up its 

weapons tests and now includes strict 

import restrictions on petroleum products 

and crude oil and export bans on 

coal and other minerals that had been 

key sources of foreign currency for the 

North. 

South Korean prosecutors in December 

charged four people with illegally 

importing North Korean coal, saying 

they used falsified documents and 

transshipments at Russian ports to disguise 

the coal as Russian. 

Following successful tests of longrange 

missiles potentially capable of 

reaching the U.S. mainland in 2017, 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un 

shifted to a diplomatic mode in 2018 

and held summits with leaders of South 

Korea and the United States in an effort 

to leverage his nuclear arsenal for economic 

and security benefits. But Kim's 

second summit with President Donald 

Trump in February collapsed over mismatched 

demands in sanctions relief 

and disarmament. 

Opposition urges Erdogan's 

cooperation over Istanbul vote 

The opposition candidate running to be the 

next mayor of Istanbul urged Turkey's electoral 

body on Wednesday to confirm his narrow 

victory and asked President Recep 

Tayyip Erdogan to "cooperate" to prevent a 

slide into uncertainty, reports UNB. 

In a major electoral setback for Erdogan, 

his ruling party lost its decades-old stronghold 

of Ankara in Sunday's local vote and a 

tight race for Istanbul, despite winning a 

majority of the votes nationwide, according 

to preliminary results. 

Erdogan's conservative and Islam-based 

party on Tuesday filed appeals to contest the 

results in all of Istanbul's 39 districts, 

demanding that alleged irregularities be corrected 

and votes deemed invalid be recounted. 

The Supreme Electoral Board ruled in 

favor of a recount in eight of districts in 

Istanbul, a city of 15 million that is Turkey's 

financial and cultural center. 

Preliminary results showed opposition 

Istanbul mayoral candidate Ekrem 

Imamoglu narrowly beating his ruling party 

rival, former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, 

by some 25,000 votes. 

Ali Ihsan Yavuz, a ruling party deputy 

chairman, called Sunday's election "one of 

the most stained in our democratic history." 

That contrasts with statements from government 

officials who had insisted that the 

country's electoral system is fair. 

At news conference at his campaign headquarters, 

Imamoglu called on Erdogan and 

his nationalist ally to "contribute to the 

process to prevent the results in Istanbul, 

which are being watched by whole world, 

from dragging (Turkey) into worrisome 

atmospheres." 

"We are asking for justice," he said. 

Recalling previous government statements 

on Turkey's elections being fair, he added: 

"What has happened that the elections are 

now all of a sudden the most stained in history?" 

The ruling party quickly responded, 

reproaching Imamoglu for allegedly not 

respecting the electoral appeals process. 

"We have to accept the confirmed results," 

said Yavuz. Imamoglu meanwhile, held up a 

photograph from 1994, when Erdogan was 

elected mayor of Istanbul, showing the opposition 

candidate participating in a celebration 

of his win. "This is how it should be 

done," he said. 

Ekrem Imamoglu, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate 

for mayor of Istanbul, visits Anitkabir, the mausoleum of modern Turkey's 

founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, as he is flanked by his family members and 

supporters in Ankara, Turkey, April 2, 2019. 

Photo : Reuters. 

Saudi women 

activists' trials to 

continue after 3rd 

hearing 

Nearly a dozen Saudi 

women's rights activists, 

most of them imprisoned, 

attended their third court 

session and were told their 

trials will continue for at 

least two more weeks, 

reports UNB. 

People with knowledge of 

the trials say most of the 

women were told by the 

Riyadh criminal court on 

Wednesday their next court 

session would be in two 

weeks. They spoke with the 

AP on condition of anonymity 

for fear of reprisal. 

Meanwhile, two women 

who were granted temporary 

release last week- Aziza 

al-Yousef and Eman al-Najfan- 

were told their next 

court session would take 

place after the Muslim holy 

month of Ramadan, which 

coincides with early June. 

The king traditionally issues 

pardons after Ramadan, 

however such pardons do 

not typically include political 

detainees. 

Portugal to deploy 

record number of crew 

to battle wildfires 

After an exceptionally dry 

winter and weeks of unseasonably 

high temperatures, 

Portugal is assembling a 

record number of firefighters 

and water-dropping aircraft 

as it braces for a potentially 

difficult wildfire season, 

reports UNB. 

The Interior Ministry says 

Wednesday that almost 

11,500 firefighters and allied 

staff, including soldiers and 

police, will be deployed in 

the peak wildfire months of 

July through September. 

That is almost 800 more 

than last year. They will be 

supported by up to 60 

planes and helicopters and 

almost 2,500 vehicles. 

Portugal witnesses thousands 

of wildfires each year, 

largely due to poor forest 

management. 

In 2017, 106 people died in 

Portuguese wildfires in what 

was by far the deadliest summer 

fire season on record. 

No one died last year in 

wildfires after the government 

took exceptional 

measures. 

Over 42,000 displaced by 

flood in Afghanistan: OCHA 

More than 42,000 Afghans have been displaced 

following flooding in the country 

within the past one month and most needs 

supplies, the UN Office for the Coordination 

of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported 

on Wednesday, reports UNB. 

"Heavy rains caused flash flooding on 27, 

28 and 29 March in six provinces of Faryab, 

Balkh, Jawzjan, and Sari Pul province in the 

Northern Region, and Herat and Badghis in 

the Western Region. While assessments are 

ongoing, an estimated 17,000 people have 

been affected with Balkh and Herat suffering 

the worst impacts," the office said in a statement. 

"These are the first major floods in the 

Northern Region in the season," the statement 

said. 

More than 163,000 people have now been 

affected by floods, including those in the past 

week. A total of more than 42,000 people 

have been displaced since the beginning of 

year, according to the statement. 

"Due to the above-average snow and rainfall 

throughout the winter, the conditions for 

more flooding through the spring remain a 

concern and humanitarian organizations are 

planning to ensure they have enough supplies 

for the remainder of the season," the 

statement noted. 

The latest floods have claimed the lives of 

more than 80 people and injured over 200 

others in the affected regions. 

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 

(UNOCHA) in Afghanistan said in a report on Tuesday that flash flood on 

27, 28 and 29 March in Faryab, Balkh, Jawzjan, Sar-e-Pul, Herat and 

Badghis provinces have affected thousands of people in the country. 

Photo : AP 

Cholera vaccination drive 

starts in Mozambique after 

cyclone 

A cholera vaccination campaign is kicking 

off to reach nearly 900,000 cyclone 

survivors in Mozambique as officials 

rush to contain an outbreak of the disease, 

reports UNB. 

Vaccinations are beginning on 

Wednesday morning in the hard-hit 

city of Beira, where most of the more 

than 1,400 cases have been reported 

since the outbreak was declared a week 

ago. 

Mozambican authorities have reported 

two deaths so far from the acute 

diarrheal disease, which can kill within 

hours if not properly treated. 

Cases also have been confirmed in 

some outlying communities and vaccinations 

will begin there on Thursday. 

Overall the campaign aims to vaccinate 

some 884,000 people in Beira, 

Dondo, Nhamatanda and Buzi. 

More than 100,000 survivors of 

Cyclone Idai are still living in displacement 

camps with little access to clean 

water or sanitation, and the World 

Health Organization has warned of a 

"second disaster" if waterborne diseases 

such as cholera and malaria 

spread. 

Already the number of cholera cases 

is more than double the 500 beds set up 

for patients in Beira, a port city of a 

half-million people that has become the 

center of relief efforts for central 

Mozambique. 

Cholera was first reported in one of 

the city's poorest and most crowded 

neighborhoods, Munhava. As authorities 

hurried to repair the city's damaged 

water system, aid organizations reported 

that some people had resorted to 

drinking stagnant water or from contaminated 

wells. 

Large areas of standing water remain 

Sudanese protesters take 

heart from Algeria 

The organizers behind 

months of anti-government 

demonstrations in Sudan are 

welcoming the resignation of 

Algerian President Abdelaziz 

Bouteflika in response to 

mass protests, and are 

expressing hope that Sudan's 

Omar al-Bashir will do the 

same, reports UNB. 

Sarah Abdel-Jaleel, a 

spokeswoman for the 

Sudanese Professionals Association, 

told The Associated 

Press on Wednesday that 

Bouteflika's resignation is "a 

very positive achievement," 

showing the "success of 

peaceful resistance within 

Africa." She says it "definitely 

gives us all hope and reassurance 

that we must continue." 

The group of independent 

professional unions has 

spearheaded demonstrations 

since December calling for al- 

Bashir to resign after nearly 

three decades in power. 

Al-Bashir has refused to 

step down and has launched 

a heavy crackdown on dissent. 

Algeria is facing a new 

era after President Abdelaziz 

Bouteflika's resignation - and 

questions about what happens 

next for this gas-rich 

country and ally to the West 

in fighting terrorism. 

in the low-lying region, which continues 

to drain after the cyclone swept in 

on March 14 and caused massive flooding. 

Cholera is spread by contaminated 

food and water and is endemic in the 

region. Health officials have warned 

that once it emerges it can spread swiftly, 

especially in crowded urban areas. 

The disease is easily treated with oral 

rehydration solution or intravenous 

fluids in severe cases, but health workers 

say the sooner a person receives 

treatment, the better. 

Announcing the start of the vaccination 

campaign, Mozambique's government 

said the oral vaccine begins to 

Algeria's 12-member Constitutional 

Council is expected 

to meet Wednesday to 

confirm the departure. 

National television showed a 

frail Bouteflika handing his 

resignation letter to Constitutional 

Council president 

Tayeb Belaiz. 

Algeria's Constitution says 

that when a president dies or 

resigns, the Constitutional 

Council confirms the leader's 

absence and both houses of 

parliament convene. The 

president of the upper house 

is named as interim leader for 

90 days while a presidential 

election is organized. 

take effect a week after it is administered. 

A second round of the vaccine 

would be needed after several weeks' 

time for stronger protection, according 

to the medical charity Doctors Without 

Borders. 

The overall death toll from the 

cyclone is now 598 in Mozambique, 

with more than 300 deaths in neighboring 

Zimbabwe and Malawi. 

Officials have warned that the death 

toll is preliminary and the real figure 

may never be known as some bodies 

were buried quickly or swept away by 

the floodwaters. 

China's major carbon market exceeds 

100 mln tonnes in transactions 

China's largest carbon emission regional market in the southern province of 

Guangdong has transacted over 100 million tonnes of allowances since it opened 

in late 2013, reports UNB. 

The China Emissions Exchange (Guangzhou) said as of Tuesday, it has recorded 

trading of 106 million tonnes of carbon emission allowances worth 2.07 billion 

yuan (308 million U.S. dollars). 

The number of allowances traded at the market and their value account for 35.3 

percent and 31.6 percent of the national total, respectively, according to the 

exchange. 

"It shows that companies in Guangdong have a much greater awareness of carbon 

emission control, and the market approach has proved effective in curbing 

emissions," said Xiao Sirui, a chief inspector with the exchange. 

Since the launch of carbon trading, many companies in the province have 

slashed their carbon emissions, Xiao said. 

The carbon market in Guangdong covers all companies whose annual carbon 

dioxide emissions surpass 20,000 tonnes from the province, except those in Shenzhen, 

which has a separate market. So far, more than 240 enterprises in sectors of 

power generation, steel, cement, petrochemicals, papermaking and aviation have 

been included.

ART & CULTURE 

THUrsDAy, 

AprIL 4, 2019 

8 

Drake, BTs and Ariana Grande 

boost global music sales to $19b 

the success of Drake, BtS and 

Ariana Grande has helped the 

music industry earn its biggest 

revenues in a decade. the 

music market is now worth 

$19bn (£15bn), close to the 

level of 2006, says the iFPi, 

which represents the global 

music industry. 

An explosion in streaming subscriptions 

has essentially saved 

the industry, which was in 

freefall for a decade. in the 

space of 10 years, streaming 

revenues have grown from 

Showman was the best-selling 

album; while Camila Cabello's 

havana was the biggest global 

single of the year. Overall revenue 

was up by 9.7% in 2018, 

marking the fourth consecutive 

year of growth. the iFPi also 

revealed the vinyl revival continues 

globally, with sales up by 

6%. the format now has a 3.6% 

share of the overall market. 

Revealing the figures at a press 

conference in London, iFPi 

chief executive Frances moore 

said: "in previous years this 

moore noted growing revenues 

had changed the industry. 

"the potential and the vision is 

so much different because 

where you've got growth, you 

can invest. "When the growth 

wasn't there, it was a question 

of just getting by and keeping 

the industry going on a day-today 

basis." 

Revealing the figures at a press 

conference in London, iFPi 

chief executive Frances moore 

said: "in previous years this 

[event] used to be described as 

Hotel Transylvania 

3: Summer Vacation 

Count Dracula and company participate 

in a cruise for sea-loving monsters, 

unaware that their boat is being 

commandeered by the monster-hating 

Van helsing family. 

Genre: Animation, Adventure, 

Comedy 

Director: Genndy tartakovsky 

Writers: Genndy tartakovsky, michael 

mcCullers 

Cast: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, 

Selena Gomez 

Release Date: 13 July 2018 

Runtime: 1h 37min 

mavis surprises Dracula 

with a family voyage on a 

luxury monster Cruise 

Ship so he can take a vacation 

from providing everyone 

else's vacation at the 

hotel. the rest of Drac's 

Pack cannot resist going 

along. But once they leave 

port, romance arises when 

Dracula meets the mysterious 

ship Captain, ericka. 

now it's mavis' turn to 

play the overprotective 

parent, keeping her dad 

and ericka apart. Little do 

they know that his "too 

good to be true" love interest 

is actually a descendant 

of Abraham Van 

helsing, ancient nemesis 

to Dracula and all other 

monsters. 

-imDb 

prince Harry and Meghan Markle opened 

official Instagram Account 

Best-selling albums of 2018 (source: IFPI) 

Artist and title 

Sales (million) 

1 The Greatest Showman - Soundtrack 3.5 

2 BTS - Love Yourself: Answer 2.7 

3 BTS - Love Yourself: Tear 2.3 

4 Lady Gaga - A Star Is Born (pictured) 1.9 

5 Johnny Hallyday - Mon Pays C'est L'amour 1.7 

$40m (£30.7m) to almost 

$9bn (£6.9bn). the likes of 

Spotify, Apple music and 

Deezer now generate almost 

half (46%) of the industry's 

total revenue. their growth last 

year was enough to offset a 10% 

drop in sales of CDs and a 21% 

drop in digital downloads. 

however, the rise of streaming 

appears to be tailing off - with 

the 44.9% growth in subscribers 

down down from 

57.1% in 2017. 

the iFPi has previously named 

Drake as the biggest recording 

artist of 2018, followed by BtS 

and ed Sheeran. the Greatest 

[event] used to be described as 

a 'mourn-fest', because we only 

had bad news. "But four years 

starts to look like it's a pattern, 

rather than just a one-off." She 

noted that Latin America, Asia 

and Australia had seen doubledigit 

growth; but there was a 

slow-down in europe, where 

revenues rose just 0.1%. 

this was partly due to German 

music fans finally shedding 

their commitment to physical 

products like CD and vinyl. the 

country's music revenues fell 

by almost 10%, making the uK 

europe's biggest music market 

for the first time in years. 

H o roscope 

ArIes 

(march 21 - April 20) : there is healing 

energy with you for relationships, and this 

can take place entirely within, such as putting a past 

betrayal or loss behind you, or without, such as moving 

past an obstacle in a partnership or friendship. 

TAUrUs 

(April 21 - may 21) : Quieter activities 

and some level of anonymity are 

in order now. Keep a low profile. While rest 

might elude you at the moment, you need it, 

and in the days ahead, this will become quite 

obvious. As you wind down, discoveries can be 

rich, and others supportive. 

GeMINI 

(may 22 - June 21) :interactions today are 

encouraging and possibly quite fruitful. 

You can be filled with ideas about your future or about 

new projects and dreams. however, it's not time to 

rush anything. instead, it's a good idea to center yourself 

and to take in information rather than to push for 

new experiences today, as the new moon that occurs 

tomorrow is likely to change your perspective, bringing 

new interests and directions to your life. 

cANcer 

(June 22 - July 23) : You could find a nice 

balance between your personal and professional 

life now, and others, especially those you work 

with, tend to go along with your plans, if not outright 

support you. You're feeling good about your performance 

or about pats on the back you've been receiving, and 

this fires you up for creating new goals in these areas. 

Leo 

(July 24 - Aug. 23) : this is a time for selfimprovement 

through extending yourself 

beyond your normal routine, and the new moon tomorrow 

may point you in a new direction along these lines. 

Pay more attention to what information comes in now, 

but also from your own musings. there is no need to 

force anything -- just let your mind go.. 

VIrGo 

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23) : this is a day that 

favors putting matters to rest and taking 

in information so that you absorb and digest things. 

Consider also that tomorrow's new moon is likely to 

take your mind away from current concerns and 

onto more empowering ones. even so, there can be 

a resolution to a problem related to debt, support, or 

shared resources. As well, hearts are open right now. 

a 'mourn-fest', because we only 

had bad news. "But four years 

starts to look like it's a pattern, 

rather than just a one-off." She 

noted that Latin America, Asia 

and Australia had seen doubledigit 

growth; but there was a 

slow-down in europe, where 

revenues rose just 0.1%. -BBC 

this was partly due to German 

music fans finally shedding 

their commitment to physical 

products like CD and vinyl. 

the country's music revenues 

fell by almost 10%, making the 

uK europe's biggest music 

market for the first time in 

years. moore noted growing 

revenues had changed the 

industry. 

"the potential and the vision is 

so much different because 

where you've got growth, you 

can invest. "When the growth 

wasn't there, it was a question 

of just getting by and keeping 

the industry going on a day-today 

basis." 

LIBrA 

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23) : You won't have all the 

facts or answers right now, but this can be 

useful as you wind down before tomorrow's new 

moon. Counseling and advice can be in focus and helpful 

but your own intuition is likely to win out today. 

scorpIo 

(Oct. 24 - nov. 22) : Let intuition work 

for you. Do take the time to consider 

problems, as you're inclined to come at them 

from a new angle and this can be very helpful, 

but tune into your instincts as they can serve you 

well. this is also a fine time for dreaming up 

marketing strategies. 

sAGITTArIUs 

(nov. 23 - Dec. 21) : 

Friendships can be exceptionally 

warm, and love affairs particularly 

friendly! this can be a time for seeking 

out pleasure and sharing good times 

with others, and also for putting regrets 

or resentments behind you. there is 

strong energy today for showing others 

you care. 

cAprIcorN 

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20) : You're likely 

to find that family and close 

friends are easy to get along with today, 

and you are particularly open to sharing 

your space and your thoughts with them. 

You might decide to reveal something personal 

about yourself. 

AQUArIUs 

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) : new beginnings are 

in the works related to learning, mental 

interests, communication, neighbors, connections, 

or relatives with tomorrow's new moon, 

and now is a good time to pull back and allow your 

intuition to go to work for you. Your advice to 

someone can be sought and appreciated. 

pIsces 

(Feb. 20 - mar. 20) : Fertile energy is with 

you for a fresh take on any of these matters 

with a new moon about to occur in your solar 

second house. not everything is likely to make 

sense as is often the case with new beginnings, but 

the tides are turning. You are projecting a lot of 

warmth and love on a public or professional level 

today, and this can benefit you greatly. 

the Duke and Duchess of Sussex 

launched their own official account on 

tuesday. the account will serve as a place 

where the royal couple can update followers 

on major news and promote causes close to 

their hearts. "Welcome to our official 

instagram," the two wrote alongside their 

first post. "We look forward to sharing the 

work that drives us, the causes we support, 

important announcements, and the opportunity 

to shine a light on key issues. We 

thank you for your support, and welcome 

you to @sussexroyal." 

the couple then signed off with "harry & 

meghan." So, what kind of content did the 

dynamic duo include in their first post? the 

future parents posted pictures from their 

travels-including their recent royal tour-as 

well as a few shots of them supporting a 

range of causes, like conservation. 

the duke and duchess used to update 

royal admirers on their initiatives via the 

Kensington Palace social channels, which 

they shared with Kate middleton and 

Prince William. however, harry and 

meghan are establishing their own royal 

household and it looks like they're getting 

their own social media accounts to 

match. 

Bollywood actor Kalki Koechlin is likely 

to join the cast of netflix's popular 

series Sacred Games for the second season. 

the show will return this year with a 

new trail of betrayal, crime, passion and 

a thrilling chase through mumbais 

underbelly. the highly-anticipated season 

will see a mix of old favourites and 

fresh new characters to drive the storyline 

to its intrepid twists and turns, 

netflix had said earlier. 

now there is a buzz that Kalki, whose 

film Candyflip was released on netflix 

earlier this year, will be part of the second 

season of Sacred Games. the second season 

picks up from Sartaj Singh (actor Saif 

Ali Khan) pursuing his relentless battle of 

saving the city and Ganesh Gaitonde 

(actor nawazuddin Siddiqui) is facing 

bigger challenges to retain his position as 

Halle Berry's show 'Boomerang' 

renewed for season 2 

Lena Waithe and halle Berry's comedy 

series "Boomerang" is one of two 

shows that have been picked up for a 

second season at Bet, Variety has 

learned. executive produced by Waithe 

and Berry, "Boomerang" is based on 

the 1992 American rom-com in which 

Berry starred alongside Robin Givens 

and eddie murphy. "making 

'Boomerang' has been one of the highlights 

of my career and the positive 

feedback we've gotten from fans and 

critics has been so validating. i'm 

beyond excited to dive even deeper into 

these characters' lives in season two," 

said Waithe. 

the 10-episode first season picks up 

roughly 25 years after the original film 

and centers on Simone Graham 

(daughter of marcus Graham and 

Angela Lewis) and Bryson Broyer (son 

of Jaqueline Broyer), who are marketing 

professionals trying to step out of 

their parents' shadows. the season one 

finale airs tuesday, April 9. 

Kalki Koechlin likely to join 

sacred Games season 2 

the legendary kingpin of mumbai. the 

intriguing Guruji (actor Pankaj tripathi), 

introduced in season one as Gaitonde's 

'third father', plays a pivotal role in 

unfolding a chain of events that shape 

the next season. 

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap will continue 

directing Ganesh Gaitonde's track, 

while director neeraj Ghaywan will take 

over Sartaj Singh's plot. Vikramaditya 

motwane and Varun Grover will continue 

their roles of being the showrunner 

and the lead writer respectively. the first 

season also starred Radhika Apte and 

Kubbra Sait. Last December, mirzapur 

actress harshita Gaur had confirmed 

that she had bagged a pivotal role in 

Sacred Games season two. 

Actor Jatin Sarna, who made a big 

impact with a small role as nawazuddin's 

"Welcome to instagram, @SussexRoyal!" 

a post from the Duke and Duchess of 

Cambridge's account read. harry and 

meghan aren't the only ones in the royal 

family to recently make an instagram 

debut. As fans will recall, Queen elizabeth 

ii shared her first post on the social network 

last month. 

the move also came shortly after 

Buckingham Palace, Clarence house and 

Kensington Palace published guidelines for 

interacting with the royals via their official 

channels. 

-e! News 

volatile hitman Bunty in Sacred Games, 

will also be back in Season 2 of the netflix 

series, although his character was killed 

in the first season. "the second season 

goes into a flashback. my character 

Bunty is on a wheelchair. So i need to 

harness and control my natural energy 

level to play a subdued physically limited 

character," Jatin said. -Hindustan Times 

"Bet networks is thrilled to partner 

once again with the creative visionary 

Lena Waithe on 'Boomerang' as she is 

without a doubt a leading relevant 

voice of our generation and a disruptor 

in her own right," said Connie 

Orlando, head of Programming at 

Bet. the other show returning for a 

second season on Bet is "American 

Soul," a drama series based on the rise 

of the iconic music program "Soul 

train." 

inspired by the personal trials and 

professional successes of a young and 

ambitious impresario Don Cornelius, 

the series is an unflinching look at the 

entrepreneur, his "Soul train" dancers, 

crew and musicians in an unforgiving 

hollywood in the 1970's. 

"We are incredibly grateful to continue 

to tell the 'American Soul' story. 

Season one was so well received by the 

culture and we feel that season two will 

be even more fun and exciting," said 

Jesse Collins, one of the show's ePs. 

Produced by Jesse Collins 

entertainment, "American Soul" is also 

produced by Jonathan Prince, Devon 

Greggory and tony Cornelius, with 

Andy horne and Dionne harmon serving 

as co-executive producers. 

-VARietY

SPORTS 

THURSDAY, 


9 

Barcelona's Lionel Messi (left) celebrates with Arturo Vidal after scoring against Villarreal at La 

Ceramica stadium in Villareal. 

Photo: AP 

Messi, Suarez score late in 4-4 

draw for Barca at Villarreal 

Sports Desk: Lionel Messi and Luis 

Suarez came to Barcelona's rescue 

Tuesday, scoring late goals to salvage a 

4-4 draw at 10-man Villarreal in a 

thrilling seesaw match that saw both 

teams give up a two-goal lead, reports 

UNB. 

Messi rifled in a free kick off the 

upright to make it 4-3 in the 90th 

minute, and Suarez then shot through 

the legs of a defender to snatch a point 

with the last kick of the match. 

The draw narrowed Barcelona's lead 

of the Spanish league to eight points 

ahead of Atletico Madrid, which beat 

Girona 2-0 also on Tuesday and visits 

Camp Nou this weekend. 

"Luis is a player who is always in the 

right place at the right time, and he 

appeared at the last second to pull out a 

match that was not going our way," 

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said. 

"And Messi, he is a specialist (at free 

kicks.)" 

Messi was on the bench for the first 

hour but Barcelona still took a quick 2- 

0 lead. However, relegation-threatened 

Villarreal roared back with 19-year-old 

Samuel Chukwueze leading the way 

and produced four unanswered goals to 

come agonizingly close to pulling off 

the upset. Barcelona's comeback then 

came after Alvaro Gonzalez was sent off 

for a second booking in the 86th. 

"This was a crazy game," Valverde 

said. "There were stretches when it 

looked like we would win easily, then 

there was a stretch when it looked like 

they would. Then we managed to turn it 

around." 

Messi's goal was his league-leading 

32nd of the season and his sixth from a 

free kick. He has now scored from free 

kicks in three consecutive matches after 

converting set pieces against Real Betis 

and Espanyol. 

Valverde gave Messi some rest before 

Saturday's match against Atletico and 

next week's trip to Manchester United 

for the first leg of their Champions 

League quarterfinals. 

And at first it seemed Barcelona 

would stroll to another win at the Estadio 

de la Ceramica, as the little-used 

Malcom set up Philippe Coutinho for 

his first league goal since October. Malcom 

then headed in a pass from Arturo 

Vidal to double the lead before Coutinho 

went close to getting another goal 

when he hit the post. But Barcelona 

ended up missing center back Gerard 

Pique - who was rested to avoid any risk 

of picking up a fifth yellow card that 

would suspend him for the Atletico visit 

- more than Messi. 

Chukwueze and Toko Ekambi used 

their speed to torment center backs 

Samuel Umtiti and Clement Lenglet 

throughout the game. Chukwueze 

pulled one back in the 23rd and his long 

pass led to Ekambi leveling in the 50th. 

Messi came on in the 61st, but a 

minute later Vicente Iborra put the 

hosts ahead after Umtiti had left the 

back line. 

Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre 

ter Stegen made several excellent saves, 

but none was better than when he got 

his fingers on Chukwueze's powerful 

strike and pushed it onto the bar. 

Ter Stegen could do nothing to 

stop substitute Carlos Bacca from 

scoring the hosts' fourth with 10 

minutes left when Santi Cazorla 

spotted him running clear behind a 

struggling Umtiti. 

Gonzalez left Villarreal a man down 

when he got his second yellow card for 

a senseless foul on Suarez. That cost 

Villarreal dearly when the team was 

without a defender in the final 

moments and failed to stop the double 

blow dealt by Messi and Suarez, keeping 

Barcelona unbeaten in 18 straight 

league games. Villarreal, which had 

conceded a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 at Celta 

Vigo last round, was left two points 

clear of the drop zone. 

"I don't think we are going down," 

said Villarreal coach Javier Calleja. "We 

are going to stay in the top flight playing 

like we did against Barcelona." 

Man United loses 2-1 at 

Wolves for 3rd defeat in 

4 games 

Sports Desk: Manchester United's 

ambitions of securing a spot in the 

Champions League next season were 

damaged by a 2-1 loss at Wolverhampton 

Wanderers in the Premier League 

on Tuesday, reports UNB. 

United squandered a 13th-minute 

lead earned through Scott McTominay's 

first goal for the club, as Wolves 

responded with a strike by Diogo Jota 

and an own goal by Chris Smalling. The 

second goal came after United captain 

Ashley Young was sent off for two 

bookings in a five-minute span. 

A win at Molineux would have lifted 

United into third place but Ole Gunnar 

Solskjaer's team stayed in fifth, behind 

fourth-place Tottenham on goal difference 

and two points adrift of thirdplace 

Arsenal having played a game 

more than both. 

Those three teams, plus sixth-place 

Chelsea, are chasing the two Champions 

League qualifications spots behind 

Liverpool and Manchester City. 

It is now three losses in four games 

for United, which is going through its 

worst spell of results of the season - less 

than a week after hiring Solskjaer as its 

permanent manager following a betterthan-expected 

stint as interim coach. 

Two of those defeats have come at 

Molineux, with Wolves also beating 

United 2-1 in the FA Cup before the 

international break. They now head to 

London for Sunday's FA Cup semifinal 

match against Watford at Wembley 

Stadium in high spirits. 

United could easily have been three 

goals ahead before Jota's equalizer, 

with Romelu Lukaku - in for the injured 

Marcus Rashford - and Jesse Lingard 

wasting good opportunities in between 

McTominay's goal. 

It was a superb way for the Scotland 

international to open his United 

account, as he unleashed a 25-meter 

effort that beat Wolves goalkeeper Rui 

Patricio down to his right. 

Wolves got back into the game following 

a mistake by the previously 

impressive Fred, who met a pass from 

goalkeeper David De Gea with a heavy 

touch. 

Wolves midfielder Joao Moutinho 

dispossessed Fred, and Jimenez delicately 

put Jota in behind United's 

defense for the Portugal forward to 

score. 

Leander Dendoncker, Matt Doherty 

and Ruben Neves had attempts for 

Wolves as United wobbled. Luke Shaw 

picked up his 10th booking of the season 

meaning he will miss United's next 

two league matches. 

Young was booked for fouling Jota 

in the 52nd and was soon walking off 

the field after a studs-up challenge on 

the same player. Referee Mike Dean 

handed out a second yellow card, as 

well his 100th red card in the Premier 

League. 

Solskjaer's side was on the back foot 

but holding Wolves to half-chances 

until conceding the winning goal. 

It was a superb way for the Scotland 

international to open his United 

account, as he unleashed a 25-meter 

effort that beat Wolves goalkeeper Rui 

Patricio down to his right. 

Wolves got back into the game following 

a mistake by the previously 

impressive Fred, who met a pass from 

goalkeeper David De Gea with a heavy 

touch. 

A cross from the left was not dealt 

with as Phil Jones challenged 

Jimenez, who got the slightest touch 

to the ball. Attempting to clear, 

Smalling inadvertently prodded the 

ball into his own goal under pressure 

from Dendoncker. 

De Gea did well to stop Smalling 

scoring a second own-goal before 

Ivan Cavaleiro rattled the crossbar in 

stoppage time for Wolves. 

Dismal Fulham 

condemned to 

Premier League 

relegation 

Sports Desk: Fulham were 

relegated from the Premier 

League as a 4-1 thrashing 

against Watford on Tuesday 

brought a fitting end to their 

turbulent one-season stay in 

the top flight, reports BSS. 

Scott Parker's side had to 

avoid defeat at Vicarage 

Road to stave off their 

inevitable demise for a few 

more days. 

But second-bottom Fulham, 

16 points from safety 

with five games remaining, 

slumped to a ninth successive 

loss that confirmed their 

relegation to the Championship. 

Abdoulaye 

Doucoure put Watford 

ahead in the 23rd minute 

before Ryan Babel's equaliser 

10 minutes later briefly 

gave Fulham hope. 

Fulham's fate was sealed 

in the second half when Will 

Hughes, Troy Deeney and 

Kiko Femenia all netted for 

Javi Gracia's men in the 

space of 12 minutes. 

"Obviously bitterly disappointed, 

devastated for the 

football club and fans," 

Parker said. "We always 

knew it was a tough ask. It's 

the way we lost the game 

which was most disappointing 

for me. 

"The five or 10-minute 

spell from 2-1 onwards, that 

was our season in a snapshot. 

"We played some nice 

bits at times, but at the end 

of the day you are where you 

are."On Saturday, bottomof-the-table 

Huddersfield 

became only the second 

team after Derby in 2008 to 

be relegated from the Premier 

League in March with 

six games left. 

Three days later, Fulham 

followed Huddersfield 

through the trapdoor in 

what ranks as the third earliest 

relegation in the Premier 

League era. 

New Zealand name experienced 

World Cup squad 

Sports Desk: New Zealand opted for experience 

in a 15-man squad named Wednesday 

for this year's cricket World Cup, with rookie 

Tom Blundell's inclusion as back-up wicketkeeper 

the only real surprise, reports BSS. 

The Blacks Caps hope to shed their tag as 

valiant losers and claim the title after exiting 

in the semi-finals six times and suffering a 

heavy defeat to Australia in their only 

appearance in the final four years ago. 

Coach Gary Stead said the Kane 

Williamson-led Black Caps had repeatedly 

proved itself at the top level and he was confident 

the consistency would shine through 

at the tournament in England and Wales. 

"We've got a squad here of 15 players that 

we think can give us a really, really good 

chance of going far into the tournament," he 

said. "If we play close to our potential, then 

hopefully we can do New Zealand proud." 

Wellington keeper Blundell was selected 

after Tim Siefert, the regular back-up to firstchoice 

gloveman Tom Latham, broke his finger 

in a domestic match last month. 

While Blundell, who has two Test caps, will 

likely make his one-day international debut 

at the tournament, his role will be marginal if 

Latham stays fit. Mitchell Santner will be the 

New Zealander's primary spinner, with Ish 

Sodhi edging Todd Astle to claim the second 

slow bowling position. 

The pace attack comprises Tim Southee, 

Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry, 

while Jimmy Neesham and Colin de 

Grandhomme add allround options. 

Henry Nicholls is set to open the batting 

with veteran Martin Guptill after displacing 

Colin Munro at the top of the order, although 

Munro will make the trip as batting cover. 

Williamson and Ross Taylor, in his fourth 

World Cup campaign, complete a battlehardened 

batting line up. 

Williamson, Taylor and Guptill have collectively 

amassed 526 ODI appearances 

between them. 

Guptill and Taylor have not confirmed 

their post-tournament plans but will most 

likely be looking to exit cricket's biggest stage 

on a high. 

The Black Caps will open their campaign 

against Sri Lanka in Cardiff on June 1. 

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (capt), 

Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, 

Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, 

Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Colin Munro, 

Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell 

Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross 

Taylor. 

The Blacks Caps hope to shed their tag as valiant losers and claim the title after 

exiting in the semi-finals six times and suffering a heavy defeat to Australia in 

their only appearance in the final four years ago. 

Photo: AP 

Manchester United's ambitions of securing a spot in the Champions League next season were damaged 

by a 2-1 loss at Wolverhampton Wanderers. 

Photo: AP 

Neymar to resume 

training with PSG 

Sports Desk: Paris Saint- 

Germain says Brazil star 

Neymar will resume training 

on Wednesday after he 

was sidelined for more than 

two months with a foot 

injury, reports UNB,. 

PSG said in a statement 

late Tuesday that Neymar, 

who was injured playing 

against Strasbourg in a 

French Cup game in late 

January with a recurrence 

of a fifth metatarsal injury 

he sustained one year earlier, 

will return as planned for 

"on-pitch tests." 

"A full medical and radiological 

assessment will be 

carried out by club's specialists 

in two weeks," PSG said. 

According to L'Equipe 

newspaper, the Brazil star is 

hopeful of returning for the 

French Cup final at the end 

of April if PSG advances. 

On Tuesday, Neymar also 

appeared in a video published 

by his country's farright 

president where he 

promises to visit Israel. 

Brazil's new President Jair 

Bolsonaro put the video on 

Twitter during his visit to 

Israel on Tuesday. Bolsonaro 

speaks into the camera, 

flanked by Israeli 

Prime-Minister Benjamin 

Netanhayu, before Neymar 

is shown sitting on a sofa 

and sending a message to 

the duo. 

"Hello Bibi and Bolsonaro. 

Thanks for inviting 

us. Israel, we are coming," 

Neymar said. 

Two-time surfing world 

champion Gabriel Medina, 

one of Neymar's closest 

friends, also promised to 

visit. 

‘You can reach 1,000 goals’, 

Pele tells Mbappe 

Sports Desk: Football legend Pele told 

Kylian Mbappe on Tuesday that he believes 

the French World Cup winner can emulate 

his own achievement of scoring 1,000 career 

goals, reports BSS. 

The 78-year-old Brazilian claims to have 

netted over 1,000 goals in his career, while 

Mbappe has so far managed 103 in total, 

with 92 of those coming at the top level. 

"It's possible, I scored exactly 1,025, so 

1,000 goals is possible for him," Pele told 

AFP in Paris, where he met Mbappe at a 

sponsor event for Hublot watches. 

Mbappe, who last year became only the 

second teenager to score in a World Cup final 

after Pele in France's 4-2 victory over Croatia, 

played down Pele's comments. 

"I think that even if we count the goals on 

inter-city pitches and goals on the PlayStation, 

I won't be able to reach the 1,000-goal 

mark," said the 20-year-old Paris Saint-Germain 

forward. 

"We will try to get as close as we can, but I 

think I'll be a long way off it at the end of my 

career." Mbappe has scored 32 goals in all 

competitions for PSG this season, including 

27 from only 24 Ligue 1 appearances. 

Pele was only 21 when he won his second 

World Cup in 1962, adding a third eight 

years later."There's only one 'King' and he's 

there," said Mbappe. "I'm just Kylian, I'm 

trying to do my best to help my team and my 

national side."The comparisons are flattering 

but I know very well that I will never do 

what he did." It was not the first time that 

Mbappe has had to temper comparisons 

with Pele, after a rush to crown him a future 

footballing great during the World Cup in 

Russia, where he scored four goals in total. 

But the former Monaco striker insists that 

he is not focused on becoming the best player 

of modern times. 

"When Pele was playing, he didn't think he 

wanted to be the best player in history, he 

wanted to have fun, help his country and his 

club, which he did," he said. 

"What I want is to help PSG, the France 

team and afterwards it will be other people 

who tell you that you are the best. 

"Everyone says that he is the best, but if 

you are (the best), there's no need to say it. 

It's not a goal for me."Pele spent the majority 

of his career at Santos in his home country, 

bar a spell in the United States with the 

New York Cosmos shortly before his retirement. 

He told Mbappe, who has been repeatedly 

linked with a move away from PSG, that 

the key to smashing goalscoring records is 

playing in the very best teams. 

"People tend to say that goals are the most 

important thing - I thank God for having 

scored so many in my career - but we must 

know that we need to be well-supported, you 

can't score on your own, you need good 

teammates, that's very important." 

Mbappe and his Paris teammates have 

only the French Cup left to fight for this season, 

with the Ligue 1 title all but secured and 

their Champions League campaign over 

after a humiliating defeat by Manchester 

United. 

Once all-male Augusta 

National to see first 

woman winner 

Sports Desk: Augusta National Golf Club, 

an all-male enclave from its 1933 formation 

until 2012, will crown a historic first woman 

as a tournament champion on Saturday 

ahead of next week's 83rd Masters, reports 

BSS. 

The inaugural Augusta National Women's 

Amateur will conclude with 30 players driving 

down fabled Magnolia Lane and competing 

over the legendary 18-hole layout. 

Two earlier rounds at nearby Champions 

Retreat were set to get underway on 

Wednesday, a global field of 72 fighting for 

the chance to play at Augusta National at the 

weekend. "This championship is fantastic for 

women's golf," said Swedish 10-time major 

champion Annika Sorenstam. "Young girls 

are going to be energized and motivated by 

seeing this event unfold for years to come."

ECONOMY & BUSINESS 

10 

THURSDAy, APRIL 4, 2019 

Bank Asia Ltd. donated a cheque of Tk. 1 (One) Crore in favor of Prime 

Minister's Relief Fund to contribute the hapless family of the people who 

were deceased by fire accident at Churihatta of Chakbazar, Capital City 

recently. Enam Chowdhury, Director of Bank Asia Ltd handover the 

cheque of Tk. 1 (one) Crore of Bank Asia Ltd. in a program at Gonobhaban 

yesterday. Nazrul Islam Mazumder, Chairman of Bangladesh Association 

of Banks (BAB) was present there. 

Photo: Courtesy 

Sensex rises over 

150 pts, Nifty 

above 11,750 

The BSE benchmark Sensex rose over 150 points in early 

trade led by gains in banking and auto stocks amid positive 

cues from other Asian markets, reports BSS. 

The BSE gauge Sensex was trading above the psychological 

39,000-level in early deals up 176.95 points, or 0.45 per cent, 

at 39,233.60. The 30-share BSE index Tuesday settled at 

39,056.65, 184.78 points or 0.48 per cent higher, marking its 

highest ever closing. 

Similarly, the NSE benchmark Nifty was trading 39.05 

points, or 0.33 per cent, higher at 11,752.25 in early session. 

Top gainers on Sensex include Tata Motors, IndusInd 

Bank, HDFC twins, PowerGrid, Kotak Bank, Tata Steel, 

Bharti Airtel, Yes Bank, M&M, Maruti, Bajaj Finance, SBI 

and RIL, rising up to 2.05 per cent. 

On the other hand, Infosys, HUL, Coal India, L&T and Sun 

Pharma were the top losers, falling up to 0.68 per cent. 

According to experts, inflow of foreign liquidity in 

expectation of rate cut from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) 

and revival in earnings will provide some stability in the 

market. 

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers 

in the capital markets, putting in Rs 543.36 crore Tuesday, 

while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities to 

the tune of Rs 437.70 crore, provisional data available with 

stock exchanges showed. 

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is holding a twoday 

meeting between April 2 and April 4 for the first bimonthly 

policy statement for 2019-20. The RBI will unveil 

its first bi-monthly monetary policy decision of this new fiscal 

on Thursday. 

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated by 9 paise to trade at 

68.65 to the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday. 

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.52 

per cent to trade at USD 69.73 per barrel. 

Elsewhere in Asia, benchmark equity indices in Shanghai, 

Tokyo and Seoul were trading positive. 

Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd provided Tk.1 (One) crore to the 'Prime 

Minister's Relief and Welfare Fund' for assistance to the fire affected people 

of Churihatta, Chawkbazar, Dhaka. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina 

received the cheque from Professor Dr. Qazi Shahidul Alam, Director of 

the bank and Vice Chairman of Islami Bank Foundation at Ganobhaban 

recently. Md Nazrul Islam Mazumder, Chairman, Bangladesh Association 

of Banks (BAB) was present on the occasion. 


Mercantile Bank Ltd donated an amount of Tk.1.00 (One) Crore to Prime 

Minister's Relief & Welfare Fund as part of Corporate Social Responsibility 

of the Bank. A. S. M. Feroz Alam, Vice Chairman of Mercantile Bank Ltd 

handed over the cheque to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at 

Gonobhaban on Tuesday . BAB's Chairman along with other representatives 

from several banks were present on the occasion. Photo: Courtesy 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina receives a cheque from Managing Director 

& CEO of Prime Bank Rahel Ahmed at Ganobhaban on April 02, 2019. The 

Bank made the donation to the Prime Minister's Relief and Welfare Fund 

to support the Churihatta's Fire affected people at Chawkbazar. Chairman 

of Bangladesh Association of Banks Md. Nazrul Islam Mazumder was also 

present on the occasion. 


US stocks end mixed 

as airlines soar 

Wall Street stocks 

finished mixed on Tuesday, 

with an upbeat forecast 

from Delta lifting airlines, 

while disappointing 

Walgreens results weighed 

on the Dow. 

After surging more than 

one percent on Monday, 

major indices cooled off in 

the second session of the 

new year. Downcast 

commentary from IMF 

Chief Christine Lagarde also 

weighed on sentiment. 

The Dow Jones Industrial 

Average dropped 0.3 

percent to 26,179.13. 

The broad-based S&P 500 

was flat at 2,867.24, while 

the tech-rich Nasdaq 

Composite Index gained 0.3 

percent to 7,848.69. 

Lagarde, in a speech 

ahead of next week's spring 

meetings at the 

International Monetary 

Fund, signaled the fund 

would further trim its global 

growth forecast in light of 

Brexit, trade tensions and 

other issues. 

"The expected rebound in 

An agreement was recently signed between Shohoj Ltd and Grameenphone Ltd at GP House. 

Through this partnership, Grameenphone STAR customers will receive special benefits on various 

services from Shohoz including Shohoz Ride, Shohoz Food and Shohoz Bus. The agreement 

was signed by Maliha Quadir, Founder and Managing Director, Shohoj Limited; Solaiman 

Alam, Division Head, Digital, Grameenphone Ltd and other high officials from Shohoj Ltd and 

Grameenphone Ltd. 


First Security Islami Bank inaugurated a workshop on Foreign Exchange & International Trade 

Financing on 3 April 2019 at FSIBL Training Institute, Dhaka. Abdul Aziz, Additional Managing 

Director, First Security Islami Bank Ltd. inaugurated the course. In his inaugural speech, he laid 

emphasis on building the bank as a modern Islami bank and advised all to be careful, honest and sincere 

to banking activities. Among others, the Principal of Training Institute Md. Ataur Rahman and 

Faculty Member Muhammad Lutful Haque were present on the occasion. 


global growth this year is 

precarious," she said in an 

address at the US Chamber 

of Commerce. "This is a 

delicate moment that 

requires us to handle with 

care." 

Dow companies were 

mixed, with Walgreens 

Boots Alliance plunging 

12.8 percent after reporting 

second-quarter profits 

below expectations and 

slashing its 2019 earnings 

forecast. 

14.26 pc discounts offered on Walton 

TV centering Pahela Baishakh 

The country's electronics 

giant 'Walton' is offering 

14.26 percent cash discounts 

on all models of its LED and 

smart televisions on the 

occasion of the imminent 

'Pahela Baishakh-1426,' to 

be observed on April 14 

across the country, says a 

press release. 

Under the ongoing 

nationwide 'Walton Digital 

Campaign Season 4', 

customers of Walton 

televisions are likely to get 

14.26 percent cash discounts 

or sure cash back of different 

values through registering 

their televisions just after the 

purchase from any Walton 

plaza or distributors' outlet 

all over the country between 

April 1 and 15. 

In addition, customers are 

enjoying free home delivery 

and 5 to 10 percent 

discounts on the online 

purchase of Walton 

televisions from E-Plaza. 

Now, the online customers 

can buy 32-inch LED 

televisions at Tk 16,625 and 

the same size' smart 

television, featured with 

'Android 7' operating system 

at Tk 21,755 from Walton E- 

plaza. 

Uday Hakim, executive 

director of Walton Group, 

said, Pahela Baishakh is the 

universal festival of Bengali 

community. On the occasion 

of this festival, Walton 

declares this special gift for 

its television users. 

At present, prices of 

Walton brand 39-inch and 

43-inch smart televisions 

are set at Tk 33,900 and Tk 

36,900 respectively. Now, 

prices of Walton 49-inch 

and 55-inch smart TVs were 

set at Tk 65,900 and Tk 

69,900 respectively. 

This year, Walton released 

NRB Global Bank has donated Tk. 25 Lac for PM's Relief Fund to support 

the Fire affected people at Chowakbazar as a part of corporate social 

responsibility of the bank. Honorable Chairman Nizam Chowdhury of the 

bank handed over the cheque to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at 

Gonobhaban on 02 April 2019. 


new model of 43-inch 

televisions. Price of the new 

model, featured with metal 

cashing, dolby digital sound, 

high contrast ratio and slim 

design, was set at Tk 44,900. 

Walton brand's smart 

television are featured with 

'Android 7' operating 

system, 1GB RAM and 8GB 

Built-in memory. The online 

customers are enjoying 8 

percent discounts on 55 and 

49-inch smart TVs and 5 

percent discounts on 43, 39 

and 32-inch smart TVs. 

Walton set the price of its 

20-inch LED TV at Tk 

11,900; 24-inch at Tk 

12,990; 28-inch at Tk 

17,200; 39-inch at Tk 

27,900; 43-inch at Tk 

29,900; 49-inch at 49,900 

and 55-inch at Tk 59,900. 

Maruf Hasan, in-charge of 

Walton TV Marketing 

Department, said, Walton 

declares cash discounts up 

to 14.26 percent to mark the 

Pahela Baishakh 1426. 

He added that the sales of 

Walton televisions are 

remarkably growing on in 

the local market due to 

several reasons, including 

application of advanced 

technologies, assurance of 

highest standard, lucrative 

design, reasonable prices, 

easy availability, swift and 

best after sales services, 6 

months replacement 

guaranty, 4 year guaranty on 

the panel of 32 to 55-inch 

televisions. 

Mustafa Nahid Hossain, 

chief executive officer of 

Walton Television 

Department, said, Walton 

television has been 

recognized and achieved 

certification by the Bureau of 

Indian Standards (BIS) and 

Testing Certificate from 

Standard Organization of 

Nigeria Product Conformity 

Assessment Program 

(SONCAP). 

He also mentioned that 

high quality panels are being 

used in Walton Internetbased 

Android Smart TV. 

Walton is manufacturing 

HADS (Higher Advanced 

Dynamic Switching) and IPS 

(In Plan Switching) panels in 

ISO class seven dust free 

clean room, which ensure 

the quality and durability of 

the panels. As a result, 

viewers will get high viewing 

angle and high contrast 

pictures. Moreover, the 

Walton TVs are huge power 

efficient. 

'Made in Bangladesh' 

labelled Walton televisions 

are now exported to 

different countries of Asia, 

Middle East and Africa 

continents.

MISCELLANEOUS 

THURSDAY, ApRiL 4, 2019 

11 

Contractor allege corruption 

by Gafargaon upazila 

LGeD engineer 

oNe Bank's executive Committee Chairman Mr. Zahur Ullah handed over a cheque of Tk. 1.0 Crore on 

April 03, 2019 to the Honorable prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as a donation to the prime Minister's 

Relief Fund for the families of those who got killed by devastating fire at Churihatta of Chawkbazar, 

Dhaka. 

photo: Courtesy 

Maintaining cleanliness for mosquito-free city stressed 

TBT RepoRT 

A contractor recently brought 

allegations of bribery and serious 

corruption against Gafargaon upazila 

LGED engineer. The contractor 

provided a written statement through 

which it is known that Gafargaon 

upazila LGED engineer Md Tofazzal 

Hossain has been working in the 

same upazila for eight years and as a 

result his irregularities and 

corruption has increased. 

In every work, he demands a bribe of 

10% and if the contractor cannot pay 

according to his needs, he does not let 

the contractor work properly. He has 

harassed various contractors in 

different ways. He even worked 

disguising in the names of different 

contractors. It has been also alleged 

that in many occasion he worked in 

partnership with the contractors. The 

Upazila engineer has done such a 

syndicated that no outside contractor of 

Gafargaon can work here. It has been 

also alleged that the upazila engineer 

drinks alcohol at government office at 

night and has become owner of several 

houses and flats worth crores of taka in 

Dhaka. He even has crore of taka in 

various bank accounts either by his 

own name or anonymously. 

The contractor submitted a written 

complaint to the LGRD secretary 

regarding the matter. It is known 

from the complaint that on 

26/10/2016, the contractor got a road 

work worth about 3.5 crore under the 

DRIP of LGED. 

To do the work, Upazila Engineer 

Mohammad Tofazzal Hossain 

demanded 10% bribe worth 35 lakh 

taka from the engineer. Upazila 

engineer did not allow the contractor to 

do any work with paying the bribe 

money. When the contractor did not 

find any solution he urged the upazila 

engineer to let him work and said that 

he will pay the money after getting the 

bill. Later the uapzila engineer with the 

help of some miscreants stole about 

70,000 bricks from the contractor side. 

Later the contractor informed the 

executive engineer about this matter. 

At present, the contractor has worked 

for around Tk 1.5 crore, but the 

upazila engineer did not help the 

contractor. The upazila engineer only 

paid bill of Tk 66 lakh. If the 

contractor does not pay the money 

according to the engineers needs the 

he will not pay the rest and threaten to 

cancel the contractor's job. 

At present the work is cancelled 

through various pretexts. The upazila 

engineer did not pay the contractor's bill 

and also has filed a complaint against 

him. When contacted with the upazila 

engineer regarding the matter, he did 

not receive the call. However, the local 

people of the area demanded to inspect 

about the engineer's corruption. 

RANGPUR: Experts at a 

function yesterday laid 

emphasis on enhancing 

awareness of the citizens 

for maintaining 

cleanliness to build a 

hygienic city free from 

mosquito and deadly 

diseases 

like 

'Chikungunya', 'Dengu' 

and Malaria, reports BSS. 

They made the 

observation while 

launching the 'Mosquito 

GD-571/19 (4 x 3) 

Elimination Programme- 

2019' by spraying 

insecticides with 

mosquito fogger machine 

at Hajipara Chamrapotti 

area on the 

Shyamasundari Canal in 

Ward No-21 of the city. 

With Chief of the 

Conservancy Division of 

RpCC Shahinur Rahman 

Shahin in the chair, local 

City Councilor Mahbubar 

Rahman Manju attended 

the function and 

inaugurated the programme 

as the chief guest. 

Assistant Conservancy 

Officer of RpCC Hassam 

Rahi, its Health Inspector 

Abdul 

Kaiyum, 

Conservancy Inspector 

Niranjan Sarker, Ward 

Supervisors Md. Abdul 

Mazid and Saifullah Shafi, 

among others, addressed 

the function. In his 

welcome speech, Shahinur 

Rahman Shahin discussed 

importance of maintaining 

cleanliness at drainage and 

sewerage systems and 

everywhere in the city to 

keep the environment 

clean and prevent breeding 

of mosquito. 

"The RpCC is 

conducting the monthlong 

'Mosquito 

Elimination Programme- 

2019' since March 27 last 

under its Clean City 

Campaign to maintain 

sustainable cleanliness in 

the city and relieve the 

citizens from mosquito 

menace," he added. 

Conservancy Inspector 

Niranjan Sarker Mayor laid 

maximum emphasis on 

involvement of every citizen 

in maintaining cleanliness 

at office premises, 

institutions, homesteads 

and drainage and sewerage 

systems of the city. 

The chief guest said 

cleaning and spraying of 

insecticides would be 

completed in all drainage 

and sewerage systems and 

other places of all 33 

wards in the city to 

destroy the breeding 

grounds of mosquitoes by 

this month-end. 

He also sought 

cooperation of everyone 

to make the mosquito 

elimination programme 

successful for maintaining 

cleanliness to eliminate all 

mosquito-related diseases 

from the city. 

GD-565/19 (6 x 4) 

GD-567/19 (7 x 4) GD-566/19 (8 x 4)

THURSDAy, DHAkA, APRil 4, 2019, CHAiTRA 21, 1425 BS, RAjAB 26, 1440 HijRi 

RAB arrested 6 fake persons as they were doing offence as Custom Executives. They picture was 

taken on Wednesday at Mirpur in the capital. 

Photo: TBT 

Attack on DU student: 

Ducsu VP 

threatens 

tougher 

demo 

DHAKA : Dhaka 

University Central Students' 

Union (Ducsu) Vice-president 

Nurul Haque Nur on 

Wednesday threaten to 

launch a tougher movement 

if the university authorities 

do not take any action within 

four days against those who 

assaulted him and a resident 

student of Salimullah 

Muslim Hall, reports UNB. 

The VP gave the ultimatum 

while attending a protest 

rally in front of raju 

Memorial Sculpture at TSC 

intersection in the morning, 

a day after a group of 

Bangladesh Chhatra League 

activists assaulted him and 

kept him confined in a room 

at SM Hall for at least one 

and a half hours. 

earlier, the protesting students 

led by Nur met DU 

Vice-chancellor Prof Md 

Akhtaruzzaman and conveyed 

their demands including 

keeping the campus offlimits 

to outsiders. 

Nur said, "We had a fruitful 

discussion with the VC. 

He assured us that appropriate 

measures would be taken 

against the attackers after 

investigation." 

BTRC asks GP to 

pay Tk 12,579.95 

crore in dues 

DHAKA : Bangladesh 

T e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n 

regulatory Commission 

(BTrC) has sent a letter to the 

country's leading telecom 

operator Grameenphone 

(GP) to pay Tk 12,579.95 

crore in dues, reports UNB. 

of the total amount, GP 

owes Tk 8,494.1 core to BTrC 

while Tk 4,085.94 to National 

Board of revenue (NBr), said 

BTrC Chairman Jahurul 

Haque. 

"Grameenphone has been 

asked to pay the sum within 

10 to 15 days. our actual dues 

was Tk 3000 crore, but now 

its stands a huge amount following 

the increase of interest," 

he said. The letter in this 

regard has been served to the 

Ceo of GP, he added. 

When contacted, Sayed 

Talat Kamal, deputy director 

(external communications) of 

the operator, said "We have 

received the letter on Tuesday 

afternoon." 

Meanwhile, in response to 

the move by the government 

authorities Grameenphone 

said it "does not admit the 

demand and will now make a 

full assessment to determine 

the appropriate course of 

action." 

In a statement issued the 

operator said, "Despite 

numerous interactions with 

the regulator and extending 

our full cooperation to the 

auditors, it is very unfortunate 

to note that the demand 

note does not reflect our concerns. 

Throughout the entire 

audit process we have pointed 

out the errors in the methodologies, 

procedure and substance 

of this audit exercise; 

however, our observations 

have gone unheeded. 

Grameenphone is a transparent 

company and adheres to 

the applicable laws of the 

land." 

According to BTrC, the 

government has sent a letter 

to GP, seeking payment of 

dues last year. In reply to the 

letter, GP asked for revisit and 

full evaluation. After re-examination, 

BTrC sent another 

letter to GP, which also faced 

GP's objection. 

earlier on october 3, 2011, 

BTrC sent a letter to GP seeking 

payment of Tk 3034 crore 

dues, but the operators had 

raised a question about the 

government decision to conduct 

an audit with the country's 

audit farm and a bench 

of the High court stayed audit 

activities following the petition 

of the mobile phone 

operator. 

Later, the Supreme Court 

has asked BTrC to maintain a 

status quo on the notice for 

payment by the 

Grameenphone. 

Norwegian Telenor has a 

55.8 percent share of 

Grameenphone and Grameen 

Telecom Corporation 34.2 

percent; the remaining 10 

percent of the shares belong 

to retail and institutional 

investors. 

Road crashes 

kill 5 in three 

districts 

DHAKA : Al least five people 

including a minor girl were 

killed in separate road crashes 

in Natore, Khagrachhari and 

Netrakona districts on 

Wednesday, reports UNB. 

In Khagrachhari, pedestrian 

Mahmudul Haque, 70, was 

killed while three others 

injured in a road crash in Zero 

Mile area of the district town 

around 8 am. 

Police said the accident took 

place when a passenger bus 

collided with a goods-laden 

pick-up van and covered van 

coming from opposite direction, 

leaving four including 

Mahmudul injured. 

They injured were taken to 

Sadar Hospital where doctors 

declared Mahmudul dead. 

In Natore, a minor child and 

an unidentified truck driver 

were killed in separate road 

crashes. 

Sabiha, 7, daughter of 

Bayezid Hossain, died on the 

spot as a tractor ran over her 

in Lalor area of Singra upazila 

on Tuesday night, said 

Monirul Islam, officer-incharge 

of Singra Police 

Station. 

Sub-inspector Mozammel 

Haque, in-charge of Jholmolia 

Highway Police, said the truck 

driver was killed following a 

head on collision between two 

trucks in Harishpur Bypass 

area of the district town 

around 2 am. 

In Netrakona, two people 

were killed while three others 

injured in a head on collision 

between a truck and an autorickshaw 

at Shuknaguri area 

in Durgapur upazila. 

Bangladesh to get e-commerce 

boost through digital 

foundation: UNCAD 

DHAKA : Although 

Bangladesh has laid an 

essential foundation for a 

technology-driven and skillbased 

digital economy, it still 

needs to put in place a comprehensive 

national e-commerce 

strategy and improve 

delivery logistics, said a 

United Nations Conference 

on Trade and Development 

(Unctad) report, reports 

UNB. 

A rapid eTrade readiness 

Assessment, completed by 

UNCTAD at the request of 

the Bangladesh government, 

pinpoints improvements in 

telecommunications infrastructure, 

trade logistics, payment 

solutions, laws and regulations, 

skills development, 

and financing, that can accelerate 

e-commerce and 

spread the benefits throughout 

the economy. 

"All commercial activities 

are going to be digital, and all 

current business laws, regulations 

and policies are to be 

made compatible with the 

digital commerce revolution," 

Mustafa Jabbar, 

Minister, Ministry of Post, 

Telecommunication and 

Information Technology, 

said as he received the 

assessment. 

"It is fantastic to see the 

great strides that Bangladesh 

has taken to prepare for a 

digital future. This e-Trade 

readiness Assessment also 

recognizes that there are 

growth and employment 

gains yet to be made by a 

comprehensive pivot to e- 

commerce," Shamika N. 

Sirimanne, director of 

UNCTAD's division on technology 

and logistics, said. 

The report found that the 

government had supported 

public-private dialogue and 

collaboration in digitalization 

matters "in an exemplary 

manner". 

Its Digital Bangladesh initiative 

is part of its Vision 

2021 national development 

plan and is supported by the 

A2I initiative currently led by 

the Information and 

Communication Technology 

(ICT) Division of the Jabbar's 

ministry. 

A2I is an umbrella initiative 

that has shepherded 

growth in the ICT sector and 

the overall digital economy 

ecosystem of the country. 

Since its inception in 2010, 

the information and communications 

technology sector 

in Bangladesh has grown at 

an astonishing average pace 

of 40% a year, according 

toUNCTAD. 

The tech sector is a natural 

fit in the country's development 

trajectory to create jobs 

for the 110 million under 35- 

year-olds in the nation of 160 

million. 

With 65% of Bangladesh's 

people living in rural areas, 

connectivity remains a priority. 

The report says support for 

e-commerce in a comprehensive 

national strategy - recognizing 

all barriers to business 

from "an ecosystem perspective" 

- would help to increase 

the confidence of the general 

public in e-commerce, and to 

address the digital divide 

between urban and rural 

areas with higher priority. 

Improvements in trade 

logistics - such as better 

postal services and secure 

payment modes - are also 

required, it says. 

The affordability of 

Internet services is also a 

major concern for companies 

engaged in e-commerce, the 

report notes. 

The rapid eTrade 

readiness Assessment of 

Bangladesh, funded by the 

Federal Ministry of 

economic Cooperation and 

Development (BMZ), was 

presented to government 

representatives during an 

event on the opening day of 

UNCTAD's eCommerce 

Week 2019. 

The Arsonist Who Set Fire to an Ancient Wonder of The 

World So That People Would Remember Him 

INTereSTING NeWS 

on the night of July 21, 356 BCe, two 

important events took place in the 

Mediterranean Basin. one created history, 

the other erased it. on that night, in the city 

of Pella, the capital of the ancient Greek 

kingdom of Macedonia, the wife of King 

Philip II gave birth to a baby boy. This child 

would, years later, create one of the largest 

empires of the ancient world rewriting the 

history of much of europe, Asia and northeast 

Africa. He was Alexander the Great. 

The other event was more prosaic: an 

arsonist set fire to a temple. That temple, 

however, was no ordinary temple. It was one 

of the greatest temples to stand on the face 

of the earth—regarded for the past two thousand 

years by travellers and scholars as one 

of the seven wonders of the ancient world. 

This temple, the Temple of Artemis, was 

located near the ancient city of ephesus, 

near the now modern town of Selçuk, in 

Turkey. Dedicated to goddess Artemis, the 

temple was supposedly the first Greek temple 

to be built of marble. The colossal structure 

was more than a hundred meters long 

and half as wide. Its peripheral columns 

stood forty feet high, in double rows that 

formed a wide ceremonial passage around 

the cella that housed the goddess's cult 

image. These columns were carved in elaborate 

relief. 

That night, while the kingdom of 

Macedonia was rejoicing the birth of their 

new prince and future king, five hundred 

kilometers away across the Aegean Sea, a 

lowly thug named Herostratus set out to 

make his mark in history. He walked into 

the Temple of Artemis and set it on fire. The 

temple’s wooden interior, particularly its 

wooden beams, the statue of Artemis, and 

furnishing quickly caught the flames, and 

by next morning all that was left standing 

were thirty six blackened marble columns 

and a smoldering ruin. 

HC to hear 

compensation 

rule on Titumir 

student Rajib 

next week 

DHAKA : The High Court 

on Wednesday fixed April 10 

for a final hearing on a rule 

on paying damages to 

Government Titumir College 

student rajib Hasan's family, 

reports UNB. 

rajib lost his right arm 

after it got stuck between two 

buses at Bangla Motor on 

April 4 last year. He succumbed 

to his injuries at 

Dhaka Medical College 

Hospital 11 days later. 

Justice JBM Hassan and 

Justice Md Khairul Alam's 

bench fixed the date for hearing 

following a writ petition. 

Barrister ruhul Kuddus 

Kajol stood for the petitioner 

while Deputy Attorney 

General Motahar Hossain 

Saju represented the state. 

The committee formed by 

the High Court to identify 

those responsible for the 

accident and fix compensation, 

submitted the report 

with 18-recomendations. 

Saju said the report also 

mentioned that both drivers 

did not have licence to drive 

heavy vehicles. The committee 

held 'Sajan Paribahan' 

driver responsible for the 

incident and blamed the negligence 

of Samorita Hospital 

for rajib's death. 

The price of corn is decreasing than previous year . The farmers are worried about cultivation of Corn. The 

photo was taken from Taltola upazilla of Chuadanga district on Wednesday. 


Motive behind Habib murder revealed 

in 3-days using digital technology 

TITASH CHArABorTHy, KHULNA CorreSPoNDeNT: 

Law enforcement members are arresting 

criminals using digital technology 

very easily. The crime rate has also 

decreased. especially robbery, theft and 

hijacking have been reduced, as well as 

the victims are getting help instantly 

through modern technology. 

recently, a young man was killed in 

Khulna city and his body was cut into 

thirteen pieces by professional murderers. 

The law enforcement members 

arrested two suspects in just three days 

using digital technology. Due to digital 

Bangladesh, it is possible to identify the 

victim's murder and detain the accused. 

According to the sources, due to the 

digital technology law enforcement 

members are easily detecting criminals. 

Within a few moments, the identification 

of any person can be found through fingerprint 

and call list. on March 6, a 

young man named Habibur rahman was 

killed ruthlessly and was cut into 13 

pieces in Khulna. Not only this, the murderers 

put 13 pieces of dead bodies in different 

areas to make the body disappear. 

on 7th March, the law and order forces 

recovered some pieces of the body from 

different places. But they could not identify 

the person who was killed. rAB, 

police and law enforcement members 

were desperate to arrest the criminals. 

After around 30 hours without identification 

of the victiom, some officials of the 

Bureau of Investigation (PBI) came from 

Dhaka on March 8. Khulna Police Super 

Mohammad Anisur rahman of the 

Police Bureau of Investigation also joined 

the team. When the victims fingerprint 

was put on a device, his identification 

popped up in the screen. The identity of 

the deceased was found. His name was 

Habibur rahman. Not only does the 

name, the investigators got his whole 

information. 

At first the main accused Asaduzzaman 

and Anupam Mahladar were arrested on 

the pretext of the mobile call list and later 

on the basis of the accuser's location. 

According to the information given by 

them, only one day, the remaining members 

of the body and sharp weapons were 

recovered from the house of the accused 

on 10 March. on 12 March, the accused 

Mohammad Asaduzzaman and on 

March 13 Anupam Mahaladar, described 

about Habib's assassination. The motivation 

of the case was recovered. only the 

remaining three accused were to get 

arrested. 

In this regard, police investigating officer 

working in Khulna Police Bureau of 

Investigation Sheikh Abu Bakar Siddiqui, 

said that in 2000, a person was killed in 

Laxmipur and his body parts were cut 

into three pieces and thrown into 

Meghna river. It took eight months to 

detect the victim. But the good news is 

that through the use of digital technology 

it has been possible to identify the victim 

quickly and arrested the criminals easily. 

Not only that, two accused arrested given 

their statements in court. All this was 

possible through digital technology. 

Khulna Police Super of Police Bureau 

of Investigation (PBI) Mohammad 

Anisur rahman said that the identification 

of the victim's identity and the arrest 

of the criminals was possible through the 

use of digital technology. It is possible to 

detect the criminals very easily. There is 

no way to hide or hide any information 

now. Due to the digital technology, other 

crimes including theft, robbery and 

hijacking have also been reduced. 

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

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

04-04-2019

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