05-02-2020

Wednesday

DhaKa: February 5, 2020; Magh 22, 1426 BS; Jamadi-us Sanni 10,1441 hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.17; No.10; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

international

Court trial goes

online in China amid

virus outbreak

>Page 7

art & culture

Zaira Wasim : Kashmiris

continue to suffer in a world where

it is easy to place restrictions

>Page 8

sport

Don't want to repeat

Test mistakes in

Pakistan : Mominul

>Page 9

ICC launces probe

into crimes

41 days to go

EC Mahbub pushes

for reform of election

management

DHAKA : Mentioning that the absence of

the opposition in polling stations has made

the elections to the two city corporations

questionable, Election Commissioner

Mahbub Talukdar on Tuesday said the

reform of the election process and a change

in the election management are a must.

He made the remarks in a statement in

the afternoon. The election commissioner

also described the 'unusually' low

voter turnout in the recent elections to

the two city corporations as an 'ominous'

sign for democracy. "The unusual low

voter turnout in the city corporation polls

seemed normal to me. This can be an

ominous sign for democracy but this is

the reality."

Elections to the Dhaka North City

Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South

City Corporation (DSCC) were held on

February 1 with a 29.002 percent voter

turnout in the DSCC while 25.30 percent

in the DNCC.

This real scenario cannot be justified

through various explanations or misinterpretations

if people become reluctant

about election or voting, the election

commissioner said.

"Some wise persons said there's a need

of authoritarian rule to protect democracy.

However, democracy can flourish in

its own quality if it's not enchained in an

unwanted manner," he said.

Mahbub Talukdar said the natural

process of power handover gets closed if

the election system fails which is not

desirable at all, reports UNB.

38 people lose lives in LPG

cylinder blasts : Nasrul

SANGSAD BHABAN : LPG cylinder

blasts in the country has so far killed 38

people and injured 72 others, State

Minister Power, Energy and Mineral

Resources Nasrul Hamid told

Parliament on Tuesday.

"The explosions took place at different

times for lack of awareness about and

incompetence in using LPG gas cylinders,"

he said replying to a starred question

from Bangladesh Workers Party MP

Lutfun Nesa Khan (Reserved Seat-48).

The state minister mentioned various

activities of the Department of

Explosives to prevent LPG explosions

and raise the awareness of people in this

regard. The activities include regular

inspection of cylinder storing places and

cylinder testing centres.

In reply to another starred question

from AL MP Shahiduzzaman Sarker

(Naogaon-2), Nasrul Hamid said the

system loss in electricity distribution has

dropped to 9.35 percent from 14.33 percent

in the last 10 years.

"The system loss in electricity distribution

was 14.33 percent in 2008-09 fiscal

and that came down to 9.35 percent in

2018-19 fiscal showing a 4.98 percent

fall," he said.

Zohr

05:22 AM

12:16 PM

04:11 PM

05:51 PM

07:07 PM

6:37 5:48

DHAKA : The Office of the Prosecutor of

the International Criminal Court (ICC) has

expressed optimism that justice will finally

be done to Rohingyas though this is going

to be a long, hard and challenging process

of investigation, reports UNB.

"Yes, it's been three years since the

crimes were committed but justice will

still be done. It may take a year, it may

take two years or it may take another

three years but ultimately justice will be

done," Phakiso Mochochoko, Director of

Jurisdiction, Cooperation and

Complementarity, told reporters at a

briefing on Tuesday afternoon noting

that the investigation has begun already.

Expressing optimism over identifying

the individual perpetrators of the crimes

committed against Rohingyas, he said if

these crimes are investigated and prosecuted,

hopefully anybody "will think twice"

in the future knowing that there is justice.

In November 2019, ICC Judges authorised

the request by ICC Prosecutor Fatou

Bensouda to investigate alleged crimes

against humanity committed against the

Rohingya people from Myanmar.

"I must say that was a beginning of

investigation itself though investigation

takes in many forms," said Mochochoko

who came to Bangladesh as part of ongoing

activities by the ICC Office of the

Prosecutor (OTP) in accordance with its

mandate under the Rome Statute, concerning

the Rohingya situation.

He urged all to have patience as the

process is a lengthy one. The investigation

may cover alleged crimes committed

since June 2010, when Bangladesh

joined the ICC, and includes any future

crime as long as they are sufficiently

linked to the situation.

Responding to a question, he said their

investigators are experienced, and they

are well-trained investigators having the

expertise in collecting evidence that will

lead to identify who the perpetrators are.

Mochochoko said Myanmar is not

cooperating with the ICC in collecting

evidence what he finds a challenge but

not a barrier.

"The investigation will take the time

needed to uncover the truth of what happened.

Justice is an important expectation,"

he said adding that it, however,

cannot do everything for the Rohingya

people and bring back loved ones lost to

the violence.

Together, he said, their aim is to make

sure that these stories are known, and

not forgotten, and that after careful

investigation, those whom their evidence

shows bear the greatest responsibility for

the crimes and face justice. Responding

to a question, Mochochoko said there is

no death penalty but the maximum punishment

will be "life sentence" on individuals

who will be found guilty.

He said the investigators from the

office of the Prosecutor will now carefully

and thoroughly seek to uncover the

truth about what happened to the

Rohingya people in Myanmar in which

brought them here to Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1

million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar district

and most of them entered Bangladesh

since August 25, 2017 amid military

crackdown in Rakhine State of

Myanmar against Rohingyas.

China virus death toll rises to

425, total cases now 20,438

BEIJING : The death toll in mainland

China from the new type of virus has risen

to 425, with the total number of cases now

standing at 20,438, officials said Tuesday,

reports UNB.

The new figures come after the country

opened a new hospital built in 10 days,

infused cash into tumbling financial markets

and further restricted people's movement

in hopes of containing the rapidly

spreading virus and its escalating impact.

Japanese officials were deciding

whether to quarantine more than 3,000

people on a cruise ship that carried a passenger

who tested positive for the virus.

The latest figures are up from 361

deaths and 17,205 confirmed cases.

Other countries are continuing evacuations

and restricting the entry of Chinese

or people who have recently traveled in

the country. In the province at the epicenter

of the outbreak, a specialized 1,000-

bed hospital started treating patients and

a second hospital with 1,500 beds is to

open within days. Other countries continued

evacuating citizens from hardest-hit

Hubei province and restricted the entry of

Chinese or people who recently traveled to

the country. The World Health Organization

said the number of cases will keep growing

because tests are pending on thousands of

suspected cases. Chinese President Xi

Jinping, presiding over a special meeting of

the country's top Communist Party body for

the second time since the crisis started, said

"we have launched a people's war of prevention

of the epidemic."

He told the Politburo standing committee

that the country must race against time

to curb the spread of the virus and that

those who neglect their duties will be punished,

state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Medical teams from the People's

Liberation Army were arriving in Wuhan,

the capital of Hubei province, to relieve

overwhelmed health workers and to staff

the new 1,000-bed hospital, located in the

countryside far from the city center.

Child (5) Ashamoni fell into the Kadamtali canal on Saturday. Rescuers couldn't find her even

after four days. On Tuesday, rescue operation continued.

Photo : TBT

Day by day, the number of book lovers are increasing in the Ekushey Book fair. The picture was

taken on Tuesday.

Photo : TBT

HC asks UGC to submit

report on PhD degreeawarding

process

DHAKA : The High Court on Tuesday

directed the University Grants

Commission (UGC) to submit a report

within three months after investigating

how Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

and equivalent degrees are approved

by public and private universities,

reports UNB.

The HC bench of Justice FRM Nazmul

Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader

passed the order after hearing a writ petition

filed by Supreme Court lawyer

Advocate Md Moniruzzaman.

The court also directed the Dhaka

University (DU) vice-chancellor to submit

a report within 60 days after investigating

the allegation against one of

their teachers of obtaining his PhD

degree submitting a dissertation which

was 98 percent plagiarised.

In the rule, it also wanted to know

why directives should not be given for

verifying the thesis by an ICT specialist

before it is finalised to prevent forgery

in attaining PhD or equivalent degrees

by students or researchers.

The education secretary, UGC chairman

and DU VC were made respondents

to the rule.

A report was published in a newspaper

on January 21 about 98 percent plagiarised

dissertation of a DU teacher.

According to the report, Abul Kalam

Lutful Kabir, associate professor of DU

Pharmaceutical Technology department,

acquired his PhD degree from

the same department in 2015 submitting

a dissertation which was 98 percent

plagarised.

Mongla going to have 10MW

floating solar power plant

DHAKA : A process is underway to set

up a 10MW floating solar power plant at

Mongla as a Mujib Borsho gift for the

people of the area, reports UNB.

According to official sources, the

Power Division has initiated the move to

implement the project as soon as possible.

"A technical committee is now evaluating

a proposal of an Indo-Bangla consortium

in this regard," Mohammad

Alauddin, additional secretary to the

Power Division, told UNB.

He said if the committee finds the proposal

technically and financially viable,

then the government will proceed to sign

a contract with them to implement the

project.

The Mongla Municipality will be an

equity partner of the consortium by giving

its water-body for the project.

Currently, Mongla Municipality has a

water-body on a 60-acre land in

Bagerhat district to run its water treatment

plant from which it supplies water

to its residents.

Officials said the consortium of

Indian and Bangladeshi companies

moved its proposal to the Power

Division recently, expressing its interest

to set up the project.

As per the proposal, the municipality

will provide the water-body while the

two companies will invest money to set

up the project as an independent power

producer (IPP).

The Bangladesh Power Development

Board (BPDB), on behalf of the government,

will purchase electricity from the

DHAKA : Bangladesh has advised all

the airlines that fly between Bangladesh

and China to make health clearance

mandatory from the government health

administration of China while carrying

passengers from China with valid visa.

Bangladesh Embassy in Beijing has

issued necessary directives in consultation

with the headquarters, an official

told UNB.

Meanwhile, on arrival-visas for

Chinese citizens to enter

Bangladesh will remain suspended

until further notice.

The Chinese citizens who are working

in Bangladesh have been advised not to

travel to China until the situation

improves, said the official quoting the

government directives. At the same

time, Chinese companies in Bangladesh

will avoid hiring fresh employees from

China until the situation improves.

In the case of travelling from the

project for about 20 years.

Officials said a technical committee of

the government is now scrutinising the

technical and financial aspects of the proposal.

They said the government is considering

the project positively as the consortium

claimed that they have the capability

to implement it very quickly-even

within 6 months.

Once the proposal is accepted and the

project implemented, it will be a good gift

of the Mujib Year which the government

officially announced to celebrate the

birth centenary of Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Officials said if the project is implemented,

it will be the country's first private

floating solar power plant.

Earlier, the government planned to

implement a 50MW solar power plant in

the Kaptai Lake. After a feasibility study,

the government will invite proposals

from bidders to implement the project.

The government has planned to generate

10 percent or 2000 MW electricity

from renewable energy sources by 2020,

which is 405MW at present.

The country's current capacity for

power generation is about 22,000MW

and it has a target of generating

24,000MW of electricity by 2021,

40,000MW by 2030, and 60,000MW

by 2041.

The recent successes of Japan, China,

India, Germany, France, China and

other countries have prompted the government

to set up floating solar power

plants across the country.

Corona outbreak

Airlines fly advised to check

health clearance of passengers

mainland China, the Chinese citizens

need to submit health certificates prior

to travel to Bangladesh, according to the

Bangladesh Embassy in Beijing.

The directives came amid the growing

number of coronavirus cases in China

that claimed over 300 deaths so far.

There are more than 17,000 confirmed

cases in China, with 361 deaths,

and more than 150 in other countries,

with one death in the Philippines.

The number of deaths in China

now exceeds the 349 killed on the

mainland in the Severe Acute

Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak

of 2002-03.

On Saturday, the government

brought back 312 Bangladeshis from

Wuhan city of China, the epicentre of

the coronavirus outbreak, by a special

flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

Most of them remained quarantined

at Ashkona Hajj Camp.

NEWS

WedNesdAY, FebruArY 5, 2020

2

bangladesh Trade union Center (TuC) held a discussion meeting at dhaka reporters unity yesterday

demanding minimum salary, treatment facilities, education and social security. Photo : TbT

belgium confirms its

1st case of virus

Belgium has reported its first case

of a new virus in a person who was

repatriated from the Chinese

epicenter of the outbreak, reports

UNB.

The health ministry said Tuesday

the person was in good health and

does not show any symptoms of the

disease. The individual was among

nine Belgians repatriated from

Wuhan, China, over the weekend.

The infected person was taken to

a special hospital for further care

while the other returnees remain

under observation.

More than 180 cases of the new

type of coronavirus have been

confirmed beyond mainland China,

which has more than 20,000 cases.

The Singapore Airshow will

proceed next week despite the

withdrawal of South Korea's air

force team and 16 exhibitors

because of a new virus.

Experia Events said Tuesday an

aviation conference that is part of

the airshow will be cancelled as the

would-be participants instead focus

on handling the outbreak.

Experia said 10 exhibitors from

China and six exhibitors from other

countries couldn't participate in the

Feb. 11-16 event due to Singapore's

ban on all Chinese visitors and

company bans on employee travel.

Experia said temperature

screenings and other measures will

be used at the exhibition center and

Air Quality

Index: dhaka

ranks 2nd

worst

DHAKA : Bangladesh's

capital Dhaka ranked the

second worst in the Air

Quality Index (AQI) on

Tuesday morning, reports

UNB.

It had an AQI score of 203

at 08:00am. The air was

classified as 'very unhealthy'.

When the AQI score is

between 201 and 300,

everyone may experience

health effects and it gives a

warning of emergency

conditions. The entire

population is more likely to

be affected in this state.

India's Delhi, Mongolia's

Ulaanbaatar occupied the

top and third positions in the

list of cities with the worst air

with AQI scores of 263 and

198 respectively.

The AQI, an index for

reporting daily air quality,

informs people how clean or

polluted the air of a certain

city is, and what associated

health effects might be a

concern for them.

In Bangladesh, the AQI is

based on five criteria

pollutants - Particulate

Matter (PM10 and PM2.5),

NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone

(O3). The Department of

Environment has also set

national ambient air quality

standards for these

pollutants. These standards

aim to protect against

adverse human health

impacts.

Dhaka, an overpopulated

megacity surrounded by

brick kilns, has long been

battling air pollution.

Brick kilns have been

identified as the leading

cause of air pollution in the

capital in a report by the

World Bank and the

Department of Environment.

a medical team will be on standby.

The new type of coronavirus has

infected more than 20,000 people,

mostly in China. Several Asian

countries have reported cases,

including Singapore, which has 18.

More than 100 Malaysians have

been quarantined after being

evacuated from the Chinese city at

the center of a viral outbreak.

An AirAsia plane carrying 107

Malaysians and their non-

Malaysians spouses and children

from Wuhan landed at the Kuala

Lumpur airport early Tuesday.

They immediately underwent

medical screenings, and the

National Disaster Management

Agency said two people who didn't

pass the screenings were

immediately taken to the hospital.

Its statement said the others were

sent to a surveillance center in

southern Negeri Sembilan state to

be quarantined for 14 days.

Malaysia has recorded eight

cases of the new type of

coronavirus, all involving Chinese

travelers.

The leader of semi-autonomous

Macao is asking the city's casinos

shut for two seeks after a worker at

one of them tested positive for the

new virus sweeping China.

Ho Iat Seng made the request on

Tuesday as the total number of

cases in mainland China surged

past 20,000. Macao's more than

two dozen casinos account for

about half of the local economy and

are hugely popular with Chinese

visitors, generating more than four

times the revenue of those in Las

Vegas. Macao has so far recorded

10 cases of the virus.

Ho told reporters he would meet

with heads of the casinos to discuss

details. Public transport and other

services were also being cut back to

the minimum needed to deal with

emergencies, Ho said. He urged

residents to stay home and leave

only to buy necessities such as

food.

With more than 20,000 cases

reported, China has begun moving

patients suffering from a new virus

into rapidly built or adapted

facilities, although the degree of

medical isolation among them

appears to vary widely.

The first 50 patients were moved

Tuesday into Huoshenshan

Hospital, a prefabricated structure

on the outskirts of the city of

Wuhan, the epicenter of the

outbreak. Earlier footage appeared

to show the 1,000-bed facility

equipped with state-of-the-art

medical equipment, including

negative-pressure isolation wards

to prevent the virus from breaking

the air seal. A second hospital,

Leishenshan, is due to be ready

soon and will add another 1,600

beds.

PM flies to Italy on 4-day visit

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina left here for Rome on Tuesday

morning on a four-day bilateral visit to

hold talks with her Italian counterpart

Giuseppe Conte.

A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh

Airlines carrying the Prime Minister

and her entourage took off from

Hazrat Shahjalal International

Airport (HSIA) at 9:45 am, reports

UNB.

The flight is scheduled to land at

Fiumicino Airport, Rome around

4:15pm (Italian time). Minister

Plenipotentiary of Italian Foreign

Ministry Cristiano Cottafavi and

Bangladesh Ambassador to Italy

Abdus Sobhan Sikder will receive her

at the airport. In the evening, she will

attend a community event at Parco dei

Principi Grand Hotel and SPA.

On Wednesday (February 5), the

Prime Minister will inaugurate the

Chancery Building of Bangladesh

Embassy at Via Dell'Antartide in

Rome.

After that, Sheikh Hasina will hold

her bilateral talks with Italian Prime

Minister Giuseppe Conte at Palazzo

Chigi and join the official lunch.

There are three proposals on

bilateral instruments between

Bangladesh and Italy. These draft

agreements are on cultural exchange,

political consultations and

cooperation in the diplomatic field,

said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul

Momen while briefing reporters on

Sunday last.

He said a joint statement will be

issued after the bilateral meeting

between the two Prime Ministers. "If

it's not possible to sign the proposed

agreements during the visit, those will

be reflected on the joint statement,

and the instruments will be signed

afterwards," said the Foreign

Minister.

On Wednesday afternoon, high

officials of Italian business companies

will meet her at Parco dei Principi

Grand Hotel and SPA.

In the evening, she will attend

dinner to be hosted by the Bangladesh

Ambassador in honour of her at Parco

dei Principi Grand Hotel and SPA.

On Thursday (February 6), Pope

Francis will give audience to Sheikh

Hasina in Rome before her departure

for Milan.

On Friday (February 7), she will

leave Milan for Dhaka by Emirates

Airlines from Milan Malpensa

International Airport at 1:40pm (Italy

time). Bangladesh Ambassador to

Italy Abdus Sobhan Sikder will see the

Prime Minister off at the airport.

She will arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal

International Airport (HSIA) on

February 8 at 8am.

A human chain was formed yesterday demanding resignation of election

commissioner.

Photo : TbT

FMCH curtain

scam: Two

land in jail

FARIDPUR : A court here

on Tuesday sent two accused

to jail after rejecting their

bail petitions in a case filed

in connection with Faridpur

Medical College Hospital

(FMCH) curtain purchase

scam.

Faridpur District and

Session Judge Selim Mia

passed the order when the

two appeared before the

court after expiry of their

six-month bail given by the

High Court, reports UNB.

The accused are Abdullah

Al Mamun, owner of M/s

Anik Traders and Munshi

Sazzad

Hossain,

administrative officer of

National Institute of

Cardiovascular Diseases

(NICVD).

Mohammad Majibor

Rahman, an ACC lawyer,

said the accused secured sixmonth

bail from the High

Court (HC). The court also

asked them to surrender

before a lower court after the

expiry of the bail.

On November 27, 2019,

ACC Deputy Director

Mamunur Rashid

Chowdhury filed a case

against six people, including

Mamun and Sazzad, in

connection with Faridpur

Medical College Hospital

(FMCH) curtain purchase

scam.

They are accused of trying

to embezzle Tk 10 crore in

collusion with each other in

the pretext of procuring

medical equipment

including curtains for the

hospital.

On August 20, last year,

the High Court ordered the

ACC to look into the

irregularities and corruption

in purchase for the Intensive

Care Unit of FMCH. It gave

six months to complete the

investigation.

septuagenarian

woman burned

to death in

Chattogram

CHATTOGRAM : A

septuagenarian woman was

burned to death in a fire

that broke out at a house in

Kaliaish union of Satkania

upazila early Tuesday,

reports UNB.

The deceased was

identified as Anwara

Begum, 71, wife of Fazal

Ahmed.

Mahabub Alam, senior

station officer of Agrabad

Fire Service, said that the

fire broke out at the house

of a Munsi Miah in

Monowabad 2 no ward

around 2:45 am from an

electric short circuit.

On information, two

vehicles of Satkani fire

station rushed to the spot

and extinguished the fire

around 4am. Later, the fire

service team recovered

Anwara's charred body

from the house.

The fire also gutted at

least three adjoining

houses.

Innovation lab

inaugurated at

Ahsanullah

university

Innovation lab inaugurated

at Ahsanullah University

on Tuesday CRID-DAM

Innovation lab was

formally inaugurated in

Ahsanullah University of

Science and Technology

Prof. Dr. Md. Fazli Ilahi,

Vice-Chanellor of AUST

inaugurated the lab. Engr.

Mehedi Shams President of

USA based Center for

Robotic Innovation &

Development Spoke on the

details of the plan.

Treasurer of the

University, Prof. dr.

Mustafizur Rahman, Dean

of Architecture prof. Dr. M.

A. Muktadir, Faculty Prof.

Dr. Shehzad Zahir Spoke

on the occasion. Dean of

Engineering Prof. Dr.

Abdur rahim Mollah,

Heads of the Departments,

Officers, Faculty Members,

Staff and Students were

Present on the occasion.

us adds 'low yield' nuclear weapon

to its submarine arsenal

The U.S. military has deployed a new

addition to its nuclear arsenal - a long-range

missile armed with a nuclear warhead of

reduced destructive power. The so-called

low-yield missile joins other, more powerful

weapons aboard stealthy submarines

prowling the oceans, reports UNB.

The debut deployment aboard long-range

submarines, known as boomers, is a

landmark in U.S. nuclear weapons policy. It

is the first major addition to the strategic

nuclear arsenal in recent decades and is a

departure from the Obama administration's

policy of lessening dependence on nuclear

weapons in pursuit of a nuclear-free world.

In confirming the missile deployment to

The Associated Press, the Pentagon's top

policy official asserted that the weapon

makes Americans safer by making nuclear

war less likely. Critics, including some

Democrats in Congress, call it a dangerous

excess that increases the risk of war.

John Rood, the undersecretary of defense

for policy, said in an AP interview Monday

that adding the "low-yield" warhead, known

as the W76-2, to submarines which tote

Trident II ballistic missiles lowers the risk of

nuclear war. He said the United States will

continue its stated policy of using nuclear

weapons only in "extraordinary

circumstances." He also said the warhead

will help the United States dissuade Russia

from risking launching a limited nuclear

conflict.

"This supplemental capability strengthens

deterrence and provides the United States a

prompt, more survivable low-yield strategic

weapon," Rood said, adding that it supports

the U.S. commitment to deter attacks against

allies, and "demonstrates to potential

adversaries that there is no advantage to

limited nuclear employment because the

United States can credibly and decisively

respond to any threat scenario."

Rood declined to provide details about the

deployment, including when or where the

deployment began; all details, he said, are

classified secret. The deployment was

reported last week by the Federation of

American Scientists, citing anonymous

sources and reporting that it was believed to

have begun in the final weeks of 2019 with an

Atlantic deployment of the USS Tennessee.

Adding the W76-2 fits President Donald

Trump's stated interest in beefing up the

nuclear arsenal, although he has not

commented on this specific weapon. His

administration is committed to a broader,

costly modernization of the nuclear force.

The essence of critics' argument against

the low-yield weapon is that it makes the

sabuj Andalan organized a mask distribution program at Purana Paltan on

Tuesday.

Photo : TbT

bPdb to sign deal for

underground distribution

network today

DHAKA : The government will sign a contract with

Energy Tron Australia today for establishing

underground distribution network in the zones

under Bangladesh Power Development Board

(BPDB) jurisdiction to replace overhead power

cables.

The contract will be signed for consultancy

services to establish 'Underground Distribution

Network' in four major cities of Chattogram,

Cumilla, Sylhet and Mymensingh distribution zones

under the BPDB at Mukti Hall, Bidyut Bhaban here

at 11am.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral

Resources Nasrul Hamid will witness the signing

ceremony as the chief guest.

Talking to BSS, Director (Public Relations) of

BPDB Saiful Hasan Chowdhury said, Secretary of

BPDB Saiful Islam Azad and Principal Engineer and

Team Leader of Energy Tron Australia Khandker

Wahidul Islam will sign the contract on behalf of

their respective sides.

He said as part of the government's initiative to

bring distribution network underground, the BPDB

has taken the project for signing a deal with an

Australian firm.

Earlier, the BPDB successfully initiated

underground power lines in the Dargah Gate area of

Sylhet and removed all overhead cables and electric

poles. The installation work of overhead line is going

on to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply.

State-owned Dhaka Power Distribution Company

(DPDC) and Dhaka Electric Supply Company

(DESCO), now engaged in power distribution in the

city, had undertaken a project to take their overhead

electric cables underground in Dhanmondi and

Gulshan areas.

world less safe because it offers decisionmakers

another option for using a nuclear

weapon in a conflict that could then escalate

to a full-blown nuclear war. They also

contend that lower-yield air-launched

nuclear weapons already in the U.S. arsenal

make the W76-2 redundant.

Rood, however, said the submarinelaunched

low-yield missile is important

because it can more reliably penetrate air

defenses than could an airplane armed with

nuclear weapons.

The W76-2 is the Trump administration's

answer to what it calls a Russian

misconception of an exploitable "gap" in U.S.

nuclear capabilities. By deploying missiles at

sea with a lower nuclear yield, or destructive

power, the administration aims to dissuade

Moscow from thinking it could "win" a war

in Europe, for example, by firing its own lowyield

nuclear weapon first, forcing

Washington and its NATO allies to either

commit to full-scale nuclear war or

capitulate.

The yield, or destructive power, of the

W76-2 is classified. Experts say it may be

about 5 kilotons, or roughly one-third the

destructive power of the "Little Boy" nuclear

bomb the United States dropped on

Hiroshima, Japan, in the final days of World

War II, killing tens of thousands of people.

By comparison, the missile that has been

deploying aboard strategic submarines for

decades has carried the 90-kiloton W76

warhead and the 475-kiloton W88 warhead.

The newly deployed warhead was

produced by modifying the W76. Last

February the administration said it expected

to have the new version ready for use by late

2019.

26 killed in central Nigeria

attacks: police

A total of 26 people were killed in recent

attacks in Nigeria's central Plateau State,

local police said Monday, reports UNB.

Up to 190 houses were damaged or

destroyed following the attacks by unknown

gunmen across two local areas of the state on

Jan. 26-28, the police said in a statement.

Scores of people were wounded in the

attacks, and at least five communities in

Bokkos and Mangu were under intense

attacks during the period, the statement said.

"In the attacks, 14 persons were killed in

Kwatas, four at Sabon Barki ... one at

Changet community," and seven "were killed

at Marish community," it said.

17 dengue

patients being

treated at

hospitals: Govt

DHAKA : Seventeen dengue

patients, including thirteen

in the capital, are being

treated at hospitals across

the country, the Directorate

General of Health Services

(DGHS) said.

Three new dengue cases

were reported in the last 24

hours until 8am on

Tuesday. Bangladesh

experienced a massive

dengue outbreak last year.

In January, the

government confirmed that

dengue had claimed the

lives of 164 people last year.

The Institute of

Epidemiology, Disease

Control and Research

(IEDCR) confirmed the

number after reviewing 263

out of 266 reports of

dengue-related deaths last

year.

Last year, 101,354 people

were hospitalised with

dengue in the country. Of

them, 101,037 made full

recovery.

Since the beginning of this

year, 214 dengue cases were

reported. Of them, 197 had

been discharged from

hospitals.

METRO

WednesdAY, FebruArY 5, 2020

3

Prof. dr. Md. Fazli Ilahi, VC of AusT speaking on the function.

Photo : Courtesy

rMG facilities should

be ensured for other

sectors: salman

DHAKA : Prime Minister's Adviser

on Private .Sector Industry and

Investment Salman F Rahman

yesterday said all the facilities

currently enjoyed by the RMG

sector should also be given to other

potential sectors like agriculture,

leather, ICT, pharmaceuticals to

facilitate those to grow more.

"All the facilities currently

enjoyed by the RMG sector like

back to back LC, bonded

warehouse should also be given to

other potential sectors like

agriculture, leather, ICT,

pharmaceuticals to facilitate them

to grow more," he said.

Salman said this when the Board

of Directors of Dhaka Chamber of

Commerce and Industry (DCCI),

led by its President Shams

Mahmud, called on him, said a

DCCI press release here.

He said the government has

taken various timely initiatives to

uphold Bangladesh's position in the

ease of doing business index.

"Only reforms in policy measures

are not adequate. But, the business

community can get real benefits

due to reforms which would add

value to increase Bangladesh's

position in the index," he added.

GD-232/20 (9 x 3)

The PM's Adviser also echoed

with the Chamber leaders to reduce

corporate tax rate with a view to

increase investment in the country.

He also appreciated the initiative

of DCCI for establishing RnI

Platform to do market-oriented

research and assured all possible

support from the government to

this end.

DCCI President Shams Mahmud

said Bangladesh is now in 168th

position in Ease of Doing Business

Index. He also thanked the Adviser

for his concerted efforts to increase

Bangladesh's position in this index

further.

The DCCI President also urged

for reformation of the Companies

Act incorporating liquidation,

merger and acquisition, alternative

dispute resolution, technology like

e-voting, video conferencing.

Shams emphasized to replicate

RMG success model to other

sectors like leather and leather

products, ship building, jute and

Jute products, agro-processing and

light engineering.

To facilitate export, he urged the

government for strengthening

economic diplomacy with the

Southeast Asian and African

countries.

Mentioning that Bangladesh

would need US$320 billion alone

for infrastructure sector by 2030,

he suggested for including green

field projects in the stock market.

Under the initiative of DCCI,

Shams said a Research and

Innovation Platform (RnI

Bangladesh) is going to be

established and also sought

support from the government in

this regard.

DCCI Senior Vice-President NKA

Mobin,

Vice-President

Mohammad Bashiruddin and

members of the Board of Directors

were also present during the

meeting.

national Library

day today

DHAKA : The National Library Day

will be observed today through

various programmes across the

country.

The Ministry of Cultural Affairs has

chalked out elaborate programmes

across the country to observe the day

aiming at building an educated and

enlightened nation and

making the people more

library-oriented.

On the eve of the day,

President M Abdul Hamid

and Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina issued separate

messages greeting all

concerned and wishing

success of the day's

programmes.

In his message, President

Abdul Hamid said, "Books

play a vital role in building a

civilized society. A library

contains the chronological

changes of a country and

nation's education, taste

and culture through books

or other documentaries. So,

library is a bridge between

education and culture of the

past and the present time".

Hamid urged all

government and nongovernment

institutions,

including Bangla Academy

and Public Library

Department, to come

forward in this regard.

He hoped that the

observance of the day will

make the people aware of

the services provided by

library.

Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina, in her message, said

Awami League (AL)

government has taken

massive development

programmes in the

country's library sector

aiming at enlightening and

enriching the people

through gathering

knowledge, conducting

researches and practicing

culture.

The implementation

works of development

projects and online

management of Sufia

Kamal National Public

Library in the city are going

on in full swing.

Wars of Liberation and

Bangabandhu corners have

been set up at every public

library in the country, the

premier said.

In the city, a procession

will be brought out from the

Department of Public

Libraries premises in city's

Shahbagh area.

GD-230/20 (20 x 4)

EDITORIAL

WEdnESdAy, fEBruAry 5, 2020

4

how India is restoring normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Amar EkusheyBoi Mela

The month long EkusheyBoi Mela (Book Fair) has

started like in other years three days ago. This

annual eagerly awaited event will be drawing

capacity crowds also like in other years. A newcomer

to the Bangladesh scene may be very impressed by the

zealous participation of people at the fair and their

book buying spree. But there is also the other side to it.

The book buying at the fair is a one time annual

activity and does not signify that Bangladeshis, on the

whole, are ardently a book reading people.

There are reasons for the same, of course. Illiteracy

and lack of education are still big limiting factors that

exclude many people from reading books. There are a

large number of book lovers, of course, among the

narrower sections of the population who are literate

and educated. But an equal or perhaps greater number

of people in the otherwise literate or formally educated

categories are distinguished for their shunning of

books. They have read text books out of compulsion in

their student days and would read books which are

useful for their professional life. But they seldom

venture out of these bounds to take up reading books

on diverse subjects as a regular part of their daily or

even weekly habit. Looking at these people, one may

come to the conclusion that book reading on different

topics as a habit to enrich the mind and the soul is yet

to be the reality for the preponderant number in the

literate or educated population of Bangladesh. This is

indeed very undesirable.

There is a pressing need to develop the habit of

reading books, to promote a culture of reading books

in every home, to inspire the children specially to read

books apart from their textual ones and to give books

as gifts on different occasions. The rewards of doing

these things should be obvious. A book reading people

can be expected to be knowledge-based in their

thoughts and actions and only knowledge-based

societies will be the richer in every respect in the

coming age.

The inculcation of a book reading habit among

people, specially among the children or teenagers is

badly needed because the impact of the audio-visual

mediums of entertainment -- particularly the visual

one--have meant so many of them giving up the

reading of books to the detriment of true learning. This

is not only a problem in Bangladesh ; it is an unwanted

phenomenon worldwide. While there is nothing

wrong with limited exposure to the audio-visual

mediums, there is never any substitutes to books when

it comes to fully enlightening, helping the formation of

objective or clear conceptions on different subjects and

issues, imparting of information and knowledge fully

and, broadening of the mental horizon. The same are

only possible through the serene and aesthetic exercise

of reading books.

A book fair is a filling station for the mind that opens

up new vistas and horizons. The visitors eager to take

a dip in the stream of knowledge is rewarded by what

they discover among the stacks of books. The ripples

are to be felt by the heart, not the hands. All the more

so, when it is Amar EkusheyBoiMela , inseparably

linked to the glorious history of the nation.

This year is no exception. The Boi Mela has started

as it always does and is ready to be abuzz with the

presence of a big crowd for a month. Lots of people

wait for nearly a year, and for the writers and

publishers it is a grand occasion to prove their mettle.

The fair is an example of how the passion and love

for Bangla can be transformed into something

tangible. We are grateful to the visionaries who could

foresee that such a fair would keep the Language

Movement alive in the memories of the people as

something more than an episode occupying a special

place in our history.

The fair is a monument of pride and self-respect

that went into the struggle against the tyrannical

rulers. Today, it has become a melting pot for ideas

and experiences of a wide range of writers and

publishers who find it an effective vehicle for reaching

out to the common readers. Nevertheless, nobody

should be oblivious of the sanctity of the occasion--

which must be placed far above crass

commercialism-- and never forget the men and

women who once did so much for our linguistic and

political freedom. EkusheyBoiMela takes us back to

the days when the right to speak in Bangla was

endangered and the valiant young men sacrificed their

lives for the language. It is a reminder of the times

when the whole nation stood against the unilateral

decision of a regime that attempted to relegate Bangla

to a position of secondary or no importance.

So, the new generation has to be aware of the great

significance of the Language Movement. The book

fair, which is a wonderful gift for them , conveys a

message that goes beyond arranging some makeshift

bookstalls and creating the ambience for the

inquisitive mind to discover things sublime. It is a

symbol of our cultural and educational refinement.

Amar EkusheyBoi Mela is one of the few things that

brings people closer to each other for a month every

year. That is by itself no mean achievement!

Let it flourish further in the years ahead and exert its

wholesome influence on society.

Prime Minister of India Narendra

Modi's government revoked

Jammu and Kashmir of its semiautonomy

and statehood, creating two

federal territories on August 5, 2019. The

order revoked Article 370 of India's

Constitution which had given the

erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir

its own Constitution and decisionmaking

rights for all matters except

Defence, Communication and Foreign

Affairs.While many criticized the move,

no one had clear notion about what the

impact of abrogation of Article 370will

create in the Union Territory (UT) of

Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Evidence on ground has indicated that

locals have found no major change in the

normal functioning as regards activities

of the newly created UTs.

While activities of political parties in

Jammu and Kashmir have been

restricted and its leaders Farooq

Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah, ex

CM Mehbooba Mufti confined to their

homes, no one took to streets demanding

their release. The individuals who have

been claiming themselves as

representatives of the people have lack of

public support on the ground.

Measures by the Government to

restore normalcy

The abrogation of special status of

Jammu and Kashmir has allowed the

Government of India to increase the

amount of fund allocation to the Valley

and other areas of the UT. In a major

decision by the Jammu and Kashmir

government on January 25, 2G internet

services were thrown open across all the

20 districts in the Union Territory. This is

the biggest breakthrough in internet

connectivity in the region since August 5

last year when the government imposed

restrictions on mobile internet in J&K.

With this restoration, all the 20 districts

of J&K from January 25 will get access to

the internet.

Ever since the abrogation of Article 370,

a number of steps have been taken over a

period of time to bring back normalcy.

Some of the major initiatives in this

direction include, functioning of the

educational institutions, Primary, Middle

and Secondary (High) schools have been

reopened in most parts of J&K;

availability of health facilities 24x7 with

expert opinions from all over the country;

fArAzI AzMAl hoSSAIn

essential supplies, including 24x7

electricity, water supply, healthcare and

sanitation. According to conservative

estimates, more than 400 thousand

patients have been attended for various

ailments; 35,000 patients admitted,

11,000 surgeries performed since August

5. All this was achieved when malicious

reports were being spread claiming that

there was a shortage of essential

medicines and baby food. Reports

indicate that 92 per cent of the area of

Jammu and Kashmir has no restrictions

and out of 199 police stations in Jammu

and Kashmir and Ladakh, only 11 police

stations have daytime

restrictions.Banking and ATM facilities

are operating normally and cash is

regularly loaded so that public do not face

any difficulty; there is no shortage of

cooking gas; government offices and

business establishments are functioning

normally. Economic activity has been

given a boost with700,000 farmers in

J&K growing 2.2 million metric ton of

apples. Government is working out a

scheme for price support to the produce

and is ready to buy over 50 percent of the

production, committing over USD 800

million, to support livelihood for these

farmers.To provide employment to the

youth, government has identified 50,000

job vacancies, which will be filled in the

next few months, thus generating

employment for the youth in Jammu &

Kashmir and Ladakh. Elections to Block

Development Councils (tier-II of the

Panchayati Raj Institutions) were

successfully held on 24th October, 2019

with 98% voting. With the extension of

the national legislation, women will

henceforth get 30% reservation in the

local bodies.106 national legislations

have been extended to the two newly

created UTs. These include those meant

for protecting and promoting social,

economic and political rights of the

women, children, under-privileged

sections; and ensuring transparent and

accountable governance.

Continuing in its efforts to fast track

developmental projects in the UTs of

Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh,

Government of India in the Union

Budget 20-21 has allocated Rs.30,757

crore for Jammu and Kashmir and Rs.

5958 crore for Ladakh.

Pakistan unsettled by the

normalcy tries to internationalize

the issue.

On January 15th, Pakistan with the

help of China, again made a fresh pitch to

raise the Kashmir issue under "other

matters" during closed consultations in

the Security Council

Consultation'sRoom.The overwhelming

The abrogation of special status of Jammu and

Kashmir has allowed the Government of India

to increase the amount of fund allocation to the

Valley and other areas of the uT. In a major decision

by the Jammu and Kashmir government on January

25, 2G internet services were thrown open across

all the 20 districts in the union Territory.

CornElIA MEyEr

majority felt that UN Security Council

was not the right forum for such issues

and this should be discussed bilaterally

between India and Pakistan. The Council

had met behind closed doors in August

last year to discuss the situation in

Jammu and Kashmir, a gathering that

was also called by China, after India

removed the decades long autonomy

Jammu and Kashmir had, under the

Indian Constitution. At that time too, the

UN body had refused to mediate on

Pakistan's behalf. Even on an earlier

occasion, like during the visit of Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasinato India on

October 05 last year, Imran Khan called a

day earlier to inquire about her health. It

is for anybody's guess as to why he called!

Elsewhere, India dismissed the call by

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan

for a global intervention in Jammu and

Kashmir when he tried to raise the

Kashmir issue on the sidelines of the

World Economic Forum meet at Davos

recently (Jan 22). Pakistan PM tried to

use the fora to engage the international

powers, the UN and US in a desperate

attempt to intervene with a view to deescalate

tensions between India and

Pakistan.It was seen as Pakistan's ploy to

play the show down between two nuclear

armed countries to attract attention.

However, world community has called

the Pakistan's bluff even as it sees

Pakistan's double standard, it plays the

victim card in its fight against terrorism

on one hand and exports terror to India

and other countries on the other.

Increasingly Pakistan has chosen to

utilise fora like like Davos Summit to

highlight so called highhandness in

Kashmir rather than discussing

economic downslides Pakistan is

currently facing. Its continued setbacks in

aiding cross border terror acts in Kashmir

have been foiled by Indian Security

Forces eliminating terrorists belonging to

Jaish-e-Mahammuad and Harkatul

Mujahideen who are trying to act as

roadblock in bringing peace in the UT of

Jammu and Kashmir.

India on its part has continued with the

confidence building measures aimed at

demonstrating its resolve to bring peace

to the region plagued by terrorism for the

last three-and-a-half decades. On

January 9, a group of 15 resident Heads of

Foreign Missions went on a two day visit

to Jammu and Kashmir. The envoys who

were part of the group included the

United States, Bangladesh, South Korea,

Vietnam, Fiji, Maldives, Norway,

Philippines, Morocco, Argentina, Peru,

Niger, Nigeria, Guyana and Togo.

Thisfollowed an earlier visit by Member

of European Parliament (MEP)

delegation to Jammu and Kashmirfrom

October 28to November 1, 2019. On both

the occasions, the objective was for the

envoys to see firsthand, the efforts which

have been made by the government of

India to normalise the situation and also

basically to see how things have

progressed and how normalcy has been

restored to a large extent since the

developments related to Article 370 in

August last year.

Senior Journalist

Economic effects of coronavirus to be felt for months

The World Health Organization on

Thursday declared the coronavirus

outbreak to be a public health

emergency. As of Monday, more than

14,300 known cases had been identified

and at least 361 people had died. This

brings the headcount of affected people

above that of SARS, but the death rate has

so far between 2 and 3 percent, which is

well below SARS.

The Chinese government has done a fine

job quarantining the city of Wuhan, which

has 11 million inhabitants, as well as

neighboring cities. The virus first hit during

the Chinese Lunar New Year, when people

travel to see their families. This probably

enabled the spread of the disease

throughout the country. Now, all provinces

have identified infected people. The spread

overseas has been contained so far - Japan,

Thailand, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan

and South Korea show the most cases,

ranging between 10 and 20 patients.

Aside from the human tragedy, the

economic consequences are real. On

Monday, Chinese markets opened for the

first time since the New Year celebrations

and they fell just short of 8 percent. Hong

Kong had fallen 6.5 percent last week and

rebounded ever so slightly on Monday.

The SARS outbreak of 2003 knocked 2

percent off Chinese economic growth, but

we can expect the impact of coronavirus to

be bigger. China was not as intertwined

with the global economy then as it is now.

In 2018, its trade volume was just shy of

$25 trillion. China is integrated in global

supply chains, particularly in the

automotive and technology industries.

Just one example is that virtually all of

Apple's iPhones are manufactured in

China. Three hundred of the world's 500

largest companies have a presence in the

city of Wuhan, which was the center of the

outbreak.

Thousands of flights within China and

many international flights have been

canceled. Russia has sealed its 4,200

kilometer-long border with China at a time

when the two countries have been enjoying

a political and economic rapprochement.

Sino-Russian trade amounts to $100

billion and is envisaged to double by 2024.

Russia still exports oil and gas via pipelines,

but all other trade has come to a virtual

standstill. Other countries are also

restricting access (particularly of people) to

and from China.

The global economy will feel the

ramifications of the world's second-largest

economy shutting itself off. The effects go

well beyond the aviation and tourism

sectors. China is a pillar of globally

intertwined supply chains, which means

that the effect of the coronavirus will be felt

in the manufacturing sector worldwide for

months.

There is a big knock-on effect on the

price of oil when people stop traveling and

goods stop being produced and shipped.

The price of Brent has plunged from $68.9

per barrel on Jan. 6 to $56.2 in early

The SArS outbreak of 2003 knocked 2 percent off

Chinese economic growth, but we can expect the impact

of coronavirus to be bigger. China was not as intertwined

with the global economy then as it is now. In 2018, its trade

volume was just shy of $25 trillion. China is integrated in

global supply chains, particularly in the automotive and

technology industries. Just one example is that virtually all

of Apple's iPhones are manufactured in China.

European trading on Monday. That is a

huge drop, particularly in the light of

Libyan production having fallen off a cliff

during that time period, which would

ordinarily have placed upward pressure on

the price.

China is a pillar of globally intertwined

supply chains, which means that the effect

of the coronavirus will be felt in the

manufacturing sector worldwide for

months. The outlook remains grim for as

long as the virus is not contained and travel

and trade do not resume. Depending on

the source, experts expect between 10 and

40 percent fewer refinery runs in China.

According to S&P Global Platts Analytics,

global oil demand could drop by as many

MohAMEd ABdElrAouf

as 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) over the

next two to three months. This constitutes

between 15 and 20 percent of the

estimated demand growth for 2020.

The coronavirus outbreak began just

after the US and China concluded phase

one of their trade negotiations. This was

supposed to bring much-needed respite.

The US-China trade war had an adverse

effect on Chinese growth statistics, as well

as on the oil price (before the outbreak of

the coronavirus, the Chinese economy was

expected to grow by 6.1 percent in 2020 -

the lowest growth rate in 30 years).

OPEC is concerned about the sharp drop

in the oil price.

Saudi Arabia would have liked to bring

forward a meeting of OPEC+, the group

that consists of the OPEC member

countries as well as their 10 non-OPEC

allies. The meeting is scheduled for the

beginning of March to discuss how to

proceed with the 1.7 million bpd of

production cuts the organization had

decided on last December, and which will

run through to March 31.

Since December 2016, OPEC+ has been

very successful at balancing the market,

both when it got tight and when it faced a

glut. The current situation certainly

warrants consultations. Some analysts

estimate that OPEC+ will need to cut a

further 500,000 to 1 million bpd to

stabilize the price. Concerns about the

coronavirus will not go away for the next

few weeks and its economic impact will last

several months at least.

Source : Arab news

Innovating through nature-based solutions

The UAE Environment Day,

launched more than 22 years ago

and celebrated on February 4 each

year, aims to highlight the UAE's

commitment towards preserving the

environment and realising sustainable

development by achieving a balance

between ecological, economic and social

dimensions of development.

The 23rd UAE National Environment

Day 2020 carries the theme of 'Nature-

Based Solutions (NBS)'. It is a well-chosen

and timely theme as NBS is gaining

increased attention globally due its cost

effectiveness and multiple benefits. The

secretary-general of the United Nations at

the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit

featured "nature-based solutions" as one of

six priority Action Portfolios. Also, the fifth

session of the UN Environment Assembly

(UNEA 5) in February 2021 will mobilise,

motivate and energise member-states and

stakeholders into sharing and

implementing successful approaches and

nature-based solutions that contribute to

the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and

the Sustainable Development Goals,

particularly the eradication of poverty and

the promotion of sustainable patterns of

consumption and production.

The UAE leadership is fully aware and

very keen on achieving sustainable

development that does not harm the

environment, current or future

generations. Thus, for UAE, NBS is the

right sustainability approach to realise

these goals. Humanity needs both

technological and engineering solutions

along with Nature-Based Solutions in

order to manage to solve our

environmental problems and realise

Sustainable Development Goals.

The International Union for

Conservation of Nature (IUCN) defines

nature-based solutions as "actions to

protect, sustainably manage, and restore

natural or modified ecosystems, that

address societal challenges effectively and

adaptively, simultaneously providing

human well-being and biodiversity

benefits". There is a growing recognition

and awareness that nature can help

provide practical solutions that use and

deploy the properties of natural

ecosystems and the services that they

provide in a smart, natural and costeffective

way. These nature-based

solutions provide sustainable, multipurpose

and flexible alternatives for

various objectives. Working with nature,

rather than against it, can further pave the

way towards a more resource efficient,

competitive and greener economy. It can

also help create new green jobs and

sustainable economic growth, through the

manufacture and delivery of new products

and services, which enhance the natural

capital rather than deplete it.

ENVIRONMENT

WEDNESDAY, FEbrUArY 5, 2020

5

research has found that where sea otters are present, kelp forests tend to store more carbon and are

healthier.

Photo: Hal beral

Why sushi could be the solution

to a sea urchin invasion

Patrick Greenfield

Eating as much sushi as humanly

possible seems an unlikely way to

help save the planet. But one

company is hoping fine diners from

London to LA to Tokyo will devour

enough uni sushi - sea urchin roe -

to help restore the planet's kelp

forests.

From the North Sea to Tasmania,

large parts of these underwater

carbon stores - crucial for

biodiversity - have vanished,

leaving vast "urchin barrens" on the

sea floor in their place. In Norway,

the expanses of bizarre, prickly orbs

are green. In California, they are

purple. But wherever the urchins

linger, the problems are the same.

Once the voracious echinoderms

run out of kelp to eat, they do not

simply die. Instead, they can stay in

stasis for years, billions of them

starving in their shells. This makes

it impossible for the kelp forests to

recover, unless the urchins are

removed entirely.

Urchinomics has a plan for that.

Their idea is to turn the hordes of

urchins around the world into a

business opportunity by collecting

them, feeding them up on

sustainably harvested, umami-rich

kombu seaweed and selling the

lucrative roe to high-end sushi

restaurants.

"My first 'a-ha' moment was a

year after the tsunami in eastern

Japan," says Urchinomics CEO

Brian Tsuyoshi Takeda,

remembering conversations with

Japanese fishermen in the

aftermath of the 2011 disaster.

"When the tsunami hit, it washed

away all the predator species that

used to be in the water. When the

predators disappeared, the urchins

exploded in population. The

scientists told us it was about seven

times the original biomass in a year

or two. They literally ate all of the

giant kelp forests which were the

foundation of the north-east

fisheries in Japan."

According to Takeda, who is

based in Norway but has

operations in Japan, Canada and

the US, Urchinomics has ambitions

to make urchin removal and

restoration self-sustaining around

the world. Demand for uni, the

Japanese name for urchins, is

rising, and they were named one of

the top food trends in 2018.

"The more you eat urchins, the

better it is for the kelp forests.

That's kind of unique, I think … It

has to be about looking towards

these win-win situations where

you're creating some sort of

economic incentive to help drive

the restoration work."

The company has just announced

it has signed a lease to open its first

urchin ranch in Norway, where 80

billion of the creatures are

estimated to have ravaged kelp

forests along the country's

coastline. Takeda hopes the site in

Stavanger, the oil capital of

Norway, will supply Michelinstarred

sushi restaurants in in

London, Amsterdam and Brussels

this summer. The ability of kelp

forests to recover once urchins are

removed is impressive, taking mere

months. But the problem of urchin

barrens is not restricted to Norway.

In northern California, the collapse

of the once abundant bull kelp

forests took just two years. Along

large stretches of the 350km

coastline from the north of San

Francisco to the Oregon border, a

combination of intense ocean

heating fuelled by the climate crisis

and armies of ravenous purple sea

urchins laid waste to over 90% of

the vast underwater carbon stores

between 2014 and 2016.

The disintegration of these vital

underwater ecosystems caught

researchers by surprise, and left a

trail of economic destruction. In

2018, a $44m (£33m) recreational

red abalone fishery closed after the

kelp deforestation triggered mass

mortality in the sea snail.

"Our kelps are very productive

ecosystems but they rely on the

cool. We know that they are at

risk in a warming ocean in a

warming globe," explains Dr

Laura Rogers-Bennett from

University of California, Davis,

who recently published a study on

how a sea-star wasting disease, a

marine heatwave and sea urchin

boom combined to collapse the

bull kelp forests. "Many parts of

the world are experiencing kelp

forest declines. Frequently they're

being replaced by huge

populations of sea urchins," she

continues. "They've been seeing

this in Japan, Norway; it's

happening in Australia in the

southern state [of] Tasmania."

Nature losses threaten emerging economies

Deforestation of the Amazon could have serious economic as well as

environmental consequences, the World Economic Forum warns.

Photo: Collected

Martín de Ambrosio

More than half of worldwide GDP is

moderately or highly dependent on

nature, putting biodiversity loss

among the top five risks to the global

economy, according to a report

presented at the World Economic

Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

The report, compiled by WEF in

collaboration with accountancy firm

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC),

finds that some of the fastest-growing

economies in the world are

particularly exposed to nature loss,

and calls for "a radical reset of

humanity's relationship with nature".

Around one-third of the GDP of

India and Indonesia comes from

sectors that are highly dependent on

nature, such as agriculture,

construction and food and drink,

according to the analysis. Africa

generates 23 per cent of its GDP in

such sectors while in Latin America,

the figure is 55 per cent.

These industries rely on extraction

of resources from forests and oceans,

or rely on nature to provide things

like healthy soils, clean water,

pollination and a stable climate, the

document explains.

"Given their significant nature

dependencies, it is critical that these

economies with significant exposure

to nature loss assess, prioritise and

invest in nature," said the Nature

Risk Rising report, presented at the

global gathering of business and

political leaders on 19 January.

Failure to do so could result in

heavy losses for nature-dependent

sectors, authors warn. The report

says 60 per cent of coffee varieties are

in danger of extinction due to climate

change, disease and deforestation. If

these varieties became extinct, the

global coffee market-with retail sales

of $83 billion in 2017-would be

"significantly destabilized, affecting

the livelihoods of many smallholder

farmers", it says.

The report also highlights the

pharmaceutical industry's

dependence on tropical forest

biodiversity, such as in the Amazon,

for new drug discoveries, with 25 per

cent of drugs used in modern

medicine derived from rainforest

plants.

"As tropical forests face threats

from felling and wildfires,

pharmaceutical companies face

losing a vast repository of

undiscovered genetic materials that

could lead to the next medical - and

commercial - breakthrough," it

warns.

It says that 75 per cent of approved

anti-tumour pharmaceuticals in the

last 70 years have been nonsynthetic,

with 49 per cent derived

entirely from natural products.

Amazon deforestation - which has

resulted in the loss of 17 per cent of

forest cover since 1970 - could also

lead to huge agricultural production

losses and longer periods of drought,

affecting water availability across the

region, the report forecasts.

Akanksha Khatri, head of WEF's

nature and biodiversity initiative,

who worked on the report, told

SciDev.Net: "Latin American

economies are especially dependent

on nature. Two of the main economic

sectors in Latin America are mining

and agriculture which currently are

in the top five industries driving

nature loss.

"As the impact from nature loss

intensifies, soon the economies and

people's livelihoods associated with

these sectors will be put at risk," said

Khatri, who believes that countries

must treat their diverse resources as

valuable knowledge-banks.

"Models suggest that if 20-25 per

cent of the Amazon forest is lost, this

would lead to increased duration.

Help bees by not mowing

dandelions

Phoebe Weston

Gardeners should avoid mowing

over dandelions on their lawn if they

want to help bees, according to the

new president of the British

Ecological Society. Dandelions -

which will start flowering in the UK

this month - provide a valuable food

source for early pollinators coming

out of hibernation, including solitary

bees, honey bees and hoverflies.

Each dandelion head contains up

to 100 individual flowers, known as

florets, which contain nectar and

pollen. There are 240 species of

dandelion in the UK.

Prof Jane Memmott said: "If

dandelions were rare, people would

be fighting over them. Because

they're common, people pull them

out and spray them off and all sorts

of horrible things. Just let them

flower."

Memmott, who took over as

president of the BES at the start of

this year, is also a professor of

ecology at the University of Bristol.

She said gardeners should avoid

planting too many "pompom

shaped" flowers, such as old English

roses and dahlia, because they focus

so much of their energy on

producing petals and have very little

nectar and pollen. "As a rule, if you

can see the pollen and nectar parts of

a flower without pulling back petals,

then it's OK for pollinators," she said.

Carrots that have flowered, or

"bolted", and onions in unkempt

vegetable gardens are also some of

the best plants for pollinators.

"People are a lot tidier than they

used to be. This whole business of

keeping your lawn clipped and

pulling the weeds out is part of some

British obsession with tidiness,"

Memmott said. "If you look back at

old pictures, people weren't as tidy. I

think bohemian untidiness is what

we're aiming for - you don't want it to

look like neglect." Leaving the grass

to grow 8-10cm (3-4in) tall means

clovers, daisies, self-heal and

creeping buttercup can also flower.

"You can't personally help tigers,

whales and elephants but you really

can do something for the insects,

birds and plants that are local to

you," said Memmott, who

encouraged gardeners to halve the

amount of mowing they do.

The global mass of insects is falling

by 2.5% a year and many could be

extinct within a century, according to

a global scientific review last year.

The charity Buglife encourages

people to leave a strip of garden that

is cut only once in autumn and once

in spring. "An awful lot of lawns,

especially in older houses, will be

built on old meadows so wildflowers

come up quite quickly. In a new

house they might take a bit longer as

they could have had a turf put

down," said Paul Hetherington, the

director of communications at

Buglife.

Each dandelion head has up to 100 individual flowers.

Photo: Janek Skarzynski

bees boost brazil’s forest restoration

rodrigo de Oliveira Andrade

Some of the most important tree

species for the restoration and

conservation of tropical forests rely

heavily on bees as transporters of

pollen. Bees facilitate pollination over

great distances, increase the genetic

diversity of plants, and stimulate the

reproduction and resilience of native

species in degraded ecosystems.

That's why conserving these

declining insects should be a priority

in forest restoration projects,

according to a study by Brazilian

scientists published in Ecological

Applications. The study analysed

how different bee species responded

to changes in Brazilian forest

landscapes. It investigated how

increasing bee populations may

boost pollen dispersal when planting

trees in restoration projects, and also

help re-establish diverse forests in

disturbed areas in Brazil.

Researchers carried out fieldwork

in an agricultural area of the Atlantic

Forest in the country's south-east,

which had been turned into

sugarcane fields. Only about seven

per cent of the original vegetation

remains there, in small fragments of

primary forest comprised of

discontinuous canopies covered by

vines and bordered by invasive

grasses.

The team also included two other

less degraded areas as reference

ecosystems. One of these contained

contained highly diverse trees

reintroduced by researchers about

two decades ago to increase forest

cover, while the other consisted of

wetlands, dominated by herbaceous

vegetation.

In each of these landscapes,

researchers installed "pan traps" - a

standard method for capturing bees -

with the aim of collecting insect

samples at the peak of the flowering

season, between October 2015 and

January 2017.

They compared the abundance and

diversity of bee populations in each

habitat and analysed the pollen

grains stuck to their bodies to

determine which plant species the

insects had interacted with.

The team collected 727 bees of 85

species, with different sizes and flight

skills, social behaviour, nesting sites

and diets, and found that these had

interacted with 220 different plant

species.

The abundance of bees responded

negatively to habitat change,

decreasing in highly disturbed

environments - such as

anthropogenic wetlands and

sugarcane fields. But their number

increased in areas where forest had

been restored, as well as in original

forest fragments, where large and

medium-sized species that nest

above-ground were predominant.

Small and medium-sized bee

species that nest underground, with

varying levels of social behaviour and

diet, were unaffected by habitat

change, and even tended to increase

in some disturbed areas, researchers

said. Meanwhile, 'oligolectic' bees -

which typically prefer pollen from a

single genus of flowering plants -

responded negatively to habitat

change. Ricardo Ribeiro Rodrigues is

a biologist at the Luiz de Queiroz

College of Agriculture at the

University of São Paulo, who

specialises in forest recovery and coauthored

the study. He said the

results suggested that "restoration

programmes have the power to bring

back bee populations, just as bees

may stimulate the reproduction and

resilience of native species in

degraded ecosystems".

"It is a system that positively feeds

back," he added. "So bee

conservation should be prioritised in

restoration programmes through the

reintroduction of nesting materials in

cases of locally extinct species."He

explained that bees will return in

time as trees get bigger and older,

providing new nesting sites and other

plant substrates for their

reproduction.

Vera Lúcia Imperatriz-Fonseca, a

biologist at the University of São

Paulo's Biosciences Institute, said:

"Brazil is rich in species of

pollinators such as bees, but we

urgently need a more solid public

policy that guarantees their

conservation, as countries like the

United States, United Kingdom,

France and Norway are doing.

Taking care of pollinators is a sure

return for biodiversity."

With bees disappearing in many

regions of the world, the causes and

consequences of this loss are already

being analysed to find solutions, said

Imperatriz-Fonseca. "The results

presented in the study may help

guide public policy actions for

restoring forest areas that include

bees in their strategy," she added.

researchers looked at how bees can boost pollen dispersal during tree planting projects in brazil.

Photo: Jon Sullivan

NATIONAL

WeDNeSDAY, FeBRuARY 5, 2020 6

All must work together to ensure safe roads

in Barishal: Police Commissioner

Superintendent of Police (SP) of Rangpur Biplob Kumar Sarker as the chief guest addressed a rally

organised by Mithapukur police station against drug, militancy, gambling, child marriage and eveteasing

at Ananda Bazar in Mithapukur upazila on Monday.

Photo: TBT

'Say not to drug, prevent child

marriage': Rangpur SP

TBT DESK:

Superintendent of Police (SP) of

Rangpur Biplob Kumar Sarker at a rally

has called upon the young generations

to say no to drug and prevent child

marriage, terrorism and militancy for

building a peaceful society.

He was addressing the rally organised

by Mithapukur police station against

drug, militancy, gambling, child

marriage and eve-teasing at Ananda

Bazar in Mithapukur upazila on

Monday as the chief guest.

Hundreds of teachers, students,

guardians, civil society members,

leaders of different socio-cultural

organisations and local elite

District level science

seminar and quiz

competition held

in Gopalganj

S M NAzRuL ISLAM, GOPAL-

GANJ CORRESPONDENT:

District level science

seminar and quiz competition

was held in Gopalganj on

Tuesday. The seminar was

attended by 24 students from

8 high schools in the district.

They also participate in quiz

contests on technology. In the

quiz competition, Bina Pani

Girls' High School of the

District won the first prize,

Binoy Krishna Adarsha High

School of Kotalipara upazila

became second and Saber Mia

Jasim uddin Model High

School became third.

The seminar was held in the

conference room of the

Deputy Commissioner's

Office. Deputy Commissioner

Shahida Sultana was the chief

guest at the function

organized by the district

administration. Additional

Deputy Commissioner

(Education and ICT)

Abdullah Al-Baqi chaired the

occasion while among others,

acting VC of Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Science & Technology

university (BSMRSTu)

Professor Dr. Md Shahjahan,

District Secondary Education

Officer Khairul Anam

Mohammad Aftabur Rahman

Helali, school teachers,

students and media workers

were also present. Later prizes

were distributed among the

winners.

participated in the rally to raise voice

against these social curses.

The chief guest said police have to

work as a real servant of the people in

order to maintain law and order in the

spirit of the War of Liberation as

important partners in implementing

the Prime Minister's Visions 2021 and

2041. "People want service, security and

a stable environment from police with

dignity and rights. Police should have to

provide desired services to people

within a short time using modern

technology," he said.

The SP reminded the parents that

today's children are the future of the

nation and they need to be careful in

developing children's psychology also

allowing them to play on the grounds

along with studies to make them

enlightened and healthier citizens.

"The young generations must be

saved from the fury of drugs for

continuation of smooth development in

building a peaceful and developed

Sonar Bangla to realise the dream of

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman," he said.

Presided over by Officer-in-Charge of

Mithapukur police station Jafar Ali

Biswas, Additional SP Md. Fazle Elahi,

Senior Assistant SP Arman Ali and

Inspector Shahinur Islam addressed

the rally as special guests.

Gopalganj Deputy Commissioner Shahida Sultana as the chief guest distributed

prizes among the winners of science quiz competition in

Gopalganj on Tuesday.

Photo: S M Nazrul Islam

CDSP-B Professional of

Netherlands visits BARI

Shamsul Haque Bhuiyan,Gazipur

Correspondent: Dr. Wolfgang Duifhuizen,

CDSP-B Professional of Netherlands who

has been working in Char Development and

Settlement Project in Bangladesh (a

collaborative projects of 5 ministries and

Embassy of Netherlands, Dhaka), visited

Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute

(BARI) on Monday (03 February).

Senior Scientific Officer of Vertebrate Pest

Division Mr. Md. Arifur Rahman and Senior

Scientific Officer of Training &

Communication Wing Mr. Md. Mizanur

Rahman, welcomed the guest at the time of

his arrival in the institute. Later they met

BARI Director General Dr. Md. Abdul

Wohab at his office where the Director

General welcomed them and gave a short

briefing about the activities of BARI.

Dr. Wolfgang observed the research and

development of Agronomy Division, FMPE

Division, Irrigation and Water Management

Division and Olericulture Division (Charland

project) of BARI. He also expressed his

satisfaction by seeing activities,

advancement and achievements of BARI

especially strengthening research on

horticultural crops and dissemination of

horticultural and field crop technologies at

Charland areas and different agricultural

farm machineries and post harvest

equipments.

Dr. Wolfgang Duifhuizen, CDSP-B Professional of Netherlands visited Bangladesh Agricultural

Research Institute (BARI) on Monday.

Photo: Shamsul Haque Bhuiyan

zIHAD RANA, BARISHAL COR-

RESPONDENT:

Barishal Metropolitan

Police Commissioner Md

Shahabuddin Khan said that

"our main aim is to bring

back discipline on the road

and protect the public by

establishing safe roads. We

all have to work together to

ensure safe roads for the

public.

He said this while

addressing the quarterly

meeting of the regional

transport committee,

metropolis held at the

conference room of the

Barishal Metropolitan Police

Headquarters on Tuesday.

Talking about the

implementation of the

decisions taken in the

previous meeting, he gave

various directions at the

beginning of the meeting. He

further said that "to ensure

proper enforcement of the

law by coordinating the work

of all the departments

concerned for the

Annual sports

competition held at

Joypurhat Police

Lines Academy

MASRAKuL ALOM, JOyPuRHAT

CORRESPONDENT:

Joypurhat Police Lines

Academy's annual sports

competition, prize

distribution and cultural

program were held in the

district on Saturday. District

and Sessions Judge MA Rob

Howladar inaugurated the

function which was presided

over by the headmaster of the

school Abdur Rahman, at

Police Lines Field.

Superintendent of Police

and Academy President

Mohammad Salam Kabir

PPM was present as the chief

guest at the occasion while

among others, President of

Joypurhat Press Club Adv

Nripendranath Mondal PP,

Red Crescent Secretary

Golam Haqqani, Executive

Committee Member of the

Academy Social Worker

Rafiqul Alam, Journalist

Abdul Alim, Additional


(Crime and Administration),

Tariqul Islam, Wife of Police

Superintendent Navana

Khan,

Additional


(Sadar) Sajjad Hossain and

Abdus Salam were also

present at the occasion.

Onion cultivation

continues following

lucrative price

RANGPuR: As a result of

the prevailing lucrative

market price, farmers are

continuing transplantation of

onion seedlings along with

harvesting the tuber variety of

the spicy crop in Rangpur

agriculture region, reports

BSS.

Officials of the Department

of Agricultural Extension

(DAE) said high profit has

inspired farmers in

cultivating onion on more

land even after exceeding its

fixed farming target already

by 18.58 percent in the region.

The farmers have

completed farming of tuber

variety of onion and sowing of

onion seeds last month and

they are harvesting tuber

varieties of onion to get

lucrative price despite its

abundant supply in local

markets.

"The enthusiastic farmers

will continue transplantation

of onion seedlings till the end

of this month in Rangpur

agriculture region," Deputy

Director of the DAE at its

regional office Agriculturist

Md. Moniruzzaman told BSS

today.

Earlier, the DAE had fixed a

target of producing 65,185

tonnes of onion from 6,550

hectares of land for all five

districts in the region this

time.

"The farmers have already

cultivated onion on 7,767

hectares of land, higher by

1,217 hectares or 18.58

percent than the fixed

farming target," he said,

adding that more land will be

brought under onion farming

as transplantation of its

seedlings still continues.

Barishal Metropolitan Police Commissioner Md Shahabuddin Khan

addressed a quarterly meeting of the regional transport committee,

metropolis at the conference room of the Barishal Metropolitan

Police Headquarters on Tuesday.

Photo: Zihad Rana

establishment of safe roads,

all the stakeholders

including vehicles and

transport owners, transport

workers, passengers and

pedestrians should be made

aware. Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman dreamed

of building a golden Bangla

by ensuring a safe road.

Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina is leading the country

in the construction of golden

Bangla. We will be her proud

partners. '

During the time,

Additional Commissioner of

Police Proloy Chisim,

Deputy

Police

Commissioner (Traffic)

Mohammad zakir Hossain

Majumder and Assistant

Police Commissioner (Staff

Officer to Commissioner)

Abdul Halim were also

present at the occasion.

Joypurhat Police Lines Academy's annual sports competition, prize

distribution and cultural program were held in the district recently.

Photo: Masrakul Alom

Boosting skilled workforce to enhance

productivity stressed

RAJSHAHI: Speakers at a discussion here

yesterday unequivocally called for boosting

the number of competent workforce to

enhance the industrial productivity through

ensuring quality, reports BSS.

All the public and private sectors

concerned should come forward and work

together to attain the cherished goal of

making the nation self-reliant in all sorts of

production according to the existing

demands, they told at a divisional workshop.

Commissioner's office of Rajshahi division

and National Productivity Organization

(NPO) in the Ministry of Industries jointly

organized the workshop titled "National

Productivity and Quality Excellence Award

2019 and National Institutional

Appreciation Award 2019" at Circuit House

conference hall.

Divisional Commissioner Humayun Kabir

Khandaker addressed the opening session as

chief guest while NPO Director Nischinta

Kumar Poddar and President of the National

Association for Small and Cottage Industries

in Bangladesh Mirja Nurul Gani spoke as

special guests with Deputy Commissioner

Hamidul Haque in the chair.

Additional Divisional Commissioner ANM

Moyeenul Islam welcomed the participants.

Around 80 persons including some 50

entrepreneurs from all eight districts in

Rajshahi division took part in the workshop.

Taking part in the open discussion, they put

forward a set of recommendations on how to

make the entrepreneurship sector profitable

and sustainable.

NPO Senior Research Officer Nazrul Islam

gave an overview of the issue side by side

with highlighting the existing principles of

boosting productivity.

In his remarks, Humayun Kabir

Khandaker said the present government

under the dynamic and visionary Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina has launched

various time-fitting measures including the

awards to inspire the entrepreneurs towards

quality production. He said the government

has set the Vision- 2021, Vision- 2041 and

achieving the Sustainable Development

Goals by 2030 and has been working

relentlessly to attain the visions.

The Chief Guest urged the entrepreneurs

to supplement the government endeavours

through enhancing quality productions. He

also urged them to earn consumers

satisfaction along with confidence as it's very

much important to make the industry

profitable and sustainable.

Humayun Kabir also called for boosting

the number of efficient manpower for

ensuring quality production as there is no

compromise to quality.

In observance of the World Cancer Day a rally and a discussion meeting were

held in Narail on Tuesday. The rally was brought out from Narail Sadar

Hospital premises and ended at the civil surgeon's office. Later a discussion

meeting was held at the conference room of Civil Surgeon which was presided

over by Civil Surgeon Dr Nupur Kanti Das while among others, RMO of Sadar

Hospital Dr Mushiur Rahman Babu, Dr Shahabur Rahman, Dr Anindita Ghosh

and President of Narail District Reporters unity Humaun Kabir Rintu were

also present at the occasion.

Photo: TBT

INTERNATIONAL

WEDNESDAY,

FEBrUArY 5, 2020

7

A court trial went online in east China's Shandong Province amid the outbreak of the novel coronavirus

in China.

Photo : AP

Court trial goes online in China

amid virus outbreak

A court trial went online in east China's

Shandong Province amid the outbreak

of the novel coronavirus in China,

reports UNB.

No plaintiff, defendant or agent

showed up Monday at the intermediate

people's court of the city of Binzhou.

Instead, the court heard the case via a

group video call to prevent the gathering

of people.

The case concerned labor contract disputes

and the trial went on for more

North Korea

making ‘all-out

efforts’ to guard

against virus

North Korea said Tuesday it

was mobilizing 30,000

health workers everyday in

its "all-out efforts" to guard

against the spread of a virus

from neighboring China,

reports UNB.

North Korea hasn't

reported any case of the new

coronavirus, but some

experts say an epidemic in

North Korea could be dire

because of its chronic lack of

medical supplies and poor

health care infrastructure.

Authorities were redoubling

border inspections

and conducting screenings

and medical surveillance on

those who return from overseas

business trips, the

North's main Rodong Sinmun

newspaper said.

It said the 30,000 workers

are examining and monitoring

residents and trying to

inform North Korean people

about how dangerous

the virus is, how it spreads

and what precautionary

steps they should take.

The virus has killed 425

people in China and one

each in Hong Kong and the

Philippines. More than

20,000 cases have been

confirmed, with at least 180

beyond mainland China.

North Korea shares a

long, porous border with

China, its last major diplomatic

ally and aid benefactor.

Tens of thousands of

North Korean workers were

believed to be working in

China before a U.N. order

for Beijing to send them

back home expired last

month. It wasn't unknown

how many of them have

returned home.

The newspaper said

research centers and pharmaceutical

factories were

working to develop and produce

drugs, test kits, disinfectants

and other medical

supplies and government

ministries were prioritizing

quarantine efforts.

North Korea has also

banned foreign tourists,

reduced flights and suspended

operations at a liaison

office it has jointly run

with South Korea located

just north of the inter-Korean

border. South Korea on

Tuesday reported its 16th

case of the virus.

North Korea took similar

tough quarantine measures

during the 2002-03 spread

of SARS, which also began

in China. North Korea didn't

report any SARS case there,

according to the South

Korean government.

than 70 minutes, with legal procedures

completed online. After the trial, court

authorities will send the legal documents

to the parties by mail.

"The judges can not only ensure the

parties' legitimate interests but also

avoid risks of epidemic spread," said Li

Jun, acting president of the court.

China set up its first internet court in

the eastern city of Hangzhou in August

2017, followed by the establishment of

similar courts in Beijing and Guangzhou

in September 2018.

Internet courts in Hangzhou, Beijing

and Guangzhou had accepted close to

120,000 cases as of Oct. 31, 2019, reducing

the time of handling cases by nearly

50 percent, according to a white paper

released by the Supreme People's Court.

On average, it took 45 minutes for

online hearings and 38 days to conclude

a case. Up to 98 percent of the parties

accepted first-instance judgments without

appeal.

2 women killed, child hurt in

shooting at Texas dormitory

Two women were killed and a child was

wounded in a shooting Monday morning at a

university dormitory in Texas, officials said,

reports UNB.

A recommendation for students and

employees to shelter in place was lifted early

Monday afternoon at Texas A and M University-Commerce,

and police said there

appeared to be no other threats. Officials

have not identified the suspected shooter.

University police Chief Bryan Vaughn said

officers responding to a call at about 10:17

a.m. found two dead women in a room at

Pride Rock residence hall on the campus in

Commerce, about 65 miles (105 kilometers)

northeast of Dallas. He said a boy about 2

years old was also in the room and was taken

to a hospital, where he was in stable condition.

Vaughn did not take questions after a news

conference and did not say if the women

were students.

The university canceled classes after the

shooting and later said classes will not

resume until Thursday.

The university lifted the shelter-in-place

recommendation about an hour and a half

after it was announced on Twitter. But the

university said that even with the lifting of

the recommendation, the residence hall and

the surrounding area was still blocked off

due to the ongoing investigation.

The university said the student center

would be available for displaced students

and that counselors were available there.

Larry Cooper III, a freshman who lives in

the Pride Rock residence hall, told the Dallas

Morning News that he left his room Monday

just before the shelter-in-place was

announced. He said he was waiting in a

friend's room on the first floor of the residence

hall.

13 killed in N. Afghanistan

clashes, including pro-gov’t

local leader

Thirteen were killed during an ambush in northern Jawzjan province overnight, including a

pro-government local leader, one of his men and 11 Taliban militants, a provincial government

spokesman said on Tuesday, reports UNB.

"The incident occurred along Jawzjan-Sari Pul main road on Monday night after the Taliban

militants attacked a unit of pro-government tribal militia group, known as local uprising

fighters," spokesman Abdul Maruf Azar told Xinhua. The 11 bodies of the militants would be

handed over to local villagers or Afghan Red Crescent personnel later in the day, Azar noted.

The obvious target of the ambush was local leader Tofan, who led local uprising fighters and

lost his life in the targeted attack.

At least eight people were killed in targeted attacks in January this year across the country.

The Taliban militants, who ruled the country before being ousted in late 2001,

renewed armed insurgency, killing government troops as well as civilians.

They frequently attack district offices, military camps, installations and security

checkpoints, while the Afghan military respond with airstrikes on militant targets in the

countryside.

Thirteen were killed during an ambush in northern Jawzjan province

overnight, including a pro-government local leader, one of his men and 11

Taliban militants, a provincial government spokesman said on Tuesday.

Photo : AP

Brazil’s govt blasts

Oscar-nominated

documentary-maker

Brazil's government criticized

Oscar-nominated

filmmaker Petra Costa on

Monday after she once

more labeled far-right

President Jair Bolsonaro a

risk to the country's

democracy, reports UNB.

Costa's documentary

about the 2016 impeachment

of former President

Dilma Rousseff, "The Edge

of Democracy," has been

praised by leftists and

loathed by conservatives

in the politically divided

nation.

Ahead of the competition

for the best documentary

Oscar on Feb. 9, Costa

spoke on PBS and once

more accused Bolsonaro of

stimulating "farmers and

loggers to invade indigenous

reserves, burn and

deforest the Amazon,

which is already at a tipping

point in which it

could become a savanna."

She also repeated her

accusation that the Brazilian

president has attacked

the rights of minorities.

Costa made similar statements

before she was

nominated, but this time

Brazil's government chose

to answer through an official

social media channel.

"Filmmaker Petra Costa

played the role of an anti-

Brazil activist and tarnished

the country's image

abroad with a series of

fake news in an interview

on American television,"

the communication secretariat

for Brazil's presidency

said in a string of posts

on Twitter, in both English

and in Portuguese.

"Without the slightest

sense of respect for her

homeland and for the

Brazilian people, Petra

said in an unreasonable

script that the Amazon will

become a savanna soon

and that President Bolsonaro

orders the murder

of both African-Americans

and homosexuals," it

added.

Australia launches investigation

after dozens of koalas found

dead in land-clearing

An investigation has been launched after a

distressing land-clearing incident in Australian

that has left around 40 koalas dead

and another 80 in need of care, reports UNB.

The authorities first became aware of the

disturbing act last week, when a local resident

stumbled upon the private timber plantation

while hiking near the township of

Cape Bridgewater.

The investigation was launched by the

State of Victoria's Department of Environment,

Land, Water and Planning.

"This is a terrible incident, it's going to be

properly investigated and it won't be for

those who have been involved in it to clear

themselves," Victorian Premier Daniel

Andrews told reporters on Tuesday.

"If anyone has done the wrong thing and

that can be established, then they will feel the

full force of the law."

Logging group South West Fibre said they

carried out works on the property recently

but denied any involvement in the incident,

adding that the site was handed back to the

landowner in November 2019.

"South West Fibre left an appropriate

number of 'habitat trees' for the existing

koala population and provided details of

such in a letter to the landowner, noting that

the koalas were uninjured and in good

health," it said.

But according to the company, the remaining

trees have since been cleared.

"I did not seek to deliberately doze koalas

to death. I am not a killer, I am a farmer, we

care too," the owner of the 55-hectare property

told local media.

With around half the koala population in

Australia believed to have been wiped out by

this summer's unprecedented bushfire,

many environmental groups and wildlife

experts called for the beloved Aussie animal

to be formally categorized as an endangered

species.

"The devastation that has befallen the

koalas in this part of Portland is an abysmal

act and one that rightly makes me angry,

makes me heartbroken and I know that

many Victorians are feeling the same way

today," Victorian Environment Minister Lily

D'Ambrosio said.

"We will do everything possible to bring

the people who are responsible for this to

account and to throw every penalty that is

available to us at them. This can never be

repeated."

An investigation has been launched after a distressing land-clearing

incident in Australian that has left around 40 koalas dead and another 80

in need of care.

Photo : Courtesy

For media, Iowa is a confusing

carnival of democracy

As MSNBC's Katy Tur wandered

through a gym in Des Moines during

her network's coverage of the Iowa caucuses

Monday, she found a voter wearing

a Bernie Sanders button sitting with

supporters of Amy Klobuchar, reports

UNB.

"I'm a little split," the woman conceded.

Call her the poster girl for media

coverage of Iowa, a carnival of democracy

that was fun and bewildering to

watch. As the night went on, it became

less and less clear what it would all

mean to that matter at hand: picking a

Democratic candidate to challenge

President Donald Trump in November.

Reporters swarmed to sites where

voters, for the first time in the 2020

campaign cycle, were making their

voices heard. Yet their findings were

only anecdotal, given delays by Iowa

Democrats in reporting statewide

results. "This is like the nerdiest reality

television show ever," said CNN's Van

Jones.

Unlike in past election cycles, Iowa

seemed to sneak up on television viewers,

despite nearly a year's worth of

debates and campaigning. Trump's

impeachment trial, where closing arguments

were televised earlier Monday,

robbed much of the public attention.

ABC, CBS and NBC evening newcasts

devoted a total of 10 minutes to the

Iowa campaign last week, compared

with 86 minutes the week ahead of the

2016 caucuses and 66 minutes in 2012,

according to news consultant Andrew

Tyndall. For Monday's vote, cable news

networks assigned their number

crunchers - Steve Kornacke on

MSNBC, John King on CNN and Bill

Hemmer on Fox News Channel - in

front of data screens in studios.

The real action was happening on a

granular level, with reporters in rec

halls and auditoriums interviewing citizens

as they bunched together with

like-minded Democrats supporting the

candidates of their choice.

In Sioux City, a CNN camera followed

the decidedly low-tech system of a

precinct commander counting the

raised hands of supporters for each

candidate, hoping he wasn't missing or

double-counting anyone.

Tur darted between sections of gymnasium

stands, pointing to groups of

supporters for Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth

Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Joseph

Biden, Amy Klobuchar and Andrew

Wang. "I feel like I'm directing a wave

or a cheering crowd," she said.

CNN and MSNBC sent reporters to

different caucus sites across the state,

while Fox News seemed caught

between two impulses. An election

panel featuring Bret Baier, Martha

MacCallum, Karl Rove and Chris Stirewalt

was on hand for news and analysis,

working in between the commentary

of Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity

and Laura Ingraham.

Carlson at one point complained

about "the illiterates posing as political

analysts on your TV," presumably

on rival networks. Hannity talked

about the "radical, extreme, socialist

Democrats" and the screen behind

him labeled the campaign a "Democratic

dumpster fire."

Iran to work together with China

against novel coronavirus : FM

Iran is willing to work together

with China to combat the

epidemic caused by the novel

coronavirus, Foreign Minister

Mohammad Javad Zarif

said Monday, reports UNB.

He made the remarks in a

phone conversation with Chinese

State Councilor and Foreign

Minister Wang Yi.

Zarif said it has been widely

recognized by the international

community that the

Chinese government, in a

responsible and transparent

manner, has taken timely

and resolute measures in

fighting the epidemic, which

has prevented not only a

deterioration of the outbreak

within China, but also its

spread overseas. Iran firmly

opposes some Western countries'

attempt to exploit the

epidemic, and believes that

the Chinese government and

people will overcome the current

difficulties, Zarif said.

He said Iran has provided

China with a certain amount

of urgently needed medical

supplies, and stands ready to

offer more assistance and

work together with China to

combat the epidemic.

For his part, Wang

expressed thanks to Iran for

supporting China in fighting

the epidemic, hailing Zarif as

the first foreign minister publicly

voicing support for China,

which has shown the

Iranian people's friendliness

towards the Chinese people.

Wang also thanked Iran for

providing China with medical

supplies at the critical

moment of epidemic prevention

and control.

China has established a

nationwide system to fight

the epidemic with the

strictest and most thorough

measures, Wang said, adding

that with China's unremitting

efforts, the fatality rate of the

novel coronavirus nationwide

has been controlled

under 2.1 percent, far lower

than the rate of any other epidemic

in China, and also lower

than the 17.4-percent fatality

rate of the H1N1 influenza

in the United States in 2009.

Starting from Feb. 1, the

number of people discharged

from hospital after recovery

has started to significantly

surpass the number of

deaths, an important symbol

showing the epidemic is controllable

and curable, he said.

Wang said that China has

full confidence and ability to

win the fight against the epidemic.

In fighting the epidemic,

China has been

responsible not only for its

own people, but also for the

international community, he

said. So far, the number of

confirmed cases reported

overseas only accounts for

less than 1 percent of the total

number worldwide, while the

H1N1 influenza originated

from the United States had

then spread to 214 countries>

ART & CULTURE

weDneSDAy, FeBrUAry 5, 2020

8

Sonic the Hedgehog

After discovering a small, blue, fast

hedgehog, a small-town police officer must

help it defeat an evil genius who wants to

do experiments on it.

Gallery of

the day

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aradhya Bachchan

were among the guests at the reception.

Photo: APH Images

Zaira Wasim

Kashmiris continue to suffer

in a world where it is easy

to place restrictions

In a long Instagram post, The

Sky Is Pink actor Zaira Wasim

shared the plight of residents of

Kashmir and mentioned how

"Kashmiris continue to exist and

suffer".

The Sky Is Pink actor Zaira

Wasim took to social media on

Tuesday to share the plight of

residents of Kashmir. In her long

post, she mentioned how

“Kashmiris continue to exist and

suffer”.

She wrote, “Kashmir continues

to suffer and see-saw between

hope and frustration? There’s a

false and uneasy semblance of

calmness in place of escalating

despair and sorrow? Kashmiris

continue to exist and suffer in a

world where it is so easy to place

restrictions on our liberty. Why

do we have to live in world where

our lives and wills are controlled,

dictated and bent? Why is it so

easy to have our voices silenced?

Why is it so easy to curtail our

freedom of expression? Why

aren’t we ever allowed to voice

our opinions, let alone our

disprovals to decisions that are

made contrary to our wishes?

Why is it that instead of trying to

see the cause of our view, our

view is just condemned ruthfully?

What is so easy to curb our voices

Zaira Wasim was last seen in Priyanka Chopra’s The Sky Is Pink.

so severely? Why can we not live

simple lives without always

having to wrestle and remind the

world of our existence. Why is

that life of a Kashmiri is just about

experiencing a lifetime of crisis,

blockade and disturbance so

abundantly that it has taken away

the recognition of normalcy and

harmony from the hearts and

minds?”

Mobile internet services,

cellular network, landline and

broadband connectivity resumed

in the Valley on January 25. The

services were suspended on

August 5 after Kashmir was

stripped of its special status under

Article 370 of the Constitution.

The 19-year-old Srinagar-born

actor also criticised authorities

and added, “Hundreds of

questions like these-unanswered;

leaving us bewildered and

frustrated, but our frustrations

find no outlet. The authority

doesn’t make the slightest effort

to put a stop to our doubts and

speculations but Stubbornly tend

to go their own way to confine our

existence mired in a confused,

conflicted and a paralysed world.”

She continued, “But I ask the

world, what has altered your

acceptance of the misery and

oppression we’re being subjected

to? Do not believe the unfair

representation of the facts and

details or the rosy hue that the

media has cast on the reality of

the situation. Ask questions, reexamine

the biased assumptions.

Ask questions. For our voices

have been silenced- and for how

long….none of us really know!”

In July 2019, the Dangal fame

Zaira bid goodbye to her acting

career, saying it interfered with

her faith and religion. In a

Facebook post, she had written,

“I officially declare my

disassociation with this field (film

industry)… This field indeed

brought a lot of love, support,

and applause my way, but what

it also did was to lead me to a

path of ignorance, as I silently

and unconsciously transitioned

out of imaan (faith).”

Source: indianexpress.com

Release Date:

Director:

Writers:

Stars:

Taglines:

Genres:

Also known as:

Runtime:

Country:

Language:

Production:

14 February 2020 (USA)

Jeff Fowler

Patrick Casey, Josh Miller

Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz,

James Marsden, Neal

McDonough

A whole new speed of hero

every hero has a genesis.

gotta. Go. Fast.

Action

Marie Colvin

100 minutes

Germany, India

English

Paramount Pictures, Sega

Original Film, Blur Studio,

Marza Animation Planet

Amitabh Bachchan

seen leading

Divyanka Tripathi

by her dupatta

Yeh Hai Mohabbatein fame actress

Divyanka Tripathi shared the screen

space with Bollywood’s megastar Big

B. She took to social media and shared

a small clip where Amitabh Bachchan

is seen leading Divyanka by her

dupatta. The hilarious video is

currently going viral on the internet.

In the video, Mr. Bachchan is seen

telling Divyanka, “bharosa karta hai

toh unpe bharosa karna aapki

zimmedari hai.” Divyanka is sporting

a pink kurta and white dupatta, while

Big B is wearing a light blue coat

coupled with white shirt and trousers

against the backdrop of a blue chroma

screen.

It was a lucky day for actor Divyanka

Tripathi, who had none other than

Amitabh Bachchan carrying her

dupatta while walking alongside her

on the sets of their new commercial.

Divyanka shared the video and wrote,

How'd you caption this? -With #BigB the

#LegendOfBigScreen. -Learnt a few more

lessons about #BeingTrueToYourWork

and #BeingAThoroughProfessional!??

@amitabhbachchan @pradeepsarkar.

Source : glamsham.com

SToryline :

Based on the global blockbuster videogame franchise from Sega, SONIC THE

HEDGEHOG tells the story of the world's speediest hedgehog as he embraces his

new home on Earth. In this live-action adventure comedy, Sonic and his new best

friend Tom (James Marsden) team up to defend the planet from the evil genius Dr.

Robotnik (Jim Carrey) and his plans for world domination. The family-friendly film

also stars Tika Sumpter and Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic. |Source: IMDb]

Catherine Burns

The Vanishing of an oscarnominated

Actress

Fifty years ago, her searing supporting role in 'Last ?Summer' led to critical

acclaim and Academy recognition, but the actress soon disappeared from

Hollywood, leaving her fans and showbiz admirers searching for answers. The

Hollywood Reporter attempts to solve one of Oscar’s great mysteries.

For years, screenwriter

Larry Karaszewski has been

obsessed with the 1969 indie

film Last Summer, a dark

teen drama about youthful

passions, angst and cruelty.

Karaszewski, a Golden Globe

winner whose credits include

The People vs. Larry Flynt,

Ed Wood and Dolemite Is

My Name, has long wanted

to share the film with others.

There was just one problem:

Last Summer had all but

disappeared in physical

form. The limited number of

original prints were lost or

damaged, and the only scrap

he managed to find was a

beat-up 16mm print from

Australia, which he describes

as "a mashup of the censored

TV version and the theatrical

cut."

Last Summer isn't for the

faint of heart. Its story of

friendship gone horribly

wrong culminates in a

graphic rape scene, which

landed it an X rating. But

what stayed most with

Karaszewski about the Allied

Artists release was the work

of one of its four young stars,

Hollywood newcomer

Catherine Burns. Her turn is

highlighted by "one of the

greatest soliloquies in the

history of film," he says,

referring to a three-minute

sequence in which Burns'

Rhoda shares the story of

what became of her mother.

"She's understated and real.

Not a dishonest note in her

performance."

Karaszewski wasn't alone

in his appreciation of Last

Summer— or of Burns.

"Twice or three times a year,

a scene in a film will absorb

you so completely … And

then you know you're in the

presence of greatness," wrote

Roger Ebert, then a young

Chicago Sun-Times critic.

"That feeling came to me

twice during Frank Perry's

Last Summer, and both

times the actress onscreen

was Cathy Burns."

Burns was so mesmerizing,

in fact, that her performance

as the youngest and most

naive of the teens garnered

her a best supporting actress

Oscar nomination and set

her, briefly, on the path to

stardom.

Burns was actually the

oldest of the film's four stars,

and her acclaim was all the

more unexpected because

she possessed, in her own

words and others' lacerating

estimation, "a funny face."

Five-foot-1 and freckled, she

was not Hollywood's idea of

a starlet. Dick Kleiner, a

syndicated columnist, wrote,

"Twenty years ago, they

wouldn't have let her inside a

studio gate." Kleiner noted

that she had a face "like an

intelligent marshmallow,"

while The New York Times'

Vincent Canby said her body

was "shaped like a fat

mushroom." But even those

who used such cruel and

sexist language couldn't help

but admire her acting.

From left: Bruce Davison, Burns, Richard Thomas and Barbara Hershey

Ebert's future partner Gene

Siskel of the Chicago Tribune

urged people to remember

"the homeliest" of Last

Summer's stars come Oscar

time, and the photo

accompanying his article

read, "Cathy Burns: Not

prettiest … but the most

talented."

Source : hollywoodreporter.com

H o r o S c o p e

ArieS

(March 21 - April 20) : Take charge of your

overall health today, Aries. You’ll likely

wake up feeling energetic and well. Seize

this opportunity to be active in doing things that will

help continue your good feelings. Consider all aspects of

your health, including emotional and spiritual. If you

can, sit outside in the sunshine and fresh air to consider

the areas of your life that could use a workout.

TAUrUS

(April 21 - May 21) : If there's something

crafty or artsy you've had your eye on and

would really like to get but can't afford,

Taurus, consider making it. Even if you don't consider

yourself artistic, you may surprise yourself if you give a

project half a chance. There are numerous websites

that cater to novices and can give you the support and

instruction you need. Don't dismiss your ability.

GeMini

(May 22 - June 21): It's the perfect day

to get up and head outside, Gemini.

You’ll likely find yourself feeling positive

and energetic, and some fresh air, sunshine, and

physical activity may be long overdue. Even if this is

a workday for you, make the most of your breaks and

lunch hour by walking. This evening may be the

opportune time to get together with some friends for

coffee or a favorite sporting event.

cAncer

(June 22 - July 23): It won't be surprising

if you find yourself getting frustrated with a

close friend or partner today who is far less

ambitious than you, Cancer. The energy in the air can

really emphasize your “go, go, go” way of reaching goals

and achieving success. Others who are passive or fearful

in this area may be difficult to understand. Yet each person

has to do things in ways that are best for him or her.

leo

(July 24 - Aug. 23): See about using your

good relationships with friends and

loved ones today to get some group

activities going, Leo. Chances are you'll feel pretty

good and the idea of socializing will appeal to you. See

about inviting people over for supper or a game of

cards. If you're especially lively, some sports may be

just the ticket to get you out and moving.

VirGo

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): If you're lacking a

regular exercise routine, Virgo, today's a

great day to turn that around. Exercise

doesn't have to wear you out or hurt. Even relaxing

activities like walking or yoga are excellent ways to keep

you in good shape. Participating in a sport that appeals to

you like volleyball or bowling combines fun with exercise.

Heck, even dancing is a recognized form of exercise! See

about finding something that will work for you.

liBrA

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): Put your ambition

into action today, Libra. The day's

planetary aspects should find you

feeling energetic and positive. Make the most of this

by taking steps toward your goals. As you know, if you

don't actively pursue things, nothing will happen. The

years can pass by so quickly and you wouldn't want to

be sitting on a rocker wondering “what if.”

Scorpio

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22): Don't hesitate when it

comes to taking on a project or making

plans today, Scorpio. Extra energy will

complement your organizational skills, making the perfect

combination to handle almost anything. Be sure to write

down your goals and plans to help keep you focused. If you

decide to tackle any cleaning today, get rid of the things

you never use. Consider donating such items to charity.

SAGiTTAriUS

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): Today should go well for

you, Sagittarius. Expect to feel a renewed

energy and perspective on things, especially

those that are work related. Make the most of this by working

toward finishing projects that are waiting for you or by

cleaning and organizing your desk or broom closet. Feel

confident that you'll be able to handle most any task in no

time. When everything you wanted to get done is taken care

of, make some plans for a little recreation. You deserve it.

cApricorn

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): Today you may notice

that you're feeling very creative and

ambitious, Capricorn. You might want to

use these strengths to work directly on an artistic project.

Or you may choose to channel that energy into activities

like organizing your home or workspace. If you plan it

out, there should be plenty of time to get to both if you

have a mind to. Make the most of the day!

AQUAriUS

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19): Don't be surprised if you

wake up feeling super today, Aquarius.

Chances are good that you'll feel a renewed

physical strength with energy to spare. That

said, it might be a good day to tackle any projects that require

you to use some muscle. Perhaps there's some yard work that

needs to be done or furniture you want to move around. On the

fun side, you might want to get to the gym for a workout or

swim. Whatever the activity, today is a good day to go for it!

piSceS

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20): The effect from the

planetary aspects will bring an end to any

lethargy you've been feeling, Pisces. It's an

excellent day to get up and head into the open to do

something active. Walking, running, or going on a hike

can make great use of both your energy and creativity.

Fresh air and physical exertion will lend much to your

health as well, so make the most of this. Even if you have

to work today, you can always enjoy the evening.

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2020

9

Mominul said they are happy with the preparations that the players got in the first round of the ongoing

Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL).

Photo: BCB

Don’t want to repeat Test mistakes

in Pakistan, says Mominul

Sports Desk: Bangladesh Test

captain Mominul Haque has said

they will try to ensure that the

mistakes they committed against

Afghanistan and India in the

previous two series are not repeated

during the Pakistan tour, reports

UNB.

The first match of the two-match

Test series against Pakistan will begin

on February 7 in Rawalpindi and the

Tigers are all set to fly for Pakistan on

Tuesday (February 4).

"I believe we're going to show a

good sort of Test performance in

Pakistan. But to do that, we've to

make sure that we don't repeat

mistakes that we did against

Afghanistan and India in the last two

series," Mominul told the media at

Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket

Stadium on Monday.

Australia recall

Maxwell for S.Africa,

Stoinis snubbed

Sports Desk: Batting

star Glenn Maxwell's selfimposed

exile from

international cricket ended

when he was named

Tuesday in Australia's

limited-overs squads to

tour South Africa, but inform

Marcus Stoinis

missed out. Maxwell, who

stood down from

Australian duties in

October saying he needed a

break to deal with mental

health issues, was named

in both the one-day and

Twenty20 squads to face

the Proteas, reports BSS.

Selector Trevor Hohns

said Maxwell had earned a

recall with his

performances captaining

the Melbourne Stars in the

Big Bash League (BBL),

where he has scored 389

runs at an average of 43.22.

"It is fantastic to have

Glenn back in both squads

given his brilliant form in

the middle order for the

Stars along with his results

with the ball," Hohns said.

Maxwell, 31, has played 110

one-dayers and 61 T20s for

Australia, earning the

nickname "Big Show" early

in his career due to his

match-turning abilities.

Wicketkeeper-batsman

Matthew Wade and allrounder

Mitch Marsh, who

last played limited-overs

internationals in 2017 and

2018 respectively, were

surprise inclusions on the

back of strong BBL

campaigns.

But Stoinis made neither

the ODI or T20 squads,

despite being named BBL

player of the tournament

with a competition-high

607 regular-season runs.

Hohns said Stoinis was on

standby for South Africa,

admitting the 30-year-old

was unlucky to miss out.

"It is terrific to have a

backup player of his calibre

in such good form," he

said. Stoinis' last limitedovers

international was

Australia's World Cup

semi-final loss against

England last July.

Bangladesh will be under-prepared

ahead of the Rawalpindi Test as they

will get only two or three practice

sessions before the match takes to the

field.

Bangladesh head coach Russell

Domingo said it is not ideal to play a

Test in a venue without having any

idea about the condition.

But, Mominul said they are happy

with the preparations that the players

got in the first round of the ongoing

Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL).

"Batsmen played some good

innings while bowlers grabbed many

wickets (in BCL). So, I think we had a

good preparation ahead of the series.

But the preparations in Pakistan are

not under our control. We've to

utilise the time what we get there

before the match. Instead of thinking

in a negative way, we've to make sure

that we do our best job," he told

reporters.

Mominul led the national team for

the first time during the tour of India

in December last. But, he failed to

make his maiden captaincy

memorable as Bangladesh lost both

of the matches in India by innings.

He suffered a pair in the 2nd Test of

the series in Kolkata what added

more pain to his first series as

captain.

But, the southpaw is confident to

do better as a captain this time

around. He said: "There're many

things to improve. As a captain, I've

to make sure that I perform well in

the field first. There're many more

things on and off the field as well that

I have to improve. India series was

my first series as captain. I think I'm

more confident now to do well."

Williamson to miss opening India

ODIs, Sharma in doubt

Sports Desk: New Zealand on

Tuesday ruled injured captain Kane

Williamson out of the opening two

one-dayers against India, while the

tourists appeared set to lose star

batsman Rohit Sharma.

Williamson's absence will be a major

blow to the Black Caps, who go into the

first ODI in Hamilton on Wednesday

low on confidence after a 5-0

whitewash in the Twenty20 series.

Team physio Vijay Vallabh said

Williamson was struggling to shrug off

a shoulder injury that kept him out of

the final two T20 fixtures.

He said Williamson would definitely

miss the opening two ODIs but hoped

to return for the third and final match

of the series in Mount Maunganui next

week.

"Kane has had an X-ray scan which

cleared him of anything serious, but it's

best for his recovery that he avoids

aggravating the joint for the next few

days," he said.

Selectors named Tom Latham as

stand-in captain and called up Mark

Chapman, who scored back-to back

centuries against India A last week, to

reinforce the batting.

Meanwhile, Sharma appears set to

miss the rest of the tour after retiring

hurt in the fifth T20 on Sunday.

Sharma blasted 60 from 41 balls in

the match but limped off after twisting

his left leg late in India's innings.

Indian media reported he had torn a

calf muscle and would take no part in

the three ODIs and two Tests yet to be

played in New Zealand.

The reports said Mayank Agarwal

would replace Sharma in the ODI

squad and Shubman Gill would take

his spot in the Test squad.

He said Williamson would definitely

miss the opening two ODIs but hoped

to return for the third and final match

of the series in Mount Maunganui next

week.

India are second in the ODI rankings,

with New Zealand on third.

The match in Hamilton will be New

Zealand's first ODI since the World

Cup final in July last year, which ended

with scores tied and England winning

because they hit more boundaries.

The Black Caps eliminated the

heavily favoured Indians in the

tournament semi-final and the tourists

will be keen to avenge the loss.

Williamson's absence will be a major blow to the Black Caps, who go into the

first ODI in Hamilton on Wednesday low on confidence after a 5-0 whitewash in

the Twenty20 series.

Photo: AP

Abahani lock-horn

with Maziya S&RC

in AFC Cup today

Sports Desk: Abahani

Limited will take on

Maziya Sorts and

Recreation Club of the

Maldives in the prequalifying

stage-1 of the

AFC Cup scheduled to be

held today at

Bangabandhu National

Stadium, reports BSS.

The match kicks off at 5

pm.

Abahani Limited created

history by reaching zonal

semifinal of the AFC Cup

last season, but this season

their mission is different as

they will have to play prequalifying

stage first in

order to go to the knock out

stage which they played

directly last season as the

champions of Bangladesh

Premier League.

However it will not be an

easy task for Nabib Newaz

Zibon and Co. to overcome

the hurdle as they were

earlier frustrated by their

Maldives opponents in the

first two appearances in

the second-tier club

competition of Asia.

Six times Bangladesh

Premier League

champions Abahani played

in the group stage three

times in a row and reached

the semifinal only on one

occasion. However, the

Dhanmondi 'outfit' sees

their side have fair chance

to go to the next round.

The popular sky blue

Dhanmondi outfit Abahani

Limited suffered 5-1 defeat

away to New Radiant Club

in 2018 following a solitary

goal defeat at home. The

previous year (2017) they

suffered 2-0 defeats

against Maziya S&RC in

the two matches.

Abahani's performance

in the curtain riser

Federation Cup last year

was not up to the mark

nevertheless the club's

head coach believes that it

would not hammer their

performance in the AFC

Cup.

Demme and Elmas help resurgent

Napoli beat Sampdoria

Sports Desk: Diego Demme and Eljif

Elmas scored their first Serie A goals as

Napoli followed up last weekend's win

over champions Juventus with a 4-2

victory at Sampdoria on Monday, reports

BSS.

Gennaro Gattuso's side claimed back-toback

league wins for just the second time

this season to move 10th, two points off

the Europa League berths.

But a return to the Champions League

remains a distant hope as Napoli, who also

dumped holders Lazio out of the Italian

Cup last month, remain nine points

behind fourth-placed Atalanta and Roma.

"We're back," declared captain Lorenzo

Insigne following a hard-fought game in

which Sampdoria came from two goals

down to level at 2-2.

"We're giving continuity to the work we

do during the week with the coach. This is

a victory for the group.

"The Champions League is feasible but

we have to think game by game. We've

done a lot of damage, but now we have to

recover and get our season back on track."

Arkadiusz Milik struck early for the

visitors, nodding in the first after just three

minutes off a cross from fellow Pole Piotr

Zielinski, as a flare on the pitch in Genoa

distracted the Sampdoria defenders.

North Macedonia international Elmas

tapped in a second after quarter of an hour

for his first goal in Italy's top flight.

But Sampdoria halved the deficit with

Fabio Quagliarella's powerful volley on 26

minutes.

Gaston Ramirez had the ball in the back

of the net before the hour mark with a

spectacular overhead kick, but VAR ruled

that Manolo Gabbiadini's arm touched the

ball in the build-up.

Gabbiadini pulled Sampdoria level from

the penalty spot with 15 minutes to go

after Kostas Manolas tripped Quagliarella

in the box. Demme, who arrived last

month from RB Leipzig, restored Napoli's

advantage seven minutes from time with

Dries Mertens sweeping the fourth into an

empty net deep into injury time.

Claudio Ranieri's Sampdoria sit four

points above the relegation zone.

"We must continue to believe," said

Ranieri. "Quagliarella is playing well. We

hope to see other similar pearls to his goal

today."

Diego Demme and Eljif Elmas scored their first Serie A goals as Napoli followed

up last weekend's win over champions Juventus with a 4-2 victory at Sampdoria

Monday.

Photo: AP

Chinese athletes get

ready for Beijing 2022

Sports Desk: With Tuesday marking a

two-year countdown until the 2022

Winter Olympic Games, Chinese athletes

are not wasting a single second in

preparation for the quadrennial winter

sports extravaganza on home soil, reports

BSS.

Undeterred by the ongoing novel

coronavirus outbreak across the country,

Chinese athletes remain in training and

competitions, against all odds. Relevant

governing bodies are also attempting to

limit the spread of the virus to a minimum

with a series of strict measures.

With coronavirus outbreak prevention

and control a national priority in China, no

confirmed or suspected cases have been

discovered among all China's national

teams, according to Liu Guoyong, vice

president of the Chinese Olympic

Committee (COC). The teams' new

training policy, which is centered around

isolated training and management, aims

to ensure a "clean" environment for all

athletes.

However, many sporting events in China

have been postponed, delayed or canceled,

such as the 14th Chinese National Winter

Games in north China's Inner Mongolia

Autonomous Region, and the men's

Alpine Ski World Cup, set to be held on the

Beijing 2022 course in Yanqing.

For Chinese athletes participating in

competitions overseas, China's General

Administration of Sport has also taken

measures to ensure their safe

participation. On July 31, 2015, Beijing

was announced as the host city for the

2022 Winter Olympics.

Since then, China has revealed an

ambitious plan for the 2022 Games: full

participation in 109 events and the best

ever result in its history. Despite scoring

just one gold medal at PyeongChang 2018,

the Chinese delegation had already made

strides in terms of Winter Olympic

participation, featuring across 53 events -

its highest total to date.

Still, more than doubling its

representation at the 2022 Games will be

a historic challenge for China.

Under the current regulations, China

will qualify directly for 61 events out of

109, while the remaining 48 will be

decided through ranking points.

Featuring in all events will be an

ambitious undertaking, as around onethird

of Winter Olympic events had not

been widely practised in China before it

was awarded the 2022 hosting rights.

With this in mind, China has looked

overseas for guidance, with 170 foreign

nationals currently working on the

coaching staff of China's national teams,

up from just two in 2014.

A number of world famous coaching

teams have established cooperation with

China's Winter Sports Management

Center, including Canadian figure skating

coach Brian Orser, who led South Korea's

Kim Yuna and Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu to

Olympic gold medals.

Besides joining forces with world

renowned coaches, China has also moved

forward in technological research and

development, while maintaining a zerotolerance

stance against doping.

With two years to go until the Games,

China is also working on streamlining its

pool of elite athletes.

Ni Huizhong, director of the China's

Winter Sports Management Center,

revealed that the number of athletes

preparing for Beijing 2022 slumped from

over 4,000 to 1,153 last year.

However, many sporting events in China

have been postponed, delayed or canceled,

such as the 14th Chinese National Winter

Games in north China's Inner Mongolia

Autonomous Region, and the men's

Alpine Ski World Cup, set to be held on the

Beijing 2022 course in Yanqing.

For Chinese athletes participating in

competitions overseas, China's General

Administration of Sport has also taken

measures to ensure their safe

participation. On July 31, 2015, Beijing

was announced as the host city for the

2022 Winter Olympics.

Chinese athletes' results proves that the

strategy has been at least partially

successful, with gold and total medals

having more than doubled those at the

same stage in the previous season.

However, Ni urged a note of caution

towards this achievement.

"We still have clear weaknesses and

disadvantages, especially in some events,

where we are encountering a big crisis," he

observed.

‘GirlDad’ James

picks Gianna

Bryant's number

for All-Star Game

Sports Desk: The NBA's

two All-Star teams will

wear jersey numbers

honoring the memory of

Kobe Bryant and daughter

Gianna in the mid-season

showcase, and Los Angeles

Lakers star LeBron James

had a simple reason for

going with Gianna Bryant's

No. 2, reports BSS.

"Zhuri," James said,

referring to his own fiveyear-old

daughter.

James spoke movingly

on Friday of the joy Bryant

had found since his

retirement in life as a

family man and father of

four daughters.

"It felt like these last

three years were the

happiest I've ever seen

him," James said. The

numbers are among the

planned All-Star weekend

tributes to Bryant and

Gianna, who were among

nine people who died in

helicopter crash on

January 26.

The team captained by

Milwaukee Bucks star

Giannis Antetokounmpo

will wear the No. 24 that

Bryant wore in the later

stages of his 20-year NBA

career. Memories of Bryant

are sure to be everywhere

for the rest of the season,

but James said the Lakers

are finding their way

forward. "Today was the

start of a new week,"

James said as the team

trained at their practice

facility in suburban El

Segundo. "We got a great

workout, great practice

today. "We continue to

focus on what needs to be

done to continue to win

ball games and get better

and be as great as we can

be. So it was a good day for

us today."But it hasn't been

easy, and James said the

Lakers continue to lean on

each other as they try to get

to grips with Bryant's.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

WEdnESdAY, FEbruArY 5, 2020

10

bEPZA Public School Celebrating

birth Centenary of bangabandhu

bank Asia Ltd. and AbC real Estates Ltd. recently signed an Memorandum of understanding (Mou).

Md. Arfan Ali, President & Managing director of bank Asia Ltd. and Srabanti datta, director of AbC

real Estates Limited have inked on the Mou in a signing ceremony at bank Asia Tower, karwan

bazar, dhaka. d.n. Chatterjee, Chief Operating Officer and Tanvir Haider, Executive director,

Marketing of AbC real Estates Ltd , Md. Abdul Latif, Head of bank Asia Tower branch, Md.

Shaminoor rahman, Head of MSME, Firdaus bin Zaman, Head of Consumer Finance, A.K.M.

Fakhrul Ahsan, Head of Holy Family rCMCH branch of bank Asia along with other executives and

officers of both organizations were present at the program. under this agreement, bank Asia will

facilitate buyers of AbC real Estates Limited through providing Home Loan at faster process with

privileged rate.

Photo: Courtesy

BEPZA Public School &

College of Dhaka EPZ

organized Annual Sports and

Cultural event as a part of

celebrating the birth

centenary of Bangabandhu

recently. The Executive

Chairman of BEPZA Major

General S M Salahuddin Islam

BP, SPP, ndc, psc graced the

program as Chief Guest, a

press release said.

In the annual sports, the

students displayed a cultural

event based on the life and

philosophy of the Father of the

Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman. They

depicted how 'Khoka to Mujib'

and also became 'the Father of

the Nation Bangabandhu' in a

very artistic way through

display. Mentionable, to

enrich the students'

knowledge on history &

heritage of Bangladesh, school

authority organizes this

program every year.

In the same way, BEPZA

Public School & College of

Chattogram EPZ organized

Annual Sports & Cultural

program recently. To mark

the birth centenary of

Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman, students

also portrayed a display on

momentous steps of

Bangabandhu during the

period from the language

movement of 1952 to the

liberation war of 1971

including the historical 7th

March speech of

Bangabandhu.

BEPZA Executive

Chairman enjoyed both

school's sports & cultural

events performed by the

students and then distributed

prizes among the winners of

different events.

Social Islami bank Ltd arranged workshop on "Agent banking Operation" in its Training Institute

recently. Quazi Osman Ali, Managing director & CEO of the bank inaugurated the workshop. Md.

Sirajul Hoque, deputy Managing director of the bank were also present. Officials of Agent banking

Operations were the participants of the workshop.

Photo: Courtesy

OnE bank Ltd has signed an Agreement recently with Jalalabad Gas Transmission & distribution

System Ltd at JGTdSL's Head Office, Sylhet. under the Agreement, OnE bank will facilitate the collection

of JGTdL Gas bill from Subscribers through the bank's online banking system. Additional

deputy Managing director of OnE bank Ltd rozina Aliya Ahmed and Company Secretary of JGTd-

SL S.M. Asadul Haque signed the Agreement on behalf of their respective organizations. Managing

director of JGTdSL Md. Shariful Islam and other high officials of both the organizations were present

at the ceremony.

Photo: Courtesy

Independent university, bangladesh (Iub) inaugurated its newly constructed Sports Complex. The

opening ceremony was followed by an enthralling football and basketball matches between faculty

and students.

Photo: Courtesy

Iub Sports Complex Inaugurated

Markets hammered as

China reopens

Quote of the Day: "With

Eurozone growth likely to

remain low this year, inflation

stubbornly low and core

government bond yields

largely negative, there are

growing worries about its

possible 'Japanification' - in

other words, that it will suffer

an extended period of slow or

negative growth and

inflation," said Markus

Muller, Global Head Chief

Investment Office at Deutsche

Bank Wealth Management,

reports BSS.

"The Eurozone and Japan

currently rely on Quantitative

Easing (QE) and low or

negative base rates, but are

struggling to cope with low

growth and low inflation. The

Eurozone also faces similar

(but not identical) structural

problems related to public

and financial sector debt,

ageing, and somewhat

inflexible markets."

Stock of the day: The Hong

Kong exchange continues to

see buying into stocks with

linkages to the coronavirus.

Fusen Pharma, Monday's top

gainer, rose as much as 250%

even as the company said "the

Group has not carried out any

research activities on the

effectiveness

of

Shuanghuanglian Oral

Solutions for inhibiting the

novel coronavirus, and made

no representation and

warranty on such

effectiveness." This followed

media reports that

Shuanghuanglian Oral

Solutions had the potential to

be used for inhibiting the

novel coronavirus.

Ascletis Pharma rose as

much as 57% on Monday after

it said clinical trials were

being conducted on some of

its products which are used in

the treatment of patients

infected with the new

coronavirus.

Number of the Day: $5.6

million. The cost of a 30-

second commercial spot at

this year's Super Bowl. The

Kansas City Chiefs ended a

50-year Super Bowl drought

with a dramatic 31-20

comeback win over the San

Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Tip of the Day: "Gold prices

have benefitted from a flight

to safety amid a risk-off

environment as equity

markets have eased. However,

gold's strongest correlation

continues to be with real

yields; we believe lower yields,

coupled with elevated

geopolitical and political

uncertainty towards the end

of the year, are likely to buoy

prices," said Standard

Chartered precious metals

analyst Suki Cooper in a note.

"We continue to see sustained

upside risk to gold prices in

H2-2020," adding that the US

dollar weakness would "add a

string to gold's bow."

Asian markets were led

lower by Chinese stocks as

trading resumed on the

mainland after the extended

holiday. The People's Bank of

China said it would inject 1.2

trillion yuan to "maintain

reasonable and abundant

liquidity of the banking

system and stable operation of

the currency market," but the

market was worried about the

economic impact of the

coronavirus. China's CSI 300

Index plunged as much as 9%.

This brought the MSCI Asia

Pacific ex-Japan index down

by 0.9%. Japan's Nikkei 225

index ended down 1% and

Australia's S&P ASX 200

benchmark retreated 1.3%.

But Hong Kong's Hang Seng

benchmark edged up 0.3% as

losses in energy and basic

materials were offset by gains

in technology and healthcare.

"The slump in mainland

Chinese stock markets reflects

escalating financial market

concerns about the economic

impact of the Wuhan virus on

overall economic growth, as

the total number of Wuhan

virus cases in mainland China

soared," said Rajiv Biswas,

Asia Pacific Chief Economist

at IHS Markit.

Even though the Caixin

manufacturing PMI for

January, published on

Monday, showed a decline.

Analysts said the survey was

conducted too early to tell us

much about the extent of the

economic damage from the

coronavirus outbreak. "The

February survey data will

almost certainly point to a

significant drag on activity

from the virus, with

policymakers likely to take

further action in the coming

weeks to soften the blow," said

Capital Economics analysts in

a note.

HIS Markit's Biswas said

most Chinese provinces had

postponed the reopening of

factories and offices until

Monday, February 10, which

will have a significant negative

impact on China's industrial

production in Q1 2020.

FTC sues to

block Harry's

sale to Schick

owner

Edgewell

Federal antitrust

regulators say a proposed

merger that would combine

old-school shaving company

Schick with upstart Harry's

would end up costing

consumers some skin,

reports UNB.

The Federal Trade

Commission on Monday

sued to block Edgewell

Personal Care Co.'s $1.37

billion acquisition of

Harry's, which was

supposed to be finalized this

year. The FTC argues that

bringing two major shaving

brands together would hurt

competition.

Edgewell's Schick is the

No. 2 razor maker in the

U.S., behind Gillette. Both

brands were forced to slash

prices and overhaul their

marketing strategies in

recent years response to the

rise of Harry's and rival

Dollar Shave Club, which

both started as direct-toconsumer

digital brands.

"The loss of Harry's as an

independent competitor

would remove a critical

disruptive rival that has

driven down prices and

spurred innovation in an

industry that was previously

dominated by two main

suppliers, one of whom is

the acquirer," the FTC said .

New York-based Harry's,

which has expanded to sell

its products at Target and

Walmart, had hoped to

capitalize on Edgewell's

large distribution channels

and Schick's blade

technology.

Independent University,

Bangladesh (IUB) inaugurated its

newly constructed Sports Complex

for the students that provides

plentiful spaces to play football,

basketball, cricket, hockey,

badminton and other indoor

games.Honorable Trustees, faculties

and management and,IUB alumni

jointly inaugurated this Complex on

February 2, 2020, a press release said.

Emphasizing on extracurricular

activities to a large extent, as IUB

believes in the philosophy that

``sport is not a part of education;

sport is an education'' - the university

encourages its students to stay bold

and physically sound in order to cope

with the rapidly changing world with

healthy merit. It promotes, the more

you are fit physically, the more you

succeed intellectually.

On this occasion, A Matin

Chowdhury, Chairman, Board of

Trustees, IUB; Mr. JavedHosein,

Chairman, Finance Committee, IUB;

Trustee TanveerMadar; Prof. Milan

Pagon, Vice Chancellor (Acting), IUB;

Treasurer, Registrar, members of the

faculty & management, IUB alumni

and a large number of students were

present to inaugurate IUB Sports

Complex.

The opening ceremony was

followed by an enthralling football

and basketball matches between

faculty and students where keenly

contested performances were

witnessed by the audience.

Southeast bank Ltd recently signed an agreement with renaissance dhaka Gulshan Hotel. under

this agreement, Southeast bank debit, Credit and Prepaid Card Members will get 10% discount on

Weekend Accommodation, Saloon & Spa and Gulshan baking Company. bank's MasterCard

(ESTEEM, World, Platinum) and Visa (Platinum) Credit Card members will also get buy One Get

One Free facility on buffet Meal at renaissance dhaka Gulshan Hotel. Md. Abdus Sabur Khan,

Executive Vice President & Head of Cards, Southeast bank Limited and Jerome Lienart, General

Manager, renaissance dhaka Gulshan Hotel are seen exchanging the signed document. Other officials

from both the organizations were also present in the ceremony.

Photo: Courtesy

For companies bracing for losses

from China's viral outbreak, the

damage has so far been delayed, thanks

to a stroke of timing: The outbreak hit

just when Chinese factories and many

businesses were closed anyway to let

workers travel home for the week-long

Lunar New Year holiday, reports UNB.

But the respite won't last.

If much of industrial China remains

on lockdown for the next few weeks - a

very real possibility - Western retailers,

auto companies and manufacturers

Clock is ticking for companies

that depend on China imports

that depend on Chinese imports will

start to run out of the goods they

depend on.

In order to meet deadlines for

summer goods, retail experts say that

Chinese factories would need to start

ramping up production by March 15. If

Chinese factories were instead to

remain idle through May 1, it would

likely cripple retailers' crucial back-toschool

and fall seasons.

"There's complete uncertainty," said

Steve Pasierb, CEO of the Toy Industry

Association. "This could be huge if it

goes on for months."

Wuhan, the Chinese city where the

outbreak hit hardest, is a center of

automotive production. It's been

closed off, along with neighboring

cities, isolating more than 50 million

people and bringing factories to a

standstill.

MISCELLANEOUS

WEDNESDAY, FEBrUArY 5, 2020

11

Dhaka University Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman inaugurated the annual sports competition

of Amar Ekushey Hall as chief guest yesterday at the central playground of the university. Provost of Amar

Ekushey Hall Prof. Dr. Ishtiaque M. Syed was, among others, present on this occasion. Photo : Courtesy

Faruk becomes

champion in

DU Amar

Ekushey Hall

sports

Md. Faruk Hossain and Md.

Humayun Kabir become

champion and runner-up

respectively in the annual

sports competition of Amar

Ekushey Hall of Dhaka

University. This competition

was held yesterday at the

central playground of the

university. Dhaka University

Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr.

Md. Akhtaruzzaman

inaugurated the competition

in the morning as chief

guest, a press release said.

After the competition

Treasurer Prof. Dr. Md.

Kamal Uddin distributed

prizes among the winners as

chief guest. Provost of Amar

Ekushey Hall Prof. Dr.

Ishtiaque M. Syed, President

of DU Athletics Committee

Prof. Dr. Md. Nizamul

Hoque Bhuiyan, Advisor of

Physical Education Centre

Prof. Dr. Asim Sarkar,

Director Md. Shahjahan Ali,

house tutors and students of

the hall were present on this

occasion.

Cold-related

diseases affect

4,388 people

in 24 hrs

DHAKA : Various coldrelated

diseases affected

4,388 people across the

country in the last 24 hours,

the government said on

Tuesday, reports UNB.

Data from the Directorate

General of Health Services

(DGHS) control room

showed that 914 of the

patients received treatment

for acute respiratory

infection (ARI).

Another 1965 people were

treated for diarrhoea, and

1509 for diseases including

jaundice, inflammation in

the eye, skin diseases, and

fever.

A total of 4,66,099

people were affected by

various cold-related

disease across the country

between November 1 and

February 4.

GD-231/20 (4 x 3)

Australian Parliament

remembers victims

and heroes of fires

Lawmakers commemorated wildfire victims

and praised the heroism of firefighters when

Australia's Parliament sat on Tuesday as

hundreds of protesters rallied outside

demanding more policy action on climate

change, reports UNB.

The usual business of Parliament was

postponed on the first sitting day of the year

with the focus instead on the wildfires that

have killed at least 33 people and destroyed

more than 3,000 homes since September.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison paid tribute

to those who lost their lives, including three

U.S. airmen who died when their Hercules

C-130 tanker crashed while fighting a blaze

in southern New South Wales state last

month. Relatives of some of the nine

firefighters who have died in this fire season

were in a public gallery to hear lawmakers

give their condolences. The U.S. ambassador

represented the airmen's families.

Morrison, close to tears, vowed that

despite the scale of the disaster and

tragedies, "Australia is not and will never be

overwhelmed."

"As we face the challenges that remain

active, as we confront and face the

devastating drought compounded in so

many places by these fires, as we confront

and contain the challenge of the virus indeed

Nepal hosts worshipping

ceremony to pray for

world peace

Nepal has kicked off the third edition of

World Peace Pooja (worshipping) to pray

for world peace and welfare of the entire

humanity, and to commemorate the

deaths of mountaineers and trekkers.

The three-day ceremony, organized by

Nepal Mountaineering Association

(NMA), a non-governmental organization

working to promote mountain tourism,

started on Monday in the touristic city

Pokhara, some 200 km away from the

capital Kathmandu, reports UNB.

As part of the ceremony, a peace torch

was handed over to the organizing team by

a high-ranking Buddhist guru in Lumbini,

the birthplace of Lord Buddha, on Monday

morning. The torch has been brought and

kept in a monastery in Pokhara, which will

be shifted to the main worshipping venue

at International Mountain Museum

that threatens the world, Australians will not

be overwhelmed," Morrison told Parliament.

Outside Parliament House, Morrison was

lampooned by protesters for his conservative

government's policies on carbon emissions,

efforts that have been widely criticised as

inadequate.

Morrison was also attacked for secretly

taking a family vacation to Hawaii in

December at the height of the crisis while his

hometown of Sydney was choking on

wildfire smoke.

One environmental protester among the

many gathered under a sky hazy with

wildfire smoke wore a Morrison mask and

carried a sign reading: "My Bushfire Plan?

Hawaii!"

The demonstrators also condemned

Australia's heavy economic reliance on fossil

fuels as the world's largest exporter of coal

and liquid natural gas.

Jane Baker, 65, and her friend Judith

Thompson, 67, drove five hours from their

hometown of Wangaratta in rural Victoria

state to take part in the Canberra protest.

"We're both frustrated at sitting on the

couch and yelling at the politicians on the

television, so we've come out to yell at them

in person today - to have our voices heard,"

Baker said.

Tuesday. "The world is suffering from

different problems currently, thus, we are

hosting this special worshipping ceremony

to pray for the world peace. We will also

pray for the eternal peace of those who

have died in course of mountaineering and

trekking in Nepal," Santa Bir Lama,

president of NMA, told Xinhua.

According to Lama, the worshipping as

per the Buddhist rituals had begun since a

month ago within different monasteries

across the country, while the formal

ceremony started from Monday and will

last till Wednesday. As part of Pooja, the

monks will study the hymns and religious

scriptures.

He said around 25,000 people including

monks from different Buddhist

associations, followers of Buddhism from

mountain region, tourism professionals,

general public and visiting

foreign tourists are taking

part in the ceremony.

"The Peace Pooja has also

been

organized

considering the ongoing

Visit Nepal Year 2020

campaign. If there was no

virus outbreak, we would

have invited delegates from

different countries to

promote tourism," Lama

added.

The final day has been

regarded as the most

important day of the event,

when the visitors will

receive special blessings

called "Wang" from the

senior Buddhist leaders.

Former Prime Minister

and Nepal Communist

Party's co-chairman

Pushpa Kamal Dahal,

provincial ministers along

with other high-level

leaders will take part in the

concluding ceremony,

according to NMA.

Ansar member

killed in Sirajganj

clash over land

SIRAJGANJ : An ansar

member was killed and 23

people were injured in a

clash between two groups of

villagers at Nischintapur

village in Raiganj upazila on

Tuesday.

The deceased was

identified as Abdul Matin,

50, an ansar member of

Bogura Ansar and VDP and

son of Shahjahan Ali of the

village, reports UNB.

Quoting witnesses,

Panchananda Sarkar,

officer-in-charge of Raiganj

Police Station, said Shaban

Ali and Shahidul Islam had

been at loggerheads over the

ownership of a piece of land.

As a sequel to the enmity,

the supporters of Shahidul

swooped on the supporters

of Shaban Ali in the

morning, triggering a chase

and counter-chase.

At one stage, the both

groups equipped with sharp

weapons attacked each

other, leaving 24 people,

including Matin, injured.

They were taken to

RaiganjUpazila Health

Complex where Matin

succumbed to his injuries.

On information, police

went to the spot and brought

the situation under control.

Additional police have

been deployed to avert

further trouble.

Man to die for

killing girl in

Kishoreganj

KISHOREGANJ : A court in

Kishoreganj on Tuesday

sentenced a man to death

for killing a teenage girl over

previous enmity in 2013,

reports UNB.

The convict is Bachchu

Mia, son of Rais Uddin of

Ratanpur village in Tarail

upazila. The court also fined

him Tk 1 lakh. According to

the prosecution, Sarufa alias

Marufa Akhter, 15, daughter

of Abdur Rashid, was

hacked to death over

previous enmity at

Ratanpur village on May 10,

2013.

A case was filed in this

connection. Police arrested

Bachchu Mia when he gave

confessional statement

before the court.

Police submitted a chargesheet

against three accused.

Kishoreganj Additional

District and Session's Judge

Muhammad Abdur Rahim

handed down the verdict

acquitting two other

accused as the allegations

brought against them could

not be proved.

Two university

students die after

'taking Yaba' in

Cox's Bazar

COX'S BAZAR : Two

university students have

reportedly died after taking

contraband Yaba tablets at a

resort in Sadar upazila of

Cox's Bazar.

The deceased were

identified as Abir Rahman

Rumi, 24, and his friend

Mohammad Arefin, 25.

They were students of a

university in the capital,

reports UNB.

GD-233/20 (4 x 4)

Australian Education Fair will

be held on 8th February

An excellent Australian Education Fair-

2020 has been organized under the

supervision of Pac Asia Bangladesh. The

fair will be held on coming 8thth February

at Dhaka (hotel amari, gulshan 2 Road 41)

from 10:30am to 5.30pm. Many Renowned

Universities will participate on this fair.

Students and parents will be able to ask

questions about admissions, scholarship,

opportunities and Visa related queries to

University's representative and education

experts of Pac Asia.

Several Educational Institutions will offer

free application fees. The fair is open for all

without any entry fees. Students who will

eager to attend the fair have to

preregistration http://bit.ly/

AUSEXPO2020 from this link. For more

details on the event please call

01713243416, says a press release.

DUJ staged demo in front of National Press Club protesting assault on

journalists.

Photo : TBT

BSF shoots and

injures

Bangladeshi; drags

him away to India

KUSHTIA : Members of

Border Security Force (BSF)

reportedly dragged a

Bangladesh young man

away to India after shooting

him along Salimerchar

border in Doulatpur upazila

on Tuesday, reports UNB.

The victim was identified

as Gazi, 32, a farmer of

Ramkrishnapur in the

upazila.

Quoting locals, BGB said

BSF members from

Muradpur camp under

Jolongi Police Station

opened fire targeting some

farmers while they were

working at their field near

pillar No. 157/2 (S), leaving

Gazi injured.

Later, the BSF members

dragged him away to India,

they said.

WEDNESDAy, DHAKA, FEBRUARy 5, 2020, MAgH 22, 1426 BS, JAMADI-US-SANNI 10, 1441 HIJRI

Much hyped metro-rail route being visible. The picture was taken from Paltan area of the capital city

yesterday.

Photo : TBT

Number of dailies

in Bangladesh now

1,277: Minister

SANGSAD BHABAN : Information Minister

Mohammad Hasan Mahmud told Parliament on

Tuesday that the number of daily newspapers in

the country is now 1,277.

According to

data placed by

the minister in

the House in

response to AL

MP Benjir

A h m e d

(Dhaka-20),

the number of

dailies with

more than one

lakh circulation

is 48 in the country.

The top 10 Bangla dailies are Bangladesh

Protidin (circulation is 5,53,300), Prothom Alo

(5,01,800), Kalerkantha, Jugantor, Ittefaq,

Amader Somoy and Janakantha (2,90,200),

Samakal (2,71,000), Sangbad (2,01100), and

Bhorer Kagoj (1,61,160).

The top 10 English dailies are The Daily Star

(44,814), The Financial Express, Daily Sun

(41,000), Dhaka Tribune (40,600), The

Independent, the Daily Observer and the Daily

Bangladesh Post (40,550), The Asian Age, The

Daily Tribunal (40,500), and The Bangladesh

Today (40,010).

Another Wuhan-returnee shifted

to Kurmitola Hospital

DHAKA : Another Bangladeshi

national who was kept at the quarantine

unit at Ashkona hajj camp

after return from China's wuhan

was shifted to Kurmitola General

Hospital on Monday with complaints

of headache and lightheadedness,

reports UNB.

"Two wuhan-returnees are

undergoing treatment at the hospital

right now. Seven others who

were admitted earlier to the hospital

with fever were sent back to

the quarantine unit at Ashkona

after recovery," said Brig Gen

Jamil Ahmed, director, Kurmitola

General Hospital, on Tuesday.

"we've not collected blood sample

of the newly admitted patient

as the symptoms do not match

with that of coronavirus infected

patient, but he was kept in quarantine."

A man was shifted to the hospital

from Ashkona camp and kept

in isolation on Sunday with fever

and his blood sample was sent for

test.

A total of 312 Bangladeshi citizens

were brought back from

China's wuhan, the epicentre of

the new coronavirus outbreak, on

Saturday while the government is

set to bring back 171 more upon

clearance from the Chinese

authorities.

Seven of the returnees were

admitted to Kurmitola General

Hospital with fever while another

to the Combined Military Hospital

upon their return from China.

No one of those hospitalised

earlier was found to be infected

with coronavirus after testing

their blood samples, and they are

now doing well, said Prof Dr

Meerjady Sabrina Flora, director

of the Institute of Epidemiology,

Disease Control and Research

(IEDCR).

Voters' apathy

not good for

democracy:

Quader

DHAKA : Road Transport

and Bridges Minister

ObaidulQuader on Tuesday

said the apathy of voters

during the recently held

Dhaka city elections is not

good for Bangladesh

democracy.

The minister made the

remark while talking to

reporters at the Secretariat,

reports UNB.

Sought comments on the

polls, ObaidulQuader said,

"we'll assess and analyse

the election once Awami

League President and Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina

returns home from abroad."

Mentioning that the full

use of Electronic Voting

Machines (EVMs) in the

elections a new experience,

Quader, also Awami League

general secretary, said some

mistakes were there but

many people found it easier

and simpler.

"It's a matter of concern

for us ... we had expected

more votes in our favour.

Considering the voters of

Awami League, the vote percentage

was low," he

explained.

He said the negative campaignagainst

the EVM and

the ruling party was the

main reasons behind the

low voter turnout.

Low voter turnout 'ominous sign'

for nation: Dr Kamal

DHAKA : Stating that the low presence

of voters in the recent city polls is an 'ominous

sign' for the nation, Jatiya Oikyafront

convener Dr Kamal Hossain on Tuesday

said the two mayors-elect of Dhaka south

and north city corporations are not elected

by majority voters, reports UNB.

Talking to reporters after a steering committee

meeting of the alliance at his

Motijheel chamber, the veteran politician

also alleged that the government has

destroyed the entire election process with

its 'irresponsible and anti-constitutional

acts'.

"They (two mayors-elect) can't be called

mayors elected with majority people's

votes," he said replying to a question by the

journalists.

In a written statement, Dr Kamal, also

the president of Gonoforum, said the

country's people, including the young generation

have expressed their 'no-confidence'

in the government, the Election

Commission and the election process in

the recently-held Dhaka city polls.

"The mayors-elect got the verdict of only

5-7 percent people. The remaining results

are made through fake votes cast through

EVMs," he observed.

The Oikyafront chief also said democracy

in the country, the rule of law and electoral

system have been destroyed by the

AL government which wants voters not to

go to polling stations. "They intimidate the

voters."

He said people did not go to polling stations

as they think this government would

not be changed with their votes. "It's an

ominous sign both for the country and the

nation."

Awami League's candidates Fazle Noor

Taposh and Atiqul Islam were elected

mayors of Dhaka south and north city corporations

respectively in the elections held

on Saturday last.

Dr Kamal also said people are losing

interest in voting as an awful situation has

been created in the country due to the government's

unconstitutional acts. "The

country can't be run this way. we must

bring a change together with people."

He said the people of Bangladesh never

accepted autocracy and they will not do it

now either as they are very conscious.

Replying to a question about the inaction

of Jatiya Oikyafront leaders, he said they

do politics depending on people who are

the sources of power. "we'll do whatever

necessary to encourage people (taking to

the streets). we'll of course hold rallies,

meetings and take out processions, if necessary,

to bring a change together with

people."

The Oikyafront chief also said the country's

people achieved their targets and

brought positives changes in the past with

united efforts. "There'll be no exception to

that this time, too."

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal president ASM

Abdur Rob, BNP standing committee

member Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan,

Gonoforum executive president Subrata

Chowdhury, presidium member Mohsen

Rashid and Gonoshasthya Kendra

founder Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury were,

among others, present.

That Time When Computer Memory

Was Handwoven by Women

INTERESTING NEwS DESK

If you look at computer technology

from yesteryears, they look comically

primitive and bulky. One popular

image frequently shared in social media

sites show a large cupboard-sized box

lifted on to the cargo bay of a Pan

American Airways flight. The caption

accompanying the image identifies the

box as the IBM 305 RAMAC, the

world’s first commercial hard disk

developed in 1957. It had a whooping

capacity of only 5 megabytes.

In the early days of computing, memory

technology permitted a capacity of

very few bytes. The first electronic computer

developed during the Second

world war to help the military calculate

artillery firing tables used vacuum

tubes to store data. John Presper Eckert

then invented a complicated device

using mercury-filled glass tubes and

quartz crystals that could store up to a

few hundred thousand bits—a vast

improvement from early memory technologies.

In the late 1940s, Frederick w. Viehe,

an amateur inventor from Los Angles,

filed patent for a new kind of memory

that used tiny transformers to store

data. This was improved substantially

by Harvard physicist An wang, and

later by Jay Forrester and Jan A.

Rajchman in the early 1950s, leading

to the development of the magnetic

core memory. This new memory technology

was the first non-volatile memory—a

memory that doesn’t lose data

when it loses power— to be developed.

It was used extensively in the US Navy’s

whirlwind computers for real-time aircraft

tracking.

Newly-elected

DNCC ward

councillor

held for

'beating' cop

DHAKA : A newly-elected

ward councillor of

Dhaka North City

Corporation (DNCC) was

arrested from city's

Khilgaon area early

Tuesday on charge of

'beating' a police officer.

The arrestee was identified

as Md Shakhawat

Hossain, newly-elected

councillor from ward No.

23 of DNCC, reports UNB.

Officer-in-charge of

Khilgaon Police Station

Moshiur Rahman said

sub-inspector Abdul

Mazid of Special Branch

(SB) had a dispute with the

ward councillor around

8:45pm on Monday at

Pallima Sangsad office at

Taltala.

During the argument,

Shakhawat along with his

supporters physically

assaulted the SI, he said.

Police arrested

Shakhawat in the early

hours after Mazid filed a

case on charge of attacking

police and obstructing

them from discharging

their duties, the OC said.

Shakhawat was elected

councillor from DNCC

ward No. 23 in the elections

to the two Dhaka city

corporations held on

February 1.

Bombax flower, locally called 'Shimul Ful' hinting the advent of spring season.

Using mask over corona virus

unnecessary: IEDCR

DHAKA : Use of mask and other personal

precautions like hand sanitizer over the

panic of corona virus in the country is unnecessary,

experts said.

"Using mask to avoid corona virus is useless

in our country. Even there is no need of

taking any personal precaution over the

virus as the virus is yet to reach our country,"

Principal Scientific Officer of Institute of

Epidemiology Disease Control & Research

(IEDCR) Dr ASM Alamgir told BSS.

Dr Alamgir, also the chief of the corona

virus control room of IEDCR, urged people

not to spread any kind of rumor over the

deadly virus. IEDCR, country's state-run disease

monitoring wing, has screened a total of

5,952 China returnees until February 3 from

January 21, 2020, he said.

"we received the test results and found

nobody was infected with the virus," IEDCR

Director Meerjady Sabrina Flora told BSS.

"Those who were admitted at Kurmitola

General Hospital were sent to Ashkona Hajj

camp on Sunday night. However, one was

sent back to Kurmitola Hospital for monitoring

after he was found to have high body

temperature," she added.

"The other China returnee admitted at the

Combined Military Hospital (CMH) for

quarantine with seven of her family members

as she is pregnant," said Flora.

The disease monitoring wing, already running

four hotline numbers -

01937110011, 01937000011, 01927711784

and 01927711785 - to solve any type of confusion

about the virus and creating awareness

among people. Till yesterday, it received

290 phone calls while screened 39 suspects

and found all negative for the virus.

Television sets and wi-Fi connection have

been provided for the China returnees at the

Ashkona Hajj Camp, she said.

A total of 312 Bangladeshis were brought

back to Dhaka from the Chinese city of

wuhan, the locked down epicenter of the

deadly corona virus outbreak that has

sparked a global health emergency.

SSC examinees among 10 injured

in Dhamrai road crash

SAVAR : At least ten people, including SSC

examinees, their guardians and teachers,

were injured when the bus carrying them fell

into a roadside ditch at Batulia on the

Dhamrai-Balia regional road on Tuesday,

reports UNB.

Thirty three people, including SSC examinees

from Ashulia Boshundhara Model

School, Ashulia School and College, Ideal

School and College and wisdom School

and College, several teachers and guardians,

were going to Abbas Ali High School examination

center at Kushuria, Dhamrai, said

Russell Mollah, officer-in-charge of

Kaolipara outpost under Dhamrai police station.

Photo : TBT

Rohingya 'robber'

killed in Cox's

Bazar 'gunfight'

COX'S BAZAR : A suspected

Rohingya robber was

killed in a reported gunfight

with members of Rapid

Action Battalion (Rab) at

Jadimora Rohingya camp in

Teknaf upazila of Cox's

Bazar district early Tuesday.

The deceased was identified

as Elias, 40, a resident

of D-block of the camp.

Mirza Shahed Mahtab,

company commander of

Rab-15 Teknaf camp, said a

team of the elite force conducted

a drive in the camp,

reports UNB.

Sensing the presence of

law enforcers, the robber

gang attacked them and

opened fire on them,

prompting them to fire back

that triggered a gunfight, he

said.

Elias received bullet

injuries during the incident.

He was taken to Teknaf

Health Complex where doctors

declared him dead,

Mahtab said.

Twelve other people,

including three Rab members,

were also injured in

the gunfight.

Two firearms and four

cartridges were recovered

from the spot, the Rab official

said.

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam, Executive Editor : Sheikh Efaz Ahmed, 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: Bangladesh Timber Building (3rd Floor) 270/B, Tejgaon I/A Dhaka-1208. Tel : +8802-8878026, Cell : 01832166882; Fax: + 880244611604, Email: Editor : editor@thebangladeshtoday.com, Advertisement: ads@thebangladeshtoday.com, News: newsbangla@thebangladeshtoday.com, contact@thebangladeshtoday.com, website: www.thebangladeshtoday.com

05-02-2020

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