18-02-2020

tuesday

DHaKa: February 18, 2020; Falgun 5, 1426 BS; Jamadi-us Sanni 23,1441 Hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.17; No.23; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

international

Trump fans wait in long

lines to see president,

Daytona 500

>Page 7

art & culture

Shehnaaz Gill : My

parents don’t want me to

do Mujhse Shaadi Karoge

>Page 8

sport

Madrid held 2-2 by

Celta as Hazard

returns from injury

>Page 9

27 days to go

One judge for every one

lakh people in country

says, Law Minister

Narayanganj gas fire

One dies at DMCH

An elderly woman who suffered burns

after a fire broke out at a house in

Sahebapara of Siddhirganj upazila early

Monday, died at Dhaka Medical College

Hospital (DMCH), reports UNB.

The deceased was identified as

Nurjahan Begum, 60. Eight members of a

family suffered burn injuries after the fire

broke out at their house around 5:30am.

"Two of the injured, including

Nurjahan, were shifted to the intensive

care unit (ICU) of DMCH where she

succumbed to her injuries around

11:05am," said Inspector Bacchu Miah

of DMCH police outpost.

Mohammad Shahjahan, senior station

officer of Adamjee Fire Service, said

gas accumulated in their flat as the

burner had remained open all night.

The fire started when one of their relatives

Elias lighted a cigarette, said the

inspector. On information, a firefighting

unit rushed to the spot and extinguished

the fire. Later, they rescued the injured

family members who are currently

being treated at the Burn and Plastic

Surgery Department of DMCH.

The injured are - Nurjahan's Kiron

Miah, 45, and Hiron Miah, 25, Hiron's

wife Mukta, 20, Md Abul Hossain, 25,

Md Kawser, Lima, 3, and Apon, 10.

They hail from Shibpur upazila of

Narsingdi and live on the ground floor of

a five-storey building. Among the

injured, Nurjahan and Kiron suffered

70 percent burns.

Nayeemul Abrar's death

Prothom Alo Editor

Matiur Rahman gets bail

DHAKA : A court here on Monday

granted bail to Prothom Alo Editor

Matiur Rahman in a case filed over the

death of Dhaka Residential Model

College student Nayeemul Abrar Rahat.

Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan

Magistrate Kaisarul Islam passed the

order after hearing a bail petition filed

by his lawyer, reports UNB.

The Prothom Alo editor filed the petition

in the morning as the High Court's fourweek

anticipatory bail expired yesterday,

said his lawyer Ehsanul Haque Somaji.

Earlier on January 16, the Dhaka

court issued a warrant for the arrest of

Matiur, Associate Editor Anisul Hoque

and seven other people in the case.

Later on January 20, the HC granted

Matiur a four-week anticipatory bail.

The nine accused are - Anisul, Kabir

Bakul, Shubashish Pramanik Shuvo,

Mohitul Alam Pavel, Shahporan

Tushar, Jasim Uddin Opu, Mosharraf

Hossain, Sujon and Kamrul Haider.

Ninth-grader Abrar died after being

electrocuted behind the stage at an event

organised by Kishor Alo, a publication of

Prothom Alo, at Dhaka Residential Model

College on November 1.

His father Mujibur Rahman filed the

case with Dhaka court on November 6.

The plaintiff alleged that the organisers

had negligence in ensuring safety

regarding electric wires at the venue,

which cost the life of his son.

Zohr

05:16 AM

12:15 PM

04:16 PM

05:58 PM

07:15 PM

6:30 5:55

SANGSAD BHABAN : Law Minister

Anisul Huq on Monday told parliament

that there is one judge for every 1 lakh

people in Bangladesh while the number

in India is 50,000 people.

Replying to a query from Jatiya Party

MP Mujibul Haque the minister admitted

that the number of judges comparing

to the country's population is very

low, reports UNB.

He mentioned that there is one judge

for 20,000 people in England while one

judge for 10,000 people in the USA,

France and Italy.

The Law Minister informed the

House that the number of pending

cases in the higher and lower courts in

the country is around 36.40 lakh as of

September last year.

"I don't have any hesitation to admit

that the number of judges is inadequate

in the country to dispose of the pending

cases," he said in a tabled answer.

He said there are only seven judges in

the Appellate Division to dispose of

22,596 cases while 97 judges in the

High Court to dispose of some 4.91 lakh

cases.

Anisul Huq also said there are 1967

judges in the lower courts to dispose of

some 31.28 lakh cases.

The law minister mentioned the government's

various measures including

increasing the number of judges to

expedite the trial process and reduce the

backlog of cases.

"Like the judiciary of other countries,

the government will create more posts

for judges comparing to the number of

population," he also said.

Responding to a query from Treasury

Bench MP Shahiduzzaman Sarker,

Anisul Huq said vehicles will be

arranged for all judges in phases for

their transportation. Replying to a query

from JP MP Rustum Ali Faraji, State

Minister for Public Administration

Farhad Hossain informed the House

that 153 women are working as Upazila

Nirbahi Officer.

Mobile phone towers

do not cause harmful

radiation: BTRC

DHAKA : Bangladesh Telecommunication

Regulatory Commission (BTRC) yesterday

binned fears of harmful radiations

from mobile phone towers calling such

speculations "completely baseless".

"There is no reason to get scared . . . it's a

rumour," BTRC Commissioner Md Aminul

Hasan said disclosing a recent study report

of the regulatory authority on the issue at a

discussion at a hotel in the city.

He said the study found the radiation

from cell phone network towers to be

below international standards and

BTRC guidelines as the regulatory

authority carried out a cross-country scientific

survey to examine the issue.

Hasan said he said radiations from the

towers were insignificant to affect the

public health but BTRC would continue

to monitor the extent of radiations.

"If you want (customers) to get better

services in the future, there is no option

but to set up more mobile sites," the

BTRC official said.

He said the High Court recently

instructed BTRC to submit a report on

this issue and "we will submit it soon".

BTRC and Association of Mobile

Telecom Operators of Bangladesh

(AMTOB) jointly organised the discussion

when the regulator's Engineering and

Operations Division deputy director Dr.

Shamsuzzoha presented a keynote paper.

Shamsuzzoha categorized radiations

in two types - "ionizing" or harmful

ones, and "non-ionizing".

He said ionizing radiation such as

nuclear waste, ultraviolet rays of the sun,

gamma-rays or x-rays were harmful to

health while mobile radiation is nonionizing

as its strength is very low.

"That is why it (mobile phone radiations)

has no health risks,"

Shamsuzzoha said.

He said BTRC conducted the surveys

in many areas of Dhaka, Chattogram,

Khulna, Sundarbans, Feni, Rajshahi,

Sylhet, Rangpur and Jamalpur so far

when "we did not find the radiation

beyond the standard limits".

BUET professor Dr Satya Prasad

Majumder said the rumours were generated

over the tower radiations which

should be binned from the public mind

as "we have to move forward with technology".

Traffic anomalies causing sufferings to the people across the Chattogram city. The picture was taken

yesterday.

Photo : Star Mail

A 'mockup train' coach of Metro Rail was brought here from Japan and kept in the city's Uttara

area on Monday for giving people an idea about Metro Rail.

Photo : Star Mail

'Mockup' Metro

Rail coach

arrives in city

DHAKA : A 'mockup train' coach

of Metro Rail was brought here

from Japan and kept in the city's

Uttara area on Monday for giving

people an idea about Metro Rail,

reports UNB.

The 'mockup' coach was opened

at Diabari Metro Rail Depot in

Uttara, said MAN Siddique, managing

director of Dhaka Mass

Rapid Transit Limited.

"The coach was installed at the

depot for giving the city dwellers

an idea about metro rail as it's

going to be a new service in

Bangladesh. It's not for transporting

people," he said.

The replica train coach will be

kept at the Metro Rail exhibition

and information centre with

other equipment, and the information

centre will be opened to

public in March," said Siddique.

It will help people to know how

to buy tickets, how to enter the

coach and get down from it, he

said.

The coaches of the metro rail

are scheduled to arrive in the

country on June 15.

On May 29, 2019, Road

Transport and Bridges Minister

Obaidul Quader said the country's

first metro rail will formally

be launched on December 16,

2021.

Once the 20.1-kilometre metro

rail with 16 stations goes into

operation, it is expected to transport

around 60,000 passengers

every hour.

All China, S’pore-returnees don't

need hospital isolation: IEDCR

DHAKA : There is no need to keep all

the China and Singapore returnees in

hospital quarantine, said director of the

Institute of Epidemiology Disease

Control and Research (IEDCR) Prof Dr

Meerjady Sabrina Flora on Monday,

reports UNB.

"We see pressure from people and

departments concerned to keep

China and Singapore-returnees in

hospital isolation. If someone comes

from these countries doesn't mean

that he/she is COVID-19 infected,"

she said at a press conference at

IEDCR auditorium in the city.

A misconception has been created

among people over China and

Singapore-returnees, she said.

"COVID-19 hasn't broken out in all

provinces of China. So, there's no need

to keep all China or Singaporereturnees

in hospital quarantine," she

said.

Drawing attention to the administration

outside Dhaka, Dr Flora said,

"We'll keep people in quarantine upon

suggestions from the Health

Directorate only when the returnee has

any symptom."

Dr Flora urged district and upazila

officials not to take any decision over

COVID-19 infection but to cooperate

with and inform the local health authorities

in this regard.

"We're keeping China and Singaporereturnees

suffering from fever and

cough isolated, testing them and suggesting

others to stay in self-quarantine,"

she added.

Over 66 Bangladeshis were tested till

Monday, said Dr Flora adding that

nobody was found infected with

COVID-19 virus.

The virus outbreak that began in

China has infected more than 71,000

people globally and claimed 1,770 lives

in China's mainland with five in Hong

Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Philippines and

France till Monday, reports AP.

Bangladesh has brought back 312 of

its nationals from China on February 1

and sent them back home after 14-day

quarantine in Ashkona.

Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador to

Bangladesh Li Jiming on Monday said

some technical issues were obstructing

the return of remaining registered

Bangladeshis from Hubei province.

Talking to UNB, a senior official at the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs here said a

total of 198 students are willing to

return home now from Hubei province.

Govt steps up vigilance

to prevent foreign fund

for terrorism

DHAKA : Home Minister Asaduzzaman

Khan Kamal yesterday said extremist

groups are not getting foreign fund to run

their terrorist activities in the country as

the government has taken surveillance

measures to prevent such financing,

reports BSS.

Mentioning that the government has

become succeed to control homegrown

terrorists successfully through

extensive crackdown on militancy, he

said, "We took necessary steps, including

stepping up vigilance on banks and

other financial organisations, to prevent

extremism in our country."

He was addressing a discussion titled

"Violent Extremism Funding in South

Asia: A Comparative Study of

Bangladesh, India and Pakistan",

organised by Dhaka University Central

Students Union (DUCSU) at Muzaffar

Ahmed Chowdhury auditorium on

Dhaka University (DU) campus.

The Minister said, "Currently, there is

no foreign terrorist in

Bangladesh. All of them are home

grown. They try to spoil the advancement

of the country in different ways

under different banners".

Nahiyan Khan Sabriet, a post-graduate

student of DU International

Relationship (IR) department, presented

a research titled 'Violent Extremism

Funding and State Response in South

Asia: A Comparative Case Study of

Bangladesh, India and Pakistan".

Additional Commissioner of DMP

and chief of Counter Terrorism and

Transnational Crime (CTTC) Md

Monirul Islam mentioned that the terrorist

attacks that took place in

Bangladesh cost low expenditure while

the scenario of India and Pakistan was

different.

JMB, Ansar Ullah Bangla Team and

other extremist groups in Bangladesh

run their activities with their own funding

such as collecting fund from party

members.

He urged everyone to scrutinise

properly while providing fund to any

charity organisation as extremists usually

collect endowment in the name of

aid.

Chairman of DU International

Relationship (IR) department Md Ruhul

Amin, Professor of IR Dr Delwar Hossain,

Deputy General Manager of Bangladesh

Financial Intelligence Unit Kamal

Hossain, also spoke on the occasion.

Hundreds of academicians and students

were present at the event.

NEWS

TuESDAY, FEBRuARY 18, 2020

2

Planning Minister MA Mannan as the chief guest addressed a view exchange

meeting on Population and Housing Census at NEC conference room at Shere-Bangla

Nagar in Dhaka on Monday.

Photo: Courtesy

Bangladesh Collectorate Assistant Association

announces 3-day long programs

TBT DESK:

Members of central and district committee of

Bangladesh Collectorate Assistant Association

held an emergency meeting at the auditorium

of National Library recently.

Bangladesh Collectorate Assistant

Association Central Committee President

Anwar Hossain chaired the meeting while

Secretary General Anwar Hossain moderated

the occasion. At the meeting the leaders urged

to prepare a pre-program for changing the

designation and promotion of salary grades.

The program will be observed on February 25,

26 and 27.

cvwb- 679/2019-2020

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During the time, Advisor of Bangladesh

Collectorate Assistant Association, Chandpur

District and Executive Member of the Central

Committee Nesar Ahmed Tapadar, Jahangir

Alam Biswas from Faridpur, Jahangir Alam

from Netrokona, Maksudur Rahman from

Manikganj, Shariful Islam of Jashore, Kabir

Hossain from Tangail, Sudanshu Sarkar of

Bahmanbaria, Udayan Barua from

Chattogram, Abdur Barrek Mollah from

Barishal, Abdul Razzaq Mridha fom Barguna,

Abdullah Bhuiyan from Feni and Sheikh

Hafizur Rahman from Gopalganj were among

others also present at the occasion.

'Robber' lynched

in Bagerhat

BAGERHAT : A suspected robber was killed in a mob

beating at Baruikhali village in Kochua upazila early Monday.

The identity of the deceased could not be known yet.

Sarder Iqbal Hossain, officer-in-charge of Kochua Police

Station, said that a gang of robbers entered the house of one

Samed Hawlader when he came out to respond to the call of

nature. The robbers held the residents of the house hostage

at gunpoint and looted Tk 50,000, mobile phones and gold

ornaments before trying to flee.

But villagers came out hearing screams for help and caught

one of the robbers. The man was critically injured in the mob

beating that followed. He was later taken to Kochua Upazila

Health Complex where doctors pronounced him dead.

Two held over 'rape' of seventh

grader in Bhola

BHOLA : Police on Monday arrested two people in

connection with the alleged rape of a seventh grader in

Charsamaiya union of Sadar upazila, reports UNB.

The arrestees were identified as Raihan, son of Selim and

his accomplice Helal. Victim's family members said when

the girl was alone in the house on Sunday evening after her

mother went to a medicine shop her neighbor Raihan

entered the house and violated her.

Locals went to the spot after hearing scream of the victim

while Raihan fled away. The victim was admitted to Sadar

Hospital.

Teen groups' clash

leaves one dead

in Khulna

KHULNA : A teenage boy was killed in a clash between two

groups of adolescent boys near Khulna Shipyard mosque in

the city's Sochanmari Bazar area on Sunday night.

The deceased was identified as Al Fayad, 15, son of Shawkat

Ali, reports UNB.

Abu Aslam Bulbul, officer-in-charge of Khulna Sadar

Police Station, said two groups of adolescent boys locked into

an altercation over cutting hair at Sochanmari Bazar at 8pm.

At one stage, Fayad and his friend Shubha were injured in

a knife attack by their opponents, the OC added.

Fayad succumbed to his injuries at 11 pm at Mawa ferry

ghat while being taken to Dhaka for better treatment.

Meanwhile, the adolescent groups locked into a clash again

at 10am on Monday in the area but police brought the

situation under control, the OC added.

3 'members of human

trafficking syndicate'

held in Cumilla

CUMILLA : Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab)

rescued three Rohingyas and arrested three suspected

members of an international human trafficking gang from

different parts of Chouddagram upazila on Monday, reports

UNB.

The arrestees were identified as Abdur Rahim Rubel, 25,

son of Abul Kalam, Nurul Haque, 29, son of Fazlul Haque

and Foysal Ahmed Rony, 32, son of Kamal Uddin of the

upazila.

Tipped off, a team of Rab-11 conducted a drive at Dharkara

Bazar and Chiura areas and arrested the three human

traffickers, said Company Commander of Rab-11 Major

Talukdar Nazmus Sakib.

The elite force members also rescued three Rohingyas

including a young girl and recovered huge fake passports,

fake birth certificates, other documents, three computers,

two printing machines, one scanner machine, seven mobile

phone sets and Tk 60,540 in cash from their possession.

They used to take Rongingyas from Cox's Bazar camp to

other parts of the country alluring them of sending abroad

and trafficked them to Malaysia and other countries making

fake Bangladeshi passports, said the Rab official.

Cox's Bazar trawler capsize: 2 more

bodies recovered from Bay

COX'S BAZAR : Members

of Bangladesh Coast Guard

recovered the bodies of two

people, believed to have

been the victims of trawler

capsize of February 11, from

Paschimpara beach in St

Martin's Island in Teknaf

upazila here on Monday,

raising the death from the

accident to 21, reports UNB.

Station Commander of

Coast Guard, Teknaf,

Lieutenant M Sohel Rana,

said Coast Guard members

recovered the bodies of the

two unidentified men from

the Bay around 9:30 am.

Earlier, Coast Guard

members recovered two

other bodies from the Bay of

Bengal near Chhera Dwip on

Friday evening and

Saturday.

The incident of trawler

capsize took place in early

hours of February 11 near

the St. Martin's Island,

leaving 15 Rohingyas dead.

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Seventy three passengers

were rescued alive.

A case was filed over the

incident accusing 19 human

traffickers and police have so

far arrested 10 of them.

Elderly woman dies

in Khulna fire

KHULNA : An elderly woman was burned to death in a fire

that broke out at a shanty in Shwashan Ghat area under

Harintana thana of the city around Sunday midnight, reports

UNB.

Ashraful Alam, officer-in-charge of Harintana Police Station,

said the fire broke out in the shanty around 12am. On

information, a firefighting unit rushed to the spot and

extinguished the fire. Then, they recovered the charred body of

the woman. Details about the victim, age around 60, could not

be known yet.

In a separate incident, at least 10 fuel wood shops were gutted

as a fire broke out at Terogola near Rupsha stand road.

According to fire service control room, the fire originated from

a saw-mill and engulfed the adjoining shops around 1am.

On information, two firefighting units rushed in and doused

the fire.

Meanwhile, another fire broke out at Zaman Jute Mill in

Dighalia upazila around 1am.

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METRO

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2020

3

East West University (EWU) organized its 19th convocation at the EWU Campus, Aftabnagar, Dhaka on

Monday. This convocation was dedicated to the memory of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on

his birth anniversary. Education Minister Dr. Dipu Moni MP conferred degrees among students. During

the time convocation, the total number of 2111 graduates in both undergraduate and graduate levels

received the certificates. Besides, 3 students were awarded the prestigious Gold Medal for their excellent

academic performance.

Photo: Courtesy

East West University convocation held

DHAKA : The 19th convocation of

East West University was held

yesterday on its campus.

This year the convocation is

dedicated to Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman on the occasion of his birth

centenary.

As the representative of President

Abdul Hamid, Education Minister Dr.

Dipu Moni conferred the degrees on

the graduates at the programme while

Chairman of University Grants

Commission (UGC) Prof.Dr. Kazi

Shahidullah was present as special

guest.

Senior Lawyer of Bangladesh

Supreme Court Barrister M.Amir-Ul

Islam was present as the convocation

speaker.

The speakers urged the youths to

develop themselves as innovative

entrepreneurs to meet the desired

economic, social and cultural needs of

Bangladesh.

At the same breath, they

underscored the need to start a culture

of 'Personal and Collective

Responsibility, Ownership and

Accountability' in the country.

Through these endeavors, they

expect that the people of Bangladesh

will prosper as it was dreamt by Father

of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman in 1971.

A total of 2,111 graduates who have

successfully completed all the

academic requirements in various

disciplines of the bachelor and master's

degree programmes were conferred

degrees at the convocation.

Besides, three students were

awarded the prestigious Gold Medal

for their excellent academic

performance.

The ceremony was attended, among

others, by the Members of Board of

Trustees, Pro-Vice Chancellor,

Treasurer, Deans, Departmental

Chairpersons, Faculty Members,

Officers, Graduates and their families.

Biman cleaner

sent to jail in gold

smuggling case

DHAKA : A Dhaka court

yesterday sent a cleaner of

Biman Bangladesh Airlines to

jail after the end of his twoday

remand in a gold

smuggling case.

Dhaka Metropolitan

Magistrate Shahinur Rahman

passed the order as police

produced Jonathan Mukti

Barikder, 34, before court and

pleaded to keep him behind

the bar. Another court on

February 14 placed Jonathan

on a two-day remand.

Jonathan, who was working

in Biman from 2014, was

arrested from Hazrat

Shahjalal International

Airport concourse hall area

with 32 gold bars weighing

3.712 kilograms.

Eight dengue patients

being treated at

hospitals: DGHS

DHAKA : A total of eight

dengue patients, including

seven in the capital, are being

treated at hospitals across the

country, the Directorate

General of Health Services

(DGHS) said on Monday.

One new dengue case was

reported in the last 24 hours

until 8am on Monday.

Bangladesh experienced a

massive dengue outbreak last

year, reports UNB.

Since the beginning of this

year, 232 dengue cases were

reported. Of them, 224 had

been discharged from

hospitals.

Bangladesh eyes stronger

commercial ties with Qatar

DHAKA : Bangladesh and

Qatar on Monday discussed

ways to strengthen

commercial ties further

between the two countries

and send more workers there

ahead of the FIFA World Cup

to be held in Qatar in

November-December, 2022,

reports UNB.

The issues were discussed

at the first Foreign Office

Consultations (FOC)

between Bangladesh and

Qatar held at State

guesthouse Meghna.

State Minister for Foreign

Affairs M Shahriar Alam and

his Qatari counterpart Soltan

bin Saad Al-Muraikhi led the

Bangladesh and Qatari sides

respectively at the FOC.

Talking to reporters after

the FOC, State Minister Alam

said over 3.5 lakh

Bangladeshis are working in

Qatar and they need more

ahead of the FIFA World Cup

there. "We're exploring new

areas to send people there."

He said the Ministry of

Expatriates' Welfare and

Rabbi for free birth registration

for street children

DHAKA : Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Miah said yesterday

street children are facing various problems, including their

inability to get admitted into schools due to lack of birth

registration and identity crisis.

He also said, if the government can prepare the voter list at

free of cost, then it can also make free birth registration for

street children, reports BSS.

"I hope Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will take necessary

measure in this regard if this matter will be properly

presented to her", said Fazle Rabbi.

The deputy speaker was speaking as chief guest at a

seminar titled - 'Street Children's Birth Registration Problem

and It's Solution', jointly organized by Dhaka Ahsania

Mission and Street Children Activist Network (SCAN) in IPD

conference room at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

Enunciating the importance of birth registration, the

deputy speaker said the government can take up a step to

make free birth registration for street children.

Md Akhtaruzzaman, MP and Kazi Kaniz Sultana, MP also

took part in the discussion.

Overseas Employment will

work extensively on the

front.

Highlighting investmentfriendly

environment in the

country, the State Minister

discussed how a mechanism

can be established to attract

more investment in various

ways, including through Qatar

Fund for Development.

The State Minister also

discussed signing of a

number of MoUs between

the two countries in the

coming months, including

one on avoidance of double

taxation.

The two countries also

discussed cooperation in the

international forums under

the UN.

Foreign Secretary Masud

Bin Momen and senior

officials from both sides

attended the FOC.

CORRIGENDUM

In my son's PSC (Year

2013, Dhaka Roll No. 6372)

Mark Sheet and Certificate,

his mother's name

appeared wrongly. In his

JSC (PSC-2016, Reg.

No.1610949507 and Roll

No. 120947) and SSC (SSC-

2019, Reg. No.1610949507

and Roll. No.264831)

Certificate and Mark sheet,

his name appeared

wrongly. His Mother's

correct name is Sanzida

Bari and his correct name is

Shafin Abrar Rashid.

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EDITORIAL

TUeSDAy, feBrUAry 18, 2020

4

Iraq must break free from foreign powers

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Increase cotton

production locally

The export earnings of the country's

readymade garments (RMG) sector

could be substantially greater if the

RMG industries could be backed up

adequately by value-addition through

backward linkage activities. Presently,

nearly the value of 60 per cent of foreign

currencies earned through RMG export are

spent on importing raw cotton, fabric and

yarn to support the RMG industries.

But the greater value of such imports can

be saved through import substitution if

raw cotton, the primary raw material for

RMG sector's linkage industries, is grown

in greater quantities in the country. Such

cotton can be utilised to make yarn and

fabric for the RMG industries locally and,

in that case, value addition in the textile

sector can be so much more and the

amount of the country's retained foreign

exchange earnings from the textile sector

should increase spectacularly .

Raw cotton produced in the country

meets only about 5 per cent of the total

demand. The rest 95 per cent are

imported. Total cotton production in the

country in recent years has been about

14,000 metric tons, on average, annually.

But experts are of the opinion that total

yields of cotton can be fast increased by

extending cotton cultivation in the southwestern

parts of the country.

Bangladesh has very suitable lands and

climate for cotton cultivation. Apart from

the south-western districts of Jessore,

Kushtia, Jhenaidah and Chuadanga, no

activity of the Bangladesh Cotton

Development Board (BCDB) is seen in

other areas to encourage cotton cultivation

among farmers.

Many places of the country are suitable

for cotton cultivation but the potential of

extending cultivation in these areas is not

being tested by BCDB though it was set up

over a decade ago. But the present

worldwide scarcity of cotton and its

soaring prices, has also put into sharp

focus the imperative of growing cotton

within the country to reduce import

dependency for the product and find price

relief as well.

It is believed that greater activism on the

part of BCDB, plus government's

incentives and support prices for cotton

growing , can enthuse a larger number of

farmers to take up cotton cultivation as a

remunerative commercial crop in between

production of foodgrains at many different

parts of the country. Besides, there is also

the prospects of successfully carrying on

cotton cultivation in marginal lands which

are not being farmed intensively at

present throughout the year.

Cost analysis has shown that it would

even make economic sense to release part

of the good cultivable lands to grow cotton

instead of foodgrains. In that case, it might

be necessary to import some quantities of

foodgrains. But the import costs of the

foodgrains are likely to be notably lower in

comparison to the value added earnings of

the RMG sector through import

substitution.

An action plan needs to be in place for

greater production of raw cotton in the

country. To satisfy growing demand of

cotton with quality, high yielding best

quality clone cotton plant has to be

imported to produce cotton in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and

Exporters Association (BKMEA) says that

production of raw cotton could be

increased manifold in some years from

now through making up a task force to

implement an action plan.

Tehran's aspirations of establishing

regional hegemony in the Middle

East rest atop the continued status

of Iraq as a militarily weak and politically

malleable client state. Now, amid

staggering levels of anti-Iran

demonstrations across the country, the

Iraqi people have a genuine shot at

ejecting Tehran's invasive political

influence and creating a truly sovereign

Iraqi state.

Yet as antipathy toward Iran continues

to build across Iraq, the Islamic Republic

isn't going to cede its stranglehold over the

country easily. The "Shia Crescent"

concept is vital to understanding the

political sentiments engulfing Iraq. In late

2004, King Abdullah of Jordan coined the

idea of the Shia Crescent, a regional vector

of militant Shia influence radiating

outward from three key Shia-dominated

government centers: Damascus, Tehran

and Baghdad. As Iranian power grew in

the region over the last decade, the Shia

Crescent manifested itself and is now a

reality on the ground. It remains relevant

to both contemporary US foreign-policy

making and broader Middle Eastern

power dynamics.

Outside of Baghdad, the activities of

Shia-backed organizations and statesanctioned

militia groups remain

contested. Nevertheless, after the defeat of

the Iraqi branch of Islamic State (ISIS)

and the subsequent withdrawal of the

bulk of US military forces, Iran has

become increasingly audacious in its

efforts to embed political and strategic

influence in Iraq. Using a mixture of

subterfuge and well-financed political

support, Iran has cultivated considerable

political influence along the initial arc of

the Shia Crescent. Since consolidating key

bastions of soft power in Baghdad, Iran

has also commenced an expansion of its

hard-power presence in the Iraqi

countryside, using the Quds Force, an elite

unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard

Corps (IRGC), to occupy small pockets of

geo-strategically valuable land and

establish semi-official (read: plausibly

deniable) military bases. In addition to

cementing Iran's authoritarian grip over

Baghdad, this strategy provides Tehran

with a way of entrenching the Shia

Crescent across Iraq and directly

exporting influence and military assets

deeper into Syria and Lebanon. Curtailing

Iraqi sovereignty and military capabilities

have been Iran's primary foreign-policy

objectives since the Iran-Iraq War ended

in 1998. In addition to fomenting a

general state of "just enough" anarchy and

conflict, Iran - working through Shiite

scholars and clerics, bankrolled

government officials, and IRGC

operatives - has made a concerted effort to

undermine Iraqi bureaucracy and

JennIfer lyn

policymaking

mechanisms.

Unfortunately, the rot planted by Iran has

since overtaken much of Iraq's political

system, promoting a culture where graft,

misuse of government power, influence

peddling, bribery and cronyism are all

accepted as business as usual.

Iran's successful campaign to induce

rampant corruption has certainly

produced negative outcomes for Iraq's

economy, causing shortages in basic

public services and infrastructure, mass

unemployment, and, despite Iraq's status

as the second-largest producer of crude oil

in the Organization of the Petroleum

Outside of Baghdad, the activities of Shia-backed organizations

and state-sanctioned militia groups remain contested. nevertheless,

after the defeat of the Iraqi branch of Islamic State (ISIS) and the

subsequent withdrawal of the bulk of US military forces, Iran has

become increasingly audacious in its efforts to embed political and

strategic influence in Iraq. Using a mixture of subterfuge and

well-financed political support, Iran has cultivated considerable

political influence along the initial arc of the Shia Crescent.

BArIA AlAmUDDIn

Exporting Countries (OPEC), nonexistent

wage growth and devastating

poverty levels. Iran's presence in Iraq also

precludes the Arab Gulf states from

providing lucrative investment

opportunities given the overbearing

presence of its regional rival.

As if it's not enough for Iran to suffocate

Iraq's legitimate channels of governance,

Iraqi protesters have also had to contend

with violent, Iran-backed Shia militias.

These state-sponsored militias fulfill a

variety of formal and informal roles for

pro-Iran elements in the Iraqi

government, from instilling terror in

Sunni communities to brutally quashing

anti-government demonstrations.

Many of these militias, such as Asaib Ahl

al-Haq, are brazen creations of the IRGC

and in effect operate as powerful political

factions within the Iraqi parliament. The

Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a

Shia-majority paramilitary force, has been

repeatedly implicated in war crimes and

the sectarian repression of both Sunni and

Shia protest groups. On January 3, the

head of the PMF, Abu Mahdi al-

Muhandis, was killed in the targeted US

drone strike alongside Qasem Soleimani.

Although independent protest groups

appear to be largely decentralized, Iraq's

protest movement broadly coalesces

around three pro-sovereignty demands:

the overthrow of the current

administration, the absolute expulsion of

Iranian special interests, and the

establishment of an independent political

system that isn't riven with sectarian

divides. The ambitious goals of prosovereignty

outcomes are acutely

attainable, especially if the scale and

intensity of the protests continue to grow

at the current rate. The protests have

already impelled both prime minister Adil

Abdul-Mahdi and President Barham

Saleh to offer their resignations - how

much longer can Iraq's major

parliamentary voting blocs refuse to offer

concessions without inviting backlash

from increasingly choleric

demonstrators?

Source: Asia times

russia, Turkey and Iran scramble for supremacy amid Idlib bloodbath

The heartbreaking plight of 700,000

Syrians displaced by President

Bashar Assad's murderous Idlib

campaign in recent weeks is comparable

in scale to Myanmar's genocidal

campaign against the Rohingya, despite

receiving pitiful levels of media attention.

Half of Syria's 22 million pre-war

population has to date been uprooted,

with many of Idlib's refugees having

endured multiple displacements.

Freezing conditions are killing the most

vulnerable, with volumes of aid entering

the province proving woefully

inadequate.

Yet this is a humanitarian catastrophe

wrapped up in a geopolitical quagmire. In

recent days, Syrian regime troops and

Iranian proxies killed 13 Turkish soldiers

and besieged Turkish observation posts.

Turkey retaliated, killing dozens of

regime troops and paramilitary

personnel. A furious President Recep

Tayyip Erdogan vows to use force to push

back Syrian regime forces and hit targets

"anywhere" if his troops are attacked

again. With untold thousands

slaughtered, the violence threatens to

send three million refugees fleeing into

Turkey, which already hosts 3.5 million

Syrian refugees.

Meanwhile Israel, with US support, is

growing bolder in striking explicitly

Iranian targets throughout Syria and

Iraq. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

(IRGC) personnel were killed last week in

an Israeli airstrike on Damascus Airport,

apparently targeting an Iranian aircraft

shipping munitions for Assad's bloody

Idlib campaign. This is just one of dozens

Two powerful men rekindled hope in

more than 2,000 ordinary men and

women and their families back

home. It was a resounding victory for all

of us who hoped that Prime Minister

Imran Khan would bring up the plight of

nearly 3,248 Pakistanis languishing in

Saudi Arabia's jails during Crown Prince

Mohammed bin Salman's first state visit

to Pakistan. But we got even more than

we had hoped for. The prince dubbed

himself Pakistan's ambassador in Saudi

Arabia and announced the next day that

the kingdom would release 2,107

prisoners. It was a magnanimous gesture.

There are close to 11,000 Pakistanis

imprisoned in foreign jails, of which

around 6,000 are in the Middle East. The

Pakistani-Saudi migration corridor, in

particular, is considered one of the

costliest in the world in terms of

recruitment expenses for economically

disadvantaged workers. Yet individuals

and groups who seek to coerce and

deceive indigent individuals seeking

employment overseas in order to smuggle

controlled substances to Saudi Arabia

operate with significant impunity.

Once these men and women are

imprisoned, their families back home

learn of their arrest and detention weeks

of strikes against Syria-based IRGC

targets in recent weeks, with the US also

showing increased readiness to act

against IRGC's regional assets; not least

with the assassination of Qassem

Soleimani, and the impounding of

Iranian shipments of weapons bound for

the Houthis. With even valued proxies

like Hezbollah facing sharp financial cuts

resulting from US sanctions, this

relentless military pressure inevitably

erodes Tehran's ability to continuously

bankroll its overseas warmongering.

Human rights groups have

documented atrocities and ethnic

cleansing in eastern Syria by Arab militias

under Turkish command, while US

troops were recently involved in

skirmishes with pro-Assad elements.

Shared enmity toward Erdogan may

bring the Kurds and Assad closer

together, one consequence of which

would be to allow Iran increased

influence in the strategically crucial east.

Despite being on opposing sides,

Turkey and Russia have thus far

interacted with relative amity in carving

up their respective Syrian spheres of

influence. President Vladimir Putin and

Erdogan's 2018 Sochi deal mapped out a

demilitarized zone in Idlib, providing for

monitoring roles for Turkish and Russian

troops. The two leaders spoke by phone

after the latest escalations, and both a

Russian delegation and US envoy James

Jeffrey visited Ankara.

Observers stopped trying to count

Syria's death toll many years ago after it

soared beyond 600,000. It perhaps now

exceeds a million. Moscow could

potentially play a decisive role in

Despite being on opposing sides, Turkey and russia have

thus far interacted with relative amity in carving up their

respective Syrian spheres of influence. President Vladimir

Putin and erdogan's 2018 Sochi deal mapped out a

demilitarized zone in Idlib, providing for monitoring roles

for Turkish and russian troops. The two leaders spoke by

phone after the latest escalations, and both a russian

delegation and US envoy James Jeffrey visited Ankara.

SArAh BelAl

compelling Assad to accept that the

pacification of Idlib is prohibitively costly,

given that the regime has few prospects of

regaining the province without immense

Russian assistance. There is little for

Putin to gain from a long, grinding

campaign and he perhaps values the

relationship with Ankara more highly.

Nevertheless, all sides are currently

playing hardball in seeking to maximize

their narrow interests.

A princely promise

or months after the incident, and only

after the prisoner is able to call back

home. "The government never notified us

about his imprisonment or his criminal

case. We are alone in this process," the

family member of a prisoner we are

representing told us. According to

interviews with detainees and their family

members back home, embassy officials

rarely visited them or provided any

assistance, unlike embassy officials from

other countries.

This is exactly why Prime Minister

Khan's promise is so pertinent. Out of 579

prisoners reportedly released by Saudi

Arabia, only 89 have been released from

Saudi jails following the crown prince's

announcement. This information came to

light when a list was submitted by the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs before the

Lahore High Court in November last year.

The rest of the prisoners were repatriated

before the prince's state visit to Pakistan.

Only 89 prisoners have been released

from Saudi jails following the

announcement.

A prime minister or crown prince

cannot be expected to micromanage. A

gesture was made. It is now up to the

bureaucracies of the two countries to

ensure its implementation in letter and

spirit. That is yet to happen. In stark

contrast, the kingdom executed more

than 30 Pakistanis last year. These

included the first Pakistani woman to be

executed in Saudi Arabia in at least five

years. Arrested in 2016 in Jeddah along

with her husband, the woman's five-yearold

daughter was also detained - first with

the mother and later at a facility for

children. A relative eventually managed to

fly to the kingdom and bring the child

back to Pakistan around six months

before her parents' execution. The child

now exhibits extreme signs of trauma.

She doesn't talk much, locks herself up in

a room, and gets irritable when people ask

her questions. Now eight years old, one

can only imagine the weight she will carry

for the rest of her life. Back home, a son

still hopes his mother will return. Ali [the

name has been changed], whose mother

was arrested in May 2017 in Jeddah,

found out about her arrest a month later

after she managed to call him from inside

the prison. She did not remember many

phone numbers, and it was only by a

stroke of luck that she had managed to

retain his contact details. She is now over

60 years old, has lost sight in one of her

eyes, and complains of other ailments. Ali

swears by his mother's life that she is

Western diplomats should be

energetically pushing key players toward

de-escalation, not least as Erdogan has

repeatedly hinted at the option of

maliciously forcing refugees out of

Turkey into Europe. European states

must stop pretending that the indefinite

continuation of this war is none of their

business, not least in terms of mass

movements of refugees, terrorism,

region-wide destabilization and Tehran's

attempts to push its sphere of influence

through to Europe's southeastern

frontiers. If Ankara and Moscow can

reach an understanding over Idlib, they

should be encouraged to decisively curtail

Iran's involvement throughout Syria,

which is inimical to the long-term

interests of both sides. While Turkey and

Russia would benefit from finding a

peaceful resolution to this conflict which

constitutes a burdensome financial drain,

Tehran exploits the fog of war to reinforce

its dominant regional posture and sees

these Arab states as a staging point for

attacking its many enemies. Russia has

far fewer ideological affiliations with Iran

than it has with Israel, so it is long past

time to bring this ill-omened marriage of

convenience to an end.

Observers stopped trying to count

Syria's death toll many years ago after it

soared beyond 600,000. It perhaps now

exceeds a million, with millions more

lives destroyed through horrific injuries,

psychological trauma, the miseries of

exile, and the loss of meaningful futures.

Source : Arab news

innocent and was duped into carrying a

container with contraband that she

actually thought contained only halwa

given to her by the 'philanthropist'

sponsoring her umrah.

More than a million Pakistanis live in

Saudi Arabia, according to Global Media

Insight, and make up the country's third

largest expatriate community. But while

most countries with a significant diaspora

in the kingdom have a thorough consular

protection policy and prisoner transfer

agreements, Pakistan has not made much

headway. The Philippines government

regularly intervenes on behalf of its

people; Sri Lankan authorities have

signed a labour deal with Saudi Arabia to

protect the rights of its 500,000 citizens

working there. The deal came about after

a Sri Lankan woman was beheaded in the

kingdom.

In the absence of permanent

mechanisms, it is impossible for missions

abroad to protect the rights of such a large

number of migrant workers.

Consequently, there has been an increase

in the number of Pakistanis on death row

abroad and the number of executions

carried out globally since 2014.

Source : Dawn

DEVELOPMENT


5

The coordination of global epidemics

Michael Safi

A patient presents at an emergency department

somewhere in the world. They are feverish and vomiting.

Doctors suspect it is influenza, but they are wrong.When

the outbreak of a virulent new disease such as the

coronavirus is identified, the starting gun is fired on a

vast, multimillion-dollar international effort to try to

contain it.

But nothing can start before a health professional

determines that, against the odds, they are confronting

something exceptional. "You need to work through that

process, establish that this is an out-of-the-ordinary

disease and say, let's do lab tests on it," says Jonathan

Quick, an adjunct professor of global health and author of

The End of Epidemics.

Sometimes the signs are clear: health workers becoming

infected, or patients growing sicker or dying faster than

expected.Other cases rely on a hunch. In 2003, the Italian

specialist Carlo Urbani was asked to examine a patient in

a Vietnamese hospital with symptoms of influenza.

Urbani saw a different pattern. He commissioned tests,

reinforced infection controls around the patient and

alerted the World Health Organization.

A global alert for a virus named severe acute respiratory

syndrome (Sars) was declared 12 days later. Urbani died

from it the following month.Advances in medical science

by the late 1960s led some experts to declare that

humanity had conquered infectious diseases. It was

wishful thinking. Two decades into the 21st century,

viruses are breaking out more frequently than in the past,

data shows.

One factor is that humans are spreading into territories

we have never lived in before, bringing us into contact

with animal populations carrying diseases our bodies

never learned to fight.The 2014 Ebola outbreak was

formally identified more than two and a half months after

it was first detected. The 2015-16 epidemic of Zika,the

mosquito-borne virus that led to 3,000 severe birth

defects, took 37 days. The disease always gets a head start,

and not just for biological reasons. An epidemic may be a

medical phenomenon, but it is social and political too.

In the crucible of an outbreak, sharing information is

one of the most important factors in saving lives. But

instincts often lead the other way. When Sars emerged in

China in November 2002, it raged for several months

before Beijing alerted the WHO.

"China actively hid Sars from the international

community and the WHO was really disempowered,"

says Alexandra Phelan, an adjunct professor at the

Georgetown law school.The same urgent need for

transparency applies to scientists studying the disease,

some of whom have been incentivised in the past to

withhold important findings in a crisis for fear they may

not be able to publish them in medical journals later.

The impulse for secrecy even extended to Liberian

villages afflicted with Ebola, where out of fear and

mistrust some families would hide sick or deceased

relatives from medical teams."Information sharing is

what it's all about," says Rebecca Katz, the director of the

Center for Global Health Science and Security at

Georgetown University. "If you don't know something is

happening, you can't stop it."

Once an outbreak is identified, the focus can shift to

stopping its spread, which in theory is straightforward.

"Your rate of growth needs to be less than one," says

Joshua Ginsberg, the president of the Cary Institute of

Ecosystem Studies. "If every person who gets the disease

gives it to slightly less than one person, then the disease

will go away."

That requires determining who is already sick, and who

may become so. Hospitals become vigilant for symptoms

of the disease in new patients, while teams are sent out

into communities to enlist them to report anyone showing

the telltale signs - and in some cases, to prevent those

people from making the journey to a clinic themselves.

"If a disease is highly contagious, if people are coming to

the hospital it probably means they've contaminated a lot

of people on the way," says Michel Yao, a physician who

advises the Democratic Republic of the Congo's health

ministry on its Ebola response.

Infected people take part in a process known as contact

tracing: listing everyone they have interacted with in the

past days or weeks, and for how long. Those lists can be

vast - a 2011 study found every measles case generated

sometimes hundreds of contacts that needed to be

investigated. But when Ebola hit Africa's most populous

country, Nigeria, contact tracing and surveillance

networks that were already in place to combat polio

helped to stop the outbreak in its tracks.

Medical teams managed to reach every Nigerian case

and seven deaths were reported in the country of 181

million people. "Because they had that system in place,

they were able to jump in immediately and figure out,

where did this patient go, who did he talk to? And isolate

those people," says Ashley Arabasadi, a policy adviser at

the US-based Management Sciences for Health institute.

Quarantining cities, as China has done to Wuhan in

response to the coronavirus outbreak, can often make the

epidemic worse, according to some experts."It causes

mistrust in the government and panic and concern,"

Phelan says. "People can't access healthcare because

public transport is shut down. Or they may do the

opposite and overwhelm medical facilities. And how do

you get in food and drugs for other non-coronavirus

issues? It is a very heavy-handed move that has no

evidence base behind it."

Blunting the spread of an epidemic is difficult enough in

wealthy states with strong governments and developed

health systems, but when Ebola broke out in Sierra Leone,

Liberia and Guinea in January 2014, the three countries

were quickly overwhelmed.

"It was actually possible that one or more [of their

governments] could have collapsed," says Beth Cameron,

Barack Obama chairs a 2014 meeting to coordinate the US government's Ebola response.

Photo: Kevin Lamarque

a health security specialist who served on the task force

established by Barack Obama to fight the disease.

Ned Price, another Obama administration official who

worked on the Ebola response, recalled a meeting in the

White House situation room that August, when those

assembled, including Obama himself, were shown the

worst possible outcome.

"It showed 1.5 million active cases by the end of January

2015," Price says. "There was shock. I forget if there were

audible gasps, but people were definitely gasping on the

inside."When Ebola cases appeared in the US, Spain and

Britain, it was clear the world was only as strong as its

weakest health system. About 2,800 US troops were

deployed to west Africa alongside soldiers and health

workers from the region and around the world, to treat

the sick, test for others who might have the disease and

prevent it from spreading.

By the end of the year, Price says, the daily reports the

White House was receiving started to show the number of

new transmissions falling. "There was a moment in late

2014 where it became apparent the intervention was

working," he says.

More than 11,000 people died in the three worstaffected

countries, but the disease continues to roil the

DRC, where more than 2,200 have died so far.One of the

keys to beating an epidemic has little to do with a

country's wealth or infrastructure. The most effective

vaccines and public-health programmes are useless if a

population does not trust those trying to fight the disease.

Sources of misinformation have proliferated. "Ebola

literally set Twitter records in terms of the number of

posts about it," says Quick. "And when we looked at what

was on there, a lot of it was false stuff, and people were

more likely to believe downright fictions on social media

than they were official sources."

Stigma is another deadly accelerant for any outbreak.

"The worst thing for an epidemic is for it to start in what

are considered the 'social evils'," says Quick, who worked

extensively on the Aids epidemic, which has killed an

estimated 32 million people since the virus was identified

in the 1980s.

He recalls the resistance among conservatives in the US

to public-health measures such a needle exchanges, and

within the gay community, the reluctance to share lists of

people they had had sexual contact with for the purposes

of tracing the disease's spread.

"They were so distrustful, with good reason, that they

wouldn't participate," Quick says. "The number-one thing

is not to politicise the disease."Leaders in the fight against

the 2014 Ebola outbreak turned to anthropologists to

explain that burial practices, including ritually washing

the dead, were helpingto spread the virus. They

recommended small changes that reduced hostility

between health workers and communities.

"The first wave of human remains were dealt with

through cremation, which is not how people in those

areas bury their dead," says Arabasadi. "It was also

discovered that if the treatment facilities had windows, or

a fence where your family could visit you and give you

food, that impacted where people would go."

Advances in machine learning are honing the science of

predicting future outbreaks. "Our goal is to have the realtime

ability to look at human traits, ecological traits and

those of animals that are reservoirs for these diseases, and

be able to say: we think there is going to be an Ebola

outbreak, in the eastern Congo, in the next six-to-eight

months," says Ginsberg. "That's the dream."

But technology will not eradicate diseases. The best that

can be done is to strengthen local health systems to

contain them as close to the source as possible, Arabasadi

says. "It is very hard to get people to fund preparedness

because the measure of success is a non-event, and that's

hard to get excited about," she says. "But investments in

health systems will have a huge rate of return, including

on things that aren't outbreak-related, like better

maternal care and less infant mortality."

Africa can be termed as

humanitarian blind spot

PetitaAlbarracín has been fighting for justice for her daughter Paola Guzmán Albarracín since 2002. Photo: CPR

Bringing perpetrators to justice:the

case of Ecuadorian schoolgirl

Kate Hodal

An international court hearing that

involves the alleged sexual abuse of an

Ecuadorian schoolgirl between the age

of 14 and 16 by her deputy head could

transform girls' rights across Latin

America.In a region where 30% of

students between 13 and 15 claim to

have experienced sexual harassment

while at school, it is hoped that the

case, heard on Tuesday at the Inter-

American Court on Human Rights

(IACHR) in Costa Rica, will establish

the first international standards to

protect girls from coercion and sexual

violence in school.

The case revolves around the 2002

death of 16-year-old Paola Guzmán

Albarracín, an Ecuadorian schoolgirl

who had allegedly been sexually

abused by her deputy head after she

had gone to him to ask for academic

help. He was 65. When, at 15, Paola

discovered she was pregnant, the

school doctor agreed to perform an

abortion on the condition that she have

sex with him, it is alleged.Paola

subsequently attempted to take her

own life, yet the school failed to get

immediate medical help. When her

mother was finally informed many

hours later, Paola was rushed to

hospital, but the doctors were not able

to save her.

In 2006 the Center for

Reproductive Rights (CRR) filed a

case at the IACHR to hold the

Ecuadorian authorities accountable

for failing to investigate the

circumstances leading to Paola's

death. To date, no one has been held

responsible for what happened to

her.

"Paola Guzmán's case will allow the

Inter-American Court on Human

Rights to decide on the rights that all

women have to autonomy and how

this autonomy is the fundamental

pillar of our sexual and reproductive

rights," said Catalina Martínez Coral,

regional director for Latin America

and the Caribbean at the CRR.

"This is a symbolic case: Paola

represents many girls in the region

who are living, or have lived, through

this situation already, and by

representing this case we are trying to

get justice for Paola's family, as well as

flag to the continent that this is a

systematic and structural problem and

we need to address it.

"This is why this case is so important

for the region. It is the first case the

court has ever heard on sexual abuse

against girls in a school setting and

consequently it is the first opportunity

the court will have to create standards

around these issues, such as capacity

and consent. And what it decides will

be binding for all 23 member states of

the court," she said.

The court's jurisdiction stretches all

the way from Mexico down to Chile,

and a victory could set a precedent for

other reproductive rights cases in the

region and beyond, said Martínez,

especially those regarding access to

abortion for girls.

In Ecuador, where the age of consent

is 14, girls and adolescents are

especially vulnerable to sexual

violence: 32% of girls report

experiencing some form of sexual

violence while at school. Teachers and

administrators often take advantage of

their positions of trust and authority,

yet school authorities rarely act - a

failure that perpetuates the existing

culture of impunity, according to the

CRR.

"When a girl is facing sexual

harassment, sometimes she doesn't

even know she is a victim of

harassment, and this was the case with

Paola: she thought she was in a

relationship with the vice-principal

and that she was in love with him," said

Martínez.

Karen McVeigh

The African continent is a

"blind spot" for coverage

of the humanitarian crises

that are being fuelled by

the climate emergency,

according to a new

analysis. Madagascar's

chronic food crisis, where

2.6 million people were

affected by drought in

2019, came top of the list

of 10 of the most underreported

crises last year,

Care International's

annual survey found.

Others included Zambia,

a country on the frontline

of the climate emergency,

with 2.3 million struggling

to eat due to drought, and

Kenya, which received

only 20% of expected

rainfall in 2019, and where

1.1 million people were

hungry amid both floods

and drought.

Last year, climate

activism led by Swedish

teenager Greta Thunberg

dominated headlines in

the northern hemisphere,

but the suffering of

millions of people in food

poverty caused by global

heating in the south was

not being covered,

according to the research.

Nine of the 10 countries

in which at least one

million people were

affected by natural or

man-made disasters to

receive the least media

attention were in Africa,

where temperatures are

rising at twice the global

average, according to the

Intergovernmental Panel

on Climate Change.

"We're seeing increasing

linkages between the

effects of man-made

climate change and the

longevity and complexity

of humanitarian crises,"

said Sally Austin,

international head of

emergency operations at

Care. "From Madagascar

to Lake Chad to North

Korea, the majority of

crises ranked in our report

are partly a consequence

of declining natural

resources, increasing

extreme weather events

and global warming more

broadly."

"What the report does is

to highlight those 10

countries which received

the least amount of media

coverage. Is this because

people aren't interested in

reading about it? Should

we be thinking: 'Is this

good enough?'"

North Korea and Eritrea,

both highly secretive states

where press freedom is

limited and reporting is

restricted, were also on the

list."The increased public

attention for the global

climate crisis is

encouraging, but we must

ensure that the

conversation is not limited

to the global north and

m u c h - n e e d e d

transformations there,"

Austin said.

The countries with

most media coverage of

humanitarian crisis were

Syria and Yemen and the

Democratic Republic of

Congo, all countries with

ongoing conflict.For its

fourth annual survey,

Care used the Meltwater

group to monitor and

analyse 2.4 million online

sources, in English,

French, German,

Spanish and Arabic. A list

of 40 humanitarian crises

in which a million people

were affected was

monitored from January

2019 until 15 November.

The other countries

included the Central

African Republic, which

was ranked second after

Madagascar, due to

ongoing conflict; Burundi,

where instability is causing

displacement and 1.7

million people are hungry;

and Burkina Faso, where a

quarter of the population,

5.2 million, are affected by

escalation of violence.

Also among the areas

listed were Ethiopia, one

of the world's most

drought-prone countries,

where 7.9 million people

are suffering a cycle of

disaster, hunger and

displacement, and the

Lake Chad basin, where 10

million people are in need

due to conflict,

displacement and hunger,

partly due to the lake's

shrinking.

The report found a

correlation between media

coverage and funding

received: three of the 10

most under-reported

crises in the report are also

on the UN's 2019 list of

most underfunded

emergencies.

A Central African soldier patrols at the market in Birao, Central African

Republic.

Photo: Camille Laffont

NATIONAL

TUeSDAY, FeBRUARY 18, 2020 6

BARI holds training on 'Conventional Breeding

and Biotechnology for Potato Improvement'

The tri-annual conference and council session of the Hoikong Union Awami League was held at

Hoikong bazaar premises on Sunday.

Photo: Shahin Shah

Tri-annual conference of

Hoikong union AL held

SHAMSUL HAQUe BHUIyAn,

gAZIPUR CORReSPOnDent:

Bangladesh Agricultural

Research Institute (BARI)

has arranged a training

workshop

titled

'Conventional Breeding and

Biotechnology for Potato

Improvement' on Monday at

the seminar room of the

tuber Crops Research

Centre (tCRC) of the

institute. A total of 26

scientists from different

centers, sub-centers and

divisions of BARI have

participated in the workshop.

the Biotechnology Section of

tCRC organized the training

with the fund of krishi

gobeshona Foundation

(kgF).

BARI Director general Dr.

Md. Abdul Wohab

inaugurated the training

workshop as chief guest in

Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) held a training workshop

titled 'Conventional Breeding and Biotechnology for Potato

Improvement' on Monday.

Photo: Shamsul Haque Bhuiyan

the morning. BARI Director Rahman Sheikh, Director Principal Scientific Officer of

(tuber Crops Research (training

and tCRC Dr. Md. Mosharaf

Centre) Dr. S. M. Communication Wing) Dr. Hossain Molla presented a

Sharifuzzaman presided over Md. Miaruddin, Director PowerPoint presentation on

the function while BARI (Planning and evaluation) the Biotechnological

Director (Support & Dr. Md. nazirul Islam were activities at tCRC and future

Services) Md. Habibur present as the special guests. planning.

SHAHIn SHAH, teknAF CORReSPOnDent:

the tri-annual conference and

council session of the Hoikong Union

Awami League was held in a festive

atmosphere under the directives of the

Bangladesh Awami League Central

Committee at Hoikong bazaar

premises on Sunday.

Former Union Awami League

convener Harun-ur- Rashid Sikder

chaired the occasion while Former MP

and President of teknaf Upazila

Awami League Prof Mohammad Ali

was present as the chief guest and

inaugurated the first session of the

conference and council. Among

others, general secretary nurul

Bashar, former president of teknaf

Upazila Awami League Jafar Alam

Chowdhury, joint general secretary

Selim Sikder and Mahbub Morshed

were present as special guests at the

occasion.

Speakers at occasion said that under

the directives of Awami League

President and Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina, a tri-annual conference and

council has been held in teknaf like

elsewhere in Bangladesh. the

candidates have been elected by direct

vote of the councilors, without any

controversies. the speakers also

announced the strengthening of the

party through the evaluation of

abandoned leaders.

Harun-ur- Rashid Sikder was

elected president and Azizul Haque as

general secretary by direct vote of 213

councilors.

U-19 World Cup hero Shaheen Alam

accorded reception in Kurigram

BADSHAH SAykOt, kURIgRAM CORReSPOnDent:

kurigram district Muktijoddha Sontan

Command accorded reception to U-19

World Cup hero Shaheen Alam. the

ceremony was held at district

Muktijoddha Sangsad Complex on

Monday.

During the time, Freedom fighter Azizul

Islam, Md. Helal Ahmed, Feroz Ahmed,

Obaidul Haque Bahar, Atiquzzaman and

Rony Ahmed were present at the

reception. Cricketer Shaheen Alam in his

speech said that 'I am proud to be a

member of the World Cup winning cricket

team. the reception that the people of the

country including the Prime Minister gave

us after we came to Bangladesh after

winning the World Cup is unforgettable. I

want blessings of all the people of the

country, including the local people, so that

I can do something better in the future'.

Langadu Upazila Nirbahi Officer Prabir Kumar Roy as the chief guest inaugurated a 5-day long basic

training for teachers and supervisors in the upazila on Monday.

Photo: Omor Faruk Musa

5-day long basic training for teachers and

supervisors begins in Langadu

OMOR FARUk MUSA, LAngADU CORReSPOnDent:

A 5-day long basic training for

teachers and supervisors under the

Ministry of Primary and Mass

education of the Bureau of

education, Basic Literacy Project (4

districts) has been inaugurated in

Langadu Upazila on Monday.

Upazila nirbahi Officer Prabir

kumar Roy inaugurated the training

as the chief guest at the auditorium of

Langadu Upazila Parishad. Director

of Rangamati Shining Hill

Mohammad Ali presided over the

meeting while among others,

programmer of the District Informal

education Bureau Mosharraf

Hossain and programmer of Langadu

Bureau of Informal education Md.

Junnun Alam were among others also

present at the occasion.

trainer of Shining Hill Bhupesh

kumar Dey provided training.

Kurigram district Muktijoddha Sontan Command accorded reception to U-19 World Cup hero Shaheen

Alam on Monday.

Photo: Badshah Saykot

Safe potato farming can

help boosting export

RAJSHAHI: experts at a

meeting here mentioned

large-scale promotion of safe

potato farming can be an

effective means of its export

and urged all concerned to

work in this regard, reports

BSS.

time has come promote

biorational pest management

technologies in the potato

farming as it plays a vital role

in both the economy and

nutrition in the region, they

told at a daylong training here

on Sunday.

Bangladesh Cold Storage

Association (BCSA) hosted

the training titled

"Production, Preservation,

Marketing and Use of Potato"

in association with Agroproducts

Business Promotion

Council (APBPC) in the

Ministry of Commerce held at

Shaleha Imarat Cold Storage

conference hall at Bagmara

Upazila in the district.

More than 100 people

including cold storage owners

and potato farmers and

businessmen from all eight

districts in Rajshahi division

took part in the training.

engineer enamul Haque, MP,

addressed the opening

meeting as chief guest while

BCSA Director Ahasn Uddin

spoke as special guest with its

Secretary Mozammel Haque

Chowdhury in the chair.

APBPC Representative

Liton Chandra Roy, BCSA

engineer Abdur Razzaque

and Sub Assistant Agriculture

Officer Ahsan Habib also

spoke.

Lawmaker enamul Haque

said successful application of

biorational pest management

technologies has become

indispensable in potato

farming from its nursing to

harvesting for the sake of a

sound public health and

environment. He also said the

government has a policy of

ensuring food and nutritional

security in this regard.

engineer Haque urged the

participants to motivate the

growers to follow only the

guideline of the field level

agricultural officials and

scientists instead of any

insecticide dealers and sellers

during the vegetable farming

from its nursing to harvesting

for the sake of a sound public

health and environment.

Using chemical pesticides in

farming fields is always

harmful to soil and public

health, crops and

environment. So, there is no

way but to giving utmost

importance towards

promoting biorational pest

management widely.

He told the meeting that

Bangladesh Agriculture

Research Institute has

developed a number of biorational-based

integrated pest

management technologies for

vegetable farming.

6651 more people come

under social safety net

in Jamalpur

JAMALPUR: Social Service

Department has registered

6651 more people for old age

allowance under social safety

network in the district in the

ongoing fiscal year (2019-

2020), reports BSS.

With the inclusion of new

segment of the people, the

total number for the old age

allowance now rose to 79785

in the district.

Of the total 16433 people

will now get old age allowance

in Jamalpur Sadar Upazila

alone, District Social Service

Office sources said.

Besides, 7013 people in

Bakshiganj Upazila, 8867

people in Dewanganj, 11567

people in Islampur, 11734

people in Melandaha, 9102

people in Madarganj and

11371 people in Sarishabari

Upazila will be brought under

the social safety net.

On the other hand, 3698

people will also get old age

allowance under UCD (Urban

Community Development)

programmes.

Guimara Region commander Brigadier General Mohammad Shahriar Zaman as the chief guest

handed over wheelchair to disabled people and cash to cancer patients in Guimara upazila on

Monday.

Photo: Didarul Alam

Army donates wheelchair, cash in Guimara

DIDARUL ALAM, gUIMARA CORReSPOnDent:

guimara Region Army donated

wheelchair to disabled people and cash to

treat cancer patients.

the donation was made at the

headquarters of the Region on Monday

afternoon. Region commander Brigadier

general Mohammad Shahriar Zaman was

present as the chief guest at the occasion.

Among others, Region g2I Major Md.

Mainul Alam and DQ Major Md. Rakibul

Islam were also present at the occasion.

During the time, nur Ahmed, who was

disabled from birth, was given a wheel

chair and cancer patient Sultana's

husband was given tk 30,000 cash,

kamrun nahar was given tk 5,000 cash

and nurul Alam was given tk 32,000

cash.

INTERNATIONAL

TUESDAY,

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

7

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks before the start of the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona

International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Photo: AP

Trump fans wait in long lines to

see president, Daytona 500

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was wearing his

firesuit and had just finished signing

autographs for fans stuck in long lines

to enter Daytona International Speedway

when he was stopped by Secret

Service. Not even the Daytona 500

pole-sitter was immune from the security

checkpoint, so Stenhouse extended

his arms, clutched his phone and stood

still as a wand was waved around him,

reports UNB.

His No. 1 starting spot secured, Stenhouse

had to wait because of heightened

security measures sparked by the

arrival of No. 45: President Donald

Trump became just the second sitting

president to attend the Daytona 500 on

Sunday.

Trump served as grand marshal for

the race and gave the command for

drivers to start their engines. The United

States Air Force Thunderbirds performed

a second flyover after Trump

addressed the crowd.

He also took a parade lap around the

2 ½-mile speedway in his armored limousine,

leading the 40-car field before

the green flag. The presidential motorcade

remained on the apron in the corners

instead of taking to the highbanked

turns.

Thousands cheered and a band

played patriotic music when Air Force

One flew over the famed track, a flyover

that was simultaneously shown on big

screens. Trump's presence energized

fans and caused huge headaches

because of logistical issues at entrance

points. The superspeedway-sized lines

spurred Stenhouse to perk up fans who

helped sell out the Daytona 500 for the

fifth straight year.

"I didn't have anything to do because

my appearances got moved around and

Rains postpones

Daytona 500,

dampening event,

Trump's visit

The Daytona 500 has been

postponed by rain for the

first time since 2012, dampening

NASCAR's season

opener that started with a

ballyhooed visit from President

Donald Trump, reports

UNB.

The race was postponed

after two lengthy delays

totaling more than three

hours. The race will now

begin at 4 p.m. Monday and

be broadcast live on Fox.

It's the second time in 62

years that "The Great American

Race" will finish on a

Monday.

The first delay of the day

came moments after the

presidential motorcade

completed a ceremonial

parade lap around the 2 ½-

mile track. Trump's armored

limousine nicknamed "The

Beast" exited Daytona International

Speedway, and the

sky opened for a brief shower

that forced drivers back to

pit road.

The start already had been

pushed back 13 minutes to

accommodate Trump's trip.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. eventually

led the field to the green

flag and was out front for the

first 20 laps before heavier

rain soaked a racing surface

that takes hours to dry.

NASCAR called drivers

back to their cars around

6:40 p.m. EST, hoping to get

more laps in before more

showers hit again.

I saw that line and I felt so bad for

everybody out there having to wait,"

Stenhouse told The Associated Press.

"Everybody seemed patient and didn't

mind having to wait too much. The

atmosphere was pretty good."

Stenhouse led the first 20 laps of the

200-lap race and will be up front again

in his No. 47 Chevrolet when the rainpostponed

event resumes Monday

afternoon. Trump, with first lady Melania

Trump by his side, addressed the

crowd before the race and called the

Daytona 500 "a legendary display of

roaring engines, soaring spirits and the

American skill, speed and power that

we've been hearing about for so many

years." "For 500 heart-pounding miles,

these fierce competitors will chase the

checkered flag, fight for the Harley J.

Earl trophy and make their play for

pure American glory," Trump said.

"That's what it is, pure American glory."

He ended his remarks to chants of

"U-S-A, U-S-A," and with his 2016

campaign tune, "You Can't Always Get

What You Want" blaring over loudspeakers.

Hailie Deegan, billed as

"NASCAR's Next Big Superstar," took

to Twitter in hopes of getting her helmet

signed by Trump. Donald Trump

Jr. tweeted at her, "DM me... I may

know someone." Deegan accomplished

her goal and got the president's signature

on her helmet. For all the pomp,

Trump's arrival caused more jams

around Daytona than a multi-car pileup

on the frontstretch. Driver appearances

were canceled or shuffled around

to other areas on track property. The

red carpet was rolled out for Trump

and so was the green flag-the start of

the race was pushed back 13 minutes to

accommodate his pace lap in the

armored presidential limo called "The

Beast."

"Any time the President who runs

your country is coming to a sporting

event that you are involved in, it says a

lot about the sporting event and how

much this race means to everybody,"

Stenhouse said. "You've got to respect

the one that's in charge." Daytona fans

were largely enthusiastic over Trump's

cameo, wearing T-shirts and hats in

support of his campaign. Some draped

themselves in Trump 2020 banners

that flowed like capes.

The good times were dampened,

though, near several gates as thousands

of fans waited hours to get inside. The

popular fan zone-where fans can chug

beers, listen to live music and purchase

race merchandise - had three-hour

waits. "We would like a refund," said

Kay Maiden, attending her first Daytona

500. "My feet are sore. I've been

standing in that line for three hours. I

paid $100 to stand in line for three

hours, and that's not a good thing. We

got water, but there's no place to go to

the bathroom. It's definitely very unorganized."

There were enthusiastic

"woo-hoos" and "we made it" yells once

fans packed their bags and made it

through security lines. "This is really

ridiculous," said Carl Jacobi, of Texas.

"All the people pay for this thing and it's

holding them up. We paid extra to get

in here and we're not getting to enjoy

it." Track officials did hand out free bottled

waters to waiting fans.

"The safety and security of our guests

is our top priority at Daytona International

Speedway.," the track said in a

statement. "We are aware of the challenges

for guests entering the facility

today. We appreciate their patience.

Rival Democrats accuse Bloomberg

of trying to ‘buy’ election

With the Nevada caucuses less than a week

away, Democratic presidential candidates

campaigning Sunday were fixated on a rival

who wasn't contesting the state, reports

UNB.

Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Amy

Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg all targeted billionaire

Mike Bloomberg, accusing him of

buying his way into the election and making

clear they were eager to take him on in a

debate. "He thinks he can buy this election,"

Sanders said of the former New York mayor

at a rally in Carson City, Nevada. "Well, I've

got news for Mr. Bloomberg - the American

people are sick and tired of billionaires buying

elections!" Their attacks are a sign of how

seriously the field is starting to take

Bloomberg as he gains traction in the race

and is on the cusp of qualifying for Wednesday's

Democratic debate in Las Vegas.

Bloomberg has bypassed the traditional early

voting states including Nevada, focusing

instead on the 14 states that vote in the Super

Tuesday primary on March 3. He has spent

more than $417 million of his own multibillion-dollar

fortune on advertising nationwide,

an unprecedented sum for any candidate

in a primary.

The focus on Bloomberg comes amid anxiety

among many establishment-aligned

Democrats over the early strength of

Sanders, who won last week's New Hampshire

primary and essentially tied for first

place in Iowa with Pete Buttigieg, the former

mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Sanders is

hoping to notch a victory in Nevada on Saturday

as moderates struggle to unite behind

a candidate who could serve as a counter to

the Vermont senator, who has long identified

as a democratic socialist.

With the Nevada caucuses less than a week away, Democratic presidential

candidates campaigning Sunday were fixated on a rival who wasn't contesting

the state.

Photo: AP

Americans who left cruise trade

one quarantine for another

Americans Cheryl and Paul Molesky

decided to trade one coronavirus quarantine

for another, reports UNB.

The couple from Syracuse, New York,

made the decision to cut short a 14-day

quarantine on the Diamond Princess

cruise ship in the port of Yokohama,

near Tokyo, to be flown back to the

United States. But they knew that if

they were allowed to leave the ship,

they'd have to spend another two-week

quarantine period at a U.S. military

facility to make sure they don't have the

new virus that's been sweeping across

Asia. About 380 Americans were on the

cruise ship. The Japanese defense ministry

said around 300 of them had been

making plans to leave. Some Americans

disembarked Sunday night and

boarded buses to take them to Tokyo's

Haneda Airport. The U.S. State Department

said later that two charter flights

carrying cruise ship passengers had

departed Tokyo and were on their way

to the United States.

Canada, Hong Kong and Italy said

they were planning similar flights of

passengers.

The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said

Washington was evacuating the Americans

because the passengers and crew

members on board the Diamond

Princess were at a high risk of exposure

to the virus.

The Americans were being flown to

Travis Air Force Base in California and

Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. After

arriving in the U.S., all of the passengers

will need to go through another 14

days of quarantine - meaning they will

have been under quarantine for a total

of nearly four weeks. Other governments,

including Canada and Hong

Kong, also will require the passengers

to undergo a second 14-day quarantine.

"We are glad to be going home,"

Cheryl Molesky told NHK TV in Japan.

"It's just a little bit disappointing that

we'll have to go through quarantine

again, and we will probably not be as

comfortable as the Diamond Princess,

possibly."

"The biggest challenge has been the

uncertainty," she added.

Molesky also said she was getting

concerned about the rising number of

patients on the ship.

"It's a little bit scary with the numbers

going up of the people being taken off

the ship for the (virus), so I think its

time to go. I think its time to cut our

losses and take off," she said.

Floods put Mississippi

capital in 'precarious

situation'

With the waters in the Pearl

River continuing to rise in

and around Mississippi's

capital city and more rain on

the way this week, the governor

warned residents that it

would be days before flood

waters start to recede,

reports UNB.

Gov. Tate Reeves said

Sunday morning that the

Pearl would continue to rise

throughout the day, and he

warned that the state faces a

"precarious situation that

can turn at any moment."

In one Jackson neighborhood,

residents paddled

canoes, kayaks and small

fishing boats to check on

their houses, giving lifts to

other neighbors. Some were

able to get inside while others

peeked into the windows

to see what, if any damage,

had been done inside. Outside

floodwaters lapped at

mailboxes, street signs and

cars that had been left in

driveways.

In a bit of good news, officials

at a reservoir upriver of

the capitol said Sunday that

water levels in the reservoir

had stabilized, allowing

them to send less water

downriver. The National

Weather Service, which had

been anticipating the river

would crest Sunday at 38

feet, on Sunday slightly

reduced that to 37.5 feet. The

river is now anticipated to

crest Monday. But even with

that development, officials

urged residents to pay attention

to evacuation orders,

check on road closures

before traveling and stay out

of floodwaters, warning that

even seemingly placid

waters could mask fast-moving

currents and pollution.

Law enforcement officials

went door to door in affected

areas, telling people to evacuate,

Reeves said.

Rescuers performed four

assisted evacuations Saturday,

although they said none

were needed overnight.

Japan on Sunday announced another

70 infections on the Diamond Princess,

raising the ship's total number of cases

to 355. Overall, Japan has 413 confirmed

cases of the virus, including one

death. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of

the National Institute of Allergy and

Infectious Diseases at the National

Institutes of Health, said Sunday on

CBS' "Face the Nation," that 40 Americans

have gotten infected, and those

showing symptoms will not be able to

get on the evacuation plane.

"If people on the plane start to develop

symptoms, they'll be segregated

within the plane," Fauci said, adding

that the additional 14-day quarantine is

because of the "degree of transmissibility

on that cruise ship is essentially akin

to being in a hot spot."

He added that an infected person

who shows minimal symptoms could

still pass the virus to someone else.

Asked how they felt about the additional

14-day quarantine in the United

States, Cheryl Molesky sighed, and her

husband said, "If we have to go through

that, we will go through that." The couple

spoke to the NKH TV before passengers

were allowed off the ship, and it

wasn't immediately known if they were

able to board the flight to the U.S.

Everyone was expected to receive a

checkup before being allowed on the

chartered flight, and the embassy said

that those who showed symptoms of

sickness would not be permitted to

board the plane. American passengers

who have already tested positive for the

virus will not be among those evacuated

on the flights.

Some American passengers said they

would pass up the opportunity to take a

flight to the U.S. because of the additional

quarantine. There also was concern

about being on a long flight with

other passengers who may be infected

or in an incubation period.

One of the Americans, Matthew

Smith, said in a tweet Sunday that he

saw a passenger with no face mask talking

at close quarters with another passenger.

He said he and his wife scurried

away. "If there are secondary infections

on board, this is why. ... And you wanted

me to get on a bus with her?" he said.

He said the American health officials

who visited their room was apparently

surprised that the couple had decided

to stay. They wished the couple luck,

and Smith said he told them, "Thanks,

but we're fine."

Paul Molesky, right, and Cheryl Molesky, who evacuated off the

quarantined cruise ship the Diamond Princess, film selfie video

aboard a Kalitta Air plane bound for the U.S., at Haneda airport

in Tokyo.

Photo:AP

Xi's early involvement in virus

outbreak raises questions

A recent speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping

that has been published by state media

indicates for the first time that he was leading

the response to a new virus outbreak

from early on in the crisis, reports UNB.

The publication of the Feb. 3 speech was an

apparent attempt to demonstrate that the

Communist Party leadership had acted decisively

from the beginning, but also opens up

the Chinese leader to criticism over why the

public was not alerted sooner.

In the speech, Xi said he gave instructions

on fighting the virus on Jan. 7 and ordered

the shutdown that began on Jan. 23 of cities

at the epicenter of the outbreak. His remarks

were published by state media late Saturday.

"On Jan. 22, in light of the epidemic's rapid

spread and the challenges of prevention

and control, I made a clear request that

Hubei province implement comprehensive

and stringent controls over the outflow of

people," Xi told a meeting of the party's

standing committee, its top body.

The number of new cases in mainland China

fell for a third straight day, China's

National Health Commission reported Sunday.

The 2,009 new cases in the previous 24-

hour period brought the total to 68,500.

Commission spokesman Mi Feng said the

percentage of severe cases had dropped to

7.2% of the total from a peak of 15.9% on Jan.

27. The proportion is higher in Wuhan, the

Hubei city where the outbreak started, but

has fallen to 21.6%.

"The national efforts against the epidemic

have shown results," Mi said at the commission's

daily media briefing.

Taiwan on Sunday reported its first death

from the virus, the fifth fatality outside of

mainland China. The island also confirmed

two new cases, raising its total to 20.

Taiwan's Central News Agency reported

that the person who died was a man in his

60s living in central Taiwan. He had not

traveled overseas recently and had no known

contact with virus patients, CNA said, citing

Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shihchung.

China reported 142 more deaths,

almost all in Hubei, raising mainland China's

death toll to 1,665. Another 9,419 people

have recovered from COVID-19, a disease

caused by a new coronavirus, and have been

discharged from hospitals.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe convened

an experts meeting to discuss measures

to contain the virus in his country,

where more than a dozen cases have

emerged in the past few days without any

obvious link to China. "The situation surrounding

this virus is changing by the

minute," Abe said.

Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato

said the country is "entering into a phase that

is different from before," requiring new steps

to stop the spread of the virus.

Hundreds of Americans on a quarantined

cruise ship in Japan took charter flights

home, as Japan announced another 70 infections

had been confirmed on the Diamond

Princess. Canada, Hong Kong and Italy said

they were planning similar flights.

Japan now has 413 confirmed cases,

including 355 from the cruise ship, and one

death from the virus.

Xi's role was muted in the early days of the

epidemic, which has grown into one of the

biggest political challenges of his seven-year

tenure.

The disclosure of his speech indicates top

leaders knew about the outbreak's potential

severity at least two weeks before such dangers

were made known to the public. It was

not until late January that officials said the

virus can spread between humans and public

alarm began to rise.

Zhang Lifan, a commentator in Beijing,

said it's not clear why the speech was published

now. One message could be that local

authorities should take responsibility for failing

to take effective measures after Xi gave

instructions in early January. Alternatively,

it may mean that Xi, as the top leader, is willing

to take responsibility because he was

aware of the situation, Zhang said.

Trust in the government's approach to outbreaks

remains fractured after the SARS epidemic

of 2002 and 2003, which was covered

up for months.

Authorities in Hubei and Wuhan faced

public fury over their initial handling of the

epidemic. In apparent response, the Communist

Party's top officials in Hubei and

Wuhan were dismissed and replaced last

week. Hubei announced Sunday that all

vehicle traffic will be banned across the

province, expanding on an existing ban in

Wuhan, in another step to try to stop the

spread of the virus. Exceptions will be made

for vehicles involved in epidemic prevention

and transporting daily necessities.

The fall in new cases follows a spike of

more than 15,000 announced on Thursday,

when Hubei began to include those that had

been diagnosed by a doctor but not yet confirmed

by laboratory tests. The roughly 380

Americans aboard the cruise ship docked at

Yokohama, near Tokyo, were given the

option of taking U.S.-government chartered

aircraft back to the U.S., where they would

face another 14-day quarantine.

ART & CULTURE

TUeSDAy, FeBRUARy 18, 2020

8

THe SISTeRS BROTHeRS

Revamp your old

clothes into new

The dresses that are worn out

are often discarded, but what

happens if you were in love

with the touch and feel of a

particular dress and somehow

don't want to discard it even if

it doesn't fit you anymore.

Modify your worn out or old

outfits into something more

meaningful that you can carry

on wearing in the present day.

Ashima Sharma, owner of

Ashima S Couture and Nidhi

Yadav, founder, AKS Clothings

are sharing some tips to

modify an existing outfit that

is worn out.

*Making a top out of a wornout

dress: Take your dress and

cut it the required size of a top

and sew the raw edges from

inside. Then, using the dress'

inseam as a guide cut the top

of the dress' sleeves down to

where it hits the mid-section of

the upper arm. Now, sew 1/4th

inches of the raw edges inside

the sleeves to create a clean

edge.

To make it look more stylish,

take a yard of a ribbon and cut

it in half and sew one ribbon

per side, to the inside of the

dress. Now tie these ribbons to

create a cute bow on your

shoulder.

*Wear the outfit of your

mother or grandmother in a

modern way: You can try

something cute and new with

this in just a minute without

using any needle and thread.

Put this sweater on as you

would wear a skirt. The top of

the shirt should be hugging

your waist, now take the two

hanging sleeves and wrap

them into a cute bow on the

side of your hips.

*Make a tie-up headband

from your worn out top: To

make a beautiful turban style

headband, take your old T-

shirt and remove the seam at

the bottom. Now cut a strip

about 4-5 inches wide and cut

them open from both the sides

so that you have two strips.

Fold the strip in length and

stitch the open edges. Repeat

the same step with the other

strip as well. Turn the strips

inside out.

Now place one strip over the

other in plus shape such that

their seams are facing each

other. Fold the strips so that

one end of the first strip meets

the other end, repeat the same

with the second strip. Now join

all the four ends and stitch

them together and flip over the

band to get a neat joint. Your

hairband is ready.

|Source: TOI]

Brown sugar vs White sugar,

The verdict is out!

We have been made to believe

that brown is better than white;

brown bread is better than

white, brown rice is better than

white.

And the same pattern has been

extended to sugar too - but is

brown sugar really better than

white or is it just an illusion or

clever marketing gimmick. Allow

us to break down the difference in

composition between the two

variants to help you understand

whether switching to brown

sugar will do you any good.

- How is brown sugar

made?

When white sugar is made

from sugarcane plants, molasses

is separated and removed from

it. To tell you clearly, brown

sugar is basically white (or

unprocessed) sugar that still

contain molasses (brown sugary

syrup), giving it the brown

colour. Unrefined brown sugar

is the one that still has some

molasses from the original

process. Refined brown sugar is

made by adding molasses to the

refined white sugar.

Furthermore, sulphur is very

commonly used to remove

impurities from white sugar, and

as a result, a small amount of

sulphur is still present in sugar,

which is very hazardous for

health.

Health benefits of brown

sugar:

While both the variants of

sugar differ greatly in taste, it is

the presence of molasses that

gives brown sugar added

minerals including calcium,

potassium, magnesium and

iron. White sugar, on the other

hand, is deprived of all these

minerals, making the brown

variant a slightly healthier

alternative for day to day use.

Interestingly, there are several

varieties of brown sugar

available in the market,

1. Unrefined sugar

This is the most natural kind of

brown sugar, which is known to

retain nutrients including iron

and magnesium. The sugar

crystals are slightly larger than

the white sugar and it is light

gold in colour. What makes

unrefined, raw sugar the ideal

choice is that it is free of any kind

of chemicals and tastes just like

honey.

2. Demerara sugar

It is a light brown sugar and is

most commonly used in baking.

This variety of sugar is partiallyprocessed

and has a caramellike

taste.

3. Dark brown sugar

This variant lends extra

flavour and taste to the sweet

dishes.

Here's how you can make

brown sugar at home

You can easily prepare brown

sugar at home by mixing one

tablespoon of molasses in a cup

of white sugar. Stir the molasses

and sugar together till the time

sugar crystals are completely

coated with molasses. Ensure

that your store it in an airtight

container.

The final verdict

While brown sugar may have

some extra minerals, they are

present in such a tiny amount

that in the end they don't have

any real health benefits.

Ultimately, the whole debate

of brown sugar being healthier

than white sugar is just a

marketing gimmick because you

are consuming the same amount

of calories even if you are

replacing white sugar with

brown.

|Source: TOI]

In 1850s Oregon, a gold prospector is chased

by the infamous duo of assassins, the Sisters

brothers.

Release Date

Director

Writers

Stars

Taglines

Genres

Also known as

Runtime

Country

Language

Production

: 21 September 2018 (USA)

: Jacques Audiard

: Jacques Audiard

: John C. Reilly, Joaquin

Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal

: You asked for it, America

: Adventure, Comedy, Crime,

Drama, Western

: The Sisters Brothers

: 121 minutes

: France, Spain, Romania,

USA

: English

: Annapurna Pictures, Apache

Films, Meñakoz Films

Shehnaaz Gill: My

parents don’t want

me to do Mujhse

Shaadi Karoge

After ending her Bigg Boss 13

journey, Shehnaaz Gill is all set to

participate in Colors’ new reality show

Mujhse Shaadi Karoge. The show will

be hosted by Maniesh Paul and will see

Gill choosing a suitor. Her BB13

housemate Paras Chhabra will also be

a part of the show. Paras’ aim is to

leave the show with a bride of his

choice.

During the finale of Bigg Boss

13, Shehnaaz exclusively told

indianexpress.com, “I am happy that I

got the opportunity while I was in the

house. I didn’t want to come across as

pricey. I respect work and didn’t want

to refuse the new show. Also, it’s

another reality show, and since the

audience liked my real self, I thought it

would be a great opportunity to

connect with them once again.”

When asked if she is ready for

marriage, the actor said, “It’s a big thing.

I am a girl who enjoys attention. So I

thought why not give these guys a

chance to impress me. In my previous

show, it was all about ‘Bigg Boss chahte

hai…’, and now it will be about

‘Shehnaaz Gill chahti hai’. I don’t know

what will happen eventually but right

now I am excited to be a part of the

show.”

Source : indianexpress.com

STORyLIne :

Based on Patrick DeWitt's novel, The Sisters Brothers revolves around

the colourfully named gold prospector Hermann Kermit Warm, who's

being pursued across 1000 miles of 1850s Oregon desert to San

Francisco by the notorious assassins Eli and Charlie Sisters. Except Eli is

having a personal crisis and beginning to doubt the longevity of his

chosen career. And Hermann might have a better offer. |Source: IMDb]

How to make office the

most productive place

An office which carefully chooses the interiors

and placement of furniture, enhances the

productivity of the employees significantly.

Interiors should be discreetly chosen keeping

in mind the weather of the city, the kind of

work performed by the employees and also to

the extent the age group of the workers, say

experts.

Hygienic flooring

The flooring of the office has to be hygienic

and safe. Flooring is usually divided into hard

floors and soft floors. It must be ensured that

that the choice of flooring is thermal resistant,

anti-static and inflammable. The flooring

must also assist the acoustic dynamic of the

office so as to reduce noise levels. In addition

to these, the chosen flooring should also be

easy to clean. Keeping in mind the

environment protection, the flooring should

also have low carbon footprint.

Light balance

Lighting play a very important part in

supporting the moods of the employees and

extreme care should be given to this aspect.

The lighting system and design is utilized to

create a productive and welcoming

environment but minimizing energy use at the

same time. It is also important to balance the

heat and light coming into the building from

outside. All efforts should be made to reduce

visual glare discomfort. This will help protect

the employees from eye fatigue, especially in

IT and ITeS companies.

Perfect colour blending

Colours bear a direct and significant impact

on human mood, behaviour and productivity.

Hues of blue and of green are considered the

most soothing.

Comfort furniture

A lot of focus needs to be given to physical,

cognitive, and social needs of modern

workforce. Ergonomic (designed for efficiency

and comfort in the working environment)

furniture is greatly recommended. The size of

work tables is also important and adds to the

comfort level of the employees. A size of 4*2 ft

is an ideal size for enhancing productivity.

Walking space

A lot of care should also be given to spaces

for walking and movement of the staff. Spaces

like corridors, public areas and aisles should be

planned and must not be cluttered. It is

important to make them ventilated, well

illuminated and broad to cater to large crowds.

These places require careful planning so as to

boost the productivity of employees. This

should also be done to reduce cost to company

for injury or illness related to employees.

Accessories

A lot of attention is paid to accessories these

days in the offices, and rightly so. These

accessories further improve the mood of the

employees and also enhance the aesthetics of

the place. An office that is clean will right

furniture and accessories makes the

employees want to come to work but too much

of accessories should be avoided and only

those items should be chosen that blend with

the colour theme of the office.

|Source: TOI]

H O R O S C O P e

ARIeS

(March 21 - April 20) : Someone who is a

student of natural healing may come to visit

you and share some ideas today. You tend to

be interested in matters concerning health, and you might

want to learn not only about herbs and nutrition but also

spiritual healing. This is a good time to train your own

healing abilities, Aries, as your sensitivity is high and you’re

more able than usual to tune in to the healing energies.

TAURUS

(April 21 - May 21) : Missed connections and

unfortunate misunderstandings will happen

less frequently if you slow down and focus.

Remember that you can do things yourself, Taurus. Don't

feel like you absolutely need approval from others before

tackling the projects that you wish to complete. Your mind

is urging you to take the initiative today, so feel free to do so.

Just make sure you aren't too hasty in your actions.

GeMInI

(May 22 - June 21): Things that require

restriction and discipline on your part may

be causing tension and opposition in your

world today, Gemini. The good news is that your mind is

clear and you should feel in tune with the people around

you. Know your allies and take care of them. Remind

others of how much they mean to you. The most

important aspects of your life are your friends and

family, so treat them with unconditional love.

CAnCeR

(June 22 - July 23): The healing of a

temporary rift with your partner is likely to

take place today, with a lot of honest

communication and more apologies than are necessary.

You might find that a lot of issues have come out in the

open and that there is a new understanding between the

two of you. A move could be coming up, Cancer, or at least

changes within the household you have now.

LeO

(July 24 - Aug. 23): Successes have been

coming your way continually for a while,

Leo. The downside is that excessive

celebrating and overindulging in food and drink could

have you feeling physically out of sorts today. Nonetheless,

your mood should still be very high, and you should still be

strongly motivated to continue whatever it is you've been

doing that has brought such positive results.

VIRGO

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): A little foreign culture

could be the thing you need right now to spice

things up a bit, Virgo. It could be that you aren't

feeling a very strong connection with the environment around

you. You could be anxious to spread your wings and explore

your freedom. Start small but think big. Get out of your rut and

do more exploring on your own. There’s a sobering, disciplined

feeling to the day that could help you think realistically about

your situation and where you want to go with it.

LIBRA

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): Obligations to

others could incline you toward staying

home today, Libra, but important career

issues could pull you in to work. This could cause

some inner conflict, and you may have to face a

choice. Only you can make that choice, but take care

to be objective and take all the facts into consideration.

Don't get yourself all emotionally worked up.

SCORPIO

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22): A chance to take a long

journey, perhaps to a distant state or foreign

country, could suddenly present itself to you

today, Scorpio. This trip is apt to be far more significant than

a simple vacation. It may be career related or involve an

opportunity to expand your education. It could also concern

a relationship. Whichever it is, you're likely to make the trip

and it will probably change your life in subtle ways.

SAGITTARIUS

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): You’ll find that a

sensitive mind that’s open to everything

and every possibility is exactly the thing

you need at this time in order to be successful in

reaching all the goals you’re working toward,

Sagittarius. You’ll find that your sense of duty and need

for plans and solid goals are key elements for getting to

where you need to be. Gather information and create a

plan of attack that is well thought out.

CAPRICORn

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): An argument with your

partner could have you feeling very

disheartened and somewhat depressed

today, Capricorn. Yet you probably are too shaken up to feel

like discussing it with him or her. Spend the day keeping

yourself busy and working off your frustration. Forget about

it for a while, Capricorn. This should enable you to see the

situation more objectively.

AQUARIUS

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19): Although you may have

been feeling somewhat out of sorts for the

past few days, Aquarius, today you could feel

as if you just got a new lease on life. You’re in

excellent physical, mental, and emotional shape, so you

should be raring to go. Both immediate and long-term goals

should be easy to achieve while your energy is strong today.

Begin working on them; don't put them off. This high level

of motivation should continue for a while.

PISCeS

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20): There is a rough

stubbornness to the day that you may

find hinders your progress, Pisces. There

may be undercurrents of opposition that are slowly

wearing away at your psyche. Make sure that you don't

fall into the trap of feeling guilt or regret. These are

useless emotions that you simply can do without. If

people are being negative or unreasonable, simply

walk away from the situation and find a better one.

SPORTS


9

Du Plessis steps aside as

South SAfrica skipper

Eden Hazard's inspired return from an injury layoff couldn't keep Real Madrid from stumbling to a

2-2 draw at home with Celta Vigo on Sunday. Photo: AP

Madrid held 2-2 by Celta as

Hazard returns from injury

Sports Desk: Eden Hazard's inspired

return from an injury layoff couldn't

keep Real Madrid from stumbling to a

2-2 draw at home with Celta Vigo on

Sunday, reducing its lead in the

Spanish league to a single point, reports

UNB.

Hazard, who started the game and

earned a penalty, hadn't played since

injuring his right ankle on Nov. 26

against Paris Saint-Germain in the

Champions League. He had been

practicing with the rest of the team for

the last two weeks but had yet to be

included in the squad.

The draw left Madrid one point

ahead of Barcelona at the top of the

Spanish league. Hazard earned a

penalty that was converted by Sergio

Ramos to put Madrid in front in the

65th minute.

But Celta snatched the draw when

Santi Mina fired in the 86th-minute

equalizer after fellow substitute Denis

Suárez set him up with a superb

through ball that threaded past several

Madrid players.

Fedor Smolov had put the visitors

ahead in the seventh minute. Madrid's

Toni Kroos made it 1-1 in the 52nd.

"I am happy with my performance

but not with the result," Hazard said.

"But they have good players and did not

come here (just) to defend. But it is not

the last game of the season and at the

end we just want to win trophies. We

are in first place and just have to keep

going." Hazard was Madrid's most

incisive player until he was substituted

in the 73rd.

In the first half he created Madrid's

best chance when he dribbled into the

box before Jeison Murillo intervened.

Hazard's agility then proved key

again when he drew a penalty from

goalkeeper Ruben Blanco, who

unwisely slid toward a ball that was

heading out and ended up tripping

Hazard. That penalty put Madrid on

course for a win until Suárez linked up

with Mina. "We missed some chances

today but the more we play together,

the better we will be so it is just a

question of time," Hazard said.

Hazard joined Madrid last summer

after it paid Chelsea around 100 million

euros ($113 million) plus add-ons,

making him the club's most expensive

signing ever.

Celta emerged from the relegation

zone with the point. Madrid coach

Zinedine Zidane got closer to the

action than he had expected in the

61st when the former Madrid great

was knocked down by Celta's Joseph

Aidoo.The Celta defender stumbled

while trying to save a ball from going

out and ended up rolling into

Zidane's legs, pitching the manager

forward and on top of him.

"Yes, I took a knock. But I had to be

where I was," said Zidane, who was

uninjured. Jesús "Suso" Fernández

scored his first goal for Sevilla to

salvage a 2-2 home draw with 10-man

Espanyol.

The result left Sevilla in fifth place

and Espanyol at the bottom of the table.

Lucas Ocampos headed Sevilla in

front in the 15th, but Adrián Embarba

equalized from a free kick in the 35th

after a long video review to determine a

foul outside the area.

China forward Wu Lei, playing for the

injured Raúl de Tomás, put the visitors

ahead five minutes into the second half.

Espanyol midfielder Víctor Sánchez

was sent off with a second red yellow

card in the 69th.

Suso got Sevilla's second goal with 10

minutes remaining after cutting back

from the right side and firing in a leftfooted

shot from the edge of the box.

It was Suso's first goal since joining

Sevilla on loan from AC Milan.

Sevilla is in its biggest rut of the

season after a fourth game without a

win across all competitions.

"We needed to win this one," Suso

said. "We have to win all, or almost all,

our home games. If we get a win, we

can get our confidence back."

Athletic Bilbao's winless streak in the

league reached nine straight games

after it lost 1-0 at home to Osasuna.

Oier Sanjurjo fired in a rebound to

give Osasuna a first-half lead. Bilbao's

Aritz Aduriz almost grabbed a 90thminute

equalizer when his header hit

the post. Real Betis drew 0-0 at

Leganés.

‘Nothing to lose’ Lazio topple Inter

to go second behind Juventus

Sports Desk: Lazio coach Simone

Inzaghi gave warning his side are ready

to fight for their first Serie A title since

2000 after moving into second in Serie

A on Sunday, just one point off leaders

Juventus after a come-from-behind 2-1

win over Inter Milan, reports BSS.

Juventus reclaimed pole position

thanks to Paulo Dybala and Juan

Cuadrado's goals as the Turin giants

rediscovered their winning form 2-0 at

home against Brescia.

Inter Milan dropped from top spot to

third - three points behind the eighttime

reigning champions - after falling

to just their second defeat of the season.

"We need to stay humble and focused

but I'm sure we will succeed. We have

nothing to lose," said Inzaghi.

"We know that Juventus and Inter

are two great teams and we will do

everything to fight to the end, knowing

that it will be very difficult."

In a fiery clash in the Stadio Olimpico

defender Ashley Young broke through

just before the break with his first Serie

A goal for Inter Milan after his move

from Manchester United.

The 34-year-old got his foot to tap-in

off a rebound after Thomas Straskosha

had cleared from former Lazio player

Antonio Candreva.

A Stefan de Vrij foul on Ciro

Immobile allowed the Serie A top

scorer to slot in his 26th goal in 24

games this season, five minutes after

the break.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic snatched the

winner after 69 minutes amid

confusion in front of goal.

"We gifted Lazio two goals," said

Inter coach Antonio Conte as the

northerners fell to their second defeat

after Juventus in October.

Lazio extended their unbeaten run to

19 games as they target their second

Scudetto, with a return to Champions

League football on the cards for next

season.

In Turin, Argentine forward Dybala

curled in a perfect free kick six minutes

before the break, shortly after Brescia's

Florian Aye was sent off for two yellow

cards in quick succession.

Ciro Immobile allowed the Serie A top scorer to slot in his 26th goal in 24 games this season.

Photo: AP

Sports Desk: Faf du Plessis has ended

his tenure as an international captain,

Cricket South Africa said on Monday

(February 17). A release said Du Plessis,

35, had "cited a need to take a step back

from captaincy in order to help facilitate

the emergence of the next generation of

leaders within the team under the new

stewardship of Quinton de Kock",

reports Cricbuzz.

De Kock was appointed ODI captain

ahead of the series against England at

the start of this month, and continued in

the role when Du Plessis was rested for

the T20 rubber. Du Plessis is expected

to keep his place in the squad to play

three T20s against Australia, starting at

the Wanderers on Friday.

Du Plessis was also South Africa's Test

captain. But their next engagement in

that format is in the Caribbean in July,

so there is no hurry to choose a new

leader.

"The last few weeks of rest away from

the game have given me a lot of

perspective on the great privilege and

honour I have had in representing and

leading my country in the three formats

of this wonderful game. It has been a

rewarding, sometimes tough and other

times a lonely road, but I would not

replace the experience for anything,

because it has made me the man that I

am proud to be today," he said about his

decision.

"When I took over the leadership, I

did so with the commitment to lead,

perform and most importantly, to serve.

As the team heads into a new direction

with new leaders and a young crop of

players, I feel it will be in the best

interests of South African cricket to

relinquish the captaincy in all formats.

This was one of the toughest decisions

to make, but I remain fully committed

to supporting Quinton, Mark and my

teammates as we continue to rebuild

and re-align as a group."

Du Plessis stressed he's available for

selection in all three formats. "South

African cricket has entered a new era.

New leadership, new faces, new

challenges and new strategies. I remain

committed to play in all three formats of

the game for now as a player and will

offer my knowledge and time to the new

leaders of the team," he said.

"After the 2019 ICC World Cup, I

made the decision to continue in my

role as captain while the team went

through a rebuilding phase following

the retirement of some key senior

players and a complete overhaul of the

coaching staff that we had worked with

until then. It was important to me that I

stayed to help the team find its feet and

plot a new way forward while assisting

in identifying the next generation of

leaders within the players' group during

a time of turbulence in SA cricket. The

last season of my captaincy has been the

most challenging to date as I had a lot of

off-field issues that I devoted my energy

towards.

"I have strived to lead the team with

dignity and authenticity during

exhilarating highs and devastating

lows. I have given my everything during

my tenure. I have never been one to

throw in the towel and do believe I am

putting the team first and believe we

have to stick through the tough times to

get to the good times. In a perfect

world, I would have loved to lead the

team in the Tests for the rest of the

season as well as the T20 World Cup,

but sometimes the most important

attribute of a leader is to be selfless. I

am healthy, fit, energised and

motivated and certainly see myself

playing an important role in the squad

for as long as I continue putting in

winning performances for the team."

Du Plessis led South Africa in 112 internationals and had 69 wins under his leadership.

Patel makes

Black Caps

squad for

India Tests

Sports Desk: Mumbaiborn

Ajaz Patel is in line for

a dream appearance against

India after the left-arm

spinner was named Monday

in the Black Caps' 13-man

squad for the two-Test series

beginning on Friday, reports

BSS.

Patel's family moved to

New Zealand when he was a

child but the 31-year-old has

always followed Indian

cricket closely, rating visiting

skipper Virat Kohli "the best

in the world". He played his

first Test for New Zealand

against Pakistan in 2018 but

has only earned seven caps,

with Black Caps' selectors

preferring all-rounder

Mitchell Santner.

Even after his debut two

years ago, Patel's thoughts

were focused on one day

playing India. Growing up in

an Indian family, "you're

always passionate about

cricket and you watch a lot of

great Indian players just like

I have watched New Zealand

players", he told AFP at the

time. On the prospects of

bowling to Kohli, he said: "If

that (chance) comes I will

cherish it and give it the best

crack."

Patel's domestic form his

season has seen him

dislodge Santner from the

Test squad.

"We're excited to welcome

back Ajaz who has done a

great job for us overseas and

has a proven domestic

record in New Zealand

conditions," coach Gary

Stead said. Patel is not

guaranteed a start, with

selectors believed to be

considering a four-pronged

pace attack for the first Test

in Wellington.

Photo: AP

Dortmund teen Haaland

goes head-to-head with

PSG star Mbappe

Sports Desk: At just 21, Kylian Mbappe is

already a World Cup winner while at only 19,

Erling Braut Haaland has emerged as a

rising fast-star this season, reports BSS.

As Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

approach the end of their careers, could

Mbappe and Haaland be the next duo to

dominate football?

AFP Sport looks at the star forwards who

meet when Haaland's Borussia Dortmund

host Mbappe's Paris Saint-Germain in

Tuesday's Champions League last 16, first

leg, tie.

Haaland had barely arrived last month in

Dortmund when the records started

tumbling.

He justified the 20 million euros ($22

million) Dortmund paid Salzburg by

becoming the first player to score a hat-trick

on his Bundesliga debut.

Having scored 28 goals in 22 games for

Salzburg, including eight in this season's

Champions League group stage, Haaland

picked up in Germany where he left off in

Austria.

He made his debut coming off the bench

with his new team 3-1 down at Augsburg in

mid January. His clinical finishing produced

three goals in 20 minutes to seal a 5-3

victory. The teenager was praised by

Dortmund's sporting director Michael Zorc,

yet calmly replied: "You signed me to score

goals".

Another two followed in a 5-1 rout of

Cologne, then Haaland grabbed two more

goals when Union Berlin were crushed 5-0.

He claimed his eighth goal in four games in

Dortmund's German Cup defeat at Werder

Bremen. The Norwegian teen netted again in

Friday's 4-0 thumping of Eintracht

Frankfurt to extend his own record to nine

goals in six games for Dortmund.

His attitude also impresses his new teammates.

"When a young player has been so

hyped, with everyone saying how good he is,

then he can be a difficult person," said

goalkeeper Roman Buerki.

"But he is a really cool guy, very

professional.

"I'm one of the first at training - but he's

always there earlier."

Haaland sees Mbappe as a role model.

"When I was in Salzburg, I started scoring

goals, but I look at Kylian Mbappe banging in

Ligue 1 goals, so you can always reach a

higher level," Haaland told Bundesliga.com.

For a player who turned 21 in December,

Mbappe's achievement's are astonishing.

The World Cup winner is also France's

reigning player of the year and has won three

Ligue 1 titles with two different clubs.

Mbappe recently reached a century of club

goals, and his 19 in the Champions League is

a record for a player before his 21st birthday.

The second youngest player to score in a

World Cup final after Pele, Mbappe hit

double figures for Champions League goals

before he had even turned 19.

Having scored 28 goals in 22 games for

Salzburg, including eight in this season's

Champions League group stage, Haaland

picked up in Germany where he left off in

Austria.

He made his debut coming off the bench

with his new team 3-1 down at Augsburg in

mid January. His clinical finishing produced

three goals in 20 minutes to seal a 5-3

victory.

The teenager was praised by Dortmund's

sporting director Michael Zorc, yet calmly

replied: "You signed me to score goals".

By that time he had already become the

second most expensive player in football

history when PSG signed him from Monaco

for a total reported fee of 180 million euros

($215 million).

Mbappe has been to Dortmund's Signal

Iduna Park before. He scored twice when

Monaco drew 3-3 there in the 2017

Champions League quarter-finals, a match

postponed by 24 hours after a bomb attack

on the Dortmund team bus. He scored

another in the return leg as Monaco

advanced to the last four.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

TUEsDAY, FEbrUArY 18 2020

10

Dried out: trade war cuts

Us whiskey sales to EU

A meeting of the board of Directors of Islami bank bangladesh Limited was held recently at Islami

bank Tower. Presided over by Professor Md. Nazmul Hassan, Ph.D, Chairman of the bank, the meeting

was attended by Yousif Abdullah Al-rajhi and Md. shahabuddin, Vice Chairmen, Dr. Arif

suleman, foreign director and representative of Islamic Development bank, other Directors, Md.

Mahbub ul Alam, Managing Director & CEO and JQM Habibullah, FCs, Deputy Managing Director &

Company secretary of the bank.

Photo: Courtesy

LUb's annual dealer's confce held

Europeans have developed a taste

for American whiskey over the past

decade but trade disputes have slashed

US exports of the booze, an American

trade group said Wednesday, reports

BSS.

Washington and Brussels are in the

midst of a multifaceted trade feud that

included punitive US tariffs on steel

and aluminum imports and the EU

retaliating in June 2018 by slapping a

25 percent tax on some US goods,

notably bourbon.

That took a chunk out of US whiskey

exports to Europe last year, which fell

by 27 percent, the Distilled Spirits

Council of the United States (DISCUS)

said.

US spirit exports worldwide fell by

14 percent in 2019, according to the

council.

Renewed interest in Kentucky

bourbon and Tennessee whiskey -

which unlike Scotch whisky is made

from corn - drove a 55 percent increase

in spirits over the past 10 years.

"These great American Whiskey

products that have been the toast of

the global cocktail scene are struggling

under the weight of the EU tariffs,"

DISCUS President Chris Swonger said

in a statement.

Amid another trade dispute over

European subsidies to Airbus, the US

in October imposed 25 percent tariffs

on single-malt whisky from Scotland,

and wine from France and Spain.

US officials say they are considering

raising their tariffs to as much as 100

percent, and could widen the penalty

list to add popular items such as

cognac. DISCUS expects a decision on

that by the end of this week.

The trade group is hopeful the truce

in the trade war with China and a

revised trade agreement with Canada

and Mexico "will create new

momentum for negotiations with the

EU that will result in the immediate

removal of retaliatory tariffs," said

Christine LoCascio head of public

policy for DISCUS.

Sales of spirits remained healthy in

the US in 2019, increasing by 5.3

percent to reach $29 billion.

Bourbons and whiskeys from the

southern US drove the growth along

with increased sales of rye, single malt

scotch, tequila, mezcal and pre-mixed

cocktails.

The sector continued to gain market

share against wine and beer and now

accounts for 37.8 percent of the total

alcohol market in the United States.

German court halts site preparation

for Tesla factory

A German court has temporarily

halted the site preparation for Tesla

Inc.'s first electric car factory in

Europe.

The Higher Administrative Court for

Berlin-Brandenburg ordered Tesla to

stop clearing trees on the wooded site

near Berlin until it considers an

environmental group's appeal. In a

statement Sunday, the court said it

had to issue the injunction because

otherwise Tesla might have completed

the work over the next three days.

A lower court in Germany ruled last

week that Tesla could clear the trees

for its factory. But the environmental

group Green League Brandenburg

appealed, citing the potential for the

factory to pollute the area's drinking

water and other issues. In its

statement, the higher court said there

is no reason to assume that the Green

League's appeal won't succeed.

German officials celebrated in

November when Palo Alto, Californiabased

Tesla decided to build its first

European factory in the country. Tesla

said the new plant will build batteries

and vehicles, starting with the

upcoming Model Y SUV. The company

had hoped to complete the factory in

the middle of next year.

Last month, German officials said

187 pounds of World War II

ammunition had been found at the site

as Tesla began clearing it.

Annual Dealer Conference of

National LUB, a product of Max

Group's sister concern Lub House

Industries Limited, was held on

Thursday. More than two hundred

dealers from the country participated

in the conference held at a hotel in the

capital, a press release said.

Executive Director and CEO,

Industrial Division of MAX Group Kazi

Yaminur Rashid Turjo attended the

conference as the chief guest.

Turjo said MAX Group is a well

The local multinational

electronics brand Walton

initiated 'TV Exchange

Mela' with the aim of

allowing the domestic

customers buy the local

brand's LED, Smart LED

or Smart Voice Control TV

at discounted rate through

exchanging used or faulty

televisions of any brand,

says a press release.

As per the offer,

customers can replace

their old televisions of any

brands with Walton's new

TV at special discounts,

ranging from Tk 2000 to

Tk 9,000. Customers are

enjoying the TV exchange

offer of Walton from

February 10, 2020.

Apart from this benefit,

the local television

customers may get

cashback up to Tk 8,000

by purchasing and

registering any models of

Walton TV under the local

brand's ongoing television

campaign titled 'Saddhor

Modde Srestho TV (Best

TV in best prices).' Now,

the season-2 of the

campaign has been going

on and will be continued

till February 29, 2020.

Walton TV's Marketing

Coordinator Sheikh

Tofazzal Hossain Sohel

said, "By submitting any

brand's used or faulty CRT,

LCD and LED TV to

Walton outlet, customers

could purchase any model

of Smart Voice Control TV

at discounted price,

including 813 millimeter

(mm) or 32-inch TV at Tk

21,500 instead of its

regular market price of Tk

24,990; 991mm or 39-inch

TV at Tk 25,900 against

the regular price of Tk

29,900 and 1.39 meter or

reputed group of companies in

Bangladesh and its concern LUB

House Industries Limited is doing

business for more than 18 years with

well reputation and marketing its

product National LUB maintaining the

highest quality.

He also said that dealers across the

country are the strength of National

LUBs business and we are definitely

working for the benefit of dealers and

will do whatever it takes for the dealers.

"We believe that we are not just doing

55-inch 4K resolution's TV

at Tk 90,900 instead of the

regular price of Tk 99,900.

Under the TV Exchange

Mela, customers are

offered Tk 19,500 worth

Walton's 32-inch Smart

TV at discounted price Tk

16,900; Tk 27,900 worth

39-inch Smart TV at Tk

19,500 and Tk 31,900

worth 43-inch Smart TV at

Tk 28,400.

Besides, customers could

replace their used or faulty

televisions with Walton

brand's 508 mm or 20-

inch LED TV at discounted

price Tk 8,900; 610 mm or

24-inch LED TV at Tk

9,900; 32-inch LED TV at

Tk 13,600; 39-inch LED

TV at Tk 20,490 and 43-

inch LED TV at Tk 23,990.

Apart from the TV

Exchange Mela, customer

may get Walton's 24-inch

LED TV at Tk 8,990; 32-

inch LED at Tk 11,990;

Smart LED TV at 15,990

and Smart Voice Control

TV at Tk 18,990; 39-inch

LED TV at 15,990 and

Smart LED at Tk 23,990;

43-inch LED at 19,990 and

Smart LED TV at 27,990.

Walton TV's Chief

Executive Officer Engineer

Mostafa Nahid Hossain

said, this year Walton set a

target of selling one million

units of TV. To achieve the

target, new models of TV

with

advanced

technologies and features

were released, along with

providing TV Exchange,

attractive cashback like

extra benefits. Their own

invented unique, faster

and user-friendly

operating system titled

'Rezvi Operating System

(ROS) has been used.

Walton is manufacturing

environment and

environment friendly

televisions maintaining

international standards.

Thus, Walton TV is being

business but working for the welfare of

the people of the country. So, we hope

for getting cooperation from our

dealers as always," he added.

Dealers said in their speeches that

they are getting good responses from

consumers after using National LUB

Products and maintaining the best

quality of all types of vehicles, its

market is growing bigger day by day.

The programme was ended with

raffle draws and pleasant cultural

events.

Walton initiates TV Exchange Mela

exported to Germany of

the Europe through

achieving several

standards' certificates like

Consumer Electronics

Certification (CE);

Restriction of Hazardous

Substances (RoHS) and

Registration, Evaluation,

Authorisation and

Restriction of Chemicals

(REACH).

Now, Walton TV

customers are enjoying

maximum 36 months

installment facility, six

months replacement

warranty, along with

maximum 4 years

guaranty on TV panels as

well as 5-year service

warranty on Walton TV.

The local brand is

delivering swift post sales

services through 73 service

centers across the country

under the ISO standard

service

system.

management

Md sirajul Hoque, Deputy Managing Director of social Islami bank Limited (sIbL) and Anjon Chandra

Paul, Deputy Commissioner of Laxmipur, distributing agricultural loan cheques at 4 percent interest

rate among soybean cultivators of Komolnagar recently.

Photo: Courtesy

EU sees growth

steady at 1.2pc

but warns of

coronavirus

The European

Commission on Thursday

maintained its eurozone

growth forecast at 1.2

percent for 2020 and 2021,

but warned Brexit and the

new coronavirus outbreak

could yet hit the economy,

reports BSS.

For the broader EU,

including countries outside

the single currency, it

forecast growth of 1.4

percent this year, down

from the previous

prediction of 1.5.

"The outbreak of the

'2019-nCoV' coronavirus,

with its implications for

public health, economic

activity and trade,

especially in China, is a

new downside risk," the

Commission said.

"The baseline

assumption is that the

outbreak peaks in the first

quarter, with relatively

limited global spillovers.

The longer it lasts,

however, the higher the

likelihood of knock-on

effects."

The commission said the

departure of the EU's

second biggest economy

was also a worry. The UK

will leave the single market

at the end of the year after

an 11-month post-Brexit

transition.

Negotiations are due to

start soon on Britain's

future trading relationship,

but for now the result is not

known.

"Given that the future

relations between the EU

and the UK are not yet

clear, projections for 2021

are based on a purely

technical assumption of

status quo in terms of their

trading relations," the

commission said.

"This is for forecasting

purposes only and reflects

no anticipation or

prediction with regard to

the outcome of the

negotiations between the

EU and the UK on their

future relationship."

Dubai's property giant Emaar

reports slight profit increase

Dubai-based construction giant Emaar

Properties reported on Wednesday a slight

increase in its 2019 net profits, despite

falling real estate prices, reports BSS.

The one percent increase, although

minimal, comes amid falling prices in

Dubai's key real estate market, where

companies - including leading private

developer Damac Properties - have been

struggling to make a profit.

Emaar posted a net profit of $1.69 billion

for 2019, up one percent on the previous

year, it said in a statement.

However, the company recorded a

revenue of $6.69 billion last year, about a

four percent decrease from 2018.

Emaar, which developed the world's

tallest building, Burj Khalifa, and is the

largest listed firm on the Dubai Financial

Market, is also involved in the

entertainment, hotel and mall businesses.

"Emaar's performance in 2019 was

resilient, maintaining growth within a

challenging market," Emaar chairman

General Motors says it's pulling out of

Australia, New Zealand and Thailand as part of

a strategy to exit markets that don't produce

adequate returns on investments, reports

UNB.

The company said in a statement Sunday

that it will wind down sales, engineering and

design operations for its historic Holden brand

in Australia and New Zealand in 2021.

It also plans to sell its Rayong factory in

Thailand to China's Great Wall Motors and

withdraw the Chevrolet brand from Thailand

by the end of this year.

GM has 828 employees in Australia and New

Zealand and another 1,500 in Thailand, the

company said.

CEO Mary Barra says the company wants to

focus on markets where it can drive strong

returns. She says GM will support its

employees and customers in the transition.

The company said it will scale back

operations in all three countries to selling niche

Mohamed Alabbar said in the statement.

Dubai is known for its beachfront

skyscrapers and man-made islands, but it

has been stuck in a five-year property

downturn, with analysts saying there will be

no relief in the near term.

Damac Properties announced on Tuesday

its first annual loss in a decade.

The company reported a loss of $10

million for 2019 compared with a net profit

of $313 million in the previous year, as

revenues dropped by 28.2 percent to $1.2

billion, a statement said.

The government in 2018 introduced a raft

of rescue measures, including easy visa

terms for expatriate buyers and permanent

residency permits for big investors. In

September, a top-level committee was

established to rebalance the market.

Real estate prices in Dubai have been on

the decline since 2014 due to oversupply by

builders, who are anticipating a pick up in

sales ahead of the international trade fair

Expo 2020.

GM plans to pull out of

Australia, New Zealand

and Thailand

specialty vehicles. It also will make the same

move in Japan, Russia and Europe, where "we

don't have significant scale."

"We are pursuing a niche presence by selling

profitable high-end imported vehicles

supported by a lean GM structure,"

International Operations Senior Vice President

Julian Blissett said in the statement.

GM said it will honor all warranties in the

markets, and it will continue to provide service

and parts. Local operations also will handle

recalls and any safety-related issues, the

company said.

The Detroit automaker expects to take $1.1

billion worth of cash and noncash charges this

year as it cuts operations in the three countries.

GM has a long history in Australia with the

Holden brand, where cars were designed and

sold in the U.S. and other markets. The 2008

and 2009 Pontiac G8 muscle car, for instance,

was designed as a Holden Commodore and

built in Australia.

MISCELLANEOUS

tuesdAY, FebruArY 18, 2020

11

A press conference was held in the capital city yesterday in protest of importing orginal and plastic

flower from abroad. Photo : tbt

Japan confirms 99

more cases of new

virus on cruise ship

Japanese officials have

confirmed 99 more people

infected by the new virus

aboard the quarantined

cruise ship Diamond

Princess, bringing the total

to 454, the Health Ministry

said Monday, reports UNB.

The ministry has been

carrying out tests on

passengers and crew on the

ship, docked in Yokohama, a

port city near Tokyo.

The 14-day quarantine for

those on the ship was due to

end Wednesday.

Outside China, the ship has

had the largest number of cases

of the COVID-19 illness caused

by the virus that emerged in

China late last year.

The ministry said it now

has tested 1,723 people on

the Diamond Princess. The

ship had about 3,700

passengers and crew.

Two chartered planes flew

340 Americans who were

aboard the vessel out of Japan

late Sunday. About 380

Americans had been on the

ship. The State Department

announced later that 14 of the

evacuees were confirmed to

have the virus in tests given

before they boarded the planes.

They were taken to the

U.S. because they did not

have symptoms and were

being isolated from other

passengers on the planes, it

said.

GD-317/20 (3 x 2)

China may postpone annual

congress because of virus

China said Monday it may

postpone its annual congress

in March, its biggest political

meeting of the year, as the

military dispatched hundreds

more medical workers and

extra supplies to the city hit

hardest by a 2-month-old

virus outbreak, reports UNB.

Japanese officials,

meanwhile, confirmed 99

more people were infected by

the new virus aboard the

quarantined cruise ship

Diamond Princess, bringing

the total to 454.

The standing committee for

the National People's

Congress said it believes it is

necessary to postpone the

gathering to give top priority

to people's lives, safety and

health, the official Xinhua

News Agency reported.

It noted that one-third of

the 3,000 delegates are

provincial and municipallevel

cadres with important

leadership roles working on

the front line of the battle

against the epidemic.

The standing committee

said it would meet on Feb. 24

to further deliberate on a

postponement. The meeting is

due to start on March 5.

Health authorities reported

2,048 new cases of the virus

and 105 more deaths. Another

10,844 people have recovered

from COVID-19, a disease

caused by the new

coronavirus, and have been

discharged from hospitals,

according to Monday's

figures. The death toll is 1,770.

With fears of the virus

spreading further, Chinese

and residents of nearby

countries and territories have

begun hoarding supplies of

everything from masks and

other personal protective gear

to instant noodles, cooking oil

and toilet paper.

In Hong Kong, local media

reported that police had

arrested two men and were

seeking three others who

allegedly stole a load of 60

packs of toilet paper at

knifepoint early early Monday

morning. Supplies of the

commodity have become

extremely scarce, with often

only low-quality imports still

available. Police were

expected to discuss the matter

later.

Another 1,200 doctors and

nurses from China's military

began arriving in Wuhan on

Monday, the latest contingent

sent to help shore up the city's

overwhelmed health care

system with more than

32,000 additional personnel.

The city has rapidly built two

prefabricated hospitals and

converted gymnasiums and

other spaces into wards for

those showing milder

symptoms, but residents still

say they are being wait-listed

for beds and even ambulance

rides.

Wuhan has accounted for

the vast majority of mainland

China's 70,548 cases. Some

60 million people in that area

and other parts of China are

under lockdown in a bid to

prevent the virus from

spreading further.

At a daily news briefing,

National Health Commission

official Guo Yanhong said

attempts to contain the virus

appeared to be bearing fruit,

with the number of new cases

reported daily outside of

Hubei province, of which

Wuhan is the capital, falling

for 13 days straight, and

growing numbers of

recovered people.

"These are all extremely

good signs that show our

prevention work is very

effective," Guo said, citing

early detection and treatment

alongside quarantines and

travel restrictions as largely

responsible for the result.

Japan's Health Ministry has

been carrying out tests on

passengers and crew on the

Diamond Princess, which is

docked in Yokohama, a port

city near Tokyo. The 14-day

quarantine for those on the

ship was due to end

Wednesday.

Outside China, the ship has

the largest number of cases of

COVID-19.

The Health Ministry said it

has now tested 1,723 people

on the ship, which had about

3,700 passengers and crew

aboard.

Two chartered planes flew

340 Americans who were

aboard the Diamond Princess

out of Japan late Sunday.

About 380 Americans had

been on the ship.

The State Department

announced later that 14 of the

evacuees were confirmed to

have the virus in tests given

before they boarded their

planes. They were taken to the

U.S. because they did not have

symptoms, and were being

isolated from other

passengers, it said.

Australia, Canada, Hong

Kong and Italy were planning

similar flights for their

citizens.

New cases in other

countries are raising more

concern about containment of

the virus. Though only a few

hundred cases have been

confirmed outside mainland

China, some recent cases

lacked obvious connections to

China.

Iqvmv- R: Z: 109/2020

GD-315/20 (5 x 4)

GD-318/20 (20 x 4)

TueSDay, DHaka, FeBRuaRy 18, 2020, FaLGuN 5, 1426 BS, JaMaDI-uS-SaNNI 22, 1441 HIJRI

Farmers dreaming at the char of Tista river by cultivating pumpkin.

Photo : Star Mail

Ginger, garlic getting costlier

amid coronavirus fallout

DHAKA : Following a halt in their

import from China in the wake of

coronavirus outbreak there, the

prices of garlic and ginger went up

by above 35 percent in kitchen markets

of the capital over the last one

month, reports UNB.

Visiting different kitchen markets

on Sunday, the UNB correspondent

found that locally-grown garlic was

selling at Tk 160-200 per kg against

Tk 100-150 a month ago.

The imported variety was selling

for Tk 200-230 a kg which was Tk

120-160 last month.

Meanwhile, traders were selling

ginger at Tk 140-200 a kg on

Sunday, which was selling at Tk

110-150 during the same period of

January.

Traders said the garlic price has

gone up following the fallout of

coronavirus outbreak in China

which accounts for 90 percent of

imported garlic in Bangladesh.

They also hinted that the price

may shoot up further following a

supply crunch here if the current

situation persists for long.

According to state-run Trading

Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB),

the price of imported garlic went up

by 31.03 percent while that of local

one by 3.70 percent compared to a

month.

Anisur Rahman, a trader at

Moghbazaar Kitchen Market, said

several essential items got their

prices inflated. "However, prices of

these two items-garlic and gingerhave

gone up much."

He said he sold imported garlic

for upto Tk 230 a kg and ginger at

Tk 110-150 per kg. Anisur also said

their sale depends on prices at the

wholesale market.

Abdul Motin, a wholesaler at

Shyambazar, told UNB that 90 percent

of garlic Bangladesh imports

comes from China.

However, the import remained

halted for the last one month since

the Asian giant is fighting the deadly

coronavirus outbreak, he said.

When Dead Whales Toured

The Country

INTERESTING NEwS DESK

For almost three decades, from the 1950s

though the 1970s, three gargantuan, smelly,

whale carcasses toured the length and

breadth of Europe. The three whales,

named Goliath, Jonah and Hercules, were

caught off the coast of Norway and were initially

driven around Europe to promote the

declining whaling industry after world war

2. Eventually, they were acquired by circus

owners and showmen and exhibited as

sideshow attractions. Before long, the

whales had become an attraction in their

own right.

The whales were caught off Trøndelag

coast in 1952. For a brief time they were

studied and exhibited at Oslo University,

where researchers scooped out their

insides, emptied their circulatory system of

blood and replaced it with thousands of

liters of formaldehyde. To prevent the tissues

from rotting, refrigeration units were

placed inside their hollow interiors. The

whales were taken across Europe on specially

constructed 100-feet trailers, which

were at that time the biggest trucks in the

world. Thousands of people came to see the

bizarre attraction, braving the gag-inducing

smell to climb inside the brightly lit mammal’s

guts decorated with whaling paraphilia

and wildlife exhibits.

Strange as it may seem, Goliath, Jonah

and Hercules were not the first whales to

become a touring visitor attraction. In 1860,

a whale caught off Somerset in southwest

England, went on a small and less-publicized

tour before the whale was rid off its tissues

and the skeleton displayed at the

weston Super-Mare Museum. The disassembled

skeleton is now at the Grant

Museum of Zoology in London distributed

across different cupboards and cabinets.

Another whale, named Eric, toured

England in the 1930s.

"Garlic and ginger are mainly

imported from China. The prices

will come down once the import

becomes normal," he said.

Motin also said around 1 -1.5 lakh

tonnes of garlic are imported from

China every year.

He, however, could not provide

any data on the ginger import.

Meanwhile, prices of lentil, pepper,

turmeric and sugar are also up

in the kitchen markets.

SM Nazer Hossain, vice-president

at Consumer's Association of

Bangladesh (CAB), said traders

always look for an issue to hike the

prices of essentials. "They've done it

this time, too although there's no

impact of coronavirus."

Traders hiked the onion price

through a syndicate, he said, adding

that they are now trying to increase

garlic and ginger prices in the same

way.

Nazer, however, expressed the

hope that the crisis will not last

long.

SSF gets two

units of

Goldwing

motorcycles

DHAKA : Bangladesh

Honda Private Limited on

Monday handed over two

units of its flagship "GL1800

Goldwing" motorcycles to the

Special Security Force (SSF),

reports UNB.

Managing Director and

Chief Executive Officer of

Bangladesh Honda Private

Limited Himihiko Katsuki

handed over the keys of the

two 1800CC motorcycles to

SSF Director General Major

General Md Majibur Rahman

at a function at the Prime

Minister's Office (PMO).

Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina was present at the

programme.

PM's Press Secretary

Ihsanul Karim told reporters

that six more motorcycles of

this brand will be handed

over to the SSF shortly.

Industries Minister Nurul

Majid Mahmud Humayun,

PM's Principal Secretary Dr

Ahmad Kaikaus, PMO

Secretary Md Tofazzel

Hossain Mian, Industries

Secretary Abdul Halim,

Japanese Ambassador to

Bangladesh Naoki Ito, NBR

Chairman Abu Hena Md

Rahmatul Muneem,

Executive Chairman of

Bangladesh Economic Zones

Authority (BEZA) Paban

Chowdhury and Chairman of

Bangladesh Road Transport

Authority (BRTA) Dr Md

Kamrul Ahsan were present

at the function.

Air Quality Index

Dhaka's air

classified as

‘very unhealthy’

DHAKA : Bangladesh's

capital Dhaka was ranked

second among cities with

worst air quality on Monday

morning, reports UNB.

It had an AQI score of 289

at 08am. The air was classified

as 'very unhealthy'.

India's Delhi and

Mongolia's Ulaanbaatar

occupied the first and third

spots in the list of cities with

the worst air quality with AQI

scores of 338 and 258 respectively.

when the AQI value is

between 201 and 300, the

entire population is more

likely to be affected. In this

situation, children are

advised to limit outdoor activities.

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 has long been grappling

with air pollution. Its air

quality usually improves during

monsoon.

Cabinet okays Children

Hospital and Institute Bill

DHAKA : The Cabinet on Monday

approved in principle the draft of

Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute

Bill 2020 to provide better healthcare

services to children, reports UNB.

The approval came from the weekly

Cabinet meeting held with Prime Minister

Sheikh in the chair at her office in the city.

"The bill was designed in line with the

Dhaka Children Hospital Ordinance,

2008," said Cabinet Secretary Khander

Anwarul Islam while briefing reporters at

the Secretariat.

The draft law was prepared merging

Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital and

Bangladesh Institute of Child Health for

ensuring better healthcare services for

children, he said.

Now Bangladesh Institute of Child

Health is the academic wing of Dhaka

Shishu Hospital.

The Cabinet Secretary said the Dhaka

Shishu Hospital Ordinance, 2008 was

promulgated during the caretaker government

in 2008.

Some 54 ordinances, out of 122, promulgated

during the caretaker government

were approved in Parliament following the

recommendations of the special committee

of the 9th parliament. But the Dhaka

Shishu Hospital Ordinance and 67 others

were not endorsed at that time, he said.

So, there is no complete law or ordinance

over regulation and supervision of

the activities of Dhaka Children Hospital,

said Khander Anwarul Islam.

As per the 21 article of the draft law,

there will be a 12-member board of directors

to run the hospital as an autonomous

body. The Cabinet also approved the draft

of the proposed agreement to be signed

between Bangladesh and Greece over education

and cultural cooperation, said the

Cabinet Secretary.

He said Bangladesh has already signed

agreements over cultural cooperation with

44 countries to strengthen cultural ties

with those. In reply to a question from

reporters, the Cabinet Secretary said the

Korean government wants to provide

Bangladesh with newer technology to scan

any kind of virus.

"But the Korean government is yet to

place any written proposal in this regard.

After getting formal letter, we will inform

you (media) the matter," he said.

Don't switch to

other countries:

Li Jiming

DHAKA : Chinese Ambassador to

Bangladesh Li Jiming on Monday urged

Bangladeshi businesses not to switch over

to other countries as an alternative to

China in the backdrop of the coronavirus

outbreak.

"It'll be costly, impossible and unnecessary

considering the situation on the

ground," he said while talking to diplomatic

correspondents at DCAB Talk at Jatiya

Press Club, reports UNB.

On Rohingya issue, the Ambassador said

Bangladesh and Myanmar are the main

players, not China but China is helping the

two countries find a solution.

Referring to a tripartite approach over

Rohingya repatriation, he hoped there will

be some productive and substantiate

progress going beyond lip services.

President of Diplomatic Correspondents

Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) Angur

Nahar Monty and General Secretary

Touhidur Rahman also spoke at the event.

Rab members arrested three-members of an organized snatcher group who are connected to the

incident of slaughtering a Ride biker.

Photo : TBT

New cultivation method

promises low cost, high

yield for paddy farmers

DINAJPUR : with a

steady rise in population

and a subsequent decline in

agricultural land and

labour, the government has

turned to technology to

meet the growing demand

for food.

One of the new methods

being promoted by the government

promises to cut

paddy production cost by

half and a 15 to 30 percent

increase in production,

reports UNB.

Another goal of this

unique project is to reduce

the rising number of unemployment

among the young

generation by encouraging

them to use modern technology

and machines, cutting

short the hardship of

paddy cultivation process.

This method uses

machines to produce

seedlings and cultivate them

using the rice transplant

machines. The process will

enable farmers to use less

water in the production

process and cut cost.

The Rural Development

Academy, in collaboration

with the Department of

Agricultural Extension

(DAE) and Bangladesh

Agricultural Development

Corporation (BADC),

recently held an exhibition

at Chawkerhat in Birol

upazila to promote the

process.

Organisers said irrigation

and water management

division of Rural

Development Academy in

Bogura has been implementing

the experimental

research project - 'high yield

of paddy by water saving

modern technology expansion

and management'.

It has already been implemented

commercially at

200 sites of 63 upazilas in

40 districts.

Abdul Karim, a farmer

from Birol upazila who has

been using the new method,

expressed satisfaction and

described the use of modern

machinery as the most suitable

process.

"I'm not only getting high

yield but also the cost of cultivation

has come down significantly,"

he said.

Many private companies

and businesses have shown

interest in the method and

took initiative to spread its

commercial use. The successful

examples of commercial

use of the method

are already evident in many

places including Madhupur

of Tangail, Kurigram,

Bogura, Dhamrai and

Sylhet.

999 call:

Husband

held for

cutting off

wife's hair

DHAKA : Police on

Monday arrested a man as

he allegedly cut off his wife's

hair over a family feud in

Asa village of Mehendiganj

upazila in Barishal, reports

UNB.

An elderly man made a

call to the emergency

helpline 999 in the morning

and informed police that his

neighbor Jewel, 26, was torturing

her wife and cut off

her hair.

Duty Officer of

Mehendiganj Police Station

talked to the caller instantly

while Sub-Inspector Yadul

Mia rushed to the spot and

detained Jewel.

The wife was admitted to a

hospital for treatment, said

a press release of the emergency

service.

The couple got married

two months back following

an affair and Jewel used to

torture his wife suspecting

that she had an extra marital

affair, said the release.

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

18-02-2020

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