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monday

DhAkA: August 24, 2020; Bhadra 9, 1427 BS; Muharram 4, 1442 hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.17; N o.148; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

InternatIonal

Experts flag risks in

India's use of rapid

tests for virus

>Page 7

art & CUltUre

'Giving more priority

to indoor based

works' : Nadia

>Page 8

sport

Crawley, Buttler,

Anderson pummel

Pakistan

>Page 9

aCC sues suspended

teknaf oC

pradeep, his wife

DHAKA : The Anti-Corruption

Commission (ACC) on Sunday filed a

case against suspended officer-incharge

(OC) of Teknaf Police Station

Pradeep Kumar Das and his wife

ChumkiKaron for allegedly amassing

illegal wealth and siphoning off

money.ACC Assistant Director Riaz

Uddin filed the case with the

Commission's Integrated District Office

Chattogram-2, ACC spokesperson

Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya told BSS.

The national anti-graft watchdog

found that Pradeep and his wife accumulated

wealth worth over Taka 3.95

crore beyond their known sources of

income, he said.

According to the case statement, the

accused in collusion with each other

accumulated the wealth illegally and

laundered money.

dhaka-5, naogaon-6

by-polls oct 17

tbt report

The Election Commission is set to hold

the by-elections to Dhaka-5 and

Naogaon-6 constituencies on October

17 and Pabna-4 on September 26.

Schedule for the by-elections will be

announced next week, said Election

Commission Secretary Md Alamgir at

Nirbachan Bhaban media center on

Sunday. The decision was made in a

meeting chaired by Chief Election

Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda

at Nirbachan Bhaban.

Dhaka-5 seat has been declared

vacant following the death of Awami

League lawmaker Habibur Rahman

Molla on May 6.

Naogaon-6 constituency was

declared vacant after Awami League

MP Israfil Alam died of Covid-19 infection

on July 27.

Pabna-4 seat fell vacant after former

Land Minister and Awami League lawmaker

Shamsur Rahman Sherif died

on April 2.

Zohr

04:19 AM

12:05 PM

04:34 PM

06:30 PM

07:45 PM

5:36 6:26

zia behind aug 15

killings: pM

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

on Sunday renewed her allegations that

Khaleda Zia was involved in the August

21, 2004 grenade attack as her husband

Ziaur Rahman was behind the August 15,

1975 killings, reports UNB.

"Ziaur Rahman was involved in the

killings of the Father of the Nation, four

national leaders...he killed army personnel

through coups one after another.

Khaleda Zia just did the same thing

after coming to power," she said.

The Prime

Minister said

this as she

joined a discussion

virtually

from her official

residence

Ganobhaban.

Father of the

N a t i o n

Bangabandhu

S h e i k h

M u j i b u r

Rahman Birth

C e n t e n a r y

Celebration

N a t i o n a l

Implementation Committee organised

the programme at the International

Mother Language Institute, marking

the 45th martyrdomof the Father of the

Nationand National Mourning Day.

She said Ziaur Rahman had made

collaborators like Abdul Alim, Maulana

Mannan and Shah Aziz ministers,

prime minister and advisers.

Following Zia's footstep, Hasina said,

Khaleda Zia also made ministers

Nizami, Mujaheed and culprits

involved in the intellectuals' killings.

The Prime Minister mentioned that

Khaleda Zia made killer Rashid and

Huda members of parliament.

"If there was no link with them, why did

Khaleda Zia pave the way for them to sit

in Parliament snatching the voting rights

of people in the February-15 farcical election?

They (Ziaur and Khaleda) always

patronised those who were involved in

terrorism and killing," she said.

Talking about the August-15 massacre,

the Prime Minister said the main aim of

the conspirators was to destroy the ideal

of the Independence as they could not

tolerate the victory of Bangalees.

"Those who were with Pakistan during

the Liberation War also could not

accept our victory. There were conspiracies

(against the country), from the

day we attained our victory ...there were

a deep-rooted conspiracy against our

victory," she said.

Regarding the involvement of Ziaur

Rahman in the Bangabandhu killing,

she said that killers Faruq and Rashid

in their statement had told that Ziaur

Rahman was with them always and

being empowered by these killers Ziaur

Rahman later proclaimed himself as

the president of the country.

Medicines unavailable at Habiganj hospital

Free services requires

payment

MaMun Chowdhury, habiganj Correspodent

Poor patients, allegedly, are not getting

the free allocated government medicine

allocated in the District Sadar Hospital in

Habiganj. In addition, the patients complained

that they had to pay bribe in the

name of tips for obtaining the service of

surgery and dressing. They say that during

the COVID-19 situation, the proper

care of patients has further decreased.

The second floor of the eight-storey

building of the hospital has been dedicated

for treating the corona patients.

Although the infrastructural problems

have been solved, there are questions

about the quality of service. Any service

recipients have to spend money to get the

minimum services in the emergency

department or Operation Theater of the

hospital. Patients have to buy everything

from just a thread to medicines.

>(Contd. on page-11)

a mother and a daughter were tied with ropes and were forced to walk in

various areas in harbang union of Chakaria upazila on Friday, for

allegedly being cattle thieves.

photo : shafiul alam

prime Minister sheikh hasina addressed a discussion meeting on the occasion of the

45th martyrdom anniversary of bangabandhu sheikh Mujibur rahman and nat’l

Mourning day 2020 at the int’l Mother language institute auditorium in dhaka via

video conference from ganobhaban.

photo: pba

highway through haor already

having 'transformational' impact

DHAKA : For a road that opened to the

public during a pandemic, the Itna-

Mithamoin-Astagram highway has

already made a huge impression on

people, in more ways than one.

As lockdown measures gradually

ease, travel bloggers and thrill-seekers,

or just normal people who like nothing

better than to let their hair down and

drive out of town, have been making a

beeline due north of the capital, and on

towards Kishoreganj, reports UNB.

All of them seem to return with one

message to deliver above all else: they

have seen 'the most beautiful road in

Bangladesh!'

Almost half of Kishoreganj district,

including four of its 6 upazilas - Itna,

Mithamoin, Oshtogram, and Nikli - is

designated as a completely haor area:

unique wetland ecosystems that during

the monsoon resemble vast inland seas.

Though much-romanticised and

recognised for the stunningly beautiful

vistas they offer as well as the tremendous

biodiversity they contain, the haor

and its inhabitants have never seen the

levels of development witnessed in other

parts of the country reach their locality.

Infrastructure in particular has

always been a problem. Yet recognising

that infrastructure cannot be bypassed

as a necessity for meaningful growth

and development in any region, the

government is now engaged in a serious

push for development in the country's

haor areas.

shaFiul alaM, Cox's bazar Correspondent

A middle-aged mother and her

teenage daughter have been beaten up

in Chakaria upazila Cox's Bazar, for

allegedly being cattle thieves. Later,

the mother and daughter were tied

with ropes around their waists and

taken to the office of the chairman of

Harbang Union.

After beating them up by a group of

miscreants, Harbang Union Parishad

(UP) Chairman Miranul Islam himself

beat them again. At one stage, when

their physical condition deteriorated,

the police came and rescued the mother

and daughter and admitted them to

Chakaria Government Hospital.

The incident took place on Friday in

the Harbang Paharchanda area of the

upazila, but pictures of the incident

went viral on social media on

Saturday.

When contacted with Harbang police

investigation center in-charge (police

inspector) Md. Aminul Islam, he said, "I

The Itna-Mithamoin-Austagram

highway, that connects these 3 upazilas

of Kishoreganj by going straight

through the haor, can be seen as part of

that push, although work on the Tk

514-crore project (the almost 30-km

highway is just one component, see

below) was inaugurated in 2016 by

President Abdul Hamid - the district's

most famous son.

The 'haor road', as it is also called,

paves the way for direct road connectivity

between the haor region and other

parts of the country including Dhaka,

Sylhet and Chittagong. In providing

connectivity with surrounding areas

and beyond even during the monsoon

months, the newly built road has come

as a sheer lifeline for the three upazilas.

UNB talked to administration officials,

visitors to the area, as well as

locals of course, of the three upazilas to

better understand what a game-changer

it is for the inhabitants of the haor.

Assistant Commissioner (Land) of

Mithamoin Upazila Ali Noor is convinced

that Haor Road has already

transformed people's lives.

"The road can be used by the people

of the three upazilas all year round.

That alone has also boosted livelihoods

directly, as a new profession

arrived in the region of autorickshaw

drivers!" he said, referring to the proliferation

of autorickshaws serving

mainly tourists that has followed the

highway's opening.

Mother, daughter harassed

for allegedly stealing

cows in Chakaria

sent a force when the locals informed the

police outpost on Friday." Our forces

went and rescued the mother and

daughter in critical condition and

brought them into their custody. We

provided treatment to them".

He added that they have been

charged in a case of cow theft filed by a

local man. Among the accused, the

house of four people including mother

and daughter is at Shantir Hat in Patia

upazila. The other's house is in Pekua

Lalbridge area.

When asked if they had been tortured

under the supervision of Harbang

Union Parishad Chairman Miranul

Islam, he said none of them had made

such allegations.

More than two hundred people were

present when our force arrived. We

have given priority to bringing them

into our custody from there. And if the

victim or anyone else complains, we

will investigate and take action.

>(Contd. on page-11)

Covid-19

bangladesh sees

lowest daily cases

since aug 4

DHAKA : Health authorities in

Bangladesh on Sunday reported 1,973

new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours, which

was the lowest since August 4 when

1,918 cases were detected across the

country.

With the latest ones, the total number

of Covid-19 cases in the country jumped

to 2,94,598 in the 24th week of the first

virus detection, reports UNB.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the

disease rose to 3,941 as 34 more

patients succumbed to the disease in

the last 24 hours.

RT-PCR facilities of the country tested

14,42,656 samples so far and 10,801

of them were conducted on Sunday.

The daily infection rate declined to

18.27 percent while 20.42 percent of

the tested population turned out Covid-

19 positive.

The total number of recoveries saw

massive growth again on Sunday as

3,524 patients got cured during the

period, raising the total number of

recovered cases to 1,79,091. The recovery

rate increased to 60.79 percent, said

a media release from the Directorate

General of Health Services (DGHS).

The number of deaths per one million

population in Bangladesh has

increased to 24.

The country is seeing 1,774 cases in

8,682 tests per one million population.

At present, there are over one lakh

active cases in the country.

Among the 34 who lost their lives in

the last 24 hours, the highest 22 were

aged above 60 years.

The DGHS data recorded since

March 18 show that 0.48 percent of

those who died aged below 10 years,

while 0.89 percent aged between 11 and

20 years, 2.41 percent between 21 and

30, 6.27 percent between 31 and 40,

13.30 percent between 41 and 50, 27.73

percent between 51 and 60 and 48.9

percent aged above 60 years.

Arms case

Charges framed

against papia, her

husband

DHAKA : A court in Dhaka on Sunday

framed charges against expelled general

secretary of Jubo Mohila League

Narsingdi district unitShamima Nur

Papia, and her husband Mofizur

Rahman Sumon in an arms case,

reports UNB.

Judge KM Emrul Kayesh of Dhaka

Metropolitan Sessions Judges' Court

passed the order.

The court also rejected their petition

to acquit them from the charges.

Earlier on June 29, sub-inspector Md

Arifuzzaman submitted the

chargesheet in the case filed with Shere-Bangla

Nagar Police Station against

them to Dhaka Metropolitan

Magistrate Court. Twelve people were

made witnesses in the case.

On February 23, members of the

Rapid Action Battalion raided two flats

belonging to Papia and Sumon after

arresting them at Hazrat Shahjalal

International Airport on February 22.

RAB men seized counterfeit notes,

foreign currencies and around Tk 2.5

lakh.

They also recovered around Tk 58

lakh raiding two flats at Indira Road in

Dhaka and also a presidential suite at a

five-star hotel in the capital.

Apart from the lavish flats in Dhaka,

Papia and Sumon, a former Chhatra

League leader, own two more flats and

two plots, worth around Tk 2 crore, in

Narsingdi and a number of luxurious

cars.

Later, three cases were filed-two with

Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station

under the Arms Act and the Special

Powers Acts while another with Airport

Police Station under the Special Powers

Act-1974.


MondAY, August 24, 2020

2

the farmers of Bogra are spending their busy time as the profit from early winter vegetable cultivation is high. the picture is

taken from Madhupur Pathpara in dhunat upazila of Bogura on sunday.

Photo: PBA

noir 'the Batman' footage thrills

fans at dC virtual event

LOS ANGELES : Robert Pattinson

showcased "The Batman" footage and

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson hyped up

his new anti-hero movie "Black Adam"

as Hollywood A-listers and their comicbook

alter-egos hosted a sprawling

online event Saturday, reports BSS.

The virtual "DC FanDome" from

Warner Bros comes after real-world

extravaganzas beloved by comic-book

fans - such as Comic-Con - were

canceled this year due to the

coronavirus pandemic.

Headline billing went to "The

Batman," a dark, detective-style mystery

take on the Caped Crusader which star

Pattinson said had to shut down

midway through production in March

due to Covid-19.

Director Matt Reeves said his version

- still due next year - is inspired by

classic noirs like "Chinatown" and "Taxi

Driver," and will meet a "very human

and very flawed" Bruce Wayne in his

second year as Batman, trying to solve a

series of crimes.

First-ever footage from the muchhyped

movie left fans drooling online,

with a mysterious villain leaving notes

for Batman at crime scenes across

Gotham - and the film's hero

pummeling a street thug before

'End of the world':

Countdown to Beirut's

devastating blast

The 10 firefighters who

received the call a bit before

6 p.m. - alerting them of a big

fire at the nearby port of

Beirut - could not know what

awaited them, reports UNB.

The brigade of nine men

and one woman could not

know about the stockpile of

ammonium nitrate

warehoused since 2013

along a busy motorway in

the heart of a densely

populated residential area - a

danger that had only grown

with every passing year.

They and nearly the entire

population of Beirut were

simply unaware. They were

not privy to the warnings

that authorities had received,

again and again, and

ignored: ammonium nitrate

is highly explosive, used in

fertilizer and sometimes to

build bombs. The stockpile

was degrading; something

must be done. They knew, of

course, that they lived in a

dysfunctional country, its

government rife with

corruption, factionalism and

negligence that caused so

much pain and heartbreak.

But they could not know that

it would lead to the worst

single-day catastrophe in

Lebanon's tragic history.

Across the city, residents

who noticed the grey smoke

billowing over the facility

were drawn to streets,

balconies and windows,

watching curiously as the fire

grew larger. Phones were

pulled out of pockets and

pointed toward the flames.

growling: "I'm vengeance." Like the

rival, record-breaking Marvel films,

several movies featuring DC characters

including Superman are interconnected,

with shared storylines and

crossover cameos. Saturday's all-day

event premiered footage and panels for

follow-ups to blockbusters "Wonder

Woman," "Suicide Squad" and

"Shazam!" - despite uncertainty over

release dates, with many US theaters

closed.

Johnson - the world's top-paid movie

star who is now making his first foray

into the superhero "universe" - teased

next year's "Black Adam," in which he

will play a 5,000-year-old rebel slave

determined to mete out ruthless justice.

"Things will never be the same.

Because the hierarchy of power in the

DC Universe is about to change," the

former wrestler warned rival stars in

typically bombastic style. - 'Out soon!' -

Details for "The Flash" movie - in

which Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck

are both set to reprise their former roles

as Batman - were kept under wraps,

except that its young hero will hop

through time and space in the so-called

"multiverse."

Footage of "The Suicide Squad"

showed Margot Robbie and Viola Davis

us envoy joins taiwan president

at military memorial

The U.S. envoy to Taiwan joined President

Tsai Ing-wen at a military memorial service

Sunday in a fresh show of warming relations

that threatened to add to irritants in

Washington's relations with Beijing, reports

UNB.

Neither the director of the American

Institute in Taiwan, William Brent

Christensen, nor Tsai spoke at the annual

event for soldiers killed by Chinese bombing

in 1958 on Kinmen, a Taiwanese-controlled

island near the mainland coast. Attendees,

wearing masks as a precaution against the

coronavirus, observed one minute of silence.

Military personnel lit incense at soldiers'

graves.

Washington has no official relations with

Taiwan, which split with the communistruled

mainland in 1949 following a civil war.

The Trump administration has made

gestures toward Taiwan as relations with

return alongside new cast members

Idris Elba, John Cena and Peter Capaldi.

Kicking things off Saturday was

"Wonder Woman 1984" - penciled to be

the next DC movie due out, in October,

despite the pandemic.

"I really think the movie is so great on

the big screen," said director Patty

Jenkins. "We believe in putting it in the

cinema… I can't wait for it to come out

soon!" The event comes as

WarnerMedia - which owns the movie

rights to DC comics - undergoes a

massive restructuring, including the loss

of hundreds of studio jobs.

Parent company AT&T is refocusing

on new streaming service HBO Max,

which has delighted comic-book

obsessives with plans for a new

director's cut of ensemble superhero

movie "Justice League." Director Zack

Snyder stepped down from the 2017

original due to family tragedy, and fans

disappointed by the end product have

spent years campaigning for his vision

to be restored.

Saturday's panel on the "Snyder Cut"

sent geeks around the world into social

media meltdown, with Snyder

confirming it will feature four, hourlong

episodes - twice the length of the

studio-cut original.

Beijing soured. This month, Health and

Human Services Secretary Alex Azar became

the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit,

prompting a Chinese protest.

Despite that lack of official ties, the United

States is Taiwan's most important ally and

weapons supplier. The AIT is a non-profit

corporation instead of an embassy but is

staffed by State Department employees.

There was no immediate official Chinese

comment Sunday about U.S. participation in

the memorial.

Sunday marked the first appearance by an

AIT director at the annual memorial.

Christensen has previously attended

events with Tsai, but Sunday's was unusually

high-profile. Some Taiwan TV channels

broadcast the memorial live.

Christensen, who brought an eightmember

delegation, and Tsai said nothing to

reporters.

on the occasion of the 45th death anniversary of Bangabandhu sheikh

Mujibur Rahman, Krishak League President Krishibid samir Chanda

addressed a discussion meeting as the chief guest in Rangpur. Photo: PBA

Rajshahi

MP tests

positive for

Covid-19

RAJSHAHI : Dr Mansur

Rahman, a member

parliament of Rajshahi-5

constituency, tested positive

for coronavirus on Saturday,

reports UNB.

MP Mansur has been

suffering from fever and

cold for the last few days,

said Abdullah, a relative of

the MP.

He was found positive for

coronavirus after his sample

was tested at Rajshahi

Medical College Hospital.

However, Dr Mansur is

doing well and taking

treatment from his home at

Kazihata in the district

town, said the relative.

The death toll from Covid-

19 disease reached 3,907 in

Bangladesh on Saturday, as

health authorities reported

46 more fatalities in the last

24 hours across the country.

During the period,

another 2,265 fresh cases

were detected which

increased the number of

total cases in the country to

2,92,625 since the first

detection of the infection on

March 8.

Woman dies from

fever, cold-related

problem in

satkhira

SATKHIRA : A

sexagenarian woman died

from fever and cold- related

problems at Satkhira

Medical College and

Hospital early Sunday,

reports UNB

The deceased was

identified Sukjan Begum,

65, wife of Karim Sardar of

Paikgaccha upazila of

Khulna district.

Dr Manash Kumar

Mandal, medical officer of

Satkhira Medical College

and Hospital, said the

woman was admitted to the

hospital with fever and cold

related problems on August

18 and died at the isolation

unit of the hospital.

Later, the hospital

authorities collected her

samples for Covid-19 test

but the result is yet to come.

Meanwhile, the local

administration has put the

house of the woman under

lockdown.

So far, 74 people have

died from fever and cold

related problems in the

district.

Bangladesh's death toll

from Covid-19 reached at

3,907 with the deaths of 46

people while the total

number of confirmed cases

stood at 2,92,625 with the

detection of 2,265 fresh

cases as of Saturday since

the first detection of the

infection on March 8.

JICA to implement a food value

chain development project

DHAKA : The Japan International

Cooperation Agency (JICA) will implement

a food value chain development project at a

cost of about Taka 882 crore (11.218 billion

Japanese yen) to process agricultural

products and expand agribusiness in

Bangladesh.

Under this project, low interest financing

and technical assistance will be provided to

organizations and industrial entrepreneurs

working in agro-based business

development, food processing and food

security, said an Industries Ministry press

release.

As a result, the release said, it will be

possible to strengthen the initiative to

provide safe and quality food as well as

achieve the goals 1, 2 and 8 of the

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

JICA Bangladesh Office Chief

Representative Yuho Hayakawa made the

remarks during a virtual meeting with

Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud

Humayun.

Additional Secretary of the Industries

Ministry Begum Parag, Senior Assistant

Secretary of the ministry Md Salim Ullah,

Senior Representative of JICA Bangladesh

Office Koji Mitomori, Program Advisor

Ryuichi Katsuki, Program Officer Md

Mehdi Hasan, Chief Executive Officer of

Bangladesh Infrastructure Finance Fund

Limited (BIFFL) SM Anisuzzaman, among

others, connected the online meeting.

At the meeting, Yuho Hayakawa said the

recent economic growth has led to an

increase in demand for quality and safe food

both domestically and abroad. As a result,

quality protection and development of the

food value chain has become urgent at every

stage of food production, he added.

Humayun said JICA has been making

significant contributions to the

development of infrastructure,

modernization of technical training and

development of food and food related

industries in Bangladesh.

He said JICA could come up with

innovative projects to diversify the products

of state-owned sugar mills.

Humayun said the Ministry of Industries

would extend all possible support for the

speedy implementation of the food value

chain development project adopted to

improve the quality of food industry in

Bangladesh.

This project will make a positive

contribution to the development of

Bangladeshi food industry through the

transfer technology and the establishment

of world-class food industry factories in this

country, he added.

He hoped that this would strengthen the

opportunities for export of halal and quality

food products by meeting the domestic

demand.

south Korea reports highest daily

virus cases since March

SEOUL : South Korea reported its highest

daily number of coronavirus cases since early

March on Sunday as authorities warned the

country was "on the brink of a nationwide

pandemic" and tightened social distancing

rules, reports BSS.

The majority of the 397 new infections

were in the greater Seoul region - home to

half the country's 51 million people, the

Korea Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention said.

Authorities warned of tougher social

distancing rules, which may include closing

schools and businesses, if the number of new

cases continues to grow at a fast pace after

South Korea had largely brought its earlier

outbreak under control.

"The situation is very grave and serious as

we are on the brink of a nationwide

pandemic," KCDC chief Jung Eun-kyeong

told reporters. "Please stay home if possible,"

Jung said, adding the number of infections

has not peaked yet. Virus curbs were

tightened in the Seoul region last week and

were further expanded to the rest of the

the Madhri Rest House building owned by Himchhari district Council

in Cox's Bazar has become dangerous as the soil under the building has

shifted in the tidal water of the new moon and the building has cracked.

It may be collapsed at any moment.

Photo: PBA

32 tested positive for

CoVId-19, 2 die in Ctg

CHATTOGRAM: A total of 32 people were detected positive for

coronavirus in the last 24 hours after testing 294 samples in five

COVID-19 laboratories in Chattogram district, reports BSS.

A total of 263 patients died till today due to coronavirus

only in Chattogram district with yesterday's two deaths.

Among the newly detected patients, 21 are from

Chattogram city and 11 from different upazilas of the district,

hospital sources said.

The total number of infected patients now stands at 16,438

in Chattogram district, Dr Sheikh Fazle Rabbi, civil surgeon

of Chattogram, told BSS yesterday.

He said the persons, who came in contact with COVID-19

patients, were identified and they were asked to remain in

home isolation so that the virus cannot spread further.

Among the total coronavirus infected people, 11,691 are the

residents of the port city and the rest 4,729 are inhabitants of

different upazilas of the district.

The total number of recovered patients from coronavirus

rose to 3,943 with the healing of 41 more people in the last 24

hours out of 16,438 infected people in the district till 2 pm

yesterday.

"The percentage of recovery rate stands at 23.88 percent in

the district," Dr Sheikh Fazle Rabbi added.

country on Sunday.

The measures include restrictions on large

gatherings such as religious services and the

closing of nightclubs, karaoke bars and cyber

cafes. All beaches have also been closed.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said

Sunday that face masks would be mandatory

for indoor and crowded outdoor areas in the

capital from midnight. South Korea has

reported a total of 17,399 coronavirus

infections with 309 deaths.

The country endured one of the worst early

outbreaks outside mainland China but

brought it broadly under control with

extensive tracing and testing while never

imposing the kind of lockdowns ordered in

much of Europe and other parts of the world.

South Korea has been seen as a model on

how to combat the pandemic with the public

largely following safety health measures such

as face masks.

It even started allowing limited numbers of

spectators at sports events in July - which

was reversed for the greater Seoul area last

week and nationwide from Sunday.

Israeli military

drone fell in

Lebanon:

army

JERUSALEM : An Israeli

military reconnaissance

drone has crashed inside

Lebanon, Israel's army said

overnight between Saturday

and Sunday.

A military spokesperson

said in a statement that the

incident occurred "during

IDF (Israel Defense Forces)

operational activity" along

the Blue Line, a border

demarcation drawn in 2000

by the United Nations after

Israel withdrew its forces

from southern Lebanon.

"There is no risk of breach

of information," the

spokesperson said, without

elaborating on the cause of

the crash.


MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2020

3

Experts foresee 'new normal situation'

in post-COVID period

DHAKA : Experts at an

international conference

said COVID-19 has

disrupted both domestic and

global supply chains, but a

new normal situation will

prevail in the post pandemic

scenario where people will

have to explore and choose

between life and earnings.

To this end, vaccine

should be sold in the free

market which needs to be

prioritized by each country,

and intellectual property

rights should not be a

burden to access in

procuring and producing

quality vaccine across the

globe, they opined.

Entrepreneurial

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Economists Club (EEC) of

Dhaka School of Economics

(DScE) organized the virtual

conference titled "New

Normal and COVID19:

Impact on Economic-

Business Strategies and

Management of Supply

Channel" with the

participation of both local

and foreign experts, said a

press release today.

The experts also said

aggregate demand and

supply should be matched

with monetary and fiscal

policies as well as the

efficiency of dependence on

the local economy be

prioritized.

Besides, a research

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Southeast University (SEU) observed the

National Mourning Day 2020 marking the

45th Death Anniversary of Father of the

Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman. On the occasion an Online

Discussion Meeting was organized by SEU

on 23 August 2020. Obaidul Quader, MP,

Generel Secretary, Bangladesh Awami

League and Minister, Ministry of Road,

Transport & Bridges was present as the

Chief Guest. The discussion meeting was

chaired by the Vice Chancellor of Southeast

University, Prof. Dr. AFM Mafizul Islam

while Dr. Atiur Rahman, Bangabandhu

Chair Professor, University of Dhaka &

Former Governer, Bangladesh Bank was

present as the Special Guest. Md. Rezaul

Karim, Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT),

Southeast University Trust was the Guest of

Honor. Prof. Dr. ANM Meshquat Uddin,

Adviser, BoT gave the Welcome Speech.

Among others, Members of BoT, Registrar,

Deans, Chairmen, teachers, journalist, officials

and students were present on the

occasion. Photo : Courtesy

conducted by Thai experts

said online learning cannot

be completely substitute to

classroom-based learning

rather the most desirable

learning model is a hybrid

model of classroom-based

learning as the main method

with online learning as a

complement.

Dr Yashoda Krishna

Durge, associate professor at

GNVS Institute of

Management, India and

Rukmini Durge presented

how COVID-19 hit threefold

impact on retailers in the

Indian economy and it

adjusts style in the new

process.

Dr M Shamsuzzaman,

director at ACI formulation,

showed pictorial impact on

the value addition process of

the supply chain

management in the globe.

Dr Shakila Yasmin,

associate professor at

Institute of Business

Administration, University

of Dhaka narrated several

breakthroughs in supply

chain management based on

empirical evidences of her

study.

Professor Dr Muhammad

Mahboob Ali said digital

policy, robotics, use of

artificial intelligence and

innovative skills may build a

mass employment and

enhance the value for ICT.

Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman

Ahmad laid emphasis on

social capital accumulation,

ethical values and morality.

He said under new normal

situations entrepreneurial

economics will play a vital

role as different sectors of

the country were affected

and new poor were created

all over the world.

The conference was

subdivided into three parts:

Technical session: 1,

Technical session: 2 and

closing ceremony. Four

concept papers and sixteen

subject specialized papers

were presented.

NTV's joint chief

news editor dies

of Covid-19

DHAKA : Abdus Shaheed,

joint chief news editor of

NTV, a private television

channel, died of Covid-19 at

a hospital in the city on

Sunday. He was 63.

Abdus Shaheed breathed

his last around 10:45 am at

Sheikh Russel Gastro Liver

Institute and Hospital,

reports NTV.

Heleft behind wife, one

son and a host of relatives to

mourn his death.

Shaheed tested positive for

coronavirus on July 25 and

he was admitted to Kuwait

Bangladesh Friendship

Hospital on July 27 with

respiratory problem.

As his condition

deteriorated, he was taken to

Sheikh Russel Gastro Liver

Institute and Hospital on

July 28 and then shifted to

the ICU of the hospital.

Chairman and managing

director of NTV Mohammad

Mosaddek Ali expressed

deep shock at the demise of

Abdus Shaheed.

Journos invited

to apply for

SAJP

DHAKA : The British High

Commission in Dhaka has

invited applications from

journalists for theChevening

South Asia Journalism

Fellowship (SAJP), reports

UNB.

Interested journalists can

apply (https://www.

chevening. org/fellowship/

sajp/) for the fellowship

until 19 October 2020, said

the High Commission.

The Chevening South Asia

Journalism Fellowship

(SAJP) is aimed at midcareer

journalists from

South Asian countries

including Bangladesh, India,

Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the

Maldives, it said.

The fellowship is hosted by

the University of

Westminster and funded by

the Foreign and

Commonwealth Office.

Applicants must have at

least seven years

professional experience

working at a leading media

group.

BAF airlifts coronavirus

infected doctor from

Bogura to Dhaka

DHAKA : Coronavirus

infected Prof Dr AKM

Rownak Hossain

Chowdhury of TMSS

Medical College Hospital

wasshifted to Dhaka from

Boruga onon Sundayon

aMI-171SH

helicopterofBangladesh Air

Force (BAF), reports UNB.

He was taken to

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib

Medical University

Hospitalfor better

treatment, said a press

release ofInter Service

Public Relation (ISPR).

The BAF has always been

providing emergency air

transport and medical

evacuation (MEDEVAC)

assistance in aid to civil

power totacklecoronavirus

and continuing various

activities to affirm its

commitment to meet all

emergency needs in a

professional manner, said a

press release.

In line with this,theChief

of Air Staff of Bangladesh Air

Force provided necessary

guidance to carry out the

medical evacuation

(MEDEVAC) missions.

Tipu for increasing

tea export after

meeting domestic

demand

DHAKA : Commerce

Minister Tipu Munshi

yesterday urged the

authorities concerned to

take necessary initiatives to

increase tea export after

meeting its domestic

demand.

"The demand for tea is

increasing in the country

and there is also a demand

for Bangladeshi tea in

abroad. Tea exports need to

be increased after meeting

domestic demand," he said

while presiding over a

meeting for the

development of tea industry

from his official residence,

said a press release.

Tipu said there is a huge

demand for Bangladeshi tea

in many countries of the

world, including the United

States, Pakistan and

different countries in the

Middle East.

"There is a need to

increase tea production and

research on new varieties

and increase production, as

well as increase the number

of tea gardens. That is why

tea garden owners have to

come forward. The

government will continue to

support the development of

the country's tea industry.

There is an opportunity to

increase the number of tea

gardens in the country, this

opportunity must be used,"

he added.

Razzak seeks Indian cooperation

in farm sector

mechanization

DHAKA : Agriculture Minister Dr M Abdur

Razzaque yesterday sought cooperation

from India in terms of agro-processing and

farm mechanization as both the countries

have a lot of opportunities to work together

to this end.

"We need Indian assistance for enhancing

agro-processing and marketing of the

agricultural commodities as our main goal is

commercialization and modernization of the

agriculture," he said.

The agriculture minister made the

comment when Indian High Commissioner

in Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das made a

courtesy call on him at his ministry office at

the secretariat.

During the call on, they discussed bilateral

issues and how the two neighboring

countries can cooperate each other on

agriculture, livestock, agro-engineering and

dairy sectors.

Dr Razzaque said, "Under the leadership of

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh

already has brought tremendous success in

agriculture which once was less productive,

GD- 1068/20 (4 x 3)

GD- 1067/20 (9 x 3)

but the country is still lags behind in agroprocessing

and commodity marketing."

On the other hand, the minister said India

is far advance in these areas compared to

Bangladesh, he said, adding: "So, we need

Indian cooperation to bring changes in the

sector."

Terming India as a true friend of

Bangladesh, he said, "As we have deep

relationship between us, we strongly believe

that the cooperation in all areas, including

economic, social and cultural, would further

strengthen."

Lauding Bangladesh's success in

agriculture sector, the Indian high

commissioner said there are lots of

opportunities between the two countries to

cooperate each other in agro-processing,

dairy, agro-engineering and light

engineering.

During the discussion, she also assured the

minister of providing all-out cooperation in

the agriculture sector.

Agriculture Secretary M Nasiruzzaman

was present during the call on.


MonDAY, AuGuST 24, 2020

4

Europe's big beasts make plans for the future

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Monday, August 24, 2020

Repair and strengthen coastal

embankments immediately

According to news reports, the coastal areas of

the country or 16 districts have been severely

affected by unusual flood like tides in the wake

of the depression like situation in the Bay of Bengal

recently. The tides have breached large areas of the

coastal embankments and inundated large areas

from where water is failing to drain away. As a result,

nearly ten million coastal people are living a life of

great distress with their homesteads under water

and washed away fish farms, boats, cattle, poultries

and other means of livelihood.

According to a Coast Trust research, about 150km

of Bangladesh's 5,757km of coastal embankments

were affected by super cyclone Amphan in the early

part of the present year. The post Amphan conditions

dictated the very urgent need of fastest repair,

reconstruction and rebuilding of embankments in

the affected Amphan hit areas as protection against

future such events. But it appears that this task was

taken up casually. Although the government has

been doing very praiseworthy works in many other

vital areas, regrettably the tasks of embankment

repair and rebuilding remain relatively neglected.

Furthermore, whatever works were carried out in

relation to the embankments, the same were riddled

with corruption. Thus, the vastly weakened embankments

from the Amphan could hardly provide

defences against last week's unusual tidal surges.

Speakers at an online discussion recently demanded

an immediate allocation of Tk 400 crore to build

and repair coastal embankments damaged by

cyclone Amphan and now the tides. They also asked

the government to ensure Tk12,000 crore in allocations

each fiscal year to build sustainable embankments

in coastal areas.

The online discussion titled "Save Embankments

and Save Economic Activity of Coastal People

Through National Budget 2020-21" was jointly

organised by Coast Trust - a non-governmental

organisation - and Campaign for Sustainable Rural

Livelihood - a national network of individuals,

organisations and institutions. Chairman of Polli

Karma Sohayak Foundation Qazi Kholiquzzaman

presided over the function while Rezaul Karim

Chowdhury, executive director of Coast Trust, moderated

it.

Saber Hossain Chowdhury, chairman of Standing

Committee on Ministry of Environment, Forest and

Climate Change, noted economist Dr Qazi

Kholiquzzaman, lawmaker Akhtaruzzaman Babu,

and Dhaka University Professor Dr Mahbuba Nasrin

spoke, among others, at the occasion. Qazi

Kholiquzzaman said a special budgetary allocation is

a must to recover the losses of the coastal people.

Otherwise, many will lose their employment and the

areas will become prone to worse poverty. An immediate

survey should be conducted in this regard, he

added.

It is not that the government is too unmindful of

the problem. It has had several coastal embankment

projects under various nomenclatures and periods.

There was the Coastal Embankment Project (CEP)

implemented during the 1960s and early 1970s. And

following the two severe cyclones, SIDR and AILA,

that hit the coastal zone with devastating effect, the

Coastal Embankment Improvement Project, and

under it various other schemes, were formulated and

their implementation attempted with international

financing.

But the problem is that the long network of

embankments, running into hundreds of miles, seldom

fully stands a storm surge. The standard of

work and of course poor quality of construction

materials combine to render these protection barriers

brittle. There is need to construct newer embankments

every year, apart from regular repair and

maintenance . But the works must be done absolutely

incorruptibly. It is credibly alleged that hundreds

and hundreds of crores of Taka have just gone down

the drain from unpardonable 'corruption' in the

building, rebuilding, strengthening and maintaining

the networks of embankments. Such callous loss of

precious national resources cannot go on unpunished.

Government must do two things immediately :

Fastest possible engagement in works along the total

length and breadth of the embankments network.

Second, all spending in the works must be carried

out with zero corruption to fetch the best results

from durable and effective embankments.

The hand of history was on the minds

of Emmanuel Macron and Angela

Merkel in their mini-summit last

week; 76 years after Paris was liberated

from Nazi forces, the two leaders plotted

the future of the EU and Europe's wider

role in the world.

The meeting at Fort de Bregancon, the

summer residence of French leaders, was

the first there since 1985. At that time,

Helmut Kohl and Francois Mitterrand

forged a trusted partnership, and Merkel

and Macron are working more closely

together now than at any time during

their periods in office.

While the Franco-German alliance has

long been the motor of European

integration, cooperation between the two

powers ebbs and flows. The current high

point in the Macron and Merkel

relationship partially reflects the fact that

the former faces an uncertain election

outlook in 2022, while the latter is leaving

office next year.

"We need to ramp up our co-operation,

whether it's Lebanon or Belarus or Covid-

19 … even though we don't enjoy global

leadership, we will ensure the EU makes

its voice heard," Merkel said, echoing

Macron's theme of "European

sovereignty." It is this combined context

that is bringing out both of their concerns

to come together to try to steer the EU's

future, internally and externally. Both, in

their own ways, are extraordinary

politicians with an eye on their legacies,

and see Germany's current six months

presidency of the EU as a key vehicle to

realize their ambitions.

Since his remarkable rise to power,

MOST Muslim-majority nations

are enduring yet another phase of

the 'politics of ummah'. However,

heedful of their domestic challenges, they

are also striving to readjust their

geopolitical priorities in accordance with

their own economic and political realities.

The concept of ummah has always

remained central to the Muslim world,

mainly as a religious ethos of unity. At the

same time, it has been undergoing a

process of deconstruction, where the

states as well as non-state actors have

been shaping its new contours.

Recent developments in the Middle

East, especially the agreement between

Israel and the UAE for normalisation of

bilateral relations, and the reported

tensions between Saudi Arabia and

Pakistan, are merely the undercurrents of

the brewing political crisis in the Muslim

world. Apparently, it seems the Gulf

states, especially Saudi Arabia, have

already made some hard decisions linked

to their geostrategic realignment which

could entail their desertion of the

custodianship of the Muslim world or

ummah. Many would argue that fastchanging

geopolitical realities, growing

economic upheavals, increasing

sociopolitical disquiet, and mounting

grievances of the youth in these countries

are forcing the Gulf leaders to transform

their geostrategic and political

approaches.

Still, it is hard to presume that Saudi

Arabia and its Gulf allies have lost their

belief in the concept and the politics of

ummah. Leadership of the ummah

confers huge political and strategic value

in regional and global politics, which will

make it hard for these countries to

withdraw their claim to it. Rather, they are

Macron has emerged as one of the most

authoritative defenders of the liberal

international order. Indeed, the young

French president and Donald Trump

currently embody perhaps more than any

other democratic leaders the current

battle in international relations between a

populist tide and the liberal center

ground.

Macron aside, Merkel, in office since

2005, has been the most important

political leader in continental Europe.

Four French presidents (Jacques Chirac,

Nicolas Sarkozy, Francois Hollande and

now Macron himself) have already served

during her long tenure.

Both Merkel and Macron believe that

Europe is now, a century and a half after

Bismarck's time, in another critical period

in the midst of a massive recession and

political tumult.

By the end of her fourth term next year,

she will have matched Kohl's 16 years in

office. Indeed, in length of tenure she will

sit behind only Otto von Bismarck, who

served for almost two decades from 1871-

90 and was a dominant force in European

AnDREw HAMMonD

affairs, having helped drive German

unification.

Both Merkel and Macron believe that

Europe is now, a century and a half after

Bismarck's time, in another critical period

in the midst of a massive recession and

political tumult. The fact that they

perceive this political window of

opportunity reflects not just the economic

stresses that the coronavirus has brought

to the continent, but also Brexit, given

that the UK would have been skeptical of

key elements that Macron and Merkel are

now pushing, including stronger defense

union. Their agenda last week was

therefore far reaching, including the

turmoil in Belarus, Lebanon and Mali;

Greek-Turkey tensions; re-imagining the

shape of the EU post-Brexit; carving out a

role for Europe as a defense power to

match its economic might; and the

relationship the EU should have with

China, post-pandemic. While these are all

key issues, it could be Belarus that

becomes the most pressing business for

Macron and Merkel this month.

They made the offer of EU-led

changes in the Muslim world

MuHAMMAD AMIR RAnA

worried on account of the other

contenders to leadership, mainly an

alternative bloc led by Turkey, Iran, Qatar

and to some extent Malaysia.

However, religious institutions and

clergy have nurtured an altogether

different worldview among ordinary

Muslims in many parts of the Muslim

world, which, though it may not be

compatible with the narratives promoted

by their respective states, usually

resonates with the sentiments of nonstate

actors of violent and non-violent

shades.

For the ordinary Muslim, visualising

politics separately from religion is not an

easy task.

The 'ummah' is a religious concept, used

to describe the worldwide community of

Muslims. The pan-Islamist and

brotherhood movements had constructed

a political delusion around the concept,

and the Muslim world (states and

societies) have been fantasising about the

concept for decades. They have tried to

build a political community of Muslims:

the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

(OIC) is one such manifestation. The Gulf

states have effectively manoeuvred the

notion: they blended it with Arab

nationalism during the socioeconomic

transition period from the 1960s to the

last decade. Many Gulf states led by Saudi

Arabia narrowed the scope of the ummah

to Wahabi Islam and made a huge

investment in exporting it across the

Muslim world and Muslim diaspora

communities, and extracted political

support for their regimes.

However, religious institutions and clergy have nurtured an

altogether different worldview among ordinary Muslims in

many parts of the Muslim world, which, though it may not be

compatible with the narratives promoted by their respective

states, usually resonates with the sentiments of non-state

actors of violent and non-violent shades.

The Saudis are not going to abandon the

idea of leading the ummah because that

would mean losing enormous strategic

value in their international relations.

While the 'influence' they wield by being

leaders of the ummah makes them an

important global player, their strong

alliance with the US makes them 'potent'

among Muslim countries. To further

consolidate this two-pronged strength,

Saudi Arabia formed an alliance of 40

Muslim countries called the Islamic

Military Counterterrorism Coalition.

Many would argue the Saudis' real aim in

doing so was to raise troops for Yemen

and counter Iran in the region. Of course,

Saudi Arabia was not doing this as a

religious service or to serve the ummah's

collective interests, yet many small

Muslim countries joined the Saudi-led

'Muslim Nato' for their own economic

interests. However, the alliance was

bound to fail because it had a very narrow

focus and revolved around the interests of

a particular state.

VIcToR DAVIS HAnSon

mediation for Belarus. They also told

Vladimir Putin that Alexander

Lukashenko's government must stop

using violence against peaceful

demonstrators, engage with the

opposition, and immediately release

political prisoners. Some EU leaders want

to go further and agreed last week to draw

up a list of targets for a new round of

potential sanctions.

The situation remains combustible, and

Putin says the EU placing external

pressure on the leadership in Minsk is

unacceptable. Belarus is one of Russia's

closest allies and a full member of two

Moscow-dominated alliances that are

alternatives to the EU and NATO in

Europe; the Eurasian Economic Union

and the Collective Security Treaty

Organization.

Much of this German-Franco agenda

may not be realized in 2020, but a

significant start was made last month as

they worked together to persuade

squabbling EU members to give the bloc,

for the first time in its history, debt-raising

powers to finance a 750 billion euro

pandemic recovery plan.

A UK-EU trade deal would be another

key success for the German presidency of

the EU after years of Brexit angst. Both

Macron and Merkel now want to see an

agreement with London to avoid a hard,

disorderly end to the UK transition

period, and use this as a platform for the

continent, in the midst of continuing

division, to come together again and forge

a new path into the 2020s and beyond.

Source: Arab news

For the ordinary Muslim, visualising

politics separately from religion is not an

easy task: the pan-Islamist and

Brotherhood movements have changed

the worldview of many Muslim societies.

By targeting the education sector, they

have transformed Muslim societies'

political views to the extent that it will take

a long time to rediscover the lost religious

value of the concept of ummah.

The Palestinian issue has remained on

top of the OIC agenda. While the Gulf

states have maintained solidarity with the

Palestinians, non-state actors have

developed their narratives around the

Palestinian-Israel issue and their

allegedly corrupt regimes who they

believe are not taking the issue seriously.

Interestingly, the public has largely

consumed the narrative of 'corrupt

regimes' that is promoted by non-state

actors and like-minded religious leaders,

but the educated classes still refuse to

borrow the idea of an alternative state

system which undermines democracy

and associated freedoms. Non-state

actors also failed to sell their models of

alternative state systems after the Arab

Spring uprisings. But they still remain

relevant in political and religious

discourses of their societies.

Non-state actors could exploit the

emerging political developments to their

advantage. The major violent groups Al

Qaeda and Islamic State have not reacted

to the UAE-Israel deal yet. Both groups

have been significantly weakened and

might not be able to launch big attacks

immediately, but they could use the

situation in support of their argument

against the Muslim regimes and Israel.

Source: Dawn

American soldiers leave Germany-and suddenly Germany is upset

President Trump recently ordered a

12,000-troop reduction in American

military personnel stationed in

Germany. That leaves about 24,000

American soldiers still in the country.

A little more than half of the troops being

withdrawn will return home. The rest will be

redeployed to other NATO member nations

such as Belgium, Italy, and perhaps Baltic

and Eastern European countries.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is said

to be furious. She claims the redeployments

will "weaken the (NATO) alliance." German

commercial interests chimed in that the

troop withdrawals will hurt their decadesold

businesses serving U.S. bases.

Perhaps, but Merkel surely cannot be

surprised. Six years ago, all NATO members

pledged to spend 2 percent of their GDP on

defense. Yet only eight of 29 so far have kept

their word.

Germany spends only about 1.4 percent of

its GDP on defense. As NATO's largest,

wealthiest and most powerful European

Since his remarkable rise to power, Macron has

emerged as one of the most authoritative defenders of

the liberal international order. Indeed, the young French

president and Donald Trump currently embody perhaps

more than any other democratic leaders the current

battle in international relations between a populist

tide and the liberal center ground.

member, it sets the example for the rest of

alliance.

Merkel's reneging on her 2014 pledge

helps explain why less wealthy and

influential NATO members also see no

reason to meet their obligations.

Germany surely knows that 2020 marks

the 75th anniversary of the end of the World

War II, and the 29th year since the fall of the

Berlin Wall - the symbolic end of the Cold

War.

Will there be any point in the future when

Europe is confident enough to be a full

defense partner with the U.S. rather than an

eight-decade client?

placeholder

NATO, of course, still provides a common

European defense, but only by habitually

relying inordinately on U.S. military

contributions. That dependence seems

increasingly odd when the European Union

has an aggregate GDP nearly as large as

America's.

More important, NATO's frontline threats

are now mostly concerned with rogue

member Turkey, especially its bullying of

Greece and its increasingly aggressive

stance in the Middle East.

Russia always poses a threat to Europe.

But the likely flashpoints are not on the

German border, but more likely eastward in

the Baltic states or on the Russian frontier

with Poland.

Moreover, the Merkel government has

concluded, over American objections, a

huge natural gas deal with Russia that is

currently under some U.S. sanctions and

short of cash.

Russian energy exports to Germany are

said to earn Russia $10 billion a year, with a

likely doubling of that income once

additional pipelines to Germany are

completed.

Merkel likes to lecture the world on moral

issues, but what is so noble about

empowering Russian President Vladimir

Putin, who recently reclaimed Crimea and

seems now to be eyeing Belarus?

placeholder

Like a modern-day Byzantine emperor

Justinian, who recovered much of the lost

Western Roman Empire, Putin seems to

think he can reabsorb the lost Soviet

republics.

In recent polling, Germans were more

anti-American than any other nation in

Europe. And while about 75 percent of

Americans believe the U.S. still has a good

relationship with Germany, only about a

third of Germans feel that way about the

U.S. Nearly half the German population in

some polls want U.S. troops out.

Note that Germany piles up the largest

annual trade surplus with the U.S. of any

nation in Europe - roughly $55 billion to

$70 billion in most years. The Trump

administration says the surpluses have

grown in large part due to asymmetry in

tariffs and duties, with Germany the far

more protectionist of the two partners.

Source: Fox news


MonDAY, August 24, 2020

5

Face masks give facial recognition

software hard times

Alex Hern

It is an increasingly common

modern annoyance: arriving at

the front of the queue to pay in

a shop, pulling out a

smartphone for a hygienic

contact-free payment, and

staring down at an error

message because your phone

fails to recognise your masked

face.

As more and more nations

mandate masks to prevent the

spread of coronavirus,

technology companies are

scrambling to keep up with the

changing world. But some

experts are warning that the

change may have to start with

users themselves.

Apple's Face ID is the most

well-known example of a

consumer facial verification

system. The technology, which

uses a grid of infrared dots to

measure the physical shape of

a user's face, secures access to

the company's iPhones and

iPads, as well as other features

such as Apple Pay.

But although the service can

work through many barriers,

including heavy makeup, thick

beards and even sunglasses, it

fails with masks. Users can still

avoid some hassle with a littleknown

feature called express

Transit, which allows them to

use Apple Pay on public

transport

without

authentication.

But other than that, there has

only been one tweak to the

system to account for the new

reality. In mid-May, Apple

launched an update that

removed the delay between

failing to recognise a face and

showing a passcode for an

alternative authentication.

That speeds up the fallback

option, but is less than many

had hoped for by now.

Unfortunately, says Andrew

Bud, chief executive of facial

verification company iProov,

that might be the best we see in

the near term.

Face masks do not actually

make it significantly harder to

recognise a person, Bud says.

"Modern face recognition

relies quite heavily on the area

around the eyes. The old

paradigm - measuring the

geometry of the shape of the

face in general - that was

obsolete five years ago."

Face masks make it harder for a system to distinguish between a real face

and a spoof.

Photo: Pavlo gonchar

Instead, the problem masks

have is that they make it harder

for a system to distinguish

between a real face and a spoof.

That task, called "genuine

presence assurance", is at the

core of facial verification - and

the reason why Bud thinks we

may not see alternatives arising

any time soon. "Most genuine

presence assurance solutions

will struggle to deal with a large

mask covering the majority of

someone's face."

That problem has also

plagued alternatives. In 2017,

for instance, Samsung brought

out the Galaxy S8, a new

smartphone with iris

recognition. Within a month,

researchers had posted a video

of them unlocking the same

phone with just a photo of

someone's eye hidden behind a

contact lens. "By far [the] most

expensive part of the iris

biometry hack was the

purchase of the Galaxy S8," the

group wrote.

Other technologies might

show more promise. Bud's

company, which provides

verification services to the UK

government, has developed a

palm verification system that

can successfully recognise

people from a smartphone

picture of their hand - with the

same protection against

artificial spoofs. But ultimately,

he warns, the most likely

outcome is a change in

attitudes.

"In the future, when you

want to authenticate, you just

briefly take your mask off. We

think that's OK. We as a

company are focused on

usability, and that strikes me as

being an imposition you can

live with, even in the world of

Covid."

There is one silver lining. The

problems that facial

verification systems have with

masks have also been plaguing

manufacturers of a similar

technology, facial recognition -

used for surveillance purposes,

to track people using CCTV

footage. A July study by the US

government revealed that

widespread mask wearing

reduced the accuracy of facial

recognition algorithms by

between 5% and 50%.

tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple, has presided over an almost nine-fold increase in its share

price.

Photo: Bloomberg

Apple becomes a $2tn company

MArK SWeney

Apple became the first US $2tn

company on Wednesday, only two years

after becoming the first to be valued at

$1tn by Wall Street. The technology

powerhouse behind the iPhone needed

to hit a share price of $467.77 to reach

the milestone and moved through that

barrier during mid-morning trading on

the nasdaq exchange on Wednesday,

although it closed down just below that

historic level at $1.979tn (£1.51tn).

The figure means the company, cofounded

to sell personal computers by

the late Steve Jobs in 1976, is valued at

significantly more than half of the US's

total tax take of 2019.

Apple hit a $1tn market capitalisation

in 2018, 42 years after it was founded

and 117 years after US Steel became the

first company to be valued at $1bn in

1901. It is not the first company in the

world to have been valued at $2tn. Saudi

Aramco was briefly valued at that level

after the Saudi state-backed oil company

made its stock market debut last year,

but it then slipped back.

The iMac to iPhone maker has so far

proved to be coronavirus-proof,

crushing Wall Street expectations in

each of the last two quarters. Apple had

expected to take a hit, issuing a revenue

warning and withdrawing financial

guidance in February well before the

pandemic had gone global. Instead, its

share price has risen more than 50% this

year, adding more than $1tn to its value

since March. It is now worth $300bn

more than the next largest listed US

company, Jeff Bezos' Amazon.

However, the company's rise to tech

behemoth status has seen its carefully

cultivated image as the plucky challenger

replaced by accusations it is now abusing

its power. last month, Apple faced

accusations of anti-competitive

behaviour at a heated congressional

hearing in Washington. And last week,

Fortnite-maker epic Games launched

legal action against Apple and Google

after the enormously popular video

game was removed from their app stores

for violating Apple's strict payment

guidelines.

The Apple juggernaut has successfully

navigated major changes in recent years

as Jony Ive, the British chief architect of

groundbreaking designs from the iMac

to the iPhone who reinvigorated the

business alongside Jobs, left the

company after almost 30 years last year.

Jobs passed away in 2011 and his

successor, Apple lifer Tim Cook, has bet

big on moving the company away from

an over-dependence on its stalwart

product, the iPhone. Cook has presided

over an almost nine-fold increase in

Apple's share price since taking over, a

run that saw the 59-year-old join the

billionaire club last week.

It has been Apple's push into services

and so-called wearable products that has

really paid off, making more than $13bn

in the last quarter alone. The company

has moved into Spotify territory with its

subscription music offering, Apple

Music.

AI will create useless class of human

At the inset, added city details of Queens in new York.

google Maps gets worldwide

visual overhaul

TeCHnOlOGy DeSK

Google Maps is getting a visual overhaul

worldwide, finally letting users distinguish

forest from floodplain, and desert from

snowfield, at a glance. Alongside the changes to

natural environments, a new set of maps will be

rolling out in major cities, beginning with

london, new york City and San Francisco,

aiming to more accurately represent the builtup

environment to help pedestrians and

cyclists navigate.

"Google Maps has high-definition satellite

imagery for over 98% of the world's

population," said Sujoy Banerjee, a product

manager for the app. "With a new colourmapping

algorithmic technique, we're able to

take this imagery and translate it into an even

more comprehensive, vibrant map of an area at

global scale.

"exploring a place gives you a look at its

natural features - so you can easily distinguish

tan, arid beaches and deserts from blue lakes,

rivers, oceans and ravines. you can know at a

glance how lush and green a place is with

vegetation, and even see if there are snow caps

on the peaks of mountaintops."

The new detail comes from algorithmic

analysis of satellite imagery, which attempts to

automatically discern the nature of the

environment. It then adds new colour on to the

map in an attempt to reflect the varieties of

landscape.

rather than following a predefined key, as

with a paper map, the automatic colouring

allows for different features to be emphasised

according to need. In Iceland, the land can be

darker green depending on the level of tree

cover, but in Washington State, a darker green

Photo: google

is instead used to detail the borders of Mt

rainer national park.

Those changes are due to roll out "starting

this week", Google says. Alongside the newly

detailed terrain, the company is also launching

more detailed maps for selected urban areas,

starting with london, new york City and San

Francisco.

Those updates will include visual

representations of features such as pavements,

road widths and pedestrian crossings and

islands. That, Banerjee says, is "crucial

information if you have accessibility needs, like

wheelchair or stroller requirements. These

details are particularly helpful as more people

are opting to walk or take other forms of solo

transportation due to the pandemic."

Google's rival Apple is in the process of

overhauling its own mapping service,

introducing a Street View-like feature dubbed

"look around" and improving the detail of rural

and urban areas. Apple's refreshed maps,

which were first launched in California's Bay

Area in 2018, will finally hit the UK, Ireland

and Canada this autumn, after expanding to

Japan, the first non-US deployment, earlier

this year.

A few American and Chinese cities will also

receive cycling directions in Apple's update,

more than 10 years after Google introduced the

feature. Competition between rival mapping

companies has been steadily intensifying, as

Google and Apple seek to reposition their

respective mapping apps as more fullyfeatured

"local search" offerings. As well as

taking users from A to B, Google Maps can now

be used to book restaurants or hotels, hire cabs

and place orders for takeaway or delivery

meals.

IAn SAMPle

It is hard to miss the

warnings. In the race to

make computers more

intelligent than us, humanity

will summon a demon, bring

forth the end of days, and

code itself into oblivion.

Instead of silicon assistants

we'll build silicon assassins.

The doomsday story of an

evil AI has been told a

thousand times. But our fate

at the hand of clever cloggs

robots may in fact be worse -

to summon a class of

eternally useless human

beings. At least that is the

future predicted by yuval

noah Harari, a lecturer at

the Hebrew University in

Jerusalem, whose new book

says more of us will be

pushed out of employment

by intelligent robots and on

to the economic scrap heap.

Harari rose to prominence

when his 2014 book,

Sapiens: A Brief History of

Humankind, became an

international bestseller. Two

years on, the book is still

being talked about. Bill

Gates asked Melinda to read

it on holiday. It would spark

great conversations around

the dinner table, he told her.

We know because he said so

on his blog this week.

When a book is a hit, the

publisher wants more. And

so Harari has been busy. His

next title, Homo Deus: A

Brief History of Tomorrow,

is not out until September

but early copies have begun

to circulate. Its cover states

simply: "What made us

sapiens will make us gods".

It follows on from where

Sapiens ends, in a

provocative, and certainly

speculative, gallop through

the hopes and dreams that

will shape the future of the

species.

And the nightmares.

Because even as the book has

humans gaining godlike

powers, that is only one

eventuality Harari explores.

It might all go pear-shaped,

of course: we sapiens have a

knack for hashing things up.

Instead of morphing into

omnipotent, all-knowing

masters of the universe, the

human mob might end up

jobless and aimless, whiling

away our days off our nuts

on drugs, with Vr headsets

strapped to our faces.

Welcome to the next

revolution.

Harari calls it "the rise of

the useless class" and ranks

it as one of the most dire

threats of the 21st century. In

a nutshell, as artificial

intelligence gets smarter,

more humans are pushed

out of the job market. no one

knows what to study at

college, because no one

knows what skills learned at

20 will be relevant at 40.

Before you know it, billions

of people are useless, not

through chance but by

definition.

"I'm aware that these

kinds of forecasts have been

around for at least 200 years,

from the beginning of the

Industrial revolution, and

they never came true so far.

It's basically the boy who

cried wolf," says Harari. "But

in the original story of the

boy who cried wolf, in the

end, the wolf actually comes,

and I think that is true this

time."

The way Harari sees it,

humans have two kinds of

ability that make us useful:

physical ones and cognitive

ones. The Industrial

revolution may have led to

machines that did away with

humans in jobs needing

strength and repetitive

actions. But the takeover was

not overwhelming. With

cognitive powers that

machines could not touch,

humans were largely safe in

their work. For how much

longer, though? AIs are now

beginning to outperform

humans in the cognitive

field. And while new types of

jobs will certainly emerge,

we cannot be sure, says

Harari, that humans will do

them better than AIs,

computers and robots.

AIs do not need more

intelligence than humans to

transform the job market.

They need only enough to do

the task well. And that is not

far off, Harari says.

"Children alive today will

face the consequences. Most

of what people learn in

school or in college will

probably be irrelevant by the

time they are 40 or 50. If

they want to continue to

have a job, and to

understand the world, and

be relevant to what is

happening, people will have

to reinvent themselves again

and again, and faster and

faster."

even so, jobless humans

are not useless humans. In

the US alone, 93 million

people do not have jobs, but

they are still valued. Harari,

it turns out, has a specific

definition of useless. "I

choose this very upsetting

term, useless, to highlight

the fact that we are talking

about useless from the

viewpoint of the economic

and political system, not

from a moral viewpoint," he

says. Modern political and

economic structures were

built on humans being useful

to the state: most notably as

workers and soldiers, Harari

argues. With those roles

taken on by machines, our

political and economic

systems will simply stop

attaching much value to

humans, he argues.

none of this puts us in the

realm of the gods. In fact, it

leads Harari to even more

bleak predictions. Though

the people may no longer

provide for the state, the

state may still provide for

them. "What might be far

more difficult is to provide

people with meaning, a

reason to get up in the

morning," Harari says. For

those who don't cheer at the

prospect of a post-work

world, satisfaction will be a

commodity to pay for: our

moods and happiness

controlled by drugs; our

excitement and emotional

attachments found not in the

world outside, but in

immersive Vr.

All of which leads to the

question: what should we

do? "First of all, take it very

seriously," Harari says. "And

make it a part of the political

agenda, not only the

scientific agenda. This is

something that shouldn't be

left to scientists and private

corporations. They know a

lot about the technical stuff,

the engineering, but they

don't necessarily have the

vision and the legitimacy to

decide the future course of

humankind."

Most of what people learn in school will be irrelevant by the time they are 40 or 50. Photo: Antonio olmos


MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2020 6

Jubo Mohila League holds discussion

meeting in Pabna

Abdul HAmid KHAn, PAbnA CorresPondent:

A discussion meeting and prayer mahfil

organized by Jubo mohila league was

held in Pabna in protest of the August 21

grenade attack and in memory of the

martyrs at Pabna district Awami league

office on Friday.

At the beginning of the program, the

leaders of the party observed a minute's

silence and paid homage to the portraits

of the 24 martyrs of the grenade attack on

21 August. Pabna district Jubo mohila

league President Adv. Arefa Khanam

shefali chaired the occasion while Pabna

district Awami league General secretary

and sadar constituency mP Golam

Farooq Prince moderated the occasion.

Parliament member of Pabna-1

constituency Adv shamsul Haque tuku

was the chief guest at the occasion while

among others, district Awami league

Joint General secretary Adv. belayet Ali

billu, upazila Parishad Vice Chairman

shawal biswas, municipal Awami league

President Adv. toslim Hasan sumon,

upazila Awami league General secretary

sohel Hasan shahin, municipal Awami

league General secretary shahjahan

mamun, labor Affairs secretary sardar

mithu Ahmed, upazila Awami league

organizing secretary sheikh russell Ali

masud and Finance secretary Hirok

Hossain were also present at the

occasion.

At the end of the discussion, a prayer

was held for the forgiveness of the souls of

the martyrs of the grenade attack.

Narsingdi Sadar Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Md. Shah Alam Miah on Saturday led

a day long drive and recovered government land worth around Tk 7 crore from illegal occupation.

Photo: Md Salim Mia

Government land worth Tk 7 crore

recovered in a day in Narsingdi

md sAlim miA, nArsinGdi CorresPondent:

narsingdi district administration

has rescued government land worth

around tk 7 crore from illegal

occupation in one day. narsingdi

sadar upazila land office on

saturday launched a day-long

operation to recover government

land.

narsingdi sadar upazila Assistant

Commissioner (land) md. shah

Alam miah led the day-long

operation. during the operation, 25

per cent government khas land in

Paikarchar union land office of

sadar upazila at Puranchar mouza

no. 92 (with a current market value of

about tk 75.10 lakh), 10 percent

government khas land in balursail

mouza no. 1299 of mahishashura

union land office (with a current

market value of around tk 40 lakh),

in Atpaika mouza no. 361 of the same

union, 133 per cent of schedule 'Ka'

land (with a current market value of

about tk 5.32 crore), and in Atpaika

mouza no 341, 15 per cent of schedule

'Kha' land (with a current market

value of around tk 60 lakh) was

evicted at the and the red flag was

hoisted and taken under the control of

the government. the total amount of

land recovered and evicted is 183

percent with a current market value of

around tk 7.2 crore.

narsingdi deputy Commissioner

and district magistrate syeda

Farhana Kaunain, who is committed

to protecting and safeguarding

government interests, said the rescue

and eviction drive was conducted

under the direction of executive

magistrate and sadar upazila

Assistant Commissioner (land) md.

shah Alam.

earlier on August 12, 10 per cent

government khas land in baduarchar

area of Hajipur union in narsingdi

sadar upazila with a market value of

around tk 20 lakh was evicted. on 13

August, 45.82 per cent of the

government khas land in satirpara

mouza of narsingdi municipality

(with a market value of about tk2.3

crore) was evicted.

on saturday, July 25, 157 per cent

government ponds worth crores of

taka were recovered at birampur in

madhadi and on July 26, 4 acres and

15 per cent government properties

worth several crores of taka were

recovered at Pakuria village of

banghab mouza in Amdia union of

the district. executive magistrate md

shah Alam mia, who led the rescue

operation, said about 8 acres and 10

per cent of the land in narsingdi

sadar upazila has been recovered so

far in just two months as part of

government land recovery in different

parts of the district under the

direction of narsingdi deputy

Commissioner and district

magistrate syeda Farhana Kaunain.

the lands were being illegally

occupied by different influential

people and were conducting different

illegal businesses. He said the drive to

vacate government property would

continue.

A discussion meeting and doa mahfil organized by Jubo Mohila League was held in Pabna

in protest of the August 21 grenade attack and in memory of the martyrs at Pabna district

Awami League office recently.

Photo: Abdul Hamid Khan

Sramik League holds Doa Mahfil

for Bangabandhu in Moulvibazar

AloK KAnti deb, moulVibAzAr CorresPondent:

A milad and doa mahfil was held at

district Jame mosque (old Court

mosque) in moulvibazar on the

occasion of 45th martyrdom

anniversary of Father of the nation

bangabandhu sheikh mujibur

rahman and national mourning day

on sunday.

during the time, district General

secretary misbahur rahman, district

Jatiya sramik league President md

Asad Hossain makku, orgaz

secretary sobhan Ali, Alamgir Khan,

Abdul Ahad, sadar upazila Jatiya

sramik league President

samshaddin sanu, rajnagar upazila

sramik league General secretary

md. nannu Ahmed and other leaders

were also present at the occasion.

during the time, prayers were offered

for the forgiveness of Father of the

nation bangabandhu sheikh

mujibur rahman.

besides, prayers were also offered

for the forgiveness of the late former

member of the Constituent

Assembly, several times former

member of Parliament, Chairman of

the district Council Azizur rahman

and late social Welfare minister syed

mohsin Ali. imam of district Jame

mosque conducted the prayers.

Rangpur District Superintendent of Police, Biplob Kumar Sarkar BPM (Bar) PPM as the chief

guest was present at a bit policing workshop and bit registrar distribution meeting of Rangpur

District Police at Police Lines School and College auditorium on Sunday.

Photo: TBT

'There is no alternative but to intensify

bit policing activities': Rangpur SP

tbt desK:

bit policing workshop and bit

registrar distribution meeting of

rangpur district Police was held Police

lines school and College auditorium

on sunday. Additional superintendent

of Police (Administration and Crime),

rangpur, mahushudhan roy presided

over the while maintaining social and

physical distance.

rangpur district superintendent of

Police, biplob Kumar sarkar bPm

(bar) PPm was present as the chief

guests at the bit Policing Workshop

and bit registrar distribution

ceremony. during the time, the Police

super said that we need to work faster

than before to reduce the crime trend

in the society by bridging the gap

between the police and the people by

bringing the police service to the

doorsteps of the common man through

bit policing service. there is no

deterioration of discipline in the

designated bit area, and we need to

work sincerely so that the victims can

get the full service. He also pledged to

work hand in hand with the police and

the people to set up bit police offices in

the area to strengthen the police

relationship with the people by

exchanging views with the people on

issues related to crime control in the

area.

He further said that the police

stations have given instructions to

increase the monitoring of bit officers

to strengthen the bit policing system in

the area. He thanked all concerned for

speeding up the service at the

doorsteps of the common man and

also said that no exemption would be

given if any officer was accused of

unprofessional behavior.

At the occasion, maruf Ahmed,

Additional superintendent of Police,

(b-Circle) rangpur,. Abu tayyab

mohammad Arif Hossain, Additional

superintendent of Police (A-Circle)

rangpur, md. Anwar Hossain,

Additional superintendent of Police

(Headquarters) rangpur and md.

Ashraful Alam Palash, Assistant

superintendent of Police, (sAF) were

among others also present at the

occasion.

A Milad and Doa Mahfil was held at District Jame Mosque (Old Court Mosque) in Moulvibazar on the

occasion of 45th martyrdom anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman and National Mourning Day on Sunday.

Photo: Alok Kanti Deb

Tree plantation program opened

in Cumilla on Mujib Year

CumillA: A tree plantation program

was inaugurated in Chauddagram

upazila of the district yesterday on the

occasion of the birth centenary of Father

of the nation bangabandhu sheikh

mujibur rahman, reports bss.

Cumilla's Chauddagram upazila

mohila Awami league (Al) and Juba

mahila league arranged it as a part of

tree plantation programme of Cumilla

south district mohila Awami league

(Al) on mujib Year.

Cumilla south district mohila Al

president and former mP Jobeda Khatun

inaugurated the program by planting

saplings of different trees in front of the

office building of mazibul Haque, mP of

Chauddagram constituency. upazila

mohila Awami league Chairman

Faizunnesa Amin presided over the

inaugural function and upazila Awami

league General secretary Professor

rahmat ullah babul conducted it.

Cumilla south district mohila Al

General secretary Kohinur begum,

municipal mayor mizanur rahman,

Cumilla south district Jubo mohila

league Chairman and sadar dakshin

mohila Awami league Vice Chairman

nasima Akter Putul, Cumilla district

Council member VP Faruk Ahmed miazi,

Cumilla south district Jubo mohila

league organizing secretary and

reserved seat in parliament mP salma

Akter beauty and leaders of the mohila

Awami league were present, among

others, in the program.

leaders of Awami league and its

associate bodies here expressed their

determination to continue tree plantation

program in the district on the occasion of

the mujib Year.


MONDAY, AUGUSt 24, 2020

7

House passes bill to reverse changes

blamed for mail delays

Health workers conduct COVID-19 antigen tests for migrant workers in New Delhi, India, Aug. 18,

2020. In June, India began using the cheaper, faster but less accurate tests to scale up testing for the

coronavirus â€" a strategy that the US is now considering.

Photo : AP

Experts flag risks in India's use

of rapid tests for virus

In June, India began using cheaper,

faster but less accurate tests to scale up

testing for the coronavirus - a strategy

that the United States is now considering,

reports UNB.

These rapid tests boosted India's testing

levels nearly five-fold within two

months. But government numbers suggest

some parts of the country might

have become over reliant on the faster

tests, which can miss infections.

Experts warn that safely using them

requires frequent retesting, something

that isn't always happening.

Cases surged faster than labs could

scale up testing once India's harsh lockdown

was relaxed. So far authorities

have rationed the use of the more precise

molecular tests that detect the

genetic code of the virus. But on June

14, India decided to bolster these with

faster tests that screen for antigens, or

viral proteins. Albeit less accurate,

these tests are cheap and yield results in

minutes. Most don't require a lab for

processing or any specialized equipment

or trained personnel. The plan

was to rapidly increase testing to identify

infected people and prevent them

from spreading the virus. Samples tested

using both tests increased from 5.6

million in mid-June to 26 million two

months later, and nearly a third of all

tests conducted daily are now antigen

tests, health officials say.

But India's experience also highlights

the inherent pitfalls of relying too heavily

on antigen tests, at the expense of

more accurate tests. The danger is that

the tests may falsely clear many who

are infected with COVID-19, contributing

to new spread of the virus in hardhit

areas. Rapid test results can be

backstopped with more accurate laboratory

tests, but these are slower and

expensive. Experts also warn that since

the two types of tests vary in accuracy,

they need to be interpreted separately

to properly assess the spread of infection-something

India isn't doing.

The U.S. faces a similar need to strike

a balance between speed and precision,

with overburdened labs struggling to

keep pace with the outbreak.

Researchers at Harvard and elsewhere

are proposing developing a $1 salivabased

antigen test for all Americans to

test themselves daily, something that

has not yet been approved by the Food

and Drug Administration.

Harvard's Dr. Michael Mina says antigen

tests don't catch as many patients

early in the infection, when virus levels

are low. But these people aren't considered

the greatest threat to spreading the

disease since it's only after virus levels

surge that they become more infectious,

and by then they will be picked up by

antigen tests, he said. Because a negative

antigen test doesn't guarantee a person is

virus free, people should be retested regularly,

said Dr. Ashish Jha, director of

Harvard's Global Health Institute. "If

their symptoms change, you want to

think about retesting those people."

With heated debate over mail delays,

the House approved legislation in a

rare Saturday session that would

reverse recent changes in U.S. Postal

Service operations and send $25 billion

to shore up the agency ahead of the

November election, reports UNB.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi recalled lawmakers

to Washington over objections

from Republicans dismissing the action

as a stunt. President Donald Trump

urged a no vote, including in a Saturday

tweet, railing against mail-in ballots

expected to surge in the COVID-19 crisis.

He has said he wants to block extra

funds to the Postal Service.

"Don't pay any attention to what the

president is saying, because it is all

designed to suppress the vote," Pelosi

said at the Capitol.

Pelosi called the Postal Service the

nation's "beautiful thread" connecting

Americans and said voters should

"ignore" the president's threats.

The daylong session came as an

uproar over mail disruptions puts the

Postal Service at the center of the

nation's tumultuous election year, with

Americans rallying around one of the

nation's oldest and more popular institutions.

Millions of people are expected

to opt for mail-in ballots to avoid

polling places during the coronavirus

pandemic. Ahead of voting the president

tweeted, "This is all another

HOAX." More than two dozen Republicans

broke with the president and

backed the bill, which passed 257-150.

Democrats led approval, but the legislation

is certain to stall in the GOP-held

Senate. The White House said the president

would veto it.

Facing a backlash over operational

changes, new Postmaster General

Louis DeJoy testified Friday in the Senate

that his "No. 1 priority" is to ensure

election mail arrives on time.

But the new postal leader, a Trump

ally, said he would not restore the cuts

to mailboxes and sorting equipment

that have already been made. He could

not provide senators with a plan for

handling the ballot crush for the election.

DeJoy is set to return Monday to

testify before the House Oversight

Committee.

"The American people don't want

anyone messing with the post office,"

said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., the

chair of the Oversight Committee and

author of the bill. "They just want their

mail." But Republicans countered that

complaints about mail delivery disruptions

are overblown, and no emergency

funding is needed right now.

"It's a silly, silly bill," said Rep. Tom

Cole, R-Okla. Despite the postmaster

general's vow election mail will arrive

on time, Democrats remain skeptical.

Maloney's committee on Saturday

released internal Postal Service documents

warning about steep declines

and delays in a range of mail services

since early July, shortly after DeJoy

took the helm. He acknowledged at the

Senate hearing there has been a "dip" in

service, but disputed reports of widespread

problems. The Board of Governors

of the Postal Service announced a

bipartisan committee to oversee mail

voting.

The bill would reverse the cuts by

prohibiting any changes made after

January, and provide funds to the

agency. In a memo to House Republicans,

leaders derided the legislation as

a postal "conspiracy theory" act. Many

GOP lawmakers echoed such sentiments

during a lively floor debate.

"I like the post office, I really do," said

Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis. But he

said, "We have no crisis here."

Nevertheless, Senate Republican

leader Mitch McConnell is eyeing a $10

billion postal rescue as part of the next

COVID-19 relief package. While Trump

has said he wants to block emergency

funding for the agency, the White

House has said it would be open to

more postal funding as part of a broader

bill. Hundreds of lawmakers

returned to Washington for the weekend

session, but dozens cast votes by

proxy under House rules that allow

them to stay away during the COVID-

19 crisis. Another lawmaker, Rep. Dan

Meuser, R-Pa., announced Saturday he

had tested positive for the virus.

Indonesia’s Sinabung

volcano spews new

burst of hot ash

A rumbling volcano in western Indonesia on

Sunday unleashed an avalanche of scorching

clouds down its slopes, reports UNB.

Authorities are closely monitoring Mount

Sinabung on Sumatra, one of Indonesia's

main islands, after sensors picked up

increasing activity in past weeks.

The volcano in North Sumatra province

was shooting smoke and ash more than

1,000 meters (3,280 feet) into the air on

Sunday morning, and hot ash clouds traveled

1 kilometer (0.6 mile) southeast,

Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological

Hazard Mitigation Center said.

Villagers were advised to stay 5 kilometers

(3.1 miles) from the crater's mouth and

should be aware of the peril of lava, the

agency said. Air travel was not impacted by

the ash so far, the Transport Ministry said.

There were no casualties from the eruption,

said Armen Putra, an official at the

Sinabung monitoring post. He said villages

outside the red zone were not in immediate

danger.

Some 30,000 people have been forced to

leave homes around Sinabung in the past

few years.

The 2,600-metre (8,530-feet) Sinabung

was dormant for four centuries before

exploding in 2010, killing two people. Another

eruption in 2014 killed 17 people, while

seven died in a 2016 eruption.

The volcano, one of two currently erupting

in Indonesia, has sporadically come to life

since then.

Sinabung is among more than 120 active

volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone to

seismic upheaval due to its location on the

Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and

fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

Mount Sinabung spews volcanic materials during an eruption, in

Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020. Sinabung

is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is

prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of

Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific

Basin.

Photo : AP

2nd night of

protests against

GOP convention

in Charlotte

Protesters returned to the

streets of Charlotte, North

Carolina, to demonstrate for

a second night as GOP officials

gathered in the city for

the Republican National

Convention, reports UNB.

Police used bicycles to

block protesters Saturday

night from gathering close to

the Charlotte Convention

Center, the site of the convention.

The Secret Service

set up a perimeter, news outlets

reported.

The demonstrators' chants

included, "No RNC in CLT"

and "Black Lives Matter."

Several people were

arrested Friday, and at least

one person was arrested Saturday.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg

police tweeted that a

protester armed with a gun

was arrested, and earlier

stated that pepper spray was

used to stop another protester

armed with a pole "from

advancing on officers."

Friday night, a group of

about 60 demonstrators left

a park and began a march

throughout uptown Charlotte,

authorities said.

Police said the group

briefly trespassed onto light

rail tracks, temporarily disrupting

service. Demonstrators

later impeded traffic by

surrounding a vehicle that

was attempting to travel

through an intersection,

police said. William Gissentaner

was arrested and

charged with impeding traffic,

disorderly conduct and

resisting a public officer,

police said.

Police say demonstrators

surrounded another vehicle as

they continued to march, and

three more people were

arrested shortly after. Nolan

Strout was charged with two

counts of assaulting a government

official and resisting a

public officer, police said.

With heated debate over mail delays, the House approved legislation in a rare Saturday session that

would reverse recent changes in U.S. Postal Service operations and send $25 billion to shore up the

agency ahead of the November election.

Photo : AP

2 tropical storms heading for double

blow to US Gulf Coast

Two tropical storms advanced across

the Caribbean on Saturday as potentially

historic threats to the U.S. Gulf Coast,

one dumping rain on Puerto Rico, the

Virgin Islands and Hispaniola while the

other swept into the gulf through the

gap between Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula

and Cuba, reports UNB.

Tropical Storms Laura and Marco

were both projected to approach

Louisiana's coast at or close to hurricane

force just two days apart in the

next several days. A hurricane watch

was issued for the New Orleans metro

area, which was pummeled by Hurricane

Katrina in August 2005.

Two hurricanes have never appeared

in the Gulf of Mexico at the same time,

according to records going back to at

least 1900, said Colorado State University

hurricane researcher Phil

Klotzbach. The last time two tropical

storms were in the Gulf together was in

1959, he said.

The projected tracks from the U.S.

National Hurricane Center late Saturday

pointed to both storms being

together in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday,

with Marco hitting Louisiana at

midday and Laura making landfall in

the same general area Wednesday. But

large uncertainties remained for that

time span, and forecasts have varied

greatly so far for the two storms.

"We are in unprecedented times,"

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said at a

news conference Saturday as he

declared a state of emergency. "We are

dealing with not only two potential

storms in the next few hours, we are

also dealing with COVID-19."

He urged residents to prepare for the

storms and, if possible, find places to

evacuate that are not public shelters.

A hurricane watch was issued for

Intracoastal City, Louisiana, eastward

to the Mississippi-Alabama border.

People in Louisiana headed to stores

to stock up on food, water and other

supplies. Raymond Monday of Gretna,

though, had only a generator on his cart

at Sam's Club. "We've got a freezer full

of food" at home, along with large containers

of water, he said.

Laura flung rain across Puerto Rico

and the Virgin Islands on Saturday and

knocked out water service Saturday

night as it whipped at the Dominican

Republic and Haiti. It was predicted to

move over Cuba on Sunday on its westward

course to the gulf.

In Puerto Rico,the storm knocked

down trees in the island's southern

region and left more than 200,000

clients without power and more than

10,000 without water across the U.S.

territory.

Officials said they were most concerned

about the thousands of people

in Puerto Rico who still have been living

under blue tarps since 2017's

Hurricane Maria and the hundreds of

families living along the island's

southern coast in homes damaged by

a string of strong earthquakes this

year.

Laura was centered about 25 miles

(40) kilometers southeast of Santo

Domingo, Dominican Republic, late

Saturday, with maximum sustained

winds of 50 mph (85 kph). It was moving

west-northwest at 16 mph (26 kph).

Before the storm began moving over

Hispaniola, crews in the Dominican

Republic evacuated dozens of families

in flood-prone areas.

Marco, meanwhile, was centered

about 470 miles (755 kilometers)

south-southeast of the mouth of the

Mississippi River and was moving to

the north-northwest at 13 mph (20

kph). It had maximum sustained winds

of 65 mph (100 kph) and could become

a hurricane sometime Sunday.

Police shoot, kill

Black man outside

store in Louisiana

The mother of a man fatally shot by

Louisiana police said her son was intelligent,

shy and had sought therapy for

social anxiety. Her lawyers said they

plan to sue over the death of Trayford

Pellerin, who police said had a knife

and was trying to enter a convenience

store, reports UNB.

The shooting Friday night was captured

on video, and the state ACLU

condemned what it described as a

"horrific and deadly incident of police

violence against a Black person." Both

the ACLU and the Southern Poverty

Law Center quickly called for an investigation.

Pellerin's death prompted a

crowd of protesters to gather Saturday

and demonstrate against the latest

fatal police shooting. Officers in riot

gear fired smoke canisters on Saturday

night to get the crowd to disperse,

Trooper Derek Senegal said. No tear

gas was deployed, he said.

On Friday night, Lafayette officers

followed Pellerin, 31, on foot as he left a

convenience store where he had

created a disturbance.


MoNDAy, AUGUST 24, 2020

8

Saif Shuvo’s new song

‘Noshto Manush’ released

‘Giving more priority to indoor

based works’ : Nadia

TBT RePoRT

Saif Shuvo, a rising star, has

released a new song with the

title 'Noshto Manush'. The song

was written by Helal Khan.

Rajan Saha composed the

melody and music.

In this regard, Shuvo said, "A

good creation gives immortality

to an artist. I regularly sing with

emphasis on melody and

music." The lyrics of this sad

romantic song is quite nice. The

melody and music have been

great too. In fact, the use of time

and effort is essential for the

creation of something good. I

believe that if we work with time

and labor, something good will

be created.

"I've been gifting new songs to

my listeners for a while now," he

added. I have tried my best, the

rest will be considered by the

audience. I believe that

everyone will like the song and

the listeners will love it, let the

Bengali song win. The work of

the music video of the song has

been completed along with the

audio, said the artist. The music

video of the song was made by

popular Kolkata producer

Sauradipta Chowdhury.

It was learned that the shooting

of the music video of the song

has been completed in different

places of Bangladesh and

Kolkata. The song was released

on YouTube in this Eid- Adha.

It is worth mentioning that

Shuvo studied music for four

years from 2001 to 2005 at the

Shalpikala Academy. After that

he became the first in

Bangladesh to participate in the

national level music

competition organized by

Shalpikala Academy. Apart

from music training at

Shalpikala Academy in

Bangladesh, he also took music

training from various masters.

It is note that in 2013, Sapna

Kotha, in 2015, two solo tracks

titled 'Bhalobasar Din', and in

2017, Shuvo released a solo

album with seven songs titled

'Hridoyer Bhasha' from the

banner of Laser Vision. Also, the

latest song titled 'Ami Bhalo Nei'

from the banner of Studio Jaya

on Valentine's Day 2020 has

gained wide popularity among

the listeners.

TBT RePoRT

TV drama actress Salha

Khanam Nadia said I am giving

more priority to indoor based

works as I want to work to keep

myself safe. This actress has

been seen in a few dramas last

Eid. She said that she has

received response for Tousif's

'Oppekhar Nil Prohor' and

Mosharraf Karim's 'Tarzan

Visa'. Regarding the Eid

dramas, the actress said that

the dramas of different artists

have been highly appreciated

on Eid. Most of the Eid dramas

were more story based than

other Eid dramas.

TBT RePoRT

Dwayne Johnson is all set to

change the hierarchy of power in

the superhero universe with his

Black Adam avatar. The

Hollywood star described Black

Adam as a ruthless keeper of

justice.

Johnson pulled back the

curtain of his upcoming film

"Black Adam" at the DC

Fandome by sharing some

She has been shooting

regularly since Eid. In the

meantime, she has finished

shooting two solo dramas.

However, she stand in front of

the camera through the

shooting of the serial 'Cheating

Master'. She also has a series of

dramas titled 'Golmaal' on

RTV. Nadia said, I have been

shooting since Eid. Apart from

single dramas, I am also acting

in serials. But now I am giving

more priority to indoor based

works.

We artists are looking

forward for good work. But a

lot of the time we have to work

on traditional story dramas as

concept art trailers for the film,

which has not yet been shot. He

said that he is in the "very early

processes of this creation".

"I can promise you this, I give

you my word. We are going to go

beyond your wildest

expectations," said Johnson,

who also confirmed that the film

includes Justice Society of

America characters Hawkman,

Doctor Fate, Cyclone, and Atom

Smasher (played by Noah

well. This glamour girl has been

seen in some music videos

outside of TV dramas. In

response to a question, she said

that all types of shooting were

stopped due to Corona. I got

several offer for music videos.

But did not work on that. I

will do a good job very soon.

This actress said about work,

many times various types of job

offers comes. But not all kinds

of work done. So some people

see it in a negative way.

Honestly, everyone has their

own likes and dislikes. We need

to understand this. I think it's

normal for an artist to work like

his own in his career.

Dwayne Johnson promises

‘wildest’ version of Black Adam

Centineo). "The superheroes

have to exhibit a little bit of

restraint when it comes to taking

care of the bad guys. This idea

that you could take all of Black

Adam's powers and he does not

practice restraint, that makes for

a really powerful combination,

and one that's explosive, one

that's very dangerous, and one

that is ultimately very likable.

"He's a ruthless keeper of

justice. He is the judge, the jury

and executioner," Johnson said

while talking about Black Adam.

The "Black Adam" panel began

with an animated sequence

voiced over by Johnson, which

narrated the origin story of the

anti-hero.

In the clip, he said: "5,000 years

ago, Kahndaq was a melting pot of

magic and powers. Most of us had

nothing except the chains around

our necks. Kahndaq needed a hero;

instead they got me. I did what

needed to be doneaand they

imprisoned me for it. Now, 5,000

years later, I'm free. And I give you

my wordano one will ever stop me

again."

Source:thestatesman.com

TBT RePoRT

Abida Sultana a popular singer has sung in both audio and movie

world. Got the love of the audience. Sunday was the birthday of this

famous singer. Happy Birthday Abida Sultana.

Sultana was born in Panchagarh to Abdus Salam and Muslima

Begum. She completed her bachelor's in political science. She got

her musical breakthrough in 1974. She performed as a playback

singer for the films Abar Tora Manush Ho (1973), Alo Tumi Aleya

‘Kangana should return her

Padma Shri,’ : Aditya Pancholi

After Sushant Singh Rajput's

demise, several B-town biggies

have stepped forward and spoken

up about how they feel about the

actor's untimely demise. Among

them was Kangana Ranaut who

has been at the forefront and

talking about nepotism and related

issues. Ever since, she has been

constantly demanding justice for

SSR. Not just this, but the Panga

actress is seriously taking 'panga'

from all the bigwigs of the

Bollywood industry thereby

targeting them for not giving work

to Sushant. A few weeks ago, she

had alleged that Karan Johar and

Aditya Chopra were responsible for

'systematically' damaging

Sushant's career.

Elaborating on the nepotism

issue, Kangana in a TV interview

had said, "I am telling you, if I have

said anything, which I can't testify,

which I can't prove, and which is

not in public domain, I will return

my Padma Shri."

Now, Aditya Pancholi has taken

a jibe on Kangana Ranaut by

quoting her statement and said,

"Tell her to return it now because

she is wrong about Sushant Singh

Abida Sultana

celebrates

birthday

and Yea Kore Biye. She was one of the playback singers of the film

Simana Periye (1977), composed by Bhupen Hazarika. Sultana can

render songs in 32 languages.

Sultana was awarded by Bangladesh Performing Media Centre

(BPMC) in 2008

Abida Sultana has learned singing from Babu Ram Gopal Mahant,

Ustad Ful Mohammad, Akhter Sadmani, Barin Majumder, Ustad

Naru and Ustad Sagiruddin Khan. Although she was trained in

Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrul Sangeet, she was more focused on

modern songs.

In 1986, Abida Sultana became a listed artist on Bangladesh

Television and Bangladesh Betar. She was first found singing in the

film in 1974. Since then she has sung in at least 400 movies.

Among the popular songs sung by Abida Sultana are- 'Bemuhorto

Ai Ratree Amar, Mounotar Sutoy Bona Akti Rongin Chad...', 'Akta

Dolna Jodi', 'Bemourto Ai Ratree Amar', 'Ridoyer Ochana Duti

Nodi', 'Harjit Chiro Thakbay' , 'Haaty Thak Duti Haat', 'Amader

Desh Ta Shobnopuri', 'A Ki Badhon Ay Bol', etc.

In private life Abida Sultana is married and mother of one child.

Her husband is Rafiqul Alam, a well-known musician. They got

married in 1975.

Rajput. His father (Sushant's) filed

a report in Patna in which there is

no angle of nepotism mentioned.

He clearly said that Section 306 is

on Rhea." In a recent interview

with Aaj Tak, Aditya also addressed

his son Sooraj Pancholi being

dragged into the matter. Sooraj had

also lashed out against fake reports

and asked the media to stop linking

his name to Disha Salian.

Meanwhile, Sooraj, on Friday,

announced on Instagram that he is

bidding adieu to social media after

receiving hate comments post the

death of late actor Sushant Singh

Rajput and Disha Salian.

Source: thestatesman.com

H o R o S c o P e

ARIeS

(March 21 - April 20) : Today you should

be looking especially good and feeling

particularly passionate and sensual,

Aries. This is a great day to buy new

clothes online, as your fashion sense is probably right

on target. Racy novels and romantic movies may seem

more appealing than usual. This is a great day to be

alone with a love partner, if possible. Try to do this

early in the day so there won't be any conflicts.

TAURUS

(April 21 - May 21): Your imagination

should be flying high today, Taurus.

Words, images, melodies, or whatever

your artistic media are probably popping

into your head faster than you can keep track of them.

Write them down, record them, or do whatever you

can to remember them or you could very easily forget

them. You don't want that to happen. Take time to do

this no matter what else is pressing.

GeMINI

(May 22 - June 21): Your financial goals

are probably on the verge of becoming

reality, Gemini, but it might seem as if

the few tasks remaining are too

monumental to face right now. Don't fall into gloom

and despair. Try to find some workable ideas to get

these obstacles out of your way with minimal effort.

Remember, there's always a way if you take time to

plan. Good luck.

cANceR

(June 22 - July 23): Conversations with a

friend whose good sense you trust could

open your eyes to new career

possibilities, Cancer. You might think

about transforming your working life. These

opportunities need careful consideration, since you've

never contemplated them before. There's no rush to

make up your mind, so don't feel pressured. Do give it

some thought. You'll probably be glad you did.

Leo

(July 24 - Aug. 23): Strange dreams,

insights, or visions could upend your

spiritual orientation, Leo. These new

ideas could have your mind going a

thousand miles an hour and shake up concepts that

you've embraced for most of your life. Think about

it without making yourself crazy. What you're

receiving is nothing more Earthshaking than

information to consider and then accept or reject.

VIRGo

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): Strange dreams,

insights, or visions could upend your

spiritual orientation, Leo. These new

ideas could have your mind going a

thousand miles an hour and shake up concepts that

you've embraced for most of your life. Think about it

without making yourself crazy. What you're receiving is

nothing more Earthshaking than information to

consider and then accept or reject.

LIBRA

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): The formation of a

new business partnership might

transform your working life, Libra. The

benefits may not appear for a while, so

don't quit your day job. Nonetheless, it's definitely

worth considering. Make sure you have all the facts

before making any formal commitment. It's important

to be aware of every possible contingency before you

start a new enterprise, especially now.

ScoRPIo

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22): Unfinished job

tasks might have you wanting to pitch

in and get them done no matter what

it takes, Scorpio. This is likely to earn

you a few brownie points with your colleagues but

take care that you don't stress yourself out. You

probably woke up feeling pretty good this morning,

but you won't finish the day that way if you exhaust

yourself. Pace yourself.

SAGITTARIUS

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): Today you're apt to feel

very sensual and passionate, Sagittarius.

Sexy clothes, racy novels, and romantic

movies could be more appealing than

usual. Don't be surprised if you attract admiring glances

from strangers. This is an excellent day to schedule an

evening alone with a lover, although you might not be

able to get together now. You'll enjoy it whenever it

happens. Better late than never!

cAPRIcoRN

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): A powerful desire for

a current or potential romantic partner

might come over you today, Capricorn.

This person could live far away or be

on a trip, so you might have to be satisfied with a

phone call or email instead of the meeting you'd

prefer. Don't get frustrated. Distract yourself with

an exciting novel or movie and look forward to

when you can get together.

AQUARIUS

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19): A powerful need to

reach someone either for business or

personal reasons could have you

spending a lot of time on the phone that

may come to nothing, Aquarius. You might call every

place this person could possibly be, and this could

prove frustrating. Your friend may be away. Leave a

message or two and let him or her call you back. Find

something else to distract you.

PISceS

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20): Money matters could

prove obsessive today, Pisces, as you

might be trying to make an important

purchase and need to revise your budget

in order to do so. You'll be able to do it if you calm

down and don't stress out. Be logical and methodical,

and you'll probably accomplish what you want

without too much frustration. Tonight, schedule a

special date with a lover, if possible.


MOnDAY, AUGUST 24, 2020

9

PSG star Mbappe hungry to make history

with Champions League win

James Anderson appeals successfully for lbw against Pakistan during 3rd Test in Southampton.

Photo: AP

SportS DeSk:

kylian Mbappe said he joined paris

Saint-Germain to make history by

winning the Champions League on the

eve of the final against Bayern Munich,

reports Ap.

pSG - who defeated rB Leipzig in the

last four to reach their first Champions

League final - go head-to-head with

Bundesliga giants Bayern in Lisbon on

Sunday.

Mbappe reached the semi-finals with

Monaco in 2017, before making a bigmoney

move to pSG.

the 21-year-old has looked sharp since

recovering from an ankle injury and is

determined to ensure pSG win the

biggest club competition in europe for

the first time this weekend.

"this is exactly the reason I am here,"

Mbappe told a news conference on

Saturday. "I always said I wanted to write

the history of French football. I have

another opportunity to do that tomorrow.

"When I arrived in 2017, pSG had

difficulties, now we're in the final. It

shows we never gave up and it will be an

amazing thing for a French team to win

the Champions League. It's why I signed.

"I have always dreamed of facing the

best players. You want to face and beat

the best. We need to play as we always do.

We hope to go back to paris with the cup.

It's the biggest club competition.

"obviously it's quite hard to play

behind closed doors. We would have

wanted the fans here but we know they

will be supporting us. It's still a

Champions League final. It is a very

special year."

Mbappe, who says he is in a relaxed

mood ahead of Sunday's showdown, also

confirmed he has fully recovered from the

injury he sustained in the Coupe de

France final last month.

"I feel even better the more days that

pass. I'm good," he said.

"I think the games have helped me

prepare for the final. Munich are a great

team but every team has flaws. We know

they don't like to change the game. We

look forward to playing tomorrow."

thomas tuchel's position as pSG's

coach has been under scrutiny at times

this season, but Mbappe believes the

club's run to the final has validated the

work of the former Borussia Dortmund

boss.

"Yes, of course. Completely, the players

are supporting the coach," Mbappe said

when asked if pSG's squad were behind

tuchel.

"I heard myself, and I know a lot of

people were hearing things about the

coach, about him not being able to

manage the stars.

"Honestly I think he's doing the best

season in the club's season. We are in the

Champions League final. He really

pushed us and we are in a good state of

mind.

"there were some exceptions during

the season, it can happen in every team,

but we really trust him and we will play

for him."

Crawley, Buttler, Anderson

pummel Pakistan

SportS DeSk:

"Don't worry, let him try and go for a

big shot," Mohammad rizwan

announced from behind the stumps.

Asad Shafiq bowled a loopy delivery

and Stuart Broad slogged it for a six. It

was just that kind of a day for pakistan.

By the 153rd over of the innings, there

was little that could've got them to drop

their shoulders any further. Not a

dropped catch. Not the reviews wasted.

Not the overexcited throw of the 12th

man Shadab khan which ended up

hurting rizwan's fingers. Such was the

decimation of the english fifth-wicket

pair - Zak Crawley and Jos Buttler,

reports Cricbuzz.

If they were to sit and analyse the

second day's play, pakistan would

struggle to wonder which session was

the worst of them all? Maybe the first

one, a good part of which was rained

out. that was the reprieve but that was

also the period in which the visitors

failed to bag a wicket. In the second,

even if they managed to dismiss

Crawley, it was not before the No 3 had

registered his double century and

paced away to 267, en route

outsmarting their legside trap, to

which he eventually fell when he

stepped down the track and was

stumped off a delivery bowled wide

outside leg. However, by then, the

damage was done. the last 66 runs

came off only 62 balls, a period in

which he overshadowed Buttler, who

failed to pick up a boundary in the

post-Lunch session. of the more

beautiful shots on display were the

flicks, the reverse sweeps and the pick

ups.

Crawley broke records, reached

milestones and was well on course for

more only if he was to adopt a more

cautious approach. Consciously, and

rather selflessly, he didn't, attempting

to get quick runs for his team. In the

process, he became Shafiq's only third

test victim. And then, there was also

Buttler, playing an able foil - if not

outdoing his partner's brilliance - who

brought up his second test century

Steven Smith speaks to the media at the Sydney airport on Sunday.

early in the day. the 'keeper-bat

registered his highest test score - 152 -

en route a 359-run partnership for the

fifth wicket. He was

uncharacteristically sedate in his

approach but played a handy role in

tiring out the pakistani bowlers with

his seven-plus hours of stay in the

middle. His end was also as anticlimatic

when he chipped the ball

straight to Fawad Alam's part-time

slow left-arm spin.

thereafter, it was just that long

english tail adding to the wounds. A

54-ball 40 for Chris Woakes, a 30-ball

27* for Dom Bess and an 18-ball 15 for

Stuart Broad to power the hosts to 583

(the highest they have scored since

2014) before Joe root declared the

innings. to pakistan's credit, even as

three of their frontline bowlers

conceded more than 100 runs, the

pacers kept running in hard. Behind

the stumps, rizwan urged his captain

to take some fancy reviews and even

hurt himself but remained brilliant in

ball collection.

'Super-fit' Australia ready to hit

ground running in England

SportS DeSk:

Justin Langer said his Australia

squad are super-fit and ready to hit the

ground running ahead of departing

Sunday for a white-ball tour of

england, their first cricket since

March, reports BSS.

the 21-man squad gathered in perth

before taking a direct flight after which

they will face several days of isolation

in Derby due to coronavirus

restrictions.

training will be permitted during

their lockdown and they will play four

inter-squad warm-up games to get

match-ready after nearly six months of

inaction since the pandemic brought

sport to a halt.

they will head to a bio-secure hub in

Southampton for the first of three

twenty20s on September 4 against an

england side who have been back in

action since early July.

three one-day internationals against

the 50-over world champions follow in

Manchester.

Australia are taking a larger-thannormal

squad, partly because they will

not be able to call up anyone into the

touring party under the bio-security

protocols, but also to ensure they have

enough players to field two teams in

warm-up games.

"the reason we're taking 21 is so we

can play some good practice games

over there," said Langer.

"the guys have done plenty of

technical work, they're all super-fit so

when we arrive in england, we get

straight into match practice.

"that's what we've asked the boys to

be ready for, that they can start playing

games and, hopefully, because we've

got 21 very good players coming with

us, we can have some really high

intensity practice games."

Skipper Aaron Finch, who will open

alongside David Warner, with Steve

Smith batting at three followed by

Marnus Labuschagne, said close

attention will be paid to mental health

inside the bio-secure bubble, with a

sports psychologist travelling with the

team.

"that's going to be something that's

going to be a real issue, it's going to be

something to monitor heavily," he said,

with players not allowed out even to go

for a meal.

Finch skippers a squad that includes

three uncapped players in Daniel

Sams, riley Meredith and Josh

philippe, with an eye on the t20 World

Cup next year in India then on home

soil in 2022, ahead of the 50-over

showpiece a year later.

Photo: AP

The forward said opportunities like Sunday's final against Bayern Munich are why he moved to the Ligue

1 giants. Photo: AP

India ready to host

England Tests in

February: Ganguly

SportS DeSk:

India are committed to

hosting england in

February next year ahead

of the 2021 Indian premier

League season, the

country's cricket chief

Sourav Ganguly said,

reports BSS.

england's original whiteball

tour to India in

September-october was a

casualty of the coronavirus

pandemic.

According to the

International cricket

Council's Future tours

programme (Ftp), India

are scheduled to tour

Australia in December and

host england for their last

five world test

championship matches in

early 2021.

Ganguly, president of the

Board of Control for

Cricket in India, said in an

email to state associations:

"the BCCI and the Indian

cricket team will continue

to fulfil its Ftp

commitments.

"the senior Indian men's

team will travel to Australia

for its series starting in

December this year, and

will come back to the

country for a series against

england starting February

next year," Ganguly said in

the letter seen by AFp.

"this will be followed by

IpL 2021 in April (the

normal month for it to

start)."

After many delays, the

13th edition of the IpL, the

world's richest twenty20

tournament, will now start

on September 19 in the

United Arab emirates with

the final on November 10.

Ganguly also confirmed

the BCCI's readiness to

host the 2021 t20 World

Cup, which was originally

scheduled for Australia this

year, and the 50-over

showpiece event in 2023.

Australia will host the

t20 World Cup in 2022.

Murray makes triumphant

start to year at

US Open tuneup

SportS DeSk:

Britain's Andy Murray

made a triumphant Atp

comeback Saturday,

defeating Frances tiafoe

7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 6-1 in his

first match of 2020 at the

Western and Southern

open, reports BSS.

the 33-year-old

Scotsman advanced in

hot and humid conditions

to a second-round date

with German fifth seed

Alexander Zverev at the

CoVID-19 quarantine

bubble that will also be

used for the US open,

which starts on August 31.

Murray won the 2012

US open as well as the

2013 and 2016

Wimbledon titles plus the

2012 and 2016 olympic

gold medals.

Former world number

one Murray, now ranked

129th, suffered a pelvic

injury at the Davis Cup

last November and that,

combined with the

pandemic shutdown, kept

him out of competition

until he faced 22-year-old

tiafoe in a meeting of

wildcard entrants.

"I thought I moved well

today," Murray said.

"that was probably the

thing I was most happy

with and probably the

thing I was most

apprehensive about going

into the match.

"My tennis could have

been better. I did some

things well at the end, but

I could definitely improve

in terms of my game."

Murray broke tiafoe for

a 2-0 lead in the third set

when the American

missed a volley, broke

again to 5-1 with a

backhand return winner

and held at love to finish

matters after two hours

and 28 minutes.

Murray was the 2008

and 2011 winner in this

Grand Slam tuneup

event, usually staged in

Cincinnati but moved to

New York due to the

CoVID-19 pandemic that

wiped out much of the

season, including

Wimbledon.

He rallied from 2-5

down in the first set

tiebreaker to gain the

upper hand. But tiafoe

gained the first break of

the match for a 5-3 lead in

the second and held to

force a third set.

the match was played

on the National tennis

Center Grandstand court,

the event's feature court

with no matches until the

US open scheduled at

Arthur Ashe Stadium or

Louis Armstrong

Stadium.

With no spectators in

attendance, Murray said

he missed the boost that

fans can provide, and he

had to make a conscious

effort to early in the third

set to energize himself

with fist pumps and the

like. "that helped a bit,"

he said.

Canadian Felix Auger-

Aliassime appeared to be

at a loss as his 6-4, 6-1

victory over Nikoloz

Basilashvili concluded,

with no crowd to cheer or

groan when Basilashvili

buried a forehand in the

net on match point.

"I actually threw a ball

at my coach," said Auger-

Aliassime, who usually

tosses a ball to a fan after

a win.

Auger-Aliassime had

the distinction of being

the first winner on the

Atp tour as it resumed

after a five-month

coronavirus shutdown.

Fellow Canadian Denis

Shapovalov, the 12th

seed, closed out the day's

action with a brisk 6-3, 6-

3 victory over former US

open champion Marin

Cilic.

on the women's side,

20-year-old 16th seed

Dayana Yastremska beat

seven-time Grand Slam

champion Venus williams

5-7, 6-2, 7-5. Facing the

elder Williams sister for

the first time, Yastremska

let a 4-2 first-set lead get

away after twisting her

ankle, but after having it

taped she rallied to win

the next two.

She gained the first

service break in the third

set for a 5-4 lead but was

broken as she served for

the match.

She responded by

breaking Williams to love

then saved three break

points to close out the

victory over the American

star who turned 40 in

June. "I really wanted to

withdraw because of the

pain," Yastremska said.

"But I played against

Venus Williams, so I

really wanted to finish

that match, even with the

pain.

"It wasn't matter for me

I'm going to win or I'm

going to lose, but I have to

give it everything I have,

even with the pain."

Greek 13th seed Maria

Sakkari defeated US teen

Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-3 in 64

minutes. Sakkari could

face 23-time Grand Slam

winner Serena Williams

in the third round.


MONDAY, AUgUST 24, 2020

10

Samsung's refrigerator emphasizes

cleaning campaign

Samsung Electronics

Bangladesh, a global leader

in consumer electronics and

the most trusted brand, has

carried out a campaign to

ensure health hygiene for its

customers. Initiated before

Eid, through this recently

ended campaign, Samsung

Bangladesh has cleaned

customer's refrigerators to

help them with the hardship

during corona virus

pandemic, a press release

said.

The campaign was aimed

to inspire the practices of

cleaning refrigerators

regularly pertinent to the

hygiene care efforts among

the customers across the

country. As part of the

campaign, Samsung's expert

service team, equipped with

advanced tools, has provided

a professional check and

cleaning services for free over

300 customers around the

country.

The assistance has been

provided to the customers

who purchased and are using

Samsung refrigerator seven

without a warranty period,

includes overall status check

and consulting, voltage check

for power stability, outside

temperature check, and

settings, water tray cleaning,

guidance on 'how to get

better performance. 'To get

the service, eager customers

registered them through

Samsung call center

appointments.

Regarding this campaign,

one of the customers, Md

Rakibul Isalm, commented,

BIDA, DCCI sign MoU

to integrate services

Bangladesh Investment

Development Authority

(BIDA) and Dhaka

Chamber of Commerce &

Industry (DCCI) signed a

Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU)

recently for integration of

services with BIDA's One

Stop Services (OSS). The

OSS is an online facilitation

mechanism that aims to

bring relevant agencies and

stakeholders together,

coordinated and

streamlined, to provide

efficient and transparent

services to the investors, a

press release said.

Director General-5 (Joint

Secretary) of BIDA Md.

Wahidul Islam and

Secretary General (Acting),

DCCI Afsarul Arifeen

signed the document on

behalf of their respective

organizations. Secretary

from the Prime Minister's

Office Md. Tofazzel

Hossain Miah was present

on the occasion as the chief

guest.

Meanwhile, besides

DCCI, BIDA signed the

MoU with the Ministry of

Land, Department of

Environment and RAJUK.

13 services will be provided

online through these four

organizations.

DCCI, according to the

MoU, will provide two

services which are issuing

certificate of origin and

membership certificate. In

total 154 services through

35 organizations will be

provided under the OSS.

Meanwhile, using the OSS

five companies got

registration approval.

with OSS

Secretary, PMO, Md.

Tofazzel Hossain Miah also

thanked DCCI for signing

MoU with BIDA as one of

the largest voices of private

sector in Bangladesh. He

said for starting a business,

license and certification are

two important things and

through the OSS these

services will be available in

a hassle free manner. He

believes that this initiative

will create confidence and

build trust among the

business community and

the investors. He also

underscored the

importance of maintaining

coordination between

public and private sector to

expedite quality and

quantitative investments in

the country.

During the function,

BIDA Executive Chairman

Md. Sirazul Islam thanked

DCCI for being on board

with BIDA's initiative as

the forefront of

Bangladesh's private

sector. He also said that

there are three

components- like process,

time and cost that are very

important in ease of doing

business index. By

implementing OSS,

process, time and cost will

automatically come down,

he said.Using digital

platform will ease process

and it will help remove

corruptions as well. The

OSS app is mobile

compatible and there is an

option of feedback to

monitor its activities.

During the signing

ceremony, DCCI President

Shams Mahmud saidthat it

is a milestone and DCCI is

honoured to be the first

private sector organization

in Bangladesh to be

associated with BIDA by

signing this MoU. The OSS

will open up a new window

of opportunity to both local

and foreign investors and

the initiative will help

improve Bangladesh's

position in the Ease of

Doing Business index, he

said.

Effective

implementation of OSS

will enhance employment

generation, boost

economic development,

growth and help attain the

dream of becoming a

developed nation by 2041.

Shams Mahmud also said

that DCCI will work hand

in hand with the

government and BIDA to

contribute in fulfilling the

Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and Dhaka

Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) recently for integration of services with BIDA's

One Stop Services (OSS).

Photo: Courtesy

dream of building 'Digital

Bangladesh' and attain the

target of becoming a

developed nation by 2041.

Land Secretary Md.

Muksodur Rahman

Patwary and Environment

Secretary Ziaul Hassan,

ndc also spoke on the

occasion. They both

congratulated DCCI as the

first private sector

representative to sign this

MoU with BIDA. Land

Secretary informed that

export oriented industries

now get the opportunity of

having their land mutation

within 7 working days.

Environment Secretary

said digital initiative like

OSS will usher trade and

investment opportunity in

future which will boost

employment generation.

"My refrigerator was out of

warranty, but Samsung's

initiative relieved me during

this pandemic. I am very

much happy with the

cleaning service. The

dedication from the

engineers has increased my

trust in the brand, and now I

am looking forward to

buying more products from

Samsung."

On this occasion,

Seungwon Youn, Country

Manager, Samsung

Bangladesh, said, "We rise to

the occasions as a part of our

responsibility as we believe

in making our customers'

lives more convenient in any

circumstances. The

importance of staying clean

and healthy is never felt

more significant than the

present time. Hence, we

launched this campaign so

that our valuable customers

can stay worry free during

this time."

This campaign was

launched, followed by

Samsung's previous initiative

of cleaning services to extend

the lifespan of refrigerators

by helping customers to

maintain proper hygiene.

Alamgir Hossain promotes as

Deputy Managing Director of

Bank Asia Ltd.

Alamgir Hossain has

recently been promoted as the

Deputy Managing Director of

Bank Asia Ltd. Prior to his

promotion, Hossain was

Senior Executive Vice

President and Head of

Principal Office Branch of the

bank, a press release said.

Alamgir Hossain started his

banking career with Eastern

Bank Ltd in 1997 as

Probationary Officer. During

his 8 years of career with

Eastern Bank Ltd, he

performed responsibilities in

different capacities in Branch

Banking including Branch

Manager. In 2005, he joined

Bank Asia Ltd. as Assistant

Vice President and initially

worked at Gulshan Branch.

During his last 15 years'

journey with Bank Asia Ltd,

he has served as Head of

Branch of major branches of

the bank like Mohakhali,

MCB Banani, MCB Dilkusha

and Principal Office. Mr.

Hossain, a veteran banker,

achieved remarkable success

in the leadership roles in

different branches of Bank

Asia Ltd. As the recognition of

his contribution in business

development of the Bank, he

received "The Service

Excellence Awards" for 6

years consecutively (2014-

2019). Hossain completed

his post-graduation in English

from the University of Dhaka.

He has taken numerous

training on banking from

various institutes of home and

abroad.

Huawei stands beside flood victims:

MoPT minister inaugurates the event

Bangladesh, like the rest of the world,

is facing tremendous adversity due to the

COVID-19 pandemic; moreover, the

recent disastrous flood worsened the

suffering of the people and left them

without food and shelter. Huawei

Technologies (Bangladesh) Limited, as a

localized international company, comes

forward to stand beside the flood victims

in Khaliajuri, Netrokona, a press release

said.

An online meeting has been organized

recently where Huawei discussed with

all the relevant stakeholders and

symbolically handed over the relief

goods to A H M Ariful Islam, UNO,

Khaliajuri, Netrokona. Mustafa Jabbar,

Minister, Ministry of Posts and

Telecommunications and Information

Technology, was present at the handover

ceremony as the chief guest. Zhang

Zhengjun, CEO, Huawei Technologies

(Bangladesh) Limited, gave the welcome

speech. Shebastin Rema, Deputy

Secretary (PS to minister, Posts and

Ctg port cargo dwell time

drops 42pc in 6yrs

Cargo dwell time at the

Chattogram port has

decreased by around 42

percent, or 7.49 days, in the

past six years, enhancing the

ease of doing business in the

country, a press release said.

According to data from the

Chattogram Port Authority

(CPA), a cargo container

stayed at the Chattogram

port for around 17.48 days

(dwell time) on average in

2014-15 fiscal year, which

dropped to just 9.99 days in

FY2019-20.

The significant decrease in

dwell time is easing

container congestion at the

port's storage yard and

allowing exporters-importers

to save on storage charges

imposed by the port

authorities.

Dwell time is the time

taken to offload import

containers onto a truck,

trailer, covered van or train

from the port yard; and to

load export containers from

the port yard onto a ship.

"This is a milestone

achievement for the port as

well as for businesses in the

country. That we have been

able to reduce the dwell time

by half despite our limited

Telecommunication Div.); Jerry

Wangshiwu, CTO, Huawei Technologies

(Bangladesh) Limited were there along

with other Huawei officials at the event.

On the occasion, Mustafa Jabbar,

Minister, Ministry of Posts and

Telecommunications and Information

Technology, said, "I want to thank

Huawei since it has taken the initiative to

help the most deserving people of the

country, and it proves that Huawei has a

good intention to provide not only the

technology but also supporting the

humanity of this area. I congratulate

Huawei authorities and appreciate the

whole effort Huawei has put, and I hope

it will continue in the future."

Zhang Zhengjun, CEO, Huawei

Technologies (Bangladesh) Limited,

stated, "This relief program is our

holistic approach towards the

betterment of lives in the flood-affected

areas, and this includes our efforts to

make people's lives better. As a localized

global company in Bangladesh, we take

resources has been possible

because of some smart

decisions of the authorities

concerned," said Mahbubul

Alam, president of the

Chattogram Chamber of

Commerce and Industry

(CCCI).

He, however, observed that

the dwell time should come

down below 24 hours as the

cost of doing business is

related to it.

"Spending more time on

offloading containers means

a higher cost of business.

Ultimately, the prices of

imported products go up and

the costs of exports get

higher," he explained.

Mahbubul Alam also

expressed his hope that the

cargo dwell time at the

Chattogram port will come

further down once the

Patenga Container Terminal

and Bay Terminal are

complete. "The port

authorities should speed up

the construction work on the

ongoing projects," he

stressed.

The Chattogram port that

handles 92 percent of

the pride of being locally global and

always responding according to that to

fulfill our responsibilities to the

communities where we operate and look

forward to contributing more. Moreover,

we are continually strengthening our

ability to put our efforts to work so that it

directly impacts the lives of the people in

Bangladesh."

A H M Ariful Islam said, "Last year

Khaliajuri upazilla was affected by flood

and Huawei Technologies delivered

around 2,000 units of dried foods, also

current year Huawei has sent 2,000

units of dried food and 2,000 facemasks,

these are very necessary at this moment.

So, on behalf of Khaliajuri upazilla I am

giving my heart full thanks and gratitude

to Zhang Jun, CEO of Huawei

Technologies Bangladesh."

Huawei has come forward to support

the flood-affected people and will

distribute a variety of dry foods among

families in Khaliajuri on August 26,

2020.

Bangladesh's export-import

trade has a storage capacity

of only 49,018 TEUs (twentyfoot

equivalent units) of

containers. The port can only

offload containers from

vessels if there is availability

of storage spaces.

Over the last five years,

export-import container

handling at Chattogram port

has increased by 60 percent

or 1,137,080 TEUs. In

FY2014-15, the port handled

only 1,867,062 TEUs, while

in FY2019-20 it handled

3,004,142 TEUs.

UAE deal puts Israel's economic reach on Iran's doorstep

Israel's landmark deal with the

UAE to normalise ties could see

businesses from the Jewish state

operating on arch-rival Iran's

doorstep, but are unlikely to disturb

Emirati economic ties to Iran, reports

BSS.

It could also pave the way for direct

economic engagement between Israeli

and UAE-based Iranian business

people that would reap benefits from

politics, experts say.

Cinzia Bianco, a research fellow at

the European Council on Foreign

Relations, said it would be "a while"

before Iranians in the UAE come face

to face with Israelis.

"It is important to stress here that

Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh) Limited, as a localized international company, comes forward to

stand beside the flood victims in Khaliajuri, Netrokona.

Photo: Courtesy

most Iranians with real ties in the

Islamic republic were either expelled

or moved away in the past years," she

said. "Those who remained in Dubai or

the UAE in general are the ultrapragmatic

business people, who refuse

to get enmeshed in any kind of politics.

So some of them view this deal as an

opportunity, not a challenge," she

added.

The oil-rich United Arab Emirates

was the first Gulf state to establish ties

with Israel, in a deal that came amid

rising tensions with Iran, accused by

its neighbours of fuelling regional

instability.

Abu Dhabi accuses Tehran of

occupying three Emirati islands since

1971, and downgraded ties with Iran in

2016 amid rivalry between UAE ally

Saudi Arabia and the Islamic republic,

which is also targeted by painful US

economic sanctions.

Despite tensions, the UAE and Iran,

which lie 70 kilometres (44 miles)

apart across the strategic Strait of

Hormuz, have maintained diplomatic

exchanges and crucially protected

their economic ties, generating billions

for both sides.

"Tehran is not in a position to forego

its economic ties with any country -

especially not the UAE which is

practically next door," said Ellen R.

Wald, a senior fellow at the Atlantic

Council's Global Energy Centre.

"Iran also has close ties to countries

like China that work alongside Israel,"

she told AFP. Two days after US

President Donald Trump's shock

announcement of the deal, Iranian

President Hassan Rouhani warned the

UAE "against opening the path of

Israel to the region".

The UAE summoned Iran's envoy to

protest the "threats", although it

insisted the next day the agreement

"was not directed against Iran".

But feelings are still running high in

the Strait of Hormuz - a vital corridor

connecting the petroleum-rich states

of the Middle East with markets in

Asia, Europe, North America and

elsewhere.


MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2020

11

Free fertilizers, vegetable seeds and tree saplings among flood victims of Gaibandha at the initiative

of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina distributed in Fulchhari Upazila Parishad on Sunday. Parliament

member of Saghata-Fulchhari constituency and Deputy Speaker of Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad Adv

Fazle Rabbi Mia MP was present as the chief guest at the occasion while Adv Umme Kulsum Smrity

MP was the keynote speaker at the occasion.

Photo: Rafiqul Islam

Turkey's maritime doctrine author

has dire warning for France

ISTANBUL : The father of Turkey's

controversial new maritime doctrine

told AFP that France's decision to send

warships to help Greece out in its

Mediterranean standoff with Ankara

was adding "fuel to the fire".

While he might be retired, the "Blue

Homeland" vision that Rear Admiral

Cem Gurdeniz helped craft over a

decade ago is being turned into reality

by Turkish President Recep Tayyip

Erdogan today.

A 62-year-old Francophone and

Francophile, Gurdeniz received AFP at

a gorgeous wooden summer house on

one of Istanbul's Prince's Islands in the

Marmara Sea. As warships from

France, Greece and Turkey converged

on a disputed patch of the eastern

Mediterranean Sea, Gurdeniz looked at

ease while criticising French President

Emmanuel Macron. "I'm fed up with

Macron's everyday verbal threats,"

Gurdeniz said in English, reports BSS.

"For many Turks now, France is

acting like an 'enfant terrible'. Can you

imagine, they are threatening Turkey?"

he asked. "If France continues such

provocative actions… that would not

serve regional peace and stability - that

Brazil reports 50,032

new COVID-19 cases,

892 more deaths

Brazil registered 50,032

new COVID-19 cases and

892 more deaths in the last

24 hours, bringing the

national caseload to

3,582,362 and the death toll

to 114,250, the Ministry of

Health reported on

Saturday, reports UNB.

Brazil is second only to the

United States in terms of

both cases and deaths from

COVID-19.

The state of Sao Paulo, the

most populous in the

country, has also been the

most affected, with 749,244

cases and 28,392 deaths,

followed by Rio de Janeiro

with 210,464 cases and

15,267 deaths, and Ceara

with 204,587 cases and

8,286 deaths.

New Zealand reports

3 new COVID-19

cases, 1,324 in total

Three new confirmed cases

of COVID-19 were reported

in New Zealand on Sunday,

said the Ministry of Health

in a statement, reports UNB.

According to the ministry,

one case was

epidemiologically linked to

an existent cluster in

Auckland as a household

contact of a previously

reported case. Two were

imported cases reported in

the Managed isolation and

quarantine facilities.

The total number of active

cases in New Zealand was

114, of which 18 were

imported cases from

managed isolation facilities,

it said.

would add fuel to the fire and France

should avoid that."

The discovery of major natural gas

deposits in waters surrounding Cyprus

and the Greek island of Crete have

triggered a scramble for energy riches

and revived old regional rivalries.

The biggest tensions are between

historically uneasy NATO allies Turkey

and Greece, which almost went to war

over some uninhabited islets in the

Aegean Sea in 1996.

These have been growing

progressively more serious as Erdogan

lays claim to waters designed to turn

Turkey into the maritime powerhouse

Gurdeniz envisioned from the start.

EU foreign ministers convened an

emergency video conference last week

after Greek and Turkish warships

collided in hotly disputed

circumstances. "If Greece pulls the

trigger, it will be the end of NATO,"

Gurdeniz said, implying that Turkey

would then withdraw from the Cold

War-era military alliance.

"European countries should put

pressure on Greece so that it abandons"

some of its maritime claims, he said.

Erdogan has tempered his heated

rhetoric with calls for talks, which have

been spearheaded with sporadic

success by German Chancellor Angela

Merkel. Gurdeniz agreed, saying: "We

should think with cold blood, soberly,

prudently." But he saw no need for

outside mediation, suggesting that

hostilities will only end when Greeks

and Turks sit down and frankly talk

their problems out.

Gurdeniz overwhelmingly approves

of Edrogan's tough line, but also regrets

Turkey's growing diplomatic isolation

in the increasingly volatile region. He

called Turkey's decision to rupture its

relations with Egypt following the

army's ouster of Islamist president

Mohamed Morsi in 2013 "a mistake".

"Turkey could have won over Egypt.

Also, starting with Egypt, we could have

made some gains with Israel too,"

Gurdeniz said. But his eyes lit up and

his easy smile broadened when talking

about the "growing interest of young

people" in Turkey's maritime claims.

"I do a lot of interviews with

YouTubers," said the retired admiral,

pointing out that the annual enrolment

of new cadets in navy schools is steadily

rising.

DU observes 'Black day'

DHAKA : The Dhaka University (DU)

authorities yesterday observed 'Black Day'

marking the attack on the institution's

teachers, students and employees on August

20 to 23, 2007, during the military-backed

caretaker government.

Teachers, students, officials and

employees of the university wore black

badges marking the day, said a DU press

release.

To mark the day, a discussion was held at

the Abdul Matin Virtual Classroom adjunct

to the VC's office through virtual platform

with DU Vice-Chancellor Professor Md

Akhtaruzzaman in the chair.

DU Pro-VC (Administration) Dr

Muhammad Samad, Pro-VC (Academic) Dr

ASM Maksud Kamal, General Secretary of

DU Teachers Association (DUTA) Dr

Nizamul Hoque Bhuiyan, among others,

were present on the occasion.

While addressing the DU VC said nonelected

and anti-democratic government is

responsible for such an inhuman attack on

the university's teachers, students and

officials on August 20 to 23, 2007.

The attack was against the spirit of

Liberation War as well as the value of

democracy, added the VC.

Akhtaruzzaman urged all to remain alert to

stop any conspiracy in the country.

On August 20 in 2007, some military

members severely beat up students and a

violent clash ensued between them centering

a football match at DU central playground.

Thousands of DU students took to the

streets protesting the incident and

demanded withdrawal of the army camp

from the campus and an apology from the

troops.

The protest afterwards spread to all the

educational institutions across the country.

Following the clash, the then army-backed

caretaker government imposed a curfew on

the divisional cities and later arrested four

DU teachers - Prof Dr Anwar Hossain, Prof

Dr Sadrul Amin, Prof Dr Harun-or-Rashid

and Prof Dr Neem Chandra Bhowmick and

several students on August 23 and tortured

them.

The university observes August 23 as the

Black Day every year.

On the occasion of 'Black Day' at Dhaka University, a virtual discussion

meeting was held under the chairmanship of Vice-Chancellor

Akhtaruzzaman at Prof. Abdul Matin Chowdhury Virtual Classroom of the

University on Sunday.

Photo: DU Public Relations

Mexican drug cartel leader

sentenced to 50 years in

prison for murder of

journalist

A federal judge in the

northern Mexican state of

Chihuahua has sentenced an

organized crime leader to 50

years in prison for the

murder of Mexican

journalist Miroslava Breach,

the Attorney General's

Office (FGR) said on

Saturday, reports UNB.

This is "the highest penalty

to date and represents a

precedent in investigations

of crimes committed against

freedom of expression," said

the FGR in a statement.

Juan Carlos Moreno,

nicknamed "El Larry," was

convicted in March for the

2017 murder of Breach, a

correspondent for the

Mexican newspaper La

Jornada, who had been

reporting on Moreno and his

alleged criminal activities.

His sentencing was delayed

several months due to the

COVID-19 pandemic. The

government of Chihuahua

has identified Moreno as the

head of Los Salazar, a drug

trafficking group that

operates along the border

with the United States.

U.S. House passes 25-bln-

USD bill to boost Postal

Service in defiance of

White House

The Democratic-led U.S.

House of Representatives on

Saturday passed a bill to

provide the cash-strapped

U.S. Postal Service (USPS)

with 25 billion U.S. dollars,

reports UNB.

The legislative move was

aimed at preventing the

agency from making any

reforms which could slow

delivery of mail-in ballots for

the presidential election in

November. The bill was

passed largely along party

lines and was not expected

to pass the Republican-led

Senate. The White House

had previously issued a veto

threat, claiming that the bill

would add to the challenges

currently facing the USPS. It

also accused Democrats of

trying to "exploit the

COVID-19 pandemic as a

pretext for placing

c o u n t e r p r o d u c t i v e

restrictions on USPS's

already limited operational

flexibilities."

Riot declared outside Portland

public safety building

Police forced protesters away from a law

enforcement building in Oregon's biggest

city early Sunday, as efforts to stop the

demonstrators from gathering at the

building seemingly fell apart.

The protesters apparently had plans

Saturday night to march from a park to the

Penumbra Kelly public safety building, news

outlets reported. But, a standoff between

marchers and officers took place on a bridge

along the way - and the demonstrators

retreated, reports UNB.

Protesters appear to have returned to the

park, and then taken cars to the building,

according to a reporter for The

Oregonian/Oregon Live.

Police initially declared an unlawful

assembly, saying items had been thrown at

officers, green lasers had been pointed at

them and paintball guns had been fired.

The gathering was later declared a riot.

Officers had been hit with rocks, bottles and

other objects, police said.

Images posted online showed officers

using smoke to clear the area. Several people

were seen being detained, but it's unclear

whether any arrests were made.

Similar protests have previously occurred

at the Penumbra Kelly building, including

last weekend.

The unrest followed rivaling protests

Saturday afternoon. Federal authorities

Mother, daughter harassed

(From Front page)

According to several eyewitnesses,

after the mother

and daughter were tortured

once, Harbang Union Awami

League president and UP

chairman Miranul Islam

sent village police to the

spot and tied them with a

rope and brought them to

his office and brutally tortured

them again.

After the torture, the

chairman's men called the

investigation center and

handed over the mother

and daughter to the the

police.

When contacted with Harbang

Union Parishad chairman

Miranul Islam, he said

the incident was true.

However, the incident

took place on Friday in

Paharchanda area. I have

no involvement in the incident.

He said the locals

grabbed them and handed

them over to the police.

According to eyewitnesses

while trying to sell a cow

of Mahabubul Haque,

some people led by his son

chased them. At one stage

they were found next to the

railway line under construction

at Paharchanda.

There was a scuffle

between the two sides. The

locals came forward after

the Friday prayers and

after learning about the

incident, beat them up and

took them to the chairman.

The chairman handed over

to the police.

When contacted with

Chakaria Police Station OC

Habibur Rahman he

refused to talk to the media

in this regard. However,

according police sources,

cow owner Mahabubul

Haque filed a case against 4

people of the same family

including mother and

daughter of Shantirhat area

and one person of Pekua

area.

The number of the case is

21/08/2020. The court

sent 5 people to jail in this

case. A stolen cow, a CNG, a

knife and a spray used to

make one unconscious

were recovered in the incident.

Chakaria Upazila Nirbahi

Officer (UNO) Syed Shamsul

Tabriz said, "I came to

know about the incident

through the local chairman."

I then ordered to

hand over the cattle thieves

to the police". He further

said that 'a three-member

investigation team has

been formed under the

direction of the deputy

commissioner.

Deputy Secretary Srabanti

Roy has been made the

chief of the team. The other

two members of the committee

are Chakaria AC

Land and a Harbang Union

tag officer. I am looking

into the matter myself. If

the accused think they have

been tortured or harassed,

their allegations will be taken

into account".

forced demonstrators away from a plaza

near a federal building as dueling

demonstrations by right-wing and left-wing

protesters turned violent.

The area includes county and federal

buildings and has been the site of numerous

recent protests. Department of Homeland

Security officers moved through the plaza

across from an 18-story federal building. A

federal courthouse is also near that area.

Violent demonstrations have gripped

Portland for months, following the police

killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police

custody.

The Saturday afternoon demonstration

involving hundreds of people began about

noon near the Multnomah County Justice

Center, news outlets reported.

Demonstrators hurled rocks and other items

at each other and got into fights. Streets were

blocked amid the mayhem.

Right-wing groups had announced a rally

near the Justice Center Saturday afternoon

that quickly drew counter demonstrators.

No arrests were reported.

In a statement, Portland Police said there

had been questions about why the afternoon

gathering wasn't declared a riot and why city

police officers didn't intervene. Incident

commanders have to determine whether

police action will make things more

dangerous, the statement said.

Free services requires payment

(From Front page)

Allegedly, a syndicate is taking advantage

on the pretext of not having supplies.

Although it was under the watchful

eye of the higher authorities, no action

was taken. The health department was

supposed to have stocks of medicines and

equipment but they disappeared after

being brought to the hospital, the victims

said.

According to the source, in the case of

normal delivery in Gynecology ward, a

patient has to spend 2 to 5 thousand taka.

The money is taken as tips by the nurses

and maids. Amid widespread criticism

about this issue in the area, the authorities

are in a silent role.

On the spot report described the picture

of the emergency department and

the OT room. Patients injured in accidents

or collisions from different parts of

the district and dying patients suffering

from various diseases come here for

treatment. After the initial checkup, the

on duty doctor handed over a prescription.

The relatives of the patient have to

collect various medicines including

gloves, yarn, bandages, pain killer, and

injections from outside.

The duty officers made an excuse that

there was no supply even though the hospital

was supposed to provide these

items. The relatively poor and lowincome

people have to face difficulties to

buy these expensive medicines. The condition

is the same for Operation Theater.

The relatives of the patient have to buy

the necessary medicines from outside for

all types of operations including minor

operations. The people concerned also

gives of excuse of supply shortages.

Patients have to manage bandages,

gloves, hand sanitizer, spirits, painkiller

injections from outside of the OT. In

addition, nurses take payment as bribes

to get dressing services. This has become

the rule. If bribe is discharged, the dressing

is quick, and if not, there will be some

lump sum work.

Recently, Helal Mia of Barabhula village

in Sadar upazila went to Gynecology

ward with his wife. The nurse and the

nanny demanded 2500 taka for normal

delivery. Helal Mia said that he had to

buy various items including stich yarn for

around Tk 1,500 from outside.

Habiganj Sadar Hospital Residential

Officer (RMO), Dr. Shamima said the

hospital should have adequate stocks of

all types of medicines and medical equipment.

She claimed that the authorities

are very sincere so that the patients are

not deprived of services.

Habiganj Adhunik Zila Sadar Hospital

is the main destination of medical services

for about 3 million people in the district.

However, the patients have been

complaining that even though there is a

namely 250-bed hospital, the services of

5 beds are not actually available.

GD- 1070/20 (7 x 2)


Monday, Dhaka, August 24, 2020, Bhadra 9, 1427 BS, Muharram 4, 1442 Hijri

Three years in review

No end in sight to Rohingya crisis

Although the water level of Bangali river has decreased, river erosion has increased. Houses and crop lands

along the river are at risk. The picture is taken from Dhunat upazila of Bogura on Sunday. Photo: PBA

DHAKA : Three years in review: No end in

sight to Rohingya crisis Dhaka, Aug 23

(UNB) - Myanmar has not taken a single

Rohingya back home till date although the

crisis enters the fourth year within a couple

of days amid "lack of conducive conditions"

in Rakhine required for a safe and

sustainable return of Rohingyas, officials

said, reports UNB.

"Myanmar is yet to do anything concrete

till date for the repatriation of Rohingyas,"

an official told UNB mentioning that the

humanitarian disaster created by

Myanmar must not be the sole responsibility

of Bangladesh in the world to shoulder

it. In August 2017, the military launched a

campaign of mass atrocities against the

Rohingya that forced over 740,000 to flee

Myanmar to Bangladesh.

The 600,000 Rohingyas who remain in

Rakhine State are essentially confined to

camps and villages, said the Human

Rights Watch (HRW).

They are there without citizenship or the

ability to vote this November. Myanmar's

leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, will be a candidate

in this November's general election.

Officials said the ongoing coronavirus

pandemic and Myanmar's internal issues

further delayed talks on Rohingya repatriation.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul

Momen said until the international community

"exerts more pressure" on

Myanmar, including by putting trade and

investment moratorium, the Rohingya crisis

will not be resolved.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has

called for renewed support and solutions

for displaced and stateless Rohingya communities

both within and outside of

Myanmar.

"Three years on from the latest exodus of

Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar and

sought sanctuary in Bangladesh from

August 2017 onwards, challenges persist

and continue to evolve," said UNHCR

spokesperson Andrej Mahecic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has added

additional complexities to the crisis.

"The international community must not

only maintain support for refugees and

their host communities, but adapt to critical

needs and expand the search for solutions,"

Mahecic said.

Rohingya communities estimate that up

to three-quarters of the Rohingya people

are today living outside of Myanmar.

UNHCR and the government of

Bangladesh have individually registered

over 860,000 Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar

Rohingya camps.

The UN says Bangladesh has demonstrated

a profound humanitarian commitment

to Rohingya refugees and ensured

their protection and extended lifesaving

humanitarian support, and now hosts nine

out of ten Rohingya refugees registered in

the Asia-Pacific region.

This generosity must be acknowledged

through continued investment in both

Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi host

communities, said the UN agency.

Ultimately, the UN Spokesperson said,

the solution to the plight of the Rohingya

lies in Myanmar, and in comprehensively

implementing the recommendations of

the Advisory Commission on Rakhine

State, to which the government of

Myanmar has committed.

Creating conditions that are conducive

to the Rohingya people's safe and sustainable

return will require whole of society

engagement, resuming and enhancing the

dialogue between the Myanmar authorities

and Rohingya refugees, as well as other

measures that help inspire trust, the

UNHCR said.

Aritri suicide case

Arrest warrant issued

against 2 teachers

DHAKA : A Dhaka court yesterday

issued warrant to arrest two teachers

of Viqarunnisa Noon School

and College in the case lodged for

allegedly instigating one of their

students, Aritri Adhikary, to commit

suicide.

Dhaka 3rd Additional

Metropolitan Sessions Judge

Robiul Alam passed the order, cancelling

their bail in the case.

Sunday was fixed for recording

deposition of the witness and the

accused needed to be present at the

court for this. But the accused

teachers Nazneen Ferdous and

Zinat Akhtar failed to appear before

it, making the court to cancel their

bail and issue arrest warrant.

The same court on July 10, 2019,

framed charges against the two

teachers.

Earlier on April 30, 2019, Dhaka

Metropolitan Magistrate Sadbir

Yasir Ahsan Chowdhury accepted

the charge sheet filed in the case.

The court also allowed the investigation

officer's plea to drop the

name of Aritri's class teacher Hasna

Hena from the case as allegations

brought against her were not found

true in the probe.

Police on March 28, 2019, filed

the charge sheet against the then

principal of Viqarunnisa Noon

School and College Nazneen

Ferdous and morning shift incharge

of the school's Bailey Road

branch Zinat Akhtar.

Investigation officer (IO) inspector

Qazi Qamrul Islam of detective

branch (DB) of police submitted the

charge sheet.

Aritri was found hanging from a

ceiling fan of her residence in capital's

Shantinagar area on December

3, 2018, hours after she and her

parents were allegedly insulted by

the teachers. She was rushed to

Dhaka Medical College Hospital

(DMCH) where doctors declared

her dead.

Aritri's father Dilip Adhikary on

December 4 filed the case with

Paltan Police Station against the

three teachers.

In recordings, Trump's sister says

he 'has no principles'

BNP's link to grenade

attacks is as true as

daylight : Quader

DHAKA : Awami League General

Secretary Obaidul Quader on Monday

said BNP's involvement in the gruesome

grenade attacks on the AL rally on

August 21, 2004 is true like daylight and

none can hide the truth.

"BNP cannot conceal the truth by hiding

their heads in the sand like ostrich.

BNP's involvement in the August 21

grenade attack is true like daylight and

they will not be able to hide it," he said.

Quader, also minister for road transport

and bridges, was addressing a virtual

discussion, joining it from his official

residence on parliament premises,

arranged by Southeast University marking

the National Mourning Day.

He said BNP gets angered when it

faces the truth as patrons of evils of

darkness cannot accept it.

Southeast University Vice-Chancellor

Prof AFM Mafizul Islam chaired the virtual

discussion while Bangladesh Bank

former Governor Dr Atiur Rahman and

the university's board of trustees

Chairman Md Rezaul Karim addressed

it among others.

The minister said many people are

seen not abiding by health guidelines in

proper manner at this stage of coronavirus

outbreak and showing negligence

in wearing facemasks but this laxity

could push the nation to risk and "We

may have to pay heavy price for that".

California fires force thousands

to flee as more blazes feared

Some of California's largest-ever fires are

raging across the state, forcing tens of

thousands from their homes as forecasters

warned of further blazes sparked by

lightning.

Several thousand lightning strikes in

recent days ignited fires that left thick

smoke blanketing the region on

Saturday, reports BSS.

The total area burned for all the fires in

California this week is "close to one million

acres (400,000 hectares)," according

to CalFire public information officer

Jeremy Rahn.

"More lightning is anticipated tomorrow

(Sunday) and into Tuesday -everyone

must remain alert and have an evacuation

plan," the agency said on Twitter.

The National Weather Service added:

"With severe drought and exceptionally

dry fuels present, dry thunderstorms

could spark additional wildfires this

weekend."

"The western US and Great Plains are

shrouded under a vast area of smoke

due to ongoing wildfires that extend

from the Rockies to the West Coast."

About 2,600 firefighters are tackling

the two largest blazes, out of 13,700 battling

"nearly two dozen major fires,"

according to Rahm.

"If you don't believe in climate change,

come to California," tweeted state

Governor Gavin Newsom alongside a

dramatic photograph of huge clouds of

smoke rising from fires.

"This is from today. And is just a small

part of the nearly 600 fires we are battling

this week."

He had earlier tweeted an ABC News

video showing apocalyptic images of

smoldering orange roadsides thick with

smoke, with sparks flying as trees

burned ferociously.

Wineries in the famed Napa and

Sonoma regions, which are still reeling

from blazes in recent years, are under

threat.

"Many of these firefighters have been

on the lines for 72 hours, and everybody

is running on fumes," Assemblyman

Jim Wood of the Healdsburg district in

Sonoma told the Los Angeles Times.

"Our first responders are working to

the ragged edge of everything they

have."

The two largest blazes - dubbed the

SCU Lightning Complex and the LNU

Lightning Complex - have burned about

660,000 acres and destroyed more than

840 structures.

The SCU fire had burned nearly

340,000 acres by early Sunday, making

it the second-largest fire in California

history. It was 10 percent contained.

The LNU blaze covered 325,000 acres

and was the third largest in state history.

It was 15 percent contained.

According to the Los Angeles Times,

the 1.2 million acres burned in California

in the past month is far higher than the

259,000 acres destroyed in the whole of

last year. It was "an astonishing toll so

early in fire season," the paper said.

Shahed sent to

jail in money

embezzlement

case

DHAKA : A Dhaka court on Sunday sent

Regent Group Chairman Md Shahed

alias Shahed Karim to jail in a case

lodged over alleged embezzlement of

Taka 2.71 crore from Padma Bank (then

The Farmer's Bank).

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special

Judge KM Imrul Qayes passed the order

as police produced Shahed before the

court after the end of his seven-day

remand in the case.

In today's hearing, Investigation

Officer (IO) and Deputy Assistant

Director of Anti-Corruption

Commission (ACC) Mohammad

Shahjahan Miraz pleaded to keep the

fraudster behind the bars till the end

of the probe in the case.

The same court on August 10 placed

Shahed on seven-day remand in the

case as the IO pleaded to give the

accused on 10-day remand.

The anti-graft body official on July 27

filed the case against four including

Shahed and Dhaka Metropolitan

Magistrate Court the next day accepted

the ejahar and set August 16 for submitting

a probe report in the case.

The other accused are former

Chairman of Padma Bank audit committee

Mahbubul Haque Chishti,

Managing Director of Bakshiganj Jute

Spinners Limited Rashedul Haque

Chishti, Regent Hospital Chairman Md

Shahed and its Managing Director Md

Ibrahim Khalil.

WASHINGTON : President Donald

Trump's older sister, a former federal

judge, is heard sharply criticizing her

brother in a series of recordings released

Saturday, at one point saying of the president,

"He has no principles."

Maryanne Trump Barry was secretly

recorded by her niece, Mary Trump, who

recently released a book denouncing the

president, "Too Much and Never

Enough: How My Family Created the

World's Most Dangerous Man." Mary

Trump said Saturday she made the

recordings in 2018 and 2019.

In one recording, Barry, 83, says she

had heard a 2018 interview with her

brother on Fox News in which he suggested

that he would put her on the border

to oversee cases of immigrant children

separated from their parents.

"His base, I mean my God, if you were

a religious person, you want to help people.

Not do this," Barry says.

At another point she says: "His goddamned

tweet and lying, oh my God."

She adds: "I'm talking too freely, but you

know. The change of stories. The lack of

preparation. The lying. Holy shit."

Barry can also be heard saying that she

guesses that her brother has never read

her opinions on immigration cases.

"What has he read?" Mary Trump asks

her aunt.

Barry responds: "No. He doesn't read."

The recordings were first reported by

The Washington Post. The Associated

Press then obtained the recordings.

The recordings came to light just a day

after the late Robert Trump, brother to

Maryanne and the president, was

memorialized in a service at the White

House. Later, the president was dismissive

of the recordings.

"Every day it's something else, who

cares. I miss my brother, and I'll continue

to work hard for the American people,"

Trump said in a statement. "Not

everyone agrees, but the results are obvious.

Our country will soon be stronger

than ever before."

In the weeks since the release of Mary

Trump's tell-all book about her uncle,

she has been questioned about the

source of some of its information.

Nowhere in the book does she say that

she recorded conversations with her

aunt. On Saturday, Mary Trump

revealed that she had covertly taped 15

hours of face-to-face conversations with

Barry.

"Mary realized members of her family

had lied in prior depositions," said Chris

Bastardi, a spokesman for Mary Trump.

He added: "Anticipating litigation, she

felt it prudent to tape conversations in

order to protect herself."

The president has frequently spoken

highly of his sister; the recordings are the

first time a family member, outside of

Mary Trump, has been critical of him.

The recordings illuminate the tension

between the president and his sister. At

one point Barry says to her niece: "It's the

phoniness of it all. It's the phoniness and

this cruelty. Donald is cruel."

Mary Trump's book was filled with

attacks on her uncle, including the assertion

- he denied it - that he paid someone

to take the SATs for him as he sought to

transfer into the University of

Pennsylvania.

Flames surround Lake Berryessa during the LNU Lightning Complex fire in Napa, California on August 19, 2020.

Thousands of people fled their homes in northern California on August 19 as hundreds of fast-moving wildfires

spread across the region, burning houses and leading to the death of a helicopter pilot. Photo : Internet

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