27-08-2020

thUrsday

DhaKa: august 27, 2020; Bhadra 12, 1427 BS; Muharram 7, 1442 hijri www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.17; N o.151; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

InternatIonal

China approves human

trial of Covid vaccines

produced from insect cells

>Page 7

art & CUltUre

Kumar Biswajit to

appear in 'Gaaner

Pakhe Competition-2020'

>Page 8

sports

Messi tells Barca

he wants to leave,

signaling end of era

>Page 9

Padma Bridge

project gets time

extension

DHAKA : The implementation tenure

of Parma Bridge project, a mega project

of the country, has been extended up to

2022 as its works suffered setback due

to COVID-19 pandemic and floods,

reports UNB.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa

Kamal revealed this while briefing

reporters on the outcomes of a meeting

of the Cabinet Committee on Public

Purchase on Wednesday.

The minister said the works on the

Padma Bridge project like other projects

suffered disruption due to the coronavirus

outbreak and heavy floods.

"This is why the implementation period

of the project has been extended."

He, however, said his ministry is not

implementing the project. "It's being

implemented by Road Transport and

Bridges Ministry which had targeted to

complete it by 2021. But the works were

seriously hampered due to the pandemic

and heavy flooding."

Mustafa Kamal said a proposal of the

Korean Expressway Corporation (KEC)

was approved at the meeting to extend

the texture and cost of river training

works on the Padma Bridge Project.

Govt banks on

incentives to help

agriculture get

back on its feet

DHAKA : Agriculture Minister Dr

Abdur Razzaque has said he is confident

the current scheme of incentives

will be enough to help the agriculture

sector get back on its fee, as long as

there isn't another bout of flooding to

come this year.

With the worst flood in over two

decades piling itself on top of the local

outbreak of a pandemic, it is no exaggeration

at present to say some sectors

of the Bangladesh economy are in need

of serious emergency care.

None of the worst-hit sectors provides

as significant a chunk of our population

with their livelihoods (even as

its share in total output keeps dwindling

with the economy modernizing)

nor exercises a greater, more direct

influence on the national psyche as

agriculture.

A June study by the Institute of

Governance and Development Studies at

Brac University stated: "Social distancing

and lockdown measures to reduce the

impact of the COVID-19 outbreak is having

a negative impact on the agriculture

sector of Bangladesh." Although these

measures are no longer being mandated,

the damage done from April to June is

likely to have been very deep.

Zohr

04:21 AM

12:05 PM

04:32 PM

06:27 PM

07:45 PM

5:37 6:23

Through video conference, Prime Minister Sheikh hasina connected in the program of distributing awards among the winners of quiz

competition, which was organised marking the historic Six-Point Demand.

Photo : Star Mail

Six-Point Demand

only Bangabandhu's

brainchild : PM

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on

Wednesday said the historic Six-Point

Demand was solely the brainchild of Father

of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman as no-one else was involved in formulating

this crucial political programme

that led the county to its Independence.

"Many people want to say many things

regarding the Six-Point Demand...some say

it was done by that person's suggestions,

some says it was formulated with advice

from those persons, but, I know for sure, it

was the brainchild of his (Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) own thinking,"

she said. The Prime Minister said this while

distributing awards among the winners of

quiz competition, which was organised

marking the historic Six-Point Demand

(June 7), reports UNB.

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman Birth Centenary

Celebration National Implementation

Committee organised the programme at

International Mother Language Institute in

the capital.

The Prime Minister joined the programme

from her official residence Ganobhaban virtually.

Recalling the background of this historical

demands of the country, she said

Bangabandhu was arrested in 1958 and

released in December 17, 1969. At that time,

the politics was banned. Bangabandhu could

not go outside Dhaka, and he joined Alfa

Insurance Company.

She mentioned that Tajuddin Ahmed was

also under arrest at that time. After release,

he went to Fatulla, Narayanganj to join his

job. Bangabandhu himself went to

Narayanganj and bring Tajuddin Ahmed

back to Dhaka and gave a job in Alfa

Insurance Company. Sheikh Hasina, the eldest

daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman who was studying at

Dhaka University then, said the Father of the

Nation appointed Mohammad Hanif as his

PA in the Alfa Insurance Company.

"Bangabandhu used to think, write down

those and gave those write-ups to Hanif for

typing out. Here only Hanif knew about this

(Six-Point Demand) as he typed out that

...no-one else would know about it," she said.

The Prime Minister categorically said the

Six-Point Demand came out from the

thoughts of Bangabandhu after the 1965

India-Pakistan war that lasted for three

weeks and the then East Pakistan (now

Bangladesh) was totally left defenceless.

Mahamudul Haque murder case

FIR lodged against

Pradeep, 22 others

ShaFIul alaM, Cox'S BazaR CoRReSPoNDeNT

A First Information Report (FIR) was

lodged against 23 people, including former

Teknaf Police Station OC Pradeep Kumar

Das, for allegedly killing Mahamudul

Haque in a 'gunfight'. The court reviewed

the statement and filed a case against

Teknaf police for killing Mahamudul

Haque in a gunfight. The court also ordered

to submit detailed report of the case.

The order was passed at the court of

Senior Judicial Magistrate (Teknaf-3)

Mohammad Helal Uddin passed the order

at 2 pm on Wednesday. Nurul Hossain,

45, son of Mia Hossain of Moulvibazar

area of Hila union in Teknaf upazila, filed

the complaint. Among the accused are 16

policemen including OC Pradeep. Others

are local influential's, including

Chowkidar. The accused are Teknaf Police

Station SI Deepak Biswas, OC Pradeep

Kumar Das, SI Jamshed Ahmed, OC

Investigation ABMS Doha, SI Dipankar

Karmakar, ASI Hillol Barua, ASI Farhad

Hossain, ASI Amir Hossain, ASI Sanjit

Dutt, Constable Rubel Sharma , Constable

Sagar Dev, Driver Zaheer, Constable

Hridoy, Battalion Constable Saikot,

Battalion Constable Prosenjit, Battalion

Constable Uday, Nurul Amin Prakash

Nurullah Dafadar son of late Mostafa

Kamal, Jahangir Alam son of late Abu

Shama, Nurul Hossain son of Nazir

Ahmed, Bhutto, Anwarul Islam son of late

Tofail Ahmed, Nurul Alam son of Abul

Hashem and Nurul Amin son of late Nabi

Hossain.

According to the statement filed by Nurul

Hossain, after his brother returned home

from abroad, the police demanded Tk 10

lakh from his him. His brother was arrested

on March 28, 2019 for not paying the

money. His brother was killed on March 31

despite paying a ransom of Tk 5 lakh.

Plaintiff's lawyer Md Qasim Ali said that

after reviewing the statement, the court has

ordered to submit a detailed report on the

case on September 7. Plaintiff Nurul

Hossain said there was no case against his

brother at any time.

His brother was killed deliberately. Since

then, the police were giving constant

threats. There was no opportunity to sue

for security reasons. Now is the time to sue.

Coronavirus

Bangladesh

reports 54 deaths

DHAKA : Bangladesh on Wednesday

reported 54 deaths, the highest number

of fatalities this month, as the country's

confirmed cases shot past 300,000

mark. The country currently has 3,02,147

confirmed cases after the health authorities

announced detection of 2,519 new

patients in the last 24 hours.

Bangladesh's death tally stands at

4,082 with a mortality rate of 1.35 percent,

the Directorate General of Health

Services (DGHS) said in a press release.

The country reported its first cases on

March 8 and the first death on March

18. DGHS said 14,85,261 tests have so

far been carried out - 15,070 of them in

the last 24 hours. The overall infection

rate is 20.34 percent.

The recovery rate is 62.94 percent in

Bangladesh. DGHS said 3,427 patients

have recovered, taking the total number

of recoveries to 1,90,183 on Wednesday.

Currently, there are 1,07,882 active cases

of Covid-19 in Bangladesh - the 15th

worst-hit country ahead of Pakistan.

According to DGHS, 2,003 of the

deceased aged above 60 years, 1,129

aged between 51 and 60, and 547 aged

between 41 and 50 years.

The death rate is comparatively low

in other age brackets.

Of the victims, 1,968 have died in

Dhaka division, 898 in Chattogram,

276 in Rajshahi, 335 in Khulna, 159 in

Barishal, 186 in Sylhet, 171 in Rangpur

and 89 Mymensingh.

Currently, 20,287 people are in isolation

across the country and 52,705 are

quarantined.

The number of globally confirmed

coronavirus cases neared 24 million on

Wednesday, according to the latest tally

from Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

Besides, over 819,554 fatalities have

been recorded.

Inundation brought

unconscionable misery

in coastal Satkhira

MaTIaR RahMaN MoDhu, SaTkhIRa

Coastal Satkhira is home to millions of

people. Due to its proximity to the Bay of

Bengal, the area is prone to natural disasters

all year round. Just a few month

ago, super cyclone Amphan ravaged the

area and brought devastation in people's

lives. The latest in its edition-inundation-has

brought unconscionable misery

in the lives of millions living off the

coastal zone.

Pratapnagar, Sriula, Asashuni Sadar

(partial) and Gabura Union (partial) of

Shyamnagar in Asashuni upazila along

with 50 other villages have been inundated

due to strong tidal water that

broke the area protecting barrage. The

road connectivity has interrupted as

vast areas have been submerged under

water.

Thousands of acres of fish ponds and

crop fields have been washed away.

Cows, goats and chickens as well as

other livestock have been washed away.

Hundreds of houses made of earth,

stack and bamboo have collapsed.

People, unable to do any cooking and

household chores, arerelying on dry

food to alleviate hunger. The water did

not even spare the structurally strong

houses.

People's suffering knows no bound. As

time passes, the of flooding new areas

becomes reality. For some, this islike a

nightmare as they never have seen so

much water in their lifetime. Without

the government's intervention survival

No Tajia

procession in

Dhaka : DMP

DHAKA : Dhaka Metropolitan Police

(DMP) has prohibited any kind of Tajia

procession on Ashura this year to prevent

the spread of coronavirus. DMP confirmed

the matter in a press release signed by its

Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam on

Wednesday, reports UNB.

Other religious ceremonies can be held

indoors in compliance with all health rules

and maintaining social distancing. DMP

also banned the use of sharp weapons and

firecrackers during this religious ceremony.

Ashura is observed on the 10th of

Muharram in the Hijri year commemorating

the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam

Hussain (RA), grandson of Prophet Hazrat

Muhammad (pbuh). This year, Ashura will

be observed in the country on August 30.

of these people will be at the mercy of

mother nature. However, the district

administration has assured to extend all

kinds of help to the flood victims.

On May 20, cyclone Ampan punctured

approximately 57 kilometers of

protecting embankment, established

by water development board in the

coastal area of Satkhira.The flooding

was severe and the worst affected of all

are Asashuni and Shyamnagar upazilas.

Although the flow of water was

stopped by repairing dams using ring

at several places at that time, the damage

of embankments at Chakla and

Kurikaunia of Pratapnagar union of

Asashuni upazila and Hazrakhali

point of Sriula union reached so deep

that it was not possible to repair them.

As a result, tidal waves gained free

access in those localities for the last

three months.

On top of that, the new moon has

inflated the water level and the tide rose

to 3-4 feet more than the normal tide.

Sanitation system has completely collapsed

in the affected areas. The victims

are at extreme health risk. There has

been a crisis of drinking water. Many are

now fleeing their homes to the cityin

search of a safe space.

The District Commissioner, SM

Mostafa Kamal said 200 metric tonnes

of rice and Tk 2 lakh in cash have

already been allocated for the victims.

He further said that effective measures

will be taken to repair the embankments

in the affected areas.

The recent flooding in coastal Satkhira mimics the scenery of the sci-fi movie "Waterworld". Where ever

you look at there is only water.

Photo TBT

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020

2

Bangladesh Navy has provided assistance to the family of the late Bir Bikram, a retired naval member.

A cheque for Tk 5 lakh was handed over to his wife as financial assistance on Wednesday. Abdul

Khaleq had been suffering from geriatric illness for a long time. He died on July 30, 2020 while

undergoing treatment. He is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters. The Navy extended

its deepest condolences to the bereaved family.

Photo: ISPR

MSMEs, farmers to benefit from

IFC Covid-19 support

DHAKA : Thousands of micro, small,

and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and

millions of farmers across Asia and the

Pacific will be benefited from the first

phase of Covid-19 crisis response

funding from the International Finance

Corporation (IFC), a member of the

World Bank Group. As the pandemic

continues to send shockwaves through

the global economy, IFC supported 13

companies in the region with $554

million in Covid-19 related funding in

the fiscal year ending June 30 this year,

said a press release.

IFC deployed $492 million in Covid-

19 related trade finance lines in the

region. This has helped financial

institutions provide liquidity to

businesses dependent on trade,

especially small and medium

enterprises (SMEs).

About 17,500 MSMEs and corporates

in the region are also expected to be

among the beneficiaries of IFC's $2

billion Working Capital Solutions

(WCS) programme in FY 2020.

The aim of the programme is to help

emerging-market banks extend credit

so that businesses can continue to

operate, stemming job losses, said the

IFC. "The economic and social impact

86kg govt

rice seized in

Bogura

BOGURA : Police in a drive

seized 86kg of government

rice from a garage at

Umardighi bazar in

Shahjahanpur upazila of

Bogura on Tuesday, reports

UNB.

A man informed police

about the rice by calling 999.

The rice was stocked

illegally, said Ambar

Hossain, inspector of

Shahjahanpur Police

Station. No one was arrested

in this connection.

Earlier, rice under VGF

was distributed among the

destitute on Tuesday

morning.

Fauci says premature

approval of vaccine

could hurt

Dr Anthony Fauci has

warned that the emergency

use of authorisation for a

potential Covid-19 vaccine

could hurt the development

of other vaccines, reports

UNB.

Speaking to Reuters news

agency, the head of the

National Institute of

Allergy and Infectious

Diseases advised against

rushing out a Covid-19

vaccine before it has been

proven to be safe and

effective, reports BBC.

"The one thing that you

would not want to see with

a vaccine is getting an EUA

before you have a signal of

efficacy," he said, noting

that one of the potential

dangers of prematurely

letting a vaccine out is that

it would make it difficult, if

not impossible, for the

other vaccines to enroll

people in their trial.

of COVID-19 will continue to exact a toll

on people and businesses, leaving an

indelible mark on the region's

economies and private sector," said

Alfonso Garcia Mora, IFC's newly

appointed Regional Vice President for

Asia and the Pacific. "To address this,

we're stepping up efforts to support

companies strengthening also our

support to the financial sector so that

businesses and firms can build

resilience on the road to recovery."

In Bangladesh, IFC provided a loan of

up to $30 million to The City Bank

Limited to provide financing for SMEs

and export-import companies affected

by Covid-19. This investment comes

under the WCS programme, which is

part of IFC's $8 billion global COVID-19

fast-track financing facility developed to

help businesses cope with the ongoing

global slowdown. "Small and medium

enterprises provide more than 35

percent of employment in Bangladesh

and contribute to a quarter of the

country's GDP," said Wendy Werner,

IFC Country Manager for Bangladesh,

Bhutan and Nepal.

"Through IFC's COVID-19 financing

facility, we hope to help revitalise small

businesses and also support our clients

Tarrant won't speak in court over

New Zealand mosque attacks

Brenton Harrison Tarrant told a New

Zealand judge Wednesday he will not

speak in his defense at his sentencing

hearing for the mass shooting of

worshippers at two Christchurch mosques,

reports UNB.

Tarrant had the opportunity to speak

Thursday, the final day of a hearing which

has seen 90 survivors and family members

talk about the pain of the March 2019

attacks. Earlier Wednesday, a woman

speaking about her beloved father brought

many people in the courtroom to tears.

Sara Qasem said she wonders if, in his

last moments, her father was frightened or

in pain, and wishes she could have been

there to hold his hand. She told the

gunman to remember her dad's name,

Abdelfattah Qasem. "All a daughter ever

wants is her dad.

I want to go on more road trips with him.

I want to smell his garden-sourced

cooking. His cologne," she said. "I want to

hear him tell me more about the olive trees

in Palestine. I want to hear his voice. My

dad's voice. My baba's voice."

The hearing has given a chance for some

of the survivors and family members to

confront Tarrant. Many of those who have

spoken at the hearing have asked the judge

to impose the maximum possible penalty -

that have seen cash flows disrupted due

to the worldwide crisis."

Since the outbreak, IFC has made

efforts to help both small and large

businesses in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri

Lanka, India, and Vietnam. The

support to companies focused on

agriculture - between 15,000 and five

million farmers and SMEs in their

supply chain networks - will help boost

farmers' incomes, strengthening

agribusiness and contributing to food

security. The FY 2020 also saw IFC

work upstream and with the World

Bank on complex projects with

potentially transformative impact to

deliver power to millions of people in

Afghanistan, Nepal, and Pakistan.

IFC also advised governments and

the private sector in a range of areas

from green sustainable finance and

gender issues to helping companies and

institutions through webinars to cope

with Covid-19 impacts.

Overall, IFC committed $6.7 billion in

private sector investments in Asia and

the Pacific in the fiscal year ending June

30, 2020.This includes the $554 million

in IFC financing in response to Covid-19

under the new Covid-19 fast-track

facility.

life without the possibility of parole.

Tarrant had earlier fired his lawyers but

was appointed a standby lawyer by the

court. Philip Hall, the standby counsel, told

judge Justice Cameron Mander that he

would make a brief statement on Tarrant's

behalf. Tarrant confirmed to Mander that

he didn't wish to speak.

The 29-year-old Australian has pleaded

guilty to murder, attempted murder, and

terrorism. He has shown little emotion

during the sentencing. He has watched the

speakers, occasionally giving a small nod or

smirking at jokes made at his expense.

Qasem said Tarrant made a choice. "A

conscious, stupid, irresponsible, coldblooded,

selfish, disgusting, heinous, foul,

uninformed and evil choice," she said.

She said she pitied Tarrant's coarse and

tainted heart, and his narrow view of the

world that couldn't embrace diversity.

"Take a look around this courtroom," she

said to the gunman. "Who is the 'other'

here, right now, is it us, or is it you? I think

the answer is pretty clear."

Qasem said that love will always win. At

the current hearing, he hasn't shown the

brazenness he did at his first court

appearance the day after the attacks, when

he made a hand gesture sometimes

adopted by white supremacists.

On Wednesday, Dhaka Ahsania Mission and Light House Consortium under

Drug Abuse Resistance and Understanding (DARAU) jointly organized a

round table meeting with Natore district journalists. Photo : Courtesy

Tk131.14cr CMSMEs

loan disbursed from

stimulus package:

BSCIC

DHAKA : Bangladesh Small

and Cottage Industries

Corporation (BSCIC) has

informed that Taka 131.14

crore has so far been

disbursed under the

supervision of the district

SME loan distribution

monitoring committee from

the government stimulus

package for the cottage,

micro, small and medium

Enterprises (CMSMEs).

According to the loan

administrative division of

BSCIC, under the

supervision of SME loan

disbursement monitoring

committee in different

districts in Dhaka, Rajshahi,

Khulna and Chattogram

regional offices of BSCIC,

the money was distributed

among 702 cottage, micro,

small and medium

enterprises, said an

Industries Ministry press

release issued.

The recipients include 48

women and 654 male

entrepreneurs.

Loan disbursement

monitoring committee has

been formed for ensuring

smooth implementation of

loan disbursement activities

as per the directives of the

Prime Minister to recoup

losses in the industries

sector caused by the covid-

19 outbreak.

The committee has been

asked to take necessary steps

so that entrepreneurs can

collect their loan without

any hassle under the

stimulus package.

Youth arrested

after sexually

assaulting girl

in public

CHATTOGRAM : Police on

Tuesday arrested a youth

from the Double Mooring

area of Chattogram as he

assaulted a girl in public in

broad daylight.

The development came

after some photos of the

incident went viral on social

media platforms drawing a

huge public outcry, reports

UNB.

He was identified as Sajjad

Hossain Bablu, 18, son of

Md Saleh Ahmed of Tong

Fakir Mazar Lane of the city.

In the viral photos, Bablu

was seen taking off his

trousers in a lane and

harassing the girl sexually,

apparently in the presence of

his mother and sister.

Mehedi Hasan, deputy

commissioner (south) of

Chattogram Metropolitan

Police, said they came to

know about the issue

through social media

platforms.

Later, police conducted a

drive in the Double Mooring

area and arrested Bablu

around 8pm, he said, adding

that he will soon be sued in a

case.

Venison, deer

heads seized

in Bagerhat

BAGERHAT : Forest officers

in a drive recovered 42 kgs of

venison, three deer heads, 12

legs from Marapashur Canal

of the Sundarbans in

Bagerhat district on

Tuesday, reports UNB.

Tipped off, a team of forest

officers conducted the drive

in the area under Chandpai

range in the afternoon and

challenged a boat carrying

five people, said divisional

forest officer (DFO) of the

Sundarbans East Zone

Belayet Hossain.

Sensing the forest officers'

presence, the poachers fled

the scene.

Later, the forest officers

recovered 42 kgs of venison,

three deer heads, 12 legs, on

machete, and a trap used for

catching deer.

Water level in Ganges basin

continues to remain steady

RAJSHAHI : Water level in many of the

rivers in the Ganges basin either recorded

fall or remained steady till Wednesday

morning like the previous couple of days due

to declining of onrushing flood water from

upstream hilly catchment areas in the past

24 hours.

Of the 30 river points monitored in the

Ganges basin on Wednesday, water levels

receded at 17 points, while increased at 10

points and remained stable at three points,

according to data of Flood Forecasting and

Warning Centre (FFWC).

However, the rivers were flowing below the

danger level at 28 points, while above the

danger levels at two points.

"We recorded falling and steady trends in

many rivers, including Modananda, Ganges,

Padma and some of the downstream rivers

and tributaries of the Ganges basin today,"

Mukhlesur Rahman, Superintending

Engineer of Bangladesh Water Development

Board (BWDB), told BSS.

He said water level of the Ganges River

remained steady at Pankha in

Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi and Talbaria

points, while went up by one centimeter (cm)

at Hardinge Bridge point slightly afresh at 9

am of Wednesday.

However, Mukhlesur said, the Ganges

River was still flowing 165 cm, 183 cm, 109

cm and 77 cm below the danger levels at

Pankha, Rajshahi, Hardinge Bridge and

Talbaria points respectively.

Water level of the Padma River declined by

five cm further at Goalundo point, and the

river was flowing 13 cm above the danger

level at the point on Wednesday morning, he

added.

Korotoa River water level went up by 10

cm at Chak Rahimpur point further, while

receded by two cm at Bogura point, and the

river was flowing 263 cm and 358 cm below

GD- 1092/20 (7 x 3)

the danger mark at the two points

respectively on Wednesday morning.

Besides, a falling trend of water levels was

recorded at the three points of the Jamuna

River of Wednesday. The water level receded

by 18 cm at Sariakandi point in Bogura, 12

cm at Kazipur point in Sirajganj and 16 cm at

Sirajgonj point.

FFWC executive engineer Arifuzzaman

Bhuiyan said the Jamuna River was flowing

34 cm, 31 cm and 39 cm below the danger

level at Sariakandi, Kazipur and at Sirajganj

points respectively.

He said the Gur River was flowing 35 cm

below the danger level at Singra point in

Natore with five cm falling further, while the

Atrai River was flowing six cm above the

danger mark at Baghabari point in Sirajganj

with seven cm falling further on Wednesday

morning.

Water level in the Atrai River went up by 17

cm at Mohadevpur point in Naogaon further

and the river was still flowing 419 cm below

the danger level on Wednesday morning.

Of the 16 river points both in Ganges and

Brahmaputra Basins, being monitored in

many districts under Rajshahi division

regularly, water levels declined at 10 points

while increased at three points and remained

steady at three points.

However, the rivers were flowing below the

danger level at all the 16 points Wednesday

morning.

Engineer Bhuiyan said the Brahmaputra-

Jamuna and Padma rivers are falling trend,

while the Ganges River is in steady state,

which may continue in next 72 hours.

Meanwhile, the district and upazila

administrations have recorded that around

2.16 lakh households and standing crops on

47,729 hectares of land valued at around

Taka 529.83 crore were affected by the flood

water.

Managing Director of Bangladesh Municipal Development Fund Sayed

Hasinur Rahman and Project Manager of PMU AKM Kamruzzaman visited

the on going sub-project of MGSP at Noakhali Municipality on

Wednesday. Mayor Shohid Ullah Khan, Councilors, concerned Engineers

and contractors were also present during the visit. Photo: Manik Bhuiyan

THuRSdAY, AuguST 27, 2020

3

uS proposes to hold

TICFA int'l meeting

every three to four

months

DHAKA : The United States (US) has proposed to hold the

Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement

(TICFA) International meeting in every three to four

months to increase trade and investment with

Bangladesh.

The proposal was come at a 'TICFA International"

meeting between Bangladesh and the US on Tuesday

night through online platform, said a press release.

A 24-member Bangladesh delegation led by Commerce

Secretary Dr Md Jafar Uddin took part at the meeting from

Bangladesh side while a 13-member delegation led by

Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central

Asia Chris Wilson joined the meeting from the US side.

At the meeting, the US team informed that the US

government will assist, if Bangladesh sends the list of

companies that have canceled orders for ready-made

garments during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Bangladesh seeks the cooperation of the US government

in facilitating the export of various international quality

products to the United States. In particular, it called for a

reduction in tariffs on ready-made garment exports.

During the meeting, the investment opportunities

announced in Bangladesh were also highlighted in detail.

In the meeting, the United States raised various issues,

including resolving the complexities of cotton exports to

Bangladesh, amending the e-waste regulation, amending

the country's National Building Code, introducing digital

trade and reducing import duties on various US products.

Bangladesh envoy

presents credentials

to uNIdO's dg

DHAKA : Bangladesh Permanent Representative to UN

Agencies and other International Organizations in Vienna

Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith has presented

credentials to United Nations Industrial Development

Organization (UNIDO) Director General (DG) LI Yong.

During the credential presentation ceremony, held at

UNIDO Headquarters in Vienna, Austria on Tuesday, Li

Yong reiterated UNIDO's strong commitment to support

Bangladesh to reach the next level of industrial development.

Recalling his visit to Dhaka and fruitful meeting with Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2017, the DG highly lauded

Bangladesh's exemplary economic development in recent

years and offered all sorts of cooperation from UNIDO.

The DG also observed that Bangladesh can be included in

the Programme for Country Partnership (PCP) of UNIDO

and the existing Country Programme can be connected to the

PCP.

The Bangladesh envoy urged UNIDO for extending its

cooperation to Bangladesh in the field of blue economy,

climate change, waste management, food security, SDGs

implementation as well as the issues on COVID-19

(challenges & opportunities).

Muhith accepted the proposal from the DG for the

cooperation in the field of 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR)

and informed him that Bangladesh had already started the

implementation of the 4IR innovations under it's 'Digital

Bangladesh' initiative.

He also suggested the DG to take waste management and

waste to energy projects in Bangladesh involving the World

Bank for financing.

bdnews24 editor

Khalidi gets 8-month

anticipatory bail in

ACC case

DHAKA : The High Court

(HC) on Wednesday granted

anticipatory

bail

tobdnews24.comeditor-inchief

Toufique Imrose

Khalidi for eight months in a

case filed by the Anti-

Corruption Commission for

accumulating wealth

illegally, reports UNB.

A bench of Justice M

Enayetur Rahim and Justice

Md Mostafizur Rahman

passed the order after

hearing a bail petition.

Advocate Abdur Matin

Khashru stood for the

petitioner while Advocate

Khurshid Alam represented

ACC.

Gulshan Anowar, Deputy

Director of ACC, filed the

case on July 30.

According to the case

statement, Khalidi has Tk 42

crore in different bank

accounts which have no

legalsource. He accumulated

the money illegally with fake

documents.

Probe report in graft case

against Papia Sep 13

DHAKA : A court on Wednesday set

September 13 for submitting probe report in

a case lodged against expelled Jubo Mohila

League leader Shamima Nur Papia and her

husband Mofizur Rahman Sumon for

amassing illegal wealth of over Taka six crore.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate KM Imrul

Qayes set the date again as the investigation

officer (IO) could not file the report on

Wednesday as per the court order on August 5.

Earlier, Anti-Corruption Commission

(ACC) Deputy Director Shaheen Ara

Momtaz filed the case against Papia and her

husband with its Dhaka district office-1 on

August 4 for amassing illegal wealth of Taka

6.24 crore.

According to the case documents, Papia

and her husband from October 12, 2019, to

February 22, 2020, rented a total of 25

rooms of a five-star hotel in Dhaka and paid

over Taka 3.23 crore cash as room rent, bills

for bars, spa, laundry and food service.

Papia spent around Taka 40 lakh in

shopping during her stay at the hotel, but

couldn't show any valid source of income

against this huge sum.

Besides, the ACC also did not find any valid

sources of Taka 30 lakh which Papia paid as

rent for her flat from April 2015 to April

2020, Taka 1 crore invested in car business,

Taka 20 lakh invested in car wash solution

business in Narsingdi and over Taka 30.52

lakh deposited in different bank accounts of

her and her husband.

On February 22, the Rapid Action

Battalion (RAB) arrested Papia and her

husband, along with two of their

accomplices, at Hazrat Shahjalal

International Airport with counterfeit

banknotes, foreign currencies and cash.

RAB later raided their two luxurious flats

in the capital's Indira Road area and

recovered a foreign-made pistol, two

magazines, 20 bullets, five bottles of foreign

liquor and Taka 58.41 lakh in cash, among

other things.

RMCH gets

high flow nasal

cannula from

PM

GD- 1087/20 (6 x 4)

RAJSHAHI : Rajshahi

Medical College Hospital

(RMCH) has received a high

flow nasal cannula for

treatment of its patients

suffering from covid-19.

As the gift of Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina,

Rajshahi Mayor AHM

Khairuzzaman Liton handed

over the modern device to

the RMCH authorities at his

office.

RMCH Director Brig Gen

Jamilur Rahman and

Principal of Rajshahi

Medical College Prof

Nawshad Ali received the

machine expressing their

deep gratitude to the Prime

Minister for donating it.

RCC Chief Executive

Officer Dr Sharif Uddin and

Secretary Abu Hayat

Rahmatullah were present

on the occasion.

Prof Nawshad Ali said the

high flow nasal cannula will

be very effective in

treatment of the serious

patients suffering from

Covid-19 infection.

GD- 1085/20 (7 x 3)

GD- 1086/20 (7 x 4)

GD- 1090/20 (7 x 4)

THURSDAY, AUgUST 27, 2020

4

A voice of moderation

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Thursday, August 27, 2020

Revise and update corona

guidelines periodically

The corona may linger in crowded indoor spaces, spreading from one

person to the next, the World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledged

recently. This acknowledgement should clear the way for

immediate revision of guideline, universally and locally, for potential victims

of corona worldwide to be able to readjust their behaviour to ensure

personal safety. As it is, public health alerts on corona remained rather static

and unsatisfactory as the virus victims swelled uncontrollably pointing to

the imperative of dropping older guidelines or adopting new ones to cope

effectively with the virus.

The WHO so far had described airborne form of transmission as doubtful

and a problem mostly in medical procedures. But growing scientific and

anecdotal evidence suggest this route may be important in spreading the

virus, and recently more than 200 scientists urged the agency to revisit the

research and revise its position. In an updated scientific brief, the agency

also asserted more directly than it had in the past that the virus may be

spread by people who do not have symptoms: "Infected people can transmit

the virus both when they have symptoms and when they don't have

symptoms," the agency said. The WHO previously said asymptomatic

transmission, while it may occur, was probably "very rare."

Some experts said both revisions were long overdue, and not as extensive

as they had hoped. "It is refreshing to see that WHO is now acknowledging

that airborne transmission may occur, although it is clear that the evidence

must clear a higher bar for this route compared to others," Linsey Marr, an

aerosol expert at Virginia Tech, said in an email.

An aerosol is a respiratory droplet so small it may linger in the air. In its

latest description of how the virus is spread, the agency said transmission

of the virus by aerosols may have been responsible for "outbreaks of Covid-

19 reported in some closed settings, such as restaurants, nightclubs, places

of worship or places of work where people may be shouting, talking or

singing."

The airborne spread is only a concern when health care workers are

engaged in certain medical procedures that produce aerosols. But mounting

evidence has suggested that in crowded indoor spaces, the virus can

stay aloft for hours and infect others, and may even seed so-called supers

spreader events.

The agency still largely emphasizes the role played by larger droplets that

are coughed or inhaled, or by contact with a contaminated surface, also

called a fomite. And in a longer document detailing scientific eviudence, the

WHO still maintained that "detailed investigations of these clusters suggest

that droplet and fomite transmission could also explain human-to-human

transmission." In addition to avoiding close contact with infected people

and washing hands, people should "avoid crowded places, close-contact

settings, and confined and enclosed spaces with poor ventilation," the

agency said, and homes and offices should ensure good ventilation.

These recommendations are "what is needed to help slow transmission

in communities," Dr. Marr said. There is debate about the relative contribution

of airborne spread, compared with transmission by droplets and

surfaces. The new brief still skirts that question. "I interpret this as saying,

'While it is reasonable to think it can happen, there's not consistent evidence

that it is happening often," Bill Hanage, an epidemiologist at the

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in an email.

After The Times reported that an international group of 239 experts

planned to call on the WHO to review the research, Dr.

BenedettaAllegranzi, head of the agency's infection prevention and control

committee, said on Tuesday that the possibility of airborne spread in

"crowded, closed, poorly ventilated settings" could not be ruled out.

Outdoors, any virus in small or large droplets may be diluted too quickly in

the air to pose a risk. But even a small possibility of airborne spread indoors

has enormous implications for how people should protect themselves.

People may need to minimize time indoors with others from outside the

household, in addition to maintaining a safe distance and wearing cloth

face coverings. Businesses, schools and nursing homes may need to invest

in new ventilation systems or ultraviolet lights that destroy the virus.

Some experts have criticized the WHO for being slow to acknowledge the

possibility of airborne spread while emphasizing hand washing as the primary

preventive strategy. Even in the new brief, it's clear that members of

the committee interpreted the evidence differently, said Dr. Trish

Greenhalgh, a professor of primary health care at the University of Oxford.

Airborne transmission is the most likely explanation for several clusters

of infection, including a choir in Washington State and a restaurant in

China, according to some scientists. But WHO staff members have yet to

accept the importance of these case studies and instead have "dreamed up

an alternative story" in which an infected person spat on his hands, wiped

it on something and "magically" infected numerous other people, Dr.

Greenhalgh said.

The agency's staff and nearly 30 volunteer experts have spent weeks

reviewing evidence on the possible modes of transmission: by exhalation of

large and small droplets, for example, by contact with a contaminated surface,

or from a mother to her baby. The WHO easily accepted that droplet

and fomite transmission occur, but seemed to want more definitive proof

of spread by aerosols, some experts said. The agency has noted that the

virus has not been cultured from air samples, for example, but the same

was true of influenza for many years until two groups of scientists figured

out how to do it, noted Don Milton, an aerosol expert at the University of

Maryland.

WHO staff members were reluctant to make statements when they do

not have irrefutable proof of certain phenomena, and slow to update their

hypotheses, scientists have charged. "They are still challenged by the

absence of evidence, and the difficulty of proving a negative," Dr. Hanage

said.

"The WHO is being overly cautious and shortsighted unnecessarily," Dr.

Julian W. Tang, honorary professor of respiratory sciences at the University

of Leicester in the United Kingdom, said in an email. "By recognizing

aerosol transmission and recommending improved ventilation facilities to

be upgraded or installed, you can improve the health of people" by eliminating

a variety of hazards, including indoor pollutants and allergens, he

added. Isn't that what the WHO stands for - the improvement of human

health from all angles ?

It is important nationally to enlarge, modify, extend and prioritize corona

virus related information, alerts and guidelines of conduct for people,

quickly and efficiently. For example, in the Bangladesh context it is

extremely important to give maximum focus on the wearing of masks and

maintaining social distancing. These two aspects seem to be flagrantly violated

in our situation. Also our media should continuously highlight and

sensitize the authorities who should be concerned about the importance of

closing the gates for false testing reports for financial gain. Our corona alerts

must also quickly incorporate the latest findings on airborne spread of

corona and the importance of indoors light and ventilation where notable

mingling of people occur.

ATAULLAH Mengal once said of his

mentor Mir Ghaus Baksh Bizenjo:

"He cannot live without politics.

He has to have it all the time or he will

perish." It may also have been true for

his son Hasil Bizenjo. He too lived and

breathed politics. In his death, the

country has lost a sane voice and a

symbol of resistance.

His outburst in the Senate last year

was not just an expression of rage

against extra-democratic interventions

but also a note of warning to those who

play with the destiny of the country.

There was no mincing of words. He

dared to say what others avoided saying.

Hasil was a Baloch nationalist and a

fervent fighter for the rights of his people

but he also believed in democratic

federalism. That may have earned him

disapproval of both the establishment

and the separatists for opposite reasons.

Yet he always stood his ground. It was

not so easy in the highly polarised

atmosphere in Balochistan.

Hasil's journey from student activism

to national politics is a story of struggle.

It was also a reflection of whatever

happened in Balochistan over the past

more than five decades. While his father

was in and out of jail he made his impact

in politics as a leader of the Baloch

Students Organisation in the 1970s.

There was no mincing of words. He

dared to express what others avoided

saying.

His activism was not confined to

student politics but also extended to

national issues. The BSO had provided a

platform for political and intellectual

development for young Baloch students.

It was there that Hasil got his political

training beside his father's tutelage.

Hasil entered national politics after his

father's death. There was no looking

back for him from there.

Undoubtedly, politics in a highly

volatile region is much more complex. As

a leader of the National Party, which has

a sizeable support base among the

younger population in the non-tribal belt

of the province, he soon rose to

prominence in his own right. He entered

mainstream politics in the 1990s when

the situation in Balochistan was

relatively better. The insurgency that had

gripped the province in the past two

decades had petered out and the

situation was almost back to normal,

though there still existed some sources of

discontent. All the Baloch nationalist

parties were then part of the political

process.

The situation, however, completely

changed in the province because of an

irrational policy pursued by Gen

Musharraf's military-led government.

The killing of Akbar Bugti, a former

governor of the province and one of the

most influential tribal chieftains, ignited

a highly volatile situation. I remember

spending several days in Dera Bugti

months before the death of Akbar Bugti.

Although under siege he was willing to

talk to the federal government but the

ZAHID HUSSAIn

RIcHARD FOwleR

military leader out of hubris was not

ready to take a rational view of the

situation. The Musharraf government

brushed aside even a Senate Committee

recommendation to resolve the dispute

over payment of gas royalties to the

province. Instead, it resorted to brute

military force.

That triggered the third Balochistan

insurgency that was much fiercer than

the previous ones. It was virtually a mass

uprising. The military operation forced

many youths to join the separatist armed

groups. In fact, the centre of gravity of

the insurgency this time was the nontribal

region of Makran, the home

district of Hasil and political stronghold

of his National Party.

That situation presented moderate

groups like National Party with a huge

challenge. It was hard to stay neutral in

the face of the state operation. The

forced disappearances had also alienated

the saner voices. Almost all Baloch

nationalist parties boycotted the 2008

elections. There was no real

representation of the Baloch population

in the government.

Yet Hasil and his party didn't shun the

path of moderation. They along with

other Baloch nationalist groups showed

great courage when they participated in

the 2013 elections, ignoring the call of

militant groups for a boycott. The

National Party emerged as the single

largest bloc in the province and formed

the government in coalition with the

PML-N.

The provincial government raised

hopes for Balochistan to return to

normality. The insurgency also receded.

Hasil as president of the National Party

had a huge role in mending fences. He

and Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch

took the initiative to open

communication with the militant Baloch

leaders based in foreign lands.

With the support of the federal

government they succeeded in

persuading some of the separatist

leaders to return with some conditions

that were not difficult to accept. It was a

great opportunity to weaken the

insurgency and bring some if not all the

separatist leaders to the mainstream.

But that chance was lost because of the

stubbornness of a section of the security

establishment which argued that the

situation was already under control. The

country had to pay a high price for this

short-sightedness of the establishment.

Hasil would often lament that lost

opportunity. It was also a huge blow to

the forces of moderation that were trying

to address the alienation of the

population. With the issue of missing

people not resolved, it gave new recruits

to the separatist groups. This situation

also provided hostile foreign intelligence

agencies an opportunity to fish in

troubled waters. Their imprint is

apparent in the latest surge in terrorist

attacks by Baloch separatist groups.

Source: Dawn

Republican convention paints fantasy picture of Trump success - ignores failures

America's reality TV president and his

worshipful followers in the

Republican Party he now commands

painted a very unreal picture of America on

the second day of the Republican National

Convention.

Trump was praised again and again

Tuesday night for our booming economy,

his brilliant response to the coronavirus

pandemic, his foreign policy triumphs, his

unparalleled accomplishments on behalf of

Black Americans, and on and on. Too bad

almost none of the boasting was true.

History will look back at the Trump

presidency - which hopefully will end in

January - as the presidency that could have

been great, but failed miserably.

Trump could have been the president

who stood up for everyday Americans.

Faced with the coronavirus pandemic, he

could have been the leader who worked

with Congress to extend unemployment

insurance. He could have worked across

the aisle to shore-up state and local budgets

devastated by falling tax revenues and

rising expenses caused by business closures

due to COVID-19.

Trump could have been the president

who boosted funding for public schools that

must find new ways to teach students,

particularly schools in low-income

communities where students need

financial assistance to get computers

required for remote learning.

Trump could have done so much more to

aid hospitals, first responders, food banks,

and others struggling to find needed

equipment and funding to help the sick and

newly unemployed deal with the pandemic.

And the man who sits in the Oval office

could have fought for small businesses to

get additional paycheck protection

resources they need.

Of critical importance, Trump could have

been the president who pushed forward a

plan that remedied the harmful and

disproportionate impact that COVID-19 is

having on communities of color.

Unfortunately, Trump has been none of

these things. He has chosen to be a con man

and lie to the American people over and

over again about an economic recovery that

actually isn't happening, and miracle cures

and a vaccine for COVID-19 that are

supposedly coming soon.

Instead of working tirelessly for the

American people, as his convention

cheerleaders told us Monday and Tuesday

night he does, Trump has spent his time

working for himself.

The president sends out angry tweets,

boasts about how he is "a very stable

genius" and the greatest first-term

president in history, visits his resorts to

play golf, and whines about a mythical

"deep state" and "the fake news media."

Remember, that by his definition any

criticism of him - even when 100 percent

accurate - is "fake news."

As voters are faced with a choice of four

more disastrous years under Trump or

voting for Democratic presidential

nominee and former vice president Joe

Biden, let's look at some facts about just

Trump could have been the president who stood up for everyday

Americans. Faced with the coronavirus pandemic, he could have

been the leader who worked with congress to extend unemployment

insurance. He could have worked across the aisle to shore-up

state and local budgets devastated by falling tax revenues and rising

expenses caused by business closures due to cOVID-19.

MIcHAel PRegenT

one of the many important issues at stake

in the November election - the economy.

The U.S. economy contracted at a 32.9%

annual rate from April through June, its

worst drop on record, according to the

Bureau of Economic Analysis. And with

just days left in August, over 30 million

unemployed Americans are looking for

work and are trying to figure out how to

make ends meet.

Of course, you wouldn't know this if you

believed everything you heard at this

week's Republican National Convention.

The fairy tale picture of our economy

offered up Tuesday night at the convention

was not based on fact or reason. Not only

did the Trump worshippers tell the

American people that we are witnessing

some sort of economic boom; they

continued to point to the stock market,

large corporations, and industry titans as

their measure of America's financial

success.

But while we all want our economy to get

back on track, the truth remains that

America currently sits at the intersection of

a COVID-19-induced pandemic and an

economic decline that has resulted from

current infections and the abysmal lack of

leadership from the White House.

Of course, no one is saying Trump is

responsible for creating the coronavirus.

But presidents have to deal with many

problems they didn't create. That's part of

the job. And presidents have to accept

responsibility for solving problems, unlike

Trump, who says the buck never stops with

him and constantly whines about how he is

unappreciated and treated unfairly.

Have we seen some bright spots in the

economy? Absolutely! With interest rates

near all-time lows and essential purchasing

at an all-time highs, we have seen some

significant benefits.

Companies like Walmart, Amazon, Apple

and Zoom have done spectacularly. Also,

seven of the world's 50 wealthiest people

increased their net worth by more than

50% between March 18 - a week after

COVID-19 was declared a pandemic - and

June 4. And some American families with

extra cash-on-hand have been able to

purchase new homes and cars and build

new decks for their backyards.

Regrettably, the examples mentioned

above are the outliers of this pandemic and

the fear, uncertainty, confusion, and

sadness it has laid bare.

Source: Fox news

Iraq government must choose between US and Iran - its people already have

The three things America wants

Baghdad to know are: Iran is

Washington's focus, Daesh is bigger

than the Baghdad pulse on the US

presence, and the White House is prepared

to deal with both Iran and Daesh at

Baghdad's expense and to its detriment if it

continues its pro-Tehran position.

Why do I say Baghdad instead of Iraq?

Because Baghdad is at odds with the rest of

the country, it is the center of power, and

80 percent of the country wants this

corrupt and loyal-to-Tehran system

replaced in new elections. Elections that

are free, fair and timely - as in, now.

Elections that won't happen without the

consent of Tehran and to the benefit of

parties tied to Tehran. Elections Iraqis

demand.

Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi's

visit to the US last week was full of

promises from both sides. Promises are

easy, and this doesn't mean the trip was a

promising one. A "promising" description

His activism was not confined to student politics but also

extended to national issues. The BSO had provided a

platform for political and intellectual development for

young Baloch students. It was there that Hasil got his

political training beside his father's tutelage. Hasil

entered national politics after his father's death. There

was no looking back for him from there.

would mean that what transpired in

Washington was highly likely to happen -

but what was talked about and tentatively

agreed to by Al-Kadhimi is something he

will fail to sell to the Council of

Representatives, which is dominated by

pro-Tehran militia leaders in suits.

There were promises made to focus on

the fight against Daesh; promises by the US

to leave Iraq once Iraq can defend itself;

promises to help Iraq's economy; and

promises to not mention, at least in public,

the threat of Iraqi militias and Al-

Kadhimi's inability to take them on.

It was all public pleasantries and

platitudes in Washington, but the message

was clear: Iraq can benefit from a strong

relationship with the US or it can be quickly

abandoned if Baghdad continues to do

nothing as security degradation continues

to reveal the facade that is a sovereign and

post-Daesh Iraq.

The militias tied to Tehran have primacy

and Daesh is reconstituting where the US

has pulled out along the Iraq-Syria border.

The militias are taking over the bases the

US is handing back over to the Iraqi

government. Most analysts in Washington

say Iraq is better than it has ever been,

which is easily said, unless you are actually

paying attention.

The US will remain in Iraq as long as

Daesh is present and as long as the militias

continue to threaten the region. The US is

repositioning to areas where it has more

support from Sunnis and Kurds; to areas

distrustful of Baghdad and against Iran's

militias. This is what Nouri Al-Maliki and

Hadi Al-Ameri believe, it is what the

militias believe, and it is what they should

worry about. Baghdad has a choice: Iraq

can become like Syria, Yemen or Lebanon,

or it can become one of the strongest

economies in the region, with solid ties to

the US, NATO and its Arab neighbors.

Security degradation will not allow for

the economic incentives the US proposed

during Al-Kadhimi's visit. The message to

Baghdad effectively was, "look what can be

if you tilt away from Iran and look at what

you will lose if you continue to let Iran

dictate what Baghdad does."

American companies are preparing to do

things in Iraq that will move the country away

from Iranian energy and forced dependence,

which also happens to cost five times as much

as the US rate. These contracts aren't signed in

isolation; they will complement the US moves

to bring snapback sanctions on Iran and end

the waivers for Iraq to use Iranian gas and

electricity.

Again, the wild cards - a Daesh

resurgence and Iran's militias - could derail

international investment in Iraq. The

proposed contracts will not happen while

militias are attacking anything American

with impunity and Daesh cells are active in

previously cleared territory because the

militias and the Iraqi security forces are not

focused on them.

Source: Arab news

ThursDAY, AugusT 27, 2020

5

Emergency approval for COVID-19

plasma treatment announced

SAnJAnA KARAntH

President Donald trump said Sunday that

u.S. regulators have given an emergency

use authorization for a coronavirus

treatment involving blood plasma donated

by people who have recovered from the

disease.

"this is a powerful therapy that

transfuses very, very strong antibodies

from the blood of recovered patients to help

treat patients battling a current infection,"

trump told reporters at a White House

news briefing. "We're removing

unnecessary barriers and delays, not by

cutting corners, but by marshaling the full

power of the federal government."

the authorization allows for the

distribution of COVID-19 convalescent

plasma in the u.S. and for health care

providers to administer it as appropriate to

treat patients hospitalized with suspected

or confirmed COVID-19.

Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the

Food and Drug Administration, said

EllE Hunt

By the fifth week of

lockdown, I had mastered

the art of silliness. My

flatmates and I had drawn

smiley faces on fruit, stuck

googly eyes on vegetables

and dressed up as our

favourite pop stars. On

social media I noticed

similar responses to the

"unprecedented" times we

found ourselves in: parents

jumping in on their

children's tiktok dance

challenges, people dressing

up in black tie or costumes

to take out the bins. I'd

chalked it up as cabin fever,

but even in this more relaxed

phase of lockdown, with

some of our pre-pandemic

pastimes back on the agenda

(albeit in adapted form), the

spirit of silliness endures in

my flat. It turns out that

playfulness is, in fact, a

distinct personality trait, like

extroversion

or

conscientiousness - and

those who possess it in

adulthood may be more

resilient.

In this strange in-between

time, half in, half out of

lockdown, I now realise that

cultivating a sense of the

absurd might be crucial to

weathering the uncertainty

of the weeks and months to

come. Silliness does not

have to deny the gravity of

the situation - but it can help

you get through it.

Humour, in general, is

well established to be

beneficial in coping with

stress and adversity. Dr nick

Kuiper, a professor emeritus

of clinical psychology at the

university of Western

Sunday that he is "committed to releasing

safe and potentially helpful treatments for

COVID-19 as quickly as possible in order to

save lives."

"In the independent judgment of experts

and expert scientists at the FDA ? who have

reviewed the totality of data, not just the

data from this expanded access program,

but more than a dozen published studies, as

well as the historical experience associated

with this ? those scientists have concluded

that COVID-19 convalescent plasma is safe,

ensures promising efficacy, thereby

meeting the criteria for emergency use

authorization," Hahn said at the briefing.

The authorization comes after the request of top health officials

who cited insufficient evidence.

Photo: Collected

the authorization comes after the FDA

put the convalescent plasma approval on

hold in response to concerns from top

federal health officials, including Dr.

Francis Collins and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the

new York times reported last week.

though blood plasma donated from

recovered COVID-19 patients is considered

safe, top scientists said the clinical trials

Why it's sensible to be casual

Ontario, who has been

researching humour for

more than 30 years, says it

can function as a reframing

mechanism, creating

psychological distance from

a negative event. "Past

research has shown that

those high on a coping

measure of the use of

humour can see potentially

stressful events in a less

threatening manner, and as

more of a positive

challenge," says Kuiper.

But more than an

appreciation of comedy or

jokes, it is what might be

termed silliness that I have

found myself leaning on

over the past few months - a

kind of contriving whimsy

for whimsy's sake, that could

easily be dismissed as

juvenile in adults - especially

in those without young

children themselves.

For millennials like me, a

proclivity for fancy dress,

theme parks or ball pits

might be held up as evidence

of an extended childhood, a

social media obsession, or a

failing with personal

finance. But as philosophy

professor John Morreall has

written, historically all

humour has been framed

negatively. Plato and

Aristotle, for example,

discouraged laughter as an

expression of scorn, as do

certain verses in the Bible.

Prior to the 20th century,

few philosophers or

psychologists even

mentioned that humour is a

kind of play, or saw the

benefits in such play, wrote

Morreall.

While a century of study of

humour has come to view

the trait as a character

strength, silliness itself is

still not considered entirely

positive. According to the

OED, the word "silly" has

evolved to have a range of

mostly negative meanings

from its original sense of

"happy, blissful, lucky or

blessed" in old English, to

"innocent", "harmless" and

"pitiable". today there is

usually some judgment

attached, though the precise

meaning is unclear.

"Everybody's silly at some

time, it's just that it's not

identical," says Dr Janet M

Gibson, a professor of

cognitive psychology at

Grinnell College, Iowa.

In researching 800 papers

on the psychology of

humour, Gibson came

across no evidence that it

was a sign of immaturity.

"When I grew up, 'silly' was

an insult. But psychologists

don't seem to have thought

that it was immaturity that

caused silliness." She

suggests that silliness is not

negative, but inappropriate

displays of it are received as

such: "It takes a lot of social

intelligence to know when

you can be silly."

Some people find it harder

than others to switch

between playful and goaloriented

states. Rather than

playfulness being a stage we

grow out of, research has

shown it to be - to a greater

or lesser extent - part of our

personalities, determining

how receptive to it we

remain through our lives.

Dr René Proyer, a

professor of psychology at

silliness does not have to deny the gravity of the situation. Photo: Elle hunt

have not yet proved whether it is effective

enough for treating the disease caused by

the virus. the FDA had planned to give

emergency use authorization for the

treatment earlier this month but decided

against it after health experts argued there

was insufficient evidence.

"the trial that that's going to be based

on ? 70,000 patients ? wasn't a very

rigorously done trial. It was an open-label

study where everyone got treated, so it's

hard to draw conclusions," former FDA

Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CBS's

"Face the nation" on Sunday.

"I believe plasma is probably beneficial.

It's probably weakly beneficial in the

setting of this treatment," he continued.

"But I think some people wanted to see

more rigorous data to ground that

decision."

trump said the federal government

provided $48 million to fund a Mayo

Clinic study that tested the efficacy of

convalescent plasma for COVID-19

patients. the study showed that the

plasma reduced mortality by 35% among

100,000 participants receiving the

treatment, according to Hahn and Alex

Azar, secretary of health and human

services.

"there was a 35% improvement in

survival, which is a significant clinical

benefit," Hahn said of the study. "now

we're waiting for more data - we're going

to continue to gather data - but this

clearly meets the criteria that we've

established for emergency use

authorization, and we're very pleased

with these results."

trump on Saturday accused FDA

employees of intentionally delaying

progress on a COVID-19 vaccine and

treatment because they were out to hurt

the president's chances in the election,

without offering any evidence to

substantiate the claim.

the Martin-luther

university Halle-Wittenberg

in Germany, says

playfulness is a personality

trait, akin to the "big five":

agreeableness,

conscientiousness, openness

to experience, emotional

stability and extroversion.

Playful people generally

score higher on the last

three, but Proyer found the

trait could exist

independently.

Playfulness is also

"psychologically different"

from humour, he adds.

"though there is overlap,

you can be playful without

being humorous… You

might just enjoy the

activity." that is supported

by Proyer's findings that

playful people act out their

propensity day-to-day, and

that they generally prefer

partners who do the same.

He gives the example of one

person surprising the other

(say, by sticking googly eyes

on a squash): "He or she

may laugh - but there may

just be the feeling of surprise

or joy."

Proyer has found four

basic types of playful adults:

"other-directed", who prefer

to play with others; "lighthearted"

people, who

"regard their whole life as a

type of game"; those who are

"intellectual", amusing

themselves with thoughts,

ideas and their own

challenges; and, finally, the

"whimsically playful", who

are entertained by unusual

or "small day-to-day

observations".

All of these may be present

in one individual, to a

greater or lesser degree. (I

identify myself as whimsiintellectual

and one of my

flatmates as all four, turned

up to the max.) "I don't think

that there are many people

who aren't playful at all, in

any of these dimensions,"

says Proyer. "the way you

personally express your

playfulness can be different

at work, in your leisure time,

in your private life."

It can function as an

approach to problemsolving,

managing

relationships, presenting

information or even conflict

negotiation. When Proyer's

five-year-old daughter

refused to eat her lunch, the

compromise reached was to

sit not at the table but

beneath it: "terrible for adult

backs," says Proyer, "but it

worked."

searches for anxiety and panic attacks were the highest they've ever been in over 16 years.

Photo: getty Images

Panic attack' searches reached all-time high

nAtASHA HInDE

the COVID-19 pandemic has caused

anxiety to sky-rocket, if internet searches

are anything to go by. Panic attacks are an

exaggeration of the body entering "fight or

flight" mode - as a person tries to take in

more oxygen, their breathing quickens and

their body releases hormones like

adrenaline which can cause the heart to

beat faster and muscles to tense.

A new study, published in JAMA

Internal Medicine, finds evidence of a

record high in potential anxiety or panic

attacks based on Google searches.

Researchers analyzed search queries that

mentioned "panic attack" or "anxiety

attack" emerging from the uS between

January 2004 and May 2020.

these included queries like "am I having

a panic attack?," "signs of anxiety attack"

or "anxiety attack symptoms." After

President Donald trump first declared a

national emergency in the u.S. on March

13 this year, the team discovered anxiety

related searches reached record highs.

Benjamin Althouse, a principal scientist

at the Institute for Disease Modeling,

which was involved in the study, says

"searches for anxiety and panic attacks

were the highest they've ever been in over

16 years of historical search data."

Searches tended to peak when national

research, innovation vital

in post pandemic world

Peter Piot

After an incredibly difficult

year, it is understandable that

many people are looking

forward to a 'post-COVID' era.

But with no end to the

pandemic in sight, we need to

shift our thinking to start to see

ourselves as societies living

with this virus and focus on the

long-term planning needed to

tackle the enormous challenges

ahead.

Epidemics, much like threats

such as climate change and

cyber-crime, do not respect

national borders and we

cannot build walls to keep

them out. Science and

innovation have a key role to

play, not only in finding safe

and effective treatments and

vaccines for COVID-19, but

also in addressing the complex

wider issues facing our

societies and economies,

including the health toll of the

COVID-19 response.

Global problems require

coordinated international

solutions. In recent decades,

we have made remarkable

advances in global health and

wellbeing and lifted millions of

people out of poverty. this

progress has been due in large

part to science, innovation and

research and the uK has

played a leading role.

From advances in

agriculture to the global spread

of the internet, mobile and

satellite connectivity, the uK

has contributed significantly

through transformative

interdisciplinary research. the

uK has worked collaboratively

with international partners to

connect the strength of uK

research with institutions and

networks in low- and middleincome

countries. this was

particularly evident in the

2014-2015 Ebola epidemic in

guidelines were rolled out in the u.S., the

team found. the largest increase in queries

occurred between March 16 and April 14,

coinciding with the roll out of national

social distancing guidelines.

this also seemed to occur globally:

Google search insights for the uK suggest a

similar trend, with searches for "panic

attacks" and "anxiety attack symptoms"

peaking in March and April respectively,

HuffPost uK found.

Psychotherapist and author Joshua

Fletcher tells HuffPost uK he saw a spike

in anxiety-related queries from clients as a

result of COVID-19. Referrals tended to

increase when lockdown measures were

lifted, rather than enforced, he says. this,

he believes, is because during the initial

lockdown our lives were quite simple, but

as the rules became blurred and a bit more

confusing, people became more anxious as

"they didn't have the rigid guidelines to fall

back on."

In a typical week pre-lockdown he would

get around five to 10 enquiries, but in April

and May this rose to between 30 and 40 a

week. the queries aren't necessarily linked

to the virus itself, Fletcher says, but as a

result of the changes people are having to

make in their personal lives to

accommodate it.

He uses the metaphor of a stress jug:

"Every time we experience stress it goes

Bazar.

West Africa.

Equity and access to

healthcare for the world's most

vulnerable people are at the

foundation of this research.

Right now, uK-funded

research and innovation,

closely coordinated across

diverse government

departments, is playing a key

role in the global response to

COVID-19. As well as

developing new vaccines,

diagnostics and therapeutics,

this funding is supporting

health systems, hygiene, water

and sanitation, food security,

logistics and supply chains. It is

helping ensure gender

inclusion and equality,

promoting education and

combating misinformation.

the uK's leadership in

COVID-19

vaccine

development is well-known.

two of the most promising

vaccine candidates globally,

the Oxford and Imperial

vaccines, have received

funding from the uK's Vaccine

taskforce and benefit from

support from the Coalition for

Epidemic Preparedness

Innovations (CEPI). these

were originally supported to

develop vaccines against

diseases with epidemic

potential in low- and middleincome

countries, with Official

Development Assistance

funding through the uK

Vaccine network. Both

projects are exploring

opportunities for trials in

developing countries alongside

the uK, which represents a

continued commitment to

equity and access by the

institutions and their funders.

However, the health

response to COVID-19 goes

much wider than vaccines.

For example, a team from the

nIHR Global Health

Research unit on Respiratory

Health (RESPIRE) at the

university of Edinburgh is

focusing on priorities

identified by the World

Health Organization (WHO).

In Malaysia, and in refugee

camps in Bangladesh, they are

working to address health,

safety and psychological

into the jug - so that's money, work,

deadlines, relationship issues, past

experiences, grief, debt, lack of sleep, not

eating properly."

People experience panic attacks when

that stress jug overflows, he says, because

the brain misinterprets all the stress and

thinks you're in danger. Your body goes

into fight or flight - and the adrenaline

kicks in. With the virus and subsequent

lockdown, "so many people's jugs have

been filled up," he says.

there are various physical and mental

symptoms of a panic attack. Fletcher talks

through three key parts: First of all, there's

the feeling of "terror from nowhere," he

says. All of a sudden you are scared for no

real reason and can feel an overwhelming

sense of dread that something awful is

about to happen.

Secondly, there's the sensation - you

can't catch your breath, there's a sense of

unreality and feeling detached from

yourself. You might also have chest pains,

your vision shuts down, you sweat and

have an overwhelming urge to run away.

A panic attack is also identifiable by the

thoughts that accompany it. "You have a

flood of 'what ifs,'" Fletcher says. these

might be: What if I'm about to die? What if

I'm about to collapse? What if I'm about to

have a heart attack?

A nurse helps treat a patient suspected of suffering diphtheria in Cox's

Photo: russell Watkins

issues faced by frontline care

workers. together with

partners in Pakistan, they are

using artificial intelligence to

detect COVID-19 in chest X-

rays up to 200 times faster

than manual image

processing.

the COVIDaction

programme has been building

an innovation and technology

pipeline for the international

pandemic response and longterm

recovery. It has already

developed a large network of

innovators working on data,

resilient health systems, local

production and local

solutions. Similarly, uK

funding is supporting

entrepreneurs and engineers,

such as Catherine Wanjoya in

Kenya, who is designing

incinerators to safely dispose

of used personal protective

equipment on-site in

hospitals, and Chinenye

nwaogwugwu in nigeria, who

manufactures hand sanitiser

that meets WHO standards.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020 6

Bangladesh Army provides

medical services in Chilmari

Golam mahbub, Chilmari Correspondent:

on the occasion of 100th birth

anniversary of Father of the nation

bangabandhu sheikh mujibur rahman,

free medical services and medicines

have been provided to pregnant

mothers, children and helpless people in

Chilmari, Kurigram by the 72nd

infantry brigade 30 bir of 66th infantry

division rangpur Cantonment of

bangladesh army.

lt. Col. md. hedayetul islam psC,

Commander, rangpur Cantonment 30

bir, inaugurated the day-long medical

service program at au Government

high school, thanahat on Wednesday

morning. under the supervision of

Captain mir ali ikram, 6 doctors

specializing in various subjects of

rangpur Cmh provided medical

services to more than 400 pregnant

mothers, children and helpless patients.

Chilmari upazila nirbahi officer aWm

raihan shah inspected the medical

service delivery activities at noon.

during the time, dr. Colonel md.

noman ali, Chief self adviser of

rangpur Cmh, dr. Col. Zinnia sultana,

dr. Col. ismat ara begum, dr. major

md. abu Kaiser, dr. Captain mushrata

shahrin sarkar and dr. Captain mst

roxana, senior Warrant officer md.

shahidul islam and Warrant officer

md. Faruk hossain along with various

ranks of army members and local

journalists provided overall support for

the medical services and medicine

distribution program.

The photo shows the ongoing project work to protect Surma High School and College from river erosion

in Patharia union.

Photo: M F I Sohel Talukder

Planning Minister saves various organizations

from river erosion in Patharia union

m F i sohel taluKder, daKshin

sunamGanj Correspondent:

heavy rains and landslides have caused

extensive damage across the country, as

well as government infrastructure and

homes on the banks of various rivers.

under the special effort of planning

minister ma mannan mp some public and

private organizations including surma

high school and College, patharia land

office, patharia Government primary

school, patharia post office which are

located on the right bank of the old surma

river in patharia union of dakshin

sunamganj upazila were rescued.

it is learned that due to the dedicated

efforts of planning minister ma mannan

mp, a number of public-private

establishments and infrastructures in

patharia union of dakshin sunamganj

upazila, bWdb are implementing a project

titled "surma river protection" on the

banks of the old surma river to protect

them from river erosion. according to the

office sources of bWdb sunamganj

division-2, erosion of old surma river in

patharia union of dakshin sunamganj

upazila of the district has been tackled

under the influence of climate change

under bWdb sunamganj division-2 in the

financial year 2018-19 and 2019-20

through multiple do letters of planning

minister ma mannan mp. the Water

development board undertook the project

at an estimated cost of tk 2.96 crore to save

various institutions in surma high school

and College, patharia land office, patharia

Government primary school, patharia post

office.

the project started work on july 1, 2019

and has already completed about 80% of

the work. the 223 m project will be placed

at the very bottom of the river with a

dumping bucket in the form of a ramp up to

the top of the river bank at once. the size of

a block is 40/40/20 cm. 19,400 blocks of

this size will be used. the size of another

block will be 35/35/35 cm, the number of

which is 31 thousand 228.

after visiting the area it was seen that

surma high school and College, patharia

Government primary school, patharia post

office and patharia land office are located

on the banks of the old surma river near

patharia bazar. at the same time, patharia

bazaar and the houses of many locals are

also located on banks of the river. had it not

been for the project, these establishments

would have vanished into the river at any

moment. if the project is fully

implemented, these establishments and

the houses of the common people will be

protected from river erosion. the work is

currently closed due to coronavirus

pandemic and floods. according to the

contractors, the workers are not working

due to the floods and the coronavirus.

however, they said that they will start work

and complete the remaining work in a few

days.

habibur rahman habib, general

secretary of patharia bazar business

Committee, said, " we are greatful to

planning minister ma mannan mp. he

has given this project to protect the

government and private sector including

surma high school and College, the only

school in our area. if this project had not

been implemented, this important flood of

ours would have been lost in the river this

time.

in this regard, principal of surma high

school and College aminul islam said, "i

have been repeatedly demanding the

minister of planning ma mannan mp

along with the school management

committee and the people of the area to

protect these structures from river erosion."

the minister has given many do letters

and has personally contacted various

ministries and passed this project.

in this regard, planning minister ma

mannan mp told this correspondent that

this project is a public importance project.

there are a lot of public and private

establishments here. had it not been for the

project, these institutions and the houses of

the common people would have been lost

in the river. he said the wind of

development is blowing in the country now.

new infrastructure, roads, bridges, schools,

colleges have been set up all around.

bangladesh is now the role model of

development. two more bridges will be

built over this river in patharia. Work has

begun on one. the work of the other one is

in progress.

In observance of the 100th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman, Bangladesh Army provided free medical services and medicines among pregnant mothers,

children and helpless people in Chilmari upazila on Wednesday.

Photo: Golam Mahbub

Mahila Parishad holds discussion

meeting in Madhukhali

shahjahan helal, madhuKhali

Correspondent:

a discussion meeting

organized by the

madhukhali district branch

of bangladesh mahila

parishad in collaboration

with the health and social

Welfare sub-Council and

the Forest and environment

sub-Council was held on the

impact, violence and actions

to be taken on women and

girls due to Covid-19

infection in the upazila on

Wednesday.

president of bangladesh

mahila parishad,

madhukhali district branch

and member of the district

Council suraiya salam

presided over the discussion

at the auditorium of

Madhukhali District Branch of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad organized a

discussion meeting on the impact, violence and actions to be taken on

akhchashi mahila College in

the upazila. among others,

principal of Women's

degree College dilip Kumar

Goswami, legal aid

secretary of madhukhali

district branch of

bangladesh mahila

parishad and madhukhali

upazila Vice Chairman

(Women) morsheda akter

mina and Vice president

Khuku, jasmine islam ulka

were also present at the

occasion.

'Our goal is to ensure nutritious

and safe food': BARI DG

Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Milton Chandra Roy as the chief guest distributed health materials

among the students to prevent coronavirus at the initiative of voluntary organization 'Moyna

Protibondhi Mahila Unnayan Samity' in Joypurhat on Tuesday. Photo: Masrakul Alom

Health materials to prevent coronavirus

distributed in Joypurhat

masraKul alom, joypurhat

Correspondent:

health-nutrition and population

activities and health materials to

prevent coronavirus was distributed in

joypurhat at the initiative of private

voluntary organization 'moyna

protibondhi mahila unnayan samity'

the department of health-education

and Family Welfare, in collaboration

with the ministry of health and Family

Welfare.

marking the occasion, sadar upazila

nirbahi officer milton Chandra roy

addressed the distribution function as

the chief guest at the teghar high

school auditorium while headmaster

of the school sanwar hossain chaired

the occasion on tuesday. among

others, sadar upazila medical officer

of the Family planning department

dr. umme Kulsum, lutfe akbar

Chowdhury raja, General secretary of

joypurhat library and Club, executive

director of prottasha sangha, dr.

nazrul islam, abdur rashed biswas,

executive director of orbit social

Welfare association, lutfiara begum,

executive director of moyna

protibondhi mahila unnayan samity'

and student lamia were also present

at the occasion.

the ceremony was attended by more

than one hundred and fifty female

students of the school and masks,

soap, sanitary napkins, vitamin C, zinc

tablets were distributed among the

participating students. the chief guest

called upon the students to be more

vigilant in raising public awareness on

the prevention of coronavirus and to

be more aware of self-nutrition and

population activities.

shamsul haque bhuiyan,

GaZipur Correspondent:

director General of

bangladesh agricultural

research institute (bari)

dr. md. nazirul islam said,

"as a result of the current

government's agri-friendly

policy, we have already

achieved food selfsufficiency.

our goal now is

to ensure nutritious and safe

food for the people of the

country."

he said this while speaking

as chief guest at a day-long

training workshop titled

'insects and diseases

management by using bio

pesticides based technology

in fruits and vegetables' at

the seminar room of the

institute on Wednesday,

organised by the

entomology division of

bari. a total 35 teachers' of

different department of Kazi

azimuddin College, Gazipur

were participated at the

training workshop. the

programme is arranged with

the fund of 'development

and expansion of biorational

based integrated

pest management

technologies of vegetables,

Director General of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI)

Dr. Md. Nazirul Islam as the chief guest addressed a day-long training

workshop' at the seminar room of BARI on Wednesday.

Photo: Shamsul Haque Bhuiyan

fruits and betel leaf project'.

bari director (research)

dr. md. miaruddin and Chief

scientific officer & head of

plant pathology division dr.

Firoza Khatun were present

as special guest. Chief

scientific officer & head of

entomology division and

project director dr.

debashish sarker presided

over the function. principal

scientific officer of

entomology division dr.

nirmal Kumar dutta gave

the welcome address while

senior scientific officer of

entomology division dr.

md. akhtaruzzaman sarker

conducted the function.

speaking as the chief guest,

bari director General dr.

md. nazirul islam said in our

country, the farmers

indiscriminately use

pesticides to control insects

and pests in their crops

which are extremely

harmful to public health.

as a result, the incidence of

various diseases including

cancer is increasing. so we

need to use organic

pesticides in our crops.

this will reduce the health

risks.


7

Travelers wearing face masks to protect against the spread of coronavirus, wait to disembark from a ferry

at the port of Piraeus, near Athens, Thursday.

Photo : AP

Greece battles coronavirus

resurgence after early success

Workers in bright yellow vests stand on

the dock in Greece's main port of

Piraeus, greeting hundreds of masked

ferry passengers with fliers and the

occasional temperature check, reports

UNB.

"Would you like a coronavirus test?

Yes, it's free. Right over there, in the

white structure, you'll see the signs,"

they tell disembarking passengers.

Free on-the-spot tests for travelers

returning from Greek islands where

outbreaks have occurred is the latest in

an arsenal of measures authorities are

using to tackle a resurgence of COVID-

19 in a country that has so far managed

to dodge the worst of the pandemic.

New localized restrictions, including

a midnight curfew for bars, restaurants

and cafes and a ban on large gatherings

have been imposed, mainly in popular

tourist destinations such as the Aegean

Sea island of Mykonos,

Maria Skopeliti, whose husband and

son work on Mykonos, was one of a

handful of people opting for the voluntary

coronavirus test in Piraeus on a

recent morning. She estimated that

more than two-thirds of people in

Mykonos had been ignoring personal

protective measures. "Even though I

was quite careful... you can't be sure

Police, shooting

protesters clash

for 3rd night in

Kenosha

Police fired tear gas and rubber

bullets to disperse protesters

during a third night

of unrest in this southeastern

Wisconsin city following

the shooting of a Black man

whose attorney said he was

paralyzed after being shot

multiple times by police,

reports UNB.

A group of protesters

walked toward a fence that

was put in place Tuesday

around the courthouse and

started shaking it. Police

behind it moved toward

protesters as some threw

water bottles and fireworks

over the fence. Armored

vehicles then rolled in and

tear gas was fired into the

crowd.

When police ordered protesters

to disperse, the

crowd responded by chanting

"Black lives matter."

Police then fired rubber bullets.

Jacob Blake, the man shot

by police responding to a

domestic disturbance on

Sunday, is paralyzed, and it

will "take a miracle" for him

to walk again, his family's

attorney said Tuesday, while

calling for the officer who

opened fire to be arrested

and others involved to lose

their jobs.

The shooting of Blake on

Sunday in Kenosha - apparently

in the back while three

of his children looked on -

was captured on cellphone

video and ignited new

protests over racial injustice

in several cities, some of

which have devolved into

unrest.

because it's an island that lives to a different

beat," said the 57-year-old

Skopeliti. "It's logical because there are

many young people, you can't restrict

them."

The number of confirmed virus cases

and deaths in Greece remains lower

than in many other European countries.

As of Tuesday, total cases in the

country of about 11 million people

stood at just under 9,000, with 243

deaths and 31 people intubated in

intensive care units.

Belgium, by comparison, with a population

of around 11.5 million, has

reported nearly 82,000 confirmed cases

and close to 10,000 deaths, one of

the world's highest per capita pandemic

mortality rates.

But Greece's new confirmed cases

have been spiraling in recent weeks,

reaching a record 284 on Sunday.

"Yes I'm worried, of course I'm worried,

and we've rung the alarm bell,"

Gkikas Magiorkinis, a University of

Athens assistant professor of hygiene

and epidemiology, told the AP last

week. "That's why we're taking measures."

including the generalized use of

masks. The measures appear to be

working, Magiorkinis, who serves on a

committee of scientists advising the

Greek government, said during a Tuesday

news conference.

"For now it seems that the dramatic

increase of cases ... has been limited,"

he said, noting the spike in the first

week of August was projected to lead to

more than 400 new cases per day,

which so far has not occurred.

"The slowdown of this dramatic

increase came relatively earlier than the

natural development of a full second

wave, and coincides with the taking of

measures for the use of masks, and

with the reinforced restrictions taken in

areas with outbreaks," Magiorkinis

said. For a small country barely emerging

from the grip of a brutal decadelong

financial crisis, Greece appeared to

have done remarkably well during the

pandemic's initial phase in the spring,

when Europe became the second continent

after Asia with the coronavirus

spreading exponentially.

The government imposed a nationwide

lockdown, ordering people to

stay home, shuttering businesses and

closing the borders. It also scrambled

to bolster a weak health system pummeled

by years of budget cuts,

announcing the hiring of thousands of

temporary health workers and

increasing intensive care capacity.

North and South Korea

brace for strong tyhpoon

Hundreds of flights were canceled in South

Korea while North Korea's leader expressed

concern about a potential loss of lives and

crops as the countries braced for a fastapproaching

typhoon forecast as one of the

strongest to hit their peninsula this year,

reports UNB.

Demonstrating a maximum wind speed of

162 kilometers (100 miles) per hour,

Typhoon Bavi was already influencing South

Korea's southern resort island of Jeju on

Wednesday afternoon, toppling trees, ripping

off signboards and knocking down at least

one traffic sign as it passed over waters off the

island's western shores. There were no immediate

reports of injuries or deaths.

South Korea's weather agency said the

typhoon will start to affect the mainland at

night before making landfall in western

North Korea early Thursday. The agency

warned of possible "severe damages" caused

by "very strong winds and heavy rainfall."

More than 330 domestic flights in and out of

Jeju were canceled as of Wednesday morning.

South Korean authorities were also shutting

down public parks and evacuating hundreds

of fishing boats and other vessels, the

Ministry of the Interior and Safety said.

North Korea's official Korean Central News

Agency said that during a ruling party meeting

on Tuesday, the country's leader, Kim

Jong Un, called for thorough preparations to

minimize casualties and damage from the

typhoon. The storm comes weeks after torrential

rains caused flooding and massive

damage to homes and crops in North Korea,

inflicting further pain to an economy ravaged

by U.S.-led sanctions over the North's nuclear

weapons and border closures amid the pandemic.

KCNA said earlier that a typhoon

warning was issued in most areas of the country,

with officials evacuating fishing boats and

applying protective measures on buildings,

farms and railroads.

Hundreds of flights were canceled in South Korea while North Korea's

leader expressed concern about a potential loss of lives and crops as the

countries braced for a fast-approaching typhoon forecast as one of the

strongest to hit their peninsula this year.

Photo : AP

Melania Trump

tells virus sufferers

they’re ‘not alone’

While others at the Republican

National Convention

spoke about the coronavirus

largely as a challenge

successfully conquered,

the first lady on

Tuesday night used her

address from the Rose Garden

to acknowledge the

pain of lives lost and families

upended by the pandemic,

reports UNB.

"I want you to know you're

not alone," she said to the

tens of thousands of families

that have been affected.

More than 177,000 Americans

have been killed by

COVID-19, the disease

caused by the virus.

She promised help fighting

the "invisible enemy"

was on its way from a determined

President Donald

Trump.

"My husband's administration

will not stop fighting

until there is an effective

treatment or vaccine available

to everyone," she said,

speaking to an audience that

included the president, the

vice president and his wife,

and her parents.

"Donald will not rest until

he has done all he can to take

care of everyone impacted

by this terrible pandemic,"

she added in remarks that

were softer in tone than

many who spoke before her.

President Trump sought to play

down the virus at the beginning of

the outbreak, and his handling of

the pandemic has been widely

criticized by doctors and other

medical professionals.

China approves human trial of Covid

vaccines produced from insect cells

China has approved the human trial of a new

COVID-19 vaccine produced by using insect

cells, said Chinese officials, reports UNB.

Vaccine developers at the West China Hospital

of Sichuan University Monday said the

recombinant protein vaccine was issued with

a clinical research permit from the National

Medical Products Administration, reports

Xinhua.

According to researchers, it will be China's

first COVID-19 vaccine candidate grown in

insect cells for humans.

The vaccine is designed to trigger antibodies

against specific areas on the spike protein

of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes

COVID-19.

The results of animal tests were published

in the journal Nature on July 29, which

showed that the vaccine could induce

immune responses against SARS-CoV-2

infection in mice, rabbits and non-human

primates as early as seven or 14 days after a

single dose injection, with 'no obvious' side

effects.

Co-author Wei Yuquan, a senior

researcher of the hospital's state key laboratory

of biotherapy, said the vaccine was produced

by inserting genes of the SARS-CoV-2

virus into insect cell cultures, which can grow

viral proteins.

Such an approach is suitable for large-scale

manufacturing of vaccines.

Scientists have previously used insect cells

to develop recombinant vaccines against cervical

cancer and influenza in Western countries,

said Wei, adding that the approach can

be safely used on humans.

The Chengdu-based hospital is also cooperating

with a local company to design a vaccine

production line.

China has approved the human trial of a new COVID-19 vaccine produced by

using insect cells, said Chinese officials.

Photo : AP

Trump’s convention gives platform

to some with fringe views

An advocate of "household voting" in

which husbands get the final say. A

woman who has argued that school

sex-ed programs are "grooming" children

to be sexualized by predators like

Jeffrey Epstein. A candidate who has

peddled in racist tropes and bizarre

QAnon conspiracy theories, reports

UNB.

President Donald Trump has long

surrounded himself with controversial

characters who hold out-of-themainstream

views. But the decision

by the party to elevate some of those

figures by featuring them in primetime

spots at the Republican National

Convention or inviting them to witness

this week's events is drawing

new scrutiny.

Trump's comfort with the far-right

fringe got uncomfortable for his party

Tuesday. At the last minute, Republicans

pulled a prerecorded speech by

"Angel Mom" Mary Ann Mendoza from

the program, after she fired off a nowdeleted

tweet directing her followers to

a series of anti-Semitic, conspiratorial

messages.

Mendoza, whose son was killed in

2014 in a head-on collision with a

drunken driver living in the U.S. illegally,

had recorded remarks highlighting

the president's fight against illegal

immigration. But her spot was pulled

after the Daily Beast reported that she

had promoted a thread from a QAnon

conspiracy theorist that was rife with

anti-Semitism and claimed the Titanic

was sunk to kill opponents of the Federal

Reserve.

Mendoza, who has made frequent

appearances at the White House and

Trump campaign events along with

other "Angel Moms," apologized for the

tweet, writing that she had "retweeted a

very long thread" without having read

every post and said it didn't reflect her

"feelings or personal thoughts whatsoever."

But the campaign pulled the plug

anyway. "We have removed the scheduled

video from the convention lineup

and it will no longer run this week,"

Trump campaign spokesperson Tim

Murtaugh said in a statement.

Republican Jewish Coalition executive

director Matt Brooks applauded

the decision, saying "her views clearly

disqualify her from addressing the convention."

"We are pleased that convention officials

took prompt action to make sure

the convention reflects who we are and

our values as a party," he said.

Not pulled from the schedule was

anti-abortion activist Abby Johnson,

whose past controversial comments

have surfaced in recent days, along with

questions about her journey from

working at Planned Parenthood to her

current advocacy.

In May, Johnson advocated for

something called "household voting" in

which each household is given a single

vote, and said that, if differences arise,

women should defer to their husbands.

"In a Godly household, the husband

would get the final say," she wrote.

Biden campaign ‘flooding the

zone’ with celebrity backers

Poised over the piano, Carole

King was set to play "I Feel

the Earth Move" during a

recent virtual fundraiser for

Joe Biden when the Democratic

presidential nominee

himself beat her to it.

"On my playlist, Carole!"

Biden proclaimed, holding

up his phone and letting a

few seconds of the song blast,

reports UNB.

"Oh, well, I'll just sit back

and let you play your

playlist," King said with a

laugh. The four-time Grammy

winner isn't the only

Biden playlist mainstay helping

his campaign against

President Donald Trump.

Jimmy Buffett noted that

"Come Monday" was among

the hits stored on Biden's

phone before singing it at

another recent fundraiser.

And James Taylor told

another group that he

learned to play "America the

Beautiful" for President

Barack Obama's 2013 inauguration,

when Biden was

sworn in for four more years

as vice president.

With in-person campaigning

largely suspended

because of the coronavirus, a

parade of movie and TV

stars, pop icons and sports

standouts are proving crucial

in helping Biden raise money

and energize supporters as

campaign surrogates. Events

this week with celebrities and

advocates including actress

Alyssa Milano are serving as

counter-programming to the

Republican National Convention.

"We're just flooding the

zone as much as possible,"

said Michelle Kwan, Biden's

surrogate director and an

Olympic silver and bronze

medalist figure skater who

held a similar post for Hillary

Clinton in 2016. "Our artists

and actors who are surrogates,

they tend to be at

home so their availability

and their schedule has

opened up (and) they're willing

to do more things."

Biden's campaign now has

a team of 15 staffers dedicated

to organizing surrogate

activities.

Republicans point to the

events as evidence that Biden

and his running mate, California

Sen. Kamala Harris,

are closer to Hollywood than

the heartland. Speaking at

the RNC this week, party

chairwoman Ronna

McDaniel noted that actress

Eva Longoria, known for her

role on "Desperate Housewives,"

moderated one night

of last week's Democratic

convention.

"Well, I'm actually a real

housewife and a mom from

Michigan with two wonderful

kids in public school who

happens to be only the second

woman in 164 years to

run the Republican Party,"

McDaniel said.

Still, Biden has gone

beyond celebrities in search

of campaign surrogates. He's

enlisted the help of nearly all

of the 20-plus Democrats he

beat during the primary. And

Obama has taken a more

aggressive role in supporting

his former vice president.

The campaign often pairs

celebrities with lesser-known

officials from all levels of government

to make personalized

pitches to voters, especially

when Biden himself

isn't able to attend an event.

Milano has appeared with

former Labor Secretary Hilda

Solis, and actors like Connie

Britton held an online

event with former Obama

administration official

Valerie Jarrett while Don

Cheadle hosted a youth

activist forum.

Other times it is elected

officials who are far from

household names carrying

online events alone: Former

Interior Secretary Ken

Salazar addressed Hispanics

in New Mexico and former

Secretary of State John Kerry

brought his New England

appeal to Maine voters. As

many as a half dozen such

events now come multiple

times per week - often when

Biden himself is only doing a

single, separate fundraiser .

THURsdAy, AUGUsT 27, 2020

8

Jaya expresses concern

for street dogs

Kumar Biswajit to appear in

‘Gaaner Pakhe Competition-2020’

TBT RePoRT

Popular vocalist Kumar Biswajit

will be the chief guest in the final

round of the 'Gaaner Pakhe

Competition-2020' organized

with expatriates of Singapore.

He will be involved in the

Facebook Live of the final episode

to boost the morale of

Bangladeshis working abroad.

The program will be shown on the

Facebook page 'We are expatriate

Bangladeshis in Singapore' on

August 30 at 9 pm Singapore time

(7 pm Bangladesh time).

Since the outbreak of

coronavirus in Singapore, this

page has been playing a special

role in raising awareness among

The Batman, starring Robert

Pattinson, has added actor

Barry Keoghan to its cast.

The Irish actor, who is set to

star in Marvel's The Eternals,

is now heading to DC to play

the role of Officer Stanley

Merkel.

According to Empire

magazine, Keoghan's casting

Bangladeshis living in the country

and sharing various information

about the virus.

Besides, they have been

working for a long time to

present the talented expatriates

in front of everyone. It regularly

publishes songs, stories, poems

and life stories of various

established expatriates.

Following this, 'Gaaner Pakhe -

2020' in Singapore has been

organized.

In the initial stage, 121 talented

artists submitted songs. At the

end of various qualifying rounds,

they are now in the top 10 list.

They are- Md. Mamun, Md.

Saddam Hussein, Rezaul Islam,

Banij Khan, Pabitro Sutradhar,

was confirmed in a press

release following the DC

FanDome on August 22.

Merkel appears in the Batman

comic books as Commissioner

Gordon's first partner with

Gotham Police. Westworld

star Jeffrey Wright is playing

Gordon in the upcoming Matt

Reeves directorial.

Hussein Mohammad Rajib, Md.

Mukul Hossain, Prabir Dutt,

Fazlul Karim and Mehedi Hasan.

Biswajit and the contestants

Singapore expatriate Omar

Farooqi Shipon is coordinating

the competition, along with Sharif

Uddin and Ripon Chowdhury.

"Many of us are in home

qurantine due to the

coronavirus outbreak," they said

about the event. We have

organized this event to keep the

mentality of the expatriate

Bangladeshis in Singapore

strong. This is an attempt to give

them some emotional relief

through entertainment. 'The

final winner will be announced

soon, they said.

Barry Keoghan joins

The Batman

It is, however, unknown

whether Keoghan could

appear in flashback or it

will be some other

iteration of the character.

Known for films like

Dunkirk and The Killing

of a Sacred Deer,

Keoghan doesn't appear

in the teaser trailer of the

movie which recently

dropped.

The Batman, which shut

down production in

March in the wake of the

coronavirus pandemic,

will reportedly go on

floors early next month at

Warner Bros Studios

Leavesden in the UK.

Billed as a darker take on the

DC superhero's story, The

Batman also stars Zoe Kravitz,

Paul Dano, John Turturro,

Peter Sarsgaard, Jayme

Lawson, Andy Serkis, and

Colin Farrell.

Source: indianexpress.com

TBT RePoRT

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) is

going to transfer 30,000 dogs from the

capital. Animal rights activists have

expressed concern over the news. Popular

Dhaka-Kolkata actress Jaya Ahsan has

joined them. She also promoted an

initiative organized on this subject from

her Facebook account. It reads, "Often we

hear the municipality or city corporation

become interested in killing or transferring

an old friend like a dog. Although the state

has prohibited it by law. We often see

extreme cruelty towards this closest friend

of man. Get rid of this insensitivity.

At the initiative of People for Animal

Welfare Foundation (PAW Foundation),

artists and environmentalists will paint

pictures of street dogs on the walls of

Actors Arjun Kapoor and Rakul Preet

Singh recently started shooting for their

upcoming yet-to-be-titled film. Joining

them today are John Abraham and Aditi

Rao Hydari, who will be seen playing

Arjun's grandparents.

John and Aditi's story is set in 1947,

around the time of India's Independence.

Aditi Rao Hydari plays John Abraham's

love interest and the younger version of

Neena Gupta's character in the film. The

two will be shooting for their part for a

week during this indoor schedule. They

will then reunite with the team for a brief

outdoor shoot schedule in October.

John, who plays a Sikh for the first time, is

Bangladeshi stars

makes video using

Likee's modern effect

Pioneering short video platform

Likee has launched a brand new

effect named ComicBeats, to

enable users create their comic

avatar. With the help of this

effect, users can create cool and

fashionable eye-catching

posters with their Likee IDs,

says a press release.

Some popular stars from

Bangladesh, such as actresses

Arifa Parvin Zaman Moushumi,

Mumtaheena Chowdhury Toya

and Sallha Khanam Nadia have

already joined the celebration

Globe pharmaceuticals Depot in between

of Road 10A and 9A Dhanmondi

R/A,Satmasjid Road on August 28 and 29.

"

It is further said, "The film will show the

role of other animals besides nature in

nature. Their struggle, survival and so on.

That story will appear on the mural.

I personally express my sincere

solidarity with this initiative. I will be there

on Saturday, August 29 at 4 pm to express

my solidarity. More talented people from

the animal-loving artist community will

also come there. "

Finally, the actress said, " You too come.

I would like to call upon all the conscious

citizens, environmentalists and animal

rights activists of Dhaka to join this event

with the aim of building a vibrant Dhaka.

Together we have built a range of

also co-producing

the Nikkhil Advani

directorial along

with Bhushan Kumar. "The team has

taken extreme care, following all the SOPs

issued by the ministries and concerned

authorities. As a producer, it's important

for me to look out for our cast and crew,"

said the actor.

Talking about her role, Aditi Rao Hydari

said, "John and I play a couple in 1946-47

whose love story remains unfinished and

unrequited till Arjun's character feels the

need to bring it to closure. Films like these

are rarely made today, so I was quick to

come on board."

Director Nikhil Advani described how

John and Aditi's love story is important

and in line with the story of Arjun Kapoor

by creating videos using the

effect, many more are slated to

join the fun bandwagon in near

future. Arifa and Mumtaheena

captured their different

expressions in their videos

whereas Sallha's cartoon avatar

featured her getting a hair

massage. Notably, a few

celebrities in Russia and

Indonesia have already

showcased their creativity by

making their comic avatars.

Following in-depth research

by Likee's R&D teams, the

compassion for animals. "

Those who has a good reputation as an

animal lover, has stood by the street dogs

of the city at various times and also visited

different areas of the capital with food

during the COVID-19 period should

attained this activity.

Recently, it has been reported that Jaya

Ahsan has joined a film by Kolkata

musician and national award winning film

director Indradeep Dasgupta.

Abraham and Aditi

Rao Hydari to play

Arjun Kapoor's

grandparents

algorithm has been optimized

so that users can enjoy the

effects irrespective of the

technical prowess of a mobile

phone. The effect can also adapt

to different facial features, skin

colours and clothing styles,

ensuring a more localized

approach. The combination of

short-video and poster format

makes the videos easily sharable

across different social

platforms.

Likee spokesperson said,

"ComicBeats is deeply rooted in

and Rakul Preet Singh's characters.

"The idea is to realise true love through

the story of a woman who's been yearning

for closure for 70 years. There is a parallel

between Arjun and Rakul's characters in

the present day and the forced break-up

between John and Aditi's characters in

1947 following the Partition," he shared in

a statement.

"It's a story of love, values, bonds and

family over two different eras. John and

Aditi's is an old-school love story while

Arjun and Rakul are in a modern-day

relationship," producer Bhushan Kumar

concluded.

The Arjun Kapoor-Rakul Preet Singh film

is directed by Kaashvie Nair.

Source: indianexpress.com

the comic cultural phenomenon

that's universally applicable to

the younger generation. The

philosophy is to prioritize users

and inspire their creativity.

Likee has shown its ambition to

leverage effects to boost a

business model for

collaborations with global

brands." Based on Likee's

philosophy of 'Let You Shine',

the effect inspires creativity and

lets users express themselves in

as diverse ways as possible.

H o R o s C o P e

ARIes

(March 21 - April 20) : All things

domestic are highlighted, Aries. It

could be that you've finally called the

plumber or set out to do those

household repairs yourself. New people are likely to

come into your life. In fact, they may try to finagle

an invitation for dinner, if possible. All you can

expect today is the unexpected. Have some extra

food on hand and see what happens.

TAURUs

(April 21 - May 21): Keep your mind

open to any and all possibilities

today, Taurus. It's likely that you'll

encounter someone who imparts

valuable information. You may not realize right

away just how important this information is, but

it could have a dramatic impact on your life. Be

prepared for anything. This is likely to be a most

interesting day.

GeMINI

(May 22 - June 21): Your ship could come

in today, Gemini. It will happen

unexpectedly, and it may take you some

time to adjust to this sudden financial

windfall. This is a day of big changes, because you may

also decide to use this money to completely alter your

way of life. It could be that you make a move to another

part of the country or decide to change professions.

Trust your instincts, Gemini.

CANCeR

(June 22 - July 23): You're likely aware of

your writing abilities, Cancer, but you

may not realize the extent of your

talent. It would be worthwhile to

devote more time to your craft. You can't improve

much if writing time is interrupted by other

obligations. Take some time to produce something

of value. Why not give it a try, even if just for a week

or so, to see what you can do?

Leo

(July 24 - Aug. 23): Tact isn't

necessarily your strong suit, Leo. No

one would accuse you of being overly

sensitive to other people's emotions,

but today you turn over a new leaf. This "new and

improved" you tunes in to the thoughts and feelings

of others and responds in thoughtful, caring ways.

You may be surprised at how effective this gentler

touch can be.

VIRGo

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): Even though you

probably aren't getting on a plane today,

Virgo, you would love to at some point in

the future. Your wanderlust is back and

you're bound for the wild blue yonder yet again, most

likely to someplace exotic. Enjoy the time away, but do

come back. It seems that sometimes your spirit of

adventure dampens your enjoyment of the more

mundane but more real daily life.

LIBRA

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): Positive change

rarely happens without effort. Keep

this in mind as transformation occurs

quickly. You may feel as though you're

in the middle of a whirlpool and getting sucked

deeper and deeper, unsure of where you'll

ultimately end up. This is merely the "nose to the

grindstone" phase. Trust that your efforts will

ultimately be rewarded.

sCoRPIo

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22): You have natural

leadership abilities, and today would be

an ideal day to make use of this talent. In

the past you may have hesitated to step

forward and implement your ideas. But recent

successes have given you the necessary confidence to

pursue your objectives. You'll likely find that the

higher-ups support your efforts. Make the most of

today's auspicious circumstances, Scorpio.

sAGITTARIUs

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): Today you feel in

control and on top of the world. You can

do anything, Sagittarius. This would be an

auspicious time to begin a new project or

creative endeavor. You can't help but succeed but take

care not to get in your own way. Sometimes you can be

your own worst enemy. Believe in yourself and move

confidently in the direction of your dreams in order to

make them come true.

CAPRICoRN

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): Friendship could turn

into romance if you aren't careful,

Capricorn. A platonic relationship could

turn passionate, and no one would be

more surprised than you. Think carefully about where

you'd like this to go. While it can't go back to the way it

was, you can stop it from progressing further if you're

uncomfortable with the new dynamic. You can only

make this decision once.

AQUARIUs

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19): Today you wake up

feeling reinvigorated and renewed,

Aquarius. You feel as though you can

accomplish anything. And very

likely, today you can. Anything you set your mind

and attention to works out beautifully. Take care

that you don't gloat too much, though. Just

because you feel invincible doesn't necessarily

mean that you are.

PIsCes

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20): People often see you

as shy and reserved, Pisces, but of

course you know that you're really very

friendly once you relax. Today you find

it unusually easy to interact with others. In fact, you

feel downright gregarious as you chat and joke

along with the best of them. This new, sociable you

does wonders for your image. You've needed to

loosen up for some time.

ThurSDAY, AuguST 27, 2020

9

Anderson celebrates 600th Test wicket

as England draw with Pakistan

After dozens of titles, hundreds of goals and countless records, Lionel Messi's spectacular career at

Barcelona could be coming to an abrupt end.

Photo: AP

Messi tells Barca he wants to

leave, signaling end of era

SportS DeSk:

Six-time Ballon d'or winner Lionel

Messi told Barcelona he wants to leave

- on a free transfer - in a "bombshell"

fax on tuesday that is expected to

trigger a legal battle over a buy-out

clause worth hundreds of millions of

dollars, reports BSS.

Signalling the end of an era at

Barcelona, where Messi is the record

scorer and has won four Champions

League titles, the disgruntled

Argentine wants to terminate his

contract "unilaterally" by triggering a

release clause, a source told AFp.

relations have plummeted this year

and speculation swirled about Messi's

departure after this month's

humiliating 8-2 Champions League

quarter-final defeat to Bayern Munich,

which left Barca without a trophy for

the first time since 2007.

the 33-year-old's demand sparked

protests against Barcelona's under-fire

president Josep Maria Bartomeu

outside the Camp Nou where Messi,

synonymous with the club's most

successful period, is worshipped by

fans.

"I don't see him anywhere else. I can't

believe it," said ruben tejero, 28, one

of about 100 fans at the stadium calling

for Bartomeu to resign.

"I prefer to think it's an ultimatum

given to management for Bartomeu to

go."

Manchester City, paris Saint-

Germain and Inter Milan are among

those to have been linked to Messi,

who is among the greatest players in

history and has wages to match, with a

reported weekly salary of nearly a

million euros.

Barcelona have yet to react officially

but are understood to believe Messi's

release clause expired in June, and that

he remains under contract until the

end of the 2021 season.

"In principle, this clause expired on

June 10, but the unusual nature of this

season disrupted by the coronavirus

opened the way for Messi to ask to be

released from his contract now," wrote

Spanish sports daily Marca.

"It's the first step towards opening

negotiations over his departure, on the

basis of which his release clause

amounts to 700 million euros ($828

million)."

Messi joined Barcelona's youth

academy at the age of 13 and made his

debut in 2004 as a 17-year-old, before

going on to score a club record 634

goals.

Flustered Williams crashes out,

Djokovic reaches quarter-finals

SportS DeSk:

An out-of-gas Serena

Williams crashed out of the

Western & Southern open

on tuesday, losing in three

sets to 13th seeded Maria

Sakkari 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 in

New York, reports BSS.

the 23-time Grand Slam

winner finished with a

whimper at the end of the

two-hour, 17-minute match

as Sakkari clinched the

victory with a backhand

down the line that a dejected

Williams just watched

without making an effort to

move.

At other points in the

match, Williams flung her

racket into the spectator-less

stands and rebuked the

chair umpire for slapping

her with a time violation.

Sakkari, of Greece,

advances to the quarterfinals

of the no-spectator

event where she will face

Johanna konta who cruised

past Vera Zvonareva in

straight sets 6-4, 6-2.

the joint WtA and Atp

tournament was moved

from Cincinnati to New York

where the same quarantine

bubble will house the US

open starting on August 31.

It was the second straight

two-hour-plus match for

Williams who at 38 was

trying to become the oldest

winner of the event. She still

holds the record, having won

this event in 2015 at age 33.

Williams survived a scare

in her opening match,

prevailing in a two hour, 48-

minute marathon over

qualifier Arantxa rus. It was

her longest match since

2012.

"It is hard to play the way I

have been playing and stay

positive," Williams said. "to

play nine hours in a week is

too much. I don't usually

play like that. It is all new for

me."

Williams made seven

double faults and won just

66 percent of her first serve

points against Sakkari.

After losing the second set

in a tiebreaker she tossed

her racket over her shoulder

into the empty stands

behind her.

Williams, who has lost her

cool at events in New York

before, also admonished

chair umpire, Aurelie tourte

of France, during a

changeover for calling a time

violation for slow play.

"I am walking all the way

to get my towels… I mean, I

am getting my own towels.

that's not fair," said

Williams.

"You didn't give me a

warning. I am actually a

really fast player. Next time

you warn me. I'm done."

the ball people usually get

the towels for the players but

not in the CoVID-19 bubble.

on the men's side, world

No. 1 Novak Djokovic won

his 20th straight match of

2020 with a hard-fought 6-

2, 6-4 victory over tennys

Sandgren.

Djokovic, who captured

the Australian open in

February, needed six match

points to tough out the

straight sets victory and

reach the quarter-finals of

the hardcourt tournament.

Djokovic breezed through the final game by winning four straight points, closing it out with a crosscourt

forehand winner to take it in 88 minutes on Tuesday.

Photo: AP

SportS DeSk:

James Anderson says he still loves the

hard grind of fast bowling after becoming

the first paceman to take 600 test

wickets on tuesday as england were

forced to settle for a draw against

pakistan, reports BSS.

Anderson, only the fourth bowler to

achieve the feat, cemented his place in

cricket history in the closing stages of the

rain-marred third and final test in

Southampton.

Fresh downpours prevented play on

the last day until 1515 GMt, meaning the

home side, 1-0 up in the series, did not

have enough time to force a victory.

But despite the tame end to the contest,

all eyes were on Anderson and the 38-

year-old did not disappoint, striking with

his 14th ball of the day to reach the 600-

wicket milestone.

Defying a docile pitch, he produced a

rising delivery that moved away from

pakistan captain Azhar Ali, a first-innings

century-maker, with england skipper Joe

root holding a head-high catch at first

slip.

there was applause and cheers from

Anderson's team-mates, with the nick off

the shoulder of Azhar's bat clearly audible

at an empty Ageas Bowl.

With no certainty as to when england's

rescheduled series against Sri Lanka or a

test campaign in India pencilled in for

the New Year will take place due to the

coronavirus pandemic, there was a

chance that Anderson could have been

stranded on 599 test wickets.

the bowler is well past the age at which

pacemen of earlier generations retired

but is still passionate about the sport.

"I absolutely love it - there is no better

feeling than putting the boots on, going

out there and doing what I love doing," he

told Sky Sports.

"It felt amazing to get 600 wickets. I

went to bed last night not expecting to

bowl a ball so credit to the groundstaff,

who have worked tirelessly. even if I

didn't get it today there are worse

numbers to be stuck on for a few months

(than 599) so I'd have been happy either

way."

Azhar, dismissed for 31 following his

first innings 141 not out, was happy to be

a part of history.

"At least I will get more air time now

because they will show that wicket again

and again," he told the BBC.

"Hats off to him (Anderson), he's a

fantastic bowler. He doesn't give you

anything, you have to bring your A-game.

He's still bowling at decent pace, with

swing and seam."

root paid tribute to Anderson, an

international bowler for 17 years, by

saying: "For him to stand up and perform

at the elite end of test cricket for such a

long period of time is an incredible

effort."

part-time off-spinner root dismissed

Asad Shafiq to leave pakistan 172-4 but a

draw was agreed not long after the match

entered the last hour, with pakistan 187-4

and Babar Azam 63 not out.

the only men ahead of Anderson in the

all-time list of test wicket-takers are

three retired spinners - Sri Lanka's

Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Australia's

Shane Warne (708) and India's Anil

kumble (619).

kumble tweeted: "Congratulations

@jimmy9 on your 600 wickets! Massive

effort from a great fast bowler. Welcome

to the club."

england's Zak Crawley was named

man of the match for his stunning 267 -

the 22-year-old's maiden test century.

Anderson had been left just one wicket

shy of 600 after having four catches

dropped off his bowling earlier in the

match.

one of those at fault was long-time pace

partner Stuart Broad, who paid tribute to

his teammate on tuesday.

"He has got better with age and is

someone who has inspired me

throughout my career, watching him," he

said.

"the last five years in particular, since

leaving South Africa in 2016, he's just

gone from strength to strength and he's a

role model to follow for every english

cricketer and young cricketer coming

through."

Anderson, only the fourth bowler to achieve the feat, cemented his place in cricket history in the closing

stages of the rain-marred third and final Test in Southampton.

Photo: AP

McMillan

becomes Tigers

batting coach

for SL tour

SportS DeSk:

the Bangladesh Cricket

Board (BCB) has

appointed Craig

McMillan as the national

team's batting consultant

for the tour of Sri Lanka,

reports BSS.

McMillan, the former

New Zealand batsman,

became the successor of

Neil Mckenzie who

stepped down from the

post of batting coach

some days ago, citing the

family reasons.

In a decade-long

international career for

the Black Caps, McMillan

had scored over 8000

international runs for

New Zealand in test, oDI

and t20 formats.

Following his retirement

as a player McMillan

performed the role of

New Zealand's batting

and fielding coach from

2014-2019.

the former kiwi

batsman also has

coaching experiences

with Canterbury,

Middlesex and Indian

premier League (IpL)

team kings XI punjab.

the Bangladesh team is

scheduled to tour Sri

Lanka for three test

matches in october-

November this year.

McMillan will join the

team during its pre-tour

camp in Sri Lanka, a BCB

press release said.

Bangladesh will leave

the country on September

23 or 24 before which a

three-day camp will be

held in the country.

Mujeeb, Bonner shine

as Tallawahs avoid

familiar slip-up

SportS DeSk:

Jamaica tallawahs had

been here before only two

nights ago. Chasing a low

Guyana total on a similarly

slow surface, they'd hit the

self-destruct button. their

fingers hovered over it

once more as they slipped

to 62/5 chasing 108.

Nkrumah Bonner and

Andre russell then

combined to ensure there

was to be no repeat, a

steady 51-run stand giving

Jamaica their second win

of CpL 2020, reports

Cricbuzz.

the Jamaica-Guyana

rematch had a new setting

but this game at the

Queens park oval played

out to the same beats as

the first leg at the Brian

Lara Stadium. Jamaica

won the toss and bowled

and left their opponents in

a knot with their spinners.

the tone, however, was set

by a quick. Fidel edwards

(3 for 20) cleaned up

Brandon king with the

first ball of the game,

paving the way for Mujeeb

Ur rahman to run riot.

the Afghan spinner's

variety provided too much

for Guyana to handle on a

notoriously spiteful pitch

tailor-made for him.

Mujeeb trapped Shimron

Hetmyer plumb in front of

the stumps and then

bowled a maiden at

Anthony Bramble,

softening him up for

edwards to take him out.

By the end of the

powerplay, Guyana had

crawled their way to 30 for

3, with only a ross taylor

six giving the scoring rate a

sudden, solitary jolt.

regular service resumed

soon after as Mujeeb

bowled Nicholas pooran

while the impressive

Sandeep Lamichhane (1

for 12) took out Sherfane

rutherford. At 63 for 7 in

the 15th over, Guyana

looked destined to fold

under 100 only for a

Naveen-ul-Haq cameo of a

run-a-ball 20 taking them

to 108.

the onus was now on

their spinners to make a

fist out of this game. But

where the Guyana innings

began with a wicket, the

tallawahs opener Glenn

phillips thrashed the first

ball for a boundary. Imran

tahir bowled Chadwick

Walton with a googly but

new man Jermaine

Blackwood, playing his

first CpL game in five

years, marked the occasion

with a first-ball four.

phillips, who made a

crucial 18-ball 26, fell to

Naveen-ul-Haq, but by

then the tallawahs had

progressed serenely to 40

in the powerplay, with the

required rate falling below

five runs to the over. Asif

Ali, promoted up the

order, to keep the scoring

rate going perished to

keemo paul while

rovman powell was

snapped by Ashmead

Nedd. When the well-set

Blackwood was dismissed

for 23, a familiar sense of

unease descended on the

Jamaica dugout.

russell's arrival brought

tahir back into the attack

and given the delicate

match situation, the

tallawahs all-rounder

decided against taking any

risks. the equation

reduced to 37 off 42 and

then over a run-a-ball with

five overs to go. It was at

this point that Jamaica

claimed control of the

chase. russell sent tahir

into the roof and smashed

another six off paul. Unlike

two nights ago, he didn't

have to do all the scoring

by himself, with Bonner

bringing the much-needed

calm at the other end to

close the chase with two

overs to spare.

Brief scores: Guyana

Amazon Warriors 108/9

in 20 overs (ross taylor

25; Mujeeb Ur rahman 3-

11, Fidel edwards 3-30)

lost to Jamaica tallawahs

113/5 in 18 overs

(Nkrumah Bonner 30*;

Naveen-ul-Haq 2-35) by

five wickets.


10

World Bank chief warns extreme

poverty could surge by 100m

Barishal Zone of Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd organized Business Development Conference at

Virtual Platform recently. Md. Omar Faruk Khan, Additional Managing Director of the Bank

addressed the conference as chief guest. Md. Saleh Iqbal and Md. Mosharraf Hossain, Deputy

Managing Directors addressed as special guests. Mohammad Jamal Uddin Mazumder & Md.

Mahboob Alam, Senoir Executive Vice Presidents and Md. Rafiqul Islam, Executive Vice President

also addressed the conference. Md. Aminur Rahman, Head of Barishal Zone presided over the program.

Head of Branches under the zone attended the conference.

Photo: Courtesy

The coronavirus pandemic may have

driven as many as 100 million people

back into extreme poverty, World Bank

President David Malpass warned

Thursday, reports BSS.

The Washington-based development

lender previously estimated that 60

million people would fall into extreme

poverty due to COVID-19, but the new

estimate puts the deterioration at 70 to

100 million, and he said "that number

could go higher" if the pandemic

worsens or drags on.

The situation makes it "imperative"

that creditors reduce the amount of

debt held by poor countries at risk,

going beyond the commitment to

suspend debt payments, Malpass said

in an interview with AFP. Even so,

more countries will be obliged to

restructure their debt. "The debt

vulnerabilities are high, and the

imperative of getting light at the end of

the tunnel so that new investors can

come in is substantial," Malpass said.

Advanced economies in the Group of

20 already have committed to

suspending debt payments from the

poorest nations through the end of the

year, and there is growing support for

extending that moratorium into next

year. But Malpass said that will not be

enough, since the economic downturn

means those countries, which already

are struggling to provide a safety net for

their citizens, will not be in a better

position to deal with the payments. The

amount of debt reduction needed will

depend on the situation in each

country, he said, but the policy "makes a

lot of sense." "So I think the awareness

of this will be gradually, more and more

apparent" especially "for the countries

with the highest vulnerability to the

debt situation."

The World Bank has committed to

deploying $160 billion in funding to 100

countries through June 2021 in an

effort to addresses the immediate

emergency, but even so, extreme

poverty, defined as earning less than

$1.90 a day, continues to rise.

Malpass said the deterioration is due

to a combination of the destruction of

jobs during the pandemic as well as

supply issues that make access to food

more difficult.

Germany to take on more debt in 2021

due to virus: finance minister

Germany will need to take on yet

more debt in 2021 to mitigate the

impact of the coronavirus on the

economy, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz

said Friday, reports BSS.

"Next year we will continue to be

forced to suspend the debt rule and

spend considerable funds to protect the

health of citizens and stabilise the

economy," Scholz said in an interview

with the Funke media group, referring

to Germany's cherished policy of

keeping a balanced budget.

Scholz already plans to borrow

around 218 billion euros ($258 billion)

this year to help pay for a huge rescue

package to steer the country through

the coronavirus-induced downturn,

blasting through a financial crisis-era

"debt brake" written into the

constitution.

The government has pledged over a

trillion euros in aid to shield companies

and citizens in Europe's top economy

from the pandemic fallout, including

through loans, grants and subsidised

shorter-hours programmes.

Scholz, also the vice chancellor of

Germany, said he was expecting the

economy to have recovered from the

virus shock and returned to pre-crisis

levels "by the end of next year or the

beginning of 2022".

Germany's centre-left Social

Democrats (SPD) have nominated

Scholz to lead them in the race to

succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor in

next year's federal election.

The Loharpool Sub-branch of First Security Islami Bank Ltd. started its operation at B S Tower (1st floor),

Holding No- 85/6, K.B Road, Gendaria, Dhaka recently with a view to providing shariah based modern

banking services to its clients. Syed Waseque Md Ali, Managing Director of First Security Islami Bank

inaugurated the sub-branch through Video Conference. Among others, Abdul Aziz, Additional Managing

Director and Md. Zahurul Haque, Deputy Managing Director along with other high officials were present

at the occasion. A Doa Mahfil was organized in this regard.

Photo: Courtesy

Walton starts TV export to Poland

to continue Europe conquest

Bangladeshi electronics

giant Walton hast started

the export of its televisions

to Poland, the fifth largest

populous country in Europe.

The first consignment of

Walton television, with

'Made in Bangladesh'

labeled, has already been

sent to Poland through

Opticum, one of the popular

brands in the country, says a

press release.

Walton officials said,

television export to Poland

will take the initiative of

market expansion of

Bangladeshi electronics

products in European Union

member states to another

stage.

Walton's plan was to

conquer Europe from the

very beginning. After

gaining top position in the

local market, Walton's aim

was to build a strong

position in the global

market. Through the export

of televisions to Poland, the

market expansion in Europe

gained new momentum,.

An agreement has recently

been signed between Walton

and Opticum in a video

conference held at the

Walton corporate office in

Dhaka.

Walton's

International Business Unit

(IBU) President Edward

Kim, Walton television

Division CEO Mostafa

Nahid Hossain, Walton's EU

business unit head Tauseef

Al Mahmud were present

while Opticum's CEO

Richard Grab joined

through online.

Tauseef Al Mahmud said,

Poland is an important and

dynamic market in central

Europe. Poland is the largest

single market among the

'new' EU states with 38

million people. TV export to

Poland will help Walton to

access the EU market.

Walton televisions will be

available in the Poland

market by the end of

September. Opticum also

expresses hopes to become a

partner for the online sales

of Walton products in

Poland.

Mostafa Nahid Hossain

said, Walton has signed

agreement with Opticum as

part of the expansion of

bilateral business. Walton

plans to export 1 lakh units

of televisions to European

market by next year.

Walton's R&D department

is determined to ensure the

highest quality of product in

order to gain the trust of the

consumers and constantly

working following the latest

European standards to

ensure CE compliance. The

ROHS, REACH and ecofriendly

designs of Walton

products are also strictly

controlled in accordance

with European policy. The

quality and reliability of

Walton products are also

ensured in its own lab along

with the verification of

international standard

laboratory.

Edward Kim said,

currently we are building up

our presence and

acceptability in the EU

market and going to use

Poland as a bridgehead to

enter into all of the markets

there. Other Walton

products will be available in

the European market soon.

Thus, Walton will become

one of the top five brands in

the world by 2030.

Earlier, Walton signed

business agreement with

Google to produce smart

TVs for western countries.

Walton received license

from Dolby, a US company,

as the only manufacturer in

Bangladesh. As a result,

Walton television is gaining

special acceptance in the

global market.

Walton officials at the signing ceremony with Opticum to export televisions to Poland. Photo: Courtesy

Lafarge Holcim Bangladesh Ltd recently distributed 163 motorbikes among the retailers who

achieved the target set under 'Supercrete Moitree Offer'. As a part of the distribution program Azizul

Haque, Regional Sales Manager handed over a motorcycle to the one of the winner Humayun Kabir

Khan, owner, Khan Enterprise in Rajshahi. Air conditioner, refrigerator, television and laptops

were also distributed among the winners under the same campaign.

Photo: Courtesy

US, China to hold

call on trade in

'near future'

Beijing and Washington

will soon hold a call on trade,

China's commerce ministry

said Thursday, after reports

that planned high-level talks

on the "phase one" trade

agreement between the two

countries were postponed,

reports BSS.

The US and China signed

the accord in January,

bringing a partial truce in

their lingering trade war,

and obliging Beijing to

import an additional $200

billion in American products

over two years, ranging from

cars to machinery to oil to

farm products.

The phase one deal also

called for officials to hold a

"check in" every six months -

but neither government has

confirmed that the talks

were planned or later

postponed.

"The two sides have

agreed to hold a call in the

near future," Ministry of

Commerce spokesman Gao

Feng said at a press briefing

Thursday when asked if

trade talks would be

rescheduled. He didn't give

any further details.

US Trade Representative

Robert Lighthizer and

Treasury Secretary Steven

Mnuchin reportedly were

scheduled to hold a video

conference with China's Vice

Premier Liu He last

weekend according to the

reports, including from

Bloomberg.

The COVID-19 pandemic

has put pressure on the

agreement and China's

purchases of those goods has

been lagging.

Energypac Power

Generation Ltd. to

enter stock market

Energypac Power

Generation Ltd has

received approval for the

initial public offering

(IPO) through the bookbuilding

process. On

August 05, 2020, at the

734th commission

meeting, the securities

regulator - Bangladesh

Securities and Exchange

Commission (BSEC) -

gave the approval for

fixing the company's cutoff

price through

electronic bidding. The

meeting was presided

over by Shibli Rubayat Ul

Islam, Chairman, BSEC, a

press release said.

Through IPO,

Energypac will raise BDT

150 crore from the capital

market. The IPO proceeds

will be used to expand the

LPG business, repay bank

loans and meet the cost of

the IPO process.

According to the

consolidated financial

report, for the fiscal year

ended June 30, 2019, the

company's net asset value

per share (NAVPS) with

revaluation reserves is

BDT 45.15 and NAVPS

without revaluation

reserves is BDT 30.20.

LankaBangla

Investments Limited,

issue manager of the

company's IPO, is

responsible for the issue

management of the

company.

Since its inception,

Energypac Power

Generation Limited has

been the pioneer in the

power and energy sector

of Bangladesh. Energypac

is an employee-owned

company, and its

employees own a

significant amount of the

shares. Company profits

are distributed among the

employees through

specific rules and

regulations. From the

commencement of its

journey, Energypac has

successfully gained a

reputation among all the

stakeholders as a workerfriendly

organization.

Energypac believes, the

foundation of their

success is the creativity,

trusts and mutual respect

among its employees.

With the sheer

responsibility, dedication

and passion from the

employees, Energypac

has been able to build a

strong position in the

Bangladesh market.

Energypac Power

Generation Limited, one

of the leading electromechanical

engineering

companies in Bangladesh,

was founded in 1995.

Since then, the company

has been working

successfully in the sectors

of Power Generation,

Energy, Infrastructure,

Commercial Automotive,

Industrial and

Commercial Building and

Assembling and

Manufacturing. The

company has earned

numerous accolades and

recognitions throughout

its journey for 25 years,

including ISO 9001-2015

certification, Superbrands

Award and Global

Distributor Award and

Best Brand Promotion

Award for JAC.

ThursdAY, AugusT 27, 2020

11

Parliament member of gaibandha-3 (Palashbari-sadullapur) constituency Advocate umme Kulsum

smriti MP chaired a view exchange meeting with the leaders and workers of sadullapur upazila

Awami League in gaibandha district on Wednesday. At the occassion she highlighted various developmental

aspects of the present Awami League government and said that the Awami League government

is a government of development.

Photo: rafiqul Islam

N. Korean leader calls

for readiness against

virus, typhoon

Thakurgaon

records 29

more Covid-19

cases

THAKURGAON : Twentynine

people have been

diagnosed with Covid-19 in

Thakurgaon in the last 24

hours till Wednesday,

reports UNB.

The district's confirmed

coronavirus cases now

stands at 850, said Civil

Surgeon Mahfuzar

Rahman.

The newly-infected

patients include a doctor,

nurses and health workers.

Besides, Rokeya Begum,

74, mother of Deputy

Commissioner Dr KM

Kamruzzaman Selim died

from Covid-19 at

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib

Medical University

(BSMMU) in Dhaka on

Tuesday afternoon, said

Additional Deputy

Commissioner Nur Kutubul

Alam.

On August 9, the parents

of DC Kamruzzaman tested

positive for coronavirus.

Khandaker Kashed Ali,

father of the DC, is now

undergoing treatment at a

hospital in the capital, he

said.

So far, 14 people have died

of Covid-19 in the district

while 489 patients have

recovered, said Civil

Surgeon Mahfuzar

Rahman.

Chinese envoy says

Australia betrayed China

for us on virus

A senior Chinese diplomat on Wednesday

likened Australia's call for an inquiry into

the coronavirus pandemic to the betrayal

of Roman dictator Julius Caesar in a

Shakespearean tragedy for the benefit of

the United States, reports UNB.

Wang Xining, the Chinese Embassy in

Australia's deputy head of mission and its

second-in-charge, spoke at the National

Press Club about Australia's call for an

independent inquiry into the origins of

and international responses to the

pandemic.

The call has been blamed for a major

deterioration in bilateral relations that has

resulted in the Chinese government

refusing to take phone calls from

Australian ministers and disruptions to

Australian exports including beef.

The Australian call came "when the

United States government was trying all

out to blame China for their failure to

control the spread of the disease and ...

shirk responsibility," Wang said.

In describing Australia's action, Wang

quoted the play "Julius Caesar" from a

scene in which the dictator realizes that his

friend Marcus Junius Brutus is among the

assassins who are about to knife him.

"It is approximately identical to Julius

Caesar in his final day when he saw Brutus

approaching him: Et tu, Brute?," Wang

said, using a Latin phrase meaning "And

you, Brutus?"

The World Health Assembly, the

governing structure of the World Health

Organization, has since endorsed a global

investigation into the origins of the

COVID-19 outbreak. Wang said that probe

had an "entirely different origin" from the

Australian proposal.

China has maintained ministerial

contacts with the United States as well as

governments of other countries that

supported Australia's pandemic stance,

including Japan, Germany and France.

Wang denied China was singling out

Australia for special treatment by freezing

out ministers to send a message to other

middle-powers not to speak out.

"I think it's a very lopsided interpretation

of what happened between us," Wang told

reporters.

He declined to say whether he thought

Chinese-Australian relations would

improve after the U.S. presidential

election, saying Chinese comment on

another country's election would equate to

interference in that nation's internal

affairs.

China respects Australia's strategy

alliance with the United States, Wang said.

"To have an ally is not a problem," he

said. "The problem is whether you target a

third party with the strength of an

alliance."

"If we find any tendency to use the

strength of an alliance to strike China

down, or press China down - what

currently some of the U.S. politicians are

doing - then we will express clearly our

opposition and our position," he added.

In a rare display of urgency, North

Korean leader Kim Jong Un held his

third high-level political conference in

as many weeks, where he raised alarm

about the nation's coronavirus

response and a typhoon forecast to hit

the country early Thursday, reports

UNB.

During an enlarged meeting of the

Politburo of the ruling Workers' Party

on Tuesday, Kim lamented

unspecified "defects" and

"shortcomings" in the country's' antivirus

campaign and urged that they be

corrected swiftly, according to the

North's official Korean Central News

Agency said Wednesday.

Kim also called thorough

preparations to minimize damage

from Typhoon Bavi, which comes

weeks after torrential rains caused

flooding and massive damage to

homes and crops, inflicting further

pain to an economy ravaged by U.S.-

led sanctions over its nuclear weapons

and border closures amid the

pandemic.

Kim set tasks for the party and

public services at every level, "saying

that to thoroughly prevent the

casualties by the typhoon and

minimize the damage to crops is

important work which can never be

neglected even a moment," KCNA

paraphrased the leader as saying.

Typhoon Bavi as of Wednesday

morning was near the South Korean

island of Jeju and was on course to hit

the northwest coast of the Korean

Peninsula around daybreak Thursday

morning. South Korea's weather

agency said it had a maximum wind

speed of 155 kilometers per hour (96

mph) and was forecast as one of the

strongest to hit the peninsula this

year.

In another ruling party meeting last

week, Kim admitted the country's

economy has not improved as he had

hoped. The Workers' Party cited

"internal and external situations" as

hurting the country's economic

development, likely referring to U.S.-

led sanctions over North Korea's

nuclear program, the recent flooding

and the efforts of closing the country's

borders and other steps taken during

the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the meeting last week, the

ruling party scheduled a rare congress

in January to set development goals

for the next five years.

Experts say the coronavirus derailed

some of Kim's major economic goals

after North Korea imposed a

lockdown that significantly reduced

trade with China - its major ally and

economic lifeline - and likely

hampered its ability to mobilize its

workforce.

The North has yet to

confirm a single-case of

COVID-19, but outsiders

have widely doubted its

virus-free claim. In late

July, Kim ordered a

lockdown of Kaesong, a city

near the border with South

Korea after the North

reported it found a person

with COVID-19 symptoms.

It later told the World

Health Organization the

person's test results were

inconclusive.

GD- 1091/20 (5.5 x 4)

Two sisters

'gang raped' in

Chuadanga

GD- 1088/20 (4 x 3)

CHUADANGA : Two sisters

have reportedly been gang

raped by five people at Boalia

village in Sadar upazila of

Chuadanga.

The incident took place on

Monday night, said

Mahabbur Rahman, officerin-charge

of Darshana Police

Station. Police rescued the

girls on Tuesday and arrested

one Anwar Hossain Sumon in

this connection, said the OC.

The sisters used to work as

cook for a decorator shop,

said police.

On Monday, Sumon hired

them for cooking at his home

and took them to the house of

his friend Milon for a family

programme where five people

including Sumon and Milon

violated the girls in turns.

A case was filed and police

arrested Sumon on Tuesday

night.

The girls will be sent to the

Sadar Hospital for medical

test on Wednesdy, said

Zahidul

Islam,

superintendent of Chuadanga

police.

GD- 1089/20 (6 x 4)

thursday, dhaka, august 27, 2020, Bhadra 12, 1427 BS, Muharram 7, 1442 hijri

100pc power coverage in 31

upazilas to be opened today

dismal weather halts

Paturia-daulatdia

launch services

1 missing as boat capsizes in Padma River

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

is set to inaugurate cent percent electrification

in 31 upazilas of the country

alongside newly built two power plants,

11 grid sub-stations and six transmission

lines today.

"The premier will open cent percent

electrification in 31 upazilas of 18 districts,

two power plants, 11 grid sub-stations

and six new transmission lines

through a virtual conferencing from her

official Ganabhaban residence tomorrow

morning," a source at the Prime

Minister's Office told BSS.

State Minister for Power, Energy and

Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid will

be connected to the function from his

ministry office. Director (Public

Relations) of Bangladesh Power

Development Board (BPDB) Saiful

Hasan Chowdhury told BSS on Tuesday

that the two power plants to be opened

by the premier are: 110 MW power plant

of Confidence Power Bogura-1 Ltd and

113 MW power plant of HF Power Ltd,

Noakhali. He said the prime minister

will open Mohasthangar 132/33KV,

Rajshahi (North) 132/33KV,

Chauddogram 132/33KV, Bhaluka

132/33KV, Benapole 132/33KV and

Shariatpur 132/33KV sub-stations

under the National Power Transmission

Network Development Project.

Besides, she will inaugurate

Shyampur 230/132KV sub-station

under 400/230/132KV Grid Network

Development Project, Sherpur

132/33KV and Kurigram 132/33KV

under Enhancement of Capacity of

Grid Substation and Transmission

Line for Rural Electrification Project,

Narail 132/33KV under Rural

Electrification Project and

Rajendrapur 132/33KV under

Rajendrapur 132/33KV GIS (Gas

Insulated Switchgear) Grid Sub-station

Construction Project, Saiful said.

The six transmission lines to be inaugurated

by the premier are Patuakhali-

(Payra)-Gopalganj 400KV transmission

line, Jashor-Benapole 132KV transmission

line, Shariatpur-Madaripur 132

transmission line, Tista-Kurigram 132

transmission line, Magura-Narail 132

transmission line and Patuakhali-Payra

230KV transmission line.

Coronavirus

School closure forces Narail

teachers to change profession

NARAIL : Around a thousand teachers

of private educational institutes, including

primary schools, kindergartens and

madrasas, in Narail are going without

pay for the last five months during the

coronavirus pandemic, forcing many to

change profession.

Management committees are

struggling to pay the rent of the educational

institutions and utility bills

during the closure for lack of funds,

reports UNB.

Already, some private schools have

closed down their activities during this

precarious situation while some others

are considering shutting down, putting

the academic future of thousands of students

at risk.

Teachers and staffers of many educational

institutions said they did not

receive any humanitarian assistance

from the government since the beginning

of the virus outbreak in March.

There are 756 teachers and staffers at

63 kindergartens where 7,427 students

are enrolled. Another 5,000 students are

enrolled at 24 Ebtedayee madrasas and

seven non-MPO primary schools.

On March 16, the government closed

all the educational institutions to prevent

the spread of coronavirus. On July 29,

the government extended the closure

until August 31 considering the coronavirus

situation.

Due to the pandemic, the only earning

source of the teachers and staff has dried

up as educational institutions across the

country were closed.

Samiul Alam Zihad, vice-president of

Narail District Kindergarten Association,

said the teachers and staff of the schools

are leading an inhuman life for the last

five months. "We've submitted a memorandum

to the Prime Minister on July 8

seeking assistance but no response came

from there."

Anjuman Ara, deputy commissioner

of the district, said that it was not possible

to provide any assistance and incentives

from the government but the

authorities concerned have been asked

to provide help to jobless people in different

sectors.

Mohmmad Aslam Khan, general secretary

of the association and also the

headmaster of Narail Holy Child Pre-

Cadet and High School, said academic

activities of the school remained suspended

since the governments

announced the closure of educational

institutions.

"Subsequently, we failed to provide the

salary of the teachers, forcing many of us

to change profession. Now we're shifting

schools to other places after failing to pay

the rent," he said.

aKhERtuZZaMaN MRidha, GOaLaNda

CORRESPONdENt:

The launch service was shut down on

Paturia-Daulatdia route by the authorities

due to inclement weather. The

BIWTA authorities took this step to

avoid the risk as the river was rough due

to strong winds.

BIWTA authorities took the decision

as Padma River remained turbulent due

to strong winds since Wednesday morning.

As a result, the launch service has

been suspended from 8 am to avoid

accidents on the route.

On the other hand a fisherman went

missing as a boat sank in the Padma

River due to strong current in

Manikganj. In this incident, two people

were able to swim ashore.The incident

took place on Wednesday morning

between Paturia and Daulatdia in the

Padma River.

Sources said that the boat sank along

with three fishermen due to strong

winds and waves. A fisherman named

Sharif went missing while the other two

managed to swim ashore.

Md. Korban Ali, Traffic Supervisor,

BIWTA Aricha Office, said, "Danger signal

No. 2 is running at this seaport. One

person is missing as a boat sank in

Padma River. Launch carrying passengers

will be closed until the turbulence of

the Padma River returns to normal. The

passengers are requested to cross the

river by ferry as an alternative route.

address root cause of

Rohingya refugee

crisis : uN chief

DHAKA : UN Secretary-General

Antonio Guterres has called for greater

attention to the Rohingya refugee crisis

and addressing its root causes.

He said conditions for the safe, voluntary,

dignified and sustainable return of

all refugees need to be created, reports

UN News.

In a statement issued by his

spokesperson, Guterres said the UN will

continue to stand in solidarity with all

those affected by the crisis, and that it is

committed to working with all stakeholders,

including regional actors,

towards a future of sustainable development,

human rights and peace in

Myanmar. He called for greater urgency

to the crisis by addressing the root causes

of the conflict and creating the conditions

for the safe, voluntary, dignified

and sustainable return of all refugees.

"The ultimate responsibility rests

with Myanmar authorities, who have

committed to implementing the recommendations

of the Advisory

Commission on Rakhine State," he

said, adding: "Beyond solutions for

the immediate humanitarian suffering,

accountability is an imperative for

long-term reconciliation."

a woman got on a moving bus at risk, an accident could happen at any time. the picture was taken from

Shahbagh area of the capital city yesterday.

Photo : tBt

Launch service on the Paturia-daulatdia route remained suspended since last morning due to

rough weather and strong currents at the Padma River. Photo: akhertuzzaman Mridha

EC clears draft bill for new

law being enacted with articles

from RPO ’72

DHAKA : The Election Commission on

Wednesday cleared the draft of the

Political Party Registration Bill, 2020

though a commissioner strongly

opposed the move to enact a separate

law with some articles from the

Representation of the People Order

(RPO) 1972, reports UNB.

The approval came at a meeting of the

commission held at Nirbachan Bhaban

in the city with Chief Election

Commissioner KM Nurul Huda in the

chair. "The Commission approved the

draft bill on condition of making few

necessary changes to it. After bringing

the changes, the draft will be sent to the

Law Ministry (for its vetting)," EC Senior

Secretary Md Alamgir told reporters

after the meeting.

Meanwhile, Election Commissioner

Mahbub Talukder issued a 'note of dissent'

over the enactment of the new law

terming the move a 'reckless decision'.

"I fully oppose this decision. It's a reckless

decision to enact a separate law with

part of the RPO," he said in his note of

dissent.

The Commissioner argued that the

RPO 1972 is a historic legal document,

which is a unique symbol of memory of

the Independence of Bangladesh.

"If this proposal of the Election

Commission is granted, the RPO will be

disfigured, which will seem to be handicapped,"

he said adding that the RPO

can be amended, if necessary. Mahbub

Talukder said some political parties,

including two major ones, also opposed

the enactment of this law. It is being formulated

with cuttings from different

articles of Chapter-6 of the RPO.

About the draft law, the EC Secretary

said the registration issue of political

parties had not been in the RPO 1972 as

it was incorporated in the RPO in 2008.

Though there was a proposal as well to

enact a separate law over the registration

issue at that time, it was included in the

RPO hurriedly due to time constraint, he

said.

Alamgir said the present commission

thinks there should be a separate law

over the registration of the political parties

bringing this part out of the RPO.

Besides, the government has a plan to

enact all the laws in Bangla, he mentioned.

Noting that the RPO is effective only

for parliamentary elections, he said now

local body polls alongside the national

election are also held with the symbols of

political parties. "So, the registration

issue is also applicable in the local body

election." The EC Secretary said if the

registration-related provisions are kept

in the RPO, it will require to formulate a

separate law in this regard in the case of

the local body elections.

"If the registration chapter is

brought out from the RPO and a separate

law is formulated, there'll be no

problem," he said.

Country’s heath-care system

vulnerable : dr Zafrullah

KhaNdaKER ZaNNtuN NahaR JERRy

The Gonoshasthaya Kendra Founder

and Trustee Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury

said that the total health system has

been broken down.

On Wednesday, Barrister Rumeen

Farhana, a BNP MP from reserved seat

came to at Gonoshasthaya Nagar hospital

to donate plasma after recovering

from COVID -19. At that time, Dr

Zafrullah talked to the journalists about

the overall situation of the country.

Professor Mahabubur Rahman of the

Department of Microbiology, Head of

the Department of Pathology Golam

Mohammad Quraishi, Press Adviser of

the Gonoshasthaya Kendra Mohammad

Jahangir Alam Mintu, Director-Trainer

and Sonologist of Gonoshasthaya Nagar

hospital Mohammad Shawkat Ali

Arman and other were also present at

that time. Dr Zafrullah said that Rumin

Farhan has not fully recovered but still

she came to donate plasma. It is awesome

matter to all. We are proud of her.

She has done it herself. We have not

communicated with her. She is so much

conscious citizen who really thinks

about country's people. Rumin Farhan

has created an excellent example.

He said, I expect that other MPs who

have already recovered from corona will

also come forward to donate plasma and

also donate bloods. The plasma was not

enough in the country. So every person

who has recovered from corona should

donate plasma. Five corona patients can

be treated by 1 person's blood plasma.

Rumin said it is not hidden matter.

Because of that when I was infected, I

posted it in Facebook. The reporters of

all media reported it. From the beginning

of the Covid 19, there were not

enough ventilators and ICUs in the govt

hospital.

DU student rape

Lone accused

Majnu indicted

DHAKA : A tribunal on Wednesday

framed charges against lone accused

Md Majnu in a case filed over the rape

of a Dhaka University student in city's

Kurmitola area on January 5, reports

UNB.

The charges were framedbyDhaka

Women and Children Repression

Prevention Tribunal-7 Judge Begum

Mosammat Kamrunnahar virtually.

Majnu pleaded not guilty.

The court fixed September 9 for recoding

testimonies of the witnesses.

On March 16, Investigation Officer

Abu Bakar Siddique, inspector of

Detective Branch (DB),submitted the

charge sheet to the Chief Metropolitan

Magistrate Court. On January 16,

Mojnu confessed before a court to his

crime.

According to the case statement,

Mojnu choked the girl and dragged her

to a nearby bush where he hit her and

tried to kill her after rape.

He also lootedthevictim's belongings,

including a handset and a bag.

dGhS accountant

abzal sent to jail

on corruption

charge

DHAKA : A court here on Wednesday

sent Abzal Hossain, a suspended accountant

of the medical education department

under Directorate General of

Health Services (DGHS), to jail in connection

with two cases filed by Anti-

Corruption Commission (ACC) over

money laundering and amassing

wealth illegally.

Judge KM Emrul Kayesh of the

Senior Special Judge's Court, Dhaka

gave the order when Abzal surrendered

before it and sought bail in the

two cases. After hearing the judge sent

him to jail rejecting his bail prayer.

On June 27 of 2019, ACC Deputy

Director Md Towfiqul Islam filed the

two cases with ACC Integrated District

Office of Dhaka 1, accusing Abzal and

his wife Rubina Khanam on the

charges of money laundering and

amassing wealth illegally.

According to ACC, the first case was

lodged on the charges of laundering

money worth Tk 263,76,81,175, concealing

information on wealth worth

Tk 5,90,28,926 and amassing wealth

worth Tk 1,51,23,044 beyond known

sources of income.

The ACC filed the second case on the

charges of laundering money worth Tk

20,74,32,032.12, concealing information

of wealth worth Tk 2,01,19,785

and amassing wealth worth Tk

4,79,34,449 beyond known sources of

income. The health ministry suspended

Abzal on corruption charges on

January 14.

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam, Executive Editor : Sheikh Efaz Ahmed, Managing, Editor: Tapash Ray Sarker, News Editor : Saiful Islam, printed at Sonali Printing Press, 2/1/A, Arambagh 167, Inner Circular Road, Eden Complex, Motijheel, Dhaka.

Editorial and News Office: Bangladesh Timber Building (3rd Floor) 270/B, Tejgaon I/A Dhaka-1208. Tel : +8802-8878026, Cell : 01736786915; Fax: + 880244611604, Email: Editor : editor@thebangladeshtoday.com, Advertisement: ads@thebangladeshtoday.com, News: newsbangla@thebangladeshtoday.com, contact@thebangladeshtoday.com, website: www.thebangladeshtoday.com

27-08-2020

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