27-08-2020

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