25-12-2020

FrIday

DHaKa : December 25, 2020; Poush 10, 1427 BS; Jamadi-ul awal 9, 1442 Hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.17; N o.253; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

InternatIonal

Hard-hit Mexico

gets first coronavirus

vaccines

>Page 7

sports

Benzema takes Real

Madrid into Champions

League last 16

>Page 9

art & culture

Ilias Kanchan

celebrates 64th

birthday

>Page 10

Five ministries get

new secretaries

DHAKA : The government has promoted

five additional secretaries to the rank

of secretary. The Public Administration

Ministry issued a notification in this

regard on Thursday.

According to the notification,

Ramendra Nath Biswas, additional secretary

to the Finance Division has been

made secretary to the Planning

Commission while Mostafa Kamal,

additional secretary to Health Services

Division, was made the chairman

(Secretary) of Land Reform Board.

Besides, Mokabbir Hossain, Managing

Director and CEO of Biman Bangladesh

Airlines(Additional Secy) has been made

secretary to the Railways Ministry.

According to the notification,

Mokammel Hossain, additional secretary

to the Public Administration

Ministry, has been appointed as secretary

to the Civil Aviation and Tourism

Ministry while Mustafizur Rahman,

Divisional Commissioner (addl secy) of

Dhaka Division made secretary to the

Land Ministry.

Zumma

MA Hashem

Partex Group

Chairman

MA Hashem

passes away

DHAKA : Eminent businessman and

founding Chairman of Partex Group

MA Hashem passed away at a city hospital

in the early hours of Thursday.

He was 78.

Hashem, also a former lawmaker,

breathed his last at around 1.20am at

Evercare Hospital in the city where he

was admitted on December 11 after

testing positive for Covid-19, family

sources said. He left behind his wife,

five sons, and a host of relatives and

admirers to mourn his death.

Housing and Public Works Minister

Sharif Ahmed expressed profound

shock and sorrow at the death of noted

entrepreneur MA Hashem.

In a condolence message, the minister

prayed for eternal peace of the

departed soul and conveyed deep sympathy

to the bereaved family.

05:16 AM

01:30 PM

03:37 PM

05:18 PM

06:37 PM

6:35 5:15

Hasina to Army

Help people improve

their lifestyle

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina on Thursday asked the members

of Bangladesh Army to stand

beside people to improve their living

standards.

"If the country prospers, the lifestyle

of everyone has to be improved. So,

keep contributing towards improving

the lifestyle of people...stand beside

them," she said.

The Prime Minister was addressing

the President Parade 2020 of the 79th

BMA Long Course at Bangladesh

Military Academy at Bhatiari in

Chattogram, joining it virtually from

her official residence Ganobhaban,

reports UNB.

Sheikh Hasina asked every member

of the Bangladesh Army, particularly

the fresh cadets, to build themselves

properly to uphold the image of the

country in the international arena.

"You must remember that we're a

KHAGRACHHARI : Home Minister

Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal yesterday

said members of Police, Border Guard

Bangladesh (BGB) and Ansar will be

deployed at vacant army camps located

in Chattogram Hill Tracts.

"The government has decided in

principle to deploy police, BGB and

Ansar at the vacant army camps in

Chattogram Hill Tracts to stop killings,

extortion and terrorisms in the area," he

said while speaking as chief guest at a

special law and order meeting here.

Members of BGB will be deployed at

camps located at remote and border

areas, he said, adding, "Ansar will also

be deployed there side by side with

police personnel. I have talked about it

with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina."

He said Pahari-Bangali co-existence

at Chattogram Hill Tracts should be

ensured. All the problems including

land dispute would be resolved to this

end, he added.

"We want to see Chattogram Hill

Tracts as a peaceful region. We all are

citizens of Bangladesh and we want to

establish it. We want Chattogram Hill

nation that won a war. We won the

great War of Independence under the

leadership of the Father of the Nation.

So, build yourselves in such a way so

that we can move in the world arena

with our heads high," she added.

Noting that the Bangladesh Army has

to perform duties both at home and

abroad, Hasina said the army should be

competent on all fronts to uphold

Bangladesh's dignity at the world stage.

At the function, Battalion Senior

Under Officer of the 79th BMA Long

Course Md Mahmudul Hasan received

the "Sword of Honour" as the best allaround

cadet and the "Army Chief Gold

Medal" for his best performance in military

subjects.

On behalf of the Prime Minister,

Chief of Army Staff General Aziz

Ahmed handed over both the "Sword of

Honour" and the "Army Chief Gold

Medal" to Mahmudul Hasan.

Police, BGB, Ansar to be deployed

at vacant army camps: Kamal

Tracts will go ahead getting all facilities

of the plain land," Kamal added.

He said Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina has given directives to ensure

what are needed to establish pace,

adding, "We want to establish peace

without any conflict."

Issuing a note of warning, the home

minister said, "We are not weak. If anyone

considers that we are weak, it will

be his/her mistake. We do not want to

show power. We believe that peace will

be established through discussions."

Chaired by deputy commissioner

Pratap Chandra Biswas, the meeting

was addressed among, others, by lawmaker

Kujendra Lal Tripura and additional

secretary Md Jahangir Alam.

Local leaders and public representatives

also joined the open discussion.

During the meeting, Brigadier

General Md Shahriar Zaman and

Brigadier General Faridul Islam, BGB

sector commander K Jahangir Alam,

minister's personal secretary Dewan

Mahbubur Rahman, PRO Sjharif

Mahmood Apu and other concerned

were present.

Christmas Day

today

DHAKA : Today is the Christmas Day,

the birthday of Jesus Christ, first-century

Jewish preacher and religious leader.

The Christians of different groups in

Bangladesh elsewhere across the world

will celebrate the day amid festivity and

religious fervor.

They will celebrate the day by offering

special prayers, illuminating churches

and installing makeshift Christmas

trees at homes and places of worship

and missions across the country.

Elderly people of the community,

attired in the outfit of Santa Claus, usually

make fun with children and distribute

gifts among kids as part of a universal

Christian practice.

But due to the pandemic COVID-19,

the day will be celebrated in a limited

scale maintaining health rules, including

maintaining social distancing and

wearing masks everywhere.

The day is a public holiday.

President M Abdul Hamid, Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina and Opposition

Leader in the Jatiya Sangsad Begum

Rowshan Ershad, in separate messages,

greeted members of the Christian community

on the occasion.

ACC to probe PMO

document forgery case

DHAKA : A court here has ordered Anti-

Corruption Commission (ACC) to probe

a case lodged over forgery of Prime

Minister's Office (PMO) document.

Confirming the matter to BSS, an official

of the ACC general registration

wing at the Chief Metropolitan

Magistrate (CMM) court yesterday said

the court has sent the documents of the

case to them on December 6.

"As involvement of government officials

was found in the case and the

charges were found to be a scheduled

offence under ACC act, Dhaka

Metropolitan Sessions Judge KM Imrul

Qayesh on December 8 ordered the

anti-graft body to probe the case," the

official, refusing to be named, said.

Police on September 22 filed chargesheet

against six persons including former

Chhatra League central committee

leader Tarikul Islam Momin in the case.

Investigation officer (IO) and Tejgaon

Police Station inspector Mohammad

Kamal Uddin filed the charge-sheet

against Momin, PMO staff Fatema

Khatun, Nazim Uddin, Rubel, North-

South University student Forhad Hossain

and former treasurer of Bangladesh

University of Professionals' retired Air

Commodore M Abdus Salam Azad.

Mohammad Rafiqul Alam, director-7

of PMO, on May 5 filed the case with

Tejgaon Police Station.

The Dhaka South City Corporation on Thursday carried out an eviction drive in the Sundarbans Square Super

Market in the capital's Gulistan without any hindrance from traders.

Photo : Star Mail

Amid the coronavirus epidemics, people of Christian Community are

going to celebrate the biggest religious festival. The picture was taken from

Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka.

Photo : TBT

Committee to be formed on

determining TRP: Hasan

DHAKA : Information Minister Dr

Hasan Mahmud yesterday said after

forming a committee to formulate a policy

on displaying content on Over the

Top (OTT) platforms or Internet platforms,

another committee will be

formed on the process of determining

television rating points (TRPs).

While exchanging views with journalists

in the meeting room of the

Information Ministry here, he told them

that the formation of the committee

would be finalized by next week.

Noting that the OTT platform is

increasingly connected to the country,

society and global reality, the information

minister said:"Our aim is not to disrupt

the platform but to remove the

obstacles from it."

Many times the content of OTT platforms

has been seen to be an attempt to

destroy the status quo of the state and

society, he, also the ruling Awami

League(AL) joint general secretary said.

After this happened in India, the government

of that country is issuing a notification

that all the content of the OTT

platform has to go through a kind of sensor

based on a policy, he added.

"We don't want to do that in our country,"

Hasan said, adding that "We have

met with various stakeholders to ensure

that the content displayed on the OTT

platform is compatible with our culture,

traditions and values."

Going all the contents through sensor

will create obstacles and the manpower

required for this is not easy, he said,

adding that That is why it requires a policy,

in which case legal action can be

taken.

He added that that is why a 15-member

committee has been formed with

public-private partners under the leadership

of Additional Secretary

(Broadcast) of the Ministry of

Information to formulate a policy in this

regard.

Govt focuses on use of digital

technology in educational

institutions: Dipu Moni

DHAKA : Education Minister Dr Dipu

Moni MP yesterday said the government

is focused on increasing the use of

digital technology in all the sectors of

country's educational institutions aiming

to ensure quality education for all

and to meet the pledge of building

Digital Bangladesh under 'vision-2021'.

"As part of this, we have already introduced

digital service in different sectors

including publication of admission test

result of different school and college and

information or requisition of admission

test to different institution that reduce

public sufferings a lot," she said.

She was addressing virtually an educational

equipment and health safety

and hygienic products distribution program,

at the conference hall of

Bangladesh National Commission For

UNESCO (BNCU).

The minister said realizing the crisis

and need of global pandemic, the education

ministry, primary education division

and secondary and higher education

division jointly introduced a distance

learning program titled 'Amar

Ghore Amar School' for the students so

that students can continue their education

form home.

"Besides, students will be allowed to

watch all the classes, aired on television

under 'Amar Ghore Amar School', and

collect other contents from an online platform

Shikkhok Batayon," she added.

Besides academic actives are continued

at universities through online classes

to let the students engaged with education,

she furthered.

The minister extended her gratitude

to the ICESCO authorities for their support

considering the global pandemic

and hoped that the bondage and cooperation

between Bangladesh and

ICESCO will be continued.

To promote distant learning, BNCU,

with the support of Islamic World

Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization (ICESCO) and Alwaleed

Philanthropies, distributed audio-visual

devices including laptop and audiovisual

cams to 39 educational institutions.

FRiDAY, DecemBeR 25, 2020

2

Trump pardons more

allies and Kushner's father,

sparking fresh outrage

WASHINGTON- US President Donald

Trump issued new pardons Wednesday for

allies including the father of his son-in-law

Jared Kushner and two confidants caught up

in the probe into Russian meddling in the

2016 election that brought him to power,

repots BSS.

The pardons added to a long list he has

granted in his waning days in office and

sparked fresh outrage.

Among those pardoned were Charles

Kushner, who pleaded guilty to charges

including tax evasion and witness tampering

in 2004, as well as former campaign manager

Paul Manafort and longtime adviser Roger

Stone.

The trio were among 26 people pardoned

and three who had all or part of their sentences

commuted by Trump on Wednesday.

They come only a day after Trump pardoned

another 15 people and commuted sentences

for five, including corrupt Republican

congressmen and security guards convicted of

killing 14 civilians in a 2007 Baghdad massacre.

Trump's pardon of Manafort, who was at

the heart of the investigation by special prosecutor

Robert Mueller into allegations of

Russian interference in the election four years

ago, triggered fury that Trump was trying to

erase the probe he has always described as a

"witch hunt."

Democratic congressman Adam Schiff, who

heads the House intelligence committee, said

in a tweet that "during the Mueller investigation,

Trump's lawyer floated a pardon to

Manafort. Manafort withdrew his cooperation

with prosecutors, lied, was convicted and then

Trump praised him for not 'ratting.' Trump's

pardon now completes the corrupt scheme."

Manafort himself took to Twitter, saying,

GD- 1764/20 (5x 3)

"You truly did 'Make America Great Again.'

God Bless you & your family. I wish you a

Merry Christmas & many good wishes for the

coming years."

David Axelrod, a political commentator and

former aide to president Barack Obama, said

of the move, "Everyone saw this raw sewage

dump of pardons and commutations for

@realDonaldTrump apparatchiks and loyalists

coming … Yet the spectacle is still

appalling."

Republican Senator Ben Sasse, who has

publicly spoken out against Trump, said simply,

"This is rotten to the core."

Earlier in the day, Iraqis had expressed outrage

and sadness after Trump delivered pardons

for the four Blackwater security contractors

who were convicted of murder and

manslaughter six years ago for the Nisur

Square massacre.

The four, all former US servicemen, opened

fire unprovoked on the crowded square in 2007,

leaving at least 14 civilians dead - though Iraqi

authorities put the toll as high as 17 - while

wounding dozens more and deeply souring US-

Iraqi relations.

Retired US general Mark Hertling, who

served in Iraq, called the Blackwater pardon

"egregious and disgusting."

"This was a craven war crime that resulted in

the death of 17 Iraqi civilians. Shame on you Mr

President," Hertling tweeted, using the higher

death toll.

Trump had also extended pardons to two

more minor figures in the 2016 Russia election

meddling investigation, and granted clemency

to three former Republican lawmakers that

watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility

and Ethics in Washington called "three of the

most corrupt members of Congress in recent

history."

China begins

anti-monopoly

investigation

into Alibaba

BEIJING - China has

launched an anti-monopoly

investigation into Alibaba,

regulators said Thursday,

heaping further pressure on

the e-commerce giant and

sending its share price tumbling,

repots BSS.

Regulators will also hold

"supervisory and guidance"

talks with Alibaba's gigantic

financial services subsidiary

Ant Group, state media

reported, just weeks after its

record-breaking IPO was

halted at the last minute by

Beijing.

The moves demonstrate

mounting state pressure on

one of the country's most

influential companies,

whose success revolutionised

the e-commerce

landscape and made its

founder Jack Ma China's

richest man.

Investigators are looking

into Alibaba for "suspected

monopolistic practices", the

State Administration for

Market Regulation said in a

statement.

Alibaba shares tumbled

5.48 percent on the news

shortly after the Hong Kong

Stock Exchange opened

Thursday morning.

Its financial services subsidiary

Ant Group said in a

statement that it would "diligently

study and strictly

comply with regulatory

departments' requests".

Gunmen kill

dozens in

Ethiopia attack,

says rights body

ADDIS ABABA: Gunmen

killed more than 100 people

in an attack on Wednesday

in western Ethiopia, the

national human rights body

said, the latest in a series of

deadly assaults in the area,

repots BSS.

The Ethiopian Human

Rights Commission

(EHRC), a governmentaffiliated

but independent

body, said in a statement

late on Wednesday that

"more than 100 people have

been killed in fires and

shooting perpetrated by

armed men" in the

Benishangul-Gumuz region.

The commission said survivors

had "disturbing

photo evidence" of the

attack on sleeping residents

in Metekel zone, which

began in the early hours of

Wednesday and continued

until afternoon.

Kishoreganj Journalist Forum, Dhaka (KJFD) organized a memorial meeting on eminent journalist

Rahat Khan.

Photo : TBT

Studies find having

COVID-19 may protect

against reinfection

WASHINGTON : Two new studies give encouraging evidence

that having COVID-19 may offer some protection

against future infections. Researchers found that people who

made antibodies to the coronavirus were much less likely to

test positive again for up to six months and maybe longer,

repots BSS.

The results bode well for vaccines, which provoke the

immune system to make antibodies - substances that attach

to a virus and help it be eliminated.

Researchers found that people with antibodies from natural

infections were "at much lower risk ... on the order of the

same kind of protection you'd get from an effective vaccine,"

of getting the virus again, said Dr. Ned Sharpless, director of

the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

"It's very, very rare" to get reinfected, he said.

The institute's study had nothing to do with cancer - many

federal researchers have shifted to coronavirus work because

of the pandemic. Both studies used two types of tests. One is

a blood test for antibodies, which can linger for many months

after infection. The other type of test uses nasal or other samples

to detect the virus itself or bits of it, suggesting current or

recent infection. One study, published Wednesday by the

New England Journal of Medicine, involved more than

12,500 health workers at Oxford University Hospitals in the

United Kingdom. Among the 1,265 who had coronavirus

antibodies at the outset, only two had positive results on tests

to detect active infection in the following six months and neither

developed symptoms.

That contrasts with the 11,364 workers who initially did not

have antibodies; 223 of them tested positive for infection in

the roughly six months that followed.

The National Cancer Institute study involved more than 3

million people who had antibody tests from two private labs

in the United States. Only 0.3% of those who initially had

antibodies later tested positive for the coronavirus, compared

with 3% of those who lacked such antibodies.

"It's very gratifying" to see that the Oxford researchers saw

the same risk reduction - 10 times less likely to have a second

infection if antibodies were present, Sharpless said.

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FridAY, december 25, 2020

3

BSEC chief hopeful of sustainable

capital market within 6 months

DHAKA : Bangladesh Securities and

Exchange Commission (BSEC)

Chairman Prof Shibli Rubayat Ul

Islam yesterday expressed his firm

optimism to get a sustainable capital

market within the next six months,

saying that no vested quarter would be

allowed to play any game anymore

with the share market.

"We'll give security to the investment

of small investors. We hope that we'll

get a sustainable capital market within

the next six months," he said.

The BSEC chairman said this while

addressing a seminar titled "The role

of capital market to keep dynamic the

economy during this COVID-19

pandemic" held at the BSEC

Auditorium in the city's Agargaon

area.

The seminar was organized marking

the inauguration of the online version

of daily Banijjo Pratidin.

Chaired by its Editor AKM Rashed

Shahriar, BSEC Commissioners Dr

Sheikh Shamsuddin Ahmed, Prof Dr

Md Mizanur Rahman, BD Finance

Chairman and Anwar Group

Managing Director Monowar

Hossain, Bangladesh Merchant

Bankers Association (BMBA)

President M Sayedur Rahman, Capital

Market Journalist Forum (CMJF)

President Hasan Imam Rubel spoke,

among others, at the seminar. BSEC

executive director M Rezaul Karim

presented the key-note speech.

The BSEC chairman said the market

witnesses ups and downs based on

demand and supply, adding, "We're

keeping attention so that any vested

quarter could not come in the market

and thus make the small investors

empty-handed. So, we hope that we'll

get a sustainable capital market within

the next six months,"

He said that they have remained alert

so that the associate organizations like

the Investment Corporation of

Bangladesh (ICB) could play their due

role, adding that it is now just a matter

of time to get a stable and sustainable

capital market.

Shibli said it would not take much time

to get a sustainable capital market,

adding, "I hope you'll start feeling

within three to six months that big

players want to play here. But, they

won't be able to repeat it again. We'll

give security to the investors."

He said the capital market watchdog

would invite more IPOs (initial public

offerings) through which the big

businesses would be able to manage

long-term financing, which would

eventually benefit the IPO winners of

A memorial program was held in front of the National Press Club on Thursday to mark the 17th Benin Tragedy

Day.

Photo : TBT

23rd death

anniversary of

Nurun Nahar

Chowdhury

On the occasion of 23rd death

anniversary of Nurun Nahar

Chowdhury, wife of Advocate

Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury,

former Member of Bangladesh

Bar Council, Quran Khwani

and Doa-mahfil will be held

after Jumma Prayer at her

village home at Mirsarai,

Chittagong today.

EU, Germany

contribute €80m

to strengthen

social security

DHAKA : The European

Union (EU) and Germany

transferred €80 million

(around Tk 800 crore) to

Bangladesh to strengthen

key areas of its social security

system and build resilience

to Covid-19, with a particular

focus on affected workers in

export-oriented industries.

The establishment in

October 2020 of the

Government's Social

Protection Programme for

Unemployed Leather goods

and Footwear Industries

features as an important

response measure, said

media release.

Eight FYP should focus

on rationale demand

projection: CPD

DHAKA : The 8th FYP should focus on

rationale demand projection, cleaner

energy mix, rise in efficiency and better

quality of transmission and distribution in

the power sector, said experts at a virtual

discussion yesterday.

They said improvement of transmission

and distribution of electricity should be a

major focus of the power sector during the

8th FYP period. Focus should also be given

on strengthening the capacity of

implementing renewable energy projects,

and both traditional and non-traditional

renewable energy projects should get

priority in the upcoming policy document.

These observations emerged at a virtual

Expert Group Discussion titled

"Reflections of the Power Sector in the

Upcoming 8th Five Year Plan: Perspectives

on Strategies and Initiatives", held

yesterday organised by the Centre for

Policy Dialogue (CPD), said a press release.

CPD's Executive Director, Dr Fahmida

Khatun shared the introductory remarks

where she highlighted institutional reform

in the power sector for developing a

sustainable power and energy sector in the

country.

At the virtual discussion session, CPD's

Research Director, Dr Khondaker Golam

Moazzem made the keynote presentation.

Dr Moazzem suggested that an alignment

of the demand projection should be made

by the upcoming PSMP 2021 with other

policy documents will be highly important.

The energy mix which is highly biased

towards fossil-fuel should be gradually

rebalanced with setting up renewable

energy based projects. He also highlighted

that 8th FYP should highlight appropriate

mechanism to lessen the fiscal pressure,

huge import payment and debt burden

caused in case of different power sector

related activities.

Mohammad Alauddin, Chairman

(Additional Secretary), Sustainable &

Renewable Energy Development Authority

(SREDA) under the Power Division and

the primary market.

The BSEC chairman said they have

allowed many IPOs , but there was no

such negative impact. "Rather, the

businessmen are being able to gather

their capital through IPOs and many

employment opportunities are also

being created. Through this, the

entrepreneurs are being benefitted,

the market is being benefitted while

the depth of the market is also being

increased."

Shibli said the investors were also

benefitted, adding, "On the whole,

we're foreseeing a win-win situation, if

we feel that we need to go a bit slow

(regarding IPOs), or need some

intervention, we'll do that."

He said that initially they had to work

on the secondary market, but now they

are focusing on the primary market.

Referring to the transaction of mobile

phone operator Robi which began

yesterday, Shibli said that the market

transactions crossed Taka 800 crore

by 12 noon yesterday with the

introduction of transaction of Robi

shares. "We hope that the market will

head towards a much better position

gradually."The speakers at the

seminar stressed the need for due role

of the media to ensure transparency

and stability in the capital market.

also a panelist at the session stated that, to

move to renewable energy, relying only on

solar energy would not be enough.

He suggested that more studies need to

be conducted regarding opportunities of

producing wind energy in Bangladesh.

Echoing with CPD's presentation, he put

emphasis on institutional strengthening of

the SREDA by increasing human

resources.

Mohammad Hossain, Director General,

Power Cell under the Power Division was

present as another panelist at the

session. He remarked that the high

reserve margin of generation is due to the

low demand of power in the COVID-19

scenario. He said that the government is

taking due measures in addressing rising

cost, inefficiency and higher financial

burden on the power sector.

Dr M Tamim, Former Special Assistant

to the Chief Advisor, Professor,

Department of Petroleum and Mineral

Resources Engineering, Bangladesh

University of Engineering and

Technology (BUET), Dr Ijaz Hossain,

Professor, Department of Chemical

Engineering, BUET, Professor Dr M

Shamsul Alam, Dean, Faculty of

Engineering (FE), Daffodil International

University, and Professor Chowdhury

Md. Shahriar Ahmed, Assistant

Professor and Director, Centre for

Energy Research (CER) also joined the

dialogue as panelists.

The panelists also suggested focusing

more on transmission and distribution of

electricity in the coming days.

While moderating the session, CPD's

Distinguished Fellow, Professor

Mustafizur Rahman emphasised that the

power and energy sector has now moved

into second generation of problems

where challenges have moved from

concerns from generation of electricity to

pricing and energy mix issues. He ended

the Dialogue with a vote of thanks.

Junaid Ahmed Palak was the chief guest at the closing and award ceremony of the "Ideathon" competition jointly

organized by Bangladesh and South Korea to enhance the knowledge and skills of startups in Bangladesh as well as

to develop the country's startup ecosystem.

Photo : TBT

Complete

project work on

time: LGRD

State Minister

RANGPUR : State Minister

for Local Government Rural

Development and

Cooperatives (LGRD)

Swapan Bhattacharya

yesterday directed the

officials concerned to

complete development

works timely ensuring

quality and transparency.

He was addressing a

meeting here with the

district and upazila level

project officers of various

departments and agencies

under the Rural

Development and

Cooperatives Division of the

ministry as the chief guest.

Rural Development and

Cooperatives Division

Secretary Md Rezaul Ahsan

attended the meeting as the

special guest with Deputy

Commissioner Md. Asib

Ahsan in the chair.

The district rural

development and

cooperatives department

organised the meeting at the

conference room of the

Deputy Commissioner in

the city abiding by the health

directives in the wake of the

coronavirus (COVID-19)

pandemic.

High officials, heads of

different departments and

agencies and officials of

various ongoing projects in

the district under the Rural

Development and

Cooperatives Division of the

ministry participated in the

event.

The officials concerned

appraised the State Minister

of the progress of different

ongoing development

projects in the district.

The State Minister

instructed the officials

concerned to avoid

unnecessary expenses and

work sincerely for proper

implementation of the

development works and

project activities within the

stipulated time.

Huawei's 73MW solar plant

added to national grid

DHAKA : The country's largest solar power plant

of Huawei Smart photovoltaic (PV) solution,

having 73 MW generation capacity, in

Mymensingh has been connected to the national

grid recently, a release said.

"The 73 MW PV power plant would help fulfill

the government's target of generating 10 percent

of the country's total electricity using renewable

energy by 2021," President of Enterprise

Business Group of Huawei Technologies

(Bangladesh) Limited Yang Guobing said.

He said, "Bangladesh as a rapidly digitizing

nation is a very important market for us, and

therefore, we are very pleased to have worked

with our partners here in this 73 MW project. We

look forward to contributing further in digitizing

and transforming the energy sector in

Bangladesh using our innovation and expertise."

The release said a photovoltaic system, also PV

system or solar power system, is a power system

designed to supply usable solar power by means

of photovoltaics.

It said Bangladesh is a typical South Asian

country where it enjoys up to 2,500 hours of

sunshine per year but with a humid and hot

climate.

The project is situated at the bank of

Brahmaputra in Gauripur, Mymensingh. With

the 173K solar panel and 332 inverters, this plant

will contribute to the national grid, the release

said.Over the past few years, Bangladesh's

renewable energy has developed rapidly.

Bangladesh government has set the target

installation capacity of 3168 MW in Vision 2021.

The mega project is a significant step forward in

fulfilling that target, added the release.

Technological advancement vital

for NPP safety: Russian expert

DHAKA : The key to ensuring safety of

nuclear power plants (NPPs) is the

continuous advancement and

modernization of nuclear technology,

according to Russian expert Dr Dmitry

Samokhin.

"Continuous advances in nuclear

technology have made nuclear power one of

the most reliable sources of energy for the

present and the future," he said, addressing a

group of journalists from

(India/Bangladesh) during an event

organized by Rosatom, according to a

message received.

Dr Dmitry Samokhin, also Head of

Nuclear Physics and Engineering

Department of Obninsk Institute for Nuclear

Power Engineering of National Research

Nuclear University ???hI, made a

presentation about nuclear safety and

elaborated on why nuclear power plants are

considered safe.

He outlined preventive and emergency

safety strategies for nuclear power plants

and listed three fundamental safety features

including radioactive materials holding,

reactor core cooling and monitoring control

of reactivity as critical areas for ensuring the

safety of NPPs.

"It was necessary to have modern

localizing safety systems at nuclear power

plants to prevent or limit the spread of

radioactive substances and materials

released during times of crisis, if any," Dr

Samokhin said.

Speaking on the modern generation

Russian designed VVER reactor safety

systems, he stated that its main feature is a

unique combination of active and passive

safety systems that provide maximum

resilience to external and internal impacts,

including tornadoes, hurricanes,

earthquakes and air crashes.

Another unique feature of the VVER

project is core catcher - a special device

designed to localize the molten reactor

materials on the event of an accident with

the core melting and penetration of the

reactor vessel.

The system of passive heat removal from

steam generators is designed to manage and

prevent melting of the core during

situations like total station blackout or

complete loss of feedwater, and to mitigate

the consequences of a coolant leak from the

primary circuit.

Dr Dmitry Samokhin also spoke about the

role of Russia in developing nuclear energy

around the world, the message said.

He outlined the containment capabilities

of new generation VVER III + reactors and

emphasized on enhancing the safety culture

in the construction and operation of the

nuclear plants.

Modernization and continuous

technological advances, he said, make

nuclear power a reliable energy source for

the present and the future, it added.

Southeast University (SEU) organized an Online Discussion Session and Cultural Program to celebrate the Victory

Day on Thursday. Prof. Dr. AFM Mafizul Islam, Vice Chancellor of SEU chaired the program while Prof. Dr. Md.

Akhtaruzzaman, Vice Chancellor, University of Dhaka delivered his speech as Chief Guest. Researcher, Essayist and

Trustee Member, Liberation War Museum Mofidul Hoque and Prof. Dr. ANM Meshquat Uddin, Adviser to BoT, SEU

Trust addressed in the program. Prof. Dr. M. A. Hakim, Dean, School of Arts & Social Sciences, SEU delivered the

Welcome Speech. Among others, Members of BoT, Registrar, Deans, Chairmen, Faculty Members, Officials and

Students attended the program.

Photo : Courtesy

FRIdaY, dECEMBER 25, 2020

4

Different course

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Friday, December 25, 2020

For sustainable poverty

reduction

Our Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina was quoted

sometime ago in the media for saying that she

would like to bring down the poverty rate in our population

to at least several percentage points below the

prevailing US such rate. The rate in the US is some 17

or 18 per cent. So, our PM probably wishes for this

rate to be down to 15 or 16 percent because the present

officially declared poverty rate in our context is

some 21 per cent.

Indeed, the government under PM Sheikh Hasina

can rightly take credit for major attainments in

poverty reduction. However, this does not mean that

our struggle against poverty has reached a decisive

final stage, yet, For some 33 million out of some 160

million of our people are still in the throes of poverty

according to the official estimate. The Planning Minister

recently revealed that out of this 33 million of

the poor some 6 million are in extreme poverty.

Thus, conclusive poverty reduction in Bangladesh

still remains a huge developmental challenge.

The aim must be to free these poor and extreme

poor from the pangs of poverty on a ' sustainable'

basis. The emphasis on sustainability is immensely

important because in Bangladeshi conditions the

ones who climb above the poverty level one year may

be seen going below the level in the next year from

various calamities like crop failure, river erosion and

other natural or man made disasters.

What can the policies be to conquer poverty on a

sustainable basis ? One way can be hedging the rural

poor who are the greatest in number in the population

with insurance policies to cover risks like crop

losses, damage to homesteads by floods, loss of poultries

and cattle, etc. There was a report sometime ago

that that a crop insurance pilot project was about to

be launched in a limited way. The project would be

funded jointly by GOB, Asian Development Bank

(ADB) and Japan. This project's outcome should be

monitored and, if found effective, should be replicated

all over the country. The small insurance policies

can help poor people at the grass roots from getting

some financial assistance directly at the time of their

acute distresses.

Every year river erosion makes a large number of

people in Bangladesh homeless or assetless . Homesteads

and crop fields are devoured by swirling rivers

changing their course with mighty force that even

sometimes breakdown strong embankments and

polders. Thus, major plans must be drawn up and

implemented to stop such homelessness from happening

through ensuring the building and maintaining

of embankments that would assuredly last a long

time. Homelessness from river erosion is one of the

main causes of endemic poverty in Bangladesh.

Rural marketing systems may be improved so that

rural producers can sell directly to buyers at good

value, regularly, without having to sell to exploitative

middlemen at a loss. The overall availability of micro

credits to the poor must be increased with repayment

of the loans at substantially lower rate of interests

and on other easy terms. Government will have to

run special programmes to take care of the needs of

the victims of monga (periodic famine conditions in

northern areas). It should provide food and housing

supports and create planned employment for affected

people under these special programmes and operate

them with some regularity. Greater availability of

energy and other means of production in the rural

areas that have the highest concentration of poverty

can also have a positive effect against poverty.

The fastest results against poverty at the national

level can come from much increasing the rate of economic

growth. Economic growth creates jobs, earnings

and employment that have the most effect in

reducing poverty. But the economic growth is vitally

dependent on greater investment activities. The first

requirement, thus, is to create an environment more

conducive to investments.

The creation of an investment-friendly environment

in the country is linked to a host of factors such

as increasing the availability of power and other

forms of energy, long term favourable and unchanging

fiscal and monetary policies of the government

that create confidence for the investors, improved

law and order conditions, upgradation and addition

to infrastructures supportive of investments, prevention

of smuggling, etc.

Therefore, donors really need to tell the government

to address effectively all of these issues in a

package-which are considered as prerequisites to

building an investment-friendly environment-than

only insisting that corruption must be eliminated as

the main strategy in the fight against poverty. Donors

need to realize the supreme importance of adopting

and implementing the above policies for sustainable

improvements in the conditions of the poor.

MANY have hailed the recent USbrokered

Israel-UAE accord as a

glimmer of hope in the violent

and complex region of the Middle East.

But despite its broad appeal to strengthen

economic and cultural ties between the

two countries, it fails to address the

Palestinian question, hence dampening

all hopes of this document becoming a

global template for future agreements of

Israel with countries including Pakistan,

Bangladesh and Indonesia.

The Gulf Cooperation Council

(comprising six Middle Eastern

monarchies) endorses and stands behind

this accord. Historically, GCC members

have been strong supporters of the

Palestinian cause, and their sympathies

with the same are unconditional. So why

has the GCC decided to change course

now?

The major blame for the GCC's

frustration with the Palestinian leadership

can be attributed to the power struggle

between Hamas and Fatah and their past

allyship with key GCC rivals such as

Saddam Hussein's Iraq, Iran and the

Muslim Brotherhood. But this agreement

lays the foundation of a united alliance

against Iran and its proxies within the

Middle East. With America's blessing, the

GCC has adopted a new multipronged

strategy aimed at intensifying the

pressure on Iran. First, they plan on

engaging the European countries to

dismantle Hezbollah's influence in the

Middle East. This would be supported by

Key takeaways from an unprecedented G20 summit

On Sunday, the G20 virtual summit

concluded a year of around-the-clock

work by the Saudi presidency of the

group from December 2019 to November

2020. It was a new experience for the

country and unprecedented in the G20's

history in many ways. For Saudi Arabia, it

was probably the most intensive 12 months

in international diplomacy since the Gulf

War of 1990-91. As in the process of joining

the World Trade Organization in 2005, the

Kingdom strove during its G20 presidency

to revisit and reform the business climate.

It was the first time in G20 history that

two summits, in March and the one earlier

this week, were held under one presidency.

The March (virtual) summit focused on

meeting the challenges posed by

coronavirus, mobilizing funds and

multilateral organizations, and energizing

national bureaucracies around the world to

fight the pandemic and begin dealing with

its socio-economic repercussions. It is

important to remember that at the time

many countries facing the twin crises of the

disease and economic recession resigned

themselves to its devastation. As I discussed

at the time in Arab News, the March summit

provided a reasonable way to face the

pandemic and economic meltdown.

The November summit was held in a more

hopeful atmosphere, coming on the heels of

several breakthroughs in the development

of a vaccine. It is true that about 60 million

people were afflicted with the disease and

about 1.4 million lives were lost, but with the

promise of effective vaccines, there is finally

light at the end of this long tunnel. However,

even if we succeed in containing the

pandemic, its economic and social

devastations will linger for a while.

In a meeting on the impact of the

coronavirus (COVID-19) convened by UN

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on

Monday, the representative of the Ibero-

American General Secretariat (SEGIB) said

that the collective gross domestic product of

the Ibero-American region of 22 countries

has fallen to 2010 levels, as the disease

Representatives from the 11-nation

Pacific trade pact the Comprehensive

and Progressive Agreement for

Trans-Pacific Partnership meet in Santiago

on March 8, 2018. Photo: AFP/Claudio

Reyes

Representatives from the 11-nation

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement

for Trans-Pacific Partnership meet in

Santiago on March 8, 2018. China, the

biggest member of RCEP, has also

expressed interest in joining the CPTPP.

Photo: AFP / Claudio Reyes

While it makes for good headlines,

framing the signing of the Regional

Comprehensive Economic Partnership

(RCEP) as a coup for China is misleading.

This implies the deal was orchestrated by

Beijing and represents a major leadership

win vis-à-vis Washington in the Indo-

Pacific region. Both points are simply not

true, even as China is walking away in a

better position, both economically and

strategically.

China may be the largest member, but the

MuHaMMad J. SIddIquI

full and unconditional logistical support

of Israel that would be ready to go to

extremes to settle its long-running feud

with Iran.

Following the Iranian threat is the

anxiety of GCC members over the

incoming Biden administration in the

United States. There is high anticipation

that the Biden administration would hold

the GCC monarchies accountable over

their track record of violating human

rights, whether it be war crimes in Yemen,

freedom of speech at home, alleged

terrorist financing or the lack of religious

freedom. If this escalates, it could well see

an internal regime change or perhaps a

pathway to a controlled democracy.

Similarly, with the departure of Donald

Trump, Israel will be losing one of its

greatest allies and would be in need of a

strong collective bargaining agreement

from within the region to manage the new

president's administration. A formidable

GCC alliance with Israel and India would

garner enough support in the US

Congress to retain the existing status quo

until a major global crisis takes place and

dR. aBdEL azIz aLuwaISHEG

wiped out a decade of economic growth.

Poverty levels rose to levels not seen since

2005, erasing the progress made over 15

years in the fight against poverty. Other

regions have suffered as much or more, and

it will be some time before they fully recover.

The Saudi presidency faced another,

unprecedented, challenge in having to

organize the group's business almost

entirely virtually. Curfews and lockdowns at

home, as well as travel restrictions, made

any other approach difficult. The March and

November summits were held by

videoconference, as were numerous

ministerial and expert meetings, as well as

those of the "engagement groups," which

also worked mostly virtually. The eight

engagement groups were especially

interesting and inclusive, including groups

dedicated to youth, women, labor, civil

society, urban (mayors and city

representatives), science and think tanks, as

well a business engagement group.

The summit approved or supported about

a dozen new or recent initiatives, some quite

novel for the G20 and for Saudi Arabia. In

addition to several initiatives on reforming

the WTO and the international financial

system, energizing tourism, education,

transport and infrastructure sectors, the

summit endorsed the Riyadh Initiative for

Enhancing International Anti-Corruption

Law Enforcement Cooperation and the G20

Action on International Cooperation on

Corruption and Economic Crimes,

Offenders and the Recovery of Stolen Assets.

It also endorsed the G20 Anti-corruption

their geopolitical stature is restored.

Apart from these external threats, a

crash in the global resource and service

industry (primarily tourism) has left every

member of the GCC in a major economic

crisis. With overpriced real-estate projects

that were financed by now cash-strapped

banks, coupled with state enterprises

including luxury airlines posting massive

losses, GCC members desperately need

The Gulf Cooperation Council (comprising six Middle

Eastern monarchies) endorses and stands behind this

accord. Historically, GCC members have been strong supporters

of the Palestinian cause, and their sympathies

with the same are unconditional. So why has the GCC

decided to change course now?

KYLE FERRIER

help in terms of liquidity and investment.

The recent withdrawal of cash deposits

from Pakistan followed by massive layoffs

in the ranks of the constructionrelated

labour force in the Gulf is nothing

more than a reflection of the GCC's

staggering financial stress and overleveraged

economy. However, to attract

investors in the GCC, the volatility in the

region has to decrease and GCC members

will be forced to curtail their notorious

interference in the internal affairs of their

neighbours.

With these regional developments,

some analysts insist that Pakistan should

accept Israel and reap numerous benefits

related primarily to its ties with the US.

Accountability Report, and G20 High-Level

Principles for the Development and

Implementation of National Anti-

Corruption Strategies; Promoting Public

Sector Integrity Through the Use of

Information and Communications

Technologies; and Promoting Integrity in

Privatization. They also supported

"adherence by all G20 countries to the

Organization for Economic Cooperation and

Development (OECD) Anti-Bribery

The Saudi presidency faced another, unprecedented, challenge in

having to organize the group's business almost entirely virtually.

Curfews and lockdowns at home, as well as travel restrictions,

made any other approach difficult. The March and November

summits were held by videoconference, as were numerous ministerial

and expert meetings, as well as those of the "engagement

groups," which also worked mostly virtually.

Convention" and welcomed Saudi Arabia

joining the OECD Working Group on

Bribery.

There was a special effort to empower

women globally, and a commitment to "step

up our efforts toward achieving the Brisbane

Goal to reduce the gap in labor force

participation between men and women by

25 percent by 2025." The G20 welcomed

"the commencement, under the Saudi

presidency, of the Private Sector Alliance for

the Empowerment and Progression of

Women's Economic Representation

(EMPOWER) for women's advancement in

leadership positions."

To accelerate the recovery of the tourism

sector, the G20 endorsed G20 Guidelines for

Inclusive Community Development through

Tourism and the AlUla Framework for

Inclusive Community Development,

developed by Saudi Arabia.

There was strong support for multilateral

work to protect the environment, fight

climate change and protect fragile

ecosystems, especially coral reefs. The

summit approved the G20 Initiative on

Beijing wins in RCEP, but despite itself

Association of Southeast Asian Nations has

been in the driver's seat of RCEP. ASEAN's

middle-power diplomacy was crucial to

overcoming the initial deadlock to realizing

a regional free-trade agreement stemming

from political rivalries in 2011 and has been

key to sustaining momentum, however

slowly, since.

The ASEAN principle of non-interference

is also embedded in the arrangement's low

ambition, represented by the core focus on

lowering tariffs as opposed to the more

onerous, yet economically more fruitful task

of tackling non-tariff barriers - the chief

difference from the oft-compared

Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-

Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Of course, China was not voiceless in the

talks, pushing back against an effort led by

Japan and Australia to bring over "highquality"

rules from the original TPP in the

aftermath of the US withdrawal in 2017 in

addition to advocating its own interests.

Indeed, as the largest economy in RCEP,

Beijing has much to gain from greater

regional trade integration and pushed to

successfully reach a deal.

This distinction between RCEP as Chinaled

or ASEAN-led may seem irrelevant now

that the negotiations have ended, but it is

significant in the broader context of the US-

China competition and China's role in

shaping the regional architecture. Other

major developments in the recent past also

cannot be overlooked when considering the

implications of RCEP.

Despite the heated rhetoric, Beijing and

Washington have been their own worst

enemies in the Indo-Pacific region over the

past four years. Yes, President Donald

Trump withdrew the US from the TPP,

went after allies by renegotiating trade deals

and imposing new tariffs, pressured

countries to choose between Beijing and

Washington, and otherwise had partners on

edge that they could arbitrarily be in his

crosshairs at any time. But Chinese

President Xi Jinping has had just as glaring

own-goals. The Chinese government

continues to demonstrate willingness to

However, Pakistan's recent history, trust

deficit and interactions with the US

indicate that the country's relationship

with the US will remain transactional for

the foreseeable future, and any further

capital investment or techno logical

transfer to Pak is tan would

re quire enhanced due diligence with

the balance of power always favouring

India.

Whatever the case, while GCC

members, including those that are home

to the most sacred cities for Muslims, are

seeking the patronage and protection of

Israel, perhaps they should be looking

closely at poverty-struck Afghanistan,

where ill-equipped, barefooted Afghans,

recently handed the majestic global

superpower its first decisive defeat of the

21st century. Members of the GCC must

learn to be self-reliant when it comes to

matters of defence, embrace open

societies, and abolish the centuries-old

tribal form of governance that still exists.

Pakistan and Bangladesh should expect

Israel to come bearing an olive branch, as

it is aware of the large population,

women's empowerment, exuberant youth

and the abilities of these nations. Yet

hopefully, the price of Pakistan's

acceptance of Israel will be significantly

higher than that of the member states of

the Gulf Cooperation Council and would

include a clear pathway to the

independence of the glorious land of

Palestine.

Clean Cooking and Energy Access and G20

Energy Security and Markets Stability

Cooperation and endorsed the Circular

Carbon Economy (CCE) Platform, with its

4Rs framework (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

and Remove). It is important to follow

through to make sure that the bright new

ideas developed during the Saudi G20

presidency are implemented, domestically

and internationally.

These were among the main key outcomes

of the summit, some of which were inspired

by member states' experience during the

pandemic. For example, some countries,

including Saudi Arabia, accelerated anticorruption

campaigns after uncovering

abuse of emergency funds dedicated to

fighting the pandemic.

In the presidency speech delivered on

behalf of King Salman, Crown Prince

Mohammed bin Salman cited three key

achievements of the Saudi presidency. First,

the G20 immediately provided the

necessary resources to those at the frontline

of the battle against COVID-19, including

$21 billion to support the immediate

funding needs for diagnostic tools, vaccines

and medication. Saudi Arabia alone

contributed $500 million to support these

efforts. Second, the G20 Action Plan

included extraordinary economic measures,

such as the injection of more than $11

trillion stimulus into the global economy to

support businesses and protect individuals'

livelihoods. Third, the G20 provided

emergency support to the most vulnerable

countries in the world, hit hardest by the

pandemic and the recession.

With such hard work, it is important to

follow through to make sure that the bright

new ideas developed during the Saudi G20

presidency are implemented, domestically

and internationally. With the G20 troika

mechanism, Saudi Arabia will be able to

work with the next two presidencies, Italy

and Indonesia, to ensure that the outcomes

of this week's summit are not forgotten.

Source: Arab news

leverage economic ties for political

pressure. When Beijing was upset with the

deployment of the Terminal High Altitude

Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense

battery to South Korea under the direction

of the alliance with the US in 2016, the

Chinese government targeted South Korean

imports and limited outgoing tourism.

Some estimates put the cost to the South

Korean economy as high as US$24 billion.

Now, as ties between Canberra and Beijing

are increasingly strained, China looks to be

applying similar tactics to Australian

imports. The problems borrowing countries

are facing with Belt and Road Initiative

projects similarly draw into question

China's leadership propensity in the region.

So while China has gained an edge against

the US through RCEP, it is still far from

supplanting the free and open values

inherent to the existing regional order and

the role the US played in upholding this

order.

Source: Asia times

FRIdAY, deCeMBeR 25, 2020

5

Asian countries tap satellite data to fight COVID-19

FAtIMA ArkIN

Asia Pacific countries are

leveraging geospatial

information, digital solutions

and artificial intelligence to

enhance their response to the

ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

and to help meet the

sustainable Development

Goals (sDGs), according to a

new report.

"Data is now a strategic

asset," tiziana Bonapace,

director of the ICt and

disaster risk reduction

division of UN Economic and

social Commission for Asia

and the Pacific (UNEsCAP),

tells sciDev.Net. "With more

use, more value is added."

the report, which is the first

in a series of UNEsCAP

publications to assess

progress

towards

implementing the Asia-Pacific

Plan of Action on space

Applications for sustainable

What can heal an ailing earth?

PrAGAtI PrAVA

Forests provide us with one of

the best defences against

climate change. Increasingly,

however, a perception is

building - at least among a

part of the policy makers

across the world - that forests

are just a combination of trees

that are useful only to bring

down the carbon emissions.

Based on our interactions

with many young generation

folks, we have got this

realisation that "plantation"

or planting trees, which is a

form of environmental

fashion now is considered as

the most favoured for of

environmental activism

among these youth. It's

anyways more difficult to

conserve a forest than

planting trees.

A report published in

science, that made big

headlines last year, claimed

that there is scope of planting

500 billion trees over an area

of 1.7 billion hectares of land,

that's almost the size of the

U.s. this, the study claims,

would suck up some twothirds

of all carbon emissions

released by humans since the

Industrial revolution.

Governments, private

associations and companies

have so far pledged to grow

210 million hectares of trees.

While trees are important to

enrich all forms of

ecosystems, there have been

criticisms from various

Development (2018-2030),

highlights a number of

initiatives throughout the

region.

thailand, for instance, used

space applications to monitor

the local COVID-19 situation

and visualise the impact of

development policies. the

Geo-Informatics and space

technology Development

Agency analysed reduced

night-light images to monitor

the impact of lockdown

measures.

It also used satellite data to

monitor nitrogen dioxide

emissions and found that

since the beginning of the

year, most provinces in

thailand had fewer activities

that caused emissions. All this

data was integrated into a

newly created dashboard that

allows policymakers and

others to monitor the

pandemic, medical capacity,

supplies, consumer goods and

sections of society and experts

to the obsession with planting

trees. scientists and experts

have raised serious concerns

regarding the effectiveness of

such drives. they have said

that the science behind it

could be dangerously

misleading. In the name of

plantation and climate action,

often monoculture is

promoted, our own

experience has found out. In

many places, lands such as

grasslands like savannas,

Pampas, and similar

vegetation, including shrubs

surrounding natural forests

are judged as wasteland and

fast growing tree species are

planted to replace them in

order to meet plantation

targets. there have been

numerous examples of such

forced plantations, of alien

species, inside forest areas as

well. In India, such efforts by

forest departments have also

led to conflicts with the local

and indigenous communities

who protect forests for

generations and emphasise

more on the restoration of

degraded forests with native

biodiversity enriching species

that, to them, are much more

useful than alien species

which are good only for

timber value or carbon sink.

the

indigenous

communities, who make up

only 6 percent of the global

population, protect and cover

of the world. And for them

forestry is much broader a

concept than mere tree

preventive and precautionary

measures.

Last March, the Philippines'

Department of science and

technology - Philippine

Council for Industry, Energy

and Emerging technology

research and Development

(DOst-PCIEErD) solicited

proposals for projects that use

geospatial information in

response to COVID-19.

One of the proposals was

from the University of the

Philippines Diliman for an

online geographic system to

track information on medical

resources in local health

facilities. Dubbed 'tracking

for Allocation of Medical

supplies', the system uses

volunteered

and

crowdsourced data to provide

necessary support to ensure

proper allocation of medical

resources.

Now that the world is on the

threshold of vaccine

Satellite data is now being used in the Asia-Pacific region to monitor the

situation on the ground.

Photo: Pixabay

planting. While for most of

us, sitting in urban areas, far

away from natural forests,

trees are carbon sinks and

forests are picnic spots, for

these dwellers and protectors

of the resources, it is their

source of food, livelihood,

culture and water and much

more. It's a heritage, they feel

they have inherited from their

forefathers, and needs to be

protected not only for humans

but other species too. For this

article, we tried to capture

views from some of the

indigenous women in

Odisha's forested villages who

Inhabitants collect food grains, pulses, vegetables, greens, mushrooms,

tubers, nuts and meaty delicacies from their forests. Photo:L Ranjan Panda

have been leading local

conservation efforts.

"Forest is like my parents'

house. Whenever we feel

stressed, we go inside our

forest and feel like getting

embraced. We return

refreshed with all our

requirements - from food to

fuel - and much more," said

70-year-old shashi Pradhan,

who leads forest protection

initiatives in Dengajhari

village under ranpur block of

Nayagarh district and is

instrumental in protecting

700 hectares of forest in the

area.

Drought is a rare

occurrence in places having

dense forest cover. According

to shashi, who is the

President of Dengajhari

Mahila Jungle suraksha O

Parichalana Committee

(DMJsPC), a federation of

Dengajhari village women to

protect forests, "Earlier

availability, the need for

artificial intelligence

geospatial information

persists as countries plan for a

shift towards a "new normal,"

Enrico Paringit, executive

director of DOst-PCIEErD,

tells.

"this could mean the need

to develop tools to ensure

safety of public transport

systems and offices as the

economy is gradually being

opened for business. We also

need to develop intelligent

systems to monitor places of

commerce - systems that

detect and report compliance

to social distancing rules," he

adds.

Yet, despite notable

advances, significant

challenges remain that

prevent Asia Pacific countries

from taking full advantage of

digital solutions in their

COVID-19 responses.

Bonapace highlights major

issues: persistent and

significant capacity gaps and

limitations regarding the

technology applications and a

lack of guidelines and tools for

integrating geospatial,

statistical and other kinds of

data and information.

For Paringit, openness of

data and sustainability are the

two main challenges he sees in

scaling up digital solutions.

"there are concerns over

sustainability of platforms

developed during the

pandemic since it might die

down after the initial

requirements and needs have

been met and the business

case had not been thought out

in the beginning," he adds.

during 1970s, we used to

suffer from frequent droughts

as the four streams adjoining

our villages used to dry up just

a few weeks after the

monsoon retreated. the

cause, we realized, was the

denuded forests caused by

rampant timber smuggling.

With the forests, the streams

have reappeared. We brought

them back with our

conservation efforts. With

recharged streams, villagers

harvest good crops every

year."

shashi feels that the dense

forest cover has changed the

local climatic condition and

ensured good rainfall. "there

is hardly any instance of croploss

in the last one decade or

so", added shashi who bagged

several awards including the

Devi Award-2019 from the

New Indian Express Group.

"At present when the price

of potato is more than 45

rupees per kg (60 cents per

kg), it has no impact on us.

Besides, during the time when

the supply from West Bengal

got restricted and the price of

potatoes soared, it had no

impact on us. We consume

even more delicious roots

locally called Pichhuli, tunga

and kadaba," said Jamuna

Pradhan, who is 35 and a

member of the DMJsPC. In

1956, when the area faced a

deadly drought, her village

survived on boiled kadaba,

recalled shashi.

she named more than 20

varieties of greens that they

get from their forest.

Adhanga saga, Bhadalia saga,

sunsunia saga and kalama

saga are a few. she also

counted around 15 varieties of

fruits including chironjee,

kendu, dates, mangoes,

jamun that the forest provides

them with.

this variety of food is not

confined to a particular

cluster of forest only. Around

300 kilometers away, in the

similipal Biosphere, forests

provide more than 160 food

varieties to its dwellers. "Even

when during the rainy season,

our streams get flooded and

roads get washed away and

the sanctuary gets cut-off

from the rest of the world, we

don't worry about food. Forest

provides half of our required

edible varieties during rainy

season and ensures that we

focus on cultivation," said

kabita Jerai of Mandam, a

village inside the biosphere

reserve.

Malaria-infected children with no symptoms are super-spreaders of the disease, a study has revealed.

Copyright: Image by Ian Ingalula from Pixabay

Asymptomatic children could

be super-spreaders of malaria

EsthEr NAkkAzI

What dams in Chinese Bhramaputra means for India

DEVELOPMENt DEsk

At first glance, it looks like

another step towards the

realisation of an old

nightmare for India, and

especially for its Northeast.

On sunday, Chinese state

media reported that the

country's government had

cleared a proposal to begin

"hydropower exploitation in

the downstream of the

Yarlung tsangpo river"

during its next Five-Year Plan

period which commences in

2021. reports spoke of the

largest hydropower dam on

earth.

the Yarlung tsangpo is

generally identified as the

Brahmaputra in India. It

flows into Arunachal Pradesh

after a long journey through

tibet, and there its name

changes to siang. this then

becomes the Brahmaputra

when it reaches the plains of

Assam.

Anxieties abound in the

Brahmaputra Valley of

Assam, and in the siang

Valley of Arunachal, about

China's designs on the river

depriving these areas of their

lifeline. these anxieties have

long found resonance with

politicians, bureaucrats,

engineers and infrastructure

companies in the capital cities

of Dispur, Itanagar and Delhi.

It is a response based on a

misconception about the idea

of a river. the common image

of a river even among

journalists and strategic

affairs wonks is one that we all

drew as children in

kindergarten - one channel of

water flowing between two

banks. After all, if you live in

Delhi, the only river you have

around you is the sewer and

dry river bed that remains of

what was once the Yamuna. If

you live in Ahmedabad, you've

seen the canal that was the

school-age children with no malaria

symptoms could serve as superspreaders

of the disease, an observation

that could open a new chapter on malaria

control, a meeting has heard. the new

findings from a study that was conducted

in Uganda were reported at the virtual

annual meeting of the American society

of tropical Medicine and hygiene last

month.

"It is of great importance to understand

who transmits malaria. this is

particularly important in areas where

malaria control is successful," says teun

Bousema, a co-author of the study and

professor of epidemiology of tropical

infectious diseases specialised in the

biology and epidemiology of Plasmodium

falciparum at radboud University

Medical Center in the Netherlands.

Bousema tells that those running

control programmes need to know

whether malaria may come back and who

in the human community can cause

mosquito infections to help in

determining when disease control can

become less rigorous or when resurgence

is very unlikely.

"In some ways, our study is a blueprint

of what can be expected in other

countries where mosquito control is very

successful. Malaria will not disappear

completely. It will persist in some

populations," adds Chiara Andolina, a coauthor

of the study and a doctoral student

at the radboud University Medical

Center, who presented the findings at the

meeting. "We now have the first direct

evidence that even in places under very

intensive malaria control, a small number

of asymptomatic super spreaders can

quietly sustain transmission - and finding

and treating them could prove very

challenging."

researchers assessed the transmission

of malaria among children showing

symptoms of malaria and those who did

not present symptoms in tororo district,

eastern Uganda. the area has been

targeted with malaria control measures,

including regular distribution of

insecticide-treated bednets, indoor

residual spraying with insecticides and

access to effective malaria drugs.

researchers conducted regular tests for

evidence of malaria parasites on 531

people, including children aged five to 15

years old over a 24-month period.

According to the findings presented at

the meeting, a school-age child who

showed no symptoms despite harbouring

seven different variations of the malaria

parasite Plasmodium falciparum "was

responsible for 24.7 per cent of all

infected mosquitoes infections observed".

"In this unique longitudinal study, we

find that asymptomatic infections in

school-age children are responsible for

the majority of onward transmission

sabarmati. If you live in

Mumbai, there's only the

Mithi, nearly as mythical as

the saraswati. Guwahati has

the Brahmaputra itself, a

powerful channel of water

between two banks around 1.5

km apart, a perfect illustration

of the common idea of the

river, and of why that idea is

misleading.

seeing the Brahmaputra

almost anywhere else other

than Guwahati is a whole

other experience. In Upper

Assam, around the Dibru

saikhowa national park where

it takes the name

Brahmaputra with the

merging of the Lohit, Dibang

and siang, innumerable

braids and streams of water

flow into one another. the

river there is not a single

channel between two banks -

it is a shape-shifting network

of water that stretches for

miles. In monsoon, it can

easily expand to over 15 km in

width. If you stand on one

bank, you cannot see the

other.

this river is vastly different

from the Yarlung tsangpo in

tibet, known as the siang in

Arunachal Pradesh, which is

merely the longest among its

countless tributaries. We can

list the big ones - from the

Lohit, Dibang and Noa Dihing

at the foothills of eastern

Arunachal to the teesta in

northern Bangladesh - that

flow into the river of many

rivers that is the

Brahmaputra. however, any

such count too is misleading.

It's not only these big

tributaries that constitute the

Brahmaputra. the true

measure of the river's extent is

the "basin", which is the area

of land from which the water

flows into a particular river.

Every little stream and rivulet

in the Brahmaputra basin,

from tibet to Bhutan, Assam,

Arunachal Pradesh,

Nagaland, Meghalaya and

sikkim, eventually finds its

way into the Brahmaputra.

they are all part of it.

A mapmaking convention

developed to designate the

longest tributary of a river as

the river itself. thus, the

Yarlung tsangpo came to be

identified with the

Brahmaputra in British

colonial times, when

Northeast India's first maps

were drawn. But the tsangpo

is not the Brahmaputra; it has

barely 1/20th of the water of

China plans to build a dam on its side of Bhramputra.

events," the study adds. Bousema

explains: "they are very prone to

infection and keep their infections longer

because they have some level of

immunity that prevents symptoms but

not infection."

"Malaria-free school initiatives can

have an important impact. Not only for

school children but, as we show, also for

the wider community since they are

important transmitters of the infection,"

she adds. Andolina tells sciDev.Net that

such children can be easily targeted with

interventions such as medicines that can

prevent them from acquiring parasites at

all as they are easily accessible in their

schools. Lauren Cohee, a paediatric

infectious disease specialist at the

University of Maryland school of

Medicine in the United states, says that

the findings offer insights into malaria

control. "the extent to which

transmission may be driven by a small

number of highly infectious individuals is

surprising and may open a new chapter

for malaria control," adds Cohee.

But Cohee explains that the yardstick

used to measure malaria control

interventions has traditionally been how

many lives are saved or how many deaths

are averted. "While this is clearly an

essential metric, policymakers should

consider the impact of control

interventions on transmission," Cohee

adds.

the Brahmaputra measured

after the Brahmaputra

receives the teesta's waters.

the Chinese cannot steal

the whole Brahmaputra even

if they wish, for the simple

reason that it does not flow

there. the myriad channels

that feed it are mostly streams

that flow on the southern,

Indian side of the himalayan

watershed. the McMahon

Line that forms the disputed

boundary between India and

China in Arunachal Pradesh

largely follows this watershed.

It is the natural dividing line

in the high mountains where

the waters part, with all the

water on the southern slopes

flowing south, and all of that

on the northern side flowing

north.

Chinese plans of exploiting

the hydropower potential of

the tsangpo are not new.

they have been in the public

domain for a decade at least.

Engineers there have long

viewed the river's "Grand

Canyon" area around what is

called the "Great Bend" with

greedy eyes. In that area, the

tsangpo rapidly descends two

kilometers through a narrow

gorge in the remote east of

tibet.

Photo: Collected

FRIDAY, DeCeMBeR 25, 2020

6

Masks, hand washing soap and hand washing devices have been distributed among pregnant and

maternity women and children of helpless families to prevent corona virus in Jaldhaka upazila of

Nilphamari.

Photo : Hafizur Rahman

Distribution of COVID-19 prevention

masks, soaps and devices in Jaldhaka

Hafizur Rahman, Jaldhaka

correspondent: Masks, hand

washing soap and hand washing devices

have been distributed among pregnant

and maternity women and children of

helpless families to prevent corona virus

in Jaldhaka upazila of Nilphamari. Vice

chairmen of Upazila Parishad Golam

Pasha Alich and Monowara Begum ,

distributed masks, soaps and hand

washing devices among 187 families

with the help of LAMB-Plan Show

Project 2 at the Model Government

Pilot High School ground on Thursday

morning. LAMB-Plan Show Project 2

Program Manager Francis Hazar,

Upazila Technical Co-ordinator Raufur

Rahman Basunia (Rachel), Bangladesh

Scouts Jaldhaka Upazila Secretary and

Mortuza Islam, Union Field Coordinator

Ekramul Haque and others

were present. Meanwhile, these

materials were distributed among 175

families in Golna Union, 160 families in

Kathali Union and 130 families in

Dauabari Union. Russell Basunia,

Upazila Technical Co-ordinator of

LAMB-Plan Show Project 2, said the

materials would be distributed among

3,300 families in 1 municipality and 11

unions of the upazila in phases. In the

first phase, these materials were

distributed among 2,000 families.

One held with

arms, ammo in

C'nawabganj

CHAPAINAWABGANJ :

Members of Rapid Action

Battalion (RAB) arrested

an alleged arms trader

along with two pistols, two

magazines and four bullets

from Shibganj upazila of

the district on Wednesday

night, reports BSS.

The arrested person is M

Shamol Mia, 38, a resident

of Borgachi village under

Jambaria union in

Bholahat upazila of the

district.

On a tip-off, an operation

team of RAB-5 conducted a

drive at Omarpur village of

Shyampur union in

Shibganj upazila of the

district and arrested

Shamol with the arms and

ammunition at about 10

pm, a RAB official said.

Later the arrested person

was handed over to the

police of Shibganj Police

Station.

21,868 recover

from Covid-19

in Rajshahi

RAJSHAHI : With

recoveries of 45 more

COVID-19 patients on the

latest day, the number of

total cured patients from

the lethal disease in the

division now reached

21,868, said an official

report. A total of 2,845

infected patients are

undergoing treatment at

designated hospitals here,

it said.

Dr Habibul Ahsan

Talukder, divisional

director of health, said the

death toll from the virus

roses to 364 with no fatality

reported afresh.

Besides, all the positive

cases for COVID-19 have,

so far, been brought under

necessary treatment while

6,107 were kept in isolation

units of different hospitals

for institutional

supervision. Of them,

5,366 have been released.

Distribution of blankets by

Human Rights Commission

in Melandah

Ruhul Amin Raju, Melandah:

Bangladesh Human Rights Commission of

Melandah Upazila distributed winter

blankets at Upazila Human Rights

Commission chattar to serve the coldstricken

people in the upazila area.

Melandah Upazila Nirbahi Officer Tamim

Al Yameen was the chief guest on December

23 at 10 am. He gave important speeches for

the blanket collectors on a subject-based

basis with a view to establish the civil rights

of marginalized communities for all.

Moindul Islam, OC of Melandah Police

Station spoke as the special guest at the

blanket distribution function.

Presided over by Bir Muktijoddha Alhaj

Kismat Pasha, and Usman Gani Vijay,

Projanma Muktijoddha Sontan and

President of upazila Chhatra League, spoke

as a special guest at the presentation.

Besides, Bir Muktijoddha Advocate Alhaj

Ismat Pasha, President of Jamalpur District

Human Rights Commission and Abu Taher,

General Secretary of the Upazila Branch

Human Rights Commission. Besides, other

leaders and activists of district and upazila

human rights commission also spoke on the

occasion.

Moindul Islam, OC of Melandah Police Station spoke as the special guest at the

blanket distribution function.

Photo : Ruhul Amin Raju

Rangpur AL distributes 500

blankets among cold-hit people

RANGPUR : Rangpur district Awami League

(AL) distributed 500 blankets among coldstricken

people of the city on Wednesday

evening to mitigate their sufferings from the

sweeping cold-wave.

President of district AL Mamtaz Uddin

Ahmed and its General Secretary Advocate

Rezaul Karim Raju with other leaders

distributed the blankets among 500 cold-hit

people in a function held at district AL office

premises in the city.

Joint General Secretary of district AL

Motahar Hossain Mandal Mowla, its

Organising Secretary Wazedul Islam, Office

Secretary Amin Sarker, Publicity and

Publication Secretary Latifa Shawkat, Law

Affairs' Secretary Ziaul Hasan, Cultural

Affairs' Secretary Advocate Atikul Islam

Kallol, Health and Population Affairs'

Secretary Ershadul Haque Ranju and Acting

President of Chhatra League Suman Sarker,

among others, attended the function.

Besides, leaders of the district units of

Awami League, Mohila Awami League, Jubo

League, Chhatra League, Krishak League,

Sramik League and other associate bodies

were present.

On the occasion, Advocate Rezaul Karim

Raju said the district, city and upazila units

of AL and its associate bodies already started

distribution of blankets among cod-affected

poor and distressed people of the district.

Drug dealers have held an exchange of views with the drug dealers of the district on the initiative of Naogaon Drug and

Chemistry Committee. At the meeting, the sympathetic leaders expressed their strong stance on the use of low-quality and

adulterated drugs

Photo : M R Rocky

Strict action against adulterated and low

quality medicine sellers : Ataur Rahman

MR Rocky, Naogaon corrospondent:

Drug dealers have held an exchange of views

with the initiative of Naogaon Drug and

Chemistry Committee. At the meeting, the

sympathetic leaders expressed their strong

stance on the use of low-quality and

adulterated drugs. The meeting called for

dealing life-saving drugs with utmost

caution.

The speakers urged the people to do

business with policy without being tempted

by any nameless company. Drug dealers

from eleven sub-districts were present at the

meeting, which was held at Naogaon

district's Drug and Chemistry Somiti hall

room at 12 noon on Thursday.

The meeting was presided over by

Tahamadi Jamli, Drug Supervisor of

Naogaon district Drugs and Chemistry,

Ataur Rahman, Central Committee Director

of Naogaon district BCDS and President of

Naogaon district BCDS. He also warned that

legal action would be taken against any

trader who sells adulterated and low quality

drugs by using dishonest methods to convey

his views.

RUET to get 11 new ten-storey

buildings soon

RAJSHAHI : Eleven new ten-storey buildings

are going to be constructed on the Rajshahi

University of Engineering and Technology

(RUET) campus aimed at further developing the

campus area to provide improved facilities for the

teachers, researchers, students and others

concerned.

The present government has recently

approved a mega project involving Taka 599.30

crore for construction of necessary physical

infrastructures and equipment installation for

quality improvement of education and research

in RUET. Earlier, the allocation was Taka 340.13

crore for the project. The high-rise buildings will

be constructed simultaneously under the project

jointly being implemented by University Grants

Commission and RUET initiated by the

Department of Secondary and Higher Education

under the Ministry of Education.

Some other infrastructure development works

are also being implemented under the five-year

project titled "Further Development of Rajshahi

University of Engineering and Technology

(Revised)".

Main thrust of the project is to enhance and

broaden the facilities for higher research and

training for the development of skilled

manpower in order to meet up the gradually

mounting demands of technical experts in the

country, said Amit Roy Chakravarty, Director of

the project. Under the mega project ten-storey

buildings - one each for administrative purpose,

the others for female students, male students,

professor/associate professor quarter, teacher

dormitory, officer's quarter and staff quarter, will

be constructed.

JU student

killed in road

accident

SAVAR : A student of

JahangirnagarUniversity

was killed in a road accident

at Gazaria upazila in

Munshiganj on Wednesday

night.

The deceased was

identified as Mehedi Hasan,

a third year student of

Geography

and

Environment department of

the university and hailed

from Manikganj distric.

Police sergeant Shibunath

Sarkar said, "The microbus

carrying Mehedi and his

friends met with an accident

on Wednesday noon while

passing through the Baushia

area of ??Gazaria upazilain

Munshiganj district.

"After getting the news,

the police went to the spot

and rescued the microbus

and a private car involved in

the accident.Themicrobus

collided head-on with an

electric pillar and twisted.

Immediately we sent

Mehedi to Dhaka for better

treatment as his condition

was critical.The other

passengers of the microbus

were admitted to the local

Bhaber Char Health

Complex", he added. JU

Vice-Chancellor Professor

Farzana Islam yesterday

expressed profound shock at

the death of Mehedi Hasan.

In a condolence message,

the VC said, "We have lost a

meritorious student.

BCG detains 16 fishermen along

with 1 Indian fishing trawler

Bangladesh Coast Guard West Zone

arrested 16 fishermen, including an

Indian timber trawler FB Mangal

Chandi-6, who illegally entered the

waters of Bangladesh, a press release

said.

On Monday night, Coast Guard West

Zone ships patrolling the invincible

Bengal deep sea saw fishing trawler FB

Mangal Chandi-6 illegally entering

Bangladeshi waters fishing within 10.2

nautical miles of Bangladesh-India

waters. The boat later tried to flee when

it sensed the presence of the Coast

Guard. No firearms were found in their

possession at the time.

The seized trawlers and the arrested

16 fishermen were later handed over to

Mongla police station for legal action.

The fish caught in the trawler was

handed over to the Mongla Fisheries

Officer for further action. Patrolling has

been intensified in the areas covered by

the Bangladesh Coast Guard for drug

control, conservation of forest

resources, smuggling and control of

fisheries as well as prevention of illegal

intrusion and regular operations are

being conducted which will continue in

future also.

Members of Bangladesh Coast Guard West Zone in a drive arrested 16 fishermen and seized an

Indian trawler which illegally entered the waters of Bangladesh on Monday night. Photo: Courtesy

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2020

7

Hard-hit Mexico gets first

coronavirus vaccines

MEXICO CITY : Mexico on Wednesday

became the first Latin American country

to receive coronavirus vaccines for mass

immunization against a disease that has

had a devastating impact across much of

the region, repots BSS.

The government plans to start

inoculations on Thursday after the first

3,000 doses produced by US

pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its

German partner BioNTech arrived by

courier plane from Belgium.

The vaccines were whisked to a

military installation in the south of

Mexico City, guarded by a security

escort to prevent them from falling into

the hands of the country's powerful

criminal gangs. "Today is the beginning

of the end of this pandemic," Foreign

Minister Marcelo Ebrard told reporters

at the airport.

Mexico has registered nearly 120,000

Covid-19 deaths and around 1.34

million infections, according to the

authorities, who acknowledge that the

actual toll is probably much higher.

Mexico City and surrounding areas

last week announced a new suspension

of all non-essential activities, warning

that hospitals were in danger of being

overwhelmed by a spike in the number

of cases. The first vaccines will be

destined for frontline medical

personnel, and administered in the

capital and the northern state of

Coahuila due to the logistics related to

the frigid temperatures required.

The foreign ministry said that 1.4

million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech

vaccine would arrive by January 31, out

of the 34.4 million that the US company

has agreed to deliver.

Mexico has the world's fourth highest

Covid-19 fatality toll after the United

States, Brazil and India. Brazil, which

has reported more than 185,000 deaths,

is still negotiating the purchase of 350

million doses of coronavirus vaccines

for 2021.

Mexico's government has promised to

make vaccinations available free of

charge across the country of almost 129

million people - a massive logistical

challenge for the authorities.

"We must not let ourselves be carried

away or fall into the naive belief that the

fight against the virus is over," said

Health Minister Jorge Alcocer.

"We have prepared the largest

vaccination plan in the history of our

population," he added.

The country also has preliminary

purchase agreements with China's

CanSino Biologics for 35 million doses

and with Britain's AstraZeneca for 77.4

million doses. Together with Argentina,

Mexico also has an agreement with

AstraZeneca to produce its vaccine to

supply to Latin American nations.

a healthcare worker from the World Health Organization prepares

vaccines to give to front line aid workers, in Mbandaka,

Congo. The vaccine alliance GAVI has announced on Thursday,

Dec. 5, 2019 it would invest $178 million to create a global stockpile

of about 500,000 Ebola vaccines, in a move health officials

say could help prevent future outbreaks from spiraling out of control.

GAVI is a public-private partnership that includes the World

Health Organization, UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates

Foundation and the World Bank, among others. Photo :AP

Trump pardons former

campaign chairman Paul

Manafort

WASHINGTON : President Donald

Trump on Wednesday pardoned former

campaign chairman Paul Manafort and

Charles Kushner, the father of his son-inlaw,

in the latest wave of clemency to

benefit longtime associates and

supporters, repots UNB.

The actions, in Trump's final weeks at

the White House, bring to nearly 50 the

number of people whom the president in

the last two days has granted clemency.

Pardons are common in the final stretch

of a president's tenure, but Trump has

proven himself determined to use his

clemency power not only to reward his

allies but to support the causes of

convicts championed by his friends. The

pardons of Manafort and Roger Stone,

who months earlier had his sentence

commuted by Trump, underscore the

president's desire to chip away at the

results of special counsel Robert

Mueller's investigation and to come to

the aid of associates he feels were

wrongly pursued. He has now pardoned

four people convicted in that

investigation, including former national

security adviser Michael Flynn and

campaign adviser George Papadopoulos,

who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

Manafort, who led Trump's campaign

during a pivotal 2016 period before being

ousted over his ties to Ukraine, had been

sentenced to more than seven years in

prison for financial crimes related to his

work in Ukraine. He was among the first

people charged as part of Mueller's

investigation into ties between the Trump

campaign and Russia. He was released to

home confinement last May because of

coronavirus concerns in the federal prison

system.

Though the charges against Manafort

did not concern the central thrust of

Mueller's mandate - whether the Trump

campaign and Russia colluded to tip the

election - he was nonetheless a pivotal

figure in the investigation. His close

relationship to a man U.S. officials have

linked to Russian intelligence, and with

whom he shared internal campaign polling

data, attracted particular scrutiny during

the investigation, though Mueller never

charged any Trump associate with

conspiring with Russia.

Manafort, in a tweet, thanked Trump

and lavished praise on the outgoing

president, declaring that history would

show he had accomplished more than any

of his predecessors.

Trump did not pardon Manafort's

deputy, Rick Gates, who was sentenced last

year to 45 days in prison but extensively

cooperated with prosecutors, or former

Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who

pleaded guilty to campaign finance crimes

related to his efforts to buy the silence of

women who said they had sexual

relationships with Trump. Both were also

convicted in the Mueller probe.

Kushner is the father of Trump's son-inlaw,

Jared Kushner, and a wealthy real

estate executive who pleaded guilty years

ago to tax evasion and making illegal

campaign donations. Trump and the elder

Kushner knew each other from real estate

circles and their children were married in

2009.

COVID-19: India registers

24,712 fresh cases

NEW DELHI : India's COVID-19 caseload

rose to 1,01,23,778 with 24,712 new

infections being reported in a day, while the

recoveries have surged to 96.93 lakh,

according to the Union Health Ministry data

updated on Thursday, repots BSS.

The death toll increased to 1,46,756 with

312 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am

showed.

The number of people who have

recuperated from the disease surged to

96,93,173 pushing the national recovery rate

to 95.75 per cent, while the COVID-19 case

fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent.

The COVID-19 active caseload remained

below 3 lakh for the third consecutive day.

There are 2,83,849 active coronavirus

infections in the country which comprises

2.80 per cent of the total caseload, the data

stated.

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-

lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August

23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on

September 16. It went past 60 lakh on

September 28, 70 lakh on October 11,

crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on

November 20 and surpassed the one-crore

mark on December 19.

It is also part of the international

COVAX mechanism aimed at ensuring

equitable access for all countries, which

allows it to buy 51.6 million additional

vaccines.

Colombian

reporter dies

of gunshot

wounds

BOGOTA : A Colombian

journalist who had

covered organized crime

died Wednesday two days

after suffering multiple

gunshot wounds in Cali, in

the southwest of the

country, his newspaper

said, repots BSS.

"Felipe Guevara, our

crime reporter, died this

Wednesday afternoon

after being injured in an

attack on Monday

evening," said the

newspaper Q'hubo on its

Twitter account.

Guevara, 27 had

reported death threats to

the police since 2017,

Cali's mayor Jorge Ivan

Ospina said at a press

conference, where he

offered a reward of up to

$15,000 for any

information on the killers.

Although police had

initially denied the attack

against Guevara was

linked to his work as a

reporter

and

photographer, Ospina said

the authorities were

studying "all possible

hypotheses" as to the

motives for the killing.

According to the Press

Freedom Foundation

(FLIP), Guevara had had

to leave the neighborhood

where he was fatally

injured in 2017, following

threats "after he had

written about a criminal

gang operating in this

area."

He had reported new

threats "in 2018 and

August of this year," FLIP

added in a statement.

"It is worrying that the

national police initially

rule out the fact that the

attack on Guevara could

be linked to his work as a

journalist," said the

foundation.

Juliette de Rivero,

representative in

Colombia of the UN High

Commissioner for Human

Rights, denounced the

crime and called "for a

rapid and effective

investigation to punish

those responsible".

Russia sets

records for virus

cases, deaths

MOSCOW : Russia on

Thursday registered record

numbers for daily infections

and deaths from the

coronavirus, as the country

avoids reimposing a

nationwide lockdown,

repots BSS.

Health officials reported

29,935 new infections,

bringing the country's

caseload to 2,963,688 - the

fourth-highest in the world.

They also registered 635

deaths, increasing total

fatalities to 53,096 since the

beginning of the pandemic.

Russia's death rate is

much lower than that of

other badly hit countries,

raising concerns that

authorities could be

downplaying the scale of the

outbreak.

Data published by the

country's statistics service

earlier this month indicated

excess deaths of nearly

165,000 year-on-year

between March and

October, suggesting virus

deaths could be much

higher.

Officials on Wednesday

also registered a record

number of new infections in

the capital Moscow, the

epicentre of Russia's

outbreak.

The records came after

officials said that Russia

does not need to reintroduce

a nationwide lockdown like

the one at the start of the

pandemic in the spring.

During his annual end-ofyear

press conference last

week, President Vladimir

Putin rejected the idea of

imposing the kind of

lockdown many European

countries have introduced

going into the Christmas

holidays.

A driver walks next to lorries parked on the M20 motorway towards Eurotunnel and the

Port of Dover, as EU countries impose a travel ban from the UK following the coronavirus

disease outbreak, in Folkestone, Britain December 21, 2020. Photo: Reuters

EU transport boss criticises

France on UK truck delays

BRUSSELS : The EU transport commissioner

warned Thursday that 10,000 European

truckers were struggling to return from Britain

and criticised France for imposing coronavirus

restrictions on them, repots BSS.

Several countries around Europe and the

world imposed bans on travel from the UK

this week after the discovery of a new strain

of the virus. "We issued a communication

appealing for proportional, nondiscriminatory

measures and the lift of any

restrictions for transport workers," Adina

Valean said.

"I deplore that France went against our

recommendations," she tweeted.

But France's minister for European Affairs,

Clement Beaune, denied this, responding

angrily in a tweet replying to a British

journalist.

"We have exactly followed the EU

recommendation (opening with tests) and

are now more open than other European

countries, having worked jointly with the UK

authorities on this protocol."

France's decision to restrict traffic has had

the most impact, with trains and ferries

across the Channel halted for 48-hours huge

freight traffic jams built up in southeast

England. "Around 10,000 truck drivers are

seeking to get back in the EU. Other

thousands are already in the Dover area in

their vehicles," Valean, the European

commissioner for transport, said.

"We worked hard these days to unblock a

crisis between two European countries,

France and the UK," she said. "I am pleased

that, at this moment, we have trucks slowly

crossing the Channel."

On Tuesday, the European Commission

advised member states should drop the

blanket ban, and France agreed to allow in

drivers if they had negative Covid-19 tests.

But Brussels had suggested exempting

transport workers from this restriction.

"And I want to thank the UK authorities

that they started testing the drivers at a

capacity of 300 tests per hour," Valean said.

And she compared the situation to the

breakdown in coordination between

European capitals in March that hampered

early efforts to contain the virus "when the

supply chains were interrupted."

Niger set for historic transition

in presidential vote

NIAMEY: Niger hopes to make history

on Sunday when elections set it on

course for its first-ever peaceful

transition of power despite a raging

Islamist insurgency and economic

woes, repots BSS.

The world's poorest country by a key

UN benchmark, the Sahel nation has

never had two elected leaders hand

over power since independence from

France 60 years ago - the last coup was

only a decade ago.

The man who has been in charge

since then, President Mahamadou

Issoufou, has gained high marks for

announcing that he will hand the baton

to his elected successor.

Two other nations in West Africa,

Guinea and Ivory Coast, have been

rocked by violence this year after their

heads of state pushed through changes

to the constitution.

They declared their counter on

presidential limits had been reset to

zero, enabling them to bid for a third

spell in office - a move that triggered

bloody protests.

"My most burning desire is to hand

over power in 2021 to a democraticallyelected

successor," Issoufou has said.

"This will be my finest achievement -

it will be a first in the history of our

country." French President Emmanuel

Macron has heaped praise on Issoufou,

describing him as an "example for

democracy" while his foreign minister,

Jean-Yves Le Drian, declared "the

quality of the (December 27) elections

will be a benchmark for all of Africa."

Others have sounded a more

sceptical tone, pointing to the

dominant role played by the army,

which in 2010 forced out a highly

popular president, Mamadou Tandja,

who had his eyes on a third term.

Issoufou "isn't bidding for a third

term because he doesn't want it, but

because he doesn't have the choice,"

said Bounty Diallo, a former soldier

and professor at the University of

Niamey.

Another flaw in the rosy picture is the

absence of a prominent opposition

candidate.

Former prime minister Hama

Amadou, 70, was last month barred

from contesting the vote on the

grounds that in 2017 he was handed a

12-month term for alleged baby

trafficking - a charge he says was bogus.

In March, he was given a presidential

pardon as he was seeing out his

sentence. Mohamed Bazoum, 60, a

former interior and foreign minister

who is Issoufou's designated successor,

is the front-runner on Sunday, after a

campaign dominated by the issue of

security.

Niger is being hammered by jihadists

from neighbouring Mali and from

Nigeria, the cradle of the decade-old

insurgency launched by Boko Haram,

and by armed gangs.

Last year more than 250 people died

and there were more than 250

kidnappings, according to UN figures.

Jihadist attacks have displaced

hundreds of thousands of people and

have come closer and closer to the

capital Niamey.

In August, six French tourists and

their two Nigerien guides were

slaughtered in the Koure National

Park, just 60 kilometres (37 miles)

from the city.

On December 12, 34 people were

massacred in a Boko Haram attack in

the southeastern region of Diffa on the

eve of repeatedly delayed municipal

and regional elections.

"Our country is huge and surrounded

by areas of insecurity," Bazoum told

the French radio station RFI last

month.

"This calls for more means, especially

more troops… but without causing us

to sacrifice what is necessary, which is

the education and wellbeing of our

people."

Muhammed Bello, a rescued student, is carried by his father as his relatives celebrate after he

retuned home in Kankara, Nigeria, December 19, 2020.

Photo: REUTERS

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25 , 2020 8

Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited has opened 184th branch at Thakurgaon of Dhaka recently. Managing

Director and CEO Farman R Chowdhury inaugurated the new branch as Chief Guest virtually by using digital

platform. Deputy Manging Directors Md. Fazlul Karim, S M Jaffar, Shabbir Ahmed, Md. Shafiqur Rahman,

Syed Masodul Bari and Md. Mahmudur Rahman were present in the occasion.Senior Executive Vice

President Muhammed Nadim, Kazi Mahmood Karim, Senior Vice President and Head of Bogura Zone Md.

Mostafizur Rahman, Vice President and Shariah Secretary Md. Abdur Rahim Khan were also present in the

occasion. Executive Vice President Engr. Md. Habib Ullah conducted by the ceremony. Managing Director

and CEO of the Bank Farman R Chowdhury explained various statistics of the Bank and he ensured best services

for clients. He invited all to have the blessings of Islamic banking services in the new branch. He also

said, Islamic banking system can boost-up the economy of the country.

Photo: Courtesy

Padma Bank opens its 58th

branch at Pragati Sarani

Padma Bank Ltd opened a

new state state-of-the-art

branch at Pragati Sarani,

Middle Badda recently. With

the opening of the branch, the

bank now has 58 branches, a

press release said.

Padma Bank's Managing

Director (Current Charge)

Faisal Ahsan Chowdhury

presided over the inaugural

ceremony. Zabed Amin,

SEVP and Head of business,

M. Ahsan Ullah Khan, SEVP

and Head of Human

Resources Division, Feroze

Alam, SEVP and Head of

RMD & Law, CFO Shoriful

Islam, Sabbir Mohammad

Sayem EVP & Head of Branch

were present on the occasion.

Local dignitaries welcomed

the new endeavor of Padma

Bank.

Chowdhury urged the

Padma Bank authority to

provide technology based

banking services to the door

steps of clients. He said,

Padma Bank has provided

100% service to its customers

during the COVID-19

pandemic. All the branches

were kept open for client's

convenience. Customers of

this area will enjoy our techno

based banking facilities.

Notable services of Pragati

Sarani branch include all

banking services including

remittance services, cash

transaction facility, fund

transfer, utility bill

acceptance, card services

and internet banking.

Besides, Padma Bank has

come up with the app facility

'Padma Wallet' to make the

banking activities of the

customers easy and

comfortable. Customers can

easily send money to any

bKash number using Padma

i-Banking app.

JPMorgan Chase

urges Biden team

to enact more

stimulus

NEW YORK : JPMorgan

Chase is urging the incoming

Biden administration to

support additional aid to

people left jobless by the

Covid-19 pandemic as a way

to address income inequality,

a banking source said

Monday, reports BSS.

In a list of

recommendations to the

President-elect's team, the

giant US bank said the

coronavirus pandemic was

"straining… families'

economic mobility and

restricting the US economy,"

citing in particular the August

expiration of extra $600

weekly payments from the

government to the

unemployed.

Recipients of that aid cut

spending by 14 percent after

their expiration that month,

and the decline shows no sign

of "having plateaued,

suggesting that spending

among the unemployed could

likely decline further," the

bank said.

"While the unemployed

roughly doubled their liquid

savings over the four-month

period between March and

July 2020, they spent two

thirds of accumulated savings

in August alone."

Walton approves 200pc cash dividend

The shareholders of Walton

Hi-Tech Industries Limited,

in its 14th Annual General

Meeting (AGM), has

approved 200 percent cash

dividend for the general

shareholders and also 75

percent cash dividend for

sponsors and directors for the

financial year 2019-2020,

says a press release.

The dividend was approved

in the presence of a good

number of shareholders in its

AGM held on virtual platform

on Wednesday (December 23,

2020).

Along with the dividend,

other issues such as the

company's financial

statement for the FY 2019-

2020, directors' and auditors'

reports, director's retirement

and re-appointment,

appointment of the managing

director and independent

directors, statutory and

secretarial auditors'

appointment and fixation of

their remuneration were

being approved.

The general investors gave

their thanks messages on the

virtual platform to the board

of directors for declaration of

200 percent cash dividend.

Expressing satisfaction on

the company's overall

business performance in the

coronavirus pandemic

situation, the general

investors hoped that

company's such performance

will be sustained in future.

The company's Vice

Chairman S M Shamsul Alam

presided over the meeting.

Among others, the company's

directors S M Ashraful Alam,

S M Mahbubul Alam, S M

Rezaul Alam, S M Monjurul

Alam Ovee, Tahmina Afrose

Tanna, Raisa Sigma Hima,

Dr. Ahsan H Mansur, Samsul

Alam Mallick, FCA, Professor

Dr. M. Sadiqul Islam, Phd,

FCA, Professor Dr. Zakir

Hossain Bhuiyan, Phd,

WHIL's Managing Director

Engineer Golam Murshed,

Additional Managing

Directors Abul Bashar

Howlader, Deputy Managing

Directors Nazrul Islam

Sarker, Eva Rezwana Nilu,

Amdadul Haque Sarker and

Alamgir Alam Sarker, Chief

Financial Officer Md. Omar

Faruque Ripon, FCA,

Company's Secretary Partha

Protim Das FCS and some

others higher officials of the

company were also present.

As of June 30, 2020,

Walton Hi-Tech's earnings

per share (EPS) was Tk 24.21

while its diluted EPS was

recorded at Tk 24.10 and net

asset value per share (NAVPS)

stood at Tk 264.48 (with

revaluation).

Mentionable, Walton is the

first listed Bangladeshi

electronics manufacturing

company in capital market.

The company made the debut

on Dhaka and Chittagong

stock exchanges on

September 23, this year.

IUB recognizes & awards its employees

Independent University,

Bangladesh (IUB) recognized

& awarded its faculty & staff

members for accomplishing

grand successes and making

outstanding contributions

towards the glorious

achievements of the

University over the last three

decades. The Employee

Recognition & Awards

Ceremony of IUB took place

at the at the university

premises in Bashundhara

R/A Dhaka recently, a press

release said.

In total 138 employees were

awarded from different

categories while 23 Units

received the awards for

outstanding performances.

The criteria for the awards

were: (i) Length of Service, (ii)

Teaching Excellence, (iii)

Number of Citations (Google

Scholar), (iv) Publication

Excellence, (v) Student

Service Excellence, (vi)

Outstanding

Staff

Performance and (vii)

Exceptional Services during

the Covid-19 Pandemic. The

awardees received Crests,

Certificates other incentives

Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) recognized & awarded its faculty

& staff members for accomplishing grand successes and making outstanding

contributions towards the glorious achievements of the

University over the last three decades.

Photo: Courtesy

for their splendid awardees. During the while the event was

attainments.

occasion, they appreciated & moderated by Romita

Through the unforgettable acknowledged the exceptional Zaman, Assistant Director,

celebration moments, A contributions that the Office of the Vice Chancellor

Matin Chowdhury, Chairman, employees made to make IUB at IUB.

Board of Trustees, Trustees as one of the topmost All members from the

of the University and Prof. universities of the country. faculty and administration

Milan Pagon, Vice Chancellor Khandker Md. Iftekhar were present in this

(Acting) distributed the Haider, Treasurer, IUB remarkable event along with

awards & prizes among all delivered Vote of Thanks other invited guests.

Mercantile Bank Ltd opened its 150th Branch at Nikunja in Dhaka recently. Morshed Alam M.P., Chairman of

the Bank inaugurated the Branch virtually as the chief guest. M. Amanullah, Vice Chairman of the Bank opened

the branch by cutting inaugural ribbon along with the invited guests at branch premises. Bank's Managing

Director & CEO Md. Quamrul Islam Chowdhury delivered his welcome speech on the opening ceremony.

Akram Hossain (Humayun), Vice Chairman; A.K.M. Shaheed Reza, Chairman, Mercantile Bank Foundation; M

A Khan Belal, Chairman, Mercantile Bank Securities Ltd.; A. S. M. Feroz Alam and Mosharref Hossain,

Directors of the Bank were connected to the ceremony virtually. Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, Editor, The Daily

Observer and Chairman, DBC, Kazi Sanaul Haq, Managing Director, Dhaka Stock Exchange and Amin Ahmed,

Chairman, Best Holdings Group spoke on the occasion. Faruque Ahmed, AVP & Head of Nikunja Branch gave

his vote of thanks. Deputy Managing Director Shamim Ahmed was present. Among others, elite businessman,

Senior Executives & Officers of the Bank, invited guests were present on the occasion. Photo: Courtesy

The Gunagari sub-branch of Union Bank Ltd has been inaugurated at Banshkhali, Chottogram in compliance

with the self-regulation in the belief of providing modern technology based banking services based

on Shariah. As the chief guest, the bank's head office, Dhaka, inaugurated the Gunagari sub-branch

through video conferencing. B. M. Mokammel Haque Chowdhury .Former State Minister for Forests and

Environment Zafrul Islam Chowdhury, Chairman of Banshkhali Upazila Parishad Chowdhury

Mohammad Ghalib Sadli, Deputy Managing Directors of Union Bank Hasan Iqbal and Md. Nazrul Islam

were present as special guests.

Photo: Courtesy

Deal or no deal, Britain to pay

high price for Brexit

LONDON: Brexiteers have long

argued that leaving the European Union,

with or without a trade deal, would

herald Britain's so-called sunlit uplands

of economic prosperity, reports BSS.

But the outlook remains uncertain, as

the economy struggles to recover from a

recession sparked by the coronavirus

outbreak.

Despite eye-wateringly costly

emergency state interventions, including

the subsidy of private-sector wages, a

bounce back does not look to be on the

cards for months, if not years.

Britain will nevertheless embark upon

life outside its main trading partner on

January 1, 2021, leaving the EU single

market and customs union that

benefitted "UK plc" for decades.

The nation officially left the EU in

January but is currently locked in a

Brexit transition period that means the

bloc's rules still apply until December 31.

Many analysts predict Brexit will

unleash even more painful economic

damage, delivering another hammer

blow just as the Covid-19 fallout begins

to ease with the advent of vaccines.

Just how much harm it will do hinges

on the outcome of fractious trade talks

between Brussels and the government of

Britain's pro-Brexit Conservative Prime

Minister Boris Johnson, which have

gone down to the wire. Capital

Economics analyst Thomas Pugh says

there will inevitably be disruption but

predicts it might not be long lasting.

"If there were a deal it would probably

mean no tariffs or quotas on goods, and

trade in services would probably remain

similar to how it is now," Pugh said in a

research note, also sounding optimism

over a possible deal for key financial

services.

In the absence of an agreement,

Britain will revert to World Trade

Organization (WTO) rules which would

see tariffs imposed on a wide range or

products, from car parts to beef.

UK companies would face an

overnight spike in their costs - which

they are expected to pass on to

consumers in the form of higher prices,

particularly for imported fresh food

products.

"There would be some inevitable

disruption as firms get used to the new

rules - there will be 'rules of origin'

checks for the first time in many years,"

predicted Pugh.

"But the period of disruption should be

relatively short-lived."

At the same time, even a Brexit trade

deal would not be as advantageous as

being part of the EU's single market,

which ensures a smooth flow of trade

across the continent.

The Bank of England has forecast that

slumping exports and supply-chain

disruption arising from no-deal could

send the UK economy shrinking by 1.0

percent in the first quarter of 2021.

FRIDAY, DeCeMBeR 25, 2020

9

Benzema netted two identical headers to secure Real Madrid a place in the Champions League last

16 with a 2-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Benzema takes Real

Madrid into Champions

League last 16

SportS DeSk:

karim Benzema netted

two identical headers to

secure real Madrid a place

in the Champions League

last 16 with a 2-0 win over

Borussia

Moenchengladbach on

Wednesday, easing the

pressure on coach Zinedine

Zidane, reports BSS.

record 13-time

champions Madrid started

the night in third place, at

risk of failing to qualify

from the group stage for

the first time in their

history and dropping into

the europa League, but

delivered an assured

performance at the Alfredo

di Stefano stadium.

Madrid finished as group

winners on 10 points,

ahead of runners-up

Gladbach on eight despite

the defeat, as Shakhtar

Donetsk and Inter Milan

drew 0-0 in the other

Group B clash.

president Florentino

perez was spotted in the

tunnel before the game and

his presence seemed to

focus Madrid minds, as

they put on their best

performance of the season

in their most important

game so far.

"It was a good game for

us," Benzema told

Movistar. "each match is a

final and I think that if we

always play how we did

today, no team can hurt us.

"this was a very difficult

game, we started it well

and with the desire to show

that we are the best."

Makeshift right-back

Lucas Vazquez curled in a

cross and Benzema

produced a fine header to

break the deadlock after

just nine minutes.

Madrid kept an iron grip

on the game until

Gladbach forward

Alassane plea broke free

but dinked wide of thibaut

Courtois' goal.

Benzema doubled the

lead with a clone of his first

strike, nodding home from

rodrygo's cross from the

right in the 32nd minute.

Madrid came close to

adding a third from the

same avenue, with Vazquez

crossing for the evergreen

Luka Modric, but Yann

Sommer tipped his effort

onto the post.

the Croatian midfielder,

35, lashed home shortly

afterwards but the strike

was ruled out for an offside

call against raphael

Varane in the build-up.

Madrid continued to

dominate after the break,

looking back to their best

ahead of the weekend

derby clash in La Liga with

Atletico Madrid.

Sommer made a brilliant

save to claw out a header

from Madrid captain

Sergio ramos on his return

from injury, with Benzema

crashing the rebound

against the crossbar.

Vazquez drilled an effort

against the near post as

Zidane's rampant side

coasted to victory, allowing

the coach some breathing

room after a troubled start

to the season.

two defeats by Shakhtar

Donetsk had left Madrid in

a tight spot in the

Champions League and

their situation was

compounded by

disappointing losses

against Cadiz, Valencia and

Alaves in La Liga.

"the objective was to

finish first and we did it," a

proud Zidane told

Movistar. "We played a

spectacular game today. I

think it was our most

complete of the season,

from minute one to the end

we did very well."

Gladbach created little of

note and found it

impossible to escape

Madrid's relentless press,

showing few similarities to

the side which almost

shocked the Spanish

champions in the 2-2 draw

they shared in october.

"It's really amazing, we

played our worst game of

the whole group stage

today, but we are still

through, and deservedly

so," Gladbach captain Lars

Stindl told DAZN.

the visiting players

gathered around an

electronic tablet at the end

of the game to watch the

final moments of Inter's

draw with Shakhtar, before

they could celebrate

reaching the Champions

League last 16 for the first

time.

"It was a strange feeling

because we couldn't really

be happy after our game.

We just had to hope, and

the emotion flooded out at

the end," Gladbach

midfielder Christoph

kramer added on Sky. "We

deserved to go through,

even if we had no chance

against real Madrid."

NZ captain Williamson

to face Windies despite

imminent childbirth

SportS DeSk:

New Zealand captain and

batting mainstay kane

Williamson confirmed

thursday he will play in the

second test against the West

Indies in Wellington despite

the imminent arrival of his

first child, reports BSS.

Williamson had the Black

Caps sweating on his

availability for the start of the

match Friday after leaving the

squad to take a 500-kilometre

trip home to tauranga to be

with his wife.

He had previously said the

baby was due "mid-to-late

December". Cricket does not

allow for substitutions if he

had to leave during the test.

New Zealand coach Gary

Stead said Williamson, who

had been given until the end

of the day to make a decision,

had confirmed mid-afternoon

he was "confident" of taking

his place in the side.

Williamson, ranked the

second-best batsman in the

world behind Australian Steve

Smith and equal with India's

Virat kohli, provided the

backbone of New Zealand's

comprehensive innings

victory in the first test with an

epic career-best 251.

Stead said there had been

no pressure on Williamson to

play as New Zealand look to

extend their 14-test home

unbeaten streak.

"We want to support kane

and Sarah in the decision they

come to, and whatever way he

chooses to go we will support

him in that," Stead said

shortly before Williamson

confirmed he would play.

"they're the two sitting

there with the decision in

front of them."

Stead said the only issue still

to be resolved following

Williamson's decision was

whether to replace allrounder

Daryl Mitchell with

spinner Mitchell Santner in

an otherwise unchanged side.

New Zealand captain and batting mainstay Kane Williamson confirmed Thursday he will play in the

second Test against the West Indies in Wellington.

Photo: AP

South Africa

cricket team to

tour pakistan

SportS DeSk:

South Africa will make their

first tour of pakistan in 14

years when they play two test

matches and three twenty20

internationals in the Asian

country in January and

February 2021, reports BSS.

Cricket South Africa

announced on Wednesday

that the decision had been

made following a visit to

pakistan by a security

delegation recently.

the South Africans will

arrive in karachi on January

16 and undergo a period of

quarantine before the first

test in the same city from

January 26 to 30.

the second test will be in

rawalpindi from February 4

to 8, followed by three t20

internationals in Lahore on

February 11, 13 and 14.

the test series will be part

of the International Cricket

Council's test championship.

South Africa has not toured

pakistan since 2007 when

they won a two-test series 1-

0.

the proteas will be the

fourth international team to

visit pakistan since an attack

on the Sri Lankan team in

Lahore in 2009 put a decadelong

halt to tours of the

country.

Smith revved up for test

clashes after missing last

India series

SportS DeSk:

Steve Smith admitted

thursday he was pumped to

play his first test in almost a

year, revealing how hard it

was to miss India's last series

in Australia when he was

banned for ball-tampering,

reports BSS.

the two sides meet in a

day-night test in Adelaide

from December 17, the first

of four clashes over a

blockbuster summer.

It will be Smith's first redball

international since the

final test against New

Zealand at the Sydney

Cricket Ground in January

before coronavirus caused

havoc.

"Very excited, I love test

cricket, it's my favourite

form of the game no doubt.

It challenges you in so many

different ways," Smith,

bubbling with enthusiasm,

said on a Zoom call from

Adelaide.

"So excited to get back out

and play some long-form

cricket. It's been close to a

year since our last game.

Can't wait - all the boys are

really keen to get out there

and play as well."

Making it extra special for

Smith is that he missed

India's historic first test

series win in Australia in

2018-19 when he was

serving his 12-month

suspension.

Smith skippered the team

until he was banned for a

year in 2018 over a brazen

attempt under his watch to

alter the ball with sandpaper

in Cape town.

"I watched bits and

pieces," he said of the tour.

"It was difficult sitting on the

sidelines and not being able

to go out there and make a

difference.

"that was the toughest

thing for me, knowing that I

probably could make a

difference if I was out there.

So that was hard. But it's an

exciting series coming up."

Both teams face selection

problems. India's opening

batsman rohit Sharma and

pace bowler Ishant Sharma

are both injured.

Australia will be missing

opener David Warner for the

opening test after he injured

a groin in the recent whiteball

series but young

prospect Will pucovski, who

was heavily tipped to replace

him, suffered concussion

Steve Smith admitted Thursday he was pumped to play his first Test in almost a year.

'Homesick' Chinese

teams stuck in Qatar

after Champions

League exit

SportS DeSk:

Guangzhou evergrande

players say they are homesick

and desperate to return to

China after being stuck in

Qatar following their

elimination from the AFC

Champions League, reports

BSS.

Fabio Cannavaro's side are

among three Chinese Super

League teams still in Qatar

despite being knocked out of

the competition, with reports

saying they are awaiting

approval for a charter flight.

the others are Shanghai

clubs Shenhua and SIpG, with

the former already stewing for

a week since their continental

title bid ended.

this year's delayed

Champions League is taking

place behind closed doors in a

secure "bubble" in Qatar

because of the coronavirus

pandemic.

Beforehand, global

footballers union FIFpro

accused the Asian Football

Confederation of failing to

consult players about moving

the tournament to the nation

hosting the 2022 World Cup.

With their season over and

Cannavaro seemingly on the

brink of the sack,

evergrande's players have

broken rank.

Midfielder Yan Dinghao

wrote on the twitter-like

Weibo that he was on "the

edge of collapse, really

homesick".

against India A this week.

Various scenarios have

been touted should pucovski

fail to recover, from

elevating Marnus

Labuschagne or Matthew

Wade to open, to recalling

Marcus Harris or even

Usman khawaja.

Smith said it wouldn't

trouble him if Labuschange

opened and he was moved

up to bat at three from four.

"that doesn't bother me

too much, I've batted a fair

bit at number three. three

or four, any lower than four

and I wouldn't be overly

happy, but anywhere out

there I'm fine," he said.

Smith, who has played 73

tests, scoring more than

13,000 runs, including 26

centuries, admitted

Warner's absence would be

felt.

"I think our depth is

obviously going to be tested

with Davey out and a few

potentially new players

coming in, so it's test for us

against a good Indian

outfit," he said.

"Whoever is out there and

in the team, hopefully we all

do our job and have a

successful summer."

Photo: AP

Italy’s 1982 World Cup hero

paolo rossi dead at 64

SportS DeSk:

paolo rossi, a hero of Italian

football who fired the Azzurri

to victory in the 1982 World

Cup, has died aged 64,

prompting an outpouring of

grief and tributes, report BSS.

rossi's wife Federica

Cappelletti announced the

death with a post on

Instagram alongside a photo

of the couple, accompanied by

the comment "Forever,"

followed by a heart.

"there will never be anyone

like you, unique, special, after

you the absolute nothing….,"

Cappelletti also wrote on

Facebook.

the cause of his death was

not revealed but Italian media

reported that rossi had been

suffering from "an uncurable

disease".

tributes were paid to

'pablito', the star who was

banned for three years for his

part in a betting scandal, but

returned to win the World

Cup in Spain and the Ballon

D'or the same year.

Despite breaking in the

early hours, Italian media

splashed with the news, while

social media lit up with

tributes and "paolo rossi" was

Italy's number one trending

search item.

"Football and Italy mourns

paolo rossi," headlined the

Gazzetta dello Sport, as La

Stampa called him the "hero

of Spain '82".

the news of his passing

comes two weeks after the

death of Argentina football

legend Diego Maradona,

winner of the 1986 World

Cup.

rossi won the hearts of

Italian fans during the

summer of 1982, when his

goals dragged enzo Bearzot's

Azzurri to a third world title.

Italy started the tournament

with three uninspiring draws

before they came to life and

marched to the title.

But Italy's sporting icon

almost missed out on the

tournament.

He was caught up in a

bribery scandal and banned

for three years in 1980, but

after continually protesting

his innocence was cleared to

play after two.

A slight and sprightly

winger who converted to

centre-forward, rossi had an

uncanny ability to be in the

right place at the right time.

He exploded onto the stage

of the 1982 tournament with a

hat-trick in the 3-2 defeat of

Brazil.

In the semi-finals he scored

both goals as Italy beat poland

2-0, and he hit the opener in

the 3-1 win over West

Germany in the final.

rossi finished top scorer in

the tournament with six goals.

He was also a member of

the Italy side that finished

fourth in Argentina in 1978.

Along with Christian Vieri

and roberto Baggio, he holds

the Italian record for nine

goals scored in the World

Cup.

He scored 20 goals in 48

appearances for Italy and was

voted european Footballer of

the Year in 1982.

Born in prato in tuscany,

rossi made his professional

debut at Juventus in 1973, but

his initial two-year spell at the

turin club was blighted by

knee injuries.

His first club successes were

with Vicenza where he was the

top scorer in Serie B with 21

goals in the 1976-1977 season,

and helped the club into the

top flight.

the following season

Vicenza challenged Juventus

for the league title and rossi

finished the season as top

Serie A scorer with 24 goals.

He spent another season

with Vicenza but following

relegation he left for a loan

spell at perugia, becoming

embroiled in the 1980 matchfixing

scandal known in Italy

as totonero.

As a result, rossi missed out

on the 1980 european

Championship, where Italy

finished fourth on home soil.

After his suspension rossi

returned to Juventus, and the

1983-1984 season was his

most successful at club level.

He formed a formidable

partnership with Michel

platini and Zbigniew Boniek

and accumulated trophies -

two Serie A, the Italian Cup,

Cup of Cups, and european

Supercup.

In 1985, Juventus won the

european Cup amid the

tragedy of the Heysel Stadium

final, where 39 fans were

killed, which was to be rossi's

last match with the

'Bianconeri'.

He went to rivals AC Milan

for an unsuccessful season

which wsa overshadowed by

injury, as was his final season

at Hellas Verona.

FRIDAY, DeceMBeR 25, 2020

10

Playwright Mannan

Hira departs

Sense of humour just like me : Tahsan

TBT RepoRT

Daughter of popular singer-actor Tahsan Rahman

Khan and actress Rafiath Rashid Mithila is now

enjoying time with her father.

After spending several months in Kolkata with

her mother, Ayra is now back in Dhaka. In the

meantime, Tahsan shared experience of some

funny moments with daughter in his Instagram.

Little Ayra is making fun in English with

Instagram filter. Tahsan and Mithila both

commented on the post.

"Sense of humour is just like me," Tahsan wrote with

a smiley emoji. Mithila agreed with him.

Mentionable, Tahsan and Mithila got married in

2006 and Ayra was born in 2013. The couple

announced their separation in mid-2016. Mithila

married producer Srijit Mukherjee last year. Since

then, Ayra is in regular journey between Dhaka and

Kolkata with her mother.

Dramatist, playwright and

former president of

Bangladesh Pothnatok

Parishad Mannan Hira has

passed away, reports UNB.

He breathed his last at

8:30pm on Wednesday at a

hospital in the capital,

Bangladesh Shilpakala

Academy Public Relations

Officer Hasan Mahmud

confirmed.

The 64-year-old playwright

was rushed to the hospital

immediately following a

heart attack. He died shortly

after being taken there.

Known as one of the most

eminent dramatists of

Bangladesh's television and

theatre arena, Hira also had

made great contributions to

the development of Poth

Natok (street play) in the

country.

He wrote 15 theatre plays

including "Laal Jamin,"

"Bhager Manush," and

"Moyur Singhasan." Hira

also wrote and directed

many street plays,

including "Murkho Loker

Murkho Kotha." He

debuted on the silver

screen as a director in the

g o v e r n m e n t - f u n d e d

children's film "Ekattorer

Khudiram" in 2014.

Bangla Academy Award

winner Hira was also a senior

member of Aranyak Natya

Dal.

Priyanka Chopra

stranded in

UK: COVID-19

Ilias Kanchan celebrates

64th birthday

TBT RepoRT

Prominent and evergreen actor

Ilias Kanchan celebrates his 64th

birthday yesterday. He is capable

of presenting himself in any kinds

of movies very easily.

Ilias Kanchan was born on

December 24, 1956, in Karimganj,

Kishoreganj to father Abdul and

mother Sharufa Khatun. He was

very much interested in media

world since his early life. He has

already acted in more than 350

movies his career during 1980s

and 1990s.

He was a brilliant student,

completed HSC from Kabi Nazrul

College in 1975. At first, admitted

at Jagannath University but he

left the university as, got a chance

in Dhaka University in Sociology

although he did not continue his

study here. He wanted to be a

doctor in early life, but he made

his career in the showbiz arena

successfully. Ilias Kanchan made

debut in the film industry with the

film 'Boshundhora' in 1977. Then,

he acted in various commercially

successful movies and added a

dimension in the Dhallywood film

industry with his acting quality.

'Beder Meye Joshna' is the most

popular film, acted by Kanchan.

In 1989, he acted in this film and

made a history in the Dhallywood

film industry. The most

commercial success film is still a

mythical story in Dhallywood. The

film directed by Tojammel Haque

Bakul, Kanchan has acted

opposite to Anju Ghosh.

Over time, the actor has become

the legend in the film industry of

the Dhallywood's golden area. He

made a number of popular pairs

in his long acting career. In

addition to Anju Ghosh, he made

best pair with Diti, Champa.

Kanchan also paired with Rozina,

Kabita, Suchitra, Sunetra, Shilpi,

Moushumi, Popi.

Once upon a time, due to

obscenity in the film, he had to

move away from acting. On the

basis of the story of Rabindranath

Tagore, he won the National Film

Award for Best Supporting Actor

in a film directed by Chashi

Nazrul Islam in 2005. In 2006, he

acted in 'Nirantar' directed by Abu

Sayeed. The film is shown in

several international films.

In addition to acting, he also

produced films. His production

company named 'Joy

Cholochitro'. The first film of his

production is 'Matir Kosom'. In

2008, he first directed a film

'Baba Amar Baba'.

He made a place in fans' heart

through the film 'Boshundhora',

'Doya Maya', 'Dumurer Ful',

'Avijan', 'Chorom Aghat',

'Porinita', 'Veja Chokh', 'Beder

Meye Joshna', 'Attobissash',

'Sonkho Mela', 'Radha Krishna',

'Sohrab Rostam' etc.

The United Kingdom imposed a Tier 4

lockdown from Sunday to curb the spread

of a new variant of COVID-19, triggering a

domino effect in countries and across

industries. Among those finding

themselves stranded amid the lockdown is

actor Priyanka Chopra-Jonas.

Chopra was filming the Hollywood

romantic drama, Text For You, with Sam

Heughan in London since November 29.

While the schedule of the Jim Strousedirected

venture was to run well into

January, it is now heard that the

production team is making arrangements

for a quick return to the US, in the wake of

the travel restrictions that have been

imposed. "The producers have halted

production at the moment. Their top

priority is to ensure the safe return of the

cast and crew. Special permissions are

being sought to travel back to the US, but

the procedure may take longer than usual

with the lockdown rules becoming stricter

than ever before. It is possible that

Priyanka and the rest of the unit will have

to stay put in the UK for a while," says a

source.

The move has also impacted the

itinerary of Aftab Shivdasani, who had

returned to wife Nin and daughter Nevaeh

in England earlier this month. After

spending the holidays with his family, the

actor was to fly down to India to begin

work on his home production. "We are in

the process of finalising the dates for the

project. It won't roll before January

though," he says. Even as he rues that it

will be a muted Christmas in the wake of

Sex and the City limited reboot

in works at HBO Max

A reboot of HBO's popular

fashionista dramedy Sex

and the City is being eyed as

a limited event on the

streamer HBO Max.

Sources told Deadline, the

platform owned by parent

company WarnerMedia is

working out deals to bring

back the classic series,

which was based on

Candace Bushnell's book.

Created by Darren Star,

Sex and the City ran as a

half hour show as an HBO

original on the channel for

six seasons between 1998-

2004. It featured Sarah

Jessica Parker, Cynthia

Nixon, Kristin Davis and

Kim Cattrall as four friends

navigating relationships

and work in New York City.

According to The New York

Post, Parker, Davis and

Nixon are interested but

Cattrall - who led this year's

Fox series Filthy Rich- is

unlikely to feature in the

reboot. Cattrall, who played

Samantha Jones in the

recent developments, the actor believes it

is better to be safe than sorry. "We weren't

going to public places anyway because our

daughter is young. We didn't want to take

a risk." Sonam K Ahuja, who has been

stationed in the British capital with

husband Anand Ahuja since mid-July, will

spend the holiday season there.

Closer home, Bollywood films that were

to be shot in the UK have been put on hold

till the situation improves. Come January,

Neena Gupta and Kalki Koechlin-starrer

Goldfish was to go on floors in the Queen's

City. Gupta says she dialled director

Pushan Kripalani's number as soon as the

latest round of curfew was announced, to

determine the way forward. "We were

supposed to start shooting by Januaryend.

Now, the makers are waiting for

things to settle down. Unless the situation

stabilises, we will stay put," she says.

Rumours suggest that a major Bollywood

production was to roll in London next

month.

Source:mid-day.com

series, has long been firm

on her decision to never

come back to the fanfavourite

franchise.

The show's success

spawned two feature films

in 2008 and 2010. A third

movie was on the cards but

never came to fruition.

Cattrall previously said

the producers should look

for her replacement instead

of putting pressure on her

to return.

A prequel series, titled

The Carrie Diaries

launched, on The CW in

2013, with AnnaSophia

Robb playing a young

Carrie Bradshaw, and ran

for two seasons.

Sex and the City limited

series would mark the latest

HBO series to be rebooted

after it was revealed the

network is bringing back

True Blood and In

Treatment.

Source: gulfnews.com

H o R o s c o p e

ARIes

(March 21 - April 20) : You have strong

humanitarian instincts, Aries. You think

of your fellow humans more than most.

This, combined with your intuition and

empathy, makes you well suited for the healing

professions. If you've felt a bit disgruntled at work

lately, it may be that you're in the wrong career.

Consider training as a counselor or therapist. You

would be good at it and help a lot of people.

TAURUs

(April 21 - May 21) : You've been more

thoughtful lately and truer to yourself.

This is due to your recent introspection.

You really can change your life. All it

takes is time and commitment. You've made great

progress in your development. Continue on this path

and you will wind up in a much better place. Keep your

eye on the goal, but don't be so focused that you forget

to enjoy the journey.

GeMINI

(May 22 - June 21) : You're feeling confident

and more comfortable in your own skin than you

have in a long time, Gemini. You're so

accomplished, why are you the last one to

acknowledge it? Try to look up from your desk long enough to

socialize with friends and loved ones. You've been so focused on

work that your relationships may have suffered a bit. Spend some

quality time with those you care about, if possible.

cANceR

(June 22 - July 23) : It's time to loosen

up, Cancer. The planetary aspects bring a

new cycle of tolerance and

understanding your way. You could use a

bit of both. Take baby steps as you introduce the

kinder, gentler you to your friends and co-workers.

They won't accept a rapid transformation, but they

won't mind gradual changes. Listen more and speak

less. This can make a big difference in a relationship.

Leo

(July 24 - Aug. 23): Remember all

those resolutions you made in the past? It's

time to recommit to them. All signs indicate

that you need to take better care of yourself.

You've been so busy working that exercising has begun to

feel like a luxury you can't afford. Actually, exercise and

proper nutrition are luxuries you can't afford to ignore.

You're burning the candle at both ends. Stop before you

burn out completely!

VIRGo

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): This is an

auspicious time for you, Virgo. It gives you the

energy and enthusiasm to make the necessary

changes in your life. There is a lot of work to

do, but you're up to it! First focus on your relationships. Your

loved ones don't care about your professional successes. They

want (and perhaps need) to spend more time with you. Do

what you can to bring your life more into balance.

LIBRA

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): You have

tremendous creativity inside you, Libra.

Have you begun to use some of it? This

creative cycle will last for the next month

or so. Don't let it pass without taking advantage of it.

Use the other side of your brain for a change. Take up

sketching, painting, or fiction writing. What you do is

less important than doing something. The simple act

of creation unlocks the brain.

scoRpIo

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22): Get excited because

this is going to be one great day!

Everything will go your way. It will seem

as if you simply can't lose. At work, team

members look to you as the leader. At home, family

members express gratitude and affection. You may be

tempted to try this luck at the casino, but don't be

impulsive. You're already a winner. You've earned this

shining moment.

sAGITTARIUs

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): This is a good day for quiet

contemplation, Sagittarius. You may have

worried about finances lately, but there's no

longer any need to concern yourself. All signs

indicate that your financial fortunes are about to change. You've

been working hard and should reap some rewards. Today's

aspects suggest that you will. Enjoy your newfound peace of mind,

but don't go out and use the credit cards in celebration!

cApRIcoRN

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): Capricorn, you're bound to

enjoy this day! It's full of possibilities and

opportunities. It may begin routinely, but

keep your eyes and ears open for hints of

change. Your new adventure may come about in a

mundane way. You might meet someone in line at the

store who becomes a business partner. Or maybe you will

meet a romantic interest at the ATM. Adventure is all

around. Trust that you will find it!

AQUARIUs

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) : Forget about work

for a change and focus instead on your

love life! This is one area that can really

use some attention. There's no sense

waiting for your partner to do it. It's up to you. Why

not book a romantic weekend? It will do wonders for

your relationship and add spark just by anticipating

the fun you will have. Your commitment should

mean more than your independence.

pIsces

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : You greet the day

energized! Your confidence is at an all-time high

because of recent events. You have every reason

to be proud of what you've accomplished,

especially at work. But your love life could benefit from the same

level of commitment. Why not be proactive? Arrange a romantic

evening for you and your partner. What a difference a few hours

can make in your relationship!

FriDAY, DeCeMBer 25, 2020

11

The 43rd Annual General Meeting of Sonali Paper & Board Mills Ltd. held in the morning

through Digital Platform recently. The Chairman of the Company Mohammed Younus presided

over the Meeting. All Directors were present in the meeting. The Shareholders joined the

Meeting virtually. The Shareholders have been approved 5% Cash & 10% (Stock) Dividend for

the financial year 2019-2020.

Photo: Courtesy

After catastrophic year, Bollywood

hopes for a 2021 comeback

BANGALORE: The dancers stopped

strutting on Bollywood film sets this

year as the Indian film industry struggled

to find any spring in its step during

a disastrous 2020, repots BSS.

The annus horribilis for the world's

most prolific movie industry began with

the heartbreaking deaths in April within

36 hours of luminaries Irrfan Khan and

Rishi Kapoor.

Others to pass away included composer

Wajid Khan, who died from the

coronavirus at 42, director Basu

Chatterjee, Bollywood's first female

choreographer Saroj Khan, and S.P.

Balasubrahmanyam, singer of an estimated

40,000 film songs.

But it was the suicide in June of 34-

year-old star Sushant Singh Rajput that

had the widest repercussions.

India's sensationalist TV news channels

- eager to cast the film industry as a

den of iniquity - accused Rajput's former

girlfriend, actress Rhea

Chakraborty, of driving him to his death

with black magic and cannabis.

The 28-year-old, who denies any

wrongdoing, spent months in custody

for allegedly buying drugs for Rajput,

while stars such as Deepika Padukone

were hauled in for questioning as the

investigation escalated.

"It has been a terrible year," actress

Swara Bhasker told AFP.

"The slander campaign by some sections

of the media against the film

industry has been horrendous."

Virus restrictions meanwhile forced

producers to hit pause on shootings,

putting thousands of livelihoods at risk

in Hindi-language Bollywood as well as

S(20)(233)

GD- 1763/20 (6 x 3)

India's other regional film industries.

From "spot boys" running errands on

set to "junior artistes" eking out a living

as extras, the sector relies on a huge

army of low-paid workers.

"The loss of employment and income

has been devastating for so many,"

Bhasker said.Productions have tentatively

resumed, but pandemic restrictions

forbid them from shooting the

elaborate musical sequences that are a

hallmark of Hindi movies.

This point was brought home in a

social media post in August by superstar

Amitabh Bachchan - who this year

spent weeks in hospital with the coronavirus

- describing a film set as "a sea of

blue PPE", or personal protective equipment.

Cinemas were shut for months and

although they re-opened in October,

virus-wary viewers are staying away,

and some theatres are wondering if the

crowds will ever return.

A trip to the cinema has traditionally

been hugely popular in India, ranging

from $1 tickets at single-screen theatres

to air-conditioned multiplexes offering

seat-side biryani and hot fudge sundaes.

New releases have ground to a halt,

with many producers preferring to

screen their films directly on streaming

platforms that boomed as the pandemic

forced millions into lockdown.

But Bachchan's actor son Abhishek,

whose crime caper "Ludo" went straight

to Netflix last month, told AFP that the

silver screen experience "cannot be

duplicated".

"We love our outings to the theatre;

we love watching our films on the screen

while eating a nice tub of popcorn, our

samosas and cold drinks and going with

our friends and family," he said.

"I absolutely see theatres making a

comeback and I really hope they do."

But he acknowledged that the immediate

outlook appeared hazy.

Although Hollywood has mooted the

idea of showing films simultaneously in

cinemas and on digital platforms, with

Warner Bros planning to do so with all

its 2021 releases, its Indian counterparts

have no such plans.

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who is

starring in "AK vs AK", a black comedy

out on Netflix this week, told AFP:

"There are certain films that must be

seen projected onto the big screen."

"Filmmakers create content based on

where their work will be seen… You

have to know what size of screen your

film is going to be seen on, and studios

and distributors must fulfil that promise,"

he said.

The casualties are already piling up.

A string of beloved single-screen cinemas

have downed their shutters and

many others are contemplating closure,

film trade analyst Komal Nahta told

AFP.

"It is going to be catastrophic," he

said. And although shoots have

resumed, every week throws up new

cases of stars testing positive for coronavirus,

forcing productions to shut

down.But as vaccine efforts pick up

pace, and with eagerly-awaited films

like "83" and "Sooryavanshi" tipped for

release in cinemas next year, observers

are betting on a boisterous, Bollywoodstyle

comeback.

White House

proposes new $916

bn stimulus plan to

break deadlock

WASHINGTON: The White

House unveiled a $916 billion

stimulus proposal on

Tuesday in a final dash to

break a months-long logjam

over new aid for the coronavirus-stricken

US economy

before President Donald

Trump leaves office in

January, reports BSS.

Treasury Secretary Steven

Mnuchin announced the

plan, which he said includes

"money for state and local

governments and robust liability

protections for businesses,

schools and universities."

Those elements have been

key sticking points in negotiations

between Democratic

and Republican lawmakers.

The proposal comes weeks

before Trump is set to hand

over power to President-elect

Joe Biden and a new

Congress takes office, and as

the country struggles with

the world's worst Covid-19

outbreak that has caused the

worst economic downturn in

a century.

Johnson jets

in to Brussels

in bid to save

Brexit deal

LONDON: Prime Minister

Boris Johnson was Brusselsbound

on Wednesday, with

Britain's fading hopes for a

post-Brexit trade deal hanging

on crisis talks with EU

chief Ursula von der Leyen,

reports BSS.

Johnson's dash back to the

city where once he made his

name as an EU-bashing

newspaper reporter marks

the last chance of a breakthrough

before Britain leaves

the EU single market.

Talks are blocked over the

issue of fair competition, with

Britain refusing to accept a

mechanism to allow the EU

to retaliate swiftly if the UK

business regulations change

in ways that put European

firms at a disadvantage.

EU negotiator Michel

Barnier and his UK counterpart

David Frost have narrowed

the gaps over eight

months of talks, but London

insists it will reclaim full sovereignty

at the end of the year

after half-a-century of close

economic integration.

If Britain leaves the EU single

market in three weeks

without a follow-on trade

deal the delays that travellers

and freight will face at its borders

with the European

Union will be compounded

by import tariffs that will

drive up prices.

EU-UK poised to announce

post-Brexit trade deal

BRUSSELS: Britain and the

European Union were

expected to announce a

Christmas Eve trade deal

Thursday after ten months

of Brexit talks dragged out

over yet another late night

session, repots BSS.

The two sides had hoped

to unveil the accord on

Wednesday, and the front

pages of several British

newspapers already proclaimed

victory for Prime

Minister Boris Johnson.

But EU member states had

a number of questions about

the text and cross-Channel

diplomacy continued

through the night, with

Johnson and Commission

chief Ursula von der Leyen

expected to announce a

breakthrough shortly after

dawn.

An EU source told AFP

that "if all goes well" the two

leaders should talk by phone

at 0700 GMT to seal the

agreement.

"It will hopefully be an

early start tomorrow morning,"

European Commission

spokesman Eric Mamer

tweeted just after midnight,

advising reporters and

diplomats alike to grab some

sleep as the finishing touches

were applied.

Several hours earlier,

European officials had confidently

told journalists:

"We are in the final phase."

But diplomatic sources

said member states, in particular

France, had wanted

to the Commission to go

back to the British camp to

seek specific guarantees on

parts of the accord.

The British pound and

Asian markets were rising

on the expectation of a deal,

and a French government

source said UK negotiators

had made "huge concessions"

on fisheries - the key

sticking point as the clock

ticks down to Britain's

departure.

The last-gasp deal, if it is

confirmed, would come just

days before Britain is set to

leave the EU's single market

at the end of the year, sparing

the two sides from trade

tariffs.

A deal - which would still

need to be translated and

tidied up by lawyers - could

be approved provisionally

before the cut-off date and

then scrutinised by EU lawmakers

in the new year to

avoid a cliff-edge.

One million vaccinated

as US eyes return to

normal next summer

WASHINGTON: More than a million

Americans have received the first dose of their

Covid-19 vaccines, a senior official said

Wednesday, as the US eyes a return to normal

by next summer, repots BSS.

The news comes as the winter surge in cases

rages across the country, where the virus has

claimed more than 320,000 lives and is on

course to be the third leading cause of death in

the year.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC) Director Robert Redfield said jurisdictions

had logged the first million shots with his

agency since the biggest immunization drive in

US history kicked off on December 14.

Some three million doses of the Pfizer-

BioNTech vaccine were rolled out last week, and

the official goal for this week was two million

more Pfizer doses, and six million from

Moderna.

Moncef Slaoui, chief advisor of the government's

Operation Warp Speed, said the objective

of injecting 20 million people this month

was "unlikely to be met," adding that a delay was

beginning to emerge between doses being distributed

to sites and the shots being administered.

we`ÿ r/Rb- 451(3)/24/12/2020

GD- 1761/20 (9 x 3)

But he remained confident of being able to

inoculate 100 million people in the first quarter

of 2021, and another 100 million by the second

quarter. If the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines proceeds

smoothly, it might be possible to achieve

widespread population immunity in the United

States by next summer, top scientist Anthony

Fauci has said.

In an interview with WebMD posted

Wednesday, the infectious disease official suggested

people could host weddings as early as

June or July.

Fauci said he believed priority populations -

such as nursing home residents, health care

workers, critical workers, the elderly and people

at high risk - should receive their shots by

March or early April.

"We could start in April doing what I call

'open season' on vaccinations - namely anybody

in the general population who wants to

get vaccinated will get vaccinated."

He continued: "By the time we get into the

middle or end of the summer, I believe we will

have, if we do it correctly, we could have 70 to

85 percent of the population vaccinated.

"When that occurs, there will be an umbrella

of protection over the entire country."

Facebook bans Australian

celebrity chef over virus

misinformation

SYDNEY : Facebook has banned Australian

celebrity chef and conspiracy theorist Pete

Evans for repeatedly spreading misinformation

about the coronavirus, repots BSS.

With more than a million social media followers,

Evans had been an influential promoter

of conspiracy theories about the pandemic

and vaccines.

Facebook said Thursday it would not "allow

anyone to share misinformation about Covid-

19 that could lead to imminent physical harm"

or falsehoods about Covid-19 vaccines.

"We have clear policies against this type of

content and we've removed Chef Pete Evans'

Facebook Page for repeated violations of these

policies," the company said in a statement.

The former chef's page on Instagram - a

Facebook-owned platform - with 278,000

followers is still active, however, and includes

posts that encourage Sydney residents to defy

public health officials and refuse to get tested

for the virus.

Australia's largest city is currently battling

to contain a cluster of more 100 cases that

ended months of low community transmission.

Evans said on Instagram Thursday that he

was glad to be "one of the catalysts for a conversation"

about freedom of speech and

described the science around the pandemic

as "BS".

Facebook has previously banned some high

profile accounts that peddled misinformation

and hate speech, most notably those of conspiracist

Alex Jones and far-right figure Milo

Yiannopoulos.

Friday, Dhaka, December 25, 2020, Poush 10, 1427 BS, Jamadi-ul Awal 9, 1442 Hijri

A powerful bomb rescue exercise was held at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Thursday

near gate no 8.

Photo : Star Mail

Green energy getting a shot in the arm

as it can drive economic changes

DHAKA : The government is moving to

save solar mini-grids supplying green energy

in remote areas from incurring staggering

losses and closure as power distribution

companies expand operations in

off-grid areas, reports UNB.

Power tariff from such mini-grids is

much higher compared to grid-electricity,

an official at the Sustainable and

Renewable Energy Development

Authority (Sreda) said, explaining that if

the tariff for a 50-unit consumer of grid

electricity is Tk 3.75 per unit, it is Tk 18-35

for a mini-grid consumer.

Official sources said 26 solar mini-grids

have so far been set up in different areas

and their total general capacity is about 5

megawatts. They said the Power Division

primarily calculated the asset value of

these mini-grids atTk 109crore.

Sreda, the agency responsible for promotion

of green energy and energy conservation,

is likely to finalise the modalities

and other tariff related issues within a

month to purchase electricity from solar

mini-grids across the country.

According to official sources, Sreda will

sit with the stakeholders over the next two

weeks to settle some issues about the

modalities of electricity purchase and tariff-related

matters. "We've made some

good progress but we need to have another

meeting to settle the issues,"

Mohammad Alauddin, Chairman of

Sreda, and also an additional secretary at

the Power Division, told UNB.

Available statistics with Sreda show

that the country currently generates

649.61MW from renewable sources while

its total generation capacity is

22,000MW.

Of this, 415.68MW is being generated

from solar power while wind energy produces

0.9MW, hydro 230MW, biogas

0.63MW and biomass 0.4MW.

A recent study - National Solar Energy

Action Plan 2021-2041 -conducted by

Sreda, in collaboration with the United

Nations Development Programme

(UNDP), suggest thatBangladesh can easily

generate 40,000MW from solar energy

by 2041, if an action plan is prioritised.

In that case, solar energy would constitute

half of the country's installed capacity.

The study notes that at least 8,000MW

solar power could be generated by 2041 in

case of "as usual business case scenario",

and 25,000MW in a "medium case scenario".

Official sources said the move to

purchase electricity from solar mini-grid

power projects has been initiated by the

government to save the private investors

who set up the mini-grids in remote localities,

mainly in off-grid islands to offer

electricity to consumers.

They said such mini-grids generate

electricity from solar power and sell it to

consumers through a small grid system in

areas far from the grid system and with no

connection with grids.

Some private sponsors installed these

grids under a government policy "Remote

Area Power Supply System (RAPSS)" for

which they get soft loan from financial institutions

like state-owned Infrastructure

Development Company Limited (ID-

COL). But the generation cost is much

higher than conventional electricity.

Mini-grid operators started facing financial

losses after the expansion of grid

to those areas.

Sources said the solar mini-grid power

projects were implemented in the off-grid

areas where private investors installed the

projects for a period of 20 years with financial

support from IDCOL. IDCOL

funded 80 percent in the projects while

private investors 20 percent, they said.

During implementation, there was

commitment from the government that

the power distribution companies will not

reach these areas with their services within

the project tenure of 20 years.

3 'fraud gang

members'

held in city

DHAKA : Detectives in a drive arrested

three members of a fraud gang from

different parts of the city on Thursday,

reports UNB.

The arrestees are Shimul Mia, 29, son

of Siraj Mia, Shaheen Matobbar, 28,

son of A Jabbar and Mahidul, 26, son of

Delwar Hawladar of Faridpur district.

Tipped off, a team of DB police of

Dhaka Metropolitan Police led by additional

deputy police commissioner of

DB (Wari zone), Jashim Uddin, conducted

a simultaneous drive in the city

and arrested them.

After primary interrogation, police

came to know that they have long been

involved in the fraudulence and cheat

people through hacking bKash mobile

banking accounts of customers.

Ahmad Kaikaus

reappointed PM's

principal secretary

DHAKA : The government has reappointed

Prime Minister's Principal

Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus to his

current post on contract for two more

years, postponing his post-retirement

leave (PRL) and related facilities.

The Ministry of Public

Administration on Wednesday issued a

gazette notification in this regard.

The contractual appointment of

Kaikaus, who was due to retire at the

end of this month, will be effective from

January 1 or from the date of his joining.

Kaukus was appointed as the PM's

principal secretary on December 29,

2019. He was serving the Power

Division as senior secretary before joining

the Prime Minister's Office.

Dr Kaikaus received his Master of

Arts degree in Development

Economics from the Center for

Development Economics, Williams

College, Massachusetts, USA, and PhD

in Public Policy and Political Economy

from the University of Texas at Dallas,

Texas, USA.

Japan wants start of Rohingya

repatriation process next year : Naoki

DHAKA : Japanese Ambassador to

Bangladesh Ito Naoki on Thursday said

his country supports the repatriation of

Rohingyas to their homes in Rakhine

State and wants to see the process start

next year.

"Rohingya is a very important issue.

To see progress, we should see the start

of the repatriation process in 2021.

Japan will continue to help," he told

diplomatic correspondents at DCAB

Talk at the Jatiya Press Club.

The Ambassador said Japan will continue

to cooperate with the government

of Bangladesh and will spare no efforts

to see a lasting solution to the Rohingya

crisis.

Diplomatic Correspondents

Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) hosted

the DCAB Talk with its President Angur

Nahar Monty in the chair. DCAB

General Secretary Touhidur Rahman

also spoke.

DHAKA : The residents of capital

Dhaka are expectedto get a better disciplined

transport system next year as

buses will be brought under a franchise

system by rationalising the existing

routes restricting inter-district

buses from entering the city, reports

UNB.

Four sites on the outskirts of the capital

have been selected primarily for

establishing inter-district bus terminals.

Dhaka South City Corporation

(DSCC) Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor

Taposh and Dhaka North Ciry

Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Md

Atiqul Islam on Wednesday visited

Batulia area recommended by Bus

Route Rationalisation Committee for

setting up an inter-district bus terminal.

"We want to bring the whole public

transport system under discipline

and working to this end," said DSCC

Mayor Taposh, adding that 10 spots

Asked about Japan's role in the UN

forum, the ambassador said they are

communicating directly with

Myanmar's top military officials and at

the government level on the Rohingya

crisis as Japan sees it a proper channel

to play a role.

He said Japan has a strong connection

with the highest level of Myanmar

military as well as the civilian government.

"Japan is communicating directly

on what Myanmar could do and what

Myanmar should do in terms of

addressing accountability as well as

focusing the repatriation process. I

think there, Japan can play a role."

He said there may be some critical

views in international arena but it

needs to be looked at what Japan can

do through this channel and through

this communication at the very top

level of the government as well as the

military.

Dhaka's poor transport system

2021 to see major changes

were selected at the last meeting and

the list has been cut short.

"After Batulia, we'll visit

Hemayetpur in Savar, Teghoria and

Kanchpur in Kamrangirchar and will

take the final decision at the next

meeting of the Bus Route

Rationalisation Committee in January

next," the mayor added.

After the meeting, recommendations

will be sent to the Ministry, he

said adding, "Our main target is to

reduce the pressure of transports in

the capital."

Noting that inter-district public

transport does not enter the main city

from outside in other countries of the

world, DSCC Mayor Taposh said, "We

see that there're bus terminals in the

city, such as Mohakhali, Saidabad,

Gabtali, but inter-district buses use

those and there is no terminal for city

buses."

BNP remains in political

isolation: Quader

DHAKA : Awami League General

Secretary and Road Transport and

Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader

yesterday said BNP cannot see

any development activity of the

government as the party remains

in political isolation after being

boycotted by the people.

He said this at a press conference

on contemporary issues at

his official residence on parliament

premises.

About BNP secretary general's

allegation that the government

has been careless since the outset

of coronavirus pandemic, Quader

said it is not criticism rather BNP

is making falsehood and spreading

hatred against the government.

The minister said when different

countries are witnessing

severe troubles in controlling the

transmission of coronavirus

(Covid-19), the efforts of the

Bangladesh government led by

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in

checking its spread and providing

treatment are being lauded worldwide.

"BNP wanted that people would

die without treatment and food but

that didn't happen. And that is why

BNP got irritated. Making falsehood

and tarnishing the image of the government

is now BNP's only task," he

said. Quader said they would be carrying

on their fight against any kind

of crisis and disaster including

coronavirus pandemic, as long as

Awami League President and Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina's humanitarian

leadership will exist.

JS body for

reopening closed

jute mills

DHAKA : The Parliamentary

Standing Committee on Labour and

Employment Ministry on Thursday

recommended making the closed

state-owned jute mills functional

through modernisation with local and

foreign financing, reports BSS.

The parliamentary panel requested

the government to take necessary steps

in this regard, said an official release of

the Parliament Secretariat.

It also suggested taking effective steps

to revive the state-owned Bangladesh

Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) and

make it a profitable organisation.

At the meeting, the committee also

recommended providing overall

cooperation to the workers of the

closed jute mills in amending their

national identity card and paying all

the dues of the terminated workers by

withdrawing or settling the cases on

an emergency basis.

Chattogram

schoolgirl Tasfia

killed herself,

confirms PBI

CHATTOGRAM : Ninth-grader

Tasfia Amin, who was found dead

at Chattogram's Patenga sea

beach in 2018, killed herself

A probe report of the Police

Bureau of Investigation (PBI)

confirmed this on Wednesday,

reports UNB.

PBI Inspector Md Firoz Uddin

Chowdhury, who is the investigation

officer of the case, submitted

the report to the court.

The report said no evidence of

poisoning or sign of rape was

found in Tasfia's body. "She died

from drowning."

The court will hear the matter

on December 27, said Assistant

Commissioner of police

Shahabuddin Ahmed.

According to the case statement,

Tasfia's body was found on a concrete

block at the sea beach on

May 2, 2018. She went missing

after going out with her friend

Adnan Mirza the previous day.

Her father later filed a case with

Patenga Police Station against six

people.

The case was shifted to PBI after

the plaintiff rejected the probe

report submitted by the Detective

Branch of Police on September 16,

2018.

The work of making 'Bori' has started in the rural areas of Naogaon. Most of the households have been making this

traditional food since the beginning of Poush every year. The festival of all goes home. The picture was taken from

the Choto Jamuna bank at Shibpur Amtali in Naogaon on Thursday.

Photo: PBA

'Demand, supply need to be matched

to ensure low-cost power, energy'

DHAKA : Bangladesh's power and

energy sector has now moved into the

second generation of problems where

challenges have shifted from concerns

of electricity production to pricing and

energy mix issues.

The sector is now facing growing

challenges of inefficiency, cost escalation,

lack of cleaner energy-mix, poor

quality of transmission and distribution

and rising financial burden.

So experts underscored the need for

smart coordination between the

demand and supply sides of the power

sector to provide low-cost power and

energy in the country.

While raising concerns over generation

surplus in the power sector, they

called on focusing more on transmission

and distribution of electricity in the

future.

Improvement of transmission and

distribution of electricity should be a

major focus of the power sector during

the 8th Five Year Plan period, they said,

reports UNB.

The focus should also be given on

strengthening the capacity of implementing

renewable energy projects,

and both traditional and non-traditional

renewable energy projects should get

priority in the upcoming policy document,

they said.

Experts also highlighted the need for

institutional reform in the power sector

for developing a sustainable power and

energy sector in the country.

The suggestions came up at the virtual

expert group discussion "Reflections

of the Power Sector in the Upcoming

8th Five Year Plan: Perspectives on

Strategies and Initiatives" organised by

Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

At the discussion, CPD Research

Director Dr Khondaker Golam

Moazzem suggested that an alignment

of the demand projection should be

made, by the upcoming power system

master plan (PSMP) 2021, with other

policy documents.

The energy mix which is highly biased

towards fossil-fuel should be gradually

rebalanced with setting up renewable

energy-based projects, Moazzem said.

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

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

25-12-2020

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