16-02-2021

Public transports of Dhaka city practice unauthorized pace within the narrow
roads and it is costing lives. The photo is captured from the Karwan
Bazar area.
Photo: Star Mail
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US expresses "deep concerns"
over WHO probe into virus origin
WASHINTON :National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said
Saturday the United States has "deep concerns" about the
way the early findings were communicated following the
World Health Organization's investigation into the origins of
the coronavirus in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, reports
UNB.
"It is imperative that this report be independent, with
expert findings free from intervention or alteration by the
Chinese government," Sullivan said in a statement, calling
for China to "make available" the data it holds from the earliest
days of the outbreak.
Washington expressed concerns after President Joe Biden,
who took office on Jan. 20, ceased the process of withdrawing
the United States from the WHO, which former President
Donald Trump had criticized as being China-centric.
Following the investigation launched in late January, a
WHO expert rejected on Feb. 9 the possibility of the virus
having accidentally leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan.
The Trump administration had advanced a theory that the
Wuhan Institute of Virology might have given birth to the
virus, claiming some researchers there developed symptoms
consistent with COVID-19 in the fall of 2019.
Sullivan said all countries, including China, should "participate
in a transparent and robust process for preventing and
responding to health emergencies."
China fired back in a statement released Saturday by its
embassy in Washington, saying the United States "gravely
damaged international cooperation on COVID-19" by pulling
itself out of the WHO and is "pointing fingers" at the U.N.
health body and countries supporting it.
The WHO team of experts returned from Wuhan, where
the virus was first detected in late 2019, on Feb. 10. It is
expected to release a final report on its probe in the coming
weeks.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said during an interview
Sunday with CBS News that he supports the Biden
administration raising concerns about the WHO investigation.
"We need to see the data. We need to see all the evidence.
So I thoroughly support what President Biden has said about
that," he said.
Virus may never go away but
could change into mild annoyance
NEW DELHI: What if COVID-
19 never goes away? Experts say
it's likely that some version of
the disease will linger for years.
But what it will look like in the
future is less clear, reports UNB.
Will the coronavirus, which
has already killed more than 2
million people worldwide,
eventually be eliminated by a
global vaccination campaign,
like smallpox? Will dangerous
new variants evade vaccines?
Or will the virus stick around for
a long time, transforming into a
mild annoyance, like the common
cold?
Eventually, the virus known
as SARS-CoV-2 will become
yet "another animal in the
zoo," joining the many other
infectious diseases that
humanity has learned to live
with, predicted Dr. T. Jacob
John, who studies viruses and
was at the helm of India's
efforts to tackle polio and
HIV/AIDS.
But no one knows for sure.
The virus is evolving rapidly,
and new variants are popping
Malaysia's GDP contracts
5.6 pct in 2020, biggest
decline since 1998
KUALA LUMPUR :
Malaysia's gross domestic
product (GDP) contracted
3.4 percent year-on-year in
the fourth quarter of last
year, rendering a 5.6-percent
GDP drop for 2020, the
biggest decline since 1998,
reports BSS.
The Malaysian Central
Bank said in a statement on
Thursday that the negative
growth in Q4 was largely
attributable to the imposition
of the Conditional
Movement Control Order
(CMCO) on a number of
states since mid-October last
year to contain the spread of
the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The restrictions on
mobility, especially on interdistrict
and inter-state travel,
weighed on economic
activity during the fourth
quarter," said the central
bank, despite the fact that
continued improvement in
external demand provided
support to growth.
Except for manufacturing,
all economic sectors continued
to record negative
growth. On the expenditure
side, moderating private
consumption and public
investment activities
weighed on domestic
demand.
"On a quarter-on-quarter
seasonally-adjusted basis,
the economy registered a
decline of 0.3 percent," said
the bank.
up in different countries. The
risk of these new variants was
underscored when Novavax
Inc. found that the company's
vaccine did not work as well
against mutated versions circulating
in Britain and South
Africa. The more the virus
spreads, experts say, the more
likely it is that a new variant
will become capable of eluding
current tests, treatments and
vaccines.
For now, scientists agree on
the immediate priority:
Vaccinate as many people as
quickly as possible. The next
step is less certain and depends
largely on the strength of the
immunity offered by vaccines
and natural infections and how
long it lasts. "Are people going
to be frequently subject to
repeat infections? We don't
have enough data yet to
know," said Jeffrey Shaman,
who studies viruses at
Columbia University. Like
many researchers, he believes
chances are slim that vaccines
will confer lifelong immunity.
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German shares almost
unchanged at start of
trading on Thursday
BERLIN : German stocks
were almost unchanged at the
start of trading on Thursday,
with the benchmark DAX
index increasing by 25.42
points, or 0.18 percent, opening
at 13,958.39 points, reports
BSS.
The biggest winner among
Germany's 30 largest listed
companies at the start of trading
was sportswear manufacturer
Adidas, increasing by
1.65 percent, followed by carmaker
Volkswagen with 0.87
percent and dialysis specialist
Fresenius Medical Care with
0.76 percent. On Thursday,
Volkswagen announced to further
expand its cooperation
with software giant Microsoft
in order to build a cloud-based
software platform to transfer
data between networked cars
and to "deliver automated
driving experiences even faster
at global scale."
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TueSDAY, feBruArY 16, 2021
e-GP-Re-Tender Notice
11
BD-Myanmar border road
[From page-12]
The purpose of the project is to increase BGB patrols on the
Bangladesh-Myanmar border to ensure strict border security to
prevent illegal entry from Myanmar. And also to rehabilitate
BWDB Polder-67/ A, 67, 67 / B, 68 and develop flood control
and drainage systems in the project area so that the general
public inside the polders can benefit. It will simultaneously
reduce water logging.
Locals say the road will help the BGB secure the border. In
particular, to prevent the smuggling of Yaba patrol can use fast
vehicles. Yaba control will be possible if border patrols are
strengthened.
The same was said by the BGB's Teknaf 2nd Battalion Commander
Lt. Colonel Mohammad Faisal Hasan Khan. He said
that river Naf is very important. It is the border of Myanmar
and Bangladesh. From where Yaba is entering from Myanmar.
The BGB will be able to carry out its duties easily after the construction
of the border road. This will prevent the smuggling of
Yaba. Border roads can be used for Rohingya infiltration. At the
same time, smart digital devices are being installed on the border
roads. The BGB captain thinks that monitoring has become
easier with this device.
He said plans were afoot to erect a 40-foot-high watch tower
on the border road as well as a barbed wire fence. Cox's Bazar
Water Development Board executive engineer Prabir Kumar
Goswami said the 60-kilometer border road from Shahpari
Island in Teknaf to Ukhia was moving ahead with the BGB's
proposal. The project will be completed in June 2023 at a cost
of more than BDT 2,600 crore.
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