09-03-2021

tuesday

DhAkA : March 9, 2021; Falgun 24, 1427 BS; Rajab 24,1442 hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.17; N o. 326; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

international

Myanmar crisis

heightens with police

raids and strike call

>Page 7

sports

Allen cameo helps

Windies clinch T20 series

against Sri Lanka

>Page 9

art & culture

Priyanka launches

Indian restaurant

'SONA' in New York

>Page 10

Khaleda's sentences

could be suspended

for another 6 months:

Law Ministry

DHAKA : The Ministry of Law has recommended

extension of the stay on the sentences

of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia

for six months more in two graft cases.

The Ministry's opinion to extend the stay

on Khaleda Zia's sentences has been sent

to the Home Ministry on Monday.

Earlier, an application seeking waiver

of Khaleda Zia's punishment and

extending the stay on her sentence has

been sent to the Law Ministry.

"Khaleda Zia's brother Shamim

Iskandar filed the appeal on Tuesday

seeking extension on the stay of his sister's

sentence where he also urged to

waive her punishment," Home Minister

Asaduzzaman Khan said on Thursday.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Home

Minister said BNP sought relaxation of

conditions as its chief could not receive

treatment during the coronavirus pandemic.

On February 8, 2018, Khaleda was

sent to the Old Dhaka Central Jail after

a subordinate court sentenced her to

five years' imprisonment in Zia

Orphanage Trust corruption case. The

High Court later doubled her jail term.

The Former Prime Minister was

found guilty in another corruption case

the same year. Her party claims both

cases are politically motivated.

Covid-19 in Bangladesh

Fatalities climb to 8,476

DHAKA : Bangladesh's coronavirus

caseload rose to 551,175 on Monday

after the health authorities confirmed

845 new cases in the last 24 hours,

reports UNB.

Fourteen Covid-19 related deaths

reported during this period pushed up

the local fatalities to 8,476.

At the same time, 1,117 people recovered

from the virus infections, according

to the Directorate General of Health

Services (DGHS). So far, 504,120

patients (91.46 percent) have recovered.

Bangladesh reported its first cases on

March 8 and the first death on March 18.

Meanwhile, the daily infection rate

jumped to 4.98 percent from 4.3 percent

on Sunday.

But the mortality rate remained

unchanged at 1.54 percent for the past

few weeks, the DGHS said in a handout.

Authorities have so far tested

4,163,163 samples, including 16,958 in

the past 24 hours. Bangladesh launched

its nationwide Covid-19 vaccination

drive on February 7. By Sunday,

37,89,352 people received the first dose

of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. The

second dose has to be taken between 8

and 12 weeks of the first one.

Zohr

05:02 AM

12:13 PM

04:24 PM

06:07 PM

07:20 PM

6:15 6:04

On Monday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took part in a video conference from

Ganobhaban to mark International Women's Day-2021.

Photo : Star Mail

Women participation in civil

administration on the rise

DHAKA : Like other women officials,

Zakia Sultana, Chairman (Secretary)

Bangladesh Energy and Power

Research Council, faced many problems

when going to the field-level job at the

time of her joining in the civil administration

service in 1991 due to lack of

transportation and safety.

But, now the situation has been

changed and women are performing

well at all levels of the civil administration.

Their participation in the civil

administration has been increasing day

by day and they are playing a vital role in

discharging their duties in line with the

rules and regulations to uphold the

country's constitution.

"I started my journey as Assistant

Commissioner and Magistrate of

Narayanganj district in 1991. From

childhood, I had a dream to work for the

welfare of the people. As per the dream,

I provided my full efforts. For my dedication,

now I am in this position. But,

the initial journey was not smooth as I

am a female official," Zakia Sultana said

while sharing her experiences with BSS.

She said those problems have gone as

the outlook of all towards the women has

been changed significantly, and now

female officials are performing as the

field-level officials from the initial stage.

"Currently, huge numbers of women

are joining not only in the administration

cadre, but also all cadres. They are

working in all field level posts, including

assistant commissioner of land, with

better performance," Zakia Sultana said.

She expressed the hope that the participation

of women in the civil administration

would raise further, saying the newcomer

of the service is playing a vital role

through their honesty and hard work.

The senior bureaucrat said the situation

has been changed as women

empowerment in Bangladesh witnessed

stunning progress over the last few

years, especially during the tenure of the

present government. Under the dynamic

and far-sighted leadership of Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina, she said, the

working environment of women officers

has improved considerably as a result of

increasing the opportunities in the

workplace of women officers and the

cooperative attitude of male officers.

Through self-confidence, hard work,

initiative, effort, honesty and concentration,

she said, she is trying to keep the

signature in the workplace by overcoming

all obstacles. Talking to BSS, Upazila

Nirbahi Officer of the Fulgazi Upazila

under Feni district Ferdoushy Begum

said now the civil administration service

for women in the field level is very comfortable

than before and females are

performing equally like their male colleagues

as AC land, UNO or DC.

Now, people have changed their

mindset and the female officials can

work with the support of the local people,

she added.

Ferdoushy Begum lauded the government

for taking initiatives to make

women-friendly civil administration

service. Like Zakia and Ferdoushy,

many other women in civil administration

gave credit to the present government,

led by Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina, on women empowerment issue

as her administration have taken many

pragmatic and epoch-making steps for

making the women-friendly administration

service.

Bail plea of JKG's Sabrina scrapped

in fake Covid test report case

DHAKA : A Dhaka court today

scrapped a plea of JKG Healthcare

Chairman Dr Sabrina Arif Chowdhury

for bail in a case lodged over issuing

fake coronavirus (Covid-19) test

reports. Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions

Judge KM Imrul Qayesh passed the

order after holding hearing on the matter,

reports UNB.

Investigation officer (IO) and

Inspector of Detective Branch (DB) of

Police Liakat Ali filed the charge-sheet

in the case against eight on August 5,

2020.

The other seven accused are-

Sabrina's husband and JKG CEO Ariful

Haque Chowdhury, Abu Sayeed

Chowdhury, Humayun Kabir Himu,

Tanjila Patwari, Biplob Das, Shafikul

Islam Romeo and Jebunnesa.

The court on August 20 framed

charges against them.

The Investigation Officer (IO) and DB

Inspector Liakat Ali in the charge-sheet

accused Sabrina and Ariful of being the

masterminds behind the scam and the

others as their cohorts.

One Kamal Hossain filed the case

with Tejgaon Police Station on June 15

for issuing fake Covid-19 test reports.

JKG Healthcare run by Ariful and his

wife Dr Sabrina, was realising money

from the suspected patients for coronavirus

test, whereas the company had

inked a deal with the government to

conduct the test free of cost.

Engage yourselves in

income-generating

activities, PM to

womenfolk

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina on Monday urged the women of

the country to engage themselves in

income-generating activities instead of

sitting idle at home for their economic

freedom.

"If we want to advance this society

then all, irrespective of women and

men, have to go forward keeping their

shoulders side by side," she said,

reports UNB.

The Prime Minister came up with the

remarks while addressing the inaugural

function of the International Women's

Day at Bangladesh Shishu Academy

auditorium. The Prime Minister joined

the programme virtually from her official

residence Ganobhaban.

The Ministry of Women and Children

Affairs arranged the function with State

Minister Fazilatun Nessa Indira in the

chair.

UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP

Resident Representative in Bangladesh

Mia Seppo was present at the function

as special guest. Women and Children

Affairs Secretary Md Sayedul Islam

delivered the welcome address.

The theme for International

Women's Day 2021 is 'Women in

Leadership: Achieving an equal future

in a Covid-19 world'.

Mentioning that women account for

half the country's population, Sheikh

Hasina said this society cannot advance

properly if women remain ineffective.

She said it will not be possible to

attain the freedom of women by just

shouting and delivering speeches.

Rights have to be realised and attaining

qualities is a must to do that.

"Qualities will come through education

and training," she added.

'Imbuing women with

dignity best way for

empowerment'

DHAKA : Womenfolk should be imbued

with self-respect, dignity and confidence

for accelerating the campaign of women

empowerment across the society.

"When a woman is educated through

acquiring knowledge in different disciplines,

she will be empowered…. so education

and healthcare facilities are the tool

for their empowerment," Runa Khan,

founder and executive director of

Friendship, a non-government organization,

shared her experiences in an exclusive

interview with BSS marking the

International Women's Day.

She said for ensuring their dignified life,

they (women) must achieve ways of most

essential components such as knowledge,

skills and finding ways to survive better in

the society.

Runa Khan said women community

particularly in remote areas is facing

tremendous obstacles in every sphere of

the society. She said two stigmas - religious

and social - are largely responsible

for getting fewer opportunities from society.

Explaining these stigmas, the development

campaigner said deprivation

starts for a girl child from family level first

and then she faces discrimination at every

level of society.

Runa Khan observed women in

hard- to-reach areas are not getting

equal facilities like their male counterparts,

which creates great barrier for

their advancement.

Narrating the journey of her development

organization, she said, "Friendship

sailed into the char of the Jamuna river in

2002 with its first floating hospital… at

that time, everyone discouraged me saying

it is impossible to run a hospital in

such remote areas. As a woman, initially, I

heard everything was impossible whenever

my organization had taken any initiative."

"But almost 20 years later I have proved

everything is possible."

This is a very common perception about

women in the male-dominated society

that women cannot, the Friendship

founder said in most case, female community

is forced to accept negative social

structure of the society created by male

community.

Time has come to break this negative

social structure through providing equal

opportunities to womenfolk, she added.

Runa Khan said, "If we really want to

change fate of the people living in remote

areas, we have to empower community

people giving highest importance to

women advancement."

Very common trend of development

organizations of Bangladesh is project

based work; she said adding friendship is

totally an exception from this general

trend of work. "We work with community

people… we have made these people

skilled workforce through providing necessary

training."

Alternative to BNP's movement to

create arson attack, rumour:Quader

DHAKA : Awami League General

Secretary and Road Transport and

Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday

said the alternative to BNP's

movement is to create arson terrorism,

pseudo politics and rumours.

"BNP has completely failed to participate

the people in their movements . . .

The alternative to BNP's movement is to

create rumour," the AL General

Secretary told newsmen at a press conference

on contemporary issues at his

official residence here.

Issuing a warning against BNP, the

minister said the country's people and

the government would not accept any ill

attempt to damage the country's

resources and loss of lives in the name of

alternative movement.

Referring to the BNP's alternative

movement, secret meetings and conspiracies

at home and abroad, Quader

said there is nothing to fear the BNP's

stray movements because the soldiers of

Mujib ideology are not scared of the

street movement."

Quader said if BNP's agitation is

thwarted it threatens to choose the alternative

way of movement but the party

which is not capable of demonstrating

any kind of the street agitation so there

is no need to obstruct the party.

Refuting the BNP's allegation that a

terrible force is working to suppress the

opposition, the AL general secretary

urged the BNP Secretary General to

make the identity of the force to public.

In response to the BNP leaders' claim

that there is no freedom of expression in

the country, Obaidul Quader said not a

single BNP leader was detained so far

for criticizing the government, so freedom

of expression completely exists in

the country.

The minister strongly criticized Mirza

Fakhrul Islam's remark on the incumbent

government that the government

has created a circle of power, arrogance

and corruption.

"These words are true forever for the

BNP regime ' Quader said adding that

BNP on the contrary, institutionalized

corruption in this country and build an

alternative centre of power through

Hawa Bhaban to misuse the state

power."

On Monday

afternoon, a

mobile court of

RAJUK conducted

an eviction

drive at the

rented office of

Golden Monir

and sealed all its

furniture on

Monday.

Photo : PBA

Hilsha in fish markets!

[From back page]

According to a press release issued

by the Ministry of Fisheries and

Livestock, the ban on catching all

kinds of fish including hilsa in 5

hilsha sanctuaries in 6 districts of

the country will remain in force till

April 30.

Every year for two months in

March and April, the catchment of

all kinds of fish including hilsha is

completely prohibited in the sanctuary.

At this time, catching all kinds

of fish including hilsha in the sanctuaries

of hilsha is a punishable

crime. Anyone who violates this prohibition

is liable to a minimum of

one year to a maximum of two years

rigorous imprisonment or a fine of

up to five thousand taka or both.

In this regard, Fisheries and Livestock

Minister S M Rezaul Karim

recently said that, a total of 19,502

metric tonnes of VGF rice has

already been allocated at a rate of 40

kg per month and 60 kg per month

for 2,43,007 fishermen in the six

districts concerned for refraining

from catchingJhatka during the ban.

Which will reach their hands in a few

days. The Minister also remarked

that "Hilsha is our national

resource. The government has taken

various initiatives to protect these

resources, it is part of it. We hope to

produce more than five lakh tons of

hilsha this year as well."

According to the Ministry of Fisheries,

it is strictly forbidden for the

common people to catch 10 inch

small size Jhatka from November 1

to June 30. There is a provision of

maximum two years rigorous imprisonment

or a fine of taka 5,000 or

both for catching, selling, storing

and transporting jatka during this

period.

According to the fishermen, most of

the Hilsha fish could not lay eggs this

year. If the pollen of the eggs laid by

mother Hilsha in the rivers of

Bangladesh every year can be protected,

then the production of Hilsha will

increase to a great extent in the future.

Because the maximum market price of

one kg of Jhatka fish caught in a net is

200 taka, which can turn into Hiilsha

worth at least 10 lakh taka in a year.

Thailand charges more

activists with sedition,

royal insults

BANGKOK : Prosecutors

in Thailand charged 18

pro-democracy activists

with sedition on Monday,

while lodging additional

charges of insulting the

monarchy against three of

them.

The sedition charges,

which carry a maximum

penalty of up to seven

years in prison, stem from

an antigovernment rally in

September, though details

on the alleged offenses

were not immediately

clear.

The three charged with

violating the lese majeste

law, which outlaws criticism

of senior members of

the royal family, are

P a n u s a y a

S i t h i j i r a w a t t a n a k u l ,

Jatupat Boonpattararaksa

and Panupong Jadnok.

TUeSDAY, MARch 9, 2021

2

To commemorate the dignified historic 7th March, Begumganj upazilla Awami League organized a

discussion meeting on Tuesday at the premises of district Saheed Minar. The discussion was

presided over by freedom fighter Dr. ABM Jafor Ullah and the MP of Noakhali-3 Mamunur Rashid

Kiron attended as guest.

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LGRD Minister Tajul Islam addressing a program marking International Women's Day.

Photo : Courtesy

BAF inter-base azan,

quirat competition

concludes

DHAKA : Inter-Base Azan

and Quirat Competition-

2021 of Bangladesh Air

Force (BAF) concluded on

Monday at Shaheen Mosque

at BAF Base Bashar.

Air Headquarters Unit

clinched the title of the

competition while BAF Base

Zahural Haque became

runner-up, said a press

release.

Warrant officer M Zainal

Abedin Mia of BAF Base

Zahural Haque secured first

position in Azan and

sergeant M Masum Ali of Air

Headquarters Unit secured

first position in Quirat

competition.

Assistant Chief of Air Staff

(Plans) Air Vice Marshal M

Shafiqul Alam distributed

prizes among the winners as

the chief guest.

Air Officer Commanding

of BAF Base Bashar Air Vice

Marshal Muhammad Nazrul

Islam inaugurated the

competition on 07 March as

the chief guest.

Senior officers of BAF and

other members were present

in the ceremony.

Lawmakers

greet Speaker

on Int. women's

day

DHAKA : The Jatiya

Sangsad (JS) lawmakers

yesterday greeted Speaker

Dr Shirin Sharmin

Chaudhury with a bouquet

at her Jatiya Sangsad office

to mark the International

Women's Day.

The lawmakers led by

Chief Whip Nur-E Alam

Chowdhury greeted the

Speaker. Whip Iqbalur

Rahim was also present on

the occasion.

Later, officials of the JS

secretariat led by its Senior

Secretary Dr Jafar Ahmed

Khan also greeted the

Speaker marking the day.

NHRC and UNDP jointly

launch programmes on

Women's Day

DHAKA : To commemorate the

International Women's Day 2021, the

National Human Rights Commission

(NHRC) and United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP) jointly organised a

number of events, including dialogue and TV

talk show on, "Women in leadership:

Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19

world" on the occasion of the International

Women's Day.

Noted actress Bidya Sinha Saha Mim on

Monday joined the campaign on Women's

Safety in Public Places (WSPP) to raise

awareness on this pressing issue affecting

women and girls all over Bangladesh.

The campaign, jointly initiated and

organised by NHRC, UNDP and Young

Bangla - the youth platform of the Centre for

Research and Information (CRI) to

encourage and bring about positive

transformations on perceptions, attitudes

and behaviors of youth and others towards

women and girls, a UNDP press release said.

The Human Rights and Justice Program

(HRJP) of UNDP is also currently hosting a

virtual mobile photography exhibition to

showcase photographs taken by a group of

youths principally from left behind

community, using their own mobile phones,

to capture the lives of women and girls in

their communities.

As preparation for the exhibition, a

total of 26 young female and male

participants, principally from leftbehind-communities,

attended a mobile

photography workshop, facilitated by

photographer Prito Reza.

Young photographer Sumita Rabidas from

Gaibandha district shared her experience

and excitement at having the opportunity to

attend photography training.

"I previously only thought of the selfie

while taking mobile photographs. By now, I

have realized the power of mobile

photography after attending the sessions and

taken some photographs of community

women. Since I am from left behind

community, I will be able to portray the

struggle of women and girls from my

community on the occasion of International

Women Day 2021," she said.

Online

exhibition

(http://iwdexhibition.jubobangla.com.bd/)

is live from on March 8 for a month where

viewers will be able to share comments and

opinions.

Kosovo keen to expand

trade ties with Bangladesh

DHAKA : The government of Kosovo is

very keen to strengthen existing bilateral

trade and economic ties with Bangladesh.

Kosovo Ambassador in Dhaka Guner

Ureya said this while paying a courtesy

call on Industries Minister Nurul Majid

Mahmud Humayun at the ministry in the

city, said a press release.

During the meeting, Humayun called

upon the Kosovo envoy to import

different Bangladeshi products, including

food processing, leather products,

agricultural products and raw materials.

He said Bangladesh is committed to

strengthening trade relations with

Kosovo and both the countries will have

to work on the basis of mutual

cooperation in matters of common

interest.

He drew the attention of the envoy to

identify specific areas of bilateral

cooperation in the industrial sector and to

make specific proposals.

Guner Ureya called for a meeting of the

'Joint Economic Commission' to increase

trade, commerce and import-export

between Bangladesh and Kosovo.

He said Bangladesh is a developing

country, trade and commerce, increase in

imports and exports and expansion of

industries will play an important role in

this joint commission meeting.

MetLife Bangladesh has published a first-of-its-kind e-book to raise awareness about the career potential

of insurance agents and women's contributions in the insurance industry.

Photo : Courtesy

Mother of two

crushed between

two buses in

Gulistan

DHAKA : A woman died

after being crushed

between two vehicles

while crossing the road in

front of Gulistan Golap

Shah Mazar in the capital

on Sunday.

The victim was identified

as Parveen Begum (40).

The incident occurred at

around 1 pm.

A Bangladesh Red

Crescent Society volunteer

rescued the woman in a

critical condition and took

her to the emergency

department of Dhaka

Medical College Hospital

where the on-duty doctor

declared her dead at

around 1:45 pm.

Talking to reporters at

the DMCH, the doctor said

the woman was caught

between two passenger

buses-N Mallick

Paribahan and Aram

Paribahan in front of

Golap Shah Mazar.

Abdul Baset, the

husband of the victim,

said, "My daughter

Sumaiya, who is sick, came

to Dhaka from

Munshiganj with her

mother around 7 am on

Sunday."

From there they were

supposed to catch a

Mirpur-bound bus to go to

Shaheed Suhrawardy

Medical College Hospital

for Sumaiya's treatment.

But Sumaiya crossed the

road first soon after she

got down from the bus and

her mother Parveen met

her fate while trying to

cross the road, Baset said.

Parveen was the mother

of two daughters. The

family resides in

Sirajdikhan upazila under

Munshiganj district. Her

husband runs a clothing

business in Dhaka.

DMCH Police Camp Incharge

Inspector Bachhu

Mia said the body was sent

to the hospital morgue for

autopsy.

Application

process for DU

admission test

begins

DHAKA : The online

application process for the

first year honours

admission tests under

2020-21 academic

sessions of Dhaka

University started

yesterday

"Students can apply for

the admission test till

March 31 midnight", Vicechancellor

of the

university Dr Md

Akhtaruzzaman said after

inaugurating the

application process today

at university's central

admission office at

5:00pm.

The entrance tests will

begin on May 21 with the

admission test of 'Ka' unit

while the intake test for

'Kha' unit will be held on

May 22, 'Ga' unit on May

27, 'Gha' unit on May 28?

and 'Cha' unit (General

Knowledge) on June 5.

Students applying from

the science group are

required to have a

minimum SSC and HSC

combined GPA of 8.5

while applicants from the

arts and business studies

groups must have a

combined GPA of 8 to

apply for the intake test.

It is mentionable that

the admission tests will be

held in eight divisional

cities for the first time

considering the pandemic

situation.

TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2021

3

Bangladesh High Commission in

Colombo observes historic 7th March

DHAKA : Bangladesh High Commission in

Colombo commemorated the historic 7th

March speech of the Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in a

befitting manner, reports UNB.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to Sri

Lanka Mr. Tareq Md Ariful Islam

inaugurated the observance by hoisting the

National Flag of Bangladesh at the High

Commission premises.

Subsequently, a floral wreath was placed at

the portrait of the Father of the Nation and 1-

minute silence was observed. A special

prayer for the Father of the Nation and for

the continued peace, harmony and

prosperity of Bangladesh under the

leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

was conducted.

All officials of the High Commission

attended the event.

As part of the commemoration of the day,

the Mission hosted a Webinar presided over

by the High Commissioner.

It started with the reading out of messages

on the occasion given by the President and

the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. A

documentary on the historic 7th March

Speech was also screened.

Eminent Sri Lankan scholar and Professor

Emeritus of Colombo University Jaya Deva

Uyangoda delivered the key note speech.

Among others, a young representative

from Sri Lanka . Sayuri Jayawardena and

expatriate Bangladeshi Farzana Hoq spoke

at the discussion segment. Renowned Sri

Lankan journalist Rasooldeen also joined

the Webinar.

The speakers shared their perspectives on

the historic 7th March speech and

recognized it as the key to Bangladesh's

independence. They recommended

including the speech in international

curriculum for study and research purposes.

The speakers also dwelled on the work and

political life of Bangabandhu and recalled his

singular contribution to the nation-hood of

Bangladesh.

In his closing remarks, High

Commissioner Tareq Islam emphasized on

realizing Sonar Bangla as dreamt of by the

Father of the Nation and contributing to

prosperous Bangladesh. He also analyzed

some important aspects of the historic 7th

March speech.

A good number of Sri Lankan dignitaries

and expatriate Bangladeshi nationals joined

the Webinar. The Webinar was livestreamed

on the High Commission's

Facebook page which was watched by a

significant number of people in Sri Lanka

and Bangladesh.

DU oranises essay competition

marking founding centenary

DHAKA : The authorities of Dhaka

University has organiseed an essay

competition titled 'Dhaka University in its

Centenary:

Achievements and Expectations' marking

founding centenary of the university.

The deadline for registration of the essay

competition is May 15 and the competition is

open to all undergraduate and post

gratudate students, said a press release

today.

The competition will be held in three

categories - the 1st and 2nd year students in

'A', 3rd and 4th year students in 'B,' and

postgraduate students in 'C' categories.

The topics set for different catagories are -

'Quality Education and Dhaka University:

Expectations and Duties' for 'A', 'Dhaka

University Centennial Achievements:

Education-Society-Politics' for 'B' and 'The

Role of Dhaka University in Cultural and

Intellectual Studies in Bangladesh' for 'C'

category.

Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Plans) Air Vice Marshal M Shafiqul Alam

giving away champion trophy to the Air Headquarter Unit who

clinched the title of BAF Inter-Base Quirat and Azan Competition on

Monday.

Photo : ISPR

Eight BNP men remanded in

case for attacking police

DHAKA : A Dhaka court yesterday placed eight leaders and activists of BNP including

president of Dhaka South unit of Jatiotabadi Jubo Dal Rafikul Alam Majnu on two-day

remand each in a case lodged over attacking policemen in front of Jatiya Press Club recently.

The other remanded accused are- Khalek Tipu, Russel, Dil Goni, Shahidul Islam,

Mosharraf, Abul Kashem and Wahid.

Police earlier produced the accused before the court and investigation officer and Shahbagh

Police Station Sub-Inspector Md Abdullah pleaded to place them on 10-day remand each.

The defence counsels, however, argued for the bail of the accused.

After hearing both the sides, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mamunur Rashid placed the

accused on two-day remand each.

Police arrested the eight on March 5. According to the case documents, leaders and activists

of BNP and its associate bodies tried to hold a rally in front of Jatiya Press Club on February

28, bringing the vehicular movement on the street to complete stop.

Police, in response, urged them to clear the street. The demonstrators at that point attacked

policemen, throwing brickbats and hitting the law enforcers with bamboos.

Shahbagh Police Station Sub-Inspector Palash Saha later filed the case against 48 and other

200-250 unidentified people.

Hi-Tech parks to create opportunities

for youth entrepreneurs: Imran

DHAKA : Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas

Employment Minister Imran Ahmad

yesterday said the government is building hitech

parks with an aim to dig out enormous

opportunities for youth entrepreneurs.

"Hi-Tech park, software Technology Park

and IT training and incubation center are

establishing in the country aiming to create

endless opportunities for the youth

entrepreneurs," he said while addressing at

the opening of a month-long women

entrepreneurs fair at Shahi Eidgah

playground in Sylhet city.

Information technology, Software

Technology, Bio-Technology, Renewable

Energy, Green Technology, IT Hardware, IT

Enabled Services and R&D etc. are major

areas of investment in the Hi-Tech industry

in Bangladesh.

Along with male workers, the minister said

a large number of women of the country are

working in different foreign countries and

playing a major role in the economy.

Sylhet Women's Chamber of Commerce

organised the programme.

The government has developed various

training facilities for the women in the

country. Even the Technical Training Center

(TTC) is being established by the

government in every upazila of the country.

tUesDAY, MARCH 9, 2021

4

A Lebanese solution today or regional conflict tomorrow

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Covid 19 : Far to go before

conquering it

Notwithstanding the arrival of the Covid-19

vaccine are there grounds for cheer that we are

about to triumph over the worst health threat

mankind has ever known ? It seems not as any

dispassionate analysis would reveal. The World Health

Organization (WHO) in its latest statement has warned

that Covid-19 as a grave health threat could last well into

2022 or even longer despite the appearance of vaccines.

As it is, the major Western countries in Europe and

North America are into their second or third lockdowns

ever since the pandemic showed up in March 2020. But

instead of decrease in the number of new detections and

deaths, a soaring of the cases of Covid-19 on both counts

iscreating new records of sickness and mortality in these

countries. In other words, after more than eleven

months after it struck across Europe and North

America, the virus is found to be not only alive and well

but very well indeed there.

So, what happened after taking so much restrictions,

lockdowns, home staying, isolation, etc. to control

Covid-19's spread ? It is now an established fact that in

Europe and North America or indeed much of the world

the march of Covid-19 continues to be completely

unstoppable. Rather in ferocity and spread of its new

strains, the virus seems dauntless against any defence

that its human opposers could set up so far. Therefore,

it is no overstatement to say that even after nearly a

year, we, meaning collectively the whole of mankind, are

collectively nowhere near to delivering theknock out

punch to the epidemic.

Providence should be thanked for the comparatively

lower prevalence of Covid-19 cases in Bangladesh. But

let us not bank so surely on this factor alone for there is

no knowing with surety that Covid-19 cases will not

jump up after a seeming lull in our country. We have to

look into the situation in neighbouring India to realize

the uneasy reality. After the United States India

presently suffers the highest number of infections and

deaths in the world from Covid-19 and India is so near

to Bangladesh on all three sides.

The only glimmer of hope is the vaccine. USA and UK

have only juststarted applying it. But we have to wait a

pretty long time to know with any degree of certainty

that these vaccines will provide lasting protection to

potential victims of Covid-19. The vaccines have been

hurriedly introduced without going through the usual

process of trials and errors lasting some four or five

years. This time period was cut short to create a vaccine

in only six months but none can give any guarantee of

its efficacy on large scale use. There had been cases of

severe reactions and even deaths on trial application of

the vaccines that led to notable concern among large

number of people in badly afflicted countries about

enthusiastically getting vaccinated. A large number of

even medical professionals in UK and USA have either

rejected the offer of vaccines or are hesitating to do so.

As for treatment of Covid-19, the world as a whole

stands more or less in the same position, say, as it did in

last August and September. There are a few medications

known to shorten the period of sickness from Covid-19

cases. But these are mainly palliative supports to reduce

severity of symptoms. These cannot cure the affliction

nor after effects of Covod-19 such as extraordinary

weakness, loss of appetite and lasting varied types of

disability following the infection. There is simply no

antibiotic type of antidote against Covid-19. The ones

who recover do so mainly 'naturally' observing a

regimen of care during their sickness.

The astounding thing is :experts at least silently accept

that their knowledge of how Covid-19 spreads, its real

origin, its mutations, etc., are still an enigma on the

most part to them. What can we summarise from the

above ? It should be clear that our understanding of

Covid-19 is not far advanced from the time when it was

first detected. We still do not know enough about its

mode of transmission, mutation, treatment and

prevention. The greatest lacking of knowledge is in the

area of treatment. We just have a too hurriedly

produced and marketed vaccine . But its safety and

surety are yet to be proven conclusively. So, it does not

seem that medical science has achieved any decisive

progress in the fight against Covid-19 since it broke out.

We must not remain content only with the

development of a still not hundred per cent dependable

vaccine. We must pursue vaccine development much

further for it to reach complete effectiveness under all

circumstances at the fastest. More important is to

simultaneously go all out to develop medicines that can

actually CURE Covid-19. To this end, the maximum

resources of all countries - both human and materialneed

to be harnessed, pooled and utilized.

Lebanon's cedars resemble a sundried

forest awaiting the spark:

Escalating civil disorder, violence by

armed factions, assassinations, state

failure, financial collapse ... this is the

same remorseless path into civil war that

we passively watched Libya, Syria and

Yemen pursue after 2011. Have we

learned nothing?

Like Nero fiddling while Rome burns,

Lebanon's discredited political classes can

proudly boast a year of wasted efforts

toward forming a competent, technocratic

government, each time predictably met

with dogmatic refusals by Michel Aoun,

Gebran Bassil and Hassan Nasrallah -

who insist on flooding the administration

with corrupt loyalists, while Lebanon

implodes before our eyes.

Hence the outbreak of mass public

support (and naked panic from

Hezbollah) at Maronite Patriarch

Bechara Rai's proposals for a new way

forward in his speech last week to a large

and diverse audience including Sunni,

Shiite, Druze and Christian leaders.

Nevertheless, Rai is being viciously

denounced as a "traitor" by figures who

long-ago sold their souls to Tehran, and

whose obstructionism was denounced

by the patriarch as a "coup against

Lebanese society."

Yet Rai's proposals for "internationalizing"

the situation will achieve nothing if the

international community has no desire to get

involved, or if France, America and Britain

on one side, and Russia and China on the

other, act to frustrate each other's efforts.

The Vietnamese women who refuse to stay silent

Just before midnight on October 6,

2020, police raided the boarding

house of Pham Doan Trang, a

prominent Vietnamese author, journalist,

and human-rights activist. They arrested

her under Article 88 of the 1999 Penal

Code for "making, storing, disseminating

or propagating information, documents,

and articles against the State and Socialist

Republic of Vietnam." She faces up to 20

years in prison.

Ironically, Pham Doan Trang was

arrested just hours after the United States

and Vietnam completed their 24th annual

Human Rights Dialogue. Trang has been

held incommunicado in pretrial detention

since her arrest. No one has seen her or

heard from her since that day, not even

her lawyer.

Unfortunately, Trang's case is not

unique. Despite their internationally

acclaimed achievements and important

contributions to the human rights, free

press, and pro-democracy movement in

Vietnam, Trang and other female activists

in the country are frequently subjected to

harassment, arrest, and long prison

sentences.

On June 24, 2020, police broke into Can

Thi Theu's house and arrested her without

a warrant. Theu is a land-grab victim and

a land-rights activist. She was harassed

multiple times before she was arrested

that day, her third arrest. She is being held

incommunicado. Her sons, Trinh Ba Tu

and Trinh Ba Phuong, have also been

arrested, leaving Theu's husband, Trinh

Ba Khiem, as the only one not currently

imprisoned.

Early the same day, land petitioner and

human-rights defender Nguyen Thi Tam

was kidnapped by security forces while

The key elements of neoliberal

policies - free market, minimal state

intervention and flexible labour -

hinge on a crucial principle which,

according to Noam Chomsky, is

"undermining mechanisms of social

solidarity and mutual support and popular

engagement in determining policy". Yet,

despite the crushing creed of neoliberalism

that gives precedence to individual

'freedom' over collective agency, strong

resistance to neoliberal hegemony is alive

and kicking in the world.

One such voice you find at home is of the

Anjuman-i-Mazarain Punjab where

apparently 'all is quiet' since its general

secretary Abdul Sattar Mehar was acquitted

in September 2020 after four years of

incarceration. The Anjuman's struggle

against corporatisation of farms is ongoing

as successive governments have not granted

them land ownership. It has been two

decades since tenant-cultivators in Okara

and the adjoining districts took control of

the farms and stopped paying rent.

They keep tilling the fields, sow what

they deem fit, eat what they harvest and

sell the remaining crop to send their

children to school, improve their dwellings

and buy small assets. About 90 per cent of

Any meaningful action would require

France and Russia to agree on a way

forward, given their ability to compel

Lebanese factions to cooperate. An

overburdened Biden administration, an

introverted UK, and a COVID-blitzed EU

and China have scant appetite for

prioritizing Lebanon - but would they

rather grapple with a political crisis today,

or another regionalized war tomorrow?

There is no viable path forward that

Hezbollah would voluntarily agree to,

because the international donors and

GCC support required to salvage Lebanon

would never countenance Hezbollah

being a significant part of the

administration. Hence the need for active

Russian involvement in compelling Iran

and Hezbollah to refrain from resorting to

violence to sabotage such a route. Both

Paris and Moscow have already

demonstrated their desire to rescue

Lebanon through diplomatic support for

government formation efforts. But are

they willing to do what it really takes to

address this unraveling catastrophe?

In parallel with Rai's call for

going to the local market. These four were

charged under Article 117.

According to The 88 Project's records,

as of March 2, 2021, there are 83 female

activists currently at risk, including 28 in

detention for speaking up for human

rights and democracy issues. There were

nine women arrested in 2020 and four in

2019. In 2020, the number of arrests

more than doubled, and most of the

women were charged for expressing their

opinions on social media.

Vietnam suppresses dissent broadly,

often denying political prisoners the right

to communicate with their families or

lawyers, the right to a fair trial, and

adequate health care behind bars.

The targeting of female activists also

raises serious concerns about the effects of

this treatment on women and their

families, especially young children. The

arrest and harassment of female activists

with young children, has a significant

mental impact on both the mothers and

the children, as former political prisoner

Tran Thi Nga shared in an interview with

The 88 Project after her release.

According to Clause 1(b) of Article 67 of

the Vietnam's 2015 Criminal Code, "[a]

convict who is a pregnant woman or

having a child under 36 months of age

may have the sentence deferred until the

GRACe BUI

ZeeNAt HIsAM

child reaches the age of 36 months."

However, the Vietnamese government

often doesn't follow its own rules.

Doan Thi Hong was arrested on

September 2, 2018, without any charges

or arrest warrant, and her family didn't

know her whereabouts for a long time.

Hong is a single mother, and her daughter

was only 30 months old at the time of her

arrest. She was held incommunicado for

one year. During that time her family was

not allowed to see her, including her

young daughter.

Huynh Thi To Nga, a lab technician, also

"In a dictatorship nobody has freedom, but especially not

women; their lack of freedom is multiplied many times

compared [with] men. Because women are not only victims

of the regime in terms of politics, but they are also

victims of gender inequality and self-constraint."

a single mother, has two children, and one

of them was under 30 months old at the

time Nga was abducted by plainclothes

police. She was taken away from the

hospital where she worked on January 29,

2019, and her family didn't know her

whereabouts for several weeks.

After Nga's arrest, the family decided to

stay very quiet and were unwilling to

advocate for her because of intimidation

by the authorities.

Dinh Thi Thu Thuy is the most recent

arrest of a single mother. Thuy was

arrested on April 18, 2020, under Article

117 for "making, storing, distributing or

disseminating information, documents

and articles to oppose the State of the

Socialist Republic of Vietnam."

Collective agency

the dwellings in the villages have become

'pukka', says Aqila Naz of the Anjuman.

Members of households pushed to wage

labour have returned to the farms and the

yields are enough to improve the lives of

extended families. The last two years,

though, have been hard due to lack of

rains, increased input prices and Covid-19.

But the autonomy gained is worth the

hardship, says Aquila.

Sustaining the Indian farmers' protest is

strategic organisation.Similarly, in Latin

America, the peasantry has collectively

fought against neoliberal policies which

jeopardised livelihoods of the rural

populace and led to land corporatisation,

social marginalisation and ecological

destruction. There are thousands of

peasant movements - collectives,

associations, unions, forums, networks - at

the local level, defending sustainable

agriculture, small farm holdings and

farmers' autonomy.

Across the border, tens of thousands of

Indian farmers - men, women, youth,

elderly - are challenging the recently

promulgated neoliberal laws that are to

allow corporatisation through contract

farming, end state intervention through

dismantling minimum support price and

BARIA ALAMUDDIN

internationalization, the other side of the

coin is his insistence on Lebanon's

"neutrality" - i.e. the Lebanese state and

its component factions not being on the

payroll of any foreign power, whether

Western states, Arab regimes, Russia or

Iran. "Failure to respect neutrality is the

sole cause of all the crises and wars that

the country has gone through," he argued

in his speech last week. "There is no state

Yet Rai's proposals for "internationalizing" the situation

will achieve nothing if the international community has

no desire to get involved, or if France, America and

Britain on one side, and Russia and China on the other,

act to frustrate each other's efforts.

with two powers within it, nor with two

armies or two peoples." Lebanon can

never enjoy stability or tranquility without

the full disarmament of all nonstate

entities: Palestinians, Hezbollah, criminal

gangs, extremists and political factions.

Amid Lebanon's furiously escalating

sectarian and factional tensions, a single

incident risks triggering all-out conflict.

Given the patriarch's powerful spiritual

role, and the respect he also enjoys among

non-Christians, he can play an immense

role in breaking the political gridlock. We

have seen a comparable role in Iraq from

Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, who intervened

at critical junctures to force politicians to

overcome their differences, and worked to

strip accountability through blocking

citizens' right to legal recourse against

powerful actors. Unlike Pakistan where

land ownership is highly skewed, in India

68.2pc of cultivated land is owned by

95.1pc of farmers who own landholdings in

the categories of marginal, small, and semimedium

(from 2.5 up to 10 acres) and

31.8pc of cultivated land is owned by 4.9pc

farmers with medium and large

landholdings (up to 25 acres or more).

However, nearly 86pc of farmers cultivate

less than five acres. Despite land

ownership, farming is increasingly

unsustainable due to rising costs of inputs

which push farmers towards indebtedness.

While complex factors lie behind every

input cost, the most painful story is that of

seeds farmers have to purchase from

Monsanto. According to a study, Monsanto

owns 90pc of seeds that are in use in India.

Various researches link farmers' suicides in

India to seed debts owed to Monsanto and

debts to arhatiyas or middlemen

accumulated over purchase of other inputs.

Amidst this grim scenario of neoliberal

individual entrepreneurship and free

market, where 'freedom', says Chomsky,

means "a subordination to the decisions of

concentrated, unaccountable, private

obstruct Tehran's schemes for

dominating Iraq's theological and political

spheres. Pope Francis' Iraq visit likewise

has high ambitions for encouraging

national unity and protection of

minorities. I normally strongly oppose the

interference of theocrats in politics - but

what other options remain once

politicians have repeatedly failed?

The patriarch's intervention could be

the final gasp for Lebanese and Middle

Eastern Christianity: With each new bout

of civil conflict the Christian population

has plunged, as hundreds of thousands

flee persecution and extremism. The selfserving,

traitorous alliance with

Hezbollah by Christian leaders like Aoun

and Bassil has accelerated Lebanese

Christianity's demise. This represents a

catastrophe for Christianity, but also a

disaster for Lebanese and Middle Eastern

diversity, as a bastion against Tehran's

intolerant, monolithic worldview.

Amid Lebanon's furiously escalating

sectarian and factional tensions, a

single incident risks triggering all-out

conflict. Lest we forget, the Lebanese

civil war effectively erupted within a

single day - April 13, 1975, known as

Black Sunday. In a similar context of

explosive inter-factional tensions, a

drive-by church shooting triggered a

retaliatory massacre against a busload

of Palestinians. Hundreds were killed

as clashes escalated throughout the

following days.

Source: Arab news

According to the indictment, Thuy had

allegedly created a number of Facebook

accounts to disseminate numerous

articles distorting the Communist

regime's policies and defaming its

leadership. She was also accused of

criticizing the Communist Party's

measures in dealing with Covid-19.

Thuy is a human-rights and an

environmental-rights activist, and she is

also a single mother of a nine-year-old

child. Thuy was held in incommunicado

pretrial detention and did not get to see

her son until December 2020. She was

sentenced to seven years in prison on

January 20, 2021, and has been severely

ill while imprisoned.

The Vietnamese government often uses

children as bait to force their mothers to

sign a confession. The authorities accuse

the women of not fulfilling their

responsibilities as mothers.

These women are often transferred to

prisons located far away from their home

towns, even thousands of kilometers

away. By detaining them in places that

are far from home, they make it

extremely difficult for the young children

to visit. The family is only allowed to visit

once a month and for less than 30

minutes each visit. Sometimes the

families will travel a long distance to the

prison camps only to find out that they

are not allowed to visit.

The human-rights situation in

Vietnam has worsened in the past five

years. The government often uses

draconian laws to threaten freedom of

expression, and it has sentenced

dissidents to longer prison terms.

Source: Asia times

power", collective agency appears to be the

only hope. Though agriculture in India is

largely unorganised, 5pc of its work force is

union-affiliated. Add to it hundreds of

diverse associations, groups and fronts

active in rural India and you have the basic

ground to initiate a struggle. The

movement has emerged from Punjab and

Haryana where farmers are relatively

better off. One of the reasons is they are

able to sell their produce - wheat and rice -

at minimum support price. As the laws are

meant to dismantle local markets,

arhatiyas are a partner in the movement.

It has been more than three months

since thousands of farmers have camped

around Delhi to resist the laws which, they

believe, if not repealed would drastically

change their lives and livelihood. The

struggle is being led by a collective of 40

farmers' organisations connected with

over 500 national farm and workers'

unions.

What is sustaining the struggle, aside

from determination, grit and courage to

confront the state, is strategic organisation

and logistics of keeping this rotating mass

of humanity well protected under the sky.

Source: Dawn

TueSdAy, MArCH 9, 2021

5

Unblocking the secrets of mysterious einsteinium

KeNNeTH CHANg

Einsteinium is an element with a famous name that

almost no one has heard of.With 99 protons and 99

electrons, it sits in obscurity near the bottom of the

periodic table of chemical elements, between californium

and fermium. It first showed up in the explosive debris of

the first hydrogen bomb in 1952, and the team of

scientists who discovered it gave it a name to honor

Albert Einstein.

Even today, scientists know little about it.Einsteinium

is highly radioactive. Because there are no stable

versions that do not fall apart within a few years, it is not

found in nature. It can be produced in a few specialized

nuclear reactors, but only in minute amounts.

Writing in the journal Nature, researchers led by

Rebecca J. Abergel, who leads the heavy element

chemistry group at Lawrence Berkeley National

Laboratory in California, reported on Wednesday that

they have now worked out some basic chemical

properties of einsteinium.

It was not easy. Indeed, Dr. Abergel described her

paper as the culmination of "a long series of unfortunate

events."David L. Clark, a scientist at the Los Alamos

National Laboratory who was not involved with the

research, said the end result was a "tour de force" and

part of a renaissance in the study of these heavy

elements, which have very different properties than

lighter, more common elements and could be used in

novel nuclear reactors or cancer therapies.

"This kind of work hasn't been done before," Dr. Clark

said. "It's state of the art." It took a while to get started.A

few years ago, Dr. Abergel missed out on a chance to

obtain some einsteinium that was produced at Oak Ridge

National Laboratory in Tennessee - a federal research

center that was central to the production of the uranium

used in the first atomic bombs - because she had not

raised money for research in time. She was ready for the

next einsteinium production campaign in 2019.

After she and her colleagues designed the experiments

and safety procedures for handling the radioactive

element, Oak Ridge told them that there would not be

any einsteinium after all. But about a week later, Oak

Ridge then said it could provide some einsteinium. "All

of a sudden, it's like, 'Oh, it's coming,'" Dr. Abergel

recalled. "But you only get one-third of what you

thought."

That smaller amount was less than 250 nanograms, or

250 billionths of a gram - less than one one-hundredmillionth

of an ounce.Worse, the sample that the

Berkeley researchers received was heavily contaminated

Scientists had to overcome hurdles to work out einsteinium's chemical properties.

Photo: Marilyn Sargent

with einsteinium's periodic table neighbor, californium.

That thwarted their initial plans, to stack the einsteinium

atoms into a crystal and then illuminate the element's

chemical properties by bombarding it with X-rays before

examining the pattern of rays bouncing off.

Instead, they turned to a large molecular structure that

essentially worked as a claw to hold an atom of

einsteinium, bonding it in eight places. But to study this

structure, they needed to use a different research center,

at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory on the

other side of San Francisco Bay. During one of the early

preparations, a sample was too acidic, causing a

container to fail.

Even though no radiation leaked out, Dr. Abergel said,

"because we have so many safety protocols - and

rightfully so - we were told we had to re-evaluate

everything, reassess our techniques."Los Alamos

National Laboratory, the birthplace of atomic bombs,

designed a new container for the Berkeley team. That

took a few months, and finally, Dr. Abergel and her

colleagues were able to conduct their experiments.

They were investigating an isotope of einsteinium that

has 155 neutrons in addition to the 99 protons in its

nucleus. That is the second longest-lived version of

einsteinium, with a half-life of 276 days. With each delay,

they had less einsteinium left to study. About 7 percent of

the einsteinium atoms disappeared each month.

Then, with the coronavirus pandemic, all of the

laboratories - including those needed to study other

aspects of the einsteinium - shut down. When they

resumed work, most of the sample was gone. But there

was still enough to finish most of the research.

From the experiments at SLAC, they measured the

lengths of the molecular bonds between the einsteinium

and the eight atoms in the molecular claw holding it. The

length turned out to be 2.38 angstroms. One angstrom is

one hundred-millionth of a centimeter.

They were expecting 2.42 or 2.43 angstroms, said

Korey P. Carter, a professor of chemistry at the

University of Iowa and another author of the Nature

paper. "A statistically significant difference," he said.

The emission of light by the einsteinium also

unexpectedly shifted to a shorter wavelength when it was

bound in the molecular claw. The researchers had

expected the wavelength to become longer.Dr. Abergel

said the differences indicated that the electrons were

moving differently than had been thought.

That is not surprising. With 99 electrons whizzing

around an einsteinium nucleus, it is hard to come up

with a model that accurately describes what is going on.

Unlike in lighter elements, the large positive charge in

einsteinium and other heavy elements causes electrons

to travel at speeds that reach a sizable fraction of the

speed of light. That means the effects from Einstein's

theory of special relativity also have to be taken into

account.

"The electrons are moving so fast that chemistry

changes, because chemistry is all about the behavior of

electrons," said Thomas Albrecht-Schönzart, a professor

of chemistry at Florida State University who was not

involved with the research. "Almost by definition, you're

going to get strange properties."

That question will be studied for quite a while."The

problem is, those calculations are super hard," Dr.

Albrecht-Schönzart said. Einsteinium itself is unlikely to

find any practical use anytime soon. But other heavy

elements could, like actinium, which is a bit lighter with

89 protons and 89 electrons. And what scientists learn

about einsteinium could also offer even more insights on

those elements. "The similarity in this part of the

periodic table teaches us principles of structure and

bonding," said Dr. Clark, the scientist at the Los Alamos

National Laboratory.

Actinium is already being tested as a cancer treatment.

Because the chemistry of heavy elements is not wellunderstood,

it is harder to design molecules containing

them."But if we can understand and master that

chemistry at that level of chemical bond making, then we

can go after things like cancer treatment," Dr. Clark said.

NASA's perseverance rover lands on Mars

KeNNeTH CHANg

NASA safely landed a new robotic rover on Mars on

Thursday, beginning its most ambitious effort in decades to

directly study whether there was ever life on the now barren

red planet. While the agency has completed other missions to

Mars, the $2.7 billion robotic explorer, named Perseverance,

carries scientific tools that will bring advanced capabilities to

the search for life beyond Earth. The rover, about the size of

a car, can use its sophisticated cameras, lasers that can

analyze the chemical makeup of Martian rocks and groundpenetrating

radar to identify the chemical signatures of

fossilized microbial life that may have thrived on Mars when

it was a planet full of flowing water.

"Now the fun really starts," Lori Glaze, director of NASA's

planetary science division, said during a news conference

after the landing.

NASA's earlier missions showed that in the

distant past some places were warm, wet

and habitable. Now it is time to learn

whether there were ever any

microscopic inhabitants

there."It's an enormous

undertaking that's in front of

us, and it has enormous

scientific potential to

really

be

transformative,"

Kenneth Williford, a

deputy project

scientist on the

mission said during a

news conference on

Wednesday. "The

question is, 'Was Mars

ever a living planet?'"

Mars has been the

focus of more and more

interest from explorers

on Earth. The United Arab

Emirates and China both

began orbiting the planet last

month, joining an armada of

European and American

spacecraft already studying it from

space. And private entrepreneurs are

looking toward the

neighboring world, with

some such as Elon Musk

imagining that one day

perhaps humans could live there.

The rover will set in motion a NASA plan that is to be

carried out over the next decade, and it could bring samples

from Mars back to Earth, where scientists will have even

more capabilities to find something signaling that our planet

is not the only place where life has ever been found.

The mission will also try to make a small experimental

helicopter, Ingenuity, take flight in the thin Martian

atmosphere - something never accomplished before.

Successful tests of this Marscopter could point the way

toward new methods for searching the surface of Mars and

other worlds from their skies. A successful test of the

helicopter would be "a true extraterrestrial Wright Brothers

moment," said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's associate

The second of two images sent by Perseverance

from Mars's surface.

Photo: NASA TV

administrator for science.The mission will also try to make a

small experimental helicopter, Ingenuity, take flight in the

thin Martian atmosphere - something never accomplished

before. Successful tests of this Marscopter could point the

way toward new methods for searching the surface of Mars

and other worlds from their skies.

A successful test of the helicopter would be "a true

extraterrestrial Wright Brothers moment," said Thomas

Zurbuchen, NASA's associate administrator for

science.NASA has landed a series of rovers on Mars since the

1990s. Each has revolutionized human understanding of

Mars.

The Spirit and Opportunity rovers, which landed in 2004,

followed unmistakable signs of water that flowed several

billion years ago. The Curiosity rover, which arrived in 2012,

quickly discovered that its location, the 96-mile-wide Gale

Crater, was once a freshwater lake, an environment that was

clearly habitable even though it was not equipped

to answer whether microbes once inhabited

the lake.

Perseverance, by contrast, has the

tools that can search for complex

carbon-based molecules that

could be the remnants of past

microbes.Williford said.

"Chemical compositions -

so the elements, the

minerals, the molecules,

the organic molecules

that we know are

associated with life -

we're looking for all

those things occurring

together."

The setting for the

mission's studies is

Jezero, a 30-mile-wide

crater that was once a

large lake filled by a river

delta. The rover will crawl

along the ancient delta, poring

over its piles of sediments in

search of those chemical signals of

microbes that were extinguished as

Mars turned cold and barren.

But Perseverance will most likely be

unable to provide definitive

proof of past life. Another

part of its mission is to be

the first step in a

complicated robotic game of pick up sticks that will

eventually bring some of the rocks back to Earth for

scientists to study up close. Perseverance will drill rock

samples, seal them in tubes and then drop them onto the

surface. A later rover, from the European Space Agency,

will retrace Perseverance's path in order to pick up the

tubes and transfer them to a small rocket that will blast off

to space. The samples will then be transferred to another

spacecraft in orbit around Mars for the trip back to Earth,

sometime in the early 2030s.

Perseverance was the third robotic visitor from Earth to

arrive at the red planet this month. Last week, two other

spacecraft, Hope from the United Arab Emirates and

Tianwen-1 from China, entered orbit around Mars.

There is still lot to learn about the pole animals.

Photo: Peter Mather

How will pole animals cope

with climate change?

HeNry FouNTAiN

On Alaska's North Slope, treeless and

snow-shrouded for much of the year, it

isn't easy being a wolverine. The sinewy,

solitary animals survive through a

constant search for food, burrowing into

snowdrifts to rest.

But the Arctic is rapidly changing,

warming much faster than any other

region, and the snow is melting earlier.

Researchers want to understand how

wolverines will adapt.

Peter Mather, a photographer,

documented researchers' fieldwork over

several seasons. The images provide a

rare glimpse at wolverines in the Arctic

wilds. With their large feet, wolverines

can pad their way across the snowy

tundra as if on snowshoes. But there is

little place to hide from their main

predator, the Arctic wolf. They have the

stamina to chase caribou for dozens of

miles if necessary, and the strength to

kill the much larger animals.

Since 2014, the Wildlife Conservation

Society, together with partner groups

has been studying Alaska's wolverines.

The goal, says the project coordinator,

Tom Glass, a doctoral candidate at the

University of Alaska-Fairbanks, is "to

understand ecological relationships

between this species and the

environment in this quickly changing

place."Over two years 24 animals were

trapped, anesthetized and given

satellite-tracking collars that transmitted

data about their movements and

behavior. Wolverines can quickly dig

dens in the snow, to escape bad weather

or predators, or just to rest. Maternal

wolverines' dens are often a complex set

of tunnels where they give birth to and

nurse their kits.

Wolverines were tracked over

hundreds of square miles, moving from

the Brooks Range and its foothills to the

coastal plain. If the satellite link failed,

Mr. Glass could locate an animal using a

portable radio antenna.

Mr. Glass and an assistant, Matt

Kynoch, handled the trapped wolverines

after the anesthetic had taken effect, to

collar them and take hair and tissue

samples. The animals' teeth become

worn down over the years, so

photographs provide a rough estimate of

age. The collar on a wolverine provides

data for several months after the animal

is released and bounds off into the snow.

For the animal's long-term safety, the

collar is designed to separate and drop

off after that time.

Wolverines have been trapped for

centuries by indigenous peoples in the

Arctic, who prize the fur. It is difficult

to know how stable the population is in

Alaska, but over the last half-century

the number of animals harvested

annually has remained roughly the

same. Wolverine fur is favored for its

wicking ability. Used as fringe on

parka hood, it helps keep water and ice

off the face of Qaiyaan Harcharek, an

Inupiat trapper.Wolverines have a

reputation for being fierce, but that's

only accurate to a degree, Mr. Glass

said. "They're not warm and fuzzy

when they're looking at me from inside

of a box trap," he said. But wolverine

family scenes are like those of other

species, with the kits playing on the

tundra and the mother "trying to get a

wink of sleep in while the kits pounce

on her."

Even after seven years of study, there

is still a lot to learn about the animals."It

still surprises me how little we know

about wolverines, in the Arctic in

particular," Mr. Glass said. "We need to

understand how wolverine ecology is

changing, and identify any areas of

conservation concern."

TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2021

6

On the occasion of International Women's Day a rally and discussion meeting was organized by the

Department of Upazila Administration and Women's Affairs at Banaripara Upazila Auditorium on

Monday. Upazila Women's Affairs Officer Deepika Rani Sen presided over the function conducted by

Md. Zahid Hossain.

Photo: S Mizanul Islam

Rally, discussion meeting held on Int’l

Women's Day in Banaripara

S MIZANUL ISLAM, BANARIPARA CORRESPONDENT

On the occasion of International Women's Day in

Banaripara, a rally and discussion meeting was organized by

the Department of Upazila Administration and Women's

Affairs at Banaripara Upazila Auditorium on Monday, March

8 at 10 am. The theme of the day was "Women's Leadership

in Corona, Building a New World of Equality". Upazila

Women's Affairs Officer Deepika Rani Sen presided over the

International

Women's Day

observed in

Rajshahi

RAJSHAHI : Various

government and nongovernment

development

organisations observed the

International Women's Day-

2021 befittingly on Monday

with the unanimous call of

freeing the womenfolk from

all sorts of violence, disparity

and discrimination.

"Women in leadership:

Achieving an equal future in

a Covid-19 world" was the

theme for International

Women's Day 2021.

Marking the day, the

district administration and

department of women

affairs jointly organised a

discussion meeting at the

conference hall of Deputy

Commissioner (DC) in

Rajshahi city.

Rajshahi Mayor AHM

Khairuzzaman Liton

addressed the meeting as

chief guest, while Advocate

Adiba Anjum Mita, MP,

spoke as special guest with

DC Abdul Jalil in the chair.

Social Worker Shaheen

Akter Rainy, local unit

chairman of Jatiya Mohila

Sangstha Morjina Parveen

and Deputy Director of the

Department of Women

Affairs Shobnom Shirin also

spoke.

In his remarks, Mayor

Liton said the present

government under the

dynamic and visionary

leadership of Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina has been

working relentlessly for the

development and

empowerment of women.

He said the government

has also attained success in

the field of establishing

equal rights for women side

by side with generating

employment opportunities

for them.

Besides, the present

government has taken

various initiatives to create a

women-friendly atmosphere

in the country so that the

women can play an

important role in boosting

economic development.

He mentioned gender

balance is the precondition

to substantial and

sustainable progress of the

nation and it is very

important to the

development of the national

economy.

function conducted by Md. Zahid Hossain.

Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Nishat Sharmin

addressed the discussion as the chief guest. Among others,

Banaripara Municipal Awami League President Subrata Lal

Kundu, Awami League leader Khorshed Alam Selim, Upazila

Forest Officer Taherul Islam, Information Officer

Faizunnesa Khanam, Cooperative Officer Afsana Shakhi,

Jayita Nazneen Haque Minu and others took part in the

discussion.

Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer in Phulbari upazila of Kurigram

District Doctor Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal placed wreath at the portrait of

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as part of the observation of historic

7th March .

Photo: TBT

Bangladesh Coast Guard arrests

5 drug traffickers in Teknaf

Bangladesh Coast Guard seized 30,000

yaba pills and arrested five alleged drug

traffickers from the River Naf in Cox's

Bazar's Teknaf on Monday, says a press

release.

The market value of the seized yaba pills is

around Tk90 lakh.

The law enforcers also seized a wooden

boat - used to trespass into Bangladesh

territory from Myanmar.

The arrested drug traders were identified

as Nurul Amin, 50, Abdul Quddus, 40,

Karim Mollah, 25, Omar Faruque, 22, and

Sanam Ullah, 30. All of them are

inhabitants of Shah Porir Dwip - located in

Bangladesh at the mouth of the River Naf.

Tipped off, an operational team of Coast

Guard's Saint Martin's station conducted

the drive in the River Naf.

At around 1:35 pm, they saw a wooden

boat crossing into Bangladesh from

Myanmar. It tried to flee the scene seeing

the speed boat of the law enforcers.

The Coast Guard team chased the boat

and was able to seize it at one stage, said Lt

Commander Amirul Islam of Coast Guard

headquarters. "While searching the boat,

the coast guards detained five alleged drug

traders along with 30,000 yaba pills,"

Amirul said.

Bangladesh Coast Guard arrested five alleged drug traffickers from the

River Naf in Cox's Bazar's Teknaf on Monday.

Photo: Courtesy

5 arrested for

vandalising

Barishal shop

BARISHAL : Five suspects

were arrested for vandalism

at Top Ten Limited's

Barishal outlet on Sunday

evening, reports UNB.

The arrestees identified

themselves as activists of

Bangladesh Chhatra League

(BCL) but the student front's

leaders say the accused are

not affiliated with the

organisation.

Police identified them as -

Rakib, Nohan, Shahadat,

Sajib and Shuvro. All of

them are final year students

of history at BM College.

Quoting outlet's manager

Md Wahed, building

owner's representative

Ashikur Rahman said a

group of 15-20 young men

came to the shop in the

evening. They chose various

items and had them packed.

But they refused to pay

and claimed that they had

been sent there by BCL's

Barishal metropolitan unit

chief Jashim Uddin.

They vandalised the shop

when its staff protested

against their unjust demand

and tried to leave. But the

five BM College students

were nabbed from the site.

Police have taken them

into custody.

BCL leader Jashim

rejected his involvement

with the incident.

"Someone is trying to

frame me," he said.

"Everything will be clear

once the surveillance camera

footage is analysed and the

culprits arrested."

Two new fruit

varieties get

registration

RAJSHAHI : Two new

fruits, coloured mango and

the Falsa, got registration

from the authorities of the

National Seed Board

enriching the existing list of

the country's fruits.

Rajshahi Fruit Research

(FRS) Station of Bangladesh

Agricultural Research

Institute (BARI) has

developed the new varieties

to Bangladeshi fruits.

FRS Principal Scientific

Officer Dr Alim Uddin told

BSS that the coloured

mango was carried from

Saudi Arabia while the

'Falsa' is an indigenous fruit

of Rajshahi.

With these two, Fruit

Research Centre has added a

total of nine varieties of

fruits in the country, he said,

the country now boasts of 92

varieties of 36 kinds of fruits.

"We are proud and

delighted. We believe these

fruits will be popular among

farmers and people for their

taste, nutrient values and

commercial potential," Dr

Alim added.

"International Women's

Day" held in Belabo

PRADEEP KUMAR DEBNATH, NARSINGDI CORRESPONDENT

A discussion meeting was held on the occasion of the celebration of "International Women's

Day" this morning in the meeting hall of the Upazila Parishad at the initiative of Belab Upazila

Administration of Narsingdi with the theme "Women will build a new world of equality in the

coronal period". Upazila Women's Affairs Officer Jerin Sultana presided over the function

and Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Akhter Hossain Shahin was present as the chief guest.

Upazila Mahila Vice Chairman Sharmin Akter Khaleda, Upazila Assistant Commissioner

(Land) Md. Belal Hossain and others were present as special guests. The speakers expressed

their gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for establishing women's rights in every field

during the tenure of the present government. They called for more involvement of meritbased

women in all fields. He also called for stricter laws and practical implementation of the

law to prevent violence against women.

A discussion meeting was held on the occasion of the celebration of

"International Women's Day" this morning in the meeting hall of the

Upazila Parishad at the initiative of Belab Upazila Administration of

Narsingdi with the theme "Women will build a new world of equality in the

coronal period".

Photo: Pradeep Kumar Debnath

International Women’s Day-2021 was observed in Magura on Monday.

ADAB , Magura district unit took different programs in observance of the

day .They arranged a discussion meeting at Rova foundation conference

room . ADAB, Magura district unit , general secretary Sabina Yashmin and

Aparajita executive director Kallani Rani Biswas spoke in the meeting with

ADAB, Magura president Kazi Kamruzzaman in the chair . Earlier a grand

rally paraded the town .

Photo: Rokibul Hoque Dipu

Coronavirus cases reach 15,867

in Rangpur division

RANGPUR : The number of

coronavirus (COVID-19) cases rose to

15,867 in Rangpur division where a

declining trend in infection rate

continues during the last more than

two months.

Health officials said three new

patients were reported after diagnosing

143 samples on Sunday at the daily

infection rate of 2.10 percent raising the

number infected patients to 15,867 in

the division.

The district-wise break up of 15,867

patients currently stands at 4,053 in

Rangpur, 795 in Panchagarh, 1,338 in

Nilphamari, 966 in Lalmonirhat, 1,021

in Kurigram, 1,513 in Thakurgaon,

4,716 in Dinajpur and 1,465 in

Gaibandha of the division.

Since the beginning, a total of

1,09,027 collected samples were tested

till Sunday, and of them, 15,867 were

found COVID-19 positive with an

average infection rate of 14.55 percent

in the division.

"Meanwhile, the total number of

cured patients rose to 15,209 out of

total 15,867 infected people at the

BCL man killed in Chattogram infighting

CHATTOGRAM : An activist of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) was killed in an infighting

between its two factions at Arefin Nagar in Chattogram city on Sunday night. The deceased

was identified as Mohammad Emon, 27, an activist of BCL and son of Nur Kashem. Quoting

local people, police said there was an enmity between two groups of BCL over establishing

supremacy in the area, reports UNB.

As a sequel to the enmity, a chase and counter-chase took place between the two groups,

triggering a clash at Muktijoddha Colony around 9pm. At one stage, Emon was stabbed by

someone during the clash.

average recovery rate of 95.85 percent,"

Focal Person of COVID-19 and

Assistant Director (Health) for

Rangpur division Dr. ZA Siddiqui told

BSS .

The average recovery rate of 95.85

percent is currently about 6.59 times

higher than the average infection rate

of 14.55 percent in the division.

"The 15,209 recovered patients

include 3,691 of Rangpur, 771 of

Panchagarh, 1,302 of Nilphamari, 953

of Lalmonirhat, 980 of Kurigram, 1,473

of Thakurgaon, 4,601 of Dinajpur and

1,438 of Gaibandha districts in the

division," Dr. Siddiqui added.

Divisional Director (Health) Dr. Md.

Ahad Ali said the number of fatalities

remained steady at 308 in the division

with no more deaths reported from

anywhere in the division on Sunday.

The district-wise break up of the 308

fatalities stands at 72 in Rangpur, 111 in

Dinajpur, 34 in Thakurgaon, 28 in

Nilphamari, 15 in Kurigram, 20 in

Panchagarh, 17 in Gaibandha and 11 in

Lalmonirhat districts of the division,"

he said.

"The average casualty rate currently

stands at 1.94 percent in the division,"

he said.

Among the total 15,867 infected

patients, four are undergoing

treatments at isolation units of

different hospitals after recovery of

15,209 patients and 308 deaths while

346 remaining in home isolations

across the division.

"Since the beginning, a total of

95,684 people were put in quarantines,

and of them, 93,270 released till

Sunday morning in the division," Dr.

Ali added.

Chief of Divisional Coronavirus

Service and Prevention Task Force and

Principal of Rangpur Medical College

Professor Dr. AKM Nurunnobi Lyzu

said the COVID-19 vaccination

campaign continues smoothly amid

declining infection rate in the division.

However, he suggested everyone to

properly abide by the health directives

and wear masks while remaining

outside even after taking the COVID-19

vaccines to ultimately bring down the

infection rate to the zero level.

tuesDAY, MArch , 9 2021

7

Myanmar careened deeper into crisis, as police occupied hospitals and universities and reportedly

arrested hundreds of people involved in protesting last month's military seizure of power, while a

coalition of labor unions called a strike for Monday.

Photo : AP

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The Latest: It's a

girl, Meghan and

Harry tell Oprah

MONTECITO : The latest

on Oprah Winfrey's interview

with Meghan and

Harry, their first since stepping

away from royal life:

Meghan and Harry say

their second child is a girl,

reports UNB.

The two made the revelation

in their interview with

Oprah Winfrey that aired

on Sunday night, a rare

positive moment in a conversation

that dwelt mostly

on their struggles within

the royal family.

Their first child, son

Archie, turns 2 in May.

Harry said "to have a boy

and then a girl, what more

can you ask for? But now

we've got our family. We've

got the four of us and our

two dogs."

Harry, wearing a gray

suit as he sat next to his

wife at a distance from

Winfrey, joined the interview

after Meghan talked to

Winfrey alone.

He denied blindsiding

the queen with the news

that he and Meghan were

stepping down from their

royal duties, saying it was

preceded by several conversations.

"I've never blindsided my

grandmother," Harry said.

"I have too much respect

for her."

He did however say that

his father, Prince Charles,

has stopped taking his

calls.

Meghan Markle told

Oprah Winfrey that she

had suicidal thoughts after

marrying Prince Harry,

and the palace prevented

her from getting help.

Myanmar crisis heightens with

police raids and strike call

YANGON : Myanmar careened deeper into crisis, as police

occupied hospitals and universities and reportedly arrested

hundreds of people involved in protesting last month's military

seizure of power, while a coalition of labor unions called

a strike for Monday.

Tension was high Sunday in the country's biggest city,

Yangon, where for a second night running gunshots from

heavy weapons rang out randomly in the streets of several

neighborhoods after the start of an 8 p.m. curfew. The

sounds of what apparently were stun grenades could also be

heard on videos posted on social media, reports UNB.

The purpose for security forces using such weapons when

protesters had left the streets appeared to be part of a strategy

to strike fear in anyone who might think about defying the

authorities. In a similar vein, there were many filmed incidents

of police and soldiers in plain view savagely beating

protesters they had taken into custody.

Some of the shooting was heard near hospitals, where

reports said neighborhood residents sought to block the

entry of police and soldiers.

Security forces have often targeted medical personnel and

facilities, attacking ambulances and their crews. Members of

the medical profession launched the Civil Disobedience

Movement, which is the nominal coordinator of the protests,

frequently hailed on demonstrators' signs by its CDM initials.

Taking over hospitals would allow the authorities to easily

arrest wounded people presumed to be protesters.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2021 8

Nagad to create 10 women

entrepreneurs in each Upazila

"Overcoming Hundreds of Barriers, Women are Moving Forward"- with this slogan, Bank Asia celebrates

International Women's Day 2021 in a festive manner on 8 March 2021. Ms. Romana Rouf Chowdhury,

Director of the bank was the Chief Guest, Tania Nusrat Zaman, Director (Designate), Bank Asia Ltd., was the

Special Guest and Shamim Ara Khanom, Managing Director of Voice Breeze was the Honorable Guest of the

program. The leading female employees from different arenas of the bank shared their stories of journey

towards a successful career. Honorable Guests cut cake with the female employees of the bank after delivering

their motivational speech. Md. Arfan Ali, President & Managing Director, Deputy Managing Directors,

Departmental Heads, Branch Heads and other officials were present at the program organized at Conference

Room, Bank Asia Tower, Karwan Bazar, Dhaka.

Photo : Courtesy

Aiming to accelerate the process of

women's empowerment, Nagad, the

digital financial service arm of

Bangladesh Post Office has taken an

initiative to recruiting ten women

entrepreneurs in each upazila of the

country.

Nagad will train up the selected

women in addition and will be given

the necessary support to deliver Nagad

services at the remote level, a press

release said.

Any woman who wants to become

self-dependent through providing the

digital financial services can apply to be

registered as an entrepreneur of Nagad,

the fast growing digital financial service

provider of the country. Interested

candidates should apply by March 31

via e-mail with resume. E-mail address

for sending application

nari.uddokta@nagad.com.bd.

The Nagad, second largest mobile

financial service carrier of the country,

authority will organize special training

on digital financial services by

screening the applicants and ultimately

recruit as entrepreneur from the

successful trainee list.

Commenting on the issue, Tanvir A

Mishuk, Managing Director of Nagad,

said, "We are working to accelerate the

digital transaction services to all types

of people across the country. Women

empowerment is one of our top

priority. We believe that this initiative

will also make a significant

contribution to ensuring equal

participation of women in digital

business and eliminating gender

inequality from the society, which will

also ensure a digital lifestyle for all men

and women. Moreover, if women are

employed as entrepreneurs, the

number of financial inclusion among

women will increase."

There are currently over a hundred

women entrepreneurs working with

Nagad and a significant number of

them have established themselves as

Nagad entrepreneurs. Some women

entrepreneurs are transacting one to

two lakh take a day and they

themselves are earning good money.

This will be a unique initiative to

employ women entrepreneurs at the

grassroots level in the financial services

business.

Mercantile Bank Limited celebrated International Women's Day-2021 today (08/03/2021). Female executives &

officers of the bank participated in the event. Md. Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, Managing Director & CEO of the

Bank inaugurated the Women's Day event by cutting cake. Mati Ul Hasan, Additional Managing Director was

present on the occasion. Moreover, Mercantile Bank celebrated the Women's Day in the different divisions of

Head Office and 150 branches of the bank all over the country. Md. Zakir Hossain, Adil Raihan, Shamim Ahmed

and Hasne Alam Deputy Managing Directors, Mohammad Iqbal Rezwan, SEVP & Head of HR and Tapash

Chandra Paul, PhD, CFO of the bank along with senior executives and officers were also present. Considering the

pandemic situation Mercantile Bank celebrated the event in different divisions and branches instead of a colorful

central arrangement.

Photo : Courtesy

Padma Bank has launched a specialized woman banking product "Padmabati". Besides, earning interest every

day, women will receive special benefits along with special discounts and privileges at different shopping outlets.

The service will be provided by 58 branches in all geographic areas of Bangladesh. Also, customers will be able to

withdraw money from all ATMs of Bangladesh. Women entrepreneurs, salaried professionals, home makers,

students are all eligible to enjoy the features of Padmabati. Padmabati customers will receive free debit card, free

Privilege/Discount Card, free cheque book. Also, through this account other deposit products can be linked with

this account. Besides, there will be loan facility with less processing fee. Also, 50% discount will be provided for

locker service and special discount on student file processing and specially, daily profit earning which is first time

ever in Bangladesh provided by Padma Bank.

Photo : Courtesy

South Asia Has a New Economic Leader : Will

the World Take Note ?

COVID-19 has made Bangladesh richer

per capita than India. Will diplomatic

partners shift their strategies as a result?

Bangladesh — the overcrowded,

overpopulated flood-prone state that,

founded in 1971, is barely older than the

internet — is now one of the richest

countries in South Asia. The region was

rocked by this week’s data that

Bangladesh’s GDP per capita will exceed

India’s this year, despite India having a

25 percent lead just five years ago.

There is no doubt about what has

tipped the balance: COVID-19. While

India has struggled to bring the virus

under control, Bangladesh’s data-led

innovative public health approach and

rapidly improving digital infrastructure

has allowed the economy to continue

growing. But will the world take note, and

realize that there are newer (and more

stable) South Asian partners beyond the

traditional ones? Will the new “Global

Britain” prioritize the Bengal Tiger for a

trade deal? And will the U.S. president

(whether that’s Donald Trump or Joe

Biden, come January 2021) consider

Bangladesh a priority in South Asia, or

stick with familiar partners?

Certainly this news will change the

calculus by which an economy — and a

nation state’s — strength is judged.

Rather than just looking at a country’s

currency, exports, and governance, its

biosecurity capacity will now be seen as

something as pivotal as national security

— an area of policy that can make or

break everything else.

It is not just Bangladesh’s growth that

has contributed to this result, but India’s

decline after severely mismanaging both

the health and economic fallout of the

pandemic.

China is the best example of how swift

and effective pandemic management can

support continued economic growth

(consumer spending there has already

returned to pre-pandemic levels and its

GDP grew 5 percent in the last quarter).

But China is an extreme case — there

will be many winners across the world.

And there will inevitably be some who

can learn a great deal from those

winners, and avoid further blunders.

This change in South Asia’s economic

pecking order, combined with improving

social indicators and rapid digitalization,

could mean that many global powers will

pivot more of their attention toward

Dhaka. The shift is overdue. Since India’s

independence, it has understandably

been the focus of the region’s economic

and political activity. The region itself is

often referred to as the Indian

Subcontinent, perhaps a colonial

hangover based on generations of Brits

who interacted with an India that was

essentially the only significant state in the

region (not only modern day Pakistan

and Bangladesh, but also Burmese

territory was part of Colonial India).

thediplomat.com

Gold price

closes higher

in Hong Kong

HONG KONG : The gold

price in Hong Kong closed at

15,740 Hong Kong dollars

(about 2,025.74 U.S. dollars)

per tael on Monday, up 70

Hong Kong dollars from the

previous trading day,

according to the Chinese

Gold and Silver Exchange

Society. (1 U.S. dollar equals

7.77 HK dollars).

Brent crude oil

price surges above

$70 a barrel

HONG KONG : Brent crude

oil surged more than two

percent Monday following a

missile attack on facilities

owned by energy giant

Aramco in Saudi Arabia, and

on optimism about the

demand outlook as the

global economy recovers.

A barrel of the black gold

jumped 2.11 percent to

$70.82 a barrel, the highest

since May 2019.

China says

manufacturing

'greatness' still

30 years away

Many observers already see

China as the "world's

factory" given that more

than a third of global output

from cars to phones comes

from there, bbc.com

But China's leaders are

concerned about its heavy

dependence on the US for

high-tech products like

semiconductors.

"Basic capabilities are still

weak" Miao Wei warned on

Sunday.

"Core technologies are in

the hands of others" and

China runs the risk of "being

hit in the throat" warned Mr

Miao, who was Minister of

Industry and Information

Technology for a decade.

He is now a member of the

Chinese People's Political

Consultative Conference

(CPPCC), the top advisory

body to the government.

Md. Ali Hossain Pradhania, Managing Director of Bangladesh Krishi Bank celebrates

the International Women's Day by cutting a cake with Shirin Athter,

Deputy Managing Director of the Bank and officers/employees of all grades. Md.

Azizul Bari, General Manager (Administration) of the Bank and Md. A. Rahim,

General Manager of Local Principal Office were also present in the occasion. The

Managing Director mentioned the slogan of this year's International Women's

Day " Women in Leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world" and

expressed hope that women will move forward in the workplace by acquiring

skills to implement the Women's Day pledge effectively. Photo : Courtesy

Dhaka seeks Saudi investment

in PPP projects

DHAKA : Dhaka has urged Riyadh to sign an

MoU between Public-Private Partnership (PPA)

Authority of Bangladesh and competent Saudi

authority to further enable Saudi investors to

invest in Bangladesh on the PPP projects.

State minister for foreign affairs M Shahriar

Alam made the proposal while holding

bilateral talks with his Saudi counterpart Adel

Al-Jubeir at the latter's Office in Riyadh on

Sunday, a foreign ministry press release said.

In reply, Saudi junior minister said that they

would soon sort out the MoU issue regarding

PPP and hope that potential Saudi companies

would invest in a vibrant economy like

Bangladesh.

Alam expressed Bangladesh's deep gratitude

to the Saudi King and Crown Prince for

allowing all the foreign residents including

Bangladeshi nationals irrespective of their legal

status for access to free COVID treatment and

inoculation. Upon a request made by Alam,

State Minister Jubeir assured of considering

and interim arrangement for the irregular

Bangladesh expatriates to have access health

facilities and employment.

The state minister also requested to

reappoint a cultural attach, at the Saudi

Embassy in Dhaka, so the service seekers'

would not need to send their documents to

New Delhi for attestation and Saudi side took

note of that. Both the state ministers agreed to

expedite the pending Agreements and MoUs

and to hold first Foreign Office Consultation

where the whole gamut of bilateral

relationship could be discussed.

Alam mentioned that under the visionary

leaderships of both the countries, the relations

have elevated to a strategic level.

For advancing from this point, he

emphasized on exploring further avenues of

cooperation on international issues based on

common interest and goals and economic ties.

The state minister stressed on regular

Business to Business dialogue to explore

bilateral trade and investment opportunities in

Bangladesh. Alam also reiterated Bangladesh

government's unwavering support to the Saudi

side and expressed solidarity condemning the

recent cowardly attacks Houthis.

Adel Al-Jubeir appreciated Bangladesh's

position on Yemen issue. The Saudi State

Minister congratulated Bangladesh at its 50th

anniversary of independence. He highly

praised the remarkable sustained economic

growth of Bangladesh carried out in last one

decade under the able leadership of Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina.

He continued the recent UN decision to

graduate Bangladesh from LDC category to the

middle-income country is a testimony of this

success. He fondly remembered the historic

ties between this two countries and the valued

contribution of the Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to its

independence and laying foundation of Golden

Bengal.

ONE Bank Limited formally inaugurated Shohagpur Bazar Sub-Branch under its Ganakbari(EPZ) Branch on

Monday at Shohagpur Bazar, Mirzapur, Tangail. M. Fakhrul Alam, Managing Director of ONE Bank Limited inaugurated

the Sub-Branch. From this Sub-Branch local people of this area will get all kinds of banking facilities.

Kamal Hossain, DGM of Tangail Palli Bidyut Samity, Alhaz Humayun Kabir, Landlord of Humayun Super Market

& prominent businessman along with high officials of the Bank and prominent elites of the locality were also present

in the ceremony.

Photo : Courtesy

TUESDAY, MARCh 9, 2021

9

Allen cameo helps Windies clinch

T20 series against Sri Lanka

Manchester United's Luke Shaw doubles the lead during their EPL match away to Manchester City

Sunday.

Photo: Reuters

Man Utd shatter Man City's winning run

SPORTS DESK

United ruined City's 28-game unbeaten

run in all competitions thanks to an

early penalty from Fernandes and

Shaw's second-half strike at Etihad

Stadium, reports BSS.

Manchester United shattered

Manchester City's record winning

streak with an impressive 2-0 victory

against the Premier League leaders

Sunday.

Pep Guardiola's side were on an

English top-flight record run of 21

successive wins in all competitions

heading into the Manchester derby.

But United ruined City's 28-game

unbeaten run in all competitions

thanks to an early penalty from Bruno

Fernandes and Luke Shaw's secondhalf

strike at the Etihad Stadium.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team,

unbeaten in their last 22 away league

Tigers to

leavefor Sri

Lanka on

April 12

SPORTS DESK

The Bangladesh national

cricket team is all set to leave

the country for Sri Lanka for

a much-talked two-match

Test series on April 12,

reports BSS.

The date of departure

however quelled the

uncertainties over the tour,

that was postponed twice in

the pandemic-hit 2020.

Firstly the outbreak of the

Covid-19 forced the

postponement of the

tournament in last year's

July and then when there

was a slot to make the tour

happen in October, it was

again postponed.

Sri Lanka hard quarantine

rules were responsible in the

second time to force the

postponement of the tour

further.

The two Tests however are

the part of ICC World Test

Championship. The ICC

however had already got the

two finalists of the WTC in

India and New Zealand who

would fight for the

championship title in June.

In the wake of the

situation, the series between

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka

won't matter but for both of

them the Test series is

imperative given the fact

that they hardly got the

chance to play Test cricket.

The Bangladesh Cricket

Board (BCB) CEO Nizam

Uddin Chowdhury informed

that all of the two Test

matches will be held in one

venue to reduce the risk of

Covid-19.

"Bangladesh team will stay

in Colombo and both Test

matches will be held in one

venue," the CEO said here

today.

"If everything is okay,

Bangladesh will leave the

country on April 12 for the

two-match Test series."

Chowdhury also said

Bangladesh team would

have to stay quarantine for

six or seven days after

arriving in Sri Lanka but the

quarantine rules were not

hard like the past the Sri

Lanka Cricket (SLC)

imposed.

games, moved above Leicester City into

second place, but they are still 11 points

behind City with 10 games left.

Despite surrendering their 15-match

winning league run in their first defeat

since losing at Tottenham Hotspur in

November, City remain firm favorites

to lift the title for the third time in four

seasons.

Barring a dramatic collapse from City

in the closing weeks, United's third win

in the last four league meetings with

their bitter rivals is likely to be

remembered for cementing a top-four

place rather than rekindling their title

hopes.

United will be left to rue the recent

slump that allowed City to pull so far

ahead in the title race, but at least they

slowed their neighbors' march towards

the trophy.

With just 34 seconds gone, Anthony

Martial made a dangerous raid into the

City area and Gabriel Jesus responded

with a needless, clumsy challenge that

sent the French striker sprawling.

Fernandes stepped up to take the

penalty and squeezed his shot past

Ederson, who got a hand on the ball but

couldn't keep it out.

It was United's first goal in four

games, putting City were behind for the

first time in 20 league games.

Guardiola's men gradually wrestled

control and had a strong penalty appeal

rejected by referee Anthony Taylor

when Raheem Sterling was blocked by

Fred.

Riyad Mahrez shot inches wide and

Rodri's drive hit the bar, but City were

caught with a 50th-minute sucker

punch. United left-back Shaw broke

from deep inside his own half, played a

one-two with Marcus Rashford and

fired a fine finish past Ederson from

just inside the area.

Roger Federer never contemplated retirement as he spent 13 months on

the sidelines due to double knee surgery last year and the 39-year-old says

he is now pain-free and ready to play again.

Photo: AP

Federer feels his story is unfinished,

eyes full fitness by Wimbledon

SPORTS DESK

Roger Federer never contemplated

retirement as he spent 13 months on the

sidelines due to double knee surgery last year

and the 39-year-old says he is now pain-free

and ready to play again with a feeling that his

story is not over yet, reports BSS.

Federer, tied with Rafa Nadal on a record

20 Grand Slam singles titles, has not played

a competitive match since losing to world

number one Novak Djokovic in the

Australian Open semi-finals in 2020.

The Swiss maestro will make his highlyanticipated

return at this week's Qatar Open,

where he is seeded behind U.S. Open

champion Dominic Thiem.

"I'm very happy to be back playing a

tournament again. It's been a long time. I

never thought it would take this long,"

Federer told reporters on Sunday.

The Swiss has a bye in the first round in

Doha, where he is a three-time winner, and

his return match will either be on Tuesday or

Wednesday against Briton Dan Evans or

Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.

Tennis is like "riding a bike" for Federer,

who is not worried about his game or

starting with "really low" expectations, but is

more interested to see how his knee reacts to

the rigours of competitive tennis.

"It's just about 'Let's see how matches go, let's

see how training goes with all the top guys and

professional players, not just sparring

partners'," he said, adding that he has not

decided his schedule beyond this week.

"I was playing a lot of two-on-ones the last

few months and so forth. I know I need to go

back to training after here again so from this

standpoint it's just about building up to

being stronger, better, fitter, faster and all

that stuff.

WIMBLEDON TARGET

"I hope then by Wimbledon I'm going to be

100% and that's when the season starts for

me. Everything until then it's just 'Let's see

how it goes', he added of the championships

starting on June 28, which were cancelled

last year due to COVID-19.

"I might surprise myself but then

actually I've already done in practice the

last few weeks, I was surprised at actually

how well it did go. But like we know,

matches are a different animal." The Swiss

proved that he can quickly get back into his

groove when he won the 2017 Australian

Open despite missing the second half of

the 2016 season because of knee surgery.

Federer said he keenly kept track of results

on the ATP Tour as he worked his way

back to fitness and the complications after

his first knee procedure motivated him to

return healthy.

"Retirement was never really on the cards.

I think it's more of a conversation if the knee

keeps bothering me for months and months

- then let's look at it," he said. "I just feel like

the story is not over.

"It's not like there's one particular reason

that I wanted to keep playing tennis other

than I enjoyed playing tennis, I enjoy being

on the road.

"I'm still a work in progress but probably

one of the other reasons for coming back is I

want to get that high again of playing against

the biggest players and in the biggest

tournaments and hopefully winning them

again," he added.

SPORTS DESK

All-rounderFabian Allen clobbered

three sixes off the penultimate over to

lead West Indies to a nervy threewicket

win against Sri Lanka in the final

Twenty20 International on Sunday.

Chasing a modest target of just 132, the

two-time world champions struggled in

the run chase as their star trio of Chris

Gayle, skipper Kieron Pollard and

Dwayne Bravo all flopped, reports

UNB.

Allen's three sixes came off spinner

Akila Dananjaya as the 25-year-old

Jamaican smashed a desperately

needed 21 off just six balls faced at

Coolidge Cricket Ground.

West Indies finished on 134-7,

clinching the three-game series 2-1

after a four-wicket win in the first

match followed by Sri Lanka's 43-run

victory in the second.

Dananjaya was again the victim of

some explosive West Indies batting

after Pollard hit six sixes off one of his

overs in the first game on Wednesday.

"I prepare for everything, including

bowling in the powerplay," said Allen,

who earlier took 1-13 opening the

bowling.

"When I look in the dressing room we

have a lot of batting power.

"I told (batting partner) Jason Holder

that I'm not comfortable batting

against (Wanindu) Hasaranga, so I told

him to bat him out and I'll be finishing.

I just backed myself in the end. It was a

good performance overall."

The home side were cruising after

limiting Sri Lanka to 131-4.

Openers Evin Lewis (21) and Lendl

Simmons (26) gave them a solid start

before Sri Lanka leg spinner Hasaranga

(2-13) dismissed them both for a series

haul of eight wickets.

Wrist spinner Lakshan Sandakan

clean-bowled Gayle for 13, completing

a poor international return for the 41-

year-old who made just nought and 16

in the first two games.

Gayle has now gone five years

without a fifty in T20 internationals.

Tokyo Olympic

Pres Tries to

Assure Japan

on Safety

SPORTS DESK

The new president of the

Tokyo Olympic organizing

committee has begun

holding weekly news

conferences hoping to win

over a doubting Japanese

public with the postponed

games opening in just under

five months, reports UNB.

Hashimoto Seiko is trying

to assure everyone that the

Olympics will be safe and

secure, a phrase she

repeated a dozen times on

March 5 in her inaugural

news conference.

Polls show about 80

percent of Japanese think

the games should be

postponed again or canceled

amid the pandemic.

"The situation around

coronavirus doesn't go easy

on us," Hashimoto said. "I

understand there are a lot of

people in Tokyo and in

Japan who have concerns

about the games in Tokyo

this summer. I'd like to share

my thoughts and alleviate

some of those concerns."

She also needs to ease

fears about the torch relay,

which is set to begin on

March 25 from the

northeastern prefecture of

Fukushima. The relay

involves 10,000 runners and

goes to every corner of

Japan. The Olympics open

on July 23, followed by the

Paralympics on August 24.

They will include 11,000

Olympians, 4,400

Paralympic athletes, and

tens of thousands of judges,

officials, sponsors,

volunteers, VIPs, media, and

broadcasters.

"People need to start to

build confidence in the

safety of the games,"

Hashimoto said. "It will be

very difficult without that."

Hashimoto said she has

appointed CEO Muto

Toshiro to head the relay

effort.

Desperate trouble -

Pollard, who became only the third

man to hit six sixes in an international

over on Wednesday, was bowled by

seamer Dushmantha Chameera for

nought.

West Indies finished on 134-7,

clinching the three-game series 2-1

after a four-wicket win in the first

match followed by Sri Lanka's 43-run

victory in the second.

Bravo too went for a duck, a second

wicket in two balls for Sandakan having

also sent back Rovman Powell.

Sandakan finished with 3-29 to

follow his 3-10 from Friday's game.

But with 20 runs required off the last

12 balls, Allen smashed Dananjaya for

20 runs off the penultimate over for the

victory. It was a topsy-turvy series for

Dananjaya, who was the fall-guy for

Pollard's pyrotechnics last Wednesday

having taken a hat-trick in the same

game. Earlier, former skipper Dinesh

Chandimal hit his fifth Twenty20

International half-century as he and

promising youngster Ashen Bandara

took Sri Lanka to a modest 131-4.

Chandimal carved out an undefeated

54 with three boundaries to finish four

runs short of his best of 58 in the format

made against Australia at Pallekele in

2016.

The 31-year-old, playing in his 57th

T20 International, had contributed just

11 and three in the first two games.

Bandara, 22 and on his debut tour,

hit an unbeaten 44 with three fours and

his team's only two sixes.

Sri Lanka were in desperate trouble

early in their innings, reaching 10 overs

with just 47 on the board for the loss of

four wickets having won the toss and

deciding to bat first.

On their way to winning the second

game on Friday at the same venue by

43 runs, they had amassed 94-0 at the

halfway point.

On Sunday, they managed just two

boundaries in the first 10 overs with

opener Danusha Gunathilaka, who

top-scored Friday with 56, out this

time for just nine, caught and bowled

by Allen.

The two sides will now play three

ODIs and two Tests, all in Antigua.

Fabian Allen of West Indies hitting the winning runs as Niroshan

Dickwella (L) of Sri Lanka watch during their 3rd and final T20i

match at Coolidge Cricket Ground in Osbourn, Antigua and

Barbuda on Monday.

Photo: AP

GD-405/21 (4 x 3)

we`ÿ r/Rb-709(2)/8/3/21

GD-409/21 (5 x 3)

TUesDAY, MArcH 9, 2021

10

Joy Bangla Concert: Rock stars

share best memories

The bands that rocked the Joy

Bangla Concert stage in previous

years reminisced their special

moments about the past episodes

and rendered songs online as the

concert has been halted this year

due to the Coronavirus

pandemic, reports UNB.

On its official Facebook page,

Young Bangla, a leading youth

platform of CRI (Centre for

Research & Information), aired

the virtual event featuring talks

by the bands'

members, their

songs, and

v i s u a l s

narrating the

historic events

that the concert

is themed on.

Since 2015,

Young Bangla

has been

featuring the

Joy Bangla

Concert every

year paying

tribute to the

Father of the

N a t i o n ' s

historic March

7 speech.

A surge of

energy ran through 40,000 to

50,000 youths during the event

that brought the wartime

patriotic melodies and westerninfluenced

melodies together,

presenting history through

music.

This year the concert couldn't

be organised as the Coronavirus

spell is still going on. Instead, a

virtual programme was organised

by Young Bangla to air the

vignettes shared by the bands

about their past performances in

the concert.

Members of Shunno, Cryptic

Fate, Artcell, Lalon, Warfaze,

Chirkutt, and Powersurge joined

the virtual event on Sunday.

"In 2015, when Joy Bangla

Concert was organised for the

first time, we were really excited.

We were also a bit tensed as we

were the opening performers.

But, when we were on the stage,

we saw that the stadium was

already full. It was one of the best

experiences of our life," said Emil,

the vocalist of Shunno.

"The 2020 concert was very

special for us as the prime

minister attended it. That time we

were on the stage. It was a great

achievement for us. In March

2020, our favourite captain

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza retired

from captaincy. When we were

performing in Joy Bangla

Concert, we dedicated the song

'Shoto Asha' to him," said

Ishmam, the guitarist of Shunno.

"We are a bit sad that this year

the concert couldn't be organised.

But, it will definitely come back.

Like Bangabandhu's historic Joy

Bangla speech that this concert is

named after, we would like to say,

'You can't keep us suppressed',"

said Sufi Maverick, vocalist of

Arbovirus, who also rendered a

song. "I thank Young Bangla for

organising this concert, the

biggest of its kind in the country,

as it is themed on Joy Bangla, the

slogan that the Father of the

Nation roared out loud and that

motivated us as a nation to free

our country from the Pakistani

Occupation Force. Every year, we

perform in front of 40,000-

50,000 people. Due to the

Coronavirus pandemic, it was put

on halt this year.

But, in 2022, we

expect it to

happen with even

more energy,"

said George

Lincoln D'Costa

of Artcell.

"The main

purpose of this

concert was to

present the

history of our

independence

through music.

When Putul Apa

and Bobby Vai

(Bangabandhu's

grandchildren)

accompanied us

t h r o u g h

Bangabandhu's house before the

2016 concert, I realised the role of

Bangabandhu and his family in

the country's independence and

the essence of March 7. When I

perform in Joy Bangla Concert, I

feel that I am also a freedom

fighter," said Sumi of Lalon Band.

Warfaze and Cryptic Fate

performed songs. "The spirit of

Joy Bangla represents the spirit of

the youth of the world. For us, the

most memorable part was the

2018 performance of the patriotic

song 'Dhono Dhanye Pushpe

Vora'. We performed with Sitar. I

think everyone sang it in unison,"

said Sumi of the Chirkutt band.

Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, in partnership

with Kalakendra, will organise an art

exhibition featuring a range of

multidisciplinary artworks presented by

eleven awardees of the 'Futures Beyond the

Self 2020" project.

The Kalakendra curatorial team has curated

this exhibition, said a press release.

The Kalakendra gallery space will host the

exhibition and will be open to visitors from 10

Actor Shahin Alam

in Life Support

TBT reporT

Shahin Alam, once a popular

film actor, is in Life Support. He

had been suffering from kidney

and diabetes for a long time.

When his condition

deteriorated, he was admitted to

Azgar Ali Hospital on Saturday

night. The matter has been

confirmed by the filmmaker

Omar Sunny.

Omar Sunny said, Shahin

Alam is my friend. We have

worked together. His acting was

great. He stayed out of the film

career for a long time. I went to

March to 8 April, 4 pm to 8 pm, every day. The

awardees are Priyanka Chowdhury (research),

Arifur Rahman (short film), Karkhana

Collective (music), Murshed Jahangir (visual

art), Parsa Sanjana Sajid (research), Emran

Sohel (visual art), Samsul Alam Helal

(photography), Sumana Akter (visual art),

Shahla Islam (short film), Tahia Farhin Haque

(visual art) and Tehai Interdisciplinary Art

Initiative (performance art).

see him a few days ago. I heard

that both his kidneys are

crippled and he has been

undergoing dialysis for some

time.

Yesterday his son called and

just said that his father (Shahin

Alam) is in life support with

corona positive. Sunny say to

Allah, you heal him, give back

my friend.

Faheem Nur Alam, the only

son of Shahin Alam, appealed to

the Prime Minister for help in

this situation since he was a

renowned film artist.

I hope the Prime Minister will

be by our side at this moment. I

have appealed for financial help.

I want to keep my father alive for

many more days. Everyone will

pray. Shahin Alam got the

opportunity to work in the film

through 'Notun Mukher

Sondhane' (In Search of New

'Futures Beyond

the Self' to start

from March 10

The jury involved were Visual Artist and

Trustee/ Founder of Britto Arts Trust, Tayeba

Begum Lipi, Executive Director of Research

Initiatives Bangladesh (RIB) Dr Meghna

Guhathakurta, Chief Curator, Bengal Arts

Programme, Bengal Foundation, Tanzim

Wahab and Artist, Curator of Kalakendra,

Wakilur Rahman, as well as two

representatives from Goethe-Institut

Bangladesh - Dr Kirsten Hackenbroch,

Director and K Md Mahmud Hassan,

Programme Coordinator.

The initiative seeks to provide a space for

new ideas to flourish and for continued

societal and collective engagement. It seeks to

support both individuals and collectives in

their endeavour to reflect, critique, and

suggest alternative futures and pathways of

"being in the world".

Face) in 1986. His first movie

was 'Mayer Kanna' released in

1991. He then acted in many

more movies.

He later moved away from

acting during pornography in

the film and became busy with

business.

Priyanka Chopra launches Indian

restaurant 'SONA' in New York

Priyanka Chopra has donned yet

another hat! After being a

successful actress, producer,

author and entrepreneur,

Priyanka Chopra Jonas is now a

restaurateur. The actress took to

social media to announce that she

is now the proud co-owner of an

Indian restaurant in New York.

The upscale dining place has been

named 'Sona' and was a dream in

the making for very long. The

actress also shared photos from a

small puja that was held at the

space back in September 2019.

Making the big announcement,

Priyanka wrote, "I'm thrilled to

present to you SONA, a new

restaurant in NYC that I poured

my love for Indian food into.

SONA is the very embodiment of

timeless India and the flavours I

grew up with. The kitchen is

helmed by the incredible Chef

@harinayak, a masterful talent,

who has created the most delicious

and innovative menu, taking you

on a food journey through my

amazing country."

She added, "SONA is opening

later this month, and I can't wait to

see you there! This endeavour would

not have been possible without the

leadership of my friends Maneesh

Goyal and David Rabin. Thank you

to our designer Melissa Bowers and

the rest of the team for realizing this

vision so clearly."

While sharing the photos,

Priyanka also gave a glimpse of

herself performing puja with

husband Nick Jonas. "The second

and third photos were taken in

September 2019 when we

performed a small intimate Puja

(prayer ceremony) to bless the

space that would soon become

@sonanewyork Godspeed!" wrote

Priyanka.

Source: Pinkvilla

Mariah Carey's older brother

on Wednesday sued the singer

over her recent best-selling

memoir "The Meaning of

Mariah Carey," accusing her

of defamation and inflicting

emotional distress.

Morgan Carey is seeking

unspecified damages in a

complaint filed in a New York

state court in Manhattan,

including over book passages

that he said falsely suggested

he was violent.

The lawsuit was filed one

month after Mariah Carey's

older sister Alison sued her

for $1.25 million for alleged

emotional distress over the

memoir, which was published

in September and topped The

New York Times' nonfiction

best-seller list in October.

Spokespeople for the singer

did not immediately respond

to requests for comment. Her

brother's lawyer declined

additional comment.

Mariah Carey, 51, is known

for songs including "Vision of

Mariah Carey's brother

sues her for defamation

over memoir

Love," "One Sweet Day" and

"All I Want for Christmas Is

You." Her memoir described a

dysfunctional povertystricken

childhood, and her

early career struggles.

Morgan Carey, born in

1960, said Mariah Carey

damaged his reputation by

writing about an alleged

"vicious fight" with his father

that occurred when she was a

little girl, and where "it took

twelve cops to pull my brother

and father apart."

He said actual fights with

his father never occurred

during Mariah Carey's

childhood, and the alleged

incident's being "fictional"

was shown by the likelihood

only one or two police officers

would have responded to a

domestic violence report.

Morgan Carey also sued

over passages that he said

implied he tried to extort

money from Mariah Carey, is

associated with "sketchy" and

"questionable" people in the

music industry, and has

"'been-in-the-system' (i.e., a

criminal)."

Other defendants include

the book's co-author, its

publisher Macmillan, and the

imprint Andy Cohen Books,

named for the TV producer

and host of Bravo's "Watch

What Happens Live with

Andy Cohen." None of their

representatives immediately

responded to requests for

comment.

Source: Reuters

H o r o s c o p e

ArIes

(March 21 - April 20) : Chances to

pursue opportunities to bring whatever

creative work you do best to the public

could come up today, Aries. This might

involve performances, exhibitions, trade shows, or

festivals - anything that involves a lot of attention from

the public. You will be in the limelight and outshine

almost everyone! This is likely to be a lot of fun. It

should definitely boost your ego.

TAUrUs

(April 21 - May 21) : The chance to

take a trip by air with friends or members

of a group could come your way today,

Taurus. This might involve an exhibition

of some kind, as well as a chance to advance your

knowledge in some way. Both the dissemination and

the gathering of information are definitely involved. If

you can, make the arrangements today. Whatever the

journey, it could make a big difference in your life.

GeMINI

(May 22 - June 21) : You could complete

some personal projects that involve a lot of

paperwork today, Gemini. This could increase

your income considerably. Past success that has

become known in your field could lead to opportunities for

future success. This may be job related, but it may also involve

your own projects. All signs indicate that success, good fortune,

and advancement are in the wind for you.

cANcer

(June 22 - July 23) : Opportunities for

new partnerships concerning a personal

project of yours could come to you from

far away, Cancer. Contracts, agreements,

and other legal matters work in your favor, but making

sense of them could require concentration. Read the

fine print to learn as much as you can. Whatever

happens, your life should definitely change in a subtle

but positive way. Embrace the change!

Leo

(July 24 - Aug. 23): Mundane and

perhaps boring tasks could take up

much of your morning, Leo, but you

will need to get them out of the way

so you can move on to more exciting projects.

More paperwork might be required in order to

get these things started, but you will get it done

quickly and efficiently. Keep on plugging along.

You're on the right track!

VIrGo

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): A get-together with a

current or potential romantic partner could

lead to some stimulating discussions of

concepts that interest you both, Virgo. You

could make plans for future enterprises that bring you closer

together. This is a good day to advance any relationships

that involve mutual intellectual interests. Expect to spend

much of your time in bookstores with your friend!

LIBrA

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): Today you might toy

with the idea of doing some renovation

on your home, perhaps for your

enjoyment, but primarily to increase its

value, Libra. Decorating, landscaping, or both might be

on the agenda. A number of possibilities could present

themselves, and you will probably spend much time

giving each some serious consideration. In the end, you

will probably choose the most beautiful!

scorpIo

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) : Creative energy,

especially involving writing or speaking,

could overflow today. Ideas could come

thick and fast, Scorpio, and you might

want to phone some friends and discuss your

thoughts. This is probably going to bring even more

information your way for your mind to process! Write

down what interests you most, and take a walk to clear

your head. Tomorrow it should all be clearer to you.

sAGITTArIUs

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): If you own your home,

the value of your equity may have gone up in

the recent past, Sagittarius. Income through

land or property is strongly indicated. This is

likely to change your life in a subtle but positive way. This is

a great time to buy or sell a home. If you're in the process of

doing it now, this is the perfect time to get some of the

paperwork prepared.

cAprIcorN

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): A lot of letters, calls, or

emails could come your way from all

over, Capricorn, bringing lots of good

news and useful information. Some of it

could involve new and innovative opportunities that

are of great interest to you. Expect a lot of discussion

that could really get your mind going. Write down

what seems most promising for you and leave the

rest for others.

AQUArIUs

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) : An opportunity to

earn extra money in a creative way may

come today from an unexpected and

perhaps even previously unknown source,

Aquarius. This could come as a surprise, but you're likely

to want to take advantage of it. You could also be the lucky

recipient of a financial windfall. Someone who owes you

money might suddenly pay you back. This should

definitely be a good day for money!

pIsces

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : Your physical and

mental energies overflow today, Pisces. You

may want to tackle every possible project that

could bring advancement along whatever

lines you want. Artistic endeavors, group activities, and social

events are strong possibilities, so get busy! This should also be

an exhilarating day when you accomplish a lot. Enjoy yourself

thoroughly while doing it. Go for the gold, and have fun!

tuesDAY, mArch , 9 2021

11

At least 20 dead, 600 wounded

in Equatorial Guinea blasts

OUAGADOUGOU : A series of explosions at a

military barracks in Equatorial Guinea killed

at least 20 people and wounded more than

600 others on Sunday, authorities said.

President Teodoro Obiang Nguema said the

explosion at 4 p.m. local time was due to the

"negligent handling of dynamite" in the military

barracks located in the neighborhood of

Mondong Nkuantoma in Bata, reports UNB.

"The impact of the explosion caused damage

in almost all the houses and buildings in

Bata," the president said in a statement, which

was in Spanish.

The defense ministry released a statement

late Sunday saying that a fire at a weapons

depot in the barracks caused the explosion of

high-caliber ammunition. It said the provisional

death toll was 20, adding that the cause

of the explosions will be fully investigated.

The country's president said the fire may

have been due to residents burning the fields

surrounding the barracks.

State television showed a huge plume of

smoke rising above the explosion site as

crowds fled, with many people crying out "we

don't know what happened, but it is all

destroyed."

Images on local media seen by The

Associated Press show people screaming and

crying running through the streets amid

debris and smoke. Roofs of houses were

ripped off and wounded people were being

carried into a hospital.

Equatorial Guinea, an African country of 1.3

million people located south of Cameroon,

was a colony of Spain until it gained its independence

in 1968. Bata has roughly 175,000

inhabitants.

Earlier, the Health Ministry had tweeted

that 17 were killed. The ministry made a call

for blood donors and volunteer health workers

to go to the Regional Hospital de Bata, one

of three hospitals treating the wounded.

The ministry said its health workers were

treating the injured at the site of the tragedy

and in medical facilities, but feared people

were still missing under the rubble.

The blasts were a shock for the oil rich

Central African nation. Foreign Minister

Simeon Oyono Esono Angue met with foreign

ambassadors and asked for aid.

"It is important for us to ask our brother

countries for their assistance in this lamentable

situation since we have a health emergency

(due to COVID-19) and the tragedy in Bata,"

he said.

A doctor calling into TVGE, who went by his

first name, Florentino, said the situation was a

"moment of crisis" and that the hospitals were

overcrowded. He said a sports center set up

for COVID-19 patients would be used to

receive minor cases.

Radio station, Radio Macuto, said on

Twitter that people were being evacuated

within four kilometers of the city because the

fumes might be harmful.

US and South

Korea agree on

new cost-sharing

deal for troops

WASHINGTON : The

United States and South

Korea have reached agreement

in principle on a new

arrangement for sharing

the cost of the American

troop presence, which is

intended as a bulwark

against the threat of North

Korean aggression, both

countries announced.

The State Department's

Bureau of Political-

Military Affairs said

Sunday the deal includes a

"negotiated increase" in

Seoul's share of the cost,

but it provided no details.

The Bureau wrote on

Twitter that the agreement,

if finalized, would

reaffirm the U.S.-South

Korean treaty alliance as

"the linchpin of peace,

security and prosperity for

Northeast Asia."

South Korea's Foreign

Ministry on Monday

issued a similar statement,

saying the two countries

are seeking to tentatively

sign the deal.

Chuwi brand new laptop

at affordable prices

Surovi Enterprise, a distributor

of technology products,

has brought the world-famous

Chuwi brand affordable laptop

to the country keeping in

mind the needs of students

and officials. The genuine

Windows 10-enriched Chui

'HeroBook Pro' laptop has a

2.6 GHz Intel Celeron processor,

8 GB DDR4 RAM. The

display of the laptop with resolution

of 3200 x 1600 k is

13.3 inches. The device weighs

1.8 kg and can be operated for

8 to 9 hours on a single charge,

a press release said.

Surovi Enterprise is giving

one year brand warranty on

the laptop. HeroBook Pro will

be available in two versions

with 128 GB and 256 GB storage.

The low-cost laptop

comes with a 256GB version

with 128GB EMMC memory

and 128GB SSD memory that

can be expanded up to one terabyte.

In addition, the 128 GB

version uses the entire EMMC

storage. The 128GB version of

the Herobook Pro is priced at

Tk 26,500 and the 256GB version

is priced at Tk 28,900.

The laptop can also be purchased

in installments from

TechPlatoon (https://techplat

o o n . c o m . b d / c h u w i ) .

Computer products will be

available across the country,

along with some of the country's

top e-commerce platforms,

including Daraz.





e-Tender Notice No-22/2020-21

GD-408/21 (7x4)

GD- 402/21 (6x4)

e-Tender Notice No.9/2020-21



e-Tender Notice No. 02/2020-2021(OTM)

GD-400/21 (7x4)

GD-404/21 (8x4)

Tuesday, Dhaka, march 9, 2021, falgun 24, 1427 BS, Rajab 24, 1442 hijri

CFO drives Kafco crisis

TBT RePoRT

footover bridges are built for public road crossings. But the bridges are being used as a business area.

Shopkeepers are doing business on the top and bottom of the bridge.

Photo : PBa

Int’l Women's Day

Google doodle

honours firsts in

women's history

DHAKA : Search engine giant Google is

celebrating International Women's Day

by replacing its regular home page

graphic with a special video doodle.

Google makes the doodle in honor of

the trailblazers of the past, present, and

future making Happy International

Women's Day!

Today's International Women's Day

Doodle takes a journey through a series

of firsts in women's history-highlighting

female pioneers who have challenged

the status quo and paved the way in education,

civil rights, science, art, and so

much more, reports UNB.

The video Doodle pays homage to

these (s)heroes by depicting the hands

that have opened the doors for generations

of women. While some firsts

achieve something spectacularly new,

others are receiving a recognition or

right that is long overdue.

Suffragists, academics, gold medalists,

entrepreneurs and more-Monday's

Doodle celebrates the women around

the world who overcame the obstacles of

their time to create a lasting legacy.

These firsts stand on the shoulders of

countless others-women who laid the

foundation, in the past, for today's doors

to be finally opened and glass ceilings

broken. Google marks many special

occasions with customised doodles,

changing its logo on the homepage to

reflect the occasion.

The International Women's Day is

being observed in Bangladesh as elsewhere

across the globe on Monday celebrating

women's achievement, raising

awareness against bias and taking

action for equality.

Karnafuli Fertilizer Company Limited (Kafco), country's

largest urea fertilizer producer, deprived from profits as staffer

including chief financial officer (CFO) involved unreported

coruptions.

To make the businesses a lose venture, chief financial officer

Habib Ullah Manzur played vital role controlling with

various forgeries, sources informed. The CFO allegedly

obtains 'high commissions'

from bank deposits of Kafco,

let alone the local insurances,

source claimed.

Besides, the clever official

handled all the international

insurance positions of the

companies jointly owned by

the Government of

Bangladesh, Japan, the

Netherlands and Denmark

taking an unfair percentage

from the deals. Habib is in

charge of the company's collection

of chemicals like liquid

caustic soda. He is also accused of taking large commissions

to purchase UF-75 chemicals from Egypt, Oman and

Saudi Arabia. Kafco has own jetty for exporting liquid ammonia

abroad and shipping urea fertilizer to different parts of

the country by ship. Surprisingly Habib Ullah has signed a

contract with the company for the repair of a single pillar

worth about 6 million US dollars without any Tender. The

concerned people think that it is a ploy to make Habib's pocket

heavy by diverting unusual money to repair this jetty without

tender. In addition, complains were received against sex-

2 Indian Navy ships to

visit Mongla port

March 8-10

DHAKA : Two Indian Naval ships - INS

Kulish and INS - will visit port of Mongla

till March 10 from Monday to celebrate

'Mujibo Barsho' and 50 Years of

Bangladesh's Independence.

This is the first visit by Indian Naval

Ships to Mongla, reports UNB.

The visit will boost the strong and

flourishing ties between Indian and

Bangladesh Navies, said the Indian

High Commission in Dhaka on

Monday.

The last time it happened 50 years ago

when on 09/10 Dec 1971, the two gunboats

Padma and Palash, jointly

manned by Indian Navy and Mukti

Bahini personnel, in a covert operation

sailed up the Pusur river attacking various

Pakistani installations at the Port.

To signify the importance that Indian

Navy accords to its fraternal relationship

with Bangladesh Navy, other than two

ships, a Senior Officer from Indian

Navy, Cmde Mahadevu Goverdhan

Raju, NM, Naval Officer-in-Charge,

Andhra Pradesh is embarked onboard

INS Sumedha, an indigenously built

Offshore Patrol Vessel.

The ship is commanded by Cdr

Gaurav Durgaprasad and is designed for

patrolling and surveillance of India's

vast EEZ.

Along with main gun and anti aircraft

guns, the ship also carries an integral

ALH/Alouette helicopter.

The second ship, INS Kulish is also

indigenously built for anti-surface warfare

operations.

The ship is commanded by Cdr

Sanjeev Agnihotri and is armed with

surface to surface missiles, main gun,

anti aircraft guns and missiles. It is also

capable of operating helicopters.

During the visit, the Senior Officers

from the Indian side will be paying homage

to Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

by laying wreaths at his mausoleum at

Tungipara.

They will also lay wreaths at the grave

of Bir Shrestho Ruhul Amin who sacrificed

his life while fighting onboard the

gunboat Palash at Mongla on 10 Dec

1971.

The Indian ships will also honour

Bangladesh Navy Veterans of the

Liberation War, during onboard reception

and gift Bangladesh Navy items of

historical value for displaying at the

Armed forces Museum.

There will also be professional discussions

with Bangladesh Navy and courtesy

calls on Senior Officers at Mongla

and Khulna.

Both navies will also have friendly

sports fixtures and visits to each other's

ships.

While departing on March 10, both

navies will conduct a joint passage exercise.

ual harassment by Habib Ullah Manzur.

Allegedly, he not only sexually harassed his female subordinates

in the workplace, but also tried to seduce them in

tactics.There are also allegations that they were threatened

with dismissal if they did not agree to the proposal.

According to sources, Habib lost his job from various institutions

including Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel and ICB

Islamic Bank allegedly due to corruption sexual harassment

to women workers. It

is known that he also resorted

to big fraud to get a job in

Kafco.

He lost his job in the previous

workplace and hid the

names of the employers of

those companies, according

to the source. Contracted

regarding the issues, Habib

declined all allegations saying

that someone may be

spreading propaganda

against me because of personal

enmity. "I can prove

that these allegations are

false. I have enough evidence in this regard, which I can give

you if you want or come to my office,"'

However, Habib did not send any documents as promised,

rather later changed the tone when contacted again.

Linkshttps://en.newsnowbangla.com/2021/02/22/kafco-inswindling-hand/

https://www.redtimes.com.bd/kafco-cfo-accused-in-multiple-grounds/

Klaauw takes

charges as UNHCR's

representative in

Bangladesh

DHAKA : Johannes van der Klaauw on

Monday took charges as the representative

of UNHCR, the UN Refugee

Agency, in Bangladesh after presenting

his credentials to Foreign Minister AK

Abdul Momen.

Klaauw becomes UNHCR's 11th representative

in Bangladesh, a UNHCR

press release said.

Following the presentation of his credentials

to the Foreign Minister, Klaauw

visited the Liberation War Museum in

Dhaka to pay his respects and met with

the trustees of the Museum.

Klaauw, a national of the Netherlands,

brings more than 25 years of experience

with UNHCR in diverse assignments

around the world. Most recently, he was

the Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator

in the Republic of Mali, where he led

efforts to support principled and effective

humanitarian aid across the country,

for the displaced and vulnerable

local populations.

1,17,148 administered

COVID-19 vaccines

on Monday

DHAKA : A total of 1,17,148 people

were administered COVID-19 vaccines

across the country on March 8.

Among the vaccine recipients,

72,358 were male and 44,790

female, according to the data of

Management Information System of

Directorate General of Health

Services (DGHS).

As of March 07, the number of vaccine

receivers is 39,06,500. Among

the vaccine receivers, 24,93,211 are

male and 14,13,289 female as the

countrywide vaccination campaign

was launched on February 7. People

aged 40 years and above now can get

registered to receive COVID-19 vaccines,

the health ministry sources

said.

The vaccination drive was conducted

at 50 hospitals in Dhaka city and

1,005 hospitals outside the capital on

Monday, the DGHS said, adding that

the immunization programme will

begin at 8am and it will continue till

2.30 pm every day.

Charge-sheet in arms

case against Golden

Monir accepted

DHAKA : A court yesterday accepted

charge-sheet filed in an arms case

against vehicle and gold trader Md

Monir Hossain alias Golden Monir.

Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions

Judge KM Imrul Qayesh accepted

the charge-sheet and set March 16 for

holding hearing on charge framing.

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)

arrested Monir on November 20,

2020, and recovered a foreign-made

pistol, bullets, foreign liquor, currencies

of ten countries, eight kilograms

of gold ornaments and Take 1.9 crore

in cash from his Merul Badda residence.

RAB later filed three separate cases

including this one with Badda Police

Station.

The abundance of baby

Hilsha in fish markets!

Shafiqul iSlam

The markets of the capital are still full

of baby Hilsha, locally known as

Jhatka. The fish sellers in the market

are bidding hundreds of kilos of Jatka

with much hype. However, the government

has announced a ban on

catching baby Hilsa for two months

from March 1 (Monday) to April 30 of

this year. The question of the general

buyers: despite the government ban,

where does the huge amount of

Jhatka are coming from in the market.

Also what will happen to the huge

amount of Jhatka that is already in

stock of the traders while the ban is in

place?

Visiting few markets of the capital it

has been observed that, these Jhatka

sellers are not acknowledging them as

Jhatka to the buyers so as not to fall into

the hands of law enforcement agencies.

They are selling these as Chapila fish.

Jhatka is being sold at 250 to 300 taka

per kg.

However, if the size is a little bigger, it

is being sold at three and a half to four

hundred taka per kg. These are so small

that 12 to 14 are accumulating in a kg.

However, the Ministry of Fisheries and

Livestock has banned all types of fishing

to conserve Jhatka in 5 Hilsha sanctuaries

in 6 districts of the country. The ban

will continue till June 30.

An order issued by the Ministry of

Fisheries and Livestock on Sunday

(February 28th) said that, under the

ban, all types of fishing, including Hilsa,

will be stopped in the rivers of Barisal,

Chandpur, Laxmipur, Bhola,

Shariatpur and Patuakhali districts.

The five sanctuaries are 100 km in the

lower basin of the Meghna River from

Shatnal in Chandpur district to Char

Alexander in Laxmipur district, 90 km

from Madanpur or Char Ilisha in Bhola

district to Char Pial in the Shahbazpur

tributary of the Meghna river, from

Veduria in Bhola district to Patuakhali

in Patuakhali district An area of about

100 kilometers.

There is also an area of 20 km of

Padma river between Naria and

Vederganj upazilas of Shariatpur district

and Matlab upazila of Chandpur

district and about 72 km of Kalabadar,

Gazaria and Meghna rivers of Hijla,

Mehendiganj and Barisal Sadar upazilas

of Barisal district.

>(Contd. on page-2)

March 7 speech source

of inspirations to rout

radicals: Quader

DHAKA : Awami League (AL) General

Secretary and Road Transport and

Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday

said the historic March 7 speech of

Bangabandhu is the source of inspiration

to eliminate the communal evil forces and

all conspirators from the country.

He was addressing a discussion

arranged by AL marking the historic

March 7 at the AL's Bangabandhu Avenue

central office here.

Prime Minister and Awami League

President Sheikh Hasina chaired the discussion

joining from her official

Ganabhaban residence through a videoconferencing.

Quader urged the people to build strong

unity imbued with the spirit of March 7 to

build a prosperous Bangladesh under the

leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina. He also called upon the people to

remain alert against communal evil forces

who are still hatching conspiracies against

the country.

"Conspiracies are still going on likewise

the previous periods. March 7 speech is

our source of inspirations to root out the

communal forces from the society," he

said. The AL general secretary said the history

of the country's independence and

Liberation War was distorted after the

assassination of Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in

1975.

The conspirators created barriers in

playing the record of the historic March 7

speech of Bangabandhu for long, he said.

"Our many leaders had to die and many

others were tortured brutally for playing

the March 7 speech," he said.

Quader said but the perpetrators could

not be successful to suppress the speech

which gave the guidelines for emancipation

of repressed people not only of this

soil but also all over the world.

Chattogram-Sylhet

flight from Mar 17

for first time

DHAKA : Biman Bangladesh Airlines

has decided to launch direct flights on

Chattogram-Sylhet-Chattogram route

for the first time in country's aviation

history. To mark the birth centenary of

the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the national

flag carrier took the initiative to operate

flights two days a week on March 17

from the port city Chattogram to Sylhet,

a press release said.

Biman's route will create a bridge

between the country's northeastern part

Sylhet and South coastal city

Chattogram for the rapid expansion of

tourism and commercial development,

said the release. Earlier, Biman initiated

direct flights on Sylhet-Cox's Bazar-

Sylhet route to give a boost the country's

tourism sector.

The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) launched a region-based integrated crush program on monday

to control Culex mosquitoes.

Photo : PBa

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

09-03-2021

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