03-09-2021

Friday

DhAKA: September 3, 2021; Bhadra 19, 1428 BS; Muharram 24,1443 hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.19; N o. 128; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

international

Afghans face hunger

crisis, adding to

Taliban's challenges

>Page 7

Schools, colleges to be

reopened soon: PM

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

on Thursday said the government is taking

measures to reopen educational institutions

across the country soon.

"We've been able to control the coronavirus

to a large extent. There's no more

problem regarding vaccines...I've

already directed (the authorities concerned)

to reopen schools and colleges

soon," she said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

HC asks two lower court

judges to clarify repeated

remand of Pori Moni

DHAKA : The High Court on Thursday

asked two lower court judges to explain

the reason why they accepted the police

prayer to remand actress Pori Moni for

multiple times in a narcotics case.

The judges of Dhaka Metropolitan

Court have been ordered to submit their

explanations to the HC in next 10 days.

The court also summoned the investigation

officer (IO) of the case to appear

before it on September 15 along with relevant

documents to explain why he

repeatedly sought remand for the

actress.

The virtual HC bench of Justice

Mostafa Zaman Islam and Justice KM

Zahid Sarwar Kajal passed the order

after hearing a petition filed by the Ain o

Salish Kendra (ASK) over the matter.

The bench said it will also summon the

metropolitan magistrates concerned

who granted the prayers for taking Pori

Zumma

04:24 AM

01:30 PM

04:30 PM

06:22 PM

07:40 PM

5:40 6:18

The Prime Minister said this when she

joined a discussion over a condolence

motion placed in Parliament to condole

the death of Awami League's MP Hasibur

Rahman Swapan (Sirajganj-6).

Hasina said teachers have already been

vaccinated and now steps are underway to

vaccinate other staff of the educational

institutions.

"Since there're some WHO guidelines

for school students, we're taking measures

to vaccinate the students following the

guidelines," she said.

So, Hasina said, the government is collecting

some Pfizer vaccines and trying to

procure Moderna vaccines, too. "Other

vaccines are also coming. We've already

paid for six core vaccine jabs," the Prime

Minister told the House.

The government is also taking steps to

vaccinate the family members of health

workers along with their domestic-helps

and drivers, and even the family members

of the domestic -helps and drivers so that

the virus cannot be transmitted, she said.

The Prime Minister asked all people to

follow the health protocols even after getting

vaccinated. She said it is seen that

many people are affected by coronavirus

even after being vaccinated though their

health conditions do not deteriorate

severely. "So, everybody should remain

careful."

She said those who have comorbidities,

including diabetes, cardiovascular, cancer

and kidney diseases, should be more careful

and seriously follow the health protocols

as they are at great risk.

Moni in remand for second and third

times, if their written explanation is

found not satisfactory.

Besides, the HC said there was potential

abuse of power in the remand of the

actress.

"Without proper reasoning, the IO

demanded the remands and the judges

even accepted it. This cannot go on in a

civilised society," the HC observed.

"Remand is to be applied only in

exceptional cases," the HC added.

ASK's lawyer ZI Khan Panna told the

HC during the hearing that its guidelines

and directives have all been thrown out

of the window in the manner by which

the actress was placed on remand in

three phases.

Pori Moni was arrested on Aug 4 following

a raid by Rab on her Banani residence.

A case was filed against her under

the Narcotics Act the following day.

Following the HC intervention a

Dhaka court finally granted bail to the

actress on Tuesday and she walked out

of jail the following day.

On August 22, Pori Moni was sent to

jail after inspector of the Criminal

Investigation Department (CID) Kazi

Golam Mostafa produced her in a court

on the completion of a one-day remand,

her third.

Judge Emrul Kayesh set September 13

for hearing her bail petition in the case.

However, the actress subsequently

moved the High Court, challenging the

validity of the lower court's decision.

The High Court on August 26 issued a

rule, seeking explanation as to why a

lower court order fixing September 13

for hearing the bail petition of Pori Moni

in a case under the Narcotics Control Act

should not be cancelled. It also asked

why the bail application would not be

heard within two days.

SPortS

Upbeat Tigers gear

up for 2-0 leads

against Kiwis

>Page 9

All medical colleges

to reopen in phases

from Sept 13

DHAKA : All state-run and private medical

colleges in Bangladesh will reopen from

September 13 in a staggered manner,

Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on

Thursday, reports UNB.

The decision to resume classroom teaching

has been taken by the government in

view of the improving Covid-19 situation in

the country, the Minister told reporters

after a meeting at the Secretariat.

"We have decided to resume classes at

all medical institutions, including government,

private, Delta and nursing colleges,

from September 13.

It may defer by a day or two but eventually

all medical institutions will be opened

in a phased way," he said.

"The authorities concerned have taken

all preparations for the resumption of

physical classes and the teachers and students

have also been covered under the

nation-wide vaccination programme,"

Zahid said.

There are 1.5 lakh medical students in

the country and they have all been asked to

attend classes following all Covid-safety

protocols, he added. "However, the decision

could change considering the Covid

situation in the country at the time."

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina said the government was taking all

necessary measures to reopen educational

institutions in the country at the earliest.

"We've been able to control the coronavirus

to a large extent. There's no more

problem regarding vaccines... I've

already directed (the authorities concerned)

to reopen schools and colleges

soon," she said.

The Prime Minister said this when she

joined a discussion over a motion placed

in Parliament to condole the death of

Awami League MP Hasibur Rahman

Swapan (Sirajganj-6).

CID addl DIG Sheikh

Omar Faruque sent

on retirement

TBT RePoRT

Sheikh Omar Faruque, the additional

deputy inspector general of Criminal

Investigation Department's Dhaka

Metro Division, has been sent on retirement.

He was the investigation supervising

officer of the cases against actor Pori

Moni, models Piasha and Mou, and

politician Helena Jahangir.

In a gazette notification on Thursday,

the Public Security Division of the Home

Ministry said that Sheikh Omar Faruque

has been sent on retirement following

the Section 42 of Public Service Act

(2018) as he has completed 25 years in

the service. Sheikh Omar Faruque

belongs to the 12th batch of Bangladesh

Civil Service. He joined the police in

1991. He is currently 58 years old.

art & culture

Apurba ties knot

with US citizen

Shyamma

>Page 10

The body of Biman Bangladesh Airlines pilot Captain Nowshad Ataul qayyum arrived in

the country on Thursday.

Photo : TBT

Pilot Nowshad's death body

buried at Banani graveyard

SHAfiqUl iSlAM (SHAfiq)

The body of Biman Bangladesh Airlines

pilot Captain Nowshad Ataul Qayyum

arrived in the country on Thursday. His

body was brought to Dhaka's Hazrat

Shahjalal International Airport on

Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-

026 at 9:10 am. At this time a heartbreaking

scene took place at the airport.

Relatives and colleagues of the deceased

were fainting again and again. The last

homage was paid with flowers in the coffin

of the deceased. The body of late

Nowshad Qayyum was buried at Banani

Cemetery after Janazah prayers at

Biman Balaka Bhaban after finishing of

Johar on Thursday. Many higher level

officer were present there.

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft made an

emergency landing in Nagpur, India, on

its way home from Doha, the capital of

Qatar. That flight brought the body of

the captain to Bangladesh. State

Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism

Mohammad Ali arrived at the airport on

Thursday morning to pay his respects to

the body of Captain Nowshad. Mahbub

Ali and Secretary Mokammel Hossain,

MD and CEO of the aircraft Abu Saleh

Mostafa Kamal and other senior officials

of the Ministry of Aviation.

Captain Nowshad Qayyum died at

noon on August 30. His body was later

kept in the mortuary of Kingsway

Hospital in Nagpur. Earlier on the

morning of August 27, Captain Nowshad

fell ill while in the Indian skies on his

way to Dhaka on a BG-022 flight with

more than 100 passengers from Muscat,

Oman. He immediately requested the

Air Traffic Control (ATC) of Kolkata to

make an emergency landing of the flight.

At the same time he handed over control

of the flight to the co-pilot. Co-pilot

Captain Mustakim ordered the Kolkata

Air Traffic Control flight to land at the

nearest Nagpur airport.

The Boeing 737-800 had 124 passengers

on board. They were all safe. On the

same day, an eight-member rescue team

went to Nagpur on another flight. The

plane was brought to Dhaka airport with

passengers after midnight that day. After

the flight landed, Captain Nowshad was

taken to Kingsway Hospital in Nagpur.

He was taken to the hospital's Surgical

Intensive Care Unit (SICU) in a coma on

August 29 after his condition deteriorated.

Nowshad was on ventilation there.

Doctors at the hospital said he was

bleeding in his brain after a heart attack.

On the night of August 29, two sisters

of Captain Nowshad Ataul Qayyum went

to Kingsway Hospital in Nagpur. They

talked to the doctors and agreed to keep

Captain Nowshad's ventilation system

running.

A street child is running towards the destination in the rain. The picture was taken from

TSC of Dhaka University on Thursday.

Photo : Star Mail

BD to purchase

16.5 cr COVID-19

vaccines : Maleque

DHAKA : Health and Family Welfare

Minister Zahid Maleque on Thursday said

the government has decided to purchase

16.5 crore more COVID-19 vaccines from

China and WHO initiative to expedite the

countrywide vaccination campaign.

"Bangladesh will get 2 crore doses of

Sinopharm vaccines from China each

month...meaning six crore jabs of

Sinopharm will arrive in the country

within three month," he told a meeting

at his ministry, an official release said.

The health minister said the government

is planning to vaccinate 1.5 to 2

crore people from the next month. "As

per the directive of Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina, teachers and students

will be vaccinated on the priority basis to

re-open the educational institutions," he

added. Bangladesh has so far approved

eight COVID-19 vaccines to control the

deadly disease.

The approved COVID-19 vaccines are

from Moderna, Johnson & Johnson,

CoronaVac, Pfizer, Covishield, Sputnik V,

AstraZeneca and Sinopharm.

NDB approves

Bangladesh as

new member

DHAKA : The New Development Bank

(NDB), established by BRICS (Brazil,

Russia, India, China and South Africa)

in 2015, has approved Bangladesh as a

new member.

The NDB Board of Governors gave the

approval in a meeting held on August

20, 2021, said an ERD press release.

Paying tribute to Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

and his dream to build a 'Sonar Bangla,'

Finance Minister A H M Mustafa Kamal,

said, "Membership of Bangladesh to

NDB has paved the way for a new partnership

at a momentous time of 50th

anniversary of our independence."

He said membership in the NDB is an

important step forward in meeting the

development vision of Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina. "We look forward to

working closely with NDB to build together

a prosperous and equitable world for

our next generation as dreamt by our

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman," he added.

He thanked the NDB Board for the quick

approval. Recalling the Vision 2041 and

the goal to achieve the SDGs, the finance

minister expressed deep commitment to

elevate the status of Bangladesh to the level

of developed countries within next 20

years by improving the economic and

social standards.

friDAY, SePtemBer 3, 2021

2

Export prospects of Rajshahi's products

to international markets bright

RAJSHAHI: Exporting

prospects of Rajshahi's

products to the international

markets is very bright as it is

famous for surplus

production of various goods

including jute, silk,

handicrafts and mango every

year, reports BSS.

Kazi Saidur Rahman,

assistant director of Export

Promotion Bureau (EPB),

said there are huge

potentialities of exporting

products to different global

markets from Rajshahi round

the year.

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"Rajshahi's jute, silk,

handicrafts and mango are

very familiar in world

markets. Among the nine

products that have so far been

registered as Geographical

Indications (GI) in

Bangladesh, four are from

Rajshahi," he said.

Rajshahi' silk in 2021 and

Chapainawabganj's

khirshapat mango, Rangpur's

Sataranji mat and Diranjpur's

Kataribhog rice in 2019 have

been brought under the GI

certification opening up an

enormous door in the field of

the region's export.

Export volume of

Rajshahi's products is

increasing particularly in the

countries belonging to the

South Asian Free Trade Area

(SAFTA).

Various products including

jute, handicrafts, garments,

handloom and light

engineering machineries

valued around 5.40 crore US

dollars were exported during

the last 2020-2021 fiscal year

despite the adverse impact of

the Covid-19 pandemic.

EPB official Rahman said

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the export earnings in the

previous 2019-2020 was

around 3.85 crore US dollars.

He, however, said EPB,

Rajshahi, constituted with the

16 districts in Rajshahi and

Rangpur divisions, has been

working for expanding the

export sector through

carrying out various

promotional works related to

providing need-based

suggestions and certified

facilitation to the new

entrepreneurs.

Professor Iliash Hossain of

the Department of Economics

in Rajshahi University said

the annual export earnings

could have been more if the

existing problems related to

communication,

transportation and capacity

to exist in the international

markets were solved.

Zila Parishad gets new multi-storey

building in Rajshahi

RAJSHAHI: The newly constructed multi-storied building of

Rajshahi Zila Parishad has been inaugurated formally

yesterday creating scopes of infusing dynamism into its

administrative and development activities, reports BSS.

The local government entity has constructed its own fourstorey

building at the traditional court premises in Rajshahi city

at a cost of around Taka 16 crore.

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives

Minister Tajul Islam opened the building virtually as chief guest

saying Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reactivated the zila

parishad and strengthened it for welfare of the nation.

He called for making the ancient institution more effective

and functional so the grassroots people can derive its total

benefits.

Senior Secretary to the ministry Helaluddin Ahmed

addressed the ceremony as the special guest virtually

mentioning that the role of zila parishad is imperative to

develop the country.

He opined that the institution must be effective and propeople

for the living and livelihood condition of the public in

general.Zila Parishad Chairman Muhammad Ali Sarker

welcomed the participants.

Advocacy meeting with GoB training Providing Agencies was held in Natore yesterday. Photo : Courtesy

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

3

Eight out of 60 multipurpose accessible rescue boats under construction for the Ministry of

Disaster Management and Relief at Narayanganj Dockyard and Engineering Works Limited run

by Bangladesh Navy have been handed over. Rescue boats were officially handed over to the

Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief by Narayanganj Dockyard and Engineering Works

Limited on Thursday.

Photo : ISPR

Bangabandhu

is real hero of

nation: Murad

DHAKA : State Minister for

Information and

Broadcasting Dr Murad

Hasan BSS said Father of

the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is

the real hero of the nation as

he has brought the

independence of the

country, reports BSS.

"Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman broke the

shackles of subjugation and

gave the Bengali nation an

independent sovereign

state….So, he is the real hero

of the nation", said Murad

speaking as the chief guest at

an award-giving ceremony.

Mirror Magazine

organised the function at a

city hotel Wednesday, said a

press release. Referring to

the tragic incident of August

15, 1975, the state minister

said, "One of the worst

names in the history of

Bangladesh is Khandaker

Mushtaq Ahmed… the

history of dishonesty was

written on the pages of

history due to his greed for

the presidency".

RAB members have arrested four swindlers on the charge of cheating in the name

of promising to receive the Covid-19 vaccine at the earliest.

Photo : TBT

Humayun urges investors to set

up factories for manufacturing

vehicles in Bangladesh

DHAKA : Industries Minister Nurul Majid

Mahmud Humayun on Thursday urged

domestic and foreign investors to set up

factories for manufacturing vehicles and

parts in Bangladesh.

"For industrialization in the country, we

are providing all kinds of assistance to

foreign investors to facilitate industrial

investment. In order to increase the

production and export of the products

produced in the country, our government

has been providing all kinds of cooperation,

including industrial policy assistance," he

said. The minister was speaking at a

memorandum of understanding (MoU)

signing ceremony between Bangladesh Steel

and Engineering Corporation (BSEC) and

Mitsubishi Motor Corporation (MMC) of

Japan at the ministry's conference room in

the city, said a press release. BSEC Chairman

Shahidul Haque Bhuiyan and Mitsubishi

Motor Corporation Europe, Middle East,

US likely to send more vaccines

to Bangladesh: Miller

DHAKA : US Ambassador to Bangladesh

Earl Miller has said his country is expected to

donate more COVID vaccines to Bangladesh

in coming days, while handing over one

million more doses of US's Pfizer vaccine in

the capital.

"It will not be the last such gift. We expect

further vaccine arrivals soon," he said during

the handing over ceremony at Hazrat

Shahjalal International Airport here on

Wednesday afternoon.

Health Service Division Secretary Lokman

Hossian Miah received the one million Pfizer

vaccines. With the arrival of the one million

doses of Moderna vaccines, the total number

of vaccines gifted by the US rose to 6.5

million.

The US ambassador welcomed the arrival

of one million doses of Pfizer's COVID-19

vaccine to Bangladesh, donated by the

United States as part of the U.S.

Government's commitment to purchase and

donate 500 million doses of Pfizer vaccines

globally. "It is a pleasure to once again

welcome a life-saving donation of one

million COVID-19 vaccines - a gift from the

United States and the American people to

the people of Bangladesh," Miller said. ?

This shipment of Pfizer vaccines is given

for free and is designed to bolster the

ongoing effort to protect Bangladeshis from

Africa and South Asia General Manager

Kurahashi Masatsugu signed the MoU on

behalf of their respective organizations.

State Minister for Industries Kamal

Ahmed Mojumder was present at the

function as special guest while Industries

Secretary Zakia Sultana presided over it.

Among others, Japanese Ambassador in

Dhaka Ito Naoki was present on the

occasion. The MoU has been signed between

BSEC and Mitsubishi Motor Corporation to

determine the way to set up a joint venture

factory based on a study and discussion on

the possibility of setting up a joint venture

company to manufacture Mitsubishi brand

cars in Bangladesh by 2025.

Expressing hope for the launch of "Bangla

Car" brand by 2025, the industries minister

said, "Our government is working

relentlessly for industrialization and

development of industry to take the country

to the highest or greater stage.

the deadly coronavirus, he added.

The envoy said this donation is part of

fulfilling President Biden's commitment to

purchase and donate 500 million doses of

the Pfizer vaccine to countries around the

world while Bangladesh is one of the first

nations to benefit from this initiative.

"Donating vaccines is also just one part of

our broader partnership with Bangladesh,

where the United States is the largest donor

of COVID-19 assistance in this country,

contributing not only 6.5 million doses of

vaccines - so far - but also over $96 million to

battle the pandemic," he said. ??

Miller said these Pfizer vaccines arrive at a

crucial time to bolster the ongoing roll-out of

national vaccination campaign in

Bangladesh and the US is proud to partner

with Dhaka in the effort to get as many

vaccinations into the arms of as many people

as possible.??

"We continue to stand together with the

people of Bangladesh no matter how

challenging this pandemic may be," he said.

Noting that the US and Bangladesh have

been close partners for the past five decades,

Miller said, "Today, our partnership is

stronger than ever as we face the challenge of

overcoming COVID-19 together-

Bangladeshis, Americans, and all people

around the world."

CHATTOGRAM : An Indian

Navy offshore patrol vessel,

INS Savitri - arrived here on

Thursday delivering two

mobile oxygen plants

(MOP), each with a capacity

of generating 960 litres of

oxygen per minute, reports

UNB.

While in Bangladesh,

the ship's company would

be interacting with their

Bangladesh counterparts;

on its journey out, Indian

Navy and Bangladesh

Navy ships will be

engaging in passage

exercise in the Bay of

Bengal on Friday.

This visit by INS Savitri is

also the second port call by

Indian Navy vessels to

Bangladesh in 2021, when

India and Bangladesh are

jointly commemorating the

Golden Jubilee of the 1971

Liberation War.

Earlier in March 2021, two

Indian Navy ships had made

a historic maiden visit to

Mongla to jointly celebrate

Mujib Borsho.

These MOPs were

developed

and

manufactured by DRDO in

India, and given to the

government of Bangladesh

to support to the natural

effort to fight the Covid

pandemic.

One MOP is to be set up at

the Dhaka Medical College

and Hospital and the other

plant is for the Bangladesh

Navy, to be set up at BNS

Patenga, said the Indian

Owner of e-

orange.shop, 2

others land in jail

DHAKA : A Dhaka court on

Thursday sent three people

including owner of virtual

outlet e-orange.shop to jail

in a fraud case filed over

embezzlement of Tk 1,100

crore from consumers,

reports UNB.

The accused are its owner

Sonia Mehzabin, her

husband Masukur Rahman

and Aman Ullah, Chief

Operating Officer of e-

Orange.

Dhaka Metropolitan

Magistrate Baki Billah

passed the order rejecting

their bail petition when they

were produced before it on

completion of their 5-day

remand.

Earlier on Aug 23, Dhaka

Metropolitan Magistrate

Morshed Al Mamun

Bhuiyan placed the accused

on a 5-day remand in the

fraud case. On Aug 17, the

court sent them to jail

rejecting their bail prayers

when they surrendered to

Dhaka Additional Chief

Metropolitan Magistrate

Abubakar Siddique's court.

On August 16, an

aggrieved customer of E-

Orange Md Taherul Islam

filed a fraud case with

Gulshan police station in

presence of 37 other

customers who testified

against the accused.

Flood situation

worsens as 1 lakh

people marooned

in Sirajganj

DHAKA : Flood situation in

Sirajganj has worsened as

Jamuna River continues to

swell above the danger level

leaving at least one lakh

people marooned, reports

UNB.

The Jamuna is flowing 61

cm above the danger level in

Sirajganj, deputy- assistant

engineer Zakir Hossain of

the Water Development

Board told UNB on

Thursday. Sirajganj Sadar,

Shahzadpur, Kazipur,

Chowhali and Belkuchi have

been the hardest hit

upazilas, he added.

As usual, low-lying areas

and croplands have mostly

been affected by the flood.

Medical oxygen plants

delivered to Bangladesh

by INS Savitri

High Commission in Dhaka.

These fully equipped,

state-of-the-art MOPs

generate medical oxygen onsite

in a highly cost-effective

manner.

In addition to direct

installation at hospitals, they

can also be used for refilling

oxygen cylinders as well.

The MOPs generate

medical breathing standard

oxygen using Zeolite

(Molecular Sieve)

technology with Pressure

Swing Absorption (PSA)

principle for medical

applications.

Goethe-Institut's int'l conference

on Masculinity begins Friday

DHAKA : Goethe-Institutes in Bangladesh

and India are set to virtually inaugurate a 2-

day international conference titled 'M3:

Man, Male, Masculine' on Friday, reports

UNB.

The international conference will bring

together intellectual and cultural

perspectives from experts and artistes from

South Asia and Europe on the theme of

masculinities, Goethe-Institut Bangladesh

said in a press release.

M3: Man, Male, Masculine is a South-

Asian regional project on the theme of

Masculinities, aiming to discuss current

visions of masculinity across the gender

spectrum in Bangladesh and India and

explore the current visions on masculinities

across the gender spectrum through various

discursive, cultural, and educational

activities, the press release added.

The idea is to provide, through various

perspectives and formats, a chance to not

only develop an understanding of

stereotypes and role models but also reflect

on individual perceptions of masculinity.

The focuses on masculinities in general

with a particular emphasis on the prevailing

scenario in Bangladesh and India.

It also intends to explore the different

notions of masculinity, such as how men are

perceived and how masculinity is

constructed in media, art, and performances,

and how does all this make young humans,

who identify themselves as male, feel.

From the Bangladesh frontier, Esha

Aurora (Journalist, Bangladesh) and Fikri

Anil Altintas (Writer and #HeForShe

Catalyst, Germany) will be in conversation

on 4th September at 5 pm (Bangladesh

time), regarding Performing Masculinity.

The interactive conversation shall

encompass perspectives and contexts of

gender performance; the Topic of Honor of

ascribed non-white masculinity, Genderbased

violence, and the concepts of

19th University Day of Chittagong University of Engineering and

Technology (CUET) has been celebrated on Wednesday. Photo : TBT

19th University Day of

CUET celebrated

GAZI JOyNAL ABEDIN, RAOZAN, CHATTOGRAM

19th University Day of Chattogram

University of Engineering and Technology

(CUET) has been celebrated. The day begins

on Wednesday at 9 am with the hoisting of

the national flag and the flag of the university

and the planting of trees.

Then at 10 am a discussion meeting was

held on the virtual platform. CUET Vice-

Chancellor Prof. Dr. Mohammad Rafiqul

Alam spoke as the chief guest at the

meeting.

He said, the main job of a university is to

do research, the universities work to create

new knowledge through research. CUET has

already had many successes. To bring more

Orientalism in masculinity.

Performing Masculinity will also be

discussed within the realm of Contemporary

South Asian Cinema. A Panel Discussion

moderated by film curator and journalist

Meenakshi Shedde.

The speakers include acclaimed

Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar

Farooki (Bangladesh), Rubaiyat Hossain

(Bangladesh), Devashish Makhija (India)

and Tillotama Shome (India).

The discussion intends to explore how

different roles are written for men and

women actors. It will also look at how

differently men and women are directed and

treated onset, gender disparity in pay scales

for actors, as well as directors. It will also be

exploring childhood events that may have

shaped these stakeholders into the people

they are today and how often men watch

films directed by women.

Other speakers include Urvashi Butalia

(Feminist Researcher and Writer, New

Delhi), Florian Fischer (freelance Consultant

on Social Issues, Germany), Meena

Kandaswamy (anti-caste activist, novelist,

India), Michael Meuser (Professor of

Sociology, Dortmund University), Sumathi

Ramaswamy (Professor of History and

International Comparative Studies, Duke

University, USA), and more.

Artistes including Aditi Mittal (writer,

comedian, actor, India), Anamika Joshi

(Spoken-word artist, India), Mandeep

Raikhy (Dance practitioner and

choreographer, India), Susanne Sachsse

(actress, Berlin Germany), Kerstin

Rickermann and Silke Beller, Film-makers

Germany) and more will be performing in an

around the same topic.

To participate in the conference via Zoom

and to register in advance for the sessions on

3rd and 4th September 2021, visitors are

required to follow the link at

https://bit.ly/RegisterGIM3.

research success, we all need to make

continuous contributions from our

respective positions.

CUET National Day Celebration

Committee President, Dean of the Faculty of

Engineering and Technology and Director of

Student Welfare, Prof. Md. Rezaul Karim

was the special guest while the Dean of the

Faculty of Civil Engineering. Md. Moinul

Islam, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical

Engineering presided over.

Incidentally, on September 1, 2003,

Chattogram University of Engineering and

Technology (CUET) emerged as the only

higher education institution for engineering

and technology education and research in

the south-east of Bangladesh.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir addressing a program which was organized on

the occasion of party's founding anniversary.

Photo : TBT

FrIDAY, SEPTEMBEr 3, 2021

4

India must look to BIMSTEC to drive economic growth

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Friday, September 3, 2021

Great success in

reducing hunger

Qu Dongyu, director-general (DG) of the Food and

Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO), has

highly appreciated the leadership of Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina in attaining food security for 165 million people of

Bangladesh despite being one of the top 10 most populous

countries in the world. He shared his deep appreciation during a

ceremony marking the presentation of Letter of Credence by Md

Shameem Ahsan, Bangladesh Ambassador to Italy, accrediting

him as the permanent representative to FAO held in Rome

recently.

"We can learn a lot from Bangladesh because their solutions are

very economic, easy to adapt," said the FAO director-general. He

recognized the great strides made by Bangladesh on attaining

food and nutrition security, food safety, improving the agro

environment, improving the lot of small holders, higher farm

productivity and income increase through various programmesprojects

and even during the challenging period of Covid-19,

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects that

Bangladesh will see bumper production of rice, wheat and corn

even during the crucial period of coronavirus. It made the

observation at a report titled "Global Agricultural Information

Network" published on April 19 ,2021.

Rice production for the 2020-21 marketing year is expected to

rise to 36.3 million tonnes in Bangladesh as further cultivation of

hybrid and high yield variety plantings increase, it says.But

sources at the agriculture ministry said this time rice production

would increase to 37.5 million tonnes.Md Nasiruzzaman,

secretary to the agriculture ministry, said, "Our rice production

will be at least 10 lakh tonnes more than the USDAprediction."

In 1971, the population of Bangladesh was 75 million people

whereas the present population is over 165 million. But food

production in the country has gone on matching the need of this

more than doubled population. Large scale and persistent hunger

like in the pre independence era is hardly noted in Bangladesh

today.

According to latest reports, Bangladesh has moved 13 notches

up to the 75th position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2020,

surpassing its much bigger neighbours India and Pakistan .This

year, the country achieved a GHI score of 20.4 out of 100.

Bangladesh managed to lower its GHI score of 34.1 achieved in

2000, showing an improvement by over 40% in these 20 years.

Thus, it shows gradual but steady improvement in the overall

hunger and under-nutrition indicators since the beginning of this

millennium. Specially, the hunger reduction has accelerated in

the last ten years under the present government led by Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Commenting on the matter, Centre for Policy Dialogue's

Executive Director Dr Fahmida Khatun put more emphasis on

food availability, saying, "If we look at the official statistics of food

production in Bangladesh, it will show an increasing trend, but

the problem is with food availability."The availability of food must

be increased along with the food production, and we need to

ensure sufficient access to food for the marginalised people."

Dr Fahmida also mentioned the importance of a proper

distribution channel along with an uninterrupted and smooth

supply chain to ensure food accessibility."We have done well in

reducing hunger in the country, but we should not become

complacent. Instead, we should work more on how we can

introduce more measures to increase food availability among the

people," she said, adding that modern technology should be

utilised more and more for higher food production.

Summarising her opinion, Dr Fahmida said, "We should focus

broadly on three points to reduce hunger, firstly by increasing

agricultural productivity through technology; secondly by

ensuring an uninterrupted food distribution channel and supply

chain, and lastly through boosting the purchasing power by

generating more employment." It appears that the incumbent

government is well engaged with all three aspects involving

higher production with technology, improving access to food by

people specially poor people at prices they can afford and

boosting employment to increase income.

The GHI measures track the hunger level globally, regionally

and nationally in order to trigger actions for reducing hunger

across the globe. The score of countries is also based on four

components - Undernourishment, Child Wasting, Child Stunting

and Child Mortality.According to the index, Bangladesh has

shown the biggest improvement in curbing Child Stunting.

During the nine-year period from 2012 to 2020, the country

reduced child stunting by 12.8 percentage points.Moreover,

Bangladesh also sawimprovement in the undernourishment

component. Around 13% of the total population are experiencing

undernourishment or insufficient caloric intake. The value was

higher in 2012.

Contacted, Sarwar Mahmud, the Directorate General (DG) of

Food, said the country is unlikely to face any food crisis even if the

coronavirus situation prevails for a long timed due to adequate

stock of food grains, including rice, wheat, potato and other

essential commodities. "We're not worried about food security

since Bangladesh is not a food-deficit country. We got a bountiful

Boro production while we're expecting an impressive production

of Aus and Aman paddy as well," he added.

The DG said they have around 11lakh metric tonnes of rice and

3 lakh metric tonnes of wheat while rice traders, millers,

wholesalers and farmers have more food grains stock than the

government has. "Many people also hoarded food out of their fear

of food crisis. So, our food grains stock is adequate to meet the

country's demand for more than a year."

Agriculture Secretary Md Nasiruzzaman said coronavirus has

no impact on Bangladesh's agriculture sector and they do not

think the country's food security will be at stake if the corona

situation prolongs. "We've got a bumper production of Boro rice

crop. We'll also have a good production of Aus and Aman rice.

We produced almost all crops and vegetables this season much

more than what we did last year. So, we won't face any food crisis

India's GDP growth rate for the first

quarter of the financial year 2021-22

stood at 20.1% as reported by the

country's National Statistical Office

(NSO). This announcement came on the

heels of a contraction of 7.3% in the

previous financial year.

Though the quarterly numbers this time

might seem to suggest that India is back

on track, the numbers are not even

remotely close to the pre-pandemic levels

of growth. Academics and public finance

experts have warned that the recent

figures showcase only the comparison to

last fiscal year. Any complacency might

result in the continuation of stagnant

economic growth.

The Indian economy had seen sluggish

growth even before the pandemic itself.

Covid-19 has exacerbated the situation

and the floundering economy has not

been able to pick up growth as anticipated.

There is a need to reinvent the way the

economy is functioning to stimulate the

necessary growth. India's role as an

export-oriented economy has never been

bright. This is something the state can tap

into. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for

Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic

Cooperation (BIMSTEC) can help India

and the region rebound from the slump

and develop economic heft on the global

stage.

Multilateral forums in the Asian region

have seen hits and misses in terms of the

goals achieved. While the Shanghai

Cooperation Organization (SCO) has been

successful in terms of economic

engagement, the same cannot be said of

others.

India has been in search of a forum

where it can project itself as an enabler

and not just an outside member. The

deteriorating relations with China add to

NOW that the evacuations from

Afghanistan are complete and

foreign troops have departed from

the country, the real game begins. Up till

now everything was in a state of limbo since

the focus in the Western capitals was largely

on ensuring the safe removal of their people

and those who worked with them.

This is the critical question facing Pakistan

today: will the Western world turn its back

on Pakistan now like it did after the end of

the Afghan war in the 1980s? If so there are

very significant implications for Pakistan.

But if wiser counsel is to prevail, and despite

the sting of withdrawal, the Biden

administration opts to take a pragmatic road

forward and maintains an engagement with

Pakistan (and Afghanistan as well), then it

will be critical to find out what sort of

India's reluctance to play an active role in

multilateral forums with the Chinese.

The India-led South Asian Association

for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has

shown no signs of progressing either in

terms of diplomatic or economic relations.

The everlasting hostility between India

and Pakistan has stymied the forum from

conducting any credible business.

India's role in other forums such as the

Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)

and Association of Southeast Asian

Nations (ASEAN) has been dormant, with

very little progress made in recent times.

This leaves BIMSTEC.

BIMSTEC is one organization where

India can take on a leadership position

and is composed of members that India

shares positive diplomatic relations with.

It also is home to some of the fastestgrowing

economies in the world, namely

Bangladesh, Thailand, and Vietnam,

which are looking to improve their global

trade volume. This serves as a perfect

platform for India to take the initiative to

promote regional economic cooperation.

India opted out of the Regional

Comprehensive Economic Partnership

(RCEP) in November 2020 in order to

protect its domestic markets in the

ArJUn GArGEYAS

KHUrrAM HUSAIn

aftermath of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Domestic economists deemed it a lost

opportunity for India to assert itself in the

global supply chains. Its Quad

counterparts Japan and Australia still

look to bring India back to the table, but it

looks like a lost cause now.

Establishment of a free trade area (FTA)

within BIMSTEC could help India

improve its manufacturing output and set

itself on the path of becoming an

economic powerhouse. This could serve

as an alternative to RCEP, especially for

India.

There have been talks of emerging

economies displacing China in some of

the global supply chains after the

pandemic. This partnership could help

drive forward the vision of reducing

dependency on China for the supply of

critical materials.

While RCEP would have been a much

tougher deal to negotiate for India, an

agreement within BIMSTEC could be

tailored to its needs thanks to its economic

clout. This could serve as a double

blessing for India, leading a regional

economic trade bloc and protecting its

domestic interests at the same time.

Though India has signed separate

Waiting for Biden

engagement they will have in mind.

Much rides on this question, especially

given the timeline that lies before us. The

month of October is critical, for four

reasons. One, Pakistan will be seeking to

resume its programme with the IMF in that

month, specifically during the annual

meetings scheduled between the 11th and

17th of that month. Second, there is a $1

billion Eurobond maturing on Oct 13, and

the government is hoping to float another

bond around the same time so repayment of

this one does not drain the reserves. Third,

the FATF plenary meetings are scheduled

from Oct 17 to Oct 22, right after the IMF

annual meetings, and the watchdog is set to

decide whether or not to pull Pakistan out of

the grey list in this meeting. Recall the last

meetings in June attached a few more

ISHTIAQ AHMAD

conditions for the country to meet and put

the question off till the next meetings. And

fourth, and possibly most importantly,

October is the month in which Shaukat

Tarin's six-month appointment as finance

minister is set to end. He must either

become a member of the national assembly

to continue or step down.

All these events on the timeline are

interlinked. The IMF is of the mind that

Pakistan needs to start unwinding the

stimulus measures it announced last year as

part of its Covid response plan, measures

like lower interest rates, subsidised credit

for industry from the State Bank, an

amnesty scheme to pump black money into

construction and so on. But Imran Khan is

of the opposite mind. He wants to ramp up

growth even further and announce a vast

bilateral trade agreements with some of

the BIMSTEC members, a collective freetrade

agreement would in effect makes the

forum a new trading bloc with significant

leverage. This would allow cross-border

collaboration across multiple sectors

including energy, environment, and

defense.

When the Indo-Pacific region faces a

multitude of critical issues, such as

tackling climate change and protecting

strategic interests, a trade bloc could

ensure easier transfer of technology and

access to multiple markets.

It is also an open secret that India and

the European Union have been in talks for

a long time trying to finalize a trade

agreement. This deal has never

materialized despite long, drawn-out

negotiations. This could be rectified by

making a deal on behalf of the BIMSTEC

trading bloc.

The EU, as a whole, might agree to a

deal that gives it broader access in the

region. India, on the other hand, could

leverage its position in the bloc to obtain a

mutually beneficial deal for itself and the

region as a whole.

One of the founding principles of

BIMSTEC was the prospect of economic

partnerships. While diplomatic relations

among the BIMSTEC countries have

always been highly positive, engagement

in other domains is yet to see light. There

have been talks of closer economic ties

among the members but it has never

taken off in the form of a trade agreement.

Finalizing an FTA must be a priority in

the coming months for the states involved.

This could accelerate economic growth in

the region and help address key sectoral

issues.

Source : Asia times

Afghan debacle redefines limits of US empire

The US has suffered a major blow to its

credibility as a global power in the

wake of the humiliating withdrawal

from Afghanistan and the Taliban's swift

return to power. Recovery from the Afghan

debacle will take some time. Until then, it is

difficult to imagine the US resuming liberal

interventionism in any regional conflict in

the near future.

The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan

has also led to a bitter public debate inside

the US. Amid the ensuing blame game,

either the Biden administration is singled

out for criticism or the buck is passed on to

the erstwhile Afghan allies, President Joe

Biden's predecessors or US military

commanders involved in the 20-year war in

the country.

Interestingly, much of the criticism

directed against Biden over the pullout is

being levelled by the predatory interests

linked to the US military-industrial

complex. Their current discourse over the

withdrawal, like the previous penchant for

intervention, reeks of an imperial impulse

that seeks US military hegemony under the

cloak of liberal democracy and human

rights.

While 9/11 provided immediate

justification for waging war against the

Taliban, the conflict's subsequent rationale

was built on the portrayal of the Taliban as

barbarians, especially in terms of their

treatment of women and religious and

ethnic minorities. The same discourse has

underpinned the arguments against US

withdrawal.

What is ignored amid the partisan politics

and blame game is the decades of imperial

hubris, wherein lies the underlying reason

for America's fall from grace. In fact, it is

quite unfortunate to see a great nation that

helped liberate the world from the curses of

fascism and communism in the previous

century face its most surreal moment of

There is a need to reinvent the way the economy is functioning

to stimulate the necessary growth. India's role as an exportoriented

economy has never been bright. This is something

the state can tap into. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-

Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) can

help India and the region rebound from the slump and develop

economic heft on the global stage.

weakness today.

Compare this to the "unipolar moment"

of the 1990s, when there was no rival to US

power following the collapse of the Soviet

Union. Historians such as Niall Ferguson

described the American empire then as the

greatest in world history in terms of

military, political, economic and

technological capability. But it was an

empire that claimed the right to rule the

world while being in denial of the

responsibilities that accrued from this right.

This dichotomy has formed the basis of

American unilateralism throughout the

post-Cold War period, spurred initially by

Samuel Huntington's "Clash of

Civilizations" thesis, Francis Fukuyama's

"End of History" claim and the

proclamation by George Bush Sr. of a "new

world order." Subsequently, this imperial

quest was ideologically refined by

proponents of the Project for the New

American Century, the neoconservative

think tank that helped shape the muscular

foreign policy of George W. Bush after 9/11.

Since then, Pax Americana, or the US

pursuit of "benevolent global hegemony,"

has manifested itself in various conflicts,

including Iraq, Syria and Libya. However,

Afghanistan is where its unbridled practice

became most visible, with the US militaryindustrial

complex being in the driving seat

of an imperial venture.

This fact is established by the startling

revelations in the voluminous report of the

US Special Inspector General for

Afghanistan, titled "What We Need to

Learn: Lessons from 20 Years of

Afghanistan Reconstruction." The report

draws its conclusions from scores of

interviews with US military commanders,

Since then, Pax Americana, or the US pursuit of "benevolent

global hegemony," has manifested itself in various

conflicts, including Iraq, Syria and Libya. However,

Afghanistan is where its unbridled practice became most

visible, with the US military-industrial complex being in

the driving seat of an imperial venture.

defense contractors, Afghan officials and

other personnel involved in Afghan security

and reconstruction activities. Craig

Whitlock's recent book "The Afghanistan

Papers" also more or less relies on the same

oral history.

The revelations about the extent of US

deceit and lying during the war in both

works are simply mind-boggling: Top US

military and civilian leaders consistently

hoodwinked the American public into

believing that all was well in Afghanistan.

Privately, though, they all believed the war

was going haywire. None had any clue

about the military strategy or political

objective.

Moreover, of the almost $1 trillion spent

on the war, less than 2 percent was

devoted to Afghan security and

reconstruction. The rest was consumed by

the Pentagon and the CIA. The SIGAR

report lists numerous cases of fraud and

corruption by US defense and civilian

contractors, Afghan warlords and other

stakeholders, in which billions of dollars

were siphoned off with impunity.

The nexus between the US militaryindustrial

complex and former US

commanders who led the Afghan war, such

as Gen. David Petraeus and Gen. H.R.

McMaster, has been further exposed by US

publishers The Intercept and Responsible

Statecraft. The fact that the same

commanders now sit on the boards of major

US defense contractors in Afghanistan is

presented as evidence to show why they are

so critical of Biden's decision to withdraw.

The Afghan debacle has, in fact, already

redefined the limits of the American empire

by constraining its hegemonic ambition, at

least for the foreseeable future.

As the dust settles on the greatest military

misadventure in US history, further truths

will surely emerge about how the US in

Afghanistan ultimately reaped the

whirlwind of the neoconservative imperial

impulse. The course of this war is laced with

strategic blunders, which culminated in

Donald Trump's unilateral pact with the

Taliban, leaving the Afghan regime and its

army at the mercy of this militia. Blaming

Biden for the subsequent turn of events, or

using the Afghans as scapegoats for US

failure, is a rebuke to the thousands who

died in the war and the millions left

homeless.

Against this backdrop, Biden has done the

right thing in taking the US out of

Afghanistan. The Afghan debacle has, in

fact, already redefined the limits of the

American empire by constraining its

hegemonic ambition, at least for the

foreseeable future. The US still has all the

power attributes that make it exceptional in

world history. We can only hope that the

Afghan exit will lead to a sustainable US

global posture - one that abandons the

pursuit of global hegemony in favor of

viable collaboration with emerging global

powers, such as China and Russia.

Source: Arab news

social protection programme called

Kamyab Pakistan in addition, putting a

further burden on government

expenditures. Will the Western world turn

its back on Pakistan now like it did after the

end of the Afghan war in the 1980s?

This growth is leading to a rise in imports

and causing the trade deficit to swell,

sending the government on a borrowing

spree to shore up the external sector and

prevent a drain of foreign exchange. And

just a few days ago, the government's own

Economic Advisory Council advised it to

place a two-year moratorium on foreign

borrowing, seeing how rapidly this debt was

building up and the prevailing uncertainty

around the future direction of interest rates

in global markets.

Source: Dawn

FrIDAy, SePTeMBer 3, 2021

5

Arakan Army seeks to build inclusive'administration in Rakhine state

KyAw HSAn HlAIng

Seven months since the military coup in

Myanmar, the political wing of the rebel

Arakan Army (AA) has significantly

expanded its administrative and judicial

mechanisms across Rakhine State in

western Myanmar, with hundreds of its

personnel now effectively administering

the region independently of the military

junta that rules in Naypyidaw. The group

is also attempting to involve the state's

entire population, including the

Rohingya Muslims, in the governance of

what it hopes will become an

autonomous Rakhine State.

On April 11, 2020, the 11th anniversary

of the formation of the AA, Gen. Maj.

Twan Mrat Naing, the army's

commander-in-chief, outlined the

concept of the "way of Rakhita," which he

described as "the struggle for national

liberation and the restoration of Arakan's

sovereignty to the people of Arakan."

This refers to the restoration of the

independent Arakan kingdom that ruled

significant parts of western Myanmar

until 1824, when it was conquered by the

Burmese kingdom based in Mandalay.

In an interview with the U.S-based

Arakkha Media on August 15 of this year,

Twan Mrat Naing said that in the pursuit

of this long standing Arakan dream,

there will be no compromise. "We never

had a price tag in attempting to wrestle

back our lost sovereignty for the Arakan

people," he said. "There will not be in the

future, either."

On February 1, the Myanmar military,

or Tatmadaw, took over the country,

ousting the civilian government led by

the National League for Democracy

(NLD) and arresting leaders including

State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and

President Win Myint. The military has

said it took over the country due to

rampant "voter fraud" by the NLD, and

the junta's newly-appointed Union

Election Commission has since annulled

the result of the election.

The coup tipped the country into

political turmoil. Immediately,

nationwide protests broke out, which

were followed by deadly crackdowns that

have since claimed the lives of over 1,000

people, according to the Assistance

Association for Political Prisoners.

Ethnic armed groups including the AA

have condemned the coup and violence

against civilians. A powerful ethnic

armed group based in Rakhine State, the

AA has been fighting for greater

autonomy since 2018, and has become

one of the most serious threats to the

junta's hold on power. Indeed, in a bid to

placate the AA's leadership and seek its

support, the junta removed the

organization from its list of terrorist

groups in March, about a month after the

coup.

Prior to the coup, intensive armed

conflict between the AA and the

Tatmadaw had displaced more than

230,000 civilians, while nearly 1,000

were seriously injured or killed by

artillery shelling, gunshots, and

landmine explosions, including more

than 170 children.

The NLD government, led by Nobel

laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, called for the

Tatmadaw to "crush" the AA, imposed

the world's longest internet shutdown in

parts of Rakhine State, and designated

the AA as a terrorist organization in

response to the conflict.

It also excluded the AA from its

landmark peace conference, blocked

humanitarian assistance to conflictaffected

people, and canceled the

November 2020 national election in

large parts of Rakhine State for "security

reasons," preventing an estimated 73

percent of Rakhine State's voters from

casting a ballot.

The cancellation of the election

prompted many residents of Rakhine

State to shift their support to the AA,

which began establishing its own

administration across large parts of the

state - a process that it has accelerated

since February's coup.

On April 11 of this year, the 12th

anniversary of the formation of the AA,

Twan Mrat Naing issued a statement

recalling that in the early period of its

struggle, the AA worked mainly on

mobilization and armed resistance to

obtain its political objectives, but is now

implementing "a governance mechanism

with strong institutions for public

administrative affairs including

administration, judiciary, and public

security."

Khaing Kaung San, founder and

executive director of the Rakhine Statebased

Wan Lark Foundation, said that

the people of Rakhine State increasingly

rely upon the AA's administration and

dispute resolution mechanisms,

increasing trust and support for the AA's

A medical team from the Arakan Army poses with rohingya villagers in rakhine State's Buthidaung

township.

Photo: Collected

performance after years of

discrimination from successive central

governments.

"People have been treated with

discrimination by the previous

successive governmental departments,

including the police and the soldiers," he

told The Diplomat. "Right now, the

existence of the AA with its newly

introduced Judiciary and Complaints

System weakens the arbitrary acts. Not

only among people but also the

departmental officers serving the current

authority do not dare to act arbitrarily

like before. They, themselves, have trust

in the AA and support the AA's

performance."

On August 1, the United League of

Arakan (ULA), the AA's political wing,

officially announced that the people of

Rakhine State can now file or submit

their legal disputes including over

crimes, land issues, and theft to the

ULA's dispute resolution mechanism. It

said that it intends to bring justice for all

people living in Rakhine State, regardless

of race and religion.

During a recent interview with

Arakkha Media, Twan Mrat Naing, said

that the AA has arranged to pay salaries

for those who are working in its judicial

department. "We are serious about the

Department of Justice," he said. "We are

trying to pay salaries to the staff

members of the Department of Justice to

ensure justice and to prevent mistakes."

Most notably, the Arakan Army is also

planning to involve Rakhine State's

Rohingya Muslims, the second largest

group of the state's population of 3.2

million, in its administrative roles and

the police work, Twan Mrat Naing told

Arakkha Media. "We've planned for

them to participate more in our

administrative sectors and police work,

and also plan to offer training for them

on office work, management and law.

We'll have to conduct this step by step,"

he said.

Lar Lar Myar, a prominent Rohingya

Muslim from Buthidaung township in

northern Rakhine State, told Radio Free

Asia that he welcomed AA's statement,

adding that the Rohingya community

had never been allowed to participate in

civil administration under the NLD

administration, or any previous central

government.

"We are very happy that the Arakan

Army will now provide training to all of

our people together. We accept them.

Now, young people are registering,

although the AA hasn't yet spoken

directly to us. But we are compiling a list

because of the AA commander-in-chief's

announcement. We are making the list in

advance so that it will be ready when AA

comes," he said.

Lar Lar Myar also said that a liaison

office for the Rohingya and AA had been

established, adding that the state

judiciary under the AA has "acted fairly,

without discrimination on the basis of

race or ethnicity."

In 2017, the military launched a brutal

crackdown that forced hundreds of

thousands of Rohingya to flee across the

border into Bangladesh - and is now the

subject of international charges of

genocide at the International Court of

Justice in The Hague.

Meanwhile, state-sponsored violence

in 2012 forced more than 130,000

Rohingya into internal displacement

camps within Rakhine State. They have

since been denied citizenship and rights

such as education, freedom of

movement, and health care under

successive governments. During his

recent interview with Arakkha Media,

Twan Mrat Naing said everyone living in

the state were citizens of Arakan

regardless of race or religion.

Khaing Kaung San of the Wan Lark

Foundation said that Rohingya Muslims

have never had the opportunity to take

part in administering their villages under

successive central governments, but

would welcome the chance to help

govern under the ULA/AA

administration. "Currently the

community has been granted authority

to administer their villages by their

community leaders under the AA

administration," he told The Diplomat.

Earlier this month, Brig. Gen. Dr. Nyo

Twan Awng, the deputy commander-inchief

of the AA, told Frontier Myanmar

that AA has de facto control over twothirds

of Rakhine State, and is now

exercising effective executive and judicial

authority in these areas.

Khaing Kaung San said that Rohingya

communities were being "provided

protection by the AA with regard to their

well-being and health care. Not only in

the AA-controlled areas, but also in other

places including Sittwe, communication

between the two communities exists."

In the AA's pursuit of its dream of an

autonomous Arakan polity, an inclusive

approach also makes pragmatic sense.

Unlike previous rulers of the state, who

have pitted its ethnic communities

against one another, the Arakan Army's

strategy of including community leaders

from minority communities, especially

Rohingya, into the administration of the

state increases the likelihood that it will

succeed in maintaining stability and

peace.

Kyaw Win, founder and executive

director of Human Rights Network for

Burma, said that the lives of the

Rohingya have gotten steadily worse

under a succession of central

governments, and that they would no

doubt welcome any AA administration

that accepts them as legitimate members

of the family of Arakan. "AA should prove

that they are different by their actions,

and I believe that they are doing so," he

said.

Asia and the global

war on terror

MArIyA y. oMelICHevA

On September 11, 2001, four

planes were hijacked and

crashed into the twin towers

of the World Trade Center in

New York City, the Pentagon

outside Washington, D.C.,

and (after passengers and

crew fought back) into a field

in rural Pennsylvania. More

than 2,700 people died,

most of them in New York

when the towers collapsed.

It was the deadliest terrorist

attack on U.S. soil.

9/11 changed the focus of

U.S. foreign policy

seemingly overnight. After

the attacks, the U.S.

government focused nearly

all of its national security

efforts, and much of its

diplomacy as well, on

eradciating terrorism. The

"Global War on Terror"

(GWOT) was born.

The opening salvo in the

GWOT was, of course, the

U.S. invasion of

Afghanistan, where al-

Qaida, the terrorist group

behind 9/11, was being

sheltered by the Taliban

regime. The U.S. invaded

Afghanistan in October 2001

and swiftly overthrew the

Taliban, but did not succeed

in killing the mastermind of

9/11, Osama bin Laden, until

Indonesia's anti-terror squad officers escort suspected militants.

May 2011 (in a surprise raid

into neighboring Pakistan

where he was hiding). The

GWOT's original conflict -

the "good war" in

Afghanistan - was set to end

by the 20th anniversary of

9/11 with the withdrawal of

U.S. troops. But the

withdrawal precipitated the

rapid collapse of the U.S.-

backed Afghan government

and the triumphant return

of the Taliban to power in

Kabul.

We'll have plenty on the

tragic end of the U.S. war in

Afghanistan later in this

issue, but as Sean Roberts

writes, the GWOT had farreaching

consequences

beyond the direct impact of

the "forever wars" in

Afghanistan and Iraq.

In our cover story, we

explore the how the global

war on terror narrative been

repurposed across the Asia-

Pacific, in Central Asia,

South Asia, Southeast Asia,

and China. As Roberts

suggests, GWOT rhetoric

Photo: AP

has been instrumentalized

by local regimes for their

own political ends, including

cracking down on dissent

and bolstering authoritarian

legitimacy. Adopting the

GWOT framework also

provided an avenue to

increased cooperation with -

and positive attention from -

the United States.

Terrorism existed long

before the GWOT, as all of

our cover authors note, and

the "war" has not eradicated

it (or even come close).

Nevertheless, the narrative

itself reshaped security

priorities and diplomacy

across Asia, often in ways

that undercut human rights.

The GWOT's first war may

be ending, but the global war

on terror endures.

China's hydro ambitions on the Brahmaputra

HongzHou zHAng

In March of this year, China's National

People's Congress (NPC) approved the

country's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-

2025) for national economic and social

development, as well as its long-range

objectives through to the year 2035.

While the elevation of renewable

energy to an even more prominent

position in China's 14th Five-Year Plan

has generated widespread discussion

about China's ambition to curb its

greenhouse gas emissions, the

inclusion of a hydropower

development at the lower reaches of

the Yarlung Tsangpo - the upper

stream of the Brahmaputra River - has

triggered speculation that China might

soon start exploiting the hydropower

potential of the Grand Canyon of the

Brahmaputra. China's hydropower

plan has also raised concerns from the

river's lower riparian states,

particularly India.

The Brahmaputra River begins on

China's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where it

is called the Yarlung Tsangpo. After

entering India through Arunachal

Pradesh and Assam, it becomes known

as the Brahmaputra. From India, it

crosses into Bangladesh, where it is

called the Jamuna River, before

emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

The Brahmaputra River is of great

importance to both India and China.

For India, it accounts for nearly 30

percent of the country's freshwater

resources and about 44 percent of its

total hydropower potential. In China,

the Brahmaputra holds great

significance for Tibet, given its status as

the birthplace of the Tibetan

civilization. The river also plays a

critical role in Tibet's agricultural and

energy sectors. The importance of the

Brahmaputra River is further elevated

by the ongoing border disputes

between China and India, which have

contested claims in the eastern

Himalayas. This disputed area, which

occupies about an area of 90,000

square kilometers, is called South Tibet

in China or Arunachal Pradesh state in

India, which now controls the area.

Given the importance of the

Brahmaputra River to India's water

and energy security and the link to

ongoing territorial disputes, India has

long been wary of China's development

plans for the river. The possibility of

China building dams on the

Brahmaputra to divert some of its

waters to arid northern China was first

mentioned at the first international

conference of the Global Infrastructure

Fund in Anchorage, Alaska in 1986.

Since then, India has expressed

concern regarding China's intention to

divert waters from the Brahmaputra

River to its drought-prone

northwestern region, particularly over

the much-hyped Grand Western Water

Diversion Project (or Shuotian Canal)

and the recent Red Flag River Project.

While the Chinese government has,

to date, dismissed these massive and

highly controversial water diversion

proposals, it started building dams on

the upstream of the Brahmaputra

River in 2009. Thus far, it has built or

is building six hydropower projects on

the upper reaches of the river.

According to Chinese officials, these

dams are the run-of-the-river type,

where water is diverted to a lower point

to generate electricity and later allowed

to re-enter the river.

The recent inclusion of the

development of hydropower projects

on the lower reaches of Tibet's section

of the Brahmaputra in the country's

14th Five-Year Plan has generated

widespread domestic and international

speculation that China might soon

start the construction of a super-dam

at Medog (or Metok) which is on the

Great Bend of the Brahmaputra. Here

the river plunges from the roof of the

world, curling down towards the plains

of India and Bangladesh. The idea is to

build a 50-meter-high dam at an

altitude of 3,000 meters and harness

the river's energy as it falls 2,000

meters - at a rate of 15 meters of

altitude dropped per kilometer

traveled - along the world's longest and

steepest canyon.

Even though no official statement

was made on the Medog dam, there is

evidence suggesting that preparation

works are underway. For instance,

according to the Global Times, a

Chinese state-owned media outlet, an

agreement has been signed by the

state-owned Power Construction

Corporation of China (hereafter,

PowerChina) and the government of

the Tibet Autonomous Region to build

the historic hydropower project in

Tibet. This project is said to be able to

generate 60 million kilowatts of

hydropower, which is more than three

times the amount of electricity

produced by the Three Gorges Dam.

Yan Zhiyong, the chairman of

PowerChina, claimed that "there is no

parallel in history" and said the

proposed hydro project is a "historic

opportunity for the Chinese

hydropower industry." Nevertheless,

precise details were not included in the

14th Five-Year Plan.

While the idea of exploiting the

hydropower potential at the Great Bend

of the Brahmaputra River has been

floating around for many years, the

official inclusion of the plan in the 14th

Five-Year Plan was driven in part by the

Chinese central government's recent

push toward carbon emission reduction

and in part by the lobbying of the local

governments and hydropower interests.

After Xi Jinping's bold commitment

that China would reach peak carbon

emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon

neutrality before 2060, carbon

emission reductions and the transition

to clean energy clearly stand out as a

central policy priorities in the 14th

Five-Year Plan. The Plan set an 18

percent reduction target for CO2

intensity and a 13.5 percent reduction

target for energy intensity (emissions

per unit of GDP) by 2025. As China

shifts away from coal, which supplies

nearly 70 percent of its energy use, to

clean energy sources like

hydroelectricity, more dams are

expected to be built.

Due to massive investments in

hydropower over the past few decades,

the hydropower potential has already

been exploited in much of China -

except for Tibet. To date, the Tibetan

plateau has the highest potential for

hydropower generation. By the end of

2017, the installed hydropower

capacity in China had reached 341

million kilowatts, while the installed

hydropower capacity in Tibet is only

1.77 million kilowatts, accounting for

only 1 percent of the technically

exploitable amount.

In late July 2021, Xi made a surprise

visit to Tibet. The first stop of his Tibet

visit was Nyingchi, where he visited the

Nyang River Bridge to inspect the

ecological preservation of the

Brahmaputra River's basin. In Tibet,

while stressing the need to protect the

ecology of the Yarlung Tsangpo, Xi also

urged Tibet to accelerate the building

of national bases for clean energy.

While the national interest is the key

factor behind building dams on

Climate goals and local interests are driving Tibet's hydropower boom,

which will have implications far beyond China. Photo: Depositphotos

transboundary rivers in Tibet,

including the upstream of the

Brahmaputra River, the strong

lobbying from local governments and

hydropower companies should not be

overlooked. Tibet has formulated a

three-step plan to develop its electricity

and hydropower sectors, as revealed by

the former vice chairman of Tibet, Ding

Yexian. This three-step plan is: 1) to

alleviate power shortage before 2012;

2) to solve the problem of electricity in

the region between 2013 and 2015; and

3) to make hydropower-sustained

rapid development between 2016 and

2020, and gradually to make "outward

transmission" of Tibetan electricity

into a strategic industry that turns

hydropower resources into economic

benefits.

FRIDAY, SePTeMBeR 3, 2021

6

Good Neighbors Bangladesh donated health equipments to Joypurhat Modern District Hospital on

Wednesday.

Photo: Masrakul Alom

Govt collects

over 1.39 lakh

tonnes rice in

Khulna division

JASHORE: The food

department has set a target

to collect over 1.39 lakh

tonnes of rice in all the 10

districts of Khulna division

during the current Boro

season to ensure food

security amidst the

COVID-19 pandemic,

reports BSS.

In this regard, the food

department has inked an

agreement with the millers

to procure 1,43,126 tonnes

of Boro rice in all the 10

districts of Khulna division

during the current Boro

season.

Of them, one lakh 39

thousand 591 tonnes of rice

have been collected,

according to the food

department sources.

As part of the nationwide

Boro rice procurement

drive, the government

started to purchase the

food grain from the millers

on May 7 which ended on

August 31 last.

Jashore District Food

Controller Md Abdur

Rahman said the

department procured

Boiled rice at Taka 40 per

kilogram (Kg) and Atap

rice at Taka 39 per kg.

A total of 98 percent rice

procurement work against

the target has been

completed, he added.

Aush rice output on rise for

9 years in Rangpur region

RAnGpUR: Aush rice

output continued increasing

for the last nine consecutive

years as a result of various

steps taken by the

government, like providing

intensives and technical

supports to the farmers of

Rangpur agriculture region,

reports BSS.

Officials of the

Department of Agricultural

Extension (DAE) said

cultivation of the short

duration and less irrigation

water consuming Aush rice

crop is expanding constantly

over the last nine years.

This year, the DAE had

fixed a target of bringing

62,199 heaters of land under

Aush rice cultivation to

produce over 1.80 lakh

tonnes of clean rice (2.71-

lakh tonnes of paddy) for all

five districts of the region.

"However, farmers finally

brought 62,090 hectares of

land under Aush rice

farming this season in the

region," Additional Director

of the DAE's Rangpur region

Bidhu Bhusan Ray told BSS

yesterday.

Braving the Covid-19

pandemic, farmers have

produced an all-time record

1.94 lakh tonnes of clean

Aush rice (2.91 lakh tonnes

of paddy) at an excellent

average yield rate of 3.13

tonnes per hectare of land

this year.

The production of 1.94

lakh tonnes of clean Aush

rice is higher by 7.78 percent

against the fixed production

target of 1.80 lakh tonnes of

the same for this season.

"Various realistic steps of

the government, including

motivational campaigns,

inspired farmers in

expanding cultivation of

Aush rice resulting in

achieving its all-time record

output this time," Ray said.

Official statistics said

farmers produced 51,722

tonnes of Aush rice from

17,523 hectares of land in

2013 while 59,685 tonnes of

rice from 19,205 hectares in

2014 and 61,676 tonnes of

Aush rice from 21,063

hectares of land in 2015 in

the region.

They produced 65,505

tonnes of Aush rice from

21,751 hectares of land in

2016 while 73,543 tonnes of


hectares in 2017 and 1.23

lakh tonnes of Aush rice

from 40, 618 hectares of

land in 2018.

"Farmers produced 1.48

lakh tonnes of clean Aush

rice from 47,552 hectares of

land in 2019 and produced a

previous record quantity of

1.83 lakh tonnes of clean


hectares of land in 2020 in

the region," Ray added.

Agriculturist Dr Md Abdul

Mazid, a recipient of the

Independence Award-2018

22 more test positive for

Covid-19 in Bhola

BHOLA: A total of 22 more people

were diagnosed with Covid-19 positive

in the district after testing 172 samples

at Bhola 250-bed General Hospital

COVID-19 laboratory during the last 24

hours till last morning, reports BSS.

Among the newly positive cases, 12

are in Sadar upazila, five in Charfashion

upazila two in Borhanuddin upazila

and one each in Lalmohan, Monpura

and Daulatkhan upazilas of the district,

Dr. KM Shafiquzzaman, civil surgeon

of the district, told BSS.

With the diagnosis of 22 new

patients, the number of Covid-19 cases

reached 6,531 in the district.

Meanwhile, a total of 46 patients

recovered from the deadly virus in the

span of 24 hours here, climbing the

healed patients to 5,758, the civil

surgeon said.

A total of 87 people have so far died

in the food security category,

highly appreciated the

government initiatives to

promote less irrigation

water consuming Aush rice

cultivation to produce

additional rice.

Farmers are expanding

Aush rice cultivation as an

additional crop during the

off-season after Boro rice

harvest and before

transplantation of Aman rice

seedlings on the same land

to enhance rice production

every year.

"production of Aush rice

continues increasing

consistently during the last

nine consecutive years in

Rangpur region, largely

contributing to ensuring

national food security amid

adverse impacts of climate

change," Dr Mazid said.

Senior Coordinator

(Agriculture

and

Environment) of RDRS

Bangladesh Mamunur

Rashid said farmers are

cultivating Aush rice using

unused rainwater during the

off-season between Boro rice

harvest and Aman rice

farming when the croplands

remain fallow.

"Farmers are easily

cultivating Aman rice on the

same land after harvesting

Aush rice to increase rice

production amid changing

climate for attaining

sustainable national food

security," Rashid added.

due to Covid-19 in the district, he

added.

Dr. Shafiquzzaman said infected 21

patients are now undergoing treatment

at Bhola 250-bed General Hospital and

the rest are at home quarantined under

the supervision of doctors from their

respective Upazila Health Complexes.

He urged all to follow the health rules

strictly and use masks to prevent the

spread of the lethal virus.

On the occasion of National Fisheries Week, fish equipments have been distributed among fish farmers

and beneficiaries in Manda upazila on Thursday. 900 kg of fish equipments was distributed to

the fish farmers and beneficiaries of the Upazila for fish farming organized by the Upazila Fisheries

Department.

Photo: Sazzadul Tuhin

Health equipments

privided at

Joypurhat Modern

District Hospital

MASRAKUL ALOM,

JOypURHAT CORRESpOnDEnT

International private

Development Organization

GoodneighborsBangladesh

donated health equipments

to Joypurhat Modern

District Hospital on

Wednesday.Abu Saeed Al

Mahmud Swapan Mp, Whip

of Jatiya Sangsad and

Central Organizing

Secretary of Bangladesh

Awami League attended the

function as the chief guest

virtually held at the

conference room of the

hospital.

Dr. Sardar Rashed

Mubarak

Jewel,

Superintendent of Distrcit

Modern Hospital presided

over the function while

among others, Civil Surgeon

Dr. Wajad Ali, RMO Dr.

Shahid Hasan, Kalai Upazila

Health and Family planning

Officer Dr. nur

Asaduzzaman, Zidarpur

Union Chairman Ziaur

Rahman Sharmin nasrin,

project Manager, Kalai CDp,

Dr. Shahin Raza were also

present at the function.

Later, the health

equipments were handed

over to the superintendent

of the hospital by the project

manager of Good neighbors

Kalai CDp.

Chhagalnaiya Upazila

Chairman's 47th birth

anniversary observed

KAFIL UDDIn MAJUMDER,

CHHAGALnAIyA CORRESpOnDEnT

Chhagalnaiya Upazila

parishad Chairman and

General Secretary of Upazila

Awami League Mejbaul

Haider Chowdhury Sohail's

47th birthday has been

celebrated on Wednesday.

Marking the occasion a

prayer mahfil and cake

cutting ceremony was

organized at the Upazila

Awami League office.

Jasim Uddin, General

Secretary of Municipal AL

presided over the function

while nizam Uddin

Majumder president of

Upazila AL was present as

the chief guest at the

occasion. Among others,

pathannagar Up Chairman

Rafiqul Haider Chowdhury

Jewel, Upazila Mohila Vice

Chairman Bibi Julekha

Shilpi, Mahamaya Up

Chairman Garibshah

Hossain Chowdhury

Badsha, Shubhpur Up

Chairman Abdullah Selim,

Ghopal Up Chairman Azizul

Haque Manik were also

present at the occasion.

Discussion meeting,

doa mahfil held in

Lohagara

IqBAL HASSAn, LOHAGARA

CORRESpOnDEnT

On the occasion of the 46th

martyrdom anniversary of

Father of the nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman, a

discussion meeting and a

dao mahfil has been held to

seek the forgiveness of the

departed souls of

Bangabandhu and the

martyred members of his

family.

The meeting was

presided over by Ward

BCL president Jatirmoy

Banerjee held at Kudsi

primary School premises.

Municipal Mayor and

Upazila Jubo League

president Ashraful Alam

was present as the chief

guest at the occasion while

among others, Saifullah

Faisal Remu, vice

president of Chhatra

League, and naimur

Rahman Arman, president

of Chhatra League

Abdullah Al Mamun

Rahan were also present at

the occasion.

Day-long livestock exhibition

held at Raninagar

SAIFUL ISLAM, RAnInAGAR CORRESpOnDEnT

A day-long livestock exhibition was held at

Raninagar upazila of naogaon. Abdur Rauf

Dulu, Chairman of the Upazila parishad,

inaugurated the exhibition at the Upazila

Livestock Department and Veterinary

Hospital premises at 10 am on Thursday.

The exhibition was organized by the

Upazila Administration, Upazila Livestock

Department and Veterinary Hospital in

collaboration with the Fisheries and

Livestock Ministry. The meeting chaired by

Upazila nirbahi Officer Sushanta Kumar

Mahata while among others, Former

Secretary Dr. yunus Ali pramanik, District

Livestock Officer Dr. Mohir Uddin, Farmer

Officer Farmer Shahidul Islam, Upazila

Livestock Officer Dr. Aminul Islam, project

Implementation Officer Mahdi Hasan, Rural

Development Officer Mahbubur Rahman,

Bardra Development Officer Faruk Hasan,

Deputy public Health Officer Assistant

Engineer Ikramul Bari, Kashimpur Union

Chairman Makalsur Rahman Babu, farmers

and local dignitaries.

A total of 23 stalls participated in the

exhibition. Later the guests visited various

stalls.

A day-long livestock exhibition was held at Raninagar upazila of Naogaon on

Thursday.

Photo: Saiful Islam

Chhagalnaiya Upazila Parishad Chairman and General Secretary of Upazila

Awami League Mejbaul Haider Chowdhury Sohail's 47th birth day has been

celebrated on Wednesday. Photo: Kafil Uddin Majumder

Aman transplanting

works nearing completion

in panchagarh

pAnCHAGARH: As

farmers of the district have

got favourable climatic

conditions and adequate

supply of high quality seeds,

Aman paddy transplanting

works nearing completion

here with the hope of

bumper production, reports

BSS.

Farmers and farmlabourers

are passing their

busy time in transplanting

Aman rice seedlings on their

crop lands and nurturing

the fields with much

enthusiasm for getting more

rice production.

Officials of the

Department of Agricultural

Extension (DAE) said a

target of 3,26,644 tonnes of

fresh Aman rice has been

fixed to collect from 99,695

hectares of land in all five

upazilas of the district this

season.

Deputy Director of the

DAE office in panchagarh

Mizanur Rahman told BSS

that the Aman growers have

already completed 90

percent farmlands

transplantation of Aman

seedlings and the remaining

lands will be completed next

week.

"Bangladesh Agriculture

Development Corporation

(BADC) distributed

adequate quantity of

improved quality Aman

seeds to the farmers of the

district at fair price,"

Mizanur Rahman said,

adding that the DAE has

also distributed Aman

seeds, fertilizers and

different irrigation and

agricultural inputs among

200 Aman growers at a cost

of free to make the

cultivation programme a

success.

Different commercial

banks including Rajshahi

Krishi Unnayan Bank have

also distributed easy term

loans to the farmers for

helping them to run their

Aman cultivation without

any financial problems, he

said.

Besides, the department

has also given training on

agro-related modern

technology to the farmers

for boosting bumper Aman

production.

Ontheoccasionofthe46thmartyrdomanniversaryofFatheroftheNationBangaba

ndhuSheikhMujiburRahman,adiscussionmeetingandadaomahfilhasbeenheld

in Lohagara upazila on Thursday.

Photo: Iqbal Hassan

FrIDAY, SePTeMBer 3, 2021

7

This photo provided by Bristol Virginia Professional Fire Fighters Association shows damage from

severe weather on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021 in Hurley, Va. About 20 homes were moved from their

foundations and several trailers washed away amid flooding in western Virginia from the remnants

of Hurricane Ida, local officials said.

Photo : AP

Ida remnants pound Northeast

with rain, flooding, tornadoes

NEW YORK : The remnants

of Hurricane Ida blew

through the mid-Atlantic

states Wednesday with at

least two tornadoes, heavy

winds and drenching rains

that collapsed the roof of a

U.S. Postal Service building,

left cars and roads

underwater and sent

garbage floating through the

streets of New York.

Social media posts showed

homes reduced to rubble in

a southern New Jersey

county just outside

Philadelphia, not far from

where the National Weather

Service confirmed a tornado

Wednesday evening.

Authorities did not have any

immediate information on

injuries.

Other video showed water

rushing through Newark

Liberty International

Airport as the storm moved

into New York on

Wednesday night.

The Port Authority of New

York and New Jersey, which

operates the airport, tweeted

at 10:30 p.m. that all flights

were suspended and all

parking lots were closed due

to severe flooding. All train

service to the airport also

was suspended.

The National Weather

Service recorded 3.15 inches

of rain in New York's Central

Park in one hour, far

surpassing the 1.94 inches

that fell in one hour during

Tropical Storm Henri on the

night of Aug. 21, which was

believed at the time to be the

most ever recorded in the

park.

New York's FDR Drive, a

major artery on the east side

of Manhattan, was

underwater by late evening

and subway stations and

tracks became so flooded

that the Metropolitan

Transportation Authority

suspended all service.

Videos posted online

showed subway riders

standing on seats in cars

filled with water.

Other videos showed

vehicles submerged up to

their windows on major

roadways in and around the

city and garbage floating

down a street in Queens.

At the U.S. Open tennis

tournament in Queens,

television footage showed

fans who had watched

matches under the Arthur

Ashe Stadium's retractable

roof slogging through

several inches of water as

they left.

Few parts of the region

were untouched, and

residents huddled inside

and endured the anxiety

brought on by tornado

warnings that gradually

moved north and east with

the storm.

The roof collapsed at the

Postal Service building in

Kearny, New Jersey, with

people inside, police Sgt.

Chris Levchak said. Rescue

crews were on scene into the

night, with no immediate

word on the number of

people or severity of injuries.

Gov. Phil Murphy

declared a state of

emergency in all of New

Jersey's 21 counties, urging

people to stay off the flooded

roads. Meteorologists

warned that rivers likely

won't crest for a few more

days, raising the possibility

of more widespread

flooding.

North Korea rejects Chinese vaccines: UNICEF

SEOUL : North Korea has

rejected around three

million doses of a Chinese

Covid-19 vaccine,

suggesting they should be

given to countries in

greater need, Unicef said

Thursday.

The impoverished North

was the first country to

impose a strict lockdown

when it sealed its border in

January last year to stop

the virus spreading from

neighbouring China, where

it first emerged before

sweeping the world.

Pyongyang insists it has

North Korea has rejected around three million doses of a Chinese Covid-19

vaccine, suggesting they should be given to countries in greater need,

Unicef said Thursday.

Photo : AP

Facebook invests in

new partnerships

with Argentine

press

BUENOS AIRES : Social

media giant Facebook will

invest $1.5 million in

Argentine media to train

journalists and promote

online development, a first

in Latin America.

The agreement signed last

week with almost 150 media

outlets will allow 3,000

journalists to be trained,

while also helping Facebook

develop commercial

agreements.

It's part of the "Facebook

Journalism Project" that

involves collaboration with

media all over the world.

The three-year Argentine

investment aims "to support

almost 150 media of every

size and region in the

country," Julieta Shamma,

Facebook's head of strategic

media partnerships in Latin

America, told AFP.

The agreement involves

commercial commitments

with around 30 Argentine

outlets including Clarin, La

Nacion, Pagina12 and

Infobae to attract more links

to the Facebook platform.

yet to see any cases of the

virus-a claim that analysts

doubt-but it has paid a

huge economic price for

the blockade, with the

regime admitting in June it

was tackling a "food crisis".

Regardless, the isolated

country told UNICEFwhich

distributes vaccines

under the COVID-19

Vaccine Global Access

(Covax) programme for

low-income countries-that

the Chinese-made vaccines

could be given to others,

the UN agency said.

North Korea's public

health ministry "has

communicated that the

2.97 million Sinovac doses

being offered to DPR Korea

by Covax may be relocated

to severely affected

countries in view of the

limited global supply of

Covid-19 vaccines and

recurrent surge in some

countries", a UNICEF

spokesperson told AFP.

Pyongyang would

"continue

to

communicate" with

COVAX "to receive

COVID-19 vaccines in the

coming months", they

added.

In July, a South Korean

think tank affiliated with

Seoul's spy agency said

Pyongyang had also

rejected shipments of

AstraZeneca's vaccine

offered by the Covax

scheme, apparently over

concerns about side effects.

The Institute for National

Security Strategy added at

the time that the North was

not equipped with

sufficient cold chain

storage for the Pfizer and

Moderna vaccines, while

being sceptical about the

effectiveness of Chinese

vaccines.

Afghans face hunger crisis, adding

to Taliban's challenges

KABUL : The United Nations'

stockpiles of food in Afghanistan

could run out this month, a senior

official warned Wednesday,

threatening to add a hunger crisis to

the challenges facing the country's

new Taliban rulers as they try to

restore stability after decades of war.

About one third of the country's

population of 38 million doesn't know

if they will have a meal every day,

according to Ramiz Alakbarov, the

U.N.'s humanitarian chief in

Afghanistan.

The U.N.'s World Food Program has

brought in food and distributed it to

tens of thousands of people in recent

weeks, but with winter approaching

and a drought ongoing, at least $200

million is needed urgently to be able to

continue to feed the most vulnerable

Afghans, he said.

"By the end of September, the stocks

which the World Food Program has in

the country will be out," Alakbarov told

reporters at a virtual news conference.

"We will not be able to provide those

essential food items because we'll be

out of stocks."

Earlier, U.N. officials said that of the

$1.3 billion needed for overall aid

efforts, only 39% has been received.

The Taliban, who seized control of

the country ahead of the withdrawal of

American forces this week, now must

govern a nation that relies heavily on

international aid and is in the midst of

a worsening economic crisis. In

addition to the concerns about food

supplies, civil servants haven't been

paid in months and the local currency is

losing value. Most of Afghanistan's

foreign reserves are held abroad and

currently frozen.

Khalid Payenda, Afghanistan's

former acting finance minister, on

Wednesday detailed a country existing

in a dangerously fragile state.

Speaking at Georgetown University

in Washington, Payenda said the

Afghan currency had yet to crash

because money exchanges had been

shuttered. But its value could plunge by

more than 100%, said Payenda, who

described former Afghan President

Ashraf Ghani as withdrawn and

paranoid ahead of the Taliban

takeover. "I think the war had a toll on

his psyche and he saw everything with

suspicion," Payenda said.

Part of the chaos reflects the speed at

which the Taliban took control of the

country, with Payenda saying he

thought the prior government could

have been sustained for two or three

more years because of commitments by

international donors.

"I did not expect it to be this quickly,"

Payenda said. "Nobody actually did."

Mohammad Sharif, a shopkeeper in

the capital of Kabul, said shops and

markets there have supplies, but a

major concern is rising food prices.

"If the situation continues like this

and there is no government to control

the prices, that will cause so many

problems for local people," he said.

In the wake of the U.S. pullout, many

Afghans are anxiously waiting to see

how the Taliban will rule. When they

were last in power, before being driven

out by the U.S.-led invasion in 2001,

they imposed draconian restrictions,

refusing to allow girls to go to school,

largely confining women to their

homes and banning television, music

and even photography.

But more recently, their leaders have

sought to project a more moderate

image. Schools have reopened to boys

and girls, though Taliban officials have

said they will study separately. Women

are out on the streets wearing Islamic

headscarves - as they always have -

rather than the all-encompassing

burqa the Taliban required in the past.

The United Nations' stockpiles of food in Afghanistan could run out this month, a senior official

warned Wednesday, threatening to add a hunger crisis to the challenges facing the country's new

Taliban rulers as they try to restore stability after decades of war.

Photo : AP

'Uncoverable stall'

caused Philippine

military plane crash:

armed forces

MANILA : A Philippine

aircraft carrying soldiers

crashed in July after an

"unrecoverable stall", killing

more than 50 people in one

of the country's worst

military air disasters, the

armed forces said Thursday.

The C-130 Hercules

transport plane was loaded

with nearly a hundred

people, most of them fresh

army graduates, when it

overshot the runway while

trying to land on the

southern island of Jolo in

Sulu province.

Most of the dead were

soldiers being deployed to

the island-a haven for

Islamist militants-as part of

a counter-insurgency effort.

Dozens were injured.

"Based on the

investigating team's report,

no single factor can be

attributed to have

exclusively caused the

accident," the Armed Forces

of the Philippines (AFP) said

in a statement.

"The aircraft component,

the environmental condition

and aircrew response led to

(an) unrecoverable stall in a

critical phase of the aircraft

operation," it said without

providing details.

Armed forces spokesman

Colonel Ramon Zagala told

AFP a component "failure"

triggered a light that "caused

the pilots to concentrate on

that instead of recovering

the stall or doing the

turnaround".

The plane stalled after

losing "thrust and lift" at low

altitude.

"Usually you can recover a

stall... if you have altitude, if

you're way up, but in this

case it doesn't have altitude,"

said Zagala, without

specifying which part of the

aircraft failed.

Moderna to recall COVID-19

doses in Japan over stainless

steel contaminants

TOKYO : Moderna Inc. and

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.

Ltd said they are working

with the Japanese

government to recall three

batches of COVID-19

vaccine after an

investigation confirmed

stainless steel contaminants

in some vials, local media

reported Thursday.

The health ministry said

Wednesday the foreign

substances found in some

vials of Moderna Inc.'s

vaccine distributed in Japan

were confirmed to be

stainless steel, which

seemed probably mixed

during the manufacturing

process.

The most possible reason

for contamination was

related to friction between

two pieces of metal in the

machinery that puts

stoppers on the vials,

Moderna said in the joint

statement with Takeda,

which distributes the

Moderna vaccine in Japan.

Moderna performed the

investigation in partnership

WASHINGTON : President Joe Biden

assured Ukraine's leader Volodymyr

Zelensky on Wednesday that the United

States opposes "Russian aggression" but

he showed no sign of moving on requests

to open NATO to the eastern European

country, reports BSS."The United States

remains firmly committed to Ukraine's

sovereignty and territorial integrity in

the face of Russian aggression and our

support for Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic

aspirations," Biden told the Ukrainian

president in the Oval Office.

with Takeda and Spanish

manufacturer Rovi, which

operates the plant where the

contamination occurred.

Japan's health ministry

said it did not believe the

particles of stainless steel

caused any additional health

risk based on information

from the companies'

investigation.

"Stainless steel is routinely

used in heart valves, joint

replacements and metal

sutures and staples. As such,

it is not expected that

injection of the particles

identified in these lots in

Japan would result in

increased medical risk,"

Takeda and Moderna said in

a joint statement.

Administration of

Moderna shots totaling 1.63

million doses was

suspended in Japan last

week after 39 vials were

found to contain foreign

material. All the vials came

from a single lot, but shots

from two other lots

produced in the same Rovi

manufacturing line were

halted as a precaution.

The use of other Moderna

vaccine doses from different

batches was also temporarily

suspended in three areas in

Japan this week. In some

cases, the foreign substances

have been found in unused

vials, whereas others appear

to be caused when bits of the

vials' rubber stopper breaks

off when needles are

incorrectly inserted.

The contamination issue

attracted more attention

after the health ministry said

Saturday that two men, aged

38 and 30, died in August

within days after getting

their second Moderna doses.

Each had received a dose

from one of the suspended

lots.

The cause of death in the

two cases is still under

investigation. Takeda said

there showed no evidence

the fatalities were triggered

by the vaccine.

"The relationship is

currently considered to be

coincidental," the company

said in the statement.

Ukraine's Zelensky seeks Biden's support on NATO

Zelensky, who spent Tuesday at the

Pentagon pressing for military

assistance to combat Russia and

Russian-backed separatists, is only the

second European leader to get a White

House meeting so far under Biden.

The coronavirus pandemic and a

hectic first seven months of the

administration mean Biden has had few

foreign visitors. Even Zelensky's meeting

was delayed by two days due to the tense

US withdrawal from Afghanistan,

completed Monday.

FRiDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

8

What can central banks do to address

climate risks?

The Premier Bank Limited has arranged an orientation programme at the Learning & Talent

Development Center in its Head Office for the newly-recruited TJO (General & Cash). The welcoming

programme was inaugurated by banks Advisor Muhammed Ali and Managing Director

& CEO M. Reazul Karim, FCMA. Among others, Sayed Abul Hashem FCA, Deputy Managing

Director & CFO; Sami Karim, Deputy Managing Director and COO; Mamun Mahmud, SEVP and

CHRO; Anisul Kabir - SEVP & Head of CRM; Mohd. Jamil Hossain, CMA, SEVP and Head of

Corporate Banking Division; Mohammed Emtiaz Uddin, SEVP and Head of SME & Agriculture

Division were also present on the occasion along with other high officials. At his welcoming

speech, M. Reazul Karim, Managing Director & CEO of the bank said, "As a well-paid & noble

profession, Banking is the most demanding job to fresh graduates Nowadays". He also added,

"A knowledgeable, confident and visionary person can make the difference in his professional

life. At the end of his speech, he requested to earn success through honesty and dedication to

work." The Premier Bank Limited recruited 77 Trainee Junior Officers (General & Cash) for this

year through a foolproof recruitment process.

Photo : Courtesy

Most Asian markets rise as dealers

focus on recovery outlook

HONG KONG- Most Asian

equities extended their

impressive run on Thursday

as Covid concerns eased and

traders grew more optimistic

that the Federal Reserve will

continue to provide extensive

support for some time, while

focus turned to the release of

US jobs data at the end of the

week, reports BSS.

Wall Street provided a tepid

lead-though the Nasdaq did

squeeze out yet another

record-after a private

employment report came in

well below forecast. Analysts

said there were positives as

well as negatives in the miss.

After weeks of stuttering

performances across world

markets, equities are back in

popularity after Fed boss

Jerome Powell last week

indicated that while the bank

intends to start tapering its

ultra-loose monetary policy, it

would do so cautiously.

He also suggested interest

rates will remain at record

lows for a period of time

afterwards, though he gave no

timeframe. The US non-farm

payrolls figure on Friday will

be closely monitored, with

some observers saying a

strong reading could push the

bank to start its pullback as

soon as next month.

Wednesday figures from

private payrolls firm ADP

showed firms created far

fewer posts last month than

had been expected, weighed

by the fresh surge in

coronavirus cases around the

United States.

"Although the ADP report

doesn't have a great track

record at predicting US nonfarm

payrolls outcomes, the

big miss was too big to

ignore," said National

Australia Bank's Rodrigo

Catril.

He added that a big miss in

Friday's data-forecasts are for

around 750,000 -- would

mean the Fed's goal of making

"further substantial progress"

in the jobs market would take

longer to achieve, "thus

delaying the tapering decision

from September to

November".

"Bad news in the labour

market is good news for risk

assets given the punchbowl

will remain well liquified for a

bit longer," he added.

Hong Kong led gains,

putting on more than one

percent, as it continued its

rebound from a painful selloff

in recent weeks fuelled by

China's crackdown on a range

of industries, particularly

technology.

Shanghai, helped by news

that the People's Bank of

China will provide tens of

billions of dollars in low-cost

funding to lenders to help

them offer more support to

small and medium-sized

companies, as Beijing tries to

cushion its economy against a

growth slowdown.

Tokyo, Singapore, Taipei,

Manila and Jakarta also rose.

Sydney, Seoul and Wellington

dipped.

The broadly upbeat mood

comes as investors look past a

spike in infections from the

Delta coronavirus variant,

which has forced some

countries to impose

lockdowns, and instead focus

on the long-term recovery

outlook.

"The market is fading Covid

more as a risk in terms of

really hampering economic

activity," Tracie McMillion, at

Wells Fargo Investment

Institute, told Bloomberg

Television.

"We think the Fed is going

to stick with their word and

they will start tapering later

this year. But we don't think

they are going to be in any

hurry to raise interest rates."

Oil prices extended losses a

day after OPEC and other

major producers agreed to lift

output as the economy

rebounds and demand is seen

picking up.

Sri Lanka raids sugar

stocks as food

shortages bite

COLOMBO : Sri Lankan

government officials on

Wednesday raided private

warehouses to seize

thousands of tonnes of sugar,

a day after a state of

emergency was declared over

food shortages caused by a

currency crisis, reports BSS.

A military officer put in

charge of efforts to bolster

food stocks said at least

13,000 tonnes of white and

brown sugar were found in

the raids.

"The objective is to prevent

hoarding," Major General

Senarath Niwunhella, who

was named commissioner

general of essential services

on Tuesday, told AFP.

He denied the sugar was

being confiscated.

"The government will pay a

reasonable price to the

importers based on the

valuations provided to

customs."

The general said importers

had stockpiled sugar while

market prices rose sharply.

"Today we started with

sugar and will expand this

action to other commodities

like wheat flour and rice too if

importers do not release their

stocks to the market," he said.

The raids were

concentrated on warehouses

just outside the capital.

Experts have blamed the

food crisis on a shortage of

foreign exchange to import

and maintain buffer stocks.

Authorities have increased

penalties for food hoarding.

Sugar was not easily

available at the statemandated

price of 135 rupees

($0.67) a kilo (2.2 pounds),

but could be bought in the

black market for double the

price.

Niwunhella said the seized

stocks will be given to stateowned

retail stores to sell for

below the open market price.

There have also been sharp

price rises for rice, onions and

potatoes, while long queues

have formed outside stores

because of shortages of milk

powder, kerosene oil and

cooking gas.

The shortages come as the

country of 21 million battles a

fierce coronavirus wave that is

claiming more than 200 lives

a day.

The economy shrank by a

record 3.6 percent in 2020

because of the pandemic.

Last year, the government

banned imports of vehicles

and other items, including

edible oils and the widely used

spice turmeric in a bid to save

foreign exchange.

Importers still say they have

been unable to source dollars

to pay for food and medicines.

Tokyo stocks open

higher with eyes

on US jobs data

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks

opened higher on Thursday

in cautious trade after a

mixed close on Wall Street,

with investors looking ahead

to US jobs data due this

week, reports BSS.

The benchmark Nikkei

225 index was up 0.48

percent or 135.43 points at

28,586.45 in early trade,

while the broader Topix

index advanced 0.21 percent

or 4.23 points to 1,985.02.

"A wait-and-see attitude is

likely to proliferate in

Japanese trade ahead of the

US payrolls data," Mizuho

Securities said.

Investors are also keeping

an eye on Prime Minister

Yoshihide Suga's moves in

preparation for general

elections due later this year,

it added.

The dollar fetched 110.02

yen in early Asian trade,

against 110.01 yen in New

York late Wednesday.

In Tokyo, Takeda, which

manages sales and

distribution of Moderna's

Covid-19 vaccine in Japan,

was down 0.45 percent at

3,711 yen after Moderna said

tainted batches sent to

Japan were contaminated

with stainless steel particles.

The US biotech firm said

the contamination was not

expected to pose "an undue

risk to patient safety".

SAS narrows

loss as air travel

remains muted

STOCKHOLM :

Scandinavian airline SAS said

Wednesday it sees

encouraging signs of travel

increasing that it still faces

"headwinds" from the global

pandemic as it reported a

narrower net loss, reports

BSS.

The carrier reported a net

loss of 1.36 billion ($157

million, 133 million euros)

Swedish kronor for the period

of May to July, down from a

net loss of 2.37 billion for the

same period a year earlier.

"We noted encouraging

signs during the summer

season with demand slowly

increasing," CEO Anko van

der Werff, who took over the

reins in July, said in a

statement.

"Vaccination rates are also

rising, but significant

challenges remain ahead as

new cases of the Delta variant

are multiplying and delaying

ramp-up," van der Werff

added, noting that "imposed

travel restrictions remain in

force."

NEW YORK:The world's main central

banks were seen as saviors of the global

economy in the wake of the 2008

financial crisis and when the coronavirus

pandemic hit last year, but they are less

than unified when it comes to addressing

climate change, reports BSS.

The start of central bank involvement

in climate action is sometimes attributed

to a 2015 speech by the Bank of England's

(BOE) then-governor Mark Carney

entitled "Breaking the tragedy of the

horizon-climate change and financial

stability."

While not directly involved in

addressing global warming, central banks

do have to be alert to its impact on the

economy and the financial system.

Amid increasing public concern, the

institutions are factoring considerations

about climate into their policies and

watching for threats to their main

mandate for price stability, implications

for banking supervision and economic

growth more broadly.

One tool at their disposal are bank

stress tests, which can gauge how

financial institutions would hold up in the

face of climate shocks.

While the European Central Bank

(ECB) has only just launched a climate

stress test initiative, the Bank of France

by May had already examined nine

banking groups and 15 insurance

companies, revealing a moderate risk for

these establishments.

The ECB also could take climate risk

into consideration when buying

corporate bonds or accepting those used

for collateral, giving preference to assets

of firms not involved in polluting

activities.

The People's Bank of China also is

considering climate stress tests, while the

BOE started in June, reviewing banks

such as HSBC and Barclays. It also should

announce before the end of the year its

program of greening its asset buybacks.

Many central banks have joined the

Network of Central Banks and

Supervisors for Greening the Financial

System (NGFS), which currently

comprises 95 central banks and

regulators, including those in China,

India and Brazil.

Another member, the Bank of Japan

(BOJ), in June offered zero-interest

financing to lending institutions that fund

environmental projects. The BOJ also

will buy green bonds denominated in

foreign currency. In the United States, the

Federal Reserve has been wading into the

issue, but Chair Jerome Powell said in

June that "climate change is not

something that we directly consider in

setting monetary policy."

However, "climate-related financial

risk" is in its purview, he said, so the Fed

is looking at the implications for bank

supervision and regulation of the US

financial system.

Mary Daly, president of the Fed's San

Francisco branch, explained that the

central bank "does not have the tools or

nor is it the appropriate body to think

about climate change and mitigating

climate change."

But "we are absolutely involved in

thinking about climate risk" including

issues like how severe weather, fires and

hurricanes can impact property values

and the ability to get insurance, as well as

how those could affect economic growth.

Actions so far have been "fast and

slow," said Eric Dor, director of economic

studies at the IESEG School of

Management in France.

While there is no shortage of ideas,

"putting them into practice is very

complex, you have to convince many

stakeholders," he said.

But whether that means imposing

financial constraints on institutions

during stress tests, or the selection of

green assets to buy, "you have to be

progressive."

Central bankers of the richest nations

are urging governments to take the lead

in addressing climate issues, as they did

in the two most recent economic crises.

"It is governments, not central banks,

who are primarily responsible for

facilitating an orderly transition, and who

control the main required tools," ECB

President Christine Lagarde said in July.

Romain Svartzman, economist at the

Bank of France and co-author of a report

entitled

FSIBL stands with national team

cricketer Iqbal Hossain

Md. Iqbal Hossain, 26, is the

opening batsman of

Bangladesh Physically

Handicapped Cricket Team.

At the age of one and a half, he

contracted polio and became

paralyzed. From the thigh of

his left leg, he gradually

became thinner and as a

result he lost the ability to

move normally, a press

release said.

In 2016, Md. Iqbal Hossain

got a chance in the national

team out of about five

thousand competitors after

seeing an advertisement in a

newspaper for an

advertisement for the

Bangladesh Physically

Handicapped Cricket Team.

Iqbal Hossain has

participated in several

international games at home

and abroad. Received many

awards. He has brought

respect for the country.

However, despite earning

many honors and awards for

the country, financial

prosperity did not come to

Iqbal's family. "When I got a

chance to play in the national

team, I thought that at least

my mother and brother

should not go without food. I

will be able to make the

dilapidated house a little

stronger this time, but our

luck is bad. If not, why should

my mother and brother not

eat? It is a shame to say that

there is no food in the house."

Asian markets fluctuate as traders

weigh recovery against Delta

HONG KONG : Asian markets were

mixed Wednesday as investors tried to

assess whether the global recovery will be

resilient enough to withstand the fastspreading

Delta Covid variant, with

optimism being tested by the stuttering

rollout of vaccines and a spike in

infections in some countries, reports

BSS.

China's drive to tighten its grip on the

world's number two economy with a

swathe of new regulations for private

enterprises is also weighing on

sentiment, while there are also concerns

that valuations may have run too hot as

several markets sit at record or multiyear

highs.

Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell's

indication Friday that the central bank

will take it easy in winding back its ultraloose

monetary policy-and even more

cautious in hiking interest rates-has

helped fuel a healthy run-up this week.

But Wall Street finished Tuesday on a

In this way, the opening

batsman of Bangladesh

Physically Handicapped team

Md. Iqbal Hossain was

expressing his frustration.

Her father died about 20

years ago. Due to not playing

regularly, he was forced to

work in a food hotel. But due

to Corona Pandemic, the work

of the hotel was also stopped.

As a result, he spends his days

with his family half-starved.

Knowing about his plight

through various newspapers,

First Security Islami Bank

Ltd., a popular modern

Shariah based bank of the

third generation, has come

forward in this difficult time.

From their social

responsibility fund, FSIBL has

started giving cash assistance

to the physically challenged

cricket team cricketer Md.

Iqbal Hossain every month

from August 2021. Md. Iqbal

Hossain was very happy to

hear the news of this help and

thanked Allah Almighty with

tears in his eyes and also

expressed his gratitude to the

Managing Authority of First

Security Islami Bank Ltd. He

tepid note after a closely watched survey

showed US consumer confidence saw a

sharp drop in August to its lowest level in

six months owing to concerns about

Delta and surging prices.

"A combination of higher prices-still

much in evidence across a swathe of

incoming US data-and doubtless too the

resurgence in Delta-strain Covid-19

infections, and hospitalisations, are

taking a toll," said Ray Attrill of National

Australia Bank.

"How temporary this will prove to be of

course remains to be seen."

While the United States remains

largely open thanks to a successful

vaccine rollout, other countries that have

administered fewer jabs are struggling

with fresh waves of Covid and are being

forced to impose strict containment

measures.

This has tempered hopes that the

blockbuster economic recovery seen at

the start of the year can be maintained.

also commented that as a

result of this assistance, his

family will no longer have to

spend half a day on starvation.

It is to be noted that at any

juncture in the country, First

Security Islami Bank Ltd. has

always given priority to the

service of the needy humanity.

Since its inception, First

Security Islami Bank Ltd. has

been by the side of helpless,

distressed and disasterstricken

people with the

slogan 'All the time for all'.

In early Asian trade, Tokyo, Singapore,

Seoul and Wellington rose but Hong

Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei, Manila

and Jakarta were in negative territory.

"Markets are taking a little bit of a

breather," Cliff Hodge, of Cornerstone

Wealth, said, adding they "are now trying

to grapple with: well, what's next?"

Focus is now on the release Friday of

US jobs data, which could have a huge

bearing on when the Fed decides to

start winding down its bond-buying

financial support programme.

Oil prices edged up ahead of the

monthly meeting of OPEC and other

producers who are expected to continue

raising output with the global recovery

largely still on track.

Industry body the American

Petroleum Institute said stockpiles rose

more than 2 million barrels last week,

according to Bloomberg News, and

observers expect the market to wobble

over the coming months.

FrIDAY, SeptemBer 3, 2021

9

the tigers won the first t20 in emphatic fashion, bowling out New Zealand for their joint lowest 60

in their history of shortest format of cricket.

photo: BCB

Upbeat Tigers gear up for 2-0

leads against Kiwis

SportS DeSk

Emboldened by their

tremendous start in the

five-match Twenty20

International against New

Zealand, Bangladesh now

aim to continue their

winning spree as they take

on the visitors today

(Friday) at Sher-e-Bangla

National Cricket Stadium,

reports BSS.

The match, which starts

at 4pm, will be aired live on

Gazi TV and T Sports.

The Tigers won the first

T20 in emphatic fashion,

bowling out New Zealand

for their joint lowest 60 in

their history of shortest

format of cricket. They

though faced a hiccup in

batting, eventually cruised

to a seven-wicket victory.

It was Bangladesh's first

victory against the Kiwis in

11th attempt but it was

expected given their track

record at home.

The extremely slow and

low surface of the Sher-e-

Bangla National Cricket

Stadium actually suited

Bangladesh spinners and

pacer Mustafizur Rahman,

who found his cutter and

slower very effective here.

And the first match went

as per the plan and as per

the template which they

followed to crush Australia

by 4-1 in the five-match

series last month. The

template was simple-the

spinners will slice the top

order and then Mustafizur

will finish the things.

New Zealand's top order

found them in wanting

against spinners and then

Mustafizur cleaned up the

tail.

But despite clinching the

victory, Bangladesh

allrounder Shakib Al

Hasan who was adjudged

man of the match for his 25

runs and 2-10 in the first

match, expressed his

disappointment over the

batting.

"Very good feeling to win

the first match of the series,

given the fact we've never

won against New Zealand,"

Shakib said.

"This win will boost our

confidence. We've been

bowling really well through

the Australia series and

against New Zealand. Our

batting is not up to the

mark yet, but, having said

that, the conditions are not

easy for batting."

Shakib, however, will be

motivated to better in the

series as he needs just four

wickets to be the highest

wicket-taker in T20

International, going past

Lasith Malinga's 107-

wicket haul. Four wickets

more also will make him

the first player to score

12,000 runs and claim 600

wickets simultaneously in

the International cricket.

However, after getting a

harsh reality-check, New

Zealand will be keen to

bounce back in the series

but given their lack of

experience about the

condition and Bangladesh

strength, it looked

extremely tougher.

New Zealand player

played badly, however,

skipper Tom Latham and

Henry Nicholls seemed to

have fixed the things but

after sharing a little but

goof partnership, both

them perished to a big shot.

Latham hoped they

would be able to put up a

better show in the second

game.

"We are slightly

disappointing with the

start. We knew it was going

to be tough but we kept

losing wickets at crucial

times," Latham said.

"For us, it's about finding

a way in these conditions

and try to assess what a

good score is. With runs on

the board, it isn't easy. As I

said, it's about working

[out] what a good score is

and try and work our way

around it. Proud of the

effort the guys put in with

the ball."

on the eve of the fourth test against england at the oval on thursday, kohli was joined by his teammates

at the taj hotel here for the launch ceremony of a new exclusive members' club 'the

Chambers'.

photo: Ap

We are the team that everyone

SportS DeSk

wants to beat: Virat Kohli

India captain Virat Kohli

says his relationship with

head coach Ravi Shastri is

based on mutual respect and

trust, something that has

helped them make this team

the one that "everyone wants

to beat, reports BSS.

On the eve of the fourth

Test against England at the

Oval on Thursday, Kohli was

joined by his teammates at

the Taj hotel here for the

launch ceremony of a new

exclusive members' club

'The Chambers'.

"Our working relationship,

and off the field as well, has

been built on mutual respect

and trust, on a vision that

has been shared, which has

been focussed in one

direction which is to take

Indian cricket higher and in

a better place than we found

it," said Kohli.

"That was always our aim

and I think, along with the

brilliance of the whole team,

the talent that we have been

blessed with, we have been

able to achieve that.

"We stand as the team that

everyone wants to beat

anywhere we play in the

world and that for us is a

matter of immense pride,"

he added.

The event was marked

with a special 'Rendezvous

Series' around the UK

launch of Shastri's debut as

an author with 'Stargazing:

The Players In My Life'.

"It's his first book and I

hope he writes a few more

because he has a lot more to

share," said Kohli. During

an interaction around his

new book, Shastri was asked

about the ongoing series,

which stands at 1-1 right

now, and he promised

things are set to get "spicier"

in the last two games.

"When you have a captain

on the same page, it

becomes pretty easy and

most of my boys are on a

similar page," said Shastri.

"The idea was to take the

game forward and play to

win. We're not here to fill in

the numbers, we're here to

play cricket that is positive

and play to win.

"It's been one spicy series,

that's the way it should be,

and I just think it'll be spicier

over the next couple of

weeks," he said.

Djokovic in US

Open spotlight

Thursday night

on Ashe court

SportS DeSk

World number one Novak

Djokovic has the night feature

match Thursday in Arthur

Ashe Stadium as the historychasing

top seed tries to reach

the third round of the US

Open, reports BSS.

The 34-year-old Serbian

will face 121st-ranked

Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor

for a berth in the third round

on the New York hardcourts.

Djokovic would complete

the first men's calendar-year

Grand Slam since Rod Laver

in 1969 by winning the US

Open and capture his 21st

career Slam title, giving him

the all-time lead by one over

rivals Roger Federer and

Rafael Nadal, both out with

injuries.

A victory would put

Djokovic only five matches

shy of the stunning feat.

Top-ranked Ashleigh Barty

of Australia opens the day

session at Ashe when she

faces Denmark's Clara

Tauson. Barty seeks her third

career Grand Slam title and

second in a row after

capturing Wimbledon in July.

Germany's fourth-seeded

Alexander Zverev, the Tokyo

Olympic champion, has the

second match on Ashe against

Spain's Albert Ramos-

Vinolas.

The final Ashe match

following Djokovic will send

Czech fourth seed Karolina

Pliskova against American

Amanda Anisimova.

An all-Canadian night

session at Louis Armstrong

Stadium finds sixth-seeded

Bianca Andreescu, the 2019

US Open champion, facing

American Lauren Davis

before seventh seed Denis

Shapovalov meets Spain's

Roberto Carballes Baena.

Pulisic, Steffen out

of US squad for El

Salvador test

SportS DeSk

Premier League duo

Christian Pulisic and Zack

Steffen have been ruled out

of the United States' 2022

World Cup CONCACAF

qualifier against El Salvador

on Thursday, coach Gregg

Berhalter confirmed, reports

BSS.

Chelsea star Pulisic is

recovering from Covid-19

and did not travel to San

Salvador with the US squad,

which has been based in

Nashville this week.

Manchester City

goalkeeper Steffen was also

ruled out of Thursday's

opener after suffering back

spasms in training.

Berhalter said Wednesday

that in-form New England

Revolution goalkeeper Matt

Turner would start

Thursday's game in San

Salvador, which kicks off the

final round of 2022 World

Cup qualifiers for teams

from Central America,

North America and the

Caribbean.

Turner excelled in the

USA's recent CONCACAF

Gold Cup campaign,

keeping five clean sheets,

and also starred in last

week's Major League Soccer

All-Star game.

"We felt at this given

moment, Matt is the

goalkeeper in better form,"

Berhalter said.

"I have complete

confidence in him and what

he can do. Next step is to see

if he can translate it into

these ultra-competitive

matches."

Pulisic, meanwhile, is

likely to be replaced in the

US starting line-up by either

Red Bull Salzburg's Brenden

Aaronson or Marseille

winger Konrad De La

Fuente.

Thursday's opener kicks

off a hectic three-match

international window for the

United States, with a home

game against Canada on

Sunday followed by a trip to

Honduras next Wednesday.

Ronaldo breaks iconic record

for most goals scored in

international matches

SportS DeSk

The year was 2003 when up-and-coming

football promise Cristiano Ronaldo

(Portugal) was described as "one of the most

exciting young players I'd ever seen" by

Manchester United manager, Sir Alex

Ferguson, reports AP.

Soon after, he became United's first

Portuguese recruit.

Today, he's the top-scorer player in the

world.

The Portuguese football player has broken

the record for most goals scored in

international soccer matches (male) during

the Portugal vs Ireland match played on 1

September 2021 at the Algarve Stadium

(Portugal).

Previously, Ronaldo shared the record

with Ali Daei (Iran), who scored 109 goals

between 1993 and 2006. Against Ireland, a

few minutes before the end of the match,

Ronaldo broke his own record with the

striking number of 111 goals.

Daei was captain of the Iran national

football team and started coaching in 2006.

He's now a football manager, with Saipa

being his most recent club, which he led from

2017 to mid-2019. Although Cristiano

Ronaldo equalled Daei's number between

2003 and 2021, the Portuguese striker

finally topped it after getting the ball in the

back of the net for the 111th time in the game

against Ireland.

This is far from Ronaldo's first time lifting

the silverware (or a Guinness World Records

certificate!), though.

With 134 goals, the striker also holds the

title for most Champions League goals, as

well as most goals in aUEFA Champions

League season by an individual (17) and

most goals scored in the football (soccer)

UEFA European Championships including

qualifying matches (23).

He is also the highest-rated player in FIFA

18, with an overall rate of 99% - 1% ahead of

Lionel Messi and Pelé, both runners-up at

98%.

A top-scorer, athlete, celebrity and social

media sensation, Ronaldo is not new to

being a champion even when he's not taking

the pitch.

He holds the record for most followers for

an athlete on Twitter, as well as most

followers on Instagram for an athlete. His

Instagram account, @Cristiano, is also the

overall most followed account on Instagram,

beating Selena Gomez's 120,135,089

followers in 2017.

As a legend of international football,

Ronaldo's Wikipedia page has had

112,000,000 views, the most viewed

Wikipedia page for an athlete (male).

Furthermore, as of April 2021, he received

the most likes for an athlete on Facebook,

with a remarkable number of 124,726,150

thumbs up.

the portuguese football player has broken the record for most goals

scored in international soccer matches (male) during the portugal vs

Ireland match.

photo: Ap

Azarenka wants mandatory

vaccines, but players divided

SportS DeSk

Proof of Covid-19

vaccinations are mandatory

for adult US Open spectators

but not for players -- and

that's something Victoria

Azarenka finds "bizarre,

reports BSS.

Azarenka, a two-time

Australian Open winner and

three-time US Open runnerup

from Belarus, told fans

after her victory Wednesday

she was glad they were all

vaccinated for the deadly

virus, a requirement

mandated by New York City

officials.

"I want to start this

conversation between our

players, because to me it's a

bit bizarre that fans have to

be vaccinated and players

are not," Azarenka said.

"In my opinion, it's

inevitable that it will be

mandated at some point. I

don't see the point of stalling

it, because I think we all

want to be safe, to continue

doing our jobs and I know

there is a lot of discussions

about it."

The WTA says nearly half

its players are vaccinated

while the ATP says just over

half its players are

vaccinated.

Greek third seed Stefanos

Tsitsipas controversially

said last month he would get

vaccinated only if it was

mandatory.

"At some point I'll have to,

I'm pretty sure about it, but

so far it hasn't been

mandatory to compete, so I

haven't done it," he said.

Just over half of

Americans have been

vaccinated, reflecting

divisions much like those

among elite players.

"I respect everybody's

opinion as long as it's not

conspiracy theory, if you

actually have decent

knowledge and looked into

research and have your facts

and stats and research," said

Azarenka.

"That part of conversation,

that really you need to be

knowledgeable to what

you're saying, is missing in a

lot of players."

Russian second seed

Daniil Medvedev, the 2019

US Open and 2021

Australian Open runner-up,

isn't for players talking over

the merits of mandatory

vaccinations, leaving the

decision to ATP and WTA

officials.

"I understand why they

did it to the fans. So far it has

not been applied to the

players," Medvedev said. "As

players, we can just follow

the guidelines and rules.

That's all we can do.

"It's not for players to

decide, because that's why

we have governing bodies in

tennis. Sometimes we might

not be happy with them.

Sometimes we might be

happy. But it's still them who

make the decisions. It's

definitely not players.

"We are just, you know,

hard workers who do their

job on the tennis court."

A positive test would deny

players that opportunity, US

Open tournament director

Stacey Allaster warned.

"We have a rigorous

protocol in place. Testing is a

key component to mitigate

risk for the health and safety

of all," she said.

"In the event that an

athlete tests positive, that

athlete will be taken out of

the competition."

Top-ranked golfer Jon

Rahm of Spain led a PGA

event by six strokes after

three rounds in June but

was forced to withdraw after

testing positive. He also

missed the Olympics after a

positive Covid-19 test in

July.

One could only imagine

the uproar if top-ranked

Novak Djokovic were forced

to withdraw with a positive

Covid-19 test, dooming

doom his calendar-year

Grand Slam bid.

"I hope that as an

association we make the best

decision for our business, for

our health, for the

tournaments, for public,"

Azarenka said. "We need to

start this conversation

because it's just inevitable."

Three-time Grand Slam

champion Andy Murray of

Britain said talks are

ongoing.

"Players that have been

vaccinated are going to be

having very different

conditions to players who

are not. It's going to become

an issue over the coming

months," Murray said.

"There's going to have to

be a lot of pretty long, hard

conversations with the tour

and all the players involved

to try and come to a

solution."

In New York, vaccinations

are needed for gyms and

restaurants.

"I'm enjoying kind of a

fairly normal life, whereas

for the players that haven't

(been vaccinated), it's

different. I'm sure they'll be

frustrated," Murray said.

"Ultimately I guess the

reason why all of us are

getting vaccinated is to look

out for the wider public. We

have a responsibility as

players that are traveling

across the world to look out

for everyone else as well.

"I'm happy that I'm

vaccinated. I'm hoping more

players choose to have it in

the coming months."

FRIDAY, sEPTEMBER 3, 2021

10

Samonty Shoumi in two web series

Apurba ties knot with US

citizen Shyamma

TBT REPORT

Popular actor Ziaul Faruq Apurba is ready to tie the

knot with Shyamma Dewan, Bangladeshi origin-

American girl. The couple's Gaye Holud ceremony,

pre-wedding program was held on Tuesday, August

31at his Old DOHS resident in the capital. The

wedding ceremony took place at a community

center near Malibagh on September 2.

Apurba told the press, "Yes, I am getting married.

And no, I am not committing any crime. I had plans

to share the good news with everyone after the

official wedding ceremony but however people are

already saying all kinds of stuff about me. So I had

to announce the news."

"Our marriage was arranged by our families and

we are very much looking forward to our future

together," Apurba continued. "I had plans to invite

everyone in the media, but due to Covid, I could not

do that."

The actor sought everyone's "prayers and

cooperation" for the new chapter in his life.

His wife Shyamma Dewan has completed her

BBA and is currently working as a brand

ambassador for a car manufacturing company in

the United States.Her ancestral home is in

Lalmatia, Dhaka.

Apurba's second marriage with Nazia Hassan

Audity was ended on March 17, 2020. The star actor

ended his long 9-year-long marriage by showing

personal reasons.

It is to be mentioned that Apurba had earlier

married Sadia Jahan Prova on August 19, 2010, and

got divorced in February of the following year. On

July 14 of that year, Apurba tied the knot with Nazia

Hassan Audity.

Late Dilip Kumar's wife Saira Banu

hospitalised, shifted to ICU

Late Dilip Kumar's wife

SairaBanu has been

hospitalised after she

complained of issues related

to blood pressure three days

ago. The veteran actress has

reportedly been shifted to the

ICU.

SairaBanu recently lost her

husband Dilip Kumar. The

legendary actor passed away

at the age of 98 due to agerelated

issues. Saira and Dilip

Kumar were married for 54

glorious years and their love

story will continue to inspire

generations to come.

During all these years, Saira

has been a backbone to

Dilipsahab. She not only took

complete care of him during

his bed-ridden days but also

kept his fans on social media

updated about him.

In a recent interview with

ETimes, Saira had said, "He's

not too well. He's weak. At

times, he walks into the hall

and back to his room. His

immunity is low. Pray for his

welfare. We are grateful to

God for each day."

Elaborating further, she

had added, "It is out of love

and not duress that I look

after Dilipsaab. I am not

looking for praises to be

called a devoted wife. Just to

touch him and cuddle him is

the world's best thing that's

happening to me. I adore him

and he is my breath itself."

SairaBanu, who has always

been a self-confessed fan of

Dilip, had reportedly said

that many women wanted to

marry Dilip, but he chose her

every time. The actress, who

ditched her acting career to

be a homemaker in 1976, said

that she wanted to be Dilip's

wife ever since she was a

teenager, and once she made

up her mind, nothing could

deter her.

Source: Times Of India

TBT REPORT

Samonty Shoumi is a Bangladeshi model, actress. She is

working regularly in showbiz.The actress recently starred in

a web series called 'Secret Delivery'. On Tuesday (August

31), Sanjay Samaddar, she took part in the 'Lohar Tori'

web series. Shoumi's co-artist was Khairul

Bashar.'Secret Delivery' is made by young producer

Uttam Kumar. This is the first web series he has

made. The story, dialogue and screenplay were

written by the producer himself.

It is heard that the shooting of the first episode

of the 'Secret Delivery' web series has already

ended in Dhanmondi. Atiq Rahman, Rakib

Hasan Bappi and others have also acted in

this web series which is full of thrillers.

In this context, Semanti Soumi said,

'There will be two types of characters in

the two web series. There is absolutely

novelty in the character. Hopefully,

viewers will like the two web series.'

The producer Uttam told The

Bagladesh Today, "The shooting of

the first episode of the web series

under the banner of Ghurni

Productions has already ended.The

shooting of the second episode will

start in a few days.

One episode will be broadcast

once a week. There are plans to

do up to four episodes if the

audience responds well. The

episodesmay increase further

later. The first episode

will be released

soon on the

production

Selim, Purnima, Misha appointed as board

members of Film Artistes Welfare Trust

TBT REPORT

The Board of Trustees has

been constituted in

accordance with Section 7 of

the Bangladesh Film Artistes

Welfare Trust Act, 2021. The

names of the members have

been published in the form

of a notification recently.

Popular actors

Shahiduzzaman Selim,

Misha Sawdagar, and

Purnima have been

appointed as board

members at the Film

Artistes Welfare soon they

will take their positions.

Being the President of

Cholochitro Shilpi Samiti

Misha Sawdagar, got a place

in this committee while

Sohanur Rahman Sohan

secured a seat for being the

President of Bangladesh

Film Directors Association.

Information and

Broadcasting Minister Dr

Hasan Mahmud will serve as

Chair of the board. State

Minister Dr Murad Hassan

will be the Vice-Chairperson.

Besides, a 14-member

committee has been formed

with the Managing Director

of Bangladesh Film Artistes

Welfare Trust as the

member secretary of the

trust.

Regarding this actress

Purnima said, 'I am happy to

get this responsibility. I will

try to work hard for the

welfare of the artistes.'

company's own YouTube channel 'Ghurni'.

He added, 'Shoumi has helped a lot to do the job. She has

worked very seriously.

We worked as a team. Here we have

introduced Shoumi in a new look.

Hopefully, the audience will like the

different style of work.'

It is to be mentioned that

Samonty Shoumi took part in the

'Lux-Channel I Superstar'

competition in 2011.

After that, she has moved

forward by overcoming various

obstacles. The music video of

'Swapno Amar' turned her

life.Then she did not have to

look back. She is working one

after another.

Shoumi became a wellknown

face of showbiz by

working in dramas, serials

and advertisements at the

same time.

She has also acted in

films. She made her

acting debut as a solo

heroine in the movie

'Boyfriend'.Although the

movie was not a

commercial success,

she came into the

limelight as a

heroine. Her hero

was Taskin

Rahman.

The Bangladesh Film

Artists Welfare Trust Act

includes films made on

celluloid, analog, digital or

any other medium including

television, such as fulllength,

short-length,

telefilm, documentary,

cartoon, animation.

Actors, filmmakers,

directors, photographers,

light men, dancers,

managers, stunt artistes,

make-up artistes and other

film crew members, along

with government-sanctioned

television channels are all

eligible to become members

of this trust fund, and enjoy

its benefits.

H O R O s c O P E

ARIEs

(March 21 - April 20) : You may feel like

someone's trying to pin you down

before you start, Aries. Perhaps these

obstacles are self-imposed. Maybe

you're restricting yourself from doing the things you

want to do because you're afraid they won't work

out. This fear of failure is the pain you feel.

Overcoming it is the first step. If you try and fail,

you'll be no worse off than if you never try at all.

TAURUs

(April 21 - May 21) : Things should be

running smoothly for you, Taurus, and

you'll accomplish a lot with surprisingly

little effort. Although there may not be

any Earth-shattering developments, you should find

that things go well. Maybe you won't win the lottery

today, but the few dollars you invest now will turn

into megabucks later. Be patient. Success may not

come overnight, but it will come.

GEMINI

(May 22 - June 21) : You may feel like

you're being tested in some way,

Gemini, like you're on trial and must

defend yourself, including what you

believe and how you operate. This feeling is

unsettling, but soon you'll realize that it's

strengthening in many ways. Questioning your

behavior patterns is healthy, so open up in a way

that you may not have considered before.

cANcER

(June 22 - July 23) : Your vitality is low.

It may be difficult to fight adversity,

Cancer. Try not to get discouraged.

Instead, realize that this is part of the

natural cycle. Awareness of your energy patterns is

half the battle. Don't force yourself into feeling

something you don't. It's important that you not

overexert yourself or take on more responsibilities

than you can handle.

LEO

(July 24 - Aug. 23): You may find it

hard to admit that you can't do

everything, Leo. There are some jobs

that you aren't cut out to do. Why

pretend when a better option would be to delegate

the task to someone else? If you don't feel a strong

connection with something or someone, don't force

it. Pretending that you're capable of something will

only cause frustration for you and everyone else.

VIRGO

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): Today is one

of those days in which prosperity is

much closer than you think, Virgo.

You will find what you seek, but it's up

to you to take the first step to going after it. More

than likely, you're looking for solid answers to your

deep and probing questions. Don't let your

inquisitive mind rest until you find the answers

that ring true for you.

LIBRA

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): You may feel like it's

your responsibility to take care of

everyone, Libra. If you love someone,

your brain translates this into thinking

that you need to be the caretaker. If you don't take

someone under your wing, maybe you see yourself as

selfish or unkind. Dismiss this notion. Other people's

feelings aren't your responsibility. Don't let another's

well-being become your project.

scORPIO

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) : There are

opportunities for achievement, so stay

open to new energy coming your way,

Scorpio. If you don't turn at these

fortuitous junctions, you may never find this spot in the

road again. What comes your way may not be a pot of

gold, but it will certainly be the rainbow that leads you to

it. If nothing else, you'll find opportunities that

strengthen your spirit, preparing you for adversity later.

sAGITTARIUs

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): You may find it

hard to relate to others verbally,

Sagittarius. You may have everything

figured out in your head, but the words

get in the way as soon as you share your ideas.

Talking with someone else may add confusion

instead of clarity to the situation. The other person's

energy seems to affect your perceptions. Stay

grounded despite your frustration.

cAPRIcORN

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): You may be coming

to a point of reckoning in something you

set into motion years ago, Capricorn.

This is a time of hard work when you

may need to either salvage the mess you've created or

start reaping the wonderful rewards of the success

you've become. Your ego is wrapped up in this

scenario. You may be frustrated by people wasting

your time with problems that seem insignificant.

AQUARIUs

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) : Your thoughts may

be scattered and confused, Aquarius,

especially regarding responsibilities

that are important to you. You need to

be disciplined and focused, but frivolous chatter

may fill your brain. This kind of mental muddle

limits you in many situations, making it difficult to

express what you feel. Ask someone who knows you

well to help you make sense out of these thoughts.

PIscEs

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : There's a chance

that incredible luck will befall you,

Pisces, but nothing will come without

hard work on your part. Don't expect

someone else to hand you the treasure chest. You

have the map in your hand, so follow it. Once you

start, you may realize that you're much closer than

you think. It's up to you to make the journey. There's

a great deal of help for you along the way.

Japan princess to wed,

reject payout after

controversy: reports

TOKYO : The course of true

love never did run smooth, but

after public controversy and a

wedding delay, Japan's

Princess Mako is reportedly

set to tie the knot and move to

America.

The daughter of Japan's

crown prince and niece of

Emperor Naruhito has

endured years of sniping and

stalling over her plans to

marry sweetheart Kei

Komuro.

The pair have now decided

to wed without some

traditional ceremonies and

reject a payout that usually

goes to female royals marrying

out of the royal family.

Japan's imperial succession

rules mean that 29-year-old

Mako will lose her title after

marriage to a commoner.

But Komuro has still been

heavily scrutinised over

allegations that his mother

borrowed money from a

former fiance and failed to

repay it. After tabloid

reporting on the claims, a

furore erupted around the

young couple in a country

where the royal family is held

to an exacting standard.

The pair postponed their

wedding, and Komuro moved

to the US for law school in a

move that was widely seen as a

bid to defuse the negative

attention.

GD-1275/21 (7x4)

On Thursday noon, BCG Station Teknaf conducted a drive in Baraitali area

under Teknaf Police Station and arrested a smuggler with 1,230 pieces of

yaba hidden under his shoes.

Photo : Courtesy

Apple plans to loosen App

Store payment policy

SAN FRANCISCO : Apple

announced on Wednesday it

will loosen some of its App

Store policies, allowing

media apps to steer

customers directly to their

websites without paying

commission.

The change, to be

implemented early next

year, is being introduced to

end an investigation by the

Japan Fair Trade

Commission. The

modification will spare socalled

reader apps that

provide digital content such

as newspapers, books, music

or video from having to use

the App Store payment

system and thus avoid

paying a 30 percent

commission.

"We have great respect for

the Japan Fair Trade

Commission and appreciate

the work we've done

together, which will help

developers of reader apps

make it easier for users to set

up and manage their apps

and services, while

protecting their privacy and

maintaining their trust,"

Apple Fellow Phil Schiller

said in a blog post.

Developers of the digital

content apps will be able to

link to their websites where

users can create or manage

accounts, according to

Apple.

While the change resulted

from an agreement with the

JFTC, it will apply globally to

all reader apps at the App

Store, the Silicon Valley tech

giant said.

Apple has come under fire

for its tight control of the

App Store, where developers

are required to use its

payment system.

Apple charges a

commission of as much as

30 percent on sales of digital

content or subscriptions at

the App Store, with the

payment system making

certain the company gets its

piece of the action.

"Because developers of

reader apps do not offer inapp

digital goods and

services for purchase, Apple

agreed with the JFTC to let

developers of these apps

share a single link to their

website to help users set up

and manage their account,"

Apple said in a post.

Apple last week agreed to

loosen payment restrictions

on its App Store, a major

change announced in a

settlement with small

developers as the US

technology giant faces

growing scrutiny and legal

challenges over its tightly

controlled online

marketplace. The change will

allow small developers to

inform their customers of

alternative payment options

beyond the official App Store.

Taiwan receives first

batch of politically

charged Pfizer vaccines

TAIPEI : Taiwan received its

first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech

coronavirus vaccines on

Thursday, a delivery

organised by two tech giants

and a charity because of

diplomatic pressure from

China. The 930,000 doses are

the first of 15 million jabs

acquired by Foxconn and

Taiwan Semiconductor

Manufacturing Company

(TSMC), as well as Buddhist

charity Tzu Chi foundation, in

deals with a China-based

distributor after months of

wrangling. Despite donations

of several million doses from

the United States and Japan in

June, Taiwan has been

struggling to secure enough

vaccines for its 23.5 million

population and its precarious

political status has been a

major stumbling block.

Thousands face

weeks without power

in Ida's aftermath

NEW ORLEANS : Louisiana

communities battered by

Hurricane Ida faced a new

danger as they began the

massive task of clearing

debris and repairing damage

from the storm: the

possibility of weeks without

power in the stifling, latesummer

heat, reports UNB.

Ida ravaged the region's

power grid, leaving the entire

city of New Orleans and

hundreds of thousands of

other Louisiana residents in

the dark with no clear

timeline on when power

would return. Some areas

outside New Orleans also

suffered major flooding and

structure damage.

"There are certainly more

questions than answers. I

can't tell you when the power

is going to be restored. I can't

tell you when all the debris is

going to be cleaned up and

repairs made," Louisiana

Gov. John Bel Edwards told

a news conference Monday.

"But what I can tell you is we

are going to work hard every

day to deliver as much

assistance as we can."

President Joe Biden met

virtually on Monday with Bel

Edwards and Mississippi

Gov. Tate Reeves along with

mayors from cities and

parishes most impacted by

Hurricane Ida to receive an

update on the storm's

impacts, and to discuss how

the Federal Government can

provide assistance.

GD-1272/21 (10x3)

friDAY, SePTemBer 3, 2021

11

China FM says 'ball in Washington's

court' for climate cooperation

BEIJING : China has challenged the US to

fix relations with Beijing in order to make

progress on climate change, the foreign

ministry said Thursday, with Washington's

climate envoy visiting to press the world's

top polluter to slash emissions.

Tensions between China and the United

States have soared in recent months with

the two sides trading barbs on Beijing's

human rights record and its initial handling

of the coronavirus. Tackling climate change

is among a handful of issues where the two

Danish minister

faces trial for

separating

migrant couples

COPENHAGEN : A former

Danish immigration

minister goes on trial on

Thursday in a rarely used

impeachment court accused

of illegally separating

couples who arrived in the

country to claim asylum.

The 26 judges of the

special court, which only

convenes to try former or

current members of

government, will determine

whether Inger Stojberg

violated the European

Convention on Human

Rights.

Law professor Frederik

Waage pointed out that it

was only the third such case

in more than a century,

calling it "historic".

Stojberg ordered the

separation of 23 couples in

2016 where the woman was

under 18 -- though the age

differences were mostly

small-without examining

the cases individually.

She is also accused of

"lying to or misleading"

parliamentary committees

when informing them of her

decision.

The 48-year-old exminister

denies any

wrongdoing.

Stojberg repeatedly made

headlines in the

international media for her

handling of immigration

issues during her 2015-2019

tenure as minister in the

previous Liberal-led

government.

She has since quit her

party but remains a

lawmaker.

Addressing parliament in

February when lawmakers

voted to try her, Stojberg

said she did "the only

political and humane thing"

to combat forced child

marriages.

sides had struck notes of harmony.

But Beijing has in recent months

emphasised that environmental

cooperation could be hurt by deteriorating

Sino-US relations.

Wang on Wednesday told US climate

envoy John Kerry during a China visit that

climate cooperation could not be

disentangled from broader diplomacy

between the two countries.

In a video call from separate rooms with

Kerry, Wang accused Washington of a

"major strategic miscalculation towards

China", according to the ministry

statement.

"It is impossible for China-US climate

cooperation to be elevated above the overall

environment of China-US relations,"

Wang said. Kerry, who visited Japan earlier

this week before travelling to meet with his

Chinese counterpart in Tianjin, said China

"plays a super critical role" in tackling

climate change, according to footage of the

call published by state broadcaster CCTV.

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e-mail:xen.munshiganj@lged.gov.bd

Friday, Dhaka: September 3, 2021; Bhadra 19, 1428 BS; Muharram 24, 1443 Hijri

BNP conspiring to regain

power illegally:Quader

DHAKA : Awami League General

Secretary Obaidul Quader on Thursday

said that BNP is conspiring against the

government, democratic institutions

and the election process to grab power

through undemocratic and unconstitutional

way, reports UNB.

Quader's hard-hitting statement came

a day after BNP Secretary General Mirza

Fakhrul Islam Alamgir accused the AL

government of snatching people's right

to vote, politicising the administration,

the judiciary and the Election

Commission in establishing a one-party

like regime in disguise.

Dismissing BNP's allegations Quader

counter attacked the opposition party

calling it undemocratic.

In his written statement the AL leader

said that the Zia-Mushtaq clique seized

power in an illegal and unconstitutional

manner through the assassination of

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family

members on Aug. 15 in 1975.

In the process they destroyed the democratic

spirit and the values of the 1971

Liberation War.

"Through a long movement and struggle,

the spirit of liberation war and democratic

values were re-established in this

country under the leadership of Sheikh

Hasina, daughter of Bangabandhu," he

said.

He added that today when the foundation

of democratic culture is well rooted

in the country, it is shameful for Mirza

Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to demand

restoration of democracy."

He referred to BNP participation in

the 2018 general election as what

Fakhrul said as part of a movement. This

statement made it clear that BNP joined

the polls not to win but to make it controversial.

He added that the election had

been most inclusive where all political

parties took part.

Quader said BNP and its top leaders

have repeatedly been rejected by the

people, but it is unfortunate that they

blame the Election Commission for their

defeat.

He said BNP, which was founded

unconstitutionally and undemocratically

by Ziaur Rahman, never believed in

democratic values. Zia seized power illegally

and established the party in that

manner, he said.

Since the beginning BNP has been an

undemocratic party, Quader said adding

the party tried to stay in power through

conspiracies and in unconstitutional

ways whenever they came to power.

Saying that the current EC's term is

due to end soon the AL leader alleged

that BNP has resorted to a ploy to make

the election of the next EC controversial.

He said the next EC will be appointed

through a search committee set up by

the President.

That is why BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul

Islam Alamgir is constantly misleading

the nation through false, baseless and

fabricated statements, Quader added.

Dengue

3 more die, record

330 patients

hospitalised

DHAKA : Three more people died of

dengue and a record 330 new patients

were hospitalised in the last 24 hours

until Thursday morning, said the

Directorate General of Health

Services (DGHS).

Of the new patients, 284 were in

Dhaka while the remaining cases

were reported from outside the division.

Earlier on Aug 17, 329 were hospitalised

with dengue in a single day,

which was the highest till date.

Some 1,262 patients diagnosed with

dengue fever are receiving treatment

in the country as of Thursday morning,

DGHS said.

Among them, 1,131 patients are

receiving treatment at different hospitals

in the capital while the remaining

131 were listed outside Dhaka.

According to DGHS, 10,981

patients have been diagnosed with

dengue this year and 48 among them

died.

So far, 9668 dengue patients have

been released from hospitals after

recovery, according to DGHS.

Health authorities have been

recording over 200 dengue cases per

day since August 1.

The dengue cases continue to rise

alarmingly when the country is battling

the deadlier Delta variant of coronavirus

with its limited health care

facilities for the last few months.

Waves slam along the shore near high tide as the remnants of Hurricane Ida leave coastal Massachusetts. Photo : AP

Nine dead as New York, New

Jersey hit by floods

NEW YORK : People in New York have

been sharing dramatic footage of floodwater

cascading into subway stations. In

this footage from Jefferson Street station

in Brooklyn, a man is seen braving

the sheets of water to exit the train. It

wasn't just subway stations that found

themselves under water - a terminal at

Newark airport in New Jersey was also

flooded. More than 300 flights at the airport

were cancelled on Thursday.

An overnight travel ban has been lifted

in New York City but officials are urging

people to remain indoors as emergency

workers begin to clear-up the city

and asses the damage caused to streets

and highways. Mayor Bill de Blasio's

office tweeted: "Stay home as much as

possible today until conditions

improve".

More than 100,000 homes began

Thursday morning without power

in New York, New Jersey, and

Connecticut, data shows.

According to information from

PowerOutage.us, 40,551 homes were

without electricity as of 08:22 EST

(13:22 BST).

About half the outages are in Dutchess

or Westchester counties. Two hours earlier,

the total number of homes without

power stood at over 45,600. In New

Jersey, over 60,000 homes were without

power. The outages are mostly located

in Sussex, Warren or Hunterdon

counties. Another 17,302 homes are

without electricity in nearby

Connecticut.

At 8pm on Wednesday night, torrential

rain began to fall as the Amtrak train

I regularly get between Washington and

New York approached New Jersey.

Suddenly my phone lit up with flash

flooding alerts, and the rainfall intensified,

vast sheets of water hammering the

side of the train.

"It's like a car wash", said the cafe car

attendant in wonder, as we stopped at

Metropark station. Soon came the

announcement of flooding on the tracks

ahead of us, making it impossible to

reach New York.

Passengers scrolled social media,

swapping tales of flooding at Newark

airport in New Jersey and streets underwater

in Brooklyn.

I called my husband at 1am and told

him I was stuck. There is no alternate

transportation, read a sign at Metropark

station. The roads around us were flooded

and there was no way out, so I settled

in for the night.

At 2am came the announcement that

our train was going back to Washington.

I changed trains to one bound for New

York - which still hadn't left as of 6.15am.

My husband is driving to get me -

though many roads are closed, he says.

This is the new world of extreme

weather, severe, exacerbated by climate

change. The extent of the rainfall caused

by the remnants of hurricane Ida in

Louisiana was unexpected, catching

forecasters and travellers out.

BD reports 88

Covid-19 deaths

TBT RePoRT

Bangladesh logged 88 Covid-19 deaths

and 3,436 cases in the last 24 hours till

Thursday morning showing a slight

upward trend from a day earlier.

Besides, The case positivity rate also

increased slightly to 10.40 per cent

from last day's 10.11 per cent, according

to Directorate General of Health

Services. Bangladesh logged 79 deaths

and 3,062 new cases respectively on

Tuesday morning. The fresh numbers

pushed the country's total fatalities to

26,362 , while the cases reached

15.07,116, according to DGHS.

The country last saw 112

Coronavirus-related deaths on June

29 and the upswing in the fatalities

reached its peak on August 5 and 10

when 264 deaths were recorded.

The new cases were detected after testing

33,035 samples during the last 24

hours, said the DGHS.

The recovery rate rose to 95.41 per

cent, while the case fatality remained

static at 1.75 per cent compared to the

corresponding period.

However, the situation was much

more catastrophic from June to the

better part of August as the country

experienced a surge of Covid-related

caseloads and deaths during that time.

Between May and June this year,

there was a 273% rise in monthly caseloads

and 162% in fatalities. In July,

there was a 150% increase in caseloads

and a 170% rise in deaths compared to

the previous month, according to the

World Health Organization (WHO).

View of development work at Gulistan Fulbaria area of Dhaka South City Corporation.

Photo: PBA

Dreams crumble to dust as

erosion sweeps away homes

KURIGRAM : Not only the Teesta, but the

Gangadhar river has also turned turbulent

in Kurigram. Over the past few

weeks, the raging river has swallowed

large swathes of land in Nageshwari, rendering

several families homeless.

Jalepara, Ramdatta and Raghurvita villages

are the worst affected.

This monsoon season alone, 50 families

have lost theirhomes and livelihoods due to

land erosion by the Gangadhar river. Every

year, the river is swollen by seasonal rains

and the erosion mainly takes place after the

water from the monsoon subsides and the

brittle soil on the banks collapses. Despite

the erosion eating into the village roads and

farm lands, local residents claim, no effective

measures have been taken by the

authorities yet, and they now live under the

fear of losing their lives too.

Many homeless people have now taken

shelter at Raghurvita Government Primary

School. Chandra and Bhanuram Biswas of

Jalepara are among the unfortunate ones.

"Every time, the river swallows our homes,

we are forced to start from the beginning.

This time, we have lost everything-house,

belongings and some money we had saved

for the rainy day," the duo said.

Kaledanga Jame Mosque, Ramdatta

Jame Mosque, Ramdatta Mahila Hafeza

Madrasa, Krishnapur Nurani Hafezia

Madrasa, and the only paved road in

Krishnapur now stand threatened by the

Gangadhar. Akmal Hossain, a public representative,

told UNB that the Water

Development Board didn't take any visible

steps this monsoon to prevent the problem

that has been prevailing for years now.

Officials of the Water Development

Board, however, said that a project for

protecting the riverbank from erosion has

already been sent to the higher authorities

for approval. "The proposal was sent to

the headquarters two years ago, but we

are still waiting for an approval. We need

Robust pension system requires

to avoid impoverishment

in old-age: Speakers

DHAKA : Speakers at a virtual webinar on

Thursday said, a robust pension system is

required to avoid impoverishment and

social distress in old-age, reports BSS.

'Timely and smart policy interventions

can help avert an impending pension

crisis. A fully funded pension system

should be introduced with options

of investment in stock or bonds', they

added. The speakers made these suggestions

at the virtual webinar on-'

Universal Pension System in

Bangladesh- A Path Breaking

Intervention', organized by the Institute

of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh

(ICAB) , said a press release.

Finance Division, Senior Secretary of

Ministry of Finance Abdur Rouf Talukder

attended the webinar as chief guest while

Chairman of Bangladesh Energy and

Power Research Council Satyajit

Karmaker and Finance Division

Additional Secretary (Regulation) Md.

Golam Mostafa attended as special guests.

They speakers also said, in FY 2019-

20 budget speech the Finance Minister

announced an 'Introduction of

Universal Pension Scheme' with the

rationale to provide wider coverage.

The Finance Division Senior Secretary

said, a modern and efficient pension

administration and management system

directly contributes to improved

services to civil servants.

'The Government of Bangladesh

(GoB) remains committed to modernize

the pension payroll and administration

as part of its commitment to achieve

good governance and efficient service

delivery in all areas,' he added.

The senior secretary also said, 'Upon

analysis and survey on the need to modernize

the administration of civil service

pensions, the Finance Division has

taken initiative to integrate payroll and

personnel records'.

ICAB President Mahmudul Hasan

Khusru said, Bangladesh's dual graduation

journey from a least developed country

to a developing country, and from a

low-income country to a lower-middle

income country, entails a need to design

and pursue policies that are commensurate

with the growing expectations of its

citizens for better social welfare and a

more economically secured life.

During this pandemic the inequality

between rich and poor has risen and created

yeaning gap as the middle-income

group people turned poor losing their

jobs. Inequality in Bangladesh is a cause

of serious concern, a Universal Pension

System could serve as a tool to reduce

this inequality in income distribution, he

suggested. Among others, ICAB CEO

Shubhashish Bose, World Bank Lead

Governance specialist Suraiya Zannath

Khan, ICAB Council Member and Past

President Dewan Nurul Islam and Vice

President Maria Howlader also spoke at

the webinar.

a permanent solution to the problem.

Temporary steps won't be effective unless

an embankment is constructed," saidsubdivisional

engineer Omar Faruk Md

Mokhtar Hossain.

On August 23, UNB reported how over

100 families in Ulipur upazila of Kurigram

district lost their homes to erosion by the

Teesta river in just one week. Villages like

Arjun in Daldalia Union and Gorai Pier,

Dalal Para, Hokdanga and Doctor Para in

Thetrai Union of the upazila have been hit

the hardest by the turbulent river.

Five educational institutions, two community

clinics, roads and one hundred

acres of arable land now stand threatened

due to the gushing water from the river,

locals said.

At least 500 families of these areas have

turned paupers as they lost their homes

and land this monsoon alone, the UNB

correspondent reported after visiting the

affected areas.

Elections to

161 UPs, 9

municipalities

on Sept 20

DHAKA : Elections to 161 Union

Parishad (UPs) in Khulna, Bagerhat,

Satkhira, Noakhali, Chattogram and

Cox's Bazar and 9 municipalities in

the country, which were postponed

due to the Coronavirus pandemic,

will be held on September 20 next.

Election Commission Secretary

Humayun Kabir Khandakar came up

with the information while talking to

reporters at the media center of the

Nirbachan Bhaban in city's Agargaon

area yesterday, reports BSS.

"EC has decided to hold polls in 161

UPs and 9 municipalities in the country

on September 20," he said.

The nine municipal are: Bhanga in

Faridpur , Nangalkot in Cumilla,

Chakaria and Maheshkhali in Cox's

Bazar, Sonagazi in Feni, Kabirhat in

Noakhali, Nawapara in Jashore,

Debiganj in Panchagarh and

Boalkhali in Chattogram.

12 AL men get bail in Barishal

BARISHAL : A Barishal court on

Thursday granted bail to 12 Awami

League leaders and activists in two

cases filed over the attack on the residence

of Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer

(UNO) Munibur Rahman on August

18, reports UNB.

Barishal Additional Chief Metropolitan

Magistrate Mohammad Masum Billah

passed the order, said General Register

Officer Khokon Chandra Das.

He said a petition was filed on August

29 seeking bail for the 12 accused.

City Awami League joint general secretary

Hasan Mahmud,its organizing

secretary and BCC Ward No 21 councillor

Sayeed Ahmed, relief secretary

Moazzem Hossain Firoj were among

those secured bail yesterday.

On August 15, the court granted bail to

nine other accused in the cases.

With these, all the 21 accused except

two got bail. Two other accused did not

get bail as they are undergoing treatment

in Dhaka. On August 22, a court rejected

bail plea of 21 Awami League men arrested

in connection with the cases filed over

the attack. A clash broke out between the

supporters of the AL, BCL and members

and Ansar when the former tried to attack

the residence of the UNO at Sadar Upazila

Complex in Barishal on August 18. Five

people suffered bullet wounds during the

clash. Of them two AL men lost their eyesights

later.

Earlier two separate cases were filed in

this connection. Upazila Nirbahi officer

Munibur Rahman of Barisal Sadar

Upazila and Assistant sub-inspector of

police Shahjalal Mallick were the plaintiffs

in these cases accusing the mayor

Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah and his men of

obstruction of government work and

attempt to murder.

03-09-2021

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