10-11-2021

WedneSday DHaka: November 10, 2021; kartik 25, 1428 BS; Rabius-Sani 4,1443 Hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.Da~2065, Vol.19; N o. 190; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

international

US reopens to

int’l travel, allows

happy reunions

>Page 7

SPortS

Pakistan to face tough

challenge in Bangladesh:

Towhid Hridoy

>Page 9

Graft case

art & culture

My father is my

inspiration, says

Shadhona Saha

>Page 10

Ex-CJ Sinha gets 11 years

The tilted partly sunken Ro-Ro ferry Shah amanat of Bangladesh inland Water Transport

Corporation (BiWTC) has been salvaged yesterday after 13 days of capsized. Photo : TBT

Ro-Ro ferry Shah

Amanat rescued 13

days after capsize

MANIKGANJ : The tilted partly sunken

Ro-Ro Ferry Shah Amanat of

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport

Corporation (BIWTC) has been salvaged

yesterday after 13 days of capsized,

reports BSS.

BIWTC Paturia ghat Deputy General

Manager (DGM) Zillur Rahman said the

half sunken tilted ferry now is remaining in

a straight position after lifting all of its

water. The rescued ferry will be handed

over to the BIWTA after completion of all

maintenance.

A non government organization

Genuine Enterprise on Tuesday completed

its rescue operation and after final examining

the body including bottom of the ferry

will be handed over to the concerned

authority, the ghat sources said.

S Korea to resume entry

of Bangladeshi expatriate

workers: Envoy

DHAKA : The government of the

Republic of Korea has recently decided to

resume the entry of Bangladeshi expatriate

workers to the country which has

been suspended since June last year due

to the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

South Korean Ambassador to

Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun informed the

decision to Expatriate's Welfare and

Overseas Employment Minister Imran

Ahmed during his meeting with the

Minister at his office on Tuesday.

Ambassador Lee also requested the

Bangladesh Government to take necessary

steps to ensure that no COVID-19

positive case is found among the

Bangladesh expatriate workers coming

to Korea by taking necessary preventive

measures before, during and after their

travel and their full vaccination.

Zohr

04:52 AM

11:45 PM

03:40 PM

05:20 PM

06:40 PM

6:08 5:16

Two companies get DGDA nod

for marketing oral Covid drug

DHAKA : The Directorate General of

Drug Administration (DGDA) has

authorised two local pharmaceutical

companies for marketing Molnupiravir,

the first oral Covid-19 antiviral drug.

Major General Md Mahbubur

Rahman, Director General of the DGDA,

came up with the information at a press

briefing on Tuesday.

"DGDA has approved Molnupiravir for

emergency use but it's not an alternative

to vaccine. People must take Covid jabs.

This oral medicine has to be taken as per

the advice of physicians," he said.

"So far, 10 pharmaceutical companies

have sought permission for marketing

and we have authorised

Beximco Pharmaceuticals and Eskayef

Pharmaceuticals for marketing. The

eight other companies awaiting

approval are Square, General, Beacon,

Reneta, Insepta, Acme, Health Care

DHAKA : US Ambassador to

Bangladesh Earl R Miller has said that

they world must put in joint efforts to

confront the climate crisis right now

instead of leaving the challenge for

future generations, reports UNB.

"The climate crisis is here. This is not

a challenge for future generations.

Together, we must confront it today," he

said mentioning that COP26 in

Glasgow is a pivotal moment at the start

of this decisive decade to tackle the climate

crisis, according to US Embassy

on Tuesday.

While COP26 continues in Glasgow,

Scotland, Miller visited U.S. government

climate resilience projects in Cox's

Bazar and travelled to St. Martin's

Island to assess the effects of climate

change and learn about local adaptation

efforts. Miller learned about severe

coastal erosion and sea level rise on the

island, the impact on local fisheries, the

degradation of coral colonies, and local

efforts to restore mangroves and protect

shorelines.

Maritime Affairs Unit Secretary Rear

Admiral (Retd) Md. Khurshed Alam,

EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles

Whiteley, Japanese Ambassador Ito

Naoki, Australian High Commissioner

Jeremy Bruer, MoFA Director

(Americas) Syed Shah Saad Andalib

and Australian First Secretary-

Development Cooperation, Kate

Sangster joined.

The United States has partnered with

Bangladesh on many climate resilience

and Popular pharmaceuticals," he

added.

The DGDA Director General said it is a

five-dose course and people have to take

eight pills each day in five days.

Already Molnupiravir is available in

the local market and controlling Covid-19

will be easier if it is used, he said.

"The medicine can reduce the mortality

rate and risk of hospitalization by half.

No one below 18 can take the oral antiviral

medicine," said Mahbubur.

The first pill- molnupiravir, designed to

treat symptomatic Covid, has recently

been approved by the UK medicines regulator,

according to a BBC report.

The tablet - molnupiravir - will be given

twice a day to vulnerable patients recently

diagnosed with the disease.

In clinical trials, the pill, originally

developed to treat flu, cut the risk of hospitalisation

or death by about half.

US envoy calls for joint action to

tackle climate crisis right now

projects in the Cox's Bazar and Teknaf

region.

For example, the U.S. government,

through its Agency for International

Development (USAID), has donated

more than 140 renovated cyclone shelters

to the Cox's Bazar district administration,

including one on St. Martin's

Island, to protect residents from frequent

natural disasters.

Since 2001, USAID has constructed

over 700 multi-purpose cyclone shelters

that serve as both safe havens and

as schools in Bangladesh, said the US

Embassy in Dhaka.

Additionally, USAID support has

strengthened flood forecasting and

early warning systems to provide residents

life-saving time to evacuate to

shelter.

USAID supports the Bangladesh

Forest Service and local communities to

co-manage forests and wetlands,

including the Teknaf Wildlife

Sanctuary, thereby protecting more

than 1.8 million acres of critical ecosystems

across the country.

The U.S. government also supports

restoration projects for degraded landscapes

and ecosystems within the

Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary.

Prior to his trip to St. Martin's, Miller

visited USAID climate resilience projects

where U.S. investments have

helped farmers adapt new techniques to

overcome soil salinity, use organic pest

control, and plant new trees while protecting

existing natural resources.

DHAKA : A special court in Dhaka on

Tuesday sentenced former chief justice

Surendra Kumar Sinha to 11 years'

imprisonment in a case filed over laundering

Tk 4 crore, reports UNB.

Judge of the Dhaka Special (Court-4)

Sheikh Nazmul Alam Khan handed

down the verdict. The court also fined S K

Sinha Tk 45 lakh, in default, to suffer six

months more rigorous imprisonment.

It also ordered the authorities concerned

to confiscate Tk 78 lakh from his

bank account.

The court also sentenced eight other

accused in the case to different jail terms

while acquitted two others- Md

Shahjahan and Niranjan Chandra Sahaas

allegations brought against them were

not proved.

Former managing director of Farmers

Bank AKM Shamim got four years' jail

with a fine of Tk 50,000 while Santri Roy

Simi and Ranjit Chandra Saha were sentenced

to three years' imprisonment each

with a fine of Tk 10,000.

The remaining four accused-Gazi

Salahuddin, senior executive vice president

and former head of credit division

Food security

demand of time,

says Food Minister

Shafiqul iSlam (Jami)

Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder

said it is high time to protect food security.

Only by ensuring safe food will it be possible

to create a healthy, strong, hardworking and

talented population. To that end, the Safe

Food Act was enacted in 2013 and came into

force on February 1, 2015. He said the government

is continuing its efforts to create

safe food production, processing, storage,

marketing and consumption habits. Public

awareness can make this effort more fruitful

and successful. He also called on the media

to play a role in ensuring safe food for the

people of the country.

He was speaking as the chief guest at a

seminar on 'Safe Food Act, 2013 and Rules

and Regulations to create awareness and

mass media' organized by the Safe Food

Authority at the Hotel Inter Continental

Grand Ballroom in Dhaka on Tuesday

(Nov 9). Dhaka University Professor of

Chemistry presented the keynote address

at the seminar. Md. Iqbal Rauf Mamun.

The food minister said mobile laboratories

are being set up in eight divisions of

the country. As a result, it will be possible

to inform the people whether the food is

safe by testing it at the upazila level.

Asia's largest testing laboratory will be

set up in Narayanganj with JICA funding

very soon.

of the bank, Swapan Kumar Roy, first

vice president (Credit division),

Shafiuddin Askari Ahmed, vice president

Md Lutful Haque-were sentenced

Surendra Kumar Sinha

to three years' imprisonment each and

fined Tk 25,000 each. On July 10, 2019,

the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC)

filed the case accusing former chief justice

SK Sinha and 10 others of accumulating

illegal wealth and laundering Tk 4

crore.

Earlier, the judgment in the graft case

was scheduled to be delivered on October

Soaring gas prices

Demand and supply

DHAKA : The escalating price of liquefied

natural gas (LNG) has put the Energy and

Mineral Resources Division into a "trouble"

over its demand and supply management

following the diesel and kerosene

price hike, reports UNB.

According to official sources, top policymakers

are now weighing different

options, including further upward adjustment

in gas price, enhancing LNG import

from long-term contracts and increasing

local gas production. "But There's no easier

option for the government to find a suitable

solution to manage the situation, particularly

in 2022," said a top official at the

Energy and Mineral Resources Division,

wishing not to be named.

Eminent energy expert Dr M Tamim, a

professor at Petroleum and Mineral

Resources Engineering Department of

Bangladesh University Engineering and

Technology (BUET), said there is little

option for the government to pursue without

an upward readjustment in the gas

price as there is an indication that the higher

energy price will continue in the coming

days until the end of 2022.

5 and then it was deferred to October 21

as the judge was on leave.

On August 29, seven of the 11 accused

in the case pleaded "not guilty".

They are Mahbubul Haque Chisty, former

audit committee chairman of

Farmers Bank, former managing director

of the bank AKM Shamim, first vicepresidents

Swapan Kumar Rat and Md

Lutful Haque, and former senior executive

vice presidents (SEVPs) Gazi

Salahudiin, Md Shahjahan and Niranjan

Chandra Saha.

On August 24, the defence lawyers

grilled the investigating officer of the

case, Benazir Ahmed, also the director of

the ACC. Twenty-one witnesses had testified

in the case.

On September 25, 2019, the anti-graft

body summoned five officials of Farmers

Bank for interrogation over the deposit of

Tk 4 crore in CJ Sinha's account with the

Supreme Court branch of Sonali Bank.

On December 10, 2019, the investigation

officer in the case submitted a

chargesheet against the 11 accused. On

August 13, 2020, a court framed charges

against the 11, including Sinha.

management 'getting tough'

"There should have been a thorough

analysis of energy prices. Also, steps like

increasing the LNG import from long-term

contracts should have been taken much

earlier. But the policymakers missed those

opportunities when the LNG price was

much lower on the international market,"

he told UNB. Official sources said the government

is planning to send a team, headed

by senior secretary of the Energy and

Mineral Resources Division, to Qarar and

Oman to manage the increasing import of

LNG from long-term contracts.

The government has long-term contracts

with the two nations to annually import 2.5

million metric tons of LNG from Qatar and

1.5 million MT from Oman. It also imports

another 1.5 million MT from the international

spot market to meet the growing

demand for natural gas.

Currently, the sources said, the import of

LNG from long-term contracts is preferable

for the government as its cost is about

$10 per million MMBtu, which is almost

static, while the import from spot market

cost $36.60 MMBtu which is dynamic or

fluctuating.

Students from seven government colleges affiliated with Dhaka university held a four-hour

protest on Tuesday at Nilkhet to demand that the authorities scrap the results of a recently-held

fourth year examination in which a majority of examinees failed and retake it. Photo : TBT

wedNesdAY, NoveMBeR 10, 2021

2

Covid-19: Bangladesh

logs 3 deaths in 24

hours

DHAKA : Amid the global

race to vaccinate people, the

Covid-19 pandemic in

Bangladesh has eased with

the health authorities

reporting three deaths and

206 fresh cases in 24 hours

till Tuesday morning,

reports UNB.

The new casualties

marked a slight drop from

Monday's six deaths and 215

fresh cases.

Both the daily-case

positivity and the mortality

rates remained unchanged

at 1.28 per cent and at 1.78

per cent respectively, said

the Directorate General of

Health Services (DGHS).

The fresh cases were

detected after testing 17,530

samples.

Two of the three deceased

were men and one was a

woman.

'Integrated initiatives to be taken

to strengthen road safety'

BRTA Chairman Nur Mohammad Mazumder

"Integrated initiatives to be taken to strengthen road safety and

government and non-government organizations must come

forward in this regard" the chairman, BRTA, Nur Mohammad

Mazumder said this while addressing a meeting at the conference

hall of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) on

Tuesday.

He further stated, 'Road accidents are constantly happening in

Bangladesh for various reasons. Over speeding; Overtaking

everywhere; While crossing the roads, not using the foot over

bridges or zebra crossings; Using the phone / talking on the phone

while roads crossing etc are the main causes of accident. The

government has taken various initiatives to reduce road accidents

in Bangladesh, most notably the enactment of the Road Transport

Act 2018'.

Iqbal Masud, Director, Health and Wash Sector, Dhaka Ahsania

Mission presented the keynote paper. He said that according to the

data of the World Health Organization on 2018, about 1.35 million

people died worldwide and about 25,000 people died in road

accidents in Bangladesh every year. The country loses 5 percent of

total GDP.He added that worldwide the 8th biggest cause of the

death is road accidents, and 90 percent of deaths occur in low- and

middle-income countries. Ensuring the safe and pedestrian

friendly roads is the priority of the government.

In this meeting with the collaboration of Dhaka Ahsania Mission,

Health Sector, the context of the road accidents in Bangladesh, the

required actions and the roles and responsibilities of the

government and non-government organizations for reducing the

road accidents were discussed.

DMP arrests 65 for

selling, consuming

drugs in city

DHAKA : Detective Branch

(DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan

Police (DMP) in anti-drug

drives arrested 65 people on

charges of selling and

consuming drugs in the city

in the last 24 hours till 6am

Tuesday

The Detective Branch (DB)

of the DMP in association

with local police stations

carried out the drives

simultaneously starting at

6am on November 8, a DMP

statement said.

In separate anti-drug

operations, police arrested

drug paddlers and abusers

and seized banned and illegal

drugs from the city's

different areas.

During the drives, police

also seized 358 grams and

407 puria (Small Packet) of

heroin, 8.30 kilograms and

69,868 pieces of yaba tablets,

the statement said.

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3

Rotary Leaders presented in 3.5 million mask distribution event.

Rotary International begins

masks distribution to

prevent third Covid flow

Rotary District 3281 Bangladesh has started

the distribution of 35 lakh masks across the

country to prevent the third phase of Covid-

19. The distribution of the masks began on

Tuesday at a hotel in Dhaka.

Rotary Governor Barrister Mutasim

Billah Farooqi was the chief guest on the

occasion. Million Dollar Mask Project

Chairman PDG M Khairul Alam, Governorelect

Engineer MA Wahab, Governor

Nominee TIM Nurul Kabir, Ted Rossi, one

of the founders of Rossi Foundation in USA

Kamruzzaman Khan Tipu, Hafiz U Biplob,

Ibrahim Zayed Pinak and others leaders

was present.

The governor said many Rotarians across

the country would run a month-long

campaign and distribute free masks to the

public about the benefits of wearing masks

against covid.

Governor Farooqi added that Rotary clubs

around the world have been working hard to

deal with the disaster since the Covid-19

epidemic began. Rotary has already spent

hundreds of millions of dollars through

various activities in this sector. Apart from

distributing millions of hand sanitizers and

masks across the country in Bangladesh

since the beginning of 2020, Rotary has

continued to conduct various activities

including providing PPE, grants to various

hospitals, setting up oxygen banks and

providing food aid to one and a half million

families who have lost their jobs due to

covid.

Speakers on the occasion mentioned,

"As the prevalence of Covid-19 has

decreased across the country, there has

been a slowdown in the adherence to

hygiene among the people." But

reluctance to follow health rules can lead

to big disasters for us.

Dhaka Ahsania Mission distributed various livelihood items among 25

trained prisoners.

Photo : Courtesy

Govt approves

registration to

14 IPTVs

DHAKA : The government

has approved the registration

of 14 Internet Protocol TV or

IPTV to broadcast online,

reports UNB.

The Ministry of Information

and Broadcasting issued a

notification in this regard on

Monday.

IPTV is the process through

which contents published in

television are broadcast using

internet protocol network.

According to the notice in

the first phasemoviebangla.tv,

jagoron.tv,

ruposhibangla.tv, hernet-tv,

matientrtainment.tv,

flixsrk.tv, rajdhani.tv, voicetv,

jatvbd, news21bangla.tv,

jagoroni.tv, shobuyprime.tv,

deshbandhu.tv, chdnews24.tv

got approval.

The approved IPTVs were

asked to follow National

Broadcast Policy, 2014,

National Online Mass Media

Policy, 2017 and other policy,

guidelines, notifications

issued by the ministry in

producing and broadcasting

programs.

The ministry also asked the

IPTVs to maintain existing

Copyright Act, Censorship

codes and to submit the

registration fees and annual

fees to reissue it fixed by the

commission.

Livelihood items

distributed among

trained prisoners

According to the Prime Minister's directives, in order to keep

the prisoners away from crime and bring them back to

normal life and to rehabilitate them as good citizens in the

society, on behalf of the German Government and the British

Government, with the technical assistance of GIZ, an

initiative was taken by the Department of Prisons and Dhaka

Ahsania Mission to distribute livelihood items among the

inmates trained at the end of their sentences, a press release

said.

The initiative has been completed by distributing various

livelihood items among 25 released prisoners who were

trained in November 2021. Md. Mokhlesur Rahman,

Assistant Director, Health and Wash Sector, Dhaka Ahsania

Mission, Rule of Law Program implemented by Dhaka

Ahsania Mission, Amir Hossain, Project Coordinator, GIZ

Project, Dhaka Ahsania Mission and other staff of the project

were present at the distribution program that was held

recently.

It is to be noted that on 17th February, 2021, Home

Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, MP inaugurated the program

by distributing the aid materials. Also present on the

occasion were Additional Secretary of the Department of

Homeland Security Services, Inspector General of Prisons,

German Ambassador and British High Commissioner

among others. Through this initiative, modern sewing

machines, rickshaws, rickshaw vans, electric tool boxes,

welding machines, cows, goats and various other livelihood

items were distributed among a total of 150 prisoners.

Regular follow-up activities of the released prisoners are

being carried out after the distribution of livelihood items to

see if they have been rehabilitated or if they are facing any

obstacles. Considering the overall outcome of this

rehabilitation process and involving various partner agencies

or departments of the government, similar activities may be

conducted in the future.

Photo : Courtesy

Dean's Award

introduced

in JnU

NAKIBUL AHSAN NISHAD

The

university

administration has decided

to introduce the Dean's

Award, the highest facultybased

award for Jagannath

University (JnU) students. A

Deans Forum has already

been formed with the Deans

of all the faculties of the

University.

The Dean's Award is the

highest merit award given by

the Dean of the respective

faculty of a university.

Usually those who do very

well in their academic

circumstances get this

award.

According to the

authorities of Jagannath

University, the initiative has

been taken to launch the

Dean's Award to find out the

talents and talents of the

students as well as to create

interest among all. This will

create mutual relations and

competition among the

students in the field of

academic education.

Dean of the Faculty of

Business Studies, Professor.

A.K.M Moniruzzaman said

about a Dean's Forum has

already been formed to

launch the Dean's Awards.

Efforts are being made to

collect policies from other

universities on how to

introduce it. The

introduction of the Dean's

Award will increase interest

and competition among

students to do better.

The Dean's Award was to

be launched at Jagannath

University. It is very

necessary for the students

and the University. This

creates enthusiasm among

the students. Other

established universities in

the country also have Dean's

Award. It also needs to be

introduced to give students

the opportunity to develop

their talents, Said Professor,

Arun Kumar Goswami.

Dean of the Faculty of Social

Sciences.

Jagannath University

Vice-Chancellor Prof. Md.

ImdadulHaque said, "We

have planned to introduce

Dean's Award for students. I

have formed the Dean's

Forum. The next decision

will be taken at the end of

the ongoing semester

exams.

City wall

collapse kills

minor boy

DAHKA : A seven-year-old

school boy died after a wall

collapsed on him at

Azimpur Colony on his way

to Lalbag Westin High

School yesterday morning,

police and hospital sources

said.

"The accident took place

at 8.30 am . . . The minor

boy was going to school

with his father when a wall

collapsed on him," Police

inspector of Dhaka Medical

College and Hospital

(DMCH) outpost Bachchu

Mia told BSS.

He received medical

treatment at DMCH but

was pronounced dead at

the hospital, he added.

Humayun urges

affluent people to

come forward in

service of humanity

DHAKA : Industries

Minister Nurul Majid

Mahmud Humayun

yesterday urged the well-off

people of the society to come

forward in the service of

humanity.

"Throughout his life,

Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman fought for

the independence of the

country and the economic

emancipation of the helpless

people out of human

responsibility," he said,

reports BSS

The minister said this

while speaking as the chief

guest at the 46th founding

ceremony of the Rotary Club

Gulshan on Monday night,

said a press release.

JU admission test begins

JU CORRESPONDENT

The admission tests for the first-year

honours courses under the 2020-21

academic session of Jahangirnagar

University begins on Tuesday with the

admission test under the 'D' unit for the

Faculty of Biological Sciences.

The entrance tests under nine units will

end on November 21 with the 'A' unit

admission test for the Faculty of

Mathematics and Physical Sciences

Earlier, The 'A' unit test was, scheduled to

begin on November 7, but was deferred,

later, to November 20 and 21 due to the

transport strike against the hikes in fuel

prices.

According to the registrar office of the

university, 163 students will fight for each

seat on average in this year's entrance tests

under nine units as 3,08,606 applications

have been submitted against 1,889 seats

under six faculties and three institutes with

many applicants submitting more than one

application under different units.

This year, the highest 69,129 applications

have been submitted against 326 seats under

the 'D' unit and the highest 415 candidates

will fight for a seat in the 'H' unit test under

the Institute of Information Technology with

23,240 candidates vying for 56 seats at the

institute, according to officials.

The 'D' unit test will be on November 9 and

10 while the 'H' and 'G' unit tests on

November 11, the 'B' unit test on November

14, the 'F' and 'I' unit tests on November 15,

the 'E' and 'D' unit tests on November 16, the

'C' unit test on November 18 and the 'A' unit

tests on November 20 and 21.

On each day, the tests will be held on five

shifts from 9:00am to 5:30pm and

candidates were asked to ensure health

safety measures before entering examination

halls.

Proctor and Associate Professor ASM

Firoz-ul-Hasan said that the university

authorities had taken steps to avoid any kind

of untoward situation on the campus during

the tests.

'We have already submitted a written

application to the Road Transport and

Highways Division and the regional traffic

station regarding the heavy toll on the

Dhaka-Aricha highway during the tests', the

proctor added.

The admission tests for the first-year honours courses under the 2020-21 academic session of

Jahangirnagar University begins on Tuesday with the admission test under the 'D' unit for the

Faculty of Biological Sciences.

Photo : Courtesy

Mozammel Haque to attend Fobana

Convention in Washington

DHAKA : Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel

Haque will attend a three-day Fobana Convention scheduled

to begin on November 26 in Washington DC.

He will join the 35th convention as the chief guest.

Liberation War Affairs Secretary Khaja Mia will present the

function as special guest, said a press release. Mozammel will

reach Washington DC on November 25 next.

Fire guts several shops at

Chattogram kitchen market

CHATTOGRAM : A fire broke out at a kitchen market in

Halishahar of Chattogram metropolis Tuesday morning,

reports UNB.

The fire started around 8am and gutted several shops

within an hour. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.

Upon information, two fire tenders were pressed into

service but it took them nearly two hours to bring the blaze

under control, a fire officer said.

Newton Das, deputy assistant director of the Chattogram

Fire Service, said, "Efforts are still on to completely douse the

flames." The actual amount of losses or the origin of the fire

couldn't be known immediately. An investigation is

underway, he added.

Man held with 8k Yaba

pills at Dhaka airport

DHAKA : A Saudi Arabia-bound passenger was arrested with

8,000 Yaba pills at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in

Dhaka on Tuesday, officials said. The arrestee has been

identified as Md Ohidul Shikdar, a Bangladeshi national.

Sources said airport officials detected the narcotics (in

tablet form) while frisking Ohidul just before he was about to

board an Emirates Airlines flight to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia

at 7.30am. Group Captain AHM Touhid-ul Ahsan, Executive

Director of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, said they

seized 8,000 Yaba pills hidden in 40 packets from the

possession of the passenger. Legal processes are underway

in this regard, he added.

Dhaka to host IORA Council of

Ministers meeting Nov 17

DHAKA : Bangladesh, as the incoming chair of the Indian Ocean

Rim Association (IORA), will host the 21st IORA Council of

Ministers' (COM) meeting on November 17, reports UNB.

The 23rd Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) and its related

meetings will be held during November 15-16 in a hybrid format

(mixing in-person and virtual), officials said.

Bangladesh will assume the position of the IORA Chair in

November. Its tenure as chair will run from 2021-2023, with Sri

Lanka the new Vice-Chair, and the UAE taking the position of

the Past-Chair.

The forthcoming ministers' meeting will be preceded by the

23rd CSO meeting taking stock of the Association's progress and

endorsing the next IORA's Action Plan (2022-2027).

Meanwhile, a strategic dialogue on the Impact of Covid-19 and

perspectives of economic recovery in the Indian Ocean Region

will be held on November 17. IORA is an inter-governmental

organisation that was established in 1997.

The vision for IORA originated during a visit by late President

Nelson Mandela of South Africa to India in 1995.

Shaheed Nur Hossain

Day today

DHAKA : Shaheed Nur

Hossain Day, a red-letter

day to restore democracy

in the country, will be

observed today with due

solemnity.

On this day in 1987,

Awami Jubo League leader

Nur Hossain, who

imprinted his bare chest

and back with the slogans

"Free democracy" and

"Down with autocracy",

embraced martyrdom in

police firing during an antiautocracy

demonstration

at Zero Point in the city,

now known as Shaheed

Nur Hossain Square,

reports BSS.

AJL leader Nurul Huda

Babul and farmers' leader

Aminul Huda Tito of

Bajitpur in Kishoreganj

district were also killed in

police firing during the

mass movement for

restoration of democracy

against autocratic rule.

The martyrdom of Nur

Hossain and others during

the mass upsurge of late

1990s expedited the antiautocracy

movement. In

the face of the movement,

the then autocratic ruler

had to step down on

December 6 in 1990.

Since then, the day is

being observed every year

as the Shaheed Nur

Hossain Day.

Different socio-cultural

and professional

organisations as well as

ruling Awami League have

chalked out elaborate

programmes to observe the

day in a befitting manner.

Awami League's

programmes to mark the

day include placing of

wreaths at Shaheed Nur

Hossain Square at 8 am in

city's Gulistan area and

offering of special prayers

seeking eternal peace of the

departed souls of the slain

Awami Jubo League

leader.

President Abdul Hamid

and Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina issued separate

messages on the eve of the

day.

"The 'November 10' is the

Shaheed Nur Hossain Day.

This is an important day in

the history of restoring

democracy in Bangladesh,"

the President said in his

message.

On this day in 1987, Nur

Hossain sacrificed his life

while waging movement in

the city streets against

autocratic rule, he said,

adding, "Today, I recall all

the martyrs with respect,

including Nur Hossain,

who embraced martyrdom

for the country's

democracy".

Prime minister Sheikh

Hasina, in her message,

recalled all martyrs, who

embraced martyrdom for

the country's democracy in

1987, with due respect on

the Shaheed Nur Hossain

Day.

Many people, including

Babul and Fattah,

sacrificed their lives in the

movement of restoring

democracy, she said.

Finally the democracy

was restored on December

6 in 1990 with fall of the

autocratic ruler in the

subsequent of the

continued movements and

struggles, the Prime

Minister said, adding

subsequently the people

got back their rights to vote

and food.

The premier prayed for

eternal peace of the

departed souls of all

martyrs, including Nur

Hossain, and convoyed

deep sympathy to the

bereaved families.

In a separate statement

today, Awami League

General Secretary and

Road Transport and

Bridges Minister Obaidul

Quader urged the people

all levels, including party

units, associate bodies and

likeminded organizations

across the country, to

observe the "Shaheed Nur

Hossain Day" in a befitting

manner.

wEDNESDAy, NoVEMBER 10, 2021

4

Kadhimi must not become another Rafik Hariri

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Regulating private

universities

According to a report published in a

local newspaper there are 83

private universities in Bangladesh,

which in itself is a staggering number.

The report also adds that as many as 100

more private universities are in the

pipeline. Now, this the point of our worry.

As it is, 83 universities for a country of

over 160 million people are not too many.

But we have to also contrast this with

the total demand for such universities

among the student population. Nobody

has probably assessed yet the total

demand for seats in universities from

among our higher education seekers. But

one may guess estimate that the existing

private universities probably already

provide opportunities on the whole for

our higher education aspirants to get a

berth in this stream of education.

But what is more important to assess at

the moment is whether members of our

student population are getting truly

'quality' education in most of these

existing private universities. If not, then

what is the point of allowing more than

their doubling in a short span of time to

add only to the number of private

universities considered as deficient in

imparting quality education ?

Nowadays we often see that there are

two or three such universities operating

from the same building at different

floors. The emergence of these private

universities in most cases resulted

obviously not from the altruistic motive

of creating genuine educational

opportunities for the youth of

Bangladesh; rather it was due to the

attention of certain business people

towards the prospect of reaping huge

profit from the business of education.

They rushed for licenses to start and

operate universities by gathering

students charging them high admission

and course fees but providing them with

inadequate academic facilities.

However, they also realized that they

must also target the middle income

groups which pushed these new

universities to lower the fees a little

compared to the established private

universities and this policy actually

worked.

Only a few private universities actually

established themselves as the source of

quality education. Many private

universities spoiled the fate of their

students as they failed to make proper

impression in the eyes of the employers.

Some universities also lost their

registration or license following

evaluation by the University Grant

Commission putting lives of their

students in jeopardy.

Needless to say, the employers are day

by day losing their interest in such private

university graduates.

Therefore, instead of further

encouraging a policy of drift by allowing

more private universities to be set up, the

imperative is ensuring that the already

set up such universities are obliged to

pull up standards. We understand that

the same cannot be done overnight.

But the authorities must be seen as

playing their part effectively to put

pressure on these institutions to make it

clear to them that they have no choice but

to improve in all respects to retain their

licenses to operate.

The authorities must also be resolved to

completely render futile any attempt to

set up a private university by anybody

relying on political clout and lacking the

appropriate background to be considered

for such a venture.

Since the comprehensive defeat of

Iranian-aligned militias and parties

at legislative elections in October, it

has been clear that the agents of Tehran

would react in the way they always do - by

trying to kill those they could not defeat at

the ballot box.

There is no "smoking gun" yet to

incriminate Iran or its stooges over the

failed assassination attempt, but it was

clearly a product of the template Iran has

created for subversion in the region.

Anyone who does not comply with its idea

of "armageddon," or who fails to kowtow

to the religious mercenaries in Tehran, is

marked for elimination.

Before the attempt on Kadhimi's life,

several activists - Shiite as well as Sunni -

who called for an end to Iranian

interference in Iraq were killed.

The people of Iraq have seen through

the Iranian gameplan, and understand it

only too well. They know that Iran is

playing politics in the region, and doing

so with Iraqi blood.

That is why Tehran's consulates and

missions have been being torched by

ordinary Iraqis.

The popular movement against Iranian

influence in Iraq has gained ground in the

past few years, since Iranian agents

massacred at least 1,000 peaceful

protesters who began demonstrating in

October 2019. That further fed anti-Iran

sentiment and the anti-Iran movement.

This year's election results provided the

most comprehensive proof so far that

Iran is now viewed by ordinary Iraqis as a

foreign occupying power. It should not

surprise anyone that the attempt to

assassinate Kadhimi came just a few

hours after he was threatened by Qais Al-

Khazali of the pro-Iranian Asa'ib Ahl Al-

Haq militia; threats typical of Iranianbacked

militias' behavior toward anyone

who threatens their hegemony or does

not bend to their whims. Kadhimi's

primary aim was - and remains - to

restore genuine Iraqi sovereignty. He has

appealed to national pride. During his

time as prime minister he has taken a

clear stand against the militias and has

repeatedly talked about not permitting

the development of a state within a state.

He has not allowed himself to be

browbeaten or blackmailed into

supporting Iran's agenda.

Rafik Hariri was a good man who did all

the right things; since his murder,

Lebanon has lost all hope. Kadhimi is also

a good man doing the right things, and

with him Iraq actually stands a chance.

Kadhimi opened channels with Iraq's

FAISAl J. ABBAS

natural allies in the Arab world. He took

the honorable and courageous position of

seeking closer ties with Iraq's Arab

neighbors, especially Saudi Arabia and

the UAE. In return, Riyadh and Abu

Dhabi gave him full support in restoring

Iraq's prominent position in the Arab

world. This was, of course, a red flag for

the mullahs in Tehran. They want Iraq to

be mired in misery and political

instability. A weak Iraq is what the

mullahs want. They do not want

reformers or moderates to succeed.

Kadhimi was targeted on Sunday by

three explosives-laden drones.

Had two of them not been intercepted,

there is every possibility that he would

have become another Rafik Hariri, the

Lebanese prime minister blown up by

Iranian-sponsored Hezbollah operatives

for having the temerity to chart an

independent path to success and

sovereignty for his country. Look at what

Iran has done to Lebanon - turned a once

thriving nation into an economic basket

case and an international pariah that

MARK VAlENCIA

exports drugs, drones and terrorism.

Lebanon has become a country where an

armed militia is holding the government

and the people hostage -the very template

Tehran wants to impose on all Arab

states. The international community, and

especially the Biden administration in the

US, must finally wake up to the sinister

Iranian game plan.

The world should stop appeasing this

monster. What is needed is not mere

verbal condemnation, but tangible and

robust action. This must be a stark

warning to the US president that these

are not the kind of people his

administration should be trying to sign a

deal with.

Without effective sanctions and a clear

signal that such reckless behavior will be

punished, Iran and its militias will

continue to destabilize the region and

eliminate any possibility of peace,

tolerance and moderation taking root.

Now is the time to take a clear stand and

let Iran know that its malign meddling

stops here, and it stops now.

Rafik Hariri was a good man who did all

the right things; since his murder,

Lebanon has lost all hope.

Kadhimi is also a good man doing the

right things, and with him Iraq actually

stands a chance. However, he deserves

more than the world just crossing its

fingers and hoping he escapes every time

Tehran's agents of evil try to end his life.

Source: Arab news

Economic sanctions will not resolve Ethiopia's conflict

On September 17, declaring the

ongoing civil war in Ethiopia a

national security threat to the

United States, President Joe Biden signed a

sweeping executive order authorising

sanctions on the Ethiopian government, the

Eritrean government, the Tigray People's

Liberation Front (TPLF) and several other

entities the US government deems to be

contributing to the conflict.

Furthermore, the Biden administration

suspended Ethiopia's trade privileges from

the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA)

- which came into effect in 2000 and allows

duty-free imports of selected products from

the continent - signifying the deterioration

of the relationship between the US and

Ethiopia.

Home to Africa's second-largest

population and located in the volatile Horn

of Africa, Ethiopia's stability is critical to the

security and stability of the continent and

the strategic Red Sea region, through which

cargo ships carrying merchandise

accounting for more than 10 percent of the

global trade pass. Its military forces, one of

the most powerful in Africa, have played a

critical role in the fight against the hardline

group al-Shabab in neighbouring Somalia.

Ethiopia's troops also contributed to many

other important UN peacekeeping missions

across the continent, including those in

Sudan and Rwanda. Until the outbreak of

the ongoing conflict, Ethiopia was one of the

closest allies of the US in Africa. Thus,

Washington's efforts to bring an end to the

war in Ethiopia are both understandable

and judicious.

Nevertheless, economic sanctions - such

as the suspension of the country's eligibility

ASEAN's last hope for regional security relevance

An agreement between the

Association of Southeast Asian

Nations and China on a binding,

robust Code of Conduct (COC) for the South

China Sea has become a test of ASEAN's

relevance and centrality in the management

of security issues in its region.

Some say it is a holy grail - a highly

desirable but unreachable goal. Others say it

is ASEAN's last hope to prove its

effectiveness. But there are many obstacles

that must be overcome to reach agreement.

ASEAN has been struggling for 20 years

to lock China into a COC. But the talks have

stalled. Last week's ASEAN Summits

Chairman's Statement emphasized "the

need to promote an environment conducive

to the COC negotiations." This indicated

growing frustration at the seemingly endless

delay as well as interference by the big

powers. There are formidable obstacles to

agreement on key elements like its

geographic scope, means of dispute

settlement if any, legal status and role of

third parties. The positions remain far apart,

and the August 2018 Single Draft South

China Sea Code of Conduct Negotiating

Text contains some proposed provisions

that are probably unacceptable to China.

Vietnam is trying to use ASEAN and the

He has appealed to national pride. During his time as prime

minister he has taken a clear stand against the militias and

has repeatedly talked about not permitting the development

of a state within a state. He has not allowed himself to be

browbeaten or blackmailed into supporting Iran's agenda.

under AGOA that business leaders warn

may result in a permanent loss of about a

million jobs - will not resolve the crisis. Such

sanctions will only worsen the economic

hardship of Ethiopians already struggling in

an economy under severe strain due to

double-digit inflation, mounting external

debt, the COVID-19 pandemic, and high

youth unemployment.

Furthermore, resource constraints that

will undoubtedly arise from economic

sanctions will significantly reduce the

capacity of the Ethiopian government,

which already has limited means, to execute

its most basic function: protecting the lives

and property of its citizens.

In Ethiopia, where ethnic divisions run

deep, and inter-communal conflicts coupled

with environmental disasters have already

displaced close to two million people, the

collapse of the government can lead to

genocide, the disintegration of the country,

and mass migration. All this would not only

cause much more suffering for Ethiopians

but also destabilise the region.

Even if the government can avoid total

collapse, the inevitable reduction in

government expenditure in basic services -

such as the provision of clean water, health,

COC against China to advance its position in

its bilateral dispute over sovereignty of the

Paracel Islands. Vietnam insists that the

Paracels and their attendant maritime

jurisdictional zones be included. China

argues that it has "undisputed" sovereignty

over the Paracels and that in any case, the

conflicting claims are only between it and

Vietnam and thus not an issue or area that

should be included in an ASEAN-China

agreement.

Neither is likely to yield on this issue, as

they would be strongly criticized by

domestic nationalists. In 2002, a lack of

agreement on this issue resulted in the

attempt to negotiate a COC being

downgraded to an ambiguous, exhortatory,

non-binding Declaration on the Conduct of

Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

KASSAHuN MElESSE

education, and agricultural services - would

disproportionately harm the poor, and

deepen existing divisions.

Moreover, the main mechanism through

which economic sanctions are expected to

cause a change in government policy - by

fomenting public discontent against the

government - is unlikely to be effective in a

country with fledgling democratic

institutions, where citizens have little

influence over the actions of the

Even if the government can avoid total collapse, the

inevitable reduction in government expenditure in basic

services - such as the provision of clean water, health,

education, and agricultural services - would disproportionately

harm the poor, and deepen existing divisions.

government.

In fact, given the absence of a viable

opposition party that commands

widespread popularity to govern the

country, the Abiy government which was

recently sworn in for a five-year term is

unlikely to lose political support in the short

term. The immediate beneficiaries of a weak

central government will be armed groups

such as the deeply unpopular TPLF -

removed from power in 2018 following

widespread protests against its 27-year

authoritarian rule, and whose return to

power will very likely render the country

ungovernable - and other separatist forces,

whose military edge over the government

threatens the territorial integrity of the

country.Faced with heightened security

This matter may be finessed by not

specifying the area to be covered by the

Code. But that means its scope will be

ambiguous and open to different

interpretations and thus further dispute.

The draft does not contain any reference

to binding dispute-settlement mechanisms.

There are proposals to refer disputes to

various mechanisms, but those proposals

There are formidable obstacles to agreement on key elements like its

geographic scope, means of dispute settlement if any, legal status and

role of third parties. The positions remain far apart, and the August 2018

Single Draft South China Sea Code of Conduct Negotiating Text contains

some proposed provisions that are probably unacceptable to China.

stipulate that such referrals be only at the

consent of the parties. If this stands, the

COC will in essence be non-binding.

China's long-held position is that disputes

between nations should be resolved by

negotiations between the parties directly

involved, not third parties. It has long

complained - with some justification - that

other claimants have not abided by the DOC

article that states "The Parties concerned

threats, the government is likely to resort to

heavy-handed approaches towards peaceful

dissenting voices and opposition parties,

actions that undermine the development of

democratic institutions in the country and

threaten the reversal of the political reforms

the Abiy administration has undertaken

since 2018. In addition, sanctions carry the

risk of reversing or delaying the ongoing

economic reforms by the government,

including its deregulation and privations

efforts, as a cash-strapped government

would likely hold on to its revenuegenerating

state-owned monopolies and

private firms face restricted access to

cheaper loans to finance their acquisition

and development of government

enterprises. An example of such detrimental

measures is the suspension of a $500m loan

by the US International Development

Finance Corporation (DFC) to finance the

entry of a Vodafone consortium Into

Ethiopia's telecommunication market that

is currently monopolised by the stateowned

Ethio Telecom.

Most importantly, sanctions do not alter

the fundamental calculus of the Ethiopian

and Eritrean governments. They perceive

the TPLF - which has promised to chase its

enemies to the capitals of the two countries

- as an existential threat and are thus

unlikely to change their behaviour because

of them.

Economic sanctions are not only

dangerous and ineffective, but they are also

ill-suited to resolve an urgent problem like

ongoing conflict, for they take too long to

yield results.

Source: Al Jazeera

undertake to resolve their disputes"

through friendly consultations and

negotiations by sovereign states directly

concerned (emphasis added).

China also believes that non-parties to its

disputes with other claimants should not

have a say in their resolution, let alone

ASEAN as a whole.

As for the COC's legal status, the draft

does not specify that it will become a treaty.

But China - and perhaps some others - is

unlikely to agree to a legally binding

document. But Vietnam has proposed a

provision that the COC "be subject to

ratification in accordance with the

respective internal procedures of the

signatory States" and that the ratifications

be registered with the ASEAN Secretary

General.

Finally, the role of third parties such as the

US, Japan, Australia, India and others

remains undefined. There are no proposals

for their accession, and China would prefer

that the COC remain between it and

ASEAN. Making negotiations even more

difficult, they have become infused with the

US-China contest for domination of the

South China Sea and the region.

Source: Asia times

WeDnesDaY, novemBer 10, 2021

5

CarolIne Bologna

With the holidays fast approaching,

many people are gearing up to fly ?

some for the first time since the onset of

the COVID-19 pandemic. The risk of

COVID exposure during air travel is

considered relatively low, thanks to

mask requirements, HEPA filtration

systems, enhanced sanitation measures

and the fact that passengers face the

same direction and tend to sit quietly

rather than shout or sing.

Still, the idea of spending hours in a

metal tube with dozens ? if not

hundreds ? of strangers

understandably might not feel superappealing.

Being forced to share a small

number of tiny bathrooms with them is

even less so.

Thankfully, there are ways to

minimize the spread of germs in the

lavatory. Below, health and travel

experts break down the most hygienic

way to use the bathroom on a plane.

"As an infection prevention specialist

and someone who travels a lot, I have a

routine when I fly," said Michelle

Barron, the senior medical director of

infection prevention and control at

UCHealth in Colorado. "When I sit

down in my seat, I use a disinfecting

wipe to wipe down the armrests, tray

table and anything else that someone

may have touched. Then I use hand

sanitizer to clean my hands. The same

routine works for a bathroom."

Barron advised using disinfectant

wipes on any lavatory door handles,

lids and sinks before touching them.

Philip M. Tierno, a professor of

microbiology and pathology at New

York University's Grossman School of

Medicine, noted that although skin is a

natural barrier to germs, he suggests

traveling with a small tube of

disinfecting spray for areas like the

airplane bathroom.

"I would use Lysol spray on the seat

Toilet hygienic on a plane

Practicing good health hygiene on a plane will also keep your bathroom trips as clean as possible.

Photo: Jaromir Chalabala

before sitting on it," Tierno said, then

wait about a minute and wipe it off with

a paper towel or face tissue. "The

friction caused by the rubbing process

as you wipe helps remove most debris

there as well as many germs."

Make sure you have a barrier

between your bare hands and any

surfaces you have to touch. "The

restroom likely holds a higher number

of germs, and it is used by more

people," Barron said. "So it is important

to limit contact with surfaces and use a

disposable item like a paper towel to

touch any door handles, toilet lids or

handles, sinks, etc."

Jagdish Khubchandani, a professor

of public health at New Mexico State

University, advised putting tissues on

the toilet seat or paper seat covers if

they're available. Dispose of them when

you're finished.

"This helps maintain hygiene and

saves others who follow a lot of hassle,"

Khubchandani said. "Open the door

with the tissue paper or wipes when

exiting the lavatory. Put these tissue

papers in trash." "My biggest airplane

bathroom hack is using the airplane

tissues instead of the toilet paper," said

Brenda Orelus, a flight attendant and

founder of Krew Konnect.

Earlier this year, Orelus posted this

bathroom hack in an Instagram reel in

which she explained that toilet paper is

generally more exposed to liquids

because it is usually located at a lower

level. "The tissue paper is typically

located at eye level on commercial

aircrafts," Orelus told. "Significantly

increasing the likelihood that any liquid

splashed on it is in fact just water." We

know that infectious microbes can

spread through "toilet plumes" ? the

dispersal of particles caused by flushing

a toilet. These toilet aerosols can be

vectors for diseases, including COVID-

19.

There's a simple way to help combat

this. "You can close the toilet's lid

before flushing to avoid spreading

germs into the air during the flush

cycle," Barron said.

"On long duration flights, I have

noticed people ? often, kids ? walk

barefoot towards or into the

bathroom," Khubchandani said. "This

is a very unhygienic tendency with

potential for infection if someone has

skin cuts and injuries on their foot.

Also, you stay with the germs on your

skin from the restroom for the entire

flight unless you wash feet, which

doesn't happen much."

He also suggested rolling your hems

at the bottom if you're wearing

sweatpants or other long, loose

garments to avoid droplets of urine,

bits of tissue or other waste from

getting on your clothes. "Everything

from the waist down is in an area where

turbulence can lead to poor aim,"

Orelus noted. "So no, it's unlikely the

liquid on the floor is water."

Washing your hands thoroughly and

frequently with soap and water is an

important way to prevent the spread of

germs. However, studies have

suggested airplane lavatory water can

be quite poor in quality. "The reservoir

of water in the bathroom tank can be

grossly contaminated," Tierno said. "As

such, I would use 62% alcoholic gel to

sanitize your hands rather than using

the bathroom sink water."

Avoid touching your face or mouth in

the bathroom before cleaning your

hands. The same goes for other steps of

your travel journey. Washing your

hands thoroughly and frequently with

soap and water is an important way to

prevent the spread of germs. However,

studies have suggested airplane

lavatory water can be quite poor in

quality.

"The reservoir of water in the

bathroom tank can be grossly

contaminated," Tierno said. "As such, I

would use 62% alcoholic gel to sanitize

your hands rather than using the

bathroom sink water." Avoid touching

your face or mouth in the bathroom

before cleaning your hands. The same

goes for other steps of your travel

journey.

Beyond the small steps you can take

during your time in the bathroom, you

can promote health and hygiene during

air travel by following the guidance

from experts: Wear your mask

correctly, don't fly if you're feeling sick

and make sure you're up to date on

your immunizations.

"Of course, we're all wearing masks

on airplanes now, which helps keep

everyone safer, but the most important

thing I recommend to everyone is to get

the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines,"

Barron said. "We're expecting a more

severe flu season this year, so get your

flu shot now. I also recommend getting

a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine

if you meet the CDC's criteria."

A brief guide on mixing and

matching Covid booster shots

CaTHerIne Pearson

Millions of American adults

are now eligible for COVID

booster shots and health

officials have approved a mixand-match

approach. But

they've declined to make

specific recommendations

beyond that, so it's very much

so a choose-your-own

adventure situation.

Should you stick with what

you got the first time around?

And if you change it up, what's

your best bet? HuffPost spoke

with several experts about

how to choose the best

booster for you.

Per the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention and

Food and Drug

Administration, you're

currently eligible if you

received either the Pfizer or

Moderna mRNA vaccines and

you're 65 and up, or if you're

18 older and you live in a longterm

care setting, have certain

underlying health conditions

or work in a high-risk job. It

must be at least six months

since you got your second

dose.

You're also eligible for a

booster if you received the

Johnson & Johnson vaccine

and you're 18 or older and it's

been two months since your

first shot. For one,

convenience. For example, if

the pharmacy down the road

only offers Moderna and you

initially got Pfizer, you no

longer need to find

somewhere else to go. Experts

have long known that

convenience is a key element

of getting people to roll up

their sleeves.

But it's not just about

access. Emerging evidence

also suggests mixing-andmatching

vaccines may

produce a slightly stronger

antibody response.

First and foremost, get a

booster. The original shots are

still effective at preventing

hospitalization and death, but

people at greater risk for

severe COVID - aka those who

are eligible for the booster -

should roll up their sleeves to

increase their immunity.

Real-world data collected

between last March and

August suggests that one

Johnson & Johnson shot is

about 71% effective at

preventing hospitalization

among otherwise healthy

adults, whereas two shots of

Moderna are about 93%

effective and Pfizer is 88%

effective.

Several experts told

HuffPost their preference

would be for people to get

boosted with an mRNA

vaccine. Preliminary reports

show people who got Johnson

& Johnson had higher

antibody levels if they were

boosted with one of the two

mRNA vaccines than if they

were boosted with another

Johnson & Johnson shot.

Combining vaccines seems to

jolt the immune system into

producing a more robust

response.

"I think my colleagues and I

would be harmonizing on the

same song here: mainly, that

you get bigger antibody

responses if you get a boost

with an mRNA vaccine, either

Pfizer or Moderna," William

Schaffner, an infectious

disease specialist with

Vanderbilt University Medical

Center, told.

"If individuals asked me, I

would say, 'Oh yeah. Go get

yourself a Pfizer or Moderna,'"

Schaffner said. That said, you

can absolutely stick with

Johnson & Johnson. The

company has said that a

booster dose of its vaccine

provides 94% protection

against moderate to severe

Here's how to weigh which CovID vaccine booster to get.

Photo: Yulia naumenko

COVID - and can increase

initial antibody levels by four

to six times. Health officials

did raise some questions

about the strength of that

data, but ultimately gave the

green light to the Johnson &

Johnson booster.

And antibodies are not

everything. Vaccines also

ignite other key parts of the

immune system, like T-cells,

which help fight infection and

that are much more difficult

to measure. Technically, you

can get any of the three

vaccines, but experts say that

either of the mRNA vaccines

is your best choice.

Some early evidence

suggests Moderna creates a

slightly stronger immune

response and may hold up a

bit more over time - and

preliminary reports that say

people who get Moderna and

are boosted with Moderna

have the strongest immune

response. But that evidence is

still new. And it's important to

keep in mind that the

Moderna booster is smaller

than the initial two shots.

"It goes from 100

micrograms to 50

micrograms for the booster

dose. There are some data out

there that suggest the

Moderna vaccine does

produce higher levels of

antibody when compared

head to head with the Pfizer

vaccine, but all of those data

are with that 100-microgram

dose," explained Colleen

Kelley, an associate professor

in the division of infectious

diseases with Emory

University School of

Medicine.

Ultimately, it's up to you.

Some people might take a

grass-is-greener-on the other

side approach and try a

different mRNA vaccine than

they initially received; others

might want to stick with what

they know. Experts say both

approaches are reasonable,

and both approaches work.

"As far as mixing and

matching, are you going to

achieve any noticeable benefit

as far as protection if you had

Pfizer and switched to

Moderna or vice versa? I don't

think we can say at this point

in time - except that they're

both fantastic vaccines,"

Kelley said.

Talk to your doctor. They

can talk you through your

health background and any

considerations for you to have

in mind. "We know the J&J

vaccine have a risk of

thrombosis

with

thrombocytopenia (TTS), so

for younger women we'd

probably counsel them about

that particular risk. For people

who had an allergic reaction

with the mRNA vaccine, they

might be someone who could

try a J&J vaccine," said Inessa

Gendlina, director of

infectious diseases at

Montefiore Health System.

There's also a slightly

increased risk of developing

myocarditis after the two

mRNA vaccines, particularly

in young men, she pointed out

- but ultimately all of these

risks are very rare.

Still, if you're really tossing

and turning over which shot

to get, these are the types of

factors your doctor might take

into consideration. "It's a

discussion about personal

risk, personal history,"

Gendlina said.

Yes, it's possible to have too much of a good thing.

Colleen Travers

Spending more time at home ?

as we've all been doing for over

a year and a half ? has

certainly had some perks.

More time with family, less

time commuting and more

time wearing pants with an

elastic waistband. One shift

not on this list? The number of

body image issues that have

materialized as a result of our

changing lifestyles.

Thanks to our culture's toxic

obsession with thinness and

diet culture, many of us have

already heard about

pandemic-related weight gain

(which is a completely normal

byproduct of this era in our

lives, by the way). However,

there's a far more underdiscussed

issue that's been

occurring ? it just may not

appear that way because of

society's preconceived notions

of what's "healthy" and

"unhealthy." And that's

overexercising.

While exercise by its

simplest definition is a healthy

habit, it is possible to have too

much of a good thing. Training

too much can negatively affect

your mental and physical

health, and the signs you may

need to dial it back might not

be so obvious.

"Exercise is looked at as a

good thing, and generally it is,"

said Daniel Gallucci, a

functional neurologist and cofounder

of the brain health

app Nuro . "But there is a dose

dependency with it, as there is

with almost everything in life.

For example, drinking water is

healthy, but not 10 liters of it a

day."

One of exercise's biggest

benefits is that it helps to

release the feel-good

hormones like dopamine. But

dopamine is bi-directional,

Gallucci explained, and this is

where you can fall into a tricky

spot.

"For someone who has just

started getting active, the

pleasure centers in the brain

are being rewarded as they

work out," he said. "This in

turn makes that person want

to keep exercising, and

perhaps exercise longer or

harder. But over time the

brain gets used to that reward

system and the amount of

dopamine is reduced."

It's this drop in dopamine

that may also spark

overexercising, as the person

is now trying to ramp up their

activity level to feel that same

reward, Gallucci noted.

"No matter what, eventually

we become immune to the

dopamine reward response,"

he said. "What was an

unexpected pleasure

yesterday is now what we feel

entitled to today. And it's not

going to be enough for

tomorrow."

First and foremost: Exercise

is a benefit when practiced

properly. It can reduce stress,

improve sleep and overall

improve your mental health.

But making sure you have the

right mental attitude before

you do it is key to maintaining

a healthy exercise balance.

"As someone starts an

exercise program and then

sees improvement, be it with

their physical abilities or on

the scale, they have a tendency

to get competitive with

themselves," said Tyra

Gardner, a psychotherapist

based in Philadelphia.

"That drive you had to start

exercising ends up impairing

your mental health if you're

not careful," she continued.

"The constant need to feel like

you must be the greatest

version of yourself causes selfesteem

issues and anxiety. The

sense of acceptance becomes

lost because you start to feel

like you can't accept who you

are."

Another compounding

factor to this is social media.

"If you're looking at someone

online who is doing the same

workouts and exercises you

are but has completely

different results, that can also

cause you to mentally spiral,"

Gardner said. "Social media is

only a glimpse of someone's

life, and chances are you're not

getting the full picture of what

that person is doing. So, there

is no reason to feel inadequate

and that you have to

constantly do more, more,

more."

There are a few signs that

Photo: Thomas Barwick

How exercising too much can

mess with your mental health

your workout schedule is

starting to get a little too strict.

A compulsion or deep need

to exercise daily is the most

obvious sign something may

be wrong. If you can't take a

day off without feeling guilt,

shame or disgust, you could be

dealing with an exerciserelated

mental health issue.

Another sign is constantly

having sore muscles and

limbs.

Additionally, pay attention

to how you feel. Exercise can

certainly make you tired, but

Gardner said if you find you're

overly fatigued, irritable and

have trouble sleeping, these

could be red flags. Feelings of

depression or mood swings ?

especially tied to exercise ? are

also possible.

"Overexercising can cause

stress hormones in the body to

remain elevated for longer

periods of time," added Vivek

Cherian, an internal medicine

physician at Amita Health in

Chicago. "This can negatively

affect not just your mental

health but your physical

health, too."

Cherian said if you notice

hormonal imbalances, muscle

strains and injuries, and a

decrease in your endurance or

performance, it's time to

pause and reset your goals and

expectations.

WEDNESDAY, NovEMBER 10, 2021 6

did not fight liberation war so that looters

can rule the country: asm feroz

atul paul, Bauphal CoRRespondent

former Chief Whip of the Jatiya

sangsad and valiant freedom fighter

asm feroz said in a review meeting

with the contractors that the country

was not liberated because the looters

would run it. there will be equal

development in all parts of the country

and the people of this country will be

the partners of that development. this

is the philosophy of awami league.

everyone must be a partner in

development by working in the way

Former Chief Whip of the Jatiya Sangsad and valiant freedom fighter ASM Feroz said this while

addressing a review meeting as the chief guest on the progress of various ongoing projects of

Bauphal LGED in the upazila on Tuesday.

Photo: Atul Paul

Members of Chatmohar police station in a drive arrested a drug peddler along with

6 kg of cannabis in the upazila on Monday midnight. Photo: Rafiqul Islam

Rangpur records no Covid fatality

for 5th consecutive day

RanGpuR: no fatality due to Covid-19

was recorded for the fifth consecutive

day on monday in Rangpur division

where the pandemic situation

continues improving during the last

more than two and a half months,

reports Bss.

health officials said the total number

of Covid-19 casualties remained steady

at 1,243 in the division.

the district-wise break up of the

1,243 fatalities stands at 293 in

Rangpur, 80 in panchagarh, 89 in

nilphamari, 68 in lalmonirhat, 69 in

Kurigram, 254 in thakurgaon, 327 in

dinajpur and 63 in Gaibandha of the

division. "the average fatality rate

currently stands at 2.24 percent in the

division," acting divisional director

(health) dr abu md Zakirul islam told

Bss yesterday.

meanwhile, the number of Covid-19

cases reached 55,421 as six new

patients were diagnosed after testing

that prime minister sheikh hasina has

worked and directed in the overall

development of the country. no

corruption of any kind will be accepted

in development work. it is a kind of

deception to start development work.

former Chief Whip of the Jatiya

sangsad and valiant freedom fighter

asm feroz said this while addressing a

review meeting as the chief guest on the

progress of various ongoing projects of

Bauphal lGed under the local

government engineering department at

Bauphal upazila auditorium on

1 held with 6 kg of cannabis

in Chatmohar

Rafiqul islam, ChatmohaR CoRRespondent

under the direction of pabna superintendent

of police mohammad mahibul islam Khan,

Bpm and with the aim of getting rid of drugs

and crime in pabna district, a drive led by

Chatmohar thana officer in charge

muhammad anwar hossain was conducted

in the upazila on monday midnight.

during the drive, a man named nurul

islam, 56, was found sitting on a platinum

motorcycle on the road in front of his house

and his body was searched and 250 grams of

cannabis was found in his waist. When police

interrogated him, accused nurul islam

identified himself as a drug dealer and later

took out 6 kg of cannabis and tK 30,115 / -

in cash from a blue plastic drum from his

house.

in this regard, Chatmohar police station

officer-in-Charge muhammad anwar

hossain said that the accused has been sent

to jail after filing a case under the narcotics

act.

183 samples of Rangpur division at the

daily positivity rate of 3.28 percent on

monday.

earlier, the daily Covid-19 positivity

rates were 5.50 percent on sunday,

5.49 percent on saturday, 3.24 percent

on friday, 2.37 percent on thursday

and 2.62 percent on Wednesday last in

the division.

the district-wise break up of total

55,421 patients include 12,476 of

Rangpur, 3,814 panchagarh, 4,454 of

nilphamari, 2,743 of lalmonirhat,

4,645 of Kurigram, 7,640 of

thakurgaon, 14,784 of dinajpur and

4,865 of Gaibandha in the division.

"since the outbreak of the pandemic,

a total of 2,95,424 collected samples

were tested till monday, and of them,

55,421 were found Covid-19 positive

with an average positivity rate of 18.76

percent in the division," dr islam said.

meanwhile, the number of healed

Covid-19 patients reached 53,168 with

tuesday.

patuakhali district lGed executive

engineer Gm sahabuddin presided

over the review meeting while among

others, Bauphal upazila lGed

engineer md. sultan ahmed, Vice

Chairman of upazila parishad

mosharraf hossain Khan, former

president of muktijoddha Command

Council samsul alam mia and Joint

General secretary of Bauphal upazila

awami league anisur Rahman were

among others also present at the

occasion.

1,000 flood-hit

households

getting cash,

health kits in

Rangpur

RanGpuR: RdRs

Bangladesh launched

distribution of cash money

and Covid-19 sensitive

health kits among 1,000

flood-hit vulnerable

households in two upazilas

of Rangpur on monday

afternoon.

the cash money and

health kits are being

distributed under flood

response activities of RdRs

Bangladesh with the support

of start fund Bangladesh

funded by the uK's foreign,

Commonwealth and

development office

(fCdo).

under the program, each

of the selected flood-hit

1,000 families, who were

affected by the sudden flood

in the last week of october

this year, of Kawnia and

Gangachara upazilas of

Rangpur are getting the

assistance.

each of the households is

getting taka 3,000 in cash

and Covid-19 sensitive

health kits including 10

pieces of toilet soap, 1.50 kgs

of detergent powder, one

piece of bucket with lid and

tape, one bowl, one plastic

mug, 50 pieces of surgical

masks, one packet of

sanitary napkin to meet

their basic needs.

recovery of 15 more infected patients on

monday in the division where the

average recovery rate currently stands

at 95.93 percent.

the 53,168 recovered patients

include 11,493 of Rangpur, 3,677

panchagarh, 4,353 nilphamari, 2,625

lalmonirhat, 4,527 Kurigram, 7,318

thakurgaon, 14,384 in dinajpur and

4,791 Gaibandha districts in the

division.

among the 55,421 patients, 53 are

under treatments at isolation units,

including eight critical patients at iCu

beds and eight at high dependency

unit beds, after recovery of 53,168

patients and 1,243 deaths while 957 are

remaining in home isolation.

"meanwhile, the number of citizens

who got the first dose of the Covid-19

vaccine rose to 53,36,081, and among

them, 32,43,567 got the second dose of

the jab till monday in the division," dr

islam added.

RmCh records

one more

fatality in

Covid-19 unit

RaJshahi: Rajshahi

medical College hospital

(RmCh) recorded one more

fatality in its Covid-19 unit

during the last 24 hours till

6am yesterday, reports Bss.

RmCh director Brigadier

General shamim Yazdani

told journalists the hospital

recorded zero deaths on

sunday after zero fatality

was recorded on october 31

last. the previous day's

fatality figure was also one.

he said the newly

deceased was a resident of

Rajshahi district and he was

suffering from symptoms of

Covid 19.

"With this new fatality, the

death toll reached 15 in the

last nine days of this month.

earlier, the number of

casualties was 100 in

october, 167 in september,

340 in august, 566 in July

and 405 in June, the sources

added.

meanwhile, eight more

patients were admitted to

the Covid-19 unit during

the last 24 hours, taking

the number of admitted

patients to 40, including

five testing positive for

Covid-19, at present.

four other patients

returned home after being

cured during the same

time.

Compensation has been provided to 28 farmers of crop land damaged in

the construction of border road Ramgarh-Tanakkapara in Khagrachari

Hill Tracts recently.

Photo: Mohammad Shahed Hossain

Compensation provided to

farmers affected by border

road construction project

mohammad shahed hossain, RamGaRh CoRRespondent

Compensation has been provided to 28

farmers of crop land damaged in the

construction of border road Ramgarhtanakkapara

in Khagrachari hill tracts. lt.

Col. amjad hossain didar, Bsp, psC, the chief

guest of the 20th eCB, handed over the

compensation money to the farmers at a

function organized by the 20th eCB on

sunday.

during the time, Ramgarh 43 BGB deputy

Youths should be equipped with knowledge

on safe digital technology use

RaJshahi: highlighting

the importance of youths to

the nation-building

process, speakers at a

meeting unequivocally

called for equipping them

with knowledge of safe use

of digital technologies on

priority basis, reports Bss.

all the government and

non-government

organizations concerned

should come forward and

work together so that the

youths could be

discouraged from sharing

disinformation, rumor and

fake news in social media.

the discussants came up

with the observation while

addressing an inception

meeting styled "Young

leaders for promoting

democracy in Bangladesh"

at parjatan motel in the city

today.

Bangladesh enterprise

institute (Bei) hosted the

meeting in association with

Bangladesh endowment

for democracy discussing

and devising ways and

means on how to protect

the young generation from

cyber crimes.

Vice-chancellor of north

Bengal international

university prof abdul

Khaleque addressed the

meeting as chief guest,

while Bei president

humayun Kabir spoke as

focal person.

the meeting was told

that the Bei has been

implementing a project

titled "Role of Young Boys

and Girls towards

strengthening democratic

Values in Bangladesh" in

Rajshahi City Corporation

and paba upazila aimed at

expanding democratic

values among the target

group of people.

Bei deputy director

ashish Banik gave an

illustration of the project

along with its aims,

objectives

and

implementation strategy

during his multimedia

presentation.

he said digital capacity

will be strengthened

among the targeted youths

so that they will remain

abstain from sharing fake

news, disinformation and

rumor in social media.

in his remarks, prof

abdul Khaleque said

awareness should be raised

among youths about cyber

crimes, related laws, and

punishment. he said

relevant professionals,

experts, and the mass

media could play a

responsible role in this

regard.

he described the internet

as one of the most

significant technological

advancements in the

modern world, and said it

has made a noteworthy

contribution to the iCt

sector. he also stressed the

need for developing a

strong monitoring of the

social media mechanism to

combat cybercrimes.

around 35 persons

comprising public

representatives, media

personnel and members of

the civil society took part in

the meeting and took part

in its open discussion

putting forward a set of

recommendations on how

to protect the youths from

unsafe use of digital

technology.

Commander major syed monirul hasan and

Border Road (Ramgarh-tanakkapara)

Construction project officer major sm

Khaledul islam along with various officials of

20 eCB, local people's representatives, locals

and journalists were present.

major sm Khaledul islam said that a total of

tk 3 lakh 65 thousand has been paid to 28

farmers as per the demand of the farmers by

determining the amount of loss through field

level survey.

20 fishermen

get sewing

machines in

Cumilla

Cumilla: sewing

machines were distributed

among 20 registered

fishermen of homna

upazila of the district last

morning at the initiative of

the Greater Cumilla district

fisheries development

project, reports Bss.

homna upazila fisheries

department distributed the

sewing machine among the

fishermen at a function at

the upazila parishad

auditorium.

upazila nirbahi officer

(uno) Rumon dey

distributed the sewing

machines among the

fishermen as the chief

guest. upazila fisheries

officer shahenur miah,

upazila parishad Chairman

Rehana Begum, Vice-

Chairman mahosin sarkar,

municipal mayor advocate

nazrul islam, among

others, were present on the

occasion.

sewing machines will be

distributed to every

registered fisherman in

phases, upazila fisheries

officer shahenur miah

said.

A combined harvester, two threshing machines and a reaper machine at half the subsidized price

and free seeds and fertilizers have been distributed among 4670 farmers in Kushtia's Kumarkhali

under an integrated system under the Agricultural Mechanization Project. Materials were distributed

at the Upazila Parishad premises on Tuesday afternoon organized by the Upazila Agriculture

Extension Department. The chief guest was Barrister Selim Altaf George, presidium member of Jubo

League and Member of Parliament for Kushtia-04 constituency.

Photo: M R Nayan

wEdnESdAY, novEMBEr 10, 2021

7

US reopens to international travel,

allows happy reunions

SAN DIEGO : Parents held children

born while they were stuck abroad.

Long-separated couples kissed, and

grandparents embraced grandchildren

who had doubled in age.

The U.S. fully reopened to many

vaccinated international travelers

Monday, allowing families and friends

to reunite for the first time since the

coronavirus emerged and offering a

boost to the travel industry decimated

by the pandemic.

The restrictions closed the U.S. to

millions of people for 20 months,

reports UNB.

Octavio Alvarez and his 14-year-old

daughter zipped through a pedestrian

crossing in San Diego in less than 15

minutes on their way to visit his

mother-in-law in California.

"It's a big feeling," said Alvarez, 43,

who lives in Ensenada, Mexico, a twohour

drive from San Diego. Prior to the

pandemic, his family would visit

California twice a month. The

emotional cost of the border

restrictions were "very high," he added.

American citizens and permanent

residents were always allowed to enter

the U.S., but the travel bans grounded

tourists, thwarted business travelers

and often keep families far apart.

Travelers must have proof of

vaccination and a negative COVID-19

test.

"I think a lot of people have been

waiting for this day," said Eileen

Bigelow, area port director for Vermont

for Customs and Border Protection.

"They look at it as a light at the end of

the tunnel for some return of

normalcy."

There were lots of prolonged hugs at

airports from coast to coast. At Newark

International Airport in New Jersey,

Nirmit Shelat repeatedly embraced his

girlfriend, Jolly Dave, after she arrived

from India, ending their nine-month

separation. She was on the first flight

out of the country to the United States.

"I can't even explain in my words how

happy I am," Dave said.

Gaye Camara, who lives in France,

last saw her husband in New York in

January 2020, not knowing it would be

21 months before they could hold each

other again.

"I'm going to jump into his arms, kiss

him, touch him," said Camara, 40, as

she wheeled her luggage through Paris'

Charles de Gaulle airport, where the

humming crowds resembled those

before the pandemic, except for the face

masks. On the U.S. borders with

Mexico and Canada, where traveling

back and forth was a way of life before

the pandemic, the reopening brought

relief. Malls, restaurants and shops in

U.S. border towns were devastated by

the lack of visitors from Mexico.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria,

flanked by U.S. and Mexican officials at

a celebratory news conference at the

San Ysidro crossing, said the economic

losses were hefty and the cutting of

family ties "immeasurable."

Retail sales in San Ysidro fell about

75% from pre-COVID levels, forcing

nearly 300 businesses to close.

Edith Aguirre of Tijuana took off

work to go shopping in San Diego.

Bubbling with laughter, she accepted a

gift bag from a duty-free store at the

San Diego border crossing. She was a

regular at SeaWorld in San Diego and

last came to the U.S. to celebrate her

50th birthday at Disneyland in

February 2020.

"It was very draining," she said of the

interruption to her cross-border life.

Parents held children born while they were stuck abroad. Long-separated couples kissed, and grandparents

embraced grandchildren who had doubled in age.

Photo : Internet

People fleeing Ethiopia allege

attacks, forced conscription

zNAIROBI : A new round of

deadly attacks and forced

conscription has begun

against ethnic Tigrayans in

an area of Ethiopia now

controlled by Amhara

regional authorities in

collaboration with soldiers

from neighboring Eritrea,

people fleeing over the

border to Sudan tell The

Associated Press as the

yearlong war intensifies,

reports UNB.

Urgent diplomatic

meetings with Prime

Minister Abiy Ahmed and

Tigray leader Debretsion

Gebremichael in an attempt

to calm the fighting have

found a small "window of

opportunity" as the rival

sides agreed a political

solution through dialogue

was required, African Union

envoy Olesegun Obasanjo

said in briefings Monday.

The State Department said

U.S. envoy Jeffrey Feltman

saw a window to act with

Obasanjo and was meeting

with him in Ethiopia's

capital Monday night.

Tigray forces have been

approaching Addis Ababa to

press the prime minister to

step aside, leading Ethiopia's

government to declare a

state of emergency last week

while the U.S. and other

countries urged citizens to

leave immediately. The war

has killed thousands after

political tensions with the

Tigray forces who once

dominated the national

government turned deadly.

Those fleeing the western

Tigray communities of

Adebay and Humera in the

past week described

warnings from Amhara

authorities against

supporting the Tigray forces.

The accounts confirm

warnings by the U.S. and

others that Eritrean soldiers

remain in the Tigray region,

and they indicate that

pressure is growing on

Tigrayans of mixed heritage

who have tried to live quietly

amid what the U.S. has

alleged as ethnic cleansing in

western Tigray.

As reports grew about the

Tigray forces' momentum,

Amhara authorities at a

public meeting in Adebay on

Oct. 29 warned residents

against supporting them,

two men who fled to Sudan

said. "There are people

working for (the Tigray

forces). You should give

them to us or we will kill you

all together," one who fled,

28-year-old Mawcha

Asmelash, recalled

authorities saying. Five days

later, he said, Amhara

militia attacked. "I saw four

people being killed on the

run," he said. He and other

men hid in the bush for two

days, gathering information

from local women and trying

to judge whether it was safe

to return. But the women

estimated scores of men had

been killed and residents

had been forbidden to bury

their bodies. The women

urged them to flee.

Another man who fled

Adebay, 36-year-old

Berhane Gebremikael,

confirmed the public

meeting. He said he saw one

man killed as he ran from

Amhara militia and the

Eritrean soldiers, who he

said have a camp in the

community.

"They called it revenge,"

he said. He described a

perilous situation for

Tigrayan residents of

Adebay who had remained

during the war, with many

changing their identity,

paying bribes or using mixed

heritage for a measure of

protection. Berhane, whose

mother is Eritrean, now

fears he can't return.

"Maybe the worst things

will happen in the next

days," he said. "The

international community

should intervene."

A new round of deadly attacks and forced conscription has begun against

ethnic Tigrayans in an area of Ethiopia now controlled by Amhara regional

authorities in collaboration with soldiers from neighboring Eritrea, people

fleeing over the border to Sudan tell The Associated Press as the yearlong

war intensifies.

Photo : Internet

Hundreds if not thousands of migrants sought to storm the border from Belarus into Poland on Monday,

cutting razor wire fences and using branches to try and climb over them. The siege escalated a crisis along

the European Union's eastern border that has been simmering for months.

Photo : Internet

Europe bolsters

pioneering tech rules

with help from Haugen

LONDON : European

lawmakers have pioneered

efforts to rein in big

technology companies and

are working to strengthen

those rules, putting them

ahead of the United States

and other parts of world that

have been slower to regulate

Facebook and other social

media giants facing

increasing blowback over

misinformation and other

harmful content that can

proliferate on their platforms.

While Europe shares

Western democratic values

with the U.S., none of the big

tech companies - Facebook,

Twitter, Google - that

dominate online life are based

on the continent, which some

say allowed European

officials to make a more cleareyed

assessment of the risks

posed by tech companies

largely headquartered in

Silicon Valley or elsewhere in

the U.S.

But that's only part of the

explanation, said Jan Penfrat,

senior policy adviser at digital

rights group EDRi.

The question, Penfrat said,

should also be: "Why is the

U.S. so much lagging behind?

And that may be because of

the immense pressure from

the homegrown companies"

arguing to officials in

Washington that stricter rules

would hobble them as they

compete with, for example,

Chinese rivals.

Drawing up a new package

of digital rules for the 27-

nation European Union is

getting a boost from

Facebook whistleblower

Frances Haugen, who

answered questions Monday

in Brussels from a European

Parliament committee.

Congress mandates

new car technology to

stop drunken driving

WASHINGTON : Congress

has created a new

requirement for automakers:

Find a high-tech way to keep

drunken people from driving

cars.

It's one of the mandates

along with a burst of new

spending aimed at improving

auto safety amid escalating

road fatalities in the $1 trillion

infrastructure package that

President Joe Biden is

expected to sign soon, reports

UNB.

Under the legislation,

monitoring systems to stop

intoxicated drivers would roll

out in all new vehicles as early

as 2026, after the

Transportation Department

assesses the best form of

technology to install in

millions of vehicles and

automakers are given time to

comply.

In all, about $17 billion is

allotted to road safety

programs, the biggest

increase in such funding in

decades, according to the Eno

Center for Transportation.

Transportation Secretary Pete

Buttigieg said Monday that

could mean more protected

bike paths and greener spaces

built into busy roadways.

Migrants aided by Belarus try

to storm border into Poland

WARSAW : Hundreds if not thousands of

migrants sought to storm the border from

Belarus into Poland on Monday, cutting razor

wire fences and using branches to try and climb

over them. The siege escalated a crisis along the

European Union's eastern border that has been

simmering for months, reports UNB.

Poland's interior ministry said it had

rebuffed the illegal invasion and claimed the

situation was under control. The Defense

Ministry posted a video showing an armed

Polish officer using a chemical spray through a

fence at men who were trying to cut the razor

wire. Some migrants threw objects at police.

Video footage from Belarusian media showed

people using long wooden poles or branches to

try to get past a border fence as police

helicopters circled overhead.

Defense Ministry video taken later Monday

showed the migrants settling in for the night by

the border, having put up scores of tents and

cooking meals.

"A coordinated attempt to massively enter

the territory of the Republic of Poland by

migrants used by Belarus for the hybrid attacks

against Poland has just begun," a spokesman

for Poland's security forces, Stanislaw Zaryn,

said in a statement.

Noting that it's also NATO's eastern border,

Zaryn stressed that the "large groups of

migrants ... are fully controlled by the

Ye's Yeezy pays nearly $1M to

settle slow-shipping lawsuit

LOS ANGELES : Rapper and fashion

mogul Ye's high-end clothing company

Yeezy agreed Monday to pay $950,000 to

settle a lawsuit brought by four California

district attorneys over slow shipping to

customers, reports UNB.

The suit brought last month by the

district attorneys of Los Angeles, Sonoma,

Napa and Alameda counties alleged that

Yeezy had engaged in false advertising

about its shipping and had violated state

law by failing to send online orders within

30 days.

Last month, a judge approved a request

WELLINGTON : U.S. President Joe Biden

and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will

have a rare virtual encounter this week as

they gather online with other Pacific Rim

leaders to chart a path to recovery out of the

crisis brought on by the pandemic, reports

UNB.

New Zealand is hosting this year's Asia-

Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

forum, which culminates in a leader's

meeting on Saturday. Continued outbreaks

of the coronavirus and related travel

restrictions have confined the meeting to the

virtual realm for a second straight year.

As usual, the 21 APEC members will be

seeking areas where members can cooperate

on easing barriers to trade and economic

growth instead of trying to settle

longstanding feuds.

The focus will be on "charting a path to

recovery out of this once-in-a-century crisis,"

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda

Ardern, host of the leader's meeting, said in a

statement.

In all, APEC members account for nearly 3

billion people and about 60% of the world's

GDP. They span the Pacific rim, from Chile

to Russia to Thailand to Australia.

Officials say they've made significant

progress during some 340 preliminary

Belarusian security services and army." He

accused Belarusian President Alexander

Lukashenko of acting to destabilize Poland and

other EU countries to pressure the bloc into

dropping its sanctions on Minsk. Those

sanctions were put into place after Belarus

cracked down brutally on democracy protests.

Piotr Mueller, Poland's government

spokesperson, said 3,000 to 4,000 migrants

were next to the Polish border on the

Belarusian side. Polish border officials said the

border crossing in Kuznica, in the northeast,

will be closed early Tuesday.

There was no way to independently verify

what was happening. Journalists have limited

ability to operate in Belarus and a state of

emergency in Poland is keeping reporters and

human rights workers out of the border area.

The massing of people at the border appeared

to rev up the crisis that has being going on for

months in which the autocratic regime of

Belarus has encouraged migrants from the

Mideast and elsewhere to illegally enter the

European Union, at first through Lithuania

and Latvia and now primarily through Poland.

Anton Bychkovsky, spokesman for Belarus'

State Border Guard Committee, told The

Associated Press that the migrants at the

border are seeking to "exercise their right to

apply for refugee status in the EU." Bychkovsky

insisted they "are not a security threat."

from the artist formerly known as Kanye

West legally changed his name to Ye.

He designs and sells sneakers under the

Yeezy brand in collaboration with Adidas.

The company also makes and sells clothes.

Adidas was not named as a defendant in

the lawsuit.

An email sent seeking comment from

Yeezy was not immediately returned.

The settlement includes $800,000 in

civil penalties to the district attorneys

offices, $50,000 in restitution to a state

consumer protection fund, and $100,000

in investigative costs.

APEC leaders meeting to chart

path forward from pandemic

meetings. APEC members have agreed to

reduce or eliminate many tariffs and border

holdups on vaccines, masks and other

medical products important to fighting the

coronavirus, said Vangelis Vitalis, chair of

the Senior Officials' Meeting.

But big power frictions are the inevitable

backdrop for the closed door summit

meetings of APEC, which as an economic

forum includes both Hong Kong and Taiwan

in addition to communist-ruled mainland

China. Both Taiwan and China have put in

applications to join a Pacific Rim trade

group, the Comprehensive and Progressive

Trans-Pacific Partnership, with Beijing

saying it will block Taiwan's bid on the basis

that the democratically governed island

refuses to accept that it's part of China.

Stephen Hoadley, an associate professor of

politics and international relations at the

University of Auckland, said Biden will be

looking to reverse the course set by

predecessor Donald Trump, who spurned

regional trade deals with his America First

foreign policy approach.

Since Biden has taken office, Washington

has shifted back to a more internationalist

approach to trade liberalization, supporting

global and regional efforts such as the rulesmaking

World Trade Organization.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2021

8

Bank Asia Ltd as the Lead Bank in collaboration with Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU)

arranged a day long Training on "Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing" at

BRAC Learning Centre, Basherhat, Dinajpur recently. Muhammad Mohsin Hossaini, DGM, BFIU

was the Chief Guest of the program. Mohammad Ziaul Hasan Molla, Deputy Managing Director of

Bank Asia Ltd., presided over the training program in where Md. Azmal Hossain, Joint Director,

Mahmudul Haque Bhuiyan, Deputy Director & Md. Ashraful Alam, Deputy Director of BFIU were

present as Special Guests. Around hundred of officials from Forty Two (42) Commercial Banks in

Dinajpur region were participated in the Training Program.

Photo: Courtesy

Recently Bangladesh Bank and Mercantile Bank Ltd signed an agreement held at Conference Room

of Department of Off-Site Supervision of Bangladesh Bank, Head Office in Dhaka on "Refinance

scheme for providing working capital loan/investment facilities to give salary to the employees of

hotels, motels, theme parks of Tourism Sector". Md. Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, Managing Director

& CEO of Mercantile Bank Ltd and Md. Anwarul Islam, General Manager, Department of Off-Site

Supervision of Bangladesh Bank have signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.

Among others, Md. Aminur Rahman Chowdhury, DGM Md. Lutful Haider Pasha, Joint

Director, S.M. Khaled Abdullah, Deputy Director of Department of Off-Site Supervision of

Bangladesh Bank and Shamim Ahmed, SVP and Head of CRMD & SFU, A.H.M. Didarul Alam, FAVP

of CRMD of Mercantile Bank Ltd were also present on that signing ceremony. Photo: Courtesy

US Fed pulls back on stimulus but

will be ‘patient’ on rate hikes

WASHINGTON: The

Federal Reserve will begin to

slow its stimulus bond

purchases this month as the

US economy makes a solid

recovery from the pandemic,

but the central bank will be

patient before raising

interest rates, Fed Chair

Jerome Powell said

Wednesday, reports BSS.

Amid growing concern

about rising prices, Powell

stuck to his view that current

higher-than-expected

inflation levels will come

down in the second half of

2022 as the supply

bottlenecks are resolved.

The central bank wants to

see the labor market in the

world's largest economy heal

further before increasing the

benchmark borrowing rate

off zero, he said.

"We think we can be

patient," Powell told

reporters.

But the Fed was prepared

to act if needed, and "if a

response is called for, we will

not hesitate."

The Fed slashed the

benchmark borrowing rate

to zero in March 2020 just

after the pandemic began on

US shores, causing

widespread business

shutdowns.

It also began buying

massive amounts of

securities to support the

economy and prevent a

financial collapse, most

recently at a monthly rate of

at least $80 billion for

Treasury bonds and $40

billion for agency mortgagebacked

securities.

Those steps coupled with

massive federal stimulus

programs helped the world's

largest economy rebound

strongly, with consumers

spending freely on cars,

houses and other goods in

recent months. But supply

bottlenecks and shortages

have caused prices to rise,

prompting criticism that the

Fed has become overly

complacent about inflation

risks.

As a first step to walk back

the stimulus, the Fed's

policy-setting Federal Open

Market Committee (FOMC)

announced that this month

it will start reducing the

monthly pace of purchases

by $10 billion for Treasuries

and $5 billion for mortgagebacked

securities.

The FOMC expects to

continue lowering the total

by the same amount each

month, which means bond

purchases would cease by

the middle of next year,

Powell said.

However, the committee

"is prepared to adjust the

pace of purchases" if the

economic outlook changes,

the statement said.

Addressing critics of his

patient stance, Powell, who

is awaiting word on whether

President Joe Biden will

name him for a second term,

said, "I don't think we are

behind the curve. I believe

policy is well-positioned to

address the range of

plausible outcomes."

But more economists are

predicting faster tapering

and more aggressive rate

hikes.

Diane Swonk of Grant

Thornton expects both, with

three rate hikes next year.

"The Federal Reserve has

been growing more divided

over the course of the

summer and into the fall.

Chairman Powell would

prefer to wait out inflation

longer than many of his

colleagues," she said.

"We expect the FOMC to

accelerate the tapering of its

asset purchases in early

2022. This will open the

door to sooner and more

aggressive rate hikes."

Powell notes that the

economy would have been

on a better track if the wave

of infections over the

summer caused by the Delta

variant of Covid-19 had not

caused the recovery to

stumble and "stopped job

creation."

But he said he expects to

see more improvement in

areas such as travel and

leisure.

"We don't think it's time

yet to raise interest rates.

There is still ground to cover

to reach maximum

employment," Powell said.

"It's appropriate for us to

see what the labor market

and what the economy look

like when they heal further."

A report from payroll

services firm ADP released

Wednesday showed private

companies hired 571,000

workers in October.

However the economy is

still short about five million

jobs compared to before the

pandemic, and employers

nationwide say they are

struggling to hire and retain

workers, which is starting to

push wages higher.

Inflation currently is

running at more than double

the Fed's two percent goal,

and Powell acknowledged

that the severity and

duration of the price

increases were more than

officials anticipated.

Tokyo stocks

open higher

with eyes on

earnings

TOKYO : Tokyo stocks

opened higher on Thursday,

extending US gains, with

investors shifting their focus

to earnings due later in the

day, including from auto giant

Toyota, reports BSS.

The benchmark Nikkei 225

index was up 1.04 percent, or

305.73 points, at 29,826.63 in

early trade, while the broader

Topix index rose 0.71 percent,

or 14.39 points, to 2,046.06.

"Japanese shares are

starting with gains following

days of rallies in all three US

indices," senior market

analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama

of Monex said in a note.

"Toyota's earnings, which

are due during trading

hours... are the focus of

attention."

The dollar fetched 114.09

yen in early Asian trade,

against 114.02 yen in New

York late Wednesday.

Toyota was barely moving

in early trade, down 0.05

percent at 2,047 yen ahead of

its earnings release.

Its smaller rivals were

modestly higher, with Honda

trading up 0.17 percent at

3,459 yen and Nissan gaining

0.59 percent to 599.6 yen.

Mitsubishi Motors was up

0.82 percent at 370 yen ahead

of its earnings report due after

the market close.

Nintendo was down 2.10

percent at 48,920 yen after a

report said the game giant's

Switch console production in

the year to March will likely be

down by 20 percent from its

initial target.

JAL was up 0.68 percent at

2,522 yen after the airline

forecast a net loss of 146

billion yen ($1.28 billion) for

the current financial year,

citing Covid-19 travel

restrictions.

German exports

fall for second

straight month

FRANKFURT :German

exports fell for the second

month in a row in

September as Europe's top

economy grapples with

global supply shortages,

official data showed

Tuesday, reports BSS.

Germany exported 112.3

billion euros ($130.2 billion)

worth of goods in

September, adjusted for the

season-a 0.7 percent drop

from the previous month,

according to federal

statistics agency Destatis.

Imports rose by 0.1

percent to 99.2 billion euros.

The August drop in

exports was the first since

April 2020, when the first

wave of the coronavirus

pandemic stifled the global

economy.

The upheaval caused by

Covid-19 has given rise to

global shortages in

components, such as

semiconductors, timber and

plastics, limiting production

in key sectors for the

German economy such as

the car industry.

A business survey found

that shortages of materials

eased in October, though

companies still expect the

situation to remain difficult

for months to come.

The German government

has downgraded its forecast

for economic growth this

year from 3.5 percent to 2.6

percent.

AIBL opens 192th branch at

Shantinagar, Dhaka

Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd

(AIBL) has opened 192th

branch at Shantinagar,

Dhaka recently. Executive

Committee Chairman

Abdus Samad Labu virtually

inaugurated the new branch

as Chief Guest. Risk

Management Committee

Chairman Badiur Rahman,

Director Abdul Malek

Mollah and Engr. Kh.

Mesbah Uddin Ahmed were

present in the occasion.

Managing Director and CEO

Farman R Chowdhury

presided over the ceremony,

a press release said.

Deputy Manging Directors

S M Jaffar, Shabbir Ahmed,

Md. Shafiqur Rahman, Syed

Masodul Bari, Md.

Mahmudur Rahman,

Mohammed Nadim, Abed

Ahmed Khan and Senior

Executives of the Bank

participated in the occasion.

Governor of Islamic

Foundation Dr. Mufti

Maulana Kafiluddin Sarkar

Asian markets rise after

Wall St record

HONG KONG : Asian

markets edged up Tuesday

following another record on

Wall Street with optimism

over the recovery outlook

for now trumping longrunning

inflation fears, with

predictions for even more

gains to come, reports BSS.

Traders have been in

buoyant mood since the Fed

last week unveiled its plan

for withdrawing its vast

financial support but said it

would move cautiously in

raising interest rates, while

analysts said other central

banks had been less keen to

tighten policy than

investors had expected.

Still, the Fed on Monday

warned in a closely watched

report that the rally across

markets could quickly

reverse if there was another

Covid surge or the recovery

stalls, while it also raised

concerns about the possible

impact of China's property

crisis. All three main

indexes in New York hit

record highs for a second

day in a row helped by news

that US lawmakers had

passed President Joe

Biden's $1.2 trillion

infrastructure overhaul and

as the country reopened to

vaccinated visitors from

more than 30 countries.

That all comes on top of a

Salehi, Managing Director of

Progressive Properties Ltd.

Mohsin Ahmed, Eminent

Businessman Mohammad

Sharfuddin and Khatib of An

Noor Jame Mosque Hafez

Maulana Mohammad Abdul

Gani were also participated

strong earnings season and

after Pfizer's announcement

that a pill to treat Covid had

proved to be hugely

effective, putting the world

another step closer to

overcoming the disease.

And markets analyst

Louis Navellier said he was

very upbeat about the

outlook.

"I think that at the end of

January, we're going to be

18 percent to 20 percent

higher than we are today,"

he said in a note. "That's a

bold statement. But we've

got a lot of earnings coming

out, seasonal strength and

an accommodative Fed."

Asia, which struggled

Monday, managed to follow

Wall Street's lead in early

trade. Tokyo, Hong Kong,

Shanghai, Sydney,

Singapore, Wellington,

Taipei, Manila and Jakarta

all rose.

Still, the spectre of

inflation continues to loom

large, with prices at multiyear

highs owing to supply

chain snarls, surging energy

costs and a pick-up in

demand as the economy

returns to normal.

While the Fed has said it

will be careful in hiking

borrowing costs, Vic Chair

Richard Clarida said the

economy could be ready for

in the event. The ceremony

was conducted by Senior

Executive Vice President

Engr. Md. Habib Ullah. A

large number of local people

and well-wishers were

present in the inauguration

ceremony. New branch

a lift by the end of 2022.

"While we are clearly a

ways away from

considering raising interest

rates," he said he believed

the "necessary conditions

for raising the target range

for the federal funds rate

will have been met by yearend

2022."

However, other top Fed

officials took a more

doveish view on the outlook

and the timing of a rate

liftoff.

"So, the conclusion is that

just like the market, Fed

officials are not a hundred

percent sure how inflation

dynamics will play out,"

said Rodrigo Catril at

National Australia Bank.

"If price pressures remain

elevated, then next year the

Fed will be forced to lean

against them even if the

maximum employment has

not yet been reached."

Eyes are now on the

release of US inflation data

on Tuesday and Wednesday

for a fresh idea about the

bank's plans.

Bitcoin surged to a new

record of $67,804 as the

combined value of all

cryptocurrencies topped $3

trillion, according to data

provider CoinGecko.

manager Md. Rezaul Haque

thanked the audience.

Managing Director and CEO

of the Bank Farman R

Chowdhury explained

various statistics of the Bank

and he ensured best services

for clients.

United Commercial Bank Ltd (UCB) is the proud sponsor of "Bangladesh Investment Summit 2021:

Building Sustainable Growth Partnerships" organized by Bangladesh Security & Exchange

Commission respectively on 4th November 2021 and 8th November 2021 in London and Manchester,

United Kingdom. The Manchester session of 8th November 2021 was graced by Saifuzzaman

Chowdhury, MP, and Minister of Land as the Chief Guest. Among others, Salman Fazlur Rahman,

MP, Private Industry and Investment Adviser to the Prime Minister; Professor Shibli Rubayat-Ul-

Islam, Chairman, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and Md. Sirazul Islam,

Executive Chairman, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) along with other guests

were present at the event.

Photo:Courtesy

WeDNeSDAY, NoveMber 10, 2021

9

A time Werner double on Monday helped Germany stamp their ticket for the 2022 World Cup with

a 4-0 win over North Macedonia.

photo: Ap

Germany qualify for Qatar 2022

but Belgium made to wait

SportS DeSk

A Timo Werner double on Monday

helped Germany stamp their ticket for

the 2022 World Cup with a 4-0 win

over North Macedonia, but Belgium

will have to wait until next month after

Wales carved out a narrow win in

Estonia, reports BSS.

Hansi Flick's men avenged a shock 2-

1 home loss to the Macedonians earlier

this year to claim their seventh win in

eight qualifiers and take an

unassailable eight-point lead at the top

of Group J, with two matches

remaining. Germany went into their

match in Skopje knowing that they

could secure their passage if they won

and Armenia failed to beat Romania.

After a goalless first half, Kai Havertz

broke the deadlock five minutes after

the interval before Chelsea's Werner

struck twice in three minutes to clinch

the tie for the Germans.

His first came on 70 minutes when

Thomas Mueller, who had teed up

Havertz, flicked the ball into the path of

Werner who crashed the ball past Stole

Dimitrievski in the Macedonian goal.

Three minutes later, substitute

Florian Wirtz got the touch through for

Werner to curl his shot past

Dimitrievski and chalk up his fifth goal

in his last five qualifiers.

Jamal Musiala added a fourth, his

first goal in international football, as

the Germans became the first team,

other than hosts Qatar, to qualify for

the finals.

The second part of the bargain which

secured their passage to Qatar in 2022

came in Bucharest where Alexandru

Mitrita's goal on 26 minutes gave

Romania a 1-0 win at home against the

Armenians.

Kieffer Moore's early goal in Tallinn

gave Wales a slender 1-0 win

overbEstonia which keeps their hopes

alive of catching Group E leaders

Belgium, who were not in action after

their involvement in the Nations

League finals.

Wales are five points behind Belgium

with two games to play and can still

claim top spot and automatic

qualification

The Czech Republic won 2-0 in

Belarus to remain in the running for

second place in the group. They are

level on points with the Welsh but have

played one match more.

Wales are all but certain to drop into

the playoffs even if they finish below the

Czechs, courtesy of winning their

2020-21 Nations League group.

Russia and Croatia guaranteed

themselves a top-two finish in Group H

but top spot remains open.

First-half goals from Igor Diveev and

Georgi Dzhikiya gave the Russians a 2-

0 cushion in Slovenia and, in spite of

Josip Ilicic's strike just before half-time,

the visitors held on to claim the three

points.

Russia are two points ahead of

Croatia who needed Luka Modric's

71st-minute equaliser to claim a 2-2

draw at home to Slovakia.

The Russians can secure their

qualification when they travel to

Croatia on November 14.

Memphis Depay scored twice for the

Netherlands as they thrashed Gibraltar

6-0. The Dutch, who missed the 2018

World Cup, top Group G but Burak

Yilmaz's 99th-minute penalty which

gave Turkey a 2-1 win in Latvia means

they must wait until next month to

secure a top-two finish.

Norway, without the injured Erling

Haaland, are two points behind the

Netherlands in second place after

beating Montenegro 2-0.

Salah helps Egypt to crucial World

Cup triumph in Libya

SportS DeSk

Liverpool star Mohamed

Salah helped Egypt to a 3-0

World Cup qualifying

triumph over closest rivals

Libya on Monday that puts

them on the brink of

winning Group F and

reaching the final

elimination round, reports

BSS. The two-time African

Footballer of the Year was a

constant threat in Benghazi

as the Pharaohs completed a

double over the

Mediterranean Knights

having won 1-0 in

Alexandria three days ago.

Ahmed el Fotouh broke

the deadlock on 40 minutes,

Mostafa Mohamed added a

second goal in first-half

added time and substitute

Ramadan Sobhi netted after

72 minutes.

Egypt have 10 points, four

more than second-place

Libya, after four rounds and

need one win from fixtures

against Angola and Gabon in

November to be sure of

making the play-offs.

The 10 group winners will

be split into five pairings,

and the winners of the twolegged

ties in March will

represent Africa at the 2022

World Cup in Qatar.

In Group D, Ivory Coast

retained a one-point

advantage over Cameroon in

what is widely regarded as

the toughest of the 10 minileagues

with the two nations

boasting 10 World Cup

appearances between them.

Ivory Coast edged Malawi

2-1 in Cotonou and

Cameroon pipped

Mozambique 1-0 in Tangier

to turn the section into a

two-team race to finish first.

The qualifiers were played

in Benin and Morocco

because hosts Ivory Coast

and Mozambique lack

international-standard

stadiums. Arsenal forward

Nicolas Pepe gave threetime

World Cup participants

Ivory Coast a great start by

scoring within two minutes

as he punished a defensive

mix-up.

Malawi levelled on 20

minutes through Khuda

Muyaba, who rifled a low

shot from outside the box

past Sylvain Gbohouo into

the corner of the net.

The match-winner came

on 67 minutes as AC Milan

midfielder Franck Kessie

gave goalkeeper Brighton

Munthali no chance with a

rising strike from the

penalty spot.

Several flight delays due to

Covid-19 cases among the

airline crew meant

Cameroon arrived in

Morocco only 11 hours

before the kick-off.

After an understandably

lacklustre first-half

performance by the

Indomitable Lions, whose

seven World Cup

appearances is an African

record, Portuguese coach

Toni Conceicao gambled.

He took off Eric Maxim

Choupo-Moting and Karl

Toko Ekambi at half-time

and replaced his third

forward, Vincent

Aboubakar, early in the

second half. Minus three of

their best known players,

Cameroon struggled at

times to contain the lively

Mozambican Mambas, with

forward Geny Catamo a

constant threat.

But Cameroon defender

Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui

succeeded on 68 minutes

where the attackers had

failed, nodding the ball into

the net after a weak punched

clearance off a corner by

goalkeeper Hernani Siluane.

Meanwhile, Burkina Faso

replaced reigning African

champions Algeria as Group

A leaders thanks to a

narrower than expected 2-0

win over whipping boys

Djibouti, the lowest ranked

of the 40 group-phase sides.

Having scored four times

against the minnows last

week, the Stallions had to

settle for goals from

Issoufou Dayo and Abdoul

Tapsoba in the second

meeting.

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah helped egypt to a 3-0 World Cup qualifying

triumph over closest rivals Libya on Monday.

photo: Ap

Kipruto, Kipyogei

complete Kenyan sweep

at Boston Marathon

SportS DeSk

Benson Kipruto and Diana

Kipyogei completed a

Kenyan clean sweep in the

men's and women's races at

the 125th Boston Marathon

on Monday, timing late

bursts to perfection to win

their first major titles,

reports BSS.

Kipruto crossed the line in

2hr 9min 51sec after blazing

away from the field at the

22-mile mark to win by

around 45 seconds.

Ethiopia's Lemi Berhanu

was second, finishing just

ahead of compatriot Jemal

Yimer in third place.

It was the third marathon

victory of Kipruto's career

following wins at the 2021

Prague Marathon and the

2018 Toronto Marathon, but

his first win at one of the six

World Marathon Majors.

A large pack of runners led

after around 22 miles but

Kipruto pulled away with a

devastating burst, clocking

4min 29sec for mile 23 to

put daylight between

himself and the rest of the

field.

Kipruto's previous best in

Boston was a 10th place

finish in 2019. His previous

best finish in a marathon

major was a seventh place in

London in 2020.

"It was a nice feeling today

after finishing 10th a couple

of years ago," Kipruto said

afterwards.

In the women's race,

Kipyogei was similarly

dominant, stretching the

field after 18 miles.

The 27-year-old looked to

have been caught by

Ethiopia's Netsanet Gudeta

with a few miles to go, but

moved through the gears to

pull away for victory.

Edna Kiplagat, the 41-

year-old two-time world

champion and Boston

winner in 2017, finished

second in 2:25:09 while

Mary Ngugi completed a

Kenyan sweep in third.

Japan boss vows to

fight for World Cup

place against Australia

SportS DeSk

Japan are not out of the

2022 World Cup

qualification picture yet,

manager Hajime Moriyasu

said Monday, as the

embattled Asian giants

prepared to host Australia in

a crunch match, reports

BSS.

From their opening three

games in Asian qualifying

Group B, Japan have taken

only three points, leaving

them in real danger of

missing the World Cup for

the first time since 1994.

Moriyasu's side slumped

to a 1-0 home defeat against

Oman before beating China

1-0 away, then lost 1-0 to

Saudi Arabia in a dismal

performance last Thursday

in Jeddah.

Japan have their backs to

the wall going into Tuesday's

game in Saitama against an

Australian side that last

week became the first team

ever to win

11 straight games in the

same World Cup qualifying

campaign. "Of course, we're

aware we're in a difficult

situation," said Moriyasu,

who Japanese media have

speculated could lose his job

with anything less than a

win.

"But we knew before the

qualifiers that it would be a

tough campaign, and we're

still in with a chance. We'll

go into tomorrow's game

fighting for a place at the

World Cup." Moriyasu

admitted his team have

struggled to get up to speed

physically, and there was "a

gap between what we've

wanted to do and what we've

been capable of doing".

Japan would have to "read

the game and play smart"

against Australia, said

Moriyasu, who played

alongside Socceroos

manager Graham Arnold

with Sanfrecce Hiroshima in

the J-League.

Top seeded Pliskova ousted in

third round at Indian Wells

SportS DeSk

Top seed Karolina Pliskova crashed out of

the WTA Indian Wells tournament on

Monday, losing in straight sets to unseeded

Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 7-5 in a third

round match, reports BSS.

Playing in windy conditions on one of the

outer courts at the Indian Wells Tennis

Garden, Brazil's Haddad Maia jumped out to

a 3-1 lead in the second set before the Czech

picked up her game.

Haddad Maia fought back, clinching the

match on her second set point when Pliskova

flubbed a backhand off the top of her racquet

sending the ball

skyward to end the contest which took over

two hours to complete.

World number three Pliskova hammered

five aces but had 12 double faults. She won

just 25 percent of her second serve points

and had her serve broken eight times.

Lucky loser Haddad Maia moves on to face

Estonia's Anett Kontaveit in the fourth

round.

The red-hot Kontaveit continued her fine

run of form by ousting defending champion

Bianca Andreescu 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 in the third

round. Kontaveit, who is seeded 18th,

stretched her 2021 win streak to eight

straight matches and continued her

domination over Andreescu, winning all

three career matches over the Canadian.

This was the first loss for Andreescu at

Indian Wells. Two years ago she became the

first wild card to win the women's title.

The tournament, which features both

men's and women's fields, is normally held

in March but returned to the California

desert this fall after a two- and-a-half-year

hiatus due to Covid-19.

Martina Navratilova (1990-91) remains

the only female player to successfully defend

the title.

Andreescu's defeat also leaves just one

former winner in the women's draw, Victoria

Azarenka who won twice in 2012 and 2016.

Azarenka has already advanced to the fourth

round.

Andreescu led 3-1 in the second set

Monday and seemed to have found her game

but then made too many unforced errors as

Kontaveit clinched it on the first set point.

In the men's draw, Argentina's Diego

Schwartzman defeated Daniel Evans of

Britain 5-7, 6-4, 6-0 and Casper Ruud of

Norway rallied to beat South Africa's Lloyd

Harris 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4.

top seed karolina pliskova crashed out of the WtA Indian Wells tournament

on Monday.

photo: Ap

Narine stars as Kolkata end

captain Kohli's IPL dream

SportS DeSk

Sunil Narine scored with bat and ball to help

Kolkata Knight Riders to victory over Royal

Challengers Bangalore on Monday and end

Virat Kohli's hopes of an Indian Premier

League title as captain, reports BSS.

Bangalore crashed out of the Twenty20

tournament after losing the eliminator by

four wickets in Sharjah with Kohli bowing

out as leader of the franchise that has never

won the IPL.

The 32-year-old Kohli, who had

announced at the start of the resumed IPL in

the United Arab Emirates that he will step

down as captain of the side this season, said

he gave his "best".

"I've tried my best to create a culture where

youngsters could come and play expressive

cricket," said Kohli.

"All I can say is that I have given my best. I

have given my 120 per cent to this franchise

and will continue giving it as a player on the

field."

Kohli has hit 6283 runs in 207 IPL

matches since he joined Bangalore in the

inaugural edition in 2008 and led them to a

runners-up finish in 2016.

"It's a great time to regroup and

restructure the franchise for the next three

years," said Kohli.

"I will definitely (play for RCB). For me

loyalty matters and my commitment is with

this franchise till the last day I play IPL."

Narine returned figures of 4-21 as Kolkata

kept down Bangalore to 138-7 and then hit

26 off 15 balls in the team's chase that was

completed with two balls to spare.

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan

hit the winning run with skipper Eoin

Morgan at the other end as Kolkata booked a

meeting with Delhi Capitals in the second

qualifier on Wednesday.

Narine stood out with his off spin as he

struck in each of his four overs to send back

Srikar Bharat (9), Kohli (39), AB de Villiers

(11) and Glenn Maxwell (15).

Narine bowled Kohli with flight and spin as

the star batsman walked off for one final

time as captain of Bangalore since taking

over the role in 2013.

He then bowled South African veteran De

Villiers and had the in-form Maxwell caught

at short third man.

Wales edge out Estonia

to keep Belgium waiting

SportS DeSk

Wales claimed a 1-0 qualifying victory over

Estonia in Tallinn on Monday to keep

Belgium waiting for a place at the 2022

World Cup, reports BSS.

Kieffer Moore's scrappy 12th-minute goal

was enough for Wales to make amends for a

disappointing goalless home draw with

Estonia last month. Anything other than a

Welsh victory would have seen Belgium

wrap up top spot in Group E and a spot in

Qatar next year.

But Wales, who were without the injured

Gareth Bale, kept alive their slim hopes of

catching the world's number one-ranked

side, moving to within five points of Belgium

with two matches remaining.

The Czech Republic sit second in the

group on goal difference after winning 2-0

against Belarus, but have played a game

more. Belgium can still secure a finals berth

when they host Estonia next month.

Wales are all but certain to drop into the

playoffs even if they finish below the Czechs,

courtesy of winning their 2020-21 Nations

League group. "Now we've two cup finals

now in November, we want everyone fit,

coming into camp and looking forward to

the games," Wales boss Robert Page told Sky

Sports.

The visitors started brightly, with Harry

Wilson curling a free-kick over the crossbar

before Estonia goalkeeper Karl Hein turned

away Connor Roberts' effort at full stretch.

But Wales took the lead from the

resulting corner, a goalmouth scramble

ending with the ball bouncing in off Moore

from barely a yard out. It was Cardiff striker

Moore's first international goal since Euro

2020 and seventh in total for his country.

Wales dominated possession for the

majority of the first half but struggled to

create many more clear chances, with

Wilson striking another free-kick straight at

Hein. Page's men were almost made to pay

shortly after the restart, as Estonia striker

Erik Sorga headed over when he should

have done better.

Wales appealed for a penalty when

Moore tussled with home captain Marten

Kuusk in the area, but a free-kick was

awarded against the forward, who was

left with a bloody nose.

WEdnESdaY, nOVEMBER 10, 2021

10

Film 'Raat Jaga Phul' gets

uncut censorship

SalEhuddin SOhEl

Everyone dreams but how many

can implement it! Every human

being in the world is a dreamer.

Some may reach the pinnacle of

their dream, others may fail and

give up. Those who try despite

their failures are successful today.

One such young entrepreneur is

Shakilur Rahman. Before he

crossed the school boundary, he

went to fulfill his dream.

It started in 2016 with

journalism. Shakil works as a

child journalist in the Hello

section of the popular online

bdnews24.com. From the very

beginning, Shakil gained a lot of

notoriety after publishing some

news items like 'Hijra Shishura

Kostay Asay', 'Bikkhay Nirbor

Muktijoddhar Jibon',

'Bishobiddlayer Maath Dokhol

Koray Haat' and 'Sonapur basher

Shako Behal Obosta'.

He was also a regular

contributor to the bdnews24.com

blog. Thus began his career in

journalism. After working in a

national daily and a few online

entertainment departments, he

founded the online news portal

TBT REPORT

Celebrated actor Mir Sabbir has secured an

uncut censor certificate from Bangladesh Film

Censor Board (BFCB) for his film "Raat Jaga

Phul" on Monday.

The actor, for the first time, has ventured as

a film producer with the government-granted

film as well as acting in the film in a privotal

role. He is gearing up to make it the last

released film of the year.

"We are planning to release the film on Friday,

31st December", Mir Sabbir said. "I believe, for

delivering a successful movie, we need to ensure

a good storyline before anything else. We have

selected the cast based on the requirement of the

character and storyline," he continued.

Sabbir further said, "Alongside casting

renowned actors, we have also introduced two

new comers as we felt they would be able to do

proper justice to the character."

The film features an ensemble cast including

Miss World Bangladesh 2018 winner Jannatul

Ferdous Oishee, Abu HurayraTanvir, Fazlur

Rahman Babu, Mir Sabbir, Ejajul Islam and

NazninChumki, among others. The teaser and

poster of the film is expected to arrive within

this November.

My father is my inspiration,

says Shadhona Saha

SK Media BD.com in 2019. Then

he thought of doing digital

marketing of the film. Than SK

Media BD.com has gradually

developed with the help of some

enterprising young people. This is

all Shakil's meditative knowledge.

As Shakil's circle of

acquaintances grows, so do his

dreams. Although he had many

dreams in his childhood, now his

only goal is to establish himself as

a successful entrepreneur. This

young entrepreneur recently

received the Telepress Star

Award.

The biggest asset of young

entrepreneurs is the talent to work

with new ideas, products or

services. Most of the students in

the country study for the purpose

of getting a job. But the job market

is wailing. So it's time to dump

and move on. There are so many

entrepreneurs now with talent,

courage, hard work and different

ideas. Shakil is such a dreamy

young entrepreneur. Digital

platforms are now the easiest way

to become an entrepreneur. So he

created SK Media BD.com.

Shakilur Rahman said, 'SK

Media BD.com is working in

entertainment, sports,

information technology, travel,

literature and many other

departments. Our goal is to bring

the positive aspects of society to

the people. I want to spread SK

Media BD.com all over the world.

I want to create young people as

entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs

specialize in new and easy

solutions to existing problems.

Entrepreneurs will be able to turn

this huge population into human

resources and build the economic

foundation of the future. Working

hard to become a successful

entrepreneur: Shakil

TBT REPORT

Everyone dreams but how many can

implement it! Every human being in the

world is a dreamer. Some may reach the

pinnacle of their dream, others may fail and

give up. Those who try despite their failures

are successful today. One such young

entrepreneur is Shakilur Rahman. Before he

crossed the school boundary, he went to fulfill

his dream.

It started in 2016 with journalism. Shakil

works as a child journalist in the Hello section

of the popular online bdnews24.com. From

Kangana, Adnan

Sami receive

Padma Shri award

Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut, who

recently won her 4th National Award,

received the Padma Awards 2020 ceremony

on Monday. The award ceremony is taking

place in Delhi at the President House. Along

with Kangana, singer Adnan Sami has also

received the award, reports Times of India.

Kangana Ranaut, dressed in a gold saree,

was pictured being presented the Padma Shri

by President Kovind. Kangana, last seen in

the Jayalalithaa biopic 'Thalaivi', also recently

received the National Award for Best Actress

for her performances in the films

'Manikarnika' and 'Panga'.

Speaking about the honor, Kangana had

earlier said, "I started my journey from a

small village in Himachal Pradesh, and for me

to be in the same league as these bigwigs we

have grown up watching, whether it is Karan's

films or Ekta Kapoor's serials… We knew

these people, growing up. And who has not

heard Adnan Sami ji's songs? For a girl like

An Easter egg in the 'Morbius'

trailer is a good sign for 'Green

Goblin' having a long-term

presence in the MCU that

extends past his role in 'Spider-

Man: No Way Home'. Though

not explicitly confirmed by

Marvel, Green Goblin is

perceived to be a lock for Spider-

Man's next MCU adventure.

Based on what is known about

the movie, many are assuming

that this is a one-and-done story

for the classic Spider-Man

villain.

Appearances from The

Amazing Spider-Man 2's Electro

(Jamie Foxx) and Spider-Man

2's Doctor Octopus (Alfred

Molina) mean that the MCU is

indeed using the multiverse to

bring in characters from Sony's

other two Spider-Man

franchises. That detail,

combined with clear teases from

the 'Spider-Man: No Way Home

trailer as well as casting rumors,

have built strong evidence for

Willem Dafoe's 'Green Goblin'

Working hard to become a

successful entrepreneur:Shakil

the very beginning, Shakil gained a lot of

notoriety after publishing some news items

like 'Hijra Shishura Kostay Asay', 'Bikkhay

Nirbor Muktijoddhar Jibon', 'Bishobiddlayer

Maath Dokhol Koray Haat' and 'Sonapur

basher Shako Behal Obosta'.

He was also a regular contributor to the

bdnews24.com blog. Thus began his career in

journalism. After working in a national daily

and a few online entertainment departments,

he founded the online news portal SK Media

BD.com in 2019. Then he thought of doing

digital marketing of the film. Than SK Media

BD.com has gradually developed with the

help of some enterprising young people. This

is all Shakil's meditative knowledge.

As Shakil's circle of acquaintances grows, so

do his dreams. Although he had many dreams

in his childhood, now his only goal is to

establish himself as a successful entrepreneur.

This young entrepreneur recently received the

Telepress Star Award.

The biggest asset of young entrepreneurs is

the talent to work with new ideas, products or

me, to get a Padma Shri alongside them is a

matter of pride." Adnan Sami is of Pakistani

origin and became an Indian citizen in 2016;

his Padma Shri was widely criticised when the

honors list was announced in January with

the Nationalist Congress Party calling it an

"insult to 130 crore Indians."

Other Bollywood celebs like Karan Johar,

Ekta Kapoor and late singer SP

Balasubramaniam are among the Padma Shri

awardees this year. The Padma Awards are

'Morbius' Easter

egg can give 'Green

Goblin' an MCU future

services. Most of the students in the country

study for the purpose of getting a job. But the

job market is wailing. So it's time to dump and

move on. There are so many entrepreneurs

now with talent, courage, hard work and

different ideas. Shakil is such a dreamy young

entrepreneur. Digital platforms are now the

easiest way to become an entrepreneur. So he

created SK Media BD.com.

Shakilur Rahman said, 'SK Media BD.com

is working in entertainment, sports,

information technology, travel, literature and

many other departments. Our goal is to bring

the positive aspects of society to the people. I

want to spread SK Media BD.com all over the

world.

I want to create young people as

entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs specialize in

new and easy solutions to existing problems.

Entrepreneurs will be able to turn this huge

population into human resources and build

the economic foundation of the future.

Working hard to become a successful

entrepreneur: Shakil

one of the highest civilian honours of India

announced annually on the eve of Republic

Day. The Awards are given in three

categories: Padma Vibhushan (for

exceptional and distinguished service),

Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of

higher order) and Padma Shri (distinguished

service). The award seeks to recognise

achievements in all fields of activities or

disciplines where an element of public service

is involved.

gracing the big screen once

more. The implication of the

trailer is that Dafoe's sinister take

on Norman Osborn from Sam

Raimi's first 'Spider-Man' movie

will be among the primary

threats to Tom Holland's

character in 'No Way Home'.

Given that 'Spider-Man: No

Way Home' is about multiverse

shenanigans and converging

timelines, there's a sense that

Peter Parker's fight with Dafoe's

'Green Goblin' will end either

with his death or with everything

being put back in its proper

place. In other words, there is

not much expectation for him to

return. However, the 'Morbius'

trailer has an Oscorp Easter egg

that can lead to Norman Osborn

having a role in the MCU that

goes far beyond No Way Home.

The Oscorp logo on a building in

the trailer proves that the Green

Goblin's company - and in turn,

Norman Obsorn himself - exist

in Morbius' universe.

Source: Indian Express

h O R O S c O P E

aRiES

(March 21 - April 20) : You might feel a little

under the weather today, but mentally

you're flying high. Ideas could keep

popping into your head, sending you into flights of

fancy that excite your creativity. This is a great day to

read or watch documentaries or otherwise feed your

intellect. Whatever you learn could be of great practical

use to you later.

TauRuS

(April 21 - May 21) : Today you might

seek to expand your knowledge of the

arts. You could decide to explore

galleries, attend a concert or play, or

look into the latest best sellers. A friend could

accompany you. Make a day of it! Books, antiques,

or other fine objects might be especially appealing

now. Try to avoid shopping. You'll discover a lot of

items you like and want to buy!

GEMini

(May 22 - June 21) : Today you might

have the desire to look into your

genealogy. The Internet has made it

possible for everyone to learn about their ancestors,

and now is a great time for you to do it. Spiritually, you

might also decide to explore past lives or get in touch

with spirit guides or totem animals. Group activities

could be of great help in these pursuits.

cancER

(June 22 - July 23) : Practical, scientific,

or spiritual ideas of all kinds are your

life's blood. Today you might expand

your knowledge. Much of what you

learn may be based on technology such as

telescopes or particle accelerators. You're only

scratching the surface today. Much of what you

learn may be confusing, but stay with it. It will make

more sense to you later.

lEO

(July 24 - Aug. 23): Today you might

enlist the aid of friends to increase your

computer skills. You may be interested

in the artistic side of computers and

want to experiment with computer graphics or

animation. Video journalism could also be of

interest. You might receive some unexpected good

news about a possible increase in income, though it

might be delayed.

ViRGO

(Aug. 24 - Sept. 23): A new romance

could come your way. An old friend could

suddenly seem like more to you, sending the

relationship in an entirely new direction. The opposite could

happen, too. An old love could reappear and resurrect the

intellectual side of your relationship, making a new friend out

of an old love. Circumstances around you are changing and so

are you. You're the type to welcome it!

liBRa

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): Insights that

well up from deep within you could

put your imagination into overdrive.

Perhaps ideas for essays, poems,

paintings, or music flow into your mind in waves.

You may want to stay home to develop them,

though you may take one friend, or perhaps your

partner, into your confidence. Keep the ideas

coming! They might mean more to you later.

ScORPiO

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22): News about the

plight of the world's disadvantaged

might have you toying with the idea of

doing more than you are to make a

difference. This is a laudable goal, but you're more

apt to see the romantic side of helping the needy

than the harsh realities of the situation. Before

deciding to tackle any new ambition today, consider

it from all angles. You might change your mind.

SaGiTTaRiuS

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): Have you ever longed

to be a movie star or participate in some

way in the film industry? Today you

might get your chance or at least learn

some of the technical skills required. You might take

some time to learn about computer graphics or the ins

and outs of camerawork. You could also meet some

people involved in this industry.

caPRicORn

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20) : You've been exerting

yourself a little too much over the

past few days and might feel a little

listless. Nonetheless, your mind is

still active, and you may seek stimulation through

books, TV, or lectures of some kind. You should

find whatever you learn exciting. It could set you

off in a new direction. Today you could turn into

an armchair traveler!

aQuaRiuS

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) : You could have some

very strange yet beautiful dreams today.

Write them down. They're trying to tell

you something. You could also make an

off-the-wall plan to increase your income that may or

may not work. Consider all the aspects of your plan

and get in touch with the reality of it before delving

too far. It might be workable but not in the ways you

think now.

PiScES

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : Today you may start to

see your friends in a new light. Perhaps

their accomplishments have aroused your

admiration. A special person could seem

more perfect than ever, and you could suddenly view your

friend through a romantic haze once more. Bear in mind

that your view of these people only mirrors your view of

yourself. Recognize your merits as well others'.

wednesdAY, november 10, 2021

11

16 more test positive

for Covid-19 in

Rajshahi division

RAJSHAHI: Sixteen more

people have tested positive

for Covid-19 in six districts of

the division on Monday,

taking the caseload to 99,062

since the pandemic began in

March last year, reports BSS.

However, the new positive

cases are almost similar to

the previous day's figure, said

Dr Habibul Ahsan Talukder,

divisional director of Health,

adding that a total of 13

people were infected on

Sunday.

Besides on October 20, the

infection figure was just four,

which was the lowest-ever in

the division since the second

wave of the pandemic hit the

country.

Meanwhile, the recovery

count rose to 95,452 in the

division after 178 patients

were discharged from the

hospitals on the same day.

AFM Hayatullah joins as

Chairman of BADC

According to the

notification of the Ministry

of Public Administration,

AFM Hayatullah (5785)

joined as the new chairman

of Bangladesh Agriculture

Development Corporation

(BADC) on Tuesday, a press

release said.

Before joining BADC,

AFM Hayatullah was the

additional secretaries in the

discipline and investigation

division in the Ministry of

Public Administration.

Before that he was in public

administration as the Joint

Secretary and Deputy

Secretary of the Ministry,

Director of Bangladesh

Public Administration

Training Center and

Deputy Secretary of

Ministry of Liberation War

Affairs.

AFM Hayatullah joined

the Bangladesh Civil

Service (BCS) in 1993 as a

member of the 11th batch

administration cadre. In his

professional life he gained a

reputation as an honest and

efficient officer. He has

served as the private

secretary to former public

administration minister

Syed Ashraful Islam. At the

field level, he served as

Additional Deputy

Commissioner of Kushtia,

Tarail of Kishoreganj and

Upazila Nirbahi Officer of

Sherpur. During his career

he participated in various

trainings at home and

abroad.

AFM Hayatullah is the

fifth son of late AKM

Imamuddin and Firoza

Begum of Bagunda village

under Kakni union of

Tarakanda upazila of

Mymensingh district. He

holds a honors degree in

agricultural economics

from Bangladesh

Agricultural University, and

later a master's degree in

human resource

management from New

Delhi, India. He late

obtained a third degree in

public policy.

Youth goes missing

in Jamuna river

BOGURA : A youth went

missing in the Jamuna river

in Sariakandi upazila of the

district yesterday.

The youth was identified

as Tozammel Sheikh, 20,

hailed from Hatbari Char in

the upazila.

Tozammel's uncle Yakub

Ali said he went missing in

the river around 9 am on the

day in Hatbari Char Ghat

area while searching his

mobile phone that was fallen

into the river water.

Station Officer of

Sariakandi Fire Service and

Civil Defence Md Masud

Parvej said we have

informed Rajshahi divers

stationed about the incident.

Seminar on "Digital Dilemmas:

Ethics & Media Accountability

in Digital Age" held at BUP

Bangladesh University of

Professionals (BUP)

organized a seminar titled

"Digital Dilemmas: Ethics &

Media Accountability in

Digital Age" on Tuesday at

the initiative of the

Department of Mass

Communication and

Journalism under the Faculty

Security and Strategic

Studies at Bijoy Auditorium

of BUP. The purpose of the

seminar was to highlight the

effect on mass media ethics

and accountability during the

era of digital age.

Vice Chancellor of BUP

Major General Md

Moshfequr Rahman, SGP,

SUP, ndc, psc was present as

the chief guest. Dr. Khorshed

Alam, Assistant Professor,

Department of Mass

Communication and

Journalism, University of

Dhaka presented the keynote

paper while Acting of Dean

FSSS Lt Col Rabiul Alam

(Retd) moderated the

seminar.

K…DK=121

GD-1647/21 (5x3)

Mazibur Rahman

appointed as new

DMD of Sonali Bank

GD-1652/21 (5x4)

GD-1648/21 (7x3)

Md Mazibur Rahman has

been appointed as new

Deputy Managing Director

(DMD) of Sonali Bank.

Prior to his new

appointment, Md Mazibur

Rahman served as the

general manager of Rupali

Bank Limited

Sonali Bank Limited, the

largest stated-owned bank

of the country, has

appointed Md Mazibur

Rahman to the position of

deputy managing director

(DMD).

Prior to his new

appointment, Md Mazibur

Rahman served as the

general manager of Rupali

Bank Limited, said a press

release.

He joined Rupali Bank

Limited as senior officer

through BRC recruitment

in 1998.

In his 23-year banking

career, he served as branch

manager of different

important branches in

Mymensingh, Zonal head

of Jamalpur, Cumilla and

Mymensingh, divisional

head of Cumilla and

Rangpur and head of

Agriculture and Rural

Credit, Public Relations

Division, General Credit,

Marketing, Recovery Audit

and Monitoring and

Compliance Division of

Bank's head office, the

press release added.

Born in Hasadia village

under Mymensingh Sadar

Upazila of Mymensingh in

1969, Md Mazibur

Rahman completed his

graduation in Agriculture

Economics and Rural

Sociology in 1990, and

post-graduation in

Agriculture Production

and Economics in 1995

from Bangladesh

Agriculture University.

He attended different

workshops and seminars

on different banking issues

at home and abroad.

GD-1645/21 (8x4)

Wednesday, Dhaka: November 10, 2021; Kartik 25, 1428 BS; Rabius-Sani 4, 1443 Hijri

Bangladesh going for green energy to

mitigate climate change impact:Minister

DHAKA : Bangladesh is focusing on

renewable energy, energy efficiency

and conservation to mitigate the

adverse impact of carbon emissions,

Environment, Forest and Climate

Change Minister Md. Shahab Uddin

has said, reports UNB.

Speaking at a briefing at COP26 press

conference room at Glasgow on Monday,

the minister reiterated that Bangladesh

has been making the efforts despite being

one of the least emitters in the world.

He said in the Nationally Determined

Contributions (NDC) update submitted

in August this year, "We have put forward

enhanced emission reductions by

2030 amounting to around 90 million

tons of CO2 equivalent in combination of

conditional and unconditional commitments,"

He, however, lamented that the global

community still lacks a sense of urgency

and a true commitment to implementing

Govt determined to

build non-communal

nation: Kamal

DHAKA : Home Minister Asaduzzaman

Khan Kamal yesterday said that the government

is determined to build a noncommunal,

educated and prosperous

nation based on technology.

"We are working for building a nation with

non-communal spirit," he told a pre-rally discussion

here on the 51st founding anniversary

of Institute of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh

(IDEB) and Public Engineering Day as the chief

guest. IDEB General Secretary Md Shamsur

Rahman gave a welcome and introductory

speech at the pre-rally discussion chaired by

IDEB President AKMA Hamid. The minister

said that the country will not be allowed to

destroy non-communal harmony in any way.

"Those who want to take political advantage by

creating a volatile environment in the country

by creating communal violence will be suppressed

at any cost," he said.

Kamal said Bangabandhu wanted to

build golden people on the basis of modern

education along with work force

based and undertook extensive activities

to make independence a meaningful.

the Paris Agreement so that countries

like Bangladesh can have a sustainable

future.

In this regard he said that commitment

to limit the global warming to 1.5?, NDC

ambition, common timeframe for NDCs

as well as decision on Long Term Finance

(LTF) are not decided yet.

"One crucial demand is definition of

Climate Finance, which is yet to be

agreed upon. There is no clear roadmap

on $100 billion mobilization and new

quantified goal. Urgent and adequate

replenishment for Green Climate Fund

and Adaptation Fund is also looked-for,"

he said.

Shahab Uddin mentioned that

Bangladesh has recently scrapped 10

coal-based power plant projects worth

USD10 billion. The country has also

joined the global leaders' declaration to

end and reverse deforestation by 2030.

Bangladesh, he said, has installed more

than 6 million solar home systems in offgrid

areas, and more than 4.5 million

improved cooking stoves have been distributed

in rural areas.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presented

clear and concrete proposals from

Bangladesh and as the President of

Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) on

November 1, the minister mentioned.

Bangladesh looks forward a balanced

and fair outcome at Glasgow by strengthening

a "common global commitment"

for leaving a healthier planet for our

future generation, he said.

Deputy Minister of Environment, Forest

and Climate Change, Begum Habibun

Nahar, Chairman of the Parliamentary

Standing Committee on Environment,

Forest and Climate Change Ministry Saber

Hossain Chowdhury, Secretary Mostafa

Kamal, delegation members Dr Quazi

Kholiquzzaman and Prof. Dr. Ainun Nishat

were present at the briefing.

Warm welcome to Hasina at French

presidential palace

Paris (France) : Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina was given a rousing reception at

the Elysee Palace on the first day of her

visit to France.

On her arrival at the presidential palace,

the presidential guard gave her salute and

then French President Emmanuel

Macron received her. Both the leaders

posed for a photo session.

In the second photo session, Macron

and Hasina climbed the staircase and then

posed for another photo session.

After brief statements, the two leaders

went for a lunch meeting and tete-a-tete.

The Prime Minister was accompanied

Sinha's graft case verdict proves

none is above law: Anisul

DHAKA : Law, Justice and

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul

Huq yesterday said the graft case judgement

against former chief justice

Surendra Kumar Sinha again proved that

no one is above the law, reports BSS.

"Whoever is in an important post of the

government or state should be more cautious

about his activities. He should

maintain transparency and accountability.

We can learn this again from today's

judgement," he said, giving his reaction

to newsmen at his secretariat office here.

The law minister also said today is not

a happy day for the judiciary, yet it is also

right that whoever commits crimes

should be punished.

"I am not happy. He (former Chief

Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha) was

associated with the judiciary. He was the

chief justice. I am a lawyer too and associated

with the judiciary for my whole

life. So, this cannot be a happy matter for

by Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni,

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen,

Principal Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus

and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen

and Bangladesh Ambassador Khandaker

Mohammad Talha.

Later, she will be given state guard of

honour by the Republican Guard.

In the evening, the Prime Minister is

scheduled to go to the Matignon, the official

residence of the French Prime

Minister, to have a bilateral meeting.

Upon her arrival at the Matignon,

French Prime Minister Jean Castex will

receive her with a bouquet of flowers.

me," he added.

While talking about the past culture of

impunity, Anisul Huq said, "From 1975

to 1996, we saw that no cases were filed

for killing the country's Father of the

Nation along with most of his family

members. But we have come out of this

culture."

"Through the Bangabandhu murder

trial, jail killing case, crimes against

humanity cases and other important

graft cases, we have again proved that

rule of law has been established in the

country," he further said.

Earlier in the day, Dhaka Special Judge

Court-4 convicted and sentenced former

Chief Justice Surendra Kumar (SK)

Sinha to 11-year imprisonment in a case

filed for embezzling Taka four crore from

the then Farmers Bank and laundering

the money abroad.

The court also sentenced eight others

to different jail terms in the case.

Sheikh Hasina arrived here in the morning

from London to attend the 75th

Anniversary of UNESCO and distribute

the first-ever UNESCO-Bangladesh

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

International Prize for Creative Economy.

During the Paris tour, Hasina will also

have meetings with French President

Emmanuel Macron and French Prime

Minister Jean Castex.

On Wednesday, Airbus CEO Guillaume

Faury and Dassault Aviation president

Eric Trappier, Thales president Patrice

Caine will call on her at her place of residence.

Now, farmers are cultivating all types of vegetables in Bogura. Vegetables are being sent to

different places in the country to meet the needs. The picture was taken from Mohastangor

Vegetable Market in Bogura yesterday.

Photo : TBT

A fire broke out in a multi-storey building at Chawkbazar in Old Dhaka on Tuesday

afternoon.

Photo : TBT

Chawkbazar

building fire

under control

DHAKA : A fire that broke out in a

multi-storey building at Chawkbazar in

Old Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon has

been brought under control.

The flame started in a plastic warehouse

on the third floor of the building

around 4:30 pm. Nine units of fire fighters

brought the blaze under control

around 6:45 pm. The firefighters are still

struggling to douse the flames completely,

said Dewan Azad Hossain, Duty

Officer of Fire Service and Civil Defense

control room headquarters.

Students of DU-affiliated

colleges block Nilkhet

intersection to demand

special exam

DHAKA : Students from seven government

colleges affiliated with Dhaka

University held a four-hour protest on

Tuesday at Nilkhet to demand that the

authorities scrap the results of a recentlyheld

fourth year examination in which a

majority of examinees failed and retake it.

Students of 2015-16 academic session

joined the protest blocking Nilkhet intersection

from 1 pm to 4 pm halting traffic

movement in the area and causing huge

suffering to commuters. They dispersed

after police arrived at the scene.

The students called the results of the

examination as "disastrous" because of the

mass fails, most of them in English.

Because of this a large number of students

can't now quality for admission in Masters.

In the protest, students chanted slogans

demanding special examination and

publish the results of this exam as quickly

as possible.

Al-Amin, a student of Dhaka College,

told UNB that they met Ik Salimullah, the

coordinator of the seven colleges earlier

in the day, but he did not listen to their

demand. Salimullah is the principal of

Dhaka College.

Mobile courts continue

against vehicles charging

extra fares : Quader

DHAKA : Road Transport and Bridges

Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday said

the Bangladesh Road Transport

Authority (BRTA) is conducting mobile

courts in the city against the vehicles

which are charging extra fares from passengers,

reports UNB.

"From today, the BRTA's mobile courts

are being conducted in different places of

Dhaka city against the vehicles which are

realizing extra fares," he told a press conference

at his secretariat office here.

Quader, also the Awami League general

secretary, said instructions have

already been given at field level to conduct

mobile courts across the country to

check realising additional transport fares

from passengers.

He urged all concerned, including divisional

commissioners, deputy commissioners,

highway police and district

police, to play an effective role in this

regard. Quader reiterated that the government

would take stern actions if the

transport owners and workers charge

extra fares from passengers.

He said if they do not refrain from charging

additional fares from passengers, legal

action will be taken against them.

Bangladesh is role model

in addressing climate

risks:Hasan

DHAKA : Information and

Broadcasting Minister and environmental

researcher Dr Hasan

Mahmud has said Bangladesh is now

a role model in reducing the risks

induced by climate change.

He made the remark while speaking

at an international dialogue at

Bangladesh pavilion on Monday

evening on the sidelines of the

Conference of Parties (COP) - 26 in

Glasgow of Scotland, according to a

message received yesterday.

The Infrastructure Development

Company Limited (IDCOL) arranged

the dialogue on 'Prospect of Solar-

Powered Irrigation to Enhance

Climate Resilience in Bangladesh'.

Speaking as the chief guest, Hasan

said the Bangladesh Climate Change

Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP)

is now showing path to the world in

dealing with climate change impacts.

That is why, he said, Bangladesh is

now a role model in this regard.

Hasan, also the Awami League

joint general secretary, said the

Bangladesh government is implementing

the action plan with its own

fund, while it has already taken 789

projects involving US$ 443 million

from Bangladesh Climate Change

Trust Fund (BCCTF).

Addressing the climate change

impacts, the country is moving forward

at an indomitable pace due to

the time-befitting initiatives taken

under the visionary leadership of

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he

added.

Stripping of Begumganj woman

Chamber judge stays HC

order to take action against

3 police officers

DHAKA : The Chamber judge of

the Appellate Division on

Tuesday stayed the High Court

order to suspend three police

officers and take department

action against them for negligence

of duty in the case of stripping

a woman and torture in

Begumganj upazila of Noakhali

district, reports UNB.

Chamber judge Obaidul Hasan

ordered the stay until a petition filed

by three police officers is heard on

November 28 by the full bench of the

Appellate Division of the Supreme

Court.

The petition was filed by Harun-or-

Rashid, the then officer-in-charge of

Begumganj Police Station, Subinspector

Habibur Rahman and

Assistant sub-inspector Mafizul

Islam.

Advocate Momtaz Uddin Fakir

stood for the police with Barrister

Anik R Haque also representing the

petitioners. Deputy Attorney General

Nouroz Russel Chowdhury argued

for the state.

On October 28, the HC bench of

Justice Md Mojibur Rahman Miah

and Md Kamrul Hossain Molla

directed the authorities concerned to

temporarily suspended the police

officers and take departmental action

against them for failing to quickly

respond to the woman's perils.

Three cops filed a petition seeking

stay on the HC order.

On September 2, 2020, the victim,

a housewife, was stripped and tortured

by some local miscreants of

'Delwar Bahini.'

The horrific incident came to light

after a video on it, taken by the perpetrators,

went viral on the internet on

October 4 that year.

The video sent a shock wave

throughout the country, triggering

widespread protests.

The victim filed two cases accusing

nine people 33 days after the incident.

One of the cases was filed under the

Women and Children Repression

Prevention Act and another under

the Pornography Control Act.

On October 5, 2020 after the video

footage was brought to court's attention,

it directed Bangladesh telecommunication

regulatory Commission

Chairman to remove the content and

store it in pen drive or CD as evidence.

The court also directed Noakhali

superintendent of police to ensure

overall safety to the victim and her

family.

Besides, the court formed a committee

to investigate any negligence

of police in recording the victim's

statement and ordered a report within

15 working days.

After finding proof of negligence of

local representatives, police members

and watchman in the report the

court passed the orders today, said

the deputy attorney general.

On October 4, 2021, Noakhali

Women and Children Repression

Prevention Tribunal-1 sentenced

Delwar Hossain alias Delu, leader of

'Delwar Bahini' and his associate

Mohammad Ali alias Abul Kalam to

life imprisonment over the case.

10-11-2021

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