12-09-2022

MoNdAy, SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

2

The leaders and activists of the Chattogram University (CU) Branch Chhatra League are protesting

by locking the gates of the university demanding the extension of the full committee of the branch

Chhatra League. Leaders of six groups following former city mayor A.J.M. Nashir Uddin started the

movement by locking the main gate of the university on Sunday. The seven groups are - VX,

Concorde, RS, Bangla Mukh, Epitaph, Ulka.

Photo: Junaid Khan

Couple meets tragic end

in Chandpur road crush

CHANDPUR : A man and his eightmonth

pregnant wife were killed in a

collision between a speeding truck and

a CNG-run-auto rickshaw in Kachua

upazila of the district on Saturday.

The deceased were identified as Waz

Uddin, 30, and his wife Sabikun Nahar,

24 - residents of Baraiara village under

Sarchar union in the upazila.

Ibrahim Khalil, officer-in-charge

(OC) of Kachua police station, said the

GD-1494/22 (4x3)

accident occurred around 2pm when

the goods-laden speeding truck

rammed into the auto rickshaw

carrying the couple from the opposite

direction, leaving the duo critically

injured.

They were rushed to Upazila Health

Complex where on-duty physicians

declared them dead on arrival, he said.

The couple met the tragic end on

their way to home after a doctor's visit

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on the Kachua-Sachar-Dhaka road in

Hatmuda area, the OC said. Though the

truck could be seized, its drier managed

to flee the spot, the police officer said.

Sachar Union Parishad Chairman Ali

Akkas Molla said the number of such

accident on the busy road is increasing

alarmingly claiming lives and

properties day bay day.

Immediate measures should be taken

to lessen such accidents, he added.



Three go missing

as 2 boats sink in

Rajshahi

RAJSHAHI : Three

agricultural labourers went

missing as two small boats

capsized in the Padma River

in Talaimari area of Rajshahi

district on Sunday morning.

Those went missing were

Naju, Nabi and Sadek,

residents of Charshaympur

area under Motihar police

station in Rajshahi city.

Zakir Hossain, deputy

director of Rajshahi Fire

Service and Civil Defense,

said the boats carrying 27

labourers sank due to strong

current in the river while they

were heading towards

Madhyachar from Jogar Ghat

area.

Twenty four of them

managed to swim ashore

while the rest went missing,

he said.

Divers of the fire service

have been continuing the

rescue operation, he added.

Lightning kills

2 brothers in

Sunamganj

SUNAMGANJ : Two brothers

died while another sustained

injuries after being struck by

lightning in Sunamganj

district on Tuesday.

The deceased were

identified as Khokon Mia and

Jhilon Mia, residents of

Bekhoijura village in

Dharmapasha upazila, said

Mizanur Rahman, officer-incharge

of Dharmapasha

police station.

Bus-microbus collision

leaves newborn, 2 others

dead in Rangpur

RANGPUR : Three people, including a seven-day-old

child, were killed and four others injured in a collision

between a bus and a microbus in Taraganj upazila of

Rangpur early Sunday.

Two of the deceased were identified as Banya, 30, and

Rafiqul, 40.

The accident occurred around 5:30 am when the

Nilphamari-bound bus of 'Bhai Bhai Paribahan' crashed

into the microbus coming from opposite direction near

Kharubhaj Bridge, said Mahbub Morshed, officer-incharge

(OC) of Taraganj highway police.

The accident left seven members of a family travelling

on the microbus seriously injured.

The injured were rushed to Rangpur Medical College

and Hospital where three of them succumbed to their

injuries, said the OC.

On September 5, nine people were killed and around 50

others injured in a head-on collision between two busses

on Rangpur-Dinajpur highway near Kharubhaj Bridge of

the upazila.

2 motorcyclists

killed in N'ganj

NARAYANGANJ : Two

motorcyclists were killed

when a vehicle hit their

motorbike on the Dhaka-

Chattogram highway near

Kanchpur Bridge early

Sunday, said police, reports

UNB.

The deceased were

identified as Srabon Reza,

18, son of Selim Reza and

Amir Hamza, 18, son of

Abdur Rashid Bhuiya of

Siddhirganj area.

AKM Sharfuddin, incharge

of Shimrail Police

Station said the accident

occurred in the dead of night

when an unknown vehicle

hit the motorbike carrying

two people, leaving them

injured.

Later, they were taken to

Dhaka Medical College and

Hospital and a private

hospital in Dhaka where

they succumbed to their

injuries early Sunday.

7th edition of "BGMEA

Cup" tournament

begins September 29

DHAKA : The 7th edition of intergarments

football tournament titled

'BGMEA Cup' will begin on September

29 at Uttara Sector 4 Kallyan Samiti

field.

Mid and upper-managements of 16

garment factories of the country will

compete in the 8-A-Side football

tournament which will be organized by

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and

Exporters Association (BGMEA).

The BGMEA Cup 2022 players' auction

was held at International Convention

City Bashundhara (ICCB) , Dhaka on

September 10 where the participating

teams made additions to their squad,

BGMEA said on Sunday.

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan

attended the player auction ceremony as

the chief guest.

BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah

Azim, BGMEA Director Md. Imranur

Rahman, garment entrepreneurs,

players and representatives of sponsors

were also present at the programme.

A total of 16 reowned garment

companies in Bangladesh will

participate in the tournament.

GD-1495/22 (7x4)

GD-1491/22 (15x3)

MoNDAY, SePTeMBeR 12, 2022

3

Co-ordination meeting on 53rd Convocation was held at Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate

Bhaban of Dhaka University yesterday.

Photo : Courtesy

DMP arrests 48

for consuming,

selling drugs

in city

DHAKA : As part of the

anti-drug drive in the

capital, members of the

Dhaka Metropolitan Police

(DMP) have arrested a

total of 48 people on

charges of selling and

consuming drugs during

the last 24 hours till 6am

yesterday.

According to a release

issued by the DMP, police

conducted the operations

against the drug sellers and

consumers in different

areas under various police

stations. They also

detained a total of 48 drug

traffickers and recovered

huge drugs from their

possessions from 6am of

September 10 to 6 am on

Sunday, reports BSS.

During the anti-drug

drives, police seized 109.6

grams of heroin, 35.490

kilograms of cannabis

(ganja) and 4,808 pieces of

contraband yaba tablets

from them, it said.

Police filed 33 cases

against the arrestees in

these connections with

respective police stations

under the Narcotics

Control Act.

Restaurant

catches fire

in city

DHAKA : A fire broke out

at a restaurant in the city's

Jatrabari area early

Sunday.

The fire broke out at

'Urbane restaurant' in

north Jatrabari around

6am, said Anwarul Islam,

warehouse inspector of

(Media cell) of fire service

and civil defence

headquarters.

On information, ten

firefighting units rushed to

the spot and brought the

blaze under control at 8am.

The origin of the fire and

the extent of damages

could not be known

immediately, said

Anwarul.

GIZ organizes Training

for the NILG Trainers

in Gazipur

With a focus on developing future trainers

from the National Institute of Local

Government (NILG) on the topic of SDG

localisation, the Improved Coordination of

International Climate Finance (ICICF)

project, implemented by GIZ, organized a

two-day long residential training at Sarah

Resort, Gazipur.

The training titled "Tools and Methods

for SDG Localisation - Training of NILG

Trainers" was held recently and conducted

by national and international master

trainers. Trainers of NILG participated in

the training including officials from the

Governance Innovation Unit (GIU) of the

Prime Minister's office, a press release

said.

The urban areas of the country play a

pivotal role in driving economic growth.

However, a large proportion of urban

population lives in poverty prone

unhealthy conditions and lacks access to

basic amenities. In alignment with many

other countries of the world, Bangladesh

has also developed policies, strategies and

plans to achieve Sustainable Development

Open Russian tech universities'

offshore campus in Bangladesh:

Palak to ambassador

DHAKA : State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak on

Sunday requested Russia to open offshore campuses of its

technical universities in Bangladesh - to develop the IT sector

here and upskills youths.

He made the call at a meeting with Russian Ambassador to

Bangladesh, Alexander Mantytskiy, at the former's office at

ICT Tower in Dhaka's Agargaon area.

During the meeting, they discussed various issues,

including cooperation in cyber security capacity building and

introduction of inter-operable digital transaction (IDTP)

system between Russia and Bangladesh

Besides, business and investment by Russian technology

companies in robotics, machine learning, AI, AR and VR,

land allocations for Russian companies in hi-tech parks here,

arrangement of Bangladesh-Russia investment summit,

participation of Russian IT companies in Digital World

Summit here in December, and start-up exchange programs

came up for discussion in the meeting.

The Russian ambassador assured full cooperation in these

sectors, expressing hope that the bilateral relations between

the two countries in various fields including ICT will be

strengthened in the near future.

ICT Senior Secretary NM Zeaul Alam, Managing Director

of Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority Bikarna Kumar

Ghosh and Director General of Digital Security Agency

Khairul Amin were present, said a PID handout.

Goal (SDG) targets by 2030 including

policies and strategies related to climate

change. However, proper implementation

of these plans requires capacities and

involvement of the local level.

GIZ has partnered with NILG which

supports in the capacity enhancement of

the local government officials where

NILG's capacities on SDG localisation is

being supported for disseminating the

knowledge in the local level of the country.

Experts from Bangladesh University of

Engineering and Technology and Europe

have developed the training modules and

conducted trainings of the trainers on this

topic. This training aims to instil practiceoriented

training skills while also offering

trainers from NILG the opportunity to

apply and further develop these skills as

trainers. This included lectures, group

work and open discussions on training

materials, tools and other activities, where

16 officials from the National Institute of

Local Government and the Prime

Minister's Office participated.

Poultry trader

stabbed dead

in Chattogram

CHATTOGRAM : A poultry

trader was stabbed to death by

some unidentified miscreants

in Fatikchhari upazila of

Chattogram on Saturday

night, police said.

The deceased was Md Yusuf,

38, son of late Abul Kalam of

Hasnabad area under Bhujpur

police station in the upazila.

Family members said Yusuf

went out of house to guard his

poultry and fish farms around

11pm on Saturday.

His wife found his body

lying beside the fishery project

on Sunday morning.

Helal Uddin Faruque,

officer-in-charge (OC) of

Bhujpur police station, said on

information they recovered

the bloodstained body from

the spot.

The body was sent to

Chattogram Medical College

Hospital morgue for autopsy,

he said adding that the reason

behind the death will be

known following the

postmortem.

A meeting between Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander Vikentyevich Mantytskiy and State Minister

for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak was held at ICT Tower, Agargaon, Dhaka yesterday.

Photo : Courtesy

Forming cross sector body in protecting

child rights is imperative: Dy Speaker

TBT REPORT

It is urgent to form a cross sector body

to protect child rights. All problems of

street children should be solved in

coordination with government and

private organizations.

Shamsul Haque Tuku, The Deputy

Speaker of Jatiya Sangsad and

Chairman of Parliamentary Caucus on

Child Rights Shamsul Haque Tuku, MP

said this while addressing as chief guest

at a seminar held at the LD Hall of the

Jatiya Sangsad on Sunday, September

11, 2022.

He said, the child who is born today is

the owner of the state. So that child

cannot stay on road or street. The

government is working to develop him

as human resource.

He also said that the population is

increasing. At the same time, the

number of floating children is also

increasing. It is the responsibility of all

of us to develop them as resources.

Deputy Secretary of Law, Justice and

Parliamentary Affairs Ministry Ariful

Kaiser, Additional Director of Social

Services Department MM

Mahamudullah, Joint Inspector

General of DITF of the Ministry of

Labor and Employment Matiur

Rahman and Dhaka Ahsania Mission

General Secretary Engineer AFM

Golam Sharfuddin were present as

special guests in this national seminar

jointly orgazed by Dhaka Ahsania

Mission and Scan Bangladesh. Dhaka

Ahsania Mission Vice-President

Professor Dr Kazi Shariful Alam

presided over the seminar while

Executive Director of Dhaka Ahsania

Mission Md. Shajedul Qayyum Dulal

gave the welcome speech.

Kazi Shariful Alam said that the main

challenge is to bring every child to the

mainstream. He sought the

cooperation of the Deputy Speaker in

this regard.

Scan Bangladesh general secretary

Moniruzzaman Mukul presented the

concept of cross sector body in the

event. In the speech, he said that

currently the number of street children

in the country is about 15 lacs. 85

percent of these children are addicted

to drugs, 80 percent are struggling for

food and 46 percent are victims of

sexual abuse and exploitation.

It is to be noted that, with the

financial support of Commonwealth

Foundation and Consortium for Street

Children (CSC), United Kingdom,

Dhaka Ahsania Mission's 'Words To

reality: Promoting Street Children's

Rights in Bangladesh' project has been

working for the past few years to form a

cross sector body to implement street

children's rights.

The event was attended by the joint

director of education sector of Dhaka

Ahsania Mission Md Moniruzzaman,

project coordinator Zulfikar Matin,

member of street children task force as

representative of street children and

representatives of different

government and private institutions.

Shamsul Haque Tuku, The Deputy Speaker of Jatiya Sangsad and Chairman of Parliamentary

Caucus on Child Rights Shamsul Haque Tuku addressing a program.

Photo : Courtesy

Govt is working for political

empowerment of women

RAJSHAHI : The government under

the prudent and farsighted leadership

of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has

been working relentlessly for the

political empowerment of the women

for overall development of the country.

Taking the issue of women

importance to the nation-building

process into special consideration, the

government has adopted diversified

programmes so that the womenfolk

can contribute to take the nation

forward spontaneously.

Already, the government has

attained success in this field as women

participation in the local government

institutions has been ensured and they

have been working for the welfare of

the womenfolk significantly.

Lawmakers and experts came up

with the observation while addressing

a dialogue titled "Political

Empowerment of Women" held here

yesterday.

Dengue death toll rises

to 33 as another dies,

360 more hospitalised

in 24 hrs

DHAKA : Another Dengue

patient died in 24 hours till

Sundaymorning, raising this

year's death toll from the

mosquito-borne disease to 33.

During this period, 360

more people were

hospitalised with the viral

fever as cases have continued

to increase in Bangladesh,

according to the Directorate

General of Health Services

(DGHS).

The latest death was

reported from Cox's Bazar.

With the new numbers, the

dengue death toll from

Chattogram division stood at

17, it stood at 13 at Dhaka and

three at Barishal division.

Of the new patients, 239

were admitted to different

hospitals in Dhaka and 121

outside it, DGHS said.

EU envoy launches

'Erasmus+ Roadshow'

in Bangladesh

DHAKA : The European Union (EU) delegation in

Bangladesh on Sunday began the 'Erasmus+ Roadshow'

campaign to promote Erasmus + programme opportunities.

"Delighted to launch the 'Erasmus+ Roadshow' at the

AIUB (American International University-Bangladesh) to

publicise the EU's scholarship and exchange programme and

to help boost the number of EU scholarships in Bangladesh

from the record high of 151 students last year," EU

Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley tweeted after

opening the campaign formally.

The campaign will continue till September 27 at 13

different public and private universities in Dhaka and

Rajshahi to promote Erasmus + programme opportunities.

The Erasmus+ is the European Union's flagship

educational exchange programme for students, teachers and

institutions engaged in higher education.

The programme has a strong international dimension,

funding scholarships for students and academics from all

over the world to come, study and teach in 33 European

countries.

The programme also finances cooperation projects within

higher education institutions in Europe and the rest of the

world, promoting partnership plus capacity building among

institutions.

Non-government organization Khan

Foundation organized the dialogue for

the lawmakers and Aparijita (women

leaders) at a conference hall here.

Prof Monsur Rahman, MP, Ratna

Ahmed, MP and Public Prosecutor of

Rajshahi Shamsun Nahar Mukti

addressed the meeting as resource

persons with former vice-chairman of

Naogaon Sadar Upazila Parveen Akter

in the chair.

Capacity Building Coordinator of

Khan Foundation Shahina Laiju

welcomed the participants where

Senior Election Officer Abul Hossain,

Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sohel Rana,

Upazila Vice-chairman Shamima

Haque and Union Parishad (UP)

Member Hosne Ara also spoke.

Listing various initiatives adopted by

the present government, lawmaker

Monsur Rahman said special

allowance has been arranged for UP

level women for making them selfreliant.

In many fields, women were

given priority.

Prof Rahman, however, opined there

are more ways to go for women

empowerment side by side with

ensuring gender balance in every

sector.

Terming the present government as

women-friendly he said the

government has attached top priority

for women development.

He put emphasis on both menwomen

equal participation for

achieving the SDGs by 2030 coupled

with building a developed and

prosperous Bangladesh by 2041.

Prof Monsur Rahman called for a

concerted effort of all the government

and non-government sectors for

freeing the women from all sorts of

violence and repression.

Utmost emphasis should be given on

sustainable development of the

womenfolk, he added.

Bangladesh sees

2 more Covid

deaths, 310 cases

DHAKA : Bangladesh

reported two more Covidlinked

deaths and 310 cases in

24 hours till Sunday morning.

With the new numbers, the

country's total fatalities rose to

29,334 and caseload to

2,014,887, according to the

Directorate General of Health

Services (DGHS).

The daily case test positivity

rate rose to 8.87 from

Saturday's 8.62 percent as

3,493 samples were tested.

The deceased were two men

from Dhaka division.

The mortality rate remained

unchanged at 1.46 percent

while the recovery rate

declined to 97.21 percent.

In August, the country

reported 32 Covid-linked

deaths and 6,689 cases.

Bangladesh registered its

highest daily caseload of

16,230 on July 28 last year and

daily fatalities of 264 on

August 10 the same year.

MONDAy, SEPtEMbEr 12, 2022

4

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Monday, September 12, 2022

The picture of

poverty

Poverty reduction programmes need to

be accelerated. But the same must be in

tandem with the execution of other

policies aimed to improve governance in all

respects.

There are many reasons why all energies

need to be concentrated on poverty

reduction in the country. The good news in

the realm of poverty reduction is that the

country's population has more than

doubled since the time of independence. It

had a population of some 75 million at the

time of independence and more than twothirds

of that population had an existence

below the poverty line. The population

currently is over 160 million on a rough

estimate and out of this vastly increased

population 72.8 percent is considered to

have a standard of living above the poverty

level leaving some 67.2 million below the

poverty line. Thus, it appears that there has

been notable success in poverty reduction

since the pre-independence era when the

population was smaller but the

preponderant majority in that population

lived in absolute poverty.

The situation has changed appreciably

with the greater number in the more than

the doubled population seemingly judged

to be out of the throes of poverty. But, as

stated, the number of 67.2 million living on

less than a dollar a day, the UN benchmark

for determining poverty, is still a vast one

and points to the formidable goal faced by

Bangladesh in achieving substantial

progress and decisive victory in the struggle

against poverty.

Poverty reduction is umbilically linked to

economic expansion or economic growth.

Bangladesh is often pointed at as a lucrative

market as it has so many people living in it.

The present market size of over 72 million

people with reasonable purchasing power is

not a small one. The demand for various

types of goods and services generated by the

number of people not suffering from poverty

in the country is huge and provides ample

opportunities for businesses, local and

foreign. But the demand situation could be

far higher if some 30 or 40 million more

people could be helped to climb out of

poverty at an early date.

The point is that people not in poverty have

considerable purchasing power which then

translates into demand for goods and

services and businesses can attempt to

satisfy that demand with more production,

distribution and consumption. In sum, the

entire cycle of economic activities spins

faster or is greater when more people create

demand. The resulting increases in

production activities, job and income

creation all add up to boost the GDP size of

the country to increase cumulatively its

individual and national wealth. Thus,

poverty reduction makes preeminent sense

from the perspectives of economic growth,

business expansion and rise in the overall

standard of living of people and these are

expressly the reasons for the high

desirability of poverty reduction at a faster

pace.

The National Economic Council (ECNEC)

that approves economic policies at the

highest level, adopted the poverty reduction

strategy paper (PRSP). The PRSP adoption

was prompted by the urging of the donors .

It will be sought to be implemented over a

number of years.

Donors have been insisting on not only

the carrying out of the PRSP objectives

but various moves in the government

itself as supportive of the same. They have

stressed specially measures to be taken to

improve governance, reduce corruption

and reform the government

administration. Clearly, there is a

compelling need to score positive results

in these areas to hope for a positive

outcome in the PRSP implementation.

Government will have to do more than just

take some steps of approving the PRSP to

clear the ground for receipt of funds from

donors. It needs to sincerely address the

governance issues as prerequisites for the

successful implementation of PRSP goals.

Humanitarianism must adapt to climate change, too

Aid is finally reaching the millions of

Pakistanis whose lives have been

upended by devastating floods. The

United Nations has launched a US$160

million emergency plan; supplies are being

flown in from the Middle East and elsewhere

in Asia; and donors and publics across the

world are responding to this most recent

disaster appeal.

Pakistan's tragedy is the latest in a series of

global emergencies resulting from a rapidly

changing climate. And while the floodwaters

have not yet receded, it isn't too early to assess

what this crisis can teach us about the

challenges of humanitarian response in an era

of increasingly extreme weather.

Since the mid-20th century, humanitarian

action has made a measurable impact on lives

and communities. Disasters, especially

famine, kill far fewer people now than they

did before the 1960s. But the changes

wrought by the climate emergency mean

disasters will become deadlier unless the

humanitarian aid sector adjusts its strategy.

For all the good humanitarianism has done,

it has also created dependency on a system

that reacts to, rather than seeks to prevent,

disasters. Meeting the new challenges will

require rethinking some of the core tenets of

humanitarianism and speeding up reforms

and changes to create a more flexible,

proactive system built on principles of

prevention, resilience, and decentralized

disaster governance. First, risk analysis and

modeling must become firmly baked into the

heart of humanitarianism. Early warning

systems that can detect impending droughts

or floods have long been a feature of disaster

prevention and mitigation (and may have

helped limit the number killed in Pakistan's

floods, a tally that now exceeds 1,250).

Models predicting the impact of changes in

The Israeli occupation must not be forgotten

The Jerusalem municipal planning and

building committee this week

approved the construction of new

homes for Jewish settlers in the Givat

HaShaked neighborhood, which will

straddle the Green Line. The development

will be built next to the Palestinian quarter of

Beit Safafa. When I called my Palestinian

friend Hani to inquire about the issue and

how to stop it, he told me he was rushing to

meet the lawyer who is "the man" to handle

such delicate missions.

Hani started talking about his friend

Daniel Seidemann, an American Israeli in

Jerusalem. Hani explained that Seidemann,

the son of a young Jew who lived in Nazi

Germany and fled to the US as the Second

World War broke out, truly understands the

concept of displacement, so he really

understands what Palestinians are going

through.

The turning point in his life came in 1991,

when the government of Israel approved a

settlement in the neighborhood of Silwan, to

the south of the Old City of Jerusalem, in the

shadow of Al-Aqsa. He was asked by a

member of the Knesset to challenge the

decision in the Supreme Court. He then

discovered that there was a covert illegal

campaign to take properties from their

lawful owners and give them to settlers. This

is when Seidemann started his war against

injustice - an injustice inflicted by his own

people on the Palestinians.

Hani said: "Whenever he looks out of his

window, he says '40 percent of the people I

see are occupied by me, by my people, and

have no political rights, while I do'."

Every time a new settlement is built, it

PAKISTAN is widely branded as the

seventh country most affected by

climate change. We call attention to

our negligible contribution to global warming

compared to other parts of the world.

Yet, on our 75th anniversary, nature's

wrath has exposed how callous we too have

been as a nation in ignoring warning signals

of the looming threats of climate change and

rampant population growth - with dire

consequences.

It is no coincidence that the hundreds of

harrowing stories emerging from this

calamity focus on the predicament of poor

and pregnant women with more than five

children. Already severely disadvantaged, the

floods have only exacerbated their situation

and the media is transmitting images of those

who are most powerless and most affected by

the devastation. These women must now

deliver babies and nurse them in precarious

circumstances unfit even for animals.

A large part of this was avoidable.

We have neglected the reproductive health

of the millions of women and children

already lacking family planning, delivery and

maternal care services. Much alarm has been

expressed that close to a million women in

the most severely affected areas are currently

pregnant. But it should come as no surprise

temperature, precipitation, disease

outbreaks, and other variables are already

helping communities prepare for the worst.

But current systems need more funding to

maintain, and new systems must be

decentralized across global regions to

maximize their utility. Critically, data need to

be shared more widely between state and

civil-society organizations. Second, disaster

management must shift from a response

mindset to one of reducing risk and building

resilience before crises strike.

In 1970, flooding triggered by a massive

cyclone killed around 500,000 people in what

was then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). A

similar cyclone and flood in the same area two

years ago killed just 30, thanks to extensive

flood-mitigation measures and policies.

Meanwhile, governments in Pacific Island

states such as Kiribati and Vanuatu are

investing in health infrastructure that will be

better able to withstand floods and typhoons,

as well as preparing community-based

disaster preparedness plans to respond more

rapidly and effectively.

It's not only countries of the Global South

that are focused on making systems,

structures, and societies more resilient. The

California state government recently

allocated an additional $15 billion to reduce

Dr. DANIA KOLEILAt KHAtIb

makes any political settlement more elusive.

Seidemann thinks the occupation is as

harmful to Israel as it is to Palestine. Either

Israel ends the occupation, or the occupation

will end Israel. He is not only working for the

Palestinians, but also for his own people and

his own family. He wants his children to live

in a decent society. The only way to have a

reconciliation between the two peoples is for

borders to be drawn and for Israel to no

longer rule over Palestinian lives.

However, Hani laments that many people

in Israel do not even think there is an

occupation - the concept is slipping out of the

public discourse, which is really dangerous.

He also explains that, while the current

government of Prime Minister Yair Lapid is

less malicious than those headed by

Benjamin Netanyahu, it has less cohesion.

Therefore, many things can happen, even if

not approved by Lapid. Hani explained that,

despite all Netanyahu's faults, he had

everything under his control. This is not the

case with the current government, which is

more of a loose association of ministers,

some of which are very pro-settlements, such

as Ze'ev Elkin, the minister of housing and

ZEbA SAtHAr

construction.

Talking with admiration about his dear

friend, Hani told me about Seidemann's

struggle to prevent a family in Silwan from

being evicted from their home. He fought for

19 years but ultimately the family was

evicted. He also fought to have schools built

for Palestinians in East Jerusalem. This is a

fight Seidemann has been involved in for 10

years and he has partially succeeded.

Culpable for injustice

that those regions most adversely affected by

the floods are the ones with the highest

fertility, maternal and child mortality rates.

These areas are largely deprived of family

planning services and essential information,

for instance, most rural women in Sindh and

Balochistan still deliver in unsafe conditions

remote from any health facilities. In contrast,

most pregnant women in urban Pakistan

deliver in institutions.

In a catastrophe of the kind, unseen

anywhere in the world, we - the educated -

are culpable for many injustices because this

was a tragedy foretold. We lament that

national and international relief are only

reaching a fraction of the millions whose lives

and livelihoods were swept away last month.

But these were the same populations who

were living in makeshift housing and who

eked out a living far from major roadways

and with no access to services.

Living on the edge with their multiple

vulnerabilities and now displaced under

open skies, they desperately await our help.

The saddest part is that most want to return

to their wretched conditions, resigned to

their fate of toiling in the fields and tending

livestock under the scorching sun. We prefer

to look away from living conditions we

ourselves would never endure.

MICHAEL JENNINGS

the risk and mitigate the impact of wildfires.

Ensuring transport networks, health systems,

and food systems can withstand shocks is

vital for protecting the most vulnerable

during a disaster.

Building resilience and preparedness is

often seen as falling outside the humanitarian

sector's area of responsibility, acting as it does

as the global first responder. Yet such activity

is core to disaster management, and must be

a core part of humanitarianism's mandate.

The third change is shifting how the sector

responds to disasters themselves. Here,

reforms are needed to speed up and better

First, risk analysis and modeling must become firmly baked into the

heart of humanitarianism. Early warning systems that can detect

impending droughts or floods have long been a feature of disaster

prevention and mitigation (and may have helped limit the number

killed in Pakistan's floods, a tally that now exceeds 1,250).

integrate local solutions that ensure more

resilient communities emerge when the

emergency passes.

In the aftermath of the devastating 2010

Haitian earthquake, humanitarian

organizations were criticized for failing to

work with local, state, and non-governmental

organizations in their responses, creating

parallel and separate systems that increased

aid dependency and made building back local

capacity harder.

Reflecting on those failures and others, the

humanitarian sector and donors have

committed to delivering more aid and

interventions through local organizations. To

date, however, progress has been slow and

Hani told me that Seidemann, a secular Jew, is working against

the weaponization of religion. He also understands the significance

of Al-Aqsa for Muslims around the world and he understands how

the erosion of the status quo by Jewish extremists and Israeli

nationalists, as well as the shows of Jewish triumphalism, nurture a

feeling of violation among Palestinians and Muslims.

We have neglected the health of millions of

women and children.

For a study on Impacts of Climate Change

in Vulnerable Communities in Sindh,

Pakistan, in 2021, the Population Council

conducted interviews in poor communities in

two districts most prone to climate risk -

Umerkot and Thatta. We confirmed that

climate change was already a known reality

in these communities. Unseasonable weather

patterns leading to droughts followed by

floods were already posing threats to health

and livelihoods.

A man from Kambhar Badha, Umerkot,

said: "If the family must evacuate, then

women suffer the most, they must face

difficulties during and after the move. Men

can live anywhere but women suffer [more]

on account of insecurity and [lack of]

privacy."

Many focused on women's suffering from

multiple hazards: "Our villages are

submerged in water. We have no safe place to

live. We don't even have a place to keep our

livestock and there is no fodder available for

them when heavy rains hit. During heavy

rainfall, no one can reach our village and

many pregnant women are likely to die," said

a woman from Izzat Khan Lashari, Thatta.

For a decade or more, thousands have been

limited. Embedding responses within local

contexts, with active participation from

affected communities, will enhance and

improve those responses.

But localization also needs to be integrated

more fully into global and regional

infrastructures. The United Arab Emirates

has played a critical role in coordinating

support to Pakistan, while Dubai's

International Humanitarian City is the largest

of a growing network of humanitarian hubs

that can respond quickly to regional disasters.

Such infrastructure can support the bridging

of global and local responses.

Many humanitarian organizations view

building more resilient systems as beyond

their remit, concerned that anything that

deals with social inequality and vulnerability

risks becoming politicized in a way that might

conflict with the humanitarian concept of

neutrality. But failing to address this necessity

will only perpetuate dependency on external

responses and organizations and worsen the

impact of disasters. The devastating human

toll of the floods in Pakistan is a warning to us

all. As the impact of the climate emergency

picks up pace, and as rich countries continue

to evade their culpability in its creation, the

poor, vulnerable, and marginalized are dying

as a result. These issues are already being

debated within the humanitarian sector, but

as Pakistan's horrific floods remind us,

commitments and discussions alone will not

prepare the humanitarian system for the

challenges that await.

Michael Jennings is reader in

international development at the School of

Oriental and African Studies, or SOAS

University of London, where he works on

issues related to global health and the

politics and history of global development

Hani told me that Seidemann, a secular

Jew, is working against the weaponization of

religion. He also understands the

significance of Al-Aqsa for Muslims around

the world and he understands how the

erosion of the status quo by Jewish

extremists and Israeli nationalists, as well as

the shows of Jewish triumphalism, nurture a

feeling of violation among Palestinians and

Muslims.

He added that Seidemann was now

preparing for his biggest battle, which is to

prevent the construction of the E-1

settlement. Every single American president

and European leader has been against this

settlement since it was first proposed in the

early 1990s. If it is approved, then the twostate

solution is finished, as this settlement

will be deep in East Jerusalem and will

fracture the West Bank in a way that means

creating a Palestinian state will be

impossible. However, now that the world is

preoccupied with so many disasters,

occupation is no longer a priority or even a

subject of discussion. The extremists in

Israel might take this opportunity to get the

settlement approved.

After he finished speaking about

Seidemann, I asked my friend: "And we

Arabs, what are we doing to help Daniel

and his ilk?" Hani answered while

sounding disappointed: "Nothing." But

why nothing? Don't we have countries that

have diplomatic relations with Israel?

Weren't the Abraham Accords marketed as

a step toward peace? Why don't we

promote people such as Seidemann, and

encourage and support him? Why don't we

inject an end to the occupation in the

process of normalization?

Arabs should not forget to stress the end of

the occupation because, if we forget about

this issue, it will come back and haunt us.

Promoting people such as Seidemann inside

Israel would be the best way to prevent that.

Now, with normalization, Arabs are on the

Israeli chessboard, and this is their chance to

make the right move. To do that, they need to

engage with people such as Seidemann.

Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a

specialist in US-Arab relations with

a focus on lobbying. She is cofounder

of the Research Center for

Cooperation and Peace Building, a

Lebanese NGO focused on Track II.

forced to migrate annually from their homes

devastated by droughts, forest fires and

floods. Year after year, they must give up

everything and start again. Despite their

poverty and illiteracy, many living in the

climate vulnerable zones know that their best

chance for survival is to move to an urban

area. Only a few fortunate enough to own

land or have an education make it to the

urbanised districts which are more resilient

to climate change.

Yet even there, the glaringly obvious

exponential increase in urban populations

that puts a strain on existing resources goes

unaddressed.

Elsewhere, climate change strategies

ignore the mushrooming of fragile structures

being built for shelter that encroach upon

river and canal beds.

The important point is that from Gilgit-

Baltistan to Sindh, climate and population

pressures were manifesting even before the

deadly floods. This has led to shortages in

food because of the negative impact on our

ecology and biodiversity as well as

livelihoods, thereby exacerbating regional

inequalities.

The writer is Country Director,

Population Council.

mOnDay, SePTemBeR 12, 2022

5

Do Bold interviewed workers from Sierra Leone working in Oman.

Oman’s approach to foreign

domestic worker abuse

KaTIe mCQue

Oman is failing to protect migrant

domestic workers who are victims of

human trafficking, trapped in abusive

households and subjected to physical

and sexual violence with no access to

justice or a safe route home, a report

has found.

Do Bold, an organisation that works

to assist and repatriate migrant

workers trapped in the Gulf,

interviewed 469 domestic workers

from Sierra Leone working in Oman,

for the report. It concluded that all but

one of the women interviewed were

victims of forced labour and human

trafficking.

Most of the women interviewed said

they had been tricked or deceived by

recruiters. Some claimed they had been

promised jobs in restaurants and hotels

in Europe or the US, while others said

they believed they had applied for

scholarships to study abroad. They said

they were then trafficked into domestic

work when they arrived in Oman.

Do Bold said that 80% of the women

reported that they worked between 16

and 20 hours a day and 99% had no day

off. Almost all (91%) said they had their

freedom of movement curtailed,

including having their passports

confiscated. More than half said they

had experienced wage theft, and onethird

claimed they had been sexually

abused. Do Bold is calling on Oman to

take steps to effectively monitor human

trafficking and to allow abused or

trafficked migrant workers access to

justice.

As in many Gulf countries, it is

common for households in Oman to

employ live-in maids, typically

recruited from low-income countries in

Asia and Africa by agencies that can be

largely unregulated.

Migrant domestic workers employed

in Oman work under the kafala

sponsorship system, which ties their

legal status to their employer. If a

worker breaks the contract and leaves -

or runs away, if they are victims of

abuse, for example - it is considered a

crime and can lead to the worker being

jailed.

Flood-hit Pakistan faces

spread of infectious diseases

ZOFeen eBRahIm

Amid unprecedented floods

which have affected 33 million

people and damaged nearly

900 health facilities, Pakistan

faces the risk of widespread

outbreaks of diseases,

including diarrhoea, dengue,

malaria, polio and COVID-19.

The floods have killed more

than 1,300 people since 14

June and injured over 12,000,

according to the country's

National

Disaster

Management Authority. The

provinces of Sindh and

Balochistan are the worst

affected with floodwaters

engulfing entire villages and

wiping out standing crops.

Mirza Nasir-ud-Din

Mashhood Ahmad, special

secretary at the Ministry of

National Health Services, told

SciDev.Net that with most

health facilities damaged in

the worst-affected districts,

outbreaks of vector-borne

diseases such as malaria and

dengue are "imminent in the

next few weeks".

Ahmad said Sindh is the

worst affected as the waters

here "will not dry for another

three to four months",

hampering rehabilitation

work and the restoration of

health facilities. The province

faces a "health emergency",

with the floods limiting access

to a vulnerable population

and worsening an already

ailing health system, he

added.

Indrika Ratwatte, director

for Asia and the Pacific at the

UN Refugee Agency

(UNHCR), says this will likely

worsen conditions for nearly

half a million displaced people

and force more to abandon

their homes.

"People are facing many

challenges in the informal

settlements, camped along

roadsides to escape

surrounding flood waters,

setting up shelters with

whatever resources they

have," said Ratwatte, urging

the international community

to step up its support.

The World Health

Organization warned that

ongoing disease outbreaks in

Pakistan including diarrhoea,

dengue fever, malaria, polio

and COVID-19 are being

exacerbated, particularly in

the camps and places where

water and sanitation facilities

have been damaged.

Public health in Pakistan

was already considered

compromised before the

flood. About 38 per cent of

children under five are

stunted and the country has

the world's second-highest

global burden of hepatitis C.

With 116 of Pakistan's 154

districts impacted by the

floods and a third of the

country submerged, many

immunisation programmes

have been disrupted.

Women are particularly vulnerable during disasters. Image credit:

Research and Development Foundation.

Photo: Collected

"Our vaccinators are

working diligently to ensure

that routine immunisation

continues in the flood-affected

districts where health facilities

have been damaged," said

Muhammad Ahmed Kazi,

director general of the Federal

Directorate of Immunisation.

"Immunisation is a priority

and we must reach children in

affected districts with

vaccines, especially for

diseases like rotavirus,

typhoid and measles," he told.

"Relief and rehabilitation in

displacement settlements will

remain a challenge; already

disease outbreaks are being

reported from most affected

areas," said Arif Jabbar Khan,

country director of WaterAid

Photo: Do Bold

The report found that fear of

punishment deters victims of

trafficking and forced labour from

attempting to contact the Oman

authorities for help.

Adama*, a domestic worker in her

20's, said she called the Omani police

earlier this year after months of

physical abuse by her employers, and

provided evidence of injuries sustained

by being regularly flogged. In an

interview for the report, Adama said

she told the police she believed her life

was in danger and begged to be allowed

to return to Sierra Leone.

Adama said that the police visited her

at her employer's home and spoke to

the household, but then left without

her. As a punishment, she says her

employers locked her in a room

without food.

Ekaterina Porras Sivolobova, founder

and director of Do Bold, said: "For each

woman we interviewed, it is a crisis that

is significantly affecting their health

and wellbeing. It begs the question of

what needs to be done to solve this

issue."

Pakistan, adding that the risk

of disease outbreaks will

continue as long as people

remain displaced. An

estimated 500,000 people are

currently sheltered in camps.

Khan said when people

return to their homes they are

likely to encounter

deteriorated conditions,

including contaminated water

sources. "It is important that

the water sources at the

household and institutional

levels are restored and

decontaminated on an urgent

basis," he said.

The camps set up to provide

emergency shelter also face

huge challenges. Maria

Mushtaq who cooks and

serves meals for internally

displaced people in the

Khairpur district of Sindh,

said: "Even in the better

organised camps functioning

out of school buildings, the

washrooms and latrines are

not enough to cater to the

huge numbers. Despite being

cleaned every day, these

camps are swarming with

mosquitoes and flies."

Of the 6.4 million people in

need of humanitarian

assistance in Sindh, more

than 1.6 million are women of

childbearing age, said Sindh

Health Minister, Azra

Pechuho. He told journalists

that there were at least 47,000

displaced, pregnant women at

different camps around the

province.

The UN Population Fund

has estimated that there are

650,000 pregnant women in

the flood-affected areas of

Pakistan, in need of skilled

birth attendants, newborn

care and support. Of these,

about 73,000 are due to

deliver this month. With

almost one million houses

damaged, the UN agency

warns that women and girls

are at increased risk of

gender-based violence.

The floods were caused by

heavy torrential rains since

June. The Pakistan

Meterological Department's

monthly summary for August

termed it the "wettest August

since 1961". The monthly

summary for July said that

average rainfall in Balochistan

was 450 per cent above

average and 307 per cent

above average in Sindh.

Vaccine fears not to blame

for low uptake among poor

Dann OKOTh

Low vaccination rates in

poorer countries have little to

do with so-called "vaccine

hesitancy" according to a

study that examined access

to COVID-19 tools across 14

low-income countries.

World

Health

Organization (WHO) show

that only 16 per cent of

people in low-income

countries have received a

single COVID-19 vaccine

dose, compared to 80 per

cent in high-income

countries, some of which are

already rolling out a fourth

booster shot.

Some pharmaceutical

companies have blamed a

reluctance to accept the

vaccine, rather than supply

shortages, for poor

vaccination rates, especially

in less wealthy countries. But

the joint report by Matahari

Global Solutions, the

People's Vaccine Alliance

and the International

Treatment Preparedness

Coalition (ITPC) found that

inadequate supply of

vaccines and treatments,

underfunding of health

systems and poor adaptation

to local needs were behind

the low coverage.

Fifa Rahman, principal

consultant at the global

health research and policy

group Matahari and lead

author of the report, said

there were several

fundamental reasons why

people were not accessing

vaccines, not simply an

outright distrust of the drugs.

"There is little doubt that

the vaccine hesitancy

narrative is rooted in racism

and colonialism and the idea

that certain people don't

know how to do certain

things," Rahman told an

online press conference last

week (25 August). "It has to

be more nuanced, otherwise

it's lazy and problematic."

While

Rahman

acknowledged that concerns

relating to technologies

derived from western

companies were a legacy of

LIZZy DaVIeS

The co-inventor of a vaccine

that could eradicate malaria

has said he hopes it could be

approved by as early as next

year after the latest trial

results were successful.

Professor Adrian Hill, cocreator

of the AstraZeneca

Covid vaccine, said it was "the

best [malaria] vaccine yet".

He has previously said he

believes R21 could help to

reduce deaths from the

disease by 70% by 2030 and

eradicate it by 2040.

But speaking as the success

of the R21 vaccine tests were

revealed, Hill, director of

Oxford University's Jenner

Institute, said it would be

tragic if Britain cut funding

just as scientists were poised

to make "a real impact"

against malaria. He has

implored the new British

prime minister Liz Truss not

to squander cutting-edge UK

innovation by "turning off the

taps" on global health

funding.

Results from testing in

Burkina Faso showed that

R21 - already shown to be

77% effective after the initial

doses - maintains its high

efficacy after a single booster

jab. Researchers hope that the

vaccine could be approved by

the World Health

Organization next year,

assuming a larger ongoing

trial throws up no unexpected

problems.

But Hill also cautioned that

getting the vaccine into the

arms of tens of millions of

African children who most

need it would be a challenge

without funding.

The body that provides

more than half of all financing

for the world's malaria

programmes, the Global

Fund to Fight Aids,

Tuberculosis and Malaria,

has warned that unless it

receives significantly more

money from leading donor

countries such as the UK at its

colonialism, she said many of

the vaccine access obstacles

were structural.

"Because experiments have

happened in the past on

black bodies, so people are

concerned, but this is not to

say people distrust vaccines,"

Rahman said.

Global health researchers

examined access issues in

Bangladesh, Democratic

Republic of Congo (DRC),

Haiti, Jamaica, Liberia,

Madagascar, Nepal, Nigeria,

Peru, Senegal, Somalia,

Somaliland, Uganda and

Ukraine.

While most countries in

the global North have

surpassed the 70 per cent

vaccination

rate

recommended by the WHO,

in places such as Haiti and

DRC vaccination rates are

below ten per cent, according

to the report.

Overall, the report found a

litany of multi-layered

challenges to the expansion

of COVID-19 vaccine

coverage in some of the

world's poorest countries.

Among these are a lack of

cold chain storage,

unpredictable supply chains

compounded by poor road

networks, conflict and, in

many places, language

barriers. Proximity to

vaccination centres and

distrust of government were

New malaria vaccine

on roll out

pledging conference this

month, it will not be able to

get the fight against those

diseases back on track after

the Covid pandemic.

The UK has not yet said

what it will pledge in New

York, but the fund is thought

to have asked for about

£1.8bn. As foreign secretary,

Truss outlined a strategy for

overseas aid marked by an

overall spending reduction

and a retreat from the

funding of multilateral

organisations like the Global

Fund.

"It's incredibly important

that the Global Fund is

properly refunded. What they

do is absolutely amazing,"

said Hill. "I hope the new

prime minister will be very

keen to recognise the

importance of doing what the

UK [the fund's third-biggest

donor] has done so well in the

past."

Another British-made

also cited as major factors.

The report made a raft of

recommendations including

targeted investment in health

systems, prioritising of local

expertise in decisionmaking,

and adequate pay

for health workers.

Elia Badjo, founder and

executive director of the

Citizen Organization System

for Advanced Medical

Research (COSAMED) and

lead consultant for the

report, said many health

workers in DRC involved in

COVID-19 vaccination

campaigns were not trained,

while less than one per cent

of them were vaccinated.

"Most [health workers]

have not been paid since the

beginning of the pandemic

due to lack of funds and

hence are disillusioned," he

said at the launch of the

report.

Language barriers were a

major obstacle to COVID-19

information access in

Uganda, especially among

people with disabilities,

according to the study.

"Community sensitisation

was done in English and

Luganda, never mind that

there are 56 different

languages spoken in our

country," said Richard

Musisi, executive director at

Masaka Association of

Persons with Disabilities

malaria vaccine with more

modest efficacy levels, GSK's

RTS,S, approved by the WHO

last year, is poised to be more

widely deployed from next

year. "The two leading

vaccines in the world for

malaria are [from] a UKheadquartered

company and

a UK university," Hill said.

"The UK is good at this stuff

… It would be tragic if

suddenly, as new tools

become available, and we can

have a real impact - and that's

not hard to see now by getting

these [vaccines] out there - if

we were to just we turn off the

taps on funding. And there is

a risk of that."

Gareth Jenkins, director of

advocacy at Malaria No More

UK, echoed Hill's appeal,

saying that "for new British

inventions to achieve their

potential, British leadership

must continue", starting at

the Global Fund conference,

to be hosted by the US

Living with HIV and AIDS

(MADIPHA).

In violence-stricken

countries such as Nigeria,

people were more concerned

about getting home safely

than about COVID-19, the

researchers said.

"Overall, the report made

me sad," said Madhukar Pai,

Canada research chair in

epidemiology and global

health at McGill University,

Montreal, who did not

participate in the research.

"With such stark

inequalities in access to tests,

vaccines and drugs, how will

lower-income countries with

already fragile health

systems cope with new waves

of [COVID-19 variants] BA.5,

BA.2.75, or other future

variants.

"How will the pandemic

end, when we have left

behind millions of people?"

An earlier report by the

People's Vaccine Alliance

munta hussen a resident of afar region in ethiopia getting her first COVID-

19 vaccine as her son look on last year. Photo: Tewodros Tadesse

Scientists at Kemri-Wellcome Trust in Kenya.

and development non-profit

Oxfam found the death toll

from COVID-19 was four

times higher in lower-income

countries than rich ones.

Pai believes that while the

challenges facing vaccine

rollout campaigns are multidimensional,

rich countries

cannot be excused for

vaccine hoarding.

He says that selfsufficiency

of low- and

middle-income countries is

now crucial, adding: "I truly

hope the African region will

soon be able to manufacture

their own vaccines, tests and

drugs, so they will never have

to rely on generosity of rich

nations."

president, Joe Biden.

"This will be the new PM's

first foreign policy test - for

the sake of millions of

children's lives, global health

security and British relations

with its closest ally, it's a test

she cannot fail," he added.

Scientists have been trying

to find a good vaccine against

malaria for about a century,

with the first clinical trial

taking place in the 1940s. The

disease kills hundreds of

thousands of people every

year, mostly children under

five in sub-Saharan Africa.

R21, the first malaria

vaccine to meet a WHO

efficacy target of 75%, is

licensed to the Serum

Institute of India. It is ready

to manufacture at least 200m

doses annually from next year

if the jab is given the green

light after results from the

wider trial, expected later this

year.

Photo: Luis Tato

MondaY, septeMBer 12 , 2022

6

a major operation to clear illegal structures on both sides of the Barishal highway is starting from

Monday.

photo: zihad rana

Illegal structures to be evicted

from Barishal highway

ziHad rana, BarisHal Correspondent:

The road department has adopted a

new plan to prevent the increase in

serious road accidents in the southern

region. Although the road could not be

widened immediately, a major

operation to clear illegal structures on

both sides of the road is starting from

Monday. 8 executive magistrates have

been appointed for this work. Masud

Mahmud Sumon, Barisal's Executive

Engineer of the Roads and Highways

Department, confirmed the matter.

He said that the joint operation of the

district administration and road

department will be conducted. We

want to implement safe roads.

Occupiers have built structures at

Newborn among

3 killed in road

accident in

Rangpur

RANGPUR: Three people,

including a newborn, were

killed in a head-on

collision between a

passenger bus and an

ambulance at the

Sholeyasha Kharubhanj

bridge point on the

Rangpur-Dinajpur

highway in Taraganj

upazila yesterday, reports

BSS.

"The mishap occurred

when the bus from Dhaka

and ambulance from

Nilphamari collided headon

from opposite

directions there at 5 am,"

Assistant Superintendent

of Police (ASP) of Rangpur

Highway Circle Zahidur

Rahman Chowdhury told

BSS.

Seven people aboard the

ambulance were injured in

the accident. They were

rushed to Rangpur

Medical College Hospital

where the on-duty doctor

declared three of them

dead.

"The victims were going

to Rangpur Medical

College Hospital from

Nilphamari Sadar Upazila

Health Complex with the

sick newborn," ASP

Zahidur Rahman said.

The deceased were

identified as ambulance

driver Al-Amin Barat, 30,

son of Nasir Uddin,

Rafiqul Islam, 40, son of

Jahanur Islam and a

seven-day-old newborn of

Nilphamari.

Officer-in-Charge (OC)

of Taraganj Highway

police station Sheikh

Mohammad Mahbub

Morshed said the driver

and helper of the

passenger bus fled from

the spot soon after the

accident.

A case has been lodged

with Taraganj police

station in this connection.

Earlier on last September

4 at midnight; nine people

were killed in another

head-on collision between

two passenger buses at the

same point on the highway

in Taraganj upazila of the

district.

different places on both sides of the

road. Due to this, smooth traffic is

disrupted and accidents happen

frequently. Therefore, according to the

directions of the Roads and Public

Ways Department, evacuation

operations will be carried out to

implement safe roads. He said there are

instructions from the ministry to

ensure safe roads and free government

property from encroachment.

Since last Friday, miking has been

going on in various areas to ensure that

the erectors themselves remove their

erectors. Even then, action will be taken

against those who disobey the

instructions. He also said that field level

operation will start from Monday. On

the first day, the evacuation operation

will continue from Amtala junction to

the old ferry ghat of Dapadapia on the

Barisal-Kuakata highway and Kalijira

Bridge on the Barisal-Jhalakathi

regional road.

Demarcation of road department

land along Barisal-Dhaka national

highway is almost complete. After that

the campaign will be conducted there

as well.

According to the road department,

numerous illegal structures have

been built on both sides of the Dhaka-

Barisal national highway from

Bhurghata to Barisal city Amtala

junction, Barisal-Kuakata regional

road from Amtala junction to

Bakerganj and Barisal-Jhalakathi

regional road.

With the slogan "education is everyone's right, this is our commitment", a

volunteer organization "shikkhar aloi Bangladesh" exchanged greetings with

flowers to the newly appointed upazila nirbahi officer (uno) iftekhar Yunus

at sreebordi in sherpur. sajid Hasan shanto, founder director of education

light Bangladesh, Members suman, rifat, Vijay, Jewel and local journalists

was present on the occasion.

photo: ramesh sarker

a truck loaded with bricks lost control and overturned killing two

rohingya girls on sunday.

photo: shafiul alam

2 rohingya girls die in

an accident

sHafiul alaM, Cox's Bazar Correspondent:

A truck loaded with bricks at Ukhia camp in

Cox's Bazar lost control and overturned

killing two Rohingya girls. The accident took

place at E-9 Block of Jamtoli Camp 15 in

Ukhia around 11 o'clock on Sunday. The

deceased are Kanta (14), daughter of Ziabul

Haque, a resident of Camp-15 Block-G/12,

and Kalima (12), daughter of Abdus Salam, a

resident of Block-G/2 in the same camp.

Kamran Hossain, Additional

Superintendent of Police (Media) of 8 APBN,

Ukhia, said that a truck No. Chattametro-T-

12-0715 loaded with bricks lost control and

overturned in front of an NGO office in E-9

Block of Jamtoli Camp 15, Ukhia.

Meanwhile, the two teenage girls standing

on the side of the road were crushed by the

truck.

"Later, a team of camp volunteers and fire

service with the help of APBN members

started a rescue operation. Later they were

rescued and taken to a local hospital where

doctors declared them dead. After that, the

bodies of the two girls were handed over to

Ukhia police station."

Kamran Hossain also said that the truck

was carrying 10,000 bricks for NGO "Care

Bangladesh" to the camp. And in this

incident, the accused driver of the truck

was arrested by APBN members from the

spot and handed over to Ukhia police

station.

Madrasa teacher

absconds with Sanatan

religious student

Masudul Hasan Masud,

BHuapur Correspondent:

A madrasa teacher named

Abu Sama (35) ran away

with various temptations

and allurement of a

schoolgirl of Sanatan

religious community

studying in seventh grade in

Bhuapur of Tangail. In this

incident, the girl's father

filed a complaint at Bhuapur

police station on Thursday

night.

In view of the complaint,

on Friday morning, the

police brought Abdur

Razzak alias Motaleb, the

elder brother and associate

of the fugitive teacher Abu

Samar, to the police station

for questioning. Abu Sama

is a teacher of Khalek

Noorani Madrasa in Dhublia

area of Upazila and son of

deceased Arju Mia of

Dhublia village of Upazila.

It is known that Abu

Sama, a teacher of Dhublia

village in the upazila, used to

teach mathematics behind a

medicine shop in Dhublia

market due to his teaching at

Khalek Noorani Madrasa of

that village. In this, the

student of Sanatan religious

community used to study

mathematics privately with

Abu Samar.

He had been studying

privately with Abu Sama for

the past two months. On

this occasion, Abu Sama,

from the very beginning, he

had an eye for the girl and

proposed love. Later on

Thursday evening he ran

away with the girl after

showing

various

temptations. After that, no

trace of them was found.

Locals said that teacher

Abu Samar's family and his

brother Razzak are involved

in Jamaat politics. Why did

he lure the minority girl and

run away with her? The

matter is putting pressure

on the minority family to

settle the matter.

The girl's father said that

he could not find the girl

since evening. He seduced

my daughter with the

opportunity of private

tutoring with teacher Abu

Sama. A complaint was

lodged at the police station

on Thursday night in this

incident. I learned that the

police have arrested his

brother. Till now I can't find

any trace of my daughter.

In this regard, Bhuapur

Police Station Officer-in-

Charge (OC) Faridul Islam

said that in view of the

complaint, the elder brother

of the accused, associate

Razza, has been brought to

the police station for

questioning.

Later, the accused teacher

secretly returned the student

and is in hiding since then.

The student was sent to

Tangail General Hospital for

physical examination on

Saturday afternoon.

After

the examination, he will be

taken to the court to take his

statement.

Sub-inspector Yakub Ali

said that a case has been

filed against two people

including a teacher in the

police station. The student

has been sent to Tangail for

medical examination and

statement taking.

RAKUB gets new

managing director

RAJSHAHI: Md Zahidul

Haque has joined Rajshahi

Krishi Unnayan Bank

(RAKUB) as its managing

director, reports BSS.

Prior to the new

assignment, he was the

Managing Director of

Probashi Kallyan Bank.

During his long banking

career, he served as Deputy

Managing Director in Sonali

Bank Limited and General

Manager in Bangladesh House

Building Finance Corporation

(BHBFC), said a RAKUB press

release here today.

Zahidul Haque started his

banking career as Senior

Officer in Bangladesh Shilpa

Bank, currently known as

Bangladesh Development

Bank Limited (BDBL) on

January 1, 1990.

National Bank sub-branch

opens in Tetulia

asraful islaM, tetulia Correspondent:

National Bank Limited sub-branch was

inaugurated in Tetulia. Naimuzzaman

Bhuiyan Mukta, Independent Director of

National Bank, attended as the chief guest

and inaugurated the National Bank Tetulia

Branch on Sunday, under the chairmanship

of Shamshuzzaman Chowdhury, In charge of

Tetulia branch of National Bank.

National Bank Managing Director and

Chief Executive Md. Mehmud Hossain,

Upazila Vice Chairman Yusuf Ali, Sadar UP

Chairman Masud Karim Siddiqui, Awami

League President Yasin Ali Mandal, Former

District Farmers League President Tajirul

Islam Taju, Jatiya Party President

Mokhlesur Rahman and Panchagarh

National Bank Branch Manager Rajiur

Rahman spoke as special guests.

Speakers said that the opening of National

Bank in the country's border upazila Tetulia

means utmost joy. Most of the people here

rely on Sonali Bank. Now traders and

customers here can easily transact through

National Bank. For this reason, the speakers

called to focus on the small businessmen in

the development here.

The chief guest said that the journey of

National Bank has been started in Tetulia of

Panchagarh to reach the marginal level of

banking services.

The journey of non-government banks

in Bangladesh was first started by National

Bank. Since its inception in 1983, it has

stood as a symbol of trust for thousands of

customers. At present, this Bank has

deposits of Tk 45 crores. From now on, the

businessmen of Banglabandha, the

country's fourth land port, can do LC

through the National Bank. You can make

transactions using ATM cards in the

country and abroad. At this time, local

dignitaries, prominent businessmen and

people of various classes and professions,

customers, other officers and employees of

the bank and journalists of various media.

At the end of the ceremony, special prayers

and prayers were offered for the welfare of

the country and the nation.

national Bank limited inaugurated a sub-branch in tetulia on

sunday.

photo: asraful islam

Youth development training

empowers Rajshahi women

RAJSHAHI: Nasima Khatun, a resident of

Bhadra area in the city, got training from the

Department of Youth Development, and

started block and boutique business on a

small-scale in 2010, reports BSS.

Around 1,000 women coming from poor

and underprivileged families now got

employment in Nasima's Block and

Boutique House. Nasima, mother of three

daughters, is now a successful entrepreneur

in Rajshahi city.

She said many underprivileged and

distressed women have become self-reliant

through working in boutique houses in the

metropolis contributing a lot to the society.

Rupali Khatun, 35, a housewife of

Nalkhola village under Paba Upazila in

Rajshahi district, has become a successful

woman entrepreneur after eradicating her

deplorable condition. Within a gap of nine

Teenager hangs himself for

preventing him to play games

YaHia kHan ruBel, GoMostapur Correspondent:

After waking up in the morning, teenager

Shah Alam (17) sat to play mobile games.

Seeing this, his mother started complaining

and at one point snatched the mobile from

his hand, causing the teenager Shah Alam to

commit suicide. This incident happened on

Sunday in Old Prasadpur Mohalla of

Rahanpur Municipal Area. The deceased

teenager is the son of Kabir Ali of that

district.

Kabir Ali, the father of the deceased, said

that his son Shah Alam woke up at home

around 7:30 a.m. on Sunday and was playing

games on his mobile phone. Then his mother

told him about work. When Shah Alam did

not heed to her words, his mother snatched

years, she is now the owner of Toha Boutique

where four women are working permanently

and around 300 others are getting benefits

either directly or indirectly from the

enterprise. Simultaneously, she also has a

fish farm on a 30-bigha of water body and a

poultry farm with around 1,500 chicks

creating jobs of around 50 people.

"I got a huge response from the people

that inspired me to do the work vigorously,"

she said, adding that her monthly income is

now around Taka one lakh on an average.

However, the success did not come

overnight, as she had to face various types of

constraints and hurdles to attain it. Talking

to BSS here on Thursday, Rupali said she

had to face an awful situation for around two

years when her husband incurred a huge

financial loss in his fertilizer and insecticide

dealership business in 2011.

the mobile from his hand. After some time,

Shah Alam committed suicide by wrapping a

towel around his neck with a fan in his

bedroom. When we get to know, we inform

the police. The police reached the spot after

receiving the information.

Kabir Ali said, the boy is very stubborn. He

does not tolerate anyone's scolding. He is

learning to work at a local electronics store

while studying in class eighth. I am a Peon of

Upazila Primary Education Office.

Gomostapur Police Station Officer-in-

Charge (OC) Almas Ali Sarkar said, after

getting the information, I arrived at the

spot along with SI Mahbub. The body of

the deceased teenager is being sent to the

morgue for post-mortem. Legal action is

pending.

a teenager name shah alam hanged himself after his mother forbade him

to play games on mobile on sunday.

photo: Yahia khan rubel

MoNdAy, SePTeMbeR 12, 2022

7

Members of the Turkish Coast Guard give a warning to a Greece Coast Guard ship, which allegedly crossed into Turkish

waters.

Photo: AL Jazeera

Turkey says Greek coast guard

fires on cargo ship in Aegean

ISTANBUL : Greek coast guard

ships opened fire on a cargo vessel

sailing in international waters in the

Aegean Sea, the Turkish coast guard

said, escalating tensions between

the regional rivals that have

mounted in recent weeks, reports

UNB.

There were no casualties in the

shooting 11 nautical miles (13 miles)

southwest of the Turkish island of

Bozcaada on Saturday, the Turkish

statement said. It added that after

"harassment fire" from two Greek

coast guard vessels, two Turkish

coast guard ships went to the area

and the Greek boats left.

Calls to the Greek Embassy in

Ankara went unanswered Sunday,

and it wasn't clear why the gunfire

occurred.

The neighboring countries have

been embroiled in disputes for

decades and frictions have ratcheted

up in recent weeks, with both sides

alleging airspace violations. Greek

officials have raised concerns about

another outbreak of conflict in

Europe, following Russia's war in

Ukraine.

Turkey says Greece is breaking

international agreements by

keeping a military presence on

islands close to Turkey's Aegean

coastline. It also has accused Greek

air defenses of locking on to Turkish

fighter jets during NATO exercises

over the eastern Mediterranean.

2 dead, 3 missing

after New Zealand

boat hits whale

WELLINGTON : Two

people are reportedly dead

and three more missing after

a boat in New Zealand

collided with a whale and

capsized, reports UNB.

News organization Stuff

reported that two people

had died in the accident

Saturday morning near the

South Island town of

Kaik?ura.

Kaik?ura Mayor Craig

Mackle told The Associated

Press he could confirm that

11 people had been aboard

the boat at the time of the

accident and that six had

been safely brought back to

shore. He said the boat was a

fishing charter vessel and

that the passengers would

likely have been fishing for

cod, grouper and other

species.

He said the water was

"bloody cold" and the

outcome for anybody who

had fallen overboard was not

likely to be good. He said

locals were busy helping out

with the rescue efforts but

the mood in the town was

"somber" as they awaited

more news of those who

were missing.

Mackle said the water was

dead calm and the

assumption was that the

whale had surfaced from

beneath the boat and flipped

it. He said there were some

sperm whales in the area

and also some humpback

whales traveling through,

although he didn't know

what type of whale might

have collided with the boat.

Greece says it needs to defend its

eastern islands - including tourist

hotspots Rhodes and Kos, which are

much closer to Turkey than to the

Greek mainland - against its larger

and militarily stronger neighbor.

Video footage from Saturday

purportedly shows a Greek coast

guard ship alongside the Comorosflagged

ship Anatolian as the sound

of about a dozen gunshots are

heard. A crew member speaks in

Turkish, saying they are being

attacked by the Greek coast guard.

The video, which was released by

the Turkish coast guard and seems

to have been filmed on a cellphone,

shows what appears to be a bullet

hole in a window and in the ceiling

of the cargo ship's bridge.

The Turkish statement said the

gunfire was "in disregard of the

rules of international law." The 18

crew of the Anatolian consisted of

six Egyptians, four Somalis, five

Azerbaijanis and three Turks.

A Turkish prosecutor ordered an

investigation. The country also has

protested to Greek authorities, with

Ankara demanding a swift

investigation and explanation.

The Anatolian was anchored

Sunday in the Dardanelles Strait off

the Turkish coast, the state-run

Anadolu news agency reported.

This week, the Greek government

wrote letters to NATO, the

European Union and the United

Nations, asking them to formally

condemn increasingly aggressive

talk by Turkish officials and

suggesting that tensions could

escalate into open conflict.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos

Dendias said the behavior of Turkey

- also a NATO member - risked "a

situation similar to that currently

unfolding in some other part of our

continent," referring to the war in

Ukraine.

The Marine Traffic website, which

monitors global shipping, says the

Anatolian was previously named the

Mavi Marmara. Israeli commandos

stormed the vessel - then a

passenger ship - in 2010 as it

attempted to break a blockade on

the Palestinian enclave of Gaza,

killing nine Turkish activists,

including a dual American citizen.

The Mavi Marmara incident led to

a serious diplomatic rift between

Israel and Turkey, which withdrew

its ambassador to Israel and scaled

back military and economic ties.

Israel later apologized for the deaths

and agreed to compensate the

victims' families.

In its entry for the Anatolian,

Marine Traffic carried photographs

of the Mavi Marmara with Turkish

and Palestinian flags hanging from

its sides. The website's last recorded

location for the Anatolian was in the

Somali capital Mogadishu in late

June.

A large crack is seen in a highway near the town of Kainantu, following a

7.6 magnitude earthquake in northeastern Papua New Guinea, Sunday,

September 11, 2022.

Photo: AP

Huge quake hits Papua

New Guinea

WELLINGTON : Renagi Ravu was meeting

with two colleagues at his home in the Papua

New Guinea highlands Sunday morning when

a huge magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck,

reports UNB.

Ravu tried to stand up from his chair but

couldn't maintain his balance and ended up in

a kind of group hug with his colleagues, while

plates and cups crashed from his shelves to the

ground. His children, ages 9 and 2, had their

drinks and breakfast spill over.

Ravu, who is a geologist, said he tried to calm

everybody as the shaking continued for more

than a minute.

The extent of the damage and whether there

have been serious injuries or deaths from the

quake was not clear in the immediate aftermath

in the remote and underdeveloped region.

Ravu said that about 10,000 people live in

and around his town of Kainantu, which is

located 66 kilometers (41 miles) from the

quake's epicenter and was the nearest big town

to the quake. He said there are many scattered

settlements in the highlands, and tens of

thousands of people might have been affected.

He said people were feeling rattled.

"It's a common thing that earthquakes are felt

here, but it usually doesn't last as long and is not

as violent as this one," Ravu said. "It was quite

intense."

On Sunday morning, Ravu was still sorting

through the damage to his home, which he said

likely included a broken sewer pipe judging

from the smell. He said friends elsewhere in

Kainantu had messaged him with descriptions

of cracked roads, broken pipes and fallen

debris, but hadn't described major building

collapses or injuries.

"They are starting to clean up their houses

and the streets," he said. Communication

seems to have been affected, he added, with

some cell towers likely to have fallen.

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake in 2018 in the

nation's central region killed at least 125

people. That quake hit areas that are remote

and undeveloped, and assessments about

the scale of the damage and injuries were

slow to filter out.

US, Trump team propose

names for arbiter in

Mar-a-Lago probe

WASHINGTON : The

Justice Department and

Donald Trump's legal team

each proposed candidates

Friday for the role of an

independent arbiter in the

investigation into top-secret

documents found at the

former president's Florida

home, but the two sides

differed on the scope of duties

the person would have.

Lawyers for Trump said

they believe the so-called

special master should review

all documents seized by the

FBI during its search last

month of Mar-a-Lago,

including records with

classification markings, and

filter out any that may be

protected by claims of

executive privilege.

The Justice Department,

by contrast, said it does not

believe the arbiter should be

permitted to inspect

classified records or to take

into account potential claims

of executive privilege.

U.S. District Judge Aileen

Cannon had given both sides

until Friday to submit

potential candidates for the

role of a special master, as

well as proposals for the

scope of the person's duties

and the schedule for his or

her work.

The Justice Department

submitted the names of two

retired judges - Barbara

Jones, who served on the

federal bench in Manhattan

and has performed the same

role in prior high-profile

investigations, and Thomas

Griffith, a former federal

appeals court jurist in the

District of Columbia.

World pays respects

to Queen Elizabeth

II, 'a servant queen'

Cape Town : Across the globe,

the death of Queen Elizabeth II

has prompted reflections on

the historic sweep of her reign

and how she succeeded in

presiding over the end of

Britain's colonial empire and

embracing the independence

of her former dominions,

reports UNB.

Tributes to the queen's life

have poured in, from world

leaders to rock stars to

ordinary people - along with

some criticism of the

monarchy.

It was in Cape Town,

marking her 21st birthday in

1947, that the then-Princess

Elizabeth pledged that her

"whole life, whether it be long

or short, shall be devoted to

your service and the service of

our great imperial family to

which we all belong."

The British empire soon

crumbled, but Elizabeth

managed to maintain a regal -

if ceremonial - position as the

head of the Commonwealth,

the 54 nations of mostly

previous British colonies.

"The Queen lived a long and

consequential life, fulfilling her

pledge to serve until her very

last breath at the age of 96,"

Cape Town mayor Geordin

Hill-Lewis, said Friday.

Aid for flood victims arrives in

hard-hit Pakistani province

KARACHI : Two more U.S. military planes

loaded with tons of aid for Pakistanis affected

by flooding from deadly monsoon rains

landed Sunday in southern Sindh province,

one of the worst-affected regions in the

impoverished country, reports UNB.

Saif Ullah, spokesman for the country's Civil

Aviation Authority, said each plane was

loaded with about 35 tons of relief aid that

would be distributed in the province by the

World Food Program. The aircraft landed at

Sukkur Airport in Sindh and Ullah said the

U.S. operation that began Thursday would

continue until Sept. 16.

Pakistan has suffered under extremely

heavy monsoon rains that started early this

year - in mid-June. Multiple officials and

experts have blamed the rains and resulting

floodwaters on climate change. U.N.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week

called on the world to stop "sleepwalking"

through the dangerous environmental crisis.

He has called repeatedly on the international

community to send massive amounts of aid to

Pakistan.

Ullah said Sunday that two more flights

bringing relief goods from the United Arab

Emirates landed at Karachi airport. So far,

U.N. agencies and several countries have sent

multiple planeloads of aid, and authorities say

the UAE has been one of the most generous

contributors.

Near 1,400 people have been killed, 13,000

injured and millions left homeless by the

heavy flooding since mid-June. The waters

also destroyed road and communications

infrastructure.

Miles of cotton and sugarcane crops,

banana orchards and vegetable fields could be

seen submerged in floodwaters. Thousands of

mud and brick homes caved in under the

deluge leaving people homeless and sheltering

in tents alongside damaged roads.

Pakistan's military chief Gen. Qamar Jawed

Bajwa toured the badly affected district of

Dadu in Sindh and its surroundings on

Saturday. Dadu could suffer further flooding

from the rising waters of the Indus River.

"People will continue to suffer if we don't

have a drainage system and dams," Bajwa told

reporters.

He said constructing dams would help

produce electricity, curb pollution and

decrease global warming and that army

engineers have been asked to conduct an

initial study.

Bajwa said working on alternate energy

sources is essential and called for the gradual

reduction of oil and coal as energy sources to

minimal levels.

Since June, heavy rains and flooding have

added a new level of grief to cash-strapped

Pakistan and highlighted the disproportionate

effect of climate change on impoverished

populations.

Experts say Pakistan is responsible for only

0.4% of the world's historic emissions that are

blamed for climate change. The U.S. is

responsible for 21.5%, China for 16.5% and the

European Union for 15%.

Victims of heavy flooding from monsoon rains take refuge as they prepare

tea at a temporary tent housing camp organized by the UN Refugee

Agency (UNHCR), in Sukkur, Pakistan, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. Months

of heavy monsoon rains and flooding have killed over a 1000 people and

affected 3.3 million in this South Asian nation while half a million people

have become homeless.

Photo: AP

90% of countries see decline

in human development

DHAKA : Multiple crises are halting

progress on human development, which is

going backwards in the overwhelming

majority of countries, according to the UN,

reports UNB.

The 2021-22 human development report

"Uncertain Times, Unsettled Lives: Shaping

our Future in a Transforming World,"

released Thursday, paints a picture of a

global society lurching from crisis to crisis,

and which risks heading towards increasing

deprivation and injustice.

For the first time in the 32 years that the

UN Development Programme (UNDP) has

been calculating it, the Human

Development Index, which measures a

nation's health, education, and standard of

living, has declined globally for two years in

a row.

Human development has fallen back to its

2016 levels, reversing much of the progress

towards the Sustainable Development

Goals.

The UN report finds that nine out of 10

countries have fallen behind on life

expectancy, education and living standards.

Heading the list of events causing major

global disruptions are Covid and the

Russian invasion of Ukraine, which have

come on top of sweeping social and

economic shifts, dangerous planetary

changes, and massive increases in

polarization.

This signals a deepening crisis for many

regions, and Latin America, the Caribbean,

Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia have

been hit particularly hard as 30 years of

continuous human progress is unravelling.

"The world is scrambling to respond to

back-to-back crises," said Achim Steiner,

UNDP administrator. "We have seen with

the cost of living and energy crises that,

while it is tempting to focus on quick fixes

like subsidising fossil fuels, immediate relief

tactics are delaying the long-term systemic

changes we must make."

The UN study's authors identified three

layers of today's "uncertainty complex" -

dangerous planetary change, the transition

to new ways of organising industrial

societies, and the intensification of political

and social polarization.

"It is not just that typhoons are getting

bigger and deadlier through human impact

on the environment," the report said. "It is

also as if, through our social choices, their

destructive paths are being directed at the

most vulnerable among us."

Last reactor at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia

nuclear plant stopped

KYIV- Europe's largest nuclear plant has been

reconnected to Ukraine's electricity grid,

allowing engineers to shut down its last

operational reactor in an attempt to avoid a

radiation disaster as fighting rages in the area,

reports UNB.

The six-reactor Zaporizhzhia plant lost its

outside source of power a week ago after all its

power lines were disconnected as a result of

shelling. It was operating in "island mode" for

several days, generating electricity for crucial

cooling systems from its only remaining

operational reactor.

Nuclear operator Energoatom said one of

those power lines was restored "to its

operational capacity" late Saturday, making it

possible to run the plant's safety and other

systems on electricity from the power system

of Ukraine. "Therefore, a decision was made

to shut down power unit No. 6 and transfer it

to the safest state - cold shutdown," the

company said in a statement.

Energoatom said the risk remains high that

outside power is cut again, in which case the

plant would have to fire up emergency diesel

generators to keep the reactors cool and

prevent a nuclear meltdown. The company's

chief told The Associated Press on Thursday

that the plant only has diesel fuel for 10 days.

The plant, one of the 10 biggest atomic

power stations in the world, has been

occupied by Russian forces since the early

stages of the war. Ukraine and Russia have

blamed each other for shelling around the

plant that has damaged the power lines

connecting it to the grid.

Energoatom renewed its appeal for Russian

forces to leave the Zaporizhzhia plant and

allow for the creation of a "demilitarized

zone" around it.

MOnDAY, SepteMber 12, 2022

8

BEPZA starts paying salary's arrear of

Tk. 30 Crore to the workers of closed

Company Shine Fashion of DEPZ

Bangladesh Export Processing Zones

Authority (BEPZA) has started paying

the salary & other benefits arrears of the

workers of M/s. Shine Fashion

Company (PVT) Ltd., a closed factory of

Dhaka EPZ (DEPZ). The dues payment

activities started in a program organized

by DEPZ by which Tk. 30.02 crore

arrears would be paid to the workers in

phases yesterday, a press release said.

DEPZ Executive Director Abdus

Sobhan handed over pay orders to

some workers of their Salary & other

benefits arrears in the program. The

remaining workers' will get their

Tunisia food-makers

starved for supplies

amid crisis

TUNIS: Cash-strapped

Tunisia is facing a dearth of

imported foodstuffs from

dairy products to coffee,

forcing informal rationing at

supermarkets and

threatening some food and

beverage companies,

reports BSS.

For weeks, consumers and

businesses have been

struggling to find essentials

such as sugar, flour and

cooking oil-a crunch experts

blame on the dire financial

situation of the state which has

a monopoly on many staples.

Radhia Kamoun, CEO of the

patisserie chain Gourmandise,

says she is struggling to source

key ingredients, while those

that are available have surged

in price.

"When the sugar crisis

began, we started using less

of it, and the same with

coffee-but you can't make

pastries without butter," she

said from her office in the

capital's Ariana district.

Gourmandise, with 27

branches across the country,

has had to raise its prices

twice this year, she said.

The state has failed to

communicate and clarify

"what's going on and what's

going to happen", Kamoun

said, describing the situation

as the worst crisis since the

business was founded in

1976. "If it carries on, we'll be

forced to close shops, even

though we had an expansion

plan that had continued even

throughout the coronavirus

pandemic," she said.

Economists say the

problem stems from

Tunisia's woeful finances

and a trading system in

which the state has a

monopoly on imports of

commodities such as coffee,

sugar, tea and rice.

It buys the products either

on credit or with its foreign

currency reserves, then

releases them to local

markets, in some cases

heavily subsidising them.

But in March, ratings

agency Fitch downgraded

Tunisia's credit rating to

CCC, citing political

uncertainty and gaping

budget deficits.

Since then, "many

international suppliers have

stopped trusting Tunisia and

are demanding cash up front

for products and transport,"

said economist Moez

Hadidane. Tunisia has been

negotiating for months for a

bailout loan likely worth two

billion dollars from the

International Monetary

Fund, which is expected to

demand painful economic

reforms in return.

arrears by their bank accounts. The

workers are overwhelmed to

receive their arrears after almost

two years of the closure of the

factory. They thanked BEPZA

wholeheartedly for their

continuous efforts to settle the

dues payment. Mentionable, the

factory management announced

the closure of the factory in 2020

for the failure to pay the wages of

2,083 workers. BEPZA terminated

the land lease agreement with the

factory on 1 December 2020 and

assured that it would make

arrangements to pay all the dues of

the workers. After a long tireless

effort of almost two years, BEPZA

has been able to pay the dues of the

workers by selling the factory

through an auction.

BEPZA is always committed to

protecting the legal rights of workers

and paying their dues fairly. It is to be

noted that earlier BEPZA made

arrangements to pay the arrears to the

workers of a closed factory of Dhaka

EPZ, one of Chattogram EPZ, one of

Adamjee EPZ, and one closed factory of

Ishwardi EPZ.

MoU executed with NRBC Bank

for development of youth as

entrepreneurs: PM Sheikh Hasina

NRBC Bank is working with the government

to develop youth as entrepreneurs. Trained

youth are getting an opportunity to become

entrepreneurs by taking loans from NRBC

Bank without any collateral in partnership

with Department of Youth Development.

This venture is undertaken to eliminate

unemployment and create new

entrepreneurs, a press release said.

Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

mentioned this initiative of NRBC Bank in

an event and said that an MoU

(Memorandum of Understanding) has been

signed with the Karmasangsthan Bank and

NRBC Bank to develop youth as

entrepreneurs. From here, our trained youth

can become entrepreneurs with Tk.5.00 lac

to Tk.10.00 lac loan as startup capital. A

special allocation has been kept for this

program in the budget. Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina mentioned these at the

'Sheikh Hasina Youth Volunteer Award-

2022' ceremony which has been organized

for the second time by the Ministry of Youth

and Sports at the Osmani Memorial

Auditorium in the capital on Sunday,

September 11, 2022. Honorable PM Sheikh

Hasina virtually connected to this program

from her official residence Ganabhaban as

Chief Guest. The Prime Minister also said

that the youth are being given loans from the

Karmasangsthan Bank without any

guarantee so that they can become

entrepreneurs and create employment for

others. NRBC Bank is providing loans to

trained youth on easy terms and condition

under an agreement with Department of

Youth Development. Through this initiative

more youth will be able to avail loan facilities

up to Tk.10 lac from 4 percent to maximum

9 percent interest for creating selfemployment

and employment for others. To

become entrepreneurs, priority will be given

to women, third gender and people with

special needs.

Besides, NRBC Bank is disbursing loans

to the entrepreneurs under the CMSME

sector at only 7 percent interest. Recently,

NRBC Bank and Bangladesh Bank signed

an agreement in the presence of

Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf

Talukder to provide this loan from the

Central Bank's refinancing fund of Tk.

25,000 crore.

NRBC Bank has already given loans to 25

thousand entrepreneurs who availed loan

facilities of Tk.4,600 crores. Tk. 175 Crore

loans were disbursed under the first and

second incentive package to entrepreneurs

of the CMSME sector for the coronavirus

crisis. 500 entrepreneurs availed this low

interest loan facility.

In addition, NRBC Bank has introduced

micro credit facilities for the marginalized

people at rural level. With the aim of creating

employment at home, Tk.1,500.00 crores of

loans have already been distributed among

36 thousand entrepreneurs.

British cinema chain Cineworld

files for US bankruptcy

LONDON : - Britain's Cineworld, the world's

second biggest cinema chain, announced

Wednesday that it has filed for bankruptcy

protection in the United States as it seeks to

restructure after facing low audience numbers,

reports BSS.

The group, which operates hundreds of

movie theatres in the United States, said in a

statement that it filed for Chapter 11 at a

bankruptcy court in Texas.

Chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy code is a

court-supervised restructuring process that

provides companies time to negotiate with its

creditors to reach a settlement on the reduction

of debts. Cineworld said it "will seek to

implement a de-leveraging transaction that will

significantly reduce the Group's debt,

strengthen its balance sheet and provide the

financial strength and flexibility to accelerate,

and capitalise on, Cineworld's strategy in the

cinema industry."

The statement said it hoped to emerge from

bankruptcy proceedings in the first quarter of

next year, and had $1.94 billion in financing

from existing lenders to help it through that

period.

China's car

sales rise the

most in a

decade

BEIJING : Sales of

passenger cars in China rose

28.9 percent on-year in

August-the most in a

decade-driven by a surge in

demand for electric vehicles,

a trade body said Thursday,

reports BSS.

A total of 1.87 million

vehicles were sold last

month, China's Passenger

Car Association said, with

sales of hybrid and electric

units doubling on-year in

the world's largest car

market.

Sales had contracted

sharply in May-shrinking by

17 percent on-year-and even

more in April, which saw the

biggest drop since 2020 at

40.4 percent.

The Chinese government

introduced a string of

measures, including a tax

break extension, in July to

stimulate sales of electric

cars against the backdrop of

an economic slowdown.

China's electric car market

is particularly competitive,

with manufacturers jostling

to take advantage of an

industry boosted in recent

months by generous

purchase subsidies from

local governments.

The measures are

supposed to support the

economy at a time when

sporadic Covid-19

lockdowns around the

country have dampened

consumer enthusiasm and

business confidence.

Apple unveils

new gadgets

despite supply

chain woes

CUPERTINO:Apple launched

new smartphones Wednesday

at prices similar to recent

models despite inflation and

supply chain woes, while

unveiling a premium digital

watch with a price tag to

match, reports BSS.

While a 90-minute

presentation at the

company's California

headquarters did not

include any surprise reveals,

the tech giant did unveil new

digital identification system

to obviate the need for a

physical sim card.

the same price as the

current version, while a

premium iPhone 14 Pro Max

will go for $1,100.

The set of updated

products, which also

includes new earbuds, is

designed to keep customers

loyal to its lucrative

technology ecosystem.

"Apple continued its

strong growth in the first

half of 2022, driven by

robust demand for the

iPhone 13 -- which was the

best-selling smartphone

worldwide," said Le Xuan

Chiew, an analyst at Canalys.

The ability to keep the

iPhone prices flat reflected the

benefits of diversifying the

supply chain to India after

China's zero-tolerance Covid

policies crimped production

there, the analyst said.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives

said the launch event

underscored Apple's

logistics strength.

"Taking a step back,

launching 3 new core

hardware products within the

Apple ecosystem despite the

biggest supply chain crisis

seen in modern history is a

major feat for Cook & Co.

especially with the zero Covid

shutdowns in China seen in

April/May," Ives said.

Features of the new

iPhone 14 include a more

durable battery and new

photographic capacities to

capture "ultra wide" scenes

and low-light settings.

The phones also contain an

"emergency SOS" function to

enable messaging to

emergency services when

outside of Wifi coverage.

The iPhone 14 Plus comes

in a giant 6.7-inch (17-

centimeter) screen that offers

a better experience when

playing games or watching

videos.

400 Brand New Homes

in Dhaka from BTI

"As a leading real estate company bti always

cares for its customers and that is why bti is

going to organize a Grand Launching Event

where some very important matters such as

DAP, Wellness Communities & Healthy

Living will be discussed. This event is going

to add value to the prospective customers as

well as the landowners", thus opined by F R

Khan, the managing director of Building

Technology & Ideas Ltd (bti) in a press

conference held recently at their own

premise, bti Celebration Point in Gulshan.

bti is going to host two day long 'bti Grand

Launching Event 2022' on 16-17 September

2022, at Celebration Point, Gulshan-2. The

event will mark the occasion of launching

400 brand new apartments in the presence

of their customers, added by F R Khan.

The Chief Architect of bti mentioned that

under the Wellness Communities, we have

planned the homes for all age groups i.e.,

toddlers, adolescents, adults, and senior

The country's popular fast food retail brand

'Tasty Treat' is now all over Rajshahi city.

The retail chain shop, started its journey in

Rajshahi City with four outlets on Thursday,

a press release said.

Rajshahi City Corporation Mayor AHM

KhairuzzamanLiton inaugurated the outlets

at Kadirganj, Laxmipur, Uposhohor new

market and Shaheb bazar. Popular

actorRashedMamunApu, Ibrahim Khalil,

Head of Business at Tasty Treat, Amitav Roy

and MuhammodZiaulHaque, Senior

Manager (Operation) and Muhaiminul

Islam Tomal, Deputy Brand Manager were

also present there.

citizens. "Here your loved ones will be your

neighbors and your neighbors will be your

loved ones. We have focused on both your

physical and mental fitness while designing

the Wellness Communities", added by Ms.

Sabrin Zinat Rahman.

The day-long event will also hold two panel

discussions on the newly approved Detailed

Area Plan (DAP) and its implications, as well

as healthy living in wellness communities.

Project Director of DAP Md. Ashraful Islam,

other real estate experts, acclaimed health

experts, and international award-winning

architect Rafiq Azam will grace the panel

discussions with their presence, informed by

the managing director.

In this press conference along with Mr. F R

Khan, The Chief Architect, The Executive

Director of Brand and the General Manager

of Sales were present. It is a pre-registered

event and the registration for the event are

currently open.

Anger over bloated new

Sri Lanka government

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka added 37 new senior

posts to its government on Thursday,

sparking a social media backlash over

"useless" public spending in the middle of its

worst economic crisis on record, reports

BSS.

The country of 22 million has suffered

months of rampant inflation, severe

shortages of essential goods and widespread

protests, pushing it to default on its foreign

debt in April. The 37 new state ministers will

not accept their modest salaries, but they are

entitled to three cars each with fuel, state

housing, bodyguards, salaries for personal

staff and free stamps, the government said.

On social media, some Sri Lankans vented

frustration over the use of public funds.

"No pot to pee... but 37 state ministers!"

tweeted user Soraya Deen.

Mirhani Rahees added on the platform:

"Spending on these useless state ministers...

we have to tighten our belts. There goes my

tax money in flames."

Another user, Krishna Perera, accused the

government of having "no commitment to

human rights, economic reform, or

accountability". The new members all come

from the coalition of former president

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled Sri Lanka in

July after protesters overran his official

residence, but he returned to the country last

week. Among the new ministers is

Rajapaksa's nephew, Sashindra, who takes

the irrigation portfolio. The 37 new posts are

in addition to the 20-member cabinet of

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took

over in late July following Rajapaksa's exit.

Wickremesinghe, a six-time prime

minister, has only one seat in the 225-

member parliament and depends on

Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna

(SLPP) party, the largest bloc.

Officials close to Wickremesinghe said his

attempts to form a broad unity government

were yet to materialise as the main

opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB)

had refused to join. Sri Lanka is in talks with

the International Monetary Fund to finalise

a $2.9-billion bailout that requires Colombo

to raise taxes and privatise loss-making state

enterprises-both politically unpopular

moves. In a new report released Tuesday, the

UN Human Rights Council urged

Wickremesinghe to prosecute those

responsible for economic crimes that

bankrupted the country.

Tasty Treat starts its journey

in Rajshahi with 4 outlets

Now, Tasty Treat has 262 outlets across

the country including Dhaka, Narsingdi,

Sylhet and Cumilla. Traditional and

birthday cakes, fast food, pastry, dessert

items, savory items, cookies and biscuits,

sweet items are available at the new

outlets.

Attending the program, Ibrahim Khalil

said, "Tasty Treat is committed to ensuring

healthy and hygienic foods at an affordable

price for the consumers. Now it is easy to

celebrate birthdays for people for the

standard and reasonable price of Tasty Treat

cakes. We are getting a tremendous response

from the consumers."

MonDAY, SepteMBer 12, 2022

9

pSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma celebrates with Juan Bernat after saving Islam Slimani's

penalty against Brest.

photo: Ap

Neymar scores, Donnarumma

saves penalty in PSG win

SportS DeSk

Neymar notched his 10th goal of the

season but a lethargic Paris Saint-

Germain needed a second-half Gianluigi

Donnarumma penalty save to secure a

1-0 win over Brest in Ligue 1 on

Saturday, reports UNB.

The result takes PSG back to the top of

the table and maintains their unbeaten

start to the campaign under new coach

Christophe Galtier.

PSG are two points clear of Lens, who

won 1-0 against Troyes on Friday, but

Marseille can move level with the

champions if they win at home to Lille

later on Saturday.

Despite the result, this was PSG's least

convincing performance of the season

so far, coming against a Brest side who

just two weeks ago lost 7-0 at home to

Montpellier.

Galtier may reflect that he should have

made more changes to his starting lineup,

with this match falling in between

their 2-1 midweek Champions League

win over Juventus and a long trip to

Israel to play Maccabi Haifa this

Wednesday.

"It is always difficult to play on the

back of a Champions League game. So

much energy goes into these matches,

physically as well as mentally," Galtier

told broadcaster Amazon Prime.

"I wouldn't say we were trying to play

within ourselves but there was maybe

not the same desire to make the effort

that we have seen so far this season."

Nuno Mendes and captain

Marquinhos were the only PSG players

who started against Juventus to be

rested, with Juan Bernat and Danilo

Pereira coming in.

Galtier resisted the temptation to rest

any of his superstar front three, saying

beforehand that he had thought about

leaving out Lionel Messi but realised

that the Argentine "doesn't need a

breather".

"I wanted to start our strongest attack

to put the game to bed early and make

substitutions sooner," he reasoned.

Summer signings Nordi Mukiele and

Carlos Soler spent the afternoon on the

bench, while Spanish international

Fabian Ruiz came on for his debut as a

second-half substitute.

There was a lucky escape for Brest in

the first half as defender Christophe

Herelle was sent off for bringing down

Neymar as the Brazilian advanced on

goal.

VAR confirmed that Neymar was

fractionally offside when Messi played

the pass, and Herelle was allowed to stay

on the field.

However, the home side scored on the

half-hour with Messi again picking out

Neymar, who controlled before sending

a shot across goalkeeper Marco Bizot

and into the far corner.

It was his eighth goal in seven league

games this season. He also scored twice

in the campaign-opening Champions

Trophy against Nantes.

It was also a seventh assist for Messi,

who has turned into a more reliable

maker of goals than goal-scorer since

leaving Barcelona.

The Argentine did hit the post from a

Kylian Mbappe assist early in the second

half, while the latter had a goal

disallowed for offside just before the

break.

Ultimately PSG were grateful to

Donnarumma. The Italian dived to his

left 20 minutes from time to keep out

Islam Slimani's penalty, awarded

following a clumsy foul by Presnel

Kimpembe on Noah Fadiga.

British sport

pays tribute to

Queen as

action resumes

SportS DeSk

British sport paid tribute to

Queen Elizabeth II on

Saturday as action resumed

after Friday's shutdown

following the monarch's

death, reports UNB.

Football authorities, along

with cricket, golf and rugby,

all postponed their

scheduled events on Friday.

But, although the Premier

League and all other football

in England has been canceled

this weekend in a show of

respect to the Queen, the rest

of the sports world is

returning to the field.

In the PGA Championship

at Wentworth, a two-minute

period of silence was

impeccably observed with

DP World Tour Chief

Executive Keith Pelley

joining staff, players and

caddies on the putting green

in front of the first tee.

Spectators were also able

to watch on big screens as

King Charles III was

formally proclaimed as

monarch at the Accession

Council.

At the Oval, England and

South Africa cricketers

joined staff and spectators to

honor the Queen ahead of

the start of play in the third

Test. The two sides, wearing

black armbands, lined up on

the outfield to observe a

minute's silence.

There were also tributes

ahead of the rugby Super

League Play-Off Eliminator

between Huddersfield and

Salford. Players, officials and

supporters observed a minute's

silence and sang the national

anthem before kick-off.

English football chiefs have

been criticized for postponing

all matches, with the decision

labelled a "missed opportunity"

to pay tribute to the nation's

longest-serving monarch.

Football chiefs were told by

the Department for Digital,

Culture, Media and Sport on

Friday that there was no

obligation to cancel or postpone

sporting fixtures during the

national mourning period.

World No. 1 Swiatek downs

Jabeur to clinch US Open crown

SportS DeSk

World No.1 Iga Swiatek defeated Tunisia's

Ons Jabeur to win her second Grand Slam

title of the year with a straight sets victory in

the US Open final on Saturday, reports UNB.

Polish star Swiatek overcame a spirited

second set fightback from fifth seed Jabeur

to win 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) in 1hr 52min at Arthur

Ashe Stadium.

The victory followed Swiatek's win at the

French Open in June, making the 21-yearold

the first woman since 2016 to win two

Grand Slams in a single season.

Swiatek's 10th career title also extended

her remarkable record in tournament finals.

She has now won her last 10 finals, without

dropping a set. Swiatek collapsed on court in

relief after a win that saw her earn $2.6

million in prize money.

"I'm really glad it's not in cash," she

quipped as she was presented with her

winner's cheque for a tournament she

entered with low expectations.

"For sure this tournament was really

challenging because it's New York - it's so

loud, it's so crazy," said Swiatek who was also

French Open champion in 2020.

"So many temptations in the city, so many

people I've met who are so inspiring - it's

really mindblowing for me and I'm so proud

I could handle it mentally."

But the loss was another agonizing nearmiss

for Jabeur, who had been bidding to

become the first woman from Africa to win a

Grand Slam.

The 28-year-old from Tunis had also been

beaten in the final of Wimbledon in July.

"I really tried but Iga didn't make it easy for

me," Jabeur said. "She deservd to win today.

I don't like her very much today but it's okay.

"I'm gonna keep working hard and we'll

get that title sometime soon."

Jabeur impressed en route to the final,

dropping only a single set and stitching

together a string of assured performances.

But she was in trouble almost from the getgo

against the clinical Swiatek, who was into

her stride quickly with her serve and

signature forehand functioning smoothly.

Jabeur by contrast looked jittery and and

was broken to love in her first service game.

Swiatek held easily to go 3-0 up with only

eight minutes gone in the first set.

Jabeur did threaten a revival when she

held and then broke to close the gap to 3-2.

But the fifth seed was let down again by her

shaky service game, a problem throughout

Saturday's final, and Swiatek broke back for

a 4-2 lead.

Jabeur was broken again as she served to

stay in the set and Swiatek took the first set.

Swiatek threatened to run away with the

second set after breaking Jabeur and holding

to go 3-0 up.

Yet Jabeur showed great determination to

break Swiatek to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Once again, however, Jabeur was unable to

make the service break count and Swiatek

broke again for a 4-2 lead.

This time, though, Jabeur dug deep to claw

her way back into the contest, assisted by a

slice of luck when a Swiatek return clipped a

net cord to clinch a service break.

Jabeur held to level the score at 4-4 and

suddenly the momentum had shifted.

Iga Swiatek of poland celebrates with the championship trophy after her

match against ons Jabeur of tunisia (not pictured) in the women's singles

final on day thirteen of the 2022 US open tennis tournament at UStA Billie

Jean king tennis Center.

photo: Ap

Tearful Evenepoel set

to win Vuelta after

protecting lead

SportS DeSk

Remco Evenepoel all but clinched his first

Grand Tour title on Saturday after the 22-

year-old Belgian protected his lead in the

Spanish Vuelta on the three-week race's

final competitive stage, reports UNB.

Well-supported by his Quick-Step

Alpha Vinyl team, Evenepoel had little

trouble ensuring that Enric Mas and the

Spaniard's Movistar team were never

able to challenge the two-minute lead he

took into the 20th stage in mountains just

north of Madrid, where the race ends on

Sunday.

Evenepoel burst into tears on crossing

the finish line, where he was embraced by

his teammates. He is set to become the

first Belgian to win a Grand Tour since

1978 when Johan De Muynck won the

Giro d'Italia.

The final stage is a flat 97-kilometer

(60-mile) ride from Las Rozas to a finish

in Spain's capital when custom dictates

that no rider challenges the pacesetter.

While the team leaders will use it to enjoy

the end of the grueling event, the

sprinters will vie for the stage win.

Evenepoel said that he had finally

"delivered" after previous disappointment.

"I don't know what's going through my

head and my body right now. It's

amazing. All the critics and the bad

comments I received after last year, I

think I finally delivered and answered

with my pedals," Evenepoel said. "I've

been working so hard to come here in the

best shape possible. To now win this

Vuelta is just amazing. It's actually the

first Grand Tour I start healthy.

"(This is) for Belgium, for my

teammates, my family, my fiancee… I

have been away so many weeks and

months, it is for them."

Evenepoel had a difficult 2021,

abandoning the Giro d'Italia after a crash

in the 17th stage, and facing criticism

from Eddy Merckx over what the Belgian

great said was his unwillingness to ride

for the team. But Evenepoel has

rebounded this year, also winning the

San Sebastián Classic for a second time in

June. His first race win as a professional

came at age 19 when he won the singleday

race in northern Spain.

Richard Carapaz won the 181-kilometer

(112-mile) stage from Moralzarzal to

Puerto de Navacerrada that included

three category-one climbs in 4 hours, 41

minutes. It was the third stage win of this

Vuelta for Carapaz. The Olympic gold

medalist and the 2019 Giro winner also

won the 12th and 14th stages.

Evenepoel has held the red jersey since

taking the lead in the sixth stage. His

most dangerous challenger was threetime

defending champion Primoz Roglic,

who was gaining ground until he crashed

earlier this week and had to withdraw

from the race.

That left Mas as his only real threat over

the final days, but the Spaniard was

unable to close the gap.

Mas made his last attempt to break

Evenepoel on the fourth climb up the

category-one Puerta de la Morcuera after

Movistar had set a hard pace and shed

Evenepoel of his teammates. But

Evenepoel latched onto his wheel and

that was the end of Mas' hopes. The

Spaniard only shaved two seconds off

Evenepoel's advantage, which stands at 2

minutes, 5 seconds.

Mas is set to finish second in the overall

classification with Juan Ayuso, a 19-yearold

rider of UAE Team Emirates,

completing the podium.

"Today I responded with the legs. I

didn't think about winning the stage, I

just wanted to win the general

classification," Evenepoel said. "I only

had to follow, to control and believe in my

power. In the end the race was super hard

but we did really well. It's the most

beautiful day of my life."

Bashar rules

out Bangladesh

experiments

in tri-series

SportS DeSk

Bangladesh will not experiment

in the upcoming tri-nation T20

series involving Pakistan and

hosts New Zealand, and

rather play the team that

would go on to play the T20

World Cup 2022, starting in

October in Australia, reports

UNB.

Bangladesh T20I team are

scheduled to travel to New

Zealand by the end of this month

for the tri-series where they will

take on Pakistan and the home

team. The series is vital lastminute

preparation for the three

participating teams ahead of the

T20 World Cup.

Bangladesh team management

is thinking of playing the best

possible side in the tri-series

and aiming to achieve the best

possible result. Thus, the

national selection panel will not

work on having a separate

squad for the series but the one

that will take part in the T20

World Cup.

Member of the national

selection panel Habibul Bashar

informed that the Bangladesh

squad for the world event will

soon be declared and that

selection of players will be

based on the performance in

the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 and

prior to that.

"There will be no experiments

in the tri-series. We will play the

best possible team in this series

given that it's just ahead of the

T20 World Cup.

Asia Cup was also part of the

preparation for the T20 World

Cup. Players who will play the

T20 World Cup will be part of

the series in New Zealand," said

former Bangladesh captain

Bashar to the media at Sher-e-

Bangla National Cricket

Stadium Saturday.

Gobert, France win at Euro Basket;

Luka leads Slovenia again

SportS DeSk

Rudy Gobert scored 20 points

and grabbed 17 rebounds, and

Olympic silver medalist

France moved into the

EuroBasket quarterfinals by

holding off Turkey 87-86 in

overtime on Saturday, reports

UNB.

Gobert had a putback dunk

with 2.7 seconds left in

regulation to tie the game,

then scored the first four

points of overtime, and

France never trailed in the

extra session.

"Crazy game," Gobert said.

Crazier finish.

Turkey had what seemed

like full control of the game

with 12.2 seconds left in

regulation. They had the ball,

up by two, was going to the

foul line for two free throws

and would keep possession of

the ball after those shots

because France had been

whistled for an

unsportsmanlike foul.

But Cedi Osman missed

both shots, a scene

reminiscent of when he did

the same late in what became

a one-point loss to the US at

the Basketball World Cup in

2019. France wound up

forcing a turnover on the

ensuing possession, and

Gobert's dunk tied the game.

"Really tough spot for us,

but we got lucky, he missed

both," Gobert said. "Then we

were able to steal the out of

bounds, get a bucket and get

to overtime. We never

stopped. We never stopped

fighting. We always believed.

Obviously, not our best game,

but the thing I'm really proud

of is the fact that we never

gave up. A lot of teams would

have given up in that

position."

Thomas Heurtel and Evan

Fournier had 13 points apiece

for France, which led by 16

midway through the second

quarter.

But Turkey closed the third

quarter on a 19-0 run, turning

an 11-point deficit into a 57-49

lead going into the final 10

minutes of regulation. France

missed 11 consecutive shots in

that stretch.

Turkey had a chance to win

on the final possession of

overtime, but Furkan

Korkmaz lost his dribble with

about 2 seconds left and his

team never got a shot off.

Bugrahan Tuncer scored 22

for Turkey, while Korkmaz

added 18.

"I don't know what to say,

really," Tuncer said. "I'm so

mad. I'm so sad. If I cannot

find any nice words, I'm sorry

about it. This is

unacceptable."

France will play the winner

of Sunday's Serbia-Italy game

in the quarterfinals. That

matchup is scheduled for

Wednesday.

"Maybe it's the worst

emotional loss in my 26-year

career," Turkey coach Ergin

Ataman

said.

"Congratulations to France. I

hope that they will continue

on a good way in the

quarterfinals. That's all."

SLOVENIA 88 BELGIUM

72

Luka Doncic scored 35

points and defending

champion Slovenia used a 17-

0 run in the fourth quarter to

eliminate Belgium.

Doncic and Goran Dragic

combined to score or be

credited with assists on

Slovenia's first 40 points of

the second half.

"Belgium was playing great

basketball," said Doncic, who

is averaging 28 points in six

tournament games so far -

39.3 per game in his last three

contests. "We knew this was

going to be a hard game. They

were fighting until the end.

But in the end, I think we

played a little better."

Doncic had five rebounds,

five assists and four steals for

Slovenia, while Klemen

Prepelic scored 13, Mike

Tobey Finished with 12 and

Dragic added 11.

Manu Lecomte scored 16

points and Pierre-Antoine

Gillet had a 15-point, 10-

rebound game for Belgium.

Slovenia got to the line 25

times, to only eight for

Belgium.

"I'm listening for a lot of

weeks now, the word

'equality.' But equality doesn't

exist in basketball," Belgium

coach Dario Gjergja said.

Slovenia's Luka Doncic, right, is challenged by Belgium's pierre-Antoine Gillet,

front, during their euroBasket round of 16 match in Berlin. photo: Ap

MONdAY, sEPTEMBER 12, 2022

10

Jaya stars in ‘Jaya aar Sharmin’

TBT REPORT

Acclaimed Bangladeshi

actress Jaya Ahsan has

revealed the poster of her

upcoming short film 'Jaya

aar Sharmin' from her

verified Facebook fan

page on Thursday

evening. The film has

been directed by 'Hasina:

A Daughter's Tale'-famed

director Piplu R Khan and

produced by Jaya Ahsan's

film production company,

C te Cinema.

The entire film was shot

during the Covid-19

lockdown period in

Dhaka. 'Jaya aar Sharmin'

stars Jaya Ahsan as

herself and talented stage

actor Mohsina Akhter will

play the role of 'Sharmin'.

While unveiling the

poster, Jaya wrote in the

post, "This is the story of

two women trapped in an

unknown reality. It is a

documentation of our

internal conflicts and

unspoken feelings. A

short film made at a

strange time, with an

extraordinary experience.

But hopefully, it will stir

your inner feelings."

Talking about her coartist

Mohsina, Jaya

wrote, "The very talented

theatre actor Mohsina

acted in the film. My best

wishes to her."

Earlier, Jaya Ahsan

told the press that the

film's director suddenly

called her during the

Covid-19 lockdown when

she was passing her days

in fear and anxiety. Piplu

R Khan called and told

her, "Let's make a short

film." Thus, a unique

project like 'Jaya and

Sharmin' was born.

Moreover, Jaya Ahsan's

government-granted film

'Beauty Circus,' directed

by Mahmud Didar, will

hit the theatres on

September 23.

‘Prey’ director hints at more ‘Predator’

movies after prequel film

The Predator franchise could continue

expanding after Prey is released on Hulu

next month, according to director Dan

Trachtenberg. Prey is the latest addition to

the Predator series, which began back in

1987 when Arnold Schwarzenegger's

action movie hit theaters. Since then, the

franchise has struggled to find its footing,

with Predator 2, Predators, The Predator,

and the Alien vs. Predator crossovers

failing to impress audiences. Despite the

franchise not having a lot of success in 35

years, Trachtenberg will attempt to reboot

the horror series with Prey.

After 2018's The Predator received

lackluster reviews, it was believed the

franchise might finally be dead. That

seemed even more likely after Disney

acquired 20th Century Fox since the

studio is mostly known for producing

family-friendly movies. While there had

been rumblings of Predator 5 for a few

years, Disney confirmed in November

2021 that the 10 Cloverfield Lane director

would be helming the prequel. Prey is set

300 years ago and centers around the

Comanche Nation and a warrior named

Naru (Amber Midthunder). Prey will still

likely feature plenty of element's fans love

about the Predator franchise, but the

prequel film is shaping up to be entirely

different from past films.

As the release date for Prey is nearing,

Trachtenberg is hinting at what could be

in store next for the intergalactic hunter.

In an interview with Time Out, the

director confirmed that they do have ideas

for the series' future but didn't confirm

whether they will ever become a reality.

Trachtenberg elaborated saying that "the

boldest swings" at the Predator franchise

are what excites him the most.

Trachtenberg's comments about doing

something different clearly explain the

creative choices behind Prey. Out of all the

Predator sequels, 2010's Predators is

often considered the most unique since it

took its characters off-world to an alien

planet. While Prey still takes place on

Earth, having it take place in the 18th

century is certainly a unique idea to give

the franchise a soft reboot. Should Prey

connect with audiences, Trachtenberg's

storyline could be expanded, but if it fails

to make an impact, the Predator series

could continue in a completely different

direction.

Even though 20th Century Studios has

released a few Prey trailers and images,

there is still a lot of mystery surrounding

the story. For that reason, it's hard to say

if Prey has the potential for a sequel. Prey

2 will of course depend on the success of

the upcoming prequel, and it will also

likely be a deciding factor on how Disney

approaches future Predator movies.

Releasing Prey on Hulu indicates they

may not be incredibly confident in the

film, but that could simply be because of

the franchise's past performance with

audiences. Regardless, fans won't have to

wait too much longer to see how Prey

stacks up to the other movies in the

Predator series.

Source: Collider

Tamanna Prome’s new

song ‘Prothom Dekhay’

TBT REPORT

Tamanna Prome is a talented singer of

present generation. She feels bad due

to sudden demise of the country's

legendary lyricist Gazi Mazharul

Anwar. She also feels mourning in this

regard. Besides rendering song,

Tamanna Prome is also continuing her

study.

Tamanna Prome informed that she is

going to release her new original song

titled 'Prothom Dekhay.' Dr Atiur

Rahman wrote lyrics of the song, while

Shan Sayek has composed its music.

Lata Acharya has made music video of

the song. While talking about her

upcoming new song, Tamanna Prome

said, "It is my original track. Lyrics of

the song are very nice and its music

23rd Young

Artists' Fine Arts

Exhibition ends

The 23rd edition of the Young Artists'

Fine Arts Exhibition came to an end at

the National Art Gallery of Bangladesh

Shilpakala Academy (BSA) Saturday,

reports UNB.

Known as one of the flagship art

events of the BSA, the month-long

biennale exhibition is organised by the

BSA's fine arts department. It

showcased 422 artworks by 356 artists

this year.

Since 1975, the biennale exhibition

has earned recognition from art lovers

around the whole nation as a festivity

and celebration of modern artworks

and crafts.

The year's exhibition, initially

scheduled to continue till August 25,

was extended due to audience demand.

Legendary painter and art maestro

Mustafa Monwar joined the concluding

ceremony as chief guest. Artist Zahid

Mustafa presented a review of the

artworks of the young artists.

composition is mind-blowing. In fact, I

am hopeful about this song. Shan

Bhaiya has composed its tune and

music cordially. I have gratefulness to

him for this reason."

It is mentioned that Tamanna Prome

is studying MBA at University of

Liberal Arts Bangladesh.

According to the singer, September 7

was a special day for her because that

was the birthday of her friend, singer

Akib Bin Akhtar. While wishing him on

his birthday, Prome said, "Akib is my

intimate friend. I wished him on his

birthday. I always pray for him as he

remains well."

Tamanna Prome remains busy with

stage performances and television

shows. As now it is not the time for

stage show, so her engagement with

This year's edition received 2,034

artworks under 11 categories - paintings,

sculptures, print and video illustrations,

craft works, pottery crafts, architectural

and oriental arts, performance art,

photography and new media arts, from

1,019 artists aged 21 to 35.

A unique and specially curated

subject-based art installation was

displayed by 10 fine arts institutions in

the country including Dhaka

University, Chittagong University,

Rajshahi University, Khulna

University, and National Poet Kazi

stage performance is not so much.

'Hridoye Tomar Thikana' is Prome

rendered listeners' choice a

mentionable song.

Robiul Islam Jibon wrote lyrics of the

song, while Adit Rahman has

composed its music. It was released

under the banner of Dhruba Music

Station. India's Papon was co-singer of

Prome in this song.

Nazrul Islam University.

The primary selection committee

comprised Professor Pranab Mitra

Chowdhury, artist Kamal Pasha

Chowdhury, Professor Nihar Ronjon

Singha, artist Shayla Sharmin,

photographer Ashfaque Ahmed and

artist Zihan Karim.

The jury board for selecting the best

artworks featured Professor Abul Barq

Alvi, Farida Zaman, artist Siddhartha

Talukder, artist Lala Rukh Selim, artist

Ziaul Karim and eminent photographer

Nasir Ali Mamun.

Ranbir, Alia-starrer Brahmastra to beat

Aamir's Dangal collection in S India

There is good news for

Bollywood. Director Ayan

Mukerji's latest movie

Brahm?stra: Part One - Shiva

has generated real interest at

the box office, not just in the

Hindi belt but in parts of south

India too. It's very comforting

news to the embattled Hindi

film industry.

The Telugu version of

Brahmastra got the stamp of

approval from director SS

Rajamouli, who is India's first

director to deliver back-to-back

movies that earned more than

Rs 1000 crore globally from

ticket sales. And Rajamouli has

been promoting Brahmastra as

one of his own.

"It doesn't matter.

Rajamouli promoting this film

might matter for people

outside Telugu states but it will

have little effect here," said

Deepak, who manages

AndhraBoxOffice.com

SS Rajamouli is distributing

Brahmastra in the south

Indian states. And he has been

accompanying the film's cast

and crew on the promotional

tour, helping them get

acquainted with audience

members in southern

territories.

"Hyderabad is not like

Chennai. The city has a very

good following for Hindi films.

For Telugu audience, it doesn't

matter, who is promoting a

film. It doesn't make any

difference. What matters is

whether or not the film has

caught the interest of the

audience," added Deepak.

And the good news is that

Brahm?stra has generated

solid interest among the

movie-going audience in the

Telugu states. It has a good

advance booking for a Hindi

film in the Telugu states. Bhool

Bhulaiyaa 2 did well in the

Telugu states but it's not a

good benchmark to compare

the collections of Brahmastra.

"Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 had a very

moderate start but the last

Hindi film to get a terrific

opening here was Dhoom 3,"

noted Deepak.

As per some sources in the

Telugu film industry, Aamir

Khan's Dhoom 3 made a net

collection of Rs 4 crore on its

opening day and collected

around Rs 20 crore, including

the Telugu version, in its entire

theatrical run there. Deepak

remembered that Dhoom 3's

Telugu version opened to

packed houses back then. And

like the rest of India, Aamir's

Dangal continues to hold the

record of the highest earning

Hindi film even in the Telugu

states. Source: Indian Express

H O R O s c O P E

ARIEs

Today your intellectual and

expressive abilities should receive a

boost from the planets. It's an

excellent time to organize your

thoughts about presenting a project to a

possible collaborator, engage in trade, or write.

In terms of your private life, it's also a good time

to examine the latest events, certain aspects of

which are still partially misunderstood.

TAURUs

Overall, the forecast for today is fairly

good. The aspects seem to favor

figuring out the meaning of all that's

transpired over the past several weeks.

It's an opportunity for you to take a leisurely look at

the distance you've covered moving toward your

goals. Since it's an auspicious day for social activities,

why not get together with friends and discuss the

latest events with them?

GEMINI

Have you felt somewhat lost for the past

few days? The fog may lift today and

enable you to situate yourself at last.

You're probably eager to settle a

question that has nagged at you and interfered with

your judgment. However, you should be patient,

especially if it has to do with emotional matters. Try

to understand, but don't take immediate action.

You'll be more objective beginning tomorrow.

cANcER

You may have been feeling somewhat

disillusioned. Perhaps you lost sight of

your goals or misplaced your faith in

yourself. You'll feel some relief

beginning today. This is an opportunity to end what

has been a somewhat apathetic and moody phase

and begin a new one that's based on work and

meditation. As you can imagine, this new phase will

be much more fulfilling!

LEO

You might be tempted to settle certain

matters by radical means. The

visionary part of you means you're

painfully aware of the world's wrongs.

You see no reason not to take action to correct them.

But the forces in play are so powerful that you can't

expect to institute a new order in one day. If you

have an emotional question to resolve, it would be

better to wait a few days before making a decision.

VIRGO

Today will be fairly calm in terms of

outside events, but your inner world is

likely to be in a rush of activity. Today

you wish you could find the solution to

your heartaches as well as your career predicaments.

You'd like to achieve some supreme understanding

of the events that took place over the past month.

First you must force your brain to slow down. Haste

makes waste, as you know!

LIBRA

You have a lot of thinking to do about

your professional goals, Libra. You'll go

over the elements to see if there isn't

some way to approach things differently.

Are there new paths you could try or ways to improve

things? Your mind will go a thousand miles a minute

today. Those who spend time with you may be totally

exhausted by the end of the day because of all the

questions you ask!

scORPIO

You just can't do everything at once,

Scorpio. How do you expect to reduce

your stress and recuperate while at

the same time continue to be a

superstar performer in every area of your life?

Don't pressure yourself to perform today. If you do,

you're likely to deplete your reserves even further.

Take it easy, rest, and relax! You've earned this

little break.

sAGITTARIUs

This is a good moment to adapt your

logic and reason to reality, Sagittarius. If

you don't, you're going to run into some

intellectual problems. Everyone knows

that you find new ideas plentiful, but unless you have

plans to be a novelist, link your thinking to reality. The

"pie in the sky" thinking that you engage in isn't

particularly useful to the rest of us living here in the

real world.

cAPRIcORN

It's going to be a little difficult talking

to you today, Capricorn. You, who can

be easily influenced by others, will be

listening to and criticizing everything

that people say. Nothing emotional or vague is

going to get into your head. It's as if you've installed

an extremely fine filter that lets in only what you

allow. You're going to appear to be a real expert.

Don't show off too much!

AQUARIUs

Have you been reviewing your family

history lately, Aquarius? Of special

interest is your cultural background.

What educational, social, and religious

environment were you born into? What are its

values? In the end, do you feel a strong affinity with

them now or are those views different from the

ones you hold? These are interesting avenues of

thought for you today.

PIscEs

It's time to elevate your sense of self,

Pisces. You're just as good as anyone

else, so why don't you believe it? The

problem is that you're very sensitive

about having an ego. Even though you know

everyone does, you punish yourself for its existence!

This is a noble idea, but it doesn't do you any good.

You'll never be perfect and neither will anyone else.

What are you worrying about?

MondAy, SePTeMBeR 12, 2022

11

The first special extended meeting of the newly formed committee of Jatiya Sramik League,

Melandah Municipal Branch has been held at Melandah Upazila Awami League party office on

Sunday morning to make the Tri-Annual Conference 2022 of Jatiya Sramik League Melandah

Upazila Branch a success.

Photo: Rohul Amin Razu

Russan troops retreat after

Ukraine counteroffensive

KYIV : Ukrainian forces on Sunday

pushed its counteroffensive in the

country's east, exploiting quick gains they

made in a week of fighting that has sharply

changed the course of the conflict, reports

UNB.

Ukraine's quick action to reclaim

Russia-occupied areas in the northeastern

Kharkiv region forced Moscow to

withdraw its troops to prevent them from

being surrounded and leave behind

significant numbers of weapons and

munitions in a hasty retreat as the war

marked 200 days on Sunday.

The jubilant Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy mocked the

Russians in a video address late Saturday,

saying that "the Russian army in these

days is demonstrating the best that it can

do - showing its back."

On Sunday, he posted a video of

Ukrainian soldiers hoisting the national

flag over Chkalovske, another town they

reclaimed from the Russians in the

counteroffensive.

Ukraine's military chief, Gen. Valerii

Zaluzhnyy, said Sunday that Ukraine had

liberated about 3,000 square kilometers

(about 1,160 square miles) since the

beginning of September. He noted that the

Ukrainian troops are now just 50

kilometers (about 30 miles) away from the

border with Russia.

The Russians' pullback marked the

biggest battlefield success for Ukrainian

forces since they thwarted a Russian

attempt to seize the capital, Kyiv, at the

start of the nearly seven-month war.

Ukraine's attack in the Kharkiv region

came as a surprise for Moscow, which had

relocated many of its troops from the area

to the south in expectation of the main

Ukrainian counteroffensive there.

In an awkward attempt to save face, the

Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday

the troops' withdrawal from Izyum and

other areas in the Kharkiv region was

intended to strengthen Russian forces in

the neighboring Donetsk region to the

south.

The claim sounded similar to the

justification Russia gave for pulling back

its forces from the Kyiv region earlier this

year when they failed to take the capital.

The group of Russian forces around

Izyum has been key for Moscow's effort to

capture the Donetsk region, and their

pullback will now dramatically weaken the

Russian capability to press its offensive to

Ukrainian strongholds of Sloviansk and

Kramatorsk just south.

Igor Strelkov, who led Russia-backed

separatists in the early months of the

conflict in the Donbas when it erupted in

2014, mocked the Russian Defense

Ministry's explanation of the retreat,

suggesting that handing over Russia's own

territory near the border to Ukraine as a

"contribution to Ukrainian settlement."

The retreat drew angry comments from

Russian military bloggers and nationalist

commentators, who bemoaned it as a

major defeat and urged the Kremlin to

respond by stepping up war efforts. Many

scathingly criticized Russian authorities

for continuing with fireworks and other

lavish festivities in Moscow that marked a

city holiday on Saturday despite the

debacle in Ukraine. Just as the Russian

forces were hastily pulling back from

Izyum under Ukrainian fire, Russian

President Vladimir Putin attended the

opening of a huge observation wheel at a

Moscow park.

Stepping up: More

scrutiny for next

generation of royals

LONDON : Prince William

and wife Kate made a

surprise joint appearance

with Prince Harry and wife

Meghan on Saturday,

warmly greeting a large

crowd gathered outside

Windsor Castle to

remember their longreigning

monarch, Queen

Elizabeth II, reports UNB.

Their "walkabout," the

first time the brothers have

appeared amicably together

in public since March 2020,

comes at a time when the

younger generation of

Britain's royal family must

step up their

r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s

significantly.

William, long second-inline

to the throne, is now

the heir apparent after his

father, King Charles III,

became Britain's new

monarch upon his mother's

death. That means William

and Kate, both 40 and

parents of three young

children, immediately

assume a much more

central role as the new face

of the monarchy.

William and Harry had

been on frosty terms since

Harry quit as a senior royal

and moved to the U.S. two

years ago. Their show of

unity Saturday was

reportedly initiated by

William and left some

observers hoping that

Harry, 37, might return to

the fray and support his

elder brother in sharing the

heavy workload now on

William's shoulders.

Queen Elizabeth II's coffin

leaves her beloved Balmoral

LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II's coffin left

her beloved Scottish estate Balmoral Castle

on Sunday as the monarch who died after

70 years on the throne begins her last

journey back to London for a state funeral,

reports UNB.

Gamekeepers from Balmoral, the

summer retreat where the queen died

Thursday, carried the late sovereign's oak

coffin from the castle's ballroom to a

hearse to begin a six-hour, 280-kilometer

(175-mile) journey through Scottish towns

to Holyroodhouse palace in Edinburgh.

Crowds are lining parts of the route as

the nation mourns its longest-reigning

monarch, the only one most Britons have

ever known. Early Sunday, flowers and

other tributes - a small Paddington Bear

toy, a hand-drawn picture of the queen -

were piled up outside the gates of

Balmoral.

A marmalade sandwich - Paddington

Bear's favorite snack - also lay among the

floral tributes directly outside the gates of

Balmoral. A message on the plastic bag

read: "A marmalade sandwich for your

journey ma'am."

Sunday's solemn drive through Scotland

comes a day after the queen's eldest son

was formally proclaimed the new monarch

- King Charles III - at a pomp-filled

accession ceremony steeped in ancient

tradition and political symbolism.

"I am deeply aware of this great

inheritance and of the duties and heavy

responsibilities of sovereignty, which have

now passed to me," Charles said as he took

on the duties of monarch.

He will be proclaimed king in other

nations of the United Kingdom - Scotland,

Wales and Northern Ireland - and in towns

across the country Sunday. Earlier,

proclamations were held in other parts of

the Commonwealth - the group of former

British Empire colonies - including

Australia and New Zealand.

1696

In the New Zealand capital, Wellington,

the British monarch's representative,

Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro, said:

"On behalf of all New Zealanders, I extend

to King Charles our loyalty and support

and wishes for a long and happy reign."

Even as he mourned his late mother,

Charles was getting down to work. He was

meeting at Buckingham Palace with the

secretary-general of the Commonwealth, a

group of nations that grapples with

affection for the queen and lingering

bitterness over their own colonial legacies.

That ranges from slavery to corporal

punishment in African schools to looted

artifacts held in British institutions.

Amid the grief enveloping the House of

Windsor, there were hints of a possible

family reconciliation. Prince William and

his brother Harry, together with their

respective wives, Catherine, Princess of

Wales, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex,

delighted mourners near Windsor Castle

with a surprise joint appearance Saturday.

The queen's coffin will take a circuitous

journey back to the capital. On Monday, it

will be taken from Holyroodhouse to

nearby St. Giles' Cathedral, where it will

remain until Tuesday, when it will be flown

to London. The coffin will be moved from

Buckingham Palace on Wednesday to the

Houses of Parliament to lie in state until

the funeral at Westminster Abbey on Sept.

19.

In the village of Ballater, near Balmoral,

the Rev. David Barr said locals consider the

royals as "neighbors" and try to treat them

as locals when they spend summers in the

Scottish Highlands.

"When she comes up here, and she goes

through those gates, I believe the royal part

of her stays mostly outside," he said. "And

as she goes in, she was able to be a wife, a

loving wife, a loving mum, a loving gran

and then later on a loving great-gran - and

aunty - and be normal."



Police arrest Vegas-area elected

official in reporter death

ce

ity

LAS VEGAS : A Las Vegas-area elected

public official was arrested Wednesday and

identified by police as the suspect in the

fatal stabbing of a veteran newspaper

reporter whose investigations of the

official's work preceded his primary loss in

June.

Clark County Public Administrator

Robert "Rob" Telles, a Democrat, was

taken into custody at his home by a police

SWAT unit hours after investigators served

a search warrant and confiscated vehicles

in the criminal probe of the killing of Las

Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff

German, Sheriff Joe Lombardo told the

newspaper.

Telles, 45, had been a focus of German's

reporting about turmoil including

complaints of administrative bullying,

favoritism and Telles' relationship with a

subordinate staffer in the county office that

handles property of people who die without

a will or family contacts.

The newspaper's executive editor, Glenn

Cook, said in a statement that "the arrest of

Robert Telles is at once an enormous relief

and an outrage for the Review-Journal

newsroom."

"We are relieved Robert Telles is in

custody and outraged that a colleague

appears to have been killed for reporting on

an elected official," Cook said.

Telles did not immediately respond

Wednesday to telephone messages at his

county office, and it was not immediately

clear following his arrest if he had an

attorney who could speak on his behalf.

The county administrator office was closed.

German joined the Review-Journal in

2010 after more than two decades at the

Las Vegas Sun, where he was a columnist

and reporter who covered courts, politics,

labor, government and organized crime.

Telles, a lawyer who practiced probate

and estate law, won his elected position in

2018, replacing a three-term public

administrator. He lost his June party

primary to Assistant Public Administrator

Rita Reid. Telles' term expires Dec. 31.

In the weeks before the election, German

bylined reports about an office "mired in

turmoil and internal dissension" between

longtime employees and new hires under

Telles' leadership. Telles blamed "oldtimers"

for exaggerating the extent of his

relationship with a female staffer and

falsely claiming that he mistreated them.

GD-1493/22 (5x4)

GD-1496/22 (5x4)

GD-1492/22 (6x4)

Monday, Dhaka : September 12, 2022; Bhadra 28, 1429 BS; Safar 15 , 1444 Hijri

Everlasting Dhaka-Delhi

relations make BNP

annoyed: Quader

DHAKA : Awami League General

Secretary Obaidul Quader yesterday

commented that the everlasting

Bangladesh-India friendly relation is

making Bangladesh Nationalist Party

(BNP) irritated.

"The Bangladesh-India friendly relations

have been established on trust,

which makes the BNP annoyed," he told

a press conference at his secretariat

office here.

Mentioning that BNP has failed to build

good relations with neighbours, Quader

said the BNP leaders are involved in various

propaganda about Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina's visit to India aiming to

hide their own failure.

Responding to an allegation of BNP

secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam

Alamgir that Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina once again went to India to

stay in power, he said: "Even if you

(Fakhrul) believe that a foreign state or

agency will put someone in power, we

do not believe so".

Quader, also the road transport and

bridges minister, said who will remain in

power depends on the country's people, as

they (people) are the source and resort of

the AL's confidence.

Claiming the AL never lobbies to foreigners

for power, he said the AL has

friends abroad but it has no master.

"The Awami League works to enhance

DHAKA : State Minister for Power,

Energy and Mineral Resources

Nasrul Hamid said that the government

would continue to put priority

on exploration and production of

natural gas.

Urging the officials to expedite the

implementation of the projects in

this regard, he said, it is essential to

complete schemes even before the

deadline.

He made the call while virtually

addressing the contract signing ceremony

for drilling works of the Well

No-10 of the Sylhet Gas Field on

Sunday.

As per the contract with the Sylhet

Gas Fields Limited (SGFL), China's

Sinopec International Petroleum

Service Corporation will work as

turnkey contractor in the project for

land development and civil works,

supply of logistics and equipment,

third-party engineering service and

all others necessary works for

drilling,

Officials hope that after completion

of the drilling, about 10 million

cubic feet of gas per day (MMCFD)

will be produced from the well.

Nasrul said whatever the quantity

of gas coming either from work over

or exploration wells would play an

important role in the development

of the country.

He underscored the need for taking

up realistic projects in gas

exploration and production.

the fortune of the country and its people,

while public welfare is the only goal of the

party," the AL general secretary said.

He said the people are happy with

Sheikh Hasina's government and that is

why they have repeatedly given the

responsibility of running the country to

the Awami League. Noting that the AL has

full trust in the people, he said since its

inception, the AL has been with the country's

people and will remain beside them in

the future too.

Responding to another statement of

Fakhrul, Quader questioned: "Did you listen

to the statement Indian Prime

Minister Narendra Modi made during the

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to

India?"

He said the Indian prime minister

clearly said in his speech that India

would stand by Bangladesh to build a

stable, prosperous and progressive

country as per the dream of Father of the

Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman and India would stay beside

those who believe in the spirit of the

Liberation war in 1971.

"What did the BNP secretary general

understand in this speech of Indian Prime

Minister Narendra Modi?" the AL general

secretary questioned, saying that

Bangladesh's friendship with India is of

difficult times and "India is our tested

friend in difficult times".

China's Sinopec to drill for gas at

Well No-10 of Sylhet Gas Field

The event was also addressed by

additional secretary of the Energy

and Mineral Resources Division

ZAkir Hossain, Petrobangla chairman

Nazmul Ahsan and managing

director of the SGFL Mizanur

Rahman.

Police constable

held with 96

tolas of gold

KERANIGANJ : Police arrested a constable

of Lalbagh Police Station and seized

96 tolas of gold ornaments from his possession

from Jinjira in Keraniganj upazila

on Saturday, police said on Sunday.

The arrestee was identified as Munshi

Quamruzzaman,

Mamunur Rashid, officer-in-charge of

Keraniganj Model Police Station, said a

trader along with 96 tolas of gold ornaments

was heading towards Tatibazar in

the capital from Singair upazila in

Manikganj district on August 9.

When he reached Jinjira, contable

Quamruzzaman along with some others

arrested the trader and looted the gold

ornaments.

A complaint was lodged with

Keraniganj Model Police.

During the investigation, police found

the involvement of Quamruzzaman and

arrested him from the Jinjira area around

3:30 pm, said OC.

PM likely to

attend Queen's

state funeral

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

is likely to attend the state funeral of

Queen Elizabeth II on September 19 for

which her stay in London may be extended

by one day, said a reliable source on

Sunday.

On September 19, the Queen's coffin will

be taken in a procession to Westminster

Abbey for the state funeral, which will be a

Bank Holiday in the UK.

The coffin will proceed through central

London on Wednesday, and then will be

laid in state at Westminster Hall. It will

remain there for the next four days.

PM Hasina is scheduled to leave Dhaka

for London on September 15. She is likely

to leave for New York from London on

September 19 after attending the funeral,

the source told UNB.

World leaders and dignitaries have been

paying tributes to the Queen, who died on

Thursday at the age of 96.

They remembered her deep sense of

duty and her resilience, as well as the

Queen's sense of humour and kindness.

Hasina will return home on October 4

after attending the 77th UN General

Assembly in New York followed by a visit

to Washington DC.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md

Shahriar Alam will be accompanying the

PM during her upcoming visits to London,

New York and Washington, an official at

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told UNB.

Govt served legal

notice to ban

Hilsa export to

India in 7 days

DHAKA : A Supreme Court lawyer on

Sunday served a legal notice on the government

to halt export of hilsa, a soughtafter

fish, to India in next seven days.

Lawyer Md Mahmudul Hasan sent the

notice to the relevant authorities saying

that the export of the popular fish has led

to an increase in its price in the local market.

Unless it is stopped a writ a petition

will be filed before the High Court to take

an action in this regard, said the notice.

The notice has been sent to the commerce

ministry, fisheries and livestock

ministry, foreign ministry, civil aviation

and tourism secretary, chairman of

National Board of Revenue (NBR), Office

of Chief Controller of Imports and

Exports, chairman of Bangladesh

Tourism Corporation.

"Hilsa is Bangladesh's national fish and

yet poor people in the country cannot

think of buying it while middle class also

struggle due to its high price. At

Bangladesh markets hilsa is being sold at

Tk 1,000 to 1,200 per KG," said the notice.

Hilsa from River Padma gets sold at Tk

1,200 to Tk 1,500 as a limited amount of

fish can be harvested from there, it said.

"It is a matter of regret that the commerce

ministry without considering

national demand has permitted to export

hilsa to India that too at a price lower than

that in market here," said the notice.

Hilsa is not a freely exportable product

according to Bangladesh Export Policy

2021-24. "The ministry of commerce has

allowed the export of hilsa to India completely

unjustly, ignoring the public interest",

said the SC lawyer in his notice.

Hilsa, a popular fish mostly among the

Bengalis in both Bangladesh and India, is

found in plenty mainly in Meghna and

Padma rivers during the monsoon.

The low-lying areas of the Sundarbans in Bagerhat district have been inundated due to the

tidal surge caused by the depression in the Bay of Bengal.

Photo : UNB

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday took part in the Sheikh Hasina Youth Volunteer

Award 2022 program virtually.

Photo : PID

Get technological knowledge for the 4th

industrial revolution, PM asks the youth

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

on Sunday asked the youth to grow as the

worthy citizens of the country acquiring

education and technological knowledge for

the coming fourth industrial revolution.

"Youth folks are most important for any

nation. I want that the youth of the country

will be the worthy citizens by getting

education, training and acquiring technological

knowledge," she said.

The prime minister said this while

addressing an event to mark the distribution

of Sheikh Hasina Youth Volunteer

Award 2022 in the city.

Youth and Sports Ministry organised

the programme at Osmani Memorial

Auditorium where she joined virtually.

She said that the government has taken

steps to prepare the youth of the country to

be ready for Fourth Industrial Revolution

which will be mostly technology based.

She described the young people as the

builder for 2041 where the government

has set a target to make the country developed

and prosperous.

She also termed the youth of the country

as the valuable strength of the nation.

Many countries around the world are

Low-lying areas in Sundarbans

inundated due to tidal surge

BAGERHAT : The low-lying areas of

the Sundarbans in Bagerhat district

have been inundated due to the tidal

surge caused by the depression in the

Bay of Bengal.

Most of the areas including

Karamjal Wildlife Breeding centre

have been experiencing a waist-deepwater

on Sunday, causing immense

sufferings to the visitors.

The residents of the coastal areas in

Bagerhat district have been experiencing

intermittent showers from

Saturday afternoon.

The water level of many rivers in the

Sundarbans also increased.

Amresh Chandra Dhali, officer-incharge

of Mongla Weather

Observatory Centre, said the wellmarked

low over the Bay intensified

into a depression, prompting the

authorities concerned to ask the maritime

ports across the country to keep

DHAKA : Although there are directives

from the country's highest court to save

rivers, pollution and encroachment of

rivers surrounding Dhaka continue

unabated due to authorities' inaction

against polluters and failure of Dhaka

Wasa to manage the waste.

Dr Manjur Ahmed, chairman of National

River Conservation Commission (NRCC),

came up with the remarks in an interview

with UNB.

"All the human waste produced in

Dhaka city goes into the four rivers surrounding

Dhaka city-Buriganga, Turag,

Balu and Shitalakkhya. This happens due

to Dhaka Wasa's failure to manage the

waste. Human waste and rainwater go to

the rivers through the same pipeline. It

was WASA's duty to set up separate pipes

for proper flow of the wastes. They didn't

do so, and as a result rivers are getting polluted

fast," said Manjur.

suffering from not having required youth

folks in their population, she added.

She briefly described various steps of the

government to develop the youths as the

worthy citizens of the country.

Hasina greeted the awardees for their

contribution in the fields of employment, i

training and education to the grassroots

alongside rendering various social and

nation building activities.

"I am very happy to see that the youth

folks have stood beside the people and

imparted education and training alongside

creating employment for the masses,"

she said. She hoped the next generation

will be inspired through their activities and

engage themselves in national building

activities.

The premier said that the government

has taken every possible measure that

included arrangement of proper education

and employment for the development of

the youth.

She said the AL government has opened

everything such as banks, insurance, television

and radios to the private sector

aimed at generating employment for the

youth in large numbers.

hoisted local cautionary signal No 3.

Low-lying areas of coastal districts

and their offshore islands and chars

are likely to be inundated by tidal

surges.

Muhammad Belayet Hossain,

Divisional Forest Officer of

Sundarbans East zone, said the water

level of many rivers and canals in the

Sundarbans has risen from its normal

tide.

Talking with Masud Biswas, a

tourist from Meherpur district and

some other visitors from Chattogram,

they said they came here in the morning

and there was no water but in the

afternoon, they experienced waistdeep

water inside it.

Azizur Rahman, deputy-director of

Department of Bagerhat Agriculture

Extension, said the local Met office has

recorded 4.66 mm of rainfalls in the

past 24 hours in Bagerhat.

Wasa's failure, authorities' inaction behind unabated

pollution of Dhaka rivers: NRCC chairman

Dhaka Wasa's failure to construct sufficient

sewerage lines has created a disastrous

situation, he said adding factories in and

around Dhaka dispose of waste into the

rivers surrounding the city. "Combination

of household and industrial wastes has

turned the rivers like Buriganga and

Shitalakhya "ecologically dead".

The NRCC chairman added that although

a portion of the grabbed lands by the rivers

have been recovered, pollution couldn't be

stopped as those responsible were not

brought under the law.

"At least four crore people live in and

around Dhaka city but there isn't a single

river or waterbody where people can bathe.

Population density, unplanned development,

withdrawal of water from the

upstream and climate change are affecting

the country's rivers. As an organization

working to conserve rivers, NRCC is acutely

aware of these problems," said Manjur.

She said her government has even

established Probashi Kallayan Bank so

young people going abroad with jobs can

take easy loans and thus save their ancestral

land and assets.

She said youths are also being given

loans from Karmasangsthan Bank without

any guarantee so they become entrepreneurs

and generate employment for

others.

"Be entrepreneurs and forget running

after the jobs and thus generate employment

for others," she said.

The PM said youths are being given

loans through various government

schemes alongside the banking channels

so they can stand on their own and make

the country strong economically.

She said her government has established

data centres up to union levels and

community clinics where employment has

been created for for a huge number of

young people. Hasina said her government

has also given the homeless and

landless people home free of cost as part of

the move to bring all the people under the

housing scheme. This is also creating

employment.

29 indicted for killing

Rohingya leader

Mohib Ullah

COX'S BAZAR : A Cox's Bazar court on

Sunday started official trial of Rohingya

leader Mohib Ullah murder case by framing

charges against 29 accused, reports

UNB.

District and Session Court Judge

Mohammad Ismail framed the charges

during a hearing on the charge sheet submitted

by police in the case.

Fifteen of the 29 accused were present at

the court during the hearing while others

remained absconding till date, said Public

Prosecutor Faridul Alam.

On June 13, police pressed charges

against the 29 accused after an eightmonth

long investigation in this case.

On September 29 last year, Mohib

Ullah, chairman of Arakan Rohingya

Society for Peace and Human Rights

(ARSPH), was killed by some gunmen at

his office.

They fired four shots at Mohib Ullah

and fled the scene using a lane behind

Mohib Ullah's house.

About NRCC, Manjur said that the role of

his organization is to identify the problems

and provide recommendations to the concerned

authorities.

"NRCC is relatively a new organization.

Some recommendations made by us have

already been implemented and others are

pending with the authorities. So far, we've

identified 57,000 river encroachers and

evicted 14,000 of them with the help of the

district administrations and Bangladesh

Inland Water Transport Authority

(BIWTA)," said Manjur.

On the demarcation of river boundaries,

the NRCC chairman said that it's a tough

task. "The boundaries of Buriganga, Turag

and Balu rivers have already been demarcated.

I hope that the rest of the rivers will

also be demarcated gradually," he said. On

the master plan that NRCC was preparing

to save rivers, Manjur said that it is yet to be

completed.

12-09-2022

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