19-10-2022

WEDNESDAy, OCTOBER 19, 2022

2

Minister of State for Water Resources Zahid Farooq MP, Deputy Minister for Water Resources AKM

Enamul Hoque Shameem, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources Kabir Bin Anwar and

all other senior officials of the Ministry took part in a doa mahfil program jointly organized by the

Ministry of Water Resources and Bangladesh Water Development Board on the occasion of Sheikh

Russel's birthday.

Photo : Courtesy

Freedom Party

cadre arrested

in city

DHAKA : Rapid Action

Battalion (RAB) arrested a

fugitive accused in

Mymensingh arms case and

Freedom Party cadre from

city's Shahjahanpur area on

Monday night.

The arrested is Shamsul

Islam, son of late Monirul

Islam of Rupganj thana of

Narayanganj district.

RAB-2 Senior Assistant

Superintendent of Police

(ASP) Md Fazlul Haque

confirmed the matter to BSS,

saying that being informed,

an elite team of RAB-2 raided

the area in the city and

nabbed Shamsul around

10.30pm on Monday.

According to RAB sources,

a person named Haroon-or

Rashid was shot dead and

several others were injured in

the firing which took place in

front of the office of the

Freedom Party near Puravi

Cinema Hall on Dhaka-

Mymensingh Road under

Kotwali Police Station of

Mymensingh District on

February 11 in 1990.

Elderly couple's

decomposed bodies

found in Laxmipur

LAXMIPUR : Police on

Monday night recovered the

decomposed bodies of an

elderly couple from their house

in the Shakchar area of

Laxmipur Sadar upazila.

The deceased were identified

as Amin Ullah, 75, and

Aktarunnessa, 65.

According to neighbours, the

deceased's nephew, Kamal, and

a local resident, named Bhuttu

Chowdhury, were the first to

spot the bodies when they

peeped through the window

after getting no response despite

repeated knocks on the door.

Speakers for changing negative

mindset towards disabled people

DHAKA : Speakers at a workshop yesterday

laid emphasis on changing negative

mindset towards differently-abled people

to ensure accessibility to all spheres of

society.

People with different abilities should be

treated in the society as well as in their

families like other normal ones, they told at

the national media workshop on

"Preventing violence against women and

girls with disabilities" at Dhaka Reporters

Unity (DRU) here.

The DRU and ARROW (Asian-Pacific

Resource and Research Centre for Women)

organized the workshop. Journalists from

different media outlets attended the

workshop.

Lawmaker Barrister Shameem Haider

Patwary, Executive Director of Women

with Disability Development Foundation

(WDDF), Bangladesh Ashrafun Nahar

Misti, and Project Coordinator Analyst,

End Violence Against Women, UN Women

Bangladesh Tosiba Kashem, among others,

addressed the workshop.

DRU General Secretary Nurul Islam

Hasib made the presentation on

"Responsible, ethical, rights-based

reporting on disability right and gender

justice" at the workshop.

Misti said, "People with different abilities

are facing various obstacles in every sphere

of society... we need to ensure adequate

facilities for smooth movement of

differently abled people in every sector of

development."

She observed that people with different

abilities are not treated equally in their

families as well as in the society due to

negative mindset.Tosiba Kashem said,

"Women and girls with disabilities are

vulnerable segment of population of the

society as they are experiencing different

forms of violence in the society."

She urged all levels of people to extend

their necessary cooperation with positive

mindset for stopping violence against them.

Other speakers said there is no specific

figure on people with different abilities in

the country, which is the major barrier for

not preparing a proper planning.

The country needs to ensure congenial

atmosphere through developing

infrastructure, effective policies and

adequate facilities for people with different

abilities, which will help them to contribute

to different sectors of development, they

added.

In the National birth and death registration 2022 at the divisional level in Chittagong

Division, Sonagazi Municipality and Mayor Adv. Rafiqul Islam Khokon has been selected

as the best. On this occasion, an honor program was organized at the Bangabandhu

International Conference Center in Dhaka on Sunday. The chief guest of the program

was Local Minister of Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Tajul

Islam MP handed over the crest and certificate to Advocate Rafiqul Islam Khokon,

Mayor of Sonagazi Municipality of Feni.

Photo: Jabed Mamun

AGC obtains first

environmental product

declaration for

architectural glass products

in Asia-Pacific region

TOKYO : AGC Inc.

(hereinafter "AGC"),

headquartered in Tokyo,

has announced th

acquisition of its first

Environmental Product

Declaration (EPD) for

float glass manufactured

at its two Asian plants,

PT Asahimas Flat Glass

Tbk (headquartered in

Indonesia) and AGC Flat

Glass (Thailand) Plc.

(headquartered in

Thailand).

This is the first EPD

attained by the AGC

Group for the

architectural glass

manufactured in the

Asia-Pacific region,

reports UNB.

The EPD obtained by

AGC discloses the

environmental impact of

the production stage for

architectural glass, and

it benefits owners,

architects, specifiers,

and

building

professionals by

enabling to evaluate the

environmental impacts

associated with building

materials.

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Ex-PM Khan says Pakistan by-election

'a referendum' on his popularity

ISLAMABAD : Former Pakistan prime

minister Imran Khan is a candidate for

seven of eight national assembly seats up for

grabs in a key by-election Sunday, a vote he

says is "a referendum" on his popularity.

The by-election is the latest twist in

political wrangling that began after Khan's

April 10 ouster via a parliamentary noconfidence

vote.

It comes as the nation grapples with the

aftermath of devasting monsoon floods that

affected more than 30 million people and

left a third of the country under water.

Candidates can stand for multiple seats in

Pakistan elections. If they win more than

one they choose which to keep, and a

separate vote must later be held for those

forfeited.

It is rare, however, for a candidate to

stand for as many seats as Khan is doing

Sunday, and his disruptive move is clearly to

gauge his popularity.

"This is not just a simple election, it's a

referendum," he told a rally late Friday in

Karachi, the bustling port city in the south

of the nation of 220 million.

Khan has held dozens of rallies since

being ousted-drawing crowds of tens of

thousands-and has vowed soon to announce

the date of a "long march" of his supporters

on the capital, Islamabad.

He is demanding the coalition

government of Prime Minister Shehbaz

Sharif calls an immediate general election

rather than wait until October next year.

"If he wins most of the seats, he will press

the government more," political analyst

Hassan Askari Rizvi told AFP.

"But the government will reject the

election call, claiming it doesn't reflect the

national will."

Khan has already scored a string of recent

by-election victories, with his Pakistan

Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party seizing control

in July of the state assembly in Punjab, the

country's most populous province.

He has, so far, also emerged largely

unscathed from a series of court cases

against him and his party.

Pakistan's courts are often used to tie up

lawmakers in tedious and long-winding

proceedings that rights monitors have

criticised for stifling political opposition.

Khan blames the current government for

soaring inflation, although most analysts

agree Sharif inherited the country's

economic woes.

Catastrophic flooding this summer put

one-third of Pakistan under water, displaced

eight million people, and caused at least an

estimated $28 billion in damage.

The United Nations has warned of a

"second wave" of catastrophe, with the risk

that deaths from water-borne disease and

malnutrition will outstrip the 1,700 drowned

and electrocuted in the initial cascade.

Khan rode to power in 2018 on a populist

platform promising social reforms, religious

conservatism and fighting corruption,

overturning decades of rule by two feuding

political dynasties interspersed with military

takeovers.

But, under his tenure, the economy

stagnated and he lost the support of the

army, which was accused of helping to get

him elected.

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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2022

3

DU VC Prof Dr Md Akhtaruzzaman addressing a program at University Laboratory School yesterday

on the occasion of Sheikh Russel Day.

Photo : Courtesy

Innocent bystander shot

dead in Munshiganj

during clash between

rival groups

MUNSHIGANJ : A 60-

year-old man was killed

and a woman sustained

bullet injuries during a

clash between two rival

groups in Munshiganj

Sadar upazila' Bakultala of

Adhara union Monday

night, police said.

The deceased was

identified as Monir

Hossain Mollah and

injured Jannat Begum, 26.

The clash erupted

between the followers of

Suruj and Maqbul over a

turf war, Tarikuzzaman,

officer-in-charge (OC) of

Munshiganj Sadar Police

Station, said. "After that,

there were a series of

clashes, crude bomb

explosions and exchange of

fire."

Monir's son-in-law Abul

Bashar said his father-inlaw

was on his way to a

mosque. "He was shot

during a clash between the

two groups while returning

from the mosque after

offering prayers."

The 60-year-old died at

9pm while undergoing

treatment at Dhaka

Medical College Hospital,

OC Tarikuzzaman said.

"Injured Jannat was taken

to Munshiganj General

Hospital and was released

after primary treatment."

An uneasy calm prevails

in the area now, and

additional police forces

have been deployed there,

he added.

One gets life

imprisonment

for raping

child in Badda

DHAKA : A special court

yesterday convicted and

sentenced a motor garage

mechanic to life

imprisonment in a case

lodged over rape of a sixyear-old

child in the capital's

Badda area in 2016.

Judge Begum Sabera

Sultana Khanom of Dhaka

Women and Children

Repression Prevention

Tribunal-7 pronounced the

judgement in presence of the

convict Eunus Matubbar,

55, bench clerk Ishtiak Alam

Jonny told BSS.

The court also fined the

convict Taka 30 thousand

and later sent him to jail

with conviction warrant.

According to the case

documents, Eunus used to

work at a motor garage in

Badda area, where the

victim used to live with her

family. Eunus lured the baby

to a vacant place on

February 2, 2016, and raped

her. Victim's family filed the

case with Badda Police

Station over the incident.

Police on March 8, 2016,

filed charge-sheet and the

court on September 18,

2016, framed charges

against the sole accused. The

court examined seven

witnesses on different

hearing dates and came up

with the judgment.

High officials of REB led by its chairman placed wreath at the portrait

of Sheikh Russel at REB headquarters on the occasion of Sheikh Russel

Day.

Photo : Courtesy

Prosecute Malaysian officials

involved in Rohingya

trafficking: Fortify Rights

DHAKA : Fortify Rights

yesterday urged the

Malaysian authorities to

prosecute officials involved

in trafficking Rohingya

refugees to "death camps" in

Wang Kelian, including

those who were criminally

negligent in the police

investigation.

The

Malaysian

government failed to

publicly release the final

report of a 2019 Royal

Commission of Inquiry

(RCI) into the mass graves

and trafficking camps

discovered in 2015 in

Malaysia, with the chair of

the RCI claiming that the

report is a state secret,

Fortify Rights said.

However, the report

recently appeared on the

BD Tokyo mission remembers

Sheikh Russel's love for

the people

DHAKA : Speakers at a

discussion in Tokyo on

Tuesday said the beautiful

face of Sheikh Russel is the

symbol of innocence, love

and affection, which will

never fade away from the

public memory.

Bangladesh Embassy in

Tokyo organised the event

marking the 59th birthday

of Sheikh Russel who was

among the martyrs of

August 15 mayhem in

1975. He was the youngest

son of Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman.

The speakers highlighted

various aspects of the life

of young Russel, the

affection that Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina as

the eldest sister held for

him and how a promising

Ministry of Home Affairs'

website and is now on file

with Fortify Rights.

"The unceremonious

appearance of the report

online, unbeknownst to key

stakeholders in the country,

raises questions about the

ongoing lack of justice and

accountability for Rohingya

victims of trafficking," said

Matthew Smith, CEO at

Fortify Rights.

"In response to the RCI's

findings, and to give

Rohingya victims and their

families a measure of justice,

the Malaysian government

must provide reparations

and prosecute officials

implicated in the

horrendous crimes in Wang

Kelian."

The RCI report finds that

young life ended with

brutal assassination.

They said Russel will be

remembered for his love

and amiability for people

around him and children

should learn these values

as the nation remembers

him on this day being

observed as 'Sheikh Russel

Day'.

A significant number of

Bangladesh community

members in Tokyo

attended the event despite

being a working day, said

the embassy.

The day's programme

started in the morning

with placing of floral

wreath at the portrait of

Russel while the theme

song of Sheikh Russel Day

was played on the screen.

This was followed by a

officials could have

prevented the torture and

death of Rohingya and

Bangladeshi trafficking

victims and that official

negligence hindered the

detection and proper

investigation of a human

trafficking syndicate

responsible for atrocity

against Rohingyas and

others.

"The fact that Malaysia

still hasn't held any officials

accountable is a stain on the

nation's record that must be

rectified," said Matthew

Smith. "The trafficking of

Rohingya to Malaysia was

widespread and systematic

and demands justice,

accountability, and

reparations for victims and

their families."

special prayer offered to

the memory of Russel and

all family members of

Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujib.

The messages issued by

the President and the

Prime Minister on the

occasion were read out by

embassy officials.

Bangladesh Ambassador

to Japan Shahabuddin

Ahmed paid homage to

Bangabandhu and prayed

for peace for his departed

soul.

The ambassador recalled

that on his birthday on 18

October 1973, Sheikh

Russel travelled to Japan

with his father.

The documentary of the

day had several shots of

Sheikh Russel taken from

that visit.

BSMRMU

observes Sheikh

Russel Day

Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman Maritime

University observed Sheikh

Russel Day to mark the 59th

birthday of Sheikh Russel, the

youngest son of Father of the

Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman. A

delegation led by the Vice-

Chancellor Rear Admiral M

Khaled Iqbal (retd) paid

homage to Sheikh Russel's

portrait at the university, a

press release said.

Later, saplings were planted

in the university premises as

part of the day celebrations.

Also, a discussion was

organized in the auditorium.

The Vice Chancellor of the

University, Rear Admiral M

Khaled Iqbal (retd) graced the

occasion as the Chief Guest

and Professor Dr.

Anisuzzaman, Vice-

Chancellor of Global

University, Bangladesh was

present as the Special Guest

and Guest Speaker. The

Treasurer, Registrar, Deans,

Faculty members, Students,

Officers and Staffs of the

university attended the

function. BSMRMU Cultural

Club arranged a cultural

program and discussion on

the lifespan of Sheikh Russel

took place as well.

Sheikh Russel

Day Observed

in BUP

On Tuesday, Bangladesh

University of Professionals

(BUP) observed Sheikh

Russel Day on the 58th birth

anniversary of Sheikh

Russel, the youngest son of

the great architect of

independence, Father of the

Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a

press release said.

On observing the day with

due dignity, several

programmes have been

arranged including placing

wreaths at the portrait of

Sheikh Russel, planting

trees at BUP Campus and a

discussion at Bijoy

Auditorium of BUP

conducted by the BUP

Literature and Drama Club.

Among others, BUP VC

Major General Md Mahbubul

Alam, ndc, afwc, psc,

MPhil, PhD, Pro-VC

Professor Dr. Khondoker

Mokaddem Hossain, High

Officials, Faculty Members,

Employees and Students

were also present in the

programmes.

Agricultural production

should be doubled by

2030: Shahab

DHAKA : Environment, Forest and Climate

Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin

yesterday said that agricultural production

should be doubled by 2030 to combat the

food crisis and the adverse effects of climate

change, reports BSS.

He made the comments at a World Food

Day 2022 event at the Osmani Memorial

Auditorium on Monday.

Organized by Ministry of Agriculture, the

seminar, titled 'Good nutrition in good

production, protected environment and

advanced life: Leaving no one behind,' was

held on the occasion of celebrating World

Food Day 2022 on Monday, according to a

press release.

For this, the crops need to be climate

tolerant, modern farming methods need to

be expanded and the use of environmentally

friendly agricultural inputs needs to be

ensured.

Apart from this, research on agricultural

products processing, value chain

development and others should also be given

importance, he said.

"We need to explore the international

market to find options for exporting

agricultural products after meeting the needs

of the country and gap rules should be

followed during the production of exportable

agricultural products as per the demand."

The environment minister said that the

country has achieved self-sufficiency under

the efficient and strong leadership of

Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

and the efforts of all related to agriculture.

"Now we have to pay special attention to

achieving self-sufficiency in our nutrition. In

this case, the fair market management of

balanced food distribution is as important as

the nutritional awareness among the

people," he said.

The minister urged everyone to work hand

in hand to implement a poverty-free 'Sonar

Bangla' dreamt by the Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Secretary of Ministry of Fisheries and

Livestock Nahid Rashid and Secretary of

the Food Ministry, Md Ismail Hossain

(NDC) spoke in the seminar as special

guests under the chairmanship of

Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture

Md Sayedul Islam.

Executive Director of Global Alliance for

Improved Nutrition Doctor Lawrence

Haddad, Representative of the United

Nations Food and Agriculture Organization

Saso Martinov, BARC Executive Chairman

Dr Sheikh Mohammad Bakhtiar and

Director General of Bangladesh Agricultural

Research Institute Dr Debasish Sarker also

spoke in the seminar ,among others.

Rahima Begum planned the ‘abduction

drama’ herself, son says in statement

KHULNA : Son of Rahima Begum, the

Khulna resident who made news after "going

missing" - as claimed by her family, has given

a statement, alleging that his mother

planned the whole "abduction drama"

herself.

Rahima's son Mohammad Miraj Al Shadi

went to Khulna Police Bureau of

Investigation (PBI) office yesterday

afternoon and was sent to the court after he

said he wanted to give a statement regarding

the abduction case of his mother, Syed

Mushfiqur Rahman, Superintendent of

Khulna PBI, said.

According to Shadi's statement, his mother

was not abducted, rather she "went into

hiding willingly". She had done this several

times before, he claimed. This time, she did it

to implicate the people with whom she is

involved in a land dispute, he said.

PBI SP Mushfiqur said the investigation

report in the case will be submitted this

month after some more necessary

information is gathered.

"Before Rahima went missing, someone

sent money to her bKash number. We are

trying to identify who sent it and why," he

added. Shadi said he has no idea where

Rahima is at the moment and will take legal

steps to break all ties with her after PBI

submits a report in the case.

Meanwhile, Rahima's daughter Mariam

Mannan said she also has no information on

her mother's whereabouts and asked the

UNB correspondent to contact her younger

sister, Aduri, or brother Shadi in this regard.

UNB's Khulna correspondent contacted

Aduri. She said that Rahima is with her, and

journalists can come to her home and verify.

On August 27 night, Rahima went missing

after she had left her home - in Banikpara

area of Doulatpur - to bring water. Her

daughters found her sandals, scarf and the

water pot. A newer pair of sandals, though,

had gone missing and that fuelled

speculation that she had left home on her

own. The family first filed a complaint with

the police, based on which the law

enforcement lodged a first information

report (FIR) against some people over

Rahima's disappearance.

On September 13, after Rahima remained

missing for 17 days and police failed to find

her, her younger daughter Aduri Akter

appealed to a Khulna court to transfer the

case to the Police Bureau of Investigation

(PBI).

On September 24, Rahima Begum was

found alive in Faridpur's Boalmari after

remaining missing for 29 days.

Police arrested six people in connection

with the case and of them four were granted

bail after she was found.

A Khulna court handed over Rahima to her

daughter Aduri on September 25.

Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) observed Sheikh Russel Day on the 58th birth

anniversary of Sheikh Russel.

Photo : Courtesy

Body recovered from

container shipped to

Malaysia: Ctg port

authority

CHATTOGRAM : A

decomposed body has been

recovered from a container

shipped to Malaysia's Penang

port from Chattogram,

officials said on Tuesday.

According to the

Chattogram port authority,

the container came from BM

container depot in Sitakunda

and was shipped from

Bangladesh on 'Sawasdee

Atlantic' on October 6. It

reached Penang Port three

days later, reports UNB.

On October 10, the Penang

port authority recovered the

decomposed body while

unloading the container and

informed the matter to

Malaysian police.

Deputy Speaker of the National Parliament Md Shamsul Haque Tuku

uncovered the cover of a book titled 'World Leader Sheikh Hasina : The

Pioneer of Golden Bangladesh' written by Dr Hafiz Muhammad Hasan

Babu.

Photo : Courtesy

Wednesday, ocTober 19, 2022

4

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Make easier the

owning of houses

Owning a house or a piece of land in Dhaka city

is probably the greatest aspirations of

individual families who form the city's

current population of over 15 million people. But

some 65 per cent of these families live in rented

dwellings of various types. And the costs of rented

premises have been far outpacing the growth in

income of households.

House rent has only gone on rising sharply

without a pause in recent years. Similarly, land

prices as well as of apartments offered by

developers in the city have skyrocketed in contrast

to a decades ago. Thus, even for those in the middle

class bracket-who earn on average one lakh taka per

month-- owning a house or a piece of real property

has become like chasing an unrealistic ambition.

All of these hard facts of life were stated in a

publication sometime ago by Power and

Participation Centre (PPRC), a non governmental

organization. The gist of it were published in a

report in a daily newspaper although these are

hardly new revelations to the non privileged ones in

the city who are compelled to pay a lion's share of

their earnings on rents only.

No easy solutions are in sight for the problem is

mainly tied up with inflation. The current rate of

officially estimated inflation in Bangladesh is some

7 per cent whereas the private but reliable estimates

are notably higher. Till inflation can be kept on a

leash over the long haul while economic growth,

earnings and savings of people are allowed to

increase significantly over time, this chasm between

the demanded price of real property and the ability

to buy them by ones who are not super rich, will not

be bridged.

Meanwhile, government may opt for some stop

gap measures. It can increase the activities of the

government operated House Building Finance

Corporation (HBFC) to help the extension of its

activities among a larger number of clients. More

important would be HBFC scaling down its interest

rate charged on loans to a substantially lower

amount.

As a government body with public welfare in mind,

it should not be so commercially operated but with

the spirit of functioning only a little above the breakeven

point to maximize not profits but welfare.

HBFC itself can perhaps acquire long term loans at

nominal interests from the World Bank (WB) and

other international agencies for boosting its

resources and lend the same to people by passing on

the benefits of the same to them through charging

lower interest. It should also provide loans to buy

lands.

Government should be also prepared to take some

fiscal measures like decreasing amply taxes to be

paid while transferring ownership of land in order to

help reduce land price. Government's policies

should similarly help the realtors to be enabled to

develop less costly housing units for selling of the

same at relatively lowered or affordable prices to

their buyers.

There are also other things to be done. For

example, the registration fee for real estate is already

considered as very high. The inability to pay such

high fees frustrates many otherwise intending

buyers from buying real estate. REHAB and its

customers say that it should be maximum 5 per cent

to really create a big enough stimulus among the

prospective buyers to press ahead with their buying

plans.

REHAB leaders are of the view that unless a

section of the income tax rules which in the past

provided for not questioning the source of wealth in

relation to buying of houses, if this rule is not

reintroduced, then potential clients will continue to

shy away from buying flats or houses. So, they are

pleading for its abolition.

In the case of cement the import of which is

subjected to restrictions, REHAB has asked for a

withdrawl of such restrictions along with lower

duties on the imported cement so that the housing

and construction sector can benefit from adequate

availability and reasonable price of this basic

building material.

Government provides cash incentives for some

export products to provide incentives to exporters

to export more and earn more foreign currency .

REHAB leaders are for similar giving of cash

incentives to them as they make sales of real

property to Bangladeshis living abroad.

The cash incentives will give a spur to selling real

estate among overseas buyers leading to growth in

the industry. The sales, on the other hand, will also

add to the country's foreign currency reserve.

REHAB has also demanded that government

should explore the ways and means of extending

long term housing loans at nominal interests to

encourage greater housing and construction

activities.

AN important global debate is underway

about the disruptive impact of new

technology. There is no doubt modern

technology has been a force for good and

responsible for innumerable positive

developments - empowering people,

improving lives, increasing productivity,

advancing medical and scientific knowledge

and transforming societies. Technological

developments have helped to drive

unprecedented social and economic progress.

But the fourth industrial revolution has also

involved the evolution of advance

technologies that are creating disruption, new

vulnerabilities and harmful repercussions,

which are not fully understood, much less

managed. A digitalised world is facing the

challenge of cybersecurity as threats rise

across the world. Data theft and fraud,

cyberattacks and breaches of critical systems,

electricity networks and financial markets are

all part of rising risks.

Communication technology now

dominates our lives like never before. It

brings untold benefits but also presents new

dangers. The phenomenon of fake news for

example is not new. But its omnipresence

today has much to do with digital technology,

which has produced a proliferation of

information channels and expansion of social

media. Online platforms have become

vehicles for the spread of misinformation.

Fake news easily circulates due to the

magnifying power of social media in a mostly

unregulated environment. Anonymity in

social media platforms gives trolls and

purveyors of false stories the assurance they

will not be held accountable for their lies or

hate messages. So fake news is posted on

social media without fear of retribution.

'Deepfakes' - doctored videos using artificial

intelligence (AI) - are now commonly used to

THE Intergovernmental Science-Policy

Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem

Services was established in 2012 to

perform regular and timely assessment of

knowledge on biodiversity and ecosystem

services and its contribution to people, as well

as actions to protect and sustainably use vital

natural assets. To date, eight IPBES

assessments have been completed.

Equilibrium in nature, essential for human

life, is being altered by multiple human

drivers. The rapid decline includes significant

changes in 75 per cent of land surface, 66pc on

oceans and loss of over 85pc of wetlands.

Around a million species are facing the threat

of extinction. Urgent action is required to

reduce the intensity of the drivers of

biodiversity loss.

The Convention on Biological Diversity

(CBD), the Rio sister convention to the

UNFCCC, is due to conclude negotiations on a

new global framework for biodiversity

conservation and sustainable use in

Dece m ber after delays. Originally

planned for Kun ming, China, in 2020,

COP15 was postponed due to Covid-19 and

split into a two-part event. The first was held

in Kunming in 2021 and produced the

Kunming Declara tion; it was where China

also launched the Kunming Biodiversity

Fund. The second, scheduled to be held in

Montreal (Dec 17-19) will finalise the post-

2020 global biodiversity framework for 2022-

2030.

This once-in-a-decade opportunity to land

an ambitious global deal for nature will need

Last year, Iraqis took to the polls in

renewed hopes of charting a new

path to a prosperous, stable and

secure future for their country. It was a

hard-fought opportunity by an

exhausted, wary Iraqi public left with

little recourse but to take to the streets in

a bid to apply pressure on a gilded

political elite in Baghdad. Tragically, at

the peak of the nationwide protests,

several hundreds of young Iraqis would

lose their lives, with thousands more

injured. Worse yet, like other troubled

post-conflict transitions in the Arab

world, this hard-earned reaffirmation of

democracy was quickly followed by

divisive politics, generating bitter public

disillusion and worrying signs of a return

to armed conflict as the clock ticked on.

The protracted political crisis has

already fueled so much instability and

acrimony at levels not seen since the

U.S.-led invasion nearly two decades

ago. A striking testament of Iraq's

troubled year-long post-election phase

was the barrage of rockets that rained

down in the Green Zone in a bid to

prevent lawmakers from heading into

parliament to finally select a new

president. The attack wounded at least

10, including four civilians, an all-too

familiar consequence of the perpetual

cycles of violence sparked by prolonged

The trouble with technology

mislead and deceive. The profit motive and

business model of social media companies

prevents them from instituting real checks on

divisive and sensational content irrespective

of whether it is true or false. That means

'digital wildfires' are rarely contained. Digital

technology is also being abused to commit

crimes, recruit terrorists and spread hate, all

of which imperil societies. This presents

challenges to social stability in what is now

called the post-truth era.

Digital technology is also fuelling

polarisation and divisiveness within

countries. Studies have pointed to its

disruptive impact on political systems and

democracy. In an article in the European

Journal of Futures Research in March 2022,

the authors wrote that "In times of scepticism

and a marked dependence on different types

of AI in a network full of bots, trolls, and fakes,

unprecedented standards of polarisation and

intolerance are intensifying and crystallising

with the coming to power of leaders of

dubious democratic reputation". The

connection between the rise of right-wing

populist leaders and their cynical but effective

deployment of social media is now well

established.

New technologies present opportunities

and dangers for nations and people.

high-level political attention and powerful

voices from civil society, media and businesses

to amplify the need for a shared call for

ambition to ensure COP15's success. As hosts,

China and Canada will play a crucial role by

investing diplomatically ahead of the event for

a successful outcome.

Over half the global GDP is at risk due to

nature loss.

The CBD COP15 provides an opportunity

for delivering on a global deal for nature

similar in significance to the Paris Climate

agreement. At stake is the future of human life

and the ecological assets that support life. An

estimated 23pc of global emissions come from

agriculture, forestry and land use. The

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

found that boosting the area of the world's

forest, woodlands, and woody savannahs

could store one quarter of the carbon

necessary for limiting global warming to 1.5

degrees Celsius.

Biodiversity conservation has not received

the same attention as global warming

although it plays a huge role in food security.

Iraq - Is there hope at last ?

inaction, sectarianism and intransigence.

Similarly, endemic corruption, rampant

unemployment and decaying

infrastructure have also contributed to

the decimation of Iraqi lives and

livelihoods. Unfortunately, despite the

relentless efforts undertaken in the past

weeks and months for Iraqi politicians to

engage, cooperate and commit to a

credible path towards much-needed

political stability, Baghdad never

managed to achieve a single milestone or

critical success. Granted, highly contested

polls in post-civil war contexts often lead

to a prolonged interim period between

when results are announced and eventual

government formation, or in Iraq's case,

achieving a quorum in its parliament (The

Council of Representatives) to elect a new

president.

However, a year after the last general

election, Iraqi politics became paralyzed

by endless squabbling, needless

brinksmanship, increased insecurity and

escalating violence engulfing the country

in chronic instability that Barham Salih's

caretaker administration was severely illequipped

to handle. It was no surprise

that the two-decades-long chaos in

Baghdad's corridors of power began

fueling a nostalgia for the pre-2003 era

given the corruption, nepotism, escalating

sectarian violence and a shrinking

Maleeha lodhi

Nature positive

aisha Khan

haFed al-GhWell

Artificial intelligence or machine

intelligence presents many dangers such as

invasion of privacy and compromise of

multiple dimensions of security. The biggest

threat posed by autonomous weapons

systems is that they can take decisions and

even strategies out of human hands. They can

independently target and neutralise

adversaries and operate without the benefit of

human judgement or thoughtful calculation

of risks. Today, AI is fuelling an arms race in

lethal autonomous weapons in a new arena of

artificial intelligence or machine intelligence

presents many dangers such as invasion of privacy

and compromise of multiple dimensions of security.

The biggest threat posed by autonomous weapons

systems is that they can take decisions and even

strategies out of human hands.

superpower competition.

The book, co-authored by Henry Kissinger,

Eric Schmidt and Daniel Huttenlocher, The

Age of AI: And our Human Future, lays bare

the dangers ahead. AI has ushered in a new

period of human consciousness, say the

authors (Schmidt is Google's former CEO),

which "augers a revolution in human affairs".

But this, they argue, can lead to human beings

losing the ability to reason, reflect and

conceptualise. It could in fact "permanently

change our relationship with reality".

Their discussion of the military uses of AI

and how it is used to fight wars is especially

instructive. AI would enhance conventional,

nuclear and cyber capabilities in ways that

would make security relations between rival

powers more problematic and conflicts

More than half the world's GDP ($44 trillion)

is at immediate risk due to nature loss.

Globally, food production uses about 40pc of

available land and 70pc of freshwater

withdrawals, with agriculture responsible for

75pc of all deforestation. A recent study by a

consortium of scientists concludes that

conserving strategically located 30pc of the

world's land would safeguard more than 62pc

of the world's vulnerable carbon and 68pc of

Wrapped in issues of sovereignty and finance, the digital

sequencing of information (that refers to data derived from genetic

resources) for access and benefit sharing will be a key political

sticking point that will require a compromise resolution so as not to

impede progress across the rest of the framework.

all freshwater, while ensuring that over 70pc

of all terrestrial vertebrate and plant species

are not threatened with extinction.

The impact of biodiversity loss on Pakistan

will be no less than vulnerability associated

with climate change. Both are inherently

interconnected. As a signatory to the CBD,

Pakistan should try to ensure that financial

and implementation mechanisms are agreed

upon to avoid the risks of targets being set and

not met. Resource mobilisation will be a

critical issue at the negotiations and

significant investments will be needed to

develop trust between developed and

developing nations. Lack of consensus will

economy despite record windfalls from

crude exports.

Continued failures, deliberate or

otherwise, to seat a new head of state

and begin a painstaking government

formation process would have resulted

in a repeat of the Afghanistan debacle.

There, the collapse of an imported and

flawed democracy ultimately paved the

way for the return of a once-proscribed

Taliban that quickly busied itself with

dismantling America's woeful legacy

with acts of brutality and unmitigated

violence against fellow Afghans. In Iraq,

the revival of Saddamist tendencies in

recent years speaks to a still active,

organized and emboldened Baathist

political force garnering even more

support with its counternarratives for

the repeated failures of Baghdad's hardfought

yet still fragile democratic

institutions.

The stakes could not be higher prior

to the highly anticipated parliament

session on Thursday that resulted in

the election of Abdul Latif Rashid, a 78-

year-old Iraqi Kurd nominated by the

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), as

head of state. More than two dozen

candidates had put themselves forward

but Rashid, a former water minister

and presidential adviser, won by more

than 160 votes to 99, signaling the

harder to limit. The authors say that in the

nuclear era, the goal of national security

strategy was deterrence. This depended on a

set of key assumptions - the adversary's

known capabilities, recognised doctrines and

predictable responses. Their core argument

about the destabilising nature of AI weapons

and cyber capabilities is that their value and

efficacy stems from their "opacity and

deniability and in some cases their operation

at the ambiguous borders of disinformation,

intelligence collection and sabotage …

creating strategies without acknowledged

doctrines". They see this as leading to

calamitous outcomes. They note the race for

AI dominance between China and the US,

which other countries are likely to join. AI

capabilities are challenging the traditional

notion of security and this intelligent book

emphasises that the injection of "nonhuman

logic to military systems" can result in

disaster.

Advanced new generation military

technologies are a source of increasing

concern because of their wide implications for

international peace and stability. The remotecontrol

war waged by US-led Western forces

in Afghanistan over two decades involved the

use of unmanned aerial vehicles or drones.

This had serious consequences and resulted

in the killing of innocent people. The use of a

cyberweapon - the Stuxnet computer worm -

by the US to target Iranian facilities in 2007 to

degrade its nuclear programme was the first

attack of its kind. More recently, Russian and

Ukrainian militaries are using remotely

operated aerial platforms in the Ukraine

conflict. Reliance on technology can confront

countries at war with unexpected problems.

The writer is a former ambassador to the

US, UK & UN.

hinder progress across the whole framework.

The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action

Plan must be fully integrated with climate

planning processes such as the

Na t i o nally Determined

Contributions and National Adap ta tion

Plan. Cou n t ries and IFIs must

demonstrate how they will close the global

biodiversity financial gap through public and

private finan ce and domestic policy

reforms.

Wrapped in issues of sovereignty and

finance, the digital sequencing of information

(that refers to data derived from genetic

resources) for access and benefit sharing will

be a key political sticking point that will

require a compromise resolution so as not to

impede progress across the rest of the

framework.

The signal that there might be no leaderlevel

event ahead or at COP15 and the

leadership deficit from China can significantly

dilute the outcome. It is very important that

leading voices in the negotiations are heard

and ministerial ambition is translated into a

negotiating mandate.

COP15 needs to be seen as a globally

important moment to tackle the loss of

biodiversity with visible public and political

pressure and space for leader-level

attendance. COP27 can be used as a

springboard to increase the visibility of COP15

and send a strong message that without action

to protect and restore nature, the world will be

incapacitated to meet its commitment to the

Paris Agreement and keep 1.5 alive.

parliament's preference for a grizzled

veteran that was more than capable of

navigating the perennially fractious

politics in Iraq's capital.

Despite credentials as 'compromise'

candidate that would appeal to hyperpolarized

Baghdad political elites,

President Rashid is relatively an

unfamiliar face to a populace in which

nearly 60% are under 25 years old. In

other words, Thursday's parliamentary

session might just be Iraq's long-sought

watershed moment-a veritable last

chance to address the country's

mounting woes by transforming dialogue

into meaningful action instead of

preserving a woeful status quo. Yet, the

appointment of a subdued Rashid who

lacks nationwide name-recognition is a

worrying development since Iraq

predicates the success of its politics and

future of its democracy on the buy-in,

sustained engagement with and enduring

participation of its young population.

Hafed Al-Ghwell is a senior fellow and

executive director of the Ibn Khaldun

Strategic Initiative at the Foreign Policy

Institute of the Johns Hopkins University

School of Advanced International Studies in

Washington, DC, and the former adviser to

the dean of the board of executive directors

of the World Bank Group.

WEDNEsDaY, OCtOBER 19, 2022

5

CatHERINE CaRR

When I come across couples

celebrating their diamond

wedding anniversary I always

wonder: "Who are these rare

creatures who have managed

to sustain a relationship for 60

years?" All those baked

potatoes for dinner and trips

to put the bins out. I'm

amazed at the endurance of

their love, but mostly I'm

touched by their ability to peer

through varifocals and see the

bride or groom of their youth,

to understand what shaped

them because they witnessed

it all. Similarly, stories of

friends who met over

government-issue milk at

school and are still best friends

can completely undo me. It

turns out I weep easily at the

idea of being known and loved

by someone close - for so long.

I am lucky to have old

friends. Being in their

company is one of my

favourite things. I have also

been married for ages, and I

sometimes indulge in the

image of me in 2061, clasping

the dry, old hand of my

husband and telling whoever

will listen about the young

man I married, and our secret

to a long and happy life

together.

But, magnificent as these

relationships are, they will

probably not be the longest of

my life, nor - perhaps - the

most formative. Those

accolades are reserved for the

bonds I have with my two

Is the sibling relationship the most enduring of all?

sisters, which have already

lasted 44 and 37 years. If I

make it to 83 (the average life

expectancy for a woman in the

UK), I can say I've known

them for 83 and 76 years

respectively.

Almost 80% of us have a

sibling. Our relationships with

them pre-date friendships and

any romances, and usually

outlast the parent-child

relationship, too. Obviously

we don't choose them, in the

way we choose a spouse or a

someone to rampage around

the playground or get drunk in

a park with. Yet it is an

amazing thing to contemplate:

sharing (more or less) your

whole life with another person

or people.

I know there are so many

caveats to this simple

generalisation. What about

half- and step-siblings?

Siblings we no longer speak

to, or those we have lost?

When I started making

Relatively - a podcast about

brothers and sisters - I had

thought a bit about them

because my own sibling

relationships, beautiful and

precious as they now are, were

not always straightforward.

Our family is one of those that

doesn't fit the mould. What I

hadn't expected was just how

many ways there were for the

three siblings pictured in 1984.

Photo: Catherine Carr

relationships between

children of the same parents

to be different; how many

ways the family unit could be

blended, shaken up, ripped

apart and put back together.

I also hadn't expected to

discover that it could be

precisely all these

complexities in family life that

bonded siblings so closely. As

the author Gill Hornby

poignantly put it when

reflecting on her six-decade

relationship with her brother

Nick: "Children in

dysfunctional families cling

together like orphans in the

storm."

I lived in Holland for a

chunk of my childhood, the

middle of three girls, and grew

tall on Dutch milk and cheese.

When I was 11 and my older

sister 13, our parents

separated. Mum and our sixyear-old

sister (Squidge)

moved out of the family home.

As a child I rationalised that

this splitting of the family was

fair. I hated the idea of Dad

being alone and, after all, my

little sister was very small.

Shortly afterwards, Dad

moved us back to the UK and

life as siblings apart began.

We often travelled to see our

mum, and our little sister

came to see us. My parents did

what they thought was best,

and Dad did a great job of

bringing up two teens,

holding down a job. But, when

I look back at these years

apart, I remember what the

author Lynn Barber once said

about siblings: "No one else

understands the mess you

came from." She and Hornby

are right: so much between

brothers and sisters is

impossible to explain to

anyone outside the family unit

- it's just too strange or silly,

too embarrassing or sad.

Even in stable and regular

families (which I started to

doubt even existed, the more

podcast episodes I recorded)

siblings are still the keepers of

each other's histories. Even in

those families unscarred by

tragedy whose children

joyfully escape the traumas of

divorce or death, who else but

your sibling(s) holds the key

to your cache of family secrets

and memories? Who else

could know more about your

imaginary friend; can

remember the dance moves

made up in the living room; or

precisely how bad your

makeup was during your goth

phase? Who else will

remember the way the death

of a beloved grandparent

shook your world, if not the

other small people inhabiting

your universe?

Dig deeper into these troves

of shared childhood stories

and you realise that while the

plots of favourite family

folklore are often agreed

upon, their edges smoothed

and made comfortable by the

process of telling and retelling

- there are hundreds of

other stories that are

remembered completely

differently by each sibling.

And that is the paradox

about brothers and sisters. So

much is shared by them:

blood and DNA; one or two

parents; probably a home and

maybe a surname. But, so

much is completely different.

With the exception of twins or

triplets, siblings are not

actually born into the same

families. The circumstances of

their arrival will always be

completely different to those

of their siblings. As someone

so beautifully put it when I

described Relatively to her,

"none of us swims in the same

water". And that matters. The

scenery of your childhood will

be different to the backdrop

for your sister's or brother's

early years. Your parents

might be richer, or poorer or

live in a bigger or smaller

house, with elderly relatives

still alive, or mourning their

loss. They may be in stressful

jobs or have more time on

their hands. There are a

million ways in which families

subtly shift and change, all of

which impact the

development of each sibling.

Some plant-based alternatives

HEaLtH

aNNa BERRILL

Embracing a diet of plantbased

foods and fewer animal

products is "healthy,

sustainable, and good for both

people and planet", says the

EAT-Lancet Commission on

Food, Planet, Health. But while

meat is known as an important

source of nutrients, such as

protein, iron and B12, is it

possible to get the equivalent

value from plant-based

alternatives?

Walnuts is a good source of omega-3.

"Yes, but it depends how you

do it," says Priya Tew, director

of Dietitian UK. Relying on

ultra-processed ready meals or

plant-based "meatballs", say, is

not going to be nutritionally

superior to meat. In fact, adds

Tew, "that can be worse".

Instead, adopt a variety of

plant-based sources - fruit,

vegetables, legumes, soya,

wholegrains, pulses, nuts, seeds

- and cook as much as you can

from scratch, which, of course,

requires some planning. Here's

a start: easy ways to swap

JuLIa RIEs

Now that people who are over 50 or

those who are immunocompromised

are eligible for a second COVID

booster, you may be wondering

whether you should switch up the type

of vaccine you get for your fourth dose.

Evidence suggests that doing so for

the third dose produces a stronger,

more robust immune response, likely

because the vaccines stimulate our

immune system in different ways.

Although there isn't much data on the

fourth dose, infectious disease experts

suspect that mixing up your second

booster will be similarly beneficial.

While there may be a slight edge to

mixing vaccines, you'll still be well

protected against severe outcomes if

you decide to stick with the same type

of shot for your second booster,

according to infectious diseases

experts.

The one caveat is that anyone who

initially got the Johnson & Johnson

vaccine will want to follow up with one

of the messenger RNA (mRNA)

animal protein for plant-based

alternatives.

Tofu is a versatile and

nutritious meat substitute, and

the top choice for Tew and Dr

Shireen Kassam, founder and

director of Plant-based Health

Professionals UK. "It contains a

good range of nutrients, such as

calcium and iron, and it's a

great protein source," says Tew.

Happily, this simple soya bean

product comes in various

forms, meaning there's a tofu

for every occasion: plain and

firm (for stews and stir-fries);

custardy silken (think sauces,

"mayos", scrambles), smoked

(add to salads), fermented (eat

as a condiment).

Variety is, of course, the spice

of life, and this goes for protein,

too. "If you're using chickpeas,

which aren't a complete

protein, you're going to be

missing one or two of the

essential amino acids that our

body needs," says Tew. This

isn't necessarily a problem,

though, if you're eating a range

of sources - tofu, nuts, seeds, for

example - throughout the

week: "You'll catch yourself up

on all the protein and amino

acids you require.". Make

friends with lentils and beans

too, whether that's adding the

former to a pasta sauce or the

latter to a casserole. "People

assume a plant-based diet

means a vegan diet, and it

doesn't have to," adds Tew.

"You can use less meat and add

these additional plant proteins

Photo: Jose a Bernat Bacete

and benefits in."

Deep-fried firm tofu might

make a fine alternative to white

fish for a chippy night, but

consider why fish is helpful in

our diet in the first place. "It's a

source of omega-3 fatty acids

and particularly the long-chain

DHA and EPA. However, there

is conflicting data on that, so it's

not clear how useful those

sources are," says Dr Shireen

Kassam, founder and director

of Plant-based Health

Professionals UK. "Fish get

those DHA and EPA from

microalgae and other sea

vegetables, so we can do the

same." So, get those essential

omega-3 fatty acids by

incorporating flax, chia and

hemp seeds, leafy greens,

walnuts and soya into your

meals.

You may think the biggest

hurdle for a cheese substitute is

the taste, but you also need to

pay attention to what's on the

label of a plant-based cheese:

"Some are based on coconut oil,

so that's not going to provide

anywhere near the same

nutrition as cheddar," says

Tew. "If you're just using cheese

as a flavour, then it doesn't

really matter, but if you need it

as a protein source, you may

want to add nutritional yeast

flakes or sprinkle nuts and

seeds on top." Artisan nut

cheeses are worth considering

but, says Kassam, be wary of

the salt and fat content - and

don't have them every day.

Last year, the research

agency Mintel found that

nearly one-third of Britons

drink non-dairy milks, so it's

hardly surprising just how

many options there are: soya,

oat, nut, rice, coconut, pea.

"Soya milk followed by oat

and pea are probably

considered the most healthy

and sustainable," says

Kassam - just make sure

they're fortified. "They don't

always have calcium, iodine

and B12 added, so it's

important to check the label,"

adds Tew. For children, Tew

says it's worth remembering

that plant-based milks aren't

equivalent to cow's. "They're

lower in fat, and often lower in

protein. With oat milk, for

example, I'd recommend a

higher-fat version because

children have additional

needs for growth and

development."

DEsk

When did you last eat? Did you

"breakfast like a king" as the

saying goes, or skip it to hit a

14-hour fast? While "good" and

"bad" foods have been

ingrained in us from an early

age, there's more to eating than

simply what's on our plates.

"Timing is a crucial factor,"

says Jeannette Hyde,

nutritional therapist and

author of The 10 Hour Diet.

"Looking at the optimum times

to eat can help your weight, but

also brings down inflammation

and helps you sleep better."

Intermittent fasting has

rocketed in popularity over the

years, from the 5:2 diet (where

you eat normally for five days,

and heavily restrict your calorie

intake on the others) to

aligning mealtimes with our

circadian rhythms (the body's

internal clock) and timerestricted

eating. It's the latter

Hyde has adopted, consuming

food within a 10-hour time

window and fasting for 14

hours overnight - "Some

people will start at 8am and

finish at 6pm, others start at

10am and finish at 8pm" - to

improve her metabolism and

gut health.

Nutritionist Rhiannon

Lambert, meanwhile, believes

it's more what you eat than

when. "Your nutrition is so

much more than a time

schedule or a number [of

meals]," she says. "The foods

you choose to consume on a

day-to-day basis will have a

knock-on impact on your

overall health." A balanced

plate, Lambert adds, should

include a handful of carbs (rice,

pasta, spelt, barley, for

example), an outstretched

handful of protein (chicken,

salmon, pulses, tofu), two

handfuls of veg (variety is

good), and a thumb-sized

portion of fat (olive oil for

cooking), but how many meals

you choose to eat, and their

size, comes down to personal

Should you mix and match Covid boosters for your fourth

Experts believe there are some benefits to switching up your

COVID shot when you get a fourth booster.

Photo: Getty

vaccines like Pfizer or Moderna as

evidence consistently shows they

provide stronger protection. But the

mRNAs boost each other well and can

be safely interchanged.

"When it comes to the numbers that

matter the most, which is preventing

hospitalization, severe disease and

death, there is literally no difference,"

Onyema Ogbuagu, a Yale Medicine

infectious diseases specialist, told.

The data is limited on how mixing

vaccines for your fourth dose

specifically impacts protection, but

prior research shows that the mix-andmatch

strategy with the first three

doses provided a broader immune

response.

A study from the National Institutes

of Health found that boosting with a

different type of shot than what was

previously administered was associated

with higher antibody levels than people

How timing your meals right

can benefit your health

preference, lifestyle, and health

goals. If, for example, someone

had a body fat-loss goal and

was more sedentary in the

evening, Lambert suggests that

a smaller portion at dinner

than lunch would make sense.

What we do know, according

to Dr Tim Spector, professor of

genetic epidemiology at King's

College London, is that the

current NHS guidelines that

you should be eating small

meals often throughout the day

is "completely disproven" now.

"In general, snacking is bad

because it produces extra sugar

and fat peaks, and therefore

leads to sugar dips and more

hunger, so you'll eat more at

the next meal." That said, a

ZOE Health study, which

asked a million people about

their snacking habits, found

snacking affected those on a

good-quality diet less than

those on a poor-quality diet.

Snacking can, however, be

No more midnight fridge raids.

useful for some, says

nutritionist Jenna Hope. "If we

go for long periods without

eating, we are much more

likely to overeat, and that's

because blood sugar levels fall,

so we feel like we're far

hungrier than we are." This can

lead to eating more rapidly,

too, so being mindful and

observing the senses can be an

important tool. "No one is

going to make any money from

telling people to slow down and

chew their food properly," says

Hyde. "But if you sit at a table,

without your phone or the TV

on, be present and chew each

mouthful, enjoy it, think of the

flavours and texture, you will

be in tune with your body and

start to recognise when you're

full." It takes about 20 minutes

for those hunger hormones to

switch on, Hyde adds, so take

your time and you "won't have

room for that KitKat

afterwards".

who boosted with the same type of

shot.

"If you switched, you actually had

more of an immunologic response than

if you just continued with the same

vaccine," said Robert Murphy, a

Northwestern Medicine infectious

diseases doctor.

This is likely because the body

responds to the vaccines differently,

which ultimately helps produce a

broader immune response.

"I think that there is evidence that

mixing and matching between the

mRNA vaccines may have some benefit

because they slightly stimulate the

immune system in different ways," said

Amesh Adalja, an infectious diseases

expert and senior scholar at the Johns

Hopkins University Center for Health

Security. Adalja believes this same

biological principle would apply to the

fourth dose, too.

The benefits of switching up doses

appears to be most pronounced in

people who originally got the one-dose

Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Then, consider the gap

between your last bite and

going to sleep. "You should

stop eating around two hours

before bed," says Hope. If you

don't, the digestive tract is

"working hard to metabolise

your food and absorb nutrients

rather than secreting and

absorbing the sleep hormone,

melatonin". Varying lifestyles

can, of course, make this

difficult, something Michelinstarred

chef Tom Kerridge,

who lost 12 stone in five years,

can relate to. "The kitchen is

always the worst space because

you're surrounded by food, and

you're cooking at times when

it's been deemed lunch or

dinner," says Kerridge, who

has restaurants in London,

Manchester, and Marlow.

"That's part of the reason I got

into a bad space in the first

place, because you're eating

filling, naughty things late at

night."

Photo: Lalalimola

"Getting an mRNA boost on top of a

J&J primary results in higher antibody

levels and higher clinical protection

than J&J on top of J&J," Ogbuagu said.

For those who initially got the J&J shot,

it's recommended that they boost with

either a Pfizer or Moderna shot.

The mRNA shots are pretty

comparable, according to Ogbuagu.

"The mRNAs boost each other well, but

Moderna probably has a little bit of an

edge," he said.

This is likely because Moderna has a

higher antigen dose and longer dosing

interval compared to Pfizer. A study

evaluating the effectiveness of the

Pfizer and Moderna vaccines recently

found that people who've received the

Moderna shot had more antibodies

within the mucus lining in the nose,

which helps prevent infection.

At this point, though, experts say

it's fine to go for the other type of

mRNA shot or stick with what you've

had. Both do a great job of

stimulating robust immune

responses against variants.

WedNeSdAy, OCTOBeR 19, 2022

6

By the initiative of the Chattogram Port Authority Sheikh Russell day-2022 was celebrated through

various programs.

Photo: SM Arju

CPA celebrates Sheikh Russel day

SM ARJU, CHATTOGRAM CITy CORReSPONdeNT:

On the occasion of the birth

anniversary of martyred Sheikh Russel,

the youngest son of the Father of the

Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman and the celebration of Sheikh

Russell Day-2022, this day was

celebrated on Tuesday morning by the

initiative of the Chattogram Port

Authority by holding various programs

with due dignity.

Chairman of the port authority and

the members of CPA placed a wreath at

the portrait of Sheikh Russel and doa

mahfil and cake cutting program was

held in the port building area. All

divisional heads including employees

of CPA and Port Workers Council's

President, General Secretary and other

leaders were present in the occasion.

Doa Mahfil/Prayers were organized

in all mosques/temples/Buddhist

Bihars of CPA seeking forgiveness of

the soul of martyred Sheikh Russel.

Chairman, members, heads of

departments and CBA leaders of CPA

participated in the prayer ceremony

at Bandar Central Jame Masjid on

Road No. 8.

Shackled bound Roksana needs help

M. SULTAN ALAM, JAMALPUR CORReSPONdeNT:

Roksana, a disabled girl, was bound in iron

shackles and the poor mother had to go to

disbaled Roksana is bound in iron

shackles and the poor mother had to go

to housework. Photo: M. Sultan Alam

housework. Roksana (28), a poor person

with disabilities, has been living an

inhumane life in shackles for five years.

Her house is in Langoljora East

Nashirpur Village of Jamalpur Sadar

Upazila Municipal Area. Disabled

Roksana is slowly becoming physically ill

due to starvation, half-starvation and no

treatment. Father Abdul Halim was a

rickshaw driver. Twelve years ago he died

paralyzed in a road accident.

Rahela Begum (her mother) said that

Roksana is the elder of her two girls. The

younger daughter is married. Roksana, who

is mentally ill, went crazy soon after

marriage. After that her husband divorced

her. She was brought home and treated for a

few days. Later, due to lack of money, she

could not get treatment. Working from home

is only about one and a half thousand taka

per month. Mother and daughter barely

have enough to feed themselves let alone

treatment. Even if we do not eat, no one

inquires.

Taslima Akhter, reserved female councilor

of Jamalpur Municipal Council, said the

family is very helpless. I will request the

municipal mayor for a house for them.

Abdus Salam, Probation Officer of Jamalpur

District Social Services Office, said that a

resolution will be passed in the District

Disability Committee meeting regarding the

disabled girl and arrangements will be made

to send her to Pabna Mental Hospital for

treatment.

Sheikh Russel Day celebrated in Tala

M.A FOySAL, TALA CORReSPONdeNT:

At Tala, a rally, discussion meeting and award

distribution were held on the occasion of the

59th birthday of Sheikh Russell, the youngest

son of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On the occasion of

the day, on Tuesday morning, organized by

Tala upazila administration, the upazila

administration, several educational

institutions and various organizations paid

tribute to the portrait of Sheikh Russel at the

upazila parishad square. Later, after the rally

in the sub-city, a discussion meeting and prize

distribution was held on the occasion of

Sheikh Russell's 59th birthday at the Upazila

Parishad conference room. Tala upazila

nirbahi officer Prashant Kumar Biswas

presided over the event. Upazila Parishad

Chairman Ghosh Sanat Kumar was present as

the chief guest. Upazila Vice Chairman Sardar

Moshiar Rahman, Female Vice Chairman

Murshida Parveen Papri, Shahid

Muktijoddha University Principal Enamul

Islam, Tala Press Club President and

Khalilnagar Union Parishad Chairman

Pranab Ghosh Bablu, Tala Police Station

Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abu Jihad Fakrul

Alam Khan, former principal Abdur Rahman

and others spoke as special guests. Officials of

various government departments, teachersstudents,

journalists and civil society

representatives were present in the event.

At Tala, a rally, discussion meeting and award distribution were held on the

occasion of the 59th birthday of Sheikh Russell, the youngest son of Father of

the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Photo: M.A Foysal

Speech, essay, drawing and quiz

competitions and discussions are held

on the occasion of Sheikh Russell Day

in schools, colleges and madras of CPA.

Chittagong Port Stadium organized

sports competitions with the

participation of students from colleges,

schools and madrasas managed by

ChattogramPort.

Md Zafar Alam (Joint-Secretary),

Member (Administration and

Planning) of CPA attended the

competition and distributed prizes

among the winners.

Bumper Aman

production expected

in Manikganj

MANIKGANJ: Farmers

are expecting excellent

production of Transplanted

Aman (T-Aman) rice in the

district as the cultivation

target of T-Aman rice has

been exceeded by the

farmers during the current

season, reports BSS.

Department of Agriculture

Extension (DAE) office

sources here said a target

was fixed to produce 27,280

tonnes of T-Aman from

8,800 hectors of

land in seven upazilas.

But, the cultivators have

been brought 10,002

hectors of land under the T-

Aman cultivation with the

production target of 31,006

tonnes rice.

A total of 2,200 small and

marginal farmers got seed

and fertilizer as incentives

for boosting the production

of Aman paddy in the

district during the season.

Department of Agriculture

Extension (DAE) office

sources said the

government has distributed

seeds for cultivating one

bigha of land and necessary

fertilizers including 20-kg of

Di-ammonium Phosphate

(DAP) and 10-kg of Muriate

of Potash (MoP) among the

cultivators free of cost.

CDA starts

eviction drive

in Kolatoli

SHAFIUL ALAM, COx'S

BAzAR CORReSPONdeNT:

Cox's Bazar Development

Authority (CDA) has again

started the eviction drive in

Kolatoli's cottage zone of

Cox's Bazar. The operation

started on Tuesday.

Chairman of Cox's Bazar

Development Authority

Commodore Mohammad

Nurul Abshar said that a

gang has been building

illegal structures for years by

occupying the land owned

by the Ministry of Housing

and Public Works. These

structures have been

constructed without taking

any kind of permission. 6

illegal buildings were

demolished in an eviction

drive against unauthorized

construction last 12 October.

But some of these buildings

are under construction

again. Due to this, they have

started the eviction

campaign again.

Two motorcyclists

killed in Magura

road accident

MAGURA: Two motorcyclists

were killed as a passenger bus

crushed their motorcycle in

Sadar Upazila of the district

yesterday morning, reports

BSS.

The deceased were

identified as Milon Mondol,

25, and Wasim Mollah, 22.

Both were residents of

Majail village under Sadar

Upazila.

Locals said the accident

occurred in Ichakhada area

on Magura-Jhenaidah

Highway when a bus hit the

motorcycle in the area.

Milon and Wasim died on

the spot.

Officer-in-Charge of Sadar

Thana Mostafizur Rahman

said the bodies were handed

over to the family members.

Malta cultivation

gains popularity

in Panchagar

PANCHAGARH: Cultivation

of malta on a commercial

basis has gained popularity

among the farmers in the

district as they are getting

excellent production in recent

years, reports BSS.

The cultivation of the juicy

fruit is gaining popularity

among the farmers in the

district and now they are

happy to see hopeful malta

production in their

orchards.

The cultivators

are happy as they are getting

fair prices and bumper

production of the fruit.

Mahafuzer Rahman, a

farmer of Tepukuria village

in Boda upazila, said "I

cultivated malta on 20 acres

of land. I have started selling

the fruit and this year I am

expecting to sell malta of

Taka 20 lakh".

Traders from different

areas purchase malta from

orchards and send it to

Dhaka and other parts of the

country. Another farmer

Hasan cultivated malta on

10 bighas of land and he is

expecting a good profit.

Boda upazila agriculture

officer Md Mamun-Or-

Rashid said the land of the

district is suitable for malta

cultivation and the farming

has become popular in the

district. The DAE is giving all

kinds of modern technology

support to the farmers for

boosting malta production

in the district, he said.

55 thousand children

get covid-19 vaccine

in Jamalpur

JAMALPUR: Amid due

enthusiasm vaccination

campaign of first dose of

Covid-19 vaccine is

progressing in the district,

reports BSS.

Health department in the

campaign vaccinated 55

thousand children of first

dose of covid-19 vaccine in

the district.

Civil Surgeon, Dr Pronoy

Kanti Das said the

vaccination campaign of first

dose began on October 11

with a target to vaccinate

four lakh children in the

district.

Innocent bystander shot

dead in Munshiganj

MUNSHIGANJ: A 60-year-old man was

killed and a woman sustained bullet injuries

during a clash between two rival groups in

Munshiganj Sadar upazila' Bakultala of

Adhara union Monday night, police said.

The deceased was identified as Monir

Hossain Mollah and injured Jannat

Begum, 26.

The clash erupted between the followers of

Suruj and Maqbul over a turf war,

Tarikuzzaman, officer-in-charge (OC) of

Munshiganj Sadar Police Station, said. "After

that, there were a series of clashes, crude

bomb explosions and exchange of fire."

Sheikh Russel Day celebrated in BU

Barisal University celebrated the 59th

birthday of Father of the Nation

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's

youngest son Sheikh Russel, says a press

release. Sheikh Russel Day was celebrated

through commemorative tree planting, cake

cutting, discussion meeting organized by the

student-teacher center of the university.

Commemorative tree planting program was

inaugurated by Barisal University Vice-

Chancellor Professor Dr. Md. Sadequl

Arefin. On the occasion of the day, a

discussion meeting was in the Kirtankhola

Auditorium of the University. At the

beginning of the meeting, the vice chancellor

cut the cake along with the university

treasurer, dean, registrar, teachers

association president, general secretary

principal, proctor, president of various

organizations, general secretary and

children. In the speech of the chief guest, the

Monir's son-in-law Abul Bashar said his

father-in-law was on his way to a mosque.

"He was shot during a clash between the two

groups while returning from the mosque

after offering prayers."

The 60-year-old died at 9pm while

undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical

College Hospital, OC Tarikuzzaman said.

"Injured Jannat was taken to Munshiganj

General Hospital and was released after

primary treatment." An uneasy calm

prevails in the area now, and additional

police forces have been deployed in there,

he added.

In the last few days, floods have occurred in Jamalpur's Islampur

upazila due to the waters coming from the hills. Islampur Upazila

Agriculture Officer A. L. M. Rejuan said that 120 hectares of Aman

paddy has already been flooded. Vegetable gardens, paddy, groundnut

and pepper fields are being destroyed. The affected farmers of these

areas have become disoriented.

Photo: Md. Osman Harunee

Vice-Chancellor said that the new generation

should know about Sheikh Russel. The

relevance of celebrating Sheikh Russel Day is

to highlight Sheikh Russell's sacrifice to

future generations. How brutal, inhumane

and extreme human rights deprivation is

that, even a small eleven-year-old child has

to be brutally murdered.

The special guest at the event was the

treasurer of the university Mohammad

Badruzzaman Bhuiyan. The president of

the teachers' association Abdul Kayyum,

proctor Dr. Khorshed Alam, Director of

Student Guidance and Counseling

Center Tariq Mahmood Abeer, Officers

Association General Secretary Abu

Hasan, Grade 11-16 Welfare Council

President Shahzada Khan and Grade 17-

20 Welfare Council General Secretary

Shafiqur Rahman spoke to others at the

meeting.

Barisal University celebrated the 59th birthday of Father of the

Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's youngest son

Sheikh Russel.

Photo: Courtesy

Cox's Bazar development Authority (CdA) has again started the eviction drive in Kolatali's cottage

zone of Cox's Bazar.

Photo: Shafiul Alam

WedNeSdAy, OcTObeR 19, 2022

7

A Russian warplane crashed Monday into a residential area in a Russian city on the Sea of Azov after

suffering engine failure, leaving at least 13 people dead, three of whom died when they jumped from

upper floors of a nine-story apartment building to escape a massive blaze.

Photo : AP

Russian warplane crashes near

apartment building, killing 13

MOSCOW : A Russian warplane

crashed Monday into a residential area

in a Russian city on the Sea of Azov

after suffering engine failure, leaving at

least 13 people dead, three of whom

died when they jumped from upper

floors of a nine-story apartment

building to escape a massive blaze.

A Su-34 bomber came down in the

port city of Yeysk after one of its

engines caught fire during takeoff for a

training mission, the Russian Defense

Ministry said. It said both crew

members bailed out safely, but the

plane crashed into a residential area,

causing a fire as tons of fuel exploded

on impact.

After hours of combing through the

charred debris of the building,

authorities said 13 residents, including

three children, were found dead.

Taliban killed

captives in restive

Afghan province

ISLAMABAD : The Taliban

captured, bound and shot to

death 27 men in Afghanistan's

Panjshir Valley last month

during an offensive against

resistance fighters in the area,

according to a report

published Tuesday, refuting

the group's earlier claims that

the men were killed in battle.

One video of the killings

verified by the report shows

five men, blindfolded with

their hands tied behind their

backs. Then, Taliban fighters

spray them with gunfire for 20

seconds and cry out in

celebration.

The investigation by Afghan

Witness, an open-source

project run by the U.K.-based

non-profit Center for

Information Resilience, is a

rare verification of allegations

that the Taliban have used

brutal methods against

opposition forces and their

supporters, its researchers

said. Since taking power in

August 2021, the Taliban have

imposed a tighter and harsher

rule, even as they press for

international recognition of

their government.

David Osborn, the team

leader of Afghan Witness, said

the report gives the "most

clear-cut example" of the

Taliban carrying out an

"orchestrated purge" of

resistance fighters.

Afghan Witness said it

analyzed dozens of visual

sources from social media -

mostly videos and

photographs - to conclusively

link one group of Taliban

fighters to the killings of 10

men in the Dara District of

Panjshir, including the five

seen being mowed down in the

video. It said it also confirmed

17 other extrajudicial killings

from further images on social

media, all showing dead men

with their hands tied behind

their backs. Videos and photos

of Taliban fighters with the

bodies aided geolocation and

chrono-location, also

providing close-ups of the

fighters at the scene. These

were cross-referenced with

other videos suspected to

feature the group.

Another 19 were hospitalized with

injuries.

Vice governor of the region, Anna

Menkova, said three of the four victims

died when they jumped from the upper

floors of the building in a desperate

attempt to escape the flames, according

to the RIA-Novosti news agency.

The authorities reserved emergency

rooms at local hospitals and scrambled

medical aircraft. Over 500 residents

were evacuated and provided with

temporary accommodations.

The Kremlin said Russian President

Vladimir Putin was informed about the

crash and dispatched the ministers of

health and emergencies along with the

local governor to the site. Yeysk, a city

of 90,000, is home to a big Russian air

base.

Surveillance cam videos posted on

Russian messaging app channels

showed a plane exploding in a giant

fireball. Other videos showed an

apartment building engulfed by flames

and loud bangs from the apparent

detonation of the warplane's weapons.

The Su-34 is a supersonic twinengine

bomber equipped with

sophisticated sensors and weapons that

has been a key strike component of the

Russian air force. The aircraft has seen

wide use during the war in Syria and

the fighting in Ukraine.

Monday's accident marked the 10th

reported non-combat crash of a

Russian warplane since Moscow sent

its troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Military experts have noted that as the

number of Russian military flights

increased sharply during the fighting,

so did the crashes.

Australia has reversed a previous government's recognition of West

Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the foreign minister said Tuesday. Photo : AP

High hopes for nasal Covid vaccines

despite 'disappointing' trial

PARIS : Nasal vaccines could still be a powerful

future weapon in the fight against Covid-19

despite "disappointing" recent trial results for

an AstraZeneca spray, experts say.

By entering the body the same way as the

virus, nasal vaccines aim to build immunity in

the mucous membrane that lines the nose and

mouth.

This could block people from getting infected

in the first place-and also potentially hamper

those who have Covid from spreading it

further.

That would represent a huge boost

compared to traditional shots in the arm,

which have proved very effective at preventing

severe Covid but perform far less well when it

comes to stopping transmission.

Last month China became the first country

to approve a needle-free Covid vaccine, an

aerosolised mist inhaled through the nose and

mouth using a nebuliser device, while India

greenlit a homegrown nasal drop vaccine days

later.With some wondering when Western

nations would catch up, last week Oxford

researchers revealed the results of a phase 1

trial for a simple nasal spray using the

AstraZeneca vaccine.

However, the vaccine promoted mucosal

antibodies only in a minority of the

participants, and the immune responses were

weaker compared to those from traditional

vaccines, according to a study published in the

journal eBioMedicine.

"The nasal spray did not perform as well in

this study as we had hoped," said the trial's

chief investigator, Sandy Douglas of Oxford

University.

"This was quite different from recent data

from China, which has suggested good results

can be achieved by delivery of a similar vaccine

deep into the lungs with a more complex

nebuliser device," Douglas said in a statement.

"One possibility is simply that the majority of

the nasal spray vaccine ends up being

swallowed and destroyed in the stomachdelivery

to the lungs could avoid that."

Connor Bamford, a virologist at Queen's

University Belfast, told AFP that it was

important to "not be too downhearted" about

the AstraZeneca results.

He said that working out exactly why the

nasal spray fell short could help researchers

discover how to make a future version more

effective.

Unlike AstraZeneca, successful nasal

vaccines used for other diseases such as polio,

rotavirus and influenza are all live vaccines,

which means they replicate inside the nose,

Bamford said, potentially pointing a way

forwards for researchers.

Eric Tartour, an immunologist at the

European Hospital Georges Pompidou in

Paris, said that while the AstraZeneca results

"are indeed disappointing", he did not think

the news "dampens hope for nasal vaccines".

It was "reassuring" that the AstraZeneca,

Chinese and Indian nasal vaccines have not

shown any serious side effects, he added.

Around 100 different intranasal Covid

vaccines are under development worldwide,

according to analysis by health data firm

Airfinity and Nature last month, with some 20

being tested on humans.

Russia and Iran have also approved nasal

vaccines. However, like China and India, they

have not published trial data showing that their

vaccines stop transmission in a peer-reviewed

journal.

And with falling inoculation rates worldwide

leading some countries to destroy millions of

expired doses, the demand for a new Covid

vaccine remains unclear.

No explosion after Su-34

jet crash in Yeysk, says

Emergencies Minister

YEYSK : There was no

explosion after an Su-34

fighter jet crash in the

courtyard of a residential

building in the town of Yeysk

in southern Russia,

Emergencies Minister

Alexander Kurenkov told

reporters on Tuesday.

"The jet hit against the

house as it crashed and broke

down, with the fuel spilling

during the breakdown. There

was no explosion as such," he

said, adding that "the fire

started as a result of fuel

spread."

An Su-34 fighter-bomber

crashed in Yeysk upon a climb

during its training flight from

a military airfield late on

October 17 after one of its

engines burst into flames. The

fuel that spilled during the

crash ignited, with the fire

spreading to a nearby multistory

residential building,

engulfing all nine stories. The

pilots ejected. President

Vladimir Putin ordered to

provide all necessary aid to

the victims of the emergency.

Helicopter carrying

Hindu pilgrims crashes

in northern India

LUCKNOW : A helicopter

bringing Hindu pilgrims

from a popular temple site in

the Indian Himalayas

crashed Tuesday in foggy

weather, reports UNB.

India's Civil Aviation

Minister Jyotiraditya

Scindia confirmed the crash

and said his ministry was

determining the magnitude

of the loss. Media reports

said six passengers and a

pilot were on board.

Officials said the

helicopter operated by a

private company crashed in

foggy weather. Other details

were not immediately

known.

Australia drops

recognition of

Jerusalem as

Israel's capital

CANBERRA : Australia has

reversed a previous

government's recognition of

West Jerusalem as Israel's

capital, the foreign minister

said Tuesday.

The center-left Labor

Party government Cabinet

agreed to again recognize

Tel Aviv as the capital and

reaffirmed that Jerusalem's

status must be resolved in

peace negotiations between

Israel and the Palestinians,

Foreign Minister Penny

Wong said.

Australia remained

committed to a two-party

solution to the conflict

between Israelis and

Palestinians, and "we will

not support an approach

that undermines this

prospect," Wong said.

Former conservative

Prime Minister Scott

Morrison formally

recognized West Jerusalem

as Israel's capital in

December 2018, although

the Australian embassy

remained in Tel Aviv. The

change followed the then-

U.S. President Donald

Trump's decision to shift

the U.S. Embassy from Tel

Aviv to Jerusalem.

President Joe Biden has

kept the embassy in

Jerusalem as the U.S. steps

back from its once-intense

mediation between the

Israelis and Palestinians,

who have not held

substantive peace talks in

more than a decade.

Wong described

Morrison's move as out of

step internationally and a

"cynical" attempt to win a

byelection in a Sydney

locale with a large Jewish

population.

Morrison's Liberal Party

ran Jewish candidate Dave

Sharma who was defeated in

the byelection but won the

seat in the next general

election. Morrison's

government was elected out

of office in May after nine

years in power.

Winter is coming: Ukrainians

dig in for brutal season ahead

KIVSHARIVKA : Nine-year-old Artem

Panchenko helps his grandmother stoke a

smoky fire in a makeshift outdoor kitchen

beside their nearly abandoned apartment

block. The light is falling fast and they need

to eat before the setting sun plunges their

home into cold and darkness.

Winter is coming. They can feel it in their

bones as temperatures drop below

freezing. And like tens of thousands of

other Ukrainians, they are facing a season

that promises to be brutal.

Artem and his grandmother have been

living without gas, water or electricity for

around three weeks, ever since Russian

missile strikes cut off the utilities in their

town in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region.

For them and the few other residents that

remain in the complex in Kivsharivka,

bundling up at night and cooking outdoors

is the only way to survive.

"It's cold and there are bombings,"

Artem said Sunday as he helped his

grandmother with the cooking. "It's really

cold. I'm sleeping in my clothes in our

apartment."

More Russian strikes on Monday in Kyiv,

the capital, and other Ukrainian cities by

drones and missiles that targeted power

plants have added to the general sense of

foreboding about the coming winter.

As the freeze sets in, those who haven't

fled from the heavy fighting, regular

shelling and months of Russian occupation

in eastern Ukraine are desperately trying

to figure out how to dig in for the cold

months.

In the nearby village of Kurylivka, Viktor

Palyanitsa pushes a wheelbarrow full of

freshly cut logs along the road toward his

house. He passes a destroyed tank, the

remnants of damaged buildings and the

site of a 300-year-old wooden church that

was leveled as Ukrainian forces fought to

liberate the area from Russian occupiers.

Palyanitsa, 37, said he's gathered enough

wood to last the entire winter. Still, he

planned to begin sleeping beside a woodburning

stove in a rickety outbuilding and

not his home, since all the windows in his

house have been blown out by flying

shrapnel.

"It's not comfortable. We spend a lot of

time on gathering wood. You can see the

situation we're living in," Palyanitsa said,

quietly understating the dire outlook for

the next several months.

Authorities are working to gradually

restore electricity to the area in the coming

days, and repairs to water and gas

infrastructure will come next, according to

Roman Semenukha, a deputy with the

Kharkiv regional government.

"Only after that will we be able to begin

to restore heating," he said.

Authorities were working to provide

firewood to residents, he added, but had no

timeline for when the utilities would be

restored.

Standing beside his pile of split wood,

Palyanitsa was not waiting for government

help. He said he didn't expect heating to be

restored anytime soon, but that he feels

ready to fend for himself even once winter

sets in.

"I have arms and legs. So I'm not scared

of the cold, because I can find wood and

heat the stove," he said.

Nine-year-old Artem Panchenko helps his grandmother stoke a smoky fire

in a makeshift outdoor kitchen beside their nearly abandoned apartment

block. The light is falling fast and they need to eat before the setting sun

plunges their home into cold and darkness.

Photo : AP

2 Indian laborers killed in

Kashmir grenade attack

SRINAGAR : Two Indian laborers were

killed in a grenade attack in disputed

Kashmir, police said Tuesday, blaming the

attack on militants fighting Indian rule.

Police said the man arrested in the attack

was a "hybrid terrorist," a term authorities

use for suspects who they say are undercover

militants who slip back into normal lives and

lack known police records.

Police said the grenade was lobbed at the

two in their rented dwelling in southern

Shopian district Monday night. The injured

men were taken to a hospital where they

died, police wrote on Twitter.

The two victims were from the northern

Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and were in

Kashmir as day laborers, who commonly

work in apple orchards or construction.

The incident comes two days after

assailants fatally shot a Kashmiri Hindu man

in Shopian in violence police also blamed on

militants.

Kashmir is divided between India and

Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety.

Rebels in the Indian-controlled portion of

Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi's rule

since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support

the rebel goal of uniting the territory, either

under Pakistani rule or as an independent

country.

India insists the Kashmir militancy is

Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan

denies the charge, and most Kashmiris

consider it a legitimate freedom struggle.

Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and

government forces have been killed in the

conflict.

Kashmir has witnessed a spate of targeted

killings since October 2021. Several Hindus,

including immigrant workers from Indian

states, have been killed. Police say the

killings - including that of Muslim village

councilors, police officials and civilians -

have been carried out by anti-India rebels.

The spate of killings come as Indian troops

have intensified their counterinsurgency

operations across the region amid a

clampdown on dissent and media freedom

after New Delhi in 2019 stripped the region's

semi-autonomy and removed inherited

protections on land and jobs. Critics have

likened the actions to a militaristic policy.

First H3N2 flu virus detected in Russia ahead

of epidemic rise, says chief sanitary doctor

MOSCOW : The first flu virus of type A

(H3N2) case has been registered in Russia

on the threshold of a new stage of epidemic

rise of incidence, Russian Federal Service for

Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection

and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor)

head Anna Popova announced at a meeting

of the department's board.

"Last week the first H3N2 flu virus was

detected, the case disease brought to Russia

from Egypt. So far, there are no other flu

viruses in Russia. Therefore, we have time to

work thoroughly on a plan of action," the

press service of Rospotrebnadzor quoted

Popova as saying on Saturday.

When speaking about the current

epidemic situation, Popova noted that the

country was on the eve of a new stage of the

morbidity rise, through the situation for all

respiratory infections circulating in Russia at

the moment remained quite stable.As the

reports noted, influenza activity from

October 2021 to May 2022 was significantly

higher than in the previous season, but lower

than the pre-pandemic period. "At the same

time, the past season was characterized by

the predominance of influenza A viruses,

while the proportion of influenza B viruses

remained small. The board stated that

COVID-19 entered the circulation of the

group of respiratory infections, disturbing

the seasonality of the epidemic process of

influenza and acute respiratory viral

infections," the report said.

Popova also noted that in conditions of

continued circulation of SARS-CoV-2 virus,

it is necessary to elaborate new

methodological approaches to the evaluation

of the epidemic situation of influenza and

acute respiratory viral infections.


8

LC for capital machinery down by 6 5pc, to

have long-run effects on exports: Experts

Closing Ceremony of month-long Entrepreneurship Development Program of Islami Bank Training and

Research Academy (IBTRA) was held on October 18, 2022, Tuesday at IBTRA Auditorium. The program was

organized in collaboration with Bangladesh Bank's SME and Special Programs Department. Md. Jaker Hossain,

Director of SME and Special Program Department, Bangladesh Bank addressed as chief guest. Presided over by

Muhammad Qaisar Ali, Managing Director (Current Charge) of the bank S.M. Rabiul Hassan, Principal, IBTRA,

Md. Nazrul Islam, Additional Director & Mohammad Zahid Iqbal, Joint Director of SME and Special Program

Department of Bangladesh Bank, Md. Mahboob Alam, K.M. Munirul Alam Al-Mamoon, Senior Executive Vice

Presidents, Mohammad Rokan Uddin & A.K.M Shahidul Hoque Khandaker, Executive Vice Presidents and Abdul

Hamid Miah, Senior Vice President of the Bank were also present on the occasion. 25 promising entrepreneurs

from different business sectors were awarded certificates for participating the workshop. Photo : Courtesy

BGMEA, Fashion Design Council

to promote khadi globally

DHAKA : The Bangladesh

Garment Manufacturers and

Exporters (BGMEA) and the

Fashion Design Council of

Bangladesh (FDCB) have

agreed to forge a collaboration

Star casino

Record fine for

Australian operator

over money laundering

Australian gambling giant

Star Entertainment Group

has been fined A$100m

($62m, £55m) for failing to

stop money laundering at its

Sydney casino.

The group's licence to

operate the casino has also

been suspended.

The Star has promised to

"do everything in [its] power"

to regain its licence and the

community's trust.

Casino operators in

Australia have been under

great pressure to reform their

gambling operations

following reports of

widespread criminal activity.

The record penalties were

announced in response to a

damning inquiry in New

South Wales (NSW) earlier

this year.

It heard the Star had

allowed money laundering

and organised crime to

infiltrate their Sydney

casino, taking a "cavalier"

approach to governance and

at times making deliberate

moves to cover its tracks. At

the time, the regulatory chief

Philip Crawford said: "The

institutional arrogance of

this company has been

breathtaking."

The fine announced on

Monday is the maximum

allowed, but the NSW

Independent Casino

Commission stopped short of

removing Star's licence

altogether, to protect

thousands of jobs.

Under the conditions of the

suspension, the casino will

still operate under a manager

appointed by the regulator.

to promote and develop highend

fashionable garments

using home grown fabrics and

materials.

FDCB President Maheen

Khan and Vice-President

Emdad Haque met with

BGMEA President Faruque

Hassan in Dhaka Monday.

They discussed how the

BGMEA and FDCB could

work together to present

Tunisian protesters

denounce ‘coup’, demand

president's removal

TUNIS : Thousands of

Tunisians demonstrated

Saturday in the capital

Tunis, denouncing a power

grab by President Kais Saied

and demanding accountability

for the country's longrunning

economic crisis,

AFP correspondents said.

Saied staged a dramatic

power grab in July last year

and later pushed through a

constitution enshrining his

one-man rule, in what critics

have called a return to autocracy

in the only democracy

to have emerged from the

Arab Spring.

Protesters in central Tunis

chanted, "Down, down",

"Revolution against dictator

Kais" and "The coup will

fall."

The march was organised

by the National Salvation

Front, a coalition of opposition

parties including the

Islamist-inspired Ennahdha

that had dominated

Tunisia's parliament before

its dissolution by Saied.

Ali Laarayedh, Tunisia's

former prime minister and a

senior Ennahdha official,

told AFP that the protest was

an expression of "anger at

the state of affairs under

Kais Saied".

"We are telling him to

leave."

Saied's power grab was

welcomed by some

Tunisians tired of what they

saw as a fractious and corrupt

system established after

the 2011 revolution that

ousted late dictator Zine El

Abidine Ali.

But a worsening economic

situation, compounded by

supply shortages in the wake

of Russia's invasion of

Ukraine in February, has

agitated many in the North

African country of 12 million.

If Saied stays, "Tunisia will

have no future," said

Laarayedh, citing growing

despair, poverty and unemployment.

The National Salvation

Front has announced it will

boycott a December vote to

elect a new parliament with

limited powers.

Ennahdha's deep ideological

rival, the secular Free

Destourian Party (PDL),

also organised a protest in

the capital on Saturday.

Saied "is doing nothing,

and things are only getting

worse", said Souad, a pensioner

in her 60s at the secular

party's demonstration.

Some of the protesters carried

empty containers to

symbolise the rising cost of

water due to inflation, which

hit 9.1 percent in September.

Around 1,500 people

joined the Ennahdha-led

demonstration, while nearly

1,000 attended the PDL

protest, the interior ministry

told AFP.

In public remarks, Saied

has argued he was working

to "correct" economic troubles

he had inherited from

Tunisia's post-Ben Ali leadership.

Bangladeshi culture and

fashion globally and create a

market for the country's

products around the world,

especially khadi, a hand-spun

and woven natural fibre.

They also talked about

possible avenues of

collaboration to make khadi

products globally acceptable

in terms of design and quality

by bringing diversity in

innovative design and fabric

development.

Both BGMEA and FDCB

associations will join hands to

explore the opportunity of

exporting products made of

khadi, a fabric that illustrates

the rich heritage and culture

of Bangladesh. Faruque

invited Maheen and Emdad to

join the Made in Bangladesh

Week which will be organised

by BGMEA on 12-18

November 2022 to promote

Bangladesh and its apparel

industry. He also invited

them to use the weeklong

event as an ideal platform to

showcase khadi products to

the global audience.

UK's Truss

struggles to

salvage

premiership

LONDON : Britain's Prime

Minister Liz Truss insisted

on her devotion to "sound"

economics heading into

crisis talks Sunday with

her all-powerful new

finance minister, and a

tense week of plotting by

Conservative critics,

reports BSS.

With even US President

Joe Biden joining in

attacks on her economic

agenda, Truss admitted it

had been a "wrench" to fire

her friend Kwasi Kwarteng

as chancellor of the

exchequer.

But writing in the Sun on

Sunday newspaper, she

said: "We cannot pave the

way to a low-tax, highgrowth

economy without

maintaining the

confidence of the markets

in our commitment to

sound money."

That confidence was

jeopardised on September

23 when Kwarteng and

Truss unveiled a rightwing

programme, inspired

by 1980s US president

Ronald Reagan, of o45

billion ($50 billion) in tax

cuts financed exclusively

by higher debt.

Markets tanked in

response, driving up

borrowing costs for

millions of Britons, and the

Conservatives' poll ratings

have similarly slumped,

leading to open warfare in

the governing party mere

weeks after Truss

succeeded Boris Johnson.

DHAKA : New investment

and business expansion saw a

slow pace after tightening

import and global recession

warnings, brought about by

the Russia-Ukraine war.

As a result, opening letter of

credit (LC) for importing

capital machinery decreased

by 65 percent in July-August

of the current fiscal year

2022-23. This has no shortterm

effect, but in the long

run, it affects Bangladesh's

export trading, experts have

said.

Business owners are saying

no one is being brave enough

to make new investments

during the current turbulent

times. Due to the gaselectricity

crisis, sustaining

existing businesses has also

become challenging.

According to Bangladesh

Bank data, from July-August,

loans for importing industrial

machinery stood at USD 400

Electric Mini production

to move from Oxford

to China

BMW insists Oxford will

"remain at the heart of Mini

production" despite it moving

the manufacture of some of its

electric cars to China, reports

BBC.

The first electric Mini was

built at the city's Cowley plant

in 2020. All Minis will be

electric by 2030.

BMW said its hatchback

and small SUV electric Minis

will start being built in China.

Its electric Countryman

model will be built in Leipzig,

Germany. A spokesperson

said there will be no impact on

jobs in Oxford.

BMW said it was going to

produce electric cars in China

as well as Oxford after it

agreed a deal with Chinese

manufacturer Great Wall

Motor in 2018.

It said workers at Cowley

will build the Mini Cooper

three-door and five-door

Hatch models. The Mini

Convertible will also be built

at Plant Oxford from 2025.

"This is one of our most

important cars and a global

best-seller, and further signals

our commitment to the

future. Plant Oxford will

remain at the heart of Mini

production," a BMW

spokesperson said.

"Oxford plays an important

role in the BMW Group's

production strategy, with its

high degree of flexibility,

competitiveness and expertise

- also in the area of

electromobility. There is no

impact on jobs," they added.

Susan Brown, Oxford City

Council's leader, said: "I have

sought reassurance from

BMW and understand that

while BMW is looking to

rebalance the production of its

Mini range globally as it

moves towards being allelectric

by 2030, there is an

ongoing commitment to the

city, building on significant

recent investments in the

Cowley plant."

million, compared to USD

1.15 billion during the same

period last year. Loan LCs for

production purposes

decreased by around 65

percent.

However, during this

period the settlement of debt

securities opened earlier has

increased by about 55

percent.

In the last fiscal year (FY

22), LC opening for

importing capital machinery

was USD 6.46 billion, which

is 15 percent higher than the

previous FY 21. And debt

settlement was USD 5.26

billion, which is 40 percent

higher than the previous

year.

Bank officials say that now

Bangladesh Bank has to be

informed 24 hours before the

opening of LCs for more than

USD 3 million in case of

import.

In many cases, the central

bank blocks the opening of

large LCs. Again, due to the

shortage of dollars, many

banks have stopped or

reduced the opening of large

LCs. The impact of this

regulation on opening LCs

also causes decreasing capital

machinery import, they

pointed out.

Khandkar Golam

Moazzem, Research Director

of CPD, told UNB that

Bangladesh witnessed high

growth in the import of

capital machinery in the last

one-and-a-half years.

The main reason for this is

that many entrepreneurs

increased their production

capacity due to the increased

growth in garment exports.

At present, there is no high

growth in exports. Because of

that business expansion is

decreasing, he said.

"This will not cause any

problems in the near future.

But worryingly, future

investments are suffering. If

this trend continues,

industrial production, export,

and employment growth may

stagnate in the long run,"

Moazzem said.

President of the

Bangladesh Textile Mill

Association (BTMA), an

association of textiles owners,

Mohammad Ali said that

some of the new mills had

opened capital equipment

import credit before the

current crisis.

Those who did not open the

LCs earlier now folded their

hands. Due to this, all the

new factories will not be able

to come into production at

the scheduled time, he said.

Ali mentioned that the

condition of gas supply to

textile factories has become

worse than before and

impacted production and

machine equipment import.

Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation (BHBFC) observed the Sheikh

Russel Day with due dignity on 18, October. The organization took different programs

as per the govt. dirrectives for the day. First of all, the BHBFC Managing

Director (MD) pays homage lying floral wreath to the potrait of Sheikh Russel at

BHBFC Bangabandhu Pavillion. All head office officials were present at that time.

A discussion meeting, special prayers and cutting of birthday cake were followed

as another programs at BHBFC Ideal High School in the capital. Then a discussion

on 'The Birthday and Life of Sheikh Russel' was held virtually connecting all

officials of the organization. The MD of the organization presided over the discussion.

All field offices of the organization also ovserved the day through different

programs.

Photo : Courtesy

UK PM Truss ‘sorry’ for economic

'mistakes' but vows to stay on

LONDON : Embattled UK Prime Minister

Liz Truss on Monday apologised for going

"too far too fast" with reforms that triggered

economic turmoil, but vowed to remain

leader despite a series of humiliating

climbdowns.

"I do want to accept responsibility and say

sorry for the mistakes that have been made...

we went too far and too fast," she told the

BBC.

However, she said that she was

"completely committed to delivering for this

country" despite questions over who was

now in control of government policy.

Her government on Monday axed almost

all of its debt-fuelled tax cuts unveiled last

month to avert fresh market chaos.

The shock move by new finance chief

Jeremy Hunt-parachuted into the job on

Friday to replace sacked Kwasi Kwartengleaves

Truss's position in a precarious state,

with Conservative MP Roger Gale saying

that Hunt was "de facto prime minister".

Hunt estimated the tax changes would

raise about £32 billion ($36 billion) per year,

after economists estimated the government

faced a £60-billion black hole. He also

warned of tough spending cuts.

The chancellor of the exchequer said no

government could control markets-but

stressed his action would give certainty over

public finances and help secure growth.

"The prime minister and I agreed

yesterday to reverse almost all the tax

measures announced in the growth plan

three weeks ago," Hunt told parliament,

flanked by a grim-faced Truss.

The chancellor also announced the

formation of an economic advisory council,

featuring four experts outside of

government.

Hours earlier, he had used a brief televised

statement to announce the dramatic

reversals to nervous markets, conceding last

month's budget from his predecessor had

harmed the public purse.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between International Convention City Bashundhara

(ICCB) and Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) on Sunday to host the 'International Collegiate Programming

Contest (ICPC) World Finals 2022'. Chief Operating Officer (Brand & Marketing) of International Convention

City Bashundhara (ICCB) MM Jasim Uddin, General Manager (Accounts & Finance) S M Monirul Islam Polash,

Secretary of Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) Mohammad Rashedul Islam and senior officials were present

at the programme.

Photo : Courtesy

WeDneSDAY, oCtoBer 19, 2022

9

Manchester City's defeat by Liverpool gives the other teams hope for the league title.

Man City’s stumble gives Spurs,

Chelsea hope for title fight

SportS DeSk

Manchester City's first defeat of the

season has given the rest of the Premier

League hope that the title race is not a

foregone conclusion as Tottenham and

Chelsea seek to close at the top of the

table on Wednesday, reports UNB.

The arrival of rampaging forward

Erling Haaland to supplement Pep

Guardiola's squad, which has won the

English top flight four times in the past

five years, made City even stronger

favourites to win the league again.

However, a rejuvenated Arsenal have

opened up a four-point gap at the top of

the table, while Spurs have kept pace

with the defending champions.

Arsenal and City were supposed to be

facing off this midweek in a top-of-thetable

clash.

But that match has been postponed

due to rescheduling caused by the

death of Queen Elizabeth II last month,

with the Gunners instead facing PSV

Eindhoven in the Europa League.

With the top two not in action,

Tottenham could move to within a

point of the summit if they win at

Manchester United on Wednesday.

Spurs have not won a league title for

61 years but have, in Antonio Conte, a

manager who has won the league at

each of his previous three clubs -

Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan.

"We are showing stability," said

Conte. "I always say, to play against us

is not easy.

"We have to continue to work and

improve but we are a team, and I

consider us really strong. If we are good

to improve and continue to grow in

other aspects, not only tactical but also

to show this maturity, then we'll have

great satisfaction."

The strength in depth of Tottenham's

squad is being fully tested by injuries to

Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison in

forward areas.

But Harry Kane is carrying the

burden, with the England captain

scoring nine goals in 10 league games to

stay on the coat-tails of Haaland in the

race for the Golden Boot.

Potter works his magic

Chelsea looked to have blown their

title chances with two defeats in their

opening five league games under

Thomas Tuchel.

But Graham Potter, who replaced the

German as manager in September, has

masterminded a turnaround in results

for the Blues, with five consecutive wins

in all competitions putting them back

on track in both the Premier League

and Champions League.

Chelsea have a game in hand on the

top three and victory at Brentford

would lift them just two points behind

City.

photo: Ap

Potter has brought the best out of

Kepa Arrizabalaga, who is performing

to a level expected of the world's most

expensive goalkeeper and keeping

Edouard Mendy out of the side.

"Kepa found a fantastic level, he

made brilliant saves which kept us in

the game," said Potter after the

Spaniard shone in Sunday's 2-0 win at

Aston Villa.

"He is contributing to us with clean

sheets, how we are trying to play and

the environment around the place."

Liverpool lift-off?

Liverpool have been the side carrying

the fight to City over the past five years

and looked more like their old selves in

defeating the champions 1-0 at a

frenzied Anfield on Sunday.

The Reds still have a mountain to

climb to get back in the title race, with

just three wins under their belts in their

opening nine games.

And they cannot afford a hangover

from their exploits against City when

they host West Ham on Wednesday.

"We were obviously brilliant but we

need consistency," said Liverpool

defender Andy Robertson.

"It's important, it's such a big win for

us against an unbelievable team that

put us under so much pressure. But it's

only a massive three points if we use it

to our advantage."

Putellas eyes a return from injury

after retaining Ballon d'Or

SportS DeSk

Alexia Putellas said she

hoped to return from a

serious knee injury before

the end of this season but

refused to discuss her future

with the Spanish national

team after winning her

second successive women's

Ballon d'Or on Monday,

reports UNB.

The reward for Putellas,

28, came after a season in

which she was the top scorer

as her club Barcelona

reached the Champions

League final.

The prize, awarded at a

star-studded ceremony at

the Chatelet Theatre in

central Paris, is also a

consolation for Putellas who

is currently recovering from

a serious knee injury.

The injury saw her miss

the Euro in England in July

and means she faces a battle

to play at all this season.

"The knee is doing well. I

just need to focus on

recovering and if everything

goes as I hope - and as the

doctors and my club hope - I

hope to be back playing this

season," she said.

There is a World Cup in

Australia and New Zealand

in July and August next year,

although the presence of

Putellas appears in some

doubt for reasons other than

her injury.

The Barcelona captain

recently published a

statement calling for change,

along with 15 national team

Barcelona's Alexia putellas scored 11 goals in the Champions League last season to

retain the trophy.

photo: Ap

players who asked not to be

called up by Spain, amid

differences with the coach

Jorge Vilda and the Spanish

football federation.

"All I am going to say

today about the national

team is that obviously it is a

topic that makes me very

sad," she said.

'Day for celebration'

"I think it needs to be

spoken about but today is

not the day. This is a day for

celebration, a historic day,

and that's all."

Putellas saw off stiff

competition, notably from

three stars of the England

team that won the European

Championship, to take the

Ballon d'Or following a

campaign which also saw

Barcelona win a domestic

league and cup double.

"It makes me even more

annoyed to be injured, but I

am very happy to be here,"

Putellas added.

"To retain the trophy is

much harder. When I

injured my knee I thought

my chances of winning it

had gone but in the end the

jury based their decision on

the whole of last season, of

which I only missed one

month."

Putellas scored 11 goals in

the Champions League last

season as holders Barcelona

reached the final but lost to

Lyon.

It is the fourth time that a

women's Ballon d'Or has

been awarded, with

Norway's Ada Hegerberg

winning the inaugural prize

in 2018 before US superstar

Megan Rapinoe succeeded

her in 2019.

There was no Ballon d'Or

gala in 2020 due to the

pandemic before Putellas

won it for the first time last

year after helping Barca to

Women's Champions

League glory for the first

time in their history.

Putellas had already won

the Uefa player of the year

prize in August.

Azarenka, Andreescu

advance to second

round at Guadalajara

SportS DeSk

Twice major winner Victoria

Azarenka downed Russian

Elina Avanesyan 6-4, 6-2

and former US Open

champion Bianca

Andreescu cruised past

Swiss Jil Teichmann 6-2, 6-

4 in the first round as the

Guadalajara Open main

draw kicked off on Monday,

reports UNB.

Six of the world's top 10

are expected to play in the

hard-court tournament, the

final WTA 1000-level event

this season before the WTA

Finals, with Polish world No

1 and US Open winner Iga

Swiatek absent after

winning in San Diego on

Sunday.

Azarenka, who reached

the last 16 in New York but

lost in her Ostrava opener

earlier this month, dropped

only three first-serve points

in the first set and broke in

the seventh game.

The Belarussian's serve

deteriorated in a choppy

second set but her 20-yearold

opponent could not

derail the experienced

Azarenka who set up a

second-round meeting with

Spanish top seed Paula

Badosa in a repeat of the

Indian Wells final last year.

Canadian Andreescu had

no problem overcoming

Teichmann, winning the

first three games of the first

set and cruising through the

second as the Swiss served

three double faults.

Russian Liudmila

Samsonova, who won in

Cleveland and Tokyo this

year but lost her first-round

match in San Diego, beat

Estonian Kaia Kanepi 6-1, 7-

5 and China's Zhu Lin

defeated Frenchwoman

Alize Cornet 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Bangladesh lose

to Afghanistan

by 62 runs in

warm-up

SportS DeSk

A disappointing display

Monday saw Bangladesh lose

to Afghanistan by 62 runs in a

warm-up match prior to the

Super 12 round of the

Twenty20 World Cup 2022

Australia, reports UNB.

Batting first at the Allan

Border field in Brisbane, the

Afghans piled up a

competitive 160/7 in their 20

overs, thanks to a late 17-ball

unbeaten 41 from captain

Mohammad Nabi, and 39-

ball 46 from No 3 batter

Ibrahim Zadran.

Right-arm paceman Taskin

Ahmed was the pick of the

Bangladesh bowlers with

3/30 from his quota of four

overs, while fellow right-arm

quick Hasan Mahmud also

put in an impressive shift,

finishing with 2/24 from his

four overs.

Skipper Shakib al Hasan

also bagged two wickets but

was expensive giving away 46

runs in four overs.

In reply, the men in red and

green lost wickets at regular

intervals and only managed

98/9 in 20 overs.

Openers Nazmul Hossain

Shanto (12 off nine) and

Mehedi Hasan Miraz (16 off

31) failed to provide a good

start while the following four

batters - Soumya Sarkar,

Shakib (both one), Afif

Hossain, Yasir Ali (both

nought) - further

compounded Bangladesh's

woes by departing in quick

succession.

Mosaddek Hossain topscored

with a 33-ball 29 while

Mustafizur Rahman was not

out on 10 off 17 deliveries as

Bangladesh fell way short in

the end.

Left-arm seamer Fazalhaq

Farooqi ended up with

miserly bowling figure of 3/9

off three overs.

Bangladesh will take on

South Africa Wednesday in

their second and last warmup

game.

Qatar World Cup ticket

sales near 3 million mark

SportS DeSk

Ticket sales for the football

World Cup are approaching

the three million mark ahead

of the tournament kicking off

in Qatar on Nov 20, Fifa

president Gianni Infantino

and event organisers said on

Monday, reports UNB.

The top 10 purchasing

countries of the 2.89 million

tickets sold are Qatar, the US,

Saudi Arabia, England,

Mexico, the United Arab

Emirates, Argentina, France,

Brazil and Germany, Fifa's

World Cup chief operating

officer Colin Smith told a

news conference in Doha.

"There is currently either

low or no availability for

matches," Smith said.

Infantino, addressing the

conference in a recorded

video, said 240,000

hospitality packages had been

Belarussian Victoria Azarenka (above) will face Spanish top seed paula Badosa in

the second round.

photo: Ap

Neymar expected to

testify at corruption

trial in Barcelona

SportS DeSk

sold for the month-long

tournament, making it the

"most successful hospitality

programme ever," he said.

Hospitality tickets, which

allow access to luxurious

stadium lounges, some with

free-flowing alcoholic drinks,

cost more than US$34,300

per person for semifinal

matches and the final,

according to Fifa's website.

Qatar, the smallest country

to have hosted soccer's global

showpiece tournament, is

preparing for an estimated 1.2

million visitors during the

World Cup, the first to be held

in a Middle Eastern country.

Thousands of fans are

expected to stay in

neighbouring countries like

tourism hub the United Arab

Emirates and fly in to Doha

for matches due to limited

accommodation in Qatar.

The director-general of

Just a month before the start of the World Cup, Brazilian

superstar Neymar was expected to testify in a Spanish court

Tuesday at his trial over alleged irregularities in his transfer

to Barcelona nearly a decade ago, reports BSS.

Neymar had been set to testify on either October 21 or 28

but the judge agreed to bring forward his hearing to avoid a

clash with his football commitments.

Wearing sunglasses and a dark suit, the 30-year-old

arrived at the Provincial Court of Barcelona for the start of

the trial Monday with his parents who are also in the dock.

Neymar spent two hours at the court before he was

excused by the judge for the rest of the day's hearing after his

lawyers argued he needed to rest after playing Sunday night.

The player scored the only goal of the Ligue 1 match against

Marseille.

"Da Silva Santos Junior scored a goal when I was already

in bed," admitted court president Jose Manuel del Amo.

The high-profile trial is the culmination of a years-long

legal saga over Neymar's 2013 transfer from the Brazilian

club Santos to Barcelona.

He then joined Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain in a

world record 222 million euro transfer in 2017.

Spanish prosecutors are seeking a two-year prison term for

Neymar and the payment of a 10-million-euro ($9.7 million)

fine.

He is one of nine defendants on trial on corruption-related

charges, among them his parents and their N&N company,

which manages his affairs.

'Complicity to defraud' -

Investigators began probing the transfer after a 2015

complaint filed by DIS, a Brazilian company that owned 40

percent of the player's sporting rights when he was at Santos.

Barcelona said the transfer cost 57.1 million euros, but

prosecutors believe it was at least 83 million euros.

The club said it paid 40 million euros to N&N and 17.1

million to Santos, of which 6.8 million was given to DIS.

But DIS alleges that Neymar, Barcelona and the Brazilian

club colluded to mask the true cost of the deal.

Among the other defendants are two former Barca

presidents, Sandro Rosell and Josep Maria Bartomeu, and

ex-Santos boss Odilio Rodrigues Filho.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is also set to take

the stand on Tuesday by videoconference to give his opinion

of how a 2011 secret pre-contract deal between Barca and

Neymar influenced the market.

"Neymar Junior, with the complicity of his parents and FC

Barcelona and its directors at the time, and Santos FC at a

later stage, defrauded DIS of its legitimate financial

interests," said DIS lawyer Paulo Nasser on Thursday.

DIS is seeking to recover 35 million euros.

Neymar's lawyers insist their client is innocent, saying the

40 million euros was a "legal signing bonus which is normal

in the football transfer market".

They have said Spanish authorities lack jurisdiction to hear

the case since the transfer involved Brazilian nationals in

Brazil. The trial is due to end on October 31.

Neymar's abrupt departure for PSG five years ago sparked

a string of legal disputes, with Barcelona withholding its

contract extension bonus and suing the player for breach of

contract, as Neymar countersued.

Qatar's World Cup organising

committee, Yasir Al Jamal,

told the news conference that

two million room nights had

been sold and Qatar has

added an additional 30,000

rooms to accommodate lastminute

ticket sales.

"This has been designed to

ensure that all ticket holders

have the best chance of

securing accommodation," Al

Jamal said.

With most of the 31,000 or

so hotel rooms in Qatar

occupied by soccer teams,

their support staff and World

Cup officials, organisers are

offering fans accommodation

in apartments, villas,

prefabricated metal cabins,

desert tents and three cruise

ships moored in the Doha

port.

Japan will be the first team

to arrive for the tournament

on Nov 7, Smith said.

Warriors launch

title defense as NBA

season tips off

SportS DeSk

The Golden State Warriors

will be chasing their fifth title

since 2015 when the new

NBA campaign tips off on

Tuesday after one of the

most turbulent off-seasons

in years, reports UNB.

The Warriors, who

returned to the pinnacle of

basketball in June with an

NBA Finals series victory

over the Boston Celtics, open

the defense of their title in

San Francisco against the

Los Angeles Lakers.

The Celtics, meanwhile,

host the Philadelphia 76ers

in the other opening fixture

of the 82-game regular

season that reaches its

conclusion next April.

The Warriors embark on

their campaign under a

cloud of locker-room

discontent.

The franchise was plunged

into turmoil earlier this

month after it emerged that

defensive star Draymond

Green had punched out

teammate Jordan Poole in

practice.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr

says the bust-up is the

biggest crisis of his reign as

coach, and uniting the locker

room following the

controversy is his priority.

Warriors talisman Steph

Curry, meanwhile, helped

broker clear-the-air talks

between Green and Poole.

"How we handle this

situation is important,"

Curry said.

"How Draymond

responds to the space that he

needs to come back with the

right frame of mind on doing

the work, coming with the

right energy, making it

about the team - all those

things are important."

Off-season turmoil has

been a feature of several of

the franchises who might

normally expect to be

challenging the Warriors

this season.

The Celtics' pre-season

preparations were upended

by the stunning one-season

suspension of coach Ime

Udoka last month.

WEdNEsdAY, OcTOBER 19 2022

10

Nirab, Sunerah pairs up in ‘Joy Banglar Dhoni’

TBT REPORT

Actors Nirab Hossain and Sunerah

Binte Kamal have paired up for a film

for the first time. The duo will be seen

acting in the film 'Joy Banglar Dhoni'.

The liberation war film will be

directed by KM Khurshid.

In the meantime, Nirab and

Sunerah have signed a contract for

acting in the film.

About the movie, Nirab said, "We

have got an independent country

through the liberation war. Our

liberation war has given us the

freedom to live, speak. I'm very happy

to join in a liberation war-based

movie. I hope the audience will like

our work."

Nirab is a popular film actor and

model. He started his career by

modeling. He acted in several

television commercials, dramas and

later he started working in films.

Nirab made his big screen debut with

the film 'Mon Jekhane Hridoy

Sekhane' in 2009. He has received a

lot of appreciation for his last movie

'Omanush'.

Sunerah Binte Kamal is a model,

actress, and dancer. She won National

Film Award for Best Actress for her

debut film 'No Dorai' in 2019.

Black Panther : Wakanda Forever’s

honours late Chadwick Boseman

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

stars Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett

and more discuss Chadwick

Boseman's tragic loss in Marvel's new

snippet.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is

one of the most-anticipated projects

from Marvel although fans share a

bittersweet relationship with it given

that the sequel will not have Chadwick

Boseman who tragically passed away

in 2020 after a battle with cancer.

Without replacing T'Challa, the film

will in fact be honouring Boseman in a

special manner.

Ahead of the film's release next

month, the lead cast of the film

including Letitia Wright who plays

Shuri, Angela Bassett who plays

Queen Ramonda, Lupita Nyong'o

who reprises Nakia, Winston Duke

who portrays M'Baku and also

director Ryan Coogler discussed what

it meant to work on the film following

Boseman's loss. The film will be

paying a special tribute to the actor as

seen in the trailer as well and the cast

revealed the same in a new snippet

released by Marvel.

In the video released by Marvel,

actor Winston Duke says, "We all

suffered an incredible loss when we

lost Chadwick." The film's director

Ryan Coogler then also adds how

Boseman was an "artistic partner" to

him while working on the first film.

Coogler revealed how the two would

indulge in conversations about where

they wanted the story to go and how

much Chadwick admired other

characters.

Angela Bassett also spoke about the

late actor as she mentioned how

Boseman was aware of what

Wakanda and the work they were

creating meant to the world. She

further added that through the sequel,

they were able to honour the actor

together. Lupita Nyong'o also added

how it was "moving" to come back to

Wakanda and to be able to do it with a

sense of celebration in memory of the

late actor. As for Letitia Wright who is

likely to take on the role of Black

Panther and continue Boseman's

legacy ahead, the actress noted, "I am

excited about us honouring Chad. He

would want us to just inspire the

world."

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

introduces several new characters

including Dominique Thorne as Riri

Williams aka Ironheart, Michaela

Coel as Aneka, Mabel Cadena as

Namora, Alex Livinalli as Attuma and

Tenoch Huerta as Namor, the King of

Atlantis. Black Panther: Wakanda

Forever is all set to release in theatres

on November 11, 2022.

Source: Collider

Nora Fatehi’s

Dhaka visit

cancelled

Bollywood actress Nora Fatehi was

scheduled to come to Dhaka in the mid

November to join an award giving

ceremony.

But due to dollar crisis, the renowned

dancer was not given permission to come

in Dhaka. To attend the 'Global Achievers

Awards-2022', the host organization

Women Leadership Corporation applied

to the Ministry of Culture to give

permission to Nora for visiting Dhaka.

According to a notification signed by

deputy secretary of the ministry Md

Khaled Hossain, Nora Fatehi's visit has

been cancelled due to dollar crisis.

Nora was scheduled to perform

dance at Bangabandhu International

Conference Center (BICC) on November

18 (Tuesday).

On Sunday, a press conference

organised by Women Leadership

Corporation was held in this regard.

Earliar, Nora was also scheduled to

come to Dhaka to take part an event

organized by Mir Group. But, the actress

was not allowed to come for the same

reason.

Pori Moni’s ‘Ma’ gets uncut

censor clearance

TBT REPORT

Liberation War-based film 'Ma,' starring

Dhallywood superstar Pori Moni,

received an uncut clearance from the

Bangladesh Film Censor Board (BFCB)

on Thursday, according to recent media

reports. The film, directed by Aranya

Anwar, revolves around a mother (Pori)

and his seven-month-old child who was

announced dead during the war. Aranya

Anwar said, "On Thursday (October 13)

evening, Aruna Biswas, one of the

members of the Censor Board praised the

film. She also told me that the board

members have unanimously decided to

give an uncut clearance to the film."

After hearing the news, the film's lead

cast Pori Moni told the press, "I am very

happy that the film got uncut clearance

from the board. The journey of this film

will be a lifelong memory for me. When I

shot for 'Ma', Rajya (Pori's son) was four

months old in my womb. And when it will

be released, he will be in my arms. The

happiness I am feeling cannot be

explained in words."

'Nurul Huda' daily soap famed Aranya

Anwar claims that he did his best for his

debut film 'Ma.' The film is scheduled to

The actress, popularly famous for her

dances 'Saki Saki' and 'Dilbar Dilbar', is

one of the renowned women dancers in

India.

Moreover, Nora won heart of audience

as an item song artist in several

Bollywood films.

hit Bangladeshi theatres at the end of this

year.

Apart from Pori Moni, the film stars

Azad Abul Kalam, Farzana Chobi, Saju

Khadem, Robena Karim Jui, Shilpi

Sarkar Apu, Setu, Labanya, Shahadat

Hossain in central roles.

Once called a witch Kangana now using ‘black magic skills’

Kangana Ranaut spoke

about the time she was

referred to a witch and how

she handled it. She also said

that an editor wrote about

her 'black magic skills'.

Actor Kangana Ranaut on

Sunday recalled the time

when she was called a witch.

Taking to her Instagram

Stories, Kangana also spoke

about an editor talking

about the actor's 'black

magic skills' and how she

was 'more than sure that I

mix my period blood in

ladoos (sweets)'. Kangana

sarcastically said that as no

one could understand how

she made it to the top, they

would conclude that it was

'black magic'.

Kangana shared a video

on Instagram featuring

Sadhguru talking about how

women were burnt alive,

200 years ago, as they were

considered to be witches.

Along with the clip, she

wrote, "If you have super

powers you will be called a

witch...I was called a witch

but I didn't let them burn

me...instead I...he he he I

must be a real witch

wohahaa aabra ka dabra

(fire emoji)."

She also wrote, "In 2016

one of the leading print

editors @saritatanwar2707

wrote a piece in her paper

that her investigative journo

skills have landed her proofs

of my black magic skills and

she is more than sure that I

mix my period blood in

ladoos (sweets) that I send

on Diwali to everyone as

gifts ...."

Kangana added, "Ha ha

those days were fun, no one

could figure with no filmi

background, education,

guidance, agency, groups or

friends/boyfriends I made it

to the top... so they all

collectively came up with

one answer BLACK MAGIC

!!

A few years ago,

Kangana's ex-boyfriend,

actor Adhyayan Suman had

alleged that she made him

drink her period blood. The

two were in a relationship

for a few months, from

2008 to 2009.

Later, Kangana told

NDTV in 2016, "It doesn't

upset me when people call

me names and talk about

my period blood - but just

don't call it gross. Because

there is nothing gross about

period blood. When we

think about periods, it's my

ability to reproduce, it's my

ability to give birth. If there's

nothing gross about a man's

body fluids, then there is

nothing mysterious or evil

about women's body fluids

either." Adhyayan and

Kangana starred together in

Raaz: The Mystery

Continues.

Fans will see Kangana in

director Sarvesh Mewara's

directorial Tejas. The film

will feature Kangana in the

role of an Air Force pilot.

She also has the period

drama Emergency in which

she will portray the role of

late Prime Minister Indira

Gandhi. Emergency marks

Kangana's first solodirectorial

film. Apart from

Kangana, the film also casts

Anupam Kher, Mahima

Chaudhry, Vishak Nair and

Shreyas Talpade in

prominent roles.

Source: Hindustan Times

H O R O s c O P E

ARIEs

Expanding your mind could be of

interest today, Aries. You might decide

to plan a trip to a place you've always

wanted to visit, if possible. Or you

could decide to go back to school for an advanced

degree. Either way, you're likely to spend the day

considering the idea and doing a lot of research. At

some point you will want to get in a workout to rid

your system of some of the day's tension.

TAURUs

Generally, Taurus, you tend to be

interested in what makes everything

tick, from the human mind to the

workings of the Universe to religion.

Today that interest could be piqued by something

you read or hear. You might want to delve into a field

of interest and learn whatever you can about it. You

could have some insights that are as valid as anyone

else's, so write them down!

GEMINI

Stimulating conversations could take

place with partners of all sorts, Gemini,

from business to exercise to romantic.

Some new and useful information

could come your way that you will want to explore

further. This is a great day to execute legal papers or

enter into any kind of agreement or commitment.

It's a good time to sign up for an online class or

workshop. Make good use of the energies of the day.

cANcER

Some stimulating discussions could

take place today. Your energy is likely

to be very high, Cancer. You may want

to throw yourself into your work,

particularly if it involves paperwork. You might also

want to get in a workout, try your hand at writing, or

read about the latest discoveries concerning optimal

health. Books, magazines, and the Internet could

prove especially useful.

LEO

Today you might decide to do some

writing, Leo. This could be job related,

but it's more likely personal, either

correspondence with friends and

colleagues or creative. Some stimulating discussion

could take place with friends, romantic partners, or

children that could set your mind buzzing with new

ideas. This is a great day to attend or participate in a

solo sport.

VIRGO

Some people who share your interests

could call you today. You might want to

take a walk while on the phone with

each other, but you will probably get

into some stimulating debates. Don't be surprised if

you both talk at once! New books that you will want

to read could come to your attention. In the evening,

stream some movies on whatever subject you've

discussed.

LIBRA

Your mind will be especially quick and

active today, Libra, and you're likely to

want to spend much of the day involved

in intellectual activities like reading,

writing, or teaching. Communication with others

should be a powerful part of your day, so you will

probably spend time on the phone. You will want to

write down many of the ideas you hear. You will find

most of them interesting and want to remember them.

scORPIO

Today you might decide to tackle your

financial paperwork and get it all

done. This is a great day for that,

Scorpio, although you might be a little

too ambitious and not get as much done as you'd

like. This is a good time to make use of any writing

talent, because ideas could be coming to you thick

and fast. Expect many of letters or phone calls in

this busy and stimulating day.

sAGITTARIUs

Your mind is usually quick, agile, and

hungry for information, Sagittarius.

Today it's likely to be even more so

than usual. Your curiosity is high, and

you could go to unusual lengths to satisfy it. You

might also feel particularly energetic and want to get

in a good workout. This is a good idea. Exercise can

clear your head and give you a better perspective on

new ideas and information.

cAPRIcORN

You generally tend to be sensitive and

intuitive, Capricorn, but today you

might be even more so. Reading about

people from other places and times

might cause you to tune into their thoughts and

feelings and receive new insight into human nature.

Creative projects, particularly writing, benefit from

this. If you want to remember what you come up

with, write it down.

AQUARIUs

A virtual group meeting or social event

could bring up so many new and

interesting ideas that you may not be able

to digest them all, Aquarius. Some new

friends who share your interests might want to continue

the discussions. Your mind is especially quick today.

You could well grasp unusual concepts that usually

don't interest you. But watch your step - you might be so

preoccupied that you could have an accident.

PIscEs

A lot of paperwork might need

attention today, Pisces. You might

throw a lot of your focus and energy

into getting it all done. Stimulating conversations

with colleagues could keep your mind occupied so

you avoid boredom. You could take a walk at the end

of the day since you're apt to encounter so much

new information that you will want to clear your

head in order to absorb it all.


11

The state minister Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury laid a wreath at the portrait of Sheikh Russel at the

BIWTC office.

Photo : Courtesy

One day whole world will celebrate

Sheikh Russel Day: Khalid

TBT REPORT

State Minister of Shipping Khalid

Mahmud Chowdhury MP said, not

only Bangabandhu, his full family was

also assassinated in 1975. They did not

eve spare the little child Russel. When

I look at the picture of Russel, I see his

bright eyes. What could he give us if he

was alive! Russel was not involved in

anything of the state. Then why was he

killed anyway? At the time of the

murder, Russel said, "I want to go to

my mother. Don't kill me I will never

introduce myself." Even then the

killers did not spare Russel, they

committed demonic murders. Sheikh

Russel is becoming a symbol of

humanity for children all over the

world. An inhuman killing like that of

Sheikh Russel is very painful. If the

world talks about truth and humanity,

then the whole world will celebrate

Sheikh Russel Day one day.

The state minister said these things

in the speech as a chief guest at a

discussion meeting organized by the

Ministry of Shipping on the occasion

of the celebration of Sheikh Russel

Day 2022 at the BIWTC office at

Banglamatar in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Bangladesh Land Port Authority

Chairman Md Alamgir, BIWTC

Chairman Ahmed Shamim Al Razi

and Md Sajedul Islam Additional

Yesterday afternoon, the leaders and workers of Awami League of Ward No. 10 of Sirajganj celebrated the

59th birthday of martyred Sheikh Russel, the youngest son of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman. In the event, a discussion on the biography of martyred Sheikh Russel and a cake cutting

ceremony were held. The discussion meeting was presided over by former councilor, social worker

and experienced worker of Awami League, Md. Abdus Sattar.

Photo: Badrul Alam Dulal

AvB Gm wc Avi/wewea/2022/398

18/10/22

GD-1693/22 (4x3)

Secretary of the Ministry of Shipping

spoke at the event presided over by

Begum Laila Jesmin, Additional

Secretary of the Ministry of Shipping.

The state minister said that the

nation is a tribute to Bangabandhu's

family. In return for the sacrifice of

Bangabandhu and his family, we got

an independent country and state.

Having failed in everything, opponents

say - the country has become a hostage

to a family. For 21 years after 75, the

opponents could not give anything to

the country. They could not give basic

rights also. The country has been taken

to the abyss. They destroyed the

economy. Fear of neighboring

countries has been created. Even

militancy was created from terrorism.

Awami League government of 1996

has dragged the development of 5

years. On August 21, a grenade attack

attempted to neutralize the leadership

of the main political party. In the last

14 years there has been continuous

development in the country. Prime

minister Sheikh Hasina is the big

umbrella of this development. Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina has proved

what a leadership can give. She

established fundamental rights. She

made us courageous. Due to these

reasons, the opponents are unhappy

with the Prime Minister.

Bangabandhu's family took the

country forward. Sheikh Hasina is

our only controlling force.

Opponents want bloodshed again

like August 15. We all have to be

careful in that place.

Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said

that the killers of Bangabandhu and

his family members cannot be

prosecuted as they issued an

ordinance to that effect and later it

became law. Nothing can be more

unfortunate for the country, for the

nation and for the people. The verdict

of killing Bangabandhu and his

family has been executed, efforts are

being made to bring those who are

fugitives to the country to demand

justice, because the murderers did

not let the country and the people of

the country move forward, we were

able to suppress the criminals

because we were able to prosecute

those murderers, that is why

Bangladesh is a development country

in the world today.

In the program, martyr Sheikh

Russel and martyrs of August 15 were

prayed for forgiveness and for the

development and progress of the

country and nation.

Earlier, the state minister laid a

wreath at the portrait of Sheikh

Russel at the BIWTC office.

Bronte biopic 'Emily'

delves into imagined

author's darkness

LOS ANGELES : Was

reclusive 19th-century author

Emily Bronte inspired to write

"Wuthering Heights" after

experimenting with opium,

tattoos and a steamy affair

with the local clergyman?

Actress Emma Mackey

doesn't think so-but she

portrays Bronte doing all those

things and more in "Emily," a

new drama which deliberately

ignores the trappings and

conventions of the traditional

period biopic."No. I don't. But

also, I don't care!" the star, best

known for Netflix hit "Sex

Education," told AFP.

"It's not a documentary-I

had to wrap my head around

just letting go of all the

biographical elements.

Israeli troops

kill three

Palestinians

RAMALLAH : Two

Palestinians including a

doctor were killed Friday in

an Israeli raid in the

flashpoint city of Jenin in the

occupied West Bank, an

army spokeswoman said.

Hours later Israeli troops

killed a Palestinian youth

accused of firing shots at an

Israeli settlement in the

West Bank.

Dr Abdullah al-Ahmad

"succumbed to a bullet

wound that pierced his head,

fired by the occupation

(Israeli) soldiers", the

ministry said in a statement

following the earlier

incident.

A ministry spokesman

told AFP that another

Palestinian, Mateen Debaya,

was also killed in the raid on

the city's refugee camp, with

five others wounded.

Militant group Hamas,

which controls the Gaza

Strip, named Debaya as a

"fighter".

The ministry said Ahmad

was shot outside a

government hospital,

located on the edge of the

camp.

US Student loan

forgiveness application

website goes live

Biden's plan calls for

$10,000 in federal student

debt cancellation for those

with incomes below

$125,000 a year, or

households that make less

than $250,000 a year. Those

who received federal Pell

Grants to attend college are

eligible for an additional

$10,000. The plan makes 20

million eligible to get their

federal student debt erased

entirely.

Biden promised to pursue

widespread student debt

forgiveness as a presidential

candidate, but the issue

went through more than a

year of internal deliberation

amid questions about its

legality. His plan sparked

intense debate ahead of the

midterm elections, with

Republicans and some

Democrats saying it's an

unfair handout for college

graduates.

But on Monday, Biden

offered a full-throated

defense of his decision.

"My commitment was if

elected president, I was

going to make government

work to deliver for the

people," Biden said. "This

rollout keeps that

commitment."

He also took aim at

Republican officials who

have either criticized the

plan or are working in court

to defeat it.

"Their outrage is wrong

and it's hypocritical," Biden

said. "I will never apologize

for helping working

Americans and middle class

people as they recover from

the pandemic.

Biden on Monday said the

White House has received

more than 10,000

comments and calls of

thanks from borrowers.

Indeed, thousands took to

GD-1690/22 (4x4)

Alamgir Apu is an idol for

language lovers

(From back page)

In the last 7 years the channel has

uploaded thousands of audiovisual

contents in Chatgaia language out of

which more than 250 content have

received more than 10 million views.

The channel's most popular content

has received 46 million views on

Facebook and 13 million views on

YouTube.

In 2016 Chantgaia was ranked 88th

in the world language ranking in

terms of the number of people

speaking it.

On 25 February 2020,the Institute

of Modern Languages of Chattogram

University awarded a certificate of

honor to C Plustv in recognition of its

outstanding efforts and contribution

in promoting Chantgaia language with

the aim of creating public awareness

and maintaining the mother tongue.

Editor-in-Chief of C Plustv Alamgir

Apu has recently taken another timely

and commendable initiative to

promote and preserve the Chantgaia

language by publishing a book titled"

Hazaro Prabad Prabachanne

Chatga"(Hajar Prabade Chatga).

The book is a collection of more

than a thousand proverbs of the

Chatgaia language, most of which are

on the verge of extinction. Proverbs

are written in Bengali with

translations and explanations in the

book to find readers with the aim of

protecting and enriching the

language. Alamgir Apu has collected

many books and proverbs from root

level from different places of

Chattogram district.

In a conversation Alamgir Apu told

The Bangladesh Today I am a proud

child of the Chantgaia language as I

am a resident of Chattagram. Chatgaia

is my mother tongue which is one of

GD-1689/22 (7x3)

the richest dialects of the region

without written form."But

unfortunately, the language is losing

its popularity due to the invasion of

foreign culture and its lack of

institutional recognition" sighs Apu,

adding that modern parents in both

urban and rural areas of the region

are reluctant to teach their children to

speak in this language. This makes the

language more vulnerable to

extinction.

"Since Bengali has been the primary

medium of education and also the

administrative language in the region,

most residents have long preferred

Bengali as their first language."

"If this trend continues, the

Chatgaiya language will be included in

the list of endangered languages,

which makes me worried," he said,

adding that he had come up with a

plan to create a Chatgaiya language

channel to promote and popularize

the language.

"Initially many people laughed at

me and criticized me for promoting

local languages but I continued my

efforts and succeeded" The book is

part of the effort to keep the language

alive and popularize the extinct

proverbs among the language's

speakers, Apu says with satisfaction.

"We are also working on a bilingual

(English and Bengali) version of the

book which will take the language to

the international arena" he said

adding that an audiovisual app called

"Bhasa Sikhoon"is also under

development to help people of other

languages understand.Apu also said

that an alphabet for Chantgaia

language is in progress and it will be

published soon to achieve

institutional recognition of the

language.

†kL nvwmbvi g~jbxwZ

MÖvg kn‡ii DbœwZ

Wednesday, Dhaka : october 19, 2022; kartik 3, 1429 BS; rabi-ul-Awal 22 , 1444 hijri

Rooppur power plant

PM to open

installation of

reactor pressure

vessel today

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina will inaugurate the installation

of a reactor pressure vessel at the second

unit of the 2,400 MW Rooppur

nuclear power plant (RNPP) on

Wednesday amid high enthusiasm for

the country's maiden nuclear power

plant, officials say.

They say that the first unit of the project

has already made 70 percent progress in

physical work, and with the installation of

the reactor pressure vessel at the second

unit the project will have overall 53 percent

of physical work.

The country's lone nuclear power plant,

being constructed at Ishwardi of the

northern district of Pabna at a total cost of

US$ 12.65 billion, will have two units, each

having 1200 MW of power generation

capacity.

900 new Dengue

patients hospitalized

in 24 hrs; 3 die

DHAKA : Three more dengue patients

died in 24 hours till Tuesday morning,

raising this year's death toll from the mosquito-borne

disease in Bangladesh to 99.

During this period, 900 more patients

were hospitalised with viral fever as cases

keep rising, according to the Directorate

General of Health Services (DGHS).

Of the latest deaths, one each was

reported from Dhaka, Khulna and

Chattogram divisions.

The dengue death toll in Dhaka division

stands at 56, in Chattogram division at 35

and in Khulna at two while it remained

static in Barishal division at five and in

Mymensingh at one.

Of the new patients, 528 were admitted

to different hospitals in Dhaka and 372

outside it. A total of 3,227 dengue

patients, including 2,148 in the capital, are

now receiving treatment at hospitals

across the country.

Schoolgirl rape-murder in N'ganj

4 to die, another

gets life term

NARAYANGANJ : A Narayanganj court

on Tuesday sentenced four people to

death and another to life imprisonment

for killing a schoolgirl after rape in 2005 in

Fatulla. The death row convicts are

Kamrul Hasan, Rabiul, Ali Akbar and

Shukkur Ali. The lifer is Doli Begum.

Among them, Rabiul and Doli were

tried in absentia.

Women and Children Repression

Prevention Tribunal Judge Nazmul

Hoque Shyamal delivered the judgment.

The court also acquitted Nasrin Aktar.

According to the case, the four death

row convicts raped the sixth grader in a

cropland in Laxminagar area of Fatulla

after abducting her on June 3 in 2005.

Doli and Nasrin assisted them in killing of

the girl after rape.

Later, police recovered the body from

the spot and a case was filed in this regard.

In 2006, a chargesheet was submitted to

the court against the convicts.

the installation of a reactor pressure vessel at the second unit of the 2,400 MW rooppur nuclear

power plant (rNPP) will be inaugurated today.

Photo : Star Mail

3 SPs on compulsory retirement

DHAKA : Three police officers of the rank

of Superintendent of Police (SPs) have

been given compulsory retirement,

reports UNB.

Public Security Division under the

Home Ministry has already issued three

separate notifications in this regard signed

by its senior Secretary Md Akhtar Hossain

on Tuesday. Among the compulsorily

retired Superintendents of Police, two are

of the 12th batch and the other of the 15th

batch of BCS police cadre.

Among these three retired police

officers, Mohammad Shahidullah

Fugitive JMB member held in Gazipur

DHAKA : A team of the Anti-Terrorism

Unit (ATU), a specialized unit of

Bangladesh Police, arrested a fugitive

member of the banned militant outfit

Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh

(JMB) from Mouchak area of Gazipur's

Kaliakair on Monday night.

The arrestee is Noor Alam Moaz,29,

son of Abdul Aziz of East Naodabas in

Hatibandha upazila of Lalmonirhat.

Tipped off, the ATU members

conducted a drive in the area

around 11:30pm and arrested him,

said Mohammad Aslam Khan,

Chowdhury and Delwar Hossain Mia

belong to the 12th batch of BCS police

cadre and the other one Mirza Abdullahel

Baki, a 15th batch officer of BCS police

cadre.

Among them, Muhammad Shahidullah

Chowdhury has been working as

Superintendent of Police (TR) at Police

headquarters, Md. Delwar Hossain Mia

and Mirza Abdullahel Baki are working as

Special Super (SS) in the Criminal

Investigation Department (CID).

The order will be effected immediately

on public interest, the notification said.

Superintendent of Police (Media

and Awareness wing of the ATU).

He was an accused in a case filed at

Hathazari police station under the

Explosive Substances Act in 2011. The

trial of the case is underway.

On December 26, 2010, some JMB

men including Noor Alam carried out a

bomb attack on police in Chattogram's

Hathazari. Police arrested another JMB

member Shamim Hasan from the spot.

However, Noor Alam managed to flee

the scene and since then he remained

absconding, he added.

Gaibandha-5 by-polls

EC vows to

take offending

officials to task

DHAKA : Election Commissioner Md.

Alamgir on Tuesday said that action will

be taken against the officials who were

involved in irregularities in the by-election

of Gaibandha-5 seat. He said this in

response to questions from journalists in

his office in the election building.

Irrespective of the number of officers, disciplinary

action will be taken according to

the degree of offence based on the investigation

report, he also said.

Alamgir said that the EC is neither for

nor against anyone. It is the responsibility

of the EC to conduct fair and impartial

elections. Whenever voting becomes

unfair it will be suspended and a new election

will be held. The commissioner said

that they observed the election of

Gaibandha-5 seat through CCTV from the

election building.

"It was seen that polling agents were

pressing the voting button after giving the

voter's fingerprint in the secret polling

booth. Seeing this, instructions were given

to the presiding officer but he did not act

accordingly. The order to hand over the culprit

to the law enforcement agencies was

also not obeyed," he added. The commission

did not even see that the presiding officers

had restored order. So the EC has done what

it should have been done under law.

Saying that the investigation on all those

irregularities is going on, Alamgir said the

commission is finding the reason why did

the presiding officers commit those irregularities.

If the investigation proves that

they did it voluntarily and no one acted

even though there was an opportunity to

restore order, then action will be taken as

per law. He said that the EC can give them

temporary exemption up to two months.

Apart from this, it may recommend the

dismissal of the offending officers. The

authorities concerned should implement

it and inform the EC.

Little birdie Sheikh Russel's

killing stigmatises nation: Joy

DHAKA : Throwing back to history's

darkest chapter, the 1975-assassination

of Bangabandhu and his family,

Bangabandhu's grandson Sajeeb Wazed

Joy said that the murder of 10-year-old

Sheikh Russel is a stigma that the nation

is yet to overcome.

Joy, also Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina's ICT Advisor, said this in a

Facebook post from his verified account.

"Please take me to my mother"- how

Russel sobbed to those assassins on that

tragic night, the post said.

"We are taking you to your mother" -

how they lent false hope to Russel and

soon after fired bullets, a pointer to the

sheer barbarity unleashed in by the group

of assassins, part of a larger national and

international conspiracy, with the assassins

went unpunished for decades."

The post also includes an animated

video portraying the fateful night of

August 15 where little Russel is seen crying

fitfully amid a pool of blood at the

Dhanmondi 32 house.

Russel would have celebrated his 59th

birthday on Tuesday had the assassins'

bullets not ripped him apart.

The feeble voice of Russel begging for

life was drowned out by the beastly

laughters of assassins and the rattling

shots of brushfire. His head was dislodged;

the voice of the little angel was

silenced forever, said Sajeeb.

'Bangladesh's agriculture

sector needs Tk 15,000 cr

investment in next 5 yrs'

DHAKA : Bangladesh's agriculture sector

will need Tk 15,000 crore investment

in next five years, said Agriculture

Minister Abdur Razzaque on Tuesday,

urging the developed countries, international

donor agencies and private

entrepreneurs to invest in this sector.

Bangladesh has achieved unprecedented

success in agricultural production

under the government led by

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said the

minister at the opening ceremony of

the 'Investment Conference' of the

World Food Forum of the Food and

Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the

United Nations in Italy.

But the agriculture sector is lagging

behind in processing and exporting

agricultural products where there are

huge potentials, he added.

Prioritizing four sectors-the cold

storage and post-harvest management,

agricultural products processing and

marketing, climate smart agriculture

and irrigation and water management,

the minister said , "The investment of

Tk 15,000 crore is required in these

sectors in the next five years. These sectors

are very promising and profitable

for investment in Bangladesh."

The minister sought immediate

investment in setting up of cold

A pack of traitors perforated the "little

birdie", along with other members of

Bangabandhu's family, to avenge the

defeat in the War for Liberation, added

the post.

"How can we, Bengalis, get rid of this

stigma? Please give sanity a chance," he

further said.

"May every child grow up safely. May

the altar of the bloodstained memory of

Russel ring in a new, humane world," he

concluded.

Bangladesh marked Sheikh Russel

Day yesterday in a befitting manner

coinciding with the 59th birthday of

Father of the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's youngest son

Shaheed Sheikh Russel.

Sheikh Russel, also the youngest

brother of Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina, was born on October 18 in

1964 at the historic Bangabandhu

Bhaban at Dhanmondi road number

32 in the capital.

But he was brutally assassinated along

with most of his family members,

including his father Bangabandhu, on

August 15, 1975 when he was a student

of class four at University Laboratory

School.

The Cabinet Division last year

declared October 18, the birthday of

Sheikh Russel, as Sheikh Russel Day

under the category "Ka".

storages, post-harvest management,

processing and marketing for

these of potatoes, onions, mangoes

and tomatoes.

Bangladesh doesn't have sufficient

technology and cold storages to store

vegetables including onions, mangoes

and tomatoes, he said adding 25-40%

of these products are wasted at the

post-harvest stage.

Highlighting the details of investment

infrastructures and government

facilities in Bangladesh, the minister

said the country has a conducive investment

environment. "So, come forward

to invest."

Working to increase investment in

agricultural sector transformation,

FAO organised the two-day

'Investment Conference' from

October 18-19. Twenty countries

from different parts of the world are

participating in this conference,

which need more foreign investment

in the agricultural sector.

Besides, representatives of various

international donor organisations,

banks and private entrepreneurs

including the World Bank, Arab Bank,

Inter-American Development Bank,

Latin American Development Bank are

participating.

Alamgir Apu is an idol for language lovers

by compiling vernaculars and proverbs

S M AkASh, ChAttogrAM BureAu

The significance of the regional language of

the golden gate of prosperity and the commercial

capital of the country, Chattogram

is a little different from the other ten

regional languages of the country.

The language of the inhabitants of

Chattogram, is Chatgaia also known as

Chattogram and Chatga, a region built on

the coast of the Bay of Bengal and divided

by the trade-friendly Karnaphuli River,

with a rich culture, language and tradition

of thousands of years of diverse history.

Many people assume that the language

is a dialect of Bengali because it is a mixture

of languages of several nations and

countries.

Research has shown that the history of

this language is more than six thousand

years and the history of Bengal is only

twelve hundred years.

Despite its rich history and widespread

popularity, the language has yet to receive

institutional recognition due to the lack of

its own alphabet and written form. More

than 16 million people in the region speak

in Chatgaia and the number is increasing

day by day.

A popular media activist of the region

has been working with the sentiments and

ideas of the Chattogram soil people for a

long time.

Alamgir Apu Chatgaon is known to the

whole town as a journalist.

In 2016, he created a channel called C

Plustv on digital platform to promote the

language. Initially the channel featured

only news content in Chantgaia language

but later diversified content through dramas.

Alamgir Apu popularized music,

punthi, poetry and many other arts of

Chatgaia culture.

Although many doubted that it would

be popular and effective for promoting the

language,the channel soon became very

popular among speakers of the Chatgaia

language and even other languages. Now

the channel is followed by over 2 million

viewers on Facebook and over 1 million

viewers on YouTube daily.

>(Contd. on page-11)

Vehicular movement on Dhaka-Chattogram highway remained halted for two

hours as local people blocked the road protesting the drive against illegal gas

connection.

Photo : uNB.

19-10-2022

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