04-03-2022

FrIdAy

DhAKA: March4, 2022; Falgun 19, 1428 BS; Rajab 30,1443 hijri

www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net

Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.19; N o. 301; 12 Pages~Tk.8.00

InternAtIonAl

Norway, Germany

provide missiles to

Ukraine

>Page 7

sports

Thailand's Patty takes

first-round lead

in Singapore

>Page 9

Arts & Culture

Amin Khan, Poppy's

'Direct Attack' to

hit theaters soon

>Page 10

Shab-e-Barat on

March 18

DHAKA : Muslims in Bangladesh will

observe the holy Shab-e-Barat on the

night of March 18 as the Shaban moon

was not sighted in the country on

Thursday. As the moon was not sighted

the holy month of Shaban will begin from

March 5 and Shab-e-Barat will be

observed on March 18.

The decision was taken at a meeting of

the National Moon Sighting Committee

held at Islamic Foundation's Baitul

Mukarram office in the evening.

State Minister of the Ministry of

Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haq Khan

presided over the meeting.

The announcement was made after

analysing data collected from the district

administrations, Islamic Foundation,

Bangladesh Meteorological Department,

and Space Research and Remote

Sensing Institute. Shab-e-Barat is

observed on the 15th night of the Arabic

month of Shaban. Muslims offer special

prayers, recite the Quran, and take part

in other religious rituals.

12 kg LPG price

increased by

TK 151

Safiqul iSlam

The price of per kg LPG has been

increased by TK 12 54 paisa. The

Bangladesh Energy Regulatory

Commission (BERC) announced the new

prices on Thursday (March 3). As a result,

the price of every 12 kg cylinder has been

increased from TK 1,240 to TK 1,390.56.

As a result, the price per cylinder increased

by 150 TK 57 paisa. The new price is effective

from 6 pm on Thursday. The new

prices were announced at a press conference

hosted by BERC via online on

Thursday (March 3). BERC Chairman

Abdul Jalil, Secretary Abu Sayeed,

Member Maqbool E Ilahi and others were

present at the press conference.

According to the Saudi Cargo Price (CP),

propane and butane prices rose to 895

and 920 US dollar per ton, respectively, in

February which was 775 US dollar last

month. The new price is set for March,

considering the ratio of propane and

butane is 35:65. Not only 12 kg, but the

price of all cylinders from 5 kg to 45 kg has

been increased, it was informed in the

press conference.

Earlier, the BERC had increased the price

of LPG per kg from TK 98.17 to TK 103.34

per kg for the month of February. At that

time the price of 12 kg was increased from 1

thousand 178 TK to 1 thousand 240 TK.

Incidentally, the international fuel market

has become volatile due to the Russia-

Ukraine crisis. As a result, prices of fuel oil,

LNG and LPG are rising. It is also affecting

the country's market. Earlier in January,

however, the price of LPG was reduced. For

January, per kg LPG was reduced from TK

102 32 paisa to TK 98.17 paisa. At that time

the price was reduced to 50 TK per cylinder.

According to the new decision, the price

of centrally reticulated LPG has also been

reduced. It has been increased from TK

100.10 paisa to 112.65 per kg. At the same

time, the price of LP gas used in transportation

has come down, which is also

known as auto-gas.

Zumma

05:05 AM

01:35 PM

04:23 PM

06:08 PM

07:20 PM

6:18 6:03

Bangladesh played a fearless brand of cricket, as it was promised, to crush afghanistan by 61 runs

in the first T20 international today at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. photo : internet

Nasum, Liton maul

Afghanistan in 1st T20

DHAKA : Bangladesh played a fearless

brand of cricket, as it was promised, to crush

Afghanistan by 61 runs in the first T20

International yesterday at Sher-e-Bangla

National Cricket Stadium, reports BSS.

Liton Das and Nasum Ahmed jointly

were the architect of this facile victory,

which helped Bangladesh go up 1-0 in the

two-match series.

Liton Das firstly struck a 44 ball-60 to

guide Bangladesh to a decent 155-8 and

then Nasum caught the visitors in spinweb

to finally skittle them out for 94 in 17.4

overs.

On the way to maul Afghanistan severely,

Nasum recorded his joint career-best 4-10

and was ably supported by Shakib Al Hasan,

who grabbed 2-18 but those two wickets

were crucial given the match scenario.

As Afghanistan were reduced to 20-4,

courtesy to a Nasum blow, Afghanistan

appeared to have recovered from the blow

when Najibullah Zadran and captain

Mohammad Nabi were batting together.

They showed an unwavering resolve to

keep Afghans in track but Shakib in his

consecutive two overs took out both of

them to fully dismiss Afghanistan's hope

of winning the game.

Shakib got into act, giving Bangladesh

the breakthrough with the wicket of Nabi,

who holed out one for the spinner's 400th

white ball wicket. His wicket also brought

an end to 37-run partnership.

In his next over, Shakib also dismissed

Zadran who top-scored the side for 27.

Debutant Azmatullah Omarzai showed

some resistance amid Bangladesh's disciplined

bowling to make 20.

Mustafizur Rahman removed him to

finish with 1-19. Shoriful then took care of

the lower order to help Bangladesh win

the game by big margin.

Shoriful however had the figures of 3-29

as he played around the spinners to make

the Afghanistan's task tougher one.

Liton Das struck a superb 44 ball-60 to

lift Bangladesh earlier. Afif Hossain scored

25 and debutant Munim Shahriar added

17. Bangladesh however did not have a

desired start after opting to bat first as they

lost opener Naim Sheikh for 2. Munim

though hit some fours on his debut, couldn't

last long as he was dismissed by

legspinner Rashid Khan after trying to

sweep a delivery.

Situation got worsened when Shakib

top-edged a delivery of pacer Qais Ahmed

to be out for 5.

But Liton kept hitting all the things coming

to his way. After the dismissal of skipper

Mahmudullah Riyad who made 10,

Liton finally got a support from Afif

Hossain.

Together they shared 46-run for the fifth

wicket to keep Bangladesh going. Liton in

the meantime reached his fifth fifty, pushing

a Rashid Khan delivery in long-on for

a single.

However, after hitting four fours and

two sixes for his 44 ball-60, he finally was

removed by Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Bangladesh still were in position of

dominance but the lower middle order,

comprised with Mahedi Hasan, debutant

Yasir Ali couldn't hit big towards the end

as the Tigers ended the innings, at least 20

runs short.

Bangladesh abstains from a

UN vote on Ukraine crisis

DHAKA : Four South Asian countries -

Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and

Pakistan - are among 35 abstentions as

the U.N. General Assembly voted at an

emergency session Wednesday on

Ukraine issue.

The vote on the "Aggression against

Ukraine" resolution was 141-5, with 35

abstentions.

The abstentions included China, as

expected, but also some surprises from

usual Russian allies Cuba and

Nicaragua, reports AP.

And the United Arab Emirates, which

abstained on Friday's similar Security

Council resolution, this time voted "yes."

Only Belarus, Syria, North Korea and

Eritrea joined Russia in opposing the

measure.

Unlike Security Council resolutions,

General Assembly resolutions are not

legally binding, but they do have clout in

reflecting international opinion.

Under special emergency session

rules, a resolution needs approval of

two-thirds of those countries voting, and

abstentions don't count.

Few days ago, Bangladesh urged for

restraint by all parties and to immediately

resume diplomatic efforts and dialogue

in order to settle all disputes by

peaceful means, and refrain from taking

any action that may endanger international

peace and security.

"Bangladesh expresses its full support

and confidence in the good offices of the

Secretary General of the United Nations,

and calls upon him to undertake all

efforts to initiate dialogue with a view to

ending the hostilities and military operations

in Ukraine," said the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs in its statement.

Bangladesh, Egypt

agree to identify

potential markets

DHAKA : Reflecting on prospective areas

of cooperation, Bangladesh and Egypt

have agreed to identify potential markets

for boosting trade and investment. This

was came up during a meeting between

Bangladesh state minister for foreign

affairs Md. Shahriar Alam and Egyptian

trade & industry minister Nevin Gamea

at her office in Cairo on Wednesday, a

foreign ministry press release said.

Terming Africa as a very potential

region for cooperation, Shariar said the

Bangladesh government has taken measures

to enhance exports in this region. He

said that under D-8 both countries are

working to facilitate mutual trade among

member countries. On the same day,

Shahriar met with Suez Canal Economic

Zone CEO Engineer Yehia Zaki at his

office, accompanied by the Bangladesh

Ambassador in Cairo. The state minister

said Bangladeshi investors may invest in

suitable areas in Suez Canal as the CEO

invited Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to

invest in Suez Canal economic zone.

In a separate meeting with Egypt

tourism and antiquities minister A D

Khaled El-Anany, Shariar Alam expressed

happiness over introducing Dhaka-Cairo

direct air connectivity. During the meeting,

El-Anany said his government would

offer exchange education for Bangladesh

students in the tourism sector of Egypt.

In the evening, Shahriar held another

meeting with Egyptian planning and economic

development minister Dr. Hala

Helmy Elsaid at her office. During the

meeting the state minister mentioned that

the Bangladesh government is putting a

lot of importance in the development of

relations with the African countries.

Trade with sanctions-hit Russia

Bangladesh to try alternative

channels: Minister

DHAKA : Finance Minister AHM Mustafa

Kamal has said that Bangladesh will pursue

alternative channels like currency swap to

overcome any problem in trading with

Russia, hit by US-led sanctions following its

invasion of Ukraine, reports UNB.

"We don't think, the war will be long. If so,

we will then think of alternative arrangements",

he told reporters after the two consecutive

meetings of cabinet committee on

economic affairs (CCEA) and cabinet committee

on public purchase (CCPP) on

Thursday. The CCPP approved a total of 12

procurement proposals including the

import of 30,000 metric tons MOP fertiliser

by Bangladesh Agriculture Development

Corporation (BADC) from Russia's JSC

Foreign Economic Corporation

"Prodintorg" at Tk 150.21 crore.

The finance minister was asked about

anti-Russia sanctions imposed by the

European Union and some other Western

countries and its backing payment

through SWIFT system. So, whether

Bangladesh will get its supply from Russia

in time and what Bangladesh measures

Dhaka will take if the payment system

through SWIFT is obstructed under the

current situation.

Replying to the question, Kamal said

believed the war will stop soon.

"From that point of view, we are considering

it. Side by side, we keep the safety net

measures as well". He said the government

is also considering the alternative

sources. "If we are not able to pay to

Russia due to the SWIFT's embargo, we

have to take alternative measures through

currency swap".

He said many ways will come out. "But

we want the war to stop for the sake of

humanity. Kamal said the good relation

between Russia and Bangladesh is undeniable.

He noted that Bangladesh's import

of the fertiliser from Russia is not new.

"We have been importing this item for

long. This time we're also trying to continue

the import the item. If they fail to send

the item, we will definitely find out alternative

sources", he said adding,

Govt strives for the conversation

of wildlife: Shahab Uddin

TBT RepoRT

The Forest Department held a discussion

meeting on March 3 on the occasion of

World Wildlife Day. The Minister of the

Ministry of Environment, Forests and

Climate Change Md. Shahab Uddin MP

was the chief guest at the meeting held at

the Agargaon Bon Bhaban in the capital.

In his speech, he said that the

Government of Bangladesh is always

striving for the conservation of wildlife.

The government is working diligently to

make all kinds of wildlife activities a success.

He noted that the government has

taken a number of significant steps to conserve

the country's wildlife. One of these

initiatives is the Government of

Bangladesh's declaration of 51 protected

areas for the conservation and development

of wildlife habitats through maintaining

the balance of the natural environment

and sustainable management.

Saber Hossain Chowdhury MP,

Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing

Committee on the Ministry of

Environment, Forests and Climate

Change, said in his speech that the

Wildlife Crime Suppression Unit was

formed in 2012 to curb wildlife trafficking

and crime control as per Section 31 of the

Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act,

2012.

Md. Mostafa Kamal, Secretary,

Ministry of Environment, Forests and

Climate Change, called upon all to come

forward for the protection of wildlife from

all walks of life. Mentioning that every

human being should be aware, he said

that the government of Bangladesh has

taken various measures considering the

importance of creating more wildlife and

conserving their habitat and biodiversity.

He said that for the conservation of

wildlife and its habitat, the Wildlife

Conservation and Habitat Development

Project is currently underway.

Md. Amir Hossain Chowdhury, Chief

Conservator of Forests of the Forest

Department presided over the function.

Iqbal Abdullah Harun, Additional

Secretary, Ministry of Environment,

Forests and Climate Change, Md.

Moniruzzaman, Additional Secretary,

Ministry of Environment and Rezaul

Haque Khan, Managing Director,

Bangladesh Climate Change Trust also

spoke as special guests on the occasion.

Mukit Majumder Babu, Chairman,

Nature and Life Foundation and Rakibul

Amin, Country Representative, IUCN

Bangladesh shared their thoughts as well.

Mollah Rezaul Karim, Forest Conservator

of Wildlife and Nature Conservation

delivered the welcome remarks. M

Niyamul Nasser, Professor and

Chairman, Department of Zoology,

Dhaka University and Dr. Abu Naser

Mohsin Hossain, Divisional Forest

Officer, Sundarbans West Forest Division

delivered thematic presentation.

Chief Conservator of forests md. amir Hosain Chowdhury addressing a discussion, organised by the

forest Department at Ban Bhaban marking the World Wildlife Day 2022.

photo : Courtesy

BGB personnel shoots

him self with service

gun in Naogaon, dies

NAOGAON : A Border Guard

Bangladesh (BGB) personnel

allegedly ended his life by

shooting himself with his

service weapon at a camp in

Sapahar border in Naogaon

early on Thursday, reports

UNB.

Tanvir, 26, hailed from

Narail district and was posted

at the BGB camp in Sundarail.

Other BGB members at the

camp rushed a severely

injured Tanvir to Sapahar

Upazila Health Complex

around 7am.

However, he succumbed to

his injuries on the way to

another hospital from the

health complex where he

received primary care,

Tarekur Rahman Sarkar,

officer-in-charge of Sapahar

Police Station, said

In fact, he was declared

dead on arrival by doctors at

the same health complex only,

said Dr Ruhul Amin, upazila

health and family planning

officer. OC Tarekur said an

unnatural death case was filed

in this regard. The body was

sent to the Naogaon Sadar

Hospital morgue for an

autopsy under the supervision

of BGB.

GD-383/22 (8x3)

A total of 40 under-graduate students from different academic years of Dhaka University (DU) have been

given Sumitomo Corporation Scholarship of Japan on Thursday at Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate

Bhaban of the university. Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman distributed this

scholarship among the students as chief guest. Awardees are seen with the guests. Photo : Courtesy

40 DU students given Sumitomo

Corporation Scholarship

A total of 40 meritorious

under-graduate students from

different academic years of

Dhaka University (DU) have

been given Sumitomo

Corporation Scholarship of

Japan yesterday at Nabab

Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate

Bhaban of the university.

Dhaka University Vice-

Chancellor Prof. Dr. Md.

Akhtaruzzaman distributed

this scholarship among the

recipients as chief guest.

Pro-Vice Chancellor

(Academic) of DU Prof. Dr. A S

M Maksud Kamal presided

over the function

whileMinister and Deputy

Chief of Mission of Japanese

Embassy, Dhaka Hiroyuki

Yamaya and General Manager

of the Sumitomo Corporation

Shinichi Nagata addressed it as

special guests. General

Manager (Corporate Affairs) of

the Sumitomo Corporation

Md. Shofiullah declared the

names of awardees. DU

Registrar Probir Kumar Sarker

conducted the program.

DU Vice-Chancellor Prof.

Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman

congratulated the awardees for

receiving this prestigious

scholarship. He also thanked

the Sumitomo Corporation

authorities for providing

scholarship to DU meritorious

students. He urged the brilliant

students to prepare

themselves as skilled human

resources as well as worthy

citizen to make Bangladesh a

prosperous country. The VC

said, a friendly relationship

between Bangladesh and

Japan has been prevailing for a

long time. He recalled all-out

support and cooperation of

Japanese government for

socio-economic development

of Bangladesh since our

independence. These support

and cooperation will be

continued in the days to come,

he hoped.

Awardees of different years

are: First year (Hons.)- Matia

Noor Raisa (Genetic

Engineering & Biotechnology),

Ahmed Adnan (IIT), Mazharul

Islam (Islamic Studies), Md.

Redwanul

Islam

(Mathematics), ArifaHaq

(Physics), Michael

SagarSarker (Law), Md.

K a m r u l H a s a n R a b b y

(Accounting & Information

Systems), Trisha Nandi

(Accounting & Information

Systems), Abdul Mohaimen

(International Relations) and

Apel Chandra (Psychology).

Second Year (Hons.)-

BushraJahan (English),

ReshmaAkter (Islamic History

& Culture), NuzhatNueri Khan

(Mathematics), Rubaiya Islam

(Law), FazleAzam (Law),

S a l m a

AkterJhuma(Accounting &

Information Systems), Md.

Touhidul Islam (Economics),

Farhadi Anwar (Soil, Water &

E n v i r o n m e n t ) ,

AzfaTouhidaDoibi (Disaster

Science & Climate Resilience),

Most. Sifat-E-Sultana (IER).

Third year (Hons.)- Rubiaat

Hasan Sawon (Law), Md.

Sohanul Islam (Accounting &

I n f o r m a t i o n

Systems),Mohaimanul Haque

(Marketing),Md. Rakibul

Islam and Md. Chanchal

Mahmud (International

Business), Fatiha Khatun

(Organization Strategy &

Leadership), Bushra Rahman

and Tanjila Akter (Soil, Water

and Environment ), Md. Ariful

Islam (Leather Engineering &

Technology)and SaymaAlam

(Nutrition and Food Science).

Fourth year (Hons.)-

Jannatul Ferdous (Finance),

Md. Rasel Mia (Management

Information Systems), Md.

Asiful Islam (Accounting &

Information Systems),Sanjida

Islam (Marketing),Kumari

Rotna Rani (International

Business), Khandakar Taki

Md. Sadi (Soil, Water &

Environment), Easif Ahmed

(Disaster Science &

Management), Md. Abul

Kalam Azad (Electrical &

Electronic Engineering), Mir

Mohammad Mohoshin Kabir

(Nuclear Engineering)and

Nawara Mahmood Broti

(Robotics & Mechatronics

Engineering).

MANIKGANJ : Two

suspected robbers were

lynched to death by an angry

mob in Manikganj's Sadar

upazila in the early hours of

Thursday, reports UNB.

However, the identities of

the deceased couldn't be ascertained yet.

Police said three suspected robbers were

caught red-handed by locals after they had

barged into a house belonging to Yusuf Ali

in the Banparil area of Hatipara.

weAvBWweøDwUwm/Rm/40/2021-22

GD-379/22 (4x3)

wZZvm/Rbms‡hvM-134/2021-2022

GD-378/22 (5x3)

e-

FriDAY, MArCh 4, 2022

2

Three robbers

lynched in

Manikganj, two die

"The locals thrashed the

three so badly that two of

them died on the spot. The

injured robber is

recuperating at a local

hospital," a police officer

said.

Abdur Rouf, officer-in-charge of

Manikganj Sadar Police Station, said the

bodies were sent to the Manikganj Sadar

Hospital morgue for post-mortem. "We

will file an FIR in the case," he said.

†kL nvwmbvi g~jbxwZ

MÖvg kn‡ii DbœwZ

2299

GD-377/22 (5x4)

GD-381/22 (8x4)

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

3

Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque addressing the meeting of steering committee on the occasion

of 36th regional conference of 'Food and Agriculture Organization'

Dhaka’s air quality remains

‘unhealthy’

Pedestrian

killed in city

road crash

DHAKA : A 45-year-old man

died after being allegedly hit

by a speeding vehicle while

crossing a road in the city's

Jatrabari area in the small

hours of Thursday, reports

UNB.

The deceased was

identified as Omar Faruk, a

resident of Uttar Jatrabari.

The accident occurred

around 1am when an

unknown vehicle knocked

him down when he was

crossing the road, leaving

him injured, said Saddam

Hossain, sub-inspector of

Jatrabari Police Station.

He was taken to Dhaka

Medical College and

Hospital wheredoctors

declared him dead on

arrival.

"Efforts are on to identify

the vehicle and arrest its

driver," said the SI.

1st Bangladesh - Uk defence

dialogue Held

A two-day long Defence

Dialogue between

Bangladesh and United

Kingdom was held at

Armed Forces Division at

Dhaka Cantonment from

02 March to 03 March

2022. This Defence

Dialogue will create

opportunities for broader

discussions on bilateral

defence and military issues.

A 24-member Bangladesh

delegation led by Brigadier

General

Husain

Muhammad Masihur

Rahman, SGP, SPP, ndc,

afwc, psc, Director General

Operations and Plan, AFD,

attended the dialogue while

Bangladesh Defence

Attaché in UK attended as a

guest. On the other hand, a

five-member delegation led

by Ms Trish Wilson, Head

of International Security,

UK participated in the

dialogue. UK High

commissioner in Dhaka

Robert Chatterson Dickson

was also present, a press

release said.

Defence and security

cooperation between

Bangladesh and the UK has

been warm and intense. The

UK's continual support to

provide assistance in

defence development and

training the Bangladesh

Armed Forces is well

marked. A good number of

Bangladesh Armed Forces

personnel are trained in UK

every year at different

institutions. The two armed

forces have also been

working closely in UN

Peace-keeping missions and

in the global war on terror.

Exchange of high-profile

military visits has also been

a hallmark of defence

cooperation between the

two countries.

This is going to be the 1st

Defence Dialogue between

two countries, a landmark

event. It will promote our

defence and military

cooperation in the fields of

global and regional security

issues, capacity and

capability building in terms

of technology, defence

equipment, disaster

response, peacekeeping

operations, etc and Defence

Cooperation in terms of

training, visits, joint

exercise and deployments,

workshop, etc.

DHAKA : Dhaka's air quality continues to

be 'unhealthy', but the densely populated

capital of Bangladesh is no longer the

world's most polluted city, reports UNB.

With an air quality index (AQI) reading

at 186 at 9.26 am, the capital has slipped

to the third position in the latest list of

world cities with the worst air quality.

Myanmar's Yangon and Poland's

Wroclaw occupied the first and second

spots, with AQI scores of 195 and 189,

respectively. An AQI between 101 and

200 is considered 'unhealthy',

particularly for sensitive groups.

Similarly, an AQI between 201 and 300

is said to be 'poor', while a reading of 301

to 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing

serious health risks to residents.

AQI, an index for reporting daily air

quality, is used by government agencies

to inform people how clean or polluted

the air of a certain city is, and what

associated health effects might be a

concern for them.

In Bangladesh, the AQI is based on five

criteria pollutants-Particulate Matter

(PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and

Ozone.

Dhaka has long been grappling with air

pollution issues. Its air quality usually

turns unhealthy in winter and improves

during the monsoon.

A report by the Department of

Environment (DoE) and the World Bank

in March 2019 pointed out that the three

main sources of air pollution in Dhaka

"are brick kilns, fumes from vehicles and

dust from construction sites".

With the advent of winter, the city's air

quality starts deteriorating sharply due to

the massive discharge of pollutant

particles from construction work,

rundown roads, brick kilns and other

sources.

Air pollution consistently ranks among

the top risk factors for death and

disability worldwide. Breathing polluted

air has long been recognised as increasing

a person's chances of developing a heart

disease, chronic respiratory diseases,

lung infections and cancer, according to

several studies.

As per the World Health Organization

(WHO), air pollution kills an estimated

seven million people worldwide every

year, largely as a result of increased

mortality from stroke, heart disease,

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,

lung cancer and acute respiratory

infections.

DMP arrests

57 for selling,

consuming

drugs in city

DHAKA : The members of

the Detective Branch (DB)

of the Dhaka Metropolitan

Police (DMP) in several

anti-drug raids arrested a

total of 57 people on

charges of selling and

consuming drugs during

the last 24 hours till 6am,

Saturday, reports BSS.

The DB in association

with local police stations

carried out the drives

simultaneously at different

parts of the metropolis

from 6am on March 2,

according to a DMP

release. In separate antidrug

raids, police seized

huge drugs from their

possessions.

During the anti-drug

raids, police seized 205

grams and 110 puria (Small

Packets) of heroin, 24.895

kilograms of cannabis

(ganja) and 29,139 pieces

of contraband yaba tablets

from their possessions, the

release added.

Police filed 39 separate

cases against the arrestees

in these connections with

respective police stations

under the Narcotics

Control Act.

Safety of stranded

Bangladeshi crew govt's top

priority: State Minister

DHAKA : The

government is giving

utmost importance to

ensure the safety of the

stranded Bangladeshi

crew members of Banglar

Samriddhi in Ukraine,

said State Minister for

Shipping Khalid Mahmud

Chowdhury on Thursday.

"Extensive diplomatic

level activities are going

on to rescue them or shift

them to a safer place," he

said while briefing

reporters at the

secretariat.

"After engineer Hadisur

Rahman's death 28

Bangladeshi crew

remained stranded in the

ship. His body has been

preserved but bringing it

back to Bangladesh will

depend on the war

situation in Ukraine," the

state minister added.

Khalid Mahmud

Chowdhury said the

government will support

Hasidur's family in every

possible way.

He said, "I had

discussions with the

secretary of the ministry

Mohammad Mezbah

Uddin Chowdhury,

managing director of

Bangladesh Shipping

Corporation Commodore

Sumon Mahmud Sabbir,

officials of Bangladesh

Embassy in Poland and

the captain of MV Banglar

Samriddhi. We have

urged the crew members

not to take any wrong step

out of fear as their safety

is our first priority."

"Our merchant ship was

not supposed to be

attacked but it came

under a missile attack

anyway. When we will be

confirmed which side

launched the attack we

will comment on it.

Currently, we are making

necessary diplomatic

communications through

the Ministry of

ForeignAffairs," said the

state minister.

He said the Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina is

also worried after the

incident and gave

directives to ensure safety

of the stranded crew

members.

On Wednesday, Md

Hadisur Rahman, 47,

third engineer of Banglar

Samriddhi was killed in a

rocket attack on a BSC

vessel stranded at

Ukrainian Port of Olvia,

located in the Mykolaiv

region on the left bank of

the Dnipro-Bug estuary

on the northern Black Sea

coast.

All 29 crew on-board

were Bangladeshis.

Banglar Samriddhi, now

caught in the fighting in

Ukraine, reached Olvia on

February 22 to load ball

clay, according to the

BSC.

The cover of a book titled 'Tamak Charun, Sushtho Takun' was unveiled at the conference room of

Health Ministry yesterday. Iqbal Masud is the author of the book.

Photo : Courtesy

A two-day long Defence Dialogue between Bangladesh and United Kingdom was held at Armed

Forces Division at Dhaka Cantonment from 02 March to 03 March 2022.

Photo : ISPR

RUET

orients new

students

RAJSHAHI : Rajshahi

University of Engineering and

Technology (RUET) has

oriented its newly-admitted

students for the 2020-2021

academic session ahead of

their classes beginning.

The RUET authority held

orientation for the students of

different departments under

the Faculty of Electrical and

Computer Science

Engineering (ECSE), followed

by the Faculty of Mechanical

Engineering (ME) and Civil

Engineering (CE) held at the

central auditorium yesterday.

Registrar Professor Selim

Hossain told BSS that classes

of every department will start

on March 5 according to the

scheduled

routine

simultaneously.

All the students have been

asked to attend after seeing

their respective routine with

own responsibility.

Prof Hossain also said

studentship of the students

who will be found absent in 10

days at a stretch will be

cancelled.

Vice-chancellor (VC) Prof

Rafqul Islam Sheikh, ECSE

Faculty Dean Prof Nazrul

Islam Mondal, ME Faculty

Dean Prof Imdadul Haque,

CE Faculty Dean Prof Niamul

Bari and Dean of the Applied

Science and Human Faculty

Prof Sazzad Hossain

addressed the orientations

with Students Welfare

Director Prof Rabiul Awal in

the chair.

Prof Rafque Sheikh urged

the new students to acquire

knowledge properly to serve

the society and the nation as

well.

He said the students have

enormous scope of becoming

skilled human resources after

the best uses of the RUET's

existing resources and

facilities.

Prof Sheikh added that the

present government of Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina has

attached priority to the

technical education for

bolstering the country's

economy and asked the

students to supplement the

government

wholeheartedly.

endeavor

Webinar on food, nutrition

security policy held

DHAKA : A webinar on "Sub-national

workshop on dissemination of the results of

the food and nutrition security research

conducted under the MUCH Research

Grants Scheme" was held yesterday.

The FAO Meeting the Undernutrition

Challenge Project (MUCH) and the Food

Planning and Monitoring Unit (FPMU) of

the Food Ministry organised the webinar

aiming to disseminate the findings of the

research focusing on the sub-national level

to improve food and nutrition security

outcomes and highlight the

interrelationships between research findings

and relevant policy actions, a FAO press

release said.

Chaired by Shahiduzzaman Faruki,

Director General (Additional Secretary),

Food Planning and Monitoring Unit

(FPMU), the webinar was addressed, among

others, by Md Mizanur Rahman,

BNP leaders are

shameless: Hanif

DHAKA : Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul

Alam Hanif yesterday said the BNP leaders have no shame as

they are criticizing the Election Commission (EC) and calling

the commissioners 'thieves'.

He said this while talking to journalists before joining a

meeting of AL leaders of Chattogram division and Chandpur

district at the party's Bangabandhu Avenue central office here.

Hanif said BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia has been convicted

for stealing orphans' money and her son Tarique Rahman is a

convicted accused. So, calling others thieves does not suit

them, he added.

He also said BNP founder Ziaur Rahman was a follower of

Pakistan and his party still goes by Pakistani ideology.

Hanif said the country is moving forward under the dynamic

leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina but the BNP's

leaders not happy at this.

Over the prices of essential goods, BNP is trying to hatch

conspiracy in the country, he said, adding the AL leaders and

activist will have to remain alert against this.

He urged the AL leaders and activist to be united so that

BNP can't carry out anarchy in the country.

AL advisory council member Dr Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir,

presidium member Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya Bir

Bikram,joint general secretary Dr Dipu Moni, organizing

secretary Abu Sayed Al Mahmud Shapon, relief and social

welfare secretary Sujit Ray Nondi, science and technology

affairs secretary Abdus Sabur, information and recharge

secretary Salim Mahmud, Chandpur Zila Awami League

president Nasir Uddin Ahmed, general secretary Abu Naim

Patwari Dulal, Shafiqur Rahman, MP, and Nurul Amin Ruhul,

MP, among others, were present.

Government Advisor, FAO Meeting the

Undernutrition Challenge (MUCH) Project;

and Dr Lalita Bhattacharjee, Senior

Nutrition Advisor, MUCH, FAO.

In his welcome speech, Shahiduzzaman

Faruki highlighted the results and

recommendations of this research and

expected to provide baseline benchmarks for

monitoring selected priority areas of

intervention of the National Food and

Nutrition Security Policy Plan of Action

(2021-2030) and the Bangladesh Third

Country Investment Plan (CIP3).

He said: "The government of Bangladesh

has committed to reduce poverty and

improve nutritional status by 2030 in line

with the United Nations' Sustainable

Development Goals. So, we all should play

an active role to address the key challenges

and potential areas for future

development."

Int’l Leasing

Chairman N I

Khan gets

Bima Padak

DHAKA : International

Leasing and Financial

Services Limited (ILFSL)

Chairman Nazrul Islam Khan

awarded Bima Padak 2022

for his outstanding

contribution to make a

documentary on insurance

sector and Bangabandhu's

contribution to development

of the sector.

He received the award in a

ceremony on the occasion of

the National Insurance Day

on March 1.

Secretary of Financial

Institutions Division, Ministry

of Finance, Sheikh

Mohammad Salim Ullah

handed over the award on

behalf of the Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina, said a press

release.

Nazrul Islam Khan

popularly known as N I Khan

was the former secretary of

the government. He led the

journey of Digital Bangladesh

as the national project

director of Access to

Information A2i project of the

prime minister office.

FridAY, MArcH 4, 2022

4

Gearing up for a 'Made in Saudi Arabia' Lucid EV

Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam

e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com

Friday, March 4, 2022

Dangers of further

patronizing

madrashas

The decision taken sometime ago to recognize Quami madrasha

degree as at par with graduation degrees obtained by students from

the other main streams of education in the country, would go

unnoticed but for its short and long term consequences. Apparently, it

should offend nobody. But any honest examination would show up the

adverse economic, political, social and geo-strategic implications of the

same.

Without wanting to demean or malign, it can be said irrefutably that

madrasha education in general leaves a lot desired. If it had been

otherwise, then it would not be considered as unfit to be recognised as a

standard and appropriate form of education in the country. Everyone

knows that the courses presently taught in the madrashas are largely

based on the tenets of Islam, the practice of Islam and Islamic history,

philosophy, law and related subjects.

Madrasha education, absorbed seriously, can make its pupils austere

practicing Muslims and well versed on Islam. This is not to say that good

Muslims are not needed in our society. However, good Muslims are found

also among those who have had no masdrasha education but received

formal and secular education in the sciences, commerce and the

humanities.

The difference is that those who obtain higher degrees in the formal and

mainstream education systems of the country are generally found to have

fuller education with a relevance to society's needs. They can fill job slots

in different economic sectors and can be counted as productive persons in

their particular spheres whereas madrasha degree holders are mainly

found to be suitable to serve only as prayer leaders. We surely need prayer

leaders but there are probably enough of them and for meeting future

needs there is no requirement to dot the countries with madrashas by

denying funds to science and technology or other forms of education that

only can create true human resources for ready economic application.

There is also the other aspect of madrasha education. The countrywide

bombings some years ago finally alerted the government about the threat

from extremists. Many of them were nabbed by subsequent dragnets of

law enforcement bodies. Tracing the background of the arrested

individuals, it could be seen that nearly all of them received madrasha

education at some stage in their life or were connected to such

institutions.

Those who feel empathy for madrasha education would say that most

of these centres of religious learning are not the reservoirs of terrorism.

While this may be accepted with some reservation, the fact is that a large

number of them have been found to be the breeding or training grounds

of militants who carried out the carnages in that period. Thus, there is

enough ground to generalize that this system of education can foster

extreme behavior .

Anyone with an open mind who cares to mingle with madrasha

students cannot fail to note that they suffer from rigid mind-sets. The

world, according to them, is a choice between black and white ; there

cannot be room for any complexities. One has a choice to either share

their world view of standing for Islam and wage jihad against the infidels

or be condemned for not doing so. This mental rigidity, failing to

appreciate differences of opinion, belief and conduct, make the madrasha

educated young ones ideal for use as suicide bombers or for other forms

of conduct that derive inspiration from extreme dogmatism or fanaticism

that cannot accommodate in the least any opposing thought or action.

Persons soaked in madrasha education, therefore, are not expected to be

tolerant enough to appreciate the values of democracy, pluralistic

societies, human rights and the art of live and let live which is the hallmark

of all civilised, peaceful and progressive human societies.

All of the above is really re-stated by this writer because of his complete

failure to find rationale in the decision to promote rather than regulate

and discourage, madrasha education. The arrests of militants in recent

years were activities in the right direction. But you cannot cure a disease

for good by only treating its symptoms. The cure lies in recogni zing the

cause of it and treating it at the source. When it has been amply

recognized that madrashas are feeding the terrorists or helping to swell

their ranks, in this situation, it is simply insensible to create conditions for

further luxuriant growth of madrasha education. Reportedly, the number

of general educational institutions, which receive government funds, has

increased by some 9.74 per cent against a 22.22 per cent growth of

madrashas in recent years. The decision of to recognize the degrees of not

only Quami madrashas but other types of madrashas as well, will only

inspire the establishment of madrashas at a faster pace.

Madrasha graduates gaining recognition are expected to sit for public

examinations or the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examinations in great

number. So far, they had no access to BCS exams as their degrees were not

recognized. But now that the bar no longer remains, the floodgates will

open and many learners of madsrasha education will get the opportunity

for entering the country's civil services with their comparatively

inadequate knowledge and typical mind-sets. On the one hand, after

becoming civil servants they will not help the end of good governance any

because of their sheer knowledge deficiency and, on the other, many of

them can be expected to work behind the wings for the Islamic extremists

to wage Islamic revolution or to Islamize the administration.

It needs no special intellectual abilities to realise either that the ruling

party's alleged or seemingly growing fraternity with Islamists are creating

serious external concerns and helping to build up a case that Bangladesh

could gradually turn into another staging area of Islamic zealots like

Afghanistan was at one time.

Already, utterances of top ranking leaders in India have been noted that

Bangladesh is turning into a country infested by Islamic terrorists who are

endangering the security of India. This writer read an article by an

American based in Dhaka who underlined that the US and India are

having the same outlook as regards the growth of Islamic extremism

under official patronization in Bangladesh which could threaten the

security of both India and USA. It was also alluded in that article that the

US would probably find nothing disagreeable if India attacks Bangladesh

militarily or invades it for a period to root out the extremists.

Thus, time is more than ripe to consider what grave dangers to the

security of Bangladesh are developing from giving encouragement to

fanatical forces.

Few months ago, I wrote an article in

Arab News titled "Investing in EV to

Achieve Sustainable Growth." In the

article I talked about Saudi Arabia's Public

Investment Fund's bold move to invest in

Lucid Inc. Lucid is a US company, which

makes premium electrical vehicles that

will compete with the likes of Tesla and

others.

In the article, I said that this is a

strategic move by the world's biggest oil

exporter to become a participant in the EV

industry, instead of being a bystander.

I also highlighted the fact that the

investment made by PIF in Lucid made

Saudi Arabia capable of achieving

multiple goals envisaged in the Vision

2030 at the same time.

I talked about the socioeconomic benefit

of building a Lucid manufacturing plant in

Saudi that will act as a seed that could

transform the Kingdom into a technology

hub. It will also create innovative and

rewarding jobs and domesticize skills in a

high-skill sector. Another key component

that we should not overlook is Saudi

Arabia's drive toward clean energy and

how EVs can play a role as part of this

move.

So, it was a matter of great pleasure to

learn that Lucid Group is in fact taking a

concrete step forward and will be building

a Lucid manufacturing plant in Jeddah,

Saudi Arabia that will produce 150,000

EVs a year.

The company signed the agreements

earlier this week with the Ministry of

Investment, Saudi Industrial

Development Fund and King Abdullah

Economic City to do just that. Lucid

announced that this will be the company's

first international manufacturing plant

outside the US, which may lead up to $3.4

Ukraine war tests Israel’s relations with Jews worldwide

As Ukraine remains consumed by

fierce fighting, fresh geopolitical

calculations are taking shape

worldwide. Jolted into action, European

nations led by Germany have promised to

increase their military budgets and impose

harsh sanctions on Russia. Few countries

have remained neutral about this conflict.

Given its "special friendship" with the

United States, Israel's tepid response to the

crisis has surprised some analysts. While

the Israeli foreign minister has condemned

Russian aggression towards Ukraine, the

official line from Tel Aviv has been

remarkably muted.

This ambiguity is all the more shocking

considering Ukraine's sizable Jewish

population because it pits Israel's

understanding of the national interests of

the Jewish people against the narrow

interests of the Israeli state. The Ukrainian

crisis demonstrates the limited extent to

which Israel will place the interests of

Jewish people above that of statecraft.

Since its founding, Israel has used the

threat of global anti-Semitism as its raison

d'etat. After the horrors of the genocide

against Jews in Europe, the Jewish people

cannot exist without a state and army of

their own.

This line of argument has proven to be

remarkably useful for the Israeli

government in defending its own

aggression against Palestinians and other

nations in the Middle East. Israel regularly

invokes the interests of the Jewish people to

explain its actions such as the occupation of

East Jerusalem and the settlement of the

biblical lands of the West Bank.

For millions of Jews living outside of

Israel, their support for the country stems

billion of value over 15 years.

The decision by Lucid to build its

overseas plant in Saudi wasn't taken

lightly. By all accounts, the company sees

Saudi Arabia as an important pivotal hub

for Lucid EVs and feels there is

tremendous market potential in Saudi

Arabia and in the region.

The use of EVs is also part of Saudi

Arabia drive to clean energy. This is a

proof that the Kingdom's drive to clean

energy is real and the country is "walking

the talk" to meet its Vision 2030

objectives.

Lucid said in its statement that it

reviewed multiple opportunities before

selecting Saudi Arabia as the site for its

first international manufacturing plant.

The company said it expects to benefit

from the availability of "competitivelypriced

commodities and a newly

emerging domestic supply chain, and a

factory location that facilitates global

logistics". Lucid also expects to employ

"several thousand people" - primarily

Saudi citizens - at the factory once full

production capacity is established.

In truth, by investing billions of dollars

in the Kingdom, Lucid is putting high

trust into the Saudi fiscal and investment

regulatory framework, and the country's

human resources capability. Saudi Arabia

from a deep-seated feeling that Israel is

their only refuge. If an outbreak of anti-

Semitism forced them to flee, Israel would

be there to protect them.

Powerful pro-Israel advocacy groups such

as the American-Israel Public Affairs

Committee (AIPAC) play on these emotions

in order to drum up support for Israel's

political objectives and silence critics of Tel

Aviv's aggressive treatment of the

Palestinians.

The Ukrainian crisis presents a

fascinating challenge to this core tenet of

Israeli propaganda because Ukraine is

home to one of the largest Jewish

populations in Eastern Europe. There are

an estimated 50,000 practicing Jews in the

country and Jewish life is visible from

places of worship to cultural centers.

The number of Ukrainians with Jewish

ancestry (and eligibility to immigrate to

Israel) is estimated at between 200,000 and

400,000. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr

Zelensky, and some of his key ministers are

also Jewish. Outside of Israel, Zelensky is

one of the world's only Jewish heads of

state.

Given the sheer scale and visibility of

Jewish life in Ukraine, one would think that

Israel would be on the front lines of finding

a solution to the conflict and aiding the

FUAd AL-ZAYer

JoSePH dAnA

has been getting ready for this moment for

many years. The country has been

investing in the education sector for

decades and in training its youth in

engineering and other crucial disciplines.

The manufacturing of EVs requires high

innovative skills. For example, Chemical

Engineers will be needed to work on

battery manufacturing whereas electrical

and mechanical engineers will be needed

for the production of motors and the

the company signed the agreements earlier this week with the Ministry

of investment, Saudi industrial development Fund and King Abdullah

economic city to do just that. Lucid announced that this will be the

company's first international manufacturing plant outside the US,

which may lead up to $3.4 billion of value over 15 years.

vehicle itself. In addition, professionals

with cross-sectional expertise in chemical

engineering, electronics, embedded

software and electrical engineering will be

needed. Also, the new fields of

Automotive Engineering, Electric Vehicle

Engineering, Vehicle Mechanics and

Vehicle Architecture will be highly sought

after. Saudi universities such King

Abdulaziz University in Jeddah and

KAUST nearby must introduce these new

majors as part of its curriculum in order to

support the EV industry in the Kingdom.

Also, under the guidance of Crown

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the

country has been going through a rapid

transformation beginning with the

overhauling of its regulatory and

investment framework in order to make

the Kingdom more attractive for foreign

direct investment such as the Lucid plant.

Jewish community there. That hasn't been

the case.

As the conflict drags on, Israel's approach

will become increasingly difficult to sustain.

A Russian attack on Kiev's main TV tower

on Tuesday damaged the Babi Yar

Holocaust memorial site nearby and killed

five people.

The site marks one of the biggest single

massacres of Jews during World War II.

Zelensky said Russia's attack showed

the number of Ukrainians with Jewish ancestry (and eligibility

to immigrate to israel) is estimated at between 200,000 and

400,000. Ukraine's president, volodymyr Zelensky, and some of

his key ministers are also Jewish. outside of israel, Zelensky is

one of the world's only Jewish heads of state.

history was repeating itself. Israel

denounced the strike but did not single out

Russia as the perpetrators.

It's easy for Israel's leaders to express

concern about the well-being of Jews

around the world but when push comes to

shove, Israel is a country like any other with

its own geopolitical concerns.

In this case, Tel Aviv doesn't want to

disturb its relationship with Russia. Not

only does Russia play an important role in

regional politics (most notably in Syria) but

it is a vital trading partner for Israel.

"It is so important for us that Russia turns

a blind eye to what we have been doing in

Syria, acting against the transfer of

weapons, the entrenchment of the

Iranians," Orna Mizrahi, a former deputy

national-security adviser for Israel, told the

New Yorker.

Saudi Arabia is also committing to build

the needed infrastructure to

accommodate the use of EVs such as

charging stations, etc. The good news is

that Lucid is a very innovative company

and its top-end vehicle model has an EPA

rating of 800 kilometers of driving range

on a single charge, which is 160 km longer

than a Tesla Model S! This means one can

drive from Riyadh to Dammam, and back

without the need for stopping or charging!

The use of EVs is also part of Saudi

Arabia drive to clean energy. This is a

proof that the Kingdom's drive to clean

energy is real and the country is "walking

the talk" to meet its Vision 2030

objectives which include reducing carbon

emissions by more than 60 per cent. The

Kingdom is investing in clean

hydrocarbon technology ventures such as

the production of blue hydrogen in

NEOM. Saudi Arabia is also planning to

plant 10 billion trees as part of the "Saudi

Green Initiative."

PIF investment in Lucid, and Lucid

plans to make EVs in Saudi Arabia is in

line with Saudi plans to implement

sustainable energy strategies in the

transportation sector and reduce its

carbon footprint. Also, shifting to EVs

means that the Kingdom can export more

of its crude to meet increasing global fuel

demand.

The development of EVs made in Saudi

Arabia provides ample opportunity for the

Kingdom to diversify its economy,

improve sustainable mobility, reduce its

carbon footprint while, at the same time,

planting the seed for innovative industry

that will create new jobs for Saudi youth in

a high-end, growing industry.

Source: Arab news

In the early days of the conflict in Ukraine,

Israel rejected a request from the US to cosponsor

a United Nations resolution

condemning Russia's assault. Tel Aviv

walked this position back, saying that it

would join a resolution but wouldn't

support sanctions against Russia.

It would seem that realpolitik trumps

Israel's hollow rhetoric about protecting the

Jewish people around the world.

For its part, Israel has reiterated its

support for any Ukrainian Jew wishing to

immigrate to Israel but it has stopped short

of offering support to Jewish Ukrainians

who wish to remain at home and fend off

Russian aggression.

What's remarkable about this position is

that it doesn't make any attempt to protect

Jews where they are. As a Jew living in

Ukraine, Israel seems to be saying, you are

basically on your own.

Let's be clear, Israel has no binding duty

to protect Jewish people (or any people)

outside of its borders. Many Jewish people

actually have a moral problem with Israel

claiming to represent them since they have

made a conscious decision not to immigrate

to the country. Israel will continue to speak

in the name of the Jewish people when it

finds it convenient.

That's what this crisis is revealing in

obvious detail. Because it isn't in Israel's

interest to challenge Russia, the Jews of

Ukraine have been left to essentially fend

for themselves. The next time Israel invokes

worldwide Jewry in explaining its own

actions, it will be instructive to remember

the battle for Ukraine's sovereignty.

Source: Asia times

Ukraine crisis: As hope wanes, hypocrisy thrives

Andrew MitrovicA

That equation, of sorts, came to mind as

I watched with a depressing mixture

of grief, sadness and dread Russia's

invasion of Ukraine occur in real time on

TV.

While diplomats, sitting in a solemn

circle, urged restraint at the United Nations,

the familiar images of "shock and awe"

began anew and an equally familiar sense of

déjà vu once again seized a war-weary

world's consciousness, too.

It was not supposed to turn out this way.

I read on Al Jazeera's opinion page and

elsewhere that it was unlikely that Vladimir

Putin would do what he has done. The

reasons offered by writers much more

acquainted with Russia's leader, the region

and its history made sense to me and were

reassuring.

Perhaps, like you, I held fast to the hope

that war could be avoided, that diplomacy

would prevail, and that yet more innocents

in yet another part of the globe would be

spared the inevitable pain, suffering,

indignities, and horrors caused by small

men with big armies.

The "analysts" and we were wrong.

So now, hope seems lost - again. It is a

casualty of another stupid, useless war

started by another small, inadequate man

with a big, powerful job.

Perhaps, like you, before Putin chose war,

I imagined the possibilities over the not-sodistant

horizon. I imagined that a sliver of

optimism could finally break through the

gloom as some of us emerged from the long

grip of a killer virus. And I saw selfless, kind

and intelligent people shepherd us from loss

and uncertainty towards a welcomed

measure of recovery and promise.

The slim prospect of knowing possibility,

optimism and promise has been erased;

replaced, suddenly and bluntly, by a

foreboding for the fates of millions of

Ukrainians caught in the lethal crosshairs of

this latest spasm of insanity and a world

that is going back, back to a "cold war" we

thought we had left behind.

Since early Thursday morning, an already

damaged, wound-tight world has become

more fragile and ominous. The chance that

a new, bourgeoning cold war may, in time

or by mad design, turn into a wider hot war

is more conceivable today than it was just

days ago.

These are bleak times for those of us who

care about our neighbours far beyond our

parochial interests and borders. All the

hard, necessary work done by so many good

people in so many places who have tried to

fashion a return to living life - fully and

completely - has unravelled in an instant.

Still, our duty, our obligation is to render

aid and comfort - as best we can - to the

Ukrainian children, women and men who

are holed up in bunkers and subway

stations to escape the death and destruction

above. It is our duty and obligation to help

Ukrainians - as best we can - to find safe

haven if and when they seek it. It is our duty

and obligation to help Ukrainians resist and

regain provenance - if possible - over their

country.

Courageous Russians understand this

duty and obligation. Thousands have gone

into the streets in cities across Russia to say

no to despair, no to inhumanity, no to war.

They have risked their freedom to show

solidarity with Ukrainians next door.

We must commend enlightened Russians

for taking a just and humane stand when

confronted with the imperative to do so.

But other players in this unfolding drama

deserve our scorn and censure for their

blatant hypocrisy on astounding display.

It has been astounding to watch an

American president and a British prime

minister and their surrogates at the UN

and alike condemn Russia for violating

supposedly sacrosanct and binding

charters and international law when

American and British foreign policy has,

for generations, been a ruinous reflection

of haughty contempt for those same

charters and laws.

History is replete with countries and

peoples who have paid and continue to pay

dearly and collectively for the decisions

made by American presidents and British

prime ministers - in particular - to dismiss

diplomacy in favour of force and "regime

change".

Source: Al Jazeera

FridaY, marCH 4, 2022

5

PHUONg VU

In an interview with local media

published last month, Marc Evans

Knapper, the U.S. ambassador to

Vietnam, said that raising the U.S.-

Vietnam relations to a "strategic

partnership" was a current priority for

Washington. Knapper's hope speaks to

the important position that Vietnam

occupies in Washington's new Indo-

Pacific strategy, which seeks to deepen

its engagement with Asian partners

and allies in a bid to counter the rising

power of China. But hopes for such a

diplomatic upgrade go back much

further. Since at least 2010, the U.S.

government has constantly sought the

establishment of a "strategic

partnership" with Vietnam.

However, it currently seems as if

Vietnam is not ready to take such a

step. In his first message following his

arrival in Washington on February 23,

Vietnam's new ambassador to the U.S.,

Nguyen Quoc Dung, expressed great

confidence that "the Vietnam-U.S.

comprehensive partnership will grow

in depth and in breadth, serving as

building blocks for us to intensify

mutually beneficial cooperation and

reach further beyond to a new height."

Dung did not mention "strategic

partnership" as a goal.

Some might question whether the

advancing U.S.-Vietnam relationship

needs to be franked with a formal

upgrade in diplomatic status, but

words can nonetheless play an

important role in diplomatic signaling.

Indeed, a close study of Vietnam's

diplomatic strategy reveals that Hanoi

has used its intricate taxonomy of

diplomatic designations to defend and

promote its national interests and

maintain a delicate balancing act amid

heightened superpower rivalries.

Vietnam's diplomatic hierarchy

includes three key categories:

"strategic

comprehensive"

partnerships sit at the top, followed in

descending order by "strategic" and

"comprehensive" partnerships. (There

is also a fourth category of "special

strategic" relationships, a status

enjoyed by Vietnam's former wartime

allies Cambodia and Laos). At the 12th

Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in

May 2013, then Prime Minister

Nguyen Tan Dung stated that Vietnam

hoped to establish strategic

partnerships with all five permanent

members of the United Nations

Security Council (UNSC). Dung said

that such strategic partnerships would

be based on the principles of

independence, sovereignty, and

mutual respect and non-interference.

So far, Vietnam has established

"comprehensive

strategic

partnerships" with two permanent

members of the UNSC - China in 2008

and Russia in 2012 - and "strategic

partnerships" with two more: the

United Kingdom in 2010 and France in

2013. India is not a permanent

member of the UNSC but has been a

comprehensive strategic partner of

Vietnam since 2016.

In addition to these, Vietnam has

The Promise and Peril of a US-

Vietnam ‘Strategic Partnership’

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris meets Vietnam's President Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Photo: Evelyn Hockstein

strategic partnerships with 17 nations.

Many of them are U.S. allies and

partners, among them New Zealand,

Australia, Philippines, Indonesia,

Thailand, Singapore, Germany, South

Korea, and Japan. The case of Japan in

particular reflects Vietnam's semantic

prudence: the two countries elevated

their "strategic" partnership to a

bespoke "extensive strategic"

partnership in 2014, giving Japan a

special niche above the "strategic" level

but just short of a "comprehensive

strategic" partnership. Earlier this

month, Vietnamese Foreign Minister

Bui Thanh Son confirmed a plan to

elevate relations with South Korea to

Vietnam's highest level of diplomatic

designation, to mark the 30th

anniversary of diplomatic ties this year.

Once realized, Seoul will join Beijing,

Moscow, and New Delhi in Hanoi's

club of "comprehensive strategic"

partners.

The U.S. is the only permanent

UNSC member that Vietnam has not

raised to a "strategic" or

"comprehensive strategic" partnership

level. Instead, the U.S. belongs to the

third category of "comprehensive

partnerships," a designation that

Vietnam has also bestowed upon the

Netherlands, Brunei, Hungary,

Myanmar, Canada, Denmark,

Ukraine, Argentina, Chile, Brazil,

Venezuela, and South Africa. Seen

from a certain angle, this is a

diplomatic snub for Washington.

So, what's in a name? India and New

Zealand are the two most recent

nations to receive "upgrades" - to the

"comprehensive strategic" and

"strategic" levels, respectively. As

mentioned, Vietnam and India

established their comprehensive

strategic partnership in 2016, on the

basis of the two nations' shared defense

interests. Following the agreement,

India granted Vietnam a $500 million

line of credit to purchase defense

equipment, though it's not clear how

much of that Vietnam has used. In

December 2020, the Indian Navy took

part in a "passage exercise" with the

Vietnamese Navy in the South China

Sea designed to boost the two nations'

maritime cooperation. Two countries

have also adopted a joint vision "for

peace, prosperity, and people."

Bilateral trade reached $10 billion in

2020, and India invested $1.9 billion in

Vietnam that year, including funds

channeled via other countries.

Meanwhile, New Zealand is the latest

nation to be raised to a "strategic"

partnership with Vietnam, the

designation that the U.S. has been

pursuing. The partnership centers on

trade, agriculture, education and

culture, disaster risk management, and

renewable energy. Two-way

merchandise trade in 2020 reached

$1.38 billion in 2021, and New Zealand

currently has registered investments

totaling $209.5 million in Vietnam.

Hanoi and Wellington have signaled a

commitment to strengthening defense

ties, maritime security cooperation,

and joint peacekeeping operations.

Both also have a shared interest in

defending international law. Not much

has been implemented, but Wellington

has increasingly weighed in on the

maritime disputes in the South China

Sea, where Hanoi has long battled

against China's aggression.

It should not be controversial to

point out that Vietnam and the U.S.

share a deeper, more multi-faceted

relationship than some nations higher

up in Hanoi's diplomatic hierarchy.

Since 2013, the U.S.-Vietnam

comprehensive partnership has made

significant strides. In 2020, bilateral

trade reached $92.2 billion, more than

nine times higher than Vietnam's trade

with India. The U.S. is Vietnam's 11th

largest investor, with nearly $10 billion

invested in the country.

Defense relations have also advanced

considerably in recent years. From

2015 to 2019 the U.S. authorized

permanent exports of more than $32.3

million in defense articles to Vietnam.

The U.S. Department of State also has

over $162 million in active Foreign

Military Sales with Vietnam. From

2017 to 2021, Vietnam received

approximately $80 million in bilateral

State Department-funded security

assistance and in 2018, Vietnam also

received an additional $81.5 million to

support the implementation of the

Indo-Pacific Strategy.

While large-scale arms agreements

are highly unlikely given Vietnam's

close defense ties to Russia,

cooperation with the U.S. continues to

see steady growth. The Trump and

Biden administrations have even

quietly held off on a decision about

whether to impose sanctions on

Vietnam under Washington's

Countering America's Adversaries

Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA),

which allows the U.S. government to

sanction countries that purchase

Russian weaponry. (Whether this

ambiguity survives the current

response to Russia's invasion of

Ukraine remains to be seen.)

Meanwhile, Washington's

increasingly robust stance on the

disputes in the South China Sea has

benefited Hanoi and other Southeast

Asian claimants. In 2018, Vietnam

participated for the first time in the

RIMPAC military exercise, after first

sending observers in 2012 and 2016,

and U.S. aircraft carriers paid port

visits in 2018 and 2019.

In addition to security and economic

engagements, the U.S, in partnership

with COVAX, has provided over 24

million doses of vaccines to Vietnam

and has pledged to provide $30.2

million to help the nation's pandemic

response. U.S. firms have licensed

production for mRNA vaccine

production to Vietnamese firms.

During her visit to Hanoi in August,

Vice President Kamala Harris

announced that the Southeast Asia

Regional Office of the U.S. Centers of

Disease Controls will be established in

Vietnam. The U.S. is the also largest

destination for Vietnamese students,

contributing nearly $1 billion to the

American economy in the 2019-2020

academic year, while the two countries

signed a Peace Corps agreement in

2020.

While Vietnam faces serious food

and water security challenges posed by

major dams on the Mekong River, the

country benefits from Washington's

growing Mekong River initiatives

aimed at helping promote sustainable

fisheries, climate change adaptation,

and biodiversity conservation.

Meanwhile, the U.S. last August

announced plans to build a $1.2 billion

embassy compound in Hanoi, while

Vietnam said last month that it would

spend $23.7 million on a new embassy

facility in Washington.

And yet, despite all of this progress,

the Vietnam-U.S. relationship is

marked by a relatively humble

diplomatic designation. In July 2010,

on the 15th anniversary of diplomatic

normalization between the U.S. and

Vietnam, U.S. Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton first announced

Washington's goal of upgrading the

bilateral relationship to a "strategic

partnership." While Hanoi was pleased

with the improvements in the bilateral

relationship, disagreements over

human rights hindered negotiations.

Economic engagement and U.S.

commitments to regional security built

up trust, however, and in 2013 the two

sides raised their relationship to the

"comprehensive" level. Since then,

there has been a steady increase of

high-level exchanges between the two

countries, including the first-ever visit

to the U.S. by the head of the Vietnam

Communist Party (VCP) in 2015.

Speculation about the establishment of

a strategic partnership peaked in 2020,

when Vietnam and the U.S. celebrated

the 25th anniversary of diplomatic

normalization.

Nonetheless, Hanoi has expressed

some concerns about recent U.S.

policy, including President Trump's

withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific

Partnership trade pact, its inconsistent

foreign policy, and its lackluster

support for allies and security partners.

Since taking office last year, however,

the Biden administration has actively

courted Vietnam. It has twice proposed

an upgrade to a "strategic

partnership": once during Defense

Secretary Lloyd Austin's visit in July

and again during Vice President

Kamala Harris' trip the following

month. But still the relationship

remains stuck at the "comprehensive"

level. Ha Kim Ngoc, former Vietnam's

ambassador to the U.S., last year

tempered expectations, suggesting the

substance in Vietnam-U.S. relations

was more important than the label it is

given.

Given that upping a diplomatic

designation would be substantive in its

own right, and sends a clear signal

about the state of bilateral relations,

what is driving the thinking on both

sides?

For Hanoi, the hesitancy toward

meeting Washington's long-held goal is

a matter of rational choice: namely,

who cares about form when you've got

the substance? As Vietnam-U.S.

relations have developed over the past

two decades, Hanoi has been assiduous

in trying not to appear to take sides or

to be seen to be balancing against

China. Hanoi is all too aware of the

range of coercive instruments that

Beijing has to employ against it, which

include maritime actions in the South

China Sea, trade and investment

sanctions, and hacking and cyber

warfare, to say nothing of its control of

the headwaters of the Mekong and Red

rivers which give it considerable power

to alleviate both floods and droughts in

Vietnam. Should Vietnam have the

audacity to elevate ties with

Washington to the same level as

Beijing, China would likely escalate

tensions with Vietnam across a range of

domains. As it stands, Vietnam has

advanced ties with the U.S. without

eliciting intolerable political, economic,

and diplomatic costs from Beijing.

South Korea’s nastiest

presidential election

HYUNg-a Kim

When the 22-day official

campaign period started on

February 15, South Korea's

presidential election, set for

March 9, entered its final

phase. As it did, Lee Jaemyung

from the ruling

Democratic Party (DP) and

Yoon Suk-yeol from the main

opposition conservative

People Power Party (PPP)

were neck-and-neck;

followed by third party

candidates Ahn Cheol-soo

from the minor opposition

centrist People's Party and

Shim Sang-jung from the

minor opposition leftist

Justice Party. A Gallup survey

two weeks before the election

showed that Yoon's support

stood at 39.0 percent and

Lee's at 38.3 percent, with a

gap of just 0.7 percent

between them.

Ahn Cheol-soo, a renowned

software entrepreneur and

medical doctor, garnered 9.5

percent support in the poll.

Ahn emerged as a potential

game-changer on February

13, when he proposed to

merge his campaign with

Yoon by fielding a single

candidate based on a popular

survey to pick between them.

Yoon and the PPP, despite

welcoming the idea of a

unified candidacy, opposed

Ahn's preemptive proposal,

arguing that an opinion

survey method could produce

"distorted results." Ahn

dropped his offer a week later,

citing the lukewarm reception

from the PPP.

While the blame game

between the two opposition

parties intensifies over the

Officials from the election management committee put posters of presidential

candidates.

Photo: ahn Young-joon

failure to merge campaigns,

Ahn's moves - vowing to

finish the race on his own

while at the same time

publicly hinting at his

willingness to merge

candidacies if "Yoon accepts

[his] offer" - have rapidly

added further uncertainties to

the already tight race.

Unsurprisingly, Lee and the

DP are engaged in an all-out

campaign to entice Ahn away

from the PPP. The ruling

party offered to form a

coalition government with

Ahn's party, which currently

holds three seats in the 300-

seat National Assembly.

The feverish courtship of

the third party contender was

just another twist in the most

unpredictable and nastiest

presidential election since

South Korea democratized in

1987.

To win this duel, Lee and

Yoon, along with their parties,

have resorted to mudslinging,

accusing each other and their

respective families of

corruption and moral

misconduct. At the same

time, they have flooded voters

with populist pledges and

policy proposals to win

support, with each candidate

claiming to be the decisive

leader needed to make South

Korea a truly fair and just

country.

KHaNg VU

The early morning hours of

February 24, Russia officially

launched an invasion of

Ukraine, marking a major

escalation to the Russo-

Ukrainian conflict that started

in 2014. The war shocked the

rest of the world and Vietnam

was no exception. Russia's

invasion, after failing to secure

a pledge from the North

Atlantic Treaty Organization

(NATO) not to expand its

membership to Ukraine,

reminded many Vietnamese of

the Chinese invasion of

Vietnam in 1979, after the

country tilted toward the

Soviet Union in the aftermath

of the signing of its Treaty of

Friendship and Cooperation

with Moscow the previous

year.

Many Vietnamese netizens

have drawn an analogy

between the two invasions: a

big power, unsatisfied with a

small power's foreign policy,

decides to launch an invasion

to teach the small power a

lesson. In this sense, China

launching a lightning invasion

of Vietnam in the early

morning hours of February 17,

1979, involving more than

600,000 troops bears a close

resemblance to Russia's

invasion of Ukraine.

While it is tempting to draw

this kind of connection

between the two events, such

an analogy misses one

fundamental difference

between Vietnam in 1979 and

Ukraine in 2022. Namely,

China invaded a country

backed by a superpower with

which it had an official treaty,

while Ukraine is not officially

part of any military alliances

with the West. While the goal

of the two invasions may be

Why the Russia-Ukraine war is not the

same as the Sino-Vietnamese war of 1979

Vietnam's alliance with the Soviet Union put limits on how far China could

go.

Photo: Collected

similar - to undermine

Vietnam and Ukraine's belief

in the security commitments

of the Soviet Union and NATO,

respectively - the presence of a

major power ally in the case of

Vietnam significantly

restrained how Chinese

leaders would conduct the war.

In the case of Russia, so far

there has been little evidence

that the country felt any

restraint by NATO when

contemplating its war plans.

An alliance is different from

an alignment in one major

sense: whether there exists a

legal document that explicitly

states that one side must come

to the defense of another when

there is a military threat. The

alliance treaty is significant in

several aspects. First, it creates

hand tying mechanisms that

can generate costs if one side

does not uphold its

commitment. Second, it lays

the foundation for military

cooperation before a war starts

to increase chance of victory

and lowers the costs of military

assistance. An alignment, /on

the other hand, is based on an

expectation, but not an

obligation, of support when a

conflict arises. Vietnam's 1978

alliance with the Soviets put it

in a stronger position to deter

and defend against China than

Ukraine's alignment with

NATO.

There is no doubt that

China's invasion of Vietnam in

1979 was launched first and

foremost as a result of Hanoi's

alliance with the Soviet Union.

China scholars attribute the

decision to invade Vietnam to

the "principal enemy theory":

that China's policy towards a

country is a result of that

country's policy towards

China's principal enemy.

According to this theory, China

would turn hostile to a country

if it improved its relations with

China's principal enemy.

China's motive to prevent a

hostile alliance from

threatening the homeland may

be similar to the Russian

motivations for invading

Ukraine, but the scope of the

two wars is likely to be very

different.

FRIdAY, MARCH 4, 2022

6

On the occasion of the golden jubilee of liberation war, Noakhali University of Science and

Technology (NSTU) Journalist Association held a discussion meeting in memory of the heroic martyrs

of the great liberation war.

Photo : Manik Bhuiyan

Union health centre takes primary

healthcares to grassroots

RAJSHAHI : Jhikra Union Health and

Family Welfare Center (UH&FWC) has

started reaching primary healthcare to

the grassroots people and the

marginalized and less-income group

people.

The facility in Bagmara Upazila of the

district has become a blessing for the

rural pregnant mothers in terms of

getting emergency healthcare services,

including antenatal care (ANC),

postnatal care (PNC) and neonatal care.

Rafiqul Islam, Chairman of Jhikra

Union Parishad (UP), said they have

reactivated the facility through

appointing a Family Welfare Visitor

(FWV) and need-based renovation with

collaborative and partnership efforts

recently.

"We have completed the renovation

works at a cost of Taka 2,61,425 last

month," he said, adding that Public

Health Improvement Initiative

Rajshahi (PHIIR) project contributed to

the renovation works costing Taka

2,35,242, while Taka 26,183 came from

the UP.

Islam said the facility had remained

inoperative for around 18 years since

2003 due to multifarious problems

related to lack of manpower, electricity

and water supply, life-saving drugs and

other requisite support.

On priority basis, a skilled FWV was

appointed on 11 April last with a joint

financial contribution of the PHIIR

project and UP.

UP Chairman Islam said the labor

room was equipped with all requisite

devices and apparatus on behalf of the

project for conducting normal delivery

after the deployment of FWV Rezia

Parvin.

The facility have attained trust of

grassroots people as they are getting

requisite primary healthcare services

regularly at their doorsteps in the area,

added the public representative.

"We have maternal and neonatal

health care services, integrated

management of childhood illness,

reproductive health, family planning

services and an expanded program on

immunization in the facility," said FWV

Rezia Parvin.

Keya Begum, 24, wife of Bazlur

Rashid of Joandog, is very happy over

getting her necessary postnatal care

from the facility after her normal

delivery in December last.

As her husband remains busy with his

almost daylong professional works she

goes to the clinic with her own initiative.

She terms the facility as vital means for

regular medical checkup. After getting

her doorstep services she's mentally

satisfied.

DASCOH Foundation has been

implementing the PHIIR project

supported by Swiss Red Cross (SRC) at

five upazila health complexes, 42 Union

Health and Family Welfare Centres and

110 Community Clinics under Bagmara,

Charghat and Tanore upazilas in

Rajshahi and Porsha and Sapahar in

Naogaon.

The project is intended to improve the

health status with special focus on

maternal, neonatal and child health at

primary health care level.

PHIIR Project Manager Tozammel

Haque told BSS that the present

government of Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina is determined to run the rural

health facility effectively. "So, we are

working here to supplement the

government endeavour," he added.

A 26-member joint monitoring team

led by Dr Kasturi Amina Queen, Deputy

Director of the Department of Family

Planning, visited the Jhikra UH&FWC

on February 28 last discussing and

devising ways and means on how to

make the facility more effective.

Dr Amina Queen said there is no

alternative to elevate the essential

health services of the facility through

proper functioning of its management

committee.

She said there is no alternative to

enhance knowledge level about health

and disease control among the

community people as a whole and the

role of the rural facility is very important

in this regard.

Over 2.21-cr

doses Covid-19

jabs vaccinated

in Rangpur

RANGPUR : A total of two

crore 21 lakh 17 thousand and

254 doses of Covid-19 jabs

were vaccinated till

Wednesday in Rangpur

division where the pandemic

situation continues

improving in recent weeks,

reports BSS

Health officials said the

Covid-19 vaccination

campaign continues

smoothly through inoculation

of eligible citizens with the

first, second and booster

doses of the jabs in the

division.

Currently, citizens are being

vaccinated with five types of

Covid-19 jabs from different

companies like Moderna,

AstraZeneca, Sinopharm,

Pfizer-BioNTech and Sinovac

across the division.

"Among the total

inoculated jabs, 1,32,24,443

people got the first dose and

of them, 84,93,817 got the

second dose and 3,98,994 got

the booster dose till

Wednesday," said Divisional

Director (Health) Dr Abu Md

Zakirul Islam.

The first dose recipient

1,32,24,443 citizens include

39,28,912 people vaccinated

with AstraZeneca Covid-19

jabs, 52,19,128 with

Sinopharm, 1,31,876 with

Moderna, 19,89,138 with

Pfizer-BioNTech and

19,89,138 people with

Sinovac Covid-19 jabs.

The second dose recipient

84,93,817 citizens include

20,02,083 inoculated with

AstraZeneca Covid-19 jabs,

48,65,182 with Sinopharm,

1,27,554 with Moderna

Covid-19 jabs, 14,98,427 with

Pfizer- BioNTech Covid-19

and 571 with Sinovac Covid-

19 jabs.

"Meanwhile, the 3,98,994

booster dose recipients

include 3,86,355 vaccinated

with AstraZeneca Covid-19

jabs, 9,549 with Pfizer-

BioNTech Covid-19 jabs and

3,090 with Moderna Covid-

19 jabs," Dr. Islam added.

95.96pc Covid-19 patients

recover in Rangpur division

RANGPUR : The average recovery rate of Covid-

19 patients has reached 95.96 percent in

Rangpur division where the pandemic situation

is improving in recent weeks.

Health officials said the number of positive

cases decreases amid declining positivity rate and

rising recovery rate of infected patients as the

spread of the deadly virus is declining everyday.

"Forty more patients recovered during the last

24 hours ending at 8 am yesterday raising the

number of healed patients to 61,485 at the 95.96

percent recovery rate in the division," Divisional

Director (Health) Dr. Abu Md. Zakirul Islam told

BSS .

The 61,485 recovered patients include 14,383

of Rangpur, 4,319 of Panchagarh, 4,845 of

Nilphamari, 3,168 of Lalmonirhat, 4,680 of

Kurigram, 8,263 of Thakurgaon, 16,398 of

Dinajpur and 5,429 of Gaibandha districts in the

division.

Meanwhile, the number of Covid-19 cases

reached 64,073 as eight new patients were

diagnosed after testing 242 new samples at the

3.31 percent positivity rate on Wednesday in the

division. Earlier, the daily Covid-19 positivity

rates were 4.76 percent on Tuesday, 4.93 percent

on Monday, 2.56 percent on Sunday, 10.19

percent on Saturday, 8.64 percent on Friday and

7.45 percent on Thursday last in the division. The

district-wise break up of total 64,073 patients

include 14,946 of Rangpur, 4,415 Panchagarh,

5,473 of Nilphamari, 3,277 of Lalmonirhat, 4,975

of Kurigram, 8,577 of Thakurgaon, 16,904 of

Dinajpur and 5,506 of Gaibandha in the division.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic,

a total of 3,37,437 collected samples were tested

till Wednesday, and of them, 64,073 were found

positive with an average positivity rate of 18.99

percent in the division.

On the other hand, the total number of

casualties remained steady at 1,282 in the

division as no new death was reported during the

last 24 hours ending at 8 am yesterday.

The district-wise break up of the 1,282 fatalities

stands at 300 in Rangpur, 84 in Panchagarh, 92

in Nilphamari, 73 in Lalmonirhat, 69 in

Kurigram, 259 in Thakurgaon, 340 in Dinajpur

and 65 in Gaibandha districts of the division.

The average casualty rate currently stands at

two percent in the division.

The extended meeting of Awami League was held Nayabandar of Saghata

upazila of Gaibandha yesterday.

Photo : Asad Khandaker

In Kushtia's Kumarkhali, an oil trader has been fined Tk 20,000 for earning

Tk 15 per liter extra of soybean oil.

Photo : MR Nayan

A human chain was formed at Kalapara of Patuakhali yesterday to open

the canal of Chingria area for public. Photo : Goutam Chandra Haldar

World Wildlife

Day observed

in Pabna

PABNA : The World Wildlife

Day-2022 was observed in

the district yesterday as

elsewhere in the country and

the globe aiming to create

awareness about

endangered animals and

plants and ways to fight

against wildlife crimes.

The District Social Forest

Department organised a

mass awareness programme

at the Upazila Parishad (UP)

conference room of

Sujanagar upazila yesterday

morning.

The theme of the day is

"Recovering key species for

ecosystem restoration".

†kL nvwmbvi g~jbxwZ

MÖvg kn‡ii DbœwZ

133 03/03/22

GD-385/22 (5x4)

GD-384/22 (9x4)

7

FRIdAY, MARCH 4, 2022

Refugee count tops 1 million;

Russians besiege Ukraine ports

A Hercules C130 transport aircraft with some 2,000 anti-tank missiles for Ukraine has taken off

from Norway.

Photo : Internet

Norway, Germany

provide missiles

to Ukraine

COPENHAGEN : A

Hercules C130 transport

aircraft with some 2,000

anti-tank missiles for

Ukraine has taken off from

Norway.

The weapons are to help

Ukrainian forces resist

Russia's invasion, which

began last week.

Norway's national news

agency NTB said the

shipment was being sent

from Oslo on Thursday to a

third country before being

transported to Ukraine.

Also Thursday, Germany's

economy ministry approved

sending 2,700 anti-aircraft

missiles to Ukraine, the dpa

news agency said.

The agency quoted

unnamed Economy

Ministry officials saying the

weapons are Soviet-made,

shoulder-fired Strela

surface-to-air missiles left

over from East German

army supplies.

Germany reversed its

previous refusal to provide

Ukraine with lethal weapons

last week, following Russia's

attack.

JAKARTA : The walls of Saifullah's

home in northern Jakarta are lined like

tree rings, marking how high the

floodwaters have reached each year -

some more than 4 feet from the damp

dirt floor.

When the water gets too high,

Saifullah, who like many Indonesians

only uses one name, sends his family to

stay with friends. He guards the house

until the water can be drained using a

makeshift pump. If the pump stops

working, he uses a bucket or just waits

until the water recedes, reports UNB.

"It's a normal thing here," Saifullah,

73, said. "But this is our home. Where

should we go?"

As the world's most rapidly sinking

major city, Jakarta demonstrates how

500,000 people on flood

alert as rain lashes Sydney

SYDNEY : Around 500,000 people in

Sydney and its surrounds had by Thursday

been told to evacuate or prepare to flee

floodwaters as torrential rain lashed an

extraordinarily long stretch of the Australian

east coast, reports UNB.

Rivers were rising in Australia's most

populous city, home to 5 million, with New

South Wales' State Emergency Services

Minister Steph Cooke warning of

"treacherous weather conditions" over the

next 24 hours.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology warned

of life-threatening flash flooding and

damaging winds with peak gusts in excess of

90 kilometers (56 miles) an hour.

Major flooding was expected along several

rivers in and around Sydney. Dozens of

suburbs were on high alert.

The State Emergency Service issued

evacuation orders to 200,000 residents and

evacuation warnings had been sent to

another 300,000.

New South Wales Premier Dominic

Perrottet urged residents to take the orders

seriously.

"We do believe that things will get worse

before they get better," Perrottet said.

Minor flood warnings were also issued for

coastal communities as far as 200 kilometers

(120 miles) south of Sydney.

climate change is making more places

uninhabitable. With an estimated onethird

of the city expected to be

submerged in the coming decades - in

part because of the rising Java Sea - the

Indonesian government is planning to

move its capital some 1,240 miles

(2,000 kilometers) northeast to the

island of Borneo, relocating as many as

1.5 million civil servants.

It's a huge undertaking and part of

the mass movement of people that is

expected to accelerate in the years

ahead.

A staggering 143 million people will

likely be uprooted over the next 30

years by rising seas, drought, searing

temperatures and other climate

catastrophes, according to an

Floodwaters were also rising in Brisbane,

Australia's third-most populous city 730

kilometers (450 miles) north of Sydney, as

severe thunder storms struck.

Hailstones 5 to 6 centimeters (2 inches)

wide pounded the town of Inglewood, 270

kilometers (170 miles) southwest of

Brisbane, early Thursday, the Bureau of

Meteorology said.

Extraordinarily heavy rain brought flash

floods to the Queensland state coast 500

kilometers (310 miles) north of the capital

Brisbane last week and a south-moving lowpressure

system had since brought the rain

south of Sydney.

The flooding has claimed 14 lives in

Queensland and neighboring New South

Wales since Feb. 22, when the body of a 63-

year-old woman was recovered from a

submerged car at Belli Park, north of

Brisbane. In New South Wales, a 54-yearold

man was found Friday in a submerged

SUV in Matcham, 90 kilometers (50 miles)

north of Sydney.

Most recently, a man in his 70s was found

in his flooded apartment Wednesday in

Lismore, New South Wales. Four people

died in the town of 28,000.

Several Brisbane suburbs remain flooded

after the river that snakes through the city

center peaked on Monday.

UN: Climate change to uproot

millions, especially in Asia

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change report published Monday by

the United Nations.

In Asia, governments are already

scrambling to deal with it.

One in three migrants in the world

today comes from Asia, which leads the

world in the number of people being

displaced by extreme weather, largely

storms and flooding, according to the

report. With rural villages emptying out

and megacities like Jakarta at risk,

scientists predict migration flows and

the need for planned relocations will

only grow.

"Under all global warming levels,

some regions that are presently densely

populated will become unsafe or

uninhabitable," the report said.

The walls of Saifullah's home in northern Jakarta are lined like tree rings, marking how high the floodwaters

have reached each year - some more than 4 feet from the damp dirt floor.

Photo : Internet

KYIV : The number of people sent

fleeing Ukraine by Russia's invasion

topped 1 million on Wednesday, the

swiftest refugee exodus this century,

the United Nations said, as Russian

forces kept up their bombardment of

the country's second-biggest city,

Kharkiv, and laid siege to two strategic

seaports.

The tally from the U.N. refugee

agency released to The Associated

Press amounts to more than 2 percent

of Ukraine's population being forced

out of the country in less than a week.

The mass evacuation could be seen in

Kharkiv, where residents desperate to

get away from falling shells and

bombs crowded the city's train station

and tried to press onto trains, not

always knowing where they were

headed.

In a videotaped address, Ukrainian

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called

on Ukrainians to keep up the

resistance. He vowed that the invaders

would have "not one quiet moment"

and described Russian soldiers as

"confused children who have been

used."

Moscow's isolation deepened when

most of the world lined up against it at

the United Nations to demand it

withdraw from Ukraine. And the

prosecutor for the International

Criminal Court opened an

investigation into possible war crimes.

With fighting going on on multiple

fronts across the country, Britain's

Defense Ministry said Mariupol, a

large city on the Azov Sea, was

encircled by Russian forces, while the

status of another vital port, Kherson, a

Black Sea shipbuilding city of

280,000, remained unclear.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's

forces claimed to have taken complete

control of Kherson, which would

make it the biggest city to fall yet in the

invasion. But a senior U.S. defense

official disputed that.

"Our view is that Kherson is very

much a contested city," the official

said, speaking on condition of

anonymity.

Zelenskyy's office told the AP that it

could not comment on the situation in

Kherson while the fighting was still

going on.

But the mayor of Kherson, Igor

Kolykhaev, said Russian soldiers were

in the city and came to the city

administration building. He said he

asked them not to shoot civilians and

to allow crews to gather up the bodies

from the streets.

"I simply asked them not to shoot at

people," he said in a statement. "We

don't have any Ukrainian forces in the

city, only civilians and people here

who want to LIVE."

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko

said the attacks there had been

relentless.

"We cannot even take the wounded

from the streets, from houses and

apartments today, since the shelling

does not stop," he was quoted by the

Interfax news agency as saying.

Russia reported its military

casualties for the first time since the

invasion began last week, saying

nearly 500 of its troops have been

killed and almost 1,600 wounded.

Ukraine did not disclose its own

military losses but said more than

2,000 civilians have died, a claim that

could not be independently verified.

In a video address to the nation early

Thursday, Zelenskyy praised his

country's resistance.

"We are a people who in a week have

destroyed the plans of the enemy," he

said. "They will have no peace here.

They will have no food. They will have

here not one quiet moment."

He said the fighting is taking a toll

on the morale of Russian soldiers, who

"go into grocery stores and try to find

something to eat."

"These are not warriors of a

superpower," he said. "These are

confused children who have been

used."

Meanwhile, the senior U.S. defense

official said an immense column of

hundreds of tanks and other vehicles

appeared to be stalled roughly 25

kilometers (16 miles) from Kyiv and

had made no real progress in the last

couple of days.

The convoy, which earlier in the

week had seemed poised to launch an

assault on the capital, has been

plagued with fuel and food shortages,

the official said. Western officials

warn that Russia's far stronger

military is likely to adapt quickly.

The number of people sent fleeing Ukraine by Russia's invasion topped 1 million on Wednesday,

the swiftest refugee exodus this century, the United Nations said, as Russian forces kept up

their bombardment of the country's second-biggest city, Kharkiv, and laid siege to two strategic

seaports.

Photo : Internet

States launch

probe into

TikTok's effect

on kids' health

WASHINGTON : State

attorneys general have

launched a nationwide

investigation into TikTok

and its possible harmful

effects on young users'

mental health, widening

government scrutiny of the

wildly popular video

platform.

The investigation was

announced Wednesday by

a number of states led by

California, Florida,

Kentucky, Massachusetts,

Nebraska, New Jersey,

Tennessee and Vermont.

U.S. lawmakers and

federal regulators have

criticized TikTok, citing

practices and computerdriven

promotion of

content they say can

endanger the physical and

mental health of young

users. The platform has an

estimated 1 billion monthly

users and is especially

popular with teens and

younger children.

Last month, Texas

opened an investigation

into TikTok's alleged

violations of children's

privacy and facilitation of

human trafficking.

"Our children are

growing up in the age of

social media - and many

feel like they need to

measure up to the filtered

versions of reality that they

see on their screens,"

California Attorney

General Rob Bonta said in

a news release. "We know

this takes a devastating toll

on children's mental health

and well-being."

UN Assembly votes to

demand that Russia

stop war in Ukraine

UNITED NATIONS : The

U.N. General Assembly

voted at an emergency

session Wednesday to

demand an immediate halt

to Moscow's attack on

Ukraine and the withdrawal

of all Russian troops, with

sustained applause breaking

out after a formidable show

of support among the 193

member nations against the

invasion, reports UNB.

The vote on the

"Aggression against

Ukraine" resolution was 141-

5, with 35 abstentions. It

came as Russia bombarded

Ukraine's second-largest city

and besieged two important

ports, and a huge convoy of

Russian military vehicles

was poised outside the

Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

Only Belarus, Syria, North

Korea and Eritrea joined

Russia in opposing the

measure, a powerful

indication of the

international isolation that

Russian President Vladimir

Putin faces for invading his

country's smaller neighbor -

and that the resolution's

supporters sought to

emphasize.

The abstentions included

China and India, as

expected, but also some

surprises from usual Russian

allies Cuba and Nicaragua.

And the United Arab

Emirates, which abstained

on Friday's similar Security

Council resolution, voted

"yes."

Cuba had spoken in

Russia's defense on Tuesday,

with Ambassador Pedro Luis

Cuesta blaming the crisis on

what he said is the U.S.

determination to keep

expanding NATO toward

Russia's borders and on the

delivery of modern weapons

to Ukraine, ignoring Russia's

concerns for its own security.

He told the assembly the

resolution "suffers from lack

of balance" and doesn't begin

to address the concerns of

both parties, or "the

responsibility of those who

took aggressive actions

which precipitated the

escalation of this conflict."

Unlike Security Council

resolutions, General

Assembly resolutions are not

legally binding, but they do

have clout in reflecting

international opinion. Under

special emergency session

rules, a resolution needs

approval of two-thirds of

those countries voting, and

abstentions don't count.

From Washington, U.S.

President Joe Biden called

the special session historic

and a demonstration of

"unprecedented global

unity."

"An overwhelming

majority of the world

recognizes that if we do not

stand up to Putin's Russia, it

will only inflict further chaos

and aggression on the

world," Biden said in a

statement.

After Russia vetoed a

similar Security Council

resolution Friday, Ukraine

and its supporters won

approval for the assembly to

hold an emergency special

session-the first since 1997 --

to try to spotlight opposition

to Russia's invasion.

Deploring Russia's

"aggression" against Ukraine

"in the strongest terms," the

measure demands an

immediate halt to Moscow's

use of force and the

immediate, complete and

unconditional withdrawal of

all Russian forces.

The resolution says that

Russia's military operations

in Ukraine "are on a scale

that the international

community has not seen in

Europe in decades and that

urgent action is needed to

save this generation from the

scourge of war." It "urges the

immediate peaceful

resolution of the conflict"

and reaffirms the assembly's

commitment "to the

sovereignty, independence,

unity and territorial integrity

of Ukraine within its

internationally recognized

borders."

The measure also

condemns "the Russian

Federation's decision to

increase the readiness of its

nuclear forces" - an issue

raised by many U.N.

members concerned about

that prospect.

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

8

Dhaka North and Dhaka South Zone of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited organized Business

Development Conference on March 2, 2022 at Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh in the

capital. Mohammed Monirul Moula, Managing Director and CEO of the Bank addressed the conference

virtually as Chief Guest. Md. Omar Faruk Khan, Additional Managing Director addressed as

special gueast. Md. Mostafizur Rahman Siddiquee & Md. Altaf Hossain, Deputy Managing Directors,

Mohammed Shabbir & Md. Maksudur Rahman, Senior Executive Vice Presidents, A S M Rezaul

Karim & Md. Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan, Executive Vice President also addressed the program.

Muhammad Saeed Ullah, Head of Dhaka North Zone presided over the function while Mir Rahmat

Ullah, Head of Dhaka South Zone addressed the welcome speech. Head of branches, departmental &

sub-branch in-charges under the two zones attended the conference.

Photo : Courtesy

Padma Bank Ltd signs MoU with

Canadian University

Padma Bank Limited has

signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) for

academic-Industry

Collaborations with the

Canadian University of

Bangladesh, on Tuesday at

the Canadian University of

Bangladesh's office. The

agreement was signed &

exchanged by M Ahsan Ullah

Khan, SEVP and Head of

Corporate Affairs & HRD

and Professor S M

Arifuzzaman, Head,

Turkey inflation

woes pit tenants

against landlords

ISTANBUL : Kicked out in the

middle of a harsh Turkish

winter, 30-year-old Erdem

Yilmaz calculated that he

spent two and a half months'

salary to urgently relocate to a

new home in Istanbul, reports

UNB.

The father of a two-year-old

is not the only Turk in this

situation after last year's

currency crisis.

Disputes between

homeowners and tenants

have risen sharply in recent

months in Turkey after

annual inflation reached

nearly 50 percent in January,

the highest since April 2002

and may well reach a new

peak on Thursday when new

monthly data will be

published.

In the same period, rents

have exploded by 85 percent

in Istanbul and by 69 percent

at the national level, according

to analysis by Bahcesehir

University.

But salaries have not risen

at the same pace, with most

increasing by between 30 and

50 percent on average in

January.

"We shouldn't have had to

leave," lamented Yilmaz, who

works as a receptionist, upset

at his former landlord who

claimed he wanted the

property back for his son.

"He harassed us. My family

had no peace," he added.

Yilmaz is even angrier

because he said the landlord's

son did not move into the

apartment.

"I saw an advert (for the

flat) on the internet a week

after we left," he said, showing

a photo of the advert.

Department of Business

Administration of Canadian

University of Bangladesh on

behalf of their respective

institutions, a press release

said.

Among others, Padma

Bank's acting CEO and

Managing Director Faisal

Ahsan Chowdhury, SEVP &

Chief Operating Officer

Zabed Amin, CUB Professor

Dr. HM Jahirul Haque,

Senior Advisor to the Board

of Trustees, Professor A. S.

Searching of young artistic minds

Berger to organize Berger Artista

children's art competition

With a view to motivate the young artists of

the country, the leading paint solution

brand, Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited

(BPBL), has recently started the 'Berger

Artista Children's Art Competition' of this

year 2022. Submissions will have to be made

online on the Berger Official Facebook Page.

Participating children can also enjoy an

online school camp, conducted by famous

artists of the country.

The competition will have two rounds,

where the children will be divided into two

groups. Group A will consist of children aged

between 5-10 years, whereas Group B will

have children aged between 11-15 years.

Children of both groups will have to submit

their art for the first round on the topic

"Bangladesh," within the time of March 15,

2022. With 25 winners from both groups, a

total of 50 winners in the first round will be

announced on March 19, 2022.

Submissions for the second round will

NEW YORK : US crude prices finished

Wednesday at the highest level since 2011 after

major oil exporters declined to increase output

more quickly despite the impact of Russia's

invasion of Ukraine.

Futures for West Texas Intermediate crude

for delivery in April jumped 7.0 percent to

$110.60 a barrel as Saudi Arabia, Russia and

other top oil exporters said they would stick to

their plan to boost production by just 400,000

barrels a day in April, the same pace as in

recent months. And Brent futures for May

delivery jumped 7.6 percent to $112.93 a barrel,

the highest since 2014.

M. Sirajul Haque, Treasurer,

Dr. Md. Shahrukh Adnan

Khan, Professor and Head of

Electrical and Electronic

Engineering department,

Director of Center for

Research & Innovation

(CRI) and IQAC, Walid Bin

Kader, Head of General

Education and Student

Service Wing of Canadian

University of Bangladesh

and other high officials of the

both organizations were

present during the signing

ceremony.

Under the MoU of

Academic-Industry

Collaborations, all the

corporate employees of

Padma Bank Limited will get

unconditional 50% of

Tuition fee waiver facility to

pursue their MBA and

EMBA programs at


Bangladesh. And the family

members of all corporate

employees of Padma Bank

Limited will get

unconditional 50% tuition

waiver on the admission and

tuition fee waiver facilities

for all the programs to

continue their education at


Bangladesh. On the other

hand, the students of


Bangladesh will be privileged

to enjoy the services &

facilities from Padma Bank

Limited. Students will be

privileged to get the

opportunity of internship

facilities along with

Industrial visit at Padma

Bank so that the students

can be facilitated of practical

learning of banking services

during their student life.

continue from March 19-24, 2022, and the

topic for both the groups will be "Amar Rongin

Bhubon." The winner announcement will be

held on March 26, 2022.

The First-round winners will participate in

an Art Camp exhibition, which will be

conducted by a prominent artist of the

country and certificate will be given to the

winners. The Second-round winners from

both groups will be rewarded with gift

hampers, certificates, and crests.

Regarding the competition, Md. Mohsin

Habib Chowdhury, Senior General Manager

(Sales & Marketing), Berger Paints

Bangladesh Limited, said, "Art competitions

play a significant role in bringing out the

hidden artist within many children. This

experience often remains in our minds as a

cherished childhood memory. With this art

competition, we want to motivate the

children of today to explore their creative

self-amidst the tiring pandemic times."

US oil prices close at $110.60/barrel,

highest since 2011

The rise comes amid worries that the

ongoing war in Ukraine and international

sanctions on Russia will sideline key crude

supply in an already-tight market.

But the OPEC+ group concluded that the

market was "well-balanced" and "current

volatility is not caused by changes in market

fundamentals but by current geopolitical

developments," according to a press release.

The meeting Wednesday, held via video

conference, come a day after International

Energy Agency (IEA) members agreed to

release 60 million barrels of oil from strategic

reserves to try to stabilize global markets.

IMF urges Sri

Lanka to raise

taxes, devalue

currency

COLOMBO : The

International Monetary

Fund warned crisis-hit Sri

Lanka on Thursday that its

foreign debt was

"unsustainable", and called

for devaluation and higher

taxes to revive the almost

bankrupt economy.

The pandemic pushed the

South Asian island's tourism

sector-a key foreignexchange

earner-off a cliff,

and the government in

March 2020 imposed a

broad import ban to try to

shore up foreign currency.

But more than two years

on, Sri Lanka is grappling

with food and fuel shortages,

which this week saw its

public transport crippled as

buses ran out of diesel and

the state imposed blackouts.

Following its annual

review of the cash-strapped

country, the IMF said its

fast-dwindling foreign

reserves were inadequate to

service the country's current

foreign debt of $51 billion.

Official data shows Sri

Lanka needs nearly $7

billion to service its foreign

debt this year, but the

country's external reserves at

the end of January were only

$2.07 billion-just enough to

finance one month's

imports.

Equities rise as Powell

soothes rate fears, oil

close to $120

HONG KONG : Stocks rose Thursday after

Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell said

the bank would hike interest rates

gradually to fight inflation, though oil

marched towards $120 as the Ukraine

conflict continues to roil energy markets,

reports BSS.

With the Russian invasion of its

neighbour hammering all assets across the

board as uncertainty reigns supreme,

traders were given a much-needed shaft of

light on Wednesday when the Fed boss

eased concerns over its plans for

tightening policy.

Powell told lawmakers he was in favour

of a moderate pace of rate increases, with a

25-basis-point lift this month, as he tries to

nurture the economic recovery while

keeping a lid on prices, which are rising at

their fastest pace in 40 years.

He warned that the "near-term effects on

the US economy of the invasion of

Ukraine, the ongoing war, the sanctions,

and of events to come, remain highly

uncertain".

The comments soothed concerns that

officials could announce an aggressive 50-

basis-point lift. The issue of Fed tightening

has cast a pall over markets for months,

bringing a near two-year rally to an abrupt

end, and that has now been compounded

by the Ukraine crisis.

Powell did, however, say the bank would

remain "nimble" to events and would act

more aggressively if needed down the line.

Meanwhile, St. Louis Fed chief James

Bullard said he was for a "rapid withdrawal

of policy accommodation", as Chicago

president Charles Evans added that policy

was currently "wrong-footed" and should

be tightened.

Still, Powell's comments were able to

"appease risk-markets by ruling out a 50

basis-points hike in March, while

simultaneously promising inflation

vigilance at following meetings", said

Citigroup strategists William O'Donnell

and Edward Acton.

Wall Street ended sharply higher with all

three main indexes more than one percent

up.

And Asia followed suit with Tokyo, Hong

Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Taipei and Singapore

leading healthy gains, though Shanghai

and Mumbai edged slightly lower.

London and Paris rose at the open but

Paris dipped.

The gains were also helped by news that

Ukraine and Russian officials will hold

second round talks to end the war.

But analysts warned of further volatility

for some time as fighting continues to rage

in Ukraine.

Widespread sanctions across the world

against Russia threaten to put its economy

on its knees, while Moody's and Fitch have

slashed its rating to junk.

Meanwhile, the country's equities are to

be removed from closely followed indexes

by MSCI and FTSE Russell, further

isolating Moscow from the global

economy.

Mercantile Bank Training Institute organized a training on 'Foreign Exchange Transactions & Reporting'

recently. A total number of 40 officials from International Division & CTPC of Head Office and AD branches of

the bank from Dhaka region participated in the training. Shamim Ahmed, Deputy Managing Director & CAML-

CO of the bank inaugurated the training program. In his address, he advised participating officers to be more

diligent on foreign exchange transactions and its reporting to central bank. S.M. Mahbubul Alam, Vice

President & Head of International Division of the bank was also present at the program. Javed Tariq, Principal

of MBTI moderated the online program.

Photo : Courtesy

Walton Mobile SDG photography

contest winners get Tk 1.75 lakh

The top three winners of the

'Walton Mobile SDG

Photography Contest' have

been awarded Tk 1.75 lakh.

The photography contest

powered by Better Bangladesh

Tomorrow, a promoter of the

United Nations' Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs),

was organized by the mobile

department of Walton Digi-

Tech Industries Limited.

On Wednesday authorities

awarded the winners at a

function held at the Walton

corporate office in Dhaka.

Chief Business Officer (CBO)

of Walton Mobile SM Rezwan

Alam handed over the prize

money and certificates to

winners. The top three

winners received Tk. 100,000;

50,000 and 25,000

respectively

The three winners are

Atiqur Rahman from

Chattogram, Reeshan Ahmed

from Khulna and Jahid Apu

from Narayanganj while the

titles of their award-winning

photos are Bonossrir Binash

(Destruction of forest), Let the

Earth Breath and Firebolt

respectively.

Walton Mobile's Chief Sales

Officer Mohammad Hanif,

Head of Business Intelligence

Reza Hasan, Creative and

Communications In-charge

Habibur Rahman Tuhin,

Brand Development In-charge

Mahbub-ul-Hasan (Milton)

and Marketing Co-Ordinator

Washik Jahan Ishan were

presents at that time.

Over 4,000 contestants

participated in the contest and

of them 60 photos were

selected initially while three of

them finally emerged as

winners. Renowned

photographer Prito Reza was

the chief judge of the

competition while Walton's

Chief Marketing Officer

(CMO) Firoj Alam supervised

the event. SM Rezwan Alam

said: The event was organized

with the context of achieving

SDGs in Bangladesh. Making

people aware of SDGs and to

develop photographic

creativity among them are the

main purposes of this event.

We would continue this type of

creative activity in future as we

got huge response.

Expressing his reaction over

the contest, top winner Atiqur

Rahman said: We have

witnessed so many excellent

photos in this photography

contest from many talented

photographers across the

country. I am very happy that

my photo has got the first

prize. I thank Walton Mobile

authorities for organizing such

a diverse competition selecting

SDGs as its theme.

Mentionable, Bangladeshi

electronics and tech giant

Walton is committed to ensure

a conducive and suitable

environment for the next

generations. Managing

Director and CEO of Walton

Hi-Tech Industries PLC

Goalm Murshed has taken

various measures in this

regard. Under his leadership,

Walton is working towards

achieving the SDGs through

'Better Bangladesh Tomorrow'

initiative. Walton Mobile's

SDG Photography contest was

organized as a part of that

initiative.

The winners of 'Walton Mobile SDG Photography Contest' with the high

officials of Walton.

Photo : Courtesy

FrIDAY, MArCH 4, 2022

9

Faced with threats of withdrawals and growing animosity in the Athletes Village, organizers of the Winter

Paralympics on Thursday reversed course and expelled athletes from russia and Belarus. Photo : Internet

Russians, Belarusians out of

Paralympics amid boycott risk

SPorTS DeSk

Faced with threats of withdrawals and

growing animosity in the Athletes

Village, organizers of the Winter

Paralympics on Thursday reversed

course and expelled athletes from

Russia and Belarus.

The about-face came less than 24

hours after the International

Paralympic Committee announced it

would allow Russians and Belarusians

to compete when the Games open on

Friday, but only as neutral athletes with

colors, flags and other national symbols

removed because of the invasion of

Ukraine. The Paralympics in Beijing,

which follow the Winter Olympics,

close on March 13.

"The war has now come to these

Games and behind the scenes many

governments are having an influence

on our cherished event," IPC President

Andrew Parsons said Thursday after

announcing the ban. "We were trying to

protect the Games from war."

Parsons said the IPC underestimated

the negative reaction to letting

Russians and Belarusians compete -

even as neutral athletes. The Athletes

Village, which Parsons hoped would be

a place of harmony, he now depicted as

a tinderbox.

And it was not only Ukrainians

resenting the Russian and Belarusian

participation, but across the board.

"We don't have reports of any specific

incidents of aggression or anything like

that," Parsons said. "But it was a very,

very volatile environment in the

(Athletes) Village. "It was a very rapid

escalation which we did not think was

going to happen. We did not think that

entire delegations, or even teams

within delegations, will withdraw, will

boycott, will not participate."

The first instance came when Latvia

said its curlers would refuse to play

against the Russians in a scheduled

group game.

IPC spokesman Craig Spence

described a stark change in just over 12

hours from athletes, administrators

and politicians. He said the talk was

Thailand's Patty Tavatanakit fired a bogey-free, five-under-par 67 to take

the lead after the first round of the HSBC Women's World Championship

in Singapore on Thursday.

Photo : Internet

Thailand's Patty takes firstround

lead in Singapore

SPorTS DeSk

SINGAPORE : Thailand's

Patty Tavatanakit fired a

bogey-free, five-under-par

67 to take the lead after the

first round of the HSBC

Women's

World

Championship in Singapore

on Thursday.

The 22-year-old carded

three birdies on holes three,

seven, nine for an outward

33 before adding another

pair of birdies on the 13th

and 16th holes.

She holds a one-shot

advantage over Danielle

Kang of the United States,

South Korea's Kim A-lim

and two-time tournament

champion Park In-bee.

It was a further boost for

Patty after a stellar 2021,

which saw her named LPGA

rookie of the year and also

capture her maiden major

championship.

"I'm feeling pretty confident

about my game right now,"

said the Thai player, who

finished tied third at last year's

tournament.

"I played very solid today,

and I would give myself

seven out of 10 for my ball

striking. It's a fresh year,

and I'm looking forward to

what's to come."

Kang could have headed

into the second round with

a share of the lead with

Patty but made a costly

mistake at the last,

dropping a shot.

"The finish was very

frustrating," said Kang, who

carded three bogeys in her

last four closing holes.

"I just misjudged the wind

and the lie. Towards the

end, I really couldn't focus.

It was just that I don't know

what I was doing out there

sometimes."

World number one Ko

Jin-young of South Korea

meanwhile signed for a 69

for a share of fifth place,

while compatriot and

defending champion Kim

Hyo-joo posted a 72 to trail

five shots off the lead in tied

37th place.

In a lighter moment

during the day's play, South

Korea's Park looked startled

when she spotted a large

monitor lizard-a common

sight in tropical Singaporeon

the course at the Sentosa

Golf Club.

"now we're thinking of going home.

We're not playing."

"That threatens the viability of this

event. So that's a huge change," Spence

said. "The atmosphere in the Village is

not pleasant."

Parsons said he expects legal action

from the Russian and Belarusian

Paralympic committees, which is what

he said he feared on Wednesday when

he ruled their athletes could compete.

The likely place is the Switzerlandbased

Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"We do believe that the Russian

Paralympic Committee and the

Belarussian Paralympic Committee

may take legal action," Parsons said.

"But the facts that we express here led

us to understand that this was the right

decision to be taking."

The Russian Paralympic Committee

called the decision to expel its athletes

"baseless" and "illegal."

"(Russian athletes) have not done

anything which could be interpreted as

being involved in the current political

complications," the RPC said.

In-form Napoli

look for title

advantage in

Milan showdown

MILAN : Napoli and AC

Milan face off on Sunday

night as another instalment

of a thrilling Serie A title race

unfolds on the bay of Naples.

Chasing a first league crown

since the days of Diego

Maradona, a sold-out stadium

which bears their hero's name

will host two teams locked on

57 points, with Napoli holding

top spot on goal difference

from Milan.

Sunday's clash harks back

to Maradona's time, a win

for star-studded Milan in

Naples in 1988 allowing

Arrigo Sacchi to move above

Napoli and win his one and

only Serie A title.

The outcome could be

crucial for both teams' title

hopes as it is head-to-head

record which decides who

among teams on the same

points finishes higher in the

table once all fixtures are

played between them.

Luciano Spalletti's team are

hosting the season's last

match between the league's

top three, with champions

Inter Milan two points behind

but with a game in hand.

Napoli beat Milan at the

San Siro in December,

meaning a draw hands them

the advantage over Stefano

Pioli's side. But whoever

wins on Sunday would

ensure themselves the best

record between all three

should the trio end the

campaign on the same

points.

That seems unlikely at the

moment as Napoli are Serie

A's form team with 18 points

taken from their eight

matches since the turn of the

year.

Their last-gasp victory at

Lazio last weekend allowed

them to steal a march on the

faltering Milan giants and in

particular Inter, who are in a

worrying slump ahead of

their home match with

revitalised bottom club

Salernitana on Friday.

Valencia defeat

Athletic Bilbao

to reach Copa

del Rey final

SPorTS DeSk

VALENCIA : Goncalo

Guedes' scintillating strike

sent Valencia into the final

of the Copa del Rey on

Wednesday after a 1-0 win

over Athletic Bilbao sealed a

2-1 victory on aggregate.

Guedes' thundering effort

at the end of the first half

decided the match at

Mestalla and the tie after the

first leg had finished 1-1 at

San Mames last month.

Valencia will meet either

Real Betis or Rayo

Vallecano in the final in

April, with Betis looking to

capitalise on a 2-1 advantage

when they play the second

leg at home on Thursday.

With Real Madrid,

Barcelona, Atletico Madrid

and Sevilla all suffering

early exits, Betis are

arguably favourites now to

win the competition. They

are the highest-placed La

Liga side left, sitting third,

six spots above Valencia in

ninth. But after defeating

Athletic, Valencia will fancy

their chances of clinching a

ninth Spanish Cup.

They are the most recent

winners remaining, after

they beat Barcelona to lift

the trophy in 2019, when

Marcelino, now Athletic

coach, was in charge.

Uttara FC

earn victory

in BCL

DHAKA : Uttara Football

Club registered a

comfortable 2-0 goal victory

over Karwan Bazar Pragati

Sangha in the Bashundhara

Group Bangladesh

Championship League

football held Wednesday at

Birshreshtha Shaheed

Sepoy Mohammad Mostafa

Kamal Stadium in the city's

Kamalapur. After the barren

first half, Emon finally

broke the deadlock scoring

the first goal for Uttara in

the 71st minute while

Khairul sealed the victory

scoring the second goal for

Uttara in the 83rd minute of

the match.

Cricket: fans allowed into IPL at 25

percent capacity

SPorTS DeSk

MUMBAI : The world's most

valuable cricket tournament, the

Indian Premier League, will allow

fully vaccinated spectators into

stadiums when it starts this month,

but at just 25 percent capacity,

officials have said, reports BSS

The competition's 15th edition

will be held in the western Indian

cities of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai

and Pune from March 26 to late

May, with 10 teams taking part in

70 league matches across four

venues.

The state government of

Maharashtra, where the three cities

are located, said in a statement late

Wednesday that "an attendance

Aussie women taking 'low key'

tilt at seventh World Cup

SPorTS DeSk

WELLINGTON : Australia are downplaying their

status as red-hot favourites at the Women's

Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, with coach

Matthew Mott saying they cannot expect to cruise

to a seventh title.

Mott said any complacency among the Aussies

was dispelled by a nine-wicket defeat in a warmup

match against the host nation this week,

describing it as the "perfect tonic" for his players.

"It was a little kick in the backside at the right

time to just remind us that any team in this

tournament on their day have got players that can

stand up and hurt you," he said.

Australia also suffered a blow on the eve of the

tournament Thursday when star all-rounder

Ashleigh Gardner tested positive for Covid-19,

ruling her out of the team's first two matches.

While stung by the loss to New Zealand, who

chased down an imposing target of 322, the

Australians can justifiably regard it as a blip

rather than a sign their campaign is in trouble.

They still enter the 12th edition of the one-day

international tournament as six-time champions

on a run of form that includes only three losses

since the last World Cup in 2017.

This includes a world-record 26-match winning

streak which only ended in September last year

and a recent series win in the Women's Ashes over

reigning World Cup champions England.

limit of 25 percent has been put in

place as the number of Covid

patients is decreasing".

"A decision has been taken to

admit only those who have taken

two doses of the vaccine," the

statement added. India considers

people who have taken two doses of

a Covid vaccine as fully vaccinated.

Virus cases have eased across the

nation of 1.4 billion people after

numbers jumped earlier this year

due to the highly infectious

Omicron strain. India is the world's

second-most infected nation after

the United States, with just under

43 million Covid-19 cases.

The tournament coming to the

state "ensures that the games aren't

played overseas", Maharashtra

Mott said his players were well rested after

completing 10 days of border isolation to enter

New Zealand and they were keen to get into their

tournament opener against England on Sunday.

"We've deliberately gone in low key into this

tournament-we had a big Ashes series, then

quarantine and we gave the players a chance to

freshen up," he said.

"I think that's going to just get us cherry ripe for

March 5 and be able to hold that throughout the

tournament."

Captain Meg Lanning attributed Australia's

success to squad depth, pointing out how rising

stars such as Tahlia McGrath and Darcie

Brown contributed to the Ashes victory

alongside veterans Ellyse Perry and Alyssa

Healy. "The biggest thing for us over the last

few years is that we haven't relied on one or two

players, we've had some really good depth in

our squad," she said.

"You need a number of different players at

times to step up and the depth we've got is

something we're going to need at this World Cup."

Lanning predicted a high-scoring tournament,

saying the Twenty20 format had encouraged big

hitters.

"Teams are willing to go a bit earlier and get to

that 300 mark," she said, adding that the

Australians were "confident" in their aggressive

game style.

Abramovich to sell Chelsea with net

proceeds going to Ukraine war victims

SPorTS DeSk

LONDON : Chelsea's Russian owner Roman

Abramovich said on Wednesday he had made

the "incredibly difficult" decision to sell the

Premier League club, pledging that proceeds

would go to victims of the war in Ukraine,

reports BSS.

The billionaire believes it is in the "best

interest" of the Champions League holders if he

parts ways with the club he has transformed

since he bought it in 2003.

The dramatic development comes days after

Abramovich said he was handing over control

of Chelsea to trustees of its charitable

foundation following Russia's invasion of

Ukraine. "I have always taken decisions with

the club's best interest at heart," Abramovich

said in a statement.

"In the current situation, I have therefore

taken the decision to sell the club, as I believe

this is in the best interest of the club, the fans,

the employees, as well as the club's sponsors

and partners."

It is a seismic moment for English football

after nearly two decades during which

Abramovich's team have consistently

challenged for the sport's top honours.

Chelsea have won 19 major trophies in the

Abramovich era, including their first two

Champions League crowns and five Premier

League titles. But the 55-year-old's reign will

come to an end in the fall-out from Russia's

invasion of its neighbour.

Abramovich, alleged to have close links to

Russian President Vladimir Putin, has not been

named on a growing British sanctions list

targeting Russian banks, businesses and pro-

Kremlin tycoons.

Bu the Chelsea owner's concern about

potential seizing of assets is understood to have

sparked his move to off-load the Blues.

Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and US

investor Todd Boehly, a co-owner of the Los

Angeles Dodgers baseball team, are reported to

be two of the parties now preparing a joint bid

for the Premier League giants.

Wyss, 86, told Swiss newspaper Blick he had

been offered the chance to buy the London club

because Abramovich wanted "to get rid of

Chelsea quickly" before potential political

sanctions.

tourism minister Aaditya

Thackeray said in a tweet on

Wednesday, calling it a huge boost

for the local economy and morale.

Last year's edition began in India

but was moved to the United Arab

Emirates midway through the

tournament as coronavirus cases

surged.

The IPL 2020 was also held in the

UAE due to the pandemic.

Defending champions Chennai

Super Kings, led by Mahendra

Singh Dhoni, beat Kolkata Knight

Riders in last year's final.

The league is a huge revenue earner

for the wealthy Board of Control for

Cricket in India and estimated to

generate more than $11 billion for the

Indian economy.

The world's most valuable cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, will allow fully vaccinated spectators

into stadiums when it starts this month, but at just 25 percent capacity, officials have said. Photo : Internet

fRIDAY, MARcH 4, 2022

10

Imran's 'Ke Rakhe Amare'

to release on March 10

TBT RepoRT

National award-winning singer Imran

Mahmudul has lent his voice to a new

single titled 'Ke Rakhe Amare'. The

song will be released under the

banner of Dhruba Music Station

(DMS) on March 10.

Jisan Khan Shuvo has penned the

lyrics and composed the music of the

track. Besides singing, Imran has

arranged the music of the song.

The music video of 'Ke Rakhe

Amare' has been directed by Chandan

Roy Chowdhury. Samonty Shoumi

and Adar Ahmed will be seen in the

video with Imran.

About the song, Imran said, "Jisan

is one of my favorite composers. He is

a good songwriter too. The tune and

lyrics of 'Ke Rakhe Amare' are

amazing. Moreover, Chandan da

always makes beautiful music videos.

'Ke Rakhe Amare' is not an exception

too. I hope the song will be well

appreciated by the audience."

Besides DMS's YouTube channel, the

song will also be available on different

local and international music platforms.

Popular singer and music composer

Imran started his singing career

through the reality show 'Channel i

Sera Kontho' in 2008.

TBT Report

Dhallywood popular actress of present

times Shobnom Bubly starts shooting

for her upcoming film titled The 10the

edition of Liberation Docfest will begin

on the premises of Liberation War

Museum in the capital's Agargaon area

on March 11.

Bangladesh Liberation War Museum

is organising the five-day festival. A total

of 140 films from different countries will

be screen at the event. Four films will be

screened at the auditorium of the

museum every day following health

Since then, he has presented many

hit songs to his audience. Imran

started his playback career through

the movie 'Bhalobashar Lal Golap' in

2008. He got Bangladesh National

Film Awards 2020 as Best Male

Playback Singer for the movie 'Bishwo

Shundori'.

10th Liberation Docfest

to begin March 11

guidelines. Audience will also enjoy the

films on online.

The participating films will contest in

national and international categories.

Filmmaker Shaheen Dill-Riaz, artist

and art critique Mustafa Zaman and

actress Bonna Mirza will evaluate the

films screened under the national

category.

On the other hand, international

category's films will be evaluated by

Pakistani filmmaker Ammar Aziz, film

director from New Zealand Alex Lee and

Mita Suri from England.

The best film from National category will

receive Tk 1,00,000 while the best

international film will receive $ 1,000 as

price money. Visitors will be able to watch

Channing Tatum says he still struggles with the

cancellation of his X-Men Gambit project, saying

he was "traumatized" when the project was put

to bed. In a new interview, the actor said he

doesn't watch Marvel movies anymore because it

makes him miss the character.

"Once Gambit went away, I was so

traumatized," Tatum said. "I shut off my Marvel

machine. I haven't been able to see any of the

movies. I loved that character. It was just too sad.

It was like losing a friend because I was so ready

to play him."

Tatum wrote a script for the project alongside his

longtime producing partner, Reid Carolin. The

movie was set to be a raunchy stand-alone movie in

the same vein of the 'Deadpool' movies. Tatum says

he felt the Gambit he wrote was "the coolest person"

who could pull anything off.

He also commented on Gambit's fashion

sense, saying, "Most superheroes, their outfits

a film by buying a ticket worth Tk 20. The

five-day festival will end on March 15.

The Liberation DocFest Bangladesh

previously known as 'International

Festival of Docufilms on Liberation and

Human Rights' is a festival dedicated to

documentary cinema, seeking to

highlight the struggle for Liberation and

Human Rights of people in various parts

of the world and its contemporary

significance.

It seeks to uphold new forms of

viewing the human suffering and

struggle for justice in global perspective.

Festival also focuses on breaking new

ground and on the great diversity and

vitality of storytelling and creativity of

the documentary genre.

Tatum reveals devastation over

'X-Men Gambit' cancellation

are utilitarian. Batman's got his belt. Gambit's

like, 'No, this s**t's just fly, bro! This s**t walked

down the Paris runway last year.' He's just

wearing the stuff that's so dope because he loves

fashion."

Tatum's attachment to the project started back

in 2014, when Tatum was set to star as Gambit in

a proposed standalone movie. His version of the

character was supposed to debut in X-Men

Apocalypse, but that ended up not happening.

The movie underwent early production issues,

cycling through multiple directors including

Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman, and Gore Verbinski.

Eventually, the movie was canceled after

Disney's acquisition of Fox led to a number of 'X-

Men' projects getting left behind.

However, Tatum hasn't shut the door on

eventually playing the character, saying he would

"love to play Gambit" if given the chance.

Source: Variety

TBT RepoRT

Amin Khan is a Bangladeshi actor.

Khan has appeared in about 200

films as well as television shows.

He is no longer a regular actor. He

is working as an officer in a

corporate organization. However,

before corona pandemic, he had

acted in a movie titled 'Direct

Attack' directed by Sadeq

Siddiqui.

A few days ago, the movie got

clearance from censor board. The

release date of the movie has been

postponed several times. The

good news is that the movie will

be released this Eid-ul-Fitr.

Director Sadeq Siddiqui has given

this information.

Speaking about his role in the

movie, Amin Khan said, "I have

played a beautiful character.

Moreover, the story of the movie

is also quite good. I hope the

audience will like it. '

Poppy has acted as Amin Khan's

co-star in the movie.

Poppy said it's a great actionpacked

movie. I hope the viewers

will like the movie.

Meanwhile, Amin Khan further

said even though I got scope to act

in new movies before corona

pandemic but now I have no

special plans to act in more

movies. In addition to acting, I

have been working for a long time

to create public awareness against

food adulteration. He is planning

to resume his activities soon even

though it was closed during the

Corona period.

Amin Khan came in the media

through the competition named

Notun Mukher Shondhane in

1990. He started acting in a 1993

movie titled Obuj Duti Mon,

which was directed by

Mohammad Hossain, one of the

films that brought him to

attention was Soitan Manush

Kangana's action

thriller 'Dhaakad' to

be released in May

Actress Kangana Ranaut is all set to

thrill the audience with her powerpacked

action thriller in 'Dhaakad',

in May. The movie will hit theatres

Amin Khan, Poppy's

'Direct Attack' to hit

theaters soon

on May 27, releasing in four

languages- Hindi, Tamil, Telugu &

Malayalam.

Kangana took to her social media

directed by Montazur Rahman

Akbar. He has acted in Akbar's

blockbuster movie Coolie.

to inform her fans about the new

release date. Taking to her

Instagram, the actress shared a

poster of the film and wrote, "The

unstoppable force of #AgentAgni is

fast approaching! The action spy

thriller #Dhaakad will set the big

screen on fire in 4 languages - Hindi,

Tamil, Telugu& Malayalam on 27th

May, 2022."

In the picture shared by the

actress, Kangana looks a daredevil

dressed in black, holding a gun in

her hands. Her kohl-lined eyes and

face smeared with blood and grime,

give a glimpse of the intense drama

that the film beholds.

Kangana, who is set to woo the

audience with her second pan-India

outing after 'Thalaivii', also said that

her character in the action drama

will blow everyone's minds.

She added, "The film had to be

made on a certain scale that had to

be tailored to the vast vision of its

makers. India has never seen a

women action entertainer of this

scale. A story as paramount as this

should reach maximum eyeballs and

I am happy to announce that

Dhaakad would be released in

multiple languages."

Trade analyst and movie critic

TaranAdarsh also took to his Twitter

to share the film's release date.

'Dhaakad' is a high octane spy

thriller led by a female star, made on

a lavish budget. In terms of appeal,

the film is also the country's first big

scale multilingual project to be

headlined by a female superstar. The

actioner led by Kangana, stars Arjun

Rampal, Divya Dutta and Saswata

Chatterjee along with a power

packed ensemble cast.

Source: Times of India

H o R o s c o p e

ARIes

(March 21 - April 20) : An unexpected

conversation with a current or potential

romantic partner could end with both

of you revealing a lot of your deepest

feelings, Aries. This discussion may only indirectly

concern the status of your relationship, but you will

learn a lot about each other that could cause you to

seriously consider whether or not you want to

continue the relationship.

TAURUs

(April 21 - May 21) : Some rather intense

work, perhaps involving in-depth

research, could take up much of your

time today, Taurus. You could spend a lot

of time in libraries or on the Internet trying to discern

certain facts that you need for a project that could make

a big difference in your income. This can be fascinating

and exciting, but there is one caution: remember to rest

your eyes from time to time.

GeMINI

(May 22 - June 21) : Today, Gemini,

you could direct an overwhelming

amount of love and passion toward a

current or potential romantic partner.

Your friend might feel a little taken aback, but is

likely to be flattered and therefore respond in a

positive manner. This might not have the potential

to become a committed relationship, so don't

expect anything from it.

cANceR

(June 22 - July 23) : Information that you

retrieve from deep within your psyche

might lead to a revelation as to a great way

to increase your income, Cancer. This

could be something you read and forgot, or it might be

something you overheard in a restaurant. Whatever it

is, look into it carefully, and then if the information

seems to be accurate and useful, go for it. These days,

fortunes are being made in surprising ways!

Leo

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

attend a group event of some kind. While

there, you could encounter an old friend

who seems to have changed. As a result, you

might find this person very attractive and direct a rush of

physical passion their way. This could be disconcerting,

but don't brush it off because you've always thought of

this person as a friend. The most successful marriages

are the ones that start out as friendships.

VIRGo

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

project of some kind, perhaps involving

modern technology, could set your career

in a new direction, Virgo. This may be the

break you've been hoping for, and you're apt to be very

excited about it. Any new enterprise begun today is

going to have its ups and downs, but all signs indicate

that it will succeed. Consider the project carefully before

making a decision. Then if it feels right, go for it!

LIBRA

(Sept. 24 - Oct. 23): Libra: Your creative

talents could seem totally blocked today,

Libra. You may have a project you really

want to work on. You have the mental

focus, but the creative element just might not be there.

This could prove so frustrating that you want to throw

something. Do this if you must (preferably a pillow).

Still, the only answer might be to shelve your work until

tomorrow. You should be back to normal by then.

scoRpIo

(Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) : Too much to do

around the house could have you

running around like crazy. You may

need to make a lot of calls, see too many

people, or execute some rather tedious paperwork.

This could have your nerves on edge by midafternoon,

so take a few minutes for yourself every two hours or

so. Step outside in the fresh air. This will calm you and

help you stay sane.

sAGITTARIUs

(Nov. 23 - Dec. 21): Today the energy is on

partnerships, Sagittarius, probably those

begun on the spur of the moment. You and

a colleague might have a conversation

about the possibility of going into business together. There

is also the possibility that you could fall in love at first sight,

maybe with someone from far away. Any sort of

partnership formed today will have its ups and downs, but

with work, it could succeed. If it feels right, go for it!

cApRIcoRN

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): Have you been

entertaining the idea of changing jobs,

Capricorn? If so, put out some feelers

today. You've been working hard and

may have felt as if you've been barking up the wrong

tree. Don't hesitate to research possibilities on the

Internet, prepare your resume, and chat up

knowledgeable people in social situations. It's time

to pass carefully from reflection to action.

AQUARIUs

(Jan. 21 - Feb. 19) : A rebirth of romance in

your life could take place today, Aquarius. If

you're currently involved with someone, a

happy event could enrich the bond between

you and bring you closer together. If you aren't presently

attached, you could be by the end of the day. You might

meet someone new and exciting, probably an intelligent

person who could be involved with modern technology.

Make sure you look your best, and expect the unexpected!

pIsces

(Feb. 20 - Mar. 20) : Today you might

notice a change in yourself, Pisces. You

could look in the mirror and see that you

suddenly look as gorgeous as a movie star.

This change in your outer self is due to transformations

taking place within. You've probably been releasing a lot of

old traumas from the past, and therefore considerable

stress and tension have vanished from your face. Treat

yourself to some new clothes. It's a great time to do it!

FrIdAY, MArch 4, 2022

11

Kaliganj Municipality organized a discussion meeting at the meeting room of the municipality yesterday

on Bangabandhu's contribution in Liberation War.

Photo : SI Mollik

Wife, son suffocate

40-yr-old to death

in Satkhira

SATKHIRA : A 40-year-old

man was suffocated to death

allegedly by his wife, son and a

relative following a heated

argument over her

extramarital affair with the

latter in Satkhira district on

Wednesday, reports UNB

The deceased was identified

as Golam Morol, son of Md

Morol of Nagarghata village in

Patkelghata upazila of the

district.

According to locals, Golam's

wife Rehena Khatun, 35,

developed an illicit

relationship with one of their

relatives, Golam Rabbi of

Benapole.

On Tuesday night, Rabbi

came to the couple's house.

This led to an argument

between Golam and Rehena.

And later the trio killed him,

police said. On information,

police sent the body to the

Sadar Hospital morgue for an

autopsy. Kanchan Roy,

officer-in-charge of

Patkelghata Police Station,

said, "We are waiting for the

autopsy report.

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

TONE ME NON-WOVEN TECH (BD) LTD.

A 100% foreign Investment of garment accessories Industry. For

Below position For Immediate Employment.

Name of the Post: Technician, Number of the Post: 05 (Five)

Requirement: 1. Diploma Engineer / College Degree, 01 (One) year

working experience in relevant sob sector. 2. Education Qualification

is relaxable for expert and experienced candidate only. Interested

Candidate is requested to apply after publication this advertisement.

Application Deadline: 10 March, 2022.

Suitable candidate are request to drop their CV mentioning the post on

the Top of the envelop to the below address by Chairman of TONE

ME NON-WOVEN TECH (BD) LTD., of 17, Tatke, Jatramura,

Tarabo, Rupgonj, Narayangonj.

Email : tonemenonwoventechbd@gmail.com, Tel : +8801734079649

Five jungle cats beaten

dead in Chuadanga

CHUADANGA : A mother jungle cat and

four cubs were beaten to death by some local

people on Wednesday in Chudanga Sadar

upazila, reports UNB.

The mother with the cubs took shelter

inside the kitchen of expatriate Billal

Hossain's house at Dinnathpur village in the

upazila recently.

After spotting the jungle cats Billa's wife

Nuri Begum informed her neighbours.

Local people beath the jungle cats to death

and burried them, said Bakhtiar Ahmed,

president of Care For Unclaimed Beast, a

local voluntary environmentalist

organisation.

Mohammad Mohsin, Officer-in-Charge of

Chuadanga sadar police station, said no

complaint was lodged in this regard.

Zakir Hossain, district forest officer, said,

"We were informed of the tragic incident and

we are preparing to file a case in this regard

after visiting the spot."

The photos of the dead jungle cats shared

on social media has sparked reactions amog

animal lovers, environmentalists and they

demand exemplary punishment for the

crime, said said Bakhtiar Ahmed, president

of Care For Unclaimed Beast.

The jungle cat, also known as reed cat or

swamp cat, is native to the Middle East,

South and Southeast Asia, and southern

China. Its scientific name is Felis Chaus.

This medium-sized cat usually inhabits

wetlands like swamps, and littoral and

riparian areas with dense vegetation.

However, they have become endangered in

Bangladesh due to the reckless destruction of

their habitat.

Indian students in Ukraine in

fear as Russian invasion grows

NEW DELHI : Indian

student Abrar Sheikh has

been waking up to the loud

thuds of bombs that have

pummeled Sumy, a city in

northeastern Ukraine near

the Russian border, for the

last three days. When he

hears the sounds of shelling,

he rushes to a nearby

bunker, praying the bombs

don't find him, reports UNB.

On Tuesday, the blare of

the bombs became louder.

The food inside the bunker

keep them dark, hoping

Russian troops don't know

we are inside."

Thousands of Indians

studying in Ukraine have

suddenly found themselves

in the midst of the war after

Russia invaded the country

last week, with many

hunkered inside bunkers

and fearful of what lies

ahead.

Pressure on the Indian

government to pull out its

citizens has intensified in

got scarcer and the cries of

children inside grew. "At that

moment, all I could think of

was my family," Sheikh, 22,

said by cellphone from the

underground bunker on

Wednesday, his voice thick

with fear. "Sometimes the

bunker goes all silent after

we hear the sound of the

bombs and I think, 'Is this

it?'" he said. "At night we pull

the curtains in our rooms to

recent days, especially after

one student died in shelling

in Kharkiv on Tuesday. The

government says about

17,000 out of an estimated

20,000 Indian citizens in

Ukraine have left the

country and that India is

trying to evacuate the rest to

nearby countries from

where they can be flown

back home. Many of those

who remain stranded are in

conflict areas such as

Kharkiv and Sumy.

Sheikh, a medical student

at Sumy State University,

has been trying to leave the

city for several days. But

shelling by Russian forces

has left him and about 500

other Indian students in the

city trapped.

They are about 50

kilometers (30 miles) from

the Russian border. But

they are hundreds of

kilometers and at least 10

hours away from Ukraine's

western border, considered

to be safer, where Indian

officials have so far focused

their evacuation efforts.

Evacuation flights have

taken off from countries

bordering western Ukraine,

such as Poland, Slovakia,

Hungary and Romania,

with more scheduled. A

group of Indian Cabinet

ministers has flown to these

countries to help with

rescue efforts.

we`ÿ r/Rb-689(2)/3/3/2022

GD-380/22 (6x3)

ms‡kvabx weÁwß

Avwg BmgvCj Lvb, wcZv : AvBqye Lvb,

gvZv : BqvQwgb Lvbg, mvs- cywbqvDU,

†cŠimfv+WvKNi+_vbv+ †Rjvt

eªvþYevwoqv| Avgvi †R.Gm.wm †ivj bv¤^vi-

642813, †iwR‡óªkb bs-1711403001,

cv‡ki mb-2017, Gm.Gm.wm †ivj bs

177814, †iwR‡óªkb bs-1711403001

cv‡ki mb-2020 Ges GBP.Gm.wmi

†iwR‡óªkb KvW©mn, †RGmwm Ges GmGmwm

GWwgU KvW©, gvK©kxU Ges mvwU©wd‡K‡U

wcZvi bvg MD AyuB KhAN ¯’‡j

MD. AyuB KhAN Ges gvZvi

bv‡g EyESMIN KhANAM ¯’‡j

yEASMIN KhAN wjwce× n‡q‡Q|

GD-382/22 (20x4)

Friday, dhaka: March 4, 2022; Falgun 19, 1428 Bs; rajab 30, 1443 hijri

Ukraine defense lines are holding : Zelenskiy

ambassadors of 10 countries have visited Bhasan Char of noakhali to observe the situation of

rohingyas.

Photo : Manik Bhuiyan

Ambassadors

visit Bhasan Char

refugee camp as

observers

Manik Bhuiyan, noakhali CorresPondent

Top diplomats of 10 countries visited

Bhasanchar yesterday to observe the

plight of the displaced Myanmar nationals.

They reached Bhasanchar by helicopter.

The visiting diplomats are Canadian

High Commissioner Lily Nichols,

European Union Ambassador and Head

of Delegation Charles Whiteley, German

Ambassador Echim Thurster, Charge

d'Affaires of the USA Helen LaFave,

Ambassador of Korea Lee Jang Kang,

Ambassador of the Philippines,

Alexandra Berg von Linde, Ambassador

of Denmark Winnie Estrup Petersen and

Ambassador of Italy Enrico Nunziata.

At the same time, a delegation from the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh

was also present. They will exchange views

with Rohingya members of different ages

on their facilities, living standards and

overall situation in Bhasanchar.

Officer-in-charge of Vasarchar police station

(OC) Rafiqul Islam said "the ambassadors

were inspecting the activities of various

projects and development agencies. We

are responsible for their safety." Refugee

Relief and Repatriation Commissioner

(RRRC) Govinda Chakma, who is in charge

of the Bhasanchar Rohingya camp, said

"ambassadors from 10 countries had come

to Bhasanchar to monitor the situation of

Rohingyas. They landed on the helipad by

helicopter. They visited different clusters

and talked to Rohingyas."

On August 25, 2017, the Rohingya took

refuge in Bangladesh as a result of torture

by the Myanmar army. In order to cope

with the pressure of Rohingyas in such a

situation, the government took initiative to

relocate one lakh Rohingyas to Bhasanchar

in Noakhali.

Ensure research knowledge

for wellbeing of people: PM

DHAKA : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

on Thursday urged the researchers to

ensure that the practical use of their

research knowledge is for the wellbeing of

the country's people, reports UNB.

"The practical application of your

invented knowledge should be for the

welfare of the people. So, I also want to

see what would be the impact of the

research you are doing now," she said.

The prime minister this while conferring

'Bangabandhu Science and

Technology Fellowship,' 'NST Fellowship'

and special research donation among

teachers, scientists, researchers and science

students of different universities and

research institutes.

The Science and Technology Ministry

arranged the ceremony at Osmani Smriti

Auditorium, while the PM joined the

event virtually from her official residence

Ganobhaban.

On her behalf, Science and Technology

Minister Architect Yeafesh Osman handed

over the cheques of the fellowships and

donations to them.

Sheikh Hasina said the fourth industrial

revolution (4IR) is now knocking at the

doors. "So, we'll have to create skilled

manpower for it (4IR). We've been assisting

you (researchers and students) keeping

it in mind. We want the people of the

country to get assistance from you," she

added. Noting that the fellowships and

research donations are provided from the

government's revenue fund, she said,

"You, those who are getting the fellowships

will have to work hard for the

national development with utmost

responsibility."

The prime minister said the world is

marching forward with new inventions in

technology. "We'll have to cope with its

pace (the pace of the rapidly changing

world)," she added.

Senior Secretary of Science and

Technology Ministry Ziaul Hasan delivered

the welcome speech.

This year a total of 4,182 cheques of

Bangabandhu Fellowship, NST

Fellowship and special research donation

have been disbursed.

Hasina said her government has been

giving the utmost importance to application

and expansion of locally-innovated

technology.

"Since we'd given the most importance

to agricultural research, our food production

increased and Bangladesh attained

the sufficiency in food production for the

first time in 1998," she said.

Noting that Bangladesh could not

attain food-sufficiency without research,

she put emphasis on the science research,

particularly medical science research.

"Our research on medical science is

fewer. So, I am giving importance here

that we'll have to conduct the research in

a larger way here," she said.

The PM said her government gave the

utmost importance to research after

assuming power in 1996 and established

science and technology universities, agriculture

university, medical university,

marine science research institute,

biotechnology institute and novotheatre

(planetarium).

Back to power again in 2009, her government

established a total of 23 public

universities and 54 private universities,

she said.

Having 'Joy Bangla' as the national slogan

is a big achievement:

Sheikh Hasina said 'Joy Bangla' got

recognition as the national slogan as per

the High Court's order.

Guterres hopes Bangladesh to continue

support to UN peace operations

DHAKA : United Nations Secretary

General Antonio Guterres has highly

praised the role of Bangladeshi peacekeepers

in the UN Missions and hoped

that the country would continue to provide

more troops to fulfill UN's future

needs in this regard.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen

who met Guterres at the UN headquarters

recently, requested the SG to appoint

more Bangladeshi nationals at the highlevel

positions of the UN peace operations,

and also in the position of SRSG

(Special Representative of Secretary

General) in various UN political missions

across the world.

The Foreign Minister briefed the SG

about the current situation of the forcibly

displaced Myanmar nationals and

sought UN's help to repatriate all

Rohingyas to Myanmar.

The Secretary General highly appreciated

Bangladesh's generosity for sheltering

1.1 millions Rohingyas and reiterated

UN's support for returning the forcibly

displaced Rohingyas to their homeland

in Myanmar.

The SG also applauded Bangladesh's

extraordinary socio-economic development

under the visionary leadership of

the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and

hoped that Bangladesh would continue

to achieve more successes in the coming

years, particularity in attaining the SDGs,

said the Bangladesh Mission at the UN.

The Foreign Minister also requested

the SG to appoint more Bangladeshi

nationals at the high-level positions of

the UN peace operations, and also in the

position of SRSG (Special Representative

of Secretary General) in various UN

political Mission across the world.

Dr Momen thanked Guterres for meeting

him despite his busy schedule due to

current Ukraine crisis.

Earlier, the Foreign Minister held a

meeting with Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, the

newly appointed Special Envoy of the

Secretary General on Myanmar, who is

currently visiting New York.

During the meeting, Foreign Minister

requested Heyzer to engage with all

stakeholders including the regional

countries to find a durable solution to the

Rohingya crisis, particularly by creating a

conducive environment in Rakhine state

so that the Rohingyas can return to their

homes in safety, security and dignity.

He briefed the special envoy on the

steps taken by the Bangladesh government

to prevent spread of COVID in

Rohingya camps, to provide Myanmarcurriculum-based

education to Rohingya

children in the camps, among others.

He also referred to the new accommodation

facility in Bhashan char for

100,000 Rohingya and informed Heyzer

that the Rohingya relocated there will

have the opportunity to engage in livelihood

activities.

The Foreign Minister said, in the

absence of any hope for return to their

homeland, the Rohingyas increasingly

have been getting involved in illicit and

criminal activities.

He invited Heyzer to visit Cox's Bazar

camps and Bhashan char at her earliest

convenience.

The Special Envoy expressed her deepest

gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina for providing shelter to the

Rohingya when they fled Myanmar in

2017 and commended her for her compassion

and leadership.

BORODYANKA : Russia's invasion of

Ukraine entered its second week on

Thursday with its main assault force

halted north of the capital Kyiv and several

cities enduring heavy Russian

bombing.

The humanitarian crisis also worsened,

with more than one million

refugees now having fled Ukraine, the

United Nations said.

Hundreds of Russian soldiers and

Ukrainian civilians have been killed

since President Vladimir Putin sent his

troops over the border last Thursday.

Russia itself has been plunged into isolation

never before experienced by an

economy of such size.

Despite an initial battle plan that

Western countries said was aimed at

swiftly toppling the Kyiv government,

Russia has captured only one Ukrainian

city so far - the southern Dnipro River

port of Kherson, which its tanks entered

on Wednesday.

Russia has shifted tactics, escalating

its bombardment of major cities.

Swathes of central Kharkiv, a city of 1.5

Purchase capacity

increased three times

in 13 years: Hasan

DHAKA : Information and Broadcasting

Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud yesterday

said the purchase capacity of the countrymen

has increased three times in the last 13

years while the per capita income has

increased about four and a half times.

"The prices of commodities in

Bangladesh are much lower compared to

India, Europe and the United States. The

prices of commodities gradually increase

in the world and never go down. We have

to see whether the purchasing capacity of

the people is increasing with the prices of

commodities," he said.

The minister added: "The per capita

income of the people has increased about

four and a half times in the last 13 years

and the purchase capacity of low income

people has increased about three times."

Hasan stated these while replying to a

query of the reporters at Jatiya Press

Club (JPC) in the capital.

Earlier, the minister addressed a function

to distribute 'Rafiqul Haque

Dadubhai Smriti Padak' organized by

'Chander Hut', at JPC auditorium.

He said earlier there was a demand

that the daily wage of labourer should be

equal to the price of three and a half kilograms

of rice. And now, a labour is getting

wages equal to 12 to 15 kilograms of

rice, which means the purchase capacity

has increased, he added.

Replying to another query over an allegation

of obstruction in BNP's rallies by

police, the minister urged BNP leaders

including Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir

to stop their infighting in different meetings

before raising any allegation against

the government.

He said earlier BNP organized programmes

across the country smoothly to

send Begum Khaleda Zia abroad. "In

some meetings, they (BNP) were

engaged in fighting among themselves.

Even, they observed their declared programmes

some days ago. There were no

problems. We want that they would carry

out their programmes peacefully and it is

needed in a democratic society. But,

police have to take steps to stop them if

they create any disturbance in the life of

the people during the rallies or chaos or

fight themselves," he added.

million people, have been blasted into

rubble.

Mariupol, the main port of eastern

Ukraine, has been surrounded under

President Zelenskiy

heavy bombardment, with no water or

power. Officials say they cannot evacuate

the wounded. The city council compared

the situation to the World War

Two siege of Leningrad.

A second round of peace talks

Russia-Ukraine war

28 crew of stranded

Bangladeshi vessel

call for help

DHAKA : Left devastated by the death

of a fellow sailor before their eyes, 28

surviving Bangladeshi crews of the illfated

ship are making desperate calls

for evacuation from the port of Olvia in

war-torn Ukraine, reports UNB.

The video calls for help got louder on

Thursday, a day after Md. Hadisur

Rahman, third engineer of Bangladesh

Shipping Corporation (BSC) vessel

Banglar Samriddhi, were killed in a

rocket attack on Wednesday.

The stranded crew members have

sent video messages through social

media seeking help to their loved ones

in Bangladesh from the war-torn

region.

In a 27-second video, a sailor Rabiul

Alam said, "I am the second engineer of

Banglar Samriddhi. Our ship came

under a rocket attack and we lost one of

our crew members. We are now running

on emergency power supply as

there is no power in the ship. We are on

the verge of death."

"We have not been rescued yet.

Please save us. We did not get help

from anyone. Save us," he cried.

Another crew Asiful Islam called for

their immediate rescue through a video

saying that the information that they

were going to a safer place was incorrect.

Bangladesh Shipping Corporation

(BSC) Executive Director Pijush Dutta

told UNB on Thursday that 28 crew

members, including two women, are

currently on board the vessel stranded

in the Ukrainian port after a rocket

attack on Wednesday.

So far, no assistance has been

received yet to rescue them safely.

However, it is known that the other

crew members on the ship are unhurt

and doing well, he added.

between Ukrainian and Russian delegations

was due to begin in Belarus at

about 1400 GMT, Ukrainian negotiator

Davyd Arakhamia said.

Kyiv plans to open by discussing

humanitarian corridors. A first round of

talks on Monday led to no breakthroughs.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr

Zelenskiy has stayed in Kyiv, releasing

regular video updates to the

nation. In his latest message, he said

Ukrainian lines were holding. "We

have nothing to lose but our own freedom,"

he said.

Britain's defence ministry said the

main body of the huge Russian column

advancing on Kyiv was still 30 km (19

miles) from the city centre, delayed by

Ukrainian resistance, mechanical

breakdown and congestion.

"The column has made little discernible

progress in over three days.

Despite heavy Russian shelling, the

cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv and

Mariupol remain in Ukrainian hands,"

it said in an intelligence update.

Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy in

Dhaka on Thursday said the Russian

side "bends every effort" to ensure safe

departure of the Bangladeshi ship

stranded in a Ukrainian port.

The Command of the Armed Forces

of the Russian Federation, relying on

the objective monitoring data, has

repeatedly stated that, during the

retreat, the Ukrainian nationalists open

indiscriminate fire and deliberately

capture hostages, use them as a

"human shield", resorting to the wellknown

terrorists' tactic, said the

embassy.

"The ship caught fire at 9.25pm

(Bangladesh time, 5.25pm in Ukraine)

as the rocket struck its bridge. The crew

members were able to tame the flames

immediately. But Hadisur,47, lost his

life," said Captain Md Anam

Chowdhury, president of the

Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers'

Association.

Amid the worrying development in

Ukraine, Banglar Samriddhi got stuck

at the Port of Olvia, located in the

Mykolaiv region on the left bank of the

Dnipro-Bug estuary on the northern

Black Sea coast.

Banglar Samriddhi had been

anchored at the port before the Russian

invasion began on February 24, Omar

Faruque Tuhin, a crew member of the

ship, told UNB over the phone on

February 27.

Banglar Samriddhi, now caught in

the fighting in Ukraine, reached Olvia

on February 22 to load ball clay,

according to the BSC.

As the conflict between Ukraine and

Russia escalated, the BSC cancelled the

plan and asked the master of the vessel

to make his way towards international

waters.

relatives of

hadisur

rahman, who

was killed in a

rocket

attack on the

Bangladeshi

ship 'MV

Banglar

samriddhi' in

ukraine, are

mourning.

Photo :

star Mail

04-03-2022

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?