25-01-2020

saturday
DhAkA: January 25, 2020; Magh 11, 1426 BS;Jamadi-ul Awal 28,1441 hijri
www.thebangladeshtoday.com; www.bangladeshtoday.net
Regd.No.DA~2065, Vol.17; No.349; 8 Pages~Tk.8.00
intErnational
Probe begins into deadly
crash of firefighting
tanker in Australia
Zohr
>Page 3
51 days to go
No more waterlogging
in Dhaka if elected:
taposh
Dhaka: Awami League Mayor
Candidate for the Dhaka South City
Corporation (DSCC) election Barrister
Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh on Friday
said there will be no waterlogging in the
capital if he is elected mayor in the
February 1 election, reports UNB.
"I will work for resolving the waterlogging
problem in the city, if I am elected
in the upcoming polls. We want to
build a clean Dhaka for its dwellers
through a master plan," Taposh said
this in front of Madhwa Gaudiya Math
in Narinda area in the city during election
campaign.
Taposh said millions of people are living
in the city but they are not getting
their desired services.
"I will give emphasis on waste management,
air pollution control, green
environment, playground, tackling traffic
jam and corruption if elected," he
said. AL leader Mofazzal Hossain
Cowdhury Maya, ward councillors,
Jubo league leaders and many activists
were also present there.
UN welcomes ICJ
order; trusts
Myanmar will duly
comply with it
Welcoming the order of the top UN
court, Secretary General Antonio
Guterres has said he trusts that
Myanmar will duly comply with the
court's order, reports UNB.
"In accordance with the Statute of the
Court, the Secretary-General will promptly
transmit the notice of the provisional
measures ordered by the Court to the
Security Council," said Farhan Haq,
Deputy Spokesperson for the UN chief.
Briefing media at the UN headquarters
in New York on Thursday, Farhan
said the UN Secretary General also
recalled that pursuant to the Charter
and to the Statute of the Court, decisions
of the Court are binding.
In a sweeping legal victory for members
of the Rohingya Muslim minority,
the United Nations' top court ordered
Myanmar take all measures in its
power to prevent genocide against the
Rohingya people.
The court's president, Judge
Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, said the
International Court of Justice "is of the
opinion that the Rohingya in Myanmar
remain extremely vulnerable."
The court added that its order for socalled
provisional measures intended to
protect the Rohingya is binding "and
creates international legal obligations"
on Myanmar. "I can say that the
Secretary-General welcomes the Order
of the International Court of Justice,
indicating provisional measures in the
case of The Gambia against Myanmar
on the alleged breaches of the Genocide
Convention," Farhan said.
05:26 AM
12:08 PM
03:50 PM
05:35 PM
06:53 PM
6:43 5:32
sciEncE & tEcH
Still relying on
old Windows 7
>Page 5
ICJ Ruling: Bangladesh to engage
with Myanmar's friends with
focus on repatriation
Pakistan beat Bangladesh
by 5 wickets in first t20
SPoRtS DeSk:
Shoaib Malik's unbeaten half century
helped Pakistan chase down Bangladesh's
142-run target at Gaddafi Stadium in
Lahore on Friday.
The modest 142-run target could have
troubled the hosts, had it not been for
returning veteran Shoaib Malik's 58, which
got the host over the line even if it took
them until the final over.
Earlier, Bangladesh failed to come up
with aggressive brand of cricket as they
piled up 141-5 against Pakistan in the
three-match T20 series opener at Gaddafi
Stadium in Lahore on Friday.
Opener Naim Sheikh was the highest
scorer with 43 while his senior opener
Tamim Iqbal made 39.
The duo, however, added 71 runs for the
opening stand after captain Mahmudullah
Riyad chose to bat first.
The openers might post a big partnership
but the runs came at such slower pace that
it created an adverse impact on the middle
order.
Giving an impression that one cannot
proceed with business as usual,
foreign affairs experts on Thursday felt
the importance of engaging more
deeply with Myanmar's friends-China,
Japan, India and Russia-taking
advantage of the top UN court's ruling
on Myanmar without losing focus on
the repatriation issue., reports UNB.
Terming it a huge victory for all the
genocide victims, including
Rohingyas, the experts emphasised
that Myanmar's friends should
understand the situation and put
more pressure on Myanmar to have
a sustainable solution to the
Rohingya crisis.
"I urge the international community
to keep the credible evidence of ongoing
crimes against humanity, war
crimes and genocide front of mind in
its relations with Myanmar. In the face
of this, one cannot proceed with business
as usual," said Yanghee Lee,
Special Rapporteur on the situation of
human rights in Myanmar on
Thursday before leaving Dhaka.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin
Momen said Bangladesh will definitely
enhance its engagement with
Russia, China, India and Japan and
hoped that they will help find a sustainable
solution to the Rohingya crisis
using their leverage on Myanmar.
He said the full implementation of
the ICJ ruling will help create a conducive
environment for the repatriation
of Rohingyas and guarantee their
safety and security in the Rakhine
State.
"We believe the ICJ ruling on provisional
measures, as sought by The
Gambia, will generate confidence
among Rohingyas living at camps in
Bangladesh and encourage them to
return to their homeland in
Myanmar," said the Foreign Secretary
terming the ruling a victory for all the
victims of genocide.
He said Bangladesh will remain
engaged with Myanmar in its efforts to
expedite a "safe, dignified and sustainable
repatriation" of Rohingyas back
to their homeland in the Northern
Rakhine State with active engagement
of the international community.
The Foreign Secretary said this ruling
will automatically go to the
Security Council, and the Security
Council will have the responsibility to
act.
"Lobbying with our friends will have
to be redoubled so that Myanmar feels
the pinch that it's not only under legal
obligation, but there's a huge international
outcry," Masud Momen said.
Tamim and Naim made those 71 runs in
11 overs after scoring just 35 runs in the first
powerplay.
However, the partnership was broken
after Tamim was trapped run-out. He
scored his 39 off 34 balls, hitting four fours
and one six.
The pressure to score swiftly with too
many wickets at hands got the better of
both Naim and Liton who came to bat at
No.3 position.
While Liton was trapped run-out like
Tamim after scoring 12, Naim holed out
one, trying for a big shot. Naim struck three
fours and two sixes in his 43 off 41.
The likes of Afif Hossain and Soumya
Sarkar later fell, also to score runs in quick
fashion.
However, captain Mahmudullah was not
out on 19 of 14 with two fours and the
knock enabled Bangladesh past 140, which
looked meager, considering the nature of
the wicket.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and
Shadab Khan picked up one wicket apiece
for Pakistan.
tamim Iqbal made 39 against Pakistan in the three-match t20 series opener at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore
on Friday.
Photo: Internet
Economy & BusinEss
TEDxGulshan held
in Dhaka
>Page 6
A fire swept through a slum in Dhaka's Mirpur-7 on early Friday, five months after another blaze
gutted over 2,000 shanties in the same settlement.
Photo: Star Mail
Continuity of government
made Bangladesh's uplift
visible: PM
TUNGIPARA: Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina on Friday said that continuity
of her ruling Awami League
(AL) in state power made visible the
country's uplift and urged the party
leaders and workers to supplement the
government efforts to change the people's
lot, reports BSS.
"Since Awami League's landslide victory
in 2008 (general) elections, we
remain in the government for three
consecutive terms at a stretch," she said
addressing a joint meeting of the AL
Central Working Committee and
Advisory Council here this afternoon.
Sheikh Hasina, who is also the ruling
Awami League's president, said, "The
country's development is being visible
and the people's lot is being changed due
to the continuation of our government".
"Every leader and worker of the party
will have to move with the ideology of
Father of the Nation. We'll build a
hunger-and-poverty-free Sonar Bangla
as dreamt by Bangabandhu Insha
Allah," she said. The premier said her
government was working tirelessly so
the people in grassroots and those who
lived in rural areas get the benefits of all
achievements.
Mentioning that the main aim of the
Awami League government is to
change the luck of the countrymen, she
said "We're working and will continue
to do it to achieve the goal".
"We've attained high growth rate and
we're in strong position economically . .
. we'll continue our drives against terrorism,
militancy and corruption," she
said.
Mirpur's Chalantika slum
catches fire again
Dhaka: A fire broke out at a slum
at Chalantika in the city's Mirpur
area on early Friday. The fire was
put out after hours of frantic efforts,
reports UNB.
Anwar Hossain, deputy assistant
director of Fire Service and Civil
Defence, Mirpur zone, said the fire
was extinguished around 9am.
Russell Shikdar, a duty officer at
the Fire Service and Civil Defence
control room, said the fire broke
out at the slum on Mirpur-7 road
around 4:11am and it spread fast.
He said 15 firefighting units went
to the spot and brought the blaze
under control around 5:45am.
Locals said more than 100
shanties were gutted in the fire.
Two people identified as Rabeya,
45, and Shaheen Islam, 35, were
injured in the fire. They were taken
to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
It is unclear what sparked the fire.
Brigadier General Sazzad
overhead wire to be removed
from city's five zones: Nasrul
DHAKA: State Minister for Power,
Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul
Hamid said overhead cables attached to
the electricity poles would be removed
from five zones of the capital city within
May 30 next, reports BSS.
"Overhead risky cables attached to
electricity poles are obstacles on the
way to uninterrupted power supply and
also hamper city's beauty," he said
addressing an inter-ministerial meeting
on removal of overhead wires from the
city at Bidyut Bhaban conference room
on Thursday.
Mentioning government's plan to
change all overhead power distribution
lines to underground ones to reduce
risk of electrocution and also enhance
beauty of the city, the state minister said
overhead wires will be removed from
five zones - Mohakhali DOHS, Gulshan
Society, Niketan Society, Motijheel and
Banani-Karwan Bazar within May 30
next.
Nasrul, during the meeting, also
instructed distribution organisations
for making contact with offices concerned
for taking necessary measures in
this regard, adding, "To this end, the
committees concerned will finalise five
zones to remove hanging cables."
Seeking cooperating from all concerned
for enhancing the city's beautification
as early as possible, Nasrul said
the power division will begin its work to
place electric cables underground at the
same time cable operators and other
organisations will have to shift their
overhead wire to the underground.
Nasrul said initiatives were taken to
Hossain, Director General (DG) of
Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil
Defence, visited the spot.
Rahima Begum, 65, a resident of
the slum, said she had six hovels at
the slum. "I rented out three of
them. Me and my family managed
to come out when the fire broke out
but our television, refrigerator and
Tk 17,000 in cash were gutted the
fire," she said.
Zohra Begum, 46, a tenant of
Rahima, said she had been living at
the shanty with her daughter and
son for the last ten years. "I have
lost my valuables including television,
refrigerator, Tk 6,000 cash.
My daughter, a class IX student at
Mirpur Ideal High School, fell
unconscious as her books were gutted
in the fire."
A portion of the slum in
Chalantika on Mirpur-7 road was
destroyed in fire in August last
year.
bring power distribution system of
Dhaka city to underground management.
Among others, Power secretary Dr
Sultan Ahmed, additional secretary of
energy Md Abul Mansur, managing
directors from different distribution
companies, officials from different ministries
and representatives of
Nationwide Telecommunication
Transmission Network (NTTN), Cable
Operators' Association of Bangladesh
(COAB), Internet Service Providers
Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) and
Bangladesh Telecommunication
Company Limited (BTCL) joined the
meeting and gave their opinion.
Four poppy
fields destroyed
in Bandarban
Bandarban: The Rapid Action
Battalion or RAB has destroyed four
poppy fields in Bandarban's Ruma
Upazila.
It came after a raid in the Upazila's
Keokradong between 7 am and 12 pm
on Friday, RAB sources informed.
No arrests were made in the course of
the raid.
Poppies were being cultivated across
seven acres of land deep inside the forest
in Keokradong, said the RAB official.
The owners of the farm aimed to
export poppies abroad illegally.

NEWS
SAtUrDAY, JAnUArY 25, 2020
2
Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman inaugurated the golden jubilee celebration
of Dhaka University Accounting & Information Systems Department and silver jubilee of
Dhaka University Accounting Alumni Association on Friday at the central playground of the university.
Planning Minister M. A. Mannan, MP attended it as chief guest.
Photo: Courtesy
Asian markets gain as China closes
down for Lunar new Year
Shares were mostly higher in quiet
trading on Friday in Asia as China
began a week-long Lunar New Year
festival that is being overshadowed by
the outbreak of a new virus that has
killed 25 people and sickened more
than 800, reports UNB.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose less
than 0.1% to 23,811.54 and in Hong
Kong the Hang Seng gained 0.2% to
27,949.64. Australia's S&P ASX/200
picked up 0.2% to 7,100.30 and the
Sensex in India also rose 0.2%, to
41,473.97.
Markets were closed in Shanghai
and the rest of mainland China,
South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan.
As authorities confirmed more
cases of the new virus first reported in
the central Chinese city of Wuhan,
investors continued to monitor
developments in the international
effort to keep it from spreading
further and potentially harming the
global economy.
The World Health Organization
decided Thursday against declaring
the outbreak a global emergency for
now. Such a declaration could
increase resources for battling the
outbreak but also result in trade and
travel restrictions and other
economic damage.
Fears that the coronavirus could
spread have weighed on global
markets this week, driving up
demand for U.S. government bonds
2 killed in
Magura, natore
'gunfights'
Two suspected criminals
were killed in 'gunfights' in
Sadar upazila of Magura and
Gurudaspur Upazila of
Natore on Friday, reports
UNB.
In Magura, a suspected
robber was killed in a
reported gunfight with
another gang of robbers in
Boruinatoil village early
Friday.
The deceased was
identified as Mintu Kazi, 42,
son of Fayez Kazi of
Lohagora upazila in Narail.
Superintendent of Police
(SP) Torikul Islam said
Mintu died during the
gunfight that occurred
between two groups of
robbers over sharing money
around 2:30 am.
Police recovered the body
in the morning and sent it to
Sadar Hospital morgue for
autopsy, he said.
Mintu was an accused in
12 cases filed with different
Police Stations, he added.
In Natore, a suspected
criminal was killed in a
reported gunfight with
police in Parugurudaspur
area in the early hour.
The deceased was
identified as Hanif Bepari,
an accused in the murder
case of Monowara Begum,
wife of a Freedom Fighter.
In a press release district
police said when they
conducted a drive at
Pargurudaspur along with
Hanif his accomplices fired
gunshots on police,
prompting them to fire back
in self defence that triggered
the gunfight.
Hanif died on the spot
while two cops were injured.
They also seized five
rounds of bullets, a pistol
and a pipe gun from the
spot.
and safe-play stocks.
Market "traders are weighing the
anticipated China growth fallout
against the backdrop of the current
global growth recovery. While the
calculus is not coming up roses, it's
far from a state of global market
panic," Stephen Innes of AxiCorp
said in a commentary.
"Still, if risk aversion starts to
spread beyond China's borders and
starts to affect more than the usual
suspect's luxury, travel, and tourism,
then we will likely see a more
significant dive in the broader global
indices," he said.
Major U.S. stock indexes closed
mostly higher Thursday, as gains in
technology and industrial companies
offset declines elsewhere in the
market.
The S&P 500 notched a small gain
for the second straight day, climbing
0.1% to 3,325.54, while a modest
pickup nudged the Nasdaq composite
to an all-time high of 9,402.48, up
0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average edged 0.1% lower to
29,160.09, its third straight day of
losses as the benchmark was weighed
down by a steep drop in shares of
Travelers Cos.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller
company stocks rose less than 0.1%,
to 1,685.01.
Traders also had their eye on a
mixed batch of company earnings
reports, including encouraging
quarterly results from American
Airlines and Citrix Systems, and
disappointing report cards from
Travelers and Raymond James
Financial.
"Today was driven a bit by
earnings, but also by the coronavirus
fears," said J.J. Kinahan, chief
strategist with TD Ameritrade. "Asian
markets had a really tough night and
that was our lead-in, that put a bit of
extra pressure on the market coming
in."
Excluding the Nasdaq, the major
U.S. stock indexes are on track to end
the week with a loss.
Bond prices rose, pulling the yield
on the 10-year Treasury lower to
1.73% from 1.77% late Wednesday.
Benchmark crude oil gained 14
cents to $55.73 per barrel in
electronic trading on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. It fell $1.15 to
settle at $55.59 a barrel on Thursday.
Brent crude oil, the international
standard, picked up 18 cents to
$62.22 per barrel. It dropped $1.17 to
close at $62.04 a barrel overnight.
Gold fell back, losing $4.30 to
$1,561.10. Silver shed 3 cents to
$17.80 per ounce and copper fell 4
cents to $2.73 per pound.
The dollar rose to 109.52 Japanese
yen from 109.49 yen on Thursday.
The euro weakened to $1.1053 from
$1.1056.
5-day housing fair
begins in rajshahi
RAJSHAHI: A five-day housing fair
organized by Rajshahi Real Estate and
Developers Association (REDA) began at
Green Plaza of Rajshahi City Corporation
(RCC) here on Thursday, reports BSS.
REDA is hosting the fair for the third
consecutive time aimed at showcasing its
activities before the public in general.
REDA members set up 44 stalls in the fair
which will continue from 10 am to 8 pm
everyday till January 27.
City Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton
attended and addressed the inaugural
ceremony as chief guest with REDA
President Toqfiqur Rahman Lavlu in the
chair.
Chairman of Rajshahi Development
Authority Anwar Hossain, Commissioner
of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police Hymayun
Kabir and President of Rajshahi Chamber
of Commerce and Industries Muhammad
Muniruzzaman also spoke.
In his remarks, Mayor Liton urged the
REDA members to construct standard
building for public safety side by side with
supplementing the RCC's efforts for
building the city as planned one.
He also said the city corporation has been
working relentlessly to build the city as
environment-friendly and habitable.
"We have planned a Taka 3,000 crore
development project aimed at enhancing
the civic amenities to a new height," he said
adding that the project has provision of
constructing overpasses on the city's
important railway crossings in order to free
those from any accident.
He mentioned that salient features of the
project are: around sixty-nine
infrastructural developments including
construction of six flyovers, 60
Bangabandhu Murals, central Shaheed
Minar, 17 foot-over bridges and walkways
besides the water bodies.
Liton said 284.86-kilometer roads will be
constructed newly side by side with
reconstruction of 186.36-kilometer roads
and widening of other 30.56-kilometer
roads.
Besides, 41.92-kilometer footpath,
62.07-kilometer walkways, 17
beautification infrastructures, 30 public
toilets and four recreational parks will be
constructed.
292.34-kilometer tertiary drains, 59.33-
kilometer secondary drains and 4.51-
kilometer primary drains will be
constructed.
Police in a drive arrested three drug peddlers along with 120 pieces of yaba
tablets in Companiganj upazila on thursday night.
Photo: tBt
Public awareness
for building clean
city stressed
RANGPUR: Officials and
public representatives at a
pre-rally discussion have
stressed on creating mass
public awareness and self
motivation to build a
modern and eco-friendly
clean city with all civic
amenities, reports BSS.
Rangpur City Corporation
(RpCC) bought the rally on
Thursday as a part of the
Public Awareness
Enhancing Campaign-2020
under City Governance
Project of Local Government
Division with the Japan
International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) funding.
With Chief Executive
Officer of RpCC Ruhul Amin
Mian in the chair, Panel
Mayor of Rangpur
Mahmudur Rahman Titu
addressed the pre-rally
discussion and led the rally
as the chief gust.
Superintendent Engineer
of RpCC Md. Amdad
Hossain, its Executive
Engineer Azam Ali, Chief
Health Officer Dr.
Kamruzzaman Ibne Taz,
City Councilors Mahbubur
Rahman Manju and Harun
Ar Rashid, among others,
addressed.
The chief guest urged the
citizens for becoming more
aware of the issues like
ensuring cleanliness,
preventing
food
adulteration, child marriage,
drug, eve-teasing, terrorism
and corruption to build a
peaceful, clean and ecofriendly
Rangpur city.
Child drowns
in Chandpur
A minor body drowned in a
pond in Nalithuba village of
Faridganj upazila in the
district on Thursday
afternoon, reports UNB.
The deceased was
identified as Siam Hossain,
two and a half years old son
of Rubel Mia of Srirandi
village of Sadar upazila.
Locals said Siam's mother
along with her son went to
visit her father's house in
Nalithuba village where the
incident occurred.
Family members found
his body floating in the
pond.
Doctors declared him
dead when he was taken to
Chandpur General Hosptial,
said Residential Medical
Officer of the hospital Dr
Sujauddoula Rubel.
'thief' lynched
in Jashore
A suspected thief was killed
in a lynch-mob attack at
Shubhorara Mathpara in
Abhaynagar upazila early
Friday, reports UNB.
The deceased was
identified as Illias Sheikh,
40, son of Hakim Sheikh of
the upazila. Quoting local
people, police said local
people caught Illias in front
of the house of Asad Bhuiya
when he went there for
stealing a van around 4 am.
Later, local people gave
him a good thrashing,
leaving him dead on the
spot, said Touhidul Islam,
additional superintendent of
police.
On information, police
recovered the body and sent
it to local hospital morgue.
Failure to deliver: Japan
mailman hoarded post
for years
A former Japanese postman
faces possible charges after
police discovered he
stockpiled a mountain of
mail at his home, reportedly
saying it was "too much
bother" to deliver the items,
reports BSS.
The man was "referred to
prosecutors for allegedly
violating postal law," a
Kanagawa prefectural police
spokesman told AFP on
Friday.
Local media reported the
61-year-old had around
24,000 undelivered items
from between 2003 and
2019 at his home in
Kanagawa, near Tokyo.
Experts for outsourcing back
office by banks to create
large-scale employment
DHAKA: Policymakers, bankers and BPO
industry leaders stressed outsourcing back
office by the banks to create large-scale
employment, cut operational cost and
increase efficiency in the financial sector.
Talking to BSS, they said if the banks
outsource their back-office activities, it will
give a boost to the country's BPO sector and
help create large-scale employment, reports
BSS.
Moreover, the banks will be benefitted
more as their operating cost will reduce and
efficiency will improve substantially, they
observed. Terming BPO a prospective sector,
State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid
Ahmed Palak said the government has been
providing policy support for boosting the
country's fast-growing sector.
"We want to establish paperless office and
build cashless society while the BPO
companies could help us fulfill both the
objectives," he said.
The state minister said three things -
mindset, understanding and trust - are very
important to flourish the BPO sector.
It is the prime responsibility of the banks to
change mindset to outsource their activities,
while Bangladesh Association of Call Centre
Organisations (BACCO) should build trust,
he added.
BACCO President Wahidur Rahman
Sharif said the country's BPO sector is now
generating over US$ 400 million revenues
from both local and international clients and
the sector has created more than 50,000
employments in a decade.
The banking sector holds a great potential
for BPO sector, which is now more equipped
and matured enough to take the opportunity
to deliver the world-class outsourced service
support for country's vibrant financial sector,
he added.
Director General of BIBM Dr Md
Speakers for healthy cultural practices
to build peaceful society
RANGPUR: Speakers at a discussion have stressed the need
for healthy cultural practice to build a peaceful society
through eliminating all sorts of misdeeds, reports BSS.
They made the observation at the discussion organised by
Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur (BRUR) unit of cultural
organisation 'Ranon' on the Central Cafeteria premises in the
university campus on Thursday night.
President of 'Ranon' and Associate Professor of the
Department of Bengali of BRUR Dr Tuhin Wadud presided
over the discussion in the beginning of the cultural function.
Associate Professors of the Department of Bengali of
BRUR Dr Nittya Ghosh and Dr Shafik Ashraf and General
Secretary of 'Ranon' Sanjoy Chowdhury addressed the
discussion.
The speakers said evil forces have distorted the national
history, culture and heritage and stressed on reviving those
to eliminate the malevolence forces to show youngsters the
correct direction for peace in society.
The speakers said evil forces have distorted the national
history to mislead the society for hampering overall progress
of the country.
Later, members of 'Ranon', teachers and students of the
university rendered popular songs, staged drama, recited
poems and rendered single and group dances enthralling
hundreds of audience.
Students Sanjoy Chowdhury, Suraiya Akhter, Papri Rani
Bhowmick, Mesbah Uddin, Happy Roy rendered songs while
teacher Dr Tuhin Wadud, students Zamiur rabbi, Rakesh
Kumar Ds and Dipa Rani Roy recited self-composed poems.
Students of the university Hridi Arjeeta, Shahin Reza
Saikat, Dipa Rani Das Priya rendered single and group
dances and a group of students of the university staged a
drama directed and produced by Shahin Reza Saikat
following the story 'Denapawna' written by Biswa Kobi
Rabindranath Tagore.
Pressed by ship, two workers die
in narayanganj dockyard
Two workers died after being pressed by a newly-built ship
while floating it in the Brahmaputra r River from a dockyard
in Narayanganj on Thursday, reports UNB.
The deceased were identified as Yaa Rasul, 23, son of
Giasuddin of Meghna upazila in Cumilla, and Russel, 32, of
the same area. Rafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Bandar
Police Station, said the two workers of Sneha Shipyard and
Engineering Works went beneath slipway while floating the
ship in the river in the evening.
Bandar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shukla Sarkar and other
police officials visited the spot.
Akhtaruzzaman laid emphasis on providing
training to create skill manpower in the
country's BPO sector.
Meanwhile, the bankers and experts at a
recent workshop on 'Outsourcing in
Financial Service Sector' held at Bangladesh
Bank Institute of Bank Management (BIBM)
here underscored the need for outsourcing in
financial service sector to improve
operational performance, cut operational
cost and increase efficiency through better
consolidating and centralising functions.
Outsourcing enables organisations to
improve operational performance, reduce
operational cost and increase efficiency
through better consolidating and
centralising functions, they told the function.
Leveraging ICT for Growth and
Employment of the IT-ITES Industry (LICT)
Project, Bangladesh Association of Call
Center and Outsourcing (BACCO) and
Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management
(BIBM) jointly arranged the workshop.
State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid
Ahmed Palak, Director (Training) of BIBM
Dr Shah Md Ahsan Habib, LICT Project
Director Md Rezaul Karim, LICT Policy
Adviser Sami Ahmed and BACCO President
Wahidur Rahman Sharif, among others,
spoke at the workshop.
Chairman of Devnet Ltd AK Mahbub and
Associate Professor of BIBM Md Mahbubur
Rahman Alam presented two separate
papers on the prospect of financial sector
outsourcing.
The experts put forward a set of
recommendations to eliminate obstacles to
outsourcing in the financial sector.
The recommendations include change of
mindsets of banks to outsource their
activities and update of outsourcing policy to
widen scope of banks for outsourcing
activities.
Former cadets of Mirzapur Cadet College celebrated the second day of 3-
day long 13th reunion ceremony on Friday amid much enthusiasm.
Marking the occasion, Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh General Aziz
Ahmed as the chief guest inaugurated a photography exhibition and a science
fair organized by the cadets at the occasion.
Photo: tBt
Farmers in Laxmipur
char leading the way
in vegetable
production
Farmers in char areas of
Laxmipur district are
expecting to have a
bountiful production of
winter vegetables of over
10,000 mts worth Tk 30
crore this season, reports
UNB.
They said the vegetable
yield will exceed their
expectation this year due to
favourable weather
condition and less pest
attacks which will help them
recoup their last year's
losses. Visiting Charramani
Mohon, Bhobaniganj,
Piarapur, Tumchar,
Miarberi and Maju
Chowdhurirhat areas of
Sadar upazila, the UNB
correspondent found vast
tracts of land full of
eggplant, cabbage,
cauliflower, carrot, snake
gourd, bean, radish and
different vegetables.
Besides local varieties,
farmers have produced
various hybrid varieties of
vegetables in char areas of
the district. Abul Khair, a
farmer of Piarapur area,
said growers in the area are
showing more interest in
vegetable production as it
proved to be more profitable
than other crops. Kishore
Kumar Majumder,
additional deputy director,
Laxmipur Department of
Agriculture Extension
(DAE), said vegetables like
cauliflower, cabbage, carrot,
snake gourd, bean, radish,
eggplant and other
vegetables have been
produced well in the district
thanks to the fair weather.

INTERNATIONAL
SATURDAY,
JANUARY 25, 2020
3
A fallen tree rests on a burned car after a wildfire destroyed the Kangaroo Valley Bush Retreat in Kangaroo
Valley, New South Wales, Australia.
Photo: AP
Probe begins into deadly crash of
firefighting tanker in Australia
Investigators Friday began searching
the wreckage of a large tanker aircraft
which crashed while battling devastating
bushfires in Australia, killing three
US crew members, reports BSS.
The C-130 Hercules plane slammed
into the ground Thursday shortly after
dropping a load of fire retardant on a
blaze in the Snowy Mountains region of
southeastern New South Wales (NSW)
state.
The plane burst into a fireball on
impact and debris were strewn over a
kilometre-long stretch of land, with little
of the large aircraft left intact, NSW
police superintendant Paul Condon
told a press conference near the site.
Greg Hood, chief of the Australian
Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said it
would be "premature" to speculate on
the cause of the crash, but he noted that
strong winds had raked much of the fire
zones of southeastern Australia Thursday.
"We will be working with the Australian
bureau of meteorology specifically
to look at the temperature, the
wind direction and the impact that may
have had on the aircraft," he said.
"We have nothing to suggest there
was a systemic fault" with the C-130,
which was contracted to the firefighting
effort by Canadian firm Coulson Aviation,
he said.
Hood said several people who witnessed
the crash would also be questioned.
Coulson earlier Friday identified
the three US crew members who
perished as Captain Ian H. McBeth, 44,
First Officer Paul Clyde Hudson, 42,
and Flight Engineer Rick A. DeMorgan
Jr, 43.
Their bodies have been found and
were expected to be removed from the
crash site later Friday, police said.
Officials from Coulson Aviation were
due to arrive in Australia Saturday to
join the investigation.
The ATSB said the crash site was in
an active fire zone and investigators
would need the help of police and firefighters
to access the site.
The C-130 was equipped with a cockpit
voice recorder, which has yet to be
recovered, and investigators will also
listen to air traffic control recordings,
Hood said.
The crewmen's deaths brought the
toll in Australia's bushfire crisis to 32
since September.
There are currently 243 US firefighters
helping battle the Australian blazes,
mainly in the country on 30-day rotations.
Six volunteer Australian firefighters
were also injured when a water
truck rolled near the fire-threatened
town of Batemans Bay, on the state's
south coast, on Thursday night.
Firefighters had been battling dangerous
blazes Thursday, as strong
winds and temperatures reaching
above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees
Fahrenheit) sparked new fires across
The new post for Ri Son Gwon was disclosed Friday in a Korean Central News
Agency dispatch that said he attended a reception for foreign diplomats in
Pyongyang on Thursday.
Photo: AP
Australia's southeast before conditions
eased Friday.
Another heatwave is forecast for next
week and could fuel a new flare-up of
wildfires.
With the respite from active fires in
many areas this week, a key concern is
helping wildlife who survived the
flames but now face starvation in the
barren wastelands left behind.
Wildlife experts say hundreds of millions
of animals likely perished in the
blazes, which have burned more than
10 million hectares (25 million acres) of
land.
On South Australia's Kangaroo
Island, one of the country's richest and
most unique wildlife areas, experts
warned Friday of a looming "second
wave" of animal deaths and urgently
appealed for volunteers to help feed
surviving creatures.
"Huge swathes of Kangaroo Island's
pristine habitat have been destroyed in
the devastating January 2020 bushfires,"
South Australia's RSPCA said.
"Wildlife that survived the fires is
now at high risk of succumbing to starvation
and dehydration."
"We don't know how many animals
are fending for themselves in totally
barren landscapes, but wildlife rescuers
are starting to find animals in extremely
poor condition due to lack of food
and water," RSPCA chief Paul Stevenson
told reporters.
North Korea names army figure
as new foreign minister
North Korea has named as its new foreign
minster a former senior army
officer with little experience in dealings
with the United States, in a possible
indication it will take a harder line
with Washington in stalled nuclear
negotiations, reports UNB.
The new post for Ri Son Gwon was
disclosed Friday in a Korean Central
News Agency dispatch that said he
attended a reception for foreign diplomats
in Pyongyang on Thursday.
South Korean and other outside
media previously reported North
Korea had recently informed foreign
diplomats in Pyongyang of Ri's job.
In his speech at the banquet, "Comrade
Ri Son Gwon said that the Korean
people have turned out in the general
offensive to break through headon
the barriers to the advance of
socialist construction by dint of selfreliance
... and made public the foreign
policy stand of the (North Korean)
government," KCNA said.
Ri, an outspoken retired army
colonel who recently headed a government
body responsible for relations
with South Korea, has taken part in
numerous inter-Korean talks over the
past 15 years. But he lacks experience
in negotiations with the United States.
In South Korea, he's most known for
what were seen as rude remarks to
South Korean businessmen visiting
Pyongyang in September 2018. While
they were eating naengmyeon, Korean
traditional cold noodles, Ri asked
them: "Are naengmyeon going down
your throats?" in apparent dissatisfaction
with a lack of progress in efforts to
promote inter-Korean economic projects.
Many conservatives in South
Korea strongly criticized him.
Ri replaced Ri Yong Ho, a career
diplomat with broad experiences in
dealings with both the United States
and South Korea who had taken part
in nuclear negotiations with the United
States since early 2018. It wasn't
immediately known what happened to
Ri Yong Ho, whose name was last
mentioned in KCNA last August.
Analyst Cheong Seong-Chang at
South Korea's private Sejong Institute
said Ri Son Gwon's appointment signaled
North Korea would further
harden its stance on the United States
and bolster its push to cement its position
as a nuclear state.
"From now on, it's difficult to expect
meaningful progress in North Korea-
U.S. diplomacy," Cheong said.
Nuclear talks between the United
States and North Korea have progressed
little since the breakdown of
the second summit between President
Donald Trump and North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam in
February 2019. Kim recently said
North Korea would bolster its nuclear
arsenal and unveil a new "strategic
weapon" after the United States failed
to meet a year-end deadline set by him
to make concessions.
A senior State Department official
told reporters Wednesday that Washington
was aware of Ri Son Gwon's
reported appointment and hopes
North Korea will understand the
importance of resuming diplomacy.
"There's nothing to be gained by not
talking. It's only to their benefit, so we
encourage them to talk," the official
said on condition of anonymity
because he wasn't authorized to speak
publicly to the matter. "It is slow,
patient, steady diplomacy. We're
going to stick with that plan."
Japan confirms
second coronavirus
case
Japan's health ministry said
Friday it had confirmed the
country's second case of a
novel coronavirus strain, in
a man who travelled from
the Chinese city of Wuhan,
reports BSS.
In a statement, the ministry
said the man in his 40s
was a resident of the Chinese
city where the outbreak
began and arrived in Japan
on January 19.
He reported having had a
fever for several days before
his arrival but said that his
condition had stabilised by
the time of his arrival in
Japan.
On January 22, he reported
a fever and he is now in a
Tokyo hospital receiving
treatment, the ministry said.
The statement added that
the man denied having visited
the market in Wuhan
identified as the source of
the outbreak, and said he
had worn a medical mask
while travelling.
The case was confirmed
just over a week after Japanese
authorities reported the
country's first incidence of
the new virus that has killed
18 and infected hundreds of
others.
The outbreak has prompted
China to effectively quarantine
some 20 million people,
but the World Health
Organization said Thursday
that the disease did not yet
constitute a global health
emergency.
Salvini eyes return
to power at crunch
Italy vote
Italy's fragile governing
coalition is bracing for a key
regional election this weekend
which the far-right
League hopes will trigger a
political earthquake and
return strongman Matteo
Salvini to power, reports
BSS.
The wealthy centre-north
region of Emilia Romagna
was once the Italian left's
fiefdom, but while left-wing
values still hold sway under
the graceful porticoes of its
cities, the right is making
serious inroads in the villages
and towns beyond.
The last polls published
before the pre-election
media blackout showed the
anti-immigrant League
neck-and-neck with the centre-left
Democratic Party
(PD), which governs Italy in
coalition with the anti-establishment
Five Star Movement
(M5S).
International markets will
be watching closely for
potential seismic change in
the eurozone's third largest
economy. Sunday's vote "is a
big test for the beleaguered
coalition" Berenberg economist
Florian Hense told
AFP.
"A PD defeat could possibly
be the straw that breaks
the camel's back and spell
the end of the coalition," he
said. The coalition's main
stabilising factor is a joint
fear of snap elections which
could hand power to Salvini.
Prime Minister Giuseppe
Conte has dismissed fears of
a government crisis should
the League triumph in Emilia
Romagna, saying the election
concerns the region
alone and has no bearing on
national politics. But a
League victory would
increase coalition tensions
considerably, with the PD
likely to blame the M5S for
refusing to join forces
behind a single candidate -
thus splitting the anti-Salvini
vote. Analysts have
warned it could cause the
M5S, which is riven by
infighting and has been
hemorrhaging members, to
collapse. "A defeat in Emilia
Romagna could speed up
their implosion, and if the
government loses its majority
at the Senate, it would be difficult
to survive," Lorenzo
Codogno, former chief economist
at the Italian Treasury
Department, told AFP.
In a bid to stave off a crisis,
M5S head Luigi Di Maio -
heavily criticised by a growing
number of party members -
bowed to pressure and
stepped down Wednesday as
leader.
Trump to disclose
Middle East peace
plan by Tuesday
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday
said he would unveil the long-awaited Middle
East peace plan before Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington
on next Tuesday, reports UNB.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force
One, Trump said he would release the plan
before his meeting with Netanyahu. "Sometime
prior to that," Trump said. "Probably
we'll release it a little bit prior to that."
Trump also said Palestinians might react
negatively to the plan at first, but that "it's
actually very positive for them."
The White House earlier in the day said
Netanyahu's visit "is an opportunity to discuss
our shared regional and national security
interests."Benjamin Gantz, chairman of
Israeli political alliance Blue and White and
elections rival of Netanyahu, also accepted
Trump's invitation to come to Washington,
according to the White House.
U.S. media reported that the long-awaited
Middle East peace plan might be a political
boost for Trump and Netanyahu, both of
whom currently underwent political turmoil
at home.
Trump has postponed several times the
publication of his "Deal of the Century" for
peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The
economic portion of Trump's peace plan was
unveiled during a U.S.-led conference in
Bahrain last June, a convention boycotted by
the Palestinians.
The Trump administration has reversed
decades of U.S. policy regarding the conflict
between Israel and Palestine. Political ties
between Palestine and the United States
have been severed right after Trump
declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in
2017 and moved the U.S. embassy to the city
in 2018. In November 2019, Washington
announced that it would no longer consider
Israel's West Bank settlements "inconsistent"
with international law, a move which
further dimmed the future of the Israeli-
Palestinian peace talks.
Trump has postponed several times the publication of his "Deal of the
Century" for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Photo: AP
Philippines’ Duterte threatens
to end US military pact
Sports Desk: Philippine
President Rodrigo Duterte
has threatened to end a pact
key to annual war games
with American troops if the
US does not restore the travel
visa of an official who
oversaw his drug war,
reports BSS.
It is the latest in a long line
of Duterte's threats to shrink
or sever ties with historical
ally Washington, which have
periodically followed criticism
of his deadly narcotics
crackdown.
Duterte spoke after
Ronald Dela Rosa, the former
national police chief
who is now a senator, said
the US had cancelled his visa
but did not tell him why.
Dela Rosa was the first
enforcer of Duterte's internationally
condemned campaign,
in which police say
they have killed just over
5,500 alleged dealers and
users.Human rights advocates
say the true toll is four
times higher, and could
amount to crimes against
humanity. The US State
Department and the
embassy in Manila have not
responded to requests for
comment about Dela Rosa's
visa. Duterte went on the
attack in a speech late
Thursday. "Now, they won't
let Bato go to America", he
said, using Dela Rosa's nickname.
"If you do not make a correction
there, one, I will terminate
the bases - Visiting
Forces Agreement," Duterte
added. "I'm giving… the
American government one
month from now."
The Visiting Forces Agreement
(VFA) outlines the
rules governing conduct of
US troops participating in
joint military exercises in the
Philippines. The pact gave
legal cover for the resumption
of large-scale war games
between the two allies after
the US military closed its
Philippine bases in the
1990s amid rising anti-US
sentiment.
Duterte also threatened in
2016 to cancel the agreement,
but has generally
attacked ties with the US,
including an announced
"separation" from its former
colonial master.
Until now the president
has not made good on those
threats, some of which came
after then US president
Barack Obama was critical
of Duterte's crackdown in
2016.
Relations between Washington
and Manila under
President Donald Trump,
who has voiced support for
Duterte, are on a stronger
footing. However, recent
criticism from US lawmakers
has introduced new tensions.
The Philippines in
December barred US senators
Richard Durbin and
Patrick Leahy, who were
behind a measure to prevent
officials involved in
the incarceration of Senator
Leila de Lima from
entering the US.
De Lima, one of the highest-profile
critics of
Duterte's narcotics crackdown,
has been held since
February 2017 over a drug
charge that she claims was
fabricated to silence her.
Cirque du Soleil cancels shows
in China over coronavirus
The iconic Canadian acrobatic troupe Cirque
du Soleil announced Thursday that its shows
in Hangzhou, China is canceled due to concerns
over a coronavirus outbreak in the
country, reports BSS.
The call was made in response to Chinese
officials' requests to close all indoor activities
with 100 or more people in attendance in
order to contain the outbreak, the company
said in a statement.
"Right now, we all have the responsibility
to step up, and to do preventive activities. We
are going to keep leading in this effort by putting
people's health and safety as our top priority,"
Cirque du Soleil head Daniel Lamarre
said in the statement. "The Land of Fantasy,"
which opened last year, is Cirque du Soleil's
first resident show in China.
Hangzhou, in the eastern province of Zhejiang,
is about 700 kilometers (430 miles)
from the city of Wuhan, where the SARS-like
virus emerged at a seafood and animal market
in December.
China has confirmed 830 cases of the
infection with 25 deaths and has implemented
an effective quarantine of some 20 million
people in multiple cities ahead of the Lunar
New Year holiday.
The call was made in response to Chinese
officials' requests to close all indoor activities
with 100 or more people in attendance in
order to contain the outbreak, the company
said in a statement.
Several other countries, including Thailand
and the United States, have reported
confirmed cases, though the World Health
Organization on Thursday stopped short of
declaring a so-called a public health emergency
of international concern.

EDITORIAL
SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2020
4
A case for pragmatism in the light of Brexit
Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam
e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com
Saturday, January 25, 2020
Aiding prospects
of IT industry
The IT industry is a relatively new sector in our country's
economybut it is already making a notable contribution to
the national economy ; it is considered an important growth
industry. The Bangladesh Association of Software and
Information Services (BASIS) was established in 1997 as the
national trade body for software and IT service industry. Starting
with only 17 member companies, by 2009 membership had grown
to 326.
In a study among Asian countries by Japan International
Cooperation Agency in 2007-08, Bangladesh was ranked first in
software and IT services competitiveness and third in
competencies, after India and China. The World Bank, in a study
projected triple digit growth for Bangladesh in IT services and
software exports. Bangladesh was also listed as one of the top 30
countries for offshore Services by Gartner.The Internet
penetration has also grown to 21.27 percent in 2012, up from 3.2
percent three years prior.[11] As the Internet usage increases, the
government expects the IT sector to add 7.28 percent to GDP
growth by 2021.[11]
At present Information Technology (IT) is a subject of
widespread interest in Bangladesh. There are around 100 software
houses, 35 data entry centres, thousands of formal and informal IT
training centres and numerous computer shops. The Government
has declared IT as a thrust sector and that computer training
centre will be set up in each divisional and district headquarters of
Bangladesh. Import of computer hardware and software is now
duty free, VSAT is deregulated, high speed DDN (Digital Data
Network) has been introduced. One fourth of the 45
recommendations of JRC report on software export has already
been implemented; rest is in the process of implementation. A
tremendous activity is going on in every sector including e-
commerce, e-governance, computer networking, Internet, web
browsing, web applications, multimedia product development, etc.
Some active steps and initiatives are already there, as described
below for an exposure of the present and future prospects of IT in
Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has one of the lowest tele-density in Asia, with a
mere 0.6 (in India 1.5) lines per 100 people. In terms of phone
connectivity, the charge of Bangladesh Telephone and Telegraph
Board (BTTB) is one of the highest in the world, approximately
US$500.00 (in India US$60) for normal single telephone line
connection. However, there has been significant improvement in
services of telecommunication within last few years. Present
government is also trying to get additional telephone lines from a
Canadian firm. If these telephone lines are available in Bangladesh,
most of the PC users will be able to use internet and find a scope to
build up international career.
The associations and professional bodies who are playing vital
role to develop the IT sector in Bangladesh are as follows:
Bangladesh Computer Society (BCS) was formed in 1979. This is
an association of the IT Professionals. Bangladesh Computer
Samity (BCS) was formed in 1987. This is basically an association
of Computer Vendors.Bangladesh Association of Software and
Information Services (BASIS) was formed in 1998 to promote the
interest of IT business, especially for software development and
related IT services. Bangladesh Software Marketing and
Promotions (BSMP), a private organisation, has been formed with
the view to helping the local computer programmers and promote
their software. Bangladesh Computer Writers Association has
been formed to promote the writers activities in the country.
Bangladesh Association for Information Technology Education
(BAITE) has been formed to promote the activities toward
standardising informal IT education in the country.
Well-trained Bangladeshi IT professionals can start their
business like Data entry, Web development, Multimedia, ISP and
Medical Data Transcription services, Cybercafe and IT Training
Centre. They can easily get financial help from bank. A number of
government banks have already started credit programmes to
encourage the entrepreneurs in software industry. Some private
banks are using our locally developed software too. However, due
to some constraints the outcome is not up to the expectation.
The Government of Bangladesh has taken some important
initiatives to develop our IT sector. Still we are waiting to see a
fruitful change in our Information Technology. However, some
remarkable steps of government are highlighted for information :
IT has been declared as a thrust sector. Quick implementation of
the recommendations of JRC report (a high powered committee
for software export) is imperative. Hundred percent remittances
of profit and capital gains for foreign investors without any
approval is also an important pending issue. Human resource is
the most important component for IT industry. Bangladesh has a
huge educated, unemployed youth force with the ability to read
and write English. The country can take advantage of its immense
manpower to train and prepare programmers and IT
professionals. Government has already started a project to develop
Computer Programmers in Bangladesh. All the universities are
offering one year post-graduate Diploma course for the graduates.
Our unemployed educated persons can take this opportunity to
build their career as IT professionals. Young generation in
Bangladesh is very enthusiastic and has correctly identified IT as
the future of the country. There are numerous computer clubs,
computer festivals, programming contests, web design contests, IT
related seminars and discussions in many cities of the country.
There are about 16 magazines and four digital IT magazines are
being published monthly and some daily newspapers publish IT
pages once/twice a week. A few of the magazines are in
collaboration with other international magazines, however, most
of these are Bangladeshi origin. There are a few interactive sites
and forums. A number of business centres and cybercafes have
started up recently. Most of these business centres provide e-mail;
e-mail to fax, phonefax services and cyber cafes offer Internet
browsing.
Recently there has been a surge in E-commerce activities in
Bangladesh. There are E-commerce related seminars and
symposiums in the country almost everyday and all the major
training centres are offering courses on E-commerce. Government
is now formulating laws for e-commerce to enhance the business
rapidly and smoothly.
Some private organisations have already started to work for
setting up IT park and IT villages in the country. Some investors
are foreigners and they are very much interested to build
Bangladeshi students as IT professionals. They have already
started to commission their views. Our Bangladeshi students can
take this chance and hit the international job market in the IT field.
There are lot of scopes of working and entering into the
international market. Just we have to take proper initiatives.
Bangladeshi IT professionals have a good demand in international
IT job market, which has been proved by some of our BUET
students.
Bangladeshi students should be more aware about Information
Technology and they should take proper decision to build their
career. Indians have changed their whole financial position by IT.
Their government also is very much serious about IT. Any way,
Bangladesh has a long way to go in a very short time to enjoy the
fruits of information age. It will be only possible when there will be
geater political commitment with better IT infrastructure, internal
network, country domain and above all further high speed fibre
optic link to the Information Superhighway.
On Friday, we will be precisely one
week away from the UK leaving
the EU. The withdrawal
agreement bill has now passed
Parliament and Brexit - the subject of
much soul-destroying, divisive and
seemingly never-ending debate - will
become reality on Jan. 31. This D-Day
will, however, not be the end of the
story. The UK and EU will instead enter
a transition period that will last until
Dec. 31, by which date they must have
hammered out the details of their
future relationship. UK Prime Minister
Boris Johnson has made it abundantly
clear that he will not extend that period:
The UK will be out for good by Jan. 1,
2021 - no ifs or buts.
However, new EU Commission
President Ursula von der Leyen has
made it equally clear that negotiating a
free trade agreement alongside the
other aspects of the divorce pertaining
to security issues and the status of
citizens in just 11 months will be nearly
impossible. She insisted that
negotiations would evolve more easily
the closer the UK intended to stay to EU
regulations.
As part of what can be considered a
ping-pong match of statements carving
out the negotiating positions of the two
parties, Chancellor Sajid Javid claimed
that the UK would not be a rule-taker in
an interview with the Financial Times
last weekend. This once again opens up
the prospect of a no-deal Brexit at the
end of this year. Industry is up in arms
- particularly the automotive, pharma
and other sectors, which rely heavily on
intricate supply chain arrangements
with the continent.
Wherever one stands on the Brexit
debate, Johnson's decisive victory in
December's election has at least put a
stop to the never-ending debate and
provided some clarity: The UK is
leaving and the exact modalities of
Brexit will be clear by Dec. 31, at the
latest. A no-deal exit would be
unfortunate for both parties. It would,
however, be preferable to a continued
state of uncertainty prolonging
divisions in the country. Businesses will
deal with new challenges. Even if they
are suboptimal, at least business
leaders will know what they have to deal
with and adjust. It will admittedly be
much harder for smaller businesses
that, unlike their bigger counterparts,
do not have the wherewithal to employ
armies of consultants, accountants and
lawyers. They also have much less clout
when it comes to representing their
interests with government. There will
be losers for sure, but epoch-defining
decisions like Brexit always produce
winners and losers. It will then be up to
CoRNELIA MEYER
society and the government to deal with
the fallout.
For the EU, it will be good to have
clarity too. Brexit was all-consuming
and prevented the organization from
dealing with other pressing issues, such
as migration, the economy or climate
change. Both the UK and EU have a
new leadership team. A new "European
Green Deal" is the top priority for Von
der Leyen, which she set out clearly in
her inaugural speech in the European
Parliament and at the World Economic
Forum in Davos this week. Even
As part of what can be considered a ping-pong match of statements
carving out the negotiating positions of the two parties, Chancellor
Sajid Javid claimed that the UK would not be a rule-taker in an interview
with the Financial Times last weekend. This once again opens up the
prospect of a no-deal Brexit at the end of this year. Industry is up in
arms - particularly the automotive, pharma and other sectors, which rely
heavily on intricate supply chain arrangements with the continent.
MICK o'REILLY
German Chancellor Angela Merkel,
who up to now had always hoped
against hope that the UK would reverse
its decision to leave, welcomed the newfound
clarity.
Johnson's decisive victory in
December's election has at least put a
stop to the never-ending debate and
provided some clarity.
Things will change in the UK, but they
will also change in the EU. The
advocates of liberal economies and free
trade, such as Holland, Germany and
Ireland, could until now always hide
behind the UK when it advocated its
strong pro-business and free trade
agenda. They will now have to do more
heavy lifting when it comes to those
themes. The northern countries will
collaborate more in the so-called
Hanseatic League, while the right-wing
Visegrad Group of countries, including
Hungary, the Czech Republic and
Poland, will probably gain in relative
strength once the EU is "sans" the UK.
And don't forget the economic laggards,
like Italy, which will face an EU with
less money in the till once the economic
powerhouse that is the UK has left.
These groups will have to jostle for
their relative positions within the EU.
Expect this to be a lengthy and, in part,
painful process. The outcome will not
just inform the relationships among EU
countries, it will also have ramifications
for the organization's relationship with
outside powers like the US, Russia and
China. Gone is the influence of the
strong "special relationship" between
the US and the UK. Near neighbor
Russia and emerging superpower
China will try to capitalize on the new
balance of power within the bloc.
While many would have liked the UK
to remain in the EU, they have to admit
that both parties were in dire need of a
way to cut through the endless
procrastination of the Brexit debate.
Whether we like it or not, we now need
to move forward.
Source: Arab news
EU sanctions on Turkey can complicate matters
When the European Union's 27
foreign ministers gathered in
Brussels last Monday for their
regular summit, the activities of Turkey
were high on the agenda. While President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decision to
deploy Turkish military personnel across
the Mediterranean Sea to Libya is a
concern, more pressing for the 27
ministers is Turkey's decision to continue
drilling for oil and gas in European waters
off the coast of Cyprus.
After Monday's gathering, the EU's top
diplomat Jesep Norrell, confirmed that
Brussels is preparing a list of Turkish
names to be sanctioned over Ankara's oil
and gas exploration in the Eastern
Mediterranean.
"We are waiting for the working groups
closely involving with the issue to
complete the list of names to be imposed
the necessary sanctions," Borrell told
reporters after the summit. "We know
that some names are included in the list."
For months, Brussels has been putting
pressure on Ankara to drop its
exploration. That's falling on Erdogan's
deaf ears, and last week he said the
drilling efforts would be stepped up in the
eastern Mediterranean after signing a
maritime deal with the embattled
government in Tripoli in November
As far as Brussels is concerned, Turkish
exploration efforts are illegal and violate
the sovereign rights of Cyprus in a dispute
that has been simmering since last
summer. For its part, Ankara says it's
entitled to drill in the area as it is a
guarantor of the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus - the enclave on the
north-east third of the island it created by
its invasion there in the summer of 1974.
Turkish logic says that because Turkish
North Cyprus is an internationally
recognised state and the drilling is done
with the rump state's approval, it can't be
illegal. Logic is one thing, common sense
another: Turkey is the only state that
recognises North Cyprus. The bigger
picture for the European Union is one of
gaining access to energy sources that are
secure and within its own borders. Yes,
the continent is moving towards a future
based on renewable and sustainable
energy, but there's still a need for 'hard'
fuel sources such as oil and gas.
Right now, much of the natural gas that
keeps Germans warm and Austrians cosy
comes from Russia - in pipelines that
cross the geopolitical minefield of a
divided Ukraine. It's all very well for
Gazprom to be a major sponsor of
Europe's football, another for it to be a
major supplier of Europe's energy.
The fuel that powers jets and engines is
refined in Italy from Libyan supplies -
light, sweet crude that east to distil into
petroleum spirits. And surely those
Libyan supplies would have nothing to do
with Erdogan's sudden interest and
military intervention in strictly Arab
affairs? This entire dispute originated
following the discovery by a US energy
giant over the last five years of a huge
gasfield off Cyprus' south coast. Experts
As far as Brussels is concerned, Turkish exploration efforts
are illegal and violate the sovereign rights of Cyprus in a
dispute that has been simmering since last summer. For
its part, Ankara says it's entitled to drill in the area as it is a
guarantor of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus -
the enclave on the north-east third of the island it created
by its invasion there in the summer of 1974.
DA-SoL GoH
believe it contains 227 billion cubic
metres of gas at sub-sea levels that are
readily accessible in warm water
conditions - and worth at least $45 billion
(Dh165 billion). And where there's gas,
there's most likely oil.
That's good news for Europe, bad news
in a volatile region where the interests of
Turkey, Greece and the third-largest
island in the Mediterranean converge.
When the Greek Cypriot side permitted
international energy companies to extract
the gas, they sent ships to explore the
area. The Turkish side, meanwhile, felt
betrayed by this move and dispatched
navy ships. In February 2018, tensions
escalated when a ship operated for an
Italian energy company contracted by the
Greek Cypriots was stopped by Turkish
warships.
Last summer, Turkey sent two drilling
ships to the area - an act considered by
the European Union to be a violation of
Cyprus' sovereignty. It argues that the law
of the sea entitles it to an exclusive
economic zone extending 320 kilometres
into the sea, allowing it to exploit any
natural resources within this area. But the
complicated political situation in Cyprus
means this law is not easy to apply.
For months, Brussels has been putting
pressure on Ankara to drop its
exploration. That's falling on Erdogan's
deaf ears, and last week he said the
drilling efforts would be stepped up in the
eastern Mediterranean after signing a
maritime deal with the embattled
government in Tripoli in November. That
deal claimed large areas of
Mediterranean Sea for Turkey - further
infuriating all other nations bordering the
sea there. As far as Greece, Cyprus and
Brussels are concerned, the international
law of the sea, the principle of good
neighbourly relations and the sovereignty
and sovereign rights over the maritime
zones of EU states have to be respected.
Source : Gulf news
Law fails to protect Koreans from workplace bullying
There is a craze in South Korea
surrounding Pengsoo, a 10-
year-old genderless penguin
character on the Korea Educational
Broadcasting System (EBS). Young
adults particularly love Pengsoo,
saying the character's behavior
soothes many people who are
emotionally hurt after being
mistreated at work by their bosses or
managers.
Pengsoo calls the owner of EBS, Kim
Myung-joong, names, a behavior that
can be seen as rude in Korea. Pengsoo
never kowtows to Kim. Such behavior
is unimaginable in hierarchical
Korean society, where workplace
bullying, mostly perpetrated by
workers who have higher positions
than their victims, has become a
serious issue. Many people are
subjected to workplace bullying, and
South Korean media occasionally
report on the issue.
One of the most recent instances
reported on mainstream media was a
case of verbal abuse at Ajou
University Medical Center in Suwon,
capital of Gyeonggi-do, the province
that surrounds Seoul. Reportedly Lee
Guk-jong, a prominent surgeon, was
subjected to verbal abuse by the
director of the hospital, Yoo Hee-suk.
When the case was reported, many
Koreans condemned Yoo, saying that
he was the perpetrator of workplace
bullying. But in fact this was not an
isolated incident: workplace bullying
is still pervasive in Korea, even though
the Labor Standards Act now bans it.
In July last year, South Korea
introduced regulations to ban
workplace bullying by revising the
Labor Standards Act. As workplace
bullying has become one of the
biggest social ills in the country, the
government decided to tackle it. But
six months after the introduction of
the anti-bullying law, there are no
signs of an end to the problem. Some
say that loopholes in the Labor
Standards Act are to blame.
Article 76 of the act stipulates that
workers who have been subjected to
workplace bullying or notice others
being victimized by it must report the
case to their employer. The employer
then must promptly investigate the
reported case, punishing the
perpetrators and protecting the
Reportedly Lee Guk-jong, a prominent surgeon, was
subjected to verbal abuse by the director of the hospital,
Yoo Hee-suk. When the case was reported, many Koreans
condemned Yoo, saying that he was the perpetrator of
workplace bullying. But in fact this was not an isolated
incident: workplace bullying is still pervasive in Korea,
even though the Labor Standards Act now bans it.
victims. But this provision in the law
has some loopholes, many workers
argue.
First, many have complained that
they have difficulty reporting cases of
workplace bullying perpetrated by
their employer or his or her relatives.
As cronyism is deeply entrenched
across Korean society, many
employers are likely to turn a blind
eye to bullying perpetrated by their
family members. Above all, as
workers can report bullying only to
their employer, many victims are
reluctant to do so, worrying that the
perpetrators will not be punished.
Second, the Labor Standards Act
doesn't have any rule about employers
who mistreat workers for reporting
bullying. This potentially makes
workers reluctant to report such
cases.
Third, as stated in Article 11 of the
Labor Standards Act, the act applies
only to companies with at least five
employees. Though a Presidential
Decree states that some provisions of
the act can be also applied to smaller
companies, the decree doesn't specify
any rule about workplace bullying.
The South Korean government
decided to ban workplace bullying as
part of protecting workers' rights. But
the revised Labor Standards Act is
failing to root out workplace bullying,
and the government should revisit
this issue and tighten the law further.
Source : Asia times

SCIENCE & TECH
SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2020
5
Making sure your browser is up to date is one of the most important steps you can take.
Photo: Bloomberg
Still relying on old Windows 7
Technology Desk
Microsoft Windows 7 - launched in
2009 - came to the end of its
supported life on Tuesday. Despite
Microsoft's repeated warnings to
Windows 7 users, there may still be
a couple of hundred million users,
many of them in businesses. What
should people do next?
To begin with, Windows 7 will
not stop working, it will just stop
receiving security updates. Users
will therefore be more vulnerable
to malware attacks, particularly
from "ransomware". We saw how
dangerous that can be when
WannaCry took over unpatched
PCs in the NHS and other places. It
was so bad that Microsoft released
a patch for XP, even though it was
out of support.
There are reasons to be fearful,
because of the way the malware
industry works. On the second
Tuesday of every month, Microsoft
releases security patches that
should be installed automatically
by Windows Update. The malware
industry analyses these patches to
find the holes, and then looks for
ways to exploit them. A lot of the
code in Windows 10 goes back to
Windows 7 and earlier versions. As
a result, some of the security holes
in Windows 10 will also be present
in Windows 7, but they won't be
patched. Malware writers don't
normally target out-of-date
operating systems, because they
don't usually have many users. In
this case, as with XP, there could be
millions of relatively easy targets.
The British government's National
Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) told
the BBC: "We would urge those
using the software after the
deadline to replace unsupported
devices as soon as possible, to
move sensitive data to a supported
device and not to use them for
tasks like accessing bank and other
sensitive accounts." That's good
advice. The NCSC's website
suggests some "short-term steps to
take when you can't move off outof-date
platforms and applications
straight away". It's aimed mainly at
government departments and
businesses, and isn't specific to
Windows 7.
The core advice boils down to
this: avoid coming into contact
with any malware, and make sure
you have nothing to lose. The first
is basically impossible in a world
where malware can be served via
advertisements ("malvertising")
even on respectable websites. The
second is tedious but essential.
While you can't patch Windows
7, you can make sure your other
software is patched. That applies to
browsers in particular.
Fortunately, the main browser
suppliers will keep updating them,
and Google has said: "We will
continue to fully support Chrome
on Windows 7 for a minimum of 18
months from Microsoft's end of life
date, until at least 15 July 2021."
Eventually, however, they'll stop
testing their browsers on Windows
7 because it's expensive and will
only serve a shrinking number of
users.
If you can't avoid malware
completely, try to avoid untrusted
or insecure websites. Major namebrand
websites should be
reasonably safe, including your
bank's. Sources of free, pirated or
"adult" stuff are generally less so.
But, sooner or later, your bank will
decide that it's too risky to deal
with people who have vulnerable
computers, and prevent you from
logging on. Running good antivirus
software and a firewall
should help minimise the risk, so it
may be worth paying for
something like Kaspersky Total
Security. However, no security
software is foolproof, and it won't
patch your unpatched operating
system. You must also be supersuspicious
about emails, and never
click unsolicited attachments.
According to Precisesecurity.com,
spam and phishing emails caused
67% of ransomware infections in
2019, causing $4bn (£3.1bn) worth
of damage.
The best defence against
ransomware and other serious
attacks is not having anything to
lose.
Picking smartphone of personal choice
Jack Schofield
There are four obvious problems with
having a list of specifications for the
device you want to buy, whether it's a
smartphone, tablet, laptop, digital
camera or whatever. The first and
biggest problem is that it can easily
eliminate most of the products on the
market or, in your case, all of them.
In fact, it's a problem I share: nobody
offers a laptop that meets my mostdesired
specification, though a few
come close.
The second problem is that it can
be hard work. There are thousands of
products with variable specifications,
many of them incomplete. The
numbers you can find may well be a
mixture of inches and centimetres,
kilograms and pounds, and binary
and decimal bytes. In some cases, I've
created spreadsheets to compare
products, partly to automate the
format conversions.
The third problem is that choosing
purely on specification ignores other
important features, such as
manufacturing quality, ergonomics,
software experience, reliability and
support. That's why it's a good idea to
get a "hands on" and to read
independent reviews, plus the
manufacturer's support forums, if
any.There's always a risk factor, and
some technology buyers are more
risk-averse than others. Some are
happy buying smartphones from
little-known suppliers on Chinese
websites; others will prefer to buy
from a local shop, so they can take it
back when they run into a problem.
The fourth problem is that most of
us have personal preferences. Some
people have historical reasons for
choosing a particular brand - they've
had good or bad experiences with
other products from the same
company - or they think it has more
social credibility. Maybe they just like
the colour or the way it looks. Buyers
are often willing to compromise on
specifications when less tangible
aspects of desirability trigger an
emotional response.
I'm not saying that buying using
specifications is wrong: people who
ignore them risk buying stupid
things. However, specs are not the
whole story, and for many buyers,
they are not even the main story.
Laptops come in so many different sizes, form factors, capabilities, age,
operating systems and prices, filtering by specs can be useful in narrowing
down the options.
Photo: Bebeto Matthews
Either way, knowing what you value
will help you make a more informed
choice.
From your wishlist of
specifications, you want to buy a
dual-sim Android 10 smartphone
with at least 8GB of memory, 128GB
or more storage (expandable), and a
90Hz or better display. This sort of
spec should give you a decent range
of options. Unfortunately, you also
want a headphone jack, wireless
charging and water resistance, which
reduces the options to none. The last
thing on your wishlist is 5G: "nice to
have for future proofing; not
required". That's a nice thought, but
"Android" and "future proofing" are
mutually incompatible.
I don't know of any phones that
exactly match your wishlist, and I
think the long-term trend is the other
way. I envisage future smartphones
as completely sealed devices with no
ports at all. Sims will be "virtual"
esims (stored on the device, instead
of physically inserted) and everything
else will be done wirelessly.
Headphones are on the way out,
and microSD card slots - used to add
storage - will probably go the same
way. For now, your spec is mostly
practical if you can fit a microSD card
into a hybrid sim slot, instead of a
second sim. It only took a couple of
minutes on GSM Arena's Phone
Finder to come up with what might
be your best choice - the Xiaomi
Redmi K30 - but you could also
consider the Lenovo Z6 running
Android 9. If you want a 5G phone,
the only option is the Xiaomi Redmi
K30 5G. You can compare all three
here. They are all reasonably priced.
These mid-range smartphones
have the features you want except for
wireless charging and the real
stumbling block, water resistance.
However, you can get both of those
from your current supplier in the
form of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9,
S10, S10+ and S10e. If you can find
dual-sim models with Android 10,
the only thing you'd be giving up is
the high screen refresh rate, and the
rumour is that Samsung will address
that in February.
On the whole, then, I think you
should stick with Samsung, unless
you have totally gone off the
company, which would be
understandable in the circumstances.
GSM Arena is really useful if you're
buying a smartphone or a tablet - the
two product categories it covers. If
I'm buying something else, I'm often
tempted to ask "what's the GSM
Arena of" cameras or laptops or TV
sets or whatever. There is rarely a
good answer, but for digital camera
buyers, the Amazon-owned DP
Review website is excellent.
Google now has credibility issues
Kari Paul
A former Google executive claims he
was pushed out of the company over
his advocacy of human rights,
alleging in a public blogpost that the
company is increasingly putting
profits over people.
Ross LaJeunesse, the former head
of international relations at Google
and now a Democratic candidate for
US Senate in Maine, said he was
forced to leave the company after
reporting discriminatory practices,
and that his work to combat
censorship was at odds with Google's
desires to expand into a growing
market in China.
"In reality, I don't think we can
trust Google," he told the Guardian.
"It has been shown time and time
again, whether in how it handles
personal data to when it's asked to
address violent content online, that
we cannot take Google at its word any
more."
LaJeunesse spearheaded a 2010
decision to stop censoring Google
search results in China and worked to
establish a company-wide human
rights program - efforts that were
challenged when Google returned to
the Chinese market with a censored
search product code-named
Dragonfly in 2017.
He also described offensive
workplace incidents, including
"diversity" exercises that divided
employees by race and gender and
encouraged them to shout slurs at
one another. Colleagues who were
more senior in the company "bullied
and screamed at young women,
causing them to cry at their desks",
LaJeunesse wrote in the Thursday
blogpost, which was published on
Medium.
LaJeunesse said his attempts to
address these concerns in HR were
dismissed until February 2019 when
despite being highly rated,
LaJeunesse was told there was no
longer a job for him at the company
as a result of a "reorganization".
Standing up for women, for the
LGBTQ community, for colleagues of
color, and for human rights - had cost
me my career," LaJeunesse said in
his blogpost.
Google did not respond to request
for comment. LaJeunesse is the latest
high-profile departure for Google,
coming after several years of internal
strife for the company. In October
2018, tens of thousands of Google
employees staged walkouts from
offices around the world to protest its
policies around sexual harassment.
In December 2019, four former
Google employees filed federal
charges against the company alleging
they were fired over organizing for
workers' rights.
In late 2019, the Google cofounders
Larry Page and Sergey Brin formally
stepped down from their positions at
the parent company Alphabet,
leaving Google's CEO, Sundar Pichai,
to manage both Alphabet and Google
under one role.
The departure of Page and Brin
represent a major step in Google's
ongoing transformation in recent
years, LaJeunesse said. The two
coined Google's initial slogan,
"Don't be evil", which LaJeunesse
says has been forgotten in the past
decade in favor of explosive growth.
Google went from around 15,000
employees in 2007 to more than
100,000 in 2019.
"When I started at Google, there
was a sense that we really believed
in the power of technology to make
the world a better place,"
LaJeunesse said. "It's not like that
any more."
Protesters demonstrate about contractor rights and the Google's
business in China.
Photo : David Paul
Tech-jaints received increased
scrutiny in 2020
Kari Paul
What goes up must come down, and
in 2019, gravity reasserted itself for
the tech industry. After years of
relatively unchecked growth, the tech
industry found itself on the receiving
end of increased scrutiny from
lawmakers and the public and
attacks from its own employees. "The
whole year has been brutal for tech
companies," said Peter Yared, chief
executive officer and founder of data
compliance firm InCountry. "The
techlash we have seen in the rest of
the world is just now catching up in
the US - it's been a long time
coming."
From new privacy legislation to
internal strife, here are some of the
major hurdles the tech industry has
faced in the past year. As the 2020
presidential race intensified, tech
companies faced a growing backlash
over the campaign-related content
they allow on their platforms.
In October, Facebook quietly
revised its policy banning false claims
in advertising to exempt politicians,
drawing fierce criticism from users,
misinformation watchdogs, and
politicians. Following the change in
policy, presidential candidate
Elizabeth Warren took out
advertisements on Facebook
purposely making false statements to
draw attention to the policy.
Democratic lawmaker Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez grilled Facebook's
chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg,
over the policy change in a
congressional hearing in October.
"Do you see a potential problem here
with a complete lack of factchecking
on political advertisements?" Ocasio-
Cortez asked, as Zuckerberg
struggled to answer. "So, you won't
take down lies or you will take down
lies?"
Meanwhile, other tech companies
took the opposite stance. TikTok,
whose reported 500 million users
makes it one of Facebook's largest
rivals, made clear in a blogpost in
October it would not be hosting any
political advertisements.
And Facebook rival Twitter banned
almost all political advertising in
October. Google stated in November
it would no longer allow political
advertisers to target voters based on
their political affiliations.
At one time, tech giant acquisitions
were shrugged at. But the instant
skepticism that met Google's
acquisition of Fitbit represented a
shift in how regulatory agencies are
looking at big tech: investigations are
coming.
Throughout the year, tech giants
faced congressional hearings on
issues such as privacy, antitrust and
misinformation. The US Congress
announced in June it would
investigate tech firms over anticompetitive
behavior. In July,
Facebook, Google, and Amazon faced
a grilling before the House
subcommittee regarding antitrust. A
week later, the US justice department
announced it was opening a broad
antitrust review into Facebook,
Alphabet's Google, Amazon and
Apple.
Shortly after, Facebook said it had
agreed to pay a record $5bn penalty
in the US for mishandling user data
in the Cambridge Analytica breach.
Later in 2019, Facebook's Zuckerberg
spent hours in the hot seat as
Congress members grilled him over
the social media giant's privacy
practices and its plans to launch a
digital currency.
While the hearings did not
immediately result in legislative
action, the tone of questioning
underscored growing bipartisan
animosity against tech executives.
Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio
said Facebook showed
"breathtaking arrogance" in
attempting to launch a digital
financial service after a number of
major privacy scandals and called
Facebook "dangerous".
In 2019, US lawmakers and
regulatory agencies began to direct at
tech firms the kind of criticism that
has been advancing in the European
Union for years. In the year since the
the General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR) went into effect
in May 2018, the US has started to
look at its own regulation addressing
what data is collected on its citizens.
"Throughout the world, you see
that people are fed up and you see
more and more laws popping up,"
Yared said. "And it's coming to the
US now." As the average American
became more aware of the privacy
issues and the magnitude of data
collection, calls for legislation
intensified, said Hayley Tsukayama,
a legislative activist at the not-forprofit
Electronic Frontier
Foundation. Major scandals such as
Cambridge Analytica and Amazon's
growing network of Ring doorbells
have caused voters to request more
action from their lawmakers.
"We have heard from many
lawmakers saying they introduced
legislation due to calls they were
getting from constituents," she
said. "In a lot of cases, people will
say they do not like what Google or
Facebook is doing, they find an ad
creepy or are upset about an
invasion of privacy."
The calls for better privacy
protections have grown steadily each
year and show no sign of slowing
down, said Chris Babel, chief
executive officer of privacy
compliance firm TrustArc.
Consumers are increasingly aware of
privacy violations after their own
data was mishandled by Equifax,
Facebook and in other massive
breaches.
"Privacy has become an even bigger
theme in 2019," Babel said. "Things
have fundamentally changed -
consumers care more about their
personal information than they did in
the past, and businesses do, too."
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, is questioned before a House committee
on the company's privacy security.
Photo: J Scott Applewhite

ECONOMY & BUSINESS
SaturDaY, JanuarY 25 2020
6
uber sells Indian food delivery
unit to Zomato
South Korean tech giant, Samsung and its partner Fair Electronics Limited have inaugurated its first
Samsung flagship store of Bangladesh recently, at BtI Landmark, Gulshan ave, Dhaka. the new flagship
store will showcase all the latest cutting-edge innovations of Samsung, including all the latest
Samsung Galaxy Smartphones & accessories, Galaxy active, 82-inch 8K QLED tV, Bespoke
refrigerators, Steam Washing Machine, Dryer, air Purifier, the Serif QLED tV, the Frame QLED
tV, and many more. the inauguration ceremony was attended by Seungwon Youn, Country
Manager, Samsung Bangladesh, along with other high officials from Samsung Bangladesh, including
Bomin Kim, General Manager; Md. Muyeedur rahman, Head of Mobile; and Shahriar Bin Lutfor,
Head of Consumer Electronics Business. Mohammad Mesbah uddin, Chief Marketing Officer, Fair
Electronics Limited and Major General (rtd) Hamidur rahman Chowdhury, advisor, Fair Group
were also present in the ceremony.
Photo : Courtesy
While Uber and Zomato did not reveal
the amount, sources say about $300-
350 million and Uber gets 9.99% of
Zomato Ride-hailing giant Uber
Technologies Inc has exited the food
delivery business in India and sold its
Uber Eats arm to Zomato in an all-stock
deal on Tuesday, reports Asia Times.
The deal will give Uber 9.99%
ownership in the SoftBank-backed
Zomato and help the US cab aggregator
to cut back on loss-making business
segments globally.
For Uber, this move can result in
annualized savings of nearly US$750
million, according to last year's
regulatory filing. In the first three
quarters of this fiscal year, Uber Eats
India totalled 3% in gross bookings but
accounted for more than 25% of
adjusted EBITA losses.
While the two companies did not
share the deal size, sources peg it around
$300-350 million. Uber Eats in India
will discontinue operations and direct
restaurants, delivery partners and its
users to the Zomato platform.
"We are proud to have pioneered
restaurant discovery and to have created
a leading food delivery business across
more than 500 cities in India. This
acquisition significantly strengthens our
position in the category," Zomato CEO
Deepinder Goyal said.
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber,
said: "Our Uber Eats team in India has
achieved an incredible amount over the
last two years, and I couldn't be prouder
of their ingenuity and dedication."
"India remains an exceptionally
important market to Uber and we will
continue to invest in growing our local
rides business," he added. Uber Eats
will, however, continue its operations in
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The deal comes close on the heels of
Zomato raising $150 million in funding
from existing investor Ant Financial, an
Alibaba affiliate, at a $3 billion
valuation.
Uber Eats, which was launched in
2017 in India, had about 26,000
restaurant partners and garnered about
12% of the market. The Indian food
delivery market is dominated by
Naspers-backed Swiggy, which delivers
42 million orders a month, while
Zomato delivers about 37 million.
With Uber Eats acquisition, Zomato
can upstage Swiggy and strengthen its
presence in South India, where Swiggy
is the leading player. The battle for the
market share between the two
companies is expected to intensify.
Industry watchers caution that for
Zomato this acquisition need not
guarantee all Uber Eats customers will
shift to its platform. Some could switch
to Swiggy too. However, the exit of Uber
Eats will mean less competition and the
reduction of the bargaining power of
restaurants. This will help the two
players to optimize revenue and costs.
But it cannot do away with discounts
to customers, as it will take a toll on its
sales volumes.
The acquisition is expected to lead
to job losses. Though Zomato has
assured that the delivery crew of Uber
Eats be on-boarded to its fleet, job
losses are expected. About 245 fulltime
employees at Uber Eats India
have been affected, Forbes reports.
They will be asked to apply for
vacancies within Uber's other
verticals, and will stay on the
company's payrolls until March 3.
Bond investors brush off Gulf jitters
as Kingdom raises $5b
tEDxGulshan held in Dhaka
Saudi Arabia's dollar bonds, among the
most liquid in the region, have shrugged
off recent geopolitical tensions in the
region. Saudi Arabia has raised $5 billion
in bonds after receiving around $20
billion in orders, a sign that an escalation
in geopolitical tensions in the Gulf has not
deterred investors looking for high
returns amid low global rates, reports
Arab news.
The Kingdom has issued bonds with
maturities of 7, 12 and 35 years, a
document by one of the banks leading the
deal showed, as part of plans to raise $32
billion worth of debt this year as it seeks
new financing channels in an era of lower
oil prices.
The bond sale is the first by a Gulf
government this year and follows a rise
in geopolitical tensions in the region
after Iran and the US, Saudi Arabia's
ally, traded military strikes earlier this
month.
Riyadh raised $1.25 billion in sevenyear
bonds offering 85 basis points over
US Treasuries, $1 billion in 12-year notes
with a spread of 110 basis points over the
benchmark, and $2.75 billion in 35-year
bonds, the Kingdom's longest
international bonds ever issued, with a
3.84 percent yield.
Saudi Arabia's dollar bonds, among the
most liquid in the region, have been
relatively resilient after an attack on the
facilities of state-owned oil giant Aramco
last year and a US drone strike that killed
Iranian military commander Qassem
Soleimani this month.
The spreads on offer looked "cheap"
when the bond sale began on Tuesday,
particularly for the longer dated tranches,
said Zeina Rizk, fixed income executive
director at Dubai's Arqaam Capital.
"There is definitely a risk premium
linked to geopolitical risk, but markets
didn't sell off as much as you would have
expected them to after the Aramco attack
or after Soleimani's death. Initial price
guidance is cheap but it will obviously
tighten," she said.
Alberto Bigolin, executive director and
head of MENA fixed income at Tellimer,
said the initial premium was erased
completely during the sale process.
China virus measures stoke
market rebound
Welcoming the big crowd and
esteemed speakers and performers
from home and abroad, the much
anticipated day-long event
'TEDxGulshan' successfully ended on
Recently at RAOWA Convention
Centre, Dhaka.
Featuring the intriguing theme
'Innovation Enabling Social Change',
for the first time in Bangladesh
TEDxGulshan commenced at 10am
and continued till 4 pm. TED is the
world's most respected speaking
platform featuring leading thinkers
and doers starting from Bill Gates to
UN Secretary General to Shahrukh
Khan as host/curator of TEDx in
India, a press release said.
TEDxGulshan, true to the format of
TEDx events is a platform for the
people to spread their story that will
be thought-changing for the
attendees and creating a bridge
connecting the thought leaders,
academics, change makers and
entrepreneurs to bring about a social
change.
The event was commenced with the
welcome speech of the President and
Curator of TEDxGulshan Ashfaq
Zaman, CPA. After inauguration of
the day-long event the main licensee
of bringing TEDxGulshan for the first
time in Bangladesh said,
'TEDxGulshan will spread the
fascinating ideas of Bangladeshis to
inspire along with almost 44 million
people globally through the TED
channels.
At the event Salman F. Rahman, the
Private Industry and Investment
Advisor to Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina, shared about the world of
freelancing and how it emerged in
Bangladesh. He highlighted the
challenges that caused a hindrance
towards bringing money from abroad
and how freelancing can be
institutionalized to solve the prevalent
manifold problems in this sector.
Syed Tamjid-ur-Rahman, Vice
President UN Global Compact
Bangladesh & Vice President
Bangladesh Centre for Fourth
Industrial Revolution, Bobby Hajjaj,
Oxford Scholar & Faculty; and an
International TEDx speaker, Major
Mohommed Ali Shah, Indian Army
Veteran & Bollywood Actor presented
their speech.
During the day-long event, Zara
Mahbub, Country Director & CEO,
Kazi IT Centre Ltd; Dr. Yasmeen
Haque, Professor of the Department
of Physics, Shahjalal University of
Science & Technology; Ms. Maliha M.
Quadir, Founder & Managing
Director; Niaz Rahim, Group Director
Rahimafrooz Bangladesh Ltd; Anir
Chowdhury, Policy Advisor, a2i, PMO
shared their experiences.
Among others, Ayman Sadiq, CEO,
10 Minute School; Dr. Katherine Li,
Director, Office of External Affairs,
North South University; Mahir Ali
Khan, Vice Chairman Rupayan
Group; Ms. Sausan Khan Moyeen,
Enchanted Events & Prints; and Bibi
Russell, Bibi Productions Fashion for
Development also shared their
experiences. In the closing remarks
TEDxGulshan event Curator Ashfaq
Zaman gave vote of thanks to the
attendees.
Beijing takes steps to contain spread;
Hong Kong government briefing awaited
as first case emerges in city.Trade of the
Day: Stocks and futures rally as China
gets a grip on virus; safe havens flat as
risk-taking thrives.
Quote of the Day: ""When investors are
irrationally exuberant, there tends to be a
desire to take on more risk and trade on
margin. However, this isn't the case now.
The level of margin debt, which typically
equates to a greater risk exposure for
investors, decreased in the second half of
2018 and has tracked sideways through
2019. Investors are not mindlessly
chasing the rise in US equities, despite
headlines that would suggest the
contrary," said Benjamin Jones, senior
multi-asset strategist at State Street
Global Markets.
"This lack of exuberance, or euphoria
suggests there is still plenty of upside for
US equities."
Stock of the Day: Ping An Healthcare
rose as much as 12.6% in heavy volumes
as the provider of medical services
continues to draw attention amid the
spread of the coronavirus in China and
other parts of the world. The stock has
now risen 27% in the past week.
Number of the Day:. $272. The new
target price for Alibaba by HSBC, which
has a buy rating on the e-commerce giant.
This is an upgrade of 10% and a 23%
upside from the current price. "Promising
2020 outlook; estimates ahead of
consensus … 2020 should be the year in
which Alibaba begins to benefit from its
earlier investments while losses from new
initiatives stabilize," they wrote in a
report.
Tip of the Day: "China healthcare
sector surged significantly towards the
spread of Wuhan coronavirus, and we
believe most of the [share price]
movements were sentimental and
without fundamental ground," said
Jefferies analyst in a note published on
Wednesday."Share price performance is
largely sentimental, but the healthcare
sector is often the shelter during
uncertainties. Share price delivered
strong performance following the spread
of the disease, but we believe many of
these performances were not grounded
and based entirely on speculations."
Asian markets rebounded strongly
after China's prompt and transparent
response to the coronavirus stirred hopes
that Beijing was being proactive in
dealing with the crisis even as more cases
are being reported outside the mainland.
Hong Kong Secretary for Food and
Health Sophia Chan is to make a
statement at a media briefing after the
territory reported its first case of the
virus.
The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index
was up 0.71%, while Japan's Nikkei 225
index rose 0.7%. Australia's S&P ASX
200 benchmark jumped 0.94% and
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index's 1.27%
surge was driven by telecoms, technology
and utilities sectors.
Adding to Hong Kong's concerns about
a recent Moody's downgrade was a
revision of the economic forecast by UBS,
which now expects the territory's GDP to
contract in 2020. "We lowered our 2020
Hong Kong GDP forecast to -0.5%,
against our previous forecast of 1.2% and
the Bloomberg consensus of 0.2%. We
also revised down our 2019 growth
estimation to -1.3% from previous
estimation of -1.1%. We maintain our
2021 forecast at 2.9%," said William
Deng, Greater China and North Asia
economist of UBS Investment Bank.
"There have been some green shoots
recently, but we do not think it is good
enough yet," Deng added. "Given the
continuing challenges, we expect the
government to announce more countercyclical
growth support measures in the
coming 2020/21 fiscal budget, focusing
on improving public welfare, supporting
corporates and employment, and
promoting Hong Kong's long-term
growth."
Food for thought as aramco's
amin nasser hosts Davos
The theme of the reception was "the
art of the possible," aiming to highlight
Aramco's huge investment in energy
technology .Among the foreseen events
were the release of audited reserves
estimates showing Aramco - officially -
as the world's biggest oil
company.Rapidly becoming a
highlight of the hectic Davos calendar
is the Saudi Aramco reception and
dinner, held for the past two years now
at the InterContinental Hotel on the
outskirts of the Alpine resort, reports
Arab news.
The egg-shaped InterConti is one of
the bigger and newer establishments
here, very different in style from most
of the other traditional Swiss hotels. It
exudes corporate power and influence
and is a fitting venue for the most
valuable company in history to host
friends, clients and would-be partners
for a few informal hours.
On Wednesday, the hotel was
virtually an extension of Riyadh. In
addition to the Aramco event, there
was also a big presence by the Saudi
Arabian General Investment Authority
(SAGIA), with its slogan "Saudi Arabia:
Now Live" in prominent view in the
bustling lobby.
The Aramco event - hosted of course
by chief executive officer Amin Nasser
- was a gathering of some of the most
powerful people in the Kingdom, as
well as a number of the great-and-good
of the energy world and
representatives of the global elite.
The Saudi Energy Minister Prince
Abdul Aziz bin Salman chatted
amiably with guests, none the worse
for wear from the door-stepping he
had got from the Western press
earlier in the day, which had caused a
storm of disapproval on Saudi
domestic media. He had a few words
for everyone.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the
Saudi Public Investment Fund and
chairman of Armco, was in attendance
too, enjoying the refreshments and
canapes of the gathering.
The theme of the reception - held in
the InterConti's cavernous basement
function hall - was "the art of the
possible," aiming to highlight Aramco's
huge investment in energy technology,
its big global research and
development commitment, and its
awareness of climate-change issues.
"We are more than just a petrol pump,"
was the message.
One neat synergy between
traditional Saudi life and modern
technology was the story of Mohamed
Amanullah, leader of Aramco's
Advanced Research Center, who
devised a way of using discarded date
seeds - suitably processed - as a filter in
the oil-drilling process. "It shows
heritage and sustainability in one
place," an Aramco aide explained.
The highlight of the soiree was an
address from Nasser, who took the
stage to thank guests for making the
trek to the InterConti. He noted that
Davos 2020 had the highest number
ever of Saudi delegates.

MISCELLANEOUS
SATURDAY, JAnUARY 25, 2020
7
'Trust for Knowledge' organized a merit verification test in Moulvibazar on Friday.
Democrats argue 'right matters'
in Trump impeachment trial
Democratic House prosecutors made
an expansive case Thursday at Donald
Trump's impeachment trial that he
abused power like no other president
in history, swept up by a "completely
bogus" Ukraine theory pushed by
attorney Rudy Giuliani, reports UNB.
On Friday, the Democrats will press
their final day of arguments before
skeptical Republican senators,
focusing on the second article of
impeachment, obstruction of
Congress' investigation.
As the audience of Senate jurors sat
through another long day, and night,
the prosecutors outlined the charge.
They argued that Trump abused
power for his own personal political
benefit ahead of the 2020 election,
even as the nation's top FBI and
national security officials were publicly
warning off the theory that it was
Ukraine, not Russia, that interfered in
the 2016 election.
"That's what Donald Trump wanted
investigated or announced - this
completely bogus Kremlin-pushed
conspiracy theory," said Rep. Adam
Schiff, the chairman of the House
Intelligence Committee who is leading
the prosecution, during Thursday's
session.
At the close of the evening Schiff
made an emotional plea to senators to
consider what was at stake as Trump is
accused of seeking Ukrainian probes
of political foe Joe Biden and Biden's
son while holding back
congressionally approved military aid
as leverage.
"Right matters," he said, quoting
Army officer Lt. Col. Alex Vindman
who had testified in the House.
"Otherwise we are lost."
The president is facing trial in the
Senate after the House impeached him
last month, accusing Trump of
abusing his office by asking Ukraine
for the investigations while
withholding the aid from a U.S. ally at
war with bordering Russia. The second
article of impeachment accuses him of
obstructing Congress by refusing to
turn over documents or allow officials
to testify in the House probe.
Republicans, growing tired of the
long hours of proceedings, have
EU chiefs sign
Brexit deal ahead of
parliamentary vote
Brussels' two top officials, the
presidents of the European
Commission and the European
Council, signed off on Britain's
EU divorce agreement Friday,
reports BSS.
With Ursula von der Leyen
and Charles Michel's formal
endorsement, the text will now
go to the European Parliament
on January 29 for ratification.
Then, on Thursday next
week, diplomats from the EU
member states will approve the
deal in writing, ensuring
Britain's orderly departure at
midnight on January 31.
"Charles Michel and I have
just signed the Agreement on
the Withdrawal of the UK from
the EU, opening the way for its
ratification by the European
Parliament," Commission chief
Ursula von der Leyen tweeted.
In a separate tweet, Michel
said: "Things will inevitably
change but our friendship will
remain. We start a new chapter
as partners and allies."
And he added, in French:
"I'm keen to write this new
page together."
defended Trump's actions as
appropriate and cast the process as a
politically motivated effort to weaken
him in the midst of his reelection
campaign. Republicans hold a 53-47
majority in the Senate, and acquittal is
considered likely.
The Democrats' challenge is clear as
they try to convince not just fidgety
senators but an American public
divided over the Republican president
in an election year. With Chief Justice
John Roberts presiding, Democrats
argued on Thursday that Trump's
motives were apparent.
"No president has ever used his
office to compel a foreign nation to
help him cheat in our elections," Rep.
Jerrold Nadler of New York, the
chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee, told the senators. He said
the nation's founders would be
shocked. "The president's conduct is
wrong. It is illegal. It is dangerous."
Democrats scoffed at Trump's claim
he had good reasons for pressuring
Ukraine to investigate former Vice
President Biden or other political foes.
Rep. Sylvia Garcia of Texas, herself a
former judge, aid there is "no evidence,
nothing, nada" to suggest that Biden
did anything improper in dealings
with Ukraine.
Trump, with Giuliani, pursued
investigations of Biden and his son,
Hunter, who served on a Ukrainian
gas company's board, and sought the
probe of debunked theories of what
nation was guilty of interference in the
2016 U.S. election.
On dual tracks, Democrats
prosecuted their case while answering
in advance the arguments expected
from the president's attorneys in the
days ahead.
At one point, they showed video of a
younger Lindsey Graham, then a
South Carolina congressman and now
a GOP senator allied with Trump,
arguing during Bill Clinton's 1999
impeachment that no crime was
needed for impeaching a president.
Trump's defense team is now arguing
that the impeachment articles against
him are invalid because they do not
allege he committed a specific crime.
The president's defenders' turn will
Malaysian rights group sues Singapore
minister over false news law
Singapore's interior minister was sued
Friday by a Malaysian human rights group
in a bid to prevent the city-state from
enforcing its law against false information
in Malaysia, reports BSS.
Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam,
wielding a new law to fight
misinformation, had ordered Lawyers for
Liberty to correct last week's post alleging
the city-state used a brutal "coup de grace"
to finish off botched executions.
Singapore has denied the allegations as
"untrue, baseless and preposterous" but
the Malaysian rights group stood by its
claims and refused to issue a correction
notice.
Under Singapore's law, failure to comply
with a correction directive is an offence
punishable with a fine and jail term.
N. Surendran, an advisor for Lawyers for
Liberty, said the group were asking the
Malaysian High Court to declare the
Singapore directive "null and void" and
unenforceable in Malaysia.
"This is an attempt by Singapore to
encroach upon or to stifle or to crackdown
on freedom of speech in our country,"
Surendran told reporters.
"It is an attempt to reach out their
tentacles and impose their own oppressive
fake news act on Malaysians issuing
come Saturday.
"We will be putting on a vigorous
defense of both facts, rebutting what
they said," and the Constitution, said
attorney Jay Sekulow.
Ahead of the day's proceedings, Sen.
Roy Blunt of Missouri said the
Democrats were putting forward
"admirable presentations." But he
said, "There's just not much new here."
During the dinner break, Sen. John
Barrasso, R-Wyo., said it seemed like
"Groundhog Day in the Senate."
The top Senate Democrat, Chuck
Schumer, acknowledged that many
senators "really don't want to be here."
But Schumer said Schiff has been
outlining a compelling case that many
Republicans are hearing it for only the
first time. He contended they can't
help but be "glued" to his testimony.
Once reluctant to take on
impeachment during an election year,
Democrats are now marching toward
a decision by the Senate that the
American public also will judge.
Trump blasted the proceedings in a
Thursday tweet, declaring them the
"Most unfair & corrupt hearing in
Congressional history!"
After the House prosecutors finish,
the president's lawyers will have as
long as 24 hours. It's unclear how
much time they will actually take, but
Trump's team is not expected to finish
Saturday, according to a person
unauthorized to discuss the planning
and granted anonymity. The Senate is
expected to take only Sunday off and
push into next week.
After that senators will face the
question of whether they do, or do not,
want to call witnesses to testify.
Senators were permitted Thursday
to review supplemental testimony
submitted by an aide to Vice President
Mike Pence, Jennifer Williams, who
was among those who had concerns
about Trump's actions. Democrats
said the testimony, which is classified,
bolsters their impeachment case. A
lawyer for Williams declined to
comment.
Holding the room's attention has
been difficult for the Democrats, but
senators seemed to pay closer mind to
Schiff's testimony that grew dramatic.
statements in Malaysia."
Under the law, Singaporean authorities
can order corrections placed next to posts
they deem false. Malaysia repealed a
similar power in 2019.
Singapore home affairs ministry officials
were not immediately available for
comment.
Separately, the country's information
minister directed the media regulator to
block access in the city-state to the
Malaysian rights group's website, where
the allegations were originally posted.
The city-state imposes the death penalty
- carried out by hanging -for crimes such as
drug trafficking and murder, and hanged
13 people in 2018, according to official
data.
Many of the inmates on death row are
from Malaysia, Surendran said.
In a first, a Singapore opposition political
party challenged the law in court earlier
this month but a judge reserved judgement
on the case.
Activists say the Singaporean law is used
to stifle criticism ahead of elections.
Since it came into force in October,
several opposition figures and activists
have been ordered to place a banner next to
online posts stating that they contain false
information.
Photo: TBT
China shuts down
transport in nine
cities around
virus epicenter
China Friday added a ninth
city to a transport ban
around the epicentre of a
deadly virus, restricting the
movement of some 32
million people as authorities
scramble to control the
disease, reports BSS.
Jingzhou, with a
population of 6.4 million,
said Friday that all services
departing from its railway
station will be suspended
from 0400 GMT.
The city is the latest in a
string of cities in central
Hubei province to impose
travel restrictions in a bid to
curb the spread of the new
coronavirus which has
infected more than 800
people.
Public buses, passenger
transport, tourism buses,
ferries and other boats will
temporarily stop operations
as well.
The virus first emerged
from the city of Wuhan in
Hubei province, where a
seafood market has been
identified as the centre of the
outbreak. More than 25 have
died due to the virus, which
has caused alarm because of
its similarity to SARS
(Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome), which killed
nearly 650 people across
mainland China and Hong
Kong in 2002-2003.
Huangshi, with a
population of 2.4 million,
shut transport routes Friday
as well as closing a ferry
terminal and bridge over the
Yangtze River, and
suspending public transport.
The move followed the
suspension of long-distance
passenger buses, tourist
coaches and public transport
from Thursday night in
Qianjiang, a city in central
Hubei with a population of
nearly one million people.
Trains and planes were
halted from leaving Wuhan
on Thursday as the city was
placed under effective
lockdown. Passenger boats
and buses were also
forbidden from entering the
city.
The virus has hit China in
the midst of its Lunar New
Year holiday, typically
marked by family gatherings
and public celebrations.
Other cities with travel
restrictions include Xiantao,
a city of 1.5 million, and
Chibi, which has some
500,000 people, which
closed toll station entrances
and halted transport routes.
The cities of Ezhou,
Huanggang and Lichuan
have also introduced travel
restrictions.
Hubei province
authorities said they were
calling off cultural
performances at public
venues.
Travel agencies in the
province have suspended
business activities, and are
no longer organising tour
groups, authorities said in
an announcement on
Friday.
From 0400 GMT, the
province will also stop
operating online taxis and
impose restrictions on taxis
plying the roads.
President set to gain as Peru
heads to congressional polls
Peru will hold separate parliamentary
elections for the first time on Sunday as
President Martin Vizcarra looks to break the
influence of the main opposition party of
Keiko Fujimori, reports BSS.
Vizcarra dissolved parliament in
September following constant clashes
between the legislature and the executive
that left Peru in a political crisis.
After parliament's objections were
rejected by the constitutional court, a date
was set for new parliamentary elections in
which Fujimori's populist right-wing party
could lose dozens of its 73 seats in the 130-
seat chamber. "The election winner is going
to be Martin Vizcarra, because he will have
managed to change the hostile Congress of
the last few years," political analyst Augusto
Alvarez told AFP.
Fujimori is expected to pay for being
implicated in the wide-ranging Odebrecht
corruption scandal that saw her spend 13
months in pre-trial detention until she was
released in November.
Her Popular Force party has been the
major bloc in parliament since the last
elections in 2016 and even managed to force
Vizcarra's predecessor Pedro Pablo
Kuczynski - another politician embroiled in
the Odebrecht scandal -from power in 2018.
But the daughter of jailed former
president Alberto Fujimori has seen her
popularity plummet.
Her party's main allies in the legislature,
Vaccine for novel coronavirus
may be ready in 3 months:
U.S. scientists
U.S. health scientists said in an essay Thursday that a
candidate vaccine for the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
could be ready for early-stage human testing in three
months, reports BSS.
In an essay published on the U.S. medical journal JAMA,
Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Catharine Paules, an
assistant professor of infectious diseases at Penn State
University, said advances in technology since the SARS
outbreak in 2003 have greatly compressed the vaccine
development timeline.
The researchers moved from obtaining the genomic
sequence of SARS virus to a phase-one clinical trial of a DNA
vaccine in 20 months and have since compressed that
timeline to 3.25 months for other viral diseases.
The scientists hope to move even faster for 2019-nCoV,
using messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine technology,
according to the authors.
The predominant human receptor for the SARS
glycoprotein is human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2
(ACE2). Preliminary analyses indicated that 2019-nCoV has
some amino acid homology to SARS virus and may be able to
use ACE2 as a receptor.
This could have important implications for predicting
pandemic potential moving forward, said the authors.
Also, the emergence of yet another outbreak of human
disease caused by a pathogen from a viral family formerly
thought to be relatively benign underscores the perpetual
challenge of emerging infectious diseases and the
importance of sustained preparedness, the authors said.
the social-democrat APRA, have also been
hurt by the corruption scandal.
APRA's ex-leader Alan Garcia, a two-time
former president, committed suicide in
April as police turned up at his home to
arrest him for corruption related to the
Odebrecht case. Vizcarra dissolved
parliament on September 30.
The opposition accused him of a "coup
d'etat" and swore in Vice-President
Mercedes Araoz as "acting president" but
she resigned the following day. The
opposition took its case to the constitutional
court but it ruled in Vizcarra's favor.
Protesters took to the streets in support of
Vizcarra and his anti-corruption push. Polls
showed 90 percent support for parliament's
dissolution. Other opinion polls ahead of the
election suggest there could be a hung
parliament with centrist parties expected to
do well. Vizcarra doesn't have a party
himself but "will achieve a more bearable
relationship with the centrist parties that
achieve a majority in Congress," said
Alvarez. And he will need to as he requires
legislative support for his anti-corruption
reforms. Corruption has been a major issue
in Peru where four former presidents have
been implicated in the Odebrecht scandal.
If centrists do dominate Congress,
"Vizcarra won't have the same level of
opposition that characterized his
relationship with" the Fujimori-dominated
legislature, said Alvarez.
Study examines mortality costs
of air pollution in U.S.
Researchers at the University of Illinois (UI)
have estimated the mortality costs associated
with air pollution in the United States by
developing and applying a novel machine
learning-based method to estimate the lifeyears
lost and cost associated with air
pollution exposure, reports UNB.
By exploiting the daily variation in acute
fine particulate pollution exposure driven by
changes in wind direction, the researchers
found significant effects of exposure on
mortality, hospitalizations and medical
spending.
About 25 percent of the elderly Medicare
population was vulnerable to acute pollution
shocks, according to a news release posted
on the UI's website this week.
"Our analysis shows that the most
vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries are those
who suffer from chronic conditions and have
high health care spending," said Julian Reif,
a UI professor of finance and a faculty
member of the Institute of Government and
Public Affairs. "We estimate that members of
the most vulnerable group-those with a life
expectancy of less than one year-are over 30
times more likely to die from pollution than
the typical Medicare beneficiary."
The scholars also found that increases in
particulate matter lead to more emergency
room visits, hospitalizations and higher
patient spending.
They calculated that the reduction in
particulate matter experienced between
1999 and 2013 resulted in elderly mortality
reductions worth 24 billion U.S. dollars
annually by the end of that period.
"Mortality is only one of many potential
costs of air pollution," said David Molitor,
another UI professor of finance. "The elderly
who aren't dying may engage in other costly
activities such as going to the hospital for
preventive or emergency care. Those steps
may help them avoid death, but it doesn't
mean that pollution has no cost to their
health or finances."
Parliament member of Rajbari-1 constituency and former State Minister of
Education Kazi Keramat Ali as the chief guest addressed a discussion
meeting marking the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the academic
building of A. Halim Mia College in Goalando on Friday. Photo: TBT
South Korea
confirms second
coronavirus
case
South Korea on Friday
confirmed its second case of
the SARS-like virus that has
killed at least 25 in China, as
concerns mount about a
wider outbreak, reports
BSS.
Several nations including
the US have stepped up
checks on airport
passengers to detect the
coronavirus, which first
emerged in the central
Chinese city of Wuhan.
The virus has caused
alarm in China and abroad
because of its genetic
similarities to Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS), which killed nearly
650 people across mainland
China and Hong Kong in
2002-2003.
On Friday, Seoul's health
ministry said a South
Korean man in his 50s
started experiencing
symptoms while working in
Wuhan on Jan 10.

SATuRDAy, DHAKA, JANuARy 25, 2020, MAgH 11, 1426 BS, JAMADI-uL AWAL 28, 1441 HIJRI
The newly-elected Bangladesh Awami League Central Working Committee and Advisory
Council paid tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in
Tungipara on Friday.
Photo: Star Mail
ICEEST 2020 is
set to kick off in
Dhaka
TBT RepoRT
The Faculty of
earth and
environmental
Sciences (FeeS)
of Dhaka
University is all
set to organize
t h e
International
Conference on
earth and environmental Sciences 2020. In a press
briefing held at the university the Dean, professor Dr.
Maksud Kamal said the conference is one of the
largest conferences in the history of the university.
The conference will kick-off on January 25 at the hotel
InterContinental, Dhaka and will end after a field visit
to the Sunderbans. president Abdul Hamid has given
his consent to grace the conference as the chief guest
on January 26. It is expected that the event will be
attended by about 80 academicians, scientists and
researchers from abroad, and about 500 professionals,
academicians and policy makers from home. The
conference shall include several plenary and parallel
sessions, cultural events, field visits, etc. The FeeS is
going to publish a conference volume including the
550 abstracts of accepted papers for oral and poster
presentations. profiles of companies sponsoring the
event will be included in the abstract volume.
In the briefing, the Dean has unveiled his ambition
to forge strong ties among academia, industry and
policy making through this conference. He also spoke
highly of faculty's initiative to become a center of
excellence as the teachers as wells as the students are
highly motivated in research activities and their study
findings are being published in internationally
renowned journals.
Sweden expects
Myanmar to implement
ICJ order promptly
Sweden has welcomed the
ruling of the International Court
of Justice (ICJ) and expects
Myanmar to implement the
measures promptly, reports
UNB.
"An important step for justice
and accountability," Minister for
Foreign Affairs of Sweden Ann
Linde tweeted mentioning thst
Sweden welcomes the ICJ decision
ordering provisional measures
to prevent further mass
atrocity crimes in Myanmar
against Rohingyas.
In a sweeping legal victory for
members of the Rohingya
Muslim minority, the United
Nations' top court on Thursday
ordered Myanmar take all
measures in its power to prevent
genocide against the Rohingya
people.
The court's president, Judge
Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, said
the International Court of
Justice "is of the opinion that
the Rohingya in Myanmar
remain extremely vulnerable."
The court added that its order
for so-called provisional measures
intended to protect the
Rohingya is binding "and creates
international legal obligations"
on Myanmar.
The Ghost Town of
Gagnon, Quebec
INTeReSTINg NewS DeSK
gagnon, in Quebec, is a ghost town
unlike any other. There are no abandoned
buildings, or homes, or any visible infrastructure
that would suggest past human
habitation, save for a lonely stretch of road
that cuts through this former settlement.
Yet, less than four decades ago, gagnon
was thriving mining town with an airport,
churches, schools, a town hall, an arena, a
hospital, and a large commercial center,
despite being isolated and accessible only
by plane.
gagnon is located about 600 km north
of Quebec city, as the crow flies, on the
edge of the Manicouagan reservoir, which
is a large impact crater and one of the most
significant geological landmark in Quebec.
The city was founded in 1960 following the
discovery of iron ore in the region. The
shore of Lake Barbel was chosen as the site
to build the future town of gagnon. The
city rapidly grew in size. Infrastructure
such hospital, airport, churches, primary
and secondary schools and other businesses
were quickly built to make life easier for
new residents. At its peak, the city had
about 4,000 inhabitants.
In the 1970s, steel production fell across
North America as a result of the 1973–75
recession, whose effect lasted well into the
80s. In 1977, the resources in the mines
ran out and mining operations were transferred
to the mine in Fire Lake, located
about 90 km northeast of gagnon. By the
mid-1980s, the mines were no longer
turning profit, and it was decided that the
mines be closed. The city was evacuated,
but instead of leaving the existing buildings
intact, the entire town was razed to
the ground in 1985. All that remains today
is the town's deserted main street and the
airport's runway.
At the end of an hour-long sitting
in the court's wood-paneled
great Hall of Justice, judges also
ordered Myanmar to report to
them in four months on what
measures the country has taken
to comply with the order and
then to report every six months
as the case moves slowly
through the world court.
Rights activists immediately
welcomed the unanimous decision.
China virus toll
jumps to 25 dead
with 830 confirmed
cases: govt
The death toll in China's
viral outbreak has risen to
25, with the number of confirmed
cases also leaping to
830, the government said
on Friday, reports BSS.
The National Health
Commission said authorities
were also examining
1,072 suspected cases of the
virus that first emerged in
central city of wuhan.
The markedly higher
numbers were released just
hours after the world
Health organization
stopped short of declaring
the situation to be a global
health emergency.
China has effectively
quarantined nearly 20 million
people across wuhan
and some nearby cities in
response to the virus, and
announced measures to
curb its spread nationwide
as hundreds of millions of
people began travelling
across the country this
week for the Lunar New
Year holiday.
Streets and shopping
centres in wuhan, a major
industrial and transport
hub, are now eerily quiet
after authorities told residents
not to leave the city of
11 million, where most of
the cases have been identified.
The National Health
Commission said the death
toll was revised upward following
eight new deaths on
Thursday, and 259 new
cases reported across the
country.
out of the total 830 confirmed
cases, 177 were in
serious condition, it added.
Thirty-four people have
been "cured and discharged".
The respiratory virus
emerged from a seafood
and animal market in
wuhan and cases have
been reported as far away
as the United States.
The new virus has caused
alarm because of its similarity
to SARS (Severe
Acute Respiratory
Syndrome), which killed
nearly 650 people across
mainland China and Hong
Kong in 2002-2003.
New AL committee
pays tributes to
Bangabandhu at
Tungipara
The newly-elected
Bangladesh Awami League
Central working
Committee (ALCwC) and
Advisory Council, led by
AL president and prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina on
Friday paid rich tributes to
Father of the Nation
Bangabandhu Sheikh
MujiburRahman by placing
wreaths at his mazar
here, reports UNB.
prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina first placed a
wreath at the mazar of
Father of the Nation
Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman.
Later, Sheikh Hasina
along with members of the
Central working
Committee and Advisory
Council of the party placed
another wreath paying
tributes to Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
They offered Fateha and
joined a munajat seeking
eternal peace of the
departed soul of
Bangabandhu.
A joint-meeting of the
newly-elected Awami
League Central working
Committee (ALCwC) and
Advisory Council was held
there as per tradition.
Khaleda's family planning
special appeal for her
release: Selima
Dhaka: BNp Chairperson
Khaleda Zia's sister Selima
Islam on Friday said they
are planning to make a special
appeal seeking her
release from jail as they are
worried about her life,
reports UNB.
Selima, however, did not
make it clear whether they
will make the appeal to the
government or the apex
court.
Talking to reporters after
meeting her sister at
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib
Medical University
(BSMMU), Selima said,
"we're thinking of making a
special appeal, but we still
didn't take the final decision.
She further said, "The way
her (Khaleda's) physical
condition has deteriorated,
we fear we wouldn't be able
to take her home alive if her
stay here prolongs. Any
accident can take place anytime."
Selima said her sister
immediately needs
advanced treatment as her
condition has worsened further.
"Steps must be taken
for her advanced treatment
as her condition is very serious.
Her sugar level was 15
during fasting today
(Friday). How long she'll
remain in such a condition?"
She said though the BNp
chief has been receiving
treatment at the BSMMU
for nearly a year, her condition
is not improving.
"That's why we want her to
be freed for her advanced
treatment at any other
sophisticated hospital."
About Khaleda's present
health condition, Selima
said she is vomiting and suffering
from fever and serious
pains. "Her left hand
have got bent and she is suffering
from acute pains.
"Her proper treatment is
not possible at this hospital
(BSMMU)."
Khaleda's sister said the
treatment given by the
BSMMU doctors is not
helping improve her condition.
"Rather, her condition
is deteriorating gradually.
even, she can't speak properly."
She said Khaleda
urged people to pray for her
early recovery.
Five of her family members,
including Selima, her
younger brother Shamim
eskandar, his wife Kaniz
Fatema and son ovik
eskandar and her late
brother Sayeed eskandar's
wife Nasrin eskandar, went
to meet Khaleda around
3pm and had over an hourlong
meeting, said BNp
chairperson's media wing
member Shamsuddin
Didar.
Khaleda has been in jail
since she was convicted in
the Zia orphanage Trust
corruption case on February
8, 2018. She was found
guilty in another corruption
case later the same year,
though her party claims
both cases are politically
motivated.
The BNp chief has been
receiving treatment at the
BSMMU since April 1 last
year.
The photo shows a firefighter trying to douse the fire that broke out at Parabat Express in
Brahmanbaria on Friday.
Photo: Star Mail
AL conspiring to hinder BNP's victory
in city polls, alleges Fakhrul
BNp Secretary general
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir
on Friday alleged that the ruling
party is conspiring to
hamper their party's victory in
the elections to two Dhaka
city corporations, reports
BNp.
"As Awami League has
become politically bankrupt,
it's now conspiring to thwart
BNp's victory in the two city
polls in various ways," he said.
Fakhrul came up with the
allegation while talking to
reporters after offering fateha
at the grave of BNp
Chairperson Khaleda Zia's
younger son Arafat Rahman
Koko at Banani graveyard,
marking his fifth death
anniversary.
He alleged that the ruling
party is attacking their party
candidates and their supporters
physically to force them to
quit the city election race.
"They're hatching various
plots to keep us away from the
elections."
The BNp leader said no-one
will be able to prevent the victory
of their mayoral candidates,
Tabith Awal and
Ishraque Hossain, as there
has been a mass wave in
favour of the 'Sheaf of paddy,
Sixteen Jamaat-Shibir
men held in
Chapainawabganj
Chapainawabganj: police
here on Friday arrested 16
leaders and activists of
Jamaat -e-Islami and Islami
Chhatra Shibir from
Charmohanpur area in Sadar
upazila with cocktails and
gunpowder, reports UNB.
officer-in-charge of Sadar
police Station Ziaur Rahman
said police arrested the
Jamaat-Shibir men when
they were holding a clandestine
meeting in an orchard in
the area at 7 am.
Some of them managed to
flee but police arrested 16 of
them along with 15 cocktails
and half kilograms of gunpowder,
he said.
their party's election symbol.
Fakhrul said Arafat
Rahman Koko met a premature
death because of political
reasons though he was not
involved in politics. "He had
been subjected to both physical
and psychological repressions
out of political
vengeance (of the government).
He prayed for salvation of
the departed soul of Koko.
BNp senior leaders and its
two mayoral candidates
Tabith and Ishraque were
present there.
Later, the two BNp candidates
offered fateha at the
grave of Annisul Huq, the late
mayor of Dhaka North City
Corporation (DNCC), at the
Banani graveyard.
They prayed for the eternal
peace of Annisul's departed
soul.
Annisul was elected DNCC
mayor with Awami League's
ticket in April 2015 defeating
Tabith Awal. BNp had boycotted
that election halfay
through.
Three killed
in Habiganj
road accident
HABIgANJ: Three people
including two women were
killed and 30 others injured
in a road accident on the
Dhaka-Sylhet old Highway
in Kamaichara area under
Bahubal upazila of the district
last morning, reports
BSS.
Among the deceased, two
were identified as Abu
Syeed, 30, a resident of
Morura village and also
helper of the bus and
Kamola Begum, 35, hailed
from Doulotpur village
under the upazila. The identity
of the other woman
could not be known immediately.
Locals said the accident
occurred when a passengers
bus plunged into a roadside
ditch around 8:30 am in the
area as its driver lost control
over the steering, leaving
three dead on the spot and
injuring others.
officer-in-Charge (oC) of
Bahubal Model Thana Md
kamruzzaman confirmed
the incident and said the
wounded were admitted to
various hospitals in the district.
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